Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ensemble Feature Selection with Dynamic Integration of Classifiers

Recent research has proved the benefits of the use of ensembles of classifiers for classification problems. Ensembles of classifiers can be constructed by a number of methods manipulating the training set with the purpose of creating a set of diverse and accurate base classifiers. One way to manipulate the training set for construction of the base classifiers is to apply feature selection. In this paper we evaluate the contextual merit measure as a feature selection heuristic for ensemble construction with different strategies for ensemble integration. We analyze and experiment with five different ensemble integration strategies with an emphasis on the dynamic integration. The dynamic integration of classifiers is based on the assumption that each base classifier is best inside certain subareas of the whole instance space. We compare the dynamic integration with the static integration in ensemble feature selection. In the experiments, the dynamic integration shows significantly better results on average than such static integration approaches as crossvalidation majority and weighted voting. We analyze also the dependence of the ensemble accuracy on the number of neighboring instances taken into account in dynamic integration and on the use of cross validation for evaluation of the base classifiers.
On the Unitary Cayley Signed Graphs

A $signed graph$ (or $sigraph$ in short) is an ordered pair $S = (S^u, \sigma)$, where $S^u$ is a graph $G = (V, E)$ and $\sigma : E\rightarrow \{+,-\}$ is a function from the edge set $E$ of $S^u$ into the set $\{+, -\}$. For a positive integer $n > 1$, the unitary Cayley graph $X_n$ is the graph whose vertex set is $Z_n$, the integers modulo $n$ and if $U_n$ denotes set of all units of the ring $Z_n$, then two vertices $a, b$ are adjacent if and only if $a-b \in U_n$. For a positive integer $n > 1$, the unitary Cayley sigraph $\mathcal{S}_n = (\mathcal{S}^u_n, \sigma)$ is defined as the sigraph, where $\mathcal{S}^u_n$ is the unitary Cayley graph and for an edge $ab$ of $\mathcal{S}_n$, $$\sigma(ab) = \begin{cases} + & \text{if } a \in U_n \text{ or } b \in U_n,\\ - & \text{otherwise. } \end{cases}$$ In this paper, we have obtained a characterization of balanced unitary Cayley sigraphs. Further, we have established a characterization of canonically consistent unitary Cayley sigraphs $\mathcal{S}_n$, where $n$ has at most two distinct odd prime factors.
Malaria Parasite Detection in Peripheral Blood Images

This paper investigates the possibility of computerised diagnosis of malaria and describes a method to detect malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp) in images acquired from Giemsa-stained peripheral blood samples using conventional light microscopes. Prior to processing, the images are transformed to match a reference image colour characteristics. The parasite detector utilises a Bayesian pixel classifier to mark stained pixels. The class conditional probability density functions of the stained and the non-stained classes are estimated using the non-parametric histogram method. The stained pixels are further processed to extract features (histogram, Hu moments, relative shape measurements, colour auto-correlogram) for a parasite/non-parasite classifier. A distance weighted K-nearest neighbour classifier is trained with the extracted features and a detailed performance comparison is presented. Our method achieves 74% sensitivity, 98% specificity, 88% positive prediction, and 95% negative prediction values for the parasite detection.
A Novel Graph-Based Method to Study Community Evolutions in Social Interactions

Understanding community evolutions in social interactions is meaningful to study user behavior in social networks. In fact, social interactions have highly dynamic characteristics, and the time when the interactions have occurred is necessary for studying evolutions of communities. However, the temporal information is ignored in existing studies. Therefore, a graph-based method incorporating a decay function is proposed to model social interactions in this paper. Furthermore, the CPMw (Clique Percolation Method with Weights) method is applied to the graph to detect communities in each time slice. In this way, the evolutions of communities could be well investigated. Finally, the Digg dataset is used to evaluate the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the temporal information is useful to study the community evolutions in social interactions.
Deriving conversation-based features from unlabeled speech for discriminative language modeling

The perceptron algorithm was used in [1] to estimate discriminative language models which correct errors in the output of ASR systems. In its simplest version, the algorithm simply increases the weight of n-gram features which appear in the correct (oracle) hypothesis and decreases the weight of n-gram features which appear in the 1-best hypothesis. In this paper, we show that the perceptron algorithm can be successfully used in a semi-supervised learning (SSL) framework, where limited amounts of labeled data are available. Our framework has some similarities to graph-based label propagation [2] in the sense that a graph is built based on proximity of unlabeled conversations, and then it is used to propagate confidences (in the form of features) to the labeled data, based on which perceptron trains a discriminative model. The novelty of our approach lies in the fact that the confidence “flows” from the unlabeled data to the labeled data, and not vice-versa, as is done traditionally in SSL. Experiments conducted at the 2011 CLSP Summer Workshop on the conversational telephone speech corpora Dev04f and Eval04f demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Detection of Aberrant Data Points for an effective Effort Estimation using an Enhanced Algorithm with Adaptive Features

Problem statement: The spiraling growth of IT industry has witnessed an unprecedented change in the software development paradigm, from algorithmic models to machine learning techniques. At present, there are no standard methods to predict the accuracy of software cost estimation, which is an important goal of the software community. Approach: This study proposes a simple and systematic algorithmic procedure for analogy based software cost prediction to detect the aberrant data points. The algorithm is analyzed and correlated with the Desharnais and NASA datasets containing all adaptive features with numerical and categorical variables. Results: The interpreted curves using the above datasets depict a discernible anomaly for the dataset having more categorical variables, thereby indicating the erroneous data points. Conclusion: The elimination of aberrant data points using the new algorithmic method improves the accuracy of software cost estimation using historical data sets.
Feedback in LT Codes for Prioritized and Non-Prioritized Data

In this paper feedback in LT codes is investigated. The considered type of feedback is acknowledgments, where information on which symbols have been decoded is given to the transmitter. Our analysis reveals that acknowledgments has a very low potential in LT codes with standard degree distributions. Motivated by this, we analyze the impact of acknowledgments on multi-layer LT codes. In this case, feedback proves advantageous. By using only a single feedback message, it is possible to achieve a significant performance improvement compared to traditional LT codes.
VASOPRESSIN STIMULATES THE PRODUCTION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX BY CULTURED RAT MESANGIAL CELLS

1 Mesangial expansion, an indicator of chronic glomerular diseases, occurs as a result of the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, such as type IV collagen. In order to investigate the ability of vasopressin (AVP), which causes mesangial cell proliferation and hypertrophy, to induce ECM production, an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure type I and IV collagen and fibronectin produced from cultured rat mesangial cells. 2 Addition of AVP (0.01–1000 nmol/L) caused a significant and concentration‐dependent production of secreted and cell‐associated ECM, type I collagen, type IV collagen and fibronectin by cultured rat mesangial cells. The AVP V1A receptor‐selective antagonist YM218 (0.01–1000 nmol/L) potently and concentration‐dependently inhibited the induced increase in ECM production caused by AVP, but the V2 receptor‐selective antagonist SR 121463A (0.1–1000 nmol/L) did not potently inhibit. 3 Vasopressin inhibited the synthesis of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2, which degrades matrix proteins, including type IV collagen, and stimulated endothelin (ET)‐1 secretion from mesangial cells. These effects were potently inhibited by YM218, but not by SR 121463A. 4 In addition, 10 nmol/L ET‐1 inhibited the synthesis of MMP‐2 and stimulated ECM production in mesangial cells. These effects were completely abolished by the ETA receptor‐selective antagonist YM598 (1 mmol/L); however, the ETB receptor‐selective antagonist BQ‐788 (1 mmol/L) and the AVP receptor antagonists YM218 and SR 121463A did not inhibit ET‐1‐induced inhibition of MMP‐2 synthesis and ECM production. In addition, AVP‐induced inhibition of MMP‐2 synthesis and ECM production were partly inhibited by YM598. 5 These findings indicate that AVP may modulate ECM production not only via a direct action on V1A receptors, but also through stimulation of ET‐1 secretion. Vasopressin may contribute to the glomerular remodelling and ECM accumulation observed in glomerular diseases.
Molecular characterization of a novel UTA urea transporter isoform ( UTA 5 ) in testis

Fenton, R. A. , A. Howorth, G. J. Cooper, R. Meccariello, I. D. Morris, and C. P. Smith. Molecular characterization of a novel UT-A urea transporter isoform (UT-A5) in testis. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 279: C1425–C1431, 2000. —Urea movement across plasma membranes is modulated by specialized transporter proteins that are products of two genes, termed UT-A and UT-B. These proteins play key roles in the urinary concentrating mechanism and fluid homeostasis. We have isolated and characterized a 1.4-kb cDNA from testes encoding a new isoform (UT-A5) belonging to the UT-A transporter family. For comparison, we also isolated a 2.0-kb cDNA from mouse kidney inner medulla encoding the mouse UT-A3 homologue. The UT-A5 cDNA has a putative open reading frame encoding a 323-amino acid protein, making UT-A5 the smallest UT-A family member in terms of molecular size. Its putative topology is of particular interest, because it calls into question earlier models of UT-A transporter structure. Expression of UT-A5 cRNA in Xenopus oocytes mediates phloretin-inhibitable urea uptake and does not translocate water. The distribution of UT-A5 mRNA is restricted to the peritubular myoid cells forming the outermost layer of the seminiferous tubules within the testes and is not detected in kidney. UT-A5 mRNA levels are coordinated with the stage of testes development and increase 15 days postpartum, commensurate with the start of seminiferous tubule fluid movement.
Prevalence of β-hemolytic groups C and F streptococci in patients with acute pharyngitis

Background: The roles of group C and F streptococci in causing endemic pharyngitis are still controversial, although group C streptococci are implicated in the outbreaks of pharyngitis and associated disorders. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the role of these groups of β-hemolytic streptococci in acute pharyngitis with emphasis on the Streptococcus anginosus group. The antimicrobial susceptibility profile of these bacterial isolates and their ability to produce some virulence factors was also determined. Materials and Methods: Throat swab specimens were collected from 177 patients suffering from acute pharyngitis who had been admitted to the Hilla Teaching Hospital, Hilla, Iraq, during October 2009 to January 2010. The necessary biochemical tests were conducted and the organisms identified using standard procedures. Susceptibility of isolates pathogens to several antibiotics was examined using standard susceptibility testing. Virulence factors of these isolates were also determined using standard methods. Results: Results revealed that a total of 67 isolates belonged to β-hemolytic streptococci, of which 11(16.4%) isolates belonged to anginosus group streptococci, which possessed Lancefield group C and F antigens. Most of these bacterial isolates have the ability to produce more than one virulence factor such as capsule, hemolysin, CFA III, and lipase enzyme. The bacterial isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin, cefotaxime, and cefepime while they exhibited moderate resistance to tetracycline, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin. On the other hand, they showed a high sensitivity to vancomycin, ofloxacin, and clindamycin. Conclusion: This study concluded that groups C and F Streptococci were implicated as a cause of acute pharyngitis in 6.2% of the specimens among other groups of streptococci. Most of these isolates have the ability to produce more than one virulence factor. There was a high rate of resistance among isolates for β-lactam antibiotics; however, they were highly susceptible to vancomycin, ofloxacin, and clindamycin.
Chemokines: A New Dendritic Cell Signal for T Cell Activation

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the main inducers and regulators of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against viruses and tumors. One checkpoint to avoid misguided CTL activation, which might damage healthy cells of the body, is the necessity for multiple activation signals, involving both antigenic as well as additional signals that reflect the presence of pathogens. DCs provide both signals when activated by ligands of pattern recognition receptors and “licensed” by helper lymphocytes. Recently, it has been established that such T cell licensing can be facilitated by CD4+ T helper cells (“classical licensing”) or by natural killer T cells (“alternative licensing”). Licensing regulates the DC/CTL cross-talk at multiple layers. Direct recruitment of CTLs through chemokines released by licensed DCs has recently emerged as a common theme and has a crucial impact on the efficiency of CTL responses. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of DC licensing for cross-priming and implications for the temporal and spatial regulation underlying this process. Future vaccination strategies will benefit from a deeper insight into the mechanisms that govern CTL activation.
A model system for mitochondrial biogenesis reveals evolutionary rewiring of protein import and membrane assembly pathways

The controlled biogenesis of mitochondria is a key cellular system coordinated with the cell division cycle, and major efforts in systems biology currently are directed toward understanding of the control points at which this coordination is achieved. Here we present insights into the function, evolution, and regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis through the study of the protein import machinery in the human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. Features that distinguish C. albicans from baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) include the stringency of metabolic control at the level of oxygen consumption, the potential for ATP exchange through the porin in the outer membrane, and components and domains in the sorting and assembling machinery complex, a molecular machine that drives the assembly of proteins in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Analysis of targeting sequences and assays of mitochondrial protein import show that components of the electron transport chain are imported by distinct pathways in C. albicans and S. cerevisiae, representing an evolutionary rewiring of mitochondrial import pathways. We suggest that studies using this pathogen as a model system for mitochondrial biogenesis will greatly enhance our knowledge of how mitochondria are made and controlled through the course of the cell-division cycle.
Evolutionary Optimization Applied for Fine-Tuning Parameter Estimation in Optical Flow-Based Environments

Optical flow methods are accurate algorithms for estimating the displacement and velocity fields of objects in a wide variety of applications, being their performance dependent on the configuration of a set of parameters. Since there is a lack of research that aims to automatically tune such parameters, in this work we have proposed an evolutionary-based framework for such task, thus introducing three techniques for such purpose: Particle Swarm Optimization, Harmony Search and Social-Spider Optimization. The proposed framework has been compared against with the well-known Large Displacement Optical Flow approach, obtaining the best results in three out eight image sequences provided by a public dataset. Additionally, the proposed framework can be used with any other optimization technique.
Identification of a Linked Set of Genes in Serpulina hyodysenteriae (B204) Predicted To Encode Closely Related 39-Kilodalton Extracytoplasmic Proteins

ABSTRACT A tandem pair of nearly identical genes from Serpulina hyodysenteriae (B204) were cloned and sequenced. The full open reading frame of one gene and the partial open reading frame of the neighboring gene appear to encode secreted proteins which are homologous to, yet distinct from, the 39-kDa extracytoplasmic protein purified from the membrane fraction of S. hyodysenteriae. We have designated these newly identified genes vspA andvspB (for variable surface protein).
The Origin and Limit of Asymmetric Transmission in Chiral Resonators

The interaction of light with suitably designed artificial nanostructures, such as metasurfaces or photonic crystals, can lead to a strong chiral response. Such chirality is not only essential for realizing miniature components to manipulate polarization, but also opens new avenues in chiral sensing, emission control, and topological photonics. An extreme possible consequence of a system's chirality is asymmetric transmission (AT): the difference in total transmittance when polarized light impinges from opposite sides of the system [1]. AT in nanostructures relates directly to potential functionalities such as spin-dependent light emission and enantioselective sensing. To realize AT for linearly polarized light is a significant challenge, as it strictly requires broken mirror symmetry in the propagation direction [2]. Important open questions remain, like how to introduce an efficient symmetry breaking, what value of AT could be maximally achieved, and how to design structures that can offer this maximum AT. In this work, we explain the origin of AT in terms of eigenmodes of a chiral structure and reveal a fundamental limit to AT in any resonant system based on the principle of reciprocity. Using the uncovered design principles, we show a structure that can offer AT as high as 84% for normally incident linearly polarized light.
Effects of Forced Expression of an NH2-terminal Truncated β-Catenin on Mouse Intestinal Epithelial Homeostasis

β-Catenin functions as a downstream component of the Wnt/Wingless signal transduction pathway and as an effector of cell–cell adhesion through its association with cadherins. To explore the in vivo effects of β-catenin on proliferation, cell fate specification, adhesion, and migration in a mammalian epithelium, a human NH2-terminal truncation mutant (ΔN89β-catenin) was expressed in the 129/Sv embryonic stem cell–derived component of the small intestine of adult C57Bl/6–ROSA26↔ 129/Sv chimeric mice. ΔN89β-Catenin was chosen because mutants of this type are more stable than the wild-type protein, and phenocopy activation of the Wnt/Wingless signaling pathway in Xenopus and Drosophila. ΔN89β-Catenin had several effects. Cell division was stimulated fourfold in undifferentiated cells located in the proliferative compartment of the intestine (crypts of Lieberkühn). The proliferative response was not associated with any discernible changes in cell fate specification but was accompanied by a three- to fourfold increase in crypt apoptosis. There was a marked augmentation of E-cadherin at the adherens junctions and basolateral surfaces of 129/Sv (ΔN89β-catenin) intestinal epithelial cells and an accompanying slowing of cellular migration along crypt-villus units. 1–2% of 129/Sv (ΔN89β-catenin) villi exhibited an abnormal branched architecture. Forced expression of ΔN89β-catenin expression did not perturb the level or intracellular distribution of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). The ability of ΔN89β-catenin to interact with normal cellular pools of APC and/or augmented pools of E-cadherin may have helped prevent the 129/Sv gut epithelium from undergoing neoplastic transformation during the 10-mo period that animals were studied. Together, these in vivo studies emphasize the importance of β-catenin in regulating normal adhesive and signaling functions within this epithelium.
Clinical results of stereotactic body radiotherapy for Stage I small-cell lung cancer: a single institutional experience

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcomes of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for Stage I small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). From April 2003 to September 2009, a total of eight patients with Stage I SCLC were treated with SBRT in our institution. In all patients, the lung tumors were proven as SCLC pathologically. The patients' ages were 58–84 years (median: 74). The T-stage of the primary tumor was T1a in two, T1b in two and T2a in four patients. Six of the patients were inoperable because of poor cardiac and/or pulmonary function, and two patients refused surgery. SBRT was given using 7–8 non-coplanar beams with 48 Gy in four fractions. Six of the eight patients received 3–4 cycles of chemotherapy using carboplatin (CBDCA) + etoposide (VP-16) or cisplatin (CDDP) + irinotecan (CPT-11). The follow-up period for all patients was 6–60 months (median: 32). Six patients were still alive without any recurrence. One patient died from this disease and one died from another disease. The overall and disease-specific survival rate at three years was 72% and 86%, respectively. There were no patients with local progression of the lesion targeted by SBRT. Only one patient had nodal recurrence in the mediastinum at 12 months after treatment. The progression-free survival rate was 71%. No Grade 2 or higher SBRT-related toxicities were observed. SBRT plus chemotherapy could be an alternative to surgery with chemotherapy for inoperable patients with Stage I small-cell lung cancer. However, further investigation is needed using a large series of patients.
Enrichment of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Aqueous Solutions Using Fe3O4 Grafted Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Poly Dimethyl Diallyl Ammonium Chloride

In this paper, Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) grafted carboxyl groups of multiwalled carbon nanotubes with cationic polyelectrolyte poly (dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) (PDDA) (MWCNTs-COO−/PDDA@Fe3O4), are successfully synthesized and used for the extraction of six kinds of major toxic polychorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a large volume of water solution. The hydrophilicity of the PDDA cage can enhance the dispersibility of sorbents in water samples, and the superparamagnetism of the Fe3O4 NPs facilitate magnetic separation which directly led to the simplification of the extraction procedure. With the magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) technique based on the MWCNTs-COO−/PDDA@Fe3O4 sorbents, it requires only 30 min to extract trace levels of PCBs from 500 mL water samples. When the eluate condensed to 1.0 mL, concentration factors for PCBs became over 500. The spiked recoveries of several real water samples for PCBs were in the range of 73.3–98.9% with relative standard deviations varying from 3.8% to 9.4%, reflecting good accuracy of the method. Therefore, preconcentration of trace level of PCBs by using this MWCNTs-COO−/PDDA@Fe3O4 sorbent, which are stable for multiple reuses, from water solution can be performed.