Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Source Nature and Status on the Subjective Value of Information

This is an empirical, experimental investigation of the value of information, as perceived through the willingness to purchase information (WTP) and the willingness to sell it (accept payment, WTA). We examined the effects of source nature: expertise versus content, and source status: copy versus exclusive original of information on the WTA-WTP ratio. In an animated computer simulation of a business game, players could maximize their profits by making choices regarding inventory and prices. Participants were offered the chance to bid for buying or selling information regarding the weather that may affect demand. We find, as hypothesized, that the subjective value of information does indeed follow the predictions of endowment effect theory. The ratio of willingness to accept to willingness to purchase (WTA-WTP) recorded for the 294 subjects resembles the ratio common for private goods, rather than the intuitively expected unity. The WTA-WTP ratios diverged from unity more often and in a more pronounced manner for information traded in the original form rather than as a copy of the original, although even for copies the WTA-WTP ratio is still double. The results yield a value of about three for the WTA-WTP ratio for original information whether the source is content or expertise. Copy information received a subjective value that was significantly different (lower) than original information. The implications for both online trading and online sharing of information are discussed.
Load-Dependent Soft-Switching Method of Half-Bridge Current Doubler for High-Voltage Point-of-Load Converter in Data Center Power Supplies

With the increased cloud computing and digital information storage, the energy requirement of data centers keeps increasing. A high-voltage point of load (HV POL) with an input series output parallel structure is proposed to convert 400 to 1 VDC within a single stage to increase the power conversion efficiency. The symmetrical controlled half-bridge current doubler is selected as the converter topology in the HV POL. A load-dependent soft-switching method has been proposed with an auxiliary circuit that includes inductor, diode, and MOSFETs so that the hard-switching issue of typical symmetrical controlled half-bridge converters is resolved. The operation principles of the proposed soft-switching half-bridge current doubler have been analyzed in detail. Then, the necessity of adjusting the timing with the loading in the proposed method is analyzed based on losses, and a controller is designed to realize the load-dependent operation. A lossless RCD current sensing method is used to sense the output inductor current value in the proposed load-dependent operation. Experimental efficiency of a hardware prototype is provided to show that the proposed method can increase the converter's efficiency in both heavy- and light-load conditions.
A Special Communication Model of Cluster for Multimedia Communications

Multimedia communications are the important application field of cluster computing. In order to improve the communication efficiency of cluster, the data communication characteristics of multimedia communications are analyzed, and a communication model with special memory buffer management mechanism is put forward. In the realization of the communication model, the experiment results show that the overheads of memory buffer management are greatly reduced by the static fixed memory allocation mechanism for long data transmission.
An Assess Android Antimalware that Detects Malicious Dynamic Code in Apps

Android is currently the most popular operating system and a considerable number of Smartphone's, tablet computers ship with Android. However, users feel their private information at threat, facing a rapidly increasing number of malware for Android which significantly exceeds that of other platforms. Antimalware's software promises to effectively protect against malware on Smartphone's and many products are available for free or at reasonable prices. We systematically analyze the security implications of the ability to load malicious dynamic code in Android apps. We assess an Android Antimalware software tool to detect attempts to load malicious code and from the study of many online applications we observed, that malicious code is loaded in an unprotected way is a major issue. We also show how malware can use code-loading techniques to avoid detection by exploiting a conceptual weakness in current Android malware protection.
Electrical conductivity of polyethylene-neodymium composites

In this paper, a study regarding the influence of the filler content on the electrical conductivity of low density polyethylene (LDPE)-Neodymium (Nd) composites is presented. Flat samples having the dimensions 100 · 100 · 0.5 mm3 were manufactured from low density polyethylene (LDPE) as polymeric matrix and Nd spherical particles (purity - 99 %) as filler by a melt mixing process using a compatibility agent. The distribution of the particles in the polymeric matrix was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. The variations of the DC conductivity and AC conductivity with temperature, frequency and filler content were studied. The symmetric hopping model for disordered solids was used to explain the results. Finally, the possibility to use these materials in electrical engineering field is analyzed.
A Comparison Among Low Temperature Piezoelectric Flexible Sensors Based on Polysilicon TFTs for Advanced Tactile Sensing on Plastic

In this work, we present a comparison among four different piezoelectric materials (PVDF-TrFE, Piezopaint, AlN and ZnO), all deposited at low temperature (from RT up to 160 °C) on flexible substrate such as thin Polyimide, in order to investigate their possible implementation as flexible tactile sensors. Flexible capacitive sensors were tested by using a mini-shaker, investigating the sensors behavior in force and frequency with the intent of mimicking the human sense of touch. We optimized the piezoelectric properties of the materials by using specific texturing buffer layers or maximizing the poling procedure to increase the dipole alignment. Finally, by using a multi-foil approach, the different sensors have been integrated with polysilicon thin film transistor fabricated on flexible substrates and the specific device sensitivity was evaluated.
Oral vaccination reduces the incidence of tuberculosis in free-living brushtail possums

Bovine tuberculosis (Tb) caused by Mycobacterium bovis has proved refractory to eradication from domestic livestock in countries with wildlife disease reservoirs. Vaccination of wild hosts offers a way of controlling Tb in livestock without wildlife culling. This study was conducted in a Tb-endemic region of New Zealand, where the introduced Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is the main wildlife reservoir of Tb. Possums were trapped and vaccinated using a prototype oral-delivery system to deliver the Tb vaccine bacille Calmette–Guerin. Vaccinated and control possums were matched according to age, sex and location, re-trapped bimonthly and assessed for Tb status by palpation and lesion aspiration; the site was depopulated after 2 years and post-mortem examinations were conducted to further identify clinical Tb cases and subclinical infection. Significantly fewer culture-confirmed Tb cases were recorded in vaccinated possums (1/51) compared with control animals (12/71); the transition probability from susceptible to infected was significantly reduced in both males and females by vaccination. Vaccine efficacy was estimated at 95 per cent (87–100%) for females and 96 per cent (82–99%) for males. Hence, this trial demonstrates that orally delivered live bacterial vaccines can significantly protect wildlife against natural disease exposure, indicating that wildlife vaccination, along with existing control methods, could be used to eradicate Tb from domestic animals.
Protein turnover: Measurement of proteome dynamics by whole animal metabolic labelling with stable isotope labelled amino acids

The measurement of protein turnover in tissues of intact animals is obtained by whole animal dynamic labelling studies, requiring dietary administration of precursor label. It is difficult to obtain full labelling of precursor amino acids in the diet and if partial labelling is used, calculation of the rate of turnover of each protein requires knowledge of the precursor relative isotope abundance (RIA). We describe an approach to dynamic labelling of proteins in the mouse with a commercial diet supplemented with a pure, deuterated essential amino acid. The pattern of isotopomer labelling can be used to recover the precursor RIA, and sampling of urinary secreted proteins can monitor the development of liver precursor RIA non‐invasively. Time‐series analysis of the labelling trajectories for individual proteins allows accurate determination of the first order rate constant for degradation. The acquisition of this parameter over multiple proteins permits turnover profiling of cellular proteins and comparisons of different tissues. The median rate of degradation of muscle protein is considerably lower than liver or kidney, with heart occupying an intermediate position.
Enzyme kinetics and metabolic control. A method to test and quantify the effect of enzymic properties on metabolic variables.

It is usual to study the sensitivity of metabolic variables to small (infinitesimal) changes in the magnitudes of individual parameters such as an enzyme concentration. Here, the effect that a simultaneous change in all the enzyme concentrations by the same factor alpha (Co-ordinate-Control Operation, CCO) has on the variables of time-dependent metabolic systems is investigated. This factor alpha can have any arbitrary large value. First, we assume, for each enzyme measured in isolation, the validity of the steady-state approximation and the proportionality between reaction rate and enzyme concentration. Under these assumptions, any time-invariant variable may behave like a metabolite concentration, i.e. S alpha = Sr (S-type), or like a flux, i.e. J alpha = alpha Jr (J-type). The subscripts r and alpha correspond to the values of the variable before and after the CCO respectively. Similarly, time-dependent variables may behave according to S alpha (t/alpha) = Sr (t) (S-type) or to J alpha (t/alpha) = alpha J r (t) (J-type). A method is given to test these relationships in experimental systems, and to quantify deviations from the predicted behaviour. A positive test for deviations proves the violation of some of the assumptions made. However, the breakdown of the assumptions in an enzyme-catalysed reaction, studied in isolation, may or may not affect significantly the behaviour of the system when the component reaction is embedded in the metabolic network.
Decreased serum dependence in the growth of NIH3T3 cells from the overexpression of human nuclear receptor‐binding SET‐domain‐containing protein 1 (NSD1) or fission yeast su(var)3‐9, enhancer‐of‐zeste, trithorax 2 (SET2)

Nuclear receptor‐binding SET‐domain‐containing protein 1 (NSD1), a culprit gene for Sotos syndrome, contains a su(var)3‐9, enhancer‐of‐zeste, trithorax (SET) domain that is responsible for histone methyltransferase activity and other domains such as plant homeodomain (PHD) and proline‐tryptophan‐tryptophan‐proline (PWWP) involved in protein–protein interactions in the C‐terminal half of NSD1. To elucidate the function of NSD1 on cell growth, we overexpressed NSD1 in NIH3T3 cells. Cells overexpressing NSD1 grew in the presence of 2% serum, whereas vector transfected cells did not. Overexpression of the C‐terminal half of NSD1 but not the N‐terminal half of NSD1 also produced cell growth under low serum concentration. Furthermore, overexpression in NIH3T3 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe SET2 which has a SET domain but not PHD or PWWP domains conferred the reduced serum dependence. Thus, the SET domain of NSD1 is involved in cell growth by modulating serum dependence. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Muscle myostatin signalling is enhanced in experimental cancer cachexia

Background/Aims Myostatin belongs to the transforming growth factor‐β superfamily and negatively regulates skeletal muscle mass. Its deletion induces muscle overgrowth, while, on the contrary, its overexpression or systemic administration cause muscle atrophy. The present study was aimed at investigating whether muscle depletion as occurring in an experimental model of cancer cachexia, the rat bearing the Yoshida AH‐130 hepatoma, is associated with modulations of myostatin signalling and whether the cytokine tumour necrosis factor‐α may be relevant in this regard.
Molecular Epidemiology and Characterization of Plasmid-Encoded β-Lactamases Produced by Tunisian Clinical Isolates of Salmonella enterica Serotype Mbandaka Resistant to Broad-Spectrum Cephalosporins

ABSTRACT We studied 31 clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype Mbandaka resistant to broad-spectrum cephalosporins and recovered in Tunisia over a 5-year period. The transferability of this resistance was demonstrated by conjugation experiments. Thirty of the 31 isolates were positive in the double-disk synergy test. By isoelectric focusing analysis, all of the isolates were found to produce a band of β-lactamase activity with a pI of 5.9. Three of these isolates produced an additional band with a pI of 7.6. PCR and DNA sequencing identified these β-lactamases as TEM-4 and SHV-2a, respectively. The remaining isolate, highly resistant to ceftazidime but susceptible to cefepime, produced a β-lactamase that focused at pI 7.8. No synergy was detected by the double-disk synergy test. Sequence analysis of the bla gene amplified by PCR showed that the plasmid-mediated AmpC-type enzyme was ACC-1a. Fingerprinting analysis by repetitive-element PCR and enterobacterial repeat intergenic consensus-PCR suggested that 29 of the 31 Salmonella serotype Mbandaka isolates belonged to the same clonal population.
Application of heat shock protein expression for detecting natural adaptation and exposure to stress in natural populations

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) play an undisputed role for maintaining cellular functioning under environmental chal- lenges and protein denaturing conditions. Compelling evidence points to an evolutionary important role of HSPs and a strict evo- lutionary control of these proteins as a balance between benefits and costs. While there is a great potential for using HSP expres- sion for detecting natural adaptation and exposure to stress in natural populations, some obstacles and key issues await investiga- tion. From an ecological perspective these key issues needs to be resolved in order to fully appreciate the complex responses and adaptations to stress and to increase our understanding of HSPs and other molecular chaperones for stress adaptation and potential use as biomarkers. Here, the current knowledge and understanding of HSPs is reviewed and a number of key issues including the interpretation of elevated HSP levels, the complications of extrapolating between laboratory and field conditions, the effects of choice of traits and methodology and the larger intra-and extracellular networks of interactions that HSPs participate in are dis- cussed (Current Zoology 56 (6): 703-713, 2010).
Wide-band L-probe fed circular patch antenna for conical-pattern radiation

Experimental results for a wide-band L-probe fed circular patch antenna having conical-pattern radiation are presented. With an antenna thickness of /spl sim/0.13 times the free-space wavelength of the center operating frequency, the proposed antenna can achieve a bandwidth of /spl sim/30% and produce a monopole-like conical radiation patterns. The measured gain is in the range of 5.0/spl sim/6.5 dBi in the passband.
Token-based extraction of straight lines

The authors present a computational approach to the extraction of straight lines based on the principles of perceptual organization. In particular, they consider how local information that is spatially distributed can be organized into a large-scale geometric structure in a computationally efficient manner. Symbolic tokens representing line segments and relations which are primarily geometric in nature and used to control a hierarchical grouping process. The relational measures on pairs of lines are based on collinearity, proximity, and similarity in contrast. The algorithm is implemented within a local, parallel, hierarchical framework for symbolic grouping that involves a cycle of linking, optimization, and replacement steps. Experimental results on a variety of natural scene images demonstrate effectiveness of the filtering and optimization stages in the extraction of straight lines. Issues in the development of a more general framework for symbolic grouping are also discussed. >
Expected Improvement Matrix-Based Infill Criteria for Expensive Multiobjective Optimization

The existing multiobjective expected improvement (EI) criteria are often computationally expensive because they are calculated using multivariate piecewise integrations, the number of which increases exponentially with the number of objectives. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a new approach to develop cheap-to-evaluate multiobjective EI criteria based on the proposed EI matrix (EIM). The elements in the EIM are the single-objective EIs that the studying point has beyond each Pareto front approximation point in each objective. Three multiobjective criteria are developed by combining the elements in the EIM into scalar functions in three different ways. These proposed multiobjective criteria are calculated using only 1-D integrations, whose number increases linearly with respect to the number of objectives. Moreover, all the three criteria are derived in closed form expressions, thus are significantly cheaper to evaluate than the state-of-the-art multiobjective criteria. The efficiencies of the proposed criteria are validated through 12 test problems. Besides the computational advantage, the proposed multiobjective EI criteria also show competitive abilities in approximating the Pareto fronts of the chosen test problems compared against the state-of-the-art multiobjective EI criteria.
Highlight on DPYD gene polymorphisms and treatment by capecitabine*

Abstract Background: Sequencing of DPYD exome was conducted in a prospective cohort of advanced breast cancer patients receiving capecitabine. Methods: A total of 243 patients were analyzed. Digestive, neurologic and hematotoxicity over cycles 1–2 showed 10.3% G3 and 2.1% G4, including one toxic death. DPYD exome, flanking intronic regions (20 bp), 3’UTR and part of 5’UTR (500 bp) were sequenced on MiSeq Illumina (Integragen, 97% coverage, HWE checked). Results: In total, 48 SNPs were identified: three in 3’UTR, 19 in coding regions (four synonymous including E412E; 15 missenses including D949V, V732I, R592W, I560S, I543V, S534N, S492L, M406I, D342G, M166V, T65M, C29R), 19 in flanking intronic regions (including *2A) and seven in 5’UTR. In total, 11 SNPs have not been previously described, including three missense variations each heterozygous in three separate patients: R696H, F100L and A26T. The patient with a toxic death carried one D949V allele. The three consensual variants *2A, D949V and I560S were carried by seven patients (heterozygous). Analysis of consensual variants showed that they were associated with G3–4 toxicity (OR = 21.0, sensitivity 16.7%) but not with G4 toxicity. Adding the variants previously associated with DPD deficiency in vitro, i.e. R592W, S492L and D342N/G, increased sensitivity on G3–4 (23.3%, OR = 21.1) and was predictive of G4 toxicity (sensitivity 40%, OR = 19.0). Of note, adding the new F100L variant further improved predictivity of genotyping on G4 toxicity (sensitivity 60%, OR = 42.8). Conclusions: Present data establish the impact of consensual variants on capecitabine toxicity and reveal the existence of a novel DPYD variant, F100L, associated with G4 toxicity.
Martı́-Fàbregas et al Statins and Outcome of Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose—Statins may be beneficial for patients with acute ischemic stroke. We tested the hypothesis that patients pretreated with statins at the onset of stroke have less severe neurological effects and a better outcome. Methods—We prospectively included consecutive patients with ischemic stroke of 24-hour duration. We recorded demographic data, vascular risk factors, Oxfordshire Classification, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, admission blood glucose and body temperature, cause (Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Treatment [TOAST] criteria), neurological progression at day 3, previous statin treatment, and outcome at 3 months. We analyzed the data using univariate methods and a logistic regression with the dependent variable of good outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] 0 to 1, Barthel Index [BI] 95 to 100). Results—We included 167 patients (mean age 70.7 12 years, 94 men). Thirty patients (18%) were using statins when admitted. In the statin group, the median NIHSS score was not significantly lower and the risk of progression was not significantly reduced. Favorable outcomes at 3 months were more frequent in the statin group (80% versus 61.3%, P 0.059 with the mRS; 76.7% versus 51.8%, P 0.015 with the BI). Predictors of favorable outcome with the BI were: NIHSS score at admission (OR: 0.72; CI: 0.65 to 0.80; P 0.0001), age (OR: 0.96; CI: 0.92 to 0.99; P 0.017), and statin group (OR: 5.55; CI: 1.42 to 17.8; P 0.012). Conclusions—Statins may provide benefits for the long-term functional outcome when administered before the onset of cerebral ischemia. However, randomized controlled trials will be required to evaluate the validity of our results. (Stroke. 2004;35:1117-1123.)
Sensor fusion localization system for outdoor mobile robot

The purpose of this study is to develop sensor fusion loclization of autonomous mobile robot for outdoor environment. We merge 2 localization models; a Camera sensor with Particle filter and two GPS sensors with Kalman filter. The marks on the load such as lane, arrow, cross road and speed hump, etc., are most important information in urban environment. The camera device is useful to detect road landmarks, because the information printed on the road are color-based model. We use Delaunay triangulation method to extract landmark points in the interest region. The robot finds out the position by comparing these landmark points with a map with Particle filter algorithm. We also use GPS that provides global position directly. The GPS, however, has large drift position data caused by intentional pseudo noise and slow acquisition time for mobile robot. In this paper, a sensor fusion localization system is proposed to get the robot's reasonable position by fusing these 2 localization models that compensate the weak points each other.
An energy-based LVRT control strategy for doubly-fed wind generator

Doubly-fed wind generator is highly sensitive to voltage variations of the grid, which poses limitations for wind power plants during the grid integrated operation. This paper proposes a new control strategy for rotor side converter of doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) using energy-based control method based on Port-Control Hamiltonian (PCH) theory and L2 disturbance attenuation. The proposed ride-through approach limits the peak values of the rotor inrush current, needs a lower rotor voltage and suppresses DFIG transient response at the times of occurrence and clearing the fault. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme has a good performance.