Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrated Gene Expression Probabilistic Models for Cancer Staging

The current system for classifying cancer patients' stages was introduced more than one hundred years ago. With the modern advance in technology, many parts of the system have been outdated. Because the current staging system emphasizes surgical procedures that could be harmful to patients, there has been a movement to develop a new Taxonomy, using molecular signatures to potentially avoid surgical testing. This project explores the issues of the current classification system and also looking for a potentially better way to classify cancer patients’ stages. Computerization has made a vast amount of cancer data available online. However, a significant portion of the data is incomplete; some crucial information is missing. It is logical to attempt to develop a system of recovering missing cancer data. Successful completion of this research saves costs and increases efficiency in cancer research and curing. Using various methods, we have shown that cancer stages cannot be simply extrapolated with incomplete data. Furthermore, a new approach of using RNA Sequencing data is studied. RNA Sequencing can potentially become a cost-efficient way to determine a cancer patient’s stage. We have obtained promising results of using RNA sequencing data in breast cancer staging.
Manipulating Public Opinion: The Why and The How

Public opinion, narrowly defined, is the thought of a society at a given time toward a given object; broadly conceived, it is the power of the group to sway the larger public in its attitude. Public opinion can be manipulated, but in teaching the public how to ask for what it wants the manipulator is safeguarding the public against his own possible aggressiveness. The method of the experimental psychologist is not as effective in the study of public opinion in the broad sense as is that of introspective psychology. To create and to change public opinion it is necessary to understand human motives, to know what special interests are represented by a given population, and to realize the function and limitations of the physical organs of approach to the public, such as the radio, the platform, the movie, the letter, the newspaper, etc. If the general principles of swaying public opinion are understood, a technique can be developed which, with the correct appraisal of the specific problem and the specific audience, can and has been used effectively in such widely different situations as changing the attitudes of whites toward Negroes in America, changing the buying habits of American women from felt hats to velvet, silk, and straw hats, changing the impression which the American electorate has of its President, introducing new musical instruments, and a variety of others. Group adherence is essential in changing the attitudes of the public. Authoritative and influential groups may become important channels of reaching the larger public. Ideas and situations must be made impressive and dramatic in order to overcome the inertia of established traditions and prejudices.
The role of narrative writing in improving professional practice

The use of narratives in the social sciences has drastically increased throughout recent decades. They are mainly used as a way of collecting data and as a way of promoting professional development. This article sheds light on how a practitioner-researcher engaged in narrative writing and how this helped in what is hereby termed a reflective odyssey. More specifically, the main focus here is how the very act of writing when keeping a personal journal can act as a catalyst for ongoing reflective thought. Therefore, narratives were firstly used by the practitioner-researcher as a form of personal professional development. However, they also acted as data in the longitudinal process of understanding how narrative writing can aid in the continuous striving for improving professional practice. Original narrative extracts are presented throughout the text to back the claims made for narrative writing. This gives a unique opportunity to the reader to get a glimpse of the practitioner-researcher’s thought processes and dilemmas. The roles of writing in meaning creation and representation; pushing thinking into unforeseen directions; and the promotion of ‘conversing with oneself’ and self-understanding are discussed in this article.
Instance-Privacy Preserving Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is a technique to outsource tasks to a number of workers. Although crowdsourcing has many advantages, it gives rise to the risk that sensitive information may be leaked, which has limited the spread of its popularity. Task instances (data workers receive to process tasks) often contain sensitive information, which can be extracted by workers. For example, in an audio transcription task, an audio file corresponds to an instance, and the content of the audio (e.g., the abstract of a meeting) can be sensitive information. In this paper, we propose a quantitative analysis framework for the instance privacy problem. The proposed framework supplies us performance measures of instance privacy preserving protocols. As a case study, we apply the proposed framework to an instance clipping protocol and analyze the properties of the protocol. The protocol preserves privacy by clipping instances to limit the amount of information workers obtain. The results show that the protocol can balance task performance and instance privacy preservation. They also show that the proposed measure is consistent with standard measures, which validates the proposed measure.
Avoiding version redundancy for high performance reads in temporal databases

A major performance bottleneck for database systems is the memory hierarchy. The performance of the memory hierarchy is directly related to how the content of disk pages maps to the L2 cache lines, i.e. to the organization of data within a disk page, called the page layout. The prevalent page layout in database systems is the N-ary Storage Model (NSM). As demonstrated in this paper, using NSM for temporal data deteriorates memory hierarchy performance for query-intensive workloads. This paper proposes two cacheconscious, read-optimized, page layouts for temporal data. Experiments show that the proposed page layouts are substantially faster than NSM.
Epsilon Stereo Pairs

Human stereo vision works by fusing a pair of perspective images with a purely horizontal parallax. Recent developments suggest that very few varieties of multiperspective stereo pairs exist. In this paper, we introduce a new stereo model, which we call epsilon stereo pairs, for fusing a broader class of multiperspective images. An epsilon stereo pair consists of two images with a slight vertical parallax. We show many multiperspective camera pairs that do not satisfy the stereo constraint can still form epsilon stereo pairs. We then introduce a new ray-space warping algorithm to minimize stereo inconsistencies in an epsilon pair using multiperspective collineations. This makes epsilon stereo model a promising tool for synthesizing close-to-stereo fusions from many non-stereo pairs.
The Failure of Organizational Learning from Crisis – A Matter of Life and Death?

The continuing failure of organizations to learn from crisis has many costs, social, political, financial and individual and may be attributable to a misunderstanding of learning processes. This paper maps out contributions to learning from crisis from a number of fields. Central to the paper's argument is that the separation of policy development from practice, in theory and action, has contributed to a failure to learn. The paper considers two cases where the failure of child protection services resulted in the deaths of the children concerned. These two cases, separated by seven years, were connected by the failure of the same local authorities and agencies. The paper concludes with a number of observations concerning the public inquiry process.
Optimal Theory and Career Assessment: Towards an Inclusive, Global Perspective

This article explores the impact of limiting the analysis of human experience to one cultural mindset using career development and assessment as a field of inquiry to illustrate the point. The aim is to reveal considerations for the enhancement of the applicability of psychological theory to broader segments of the world's population, particularly African and other so-called third world populations. Specific attention is given the role of worldview in social context and the shaping of inquiry and research; the natural limits of a fragmented, yet hegemonic mindset; the value of an alternate perspective in expanding scope and insight for future reference; and, recommendations for implementing these insights in career assessment with implications for career counselor training.
A Kernel-Based Multivariate Feature Selection Method for Microarray Data Classification

High dimensionality and small sample sizes, and their inherent risk of overfitting, pose great challenges for constructing efficient classifiers in microarray data classification. Therefore a feature selection technique should be conducted prior to data classification to enhance prediction performance. In general, filter methods can be considered as principal or auxiliary selection mechanism because of their simplicity, scalability, and low computational complexity. However, a series of trivial examples show that filter methods result in less accurate performance because they ignore the dependencies of features. Although few publications have devoted their attention to reveal the relationship of features by multivariate-based methods, these methods describe relationships among features only by linear methods. While simple linear combination relationship restrict the improvement in performance. In this paper, we used kernel method to discover inherent nonlinear correlations among features as well as between feature and target. Moreover, the number of orthogonal components was determined by kernel Fishers linear discriminant analysis (FLDA) in a self-adaptive manner rather than by manual parameter settings. In order to reveal the effectiveness of our method we performed several experiments and compared the results between our method and other competitive multivariate-based features selectors. In our comparison, we used two classifiers (support vector machine, -nearest neighbor) on two group datasets, namely two-class and multi-class datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that the performance of our method is better than others, especially on three hard-classify datasets, namely Wang's Breast Cancer, Gordon's Lung Adenocarcinoma and Pomeroy's Medulloblastoma.
Preferential protection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto by a Salp15 homologue in Ixodes ricinus saliva.

BACKGROUND Ixodes ticks are the main vectors for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In the United States, B. burgdorferi is the sole causative agent of Lyme borreliosis and is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis. In Europe, 3 Borrelia species-B. burgdorferi, B. garinii, and B. afzelii-are prevalent, which are transmitted by Ixodes ricinus. The I. scapularis salivary protein Salp15 has been shown to bind to B. burgdorferi outer surface protein (Osp) C, protecting the spirochete from antibody-mediated killing. METHODS AND RESULTS We recently identified a Salp15 homologue in I. ricinus, Salp15 Iric-1. Here, we have demonstrated, by solid-phase overlays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and surface plasmon resonance, that Salp15 Iric-1 binds to B. burgdorferi OspC. Importantly, this binding protected the spirochete from antibody-mediated killing in vitro and in vivo; immune mice rechallenged with B. burgdorferi preincubated with Salp15 Iric-1 displayed significantly higher Borrelia numbers and more severe carditis, compared with control mice. Furthermore, Salp15 Iric-1 was capable of binding to OspC from B. garinii and B. afzelii, but these Borrelia species were not protected from antibody-mediated killing. CONCLUSIONS Salp15 Iric-1 interacts with all European Borrelia species but differentially protects B. burgdorferi from antibody-mediated killing, putatively giving this Borrelia species a survival advantage in nature.
Texture Classification by Wavelet Packet Signatures

This correspondence introduces a new approach to characterize textures at multiple scales. The performance of wavelet packet spaces are measured in terms of sensitivity and selectivity for the classification of twenty-five natural textures. Both energy and entropy metrics were computed for each wavelet packet and incorporated into distinct scale space representations, where each wavelet packet (channel) reflected a specific scale and orientation sensitivity. Wavelet packet representations for twenty-five natural textures were classified without error by a simple two-layer network classifier. An analyzing function of large regularity (D/sub 20/) was shown to be slightly more efficient in representation and discrimination than a similar function with fewer vanishing moments (D/sub 6/) In addition, energy representations computed from the standard wavelet decomposition alone (17 features) provided classification without error for the twenty-five textures included in our study. The reliability exhibited by texture signatures based on wavelet packets analysis suggest that the multiresolution properties of such transforms are beneficial for accomplishing segmentation, classification and subtle discrimination of texture. >
Bridging Tribology and Microrheology of Thin Films

Abstract An enhanced version of the flexure-based microgap rheometer (FMR) is described which enables rheological measurements in steady state shearing flows of bulk fluid samples of PDMS with an absolute gap separation between the shearing surfaces of 100 nm - 100 mm. Alignment of the shearing surfaces to a parallelism better then 10-7 rad allows us to reliably measure shear stresses at shear rates up to 104 s-1. At low rates and for shearing gaps < 5 mm the stress response is dominated by sliding friction between the surfaces that is independent of the viscosity of the fluid and only determined by the residual particulate phase (dust particles) in the fluid. This behaviour is similar to the boundary lubrication regime in tribology. The absolute gap control of the FMR allows us to systematically investigate the flow behaviour at low degrees of confinement (gap separations 100 nm - 2 mm) that cannot be accessed with conventional (controlled normal load) tribological test protocols.
The use of hipO, encoding benzoylglycine amidohydrolase (hippuricase), as a reporter of gene expression in Campylobacter coli

A novel integrative promoter probe vector which utilizes the Campylobacter jejuni hipO gene as a reporter of gene expression was developed as a genetic tool in Campylobacter coli. The utility of the system was demonstrated by coupling expression of the hipO reporter to the promoters of flaA, flaB and katA. Subsequently, expression of these genes could be monitored accurately from chromosomally‐borne transcriptional fusions using a simple non‐destructive colorimetric assay. The system should serve as a useful tool for studying the response of Camp. coli to environmental stresses.
A combined fair decentralized message-rate and data-rate congestion control for V2V communication

Channel congestion Is one of the most critical Issues In IEEE 802.11p-based vehicular ad hoc networks as it leads to unreliability of safety applications. As a counter measure, the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI), proposes a mandatory Decentralized Congestion Control (DCC) framework to control the channel load, by tuning transmission parameters, such as message-rate or data-rate. This paper defines a novel decentralized combined message-rate and data-rate congestion control (MD-DCC) scheme, which provides a fair and effective way of message-rate and data-rate allocation among vehicles to avoid congestion and satisfy application requirements. We discuss several implementation aspects such as the selection of parameters of MD-DCC and their relation with the application requirements. Simulations studies are presented to show the performance of MD-DCC in terms of application reliability and fairness. Our results show that, for various application requirements in a synthetic highway scenario and for various vehicular densities, MD-DCC outperforms other approaches that adapt only message-rate or data-rate. We conclude that MD-DCC takes the best of both message-rate and data-rate algorithms, resulting in superior application reliability as well as a dramatic increase in the maximum supported vehicular density.
Personalized Normative Feedback and the Moderating Role of Personal Norms

This article examines the role of social norms messages in promoting water conservation. A field experiment is reported in which residents were provided with personalized feedback about their water consumption, coupled with normative information about similar households in their neighborhood. Normative information was provided either through a web-based interface or through postal mail, and survey data were collected from residents prior to treatment. Results showed that residents who received normative information consumed less water than a randomized control group. Additional analyses showed that web-based distribution was less effective than postal mail. Finally, moderated regression analyses showed that residents with strong personal norms about reduced water consumption were less affected by the normative messages than were residents with low personal norms. Implications are discussed for both theory and practice.
Vertical object layout and compression for fixed heaps

Research into embedded sensor networks has placed increased focus on the problem of developing reliable and flexible software for microcontroller-class devices. Languages such as nesC [8] and Virgil [14] have brought higher-level programming idioms to this lowest layer of software, thereby adding expressiveness. Both languages are marked by the absence of dynamic memory allocation, which removes the need for a runtime system to manage memory. To provide data structures, nesC offers modules, and Virgil offers the application an opportunity to allocate and initialize objects during compilation. This paper explores techniques for compressing fixed object heaps with the goal of reducing the RAM footprint of a program. We explore table-based compression and introduce a novel form of object layout called vertical object layout. We provide experimental results that measure the impact on RAM size, code size, and execution time for a set of Virgil programs. Our results show that compressed vertical layout has better execution time and code size than table-based compression while achieving more than 20% heap reduction on 6 of 12 benchmark programs.
Students' Quality of Experience and Perceptions of Intolerance and Bias in the Women's and Gender Studies Classroom

Student evaluations of the quality of their women's and gender studies (WGS) experience and predictors of experience quality were studied in a sample of 326 students from 23 WGS classes. Higher initial appreciation/acceptance of diversity, capacity for interpersonal relationships, and class expectations predicted more positive experience ratings. These relationships were mediated by students' alliance with their teacher and cohesion with classmates. A small proportion of students (11.6%), spread across 14 classes, did not rate their experience positively. Perceptions of teacher and classmate intolerance and bias were assessed in this subset of students. Average ratings of intolerance were slightly positive for teachers and neutral for classmates. Implications of the findings for understanding students' WGS experiences are discussed.
Existence and multiplicity of solutions to equations of N-Laplacian type with critical exponential growth in RN

In this paper, we deal with the existence of solutions to the nonuniformly elliptic equation of the form −div(a(x,∇u)) + V (x)|u|N−2u = f (x,u) |x|β + εh(x) (0.1) in RN when f : RN ×R → R behaves like exp(α|u|N/(N−1)) when |u| → ∞ and satisfies the Ambrosetti– Rabinowitz condition. In particular, in the case of N -Laplacian, i.e., a(x,∇u) = |∇u|N−2∇u, we obtain multiplicity of weak solutions of (0.1). Moreover, we can get the nontriviality of the solution in this case when ε = 0. Finally, we show that the main results remain true if one replaces the Ambrosetti–Rabinowitz condition on the nonlinearity by weaker assumptions and thus we establish the existence and multiplicity results for a wider class of nonlinearity, see Section 7 for more details. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Ammonia Uptake and Release in the MnX2–NH3 (X = Cl, Br) Systems and Structure of the Mn(NH3)nX2 (n = 6, 2) Ammines

Hexa-ammine complexes, Mn(NH3)6X2 (X = Cl, Br), have been synthesized by ammoniation of the corresponding transition metal halide and characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The hexa-ammine complexes are isostructural (Cubic, Fm-3m, Z = 4; a = 10.2742(6) A and 10.527(1) A for X = Cl, Br respectively). Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) demonstrated that ammonia release from Mn(NH3)6X2 complexes occurred in three stages corresponding to the release of 4, 1 and 1 NH3 equivalents respectively. The chloride and bromide both exhibit a deammoniation onset temperature below 323 K. The di-ammoniates from the first desorption step were isolated during TPD measurements and their crystal structures determined by Rietveld refinement against PXRD data (X = Cl: orthorhombic Cmmm, a = 8.1991(9) A, b = 8.2498(7) A, c = 3.8212(4) A, Z = 2; X = Br: orthorhombic Pbam, a = 6.0109(5) A, b = 12.022(1) A, c = 4.0230(2) A, Z = 2).
Coverage and Connectivity in Duty-Cycled Wireless Sensor Networks for Event Monitoring

In duty-cycled wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for stochastic event monitoring, existing efforts are mainly concentrated on energy-efficient scheduling of sensor nodes to guarantee the coverage performance, ignoring another crucial issue of connectivity. The connectivity problem is extremely challenging in the duty-cycled WSNs due to the fact that the link connections between nodes are transient thus unstable. In this paper, we propose a new kind of network, partitioned synchronous network, to jointly address the coverage and connectivity problem. We analyze the coverage and connectivity performances of partitioned synchronous network and compare them with those of existing asynchronous network. We perform extensive simulations to demonstrate that the proposed partitioned synchronous network has a better connectivity performance than that of asynchronous network, while coverage performances of two types of networks are close.
Tinkering towards Utopia: trying to make sense of my contribution to the field

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of what the author believes to be his major contributions to the field of Educational Administration.Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is a personal review and reflection based on research. For purposes of structuring the article three themes have been selected – complexity, development, and being close to and providing an empirical base for policy and practice. In addition, three areas are discussed that the author regrets having not taken further – the relationship between a school and its system from the school's perspective, the role of quality evidence, particularly the provision of valid and reliable surveys for use by practitioners, and public attitudes to education, including re‐examining the purposes of schools and their enactment.Findings – The studies reviewed stress the importance of the interrelationship between the individual, organisational and contextual in effective teaching of educational administration, organis.