Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mining Web Sites Using Unsupervised Adaptive Information Extraction

Adaptive Information Extraction systems (IES) are currently used by some Semantic Web (SW) annotation tools as support to annotation (Handschuh et al., 2002; Vargas-Vera et al., 2002). They are generally based on fully supervised methodologies requiring fairly intense domain-specific annotation. Unfortunately, selecting representative examples may be difficult and annotations can be incorrect and require time. In this paper we present a methodology that drastically reduce (or even remove) the amount of manual annotation required when annotating consistent sets of pages. A very limited number of user-defined examples are used to bootstrap learning. Simple, high precision (and possibly high recall) IE patterns are induced using such examples, these patterns will then discover more examples which will in turn discover more patterns, etc. The key feature that enables such bootstrapping is the Redundancy on the Web. Redundancy is given by the presence of multiple citations of the same facts in different superficial formats and is currently used for several tasks such as improving question answering systems (Dumais et al., 2002) and performing information extraction using machine learning (Mitchell, 2001). When known information is presented in different sources, it is possible to use its multiple occurrences to bootstrap recognisers that when generalised will retrieve other pieces of information, producing in turn more (generic) recognisers. In our model redundancy of information is increased by using preexisting services (e.g. search engines, digital libraries). This improves the effectiveness of bootstrapping. Another typical feature of Web pages that we exploit for learning is document formatting: HTML and XML pages often contain formatting directives (tables, lists, etc.) that group identical or related information. Identifying such formatted areas and their content can be very useful. For example, a structure listing some known names can be used to discover other names if it is possible to generalise over the regularity of the list. In the rest of the paper we will present the details of our methodology as implemented in the Armadillo System, using an application of IE from Computer Science Web sites as a matter of exemplification.
Using latent semantic indexing to filter spam

Past research has explored the effectiveness of a Naïve Bayesian classifier when filtering unsolicited bulk email (spam). Results have shown that the degree of precision of this approach is generally superior to the degree of recall. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a classifier incorporating Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to filter spam email on corpus used in previous studies. Results show that email classifiers using LSI to filter spam enjoy a very high degree of both recall and precision, no matter if the corpus is treated using a stop list or a lemmatizer. While using LSI leads to precision roughly equal to that of using a Naïve Bayesian approach, the LSI technique has a substantially higher recall and is more effective under certain conditions.Results show that incorporating LSI into an anti-spam filter is viable, particularly in implementations when misclassified legitimate messages are not arbitrarily deleted. Other inferences are drawn to the applicability of this method to other text mining tasks.
Routing-Based Global Network Communication Quality Representation for Event-driven Wireless Sensor Network

Aimed at the features of event-driven wireless sensor network, a representation of the entire network communication quality named as “Routing-based global network Communication Quality Representation (RCQR)” is introduced and evaluated. In our simulation and test-bed experiments, there is subtle difference between LQG constructed by RCQR and the packet reception rate of the entire network. Moreover, the difference is not sensitive to changes in the network scale and testing last time. Experiments using two kind of routing algorithm show that RCQR is feasible to different routing.
CREATINE KINASE ISOFORMS IN THE SEMINAL PLASMA AND THE PURIFIED HUMAN SPERM

In previous conventional reports sperm and seminal plasma were not well separated and therefore it was highly probable that isoform (CK-BB) of seminal plasma was determined together with that of sperm. The authors developed a method to purify sperm specimen free from seminal plasma. Human sperm was purified by means of the continuous-step density gradient centrifugation with an inner column and the subsequent modified swim-up procedure. CK isoforms in the purified sperm and the seminal plasma were analyzed by ion exchange chromatography and electrophoresis. The purified sperm contained mitochondrial CK-MiMi as well as cytosolic CK, of which isoform was almost occupied by CK-MM but CK-BB was not detected. On the other hand, CK isoform in the seminal plasma was detected as CK-BB alone. CK activity in human sperm and seminal plasma were 2.0 +/- 0.7 x 10(-6) IU/10(6) sperm and 661 +/- 360 IU/L, respectively. CK activity in the seminal plasma gave no correlation with the semen parameters.
The Interactive Effects of Race and Teacher Self Efficacy on the Achievement Gap in School, 12(11)

This article investigated the interactive effects of race and teacher self efficacy on the achievement gap in math scores for one middle school. A modified teacher self efficacy scale was used to measure the teaching self efficacy of the students’ teachers. Two Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) procedures showed a main effect for the teacher self efficacy on the students’ scores on each benchmark test. Statistically significant interactive effects were found for student ethnicity and teacher self efficacy. The findings showed that students with highly efficacious teachers earned higher test scores than did students with teachers of a low self efficacy. These findings have serious implications for addressing self efficacy’s role in bridging the achievement gap in schools.
GENE FLOW IN HOUSE MICE: INTRODUCTION OF A NEW ALLELE INTO FREE‐LIVING POPULATIONS

It is a widespread view that house mice, Mus musculus, live in behaviorally isolated tribes or demes often simply referred to as social groups. However, several problems with the basis for this view may be identified: (1) no trapping system can show that mice restrict their breeding to a particular tribe; (2) low vagility is not equivalent to an exclusive home range: an occasional copulation between groups is very hard to disprove; and (3) sampling by removal disrupts existing social groups by selectively removing dominant mice which causes immigration into the area where removal occurred (Adamczyk and Walkowa, 197 1; Baker, 1980, provides extensive references that are omitted throughout this report). Studies of the genetic and population structure in house mice that are reported here grew out of the need to resolve a paradox. Whereas the observed segregation ratio of the lethal alleles (tlu) at the T locus predicted high frequencies of tl' in natural populations, field data revealed low frequencies (Bruck, 1957; Bennett, 1975). This difference between observed and expected gene frequencies was explained by assuming that house mice lived in semiisolated, small, tribal groups, in which genetic drift would play a major role in determining gene frequencies bringing the expected gene frequencies into concordance with observations (Lewontin and Dunn, 1960). Levin et al. (1969) simulated
In-field and in-laboratory 50 km ultralong Erbium fiber laser

We present a comparison between an in-field and an in-laboratory 50 km ultralong Erbium-doped fiber lasers operating in active mode-locking regime. The results show better performance of the in-laboratory laser with pulses from 36.1 to 97.3 ps with repetition rate from 1 to 10 GHz.
Adolescent heavy episodic drinking trajectories and health in young adulthood.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the association of trajectories of heavy episodic drinking (at least five alcoholic drinks on one occasion) during adolescence with health status and practices at age 24. METHOD Semiparametric group-based modeling and logistic regressions were used to analyze data from a longitudinal panel of 808 youths interviewed between 10 and 24 years of age. RESULTS Four distinct trajectories of adolescent heavy episodic drinking were identified: nonheavy drinkers, late onsetters, escalators and chronic heavy drinkers. Overall, young adults who did not engage in heavy episodic drinking during adolescence had the lowest occurrence of health problems and were most likely to engage in safe health behaviors at age 24. Chronic and late-onset heavy episodic drinking during adolescence had negative effects on health status and practices at age 24. Adolescent chronic heavy drinkers were more likely to be overweight or obese and to have high blood pressure at age 24 than those who did not drink heavily in adolescence. Late-onset heavy drinkers were less likely to engage in safe driving practices at age 24 and were more likely to have been ill in the past year than adolescents who did not drink heavily. These health disparities remained even after current frequency of heavy episodic drinking at age 24, other adolescent drug use, ethnicity, gender and family poverty were controlled. CONCLUSIONS Heavy episodic alcohol use during adolescence has long-term, negative health consequences. Distinct patterns of adolescent heavy drinking affect health status and practices in young adulthood differently.
Literacy Development Among Language Minority Background and Dyslexic Children in Finnish Orthography Context

This study examines the development of reading and writing from first to second grade in transparent orthography (Finnish) among three groups: language minority children (n = 49), Finnish children at risk of reading difficulties (n = 347), and Finnish speaking children (n = 1747). Findings indicated that reading and writing skills in the language minority group and the Finnish classmates’ group developed at the same level by the end of second grade, but the development of children at risk of reading difficulties was slower across time. This finding indicates that the transparency of written language has an effect on success in literacy development with language minority children.
Four-lepton LHC events from MSSM Higgs boson decays into neutralino and chargino pairs

Heavy neutral Higgs boson production and decay into neutralino and chargino pairs is studied at the Large Hadron Collider in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. Higgs boson decays into the heavier neutralino and chargino states, i.e., H0,A0? X20,X30,X20,X40,X30,X30,X30,X40,X40X40 as well as H0,A0? 1±X2,X2+X2? (all leading to four-lepton plus missing transverse energy final states), is found to improve the possibilities of discovering such Higgs states beyond those previously identified by considering H0,A0? X20X20 decays only. In particular, H0,A0 bosons with quite heavy masses, approaching ~ 800 GeV in the so-called `decoupling region' where no clear SM signatures for the heavier MSSM Higgs bosons are known to exist, can now be discerned, for suitable but not particularly restrictive configurations of the low energy supersymmetric parameters. The high MA discovery reach for the H0 and A0 may thus be greatly extended. Full event-generator level simulations, including realistic detector effects and analyses of all significant backgrounds, are performed to delineate the potential H0,A0 discovery regions. The wedgebox plot technique is also utilized to further analyze the 4? plus missing transverse energy signal and background events. This study marks the first thorough and reasonably complete analysis of this important class of MSSM Higgs boson signature modes. In fact, this is the first time discovery regions including all possible neutralino and chargino decay modes of the Higgs bosons have ever been mapped out.
Gender, Time Use and Models of the Household

The aim of this paper is to explain why time use data are essential for analyzing issues of gender equity and the intra-household allocation of resources, comparing living standards, and estimating the behavioral effects of changes in policy variables. The first step in the exposition is to show that the neglect of these data in much of the literature on household behavior, in both developed and developing economies, can be traced to unrealistic assumptions on domestic production and the mistaken idea that non-market time can be viewed as leisure. It is argued that an approach is required that makes explicit the need for data on the time family members spend on domestic work as well as on labor supply. An approach of this kind is outlined and used to identify the specialized assumptions that are employed when they are missing. The paper also discusses the limitations of available time use survey datasets that are due to deficiencies in survey design. The more serious and common problems are illustrated using as case studies the Statistics South Africa 2000 Time Use Survey and the time use module included in the Nicaraguan 1998 Living Standards Measurements Survey.
Limitations of MTT and MTS-Based Assays for Measurement of Antiproliferative Activity of Green Tea Polyphenols

Background The chemopreventive effect of green tea polyphenols, such as (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has been well demonstrated in cell culture studies. However, a wide range of IC50 concentrations has been observed in published studies of the anti-proliferative activity of EGCG from different laboratories. Although the susceptibility to EGCG treatment is largely dependent on cancer cell type, the particular cell viability and proliferation assays utilized may significantly influence quantitative results reported in the literature. Methodology/Principal Findings We compared five widely used methods to measure cell proliferation and viability after EGCG treatment using LNCaP prostate cancer cells and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Both methods using dyes to quantify adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and deoxynucleic acid (DNA) showed accuracy in the measurement of viable cells when compared to trypan blue assay and results showed good linear correlation (r = 0.95). However, the use of MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) as indicators of metabolically active mitochondria overestimated the number of viable cells by comparison with the ATP, DNA, or trypan blue determinations. As a result, the observed IC50 concentration of EGCG was 2-fold higher using MTT and MTS compared to dyes quantifying ATP and DNA. In contrast, when cells were treated with apigenin MTT and MTS assays showed consistent results with ATP, DNA, or trypan blue assays. Conclusions/Significance These results demonstrate that MTT and MTS -based assays will provide an underestimation of the anti-proliferative effect of EGCG, and suggest the importance of careful evaluation of the method for in vitro assessment of cell viability and proliferation depending on the chemical nature of botanical supplements.
A mixed-signal approach to high-performance low-power linear filters

We present a new approach to the design of high-performance low-power linear filters. We use p-channel synapse transistors as analog memory cells, and mixed-signal circuits for fast low-power arithmetic. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we have built a 16-tap 7-b 200-MHz mixed-signal finite-impulse response (FIR) filter that consumes 3 mW at 3.3 V. The filter uses synapse pFETs to store the analog tap coefficients, electron tunneling and hot-electron injection to modify the coefficient values, digital registers for the delay line, and multiplying digital-to-analog converters to multiply the digital delay-line values with the analog tap coefficients. The measured maximum clock speed is 225 MHz; the measured tap-multiplier resolution is 7 b at 200 MHz. The total die area is 0.13 mm/sup 2/. We can readily scale our design to longer delay lines.
The TNF-Like Protein 1A–Death Receptor 3 Pathway Promotes Macrophage Foam Cell Formation In Vitro

TNF-like protein 1A (TL1A), a TNF superfamily cytokine that binds to death receptor 3 (DR3), is highly expressed in macrophage foam cell-rich regions of atherosclerotic plaques, although its role in foam cell formation has yet to be elucidated. We investigated whether TL1A can directly stimulate macrophage foam cell formation in both THP-1 and primary human monocyte-derived macrophages with the underlying mechanisms involved. We demonstrated that TL1A promotes foam cell formation in human macrophages in vitro by increasing both acetylated and oxidized low-density lipoprotein uptake, by enhancing intracellular total and esterified cholesterol levels and reducing cholesterol efflux. This imbalance in cholesterol homeostasis is orchestrated by TL1A-mediated changes in the mRNA and protein expression of several genes implicated in the uptake and efflux of cholesterol, such as scavenger receptor A and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1. Furthermore, through the use of virally delivered DR3 short-hairpin RNA and bone marrow-derived macrophages from DR3 knockout mice, we demonstrate that DR3 can regulate foam cell formation and contributes significantly to the action of TL1A in this process in vitro. We show, for the first time, a novel proatherogenic role for both TL1A and DR3 that implicates this pathway as a target for the therapeutic intervention of atherosclerosis.
Optimized isolation enables ex vivo analysis of microglia from various central nervous system regions

Ex vivo analysis is an accurate and convenient way to study in vivo microglia phenotype and function. However, current microglia isolation protocols for ex vivo analysis show many differences in isolation steps (perfusion, removal of meninges and blood vessels, mechanical dissociation, enzymatic dissociation, density separation, immunomagnetic separation, and fluorescence‐activated cell sorting), often without addressing their effects on microglia purity, number, phenotype, and function. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide an optimized isolation protocol with emphasis on microglia purity and number to enable ex vivo analysis of adult mouse microglia. The application of this protocol for ex vivo phenotype and functional analysis is corroborated by results from flow cytometry, gene expression analysis, chemotaxis, and phagocytosis assays. In addition, this study shows the possibility to analyze microglia isolated from various central nervous system regions such as optic nerve, striatum, hippocampus, spinal cord, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. Furthermore, this is the first study presenting DRAQ5 as a superior alternative to propidium iodide for the discrimination between living and dead cells. DRAQ5 staining facilitated the identification of microglia upon flow cytometry without the need of additional fluorescent markers. Along with a favorable emission spectrum, DRAQ5 proved a valuable tool for flow cytometry of microglia. The presented optimized microglia isolation protocol for ex vivo analysis offers the opportunity to obtain more insight into both general and region‐specific microglia behavior. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidence of natural hybridization and introgression between Vasconcellea species (Caricaceae) from southern Ecuador revealed by chloroplast, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Vasconcellea x heilbornii is believed to be of natural hybrid origin between V. cundinamarcensis and V. stipulata, and is often difficult to discriminate from V. stipulata on morphological grounds. The aim of this paper is to examine individuals of these three taxa and of individuals from the closely related species V. parviflora and V. weberbaueri, which all inhabit a hybrid zone in southern Ecuador. METHODS Molecular data from mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear DNA from 61 individuals were analysed. KEY RESULTS Molecular analysis confirmed occasional contemporary hybridization between V. stipulata, V. cundinamarcensis and V. x heilbornii and suggested the possible involvement of V. weberbaueri in the origin of V. x heilbornii. In addition, the molecular data indicated unidirectional introgression of the V. cundinamarcensis nuclear genome into that of V. stipulata. Several of the individuals examined with morphology similar to that of V. stipulata had genetic traces of hybridization with V. cundinamarcensis, which only seems to act as pollen donor in interspecific hybridization events. Molecular analyses also strongly suggested that most of the V. x heilbornii individuals are not F(1) hybrids but instead are progeny of repeated backcrosses with V. stipulata. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study point to the need for re-evaluation of natural populations of V. stipulata and V. x heilbornii. In general, this analysis demonstrates the complex patterns of genetic and morphological diversity found in natural plant hybrid zones.
Protein identification using 20-minute Edman cycles and sequence mixture analysis.

We have developed a 20-min Edman cycle and a multiple sample horizontal flow reactor for the sequence analysis of PVDF-electroblotted proteins. The 20-min cycle uses a 12-min C18 phenylthiohydantoin separation. This cycle and separation is compatible with most Applied Biosystems sequencers. Using this rapid cycle, 10 residues on six different proteins can be completed within a 24-h period. We also demonstrate the use of an algorithm that can sort mixture sequences derived from PVDF bands that contain coeluting proteins.
Genotype Dependence of Hepatitis C Virus Load Measurement in Commercially Available Quantitative Assays

ABSTRACT Standardization and genotype independence of methods used to quantify hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in clinical specimens are necessary for accurate assessment of the role of HCV quantitation as a prognostic marker for HCV infection and monitoring of the response to antiviral treatment. Commercially available methods used to measure HCV loads include PCR-based (Roche Monitor) and hybridization-based (Quantiplex bDNA-2) methods. Recently, a new version of the Roche Monitor assay (version 2.0) has become available; it has been modified to achieve more equal quantitation of different HCV genotypes. Consistent with previous reports, Roche Monitor version 1.0 substantially underestimated concentrations of RNA transcripts of types 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a and virus loads in individuals infected with genotypes 2 to 6 relative to reference tests. However, version 2.0 achieved equivalent quantitation of each genotype over a narrow quantitative range (103 to 5 × 105 copies of RNA/ml) but significantly underestimated RNA concentrations above this range. The assay showed an equivalent inability to quantify high levels of HCV RNA in plasma samples, and this was responsible for the falsely narrow range of virus loads detected in HCV-infected individuals. In contrast, the Chiron bDNA-2 assay could only measure RNA concentrations in the upper quantitative range (2 × 105 to 5 × 107 copies of RNA/ml) but showed equivalent sensitivity for genotypes 1 to 5; however, concentrations of type 6a RNA transcripts and virus loads in clinical specimens from individuals infected with type 6a were underestimated by a factor of 2 to 4. Differences were observed between PCR- and hybridization-based assays in their relative quantitation of HCV RNA transcripts and HCV genomic RNA, which may cause problems with the use of transcripts for interassay calibration.