Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ROBUST STRING MATCHING IN O( √ N +M) QUANTUM QUERIES

Finding a match (or nearest match) of an M item pattern against an N item text is a common computing task, useful in string matching and image matching. The best classical (i.e., non-quantum) string matching algorithms, which are Θ(N +M) time and query complexity, are improved in many cases in this paper using Grover’s quantum searching algorithm. Specifically, given quantum oracles that return the j symbol in the text or pattern in constant time, we demonstrate a quantum string matching algorithm which returns a pattern match if it exists with query complexity O( √ N + M) and time complexity O( √ N log N + M log(MN) ). Variations of this algorithm allow wildcard matches, can return the number of matches, can return the nearest match in case of no exact matches, as well as the first or last such match, and can return all matches or near matches, each with a slight change in complexity. Our complexity is also better than the best quantum string matching algorithms for many cases.
Impact of point-of-care testing in the emergency department evaluation and treatment of patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes.

OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of point-of-care testing (POCT) for troponin I (cTnI) measurement on the time to anti-ischemic therapy (TAIT) for patients with suspected non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) presenting to the emergency department (ED). METHODS This was an open-label, randomized, single-center trial conducted in a university-affiliated hospital. cTnI measurement of patients with suspicion of NSTE-ACS coming to the ED was randomly allocated to POCT or central hospital laboratory testing (CHLT). The authors compared patients' baseline characteristics, time to anti-ischemic therapy, and medical outcomes between the randomized groups, in all study participants and in high-risk NSTE-ACS (cTnI level >or= 0.10 microg/mL), and in those with low suspicion ACS (no chest pain and no ST deviation). RESULTS Of the 860 patients enrolled, 113 were high-risk NSTE-ACS patients, including 53 (46.9%) allocated to POCT and 60 (53.1%) to CHLT. POCT was associated with decreased time to anti-ischemic therapy of about three-quarters of an hour, which was due to a shorter time to physician notification of cTnI level, in both all and subgroup participants. In contrast, neither ED length of stay nor medical outcomes differed between study groups. CONCLUSIONS Point-of-care testing for cTnI measurement might be clinically relevant for ED patients with a suspicion of NSTE-ACS, particularly for high-risk patients with a low suspicion of ACS.
Effect of mindfulness meditation on short-term weight loss and eating behaviors in overweight and obese adults: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background There is a significant health crisis with rates of obesity continuing to increase despite research and clinical standard behavioral weight loss programs (SBWP). Mindfulness meditation (MM), with demonstrated benefits on physical, psychological health, and self-regulation behaviors was explored with SBWP. Methods Forty-six adults (BMI=32.5±3.7 kg/m2; age=45.2±8.2 years, 87 % female, 21.7 % African American) were randomly assigned to a 6-month SBWP only (n=24) or SBWP+MM (n=22) at a university-based physical activity and weight management research center in a northeastern US city. Participants were instructed to decrease intake (1200–1500 kcal/day), increase physical activity (300 min/wk), and attend weekly SBWP or SBWP+MM sessions. SBWP+MM had the same SBWP lessons with addition of focused MM training. Outcome measures collected at 0, 3, and 6 months included: weight, Block Food Frequency Questionnaire, Eating Behavior Inventory, Eating Inventory and Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using linear mixed modeling for efficacy analysis of weight (primary) and eating, exercise and mindfulness (secondary outcomes). Results Retention rate was 76.1 % (n=35). A significant group by time interaction (p=0.03) was found for weight, with weight loss favoring SBWP+MM (−6.9 kg+2.9) over SBWP (−4.1 kg+2.8). Eating behaviors (p=0.02) and dietary restraint (p=0.02) improved significantly in SBWP+MM, compared to SBWP. MM enhanced weight loss by 2.8 kg potentially through greater improvements in eating behaviors and dietary restraint. Conclusions These findings support further study into the use of MM strategies with overweight and obese adults. The use of this low-cost, portable strategy with standard behavioral interventions could improve weight management outcomes.
Security Risk Analysis and Management in Banking Sector: A Case Study of a Selected Commercial Bank in Nigeria

In this paper research was carried out in order to evaluate the security risk analysis and management in banking company through the use of a questionnaire to determine the level of risk that customer of the financial institution is likely to encounter. It was discovered that though the majority of financial institution users are familiar with the possible risk associated with some banking transaction, some aspect still exists that financial institution users are not familiar with which serves as a vulnerable point that could be exploited. The study makes a recommendation for proper enlightenment of financial institution users so as to stay abreast with possible security challenge associated with some banking transaction processes to be able to mitigate possible exploit.
Electric field analysis of water drop corona

Water drops on surface of polymer insulation materials may cause corona because they can enhance the electric field nearby. Water drop corona plays an important negative role in the long-term performance of composite insulators. In this paper, based on a model with two parallel electrodes water drop corona is studied. The relationship between initial corona voltage and different sets of water drops is obtained from experiments. Then several factors, which may affect the electric field analysis of water drop corona, are studied by numerical calculation on computer. Calculation is mainly on a 2-D model. However, a 3-D model is also used to study the effect of water drops distributed in space.
Image descriptor: A genetic programming approach to multiclass texture classification

Texture classification is an essential task in computer vision that aims at grouping instances that have a similar repetitive pattern into one group. Detecting texture primitives can be used to discriminate between materials of different types. The process of detecting prominent features from the texture instances represents a cornerstone step in texture classification. Moreover, building a good model using a few training instances is difficult. In this study, a genetic programming (GP) descriptor is proposed for the task of multiclass texture classification. The proposed method synthesises a set of mathematical formulas relying on the raw pixel values and a sliding window of a predetermined size. Furthermore, only two instances per class are used to automatically evolve a descriptor that has the potential to effectively discriminate between instances of different textures using a simple instance-based classifier to perform the classification task. The performance of the proposed approach is examined using two widely-used data sets, and compared with two GP-based and nine well-known non-GP methods. Furthermore, three hand-crafted domain-expert designed feature extraction methods have been used with the non-GP methods to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method has significantly outperformed all these other methods on both data sets, and the new method evolves a descriptor that is capable of achieving significantly better performance compared to hand-crafted features.
On the Impact of User Movement Simulations in the Evaluation of LBS Privacy- Preserving Techniques

The evaluation of privacy-preserving techniques for LBS is often based on simulations of mostly random user movements that only partially capture real deployment scenarios. We claim that benchmarks tailored to specific scenarios are needed, and we report preliminary results on how they may be generated through an agent-based contextaware simulator. We consider privacy preserving algorithms based on spatial cloaking and compare the experimental results obtained on two benchmarks: the first based on mostly random movements, and the second obtained from the context-aware simulator. The specific deployment scenario is the provisioning of a friend-finder-like service on weekend nights in a big city. Our results show that, compared to the contextaware simulator, the random user movement simulator leads to significantly different results for a spatial-cloaking algorithm, under-protecting in some cases, and over-protecting in others.
Climatology of different aerosol types

Aerosol climatology: on the discrimination of aerosol types over four AERONET sites D. G. Kaskaoutis, H. D. Kambezidis, N. Hatzianastassiou, P. G. Kosmopoulos, and K. V. S. Badarinath Atmospheric Research Team, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Lofos Nymphon, P.O. Box 20048, 11810, Athens, Greece University of Ioannina, Department of Physics, Laboratory of Meteorology, 45110 Ioannina, Greece University of Athens, Department of Geology, University campus 15784, Athens Greece Forestry & Ecology Division,National Remote Sensing Agency (Dept. of Space-Govt. of India) Balanagar, Hyderabad-500 037, India
Asymmetry and Reverse Transfers in Metaphor

Metaphor involves the use of a source domain (vehicle domain) to affect a target domain (tenor domain) in some way. For instance, the source domain may be used to generate hypotheses about the target domain or to highlight parts of the target domain. Typically these effects can be cast as the transfer of pieces of information or other items from the source domain to the target domain. Such transfer is extensively addressed in the literature. However, transfer in the reverse direction is rarely discussed in any detail, and then only for limited purposes. This article argues that “reverse” transfer from target to source is of much more widespread, fundamental importance than seems to have been realized. One of the conclusions is that it is often more effective, during discourse understanding, to translate information from literal sentences into prevailing metaphorical terms than to translate the information from metaphorical sentences into literal terms. The issues have been obscured by failure to distinguish between different notions of direction in metaphor: intuitive directions of static source/target mappings; directions of individual transfers; and direction of main intended transfer. In particular, clarifying these different notions of direction throws new light on what the asymmetry of metaphor amounts to. The article also briefly explains the support for target-to-source transfer in an AI program for metaphorical reasoning called ATT-Meta, implemented in an AI project. However, the issues discussed are relevant to all disciplines concerned with metaphor.
Caldicellulosiruptor bescii regulates pilus expression in response to the polysaccharide, xylan

Biological hydrolysis of cellulose above 70°C involves microorganisms that secrete free enzymes, and deploy separate protein systems to adhere to their substrate. Strongly cellulolytic Caldicellulosiruptor bescii is one such extreme thermophile, which deploys modular, multi-functional carbohydrate acting enzymes to deconstruct plant biomass. Additionally, C. bescii also encodes for non-catalytic carbohydrate binding proteins, which likely evolved as a mechanism to compete against other heterotrophs in carbon limited biotopes that these bacteria inhabit. Analysis of the Caldicellulosiruptor pangenome identified a type IV pilus (T4P) locus encoded upstream of the tāpirins, that is encoded for by all Caldicellulosiruptor species. In this study, we sought to determine if the C. bescii T4P plays a role in attachment to plant polysaccharides. The major C. bescii pilin (CbPilA) was identified by the presence of pilin-like protein domains, paired with transcriptomics and proteomics data. Using immuno-dot blots, we determined that the plant polysaccharide, xylan, induced production of CbPilA 10 to 14-fold higher than glucomannan or xylose. Furthermore, we are able to demonstrate that recombinant CbPilA directly interacts with xylan, and cellulose at elevated temperatures. Localization of CbPilA at the cell surface was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Lastly, a direct role for CbPilA in cell adhesion was demonstrated using recombinant CbPilA or anti-CbPilA antibodies to reduce C. bescii cell adhesion to xylan and crystalline cellulose up to 4.5 and 2-fold, respectively. Based on these observations, we propose that CbPilA and by extension, the T4P, plays a role in Caldicellulosiruptor cell attachment to plant biomass. IMPORTANCE Most microorganisms are capable of attaching to surfaces in part to persist in their environment. Here, we describe that the thermophilic, plant degrading bacterium, Caldicellulosiruptor bescii, uses type IV pili to attach to carbohydrates found in plant biomass. This ability is likely key to survival in environments where carbon sources are limiting, allowing C. bescii to compete against other plant degrading microorganisms. Interestingly, the carbohydrate that induced the highest expression of pilin protein was xylan, a hemicellulose that is not the majority polysaccharide in plant biomass. Not only do we demonstrate a direct interaction of the pilin with the polysaccharides, but also that cell attachment to polysaccharides can be disrupted by the addition of recombinant pilin and notably by antibody neutralization of the native pilin. This mechanism mirrors those recently described in pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria, and further supports the ancient origins of type IV pilus systems.
SUPERRESOLUTION IMAGING FOR FORWARD-LOOKING SCANNING RADAR WITH GENERALIZED GAUSSIAN CONSTRAINT

A maximum a posteriori (MAP) approach, based on the Bayesian criterion, is proposed to overcome the low cross-range resolution problem in forward-looking imaging. We adapt scanning radar system to record received data and exploit deconvolution method to enhance the real-aperture resolution because the received echo is the convolution of target scattering coefficient and antenna pattern. The Generalized Gaussian distribution is considered as the prior information of target scattering coefficient in MAP approach for the reason that it could express different target scattering coefficient properties with the control of statistic parameter. This constraint term makes the proposed algorithm useful in different applications. On the other hand, the reconstruction problem can also be viewed as the lp-norm (0 <p ≤ 2) regularization. Simulation results show the robustness of the proposed algorithm against additive noise compared with other superresolution methods.
Generation of High-Purity Laguerre–Gaussian Beams by Spatial Filtering

We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that high-purity Laguerre–Gaussian beams can be efficiently obtained from Gaussian vortex beams using a typical 4F spatial filtering optical system, in which spatial filtering does not affect the spiral phase and the energy loss is very small. In the Fourier frequency domain, aperture filtering specifically removes the high-frequency component corresponding to the central singularity region. In the spatial domain, aperture filtering corresponds to a convolution, which can smooth the central singularity region. This approach is simple and effective and has practical implementations in the generation and amplification of relativistic vortex beams.
p31comet-Induced Cell Death Is Mediated by Binding and Inactivation of Mad2

Mad2, a key component of the spindle checkpoint, is closely associated with chromosomal instability and poor prognosis in cancer. p31comet is a Mad2-interacting protein that serves as a spindle checkpoint silencer at mitosis. In this study, we showed that p31comet-induced apoptosis and senescence occur via counteraction of Mad2 activity. Upon retroviral transduction of p31comet, the majority of human cancer cell lines tested lost the ability to form colonies in a low-density seeding assay. Cancer cells with p31comet overexpression underwent distinct apoptosis and/or senescence, irrespective of p53 status, confirming the cytotoxicity of p31comet. Interestingly, both cytotoxic and Mad2 binding activities were eliminated upon deletion of the C-terminal 30 amino acids of p31comet. Point mutation or deletion of the region affecting Mad2 binding additionally abolished cytotoxic activity. Consistently, wild-type Mad2 interacting with p31comet, but not its non-binding mutant, inhibited cell death, indicating that the mechanism of p31comet-induced cell death involves Mad2 inactivation. Our results clearly suggest that the regions of p31comet affecting interactions with Mad2, including the C-terminus, are essential for induction of cell death. The finding that p31comet-induced cell death is mediated by interactions with Mad2 that lead to its inactivation is potentially applicable in anticancer therapy.
Removal of adherent noises from images of dynamic scenes by using a pan-tilt camera

In this paper, we propose a new method that can remove view-disturbing noises from images of dynamic scenes. One of the thorny problems in outdoor surveillance by a camera is that adherent noises such as waterdrops or mud blobs on the protecting glass surface lens disturb the view from the camera. Therefore, we propose a method for removing adherent noises from images of dynamic scenes taken by changing the direction of a pan-tilt camera, which is often used for surveillance. Our method is based on the comparison of two images, a reference image and a second image taken by a different camera angle. The latter image is transformed by a projective transformation and subtracted from the reference image to extract the regions of adherent noises and moving objects. The regions of adherent noises in the reference image are identified by examining the shapes and distances of regions existing in the subtracted image. Finally, regions of adherent noises can be eliminated by merging two images. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Electrochemical detection of commercial silver nanoparticles: identification, sizing and detection in environmental media

The electrochemistry of silver nanoparticles contained in a consumer product has been studied. The redox properties of silver particles in a commercially available disinfectant cleaning spray were investigated via cyclic voltammetry before particle-impact voltammetry was used to detect single particles in both a typical aqueous electrolyte and authentic seawater media. We show that particle-impact voltammetry is a promising method for the detection of nanoparticles that have leached into the environment from consumer products, which is an important development for the determination of risks associated with the incorporation of nanotechnology into everyday products.
Severe sepsis: Low expression of the renin-angiotensin system is associated with poor prognosis

Severe sepsis has a high fatality rate, but no clinical indices for prognosis have been established. In recent years, the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has received considerable attention. However, clinical data on RAS are inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the significance of RAS in the prognosis of sepsis. Blood samples were collected from patients, who met the diagnostic criteria of severe sepsis, on day 1 (D1) and 3 (D3). For each sample, the levels of angiotensin II (AngII), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and additional indices were measured. Patients were monitored for 28 days. On the D1 of inclusion, the average Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score was 22.2 and the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 6.1. Logistic regression analysis revealed that mortality-associated variables included the APACHE II score on D1, the SOFA score on D1, high lactic acid levels on D3 and low AngII and ACE levels on D1 and D3. AngII levels (<86.1 ng/ml) on D1 had a sensitivity of 88.2% and specificity of 77.3% for predicting mortality. ACE levels (<39.2 ng/ml) on D1 had a sensitivity of 88.2% and specificity of 72.7% for predicting mortality. These two indices were better than the APACHE II and SOFA scores. Therefore, low expression levels of AngII and ACE are valuable in predicting the mortality of patients with severe sepsis.
Smoking Induces Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer through HDAC-Mediated Downregulation of E-Cadherin

Epidemiological studies have shown that most cases of lung cancers (85%–90%) are directly attributable to tobacco smoking. Although association between cigarette smoking and lung cancer is well documented, surprisingly little is known about the molecular mechanisms of how smoking is involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through epigenetic changes. Here, we show that lung cancer patients with a smoking history have low E-cadherin levels and loss of E-cadherin is a poor prognostic factor in smokers. Moreover, the downregulation of E-cadherin correlates with the number of pack years. In an attempt to determine the role of long-term cigarette smoking on EMT, we observed that treatment of lung cell lines with cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) induces EMT through downregulation of epithelial markers, including E-cadherin and upregulation of mesenchymal markers. CSC decreases E-cadherin expression at the transcriptional level through upregulation of LEF1 and Slug, and knockdown of these two proteins increases E-cadherin expression. Importantly, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays suggest that LEF-1 and Slug binding to E-cadherin promoter is important for CSC-mediated downregulation of E-cadherin. The histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor MS-275 reverses CSC-induced EMT, migration, and invasion through the restoration of E-cadherin expression. These results suggest that recruitment of HDACs by transcriptional repressors LEF-1 and Slug is responsible for E-cadherin suppression and EMT in cigarette smokers and provide a potential drug target toward the treatment of lung cancer. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(11); 2362–72. ©2012 AACR.
Language Model Combination for Community-based Q & A Retrieval

This paper proposes three methods for combining various probabilistic models for retrieving answers from community-based question answering (cQA) archives. We adopt four probabilistic models for these combinations, i.e., (1) the language model measuring similarity between a query and a question stored in the cQA archive, (2) two translation models for measuring the similarity between a query and an answer stored in the cQA archive, and a background language model for smoothing. Then, we developed three parameter estimation methods. Two of them are mixture models of the language models. The remaining model exploits the difference between the models. We apply the proposed methods to a cQA archive and show that they significantly outperform a widely used language model and Okapi BM25. We also show that they achieve a better performance than the recently proposed cQA retrieval method.