Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary placement decisions of a multidisciplinary panel using genetic chromodynamics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to verify whether an evolutionary model outperforms logistic regression in determining the institutional placement decisions made by a London social service department panel. Design/methodology/approach – Genetic chromodynamics models an algorithm within the Michigan evolutionary classifier. Hence multiple classification rules evolve simultaneously. The dataset as described by Xie et al. is used. Two‐thirds of randomly selected cases are for training and one third for testing. Indicator weights are set between 0 and 1. Findings – Of 275 placements, 40 per cent represent residential homes, 48 per cent nursing homes, 12 per cent nursing long‐stay and two hospital long‐stay. In ten runs, 89.18 per cent were correctly placed (range 81.6 to 97.7 per cent); 5.07 per cent wrongly placed (range 1.2 to 8.0 per cent) and 5.75 per cent unplaced (range 0.0 to 11.5 per cent). Changing the 0.99 weights to 0.90 and 0.80 placed 87.6 and 87.9 per cent correctly. Research limitations/implications – Data came from written records. Errors in transcription and placement could not be checked. Other facts, or the weights, may be influencing placement decisions. Practical implications – Xie et al. matched 78 per cent of 195 placements. The evolutionary model outperformed logistic regression both in placements evaluated (275/195) and accuracy (89/78 per cent). Therefore, it could be used as a first line management information tool, revealing whether guidelines are followed. Originality/value – The authors have developed and tested a computational model, which could be used to evaluate institutional placement decisions in the UK “market”. Further development and exploitation would facilitate greater understanding of the needs old people and the resources necessary for their appropriate management.
Topologically correct cortical segmentation using Khalimsky's cubic complex framework

Automatic segmentation of the cerebral cortex from magnetic resonance brain images is a valuable tool for neuroscience research. Due to the presence of noise, intensity non-uniformity, partial volume effects, the limited resolution of MRI and the highly convoluted shape of the cerebral cortex, segmenting the brain in a robust, accurate and topologically correct way still poses a challenge. In this paper we describe a topologically correct Expectation Maximisation based Maximum a Posteriori segmentation algorithm formulated within the Khalimsky cubic complex framework, where both the solution of the EM algorithm and the information derived from a geodesic distance function are used to locally modify the weighting of a Markov Random Field and drive the topology correction operations. Experiments performed on 20 Brainweb datasets show that the proposed method obtains a topologically correct segmentation without significant loss in accuracy when compared to two well established techniques.
EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT INSECTICIDES AGAINST MAIZE STEM BORER , CHILO PARTELLUS SWINHOE ( LEPIDOPTERA ; PYRALIDAE ) AT PESHAWAR AND SWAT VALLEYS OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA , PAKISTAN

To study the relative efficacy of different insecticides as seed dressers, granules and foliar formulations against maize stem borer (MSB) (Chilo partellus) in maize crop, two experiments were conducted at Peshawar and Swat Valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The results of both the field experiments were somewhat similar where seed dressers (Confidor and Actara) were found considerably more effective as compared to granules and foliar sprays. As a whole the insecticides treatments resulted in 50% reduction of MSB infestation as compared to control. Confidor was the most effective among the treatments causing 97.30 % reduction in C. partellus infestation. This was followed by Actara with 88% infestation reduction as compared to control.
An Efficient Local Search for the Feedback Vertex Set Problem

Inspired by many deadlock detection applications, the feedback vertex set is defined as a set of vertices in an undirected graph, whose removal would result in a graph without cycle. The Feedback Vertex Set Problem, known to be NP-complete, is to search for a feedback vertex set with the minimal cardinality to benefit the deadlock recovery. To address the issue, this paper presents NewkLS FVS(LS, local search; FVS, feedback vertex set), a variable depth-based local search algorithm with a randomized scheme to optimize the efficiency and performance. Experimental simulations are conducted to compare the algorithm with recent metaheuristics, and the computational results show that the proposed algorithm can outperform the other state-of-art algorithms and generate satisfactory solutions for most DIMACSbenchmarks.
Cloning and Characterisation of Orthologous Genes Encoding Growth Hormone in Egyptian Holstein Crossbred and Ossimi Sheep

This study aims to investigate the compatibility between growth hormone (GH) cDNA sequence in Egyptian cows and sheep as an introduction to produce bovine GH-Transgenic sheep using sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT) technique to improve their productivity. Our previous in vivo study indicates a significant increase in the concentration of GH mediator (IGF-1) in blood, and daily growth rate, when Egyptian rams were injected with bovine somatotropin. The GH gene of Egyptian Holstein crossbred (EH_GH) and Ossimi sheep breed (Os_GH) has been characterized in this study. The mRNA of pituitary gland has been isolated and then the cDNA was cloned into pTZ57R/T cloning vector. The complete coding domain sequences (CDSs) of EH_GH (AC: KP221576) AND Os_GH (Ac: KP221575) were detected and annotated comprehensively. The sequenced GH genes varied slightly along gene length; EH_GH was 740 bp instead of 690 bp in Os_GH, but with similar gene structure (5 exons and 4 introns). High homology (98%) in GH protein length and structure was observed; the predicted open reading frames (ORF) length was 217 aa and 216 aa of EH_GH and Os_GH, respectively, which included only four different amino acids in the predicted ORFs. A gene synteny was developed of the homologous bovine and ovine GH1 genes Ensemble annotated genome database. The results showed strong conserved structure and function, indicated that to GH gene of Egyptian Holstein crossbred and Ossimi breed are orthologous genes. We assume in this study that the novel genetic information about the bovine and ovine GH in Egyptian breeds can support; further success possibilities of producing the bovine GH-transgenic sheep to improve the growth performance and milk production.
Chunker for Tamil

This paper presents the chunker for Tamil using Machine learning techniques. Chunking is the task of identifying and segmenting the text into syntactically correlated word groups. The chunking is done by the machine learning techniques, where the linguistical knowledge is automatically extracted from the annotated corpus. We have developed our own tagset for annotating the corpus, which is used for training and testing the POS tagger generator and the chunker. The present tagset consists of thirty tags for POS and nine tags for chunking. A corpus size of two hundred and twenty five thousand words was used for training and testing the accuracy of the Chunker. We found that CRF++ affords the most encouraging result for Tamil chunker.
Analysis and Improvement on a Unimodal Haptic PIN-Entry Method

User authentication is a process in which a user of a system proves his/her identity to acquire access permission. An effective user authentication method should be both secure and usable. In an attempt to achieve these two objectives, Bianchi et al. recently proposed novel unimodal PIN-entry methods that use either audio or vibration cues. This paper analyzes the security of their method, in particular, the vibration version of one of their proposals, Timelock. A probabilistic analysis and real attack experiment reveal that the security level guaranteed by Timelock is lower than that claimed in Bianchi et al.’s paper. As countermeasures to this problem, three PIN-entry methods are proposed and a usability study is performed. According to the result of this study, a simple modification may improve the security significantly while retaining the design philosophy of unimodal systems. In addition, the proposed methods address the PIN compatibility issue of Timelock and they can be used to enter a legacy numerical PIN without any change in the PIN.
Frontal Electroencephalographic Asymmetry Associated With Positive Emotion Is Produced by Very Brief Meditation Training

Meditation training changes the brain. Recent reports suggest that 70 or more hours of standardized training in mindfulness meditation across 8 weeks shifts electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry toward a pattern associated with positive emotion (Davidson et al., 2003) and increases gray matter in the left hippocampus (Hölzel et al., 2010). Such training is dwarfed by the 10,000 or more hours accumulated by expert Buddhist practitioners (Lutz, Greischar, Rawlings, Ricard, & Davidson, 2004), but it likely represents a daunting commitment to many people. We examined whether frontal EEG asymmetry could be generated by a more accessible amount of meditation training.
Synthetic Augmentation for Massive Rotator Cuff Tears

The management of massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears is challenging. They are associated with persistent defects, weakness, and poor outcomes, and can cause an uncoupling of forces across the glenohumeral joint, with unstable shoulder kinematics. There has been much interest in the development of scaffolds to bridge massive rotator cuff tears. As allograft materials may produce inflammatory responses in the host, there is notable interest in developing synthetic grafts for surgical use. Benefits and limitations of the available synthetic scaffolds for augmentation of rotator cuff tears are reported in the present review.
Decoupling model based predictive torque control algorithm with low switching frequency for flux-switching permanent magnet synchronous machines

Flux-switching permanent magnet machine (FSPMM) has received great attention during the past ten years due to its great merits of strong mechanical robustness, high efficiency, strong thermal dissipation ability, etc. However, it suffers from severe torque and flux ripples at different rotor positions for its variable magnetic resistance and equivalent air gap length, which cannot be solved completely by electromagnetic optimal design alone. In order to increase the drive performance of FSPMM, such as dynamic response and stable smoothness of torque, an improved model based predictive torque control (MPTC) algorithm is proposed in this paper. By help of the cost function modulation strategy, the FSPMM torque and flux ripples are reduced obviously, accompanied with the minimized converter switching frequency. Comprehensive simulations validate relevant theoretical analysis.
Activation of cardiac fibroblasts by ethanol is blocked by TGF-β inhibition.

BACKGROUND Alcohol abuse is the second leading cause of dilated cardiomyopathy, a disorder specifically referred to as alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM). Rodent and human studies have revealed cardiac fibrosis to be a consequence of ACM, and prior studies by this laboratory have associated this occurrence with elevated transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and activated fibroblasts (myofibroblasts). To date, there have been no other studies to investigate the direct effect of alcohol on the cardiac fibroblast. METHODS Primary rat cardiac fibroblasts were cultured in the presence of ethanol (EtOH) and assayed for fibroblast activation by collagen gel contraction, alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression, migration, proliferation, apoptosis, collagen I and III, and TGF-β expression. The TGF-β receptor type 1 inhibitor compound SB 431542 and a soluble recombinant TGF-βII receptor (RbII) were used to assess the role of TGF-β in the response of cardiac fibroblasts to EtOH. RESULTS Treatment for cardiac fibroblasts with EtOH at concentrations of 100 mg/dl or higher resulted in fibroblast activation and fibrogenic activity after 24 hours including an increase in contraction, α-SMA expression, migration, and expression of collagen I and TGF-β. No changes in fibroblast proliferation or apoptosis were observed. Inhibition of TGF-β by SB 431542 and RbII attenuated the EtOH-induced fibroblast activation. CONCLUSIONS EtOH treatment directly promotes cardiac fibroblast activation by stimulating TGF-β release from fibroblasts. Inhibiting the action of TGF-β decreases the fibrogenic effect induced by EtOH treatment. The results of this study support TGF-β to be an important component in cardiac fibrosis induced by exposure to EtOH.
SUMO Ubc9 enzyme as a viral target

Viruses alter specific host cell targets to counteract possible defense mechanisms aimed at eliminating infectivity and viral propagation. The SUMO conjugating enzyme Ubc9 functions as a hub for protein sumoylation, whilst also providing an interactive surface for sumoylated proteins through noncovalent interactions. The targeting of Ubc9 by viruses and viral proteins is thus highly beneficial for the disruption of both protein modification and protein‐protein interaction mechanisms with which proteins increase their functional repertoire in cells. This review explores some of the clever mechanisms adopted by viruses to deregulate Ubc9, influence effector pathways and positively impact viral persistence consequently. © 2014 IUBMB Life, 66(1):27–33, 2014
Influence of the leptin G‐2548A polymorphism on leptin levels and anthropometric measurements in healthy Spanish adolescents ‡

Polymorphisms in the leptin gene (LEP) have been associated with leptin levels and obesity in some studies in adults though this link has scarcely been investigated in children. In our study, we examined the relationship of the LEP G‐2548A polymorphism with leptin levels, anthropometric variables and body composition in a population‐based sample of pubescent children. Our study included 880 healthy schoolchildren (419 males and 461 females), 12–16 years of age. Plasma leptin levels were determined by ELISA. The LEP polymorphism was determined by allelic discrimination TaqMan® assay. Male carriers of the AA genotype had significantly lower plasma leptin levels than GA (p < 0.008) and GG (p < 0.001) carriers and significantly lower mean hip circumference (HC) values than GG carriers (p = 0.04). In girls, leptin levels were also lower in A‐allele carriers than in GG carriers, and BMI and HC were significantly lower in AA carriers as compared with GG carriers. In addition, the frequency of the A allele was significantly lower (χ2: 4.58, p = 0.032) in the OW‐obese than in the NW group. In conclusion, the LEP G‐2548A polymorphism is associated with variations in leptin levels, BMI and HC in Spanish pubertal children, and evidence suggests a link between the G allele and presence of overweight in girls.
Nuclear equation of state from the nonlinear relativistic mean field theory.

The properties of symmetric nuclear matter are investigated in the nonlinear relativistic mean field theory of nuclear matter. We consider the constraints imposed by four nuclear ground state properties on the coupling constants and on the equation of state at zero and at finite temperature. We find that the compression constant K(${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}$) as well as the temperature is irrelevant for the stiffness of the equation of state for ${m}^{\mathrm{*}}$(${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}$)\ensuremath{\le}0.7. The main point is that the relativistic mean field theory exhibits acausal and unphysical behavior for compressibilities below K(${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}$)=200 MeV. Every set of coupling constants with a negative quartic coupling constant c is unstable against small quantum fluctuations.
A Free and Fast Three-Dimensional/Two-Dimensional Solar Cell Simulator Featuring Conductive Boundary and Quasi-Neutrality Approximations

Details of Quokka, which is a freely available fast 3-D solar cell simulation tool, are presented. Simplifications to the full set of charge carrier transport equations, i.e., quasi-neutrality and conductive boundaries, result in a model that is computationally inexpensive without a loss of generality. Details on the freely available finite volume implementation in MATLAB are given, which shows computation times on the order of seconds to minutes for a full I-V curve sweep on a conventional personal computer. As an application example, the validity of popular analytical models of partial rear contact cells is verified under varying conditions. Consequently, it is observed that significant errors can occur if these analytical models are used to derive local recombination properties from effective lifetime measurements of test structures.
Activated carbon by co-pyrolysis and steam activation from particle board and melamine formaldehyde resin

One of the top strategic objectives and research areas in Europe is recovering wood from processing and end of life products. However, there are still several ‘contaminated’ wood products that are not or only partly reused/recycled. Particle board waste which is contaminated with aminoplasts is one of these products. In addition, a considerable amount of aminoplast waste resinis produced for the production of particle board that cannot be re-used or recycled. The chemical properties of these wastes (high nitrogen content of 5.9 wt% and 54.1 wt% for particle board and melamine formaldehyde respectively) make them ideal precursors for the production of nitrogenised activated carbon. The profitability of the produced activated carbon is investigated by calculating the net present value, the minimum selling price and performing a Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis. Encouraging results for a profitable production are obtained even though the current assumptions start from a rather pessimistic scenario.
Boosting classification performance via data fusion

An engine for fusing data from multiple sensors for classification is provided in this paper. Two novel methods for fusing multiple representations of data with boosting are presented and empirically evaluated against other fusion techniques as candidate algorithms for the fusion engine. We argue that information fusion from sensors operating in complementary regions of the spectrum and/or spatially separated can improve the classification performance.
Immunoglobulin 1 (IgG1) Fc‐glycosylation profiling of anti‐citrullinated peptide antibodies from human serum

In several autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), autoantibodies are thought to be the driving force of pathogenicity. Glycosylation of the Fc‐part of human Igs is known to modulate biological activity. Hitherto, glycosylation of human IgG‐Fc has been analyzed predominantly at the level of total serum IgG, revealing reduced galactosylation in RA. Given the pathogenic relevance of autoantibodies in RA, we wished, in the present study, to address the question whether distinct Fc‐glycosylation features are observable at the level of antigen‐specific IgG subpopulations. For this purpose, we have developed a method for the microscale purification and Fc‐glycosylation analysis of anti‐citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA). ACPA represent a group of autoantibodies that occur with unique specificity in RA patients. Their presence is associated with increased inflammatory disease activity and rapid joint destruction. Results indicate that ACPA of the IgG1 subclass vary considerably from total serum IgG1 with respect to Fc‐galactosylation, with galactosylation being higher on ACPA than on serum IgG1 for some patients, while other patients show higher galactosylation on serum IgG1 than on ACPA. Using this method, studies can be performed on the biological and clinical relevance of ACPA glycosylation within RA patient cohorts.
National Surgical Patterns of Care for Primary Surgery and Axillary Staging of Phyllodes Tumors

Abstract: Phyllodes tumors (PT) are rare and unique in their suspected stromal and epithelial origin, and their propensity to recur despite surgical resection. Current surgical treatment of PT does not include sampling of regional lymph nodes (LNs) as malignant PT infrequently spread to LNs. We hypothesize that, because of substantial experience with common epithelial lesions of the breast, surgeons are more prone to sample LNs in PT patients. We reviewed national surgical patterns of care of axillary LN sampling for PT using the Surveillance Epidemiology & End Results (SEER) registry. SEER data for LN evaluation are available from 1988. The public‐access SEER data‐base was queried for patients presenting over all 17 registries between 1988 and 2003 with PT of the breast. Data were collated by type of surgery and number of LNs examined, and further analyzed by tumor size of the primary lesion where available; 1,035 cases of PT were identified for the 16‐year period. Patients had a median age of 50 (range 12–96). Of the specimens with SEER grade listed, 117 were well‐differentiated, 186 moderately differentiated, 79 poorly differentiated, and 132 undifferentiated; 612 (59.1%) cases had specific surgical procedures reported: 191 partial, 251 simple, 5 subcutaneous, 154 modified radical, and 6 radical mastectomies, with 5 mastectomies (NOS) documented. The remainder of cases had surgery that was coded as “undocumented” or unknown. When surveyed by LNs examined, 25.5% of patients (n = 264) underwent some degree of regional lymphadenectomy; the median number of LNs examined in these patients was 7 (range 1–37). Of all PT patients, 9.0% of patients underwent axillary sampling of 10 LN or more. Only nine patients (3.4%) had positive LNs. When assessing axillary sampling rate by tumor size, smaller lesions were less likely to undergo sampling than larger lesions (19.3% for lesions <2 cm, 20.5% for lesions 2–4.9 cm, 27.9% for 5–9.9 cm); although this was nonsignificant. In spite of the lack of supporting data for LN examination axillary staging continues to be performed for many cases of PT.
Progression of Vertebrate Limb Development Through SHH-Mediated Counteraction of GLI3

Distal limb development and specification of digit identities in tetrapods are under the control of a mesenchymal organizer called the polarizing region. Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) is the morphogenetic signal produced by the polarizing region in the posterior limb bud. Ectopic anterior SHH signaling induces digit duplications and has been suspected as a major cause underlying congenital malformations that result in digit polydactyly. Here, we report that the polydactyly of Gli3-deficient mice arises independently of SHH signaling. Disruption of one or bothGli3 alleles in mouse embryos lacking Shhprogressively restores limb distal development and digit formation. Our genetic analysis indicates that SHH signaling counteracts GLI3-mediated repression of key regulator genes, cell survival, and distal progression of limb bud development.
Stable supercontinuum generation in short lengths of conventional dispersion-shifted fiber.

By propagating 500-fs pulses through 2.5 m of standard fiber followed by 2 m of dispersion-shifted fiber, we generated >200 nm of spectral continuum between 1430 and 1630 nm, which is flat to less than ? 0.5 dB over more than 60 nm. Pulses obtained by filtering the continuum show no increase in timing jitter over the source laser and are pedestal free to >28 dB, indicating excellent stability and coherence. We show that the second- and third-order dispersions of the continuum fiber and self-phase modulation are primarily responsible for the continuum generation and spectral shaping and found close agreement between simulations and experiments.