Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Academy for Information Systems Spring 3-23-2010 THE TERM OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE RENEGOTIATED

Implementing Open Source Software (OSS) technology (tools and practices) entails potential for radical organisational transformation of software production. Not going there yet, this paper discusses the local re-negotiation of the term OSS itself in certain case companies. We claim that these processes (1. organisational change, and 2. renegotiation of the term OSS) are intertwined. Renegotiation of the term is needed in order to create an understanding of what it means to leverage OSS locally. Based on a systematic literature review, we investigate two cases to outline what kind of renegotiation of the term occurs when a company alters it's software production. Initial findings indicate that future research on organizational OSS may benefit from a more critical review of the processes occurring under the term OSS.
Feasibility [corrected] of regular physical exercise for patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease.

BACKGROUND Physical activity delays loss of autonomy in the elderly. In patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), physical activity could be a useful strategy in therapeutic management by delaying loss of functional independence and the usual complications of the disease. OBJECTIVE To determine, using standardized tools, the effects on autonomy (ADL, IADL), cognitive function (MMS), nutritional status (MNA), behavioral problems (NPI) and risk of falls (Tinetti test) of a physical exercise program in patients with AD. DESIGN Twenty-three subjects (13 men and 10 women, aged 71-92 years, mean 78 years) with AD (mean MMS 16, range 1-23) carried out for a mean of 7 weeks (5-12 weeks) a program of endurance exercise (walking, exercise bicycle) adapted to their individual capacities. Standardized gerontological evaluation was performed before and after the study. RESULTS No significant change in autonomy (ADL, IADL) was observed. There was an improvement in the MNA (p<0.001) and the MMS (p<0.001). Risk of falls (p<0.01) and behavioral problems (p<0.05) decreased. These results were obtained without increasing family workload. CONCLUSION We suggest that physical activity is a therapeutic option which can reduce nutritional and behavioral complications and risk of falls in subjects with AD.
Removing blue screen background under non-uniform illumination

In this paper, we develop a system to remove the background of an image captured in a blue screen environment under non-uniform illumination. We first collected some images as the training data and applied a watershed segmentation to extract a number of coherent regions from these images. With these extracted regions, two mixed Gaussian models for the foreground and background are trained using an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. With the trained models, for each input image we first segment the image using the watershed segmentation algorithm and then predict the associated foreground/background label for each extracted region. Finally, the regions labeled as background are removed. Some experiments were conducted and the results showed that the proposed system performs better than traditional chroma keying technique.
Turbo Codes with Internal Pilot Insertion

In this paper we present a simple modification of a classical turbo code allowing for improved distance properties and rate adaptation. The proposed scheme suggests the insertion of pilot bits in the data sequence in such a manner that low weight codewords are eliminated or their weight multiplicity being reduced. In this way, pilots are utilized to increase the minimum distance of the code effectively. Furthermore, the rate can be made adaptive, almost arbitrarily according to the channel conditions under fixed interleaver length constraint. The resulting code uses fixed length codeword, can support a wide range of rates and even outperform the original system that uses external pilot insertion, in terms of error performance specifically at high signal to noise ratio. The proposed scheme does not add any complexity to the encoder neither to the decoder. Two recursive systematic convolutional (RSC) encoders together with S-random interleaver are used at the encoder side. At the decoder, soft-input soft-output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA) to accomplish iterative decoding with a maximum of five iterations is used.
On P300 Detection using Scalar Products

Results concerning detection of the P300 wave in EEG segments using scalar products with signals of various shapes are presented and their advantages and limitations are discussed. From the point of view of the computational complexity, the proposed algorithm is a simple algorithm, based on a scalar product and searching for the max value of 6 calculated values. Because we considered that the human subject is not a robot that precisely generates P300 and that there is also a human component of error in the involuntary generation of such waves, we have also calculated the rate of classification of character in the human visual field. To validate the proposed method, electroencephalography recordings from the competition for Spelling BCI Competition III Challenge 2005 -Dataset II have been used.
Hepatitis C virus glycoprotein E2 binding to CD81: the role of E1E2 cleavage and protein glycosylation in bioactivity.

The hepatitis C virus glycoproteins E1 and 2 have been expressed using recombinant baculoviruses following fusion to the carrier protein glutathione S-transferase (GST). Proteins were expressed singly and as an E1E2 polyprotein with and without an N-terminal affinity tag. Expression of the E1E2 polyprotein, even when preceded by GST, led to processing in insect cells and detection of an E1E2 complex that could be specifically purified by glutathione affinity chromatography. Baculovirus expressed E2 and a purified GST-E1E2 protein bound to the second extracellular loop of CD81 (EC2), a reported ligand for the molecule, but not to a truncated derivative of CD81 consisting of only the central domain of the loop. Purified GST-E2, however, failed to bind to CD81 suggesting a requirement for a free E2 amino terminus for biological activity. The binding to CD81 by baculovirus expressed E2 protein was comparable to that observed for E2 derived from mammalian cells when detected by a monoclonal antibody sensitive to protein conformation. Furthermore, E2 protein expressed in insect cells in the presence of N-butyldeoxynojirimycin, an inhibitor of terminal glucose residue processing, formed complexes with E1 and bound to CD81-EC2 similarly to untreated protein. Together these data suggest that although hyperglucosylation of E2 does not have a major effect on bioactivity, polyprotein processing to reveal the free amino terminus is required.
Cross-linking and characterisation of gelatin matrices for biomedical applications

Cross-linking of gelatin A and B with N,N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) was optimised by varying the NHS/ EDC molar ratio at constant EDC concentration. Native and cross-linked gelatin gels were characterised using the degree of swelling, the number of free amine groups, the phase transition temperature, and titration of the carboxylic acid residues. The cross-linking reaction was most efficient at a NHS to EDC molar ratio of 0.2. At higher NHS/EDC molar ratios, the reaction of EDC with NHS becomes more pronounced, thereby reducing the effective amount of EDC for cross-linking. Swelling measurements of cross-linked gelatin gels gave deviating results when no NHS was used, which was explained by heterogeneous localisation of cross-links in the gelatin gel. The incorporation of undesired compounds into the gelatin gels during the cross-linking reaction was not observed. At optimal NHS to EDC molar ratio, gelatin A and B were cross-linked using increasing EDC/COOHgelatin molar ratios. A range of samples varying from very low cross-link density to very high cross-link density (at high EDC/COOHgelatin) was obtained. Stability of the gels is enhanced with increasing cross-link density, but a minimal cross-link density is required to obtain gelatin gels which are stable at 40°C.
The first intron in the human c-abl gene is at least 200 kilobases long and is a target for translocations in chronic myelogenous leukemia

The c-abl protooncogene is unusual in two respects; it has multiple, widely space N-terminal coding exons transcribed by different promoters, and it is the target of the translocations that form the Philadelphia chromosome found in cells of chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. To understand the organization of the gene in normal and chronic myelogenous leukemia patient DNA we have mapped c-abl by pulsed field gradient gel electrophoresis. We find that one of the alternative 5' exons of the gene lies at least 200 kilobases upstream of the remaining c-abl exons, posing formidable transcription and splicing problems. The 5'-most c-abl exon includes an unusually long 1,276-base-pair segment that contains 15 ATG codons and multiple short open reading frames, upstream of the abl initiator codon. Its peculiar structure suggests that c-abl may be decapitated in most chronic myelogenous leukemia patients, and we demonstrate that this is the case in the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562.
Colorization of grayscale images and videos using a semi-automatic approach

Colorization is a computer-aided process of adding color to a grayscale image or video. The task of colorizing a grayscale image involves assigning three dimensional (RGB) pixel values to an image which varies along only one dimension (luminance or intensity). Since different colors may have the same luminance value but vary in hue or saturation, mapping between intensity and color is not unique, and colorization is ambiguous in nature, requiring some amount of human interaction or external information. In this paper we propose a semi-automatic process for colorization where the user indicates how each region should be colored by putting the desired color marker in the interior of the region. The algorithm based on the position and color of the markers, segments the image and colors it. In order to colorize videos, few reference frames are chosen manually from a set of automatically generated key frames and colorized using the above marker approach and their chrominance information is then transferred to the other frames in the video using a color transfer technique making use of motion estimation. The colorization results obtained are visually very good. In addition the amount of manual intervention is reduced since the user only has to apply color markers on few selected reference frames and the proposed algorithm colors the entire video sequence.
Potassium Channels Impairs Neuronal Migration in the Developing Mouse Cerebral Cortex

Development of the cerebral cortex depends partly on neural activity, but the identity of the ion channels that might contribute to the activity-dependent cortical development is unknown. KCNK channels are critical determinants of neuronal excitability in the mature cerebral cortex, and a member of the KCNK family, KCNK9, is responsible for a maternally transmitted mental retardation syndrome. Here, we have investigated the roles of KCNK family potassium channels in cortical development. Knockdown of KCNK2, 9, or 10 by RNAi using in utero electroporation impaired the migration of late-born cortical excitatory neurons destined to become Layer II/III neurons. The migration defect caused by KCNK9 knockdown was rescued by coexpression of RNAi-resistant functional KCNK9 mutant. Furthermore, expression of dominant-negative mutant KCNK9, responsible for the disease, and electrophysiological experiments demonstrated that ion channel function was involved in the migration defect. Calcium imaging revealed that KCNK9 knockdown or expression of dominant-negative mutant KCNK9 increased the fraction of neurons showing calcium transients and the frequency of spontaneous calcium transients. Mislocated neurons seen after KCNK9 knockdown stayed in the deep cortical layers, showing delayed morphological maturation. Taken together, our results suggest that dysfunction of KCNK9 causes a migration defect in the cortex via an activity-dependent mechanism.
Ultrastructure of the human tympanic membrane.

In order to arrive at a better understanding of the aetiology and patho-genesis of middle-ear diseases through basic knowledge concerning the electron microscopic appearances in the normal middle ear, a study of the ultrastructure of the human tympanic cavity has been instituted in our Laboratory. The preparations for the present study were fixed from 55 min to 4 hours post mortem Fixation later than 3 hours post mortem resulted in structural autolytic damage. The tympanic membrane consists of three layers: the epidermis whose ultrastructure was found to correspond to the findings in the epidermis of normal skin, the lamina propria containing loose connective tissue, vessels, nerves, and two layers of collagen fibrils (also in the pars flaccida), and the lamina mucosa. In the pars flaccida the mucosal layer consisted of simple squamous cells with microvilli. All through the pars tensa there were cells of varying height, often pseudostratified columnar cells with a large number of cilia and secretory granu.
Renal perfusion and function in healthy African Americans.

BACKGROUND Despite their increased risk of nephropathy, remarkably little is known about renal perfusion and function in healthy African Americans. METHODS We enrolled 32 healthy African Americans and compared renal perfusion and function in 82 age-matched healthy Caucasians. Studies were performed on a diet containing 200 mmol of sodium and 100 mmol of potassium per day. In a separate study of 28 subjects, 10 African American and 18 Caucasians, the contribution of the renin-angiotensin system was assessed by measuring renal hemodynamic responses to angiotension II (Ang II) and captopril. RESULTS Although glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was similar, renal plasma flow (RPF) was significantly less in age-matched African Americans (568 +/- 18) than Caucasians (620 +/- 13 mL/min/1.73 m(2), P = 0.0063). After captopril, African Americans had a sevenfold greater vasodilator response and a rise in RPF (35.3 +/- 4.9 vs. 4.9 +/- 12.4 mL/min/1.73 m(2) in African Americans and Caucasians, respectively, P < 0.028). Ang II administration caused a significantly smaller vasoconstrictor response in African Americans (Ang II-induced fall in RPF, -97 +/- 18 vs. -150 +/- 9 mL/min/1.73 m(2), P = 0.05), and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition enhanced the response to Ang II in African Americans significantly. CONCLUSIONS A reduction in RPF, blunting of the renal vascular response to Ang II, and an accentuated renal vasodilator response to captopril, which in turn corrects the blunting of responsiveness to Ang II, all suggest activation of the renin system in apparently healthy African Americans. As PRA was identical in Caucasians and African Americans, the findings suggest that it is the intrarenal-renin system that is activated in African Americans. This difference in normal control mechanisms could predispose to nephropathy.
Word Sense-Aware Machine Translation: Including Senses as Contextual Features for Improved Translation Models

Although it is commonly assumed that word sense disambiguation (WSD) should help to improve lexical choice and improve the quality of machine translation systems, how to successfully integrate word senses into such systems remains an unanswered question. Some successful approaches have involved reformulating either WSD or the word senses it produces, but work on using traditional word senses to improve machine translation have met with limited success. In this paper, we build upon previous work that experimented on including word senses as contextual features in maxent-based translation models. Training on a large, open-domain corpus (Europarl), we demonstrate that this aproach yields significant improvements in machine translation from English to Portuguese.
Ligand-dependent G Protein Coupling Function of Amyloid Transmembrane Precursor (*)

Amyloid precursor protein (APP), a transmembrane precursor of β-amyloid, possesses a function whereby it associates with Go through its cytoplasmic His657-Lys676. Here we demonstrate that APP has a receptor function. In phospholipid vesicles consisting of baculovirally made APP695 and brain trimeric Go, 22C11, a monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of APP, increased GTPγS binding and the turnover number of GTPase of Go without affecting its intrinsic GTPase activity. This effect of 22C11 was specific among various antibodies and was observed neither in Go vesicles nor in APP695/Go vesicles. In APP695/Go vesicles, synthetic APP66−81, the epitope of 22C11, competitively antagonized the action of 22C11. Monoclonal antibody against APP657−676, the Go binding domain of APP695, specifically blocked 22C11-dependent activation of Go. Therefore, APP has a potential receptor function whereby it specifically activates Go in a ligand-dependent and ligand-specific manner.
Inhibition of Agrobacterium tumefaciens oncogenicity by the osa gene of pSa

The IncW plasmid pSa originally derived from Shigella flexneri completely inhibits the tumor-inducing ability of Agrobacterium tumefaciens when it is resident in this organism. Oncogenic inhibition is mediated through the expression of the osa gene on pSa. This gene is part of a 3.1-kb DNA segment of pSa that contains four open reading frames revealed by sequencing. Specific deletions and TnCAT insertions within this segment localized the oncogenic inhibitory activity to the last open reading frame, orf-4, designated osa (for oncogenic suppression activity). No promoter exists immediately upstream of the coding sequence of osa since TnCAT insertions or deletions into orf-3 caused the loss of oncogenic inhibition. Deletion analysis showed that the promoter of orf-1 is required for osa transcription. The first three orfs have no role in oncogenic inhibition, since osa alone placed under the control of a constitutive Pkm promoter completely inhibited A. tumefaciens oncogenicity. This inhibition of oncogenicity by osa is not limited to a specific host plant but appears to show broad host specificity. Because the osa-encoded product has close homologies to the fiwA-encoded product of the IncP plasmid RP1, osa may be involved in fertility inhibition that would prevent or reduce the formation of stable mating pairs and T-DNA transfer between A. tumefaciens and plants.
Experimental evaluation of parameter identification schemes on a direct-drive robot

The dynamic and friction parameters of a robot are used in advanced control schemes, and their accuracy significantly affects their performance. These parameters can also be used for a realistic simulation. In principle, the numerical value of the parameters could be obtained via computer-aided design analysis but inevitable assembly and manufacturing errors exist. Direct measurement is not a realistic option because the complex nature of the system would involve an intense time-consuming effort. Alternatively, we can deduce the values of the parameters by observing the natural response of the system under appropriate experimental conditions, that is, by using identification schemes. This article presents the experimental evaluation of five identification schemes used to obtain the dynamic and friction parameters of a two-degree-of-freedom, direct-drive robot. We assume that the dynamic and friction parameters are totally unknown but, by design, the dynamic model is fully known. We consider the schemes based on the dynamic regression model, filtered-dynamic regression model, supplied-energy regression model, power regression model, and filtered-power regression model. The article presents a comparison between experimental and simulated robot responses, which enable us to verify the accuracy of each regression model.
Anthropometric manikin for acoustic research.

A manikin for hearing aid and related acoustic research was designed with median human adult dimensions. Ear simulation matches the acoustic response with an auricle, an ear canal, and an eardrum that equal the median ear in dimensions, acoustic impedance and modes. Dimensions of torso and head are based on published anthropometric data, but the auricle is based on data obtained for this development. The ear canal and eardrum are adapted from the earlike coupler by Zwislocki. The ear entrance sound pressure was found to be relatively insensitive to surface or skin impedance of the head. Validating measurements show the manikin, designated KEMAR, to be like a median human in acoustic response to free fields.Subject Classification: 65.22, 65.80, 65.35,65.82.
Comparing and combining biomarkers as principal surrogates for time‐to‐event clinical endpoints

Principal surrogate endpoints are useful as targets for phase I and II trials. In many recent trials, multiple post‐randomization biomarkers are measured. However, few statistical methods exist for comparison of or combination of biomarkers as principal surrogates, and none of these methods to our knowledge utilize time‐to‐event clinical endpoint information. We propose a Weibull model extension of the semi‐parametric estimated maximum likelihood method that allows for the inclusion of multiple biomarkers in the same risk model as multivariate candidate principal surrogates. We propose several methods for comparing candidate principal surrogates and evaluating multivariate principal surrogates. These include the time‐dependent and surrogate‐dependent true and false positive fraction, the time‐dependent and the integrated standardized total gain, and the cumulative distribution function of the risk difference. We illustrate the operating characteristics of our proposed methods in simulations and outline how these statistics can be used to evaluate and compare candidate principal surrogates. We use these methods to investigate candidate surrogates in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.