Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Longest Common Subsequence Distance using a Complexity Factor

In this paper we study the classic longest common subsequence problem and we use the length of the longest common subsequence as a similarity measure between two time series. We propose an original algorithm for computing the approximate length of the LCSS that uses a discretization step, a complexity invariant factor and a dynamic threshold used for skipping the computation.
Sequences in the 5' leader of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus which affect viral particle production and genomic RNA packaging: development of MPMV packaging cell lines.

We used a series of deletion mutations in the 5' untranslated region of the prototype D type retrovirus, Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus (MPMV), to analyse RNA encapsidation. A region was identified upstream of the major splice donor which reduced particle production but had a proportionally greater effect on RNA packaging. A small deletion downstream of the splice donor had little effect on RNA production and caused no significant packaging defect. A large deletion encompassing the end of the primer binding site down to the splice donor had a dramatic effect, disrupting viral protein synthesis. Stable cell lines were produced containing packaging-defective virus. These first-generation packaging cell lines were used to package and transfer an MPMV-based vector.
Melatonin exerts a therapeutic effect on cholestatic liver injury in rats with bile duct ligation

Abstract: We examined whether melatonin exerts a therapeutic effect on cholestatic liver injury in rats treated with bile duct ligation (BDL). Cholestatic liver injury was induced in male Wistar rats aged 4 wk by ligating the bile duct. Cholestatic liver injury developed 5 days after BDL and continued to 13 days, judging from the levels of serum hepatobiliary injury markers. The serum concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), an index of lipid peroxidation, and the hepatic level of TBARS and the activity of hepatic myeloperoxidase, an index of tissue neutrophil infiltration, increased 5 days after BDL, and these increases were enhanced at 13 days. A similar increase in the serum total cholesterol concentration occurred 5 and 13 days after BDL, while the hepatic cholesterol concentration tended to increase at 13 days. When melatonin [10 or 100 mg/kg body weight (BW)] was orally administered to BDL‐treated rats everyday for 8 days, starting 5 days after BDL, the indoleamine attenuated cholestatic liver injury observed at 13 days after BDL was more effective at the higher dose than at the lower dose. The administered melatonin (10 or 100 mg/kg BW) reduced the increases in serum and hepatic TBARS concentrations and hepatic myeloperoxidase activity observed at 13 days after BDL and the higher dose of indoleamine was more effective than the lower dose. Neither dose of melatonin affected the increased serum total cholesterol concentration or the hepatic cholesterol concentration observed at 13 days after BDL. These results indicate that orally administered melatonin at pharmacological doses exerts a therapeutic effect on cholestatic liver injury in rats with BDL possibly through its antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory actions.
COLOR IMAGE SEGMENTATION USING STATISTICAL FEATURES AND DEMPSTER-SHAFER EVIDENCE THEORY

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a new color image segmentation method based on a possibilistic clustering algorithm and data fusion techniques. The general idea of mass functions estimation in the Dempster-Shafer evidence theory is to link, at the image pixel level, the notion of membership in fuzzy logic. For segmentation, we proceed in two steps. In the first step, we begin by identifying the most significant attribute images of the tristimuli (R, G and B) and automatically determining the mass functions. In the second step, the evidence theory is employed to merge several attribute images which characterized the three component images, in order to get a final reliable and accurate segmentation result. The mass functions assigned to each pixel covered the images to be combined, is obtained from the membership degree of the current pixel and those of its neighboring pixels. The membership degree of each pixel is determined by applying the possibilistic clustering approach to the representative attribute images, and the final segmentation is achieved, on an input image, characterized by different attribute images, by using the DS combination rule and decision. Experimental segmentation results on medical and textured color images demonstrate the value of introducing the fuzzy clustering combined with the statistical features in the evidence theory for color image segmentation. The obtained results show the robustness of the proposed method.
Determinants of Short-Term Debt

One key focus of the on-going debate on the integration of international financial markets have been measures to lengthen the maturity of foreign debt. Short-term debt is typically considered to be volatile and thus a potential trigger of currency crises. In contrast to the vivid policy debate on these issues, there is relatively little theoretical and empirical evidence on the determinants of short-term debt. This paper summarizes the theoretical literature on the issue and presents a stylized theoretical model, which focuses on the risks and benefits of short-term debt under conditions of uncertainty. Empirical evidence shows that the level of economic development, the presence of financial centres, and the share of loans to banks have a positive impact on the share of short-term loans. OECD membership, in contrast, has a negative influence.
A Compact Calculation Method for Dynamic Electro-thermal Behavior of IGBTs in PWM Inverters

Power modules including IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) are widely used in the applications of motor drivers. The design optimization of the modules associated with the device characteristics, the module structures and the cooling conditions has become a major issue with the increase of the current density and the demand of downsizing the modules. In this paper, we propose a compact calculation method of dynamic electrothermal behavior of IGBT PWM (pulse width modulation) inverter modules. The dynamic electro-thermal calculations are performed using familiar spreadsheet software. In this approach, the mathematical models of the temperature dependencies of the device losses and quasi one-dimensional difference equations of thermal conduction were used for the estimation of the temperature of the module. To narrow down a lot of device and module parameters, the proposed approach will be an effective tool in the initial stage of thermal design of the inverter modules.
The Two Variants of the Streptococcus pneumoniae Pilus 1 RrgA Adhesin Retain the Same Function and Elicit Cross-Protection In Vivo

ABSTRACT Thirty percent of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates contain pilus islet 1, coding for a pilus composed of the backbone subunit RrgB and two ancillary proteins, RrgA and RrgC. RrgA is the major determinant of in vitro adhesion associated with pilus 1, is protective in vivo in mouse models, and exists in two variants (clades I and II). Mapping of the sequence variability onto the RrgA structure predicted from X-ray data showed that the diversity was restricted to the “head” of the protein, which contains the putative binding domains, whereas the elongated “stalk” was mostly conserved. To investigate whether this variability could influence the adhesive capacity of RrgA and to map the regions important for binding, two full-length protein variants and three recombinant RrgA portions were tested for adhesion to lung epithelial cells and to purified extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The two RrgA variants displayed similar binding abilities, whereas none of the recombinant fragments adhered at levels comparable to those of the full-length protein, suggesting that proper folding and structural arrangement are crucial to retain protein functionality. Furthermore, the two RrgA variants were shown to be cross-reactive in vitro and cross-protective in vivo in a murine model of passive immunization. Taken together, these data indicate that the region implicated in adhesion and the functional epitopes responsible for the protective ability of RrgA may be conserved and that the considerable level of variation found within the “head” domain of RrgA may have been generated by immunologic pressure without impairing the functional integrity of the pilus.
Organizational learning in the implementation and adoption of national electronic health records: Case studies of two hospitals participating in the National Programme for Information Technology in England

Objective: To explore the role of organizational learning in enabling implementation and supporting adoption of electronic health record systems into two English hospitals. Methods and setting: In the course of conducting our prospective and sociotechnical evaluation of the implementation and adoption of electronic health record into 12 “early adopter” hospitals across England, we identified two hospitals implementing virtually identical versions of the same “off-the-shelf” software (Millennium) within a comparable timeframe. We undertook a longitudinal qualitative case study–based analysis of these two hospitals (referred to hereafter as Alpha and Omega) and their implementation experiences. Data included the following: 63 in-depth interviews with various groups of internal and external stakeholders; 41-h on-site observation; and content analysis of 218 documents of various types. Analysis was both inductive and deductive, the latter being informed by the “sociotechnical changing” theoretical perspective. Results: Although Alpha and Omega shared a number of contextual similarities, our evaluation revealed fundamental differences in visions of electronic health record and the implementation strategy between the hospitals, which resulted in distinct local consequences of electronic health record implementation and impacted adoption. Both hospitals did not, during our evaluation, see the hoped-for benefits to the organization as a result of the introduction of electronic health record, such as speeding-up tasks. Nonetheless, the Millennium software worked out to be easier to use at Omega. Interorganizational learning was at the heart of this difference. Conclusion: Despite the turbulent overall national “roll out” of electronic health record systems into the English hospitals, considerable opportunities for organizational learning were offered by sequential delivery of the electronic health record software into “early adopter” hospitals. We argue that understanding the process of organizational learning and its enabling factors has the potential to support efforts at implementing national electronic health record implementation endeavors.
Glycosylation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: cloning and characterization of an alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase structural gene.

A gene encoding an alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned and sequenced. The alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase which utilizes alpha-methylmannoside as acceptor of mannose from GDP-mannose was purified. The enzyme activity was shown to correspond to a 41 kDa protein band on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protein band was digested in situ with trypsin and amino acid sequence information was obtained from four peptides. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers corresponding to the amino acid sequences were designed and used for polymerase chain reactions on yeast genomic DNA. A specific reaction product was used to screen a genomic library of S.cerevisiae. A fragment of approximately 5.7 kb was isolated, of which a 2.9 kb fragment was sequenced. It contained a 1329 base pair open reading frame encoding the peptide sequences of the purified alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase. The gene, designated MNT1, is located on the right arm of chromosome 4. It encodes a 442 amino acid polypeptide with a calculated mol. wt of 51.4 kDa. The corresponding mRNA has a length of approximately 1.6 kb. Overexpression of the MNT1 gene increased this alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase activity approximately 2.5-fold. The protein was shown to be modified with N-linked carbohydrate chains and its sequence contains one N-glycosylation site. The enzyme contains a putative membrane-spanning domain near its N-terminus and its topology is thus similar to that of mammalian Golgi glycosyltransferases. This is the first report of the cloning and sequencing of a yeast Golgi mannosyltransferase.
Dynamic Entropy Based Combination Weighted Clustering Approach for High-Speed Ad hoc Network

Weight based clustering has become the mainstream clustering algorithm in low-speed Ad hoc networks because of its excellent cluster stability. However, due to the dynamic topology changing in high-speed Ad hoc network, the cluster stability (network stability) decreased and the cluster maintenance costs increased sharply. To solve the problem, we propose a dynamic entropy based combination weighted clustering approach (DECW). First, according to the history messages of an evaluation node in the network, the upper bound and the lower bound value of each clustering index will be recorded, so the information entropy deviation of the indexes and dynamic entropy weight of each node can be obtained. After, the linear combination weights set of evaluation nodes is modeled as the second-order norm game , and the weight vector deviation is minimized as the optimization goal to get the multi-node dynamic entropy weights. In the cluster maintenance, a new Monte Carlo optimization is proposed to avoid the frequent clusterheads (CHs) replacement induced of high node mobility of. Simulation results reveal that the proposed approach has the better adaptability in high-speed mobile environment.
Twitter: Network properties analysis

Online Social Networks have had a fast growing since the popularization of Web 2.0. This kind of networks provides the basis to find and maintain social relationships with users having diverse interests as well as a current picture of things happening around them. The analysis of the graph structure is necessary to understand the impact of online social networks among people, design better systems, and indirectly measure the Internet expansion. This paper presents a general background of network dynamics and structure, then the social network Twitter is described and classified. Related work is analyzed showing that potential research opportunities might be found in online social network dynamics and suggesting Twitter as a good exercise to perform measurements.
Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone on fatigue and well-being in women with quiescent systemic lupus erythematosus: a randomised controlled trial

Objective Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has been reported to improve fatigue and reduced well-being. Both are major problems in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), even with quiescent disease. Low serum DHEA levels are common in SLE. The present work investigates the effects of DHEA administration on fatigue, well-being and functioning in women with inactive SLE. Methods In a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study, 60 female patients with inactive SLE received 200 mg oral DHEA or placebo. Primary outcome measures were general fatigue, depressive mood, mental well-being and physical functioning. Assessments were made before treatment, after 3, 6 and 12 months on medication, and 6 months after cessation of treatment. Results Patients from the DHEA and placebo group improved on general fatigue (p<0.001) and mental well-being (p=0.04). There was no differential effect of DHEA. The belief that DHEA had been used was a stronger predictor for improvement of general fatigue than the actual use of DHEA (p=0.04). Conclusions The trial does not indicate an effect of daily 200 mg oral DHEA on fatigue and well-being, and therefore DHEA treatment is not recommended in unselected female patients with quiescent SLE. Clinical Trials Registration Number NCT00391924
Changes in axonal morphology in experimental autoimmune neuritis as studied by high b‐value q‐space 1H and 2H DQF diffusion magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) has been studied in rat sciatic nerves by a combination of high b‐value 1H and 2H double quantum filtered (DQF) diffusion MRS. The signal decays of water in the 1H and 2H DQF diffusion MRS were found to be not monoexponential and were analyzed using the q‐space approach. The q‐space analysis of the 1H diffusion data detected two diffusing components, one having broad and the other having narrow displacement profiles. These components were shown to be very sensitive to the progression of EAN disease. The q‐space parameters were found to be abnormal at day 9 postimmunization before the appearance of clinical signs. The assignment of the component with the narrow displacement profile to axonal water has been corroborated by the 2H DQF diffusion MRS results. The displacement and the relative population of this slow and restricted diffusing component followed the processes of demyelination, axonal loss, and remyelination that occur in EAN. The displacements extracted from the slow‐diffusing component with the narrow displacement correlated well with the average size of the axons as deduced from electron microscopy (EM). The component with the broad displacement showed significant changes which were attributed to the formation of endoneurial edema. This observation was also corroborated by the 2H DQF diffusion MRS experiments. It seems, therefore, that q‐space analysis of high b‐values diffusion MRS is a promising new approach for early detection and better characterization of the different pathologies associated with EAN. This study demonstrates the utility of high‐b‐value q‐space diffusion MRS for studying white matter‐associated disorders in general. Magn Reson Med 48:71–81, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chapter 11 Collecting Performance Data with PAPIC

Modern high performance computer systems continue to increase in size and complexity. Tools to measure application performance in these increasingly complex environments must also increase the richness of their measurements to provide insights into the increasingly intricate ways in which software and hardware interact. PAPI (the Performance API) has provided consistent platform and operating system independent access to CPU hardware performance counters for nearly a decade. Recent trends toward massively parallel multi-core systems with often heterogeneous architectures present new challenges for the measurement of hardware performance information, which is now available not only on the CPU core itself, but scattered across the chip and system. We discuss the evolution of PAPI into Component PAPI, or PAPI-C, in which multiple sources of performance data can be measured simultaneously via a common software interface. Several examples of components and component data measurements are discussed. We explore the challenges to hardware performance measurement in existing multi-core architectures. We conclude with an exploration of future directions for the PAPI interface.
Wax Secretion and Color Phases of the Desert Tenebrionid Beetle Cryptoglossa verrucosa (LeConte)

The desert beetle Cryptoglossa verrucosa(LeConte) exhibits distinct color phases that range from light blue to jet black when subjected to extremes of low and high humidity, respectively. The color phases are created by "wax filaments" that spread from the tips of miniature tubercles that cover the cuticle surface. The meshwork that accumulates at low humidity reduces transcuticular water loss and may lower the rate at which body temperature rises under a radiation load by increasing reflectance.
LMI-Based Stability Analysis for Fuzzy-Model-Based Control Systems Using Artificial T–S Fuzzy Model

This paper investigates the stability of fuzzy-model-based (FMB) control systems. An alternative stability-analysis approach using an artificial fuzzy system based on the Lyapunov stability theory is proposed. To facilitate the stability analysis, the continuous membership functions of the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model are represented by the staircase ones. With the nice property of the staircase membership functions, it turns the set of infinite number of linear-matrix-inequality (LMI) based stability conditions into a finite one. Furthermore, the staircase membership functions carrying system information can be brought to the stability conditions to relax the stability conditions. The stability of the original FMB control systems is guaranteed by the satisfaction of the LMI-based stability conditions. The proposed stability analysis is applied to the FMB control systems of which the T-S fuzzy model and fuzzy controller do not share the same premise membership functions and, thus, is able to enhance the design flexibility of the fuzzy controller. A simulation example is given to illustrate the merits of the proposed approach.
Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in elderly patients.

Exercise as part of cardiac rehabilitation plays a role in minimizing disability associated with myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass surgery. The beneficial effects have been documented primarily among middle-aged participants. The study of those aged 65 years or greater has received less attention. The purpose of this review article is to summarize available data regarding exercise training in elderly patients with heart disease and review issues and considerations for their participation, together providing a basis for inclusion of more elderly in cardiac rehabilitation. Both male and female elderly patients with heart disease can benefit from exercise through significant improvements in functional capacity and reduced myocardial work. Changes are similar in magnitude to those observed among younger participants. Because elders are the fastest growing U.S. population segment and have a twofold to threefold higher incidence of acute myocardial infarction than younger individuals, decreasing disability by including more elderly in cardiac rehabilitation has important public health implications.
Lexical alternatives improve 5-year-olds ’ ability to compute scalar implicatures

The term scalar comes from the idea that linguistic terms like some and all form ordered sets of alternatives based on informational strength, typically described as scales. In our case, the term some can be thought of as belonging to the following scale < some, . , most, all> (see Horn, 1972). An account of how scalar implicatures are derived was described by Paul Grice (1975). He suggested that communication is a co-operative effort largely governed by rational expectations (‘Maxims’) about how a conversation should proceed. According to Grice’s maxims, other things being equal, communicators are expected to offer contributions which are truthful, informative, relevant and appropriate to the goals of the conversation. These expectations about rational conversational conduct guide the inferences which hearers usually entertain when interpreting utterances. When these expectations seem to be violated, the assumption that this was done on purpose creates a variety of effects. According to Grice’s theory, in producing (1a), the speaker violated the maxim of Quantity (or informativeness):