Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
V-GQM: a feed-back approach to validation of a GQM study

The GQM (Goals/Questions/Metrics) paradigm is used for empirical studies on software projects. Support is given on how to define and execute a study. However, the support for running several subsequent studies is poor. V-GQM (Validating GQM) introduces a life-cycle perspective, creating a process spanning several GQM studies. After the GQM study has been completed, an analysis step of the plan is initiated. The metrics are analysed to investigate if they comply with the plan or if they have extended it, and also to investigate if the metrics collected answer more questions than are posed in the plan. The questions derived from the metrics are then used to form the goal for the next GQM study, effectively introducing a feedback loop. By introducing a bottom-up approach, a structured analysis of each GQM study is possible when constructing several consecutive GQM studies. A case study using V-GQM has been performed in an industrial setting.
Sick leave, disability pension and health-care-seeking behaviour prior to stroke, among people aged 30–65: A case–control study

Primary objective: To explore sick leave, disability pension and health-care-seeking behaviour among people 30–65 years of age prior to their stroke in 2001 in the county of Östergötland, Sweden. Research design: A register-based, retrospective case–control study for the period 1 January 1998–31 December 2000. Cases (n = 212): patients aged 30–65 with first-ever stroke in 2001. Controls (n = 4606): people aged 30–65, randomly selected from the same base population. Main outcomes and results: More than 91 days of accumulated sick leave among women was associated with increased likelihood of developing stroke (OR = 1.89). Among men, 29–90 days and more than 91 days on sick leave increased the likelihood of stroke (OR = 2.34 and OR = 3.43, respectively). Conclusion: Frequent health-care-seeking behaviour is not a tool for identifying women who develop stroke, while it may be an indicator for men. Accumulated sick leave may be a tool for identifying men and women with higher risk of stroke.
Fear-like response induced by intentional gap between neural and body-environment dynamics

We consider how emotions emerge from interaction of brain and body of organism, and its surrounding environment. In particular, we describe design and implementation of a virtual "sea-anemone" in which the interplay of neural and body-environment dynamics leads to the emergence of locomotion, oscillations, and freezing - movement patterns that can be associated with particular emotional states. The neurons composing the neural architecture of our creature are modeled as Hindmarsh-Rose bursting neurons. Our results show that the coupling of neural and body-environment dynamics produces a persistent reflex-induced fear-like response following the collision with objects. In absence of sensory feedback, however, the creature locomotes and the fear-like state disappear. Based on our experimental results, we introduce a novel hypothesis to explain the emergence of primitive emotions. Fear is induced by a conflict between the neural "intention" to locomote and the body-environment-related tendency not to locomote. This study may shed light on the embodied basis of emotional behavior
The Effect of Depth of Anesthesia on the Neuromuscular Refractory Period of Anesthetized Man

The average neuromuscular refractory periods in 13 subjects anesthetized with diethyl ether, fluroxene, halotliane, or methoxyflurane were determined. Increasing depth of anesthesia increased the refractory periods in all subjects. Depth of anesthesia had little or no effect on the indirectly-evoked twitch response. This demonstrates a direct effect of these anesthetics on the neuromuscular junction in man despite an absence of neuromuscular blockade. The effect of anesthetics on the refractory period is opposite that of the nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers.
A 3' coterminal gene cluster in pseudorabies virus contains herpes simplex virus UL1, UL2, and UL3 gene homologs and a unique UL3.5 open reading frame

We have determined the nucleotide sequence and transcription pattern of a group of open reading frames of pseudorabies virus (PRV), which are located at the right end of the BamHI-G fragment from 0.664 to 0.695 map units in the unique long region of the genome. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed four open reading frames. The first three correspond in genome location to the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) open reading frames UL1, which codes for glycoprotein L (gL); UL2, which codes for a uracil-DNA glycosylase; and UL3, which codes for a polypeptide of unknown function. The fourth open reading frame, UL3.5, is not present in the HSV-1 genome. Northern (RNA) blot analysis with oligonucleotide and cDNA probes revealed four abundant mRNA species of 3.3, 2.7, 1.8, and 0.9 kb, which are likely to yield polypeptides encoded by the UL1, -2, -3, and -3.5 open reading frames, respectively. All four transcripts were of the early-late kinetic class, transcribed in the same direction, and 3' coterminal. The UL2 and UL3 genes of PRV and HSV-1 have significant amino acid sequence homology, while the UL1 genes are positional homologs and the UL3.5 gene is unique to PRV.
DNA mismatch repair and O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase analysis and response to Temodal in newly diagnosed malignant glioma.

PURPOSE We evaluated the response to Temodal (Schering-Plough Research Institute, Kenilworth, NJ) of patients with newly diagnosed malignant glioma, as well as the predictive value of quantifying tumor DNA mismatch repair activity and O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT). PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-three patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and five patients with newly diagnosed anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) were treated with Temodal at a starting dose of 200 mg/m2 daily for 5 consecutive days with repeat dosing every 28 days after the first daily dose. Immunochemistry for the detection of the human DNA mismatch repair proteins MSH2 and MLH1 and the DNA repair protein AGT was performed with monoclonal antibodies and characterized with respect to percent positive staining. RESULTS Of the 33 patients with GBM, complete responses (CRs) occurred in three patients, partial responses (PRs) occurred in 14 patients, stable disease (SD) was seen in four patients, and 12 patients developed progressive disease (PD). Toxicity included infrequent grades 3 and 4 myelosuppression, constipation, nausea, and headache. Thirty tumors showed greater than 60% cells that stained for MSH2 and MLH1, with three CRs, 12 PRs, three SDs, and 12 PDs. Eight tumors showed 60% or less cells that stained with antibodies to MSH2 and/or MLH1, with 3 PRs, 3 SDs, and 2 PDs. Eleven tumors showed 20% or greater cells that stained with an antibody to AGT, with 1 PR, 2 SDs, and 8 PDs. Twenty-five tumors showed less than 20% cells that stained for AGT, with 3 CRs, 12 PRs, 4 SDs, and 6 PDs. CONCLUSION These results suggest that Temodal has activity against newly diagnosed GBM and AA and warrants continued evaluation of this agent. Furthermore, pretherapy analysis of tumor DNA mismatch repair and, particularly, AGT protein expression may identify patients in whom tumors are resistant to Temodal.
Heuristic versus systematic information processing and the use of source versus message cues in persuasion.

In Experiment 1, subjects read a persuasive message from a likable or unlikable communicator who presented six or two arguments concerning one of two topics. High response involvement subjects anticipated discussing the message topic at a future experimental session, whereas low involvement subjects anticipated discussing a different topic. For high involvement subjects, opinion change was significantly greater given six arguments but was unaffected by communicator likability. For low involvement subjects, opinion change was significantly greater given a likable communicator but was unaffected by the arguments manipulation. In Experiment 2, high issue involvement subjects showed slightly greater opinion change when exposed to five arguments from an unlikable (vs. one argument from a likable) communicator, whereas low involvement subjects exhibited significantly greater persuasion in response to one argument from a likable (vs. five arguments from an unlikable) communicator. These findings support the idea that high involvement leads message recipients to employ a systematic information processing strategy in which message-based cognitions mediate persuasion, whereas low involvement leads recipients to use a heuristic processing strategy in which simple decision rules mediate persuasion. Support was also obtained for the hypothesis that content-mediated (vs. source-mediated) opinion change would shower greater persistence.
Analysis of Energy-Delay Performance in Multi-hop Wireless Sensor Networks. (Analyse du compromis énergie-délai pour les transmissions radio multi-sauts dans les réseaux de capteurs)

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have introduced a new paradigm of communication between devices, which are applied to different scenarios. These applications demand three important performance parameters: the end-to-end reliability, the end-to-end delay and the overall energy consumption. Due to the fundamentality of reliability in many applications, we consider it in this thesis as a hard constraint, and the other two performance criteria, i. E. , energy and delay are exploited as a couple of competing criteria. Meanwhile, since unreliability is an inherent property of wireless channels, unreliable links are efficiently exploited to improve the energy-delay performance. We propose a metric for energy efficiency: mean energy distance ratio per bit and a metric for mean delay: mean delay distance, which are combine with the unreliable link model. Using these two metrics and a realistic unreliable link model, the lower bounds and the Pareto front of energy-delay trade-off are derived for three kinds of communication schemes: traditional multi-hop communications, opportunistic communications and cooperative MIMO (CMIMO) communications in three different channels: Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel, Rayleigh block fading channel and Rayleigh flat fading channel. The close-form expression of these low bounds are obtained and verified by the simulations in 2-dimension Poisson networks. Furthermore, these results are applied to optimise the parameters of a network including physical and protocol layers. Finally, the lower bounds of the above three communication schemes are compared in different channels respectively. The results show that in order to achieve better energy-delay performance, the corresponding communication scheme should be adopted for different channels: traditional multi-hop communications for AWGN channel, opportunistic communications for Rayleigh block fading channel and CMIMO for Rayleigh flat fading channel
CLIMATE CHANGE: EVALUATION OF ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF DELHI RIDGE USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNOLOGIES

Over exploitation of land, forests, water and air and the failure to tackle the problem of ecological degradation have exposed humanity to the threat of climate change. The atmospheric pollution is increasing, largely because of human activity. Climatic importance is becoming clear, and heightens rather than reduces our concern about anthropogenic climate change. Delhi Ridge forest cover has failed to meet reduction targets for greenhouse gases emission in the Delhi City due to constant concrete jungle sprawl over the periods. Direct aspects of reducing climate change include investment in technology to combat emissions; appropriate building and settlement design, fuel-efficient transportation; and reducing fossil-fuel inputs to industry, etc. Whereas, indirect possibilities include the adoption of landuse practices over Delhi Ridge that sequester high volumes of carbon e.g. afforestation, forest conservation and ecological restoration. Little action has been taken to limit greenhouse gases emission from fossil fuel consumption. Over the Delhi Ridge, there is less concern with ecological change, especially in the face of rapidly growing population of the Delhi City. It must be recognised that an almost all-human activity includes either directly or indirectly caused environmental pollution. However, the vulnerable input of climate change on Delhi Ridge includes ecological imbalance, deforestation and CO 2 effects etc. Although climate change has a wide range of adverse impacts on Delhi Ridge environment, a bigger threat come from other factors, such as population growth, land encroachments, quarrying/mining activities, urbanisation and industrialisation and social and political conditions.
Functional Outcome of Ipsilateral Intertrochanteric and Femoral Shaft Fractures

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the functional outcome of patients with ipsilateral intertrochanteric and femoral shaft fractures treated with a reconstruction nail versus a sliding hip screw and retrograde nail. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Two level 1 trauma centers. Participants: Twenty-six patients with ipsilateral intertrochanteric and femoral shaft fractures treated between 1993 and 2003 with a reconstruction nail (n = 13) or with a sliding hip screw and retrograde nail (n = 13). Intervention: Internal fixation with a reconstruction nail or a sliding hip screw and retrograde nail. Main Outcome Measurements: Functional outcome was measured using the Short Form-36 (SF-36), Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA), and Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS). Results: The average time to follow-up was 49.6 months. Functional outcome was significantly better in the sliding hip screw with retrograde nail group for the role emotional (P = 0.001) and mental component scores (P = 0.016) of the SF-36. This group also scored better on the LEFS, although not reaching statistical significance (P = 0.099). Conclusions: For most outcome measures, no significant differences in functional outcome scores were observed between the 2 treatment groups. The results of this study suggest the need for a randomized controlled trial with a larger sample size to more definitively compare the 2 fixation constructs.
Collaborative Recommendations: The Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment of HIV Wasting

Loss of lean body mass in patients with HIV, commonly referred to as wasting, remains a significant threat to outcome in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. It does not require advanced immune deficiency to progress. It is appropriate to reevaluate guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of wasting in the context of the increasing detail with which the risks and causes of HIV wasting are being understood. A wide range of therapies can be effective in preventing weight loss, but the pharmacologic options for restoring body cell mass, a key measure of HIV wasting, are far more limited. A collaborative meeting of clinicians and researchers with an interest in HIV wasting was held to evaluate published guidelines in the context of current clinical data.
Understanding self-reported staging of dietary behavior in low-income women

This study examined self-reported staging for the goal of eating a low-fat diet and several specific dietary consumption behaviors to understand better readiness for dieting. Self-assessed motivation, food frequency measures, and psychosocial variables were obtained from 2057 low-income women enrolled in the Maryland Food for Life Program. Results indicated that staging of specific dietary consumption behaviors was significantly related to staging for the global goal of eating a low-fat diet. Women evaluate their motivation about eating low-fat diets based on perceived efforts and specific activities related to dietary consumption with important implications for dietary behavior change measurement and interventions.
Positive Drawer Test Combined With Radiographic Deviation of the Third Metatarsophalangeal Joint Suggests High Grade Tear of the Second Metatarsophalangeal Joint Plantar Plate

There is uncertainty regarding the most accurate and cost-effective method for diagnosing plantar plate injuries within the foot. The purpose of this study was to examine the combined value of using clinical and radiographic findings to diagnose high grade tears (> 50% disruption) within the second metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint. Ninety-eight consecutive patients (117 feet) who underwent corrective surgery for plantar forefoot pain at a single foot and ankle specialty clinic were included in this retrospective analysis. All patients received a structured intraoperative assessment of the second MTP joint plantar plate by a single trained observer. Twenty-five clinical and plain film radiographic variables obtained prior to surgery were tested for their association with a high grade plantar plate tear using multiple logistic regression techniques. A positive drawer sign was the most informative individual test for differentiating high from low grade tears (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-9.5; sensitivity 91.5%; specificity 22%). Patients with longstanding forefoot symptoms (> 2 years) tended to be more likely to have low grade tears only (OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 0.98-4.5; sensitivity 61.7%; specificity 58.1%). Most radiographic measurements did little to distinguish high from low grade tears; however, the addition of ipsilateral third MTP joint transverse deviation angle showed a trend toward improving upon the diagnostic accuracy of strategies that used clinical findings alone (area under the curve [AUC] improved from 0.63 to 0.67; P = .11). A third MTP joint deviation angle greater than 15° in either direction combined with drawer testing and duration of symptoms achieved the highest specificities of any combination of variables examined in the study (specificities 82.4% [95% CI, 73.7%-91.1%] and 89.1 [95% CI, 82.1-96.3], respectively). The combination of a positive drawer test coupled with transverse deviation of the third MTP joint (> 15°) on plain films strongly suggests an underlying high grade plantar plate tear of the second MTP joint. However, this study highlights the need for using advanced imaging to distinguish between high and low grade tears in many instances (eg, positive drawer test and normal or near-normal alignment of the third MTP joint). Level of Evidence: Diagnostic, Level II
The complete mitochondrial genome of mungbean Vigna radiata var. radiata NM92 and a phylogenetic analysis of crops in angiosperms

Abstract The entire mitogenome of the Vigna radiata var. radiata NM92 was identified as a circular molecule of 401 262 bp length (DDBJ accession number: AP014716). The contents of A, T, C, and G in the NM92 mitogenome were found to be 27.48%, 27.41%, 22.63%, and 22.48%, respectively. The NM92 mitogenome encoded 3 rRNAs, 16 tRNAs and 33 proteins. Eight protein-coding genes (nad1, nad2, nad4, nad5, nad7, rps3, and rps10) centain introns. Among them, three (nad1, nad2, and nad5) are trans-spliced genes. A phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the 21 protein-coding genes of 16 crops. A species of gymnosperms, Cycas, was selected as the outgroup. This complete mitogenome sequence provides useful information to understand the cultivation of Vigna radiata and other crops.
NuCypher KMS: Decentralized key management system

NuCypher KMS is a decentralized Key Management System (KMS) that addresses the limitations of using consensus networks to securely store and manipulate private, encrypted data. It provides encryption and cryptographic access controls, performed by a decentralized network, leveraging proxy re-encryption. Unlike centralized KMS as a service solutions, it doesn't require trusting a service provider. NuCypher KMS enables sharing of sensitive data for both decentralized and centralized applications, providing security infrastructure for applications from healthcare to identity management to decentralized content marketplaces. NuCypher KMS will be an essential part of decentralized applications, just as SSL/TLS is an essential part of every secure web application.
The Euler Number Study of Image and Its Application

Euler number of image is one of the most important characteristics in digital topology and its computing method is an unceasing exploration. In order to understand the essence of Euler number, the connectivity of the binary image was deeply studied in this paper. A formula was proposed as the relationship between the Euler number and the neighbor number of foreground run based on the two new concepts. Different from the traditional description of pixels and connectivity, it is a new idea to calculate the Euler number based on local computation, and it can also be applied to calculate the number of irregular objects.
Tellurium‐induced myelinopathy in adult rats

Tellurium is known to induce a neuropathy in young rats but not in adult rats. In the present study adult rats were fed a diet containing 1.25% tellurium every day for 30 days. By the end of this period, the rats moved with difficulty but did not show paralysis. Study of teased nerve fiber preparations in conjunction with light and electron microscopy revealed myelin abnormalities consisting of myelin bubbling, segmental demyelination, and remyelination. In some animals, these abnormalities had a patchy distribution, affecting several adjoining nerve fibers in sciatic nerves, brachial plexus, and spinal roots. The intramyelinic edema sometimes was associated with splitting of the axons.
Graph theoretic methods for radio equipment selection

In the 1970s and 1980s, a small group of American engineers recognised the importance of the graph-colouring ideas studied by mathematicians and the potential for these ideas to be used in practical radio frequency assignment procedures. Some groundbreaking work led to a long period of study in academia where many variants on the Frequency Assignment Problem have been considered and some advanced algorithms developed. This thesis has investigated the Frequency Assignment Problem for microwave fixed links and, taking account of the constraints experienced in professional practice, extended this to include the problem of Equipment Selection. For a particular data-rate, standard radio equipment using relatively lower-or higher order modulation schemes can be deployed by the fixed link operator. While the higher-order options use less bandwidth, they radiate at higher powers and require more protection in the radio interference environment. That is, they are more potent interferers and present a greater challenge to distant interferers. Therefore, when the assigner’s objective is to minimise the span of frequencies used by a network, the higher-order modulation radio is not always the most spectrally efficient. The thesis has hypothesised that by doubling the bandwidth requirement on selected links, the assigner can actually reduce the overall span of frequencies used to support a frequency assignment for the entire network. With a minimum span objective, fixed link deployment scenarios have been exposed to a standard IP Solver that gives exact solutions. Using graph-theoretic methods, equipment selection heuristics have been developed and tested in offline and online environments. This work has gathered significant evidence in support of the hypothesis.