Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An investigation of feature weighting algorithms and validation techniques using blind analysis for analogy-based estimation

Context : Software effort estimation is a very important component of the software development life cycle. It underpins activities such as planning, maintenance and bidding. Therefore, it has triggered much research over the past four decades, including many machine learning approaches. One popular approach, that has the benefit of accessible reasoning, is analogybased estimation. Machine learning including analogy is known to significantly benefit from feature selection/weighting. Unfortunately feature weighting search is an NP hard problem, therefore computationally very demanding, if not intractable. Objective : Therefore, one objective of this research is to develop an efficient and effective feature weighting algorithm for estimation by analogy. However, a major challenge for the effort estimation research community is that experimental results tend to be contradictory and also lack reliability. This has been paralleled by a recent awareness of how bias can impact research results. This is a contributory reason why software effort estimation is still an open problem. Consequently the second objective is to investigate research methods that might lead to more reliable results and focus on blinding methods to reduce researcher bias. Method : In order to build on the most promising feature weighting algorithms I conduct a systematic literature review. From this I develop a novel and efficient feature weighting algorithm. This is experimentally evaluated, comparing three feature weighting approaches with a naive benchmark using 2 industrial data sets. Using these experiments, I explore blind analysis as a technique to reduce bias Results: The systematic literature review conducted identified 19 relevant primary studies. Results from the meta-analysis of selected studies using a one-sample sign test (p = 0.0003) shows a positive effect — to feature weighting in general compared with ordinary analogybased estimation (ABE), that is, feature weighting is a worthwhile technique to improve ABE. Nevertheless the results remain imperfect so there is still much scope for improvement. My experience shows that blinding can be a relatively straightforward procedure. I also highlight various statistical analysis decisions which ought not be guided by the hunt
Comparisons of IASI-A and AATSR measurements of top-of-atmosphere radianceover an extended period

Abstract. This study examines the trustworthiness of the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI-A), as on-orbit reference instruments that are useful in re-calibrating the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) series (Mittaz and Harris, 2011). To do this, a 39-month period (1 January 2008 to 31 March 2011) of AATSR and IASI-A inter-comparisons of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance measurements is examined. Our inter-comparison reveals features of the AATSR and IASI-A bias with respect to scan angle, scene temperature, time and orbital maneuvers, and gives insight into their trustworthiness as an in-orbit reference instruments. The first feature that our study reveals is that the AATSR (nadir view) and IASI-A are both stable (have no perceptible trends in the period of study). The second feature is that IASI-A is perhaps more accurate ( ∼ 0.05 K) than its stated accuracy (0.5 K). In fact the AATSR and IASI-A bias is close to the AATSR pre-launch bias (plus a small offset of +0.07 K) implying that IASI-A can get close to pre-launch levels of accuracy. Third, a very small scan angular dependence of AATSR and IASI-A bias indicates that the IASI-A response vs. scan angle algorithm is robust, while the instrument is in orbit. Inter-comparisons of AATSR with IASI-A further reveal the impact of orbital maneuvers of the ENVISAT, the platform carrying AATSR, done in October 2011 and not anticipated previously. Our study reveals that this maneuver introduced a temperature-dependent bias in the AATSR measurements for low temperatures ( We also present a set of recommendations to help identify the parameters under which these instruments can provide the most trustworthy observations for the AVHRR re-calibration.
PIK3CA mutation in colorectal cancer: relationship with genetic and epigenetic alterations.

Somatic PIK3CA mutations are often present in colorectal cancer. Mutant PIK3CA activates AKT signaling, which up-regulates fatty acid synthase (FASN). Microsatellite instability (MSI) and CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) are important molecular classifiers in colorectal cancer. However, the relationship between PIK3CA mutation, MSI and CIMP remains uncertain. Using Pyrosequencing technology, we detected PIK3CA mutations in 91 (15%) of 590 population-based colorectal cancers. To determine CIMP status, we quantified DNA methylation in eight CIMP-specific promoters [CACNA1G, CDKN2A (p16), CRABP1, IGF2, MLH1, NEUROG1, RUNX3, and SOCS1] by real-time polymerase chain reaction (MethyLight). PIK3CA mutation was significantly associated with mucinous tumors [P = . 0002; odds ratio (OR) = 2.44], KRAS mutation (P < .0001; OR = 2.68), CIMP-high (P = .03; OR = 2.08), phospho-ribosomal protein S6 expression (P = .002; OR = 2.19), and FASN expression (P = .02; OR = 1.85) and inversely with p53 expression (P = .01; OR = 0.54) and beta-catenin (CTNNB1) alteration (P = .004; OR = 0.43). In addition, PIK3CA G-to-A mutations were associated with MGMT loss (P = .001; OR = 3.24) but not with MGMT promoter methylation. In conclusion, PIK3CA mutation is significantly associated with other key molecular events in colorectal cancer, and MGMT loss likely contributes to the development of PIK3CA G>A mutation. In addition, Pyrosequencing is useful in detecting PIK3CA mutation in archival paraffin tumor tissue. PIK3CA mutational data further emphasize heterogeneity of colorectal cancer at the molecular level.
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES MEASURING THE IMPACTS OF TEACHERS II : TEACHER VALUE-ADDED AND STUDENT OUTCOMES IN ADULTHOOD Raj Chetty

Are teachers' impacts on students' test scores ("value-added") a good measure of their quality? This question has sparked debate partly because of a lack of evidence on whether high value-added (VA) teachers who raise students' test scores improve students' long-term outcomes. Using school district and tax records for more than one million children, we find that students assigned to high-VA teachers in primary school are more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries, live in higher SES neighborhoods, and have higher savings rates. They are also less likely to have children as teenagers. Teachers have substantial impacts in all grades from 4 to 8. On average, a one standard deviation improvement in teacher VA in a single grade raises earnings by 1.3% at age 28. Replacing a teacher whose VA is in the bottom 5% with an average teacher would increase the present value of students' lifetime income by approximately $250,000 per classroom. Raj Chetty Department of Economics Harvard University 1805 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA 02138 and NBER chetty@fas.harvard.edu John N. Friedman Harvard Kennedy School Taubman 356 79 JFK St. Cambridge, MA 02138 john_friedman@harvard.edu Jonah E. Rockoff Columbia University Graduate School of Business 3022 Broadway #603 New York, NY 10027-6903 and NBER jonah.rockoff@columbia.edu
Prevalence and Anti-Biogram of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Isolated from Otitis Media in KBN Hospital , Gulbarga

Otitis media is an inflammation of the middle ear cleft without reference to etiology or pathogenesis. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a destructive disease with irreversible sequelae and can proceed to serious intra and or extra cranial complications. The study of bacteriology and anti-biotic sensitivity is necessary in management of CSOM and is essential for the ENT surgeon to make the discharging ear dry for better results of surgical procedures like myringoplasty and ossiculoplasty. Among the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) has been particularly blamed for deep seated and progressive destruction of middle ear and mastoid structures through its toxins and enzymes. This was a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Data was obtained from the microbiology records from March 2012 to March 2014. Ear discharge were collected from them under strict aseptic precautions using two sterile cotton swabs with the assist of aural speculum and processed immediately in the microbiology laboratory. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by Kirby-Bauer's disc diffusion method, according to the guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. A total of 176 cases of CSOM were included in the study. Microbial growth was seen in 156 (88.6%) while 20 (12.4%) were sterile. Among 156 bacterial growth, 41(26.2%) were positive for P. aeruginosa. Most cases were from males and most common affected age group was 0-20 years. Most common organism was Staphylococcus aureus, followed by P. aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa showed highest resistance to Ampicillin and Ciprofloxacin and least resistance with Polymixin B and Imipenem. Among all the organisms, Pseudomonas is prone to cause a problem in therapeutic control of CSOM. Regular antibiotic susceptibility studies should be conducted as the pattern of microbial growth changes with time. Knowledge of the pathogens and antibiotic sensitivity pattern responsible for CSOM helps in reducing the complications of CSOM.
Chinese Hamster Ovary K2 Cell Lipid Droplets Appear to Be Metabolic Organelles Involved in Membrane Traffic*

The principal lipids in animal cell lipid droplets are cholesterol, cholesterol ester, and triglyceride, but the protein composition of this compartment is largely unknown. Here we report on the proteomic analysis of lipid droplets. Using a combination of mass spectrometry and immunoblotting, we identify nearly 40 specifically associated proteins in droplets isolated from Chinese hamster ovary K2 cells grown in normal medium. The proteins fall in to five groups: structural molecules of the droplet-like adipose differentiation-related protein; multiple enzymes involved in the synthesis, storage, utilization, and degradation of cholesterol esters and triglycerides; multiple, different Rab GTPases known to be involved in regulating membrane traffic; signaling molecules such as p50RhoGAP; and a group of proteins that do not fit any classification but include proteins often found in caveolae/rafts such as caveolin-1 and 2 and flotillin-1. The proteome of droplets isolated from cells grown in the presence of oleate is largely the same except for an increase in the amount of adipose differentiation-related protein, caveolin-1, and a protein thought to be involved in phospholipid recycling called CGI-58. Based on the protein profile, the lipid droplet appears to be a complex, metabolically active organelle that is directly involved in membrane traffic and possibly phospholipid recycling. We propose the name adiposome for this organelle.
Advances in Pinhole and Multi-Pinhole Collimators for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Imaging

The collimator in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), is an important part of the imaging chain. One of the most important collimators that used in research, preclinical study, small animal, and organ imaging is the pinhole collimator. Pinhole collimator can improve the tradeoff between sensitivity and resolution in comparison with conventional parallel-hole collimator and facilities diagnosis. However, a major problem with pinhole collimator is a small field of view (FOV). Multi-pinhole collimator has been investigated in order to increase the sensitivity and FOV with a preserved spatial resolution. The geometry of pinhole and multi-pinhole collimators is a critical factor in the image quality and plays a key role in SPECT imaging. The issue of the material and geometry for pinhole and multi-pinhole collimators have been a controversial and much disputed subject within the field of SPECT imaging. On the other hand, recent developments in collimator optimization have heightened the need for appropriate reconstruction algorithms for pinhole SPECT imaging. Therefore, iterative reconstruction algorithms were introduced to minimize the undesirable effect on image quality. Current researches have focused on geometry and configuration of pinhole and multi-pinhole collimation rather than reconstruction algorithm. The lofthole and multi-lofthole collimator are samples of novel designs. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review on recent researches in the pinhole and multi-pinhole collimators for SPECT imaging.
A Simple Method of Jitter Evaluation for Designing Phase-Locked Loops for Optical Communication Systems

A simple method for evaluating jitter generation is proposed for phase-locked loops (PLLs) applied to optical communication systems. The precise but complex expressions in the conventional method involving the phase noise of the voltage-controlled oscillator, the jitter-transfer function of the PLL, and integration using a filter function are greatly simplified with the objective of providing a simple estimate of the jitter generation avoiding iterative design procedures. These simplifications together with the data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-T Recommendations lead to an integral-free expression with only a small number of parameters, which enables jitter evaluation using a hand-held calculator. By applying bandwidth limits to the jitter tolerance and transfer specifications, both the sufficient and insufficient conditions for the phase noise of a voltage-controlled oscillator are obtained to enable the efficient design of a PLL with the jitter generation specified in the ITU-T Recommendations.
Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of galectin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in gastric cancer.

AIM To evaluate the expression of galectin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in gastric cancer and investigate their relationships with clinicopathologic factors and prognostic significance. METHODS Galectin-1 and VEGF were immunohistochemically investigated in tumor samples obtained from 214 gastric cancer patients with all tumor stages. Immunohistochemical analyses for galectin-1 and VEGF expression were performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of surgical specimens. The relationship between the expression and staining intensity of galectin-1 and VEGF, clinicopathologic variables, and patient survival were analyzed. All patients underwent follow-up until cancer-related death or more than five years after tumor resection. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that 138 of 214 gastric cancer samples (64.5%) were positive for galectin-1, and 116 out of 214 gastric cancer samples (54.2%) were positive for VEGF. There was a significant association between galectin-1 and VEGF expression; VEGF was detected in 60.1% of galectin-1-positive samples and 43.4% of galectin-1-negative samples (P < 0.05). Galectin-1 expression was associated with tumor size, tumor location, stage, lymph node metastases, and VEGF expression (all P < 0.05). VEGF expression was related to tumor size, stage, and lymph node metastases (all P < 0.05). The 5-year survival rate was 56.6% for galectin-1-positive patients and 69.2% for galectin-1-negative patients, and the prognosis for galectin-1-positive patients was significantly poorer compared with galectin-1-negative patients (χ² = 13.880, P = 0.000). The 5-year survival rates for VEGF-positive and VEGF-negative patients were 53.4% and 70.5%, respectively (χ² = 4.619, P = 0.032). The overall survival rate of patients with both galectin-1 and VEGF overexpression in gastric cancer tissue samples was significantly poorer than other groups (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Galectin-1 expression was positively associated with VEGF expression. Both galectin-1 and VEGF can serve as independent prognostic indicators of poor survival for gastric cancer after gastrectomy.
Clozapine Induces Oxidative Stress and Proapoptotic Gene Expression in Neutrophils of Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract: The present study examined cellular effects of the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine on blood cells of treated patients with and without clozapine-induced agranulocytosis (CA). Blood from one patient who commenced clozapine treatment was examined at weekly intervals for 128 days. Olanzapine-treated (n = 5) and polymedicated (n = 14) schizophrenic patients, as well as healthy subjects (n = 19) and septic shock patients (n = 8), were studied for comparison. We observed dramatically increased numbers of native neutrophils stained for superoxide anion production (P ≤ 0.005, n = 10) and significantly elevated expression levels of the proapoptotic genes p53 (P ≤ 0.020), bax α (P ≤ 0.001), and bik (P ≤ 0.002) in all tested non-CA patients (n = 19) and CA patients (n = 4). In non-CA patients, the expression of these genes did not correlate to the percentage of apoptotic neutrophils (2.0% ± 1.3%), but in CA patients about 37% of the neutrophils show morphologic signs of apoptosis (P ≤ 0.001). Under G-CSF therapy of CA, the number of apoptotic neutrophils and the expression of the proapoptotic genes decreased significantly. In conclusion, high production of reactive oxygen species in neutrophils of clozapine-treated patients, together with increased expression of proapoptotic genes, suggests that neutrophils are predisposed to apoptosis in schizophrenic patients under clozapine therapy. The correlation between drug and proapoptotic markers was highest for clozapine and bax α as well as superoxide anion radicals. This indicates oxidative mitochondrial stress in neutrophils of clozapine-treated patients which probably contributes to the induction of apoptosis and sudden loss of neutrophils and their precursors in CA patients.
Subquery elimination: a complete unnesting algorithm for an extended relational algebra

Summary form only given, as follows. Research in the area of subquery unnesting algorithms has mostly focused on the problem of making queries more efficient at run-time by transforming subqueries into joins. Unnesting rules describe a transformation of a nested query tree or a nested SQL query into an equivalent tree or SQL query that is no longer nested. However, it is not possible to express all nested queries in a non-nested form, unless the used language (relational algebra or ISO/ANSI SQL) is extended. This means that a database system must continue to have the ability to process subqueries. When working on a new optimizer and executor design for NonStop SQL, our development team was faced with a slightly different problem: we wanted to eliminate the need for optimization and execution of nested queries altogether and were looking for a complete subquery unnesting process. Such a process would allow us to develop a query optimizer and executor that do not need to process subqueries. Our goal was to make use of the existing unnesting algorithms and to extend them in a way that does not necessarily improve or change the execution characteristics of nested queries, but that leads to complete unnesting of all forms of nested queries, as defined by the "full" level of the ISO/ANSI SQL92 standard. To indicate this different approach we call it "subquery elimination" rather than "subquery unnesting".
Biofilm image reconstruction for assessing structural parameters

The structure of biofilms can be numerically quantified from microscopy images using structural parameters. These parameters are used in biofilm image analysis to compare biofilms, to monitor temporal variation in biofilm structure, to quantify the effects of antibiotics on biofilm structure and to determine the effects of environmental conditions on biofilm structure. It is often hypothesized that biofilms with similar structural parameter values will have similar structures; however, this hypothesis has never been tested. The main goal was to test the hypothesis that the commonly used structural parameters can characterize the differences or similarities between biofilm structures. To achieve this goal (1) biofilm image reconstruction was developed as a new tool for assessing structural parameters, (2) independent reconstructions using the same starting structural parameters were tested to see how they differed from each other, (3) the effect of the original image parameter values on reconstruction success was evaluated, and (4) the effect of the number and type of the parameters on reconstruction success was evaluated. It was found that two biofilms characterized by identical commonly used structural parameter values may look different, that the number and size of clusters in the original biofilm image affect image reconstruction success and that, in general, a small set of arbitrarily selected parameters may not reveal relevant differences between biofilm structures. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1383–1394. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Association between interleukin-18 gene promoter ( rs 1946518 and rs 187238 ) polymorphisms and susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B virus infection : a systematic review with meta-analysis

The aim of our study was to investigate the association between interleukine-18 (IL-18) gene promoter (rs1946518 or rs187238) polymorphisms and susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We conducted a search of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined as measures of the strength of association between IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms and chronic HBV infection. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias were evaluated. All analyses were undertaken using the STATA 13.0. A total of 11 studies were included in the meta-analysis. We found a statistically significant association between rs187238 polymorphism and chronic HBV infection in total populations (heterozygous model, OR 0.732, 95% CI 0.539-0.994, P = 0.046). Further, results from our stratified analysis showed that there was a robust significant association between rs187238 polymorphism and chronic HBV infection in Asians (allelic model, OR 0.775, 95% CI 0.603-0.995, P = 0.045; heterozygous model, OR 0.676, 95% CI 0.513-0.892, P = 0.006; dominant model, OR 0.709, 95% CI 0.534-0.940, P = 0.017), especially in the Chinese populations (allelic model, OR 0.675, 95% CI 0.540-0.844, P = 0.001; heterozygous model, OR 0.557, 95% CI 0.465-0.668, P<0.001; dominant model, OR 0.582, 95% CI 0.489-0.692, P<0.001). However, no significant association was observed between rs1946518 polymorphism and chronic HBV infection under different comparison models. The present meta-analysis suggested that IL-18 -137 C/G (rs187238) polymorphism in promoter region was associated with chronic HBV infection in Asians, especially in the Chinese populations.
A high isolation dual-band MIMO antenna for WLAN application

A dual-band planar slot antenna is proposed for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) array conformation, which achieves the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz bands for wireless local area network (WLAN) application. The isolation between two antenna elements in the operating frequency bands is greater than 20dB by employing the decoupling slots structure. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) in the operation bands is less than 0.01, which shows that it has excellent performance in MIMO system.