Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exposure of the Inuit Population of Nunavik (Arctic Québec) to Lead and Mercury

Abstract The authors conducted a survey during 1992 to evaluate blood levels of lead and mercury in Inuit adults of Nunavik (Arctic Québec, Canada). Blood samples obtained from 492 participants (209 males and 283 females; mean age = 35 yr) were analyzed for lead and total mercury; mean (geometric) concentrations were 0.42 μmol/l (range = 0.04–2.28 μmol/l) and 79.6 nmol/l (range = 4–560 nmol/l), respectively. Concentrations of omega-3 fatty acid in plasma phospholipids–a biomarker of marine food consumption–were correlated with mercury (r = .56, p < .001) and, to a lesser extent, with blood lead levels (r = .31, p < .001). Analyses of variance further revealed that smoking, age, and consumption of waterfowl were associated with lead concentrations (r 2 = .30, p < .001), whereas age and consumption of seal and beluga whale were related to total mercury levels (r 2 = .30, p < .001). A significant proportion of reproductive-age women had lead and mercury concentrations that exceeded those that have been reportedly associated with subtle neurodevelopmental deficits in other populations.
Output Feedback Pole Assignment for Transfer Functions with Symmetries

This paper studies the problem of pole assignment for symmetric and Hamiltonian transfer functions. A necessary and sufficient condition for pole assignment by complex symmetric output feedback transformations is given. Moreover, in the case where the McMillan degree coincides with the number of parameters appearing in the symmetric feedback transformations, we derive an explicit combinatorial formula for the number of pole assigning symmetric feedback gains. The proof uses intersection theory in projective space as well as a formula for the degree of the complex Lagrangian Grassmann manifold.
Adenovirus Death Protein: The Switch Between Lytic and Persistent Infections in Lymphocytes?

Adenovirus Death Protein (ADP) expression during late stages of a lytic infection releases mature virions to promote viral spread, thus leading to death of the host cell. We sought to investigate ADP expression patterns in persistently infected human lymphocytes cells. We hypothesized that low expression of ADP allows the virus to persist while high expression would promote lytic infection in lymphocytes. Accordingly, we found ADP expressed in low amount in BJAB and KE37 cells, while lytically infected Jurkat cells demonstrated higher ADP expression in both protein and transcript levels. ADP overexpression in persistently infected lymphocytes did not alter the viability of these cells, or their level of ADP expression. In contrast, Jurkat cells infected with an ADP-deleted virus had increased survival and maintained viral DNA for greater than 1-month, suggesting conversion to a persistent infection. Also manipulating ADP expression had minimal impact on the total virus yield from infected lymphocytes. INDEX WORDS: Adenovirus, ADP, Persistent infection, Lymphocytes ADENOVIRUS DEATH PROTEIN: THE SWITCH BETWEEN LYTIC AND PERSISTENT INFECTIONS IN LYMPHOCYTES?
Kv5, Kv6, Kv8, and Kv9 subunits: No simple silent bystanders

Members of the electrically silent voltage-gated K+ (Kv) subfamilies (Kv5, Kv6, Kv8, and Kv9, collectively identified as electrically silent voltage-gated K+ channel [KvS] subunits) do not form functional homotetrameric channels but assemble with Kv2 subunits into heterotetrameric Kv2/KvS channels with unique biophysical properties. Unlike the ubiquitously expressed Kv2 subunits, KvS subunits show a more restricted expression. This raises the possibility that Kv2/KvS heterotetramers have tissue-specific functions, making them potential targets for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Here, I provide an overview of the expression of KvS subunits in different tissues and discuss their proposed role in various physiological and pathophysiological processes. This overview demonstrates the importance of KvS subunits and Kv2/KvS heterotetramers in vivo and the importance of considering KvS subunits and Kv2/KvS heterotetramers in the development of novel treatments.
Password-Based Authentication with an Intrusion Resilient Time-Location Attribute for Mobile Computing

Existing authentication solutions rely on the assumption that the cryptographic secret keys will not be abnormally leaked during their lifetime. However, network evolution toward mobile computing imposes new challenges to this assumption. Two phenomena of increasing importance are: more and more mobile devices are lost temporarily or permanently while sophisticated attackers are capable of extracting secrets from these devices; and there is an increasing number of server compromises due to operating system vulnerabilities. After compromising either a user’s device or a server, an adversary can obtain the stored secret and exploit it to impersonate the legitimate user. This paper, which is based on a novel way of constructing a forward secure signature scheme, proposes a new passwordbased authentication solution in which the adversary, described above, is prevented from any user impersonation. Furthermore, by utilizing the signature scheme and mobile network infrastructure, we introduce both time and location attributes with a strong non-repudiation property. The time attribute is achieved through the use of a time-dependent private key while the location attribute is obtained using the visited network of a mobile device. These attributes provide more confidence to a server in an authentication process, and in turn a legitimate user can feel more secure that someone at another location cannot impersonate him. More importantly, the attributes provide a defense against future possible cheating by either a server or user after an authentication, thus enabling intrusion detection and forensics. This protocol is designed to provide high security assurance for mobile-client-to-private-server authentication applications that attract determined and well-equipped attackers. It assumes a minimal hardware requirement and can be implemented economically. The computational and storage costs for protocol execution are affordable for current mobile devices such as laptops and PDAs.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as Cell-Based Therapeutics for Wound Healing

Chronic wounds are a source of substantial morbidity for patients and are a major financial burden for the healthcare system. There are no current therapies that reliably improve nonhealing wounds or reverse pathological scarring. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a promising source of novel cell-based therapies due to the ease of their harvest and their integral role in the native wound repair process. Recent work has addressed the problems of loss of plasticity and off-target delivery through use of modern bioengineering techniques. Here we describe the applications of MSCs harvested from different sources to the wound healing process and recent advances in delivery of MSCs to targeted sites of injury.
Improv ed Algorithms for Netw ork T opology Discov ery

Topology discovery systems are starting to be introduced in the form of easily and widely deployed software. However, little consid- eration has been given as to how to perform large-scale topology dis- covery e-ciently and in a network-friendly manner. In prior work, we have described how large numbers of traceroute monitors can coordinate their efiorts to map the network while reducing their impact on routers and end-systems. The key is for them to share information regarding the paths they have explored. However, such sharing introduces considerable communication overhead. Here, we show how to improve the communi- cation scaling properties through the use of Bloom fllters to encode a probing stop set. Also, any system in which every monitor traces routes towards every destination has inherent scaling problems. W e propose cap- ping the number of monitors per destination, and dividing the monitors into clusters, each cluster focusing on a difierent destination list.
Urinary Sex Steroids and Anthropometric Markers of Puberty - A Novel Approach to Characterising Within-Person Changes of Puberty Hormones

Background/Aims The longitudinal relationships of within-individual hormone and anthropometric changes during puberty have not ever been fully described. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate that 3 monthly urine collection was feasible in young adolescents and to utilise liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay methods for serum and urine testosterone (T), estradiol (E2) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in adolescents by relating temporal changes in urine and serum hormones over 12 months to standard measures of pubertal development. Methods A community sample of 104 adolescents (57 female) was studied over 12 months with annual anthropometric assessment, blood sampling and self-rated Tanner staging and urine collected every 3 months. Serum and urine sex steroids (T, E2) were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and LH by immunoassay. Results A high proportion (92%) of scheduled samples were obtained with low attrition rate of 6.7% over the 12 months. Urine hormone measurements correlated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with age, anthropometry and Tanner stage. Conclusion We have developed a feasible and valid sampling methodology and measurements for puberty hormones in urine, which allows a sampling frequency by which individual pubertal progression in adolescents can be described in depth.
How a Spatial Arrangement of Secondary Structure Elements Is Dispersed in the Universe of Protein Folds

It has been known that topologically different proteins of the same class sometimes share the same spatial arrangement of secondary structure elements (SSEs). However, the frequency by which topologically different structures share the same spatial arrangement of SSEs is unclear. It is important to estimate this frequency because it provides both a deeper understanding of the geometry of protein folds and a valuable suggestion for predicting protein structures with novel folds. Here we clarified the frequency with which protein folds share the same SSE packing arrangement with other folds, the types of spatial arrangement of SSEs that are frequently observed across different folds, and the diversity of protein folds that share the same spatial arrangement of SSEs with a given fold, using a protein structure alignment program MICAN, which we have been developing. By performing comprehensive structural comparison of SCOP fold representatives, we found that approximately 80% of protein folds share the same spatial arrangement of SSEs with other folds. We also observed that many protein pairs that share the same spatial arrangement of SSEs belong to the different classes, often with an opposing N- to C-terminal direction of the polypeptide chain. The most frequently observed spatial arrangement of SSEs was the 2-layer α/β packing arrangement and it was dispersed among as many as 27% of SCOP fold representatives. These results suggest that the same spatial arrangements of SSEs are adopted by a wide variety of different folds and that the spatial arrangement of SSEs is highly robust against the N- to C-terminal direction of the polypeptide chain.
Multivariate Latent Risk: A Credibility Approach

We investigate a concept of multivariate pricing, which includes claim history for more than one line of business and is a generalization of the Bühlmann-Straub model. The multivariate credibility model is extended to allow for the age of claims to influence the estimation of future claims. The model is applied to data from a portfolio of commercial lines of business.
Joint Leadership in the Perspective of Transformative Learning

Joint leadership is the object of study in an ongoing research project. The paper aims at investigating whether the mutual learning process in joint leadership pairs have transformative qualities. Seven pairs of leaders at middle management level, in Sweden, were chosen for the study. They were picked out because of their proven ability to stimulate development and reach solid economic results within their units for five consecutive years or more. The work places belong to different lines of business within the private and public sector and vary in size between 20 and 200 employees. The analysis of the learning processes draws on the theory of transformative learning. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the 14 leaders. Although the seven pairs come from different lines of business, they describe their work and their assessment of the joint leadership in similar ways. The findings point at the existence and significance of: core values; a supporting relationship with joint responsibility and authority; an organization of everyday work processes in fast and short cycles of co-operation; joy and hardships; complementary personalities and abilities; common sense-making and critical reflection as driving forces in daily work tasks and of personal development for the leaders themselves. Differences in opinion between the leaders were used in a joint search for problem solving. Joint leadership provides potential for transformative learning through a deliberate examination of different points of view, through explicitly talking about habits of mind, and through stepwise changes of existing frames of reference, most often in an accumulative way. To conclude, the results indicate that joint leadership offers a potential for a deepened learning process in daily work in a communicative relationship where profound values and ways of acting are openly shared and critically reflected upon.
Vector control of induction motor drive using optimized GA technique

In this paper, we present the design of a Proportional Integral (PI) controller using Genetic Algorithm (GA) to control the speed of an induction motor (IM). The GA methods have been employed successfully to solve complex optimization problems. The main advantage of this metaheuristic method (GA) is its simplicity and robustness. Only speed error is employed as input to the GA so that the computational burden of the GA is reduced and drastically decrease the rise time. It becomes suitable for real-time industrial drive applications. The goal of this work is to show that the optimization by GA gives us the possibility of designing a powerful PI controller by optimizing its parameters. The proposed GA based controller does not decrease the system performance as compared to the conventional controller and Neuro-Fuzzy Controller (NFC). In order to prove the performance of the proposed method, the comparative study has been carried out between the proposed, existing and conventional methods.
Extraction and Mapping of Alpha Activity in EEG Signals Using Augmented ICA

The alpha activity of brain has a frequency range of 8-12 Hz. In order to extract the alpha activity from EEG data we propose a new procedure based on independent component analysis (ICA), which can incorporate the a prior frequency information into the ICA to extract independent components in the desired frequency range. We named this procedure as augmented ICA (Au-ICA). The performance of the proposed procedure for alpha extraction has been compared to that of the conventional band-pass filtering via the scalp alpha power maps and cortical source maps of the alpha activity. Our results demonstrate that the alpha power maps and cortical source maps obtained with our method reveal more localized alpha generating regions of brain as compared with the conventional methods. Furthermore they match more closely to the activated regions of brain, mapped using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) thus validating our results. We believe that the Au-ICA is a more effective method of extracting brain activity reflected in the specific frequency range of EEG signals. The results presented here emphasize that the proposed method may be used for accurate source localization or imaging maps from EEG signals.
A Dozen Consistent CAPM-Related Valuation Models - So Why Use the Incorrect One?

Betas computed from returns based on investment cost rather than on market value, may give systematically inappropriate discount rates and numerically incorrect present values for nonzero NPVs and "mispriced" assets. The paper provides a self contained collection of a "baker's dozen" consistent CAPM-related methods, that all give correct valuation results. The models include approaches based on certainty equivalents, equilibrium and disequilibrium required discount rates, simplified discounting rules for particular cash flow formulations, as well as required adaptations to make valuations from more advanced valuation methods consistent with correct CAPM procedures. Additional issues and relations related to different betas are also discussed and partly extended. Derivations of the valuation methods are shown in an appendix. A running base case numerical example illustrates the various procedures.
Composite Lymphoma: Opposite Ends of Spectrum Meet

An 18-year-old African-American female presented with an episode of syncope. Initial investigations revealed large lung mass with invasion into right atrium along with lesions in kidneys and liver. Patient also developed superior vena cava syndrome due to lung mass. Biopsy of lung mass revealed diagnosis of composite lymphoma with involvement by primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) and classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Patient was started on dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and rituximab (EPOCH-R) with complete response to treatment. This case represents an extremely rare type of aggressive lymphoma and can guide clinicians in managing such cases since there are no standard guidelines for treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of composite lymphoma of PMBCL and classical Hodgkin lymphoma successfully treated with dose-adjusted EPOCH-R regimen.
Immunoenzymometnc Assay of Creatine Kinase Isoenzyme Compared with Electrophoresis

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Right-ear advantage drives the link between olivocochlear efferent ‘antimasking’ and speech-in-noise listening benefits

The mammalian cochlea receives feedback from the brainstem medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferents, whose putative ‘antimasking’ function is to adjust cochlear amplification and enhance peripheral signal detection in adverse listening environments. Human studies have been inconsistent in demonstrating a clear connection between this corticofugal system and behavioral speech-in-noise (SIN) listening skills. To elucidate the role of brainstem efferent activity in SIN perception, we measured ear-specific contralateral suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), a proxy measure of MOC activation linked to auditory learning in noisy environments. We show that suppression of cochlear emissions is stronger with a more basal cochlear bias in the right ear compared with the left ear. Moreover, a strong negative correlation was observed between behavioral SIN performance and right-ear OAE suppression magnitudes, such that lower speech reception thresholds in noise were predicted by larger amounts of MOC-related activity. This brain-behavioral relation was not observed for left ear SIN perception. The rightward bias in contralateral MOC suppression of OAEs, coupled with the stronger association between physiological and perceptual measures, is consistent with left-hemisphere cerebral dominance for speech–language processing. We posit that corticofugal feedback from the left cerebral cortex through descending MOC projections sensitizes the right cochlea to signal-in-noise detection, facilitating figure-ground contrast and improving degraded speech analysis. Our findings demonstrate that SIN listening is at least partly driven by subcortical brain mechanisms; primitive stages of cochlear processing and brainstem MOC modulation of (right) inner ear mechanics play a critical role in dictating SIN understanding.
Secure Internet banking authentication

This article classifies common Internet banking authentication methods regarding potential threats and their level of security against common credential stealing and channel breaking attacks, respectively. The authors present two challenge/response Internet banking authentication solutions, one based on short-time passwords and one certificate-based, and relate them to the taxonomy above. There further outline how these solutions can be easily extended for nonrepudiation (that is, transaction signing), should more sophisticated content manipulation attacks become a real problem. Finally, they summarize their view on future requirements for secure Internet banking authentication and conclude by referencing real-live implementations
Analysis of the Rational Krylov Subspace and ADI Methods for Solving the Lyapunov Equation

For large scale problems, an effective approach for solving the algebraic Lyapunov equation consists of projecting the problem onto a significantly smaller space and then solving the reduced order matrix equation. Although Krylov subspaces have been used for a long time, only more recent developments have shown that rational Krylov subspaces can be a competitive alternative to the classical and very popular alternating direction implicit (ADI) recurrence. In this paper we develop a convergence analysis of the rational Krylov subspace method (RKSM) based on the Kronecker product formulation and on potential theory. Moreover, we propose new enlightening relations between this approach and the ADI method. Our results provide solid theoretical ground for recent numerical evidence of the superiority of RKSM over ADI when the involved parameters cannot be computed optimally, as is the case in many practical application problems.
EVA as a Financial Metric: the relationship between EVA and Stock Market Performance

The present research study investigates the relationship between economic value added (EVA) and the stock market performance of 36 publicly traded companies in India. The study attempted to justify the claim that high EVA causes incremental gains in stock market. The daily stock prices from 2006 through 2012 were taken to study the relationship between EVA and stock market performance of 36 Nifty stocks. EVA of firms were compared with various accounting and market performance measures like ROA, ROE, ROS, CAPM Return, excess market premium and others. Results of the study find little support to the fact that high-EVA firms lead to higher stock market performance and shareholders’ value creation. The author viewed that stock prices are more sensitive to growth expectation and these expectations are reflected in terms of higher stock returns as per the whim and fancies of the investors rather than the EVA information and strategy. Key w ords: EVA, EVA and Stock Market, EVA & Indian Firms, Value Based Management, Stock Market Performance.