Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mutation Screening of Multiple Genes in Spanish Patients with Autosomal Recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa by Targeted Resequencing

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal dystrophies characterised ultimately by the loss of photoreceptor cells. RP is the leading cause of visual loss in individuals younger than 60 years, with a prevalence of about 1 in 4000. The molecular genetic diagnosis of autosomal recessive RP (arRP) is challenging due to the large genetic and clinical heterogeneity. Traditional methods for sequencing arRP genes are often laborious and not easily available and a screening technique that enables the rapid detection of the genetic cause would be very helpful in the clinical practice. The goal of this study was to develop and apply microarray-based resequencing technology capable of detecting both known and novel mutations on a single high-throughput platform. Hence, the coding regions and exon/intron boundaries of 16 arRP genes were resequenced using microarrays in 102 Spanish patients with clinical diagnosis of arRP. All the detected variations were confirmed by direct sequencing and potential pathogenicity was assessed by functional predictions and frequency in controls. For validation purposes 4 positive controls for variants consisting of previously identified changes were hybridized on the array. As a result of the screening, we detected 44 variants, of which 15 are very likely pathogenic detected in 14 arRP families (14%). Finally, the design of this array can easily be transformed in an equivalent diagnostic system based on targeted enrichment followed by next generation sequencing.
Integrating Fuzzy Logic and Data Mining: Impact on Cyber Security

Data mining is the search for significant patterns and trends in large databases. Fuzzy logic, on the other hand, provides techniques for handling cognitive issues in the real world. The paper discusses the application of fuzzy logic techniques and data mining practices in cyber security. With the introduction of e-commerce and e- governance applications as well as activity boom in cyber cafes, the pressure is on cyber security monitoring. Although the stream is primarily associated with computer/IT professionals, it is being widely explored by the business and corporate legal community. Existing data mining solutions are not directly adaptable to support e-discovery legal compliance process. We discuss and illustrate the scope of fuzzy logic to circumvent some problems in the cyber crime domain.
An Edge Enhancement Algorithm for Infrared Image Based on Fuzzy-Set and Wavelet

In order to improve the quality of the infrared image, a kind of algorithm based on fuzzy-set and multi-scale wavelet decomposition (FSMW) to enhance the edge without the noise enhancement is advanced in this paper. Because the details and the noise of the image are difficult to distinguish and the edges are distributed in multi-scales, the membership functions in each scales of the noise, the low and high intensity gradient edge are established respectivly. And then the image gray-level plane is transformed into fuzzy plane based on the fuzzy membership functions. Finally the sharpening parameters are controlled by the fuzzy plane and the result is reconstructed by wavelet reconstruction function. As it is shown in experiments, the edges distributed in multiscales of the image are sharpened and the noise is suppressed. This algorithm has practicality and potential application value in the field of infrared images enhancement¿
Modeling the Content of Adaptive Web-Based System Using an Ontology

Adaptive Web-based applications deal with an adaptation of information presentation (the content or navigation) employing goals and other characteristics of a user or context of the presentation. By increasing the number of existing adaptive applications the need for more effective creating and sharing the content among adaptive systems rises. In this paper, we present a method aimed at creating the content represented by ontology and exporting it into existing adaptive application. The ontology includes a domain model and domain dependent part of a user model. We evaluated the method using the domain ontology of teaching programming by examples. We claim that the content and structure of the adaptive application represented by the ontology is suitable for sharing and reusing when defining new applications
Remote Sensing Images Fusion Algorithm Based on Shearlet Transform

The shearlet can give an asymptotic optimal representation of edges and contours in images by virtue of it characteristics of good multiresolution and high directionality. In this paper, a novel image fusion strategy is presented for panchromatic high resolution images and multispectral images in shearlet transform domain. The fusion algorithm use the intensity component addition strategy based on LHS transform to preserve spatial resolution and color content. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm, compared to intensity-hue-saturation (IHS) transform technique, corresponding wavelet transform-based fusion method, and contourlet transform-based fusion method, can improve spatial resolution and keep spectral information. In addition, the proposed algorithm can extract more useful information from source images, and make the fused image with higher performance in terms of both visual quality and objective evaluation criteria.
Pose and Shape Estimation with Discriminatively Learned Parts

We introduce a new approach for estimating the 3D pose and the 3D shape of an object from a single image. Given a training set of view exemplars, we learn and select appearance-based discriminative parts which are mapped onto the 3D model from the training set through a facil- ity location optimization. The training set of 3D models is summarized into a sparse set of shapes from which we can generalize by linear combination. Given a test picture, we detect hypotheses for each part. The main challenge is to select from these hypotheses and compute the 3D pose and shape coefficients at the same time. To achieve this, we optimize a function that minimizes simultaneously the geometric reprojection error as well as the appearance matching of the parts. We apply the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to minimize the resulting convex function. We evaluate our approach on the Fine Grained 3D Car dataset with superior performance in shape and pose errors. Our main and novel contribution is the simultaneous solution for part localization, 3D pose and shape by maximizing both geometric and appearance compatibility.
Convergence Comparison of the CMA and ICA for Blind Polarization Demultiplexing

An algorithm based on independent component analysis for blind polarization demultiplexing in a coherent transmission system is presented. A comparison with the constant modulus algorithm in terms of the convergence properties is performed, and it is found that the suggested algorithm has a significantly faster convergence rate and does not have any singularity problems. We also demonstrate that the algorithm convergence is strongly dependent on the choice of starting condition and show how this can be exploited to increase the convergence rate.
An Improved Genetic Algorithm for 0-1 Knapsack Problems

The 0-1 knapsack problems is a problem in combinatorial optimization, which is NP-complete to solve exactly. A genetic algorithm is a kind of heuristic that mimics the process of natural evolution. We derived an improved solution for 0-1 knapsack problem based on the dual population genetic algorithm, which can overcome the defect of precocious and local convergence in iterative processes. The performance evaluation shows that the solution is better than the traditional genetic algorithm.
Assessment of Executive Function for Schizophrenia in Hong Kong

Patients with schizophrenia have been found to exhibit a cluster of symptoms collectively known as dysexecutive syndrome. However, neuropsychological studies of dysexecutive syndrome and their corresponding assessments are inherently difficult. Published studies of dysexecutive syndrome have predominantly considered English-speaking populations and, almost invariably, western cultural groups. As a consequence, the majority of assessment measures and checklists are standardised in English. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current issues in the assessment of executive functions for schizophrenia in clinical practice in Hong Kong.
Study of Higgs boson pair production at linear collider

We study the potential of the TESLA linear collider operated at a center-of-mass energy of 500 to 1000 GeV for the measurement of the neutral Higgs boson properties within the framework of the MSSM. The process of associated Higgs boson production with subsequent decays of Higgs bosons into b-quark and tau-lepton pairs is considered. An integrated luminosity of 500 fb^{-1} is assumed at each energy. The Higgs boson masses and production cross sections are measured by reconstructing the bbbb and bb\tau\tau final states. The precision of these measurements is evaluated in dependence of the Higgs boson masses. Under the assumed experimental conditions a statistical accuracy ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 GeV is achievable on the Higgs boson mass. The topological cross section \sigma(e+e- -> HA -> bbbb) can be determined with the relative precision of 1.5 - 6.6 % and cross sections \sigma(e+e- -> HA -> bb \tau\tau) and \sigma(e+e- -> HA -> \tau\tau bb) with precision of 4 - 30 %. Constraints on the Higgs boson widths can be set exploiting bb\tau\tau channel. The 5\sigma discovery limit corresponds to the Higgs mass of around 385 GeV for the degenerate Higgs boson masses in the HA -> bbbb channel at \sqrts = 800 GeV with integrated luminosity of 500 fb^{-1}. The potential of the Higgs mass determination for the benchmark point SPS 1a for the process e+e- -> HA -> bbbb at \sqrt{s} = 1 TeV and luminosity 1000 fb^{-1} is investigated.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Quorum-Sensing Bacterium, Dickeya sp. Strain 2B12, Isolated from a Freshwater Lake

ABSTRACT Dickeya sp. strain 2B12 was isolated from a freshwater lake in Malaysia. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Dickeya sp. 2B12 sequenced by the Illumina MiSeq platform. With the genome sequence available, this genome sequence will be useful for the study of quorum-sensing activity in this isolate.
Incremental nearest-neighbor search in moving objects

In databases of moving objects it is important to answer queries that concern the future positions of the objects. An important query type in such an environment is the nearest-neighbor query, which asks for the k closest objects of a query object during a time interval [t/sub s/, t/sub e/]. However, there are cases where the (k+1)-th nearest-neighbor is requested after the execution of the k-NN query. In such a case, either the query must be evaluated again, or we can exploit the previous result and use an incremental method to determine the new answer. We focus on the second alternative and present efficient incremental algorithms that outperform the trivial method which is based on complete re-execution of the query. In addition, we study the problem of keeping the query result consistent in the presence of object insertions, deletions and updates which are very common in a dynamic moving-object environment.
A Mechanism For The Allocation Of Social Assistance Expenditure In Times Of Economic Crisis

Increased social spending is in connection with growth procyclical reverse. The conjugation effect of increased spending on social assistance with other measures related to tax adjustments may be offset by grant schemes of social assistance benefits compensatory role. The main purpose of this study is to develop a mechanism for the allocation of social assistance expenditure that lead to efficient economic policy response in times of economic crisis. The study aims at the model scheme to reduce social procyclical effect of granting aid to poverty and contribute to economic growth. It proposes financing costs both in budgetary allocations but also in attracting private funds to use the work of potential beneficiaries.
dvc 3 D : a three dimensional physical simulation tool for rigid bodies with contacts and Coulomb friction

In this paper, we introduce a physical simulation library for three-dimensional for multi-rigid-bodies dynamics with contacts and Coulomb friction named dvc3d. The library focuses on time stepping simulation methods that have been justified in theories to converge to the underlying physical models as step size goes to zero. We further verify dvc3D’s simulation accuracy by comparing with experimental results. We also discuss a recent addition of a new contact model that is capable of handling locally non-convex configuration spaces that are usually incorrectly modeled in other methods. Then, we follow by the discussion of dvc3D’s two types of solvers: accurate but slow direct methods that are suitable for small scientific simulation scenes or fast but less accurate iterative approaches that can handle much larger systems of bodies.
Effect of Dietary Starch Source and Concentration on Equine Fecal Microbiota

Starch from corn is less susceptible to equine small intestinal digestion than starch from oats, and starch that reaches the hindgut can be utilized by the microbiota. The objective of the current study was to examine the effects of starch source on equine fecal microbiota. Thirty horses were assigned to treatments: control (hay only), HC (high corn), HO (high oats), LC (low corn), LO (low oats), and LW (low pelleted wheat middlings). Horses received an all-forage diet (2 wk; d -14 to d -1) before the treatment diets (2 wk; d 1 to 14). Starch was introduced gradually so that horses received 50% of the assigned starch amount (high = 2 g starch/kg BW; low = 1 g starch/kg BW) by d 4 and 100% by d 11. Fecal samples were obtained at the end of the forage-only period (S0; d -2), and on d 6 (S1) and d 13 (S2) of the treatment period. Cellulolytics, lactobacilli, Group D Gram-positive cocci (GPC), lactate-utilizers and amylolytics were enumerated. Enumeration data were log transformed and analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA. There were sample day × treatment interactions (P < 0.0001) for all bacteria enumerated. Enumerations from control horses did not change during the sampling period (P > 0.05). All treatments except LO resulted in increased amylolytics and decreased cellulolytics, but the changes were larger in horses fed corn and wheat middlings (P < 0.05). Feeding oats resulted in increased lactobacilli and decreased GPC (P < 0.05), while corn had the opposite effects. LW had increased lactobacilli and GPC (P < 0.05). The predominant amylolytic isolates from HC, LC and LW on S2 were identified by 16S RNA gene sequencing as Enterococcus faecalis, but other species were found in oat fed horses. These results demonstrate that starch source can have a differential effect on the equine fecal microbiota.
Ultrastrong optomechanics incorporating the dynamical Casimir effect

We propose a superconducting circuit comprising a dc superconducting quantum interference device with a mechanically compliant arm embedded in a coplanar microwave cavity that realizes an optomechanical system with a degenerate or nondegenerate parametric interaction generated via the dynamical Casimir effect. For experimentally feasible parameters, this setup is capable of reaching the single-photon ultrastrong-coupling regime while simultaneously possessing a parametric coupling strength approaching the renormalized cavity frequency. This opens up the possibility of observing the interplay between these two fundamental nonlinearities at the single-photon level.
Fluid Animation on Arbitrarily-Shaped Structured Grids

In this paper, we present a fast and straightforward technique to simulate two-dimensional fluid flows on planar structured grids with arbitrary shape and parameterization. Although driven by a regular uniform grid, the resulting flows correctly follow and interact with arbitrary boundary walls and internal obstacles. This is accomplished by using Jacobian matrices to relate field derivatives in the world and parameter spaces, which allows us to solve the reduced Navier-Stokes equations directly in the latter. The technique is demonstrated by using a GPU-based Eulerian Stable Fluid solver to generate real-time animations of flows confined in river-like geometry with arbitrary boundaries.
Towards SoMEST – Combining Social Media Monitoring with Event Extraction and Timeline Analysis

We report on the development of a social media monitoring tool based on the novel Social Media Event Sentiment Timeline (SoMEST) model. The novelty of our model is that it combines opinion mining techniques with a timeline-based event analysis method and an information and event extraction tool. While Event Timeline Analysis (ETA) is an existing method utilized in analyzing the external environment of businesses, the SoMEST model and the BEECON (Business Events Extractor Component based on Ontology) tool as well as the OMS (Opinion Miner for SoMEST) component we report on are developed by the authors of the current paper.
Power and Latency Optimized Deadlock-Free Routing Algorithm on Irregular 2D Mesh NoC using LBDRe

Efficient routing is challenging and crucial problem in the irregular mesh NoC topologies because of increasing hardware cost and routing tables. In this paper, the authors propose an efficient deadlock-free routing algorithm for irregular mesh NoCs which reduces the latency and power consumption significantly. The problem with degree priority based routing algorithm is that it cannot remove deadlocks in irregular mesh topologies. Therefore, the authors use the extended Logic Based Distributed Routing LBDRe to remove deadlock situations without using any virtual channel in the degree priority based routing algorithm. The proposed LBDRe based technique also removes the dependency on routing tables. The authors further apply odd-Even routing algorithm to LBDRe to ensure that some turns are prohibited to remove deadlocks. Experimental results show that the proposed routing algorithm reduces power consumption by 9-22% and overall average latency by 8-12% with the minimum hardware cost for the irregular mesh NoC topologies.
Why Committees Don't Work: Creating a Structure for Change.

William Tiemey is Wilbur Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at the University of Southern California. This article is a rewritten and shortened version of "Developing the High Performance Organization: Impediments to Change and Innovation in Colleges and Universities, " which appeared in About Campus. The author thanks Clive Leeman, Craig Ottavelli, and Ellen Schreckerfor their helpful comments. AT LEAST A DECADE, COLLEGES AND UNIVERsities have been under intense pressure to change. In part, the external environment and new competitors have created challenges. But at the same time, new administrators and faculty members have questioned the way the academy conducts its business, and many have sought to improve and reform traditional processes. Deans and provosts, in particular, perhaps because of their interactions with external constituencies, have often asked whether there might be a better way to organize a variety of academic undertakings, including some of those traditionally decided through mechanisms of shared governance. James Duderstadt, the former president of the University of Michigan, has argued that structural flexibility and creativity,
A Two-Grid Finite Difference Scheme for Nonlinear Parabolic Equations

We present a two-level finite difference scheme for the approximation of nonlinear parabolic equations. Discrete inner products and the lowest-order Raviart--Thomas approximating space are used in the expanded mixed method in order to develop the finite difference scheme. Analysis of the scheme is given assuming an implicit time discretization. In this two-level scheme, the full nonlinear problem is solved on a "coarse" grid of size H. The nonlinearities are expanded about the coarse grid solution and an appropriate interpolation operator is used to provide values of the coarse grid solution on the fine grid in terms of superconvergent node points. The resulting linear but nonsymmetric system is solved on a "fine" grid of size h. Some a priori error estimates are derived which show that the discrete L\infty(L2) and L2(H1) errors are $O(h^2 + H^{4-d/2} + \Delta t)$, where $d \geq 1$ is the spatial dimension.
Cytoplasmic Localization and the Choice of Ligand Determine Aggregate Formation by Androgen Receptor with Amplified Polyglutamine Stretch

Polyglutamine tract expansion in androgen receptor is a recognized cause of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), an X-linked motor neuronopathy. Similar mutations have been identified in proteins associated with other neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have shown that amplified polyglutamine repeat stretches form cellular aggregates that may be markers for these neurodegenerative diseases. Here we describe conditions that lead to aggregate formation by androgen receptor with polyglutamine stretch amplification. In transfection experiments, the mutant, compared with the wild-type receptor, was delayed in its cytoplasmic–nuclear translocation and formed large cytoplasmic aggregates in the presence of androgen. The cytoplasmic environment appears crucial for this aggregation, since retention of both the wild-type and mutant receptors in this cellular compartment by the deletion of their nuclear localization signals resulted in massive aggregation. Conversely, rapid nuclear transport of both receptors brought about by deletion of their ligand binding domains did not result in aggregate formation. However, androgen antagonists that altered the conformation of the ligand binding domain and promoted varying rates of cytoplasmic–nuclear translocation all inhibited aggregate formation. This demonstrates that in addition to the cytoplasmic localization, a distinct contribution of the ligand binding domain of the receptor is necessary for the aggregation. The finding that antiandrogens inhibit aggregate formation may provide the basis for in vivo determination of the role of these structures in SBMA.
Telecommunications Companies as Digital Broadcasters: The Importance of Net Neutrality in Competitive Markets

This article examines the recent phenomenon of telecommunications companies distributing screen content over-the-top (OTT). It begins by localizing this international trend through an Australian case study and exploring how this process manifests in a relatively competitive telecommunications market. The article reveals that telecommunications companies going OTT contributes to increasing concentration among Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and also raises a series of consumer issues. I go on to argue that the ownership or provision of telecommunications infrastructure must be separated from content distribution and that net neutrality needs to be embedded as a central media policy concern, even in markets with a relatively strong level of competition. However, the article also notes that such policies do not address the long-term profitability of telecommunications companies that are not already vertically integrated, a problem that future research needs to address.