Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applying Data Mining Techniques for Cancer Classification from Gene Expression Data

Recent studies on molecular level classification of tissues have produced remarkable results, and indicated that gene expression assays could significantly aid in the development of efficient cancer diagnosis and classification platforms. However, cancer classification based on the DNA array data is still a difficult problem. The main challenge is the overwhelming number of genes relative to the number of training samples. It makes accurate classification of data more difficult. This paper applies genetic algorithms (GA) with an initial solution provided by t- statistics (t-GA) for selecting a group of relevant genes from cancer microarray data. The decision tree based cancer classifier is then built on top of these selected genes. The performance of this approach is evaluated by comparing with other gene selection methods using the publicly available gene expression datasets. Experimental results indicate that t-GA has the highest accurate rate among different methods. The Z-score figure also shows that the gene selection operation provided by t-GA is reproducible.
Determinants of Mean Blood Pressure and Hypertension among Workers in West Africa

Background. This review was undertaken to estimate the mean blood pressure and evaluate its determinants as well as the determinants of hypertension among workers in West Africa. Methods. In a follow-up to an earlier study, a systematic search for articles published between 1980 and August 2015 was undertaken using major databases. Results. A total of 55 articles involving 34,919 different cadres of workers from six countries were retrieved. The mean systolic blood pressure (BP) ranged from 116.6 ± 1.3 mmHg to 151.7 ± 13.6 mmHg while the mean diastolic BP ranged from 69.6 ± 11.0 mmHg to 97.1 ± 9.1 mmHg. Population-wide prehypertension was common. The major determinants of mean BP and hypertension were similar and included male sex, older age group, higher socioeconomic status, obesity, alcohol consumption, plasma glucose, and sodium excretion. Ethnicity and educational level were inconsistently associated with hypertension. Workers at higher risk of cardiovascular event did not perceive themselves as such. Conclusion. The prevailing mean prehypertensive BP, low perception of risk, and clustering of risk factors call for interventions such as healthy diets, improved physical activity, and a favourable work environment. Successful models for improving the cardiovascular health of sedentary informal sector workers in Africa are urgently needed.
Twitter stream analysis in Spanish

Social networks have opened to companies and politicians' new ways to understand what the clients and citizens are looking for. That is, companies need to understand what is happening in the market in order to be competitive. And politicians need to better understand what the people are worried about if they want to comply with the wishes of their voters. Until now, a significant amount of resources were dedicated to collect a small set of consumers or citizens opinions to conduct focus groups and surveys in pursuit of consumers or social insights. With the rise of social networks, things have changed. Companies and politicians now have the ability to gather more data than ever before on a large number of users in near real time and at a much lower cost. In this paper we present the architecture we are building on top of Twitter in order to extract and analyze the mood of the users against some events. In particular, we have analyzed the impact that the "Boston Marathon" event produced in the public opinion. During the observed time frame we have observed little social iteration and a high number of retweets in the Spanish-speaker twitter community.
Insight into the evolution of Vibrio vulnificus biotype 3's genome

Vibrio vulnificus is an aquatic bacterium and an important human pathogen. Strains of V. vulnificus are biochemically classified into three biotypes. The newly emerged biotype 3 appears to be rather clonal and geographically restricted to Israel, where it caused an outbreak of wound infections and bacteremia. To understand the evolution of the bacterium's genome, we sequenced and analyzed the genome of biotype 3 strain VVyb1(BT3), and then conducted a microbial environmental survey of the hypothesized niche from which it probably evolved. The genome of this environmental isolate revealed higher similarity to the published biotype 1 genomes of clinical strains (90%) than to the environmental strains (87%), supporting the virulence of the biotype 3 group. Moreover, 214 of the total 5361 genes were found to be unique to strain VVyb1(BT3), having no sequence similarity to any of the known genomes of V. vulnificus; 35 of them function in DNA mobility and rearrangement, supporting the role of horizontal gene transfer in genome evolution. Interestingly, 29 of the “unique” genes had homologies among Shewanella species. In a survey conducted in aquaculture ponds in Israel, we successfully co-isolated Shewanella and V. vulnificus from the same niche, further supporting the probable contribution of Shewanella to the genome evolution of biotype 3. Indeed, one gene was found in a S. algae isolate. Surprisingly, molecular analysis revealed that some of the considered unique genes are harbored by non-sequenced biotype 1 strains isolated from the same environment. Finally, analyses of the biotype 3 genome together with the environmental survey suggested that its genome originated from a biotype 1 Israeli strain that acquired a rather small number of genes from other bacterial species in the niche, such as Shewanella. Therefore, aquaculture is likely to play a major role as a man-made ecological niche in bacterial evolution, leading the emergence of new pathogenic groups in V. vulnificus.
Do Peers Affect Childhood Obesity Outcomes? Peer‐Effect Analysis in Public Schools

This study investigates whether obese peers are a contributing factor in childhood body-weight outcomes. Using an instrumental variables method on exogenously assigned peers (i.e., new peers), we find that the weight of peers within the same grade and school significantly impacts body mass index (BMI) z-score of an individual student. The size of the peer effect, however, is negligible. We find no evidence of interaction between newly assigned peer groups prior to assignment. Furthermore, the obese peers variable is significant only for those peers with whom a student interacts.
Strategies for Computing Minimal Free Resolutions

In the present paper we study algorithms based on the theory of Grobner bases for computing free resolutions of modules over polynomial rings. We propose a technique which consists in the application of special selection strategies to the Schreyer algorithm. The resulting algorithm is efficient and, in the graded case, allows a straightforward minimalization algorithm. These techniques generalize to factor rings, skew commutative rings, and some non-commutative rings. Finally, the proposed approach is compared with other algorithms by means of an implementation developed in the new system Macaulay2.
Policy Definition for Bottom-Up Recovery Scheme in Multilayer Network

For self-healing network, it is essential to deploy coordinated recovery scheme among several layers in multilayer network. By doing root-cause analysis of failures, network recovery function can be performed in the origin layer causing other failures on several layers, and as a result of this recovery function, the damage like service interruption can be prevented or minimized. This paper proposes multilayer network recovery scheme and policies, in which root-cause analysis is integrated with hold-off time of bottom-up recovery scheme.
Modeling a submission phase of change request process in context of a running application

Nowadays many companies must adapt their business processes to persistent changes forced by technology, organizational or political factors. Business processes are usually supported by specialized software products. These software products also must adapt to changed business environments. Software users must have effective way to specify new requests for software they use. In this paper is presented model of modified submission phase for software change request process. This model is implemented and verified in ScenarioBuilder, a software used for management of networking scenarios in virtual network laboratory VNLab. VNLab is used for teaching networking concepts at university course.
Regulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) by hepatocyte growth factor in human tubular epithelial cells.

BACKGROUND Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic protein with renoprotective functions, which have been attributed at least in part to its ability to counteract the profibrotic effects of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). A major downstream mediator of TGF-beta is connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). However, the molecular mechanisms of CTGF regulation by HGF have not yet been investigated. METHODS CTGF expression was analysed in human primary tubular epithelial cells (hPTECs) and the cell line HKC-8 by western blotting. Morphological alterations were analysed by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS HGF induced a transient expression of CTGF, which was maximal after 6 h and returned to baseline after 24 h. Coincubation with TGF-beta increased CTGF protein at 6 h, whereas HGF significantly decreased CTGF induction by TGF-beta after 24 h. Furthermore, HGF induced cell scattering associated with reorganization of focal adhesions and formation of lamellipodia and filopodia. The early induction of CTGF was linked to the HGF-mediated alterations of cell morphology. The PP2 inhibitor of Src-family kinases, which regulate focal adhesion turnover, reduced HGF-mediated upregulation of CTGF. In addition, inhibition of the Rho-kinase, which modulates the actin cytoskeleton, impaired CTGF expression. Combination of both inhibitors further decreased CTGF expression. Comparable inhibitory effects were obtained, when CTGF was induced by the combination of HGF and TGF-beta. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence for a dual effect of HGF on CTGF regulation in human tubular epithelial cells: transient upregulation of CTGF in the absence of TGF-beta, which was related to alterations of cell morphology, and interference with TGF-beta-mediated CTGF induction after prolonged incubation.
A taste of food insecurity : towards a capacity for eating well

This thesis considers food insecurity in Bristol through an analysis of taste. Using a bricolage of ethnographic methods designed to bring the sensory elements of food practices to the fore, I worked with three projects in the city to examine the socio-materialities of food insecurity as they are felt within people’s daily lives. Working with an Emergency Food Aid (EFA) charity, a community bus scheme and a cookery course for socially isolated people, I contribute to geographical understandings of food insecurity by looking in places and attuning to senses, feelings and affects that are otherwise invisible. Inspired by material-semiotics – where nonhumans matter – and including ideas of affect, I move away from a static definition of food insecurity as ‘access to a good diet’ and instead develop ideas of taste, which I define as capacity for eating well. I use capacity to ground a critical analysis of inequality within the social and material relations of embodied life. I use eating well to bring the more-than-human collectivities into the frame, accounting for the care-full socio-materialities at play in food encounters. Importantly, I move beyond an ontology of individual rational agents and a focus on empowered choice as a solution to insecurity. The empirical material shows that practices of good taste are contingent and fragile, shaped by the material-affective conditions of food encounters; that interdependencies rather than individual empowerment enable us to eat well; and that precarious living conditions produce affects that can be decisive factors in whether we eat well or go hungry. Ultimately, this taste-full approach places a critical analysis of food insecurity within the messy entanglements of food practices and opens up new spaces for understanding and tackling the issue.
Microalbuminuria could improve risk stratification in patients with TIA and minor stroke

Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and minor strokes are important risk factors for recurrent strokes. Current stroke risk prediction scores such as ABCD2, although widely used, lack optimal sensitivity and specificity. Elevated urinary albumin excretion predicts cardiovascular disease, stroke, and mortality. We explored the role of microalbuminuria (using albumin creatinine ratio (ACR)) in predicting recurrence risk in patients with TIA and minor stroke.
Productive activity patterns among 60–70-year-old retirees in Germany

ABSTRACT The phase of retirement has been steadily growing since the 1950s. Rules and regulations related to retirement have been changing. Recent cohorts have reached this phase in better health than previous ones. Until recently, retirement has been rather void of societal expectations, leaving room for individual decisions regarding amount and type of activity. Thus, investigating activity patterns displayed during this life phase, their predictors and outcomes seems overdue. The study addresses three questions: (a) Which distinct clusters of productive activities among retirees can be identified in Germany? (b) Do activity patterns of clusters follow complementary or substitutive composition rules? (c) Which are the most important predictors of cluster membership? Using probability-based sample data (N = 2,141) from the survey ‘Transitions and Old Age Potential’ (TOP), this study investigated clusters of productive activities among retirees aged 60–70 years in Germany. The activities examined included paid work after retirement, formal and informal volunteering, child care and care-giving. Results showed a four-cluster structure. The clusters (Multiple Engagers, Volunteers, Family Helpers and Family Disengagers) differed with regard to the composition and the intensity of productive activities. Both complementary and substitutive relations were identified within clusters. Individual, familial and economic resources were predictors of cluster membership. Results are discussed with regard to role theory, cumulative inequality theory and the ongoing debate about old-age potential.
Silicon heterojunction solar cell with passivated hole selective MoOx contact

We explore substoichiometric molybdenum trioxide (MoOx, x < 3) as a dopant-free, hole-selective contact for silicon solar cells. Using an intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon passivation layer between the oxide and the silicon absorber, we demonstrate a high open-circuit voltage of 711 mV and power conversion efficiency of 18.8%. Due to the wide band gap of MoOx, we observe a substantial gain in photocurrent of 1.9 mA/cm2 in the ultraviolet and visible part of the solar spectrum, when compared to a p-type amorphous silicon emitter of a traditional silicon heterojunction cell. Our results emphasize the strong potential for oxides as carrier selective heterojunction partners to inorganic semiconductors.
Integrative Genomic Analysis of Aneuploidy in Uveal Melanoma

Purpose: Aneuploidy is a hallmark of cancer and is closely linked to metastasis and poor clinical outcome. Yet, the mechanisms leading to aneuploidy and its role in tumor progression remain poorly understood. The extensive and complex karyotypic abnormalities seen in many solid tumors could hinder the identification of pathogenetically relevant chromosomal alterations. Uveal melanoma is an attractive solid tumor for studying aneuploidy because it is a relatively homogeneous cancer that is highly metastatic and has low nonspecific chromosomal instability. Experimental Design: Comparative genomic hybridization and gene expression profiling were used to analyze patterns of aneuploidy in 49 primary uveal melanomas. This analysis was supplemented by a review of cytogenetic findings in 336 published cases. Results: Three prognostically significant tumor subgroups were identified based on the status of chromosomes 3 and 6p. Discrete patterns of chromosomal alterations accumulated in these three subgroups in a nonrandom temporal sequence. Poor clinical outcome was associated with early chromosomal alterations rather than overall aneuploidy. A gene expression signature associated with aneuploidy was enriched for genes involved in cell cycle regulation, centrosome function, and DNA damage repair. One of these genes was PTEN, a tumor suppressor and genomic integrity guardian, which was down-regulated in association with increasing aneuploidy (P = 0.003). Conclusions: The relationship between aneuploidy and poor prognosis may be determined by specific, pathogenetically relevant chromosomal alterations, rather than overall aneuploidy. Such alterations can be identified using integrative genomic methods and may provide insights for novel therapeutic approaches.
Understand need “ Uncertainty Assessment ” in the system development modeling process

Accurate software cost and schedule estimation are essential for software project success. Often it referred to as the “black art” because of its complexity and uncertainty, software estimation is not as difficult or puzzling as people think. In fact, generating accurate estimates is straightforward—once you understand the intensity of uncertainty and framework for the modeling process. The mystery to successful software estimation—distilling academic information and realworld experience into a practical guide for working software professionals. Instead of arcane treatises and rigid modeling techniques, this will guide highlights a proven set of procedures, understandable formulas, and heuristics that individuals and development teams can apply to their projects to help achieve estimation proficiency with choose appropriate development approaches In the early stage of software life cycle project manager are inefficient to estimate the effort, schedule, cost estimation and its development approach . This in turn, confuses the manager to bid effectively on software project and choose incorrect development approach. That will directly effect on productivity cycle and increase level of uncertainty. This becomes a strong cause of project failure. So to avoid such problem if we know level and sources of uncertainty in model design, It will directive the developer to design accurate software cost and schedule estimation. Which are essential for software project success . However once the required efforts have estimated, little is done to recalibrate and reduce the uncertainty of the initial estimates. This paper demonstrates terminology and typology of uncertainty is presented together with a framework for the modeling process, Brief reviews have been made of 14 different (partly complementary) methods commonly used in uncertainty assessment its interaction with the broader system development process and the role of uncertainty at different stages in the modeling processes. The applicability of these methods has been mapped according to purpose of application, stage of the modeling process and source and type of uncertainty addressed.
Rational Expectations and Ambiguity: A Comment on Abel (2002)

Abel (2002) proposes a resolution of the riskfree rate and the equity premium puzzles by considering pessimism and doubt. Pessimism is characterized by subjective probabilistic beliefs about asset returns that are stochastically dominated by the objective distribution of these returns. The subjective distribution is characterized by doubt if it is a meanpreserving spread of the objective distribution. This note offers a decision theoretic foundation of Abel’s ad-hoc definitions of pessimism and doubt under the assumption that individuals exhibit ambiguity attitudes in the sense of Schmeidler (1989). In particular, we show that the behavior of a representative agent, who resolves her uncertainty with respect to the true distribution of asset returns in a pessimistic way, is the equivalent to pessimism in Abel’s sense. Furthermore, a representative agent, who takes into account pessimistic as well as optimistic considerations, may result in the equivalent to doubt in Abel’s sense.
An Exploration of Quality Control in Banking and Finance

This article discusses the use of quality control techniques in the improvement of the trading, finance, banking, and service industries. One such technique being used to assess performance of trading machines is statistical process control (SPC). In addition, quality management initiatives are being implemented in Hong Kong banks to improve their competitive position. Finally, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques are improving the competitiveness of banking and service industries in the U.S. Finally, some exploration into the improvement of government services using LSS and TQM practices is attempted.
Deriving query suggestions for site search

Modern search engines have been moving away from simplistic interfaces that aimed at satisfying a user's need with a single‐shot query. Interactive features are now integral parts of web search engines. However, generating good query modification suggestions remains a challenging issue. Query log analysis is one of the major strands of work in this direction. Although much research has been performed on query logs collected on the web as a whole, query log analysis to enhance search on smaller and more focused collections has attracted less attention, despite its increasing practical importance. In this article, we report on a systematic study of different query modification methods applied to a substantial query log collected on a local website that already uses an interactive search engine. We conducted experiments in which we asked users to assess the relevance of potential query modification suggestions that have been constructed using a range of log analysis methods and different baseline approaches. The experimental results demonstrate the usefulness of log analysis to extract query modification suggestions. Furthermore, our experiments demonstrate that a more fine‐grained approach than grouping search requests into sessions allows for extraction of better refinement terms from query log files.
Chapter 3 Defining Privacy for Data Mining

Privacy preserving data mining – getting valid data mining results without learning the underlying data values – has been receiving attention in the research community and beyond. It is unclear what privacy preserving means. This paper provides a framework and metrics for discussing the meaning of privacy preserving data mining, as a foundation for further research in this field.
Estimation of a Nonparametric Censored Regression

In this paper we consider identiication and estimation of a censored nonparametric location scale model. We rst show that in the case where the location function is strictly less than the ((xed) censoring point for all values in the support of the explanatory variables, then the location function is not identiied anywhere. In contrast, if the location function is greater or equal to the censor-ing point with positive probability, then the location function is identiied on the entire support, including the region where the location function is below the censoring point. In the latter case we propose a simple estimation procedure based on combining conditional quantile estimators for three distinct quantiles. The new estimator is shown to converge at the optimal nonparametric rate with a limiting normal distribution. A small scale simulation study indicates that the proposed estimation procedure performs well in nite samples.