Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholecystokinin-A signaling regulates automaticity of pacemaker cardiomyocytes

Aims The behavior of pacemaker cardiomyocytes (PCs) in the sinoatrial node (SAN) is modulated by neurohormonal and paracrine factors, many of which signal through G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The aims of the present study are to catalog GPCRs that are differentially expressed in the mammalian SAN and to define the acute physiological consequences of activating the cholecystokinin-A signaling system in isolated PCs. Methods and Results Using bulk and single cell RNA sequencing datasets, we identify a set of GPCRs that are differentially expressed between SAN and right atrial tissue, including several whose roles in PCs and in the SAN have not been thoroughly characterized. Focusing on one such GPCR, Cholecystokinin-A receptor (CCKAR), we demonstrate expression of Cckar mRNA specifically in mouse PCs, and further demonstrate that subsets of SAN fibroblasts and neurons within the cardiac intrinsic nervous system express cholecystokinin, the ligand for CCKAR. Using mouse models, we find that while baseline SAN function is not dramatically affected by loss of CCKAR, the firing rate of individual PCs is slowed by exposure to sulfated cholecystokinin-8 (sCCK-8), the high affinity ligand for CCKAR. The effect of sCCK-8 on firing rate is mediated by reduction in the rate of spontaneous phase 4 depolarization of PCs and is mitigated by activation of beta-adrenergic signaling. Conclusions (1) PCs express many GPCRs whose specific roles in SAN function have not been characterized, (2) Activation of the the cholecystokinin-A signaling pathway regulates PC automaticity.
A cautionary note on adjusting weights for nonresponse

For surveys which involve more than one stage of data collection, one method recommended for adjusting weights for nonresponse (after the first stage of data collection) entails utilizing auxiliary variables (from previous stages of data collection) which are identified as predictors of nonresponse. In the final stage of data collection for the United States National Animal Health Monitoring System’s Beef ’97 Study, two variables were identified that clearly separated eligible producers by their propensity to respond. However, these variables were noticeably inferior to simple region by herd-size categories as predictors of responses that eligible producers gave for other questions in previous data-collection stages. Therefore, we decided to form weight-adjustment classes by region and herd size, even though other variables were greater predictors of response. When selecting auxiliary variables to adjust weights for nonresponse, we recommend that survey statisticians also evaluate the extent to which these auxiliary variables are related to data which nonrespondents would have provided. Using auxiliary variables which exhibit the greatest variation in response propensity may result in the greatest variation in weight-adjustment factors, but may bias population estimates for parameters unrelated to the chosen auxiliary variables.
Using self Organizing Networks for Moving Object TrajectoryPrediction

Trajectory prediction for moving objects in a Robotic navigational environment is a challenging problem where, a Robot either follows a given trajectory or keeps track of a moving object. This paper proposes a method for predicting the trajectory and the final destination of a moving object in a Fuzzy navigational environment. Trajectory prediction is done using Fuzzy based Self Organizing Map Networks. The proposed technique learns the typical motions of moving objects and predicts the trajectory of a moving object by observing its partial motion. The environmental uncertainties are effectively addressed by the Fuzzy navigational system. Self Organizing Map efficiently clusters the learned motion trajectories and classifies the observed partial motion trajectory to the nearest cluster class in a short duration. Results are tested for Real Life data sets.Performance of the proposed predictor is better in response time and comparable in relative error to the existing algorithms.
Delay-Optimal Opportunistic Scheduling and Approximations: The Log Rule

This paper considers the design of opportunistic packet schedulers for users sharing a time-varying wireless channel from the performance and the robustness points of view. Firstly, for a simplified model falling in the classical Markov decision process framework where arrival and channel statistics are known, we numerically compute and evaluate the characteristics of mean-delay-optimal scheduling policies. The computed policies exhibit radial sum-rate monotonicity (RSM), i.e., when users' queues grow linearly (i.e. scaled up by a constant), the scheduler allocates service in a manner that de-emphasizes the balancing of unequal queues in favor of maximizing current system throughput (being opportunistic). This is in sharp contrast to previously proposed policies, e.g., MaxWeight and Exp rule. The latter, however, are throughput-optimal, in that without knowledge of arrival/channel statistics they achieve stability if at all feasible. To meet performance and robustness objectives, secondly, we propose a new class of policies, called the Log rule, that are radial sum-rate monotone and provably throughput optimal. Our simulations for realistic wireless channels confirm the superiority of the Log rule which achieves up to 80% reduction in mean packet delays. However, recent asymptotic analysis showed that Exp rule is optimal in terms of minimizing the asymptotic probability of max-queue overflow. In turn, in a companion paper we have shown that an RSM policy minimizes the asymptotic probability of sum-queue overflow. Finally, we use extensive simulations to explore the various possible design objectives for opportunistic schedulers. When users see heterogenous channels, we find that minimizing the worst asymptotic exponent across users may excessively compromise the overall delay. Our simulations show that only if perfectly tuned to the load will the Exp rule achieve low homogenous tails across users. Otherwise the Log rule achieves a 20-75% reduction in the 99 th<- /sup> percentile for most, if not all, the users. We conclude that for wireless environments, where precise resource allocation is virtually impossible, the Log rule may be more desirable for its robust and graceful degradation to unpredicted changes.
In Others' Words

Translating a paper for a conference in Mexico led me to explore translation theory and to search the ethical nuances of presenting in my L2. Moments of cognitive weirdness in the transit from one language to the other illuminated some troubling theoretical problems, such as the invisibility of the traditional translator, the cultural “smoothing” of texts, and the revisionist tendency of translation itself. These in turn led me to query my position as an L1 speaker of English addressing in Spanish an audience in Latin America, and to question even attempting it. Was I an imposter speaking in others' words, or was Spanish gradually becoming my language, too? Along the way, I found myself comparing notes on my emotional relation to Spanish with the writer Jhumpa Lahiri's description of her relation to Italian, her own L2.
The prevalence and consequences of malnutrition risk in elderly Albanian intensive care unit patients

Purpose: Many investigators have reported rising numbers of elderly patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition risk in the ICU by comparing the prevalence of malnutrition between older adults (aged 65 years and above) and adults (aged 18–64 years), and to examine the negative consequences associated with risk of malnutrition in older adults. Materials and methods: A prospective cohort study in the ICU of the University Hospital Center of Tirana, Albania, was conducted. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of malnutrition risk on the length of ICU stay, the duration of being on the ventilator, the total complications, the infectious complications, and the mortality. Results: In this study, 963 patients participated, of whom 459 patients (47.7%) were aged  65 years. The prevalence of malnutrition risk at the time of ICU admission of the patients aged  65 years old was 71.24%. Logistic regression adjusted for confounders showed that malnutrition risk was an independent risk factor of poor clinical outcome for elderly ICU patients, for 1) infections (odds ratio [OR] = 4.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.61–7.31); 2) complications (OR = 6.73; 95% CI: 4.26–10.62); 3) mortality (OR = 2.68; 95% CI: 1.72–4.18); and 4) ICU length of stay  14 days (OR = 5.18, 95% CI: 2.43–11.06). Conclusion: Malnutrition risk is highly prevalent among elderly ICU patients, especially among severely ill patients with malignancy admitted to the emergency ward. ICU elderly patients at malnutrition risk will have higher complication and infection rates, longer duration of ICU stay, and increased mortality. Efforts should be made to implement a variety of nutritional care strategies, to change the nutritional practices not only at ward level, but nationally, according to the best clinical practice such as confusion, dementia,
Community night patrols in the Northern Territory : toward an improved performance and reporting framework

This Technical and Background Paper summarises the results of a Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department’s funded project. The project aimed to clarify the contribution of the community night patrol program in the Northern Territory (NT) to improving the community safety of Indigenous communities. The paper recommends an improved framework for monitoring performance and reporting. Community night patrols or similar services operate in many other areas of Australia and internationally. The paper concludes that the core business of community night patrols is (non-crisis) crime prevention not defacto policing. It also concludes that an unrecognised outcome of patrols is capturing and sharing local knowledge about community safety issues and solutions. Over time, community night patrols should focus on working with other services to reduce the need for repeat assistance to persons at risk and for risky incidents. The recently released Northern Territory Emergency Response Evaluation Report (2011) confirmed that communities and service providers surveyed largely support night patrols, but better data is required to more comprehensively assess their performance.
A Distributed Stochastic Approximation Approach for Max-Min Fair Rate Control of Flows in Packet Networks

A significant portion of the traffic in packet data networks is from store-and-forward sessions. Such traffic flows areelastic, i.e., they can adapt to the transfer rate that the network ca n provide them. The network reserves bandwidth for real-time session , such as interactive voice, and dynamically shares the remaining bandwidth among the elastic sessions, in order to achieve some bandwidth sharing objective, such as max-min fairness. A di stributed algorithm is required for this purpose. Several distributed algorithms for max-min fair r te allocation are available in the literature [9],[15], [16],[6]. The underlying assumption in thes e algorithms has been the availability of a fixed available capacity on each link for an extended period of time. However, in practice the available capacity will have rapid fluctuations due to the in trinsic rate variations of the guaranteed bandwidth flows. In this paper we develop an approach based on the distributed stochastic approximation algorithm that computes the max-min fair rate alloc ation when the available capacity is a stochastic process. Each session can request a minimum rate guarantee , hence we work with a notion of max-min fairness with minimum rates. The stochast ic approximation iterations converge to the stable point of a certain differential equation. A maj or part of this paper is a proof that this stable point is the desired vector of max-min fair rates.
Evaluation and selection of Manufacturer PVC carpentry using FUCOM-MABAC model

Solving real-life problems using multi-criteria decision-making methods has become everyday. These methods represent a very useful tool and support for decision-making in all areas. In this paper is performed evaluation and selection of the manufacturers PVC carpentry using a combined multi-criteria model. Five potential manufacturers were evaluated on the basis of the seven criteria. For determination of the weights of the criteria, FUCOM (FUll COnsistency Method) was used, while the Multi-Attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison (MABAC) method was used to evaluate and select the PVC manufacturer. The results show that the third alternative is the most suitable solution, as demonstrated by the sensitivity analysis. Four other methods were used in the sensitivity analysis: ARAS (Additive Ratio Assessment), WASPAS (Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment), EDAS (Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution), and SAW (Simple Additive Weighting). The obtained results using all methods show the complete correlation of ranks obtained using the MABAC method.
A ssessing the Usefulness of the Neutral Rate of Interest to Monetary Policy in Jamaica

Since the early 1990’s, the transmission mechanism of monetary policy in Ja-maica has been extensively researched. Most of this research focused on the speed and the effectiveness of the transmission. This paper extends the existing research by focusing on estimating and assessing the usefulness of the neutral rate of interest to the conduct of monetary policy. While the concept of the neutral rate is well-grounded in theory, as an unobservable variable, there are several proposed methods of estimation. In this paper, we estimate the neutral rate for Jamaica using four methods commonly found in the literature. Based on these methodologies, the real neutral rate is estimated to range between -2.6% to 2.6%, or 2.4% to 7.6% in nominal terms. This implies that the Bank of Jamaica’s current monetary policy stance has been fairly accommodative given recent sub-optimal trends in inflation and growth.
A 3-D Path Planner for Mobile Robot in Circuit Map

The complexity in 3-D path planning can be overcome by means of making multi-cage 3-D circuit map. And the path planning is transformed into current computing and tracing in circuit map. The resistors in a circuit map are determined by obstacles, risk areas, current or swirl, which have interference on AUVs or flying robots. The branches with the largest current constitute the path segments. This environment modeling method could reflect the practical conditions in physics space effectively. The path planning result shows good performance in synthetic decision. Simulations prove its feasibility, effect and efficiency.
Blind Source Separation of Traffic-Induced Vibrations in Building Monitoring

The paper presents an approach able to separate the vibrations induced by underground traffic from the vibrations induced by other sources, based on second order blind identification (SOBI) algorithm. The signals recorded in different locations of an instrumented building are mixed signals from different internal and external vibration sources. The blind source separation algorithm will estimate the independent vibration sources, as well as the mixing model of them. This model can be used to determine the contribution of each source in different measurement points, to evaluate the effect of vibration sources and their potential for building damage. The approach has been tested in simulation and on a building subject to different traffic forms.
Chitosan–alginate BSA-gel-capsules for local chemotherapy against drug-resistant breast cancer

Background and object Polyelectrolyte microcapsule is a promising candidate for multifunctional drug delivery system. However, the lack of reports about animal experiments have greatly slowed down their development for drug delivery. We engineered biodegradable chitosan–alginate polyelectrolyte multilayer capsule filled with bovine serum albumin gel (BSA-gel-capsule). Herein, we demonstrated their applicability for local chemotherapy, a means of treating local or regional malignancies by direct administration of anti-tumor agents to tumor sites. Method Doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded in BSA-gel-capsules and DOX-resistant cell line (MCF-7/ADR cells) was employed for antitumor studies in vitro. The cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and distribution of DOX from BSA-gel-capsules were studied. Afterwards, MCF-7/ADR xenografts tumor model was established in nude mice. The in vivo antitumor efficacy of DOX-loaded BSA-gel-capsules by intratumor injection was then evaluated. Result Compared with free DOX, more effective cytotoxicity against MCF-7/ADR cells after treatment with DOX-loaded BSA-gel-capsules was revealed, demonstrating the positive reversal effect on drug-resistance. Thereafter, the more cellular uptake and nucleus distribution of DOX from BSA-gel-capsules in MCF-7/ADR cells provided convincing explanation for the reversal effect. DOX-loaded BSA-gel-capsules displayed remarkably more antitumor efficacy than free DOX in MCF-7/ADR cell-xenografted mice. Finally, the high DOX accumulation and prolonged retention in tumor site after local administration of DOX-loaded BSA-gel-capsules was demonstrated, displaying the unique advantages of BSA-gel-capsules for local chemotherapy. Conclusion These findings indicate that DOX-loaded BSA-gel-capsules should be considered a potential candidate for the treatment of drug-resistant breast cancer. This paper provides a feasibility for the local chemotherapy of polyelectrolyte microcapsules, which will be a big step towards their application as drug delivery vehicles.
Pregnancy Hypertension : An International Journal of Women ’ s Cardiovascular Health

Pre-eclampsia is associated with an unacceptable burden of death (maternal, fetal and neonatal), disability and health crises throughout the world [1]. However, it is in low and middle income countries (LMICs) that women, their families and their communities bear a disproportionate risk for developing the life-ending, life-threatening, and life-altering complications of pre-eclampsia; it is believed that over 99% of the estimated 70–80,000 annual maternal and 500,000 annual perinatal pre-eclampsia-related deaths occur in LMICs [1]. Many of these complications arise in women who never reach the formal health care system, or who arrive too late to be saved. This disparity in outcomes between women in high income countries and those in LMICs represents a social equity issue [2]. Why are the actuarial risks faced by women with preeclampsia in high income countries dramatically lower when compared with women in LMICs? Along with others, we believe that the answer lies, in large part, in (i) the provision of effective routine antenatal care in high income countries, with accelerated visits near and at term (leading to pre-eclampsia detection), (ii) increased awareness of, and responsiveness to, symptoms by women in high income countries (leading to self-referral for assessment), (iii) diagnostic and surveillance capacity in high income countries, (iv) the control of severe pregnancy hypertension (because blood pressure is measured and severe hypertension is diagnosed), (v) the prevention and treatment of eclampsia with MgSO4 (which is available in all institutions), (vi) timely delivery (given excellent neonatal supportive care), and (vii) maternal organ support (including intensive care and blood transfusion, if necessary) during the recovery phase. The possibility of biological risk factors in LMICs such as dietary deficiencies remains to be proven. Can key elements of this high income country care be introduced into LMICs in a cost-effective manner and while
Design Challenges for Low-resource Cross-lingual Entity Linking

Cross-lingual Entity Linking (XEL), the problem of grounding mentions of entities in a foreign language text into an English knowledge base such as Wikipedia, has seen a lot of research in recent years, with a range of promising techniques. However, current techniques do not rise to the challenges introduced by text in low-resource languages (LRL) and, surprisingly, fail to generalize to text not taken from Wikipedia, on which they are usually trained. This paper provides a thorough analysis of low-resource XEL techniques, focusing on the key step of identifying candidate English Wikipedia titles that correspond to a given foreign language mention. Our analysis indicates that current methods are limited by their reliance on Wikipedia's interlanguage links and thus suffer when the foreign language's Wikipedia is small. We conclude that the LRL setting requires the use of outside-Wikipedia cross-lingual resources and present a simple yet effective zero-shot XEL system, QuEL, that utilizes search engines query logs. With experiments on 25 languages, QuEL~shows an average increase of 25\% in gold candidate recall and of 13\% in end-to-end linking accuracy over state-of-the-art baselines.
Hussein Search Algorithm: A Novel Efficient Searching Algorithm in Constant Time Complexity

—Hussein search algorithm focuses on the fundamental concept of searching in computer science and aims to enhance the retrieval of data from various data warehouses. The efficiency of cloud systems is substantially influenced by the manner in which data is saved and retrieved, given the vast quantity of data being generated and stored in the cloud. The act of searching entails the systematic endeavor of locating a particular item within a substantial volume of data, and searching algorithms offer methodical strategies for accomplishing this task. There exists a wide array of searching algorithms, each exhibiting variations in terms of the search procedure, time complexity, and space complexity. The choice of the suitable algorithm is contingent upon various aspects, including the magnitude of the dataset, the distribution of the data, and the desired temporal and spatial intricacy. This study presents a novel prediction-based searching algorithm named the Hussein search algorithm. The system is designed to operate in a straightforward manner and makes use of a simple data structure. This study relies on fundamental mathematical computations and incorporates the interpolation search algorithm, an algorithm that introduces a search by-prediction method for uniformly distributed lists, it forecasts the precise position of the queried object. The cost of prediction remains consistent and, in numerous instances, falls under the O(1) range. Hussein search algorithm exhibits enhanced efficiency in comparison to the binary search and ternary search algorithms, both of which are widely regarded as the best methods for searching sorted data.
Submitted to Ieee Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems Pedestrian Detection and Tracking Using a Mixture of View-based Shape-texture Models

This paper presents a robust multi-cue approach to the integrated detection and tracking of pedestrians in cluttered urban environment. A novel spatio-temporal object representation is proposed that combines a generative shape model and a discriminative texture classifier, both composed of a mixture of pose-specific submodels. Shape is represented by a set of linear subspace models, an extension of Point Distribution Models, with shape transitions modeled by a first-order Markov process. Texture, i.e. the shape-normalized intensity pattern, is represented by a manifold implicitly delimited by a set of pattern classifiers, while texture transition is modeled by a random walk. Direct 3D measurements provided by a stereo system are furthermore incorporated into the observation density function. We employ a Bayesian framework based on particle filtering to achieve integrated object detection and tracking. Large-scale experiments involving pedestrian detection and tracking from a moving vehicle demonstrate the benefit of the proposed approach.