Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Initial Population for Genetic Algorithms: A Metric Approach

Besides the difficulty of the application problem to be solved with Genetic Algorithms (GAs), an additional difficulty arises because the quality of the solution found, or the computational resources required to find it, depends on the selection of the Genetic Algorithm’s characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to gain some insight into one of those characteristics: the difficult problem of finding a good initial population. We summarize previous approaches and metrics related to this problem and we suggest the center of mass as an alternative metric to measurement diversity at the population level. This theoretical approach of analysis and measure of the diversity of the initial random population is important and could be quite necessary for the design of GAs because of the relation of the initial population to other GA parameters and operators and because of its relation to the problem of premature convergence.
Hydrodynamic shear shows distinct roles for LFA-1 and Mac-1 in neutrophil adhesion to intercellular adhesion molecule-1.

The binding of neutrophil beta2 integrin to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expressed on the inflamed endothelium is critical for neutrophil arrest at sites of tissue inflammation. To quantify the strength and kinetics of this interaction, we measured the adhesion between chemotactically stimulated neutrophils and ICAM-1-transfected mouse cells (E3-ICAM) in suspension in a cone-plate viscometer at shear rates typical of venular blood flow (100 s-1 to 500 s-1). The kinetics of aggregation were fit with a mathematical model based on two-body collision theory. This enabled estimation of adhesion efficiency, defined as the probability with which collisions between cells resulted in firm adhesion. The efficiency of beta2-integrin-dependent adhesion was highest ( approximately 0.2) at 100 s-1 and it decreased to approximately zero at 400 s-1. Both LFA-1 and Mac-1 contributed equally to adhesion efficiency over the initial 30 seconds of stimulation, but adhesion was entirely Mac-1-dependent by 120 seconds. Two hydrodynamic parameters were observed to influence integrin-dependent adhesion efficiency: the level of shear stress and the intercellular contact duration. Below a critical shear stress (<2 dyn/cm2), contact duration predominantly limited adhesion efficiency. The estimated minimum contact duration for beta2-integrin binding was approximately 6.5 ms. Above the critical shear stress (>2 dyn/cm2), the efficiency of neutrophil adhesion to E3-ICAM was limited by both the contact duration and the tensile stress. We conclude that at low shear, neutrophil adhesion is modulated independently through either LFA-1 or Mac-1, which initially contribute with equal efficiency, but differ over the duration of chemotactic stimulation.
Synchrony and so much more: Diverse roles for electrical synapses in neural circuits

Electrical synapses are neuronal gap junctions that are ubiquitous across brain regions and species. The biophysical properties of most electrical synapses are relatively simple—transcellular channels allow nearly ohmic, bidirectional flow of ionic current. Yet these connections can play remarkably diverse roles in different neural circuit contexts. Recent findings illustrate how electrical synapses may excite or inhibit, synchronize or desynchronize, augment or diminish rhythms, phase‐shift, detect coincidences, enhance signals relative to noise, adapt, and interact with nonlinear membrane and transmitter‐release mechanisms. Most of these functions are likely to be widespread in central nervous systems. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 610–624, 2017
Innate Immune Programing by Endotoxin and Its Pathological Consequences

Monocytes and macrophages play pivotal roles in inflammation and homeostasis. Recent studies suggest that dynamic programing of macrophages and monocytes may give rise to distinct “memory” states. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a classical pattern recognition molecule, dynamically programs innate immune responses. Emerging studies have revealed complex dynamics of cellular responses to LPS, with high doses causing acute, resolving inflammation, while lower doses are associated with low-grade and chronic non-resolving inflammation. These phenomena hint at dynamic complexities of intra-cellular signaling circuits downstream of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). In this review, we examine pathological effects of varying LPS doses with respect to the dynamics of innate immune responses and key molecular regulatory circuits responsible for these effects.
Effects of Deforestation on Tropical Freshwater Streams : A Study of Coarse Grain Size Distribution in Streambed Sediments

Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second oldest (9-12Ma) and second largest (1470m deep, 50km wide and 650km long) lake. Lake Tanganyika is a rift valley lake located in the western arm of the Tertiary East Africa Rift System (Cohen et al. 2003). As human population continues to grow in the coastal areas surrounding Lake Tanganyika, the watersheds that drain into the lake continue to be deforested in order to provide wood for fuel and building material and to bring more land under cultivation. The vegetation cover in a stream’s watershed is one of the factors that controls the sediments delivered into the lake. A study by Nkotagu et al. (2000) has shown that sediment influx from deforested watersheds can have detrimental effects on the stability of the lake’s ecosystem. This is a concern because the lake is a major source of food and revenue for the surrounding countries. It has been estimated that each year 165,000 to 200,000 metric tons of fish are being produced from the lake (O’Reilly et al. 2003). It is necessary to more fully understand how deforestation affects the erosional processes within the watersheds that feed into Lake Tanganyika.
Emotion Analysis using Thermal Images based on Kernel Eigen Spaces

Emotion recognition using facial expression has become an active research topic in recent years. In this paper we present an efficient method for emotion recognition, which has better performance over previous art of works. This work proposes an efficient attempt to investigate the suitability and sensitivity of the thermal imaging technique to detect specific muscles heat patterns and there by predicting the emotions. In this work, feature extraction is carried out by Kernel PCM and emotion classification is performed using Multi Class SVM. Thermal imaging is used for the investigation of Action Unit (AU) productions. A facial AU represents the contraction of a specific muscle or a combination of muscles, and earlier research had demonstrated that such muscle contraction induces an increase in skin temperature. For this reason, thermal imaging analysis might be well suited to detect AU production and there by predicting the emotional state of a person. We used a multi class SVM approach to classify nine different AUs or combinations of AUs and to differentiate their speed and strength of contraction. The Multi class SVM classifier gives promising results for the emotion classification process General Terms Classification, Algorithms, Learning, Features, Emotions
Men’s Choices and Masculine Duties

This article analyzes the debate among family experts about fathering in Finland from the 1980s to recent years. The controversy is whether shared parenting between women and men is good for children and for men themselves or whether a gendered division of parenting should be advocated instead. Both discourses perceive men as important as fathers but disagree on the care of babies and very young children. Irrespective of position, experts stress that the choices made by men regarding fatherhood are individual and have wide-ranging consequences in their lives and the lives of their children, especially of boys. Experts view motherhood as a societal duty, and fatherhood as personal and elective. If fathers’ choices are stressed as a moral issue, it is because fathers are seen as masculine actors, not as nurturers. The author argues that the radical societal ethos of shared parenting seems to have weakened, or even disappeared.
Factors that influence the willingness of private primary care pediatricians to accept more Medicaid patients.

OBJECTIVE State Medicaid programs are obligated by federal law to ensure that enrolled children have access to care and services to the same extent as other children in the same geographic area. Because most children in the United States receive health care from private primary care physicians, participation by private, office-based primary care pediatricians is critical to meeting this equal access obligation. The objective of this study was to document variations in Medicaid participation of private office-based primary care pediatricians across states and to examine the effects of payment levels, prevalence of capitated Medicaid payment, and paperwork concerns on participation. METHODS Survey data collected from 3773 primary care pediatricians who practice in private office-based settings were analyzed with Medicaid physician payment data from other sources. Univariate analyses and a multiple regression were used to examine the effects of payment level, prevalence of capitated Medicaid payment, and paperwork concerns on private primary care pediatricians' participation in state Medicaid programs. RESULTS Results revealed substantial state-to-state variation in respondents' participation in Medicaid. Univariate analyses found that participation increased with state Medicaid payment levels but decreased as the proportion of Medicaid enrollees with primary care capitated payments rose and as paperwork concerns increased. With physician workforce held constant, a regression analysis showed that pediatrician participation in Medicaid increased significantly with Medicaid payment but decreased as the proportion of capitated Medicaid patients increased and as paperwork concerns rose. CONCLUSIONS This study found that low payment, capitation, and paperwork concerns all relate to low Medicaid participation by primary care office-based pediatricians. It behooves state policy makers to address these 3 factors to ensure sufficient primary care physician capacity to serve appropriately children who are enrolled in state Medicaid programs.
The Arginine Residue within the C-Terminal Active Core of Bombyx mori Pheromone Biosynthesis-Activating Neuropeptide is Essential for Receptor Binding and Activation

In most lepidopteran insects, the biosynthesis of sex pheromones is regulated by pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN). Bombyx mori PBAN (BomPBAN) consists of 33 amino acid residues and contains a C-terminus FSPRLamide motif as the active core. Among neuropeptides containing the FXPRLamide motif, the arginine (Arg, R) residue at the second position from the C-terminus is highly conserved across several neuropeptides, which can be designated as RXamide peptides. The purpose of this study was to clarify the role of the Arg residue in the BomPBAN active core. We synthesized 10-residue peptides corresponding to the C-terminal part of BomPBAN with a series of replacements at the second position from the C-terminus, termed the C2 position, and measured their efficacy in stimulating Ca2+ influx in insect cells expressing a fluorescent PBAN receptor chimera (PBANR–EGFP) using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, Fura Red–AM. The PBAN analogs with the C2 position replaced with alanine (Ala, A), aspartic acid (Asp, D), serine (Ser, S), or l-2-aminooctanoic acid (Aoc) decreased PBAN-like activity. RC2A (SKTRYFSPALamide) and RC2D (SKTRYFSPDLamide) had the lowest activity and could not inhibit the activity of PBAN C10 (SKTRYFSPRLamide). We also prepared Rhodamine Red-labeled peptides of the PBAN analogs and examined their ability to bind PBANR. In contrast to Rhodamine Red-PBAN C10 at 100 nM, none of the synthetic analogs exhibited PBANR binding at the same concentration. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the C2 Arg residue in BomPBAN is essential for PBANR binding and activation.
Developing EBDI agents

BDI (Belief Desire Intention) cognitive framework has become a popular tool to design intelligent agents. Particularly, EBDI (Emotional BDI) agents have emerged strongly in the last years. Its affective modeling usually includes emotions, mood, personality and also some affective capacities. Despite this, there are affective aspects that are not considered when modeling affection and a proposal that integrates them in an efficient way is still missing. We propose an EBDI framework that integrates affection and affective capacities taking into account the emotional influence in the cognitive process.
Novel strategies for characterizing T Cell responses in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the cause of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and has killed over 25 million people since the disease was first recognized in 1981. As of 2007, 33 million people globally are infected with HIV and this number is growing.1 HIV infects and depletes CD4+ helper T cells, affecting the ability of the immune system to defend the host against common infections. While anti-retroviral therapy has decreased morbidity and mortality, these drugs are not curative. In addition, they are beyond the financial reach of many HIV infected patients. Thus, the development of strategies to control HIV spread is a high priority. The most relevant animal model for studying HIV is the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) infected rhesus monkey. While HIV research has focused on studying peripheral blood specimens, mucosal sites have recently been identified as a focal point for HIV replication and tissue destruction. They are usually the sites of primary infection in the setting of sexual transmission and they are also important sites of immune depletion. If methods for controlling the replication of the virus early after infection in mucosal sites are available, it may be possible to eliminate the virus prior to systemic spread. While strategies for generating strong neutralizing antibody responses have not yet been developed, emerging data suggest that CD8+ cytotoxic T cells can contribute substantially to early virus control. It is important to study CD8+ T cells in the setting of SIV infection in rhesus monkeys, particularly in mucosal sites, using functional as well as transcriptional assays. One of the challenges in studying mucosal cellular immunity is the limited number of cells available in biopsies, making traditional assay systems such as flow cytometry very difficult to employ. Here, technologies for isolating rare cell populations and extracting RNA from these cells for gene expression analysis were developed. These technologies were then applied to peripheral blood specimens, looking at gene expression differences between virus-specific CD8+ T cells in Mamu-A*01+ and Mamu-A*02+ monkeys. The ultimate goal of these studies is to gain a better understanding of SIV immunopathogenesis (as a model for HIV immunopathogenesis) and to find a way to control or eliminate the virus. Thesis Supervisor: Norman L. Letvin Title: Professor of Medicine
Tapering of the Cervical Spinal Canal in Patients with Scoliosis with and without the Chiari I Malformation

BACKGROUND: Cervical spinal canal tapering may increase CSF velocities and pressures. One report suggests that the cervical spinal canal tapers more steeply in patients with Chiari I than in healthy subjects. The goal of this study was to test the conclusion by measuring spinal canal tapering in another cohort of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with scoliosis and MR imaging were selected. The MR images were evaluated for tonsillar herniation and syringomyelia. On a midline T2-weighted MR image, the anteroposterior diameter of the spinal canal was measured at each cervical level, and a linear trend line was fit by least-squares regression. The slope of this line was recorded as the taper ratio in millimeters/level. Patients with >5 mm of tonsillar herniation (with or without syrinx) were compared with those without tonsillar herniation (with or without syrinx). Differences in taper ratios for the 2 groups were tested for significance by the Kruskal-Willis test with significance set at . 05. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients with scoliosis were identified; 22 had a Chiari malformation and 32 did not. Syringomyelia was identified in 20 of the patients with Chiari and in 8 of the others. The taper ratios averaged −0.9 mm/level for the patients with a Chiari malformation (with or without a syrinx) and −0.4 mm/level for those without it, significant at P = . 035. Syringomyelia did not substantially alter the taper ratio in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with scoliosis with a Chiari malformation have more steeply tapering cervical spinal canals than those without it.
Polynomial time algorithms for two classes of subgraph problem

We design a O(n 3 ) polynomial time algorithm for finding a (k -1)- regular subgraph in a k -regular graph without any induced star K 1,3 (claw-free). A polynomial time algorithm for finding a cubic subgraph in a 4-regular locally connected graph is also given. A family of k -regular graphs with an induced star K 1,3 ( k even, k ≥ 6) , not containing any ( k -1)-regular subgraph is also constructed.
Interkulturelle Öffnung des psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutischen Versorgungssystems

Zusammenfassung Obwohl Migranten mit 20% zahlenmäßig keine Minderheit in Deutschland darstellen, gehört eine adäquate kultursensible psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutische Behandlung nicht zum klinischen Alltag. Die Inanspruchnahme psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutischer Hilfen ist je nach Setting und Art des Angebots sehr unterschiedlich, wobei zahlreiche Zugangsbarrieren von Seiten des Gesundheitssystems und der Migranten die Inanspruchnahme erschweren. Mit dem Konzept der interkulturellen Öffnung sollen bestehende Zugangshindernisse systematisch abgebaut werden, um eine gleiche und gleich gute psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutische Behandlung für die migrantische Population zu gewährleisten. Neben dem Bereitstellen muttersprachlicher Informationen, dem Einsatz von Sprachund Kulturmittlern, sollte die Förderung interkultureller Kompetenzen innerhalb der Behandlungsteams, vorangetrieben werden.
Energy and QoS — A new perspective in a city vehicular communication network

Since most of the energy is consumed by base stations' equipment, it is better to deploy significantly fewer base stations (BSs), switch off as many as possible or utilise low power consuming ones to save energy. This is usually achieved, however, at the expense of quality of service (QoS). In this paper, we reduce the number of BSs deployed to save energy and study a number of routing schemes employing our vehicular city simulator to fulfil the QoS. While operating in the ad hoc mode, we demonstrate that it is necessary to put the maximum percentage of vehicular nodes to the sleeping mode to save energy. To achieve this, we utilise a clustering scheme in which cluster heads (CHs) are responsible for out of range communication. Our simulation results reveal that energy savings up to 2 times are achieved compared to the fully operational vehicle-to-roadside (V2R) scenario and up to 9 times compared to other routing schemes while attaining the required QoS.
Longitudinal changes in myocardial basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) activity following coronary artery ligation in the dog.

Although fibroblast growth factor has been identified in normal and ischemic myocardium, temporal changes in mitogenic activity due to fibroblast growth factors in ischemic tissue have not been well established, nor has correlation been made with the known early increases in coronary collateral flow. This study sought to measure fibroblast growth factor activity in myocardium after coronary ligation. Accordingly the left anterior descending coronary artery of dogs was ligated and coronary collateral flow measured with radioactive microspheres. The heart was arrested after 2 h (four dogs), 1 week (four dogs), 2 weeks (three dogs), or 8 weeks (four dogs). Just before arrest collateral flow was again measured with radioactive microspheres, and the perfusion territory of the ligated vessel was demarcated with an intracoronary injection of Evans blue. The stained ischemic region was separated into central and peripheral portions. A transmural sample was removed from each portion for quantitation of tissue radioactivity and the rest was used for isolation of fibroblast growth factor and the measurement of mitogenic activity with vascular endothelial cells. To determine which fibroblast growth factor (FGF-1 or FGF-2) was being produced by the myocardium, aliquots of the isolated protein were first treated with specific antibodies to FGF-1 or FGF-2 before being assayed for mitogenicity. Coronary collateral flow did not change between 5 min and 2 h following coronary ligation, but was significantly increased at later time points. The ischemic/normal myocardial basic fibroblast growth factor mitogenic activity ratio in the peripheral ischemic tissue was increased after 2 h of ischemia (1.41 +/- 0.34), but the increase was not significant. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effect of destruction of the posterior pituitary on the diuresis from left atrial receptors.

1. In anaesthetized dogs, stimulation of atrial receptors after destruction of the pituitary gland results in a diuresis. This response was not abolished by the administration of bretylium tosylate and was also observed in a surgically denervated kidney. 2. The diuresis is qualitatively similar to that observed in anaesthetized dogs with intact pituitary glands. 3. It is concluded that the diuresis which results from stimulation of the left atrial receptors is mediated by a blood‐borne agent which is not the antidiuretic hormone.
Researching into the cellular shape, volume and elasticity of mesenchymal stem cells, osteoblasts and osteosarcoma cells by atomic force microscopy

Within the bone lie several different cell types, including osteoblasts (OBs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The MSCs are ideal targets for regenerative medicine of bone due to their differentiation potential towards OBs. Human MSCs exhibit two distinct morphologies: rapidly self‐renewing cells (RS) and flat cells (FC) with very low proliferation rates. Another cell type found in pathological bone conditions is osteosarcoma. In this study, we compared the topographic and morphometric features of RS and FC cells, human OBs and MG63 osteosarcoma cells by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results demonstrated clear differences: FC and hOB cells showed similar ruffled topography, whereas RS and MG63 cells exhibited smoother surfaces. Furthermore, we investigated how selected substrates influence cell morphometry. We found that RS and MG63 cells were flatter on fibrous substrates such as polystyrene and collagen I, but much more rounded on glass, the smoothest surface. In contrast, cells with large area, namely FC and hOB cells, did not exhibit pronounced changes in flatness with regards to the different substrates. They were, however, remarkably flatter in comparison to RS and MG63 cells. We could explain the differences in flatness by the extent of adhesion. Indeed, FC and hOB cells showed much higher content of focal adhesions. Finally, we used the AFM to determine the cellular Young's modulus. RS, FC and hOB cells showed comparable stiffness on the three different substrates, while MG63 cells demonstrated the unique feature of increased elasticity on collagen I. In summary, our results show, for the first time, a direct comparison between the morphometric and biophysical features of different human cell types derived from normal and pathological bone. Our study manifests the opinion that along with RNA, proteomic and functional research, morphological and biomechanical characterization of cells also reveals novel cell features and interrelationships.