Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Technical Opinion: Viewpoints on legacy systems

T he Y2K problem and business process re-engineering have raised awareness of legacy systems. Even so, there is little consensus about what a legacy system is. The wide variety of interpretations hampers discussion. For example, business people are amazed that a profitable product can be called a legacy system. However, it has been asserted that IBM's CICS is a legacy system because it requires legacy skills to maintain it and it is difficult to get people who have legacy skills, such as knowledge of old languages and old hardware. Listening to delegates at conferences and seminars we find similar puzzlement and disagreement. There is little possibility that any single definition will be universally accepted. We need to understand the apparent diversity of definitions. We suggest the variety originates from different valid viewpoints or perspectives. Anecdotes from conferences and seminars show that four viewpoints—developmental, operational, organizational, and strategic—are sufficient to dispel the confusion. The developmental viewpoint develops and maintains the organi-zation's systems. Those responsible have a very straightforward view of legacy systems. They understand the effects of change on the products of the development process and give software-orientated definitions such as " any code that has left development. " Other definitions include " as soon as the first piece of design has been done " or " as soon as the first requirement has been captured. " Readers may find these definitions extreme since they include every live system. However, taking a developmental viewpoint, we see they have a maintenance perspective. They concern the difficulties caused by changes in requirements and focus on change in the various representations of the system itself. Further, as with CICS, a legacy system is one handed on by those who were expert, but who are no longer involved, to those who are not expert. This expresses the need for information and skills to maintain the system. The operational viewpoint supports the business by operating its systems. There is a continuing need to provide an efficient service for the necessary volume of information gathering and query within appropriate response times. Systems that can no longer be operated to meet such requirements may be labeled legacy systems. Therefore, a legacy system is an operational system that was written using hardware and/or software which is no longer seen as part of the organization's current strategy. This could be construed as measuring systems by business fashion, not business need, …
TRAIL Signaling and Synergy Mechanisms Used in TRAIL-Based Combination Therapies

TRAIL and agonistic antibodies raised against TRAIL death receptors are highly promising new anticancer agents. In this brief review, we describe the recent advances in the molecular understanding of TRAIL signaling and the progress made in using TRAIL or agonistic antibodies clinically in mono- and combination therapies. Synergies have been reported in various scenarios of TRAIL-based multidrug treatments, and these can be used to potentiate the efficacy of therapies targeting TRAIL death receptors. We pay particular attention to structure the current knowledge on the diverse molecular mechanisms that are thought to give rise to these synergies and describe how different signaling features evoking synergies can be associated with distinct classes of drugs used in TRAIL-based combination treatments. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(1); 3–13. ©2012 AACR.
Quantum Algorithm for Continuous Global Optimization October 8 , 2001

We investigate the entwined roles of information and quantum algorithms in reducing the complexity of the global optimization problem (GOP). We show that: (i) a modest amount of additional information is su±cient to map the general continuous GOP into the (discrete) Grover problem; (ii) while this additional information is actually available in some classes of GOPs, it cannot be taken advantage of within classical optimization algorithms; (iii) on the contrary, quantum algorithms o®er a natural framework for the e±cient use of this information resulting in a speed-up of the solution of the GOP.
Insulin increases mRNA abundance of the amino acid transporter SLC7A5/LAT1 via an mTORC1‐dependent mechanism in skeletal muscle cells

Amino acid transporters (AATs) provide a link between amino acid availability and mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) activation although the direct relationship remains unclear. Previous studies in various cell types have used high insulin concentrations to determine the role of insulin on mTORC1 signaling and AAT mRNA abundance. However, this approach may limit applicability to human physiology. Therefore, we sought to determine the effect of insulin on mTORC1 signaling and whether lower insulin concentrations stimulate AAT mRNA abundance in muscle cells. We hypothesized that lower insulin concentrations would increase mRNA abundance of select AAT via an mTORC1‐dependent mechanism in C2C12 myotubes. Insulin (0.5 nmol/L) significantly increased phosphorylation of the mTORC1 downstream effectors p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) and ribosomal protein S6 (S6). A low rapamycin dose (2.5 nmol/L) significantly reduced the insulin‐(0.5 nmol/L) stimulated S6K1 and S6 phosphorylation. A high rapamycin dose (50 nmol/L) further reduced the insulin‐(0.5 nmol/L) stimulated phosphorylation of S6K1 and S6. Insulin (0.5 nmol/L) increased mRNA abundance of SLC38A2/SNAT2 (P ≤ 0.043) and SLC7A5/LAT1 (P ≤ 0.021) at 240 min and SLC36A1/PAT1 (P = 0.039) at 30 min. High rapamycin prevented an increase in SLC38A2/SNAT2 (P = 0.075) and SLC36A1/PAT1 (P ≥ 0.06) mRNA abundance whereas both rapamycin doses prevented an increase in SLC7A5/LAT1 (P ≥ 0.902) mRNA abundance. We conclude that a low insulin concentration increases SLC7A5/LAT1 mRNA abundance in an mTORC1‐dependent manner in skeletal muscle cells.
Developing an online steady-state visual evoked potential-based brain-computer interface system using EarEEG

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate an online steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI system using EarEEG. EarEEG is a novel recording concept where electrodes are embedded on the surface of earpieces customized to the individual anatomical shape of users' ear. It has been shown that the EarEEG can be used to record SSVEPs in previous studies. However, a long distance between the visual cortex and the ear makes the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of SSVEPs acquired by the EarEEG relatively low. Recently, filter bank- and training data-based canonical correlation analysis algorithms have shown significant performance improvement in terms of accuracy of target detection and information transfer rate (ITR). This study implemented an online four-class SSVEP-based BCI system using EarEEG. Four subjects participated in offline and online BCI experiments. For the offline classification, an average accuracy of 82.71±11.83 % was obtained using 4 sec-long SSVEPs acquired from earpieces. In the online experiment, all subjects successfully completed the tasks with an average accuracy of 87.92±12.10 %, leading to an average ITR of 16.60±6.55 bits/min. The results suggest that EarEEG can be used to perform practical BCI applications. The EarEEG has the potential to be used as a portable EEG recordings platform, that could enable real-world BCI applications.
Application of electrospray mass spectrometry to the structural determination of glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchors

The addition of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors to proteins is an important posttranslational modification in eukaryotic cells. The complete structural elucidation of GPI anchors is a complex process that requires relatively large amounts of starting material. In this paper, we assess the degree of structural information that can be obtained by applying electrospray mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry to permethylated GPI glycans prepared from a well-characterized GPI-anchored glycoprotein, the variant surface glycoprotein from Trypanosoma brucei. All GPI glycans contain a non-N-acetylated glucosamine residue, and permethylation leads to the formation of a fixed positive charge on the glycans, in the form of a quaternary amine. The permethylated glycans were detected as [M +- Na]2+- ions, and tandem mass spectrometry of these ions produced substantial, albeit incomplete, structural information on the branching patterns and linkage types for various GPI glycoforms of the variant surface glycoprotein.
NTNU-1@ScienceIE at SemEval-2017 Task 10: Identifying and Labelling Keyphrases with Conditional Random Fields

We present NTNU’s systems for Task A (prediction of keyphrases) and Task B (labelling as Material, Process or Task) at SemEval 2017 Task 10: Extracting Keyphrases and Relations from Scientific Publications (Augenstein et al., 2017). Our approach relies on supervised machine learning using Conditional Random Fields. Our system yields a micro F-score of 0.34 for Tasks A and B combined on the test data. For Task C (relation extraction), we relied on an independently developed system described in (Barik and Marsi, 2017). For the full Scenario 1 (including relations), our approach reaches a micro F-score of 0.33 (5th place). Here we describe our systems, report results and discuss errors.
Heterotypic Collagen Fibrils and Stabilizing Collagens

The embryonic chick cornea, a model system we have extensively studied for a number of years, has recently yielded information suggesting possible roles for different types and classes of collagens during embryonic development. The chick cornea develops through a series of precisely controlled temporal and spatial events involving cell differentiation, migration, and extracellular matrix production and assembly. These are diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 1. Each event involves, and is possibly dictated by, dramatic changes in the major molecular components of extracellular matrix-for example, collagens (to be considered here), proteoglycans,' and glycoproteins. * Morphologically3 the first major event in corneal morphogenesis is the formation of the primary corneal stroma (FIG. lA), a dense subepithelial matrix consisting of orthogonally arranged horizontal layers4 or bands' of collagen fibrils, each layer being one or two fibrils thick. This stroma then rapidly swells (FIG. 1B). Immediately thereafter it is populated by undifferentiated pericorneal mesenchymal cells, which invade by centripetal migration (FIG. 1B). These cells differentiate as mature stromal keratinocytes, as evidenced by the expression of corneal-specific antigens:' and synthesize the secondary, mature stroma (FIG. 1C). In this structure, each orthogonal
Gut Microbiota, Immunity, and Disease: A Complex Relationship

Our immune system has evolved to recognize and eradicate pathogenic microbes. However, we have a symbiotic relationship with multiple species of bacteria that occupy the gut and comprise the natural commensal flora or microbiota. The microbiota is critically important for the breakdown of nutrients, and also assists in preventing colonization by potentially pathogenic bacteria. In addition, the gut commensal bacteria appear to be critical for the development of an optimally functioning immune system. Various studies have shown that individual species of the microbiota can induce very different types of immune cells (e.g., Th17 cells, Foxp3+ regulatory T cells) and responses, suggesting that the composition of the microbiota can have an important influence on the immune response. Although the microbiota resides in the gut, it appears to have a significant impact on the systemic immune response. Indeed, specific gut commensal bacteria have been shown to affect disease development in organs other than the gut, and depending on the species, have been found to have a wide range of effects on diseases from induction and exacerbation to inhibition and protection. In this review, we will focus on the role that the gut microbiota plays in the development and progression of inflammatory/autoimmune disease, and we will also touch upon its role in allergy and cancer.
Observation of the Lenticulostriate Arteries in the Human Brain In Vivo Using 7.0T MR Angiography

Background and Purpose— We sought to examine the feasibility of observing the lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs) noninvasively by ultrahigh-field MRI with 7.0T. Methods— We used 3-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography with a radiofrequency coil optimized for 7.0T MRI. We examined the LSAs of 6 healthy subjects and compared 7.0T MR angiography images with 1.5T ones to examine the potentials of ultrahigh-field MRI for angiography. Results— The results show clear details of LSAs and their distribution in the normal healthy subjects with large variations in the shapes, the number of branches and the sites of origin. We also observed substantial differences between the left and right sides within each subject. Although we studied only 6 subjects, we found no age- or gender-related differences in the LSAs. Conclusions— The visualization of microvasculature of the brain, such as LSAs, using 7.0T MR angiography, is possible in in vivo human studies noninvasively. We, therefore, believe that it could play a major role in the study of small vascular abnormalities, such as the early stages of cerebral strokes.
A harvest of weeds yields insight into a case of contemporary evolution

When Charles Darwin was exploring the idea of evolution via natural selection, he looked to domesticated species, with the opening chapter of The Origin of Species titled ‘Variation Under Domestication’ (Darwin ). Domesticated species such as crops are a great example of artificial selection, which Darwin realized was analogous to natural selection. But growing among those carefully selected crop varieties are the unwelcome and unwanted plants we call weeds. Despite the importance of weeds and long‐standing interest in their evolution (Baker ), we still know little about how agricultural weeds evolve, and we often fail to take evolution into account when attempting to manage them (Neve et al. ). Agricultural weeds are subjected to the unique conditions of farm fields, such as frequent soil disturbance and the addition of water and nutrients. They are also confronted with aggressive attempts at their removal via herbicides and mechanical means. As such, they are under intense demographic and selective pressure and can potentially rapidly evolve in response. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Kuester and co‐authors make a rare attempt to understand contemporary evolution in an agricultural weed (Kuester et al. ). They do so using the powerful resurrection approach of comparing ancestors and descendants under common conditions (Franks et al. ). They sampled multiple populations of the weedy plant Ipomoea purpurea at two points in time. A comparison of these greenhouse‐grown ancestor and descendent populations showed that, over time, populations had lost significant levels of neutral genetic diversity, consistent with genetic bottlenecks. The authors also found a slight increase, on average, of resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup®. This work is one of a growing number of studies demonstrating rapid evolution in natural populations (Thompson ) and also reveals evidence of both selection and drift in populations of an agricultural weed.
Sentiment-based User Profiles in Microblogging Platforms

Twitter has become one of the major platforms for self-expression in the Social Web, mostly due to its adoption by mobile users and its short message format. This presents endless possibilities for social behavior researchers that, for the first time, have access to massive amounts of data generated by humans. Nevertheless, most of the current research on emotions in social platforms focuses on reactions to particular events, or crowd behavior. In this article we present our research in the identification and characterization of user sentiment profiles in online social media. By analyzing a dataset of more than 36,000 users, we identify several distinctive groups, according to similarities in their sentiment behavior. We study differences and similarities between these profile clusters and present detailed statistics. We found that a large number of Twitter users can be grouped in nine distinct profiles according to the strength and polarity of their sentiment. Researchers and practitioners can benefit from our approach to characterize Twitter users in several scenarios, such as social recommendation, and mood estimation.
Colloids as model systems for metals and alloys: a case study of crystallization

Metallic systems are widely used as materials in daily human life. Their properties depend very much on the production route. In order to improve the production process and even develop novel materials a detailed knowledge of all physical processes involved in crystallization is mandatory. Atomic systems like metals are characterized by very high relaxation rates, which make direct investigations of crystallization very difficult and in some cases impossible. In contrast, phase transitions in colloidal systems are very sluggish and colloidal suspensions are optically transparent. Therefore, colloidal systems are often discussed as model systems for metals. In the present work, we study the process of crystallization of charged colloidal systems from the very beginning. Charged colloids offer the advantage that the interaction potential can be systematically tuned by a variation of the particle number density and the salt concentration. We use light scattering and ultra-small angle x-ray scattering to investigate the formation of short-range order in the liquid state even far from equilibrium, crystal nucleation and crystal growth. The results are compared with those of equivalent studies on metallic systems. They are critically assessed as regards similarities and differences.
Attraction Domains of Degenerate Singular Equilibria in Quasi-linear ODEs

The present paper addresses stability properties of singular equilibria arising in a given family of quasi-linear ODEs. These ODEs model continuous-time methods for root-finding problems and their singular equilibria are degenerate in the sense that the linearization of the system at equilibrium yields a singular matrix pencil. The analysis is based upon a normal form defined by a codimension-one regular system coupled with a singular scalar equation. The key step is the formulation of certain codimension-one Lyapunov matrix equations which incorporate the relevant singular information and allow for the construction of Lyapunov functions supporting the stability analysis. This approach makes it possible to state precisely the asymptotic stability of such degenerate equilibria, and provides a local estimation of the corresponding attraction domains. An application to the computation of singular DC operating points in nonlinear circuits is discussed.
Machine Learning for Classifying Authors of Anonymous Tweets, Blogs and Reviews

In this paper, we focus on detecting the profile of authors (age, gender) through their discussions. The 2014 Pan@Clef corpus consists of 4 sub-corpuses: tweets, blogs, social media and reviews. The proposed method is based on automatic classification, which uses some data extracted statistically from a source corpus. We present a hybrid method that combines the analysis of data in texts with a machine learning method. In order to obtain a better management of these data, we relied on the use of the “Decision table algorithm”.
Red wine: A drink to your heart

Mortality and morbidity are still high in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury leading to myocardial infarction is one of the most frequent causes of the death in humans. Atherosclerosis and generation of reactive oxygen species through oxidative stress is the major risk factor for CVD. From the literature collection, it has been identified that moderate consumption of red wine helps in preventing CVD through several mechanisms, including increasing the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol plasma levels, decreasing platelet aggregation, by antioxidant effects, and by restoration of endothelial function. The aim of this review is to discuss the accumulating evidence that suggests that red wine possesses a diverse range of biological actions and may be beneficial in the prevention of CVD.
Customer satisfaction feedback in an IT outsourcing company: a case study on the insigma Hengtian company

To reduce budget and improve competitive power, some companies would outsource their information technology (IT) functions to a third-party company referred to as an IT outsourcing company. After an outsourcing company completes a project, it would collect feedback from the customer. Analyzing this feedback could help to further improve the service of the outsourcing company. To our best knowledge, there are limited studies on customer satisfaction feedback. In this paper, we perform a case study of customer satisfaction feedback in an IT outsourcing company. We analyze 3 years of customer satisfaction feedback reports in Insigma Hengtian, which is the one of the well-known IT outsourcing companies in China with more than 2,000 employees. Each report specifies the overall satisfaction of a customer, and feedback on factors that contribute to customer satisfaction including: business knowledge and technical skills, work attitude, communication skills, on-time delivery, cost-effectiveness, etc. In total, we investigate 8 factors which are related to customer satisfaction. Next, we build a logistic regression model and analyze the statistical significance and collinearity characteristics of the independent factors used to build the model. We find that among the 8 factors, business knowledge and technical skills, on-time delivery, and cost-effectiveness are the 3 most important factors, and all of them have positive impact to customer satisfaction.
Self-body split: issues of identity in physical recovery following a stroke

Purpose : To explore the perceived life and identity changes described by individuals following a single stroke using a life narrative approach. Method : Individuals admitted to hospital with a stroke, no previous disability, returning home; took part in life narrative interviews in hospital, and six months and one year postdischarge. The Gross Motor subscale of the Rivermead Motor Assessment and Nottingham 10 point Activities of Daily Living Scale were completed. Results : Eight stroke respondents (five male, three female; mean age 67 years (range 56-82). The one year mean motor score was 9 (range 7-11) and self-care score was 9 (range 7-10). All respondents described a fundamental change in their lives and identity. The main issue was a split between themselves and their body. In hospital their body appeared to become separate, precarious and perplexing. By one year the majority still found their body unreliable, and their physical ability influenced by the social setting. Conclusion : The new experience of a split between self and body appears to be the focus of life for at least a year. This study suggests that rehabilitation professionals should consider longer-term (although not necessarily intensive) physical activity programmes that address these psychological as well as neuromuscular changes.