Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
miRNA-27b Targets Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C to Inhibit Tumor Progression and Angiogenesis in Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers globally and is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths due to therapy resistance and metastasis. Understanding the mechanism underlying colorectal carcinogenesis is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC. microRNAs (miRNAs) can act as either oncogenes or tumor suppressors in many cancers. A tumor suppressor role for miR-27b has recently been reported in neuroblastoma, while no information about miR-27b in CRC is available. In this study, we demonstrated that miR-27b expression is decreased in most CRC tissues and determined that overexpression of miR-27b represses CRC cell proliferation, colony formation and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. We identified vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) as a novel target gene of miR-27b and determined that miR-27b functioned as an inhibitor of tumor progression and angiogenesis through targeting VEGFC in CRC. We further determined that DNA hypermethylation of miR-27b CpG islands decreases miR-27b expression. In summary, an anti-tumor role for miR-27b and its novel target VEGFC in vivo could lead to tumor necrosis and provide a rationale for developing miR-27b as a therapeutic agent.
Magneto: Unified Fine-grained Path Control in Legacy and OpenFlow Hybrid Networks

Software-defined networking (SDN) provides fine-grained network control and monitoring that simplifies network management. Unfortunately, upgrading existing enterprise networks, comprised of numerous "legacy" switches, to SDN is often cost-prohibitive. We argue that it is possible to achieve most of the benefits of a fully deployed SDN at a fraction of the cost by strategically replacing only few legacy switches with -- or introducing a few -- new SDN-capable switches in a legacy network, thus creating a hybrid network. We present Magneto, a unified network controller that exerts SDN-like, fine-grained path control over both OpenFlow and legacy switches in hybrid networks. Magneto i) introduces magnet MAC addresses and dynamically updates IP-to-magnet MAC mappings at hosts via gratuitous ARP messages for visibility and routing control; and ii) uses the ability of SDN switches to send "custom" packets into the data plane to manipulate legacy switches into updating forwarding entries with magnet MAC addresses for enhanced routing flexibility. Our evaluation on a lab testbed and through extensive simulations on large enterprise network topologies show that Magneto is able to achieve full control over routing when only 20% of network switches are programmable, with negligible computation and latency overhead.
Object classification in astronomical multi-color surveys

We present a photometric method for identifying stars, galaxies and quasars in multi-color surveys, which uses a library of > 65000 color templates for comparison with observed objects. The method aims for extracting the information content of object colors in a statistically correct way, and performs a classication as well as a redshift estimation for galaxies and quasars in a unied approach based on the same probability density functions. For the redshift estimation, we employ an advanced version of the Minimum Error Variance estimator which determines the redshift error from the redshift dependent probability density function itself. The method was originally developed for the Calar Alto Deep Imaging Survey (CADIS), but is now used in a wide variety of survey projects. We checked its performance by spectroscopy of CADIS objects, where the method provides high reliability (6 errors among 151 objects with R< 24), especially for the quasar selection, and redshifts accurate within z 0:03 for galaxies and z 0:1 for quasars. For an optimization of future survey eorts, a few model surveys are compared, which are designed to use the same total amount of telescope time but dierent sets of broad-band and medium-band lters. Their performance is investigated by Monte-Carlo simulations as well as by analytic evaluation in terms of classication and redshift estimation. If photon noise were the only error source, broad-band surveys and medium-band surveys should perform equally well, as long as they provide the same spectral coverage. In practice, medium-band surveys show superior performance due to their higher tolerance for calibration errors and cosmic variance. Finally, we discuss the relevance of color calibration and derive important conclusions for the issues of library design and choice of lters. The calibration accuracy poses strong constraints on an accurate classication, which are most critical for surveys with few, broad and deeply exposed lters, but less severe for surveys with many, narrow and less deep lters.
Spontaneous Pain Expression Recognition in Video Sequences

Automatic recognition of Pain expression has potential medical significance. In this paper we present results of the application of an automatic facial expression recognition system on sequences of spontaneous Pain expression. Twenty participants were videotaped while undergoing thermal heat stimulation at nonpainful and painful intensities. Pain was induced experimentally by use of a Peltierbased, computerized thermal stimulator with a 3 × 3 cm2 contact probe. Our aim is to automatically recognize the videos where Pain was induced. We chose a machine learning approach, previously used successfully to categorize the six basic facial expressions in posed datasets [1, 2] based on the Transferable Belief Model. For this paper, we extended this model to the recognition of sequences of spontaneous Pain expression. The originality of the proposed method is the use of the dynamic information for the recognition of spontaneous Pain expression and the combination of different sensors: facial features behavior, transient features and the context of the expression study. Experimental results show good classification rates for spontaneous Pain sequences especially when we use the contextual information. Moreover the system behaviour compares favourably to the human observer in the other case, which opens promising perspectives for the future development of the proposed system.
Evaluation of UML in Practice - Experiences in a Traffic Management Systems Company

This article is about research performed by the authors into improving the Software Engineering process at a company that develops software-intensive systems. The company develops road traffic management systems using the object-oriented paradigm, and UML as the visual modeling language. Our hypothesis is that UML has some difficulties/drawbacks in certain system development phases and activities. Many of these problems were reported in the literature normally after applying UML to one project and/or studying the language’s formal specifications and comparing with other languages. Unfortunately, few publications are based on surveys and interviews with practitioners, i.e., the developers and project managers that are using UML in real projects and are frequently facing these problems. As a matter of fact, some relevant questions were not fully addressed in past research, mainly related to UML problems in practice. The purpose of this text is to report the main findings and the proposed improvements based on other methods/languages, or even considering UML diagrams that are not often used. The research methodology involved surveys, interviews and action research with a system developed in order to implement the recommendations and evaluate the proposed improvements. The recommendations were considered feasible, as they are not proposing to radically change the current situation, which would involve higher costs and risks.
Sparse representation of implicit flows with applications to side-channel detection

Information flow analyses traditionally use the Program Dependence Graph (PDG) as a supporting data-structure. This graph relies on Ferrante et al.'s notion of control dependences to represent implicit flows of information. A limitation of this approach is that it may create O(|I| x |E|) implicit flow edges in the PDG, where I are the instructions in a program, and E are the edges in its control flow graph. This paper shows that it is possible to compute information flow analyses using a different notion of implicit dependence, which yields a number of edges linear on the number of definitions plus uses of variables. Our algorithm computes these dependences in a single traversal of the program's dominance tree. This efficiency is possible due to a key property of programs in Static Single Assignment form: the definition of a variable dominates all its uses. Our algorithm correctly implements Hunt and Sands system of security types. Contrary to their original formulation, which required O(IxI) space and time for structured programs, we require only O(I). We have used our ideas to build FlowTracker, a tool that uncovers side-channel vulnerabilities in cryptographic algorithms. FlowTracker handles programs with over one-million assembly instructions in less than 200 seconds, and creates 24% less implicit flow edges than Ferrante et al.'s technique. FlowTracker has detected an issue in a constant-time implementation of Elliptic Curve Cryptography; it has found several time-variant constructions in OpenSSL, one issue in TrueCrypt and it has validated the isochronous behavior of the NaCl library.
WSN application in the harsh industrial environment of the oil sands

This paper describes the design and implementation of a unique WSN platform specifically researched to monitor the health conditions of the vibration screens used by Oil Sand operators in Canada. Previous to WSN, wired sensing solutions have been attempted for this project, but failed to sustain integrity in the harsh conditions imposed by the environment. The researched platform allowed, for the first time, to monitor the thickness of the screen ligaments by providing real-time thickness measurements of the mesh screen. The architecture design of the platform was made modular and scalable to easily adopt the sensor platform for other industrial facilities making it flexible across other applications. A complete system was realized at Queen's University TRLab and successfully presented to the Oil Sand operator on a miniature working lab model.
THE MICROSCOPIC APPROACH TO $\mathcal{N} = 1$ SUPER YANG-MILLS THEORIES

We give a brief account of the recent progresses in super Yang-Mills theories based in particular on the application of Nekrasov's instanton technology to the case of supersymmetry. We have developed a first-principle formalism from which any chiral observable in the theory can be computed, including in strongly coupled confining vacua. The correlators are first expressed in terms of some external variables as sums over colored partitions. The external variables are then fixed to their physical values by extremizing the microscopic quantum superpotential. Remarquably, the results can be shown to coincide with the Dijkgraaf-Vafa matrix model approach, which uses a totally different mathematical framework. These results clarify many important properties of theories, related in particular to generalized Konishi anomaly equations and to Veneziano-Yankielowicz terms in the glueball superpotentials. The proof of the equivalence between the formalisms based on colored partitions and on matrices is also a proof of the open/closed string duality in the chiral sector of the theories.
Dynamic variance adaptation using differenced maximum mutual information

A conventional approach for noise robust automatic speech recognition consists of using a speech enhancement before recognition. However, speech enhancement cannot completely remove noise, thus a mismatch between the enhanced speech and the acoustic model inevitably remains. Uncertainty decoding approaches have been used to mitigate such a mismatch by accounting for the feature uncertainty during decoding. We have proposed dynamic variance adaptation to estimate the feature uncertainty given adaptation data by maximization of likelihood or discriminative criterion such as MMI. For unsupervised adaptation, the transcriptions are obtained from a first recognition pass and thus contain errors. Such errors are fatal when using a discriminative criterion. In this paper, we investigate the recently proposed differenced MMI discriminative criterion for unsupervised dynamic variance adaptation, because it inherently includes a mechanism to mitigate the influence of errors in the transcriptions.
A Case Study in Behavioral Subsystem Engineering for the Urban Challenge

We present a case study in the design of an autonomous robotic software subsystem for managing mission execution and discrete traffic interaction in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Its role is reviewed in the context of the overall software system that controls “Boss”, Tartan Racing’s winning entry in the competition. Design criteria are presented, followed by the application of design principles to derive an architecture well suited to the rigors of developing complex robotic software. The design’s effectiveness is highlighted through a discussion of its ability to meet the subsystem’s requirements while remaining adaptable to the ever-changing needs and capabilities of the surrounding system.
Comparative Economic Advantage Analysis of Alternative Agricultural Production Options in Tanzania

The objective of this paper was to analyze the comparative agricultural economic advantage and extellt of policy distortion in alternative agricultural production activities in various agro-ecological zones andfamling systems, in Tanzania. The Domestic Resource Cosf (DRC) ratio derivedfrom the Policy. Analysis Matrix (PAM) was used to evaluate comparative economic advantage. Tlie methodology was also used to evaluate effects ofpolicy in the production and trade patterns using Nominal Protectien Coelficient (NPC) and Effective Protection Coelficient (EPC) as measures of policy distortion. Data was collected from selected locations in a number of agro-ecological zones and famll'ng systems in Tanzania, Domestic Resource Costsfor Southern Highlands colfee (DRC = 0.91), Western zone cotton (DRC = 0.60) and Morogoro rice (DRC = 0.97) were less than one. On the other hand DRCs for Northern highlands colfee (DRC = 1.98) and Morogoro maize (DRC = 1.47) were greater than one, These results suggest that Tanzania possesses comparative advantage in the production of Southern Highlands coffee. Western"-Zone cotton and Morogoro rice. Tile country has comparative disadvantage ill production of northern highlands co.ffee and Morogoro maize. Wide variations in comparative advantage shown emanate from differences in resource and biophysical conditions, farming systems, technology levels and tenure arrangements. In general the measures of distortion (NPCs and EPCs) indicate that government price policy protected food crops while cash crops (except northern zone co.tfee) were taxed. Given these results, effective measures toalleviate production constraints and improve gross margins must be instituted in' order to motivate farmers to increase resource allocation to the crops for which specific locations have comparative disadvantage. Keywords : Comparative advantage, Domestic resource cost, Policy analysis . matrix, Agricultural production and trade, Coffee, Cotton, Maize, Rice, Tanzania
Hospital Presenting Self-Harm and Risk of Fatal and Non-Fatal Repetition: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Non-fatal self-harm is one of the most frequent reasons for emergency hospital admission and the strongest risk factor for subsequent suicide. Repeat self-harm and suicide are key clinical outcomes of the hospital management of self-harm. We have undertaken a comprehensive review of the international literature on the incidence of fatal and non-fatal repeat self-harm and investigated factors influencing variation in these estimates as well as changes in the incidence of repeat self-harm and suicide over the last 30 years. Methods and Findings Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, article reference lists and personal paper collections of the authors were searched for studies describing rates of fatal and non-fatal self-harm amongst people who presented to health care services for deliberate self-harm. Heterogeneity in pooled estimates of repeat self-harm incidence was investigated using stratified meta-analysis and meta-regression. The search identified 177 relevant papers. The risk of suicide in the 12 months after an index attempt was 1.6% (CI 1.2–2.4) and 3.9% (CI 3.2–4.8) after 5 years. The estimated 1 year rate of non-fatal repeat self-harm was 16.3% (CI 15.1–17.7). This proportion was considerably lower in Asian countries (10.0%, CI 7.3–13.6%) and varies between studies identifying repeat episodes using hospital admission data (13.7%, CI 12.3–15.3) and studies using patient report (21.9%, CI 14.3–32.2). There was no evidence that the incidence of repeat self-harm was lower in more recent (post 2000) studies compared to those from the 1980s and 1990s. Conclusions One in 25 patients presenting to hospital for self-harm will kill themselves in the next 5 years. The incidence of repeat self-harm and suicide in this population has not changed in over 10 years. Different methods of identifying repeat episodes of self-harm produce varying estimates of incidence and this heterogeneity should be considered when evaluating interventions aimed at reducing non-fatal repeat self-harm.
User Cost and Irish House Prices

A measure commonly used to assess house prices is the house price‐to‐ rent ratio. This ratio captures the costs of alternative forms of accommodation, namely buying or renting. In the long run these two costs should move together. If house prices rise compared to rents, more people may choose to rent rather than buy. This drives rents up and house prices down. In other words, if the alternative costs of accommodation are not moving together then people would switch between buying and renting. This would continue until the alternative costs again begin to move in line with each other.
Izbira »Body Sway« parametrov na osnovi njihove občutljivosti in ponovljivosti

Selection of body sway parameters according to their sensitivity and repeatability For the precise evaluation of body balance, static type of tests performed on a force plate are the most commonly used ones. In these tests, body sway characteristics are analyzed based on the model of inverted pendulum and looking at the center of pressure (COP) movement in time. Human body engages different strategies to compensate for balance perturbations. For this reason, there is a need to identify parameters which are sensitive to specific balance changes and which enable us to identify balance sub-components. The aim of our study was to investigate intra-visit repeatability and sensibility of the 40 different body sway parameters. Twenty-nine subjects participated in the study. They performed three different balancing tasks of different levels of difficulty, three repetitions each. The hip-width parallel stance and the single leg stance, both with open eyes, were used as ways to compare different balance intensities due to biomechanical changes. Additionally, deprivation of vision was used in the third balance task to study sensitivity to sensory system changes. As shown by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), repeatability of cumulative parameters such as COP, maximal amplitude and frequency showed excellent repeatability (ICC>0,85). Other parameters describing sub-dynamics through single repetition proved to have unsatisfying repeatability. Parameters most sensitive to increased intensity of balancing tasks were common COP, COP in medio-lateral and in antero-posterior direction, and maximal amplitues in the same directions. Frequency of oscilations has proved to be sensitive only to deprivation of vision. As shown in our study, cumulative parameters describing the path which the center of pressure makes proved to be the most repeatable and sensitive to detect different increases of balancing tasks enabling future use in balance studies and in clinical practice.
Design of novel double-layer compound stator for tubular linear oscillating motor

Linear Oscillating motor provides short-stroke reciprocate linear motion with high frequency. In order to eliminate eddy current loss, the stator of motor is generally made of silicon steel or soft-magnetic-composite (SMC) material. However, it may result in either assembling difficulties or thrust decline. In this study, a novel double-layer compound stator for linear oscillating motor is proposed. Silicon steel and SMC material are assembled together radially as the stator to achieve high thrust and assembly convenience simultaneously. Magnetic field and thrust are modeled by equivalent-magnetic-circuit (EMC) and magnetic co-energy method respectively and validated by FEM results. Based on the model, thickness of SMC are analyzed for optimization. According to comparisons with conventional silicon steel and SMC stator motor, this novel structure are proved to be effective in achieving both high thrust and easy assembly.
Minsky moments and financial regulatory reform

Remarks before the 19th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies, New York City, April 14, 2010. ; "I think the disagreeable but sound thing to do regarding institutions that are TBTF is to dismantle them over time into institutions that can be prudently managed and regulated across borders. And this should be done before the next financial crisis, because we now know it surely cannot be done in the middle of a crisis. "
Perceived synchrony for realistic and dynamic audiovisual events

In well-controlled laboratory experiments, researchers have found that humans can perceive delays between auditory and visual signals as short as 20 ms. Conversely, other experiments have shown that humans can tolerate audiovisual asynchrony that exceeds 200 ms. This seeming contradiction in human temporal sensitivity can be attributed to a number of factors such as experimental approaches and precedence of the asynchronous signals, along with the nature, duration, location, complexity and repetitiveness of the audiovisual stimuli, and even individual differences. In order to better understand how temporal integration of audiovisual events occurs in the real world, we need to close the gap between the experimental setting and the complex setting of everyday life. With this work, we aimed to contribute one brick to the bridge that will close this gap. We compared perceived synchrony for long-running and eventful audiovisual sequences to shorter sequences that contain a single audiovisual event, for three types of content: action, music, and speech. The resulting windows of temporal integration showed that participants were better at detecting asynchrony for the longer stimuli, possibly because the long-running sequences contain multiple corresponding events that offer audiovisual timing cues. Moreover, the points of subjective simultaneity differ between content types, suggesting that the nature of a visual scene could influence the temporal perception of events. An expected outcome from this type of experiment was the rich variation among participants' distributions and the derived points of subjective simultaneity. Hence, the designs of similar experiments call for more participants than traditional psychophysical studies. Heeding this caution, we conclude that existing theories on multisensory perception are ready to be tested on more natural and representative stimuli.