Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating Functions for Discretely Observed Diffusions: A Review

Several estimating functions for discretely observed diffusion processes are reviewed. First we discuss simple explicit estimating functions based on Gaussian approximations to the transition density. The corresponding estimators often have considerable bias, a problem that can be avoided by using martingale estimating functions. These, on the other hand, are rarely explicit and therefore often require a considerable computational effort. We review results on how to choose an optimal martingale estimating function and on asymptotic properties of the estimators. Martingale estimating functions based on polynomials of the increments of the observed process or on eigenfunctions for the generator of the diffusion model are considered in more detail. The theory is illustrated by examples. In particular, the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model is considered.
Oversizing of self-expanding stents: influence on the development of neointimal hyperplasia of the carotid artery in a canine model.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In carotid artery stent placement, marked oversizing of the stent relative to the internal carotid artery lumen is common. This study was performed to determine the influence of using oversized self-expanding nitinol stents on neointimal hyperplasia. METHODS In six greyhound dogs, 24 self-expanding nitinol stents (eight SMART stents, eight Easy Wallstents, eight Sinus-Flex stents) were inserted into both common carotid arteries (CCAs). In each CCA, two stents were deployed; a stent of the appropriate diameter was implanted distally and an oversized stent proximally. After 4 months, transverse sections of each stent were examined histologically and at computerized image analysis. Neointimal hyperplasia was determined as the proportion of the residual diameter of the patent vessel lumen compared with the stent lumen. RESULTS The amount of neointimal hyperplasia did not differ between the normal-sized and oversized stents. The mean preserved luminal diameter (+/-SEM) with normal- and oversized stents, respectively, were as follows: Easy Wallstent, 94% +/- 1.0 and 96% +/- 1.5; SMART stent, 92% +/- 1.6 and 93% +/- 1.8; and Sinus-Flex stent, 93% +/- 2.7 and 93% +/- 2.6. The mean preserved patent lumen with the 12 normal-sized stents (93% +/-1.0) was not significantly different from that of the 12 oversized stents (94% +/- 1.1, P =.502). CONCLUSION Under experimental conditions, use of self-expanding stents oversized by 30-40% appeared to result in neointimal hyperplasia comparable to that caused by normal-sized stents. All three stent types appeared to have similarly low neointimal responses.
Handling cross interferences by cyclic cache line coloring

Cross interference, conflicting data from several arrays, is particularly grave for caches with limited associativity. We present a uniform scheme that reduces both self and cross interference. Techniques for cyclic register allocation, namely the meeting graph, help to improve the usage of cache lines and to avoid conflicts. Cyclic graph coloring determines a new memory mapping function. Preliminary experiments show that in spite of the penalty for the more complex indexing functions, run times are improved.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as “drones,” have gained media attention over the last several years with much of the focus centering on their military uses and their emerging role in newsgathering. News organizations, journalists, and private citizens have employed UAVs to capture and share breaking news, to provide glimpses of natural disasters that would otherwise be too hazardous for journalists to obtain, and to offer unique perspectives that enrich news storytelling. At the same time, media scholars have emphasized the need to better understand the privacy and ethical concerns surrounding UAVs. Legal restrictions to and implications of their use have been relatively unexplored. Given that evolving rules and regulations put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may ground UAVs for journalistic purposes, it is important to understand what those legal barriers are and what they mean for the future of UAVs as tools for journalism. This paper advances by noting key benefits UAVs offer journalism before explicating the evolving rules and regulations of the FAA and how those are shaping the use of UAVs for journalism by private citizens, journalists, and news organizations.
Does life course socio-economic position influence chronic disabling pain in older adults? A general population study

Background: Chronic pain is the leading cause of disability in developed countries. Prevalence is linked with socio-economic position (SEP), but little is known about the influence of SEP on disabling pain over the life course. We have investigated the influence of different life course trajectories of SEP on disabling pain (‘pain interference’) in postal surveys of adults aged ≥50 years sampled from the general population of adults registered with three UK general practices. Methods: Current pain interference was measured using the dichotomized 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) health survey. Three recalled SEP measures (age left school, longest job and current/most recent job) were dichotomized into low SEP (left school at or before minimum school leaving age; reported routine or manual occupations) and high SEP, from which eight life course SEP trajectories were constructed. Associations of (i) eight SEP trajectories and (ii) three individual SEP measures adjusted for each other, with pain interference, adjusted for potential confounders, were calculated using logistic regression. Results: A total of 2533 individuals provided data on all three SEP measures. A consistently low life course SEP trajectory was significantly associated with current pain interference compared with a high trajectory [odds ratio (OR) = 2.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.19–3.47], even after adjustment for age and gender. Further adjustment reduced the association but it remained significant (OR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.55–2.68). In the model with individual measures, low age left school (OR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.15–1.82) and manual longest job (OR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.13–1.91) were independently associated with pain interference. Conclusions: Our results highlight the potential for reducing chronic disabling pain in later life by addressing inequalities in both childhood education and adult occupational opportunities.
Customer churn prediction using a hybrid genetic programming approach

A churn consumer can be defined as a customer who transfers from one service provider to another service provider. Recently, business operators have investigated many techniques that identify the customer churn since churn rates leads to serious business loss. In this paper, a hybrid technique has been used which combines K-means clustering with Genetic Programming to predict churners in telecommunication companies. First, K-means clustering is used to filter the training dataset from outliers and non representative customer behaviors then Genetic Programming is applied in order to build classification trees that are able to classify customers into churners and non churners. The proposed approach is evaluated and compared with other common classification approaches. Experimental results show that K-means clustering with Genetic Programming has promising
Microarray and Proteomics Analysis on Neurotransmitter (Nicotinic Acetylcholine Cys Loop Receptor) By using Bioinformatics Tools

Excessive inflammation and tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) synthesis causes morbidity and mortality in diverse human diseases including endotoxaemia, sepisis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases. Highly conserved, endogenous mechanisms normally regulate the magnitude of innate responses and prevent excessive inflammation. The release of system, through the vagus nerve, can inhibit significantly and rapidly the release of macrophage TNF, and attenuate systemic inflammatory responses. This physiological mechanism, termed the 'cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway' has major implications in immunology and in therapeutics; however, the identity of the essential macrophage acetylcholine mediated (cholinergic) receptor that responds to vagus nerve signals was previously unknown. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or nAChRs, are ionotropic receptors that form ligand-gated ion channels in cells' plasma membranes. Like the other type of acetylcholine receptors, muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs), their opening is triggered by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), but they are also opened by nicotine. Also in contrast to muscarinic ACh receptors, nicotinic acetylcholine cys loop receptors do not operate with a second messenger, but open themselves forming an ion channel. Their action is inhibited by curare. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are present in many tissues in the body. The neuronal receptors are found in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The neuromuscular receptors are found in the neuromuscular junctions of somatic muscles; stimulation of these receptors causes muscular contraction. Here we report that the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha-7 subunit is required for acetylcholine inhibition of macrophage TNF release. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibits TNF synthesis in wide- type mice, but fails to inhibit TNF synthesis in 7 deficient cytokine syntheses by the cholinergic anti-inflammation pathway. Modeller 9v2 was used to design the receptor nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha-7 subunit. Genemaths XT was used for microarray analysis of the receptor. Molecular docking of nicotinic acetylcholine cys loop receptor (alpha-7 subunit) with the ligand 1sq3 by Autodock 4.0 to obtain biomolecules for the control of neural diseases. (Sabitri Nahak, Gayatri Nahak and Rajani Kanta Sahu. Microarray and Proteomics Analysis on Neurotransmitter (Nicotinic Acetylcholine Cys Loop Receptor) by using Bioinformatics Tools. Researcher. 2011;3(3):27-33). (ISSN: 1553-9865). http://www.sciencepub. net . Key word: nAChR (alpha-7subunit), Molecular modeling, Neurotransmitter, Microarray, Docking, 1sq3, Ligand.
Modeling and state feedback controller for current source inverter based STATCOM

The static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is increasingly popular in power system application. In general, power factor and stability of the utility system can be improved by STATCOM. Specifically, STATCOM can regulate the voltage of connection point and compensate the power factors of equipment serviced by that node. The dynamic performance of STATCOM is critical to these performance and stability function. STATCOM is a multi input and multi output system (MIMO), which can be presented by a mathematic model. In this paper, an optimal linear quadratic regulator (LQR) design is presented for transient dynamic performance of current-source converter based STATCOM.
‘Language of lies’: Urgent issues and prospects in verbal lie detection research

Since its introduction into the field of deception detection, the verbal channel has become a rapidly growing area of research. The basic assumption is that liars differ from truth tellers in their verbal behaviour, making it possible to classify them by inspecting their verbal accounts. However, as noted in conferences and in private communication between researchers, the field of verbal lie detection faces several challenges that merit focused attention. The first author therefore proposed a workshop with the mission of promoting solutions for urgent issues in the field. Nine researchers and three practitioners with experience in credibility assessments gathered for 3 days of discussion at Bar‐Ilan University (Israel) in the first international verbal lie detection workshop. The primary session of the workshop took place the morning of the first day. In this session, each of the participants had up to 10 min to deliver a brief message, using just one slide. Researchers were asked to answer the question: ‘In your view, what is the most urgent, unsolved question/issue in verbal lie detection? ’ Similarly, practitioners were asked: ‘As a practitioner, what question/issue do you wish verbal lie detection research would address? ’ The issues raised served as the basis for the discussions that were held throughout the workshop. The current paper first presents the urgent, unsolved issues raised by the workshop group members in the main session, followed by a message to researchers in the field, designed to deliver the insights, decisions, and conclusions resulting from the discussions.
Energy-Efficient 3D Texture Streaming for Mobile Games

While advances in computing hardware, encoding standards, and wireless transmission technology have enabled a dramatic increase in the volume of multimedia content that is streamed to mobile devices, advances in battery technology have not kept pace, requiring energy-efficient media streaming methods to mobile devices. In this paper, we propose energy-efficient methods to transmit 3D game textures to mobile devices. To reduce the energy consumed by the wireless circuits of mobile devices, the sizes of 3D textures are selectively and adaptively reduced so that they can be streamed within a fixed energy budget. We introduce two algorithms, one that adapts dynamically to actual energy-consumption, and another that adapts to both energy-consumption and dynamic changes in the game scene. Our evaluations show that good overall visual quality can be achieved within energy constraints.
High Resolution Methylome Map of Rat Indicates Role of Intragenic DNA Methylation in Identification of Coding Region

DNA methylation is crucial for gene regulation and maintenance of genomic stability. Rat has been a key model system in understanding mammalian systemic physiology, however detailed rat methylome remains uncharacterized till date. Here, we present the first high resolution methylome of rat liver generated using Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and high throughput sequencing (MeDIP-Seq) approach. We observed that within the DNA/RNA repeat elements, simple repeats harbor the highest degree of methylation. Promoter hypomethylation and exon hypermethylation were common features in both RefSeq genes and expressed genes (as evaluated by proteomic approach). We also found that although CpG islands were generally hypomethylated, about 6% of them were methylated and a large proportion (37%) of methylated islands fell within the exons. Notably, we obeserved significant differences in methylation of terminal exons (UTRs); methylation being more pronounced in coding/partially coding exons compared to the non-coding exons. Further, events like alternate exon splicing (cassette exon) and intron retentions were marked by DNA methylation and these regions are retained in the final transcript. Thus, we suggest that DNA methylation could play a crucial role in marking coding regions thereby regulating alternative splicing. Apart from generating the first high resolution methylome map of rat liver tissue, the present study provides several critical insights into methylome organization and extends our understanding of interplay between epigenome, gene expression and genome stability.
Motivations And Implications Of Veins Theory . Cohesion

The paper deals with the cohesion part of a model of global discourse interpretation, usually known as Veins Theory (VT). By taking the notion of nuclearity (though ignoring relations), from the Rhetorical Structure Theory, VT computes strings of discourse units, called veins, from which domains of accessibility can be determined for each discourse unit. VT’s constructs best fit with an incremental view on discourse processing. Linguistic observations that lead to the elaboration of the theory are presented. Cognitive aspects like short-term memory and on-line summarization are explained in terms of VT’s constructs. Complementary remarks are made on anaphora and its resolution in relation with the interpretation of discourse.
Bulk Standard Model in the Randall-Sundrum Background

We discuss issues in an attempt to put the standard model (SM) in five-dimensional anti\char21{}de Sitter spacetime compactified on ${S}^{1}{/Z}_{2}. $ The recently proposed approach to the gauge hierarchy problem by using this background geometry, with the SM confined on a boundary, is extended to a situation where (some of) the SM particles reside in the five-dimensional bulk. In particular, we find a localization of zero modes of bulk fermions near the boundary with a negative tension. Unlike the compactification with the flat metric, these fermion zero modes couple to Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations of the SM gauge bosons. Interestingly, only low-lying modes of such KK gauge bosons have non-negligible couplings. Current electroweak precision data give a constraint that the first KK mode be heavier than $9$ TeV. We also argue that at least the Higgs field should be confined on the brane to utilize the Randall-Sundrum background as a solution to the gauge hierarchy.
Research on Hand-Eye Robot

This article describes the configuration and the implementation of a system that servos a hand-eye robot using visual information from two cameras. Using vision for robot operation presents several issues with respect to sensing, control, and system configuration. Some of these issues are presented in this paper in detail, such as image segmentation, recognition, calibration and visual servoing. Especially, We combine the edge detection and color segmentation to segment images. This method can extract the object from background in images efficiently. Finally, we present experimental results showing the application of the hand-eye robot
The uptake of silica during the spring bloom in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

A full understanding of the biogeochemical cycling of silica in the North Atlantic is hampered by a lack of estimates of silica uptake by phytoplankton. We applied the 32Si radiotracer incubation technique to determine silica uptake rates at 10 sites during the UK‐(Natural Environment Research Council) Faroes‐Iceland‐Scotland hydrographic and environmental survey (FISHES) cruise in the Northeast Atlantic, May 2001. Column silica uptake rates ranged between 6 and 166 mmol Si m−2 d−1; this data set was integrated with concurrent hydrographic, chemical, and primary productivity data to explain these changes in silica uptake in terms of the progress of the spring bloom. In order to interpret data covering a relatively large spatial and temporal scale, we used mean photic zone silica concentration as a proxy time‐series measure of diatom bloom progression. Both absolute and specific silica uptake rates were highest at dissolved silica concentrations >2 µmol L−1. Si and C uptake were vertically decoupled at those stations where surface silica was strongly depleted. Absolute primary productivity was not strongly correlated with dissolved silica concentrations, owing to either exhaustion of silica at diatom‐dominated stations or to dominance of the community by other phytoplankton. Silica uptake as a function of increased substrate concentration was linear up to 25 µmol L−1; we consider some possible reasons for the nonhyperbolic response.
The Optimal Design of the Earned Income Tax Credit

This paper uses a microsimulation model calibrated to microdata from the 1999 Current Population Survey (CPS) to illustrate the tradeoffs that arise in designing an Earned Income Tax Credit, focusing in particular on the choice of a maximum credit, a phase-in rate, and a phase-out rate. The paper has two basic results. First, in contrast to the findings of Browning (1995), I find that the overall efficiency cost of transferring income through the EITC is fairly low. While Browning found that it cost $4.03 to provide one dollar’s worth of utility gain to recipients in the phase-out region and almost $2.00 to provide one dollar’s worth of utility to recipients in the phase-in and constant region, I find that it typically costs less than $2.00. An important reason for my lower results is that I take into account the impact of the EITC on the labor force participation of single parents. When the savings from reduced welfare spending are taken into account, the EITC appears to be a much more efficient way to accomplish income redistribution than when they are ignored. In addition, a significant portion of the labor supply responsiveness of married couples is likely to be due to secondary earners leaving the labor force. My simulations indicate that much of this responsiveness is due to the income effect of the EITC rather than the substitution effect. Therefore, for these households, the EITC is close to a lumpsum transfer. Second, the optimal structure of the EITC depends heavily on society’s taste for redistribution, something that is difficult if not impossible to observe. For the current structure of the EITC to be optimal, taxpayers must value one dollar’s worth of utility gain for an EITC recipient receiving the maximum credit at roughly 2.5 times a dollar in the hands of the typical non-EITC taxpayer. If society places a relative welfare weight on EITC recipients of 3 or more, then the credit should be expanded substantially. In contrast, if society places a relative weight below 2 on EITC recipients, then the EITC should be reduced or eliminated.
FGF-23: More Than a Regulator of Renal Phosphate Handling?

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF‐23) is likely to be the most important regulator of phosphate homeostasis, which mediates its functions through FGF receptors and the coreceptor Klotho. Besides reducing expression of the sodium‐phosphate cotransporters NPT2a and NPT2c in the proximal tubules, FGF‐23 inhibits the renal 1α‐hydroxylase and stimulates the 24‐hydroxylase, and it appears to reduce parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion in short‐term studies. FGF‐23 synthesis and secretion by osteocytes and osteoblasts is upregulated through 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] and through an increased dietary phosphate intake. FGF‐23 levels are elevated or inappropriately normal in patients with tumor‐induced osteomalacia and several inherited hypophosphatemic disorders, but the most significant increases are found in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). During the early stages of CKD, increased FGF‐23 production enhances urinary phosphate excretion and thus prevents the development of hyperphosphatemia, reduces the circulating levels of 1,25(OH)2D3, and therefore contributes to the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism. In patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD), FGF‐23 levels can be extremely high and were shown to be predictors of bone mineralization, left ventricular hypertrophy, vascular calcification, and mortality. It remains to be determined, however, whether FGF‐23 represents simply a sensitive biomarker of an abnormal phosphate homeostasis or has, independent of serum phosphate levels, potentially negative “off‐target” effects. Nonetheless, reducing the production and/or the biologic activity of FGF‐23 may be an important therapeutic goal for this patient population. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Extending the Bayesian Classifier to a Context-Aware Recommender System for Mobile Devices

Mobile devices that are capable of playing Internet videos have become wide-spread in recent years. Because of the enormous offer of video content, the lack of sufficient presentation space on the screen, and the laborious navigation on mobile devices, the video consumption process becomes more complicated for the end-user. To handle this problem, people need new instruments to assist with the hunting, filtering and selection process. We developed a methodology for mobile devices that makes the huge content sources more manageable by creating a user profile and personalizing the offer. This paper reports the structure of the user profile, the user interaction mechanism, and the recommendation algorithm, an improved version of the Bayesian classifier that incorporates aspects of the consumption context (like time, location, and mood of the user) to make the suggestions more accurate.