Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electroretinographic evaluation of spectral sensitivity in yellow and silver eels (Anguilla anguilla)

Although differences in visual pigments between developmental stages of the European eel are well known, the expected differences in spectral sensitivity have not been demonstrated at the electrophysiological level. In fact, one past electroretinographic study led to the conclusion that in eels there is no change in scotopic sensitivity, with increasing sexual maturity. In the present experiments, electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded from in situ eyecups of immobilized eels Anguilla anguilla (L.) caught in coastal running waters. It was shown that the ERG b-wave is as good an indicator of spectral sensitivity as the unmasked late receptor potential (LRP) which directly reflects the responsiveness of photoreceptors. Complete spectral-sensitivity curves, based on b-wave thresholds and on thresholds of LRP subsequently isolated by means of sodium iodate, have been obtained in the same eel. Using fitted amplitude-log intensity functions for threshold calculation, and two models for computer-assisted fitting of spectral-sensitivity curves, significant differences in λmax were found between yellow and silver developmental stages of the eel, identified by ocular index measurements.
Where do I start?: algorithmic strategies to guide intelligence analysts

The "where do I start? " problem is a veritable one in intelligence analysis. We identify several classes of algorithmic strategies that can supply starting points to analysts in their exploration of a document collection. We present nine methods with origins in association analysis, graph metrics, and probabilistic modeling, and systematically evaluate them over multiple document collections. One of these methods, a novel approach to modeling "surprise", is our specific contribution and, further, supports the iterative refinement of suggestions based on user feedback. We demonstrate how these methods guide the analysts to start their investigation on intelligence document collections. Our results reveal selective superiorities of the algorithmic strategies and lead to several design recommendations for creating document exploration capabilities.
Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Is Associated with Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are the principle source of added sugar in diets. Cardiometabolic disturbances can occur from early childhood to adulthood. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the gender-specific association of SSB intake with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components among adolescents in Taiwan. A total of 2727 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years randomly selected from three diverse economic areas in Southern Taiwan by using a multistage-sampling strategy participated in this study. Demographic, dietary, physical and anthropometric parameters were measured, and serum lipid profiles and glucose levels were determined. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) specifies that MetS requires abdominal obesity and ≥2 abnormal components, and Cook criteria for MetS require ≥3 abnormal components. We applied survey-data modules to data analyses, and used multiple regression and logistic models to adjust for covariates. An increased SSB intake was linked to a greater waist circumference in both sexes and to systolic blood pressure in boys (P for trend: ≤0.043). Male moderate and high consuming SSB drinkers exhibited triglyceride levels that were 8.0 and 8.2 mg/dL significantly higher, respectively, than those of nondrinkers. Compared with nondrinkers, boys who consumed >500 mL/day (high quantity) of SSBs exhibited 10.3-fold (95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.2-90.2) and 5.1-fold (95% CIs: 1.01-25.5) risks of contracting MetS, as defined by the IDF and Cook criteria for MetS, respectively. In girls, the risk estimates for the same comparison were not significant by the IDF criteria (6.5-fold risk, 95% CIs: 0.9-∞) or Cook criteria (5.9-fold risk, 95% CIs: 0.8-43.8) for MetS. High SSB consumption was also linked to 1.9-fold (95% CIs: 1.1-3.1) and 2.7-fold (95% CIs: 1.3-5.7) higher risks of being at a greater overall metabolic risk in girls and boys, respectively. In conclusion, a high SSB intake is associated with adolescent MetS among boys but not girls in Taiwan.
Asymptotic SEP analysis for correlated large MIMO channels with ZF-DF detection

In this paper, we consider correlated multiple-antenna communication systems having M transmitter antennas and N receiver antennas (M ≤ N) with a zero-forcing (ZF) decision-feedback (DF) detector. We assume that the full knowledge of channel state information is available at the receiver and only the first- and the second-order channel statistics are known at the transmitter. By scaling up the antenna array size of both terminals without bound for such multiple-antenna systems, we propose a novel method based on the Szegö's theorem and the well-known limit limx→∞(1 + 1/x)x = e to analyze the asymptotic behaviour on the error performance of an equal-diagonal QRS precoded large MIMO system when employing an abstract Toeplitz correlation model. This new approach bears a simple expression with a fast convergence rate and thus, is efficient and effective for error performance evaluation. Then, the impact of channel correlation on the error performance is studied for different correlation coefficients. In addition, an explanation of this approach in terms of the entropy power of the channel is also provided. Finally, computer simulations are carried out to verify our analysis in comparison with a uniform power allocation strategy.
Emotion Cycles in Services: Emotional Contagion and Emotional Labor Effects

Service organizations encourage employees to express positive emotions in service encounters, in the hope that customers “catch” these emotions and react positively. Yet customer and employee emotions could be mutually influential. To understand emotional exchanges in service encounters and their influences on customer outcomes, the current study models the interplay of emotional contagion and emotional labor, as well as their influence on customer satisfaction. Employees might catch customers’ emotions and transmit those emotions back to customers through emotional contagion, and employee emotional labor likely influences this cycle by modifying the extent to which emotional contagion occurs. Data from 268 customer-employee dyads, gathered from a large chain of foot massage parlors, confirm the existence of an emotion cycle. Deep acting, as one type of emotional labor used by employees, hinders the transmission of negative emotions to customers, whereas surface acting facilitates it. Both customer emotions and employee emotional labor thus have critical influences on service encounters. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the potential influence of customer preservice emotions and the presence of an emotion cycle during service delivery.
A hybrid framework to analyze web and OS malware

Malicious programs (malware) cause serious security issues to home users and even to highly secured enterprise systems. The main infection vector currently used by attackers is the Internet. To improve the detection rate and to develop protection mechanisms, it is very important to analyze and study these threats. To this end, several systems were developed to perform malware analysis, which support operating system (OS) programs or Web codes, but they all suffer from limitations. Also, the existing systems focus only on one type of malware, those that target the OS or that require a Web browser. In this article, we propose a framework that is able to analyze Web and OS-based malware, which provides better detection rates and a broader range of malware types analysis. We have also evaluated and compared our analysis results to the state-of-the-art systems, presenting the advantages of the developed framework over them when regarding Web and OS-based malware.
The Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Muscle Wasting Disorders

The present review discusses the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF) in muscle weight loss and protein mobilization during cancer and infection, with special emphasis on the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is basically concluded that the most important biochemical event associated with muscle wasting is an enhanced protein degradation through the ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathway. TNF is an important activator of this proteolytic system, and future therapeutic approaches for wasting should consider either blocking TNF action or inhibiting the activity of the referred proteolytic system.
Occupational Choice, High School Graduation, and Investment in Human Capital

High school students are exhorted to remain in high school until graduation. Our "common sense" a priori feeling that a high school diploma is a wise investment is supported by evidence showing that the rate of return to high school completion is, on average, very high. Yet the high school student often makes the conscious choice to drop out. In an effort to understand this behavior, the present value of lifetime earnings attributable to completion of high school is computed, both for broad demographic groups and for specific occupational categories. The author finds, as others have, that the return to high school graduation is, indeed, high. But what is true generally is found not to be true for specific occupations. For students who have some specific occupations in mind, high school graduation does not appear justified on economic grounds, when past cross-sectional earnings patterns are used to predict the future.
Business simulators as a teaching-learning tool in higher education

Los simuladores de negocios son una herramienta de enseñanza-aprendizaje que busca facilitar el aprendizaje activo basado en la resolución de problemas que fomenta en los estudiantes el análisis, la toma de decisiones y la evaluación. Este artículo presenta un estudio cuyo objetivo fue analizar los resultados de aplicación de simuladores de negocios a una sección de la Facultad de Contaduría y Administración, región Xalapa, de la Universidad Veracruzana. Mediante una investigación descriptiva transversal, se determinó si se logra un aprendizaje significativo a partir de su aplicación, autoevaluación de las temáticas abordadas y evaluación de resultados por parte del docente. Los resultados obtenidos retratan los simuladores de negocios como una herramienta única para crear un entorno de enseñanza-aprendizaje efectivo, puesto que propician una visión integral de los saberes teóricos con base en las relaciones dinámicas de mercado que surgen en la gestión empresarial; esto permite a los estudiantes poner en práctica conocimientos y técnicas proporcionadas en diversas materias que dan un valor agregado al hecho pedagógico. Con los hallazgos de este análisis, se dispone de materia prima valiosa para el diseño e implementación del proyecto de simulador de negocios propio de la universidad, el cual se encuentra en proceso de desarrollo. Abstract
3 D MAPPING USING MODEL HELICOPTER AND LASER SCANNING : CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES OF THE LABORATORY OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING

This study presents a number of showcases of documentation of archaeological sites using a model helicopter, laser scanning and photogrammetric software. These showcases present the activities of the Laboratory of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing at the Department of Rural and Surveying Engineering, The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. 1. UNMANNED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY The recording and documentation speed, combined with cost, waiting time inside the field and final product accuracy, is a factor that is always largely taken into account in a plethora of Photogrammetric applications. During the last years, and to that aim, Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles for aerial photography, that permit the collection of images with objects from earth at a large scale, were developed. Thus, they can contribute to a range of applications, such as excavations and archaeological sites recording, architecture etc. The advantages of these systems are: Use of low cost and low weight gyroscopes, GPS, INS, etc, that are used for the creation of programs of automatic navigation and collection of aerial photographs Additional exploitation of higher accuracy sensors that allows for the estimation of the orientation elements of the camera, thus decreasing the time of the photogrammetric procession of data. Creation of the base of the photographic system in a way that allows for various cameras to adjust, thus ensuring a variety of spectral images. Capacity of immediate flight, even in areas that -mainly for military reasonsthe flight of airplanes and helicopters is not permitted. The disadvantages of these systems are: Limitation of the geographic recording area because of the low flight height that does not exceed 100m Flying capacity is guaranteed only when wind force does not exceed 3 in the Beaufort scale. Flying autonomy does not exceed the time limit of 15min.
Peripheral Sensitization Increases Opioid Receptor Expression and Activation by Crotalphine in Rats

Inflammation enhances the peripheral analgesic efficacy of opioid drugs, but the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon have not been fully elucidated. Crotalphine (CRP), a peptide that was first isolated from South American rattlesnake C.d. terrificus venom, induces a potent and long-lasting anti-nociceptive effect that is mediated by the activation of peripheral opioid receptors. Because the high efficacy of CRP is only observed in the presence of inflammation, we aimed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the CRP anti-nociceptive effect induced by inflammation. Using real-time RT-PCR, western blot analysis and ELISA assays, we demonstrate that the intraplantar injection of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) increases the mRNA and protein levels of the µ- and κ-opioid receptors in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and paw tissue of rats within 3 h of the injection. Using conformation state-sensitive antibodies that recognize activated opioid receptors, we show that PGE2, alone does not increase the activation of these opioid receptors but that in the presence of PGE2, the activation of specific opioid receptors by CRP and selective µ- and κ-opioid receptor agonists (positive controls) increases. Furthermore, PGE2 down-regulated the expression and activation of the δ-opioid receptor. CRP increased the level of activated mitogen-activated protein kinases in cultured DRG neurons, and this increase was dependent on the activation of protein kinase Cζ. This CRP effect was much more prominent when the cells were pretreated with PGE2. These results indicate that the expression and activation of peripheral opioid receptors by opioid-like drugs can be up- or down-regulated in the presence of an acute injury and that acute tissue injury enhances the efficacy of peripheral opioids.
The Hadamard-Fischer inequality for a class of matrices defined by eigenvalue monotonicity

1) Spec A[Jl.l n IR =1= t/>, for t/> c Jl. S (n), 2) I(A[J-L]) « I(A[v]), if t/> c v S Jl. S (n), where I(A[Jl.]) = min(Spec A[Jl.l n IR). For A, BE W(n), define A «, B by I(A[J-L]) « I(B[J-L]), for t/> c Jl. S ( n ). By definition, A E7(1I) if A E W(n) and 0 «, A. For 0 « , A «t B (where A, BE W(n» it is shown that 3) 0 « det A « det B-det(B-I(A)I) « det B. For A E 7(11 ) , A «, A[Jl.l El1 A{J1. ), and hence we obtain the Hadamard-Fischer inequality 4) 0 « det A « det A[Jl.l det A{J1. )
Projected Pseudotransient Continuation

We propose and analyze a pseudotransient continuation algorithm for dynamics on subsets of $R^N$. Examples include certain flows on manifolds and the dynamic formulation of bound-constrained optimization problems. The method gets its global convergence properties from the dynamics and inherits its local convergence properties from any fast locally convergent iteration.
Diagnosis in systems based on an informed tree search strategy: application to cartographic generalisation

Many real world problems can be expressed as optimisation problems. Solving such problems means to find, among all possible solutions, the one that maximises an evaluation function. One approach to solve it is to use an informed search strategy. The principle of this kind of strategy is to use problem-specific knowledge beyond the definition of the problem itself to find solutions more efficiently than with an uninformed strategy. This strategy demands to define problem-specific knowledge (heuristics). The efficiency and the effectiveness of systems based on such strategies directly depend on the utilised knowledge quality. Unfortunately, acquiring and maintaining such knowledge can be fastidious. The objective of the work presented in this paper is to propose an automatic knowledge quality diagnosis approach for systems based on an informed tree search strategy. Our approach consists in analysing the system's execution logs and in using multi-criteria decision making techniques in order to determine if the knowledge needs to be revised. We present an experiment we carried out in an industrial application domain where informed search strategies are often used: cartographic generalisation.
Chromatin Composition Is Changed by Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation during Chromatin Immunoprecipitation

Chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) employs generally a mild formaldehyde cross-linking step, which is followed by isolation of specific protein-DNA complexes and subsequent PCR testing, to analyze DNA-protein interactions. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation, a posttranslational modification involved in diverse cellular functions like repair, replication, transcription, and cell death regulation, is most prominent after DNA damage. Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 is activated upon binding to DNA strand-breaks and coordinates repair by recruitment or displacement of proteins. Several proteins involved in different nuclear pathways are directly modified or contain poly(ADP-ribose)-interaction motifs. Thus, poly(ADP-ribose) regulates chromatin composition. In immunofluorescence experiments, we noticed artificial polymer-formation after formaldehyde-fixation of undamaged cells. Therefore, we analyzed if the formaldehyde applied during ChIP also induces poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and its impact on chromatin composition. We observed massive polymer-formation in three different ChIP-protocols tested independent on the cell line. This was due to induction of DNA damage signaling as monitored by γH2AX formation. To abrogate poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis, we inhibited this enzymatic reaction either pharmacologically or by increased formaldehyde concentration. Both approaches changed ChIP-efficiency. Additionally, we detected specific differences in promoter-occupancy of tested transcription factors as well as the in the presence of histone H1 at the respective sites. In summary, we show here that standard ChIP is flawed by artificial formation of poly(ADP-ribose) and suppression of this enzymatic activity improves ChIP-efficiency in general. Also, we detected specific changes in promoter-occupancy dependent on poly(ADP-ribose). By preventing polymer synthesis with the proposed modifications in standard ChIP protocols it is now possible to analyze the natural chromatin-composition.
Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy with or without panitumumab in patients with wild-type KRAS, locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC): a randomized, multicenter, phase II trial SAKK 41/07.

BACKGROUND We conducted a randomized, phase II, multicenter study to evaluate the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mAb panitumumab (P) in combination with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with standard-dose capecitabine as neoadjuvant treatment for wild-type KRAS locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with wild-type KRAS, T3-4 and/or N+ LARC were randomly assigned to receive CRT with or without P (6 mg/kg). The primary end-point was pathological near-complete or complete tumor response (pNC/CR), defined as grade 3 (pNCR) or 4 (pCR) histological regression by Dworak classification (DC). RESULTS Forty of 68 patients were randomly assigned to P + CRT and 28 to CRT. pNC/CR was achieved in 21 patients (53%) treated with P + CRT [95% confidence interval (CI) 36%-69%] versus 9 patients (32%) treated with CRT alone (95% CI: 16%-52%). pCR was achieved in 4 (10%) and 5 (18%) patients, and pNCR in 17 (43%) and 4 (14%) patients. In immunohistochemical analysis, most DC 3 cells were not apoptotic. The most common grade ≥3 toxic effects in the P + CRT/CRT arm were diarrhea (10%/6%) and anastomotic leakage (15%/4%). CONCLUSIONS The addition of panitumumab to neoadjuvant CRT in patients with KRAS wild-type LARC resulted in a high pNC/CR rate, mostly grade 3 DC. The results of both treatment arms exceeded prespecified thresholds. The addition of panitumumab increased toxicity.
Design and In Vitro Evaluation of a New Nano-Microparticulate System for Enhanced Aqueous-Phase Solubility of Curcumin

Curcumin, a yellow polyphenol derived from the turmeric Curcuma longa, has been associated with a diverse therapeutic potential including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and anticancer properties. However, the poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability of curcumin have limited its potential when administrated orally. In this study, curcumin was encapsulated in a series of novel nano-microparticulate systems developed to improve its aqueous solubility and stability. The nano-microparticulate systems are based entirely on biocompatible, biodegradable, and edible polymers including chitosan, alginate, and carrageenan. The particles were synthesized via ionotropic gelation. Encapsulating the curcumin into the hydrogel nanoparticles yielded a homogenous curcumin dispersion in aqueous solution compared to the free form of curcumin. Also, the in vitro release profile showed up to 95% release of curcumin from the developed nano-microparticulate systems after 9 hours in PBS at pH 7.4 when freeze-dried particles were used.
A Modified LMS Algorithm with Turbo-Like Scheme

LMS algorithm has low computation complexity; however, its convergence rate is slow. In this paper, a novel implementation scheme for LMS algorithm is proposed to form a modified LMS algorithm. The scheme is similar to the structure of turbo decoder, which consists of one feedback module called as converse-speediness module, two LMS algorithm modules, and one speediness module which connects two LMS algorithm modules. Meanwhile, two LMS algorithm modules can be implemented parallel, as well as the speediness module and converse-speediness module. Simulation results show that the scheme makes the convergence rate of the proposed algorithm over 4 times faster than that of LMS algorithm, and almost the same as that of RLS algorithm. Moreover, compared to LMS algorithm and RLS algorithm, the mean square error (MSE) of the proposed algorithm decreases greatly.
A Genetic Algorithm for the Bus Driver Scheduling Problem

A system which is especially useful in controlling fuel gas flow in a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer includes a master fluid flow path and a slave fluid flow path connected to receive fluid from a common source connection. A first valve is connected in the master path for controlling the rate of fluid flow therein. A first orifice device is connected in the master path between the common source connection and the first valve. The slave path includes a pressure responsive fluid flow modulating valve having a control connection to the master path between the first orifice device and the first valve. A second orifice device is connected in the slave path between the common source connection and the flow modulating valve. The flow modulating valve is operable in response to the fluid pressure in the master path as reduced by the first orifice device and in response to the fluid pressure in the slave path as reduced by the second orifice device to control the fluid flow through the slave path.