Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selecting Proper Multi-Class SVM Training Methods

Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are excellent candidate solutions to solving multi-class problems, and multi-class SVMs can be trained by several different methods. Different training methods commonly produce SVMs with different effectiveness, and no multi-class SVM training method always outperforms other multi-class SVM training methods on all problems. This raises difficulty for practitioners to choose the best training method for a given problem. In this work, we propose a Multi-class Method Selection (MMS) approach to help users select the most appropriate method among one-versus-one (OVO), one-versus-all (OVA) and structural SVMs (SSVMs) for a given problem. Our key idea is to select the training method based on the distribution of training data and the similarity between different classes. Using the distribution and class similarity, we estimate the unclassifiable rate of each multi-class SVM training method, and select the training method with the minimum unclassifiable rate. Our initial findings show: (i) SSVMs with linear kernel perform worse than OVO and OVA; (ii) MMS often produces SVM classifiers that can confidently classify unseen instances.
POVERTY AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN LATIN AMERICA DURING THE 1980s

On average, poverty and income inequality increased in Latin America during the 1980s. Forty-six percent of the increase in poverty took place in the cities of Brazil alone, though part of this reflects the migration of poor rural inhabitants to urban areas. There is strong evidence that both income inequality and poverty mirrored the economic cycle, rising during recession and falling during recovery. Economies that grew (e.g. Colombia, Costa Rica) performed better with respect to poverty and income inequality than those that stagnated. In particular, countries that failed to stabilize effectively (e.g. Brazil, Peru) experienced substantial increases in poverty. Educational attainment has the greatest correlation with both income inequality and the probability of being poor. From a policy standpoint, there is a clear association between the provision of education, lessening of income inequality, and poverty reduction. Coauthors are Samuel Morley, Ariel Fiszbein, Haeduck Lee, and William C. Wood. Copyright 1995 by The International Association for Research in Income and Wealth.
ABCA1 Gene Variants Regulate Postprandial Lipid Metabolism in Healthy Men

Objective—Genetic variants of ABCA1, an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, have been linked to altered atherosclerosis progression and fasting lipid concentration, mainly high-density lipoproteins and apolipoprotein A1; however, results from different studies have been inconsistent. Methods and Results—To further characterize the effects of ABCA1 variants in human postprandial lipid metabolism, we studied the influence of 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (i27943 [rs2575875]; i48168 [rs4149272]; R219K [rs2230806]) in the postprandial lipemia of 88 normolipidemic young men who were given a fatty meal. For i27943 and i48168 single nucleotide polymorphisms, fasting and postprandial values of apolipoprotein A1 were higher and postprandial lipemia was much lower in homozygotes for the major alleles, total triglycerides in plasma, and large triglyceride-rich lipoprotein triglycerides. These persons also showed a higher apolipoprotein A1/apolipoprotein B ratio. Major allele homozygotes for i48168 and i27943 showed additionally higher high-density lipoproteins and lower postprandial apolipoprotein B. Conclusion—Our work shows that major allele homozygotes for ABCA1 single nucleotide polymorphisms i27943 and i48168 have a lower postprandial response as compared to minor allele carriers. This finding may further characterize the role of ABCA1 in lipid metabolism.
Hacking the Cell: Network Intrusion and Exploitation by Adenovirus E1A

ABSTRACT As obligate intracellular parasites, viruses are dependent on their infected hosts for survival. Consequently, viruses are under enormous selective pressure to utilize available cellular components and processes to their own advantage. As most, if not all, cellular activities are regulated at some level via protein interactions, host protein interaction networks are particularly vulnerable to viral exploitation. Indeed, viral proteins frequently target highly connected “hub” proteins to “hack” the cellular network, defining the molecular basis for viral control over the host. This widespread and successful strategy of network intrusion and exploitation has evolved convergently among numerous genetically distinct viruses as a result of the endless evolutionary arms race between pathogens and hosts. Here we examine the means by which a particularly well-connected viral hub protein, human adenovirus E1A, compromises and exploits the vulnerabilities of eukaryotic protein interaction networks. Importantly, these interactions identify critical regulatory hubs in the human proteome and help define the molecular basis of their function.
Private sector membership associations and support for SMEs

Governments in developing countries have in the past directed their support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through centralized public institutions providing advice and training. These have often had limited impact on the small business community who perceive them as distant and removed from their situation.Private sector membership associations are seen to be closer to the ethos of SMEs, and this article examines the contribution they could make to SME promotion. Drawing on the experience of developed countries where private sector membership associations play an important role, the article suggests how such organizations in developing countries might strengthen their position and increase their support for SMEs.
System Level Study of LTE-Advanced Multiple Antenna System with Inter-Band Carrier Aggregation

Spatial Multiplexing (SM) multiple antenna systems and Carrier Aggregation (CA) are techniques introduced in Long Term Evolution- Advanced (LTE−Advanced) to support high data rates by increasing the number of transmission paths and the available bandwidth respectively. Therefore, in this study we evaluate the performance of LTE-Advanced physical downlink shared channel for single and SM multiple antenna systems in two different frequency bands. The radio channel is modelled using an enhanced Three-Dimensional (3D) international telecommunication union-radio communication sector channel model integrated with base station and user mobile 3D antenna patterns. Except the total received power, similar channel statistics are observed for both frequency bands. The study is performed considering 1x1, 2x2, 4x4 antenna systems in a macro-cell urban environment at Component Carries (CC) of 2600 MHz and 800 MHz to model bands 7 and 20 of CA_7-20 respectively. The performance is evaluated in terms of throughput and SM gain for many base stations and user positions considering various modulation and coding schemes. We used the computationally efficient received bit information rate algorithm to compute the throughput as a function of channel structure and signal to noise ratio. As expected higher throughput is observed for the 800 MHz band over the 2600 MHz band. This is due to the higher total received power of the 800 MHz band. The novel SM gain results show that the SM gain depends on the operating band and it’s less than the number of spatial links. Moreover, the efficiency of inter-band CA in increasing the data rates is a function cell radius and the number of spatial streams.
PTEN mutation in a family with Cowden syndrome and autism.

We report on a mother and son with Cowden syndrome and a PTEN mutation. The boy also exhibits autistic behavior and mental retardation, while his mother has a normal intelligence and social interaction pattern. We review the scanty literature data on the association of Cowden syndrome and autism and emphasize that the association of progressive macrocephaly and pervasive developmental disorder seems to be an indication for screening for PTEN mutations.
The Economics of College Sports: Cartel Behavior vs. Amateurism

This paper studies intercollegiate athletics in the context of the theory of cartels. Some point to explicit attempts by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to restrict output and payments for factors of production as evidence of cartel behavior. Others argue that such limits enhance product quality by preserving amateurism. I find that the NCAA’s compensation limits on athletes lead to high levels of rents from the entertainment revenues produced by the athletes. The athletes producing these rents are disproportionately African-American, while the beneficiaries are primarily white. The rents are typically spent on coaches’ salaries, facilities, and nonrevenue sports. Although athletic departments considered as businesses lose money on average, there is some evidence, although not unanimous, that they generate alumni contributions, state appropriations, and additional student applications.
‘She looked deep into our eyes’: reflections on cross-cultural practice in rural Africa

This paper shows the development of a mobile digital storytelling system that suits the needs and functions of rural African communities. But rather than focusing solely on the artefact and how it was designed, I also present an account of the ideas and perspectives I took, and how these changed in the course of practice. I uncover the slow process of discovering that cross-cultural practice is not only about understanding users or prototyping ideas in a detached fashion, but explore how in the course of practice pre-existing notions embedded in ourselves and in our culture are ‘unconcealed’. It is a learning process in which we learn about users in relation to ourselves. The prototype was tested in Adiedo, Kenya.
Realizing Effective Behavioral Management of Health: The Metamorphosis of Behavioral Science Methods

The past two centuries have shown radical improvements in health and longevity, with hygiene as the key contributor to this trend in the 19th century and antibiotics and vaccinations in the 20th century. With most infectious diseases largely at bay in the developed world, the greatest contributors to suboptimal health today are largely behavioral. For example, there are three behavioral risk factors-tobacco use, poor diet, and inactivity-that contribute to four chronic diseases: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, lung disease, and some cancers. Together, these behaviors account for more than 50% of preventable deaths (see the Web site 3four50.com). While medical advances will surely continue, it is likely that the next great advancements in health in the 21st century will occur via more effective behavior management.
Deriving protein dynamical properties from weighted protein contact number

It has recently been shown that in proteins the atomic mean‐square displacement (or B‐factor) can be related to the number of the neighboring atoms (or protein contact number), and that this relationship allows one to compute the B‐factor profiles directly from protein contact number. This method, referred to as the protein contact model, is appealing, since it requires neither trajectory integration nor matrix diagonalization. As a result, the protein contact model can be applied to very large proteins and can be implemented as a high‐throughput computational tool to compute atomic fluctuations in proteins. Here, we show that this relationship can be further refined to that between the atomic mean‐square displacement and the weighted protein contact‐number, the weight being the square of the reciprocal distance between the contacting pair. In addition, we show that this relationship can be utilized to compute the cross‐correlation of atomic motion (the B‐factor is essentially the auto‐correlation of atomic motion). For a nonhomologous dataset comprising 972 high‐resolution X‐ray protein structures (resolution <2.0 Å and sequence identity <25%), the mean correlation coefficient between the X‐ray and computed B‐factors based on the weighted protein contact‐number model is 0.61, which is better than those of the original contact‐number model (0.51) and other methods. We also show that the computed correlation maps based on the weighted contact‐number model are globally similar to those computed through normal model analysis for some selected cases. Our results underscore the relationship between protein dynamics and protein packing. We believe that our method will be useful in the study of the protein structure‐dynamics relationship. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Restoring service quality, satisfaction and loyalty in higher education institutions through market orientation

This study investigates the effect of being market oriented on service quality perceptions and its relationship with customer satisfaction and loyalty. Specifically, this paper examines as to how market orientation influences performance from the customer's perspective in the private higher education institutions (HEIs). Based from the response of 147 respondents comprising of postgraduate students in Malaysian private HEIs, the findings showed that market orientation influences service quality that subsequently influences customer satisfaction and loyalty. The partial effect of service quality mediating the market orientation and customer satisfaction relationship is also discussed. Finally, the implications of the research are discussed as are the limitations.
Demographic Alternatives for Aging Industrial Countries: Increased Total Fertility Rate, Labor Force Participation, or Immigration

The paper investigates the demographic alternatives for dealing with the projected population aging and low or negative growth of the population and labor force in the North. Without further immigration, the total labor force in Europe and Russia, the high-income countries of East Asia and the Pacific, China, and, to a lesser extent, North America is projected to be reduced by 29 million by 2025 and by 244 million by 2050. In contrast, the labor force in the South is projected to add some 1.55 billion, predominantly in South and Central Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa. The demographic policy scenarios to deal with the projected shrinking of the labor force in the North include moving the total fertility rate back to replacement levels, increasing labor force participation of the existing population through a variety of measures, and filling the demographic gaps through enhanced immigration. The estimations indicate that each of these policy scenarios may partially or even fully compensate for the projected labor force gap by 2050. But a review of the policy measures to make these demographic scenarios happen also suggests that governments may not be able to initiate or accommodate the required change.
A new 3D texture feature based computer-aided diagnosis approach to differentiate pulmonary nodules

To distinguish malignant pulmonary nodules from benign ones is of much importance in computer-aided diagnosis of lung diseases. Compared to many previous methods which are based on shape or growth assessing of nodules, this proposed three-dimensional (3D) texture feature based approach extracted fifty kinds of 3D textural features from gray level, gradient and curvature co-occurrence matrix, and more derivatives of the volume data of the nodules. To evaluate the presented approach, the Lung Image Database Consortium public database was downloaded. Each case of the database contains an annotation file, which indicates the diagnosis results from up to four radiologists. In order to relieve partial-volume effect, interpolation process was carried out to those volume data with image slice thickness more than 1mm, and thus we had categorized the downloaded datasets to five groups to validate the proposed approach, one group of thickness less than 1mm, two types of thickness range from 1mm to 1.25mm and greater than 1.25mm (each type contains two groups, one with interpolation and the other without). Since support vector machine is based on statistical learning theory and aims to learn for predicting future data, so it was chosen as the classifier to perform the differentiation task. The measure on the performance was based on the area under the curve (AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristics. From 284 nodules (122 malignant and 162 benign ones), the validation experiments reported a mean of 0.9051 and standard deviation of 0.0397 for the AUC value on average over 100 randomizations.
New Insights into the Mechanisms of Chinese Herbal Products on Diabetes: A Focus on the “Bacteria-Mucosal Immunity-Inflammation-Diabetes” Axis

Diabetes, especially type 2, has been rapidly increasing all over the world. Although many drugs have been developed and used to treat diabetes, side effects and long-term efficacy are of great challenge. Therefore, natural health product and dietary supplements have been of increasing interest alternatively. In this regard, Chinese herbs and herbal products have been considered a rich resource of product development. Although increasing evidence has been produced from various scientific studies, the mechanisms of action are lacking. Here, we have proposed that many herbal monomers and formulae improve glucose homeostasis and diabetes through the BMID axis; B represents gut microbiota, M means mucosal immunity, I represents inflammation, and D represents diabetes. Chinese herbs have been traditionally used to treat diabetes, with minimal side and toxic effects. Here, we reviewed monomers such as berberine, ginsenoside, M. charantia extract, and curcumin and herbal formulae such as Gegen Qinlian Decoction, Danggui Liuhuang Decoction, and Huanglian Wendan Decoction. This review was intended to provide new perspectives and strategies for future diabetes research and product.
Shr Is a Broad-Spectrum Surface Receptor That Contributes to Adherence and Virulence in Group A Streptococcus

ABSTRACT Group A streptococcus (GAS) is a common hemolytic pathogen that produces a range of suppurative infections and autoimmune sequelae in humans. Shr is an exported protein in GAS, which binds in vitro to hemoglobin, myoglobin, and the hemoglobin-haptoglobin complex. We previously reported that Shr is found in association with whole GAS cells and in culture supernatant. Here, we demonstrate that cell-associated Shr could not be released from the bacteria by the muralytic enzyme mutanolysin and was instead localized to the membrane. Shr was available, however, on the exterior of GAS, exposed to the extracellular environment. In vitro binding and competition assays demonstrated that in addition to hemoprotein binding, purified Shr specifically interacts with immobilized fibronectin and laminin. The absence of typical fibronectin-binding motifs indicates that a new protein pattern is involved in the binding of Shr to the extracellular matrix. Recombinant Lactococcus lactis cells expressing Shr on the bacterial surface gained the ability to bind to immobilized fibronectin, suggesting that Shr can function as an adhesin. The inactivation of shr resulted in a 40% reduction in the attachment to human epithelial cells in comparison to the parent strain. GAS infection elicited a high titer of Shr antibodies in sera from convalescent mice, demonstrating that Shr is expressed in vivo. The shr mutant was attenuated for virulence in an intramuscular zebrafish model system. In summary, this study identifies Shr as being a new microbial surface component recognizing adhesive matrix molecules in GAS that mediates attachment to epithelial cells and contributes to the infection process.
Computational Results for Extensive-Form Adversarial Team Games

We provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first computational study of extensive-form adversarial team games. These games are sequential, zero-sum games in which a team of players, sharing the same utility function, faces an adversary. We define three different scenarios according to the communication capabilities of the team. In the first, the teammates can communicate and correlate their actions both before and during the play. In the second, they can only communicate before the play. In the third, no communication is possible at all. We define the most suitable solution concepts, and we study the inefficiency caused by partial or null communication, showing that the inefficiency can be arbitrarily large in the size of the game tree. Furthermore, we study the computational complexity of the equilibrium-finding problem in the three scenarios mentioned above, and we provide, for each of the three scenarios, an exact algorithm. Finally, we empirically evaluate the scalability of the algorithms in random games and the inefficiency caused by partial or null communication.
Evolution of Trade Patterns in the New EU Member States

The paper analyses the most recent evolution of the trade specialisation pattern in the 10 new EU Member States. Relying on the empirical approach of the Markov transition matrices it analyses both the changes in the external shape of the distribution of comparative advantages and the intra-distribution dynamics. The new Members show an indeed dynamic trade pattern; they were able to gain comparative advantages relatively fast in sectors in which they were lagging behind at the beginning of the transition process, notably in some i? ½high techi? ½ products. In addition, many specialisation improvements occurred in those items for which the world demand expands at the fastest rate, hinting to the possibility of an increase in their trade shares on world markets. Both findings can be explained by the initial need to rebuild and modernise the entire capital stock, the significant skilled-labour force endowment, and the large FDI inflows that allowed them to skip intermediate states of technological development.
Simulation and Analysis of Photo-Voltaic (PV) based Solar Inverter System

114 Abstract—The energy demand in the world is steadily increasing and new types of energy sources must be f ound in order to cover the future demands, since the conventional sources are about to be emptied. One type of renewable energy so urce is the photovoltaic (PV) cell, which converts sunlight to el ectrical current, without any form for mechanical or thermal interlink. A photovoltaic (PV) based 500W solar inverter system is developed which consists of PV Array, battery bank and solar inverter cum charge controller. The system works on both Solar and AC mains power depending on the energy requirement . The goal of this project is to Simulate, design, de velope and analyzes the PV based inverter system. Simulation of solar cell is carried out in MATLAB/SimElectronics which can be used t o analyze photovoltaic panel in varying atmospheric c onditions. The inverter is MOSFET drive H Bridge PIC controlled si ngle phase SPWM. The system is tested on resistive and inductive loa d. Voltage/current waveform analysis, power quality and FFT analysis is carried out by using power quality analy zer as well as load sharing between photovoltaic array and battery, battery and mains supply is done.
The determination of rents in shopping centers during recession period in Lithuania

This research examines how to relieve the economical pressure to the market of shopping centers by choosing one of the percentage rent forms. Retail rents have two rental components typically: base rent and overage rent, which is equal to some predetermined percentage on sales and is paid once the tenant reaches some level of sales. Both of these components are related to many factors which are considered in international practice. The determination of the percentage rents in Lithuania is much more complicated because the most important information about retail segments of the shopping centers (sales per square meter, gross leasable area and rental prices) is not publicly available. The goal of this research was to analyze the US experience and data that is available on percentage rent determination and to adapt it to the Lithuanian market by implementing required adjustments.