Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcriptional Characterization of Porcine Leptin and Leptin Receptor Genes

The leptin (LEP) and its receptor (LEPR) regulate food intake and energy balance through hypothalamic signaling. However, the LEP-LEPR axis seems to be more complex and its expression regulation has not been well described. In pigs, LEP and LEPR genes have been widely studied due to their relevance. Previous studies reported significant effects of SNPs located in both genes on growth and fatness traits. The aim of this study was to determine the expression profiles of LEP and LEPR across hypothalamic, adipose, hepatic and muscle tissues in Iberian x Landrace backcrossed pigs and to analyze the effects of gene variants on transcript abundance. To our knowledge, non porcine LEPR isoforms have been described rather than LEPRb. A short porcine LEPR isoform (LEPRa), that encodes a protein lacking the intracellular residues responsible of signal transduction, has been identified for the first time. The LEPRb isoform was only quantifiable in hypothalamus while LEPRa appeared widely expressed across tissues, but at higher levels in liver, suggesting that both isoforms would develop different roles. The unique LEP transcript showed expression in backfat and muscle. The effects of gene variants on transcript expression revealed interesting results. The LEPRc.1987C>T polymorphism showed opposite effects on LEPRb and LEPRa hypothalamic expression. In addition, one out of the 16 polymorphisms identified in the LEPR promoter region revealed high differential expression in hepatic LEPRa. These results suggest a LEPR isoform-specific regulation at tissue level. Conversely, non-differential expression of LEP conditional on the analyzed polymorphisms could be detected, indicating that its regulation is likely affected by other mechanisms rather than gene sequence variants. The present study has allowed a transcriptional characterization of LEP and LEPR isoforms on a range of tissues. Their expression patterns seem to indicate that both molecules develop peripheral roles apart from their known hypothalamic signal transduction function.
SCHNORRCHECKSIG : Exploring Schnorr Signatures as an Alternative to ECDSA for Bitcoin

Bitcoin[1] currently utilizes the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)[8] as a zero-knowledge proof of ownership[10] in order to authorize the transfer of Satoshis[14] from one output to another. ECDSA applied to cryptocurrency has its share of short comings, namely: signature malleability can invalidate unconfirmed transaction chains[16, 13], techniques for batch verification have been shown to be insecure[6], and support for threshold signatures require Secure Multi-Party Computation[7]. For this project, I will explore the possibility of integrating Schnorr Signatures[11] into Bitcoin in the form of a new OP_*CHECKSIG operator as an alternative to ECDSA. Until recently (2008), Schnorr Signatures were encumbered by US Patent 4,995,082[11]. The primary advantages of Schnorr Signatures over Elliptic Curves, as defined in [9, 4], include the support of efficient batch signature verification[6], immunity to malleability[9], resistance to hash-function collisions, and support for efficient usable threshold signatures due to the simplicity of the signature[15, 2]. Additionally, I will contribute contribute an implementation of batch signature verification with fraud detection as described in [6] to an open source library[5] that implements ed25519[9] in Go[3]. Furthermore, I will run a series of benchmarks aiming to demonstrate the potential speed optimizations that block and transaction verification[12] can gain by moving to Schnorr. Finally, in order to demonstrate the flexibility of Schnorr with respect to threshold transactions, I will implement a scheme supporting arbitrary N-of-M threshold signatures with log2 N M space efficiency[2].
Integrated Healthcare Delivery and Health Insurance Models for Studying Emergency Department Utilization

An important healthcare problem in the United States of America is that of emergency department overcrowding. A plausible explanation for such overcrowding is that the lack of access to primary care, which may be influenced by one’s insurance status, leads to greater use of emergency departments. Additionally, it has been suggested that the inappropriate use of emergency departments, along with the phenomenon of cost-shifting, results in higher healthcare costs in the form of higher insurance premiums. Higher premiums may in turn influence one’s insurance status. To study these relationships, we develop a system dynamics model that captures key interactions between population health state progression, healthcare economics, and population health insurance status. Two interventions are investigated: government subsidies to individuals for purchasing health insurance, and safety-net clinic capacity. We also explore the sensitivity of emergency department utilization to employment rate and population susceptibility to illness.
Gallager Codes – Recent Results

In 1948, Claude Shannon posed and solved one of the fundamental problems of information theory. The question was whether it is possible to communicate reliably over noisy channels, and, if so, at what rate. He defined a theoretical limit, now known as the Shannon limit, up to which communication is possible, and beyond which communication is not possible. Since 1948, coding theorists have attempted to design error-correcting codes capable of getting close to the Shannon limit. In the last decade remarkable progress has been made using codes that are defined in terms of sparse random graphs, and which are decoded by a simple probability-based message-passing algorithm. This paper reviews low-density parity-check codes (Gallager codes), repeat-accumulate codes, and turbo codes, emphasising recent advances. Some previously unpublished results are then presented, describing (a) experiments on Gallager codes with small blocklengths; (b) a stopping rule for decoding of repeat-accumulate codes, which saves computer time and allows block decoding errors to be detected and flagged; and (c) the empirical power-laws obeyed by decoding times of sparse graph codes.
User Roles and Contribution Patterns in Online Communities: A Managerial Perspective

Online communities are one of the powerful digital sources for businesses to analyze online users’ behavioral data. In this sense, it is important for practitioners to know how to motivate community members, to keep them amused and regularly engaged in the community. But, practitioners should be aware that different user types exist in online communities, and they should understand these members’ diverse needs to manage these communities successfully and to give a better service to their members. Concordantly, this study focuses on the problem of the existence of different user types in online communities and development of different strategies for their motivation, involvement, and communication. Unlike previous studies, this study considers theories across managerial and social domains, conducts social network analysis, and considers users’ contribution patterns in an online community to identify particular user types in an online community. The study also presents motivational strategies for practitioners to keep each type of users frequently amused in online communities.
Constant communication complexity protocols for multiparty accumulative boolean functions

Generalizing a boolean function from Cleve and Buhrman \cite{cb:sqec}, we consider the class of {\it accumulative boolean functions} of the form $f_B(X_1,X_2,., X_m)=\bigoplus_{i=1}^n t_B(x_i^1x_i^2. x_i^m)$, where $X_j=(x^j_1,x^j_2,., x^j_n), 1\leq j\leq m$ and $t_B(x_i^1x_i^2. x_i^m)=1$ for input $m$-tuples $x_i^1x_i^2. x_i^m\in B\subseteq A\subseteq \{0,1\}^n$, and 0, if $x_i^1x_i^2. x_i^m\in A\setminus B$. Here the set $A$ is the input {\it promise} set for function $f_B$. The input vectors $X_j, 1\leq j\leq m$ are given to the $m\geq 3$ parties respectively, who communicate cbits in a distributed environment so that one of them (say Alice) comes up with the value of the function. We algebraically characterize entanglement assisted LOCC protocols requiring only $m-1$ cbits of communication for such multipartite boolean functions $f_B$, for certain sets $B\subseteq \{0,1\}^n$, for $m\geq 3$ parties under appropriate uniform parity promise restrictions on input $m$-tuples $x_i^1x_i^2. x_i^m, 1\leq i\leq n$. We also show that these functions can be computed using $2m-3$ cbits in a purely classical deterministic setup. In contrast, for certain $m$-party accumulative boolean functions ($m\geq 2$), we characterize promise sets of mixed parity for input $m$-tuples so that $m-1$ cbits of communication suffice in computing the functions in the absence of any a priori quantum entanglement. We compactly represent all these protocols and the corresponding input promise restrictions using uniform group theoretic and hamming distance characterizations.
Stereophonic acoustic echo canceller without pre-processing

This paper proposes a stereophonic acoustic echo canceller without pre-processing which can identify the correct echo-paths. By dividing the filter coefficients into two portions and updating one part at a time, the filter coefficient have a unique solution. Convergence analysis clarifies the condition for correct echo-path identification. For fast convergence and stable adaptation, a convergence detection and an adaptive step-size are also introduced. The modification amount of the filter coefficients detects the convergence and also determines the step-size. Computer simulations show 10dB smaller coefficient error than those of the conventional algorithms.
Multiobjective Output Feedback Control of a Class of Stochastic Hybrid Systems with State-Dependent Noise

This paper deals with dynamic output feedback control of continuous-time active fault tolerant control systems with Markovian parameters (AFTCSMP) and state-dependent noise. The main contribution is to formulate conditions for multiperformance design, related to this class of stochastic hybrid systems, that take into account the problematic resulting from the fact that the controller only depends on the fault detection and isolation (FDI) process. The specifications and objectives under consideration include stochastic stability, ℋ2 and ℋ∞ (or more generally, stochastic integral quadratic constraints) performances. Results are formulated as matrix inequalities. The theoretical results are illustrated using a classical example from literature.
Methods for the economic valuation of loss of life

1 INTRODUCTION As a society without risk is impossible, risk regulation is to maintain the delicate balance between socioeconomic development and a safe society. This paper focuses on the use of cost-benefit analysis for the management of large-scale risks associated with industrial hazards in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, regulations for land-use planning in the vicinity of major industrial hazards are explicitly risk-based. In risk-based regulation, not only potential adverse physical effects are considered but also the probability of failure. Three main elements constitute the Dutch regulatory framework: (i) quantitative risk assessment, (ii) the adoption of individual and societal risk as risk-determining parameters and (iii) acceptability criteria for individual and societal risk [1]. Besides these criteria, the ALARA-principle is adopted. Also when the risk criteria are met, risks should be reduced to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable. Whether additional investments in risk reduction are reasonable is determined by implicit or explicit societal cost-benefit analysis. Investments in safety require a trade-off between the costs of risk reduction and the benefits thus obtained. Cost-benefit analysis is a useful tool for comparing the costs and benefits of an activity or action. In cost-benefit analyses, both costs and benefits are expressed in a single unit, commonly currency. This poses some difficulties in risk regulation since the benefits of a risk reducing prospect might not easily be expressed in monetary terms. When potential damages include loss of life, a benchmark value would have to be adopted for the value of human life. For instance, UK's Health and Safety Executive has adopted a benchmark value of preventing a fatality of one million pounds for industrial safety [2]. This value is derived from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DLTR). In case death is caused by cancer a value of preventing a fatality of two million pounds is used. Official values of preventing a fatality in road safety range from less than 100.000 euros to about 3.5 million euros [3]. These values can however not simply be extrapolated to industrial safety. In literature on risk management the valuation of human life is often depicted as a difficult problem as it raises numerous moral questions. Some claim it is un-ethical to put a price on human life and that life is priceless. The actual expenditures on risk reducing prospects show however that the investment in the reduction of risks to humans is …
Connecting Adolescent Suicide to the Severity of Bullying and Cyberbullying

ABSTRACT While previous studies have identified that school bullying and cyberbullying victimization among adolescents is associated with suicidal thoughts and attempts, no work has measured the severity of bullying incidents and their impact on the youth at school within that context. As such, a survey was distributed to a representative sample of U.S. youth between the ages of 12 and 17, and students who experienced either school-based or online bullying were significantly more likely to report suicidal thoughts. Students who reported being bullied at school and online were even more likely to report not just suicidal thoughts, but also attempts. Those who were bullied or cyberbullied in a way that affected them at school were also at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts. We discuss how school communities can provide substantive instructional and emotional support to all teens, particularly with the increased prominence of these issues over the last decade.
The Association of Disability and Pain with Individual and Community Socioeconomic Status in People with Hip Osteoarthritis

Objective: To examine associations between disability and socioeconomic status (SES) in persons with hip radiographic OA (rOA) or symptomatic OA (sxOA) in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on individuals with hip rOA (708) or sxOA (251). rOA was defined as Kellgren-Lawrence ≥ 2. Educational attainment (<12 years or ≥12 years) and occupation (managerial or non-managerial) were individual SES measures. Census block group poverty rate (<12%, 12-25%, ≥25%) was the community SES measure. Disability was measured by the HAQ-DI and the WOMAC (function, pain, total). Covariates included age, gender, race, BMI, and presence of knee symptoms. Analyses examined associations of disability with each SES effect separately, followed by multivariable analyses using all SES variables, adjusting for covariates. Results: In models with single SES variables adjusted for covariates, WOMAC scores were associated significantly (p<0.05) with low educational attainment and non-managerial occupation in rOA and sxOA. HAQ was significantly associated with low educational attainment in rOA and sxOA and with high community poverty in rOA. In models including all SES variables, the patterns of association were similar although with diminished significance. There was indication that education was more strongly associated with HAQ and WOMAC function, while occupation was more strongly associated with WOMAC pain. Conclusion: Our data provide evidence that individual SES is an important factor to consider when examining disability and pain outcomes in older adults with hip OA.
Feature-based image alignment via coupled Hough transforms

We investigate the problem of feature based image alignment under vertical and horizontal translation and scaling. The problem of finding the two dimensional affine alignment without rotation can be separated into two coupled simpler problems. The resulting two model fitting problems are coupled through a consensuses set of points that fit both models. The proposed solution can be viewed as a coordinate-wise optimization that separates the two dimensional shift and stretch problem into two coupled one-dimensional problems. Each one dimensional alignment problem is solved through a Hough transform that allows fast and robust estimation of the two parameters of a one dimensional affine deformation model. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method in finding the spatial transform between two given video sequences.
Diversity of Anopheles Species and Trophic Behavior of Putative Malaria Vectors in Two Malaria Endemic Areas of Northwestern Thailand

ABSTRACT: We determined the species diversity, blood-feeding behavior, and host preference of Anopheles mosquitoes in two malaria endemic areas of Tak (Mae Sot District) and Mae Hong Son (Sop Moei District) Provinces, located along the Thai border with Myanmar, during a consecutive two-year period. Anopheline mosquitoes were collected using indoor and outdoor human-landing captures and outdoor cow-baited collections. Mosquitoes were initially identified using morphological characters, followed by the appropriate multiplex AS-PCR assay for the identification of sibling species within Anopheles (Cellia) complexes and groups present. Real-time PCR was performed for parasite-specific detection in mosquitoes (Plasmodium spp. and Wuchereria bancrofti). A total of 7,129 Anopheles females were captured, 3,939 from Mae Sot and 3,190 from Sop Moei, with 58.6% and 37% of all anophelines identified as An. minimus, respectively. All three malaria vector complexes were detected in both areas. One species within the Minimus Complex (An. minimus) was present along with two related species in the Funestus Group, (An. aconitus, An. varuna), two species within the Dirus Complex (An. dirus, An. baimaii), and four species within the Maculatus Group (An. maculatus, An. sawadwongporni, An. pseudowillmori, and An. dravidicus). The trophic behavior of An. minimus, An. dirus, An. baimaii, An. maculatus, and An. sawadwongporni are described herein. The highest An. minimus densities were detected from February through April of both years. One specimen of An. minimus from Mae Sot was found positive for Plasmodium vivax.
Analysis of a Tooth-Coil Winding Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Machine With an Unequal Teeth Width

This paper presents an analysis of a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) with an unequal teeth width. The use of the concentrated nonoverlapping winding, also known as tooth-coil winding, has certain advantages. In addition, asymmetric features can be exploited by adopting this winding configuration to improve the machine performance. The procedure involves increasing the stator tooth width and, to the same extent, reducing the adjacent stator tooth width. In this paper, an analytical method was employed to predict and understand the back-EMF behavior, and a finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to verify the analytical method. Furthermore, a detailed study of the machine performance (electromagnetic torque, flux density, and losses) was carried out by the FEA. The machine was built and tested to validate the performance of the machine.
Accelerometer based human joints' range of movement measurement

Accurate measurement and analysis of joints' range of movement (ROM) are important for assessing joint related health conditions and are valuable to clinicians for diagnostic and rehabilitation purposes. As an alternative to using the camera-based methods which are restrictive and expensive, and the electro-goniometers which are not sufficiently effective in some scenarios, researchers are developing the use of microelectromechanical devices such as accelerometers for measuring human joints movement. This paper presents the development of an accelerometer based system to measure movement angle, velocity, acceleration and displacement for the knee.
Exploring Intersecting Program Elements in Longer-Term Concurrent Disorder Services for Adults: A Qualitative Evaluation

Previous research highlights multiple factors that impact the attainment of client-identified recovery goals in substance misuse treatment programs. However, fewer studies examine how programs meet the broad range of needs expressed by clients through their intersecting elements of service delivery. This study seeks to develop an understanding of intersecting program and recovery elements in relation to an overall framework for programming, focusing on how overlapping elements of treatment ventured to support clients in multiple areas of their recovery. Qualitative interviews were conducted with clients (n=41) in three longer term substance use treatment programs, and data from interviews were analysed using analytic induction and constant comparison strategies to surface emergent themes. Data analysis yielded six main findings. These included: Education; Goal Setting; Routine and Stability; Spiritual Development; Exercise; and Transitional Planning. Respondents indicated that programs must focus on bolstering the development of each element across multiple treatment domains (such as group therapy and counselling) to best support clients in achieving recovery outcomes.
Validity of Eucaryote Inhibitors for Assessing Production and Grazing Mortality of Marine Bacterioplankton

Application of eucaryote inhibitors to the estimation of production and grazing mortality of bacterioplankton was evaluated. Exposure to a range of concentrations of thiram, cycloheximide, and neutral red (0.4 to 210, 36 to 1,777, 4 to 346 μM, respectively) was 98 to 100% effective at inhibiting growth of a chrysomonad in culture. Exposure to colchicine and griseofulvin (50 to 1,000 μM for both) yielded only 24 to 94 and 53 to 79% inhibition, respectively. Exposures to thiram, neutral red, and griseofulvin were 90 to 100% effective at inhibiting growth in culture of a ciliate, Cyclidium sp. , and the responses to colchicine and cycloheximide were variable (64 to 100 and 0 to 100% inhibition, respectively). Thiram and neutral red inhibited field populations of nanozooplankton more effectively than cycloheximide and colchicine. Direct effects of eucaryote inhibitors on growing cultures of bacterioplankton varied with parameters measured and duration of exposure. After 3-day exposures, specific growth rates and “instantaneous” heterotrophic potential ([14C]glucose uptake) were not consistently affected, but biosynthetic activity (RNA and DNA syntheses) was depressed. The degree of inhibition of isolates and field populations of phytoplankton depended upon type of inhibitor and phytoplankton species. In field experiments, it was possible to calculate rates of bacterioplankton production and grazing mortality for only 16 of 29 inhibitor experiments and for 4 of 10 size fractionation experiments. Bacterioplankton production and mortality estimates varied greatly with the eucaryote inhibitor used, and those derived from inhibition techniques were substantially different from those derived from fractionation techniques. The poor performances of both techniques are attributed to the following: (i) effects of inhibitors on phytoplankton, (ii) indirect effects of the inhibitors on bacterioplankton, and (iii) insufficient separation of grazers from prey by filtration techniques. Because of the inconsistent results obtained in this investigation, we strongly recommend exercising caution in the application of inhibitor techniques to ecological problems, especially in phototrophically dominated systems.