Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frontiers in Complex Dynamics

Rational maps on the Riemann sphere occupy a distinguished niche in the general theory of smooth dynamical systems. First, rational maps are complexanalytic, so a broad spectrum of techniques can contribute to their study (quasiconformal mappings, potential theory, algebraic geometry, etc.) The rational maps of a given degree form a finite dimensional manifold, so exploration of this parameter space is especially tractable. Finally, some of the conjectures once proposed for smooth dynamical systems (and now known to be false), seem to have a definite chance of holding in the arena of rational maps. In this article we survey a small constellation of such conjectures, centering around the density of hyperbolic rational maps — those which are dynamically the best behaved. We discuss some of the evidence and logic underlying these conjectures, and sketch recent progress towards their resolution.
Watermark design of two-dimensional barcodes on mobile phone display by evolutionary multi-objective optimization

Two-dimensional (2D) codes have been increasingly spread for the quick verification items such as airplane boarding passes, train tickets, and coupons. However, the illegal duplication or fabrication of 2D codes has yet to be investigated. This study proposes a semi-fragile watermark design method for detecting illegally copied 2D codes on mobile phone display. The proposed method evaluates solutions with real mobile phones rather than simulation. In addition, we formulate the watermark design problem as a multi-objective optimization problem involving an objective function for every mobile phone, resulting in producing a valid watermark on various mobile phones. Experimental results show that the proposed method can obtain a better semi-fragile watermarking scheme than that by single-objective optimization method.
Competition between Bending and Internal Pressure Governs the Mechanics of Fluid Nanovesicles

Nanovesicles (∼100 nm) are ubiquitous in cell biology and an important vector for drug delivery. Mechanical properties of vesicles are known to influence cellular uptake, but the mechanism by which deformation dynamics affect internalization is poorly understood. This is partly due to the fact that experimental studies of the mechanics of such vesicles remain challenging, particularly at the nanometer scale where appropriate theoretical models have also been lacking. Here, we probe the mechanical properties of nanoscale liposomes using atomic force microscopy (AFM) indentation. The mechanical response of the nanovesicles shows initial linear behavior and subsequent flattening corresponding to inward tether formation. We derive a quantitative model, including the competing effects of internal pressure and membrane bending, that corresponds well to these experimental observations. Our results are consistent with a bending modulus of the lipid bilayer of ∼14kbT. Surprisingly, we find that vesicle stiffness is pressure dominated for adherent vesicles under physiological conditions. Our experimental method and quantitative theory represents a robust approach to study the mechanics of nanoscale vesicles, which are abundant in biology, as well as being of interest for the rational design of liposomal vectors for drug delivery.
Encrypted Search & Cluster Formation in Big Data

In this paper we investigate the key features of big data as formation of clusters and their interconnections along with their connections to the databases. We focused on the security of big data and the actual orientation of the term towards the presence of different type of data in an encrypted form at cloud interface by providing the raw definitions and real time examples within the technology. Moreover, we propose an approach for identifying the encoding technique in order to perform an expedited search over encrypted text ensuring the security enhancements in big data.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Subspecialty Service Use by Children With Autism

OBJECTIVE: To describe racial differences in use of specialty care among children with autism spectrum disorder. METHODS: We identified patients ages 2 to 21 years with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code of autism (299.0) seen from 2000 to 2011 at a major academic health center by using a research patient data repository and determined rates of specialty provider visits and procedures by race. We then used logistic regression to determine the associations of rates of subspecialty visits and procedures with race and ethnicity, controlling for gender, age, and payer type. RESULTS: We identified 3615 patients (2935 white, 243 Hispanic, 188 African American, and 249 other). The most striking differences were in use of gastroenterology (GI)/nutrition services. Nonwhite children were less likely to use GI/nutrition specialty providers (African American, odds ratio = 0.32 [95th percentile confidence interval: 0.18–0.55]; Hispanic, 0.32 [0.20–0.51]; other, 0.56 [0.34–0.92]) as well as neurology (African American, 0.52 [0.33–0.83]; Hispanic, 0.40 [0.27–0.59]) and psychiatry/psychology (African American, 0.44 [0.27–0.72]; Hispanic, 0.60 [0.41–0.88]; other, 0.62 [0.38–0.99]). Nonwhite children were less likely to have had GI studies: colonoscopy (African American, 0.23 [0.10–0.53]; Hispanic, 0.26 [0.14–0.50]), endoscopy (African American, 0.31 [0.16–0.58]; Hispanic, 0.27 [0.16–0.46]; other, 0.53 [0.31–0.90]), and stool studies (African American, 0.49 [0.30–0.91]). Hispanic children had lower rates of neurologic and other testing: EEG (Hispanic, 0.53 [0.35–0.78]), brain MRI (African American, 0.37 [0.22–0.63]; Hispanic, 0.62 [0.42–0.90]), sleep study (Hispanic, 0.18 [0.04–0.76]), and neuropsychiatric testing (Hispanic, 0.55 [0.32–0.96]). CONCLUSIONS: We found racial and ethnic differences among children diagnosed with autism in use of care and procedures. Possible explanations for these findings include differences in presentation, referral rates, or referral follow through.
Reaction time asymmetries between expansion and contraction

Different asymmetries between expansion and contraction (radial motions) have been reported in the literature. Often these patterns have been regarded as implying different channels for each type of radial direction (outward versus inwards) operating at a higher level of visual motion processing. In two experiments (detection and discrimination tasks) we report reaction time asymmetries between expansion and contraction. Power functions were fitted to the data. While an exponent of 0.5 accounted for the expansion data better, a value of unity yielded the best fit for the contraction data. Instead of interpreting these differences as corresponding to different higher order motion detectors, we regard these findings as reflecting the fact that expansion and contraction tap two distinct psychophysical input channels underlying the processing of fast and slow velocities respectively.
Erinnern, Verhindern, Vorbeugen: Zur Typologie des Umgangs mit „Euthanasie“ am Beispiel des T4-Gutachters Franz Ludwig Berthold Kihn

Hintergrund: Die aktuelle Debatte zur gesetzlichen Neuregelung der Sterbehilfe gibt Anlass, zu erinnern an die Rolle Berthold Kihns bei der NS-Euthanasie. Mit dieser historischen Darstellung im Sinne einer Typologie des Umgangs mit „Euthanasie“ mochte die Erlanger Hochschulpsychiatrie als Anfangs- und Endpunkt von Kihns wissenschaftlicher Laufbahn zusammen mit der Medizinethik fur aktuelle Debatten sensibilisieren. Methoden: Relevantes Archivmaterial sowie Primar- und Sekundarliteratur wurden recherchiert, analysiert und ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Hatte Kihn als Oberarzt der Erlanger Psychiatrischen und Nervenklinik 1932 uber „[d]ie Ausschaltung der Minderwertigen aus der Gesellschaft“ referiert, so selektierte er als Ordinarius fur Psychiatrie in Jena Patienten fur die Euthanasie-„Aktion T4“. Kihn gilt als beteiligt an der Konzeption eines „Euthanasie-Gesetzes“. Als „Mitlaufer“ konnte sich Kihn in den akademischen Lehrkorper der Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat reintegrieren und leitete eine Privatklinik in Erlangen. Das im Verlauf eingeleitete Strafverfahren wurde 1963 – offiziell mangels Nachweises einer strafrechtlichen Schuld – eingestellt. Diskussion: Gerade im Fachgebiet der Psychiatrie kann eine entsprechende medizinhistorische Einordnung die notwendige Voraussetzung darstellen fur eine adaquate Auseinandersetzung mit der aktuellen medizinethischen Debatte zu Sterbehilfe und assistiertem Suizid. Schlussbetrachtung: Die vorliegende Analyse von Denkmuster und Argumentationsfigur Berthold Kihns sensibilisiert fur eine kritisch reflektierte Position der Fachgesellschaft im Rahmen der gegenwartigen Diskussion zum assistierten Suizid.
Pass-through and Exposure

Firms differ in the extent to which they "pass-through" changes in exchange rates into the prices they charge in foreign markets. They also differ in their "exposure" to exchange rates--the responsiveness of their profits to changes in exchange rates. Because pricing directly affects profitability, the exposure of a firm's profits to exchange rates should be governed by many of the same firm and industry characteristics that determine the firm's pricing behavior. This paper will develop models of firm and industry behavior, which will be used to study these closely related phenomena together. We consider an imperfectly competitive environment where a local exporting firm competes against a foreign import-competing firm in the export market. From this specification, we derive the optimal pass-through decisions and from these determine the exchange rate exposure that would result. The models are estimated on Japanese export industry data which combines both the price data used in pass-through studies and the financial data used in exposure studies.
Comparison of Newly Diagnosed and Relapsed Patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Treated with Arsenic Trioxide: Insight into Mechanisms of Resistance

There is limited data on the clinical, cellular and molecular changes in relapsed acute promyeloytic leukemia (RAPL) in comparison with newly diagnosed cases (NAPL). We undertook a prospective study to compare NAPL and RAPL patients treated with arsenic trioxide (ATO) based regimens. 98 NAPL and 28 RAPL were enrolled in this study. RAPL patients had a significantly lower WBC count and higher platelet count at diagnosis. IC bleeds was significantly lower in RAPL cases (P=0.022). The ability of malignant promyelocytes to concentrate ATO intracellularly and their in-vitro IC50 to ATO was not significantly different between the two groups. Targeted NGS revealed PML B2 domain mutations in 4 (15.38%) of the RAPL subset and none were associated with secondary resistance to ATO. A microarray GEP revealed 1744 genes were 2 fold and above differentially expressed between the two groups. The most prominent differentially regulated pathways were cell adhesion (n=92), cell survival (n=50), immune regulation (n=74) and stem cell regulation (n=51). Consistent with the GEP data, immunophenotyping revealed significantly increased CD34 expression (P=0.001) in RAPL cases and there was in-vitro evidence of significant microenvironment mediated innate resistance (EM-DR) to ATO. Resistance and relapse following treatment with ATO is probably multi-factorial, mutations in PML B2 domain while seen only in RAPL may not be the major clinically relevant cause of subsequent relapses. In RAPL additional factors such as expansion of the leukemia initiating compartment along with EM-DR may contribute significantly to relapse following treatment with ATO based regimens.
Surprising gene expression patterns within and between PDF-containing circadian neurons in Drosophila

To compare circadian gene expression within highly discrete neuronal populations, we separately purified and characterized two adjacent but distinct groups of Drosophila adult circadian neurons: the 8 small and 10 large PDF-expressing ventral lateral neurons (s-LNvs and l-LNvs, respectively). The s-LNvs are the principal circadian pacemaker cells, whereas recent evidence indicates that the l-LNvs are involved in sleep and light-mediated arousal. Although half of the l-LNv–enriched mRNA population, including core clock mRNAs, is shared between the l-LNvs and s-LNvs, the other half is l-LNv– and s-LNv–specific. The distribution of four specific mRNAs is consistent with prior characterization of the four encoded proteins, and therefore indicates successful purification of the two neuronal types. Moreover, an octopamine receptor mRNA is selectively enriched in l-LNvs, and only these neurons respond to in vitro application of octopamine. Dissection and purification of l-LNvs from flies collected at different times indicate that these neurons contain cycling clock mRNAs with higher circadian amplitudes as well as at least a 10-fold higher fraction of oscillating mRNAs than all previous analyses of head RNA. Many of these cycling l-LNv mRNAs are well expressed but do not cycle or cycle much less well elsewhere in heads. The results suggest that RNA cycling is much more prominent in circadian neurons than elsewhere in heads and may be particularly important for the functioning of these neurons.
Plankton Microorganisms Coinciding with Two Consecutive Mass Fish Kills in a Newly Reconstructed Lake

Lake Karla, Greece, was dried up in 1962 and its refilling started in 2009. We examined the Cyanobacteria and unicellular eukaryotes found during two fish kill incidents, in March and April 2010, in order to detect possible causative agents. Both microscopic and molecular (16S/18S rRNA gene diversity) identification were applied. Potentially toxic Cyanobacteria included representatives of the Planktothrix and Anabaena groups. Known toxic eukaryotes or parasites related to fish kill events were Prymnesium parvum and Pfiesteria cf. piscicida, the latter being reported in an inland lake for the second time. Other potentially harmful microorganisms, for fish and other aquatic life, included representatives of Fungi, Mesomycetozoa, Alveolata, and Heterokontophyta (stramenopiles). In addition, Euglenophyta, Chlorophyta, and diatoms were represented by species indicative of hypertrophic conditions. The pioneers of L. Karla's plankton during the first months of its water refilling process included species that could cause the two observed fish kill events.
On the Liveness of Guidepath-Based, Zone-Controlled Dynamically Routed, Closed Traffic Systems

Zone-controlled, guidepath-based, dynamically routed, closed traffic systems constitute the modelling abstraction for a large set of industrial and public transport systems. An important requirement for the traffic flow of these systems is that the vehicles maintain their ability to access every location in the underlying guidepath-network, throughout the entire, presumably infinite, length of the system operation. States in which the system preserves the aforementioned property are said to be live. This work provides a structural characterization of state liveness that: (i) enables the identification of live states while foregoing an extensive enumeration of the underlying behavioral space and (ii) facilitates the design of computationally efficient liveness-enforcing supervisors.
Far-Infrared Source Counts and the Diffuse Infrared Background

The cosmic far-infrared background is now well measured from 140 μ m to 1 mm. Uncertainties remain at 100 μ m (and even more at 60 μ m). These are dominated by limitations of the zodiacal model. The nature of sources dominating the background near its maximum are beginning to be studied through deep surveys carried out with ISOPHOT. These surveys show very steep number counts and fluctuations of the background due to unresolved sources.
Error-Tolerant Coding and the Genetic Code

The following thesis is a project in mathematical biology building upon the so-called “error minimization hypothesis” of the genetic code. After introducing the biological context of this hypothesis, I proceed to develop some relevant information-theoretic ideas, with the overall goal of studying the structure of the genetic code. I then apply the newfound understanding to an important question in the debate about the origin of life, namely, the question of the temperatures in which the genetic code, and life in general, underwent their early evolution. The main advance in this thesis is a set of methods for calculating the primordial evolutionary pressures that shaped the genetic code. These pressures are due to genetic errors, and hence the statistical properties of the errors and of the genome are imprinted in the statistical properties of the code. Thus, by studying the code it is possible to reconstruct, to some extent, the primordial error rates and the composition of the primordial genome. In this way, I find evidence that the fixation of the genetic code occurred in organisms which were not thermophiles.
A semantics for nabla

We give a semantics for a classical variant of Dale Miller and Alwen Tiu’s logic FOλ∇. Our semantics validates the rule that nabla x implies exists x, but is otherwise faithful to the authors’ original intentions. The semantics is based on a category of so-called nabla sets, which are simply strictly increasing sequences of non-empty sets. We show that the logic is sound for that semantics. Assuming there is a unique base type ι, we show that it is complete for Henkin structures, incomplete for standard structures in general, but complete for standard structures in the case of Π1 formulae, and that includes all first-order formulae.
Relative influence of c-Kit expression and epidermal growth factor receptor gene amplification on survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

c-Kit and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have critical roles in cell proliferation and differentiation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of c-Kit and/or EGFR expression in tumor tissue samples from 146 patients with NSCLC. c-Kit expression was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and the expression of EGFR was assessed using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified that c-Kit is a significant negative prognostic factor. The expression of c-Kit was correlated with poor differentiation, pleura involvement and smoking history (P=0.043, 0.007 and 0.032, respectively). Furthermore, patients with c-Kit-positive expression were associated with a significantly lower overall survival compared with those exhibiting c-Kit-negative expression (P=0.048). The median follow-up time was 19 months post-surgery. EGFR gene amplification as a result of polysomy of chromosome 7 was found to be negatively correlated with poor differentiation and smoking history (P=0.023 and 0.044, respectively). The findings of the present study indicate that c-Kit and EGFR expression is a strong, independent, negative prognostic factor in NSCLC.
Galaxy populations in the Antlia cluster – II. Compact elliptical galaxy candidates

Continuing our study of galaxy populations in the Antlia cluster, we present a photometric analysis of four galaxies classified as compact elliptical (cE) galaxies in the 1990 Antlia Group catalogue of Ferguson and Sandage. Until now, there have been only six known members of this rare type of galaxy. Using data from various photometric systems (Washington C, KronCousins R, Bessel V and I, Hubble Space Telesecope F814W and F435W), we measured the brightness and colour profiles, as well as the structural parameters. By comparing these with those of other galaxies in the Antlia cluster, as well as with confirmed cE galaxies from the literature, we found that two of the cE candidates, although spectroscopically confirmed Antlia members, are not cE galaxies. However, one of these objects presents strong ellipticity and position angle variations that resemble those already reported for M32, leading us to speculate about this type of object being a progenitor of a cE galaxy. The other two cE candidates, for which radial velocities are not available, match some features typical of cE galaxies, such as being close in projection to a larger galaxy, displaying flat colour profiles, and having a high degree of compactness. Only one of the remaining cE candidates shows a high central surface brightness, two components in its brightness profile and distinct changes in ellipticity and position angle where the outer component begins to dominate. It seems to follow the same trend as other confirmed cE galaxies in a luminosity versus mean effective surface brightness diagram. Moreover, it shows a distorted inner structure with similar characteristics to those found by simulations of interacting galaxies. Also, an extremely faint structure, which seems to link this object with one of the Antlia dominant galaxies, has been detected in images from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory MOSAIC, the Very Large Telescope FORS 1 and the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys. The cE nature of this galaxy and the possible interaction with its bright companion still have to be confirmed using spectroscopy.
Finding All Tandem Arrays in DNA Sequences

A tandem array is a substring of the form k x , where x is any unspecific substring and k is at least two (when k is 2, 2 x is also called a tandem repeat or square). A non-extendable tandem array occurring in string S is a tandem array k x which are not followed or preceded by another occurrence of x in S. The problem of this thesis is defined as follows: Given a string S of length n, find all non-extendable tandem arrays of S. In the thesis, we present an O(nlogn) algorithm for the problem. The algorithm is based on a variation of an O(nlogn) algorithm for finding all squares in S. Instead of directly finding all non-extendable tandem arrays, we first find all squares and then use them to construct all non-extendable p-periodic substrings whose definition follows: A non-extendable p-periodic substring is a substring Y with maximal length m such that the ith character is equal to the ( ) p i + th character of Y for all { } p m 1 i − ∈ , ,K and ⎣ ⎦ 2 p m ≥ / . With all non-extendable p-periodic substrings found, we can easily determine all non-extendable tandem arrays at once.
STUDY OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION STRATEGIC IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

This is an exploratory research study that aims at serving as a primer on key concepts related to the development, status, practices and other constructs of green supply chain management (GSCM). It involves adopting an environmentally-conscious mindset in conducting company level, strategic, tactical and operational processes and is closely related to the broader concept of sustainability. Since the field still in its developing stage, an extensive literature review was done on the discipline and underlying topics that are nurturing this emerging academic and practice field. Supply chain management, sustainability and environmental operational initiatives. Several concrete approaches used in investigation GSCM initiatives are introduce as well as the role of organizational factors in the adoption of environmental innovations, based on a survey. The study advanced the proposition that organizational capabilities matter significantly in the adoption of GSCM practices and reveals importance background information pertaining the new posture on the relationship among supply chain management, social responsibility and environmental consciousness. A key implication is that companies have to embrace the importance of working collaboratively with their partners to improve the social responsibility performance of the supply chain, causing a "green multiplier effect" throughout the supply chain. The study also concludes that there is a clear research need to establish the potential link among GSCM initiatives, competitiveness and economic performance, to provide a stimulus for companies to green their supply chains.