Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forecasting Iran's rice imports trend during 2009-2013.

In the present study Iran's rice imports trend is forecasted, using artificial neural networks and econometric methods, during 2009 to 2013, and their results are compared. The results showed that feet forward neural network leading with less forecast error and had better performance in comparison to econometric techniques and also, other methods of neural networks, such as Recurrent networks and Multilayer perceptron networks. Moreover, the results showed that the amount of rice import has ascending growth rate in 2009-2013 and maximum growth occurs in 2009-2010 years, which was equal to 25.72 percent. Increasing rice import caused a lot of exchange to exit out of the country and also, irreparable damage in domestic production, both in terms of price and quantity. Considering mentioned conditions, economic policy makers should seek ways to reduce increasing trend of rice import; and more investment and planning for domestic rice producers.
Plasma Adrenomedullin and Allelic Variation in the ADM Gene and Kidney Disease in People With Type 2 Diabetes

Production of adrenomedullin (ADM), a vasodilator peptide, increases in response to ischemia and hypoxia in the vascular wall and the kidney. This may be an adaptive response providing protection against organ damage. We investigated the hypothesis that ADM has a nephroprotective effect in two prospective cohorts of patients with type 2 diabetes recruited in France. The highest tertile of plasma MR-proADM (a surrogate for ADM) concentration at baseline was associated with the risk of renal outcomes (doubling of plasma creatinine concentration and/or progression to end-stage renal disease) during follow-up in both cohorts. Four SNPs in the ADM gene region were associated with plasma MR-proADM concentration at baseline and with eGFR during follow-up in both cohorts. The alleles associated with lower eGFR were also associated with lower plasma MR-proADM level. In conclusion, plasma MR-proADM concentration was associated with renal outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes. Our data suggest that the ADM gene modulates the genetic susceptibility to nephropathy progression. Results are consistent with the hypothesis of a reactive rise of ADM in diabetic nephropathy, blunted in risk alleles carriers, and with a nephroprotective effect of ADM. A possible therapeutic effect of ADM receptor agonists in diabetic renal disease would be worth investigating.
Identificación con los personajes y disfrute ante largometrajes de ficción. Una investigación empírica

La investigación sobre entretenimiento mediático ha teorizado que uno de los principales factores explicativos del disfrute de los formatos narrativos es la identificación con los personajes. Sin embargo es escasa la investigación empírica al respecto. Se presentan los resultados de una investigación cuantitativa en la que se entrevistó a 300 sujetos, a la salida de las salas de cine en las que se exhibían los largometrajes Mar adentro, El lobo y Bridget Jones: sobreviviré. Los resultados indican que la identificación con los personajes era el primer factor explicativo del disfrute, especialmente entre los espectadores de Mar adentro.
NANOMETER TEST QUARTERLY

With the advent of nanometer technologies (130nm and below), the new process elements such as copper wiring and low-K dielectric changed the frequency of different defect mechanisms. More defects now tend to alter the timing of the circuit instead of changing the function, and are located in the interconnection wiring. Resistive opens and, to a lesser degree, resistive shorts alter the time constants inherent in CMOS logic. In addition, more and more of the chip processing and the circuit delays are due to the wiring. Each generation seems to add wiring levels and complexity. (It is estimated that there are 7 kilometers of wire in each square centimeter of a 130nm chip.) As feature sizes are scaled down, the metal pitch is reduced to increase density. Reduced metal pitch in turn imposes limitations on the height of metal interconnects that must also decrease to improve manufacturability. Thus the line resistance per unit length goes up with a higher than linear power, almost quadratically. Higher normal resistance, coupled with resistive defects, results in more timing failures that are not detected with traditional stuck-at fault testing. Wiring, rather than the actual transistors, has become the focus of defects and manufacturing test. For example, take a look at the following images in Figure 1 (compliments of IBM). On the left, a photo of the chip surface shows a break in a net on the third metal level, an apparent open. On the right, when we slice through this defect and look at the cross section, we can see a fine layer of copper bridging the gap. This layer acts as a series resistor, changing the time constant of the net. In this case, it slowed the net transitions down by 200ps. Designers today spend a lot of time ensuring that the timings of their chip are correct. This type of defect changes those required timings. In Figure 2, the plot shows the good output response and the response typical of a traditional stuck-at fault, stuck-at-0 in this case. Threshold voltages are marked using horizontal lines, and the vertical dashed line shows the required arrival time at the next logic stage for the transition to be captured in a downstream flop, per static timing analysis. For a delay defect, the red trace shows that the output goes to logic '1' too late for proper operation, resulting in a timing failure. Timing defects are modeled …
Inactivation of adenosine 5'-triphosphate synthesis and reduced-form nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase activity in Escherichia coli by near-ultraviolet and violet radiations

Near-ultraviolet (near-UV) light (300 to 380 nm) is a significant component of sunlight and has a variety of effects on biological systems. The present work is an attempt to identify chromophores (molecular absorbers of light) and targets (critical damaged molecules) for inhibition of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis in Escherichia coli by near UV. The fluence of 334 nm required for 37% survival of net ATP synthesis (F37) in E. coli AB2463 in succinate medium is 140 kJ/m2. The action spectrum for this inactivation is almost structureless, exhibiting a smooth transition from high efficiency at 313 nm to low efficiency at 405 nm. The action spectrum for inhibition of net ATP synthesis is consistent with the chromophore being either ubiquinone Q-8 or vitamin K2. The fluence required is consistent with ubiquinone Q-8 also being a target molecule. The activity of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase in extracts of E. coli B is also inactivated by near UV and shows an F37 of about 40 kJ/m2. The action spectrum for this effect is quite structureless; it shows high efficiency at 313 nm and low efficiency at 435 nm. The data do not suggest a target molecule for this action, although it is possible that ubiquinone Q-8 absorbs the near-UV energy and then passes it on to some other target molecule. The data further indicate that inactivation of the oxidative phosphorylation system is not a primary factor in near-UV-induced growth delay in E. coli.
Slepian-Wolf Coding for Broadcasting With Cooperative Base-Stations

We propose a base-station (BS) cooperation model for broadcasting a discrete memoryless source in a cellular or heterogeneous network. The model allows the receivers to use helper BSs to improve network performance, and it permits the receivers to have prior side information about the source. We establish the model's information-theoretic limits in two operational modes: In Mode 1, the helper BSs are given information about the channel codeword transmitted by the main BS, and in Mode 2 they are provided correlated side information about the source. Optimal codes for Mode 1 use hash-and-forward coding at the helper BSs; while, in Mode 2, optimal codes use source codes from Wyner's helper source-coding problem at the helper BSs. We prove the optimality of both approaches by way of a new list-decoding generalisation used in Theorem 6 of Tuncel (2006), and in doing so, show an operational duality between Modes 1 and 2.
The comparative psychology of audition : perceiving complex sounds

Contents. G. Ehret, Hearing in the Mouse. J.C. Saunders, W.J. Henry, The Peripheral Auditory System in Birds: Structural and Functional Contributions to Auditory Perception. B. Espinoza-Varas, C.S. Watson, Perception of Complex Auditory Patterns by Humans. J.W. Mullennix, D. B. Pisoni, Speech Perception: Analysis of Biologically Significant Signals. E.C. Carterette, R.A. Kendall, Human Music Perception. H.C. Gerhardt, Acoustic Pattern Recognition in Anuran Amphibians. C.G. Brown, The Acoustic Ecology of East African Primates and the Perceptions of Vocal Signals by Grey-Cheeked Mangabeys and Blue Monkeys. P. Marler, Species Differences in Auditory Responsiveness in Early Vocal Learning. M.D. Beecher, P. Loesche, P.K. Stoddard, M.B. Medvin, Individual Recognition by Voice in Swallows: Signal or Perceptual Adaptation? J.V. Ralston, L.M. Herman, Dolphin Auditory Perception. S.H. Hulse, Comparative Psychology and Pitch Pattern Perception in Songbirds. D.B. Moody, W.C. Stebbins, Salience of Frequency Modulation in Primate Communication. P.K. Kuhl, On Babies, Birds, Modules, and Mechanisms: A Comparative Approach to the Acquisition of Vocal Communication. R.J. Dooling, Perception of Complex Species-Specific Vocalizations by Birds and Humans. J.M. Sinnott, Internal Cognitive Structures Guide Birdsong Perception.
From a personal theory to a grounded theory of staff development

This study set out to develop a grounded theory of staff development for teachers. The aims of the study were: • to evaluate the impact that a staff development program, called Frameworks, had on teachers beliefs and practices in literacy education • to evaluate a personally developed staff development theory which underpinned the design and delivery of that program • as a consequence of the above, to develop a staff development theory which had been formally grounded in the real world of classrooms and schools. The study employed a naturalistic mode of inquiry, and in particular was framed by the parameters of a responsive constructivist evaluation paradigm. The methods of naturalistic inquiry were employed. In particular there was a strong emphasis on a hermeneutic/dialectic process which takes full advantage, and account, of the observer/observed interaction in order to create a constructed reality that is as informed and sophisticated as it can be made at a particular point in time. The study comprised four case studies of four class teachers which analyse and describe their experiences as a result of their participation in the eight week program. These four case studies were further analysed into a construction of Frameworks as it was run in the Gorham Middlesex School District (more commonly known as Marcus Whitman Central School District). A theory of staff development grounded in the data emerged which has been depicted in schematic form and described in detail. Recommendations for the future of staff development, based on the principles emerging from this theory are made. Finally it is argued that effective staff development in the future is contingent upon the adoption of a new paradigm of teacher learning, namely, one that views learning cultures of teachers as social semiotic systems.
Transgender women of color: discrimination and depression symptoms.

PURPOSE Trans women of color contend with multiple marginalizations; the purpose of this study is to examine associations between experiencing discriminatory (racist/transphobic) events and depression symptoms. It uses a categorical measure of combined discrimination, and examines a protective association of transgender identity on depression symptoms. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Data from a subset of trans women of color participants in the Sheroes study were analyzed with linear and logistic regression. Associations of depression symptoms with racist and transphobic events, combined discrimination, coping self-efficacy, and transgender identity were assessed with odds ratios. FINDINGS Exposure to discriminatory events and combined discrimination positively associated with depression symptom odds. Increased transgender identity associated with increased coping self-efficacy, which negatively associated with depression symptom odds. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS Cross-sectional study data prohibits inferring causality; results support conducting longitudinal research on discrimination's health effects, and research on transgender identity. Results also support operationalizing intersectionality in health research. The study's categorical approach to combined discrimination may be replicable in studies with hard to reach populations and small sample sizes. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Health programs could pursue psychosocial interventions and anti-discrimination campaigns. Interventions might advocate increasing participants' coping self-efficacy while providing space to explore and develop social identity. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS There is a need for policy and health programs to center trans women of color concerns. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This study examines combined discrimination and identity in relation to depression symptoms among trans women of color, an underserved population. PAPER TYPE Research paper.
Enhancing BPN Performance using GA Identified Significant Features: A Case Study for Categorization of Heart Statlog Dataset

Feature selection is an essential pre-processing method to remove irrelevant and redundant data. This paper presents the development of a model for classifying Heart Statlog. The model consists of two stages. In the first stage, genetic algorithm (GA) is used as random search method with Correlation based feature selection as fitness function for identifying significant features. The second stage a fine tuned classification is done using back propagation neural network using GA identified feature subset elicited in the first stage. Experimental results signify that the feature subset identified by the proposed filter when given as input to Back propagation neural network classifier, leads to enhanced classification accuracy.
Statistical Machine Translation based Passage Retrieval for Cross-Lingual Question Answering --- Experiments at NTCIR-6

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for Cross-Lingual Question Answering (CLQA), where the statistical machine translation (SMT) is utilized. In the proposed method, the SMT is deeply incorporated into the question answering process, instead of using it as the pre-processing of the mono-lingual QA process as in the previous work. The proposed method can be considered as exploiting the SMT-based passage retrieval for CLQA task. Our experimental results targeting the English-to-Japanese CLQA using the NTCIR CLQA 1 and 2 test collections showed that the proposed method outperformed the previous pretranslation approach.
Face facts: genes, environment, and clefts.

Cleft lip and/or palate provides an ideal, albeit complex, model for the study of human developmental anomalies. Clefting disorders show a mix of well-defined syndromic causes (many with single-gene or environmental etiologies) coupled with their more common presentation in the nonsyndromic form. This summary presents some insight into the genetic causes of, etiology of and animal models for cleft lip and/or palate. 79 refs.
Safe Hardware Access with the Xen Virtual Machine Monitor

The Xen virtual machine monitor allows multiple operating systems to execute concurrently on commodity x86 hardware, providing a solution for server consolidation and utility computing. In our initial design, Xen itself contained device-driver code and provided safe shared virtual device access. In this paper we present our new Safe Hardware Interface, an isolation architecture used within the latest release of Xen which allows unmodified device drivers to be shared across isolated operating system instances, while protecting individual OSs, and the system as a whole, from driver failure.
Composition of Low-Error 2-Query PCPs Using Decodable PCPs

The main result of this paper is a generic composition theorem for low error two-query probabilistically checkable proofs (PCPs). Prior to this work, composition of PCPs was well-understood only in the constant error regime. Existing composition methods in the low error regime were non-modular (i.e., very much tailored to the specific PCPs that were being composed), resulting in complicated constructions of PCPs. Furthermore, until recently, composition in the low error regime suffered from incurring an extra 'consistency' query, resulting in PCPs that are not 'two-query' and hence, much less useful for hardness-of-approximation reductions. In a recent breakthrough, Moshkovitz and Raz [In Proc. 49th IEEE Symp. on Foundations of Comp. Science (FOCS), 2008] constructed almost linear-sized low-error 2-query PCPs for every language in NP. Indeed, the main technical component of their construction is a novel composition of certain specific PCPs. We give a modular and simpler proof of their result by repeatedly applying the new composition theorem to known PCP components. To facilitate the new modular composition, we introduce a new variant of PCP, which we call a "decodable PCP (dPCP)". A dPCP is an encoding of an NP witness that is both locally checkable and locally decodable. The dPCP verifier in addition to verifying the validity of the given proof like a standard PCP verifier, also locally decodes the original NP witness. Our composition is generic in the sense that it works regardless of the way the component PCPs are constructed.
10 Years Experience with Bacterial Screening of Platelet Concentrates in the Netherlands

Background: Contamination of platelets with bacteria is the major microbiological risk of blood transfusion. Screening for bacterial contamination can reduce the frequency of bacterial transmission considerably. In the present paper, the results of 10-year screening in the Netherlands are described. Methods: All platelet concentrates were cultured with the BacT/Alert culturing system with large volume (7.5 ml) cultures in either an aerobic or an anaerobic bottle. Products were released on a ‘negative-to-date’ basis. Results: After introduction of the diversion of the first milliliters of collected blood, the number of positive screening cultures decreased significantly from 0.85% to 0.37%. The frequency of transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections by platelet concentrates is currently less than 1 per 2 years in the Netherlands. Conclusion: Over a period of 10 years the bacterial screening system for platelet concentrates proved to result in a safe system with respect to microbiological infection as a result of platelet transfusions.
Myocardial Hypercarbic Acidosis Reduces Cardiac Resuscitability

Background:The severity of spontaneous myocardial' hypercarbic acidosis during cardiac arrest previously has been predictive of the likelihood of restoring spontaneous circulation. The present study investigated whether hypercarbia itself impairs cardiac resuscitation. Since coronary perfusion pressure is the overriding determinant of cardiac resuscitability, we used a porcine model of cardiac arrest in which coronary perfusion pressure was controlled. Methods:in 31 domestic pigs anesthetized with pentobarbital, the lungs were mechanically ventilated. Myocardial carbon dioxide tension and hydrogen ion concentration were measured by sensors advanced into the myocardium. After 15 min of untreated ventricular fibrillation, venoarterial extracorporeal circulation was initiated. Animals were randomized to receive a carbon dioxide gas fraction in the extracorporeal perfusate of 0.00, 0.10, 0.30, or 0.50 with oxygen concentration maintained constant at 0.50. Extracorporeal flow was adjusted to maintain a coronary perfusion pressure in the range of 60–80 mmHg, a level of predictive resuscitability. Results:The proportion of animals successfully resuscitated and the proportion of animals maintaining spontaneous circulation for 60 min or longer decreased with increasing perfusate PCO2 and concurrent Increases in myocardial CO2 tension in the absence of altered oxygen utilization (P < .01). Conclusions:Hypercarbia, in this experimental setting, was therefore a quantitative determinant of both myocardial resuscitability and the restoration of spontaneous circulation.
Age‐dependent accumulation of ubiquitinated 2′,3′‐cyclic nucleotide 3′‐phosphodiesterase in myelin lipid rafts

Changes in brain white matter are prominent features of the aging brain and include glial cell activation, disruption of myelin membranes with resultant reorganization of the molecular components of the node of Ranvier, and loss of myelinated fibers associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. In previous studies, overexpression of CNP, a key myelin protein, was implicated in age‐related changes in myelin and axons. Here we examine the extent of CNP accumulation in brain white matter and isolated myelin of aged rhesus monkeys and its relationship to CNP degradation and partitioning in myelin. With age, excess CNP is found in myelin and throughout brain white matter accompanied by proteolytic fragments of CNP. These increases occur in the absence of changes in CNP mRNA levels. Using a combination of 2D electrophoresis, immunoprecipitation, and mass spectrometry analysis, ubiquitinated CNP was demonstrable in the Triton X‐100 insoluble lipid raft associated fractions of myelin isolated from rhesus monkeys. Further, using ubiquitin‐mediated fluorescence complementation (UbFC), ubiquitinated CNP was visualized by microscopy in both COS‐7 and MO3.13 cells and by immunoblot in MO3.13 cells and appears to at least partially localize within lipid rafts. The findings suggest that incomplete degradation of CNP due to failure of the proteasomal system and aberrant degradation by calpain‐1 leads to age‐related CNP accumulation and proteolysis. In sum, we suspect these phenomena result in age‐related dysfunction of CNP in the lipid raft, which may lead to myelin and axonal pathology. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Statistical Machine Translation by Generalized Parsing

Designers of statistical machine translation (SMT) systems have begun to employ tree-structured translation models. Systems involving tree-structured translation models tend to be complex. This article aims to reduce the conceptual complexity of such systems, in order to make them easier to design, implement, debug, use, study, understand, explain, modify, and improve. In service of this goal, the article extends the theory of semiring parsing to arrive at a novel abstract parsing algorithm with five functional parameters: a logic, a grammar, a semiring, a search strategy, and a termination condition. The article then shows that all the common algorithms that revolve around tree-structured translation models, including hierarchical alignment, inference for parameter estimation, translation, and structured evaluation, can be derived by generalizing two of these parameters -- the grammar and the logic. The article culminates with a recipe for using such generalized parsers to train, apply, and evaluate an SMT system that is driven by tree-structured translation models.