Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Computationally Efficient DFT Scheme for Applications With a Subset of Nonzero Inputs

Fourier transformation is a powerful analytical tool with wide-ranging applications in many fields. In certain cases, some of the inputs to the transformation function are zero, while the others are real or complex. For the case, where the nonzero inputs are complex, the transform decomposition (TD) method enables a significant reduction in the computational complexity. This letter proposes a modified TD (MTD) algorithm to further reduce the complexity when the nonzero input data are consecutive and real-valued. The analytical and numerical results confirm that the complexity of the MTD scheme is not only significantly lower than that of the original TD method, but also lower than that of the traditional split-radix fast Fourier transform (FFT) method when the length of the input sequence is short.
SIMON POPE AND AUDUN JØSANG , DSTC 3 Many alternative analysis

Intelligence analysis is a complicated task that requires a high degree of analytical judgement under conditions of considerable uncertainty. This judgement is used to fill in the gaps in knowledge and is the analyst’s principal means of managing uncertainty. Much of intelligence analysis includes judging the relevance and the value of evidence to determine the likelihood of competing hypotheses. The challenge is to create better formal methods of analysis that can be used under a wider variety of circumstances and which can handle both empirical data and formally-expressed beliefs as evidence for or against each hypothesis. The authors have developed a formal approach to the evaluation of competing hypotheses that is based on the belief calculus known as Subjective Logic. The development of this formal approach allows for integration of empirical and statistical data, as well as for judgements made by analysts. Lastly, this formal approach makes redundant the separate analysis of “diagnosticity of evidence”. Under this formal approach, diagnosticity is formally derived from the model and need not be considered as a separate input to the model, except as a means of limiting the initial set of evidence that should be formally considered.
Rate-Compatible Puncturing of Finite-Length Low-Density Parity-Check Codes

In this paper, we study rate-compatible puncturing of finite-length low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. First, we derive simple and yet good bounds on the expected performance of punctured codes (constructed by random puncturing) over binary erasure channel (BEC) as a function of the performance of their parent LDPC code. We then present a novel rate-compatible puncturing scheme that is very easy to implement. Our scheme uses the idea that a more uniform distribution of punctured bits across the Tanner graph results in punctured codes with better performance. Although the puncturing scheme tailored to regular codes is presented, it is also directly applicable to irregular parent ensembles. By simulations, the proposed rate-compatible puncturing scheme is shown to be superior to the existing puncturing methods for both regular and irregular LDPC codes over BEC and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel
Colon-Targeted Oral Drug Delivery Systems: Design Trends and Approaches

Colon-specific drug delivery systems (CDDS) are desirable for the treatment of a range of local diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pancreatitis, and colonic cancer. In addition, the colon can be a potential site for the systemic absorption of several drugs to treat non-colonic conditions. Drugs such as proteins and peptides that are known to degrade in the extreme gastric pH, if delivered to the colon intact, can be systemically absorbed by colonic mucosa. In order to achieve effective therapeutic outcomes, it is imperative that the designed delivery system specifically targets the drugs into the colon. Several formulation approaches have been explored in the development colon-targeted drug delivery systems. These approaches involve the use of formulation components that interact with one or more aspects of gastrointestinal (GI) physiology, such as the difference in the pH along the GI tract, the presence of colonic microflora, and enzymes, to achieve colon targeting. This article highlights the factors influencing colon-specific drug delivery and colonic bioavailability, and the limitations associated with CDDS. Further, the review provides a systematic discussion of various conventional, as well as relatively newer formulation approaches/technologies currently being utilized for the development of CDDS.
POTENTIAL UTILIZATION AND HEALTHY EFFECTS OF DOUM PALM FRUITS IN ICE CREAM AND SESAME BUTTER ( TEHENA )

Potential utilization of Doum palm fruit (Hyphaene thebaica mart.)in its powder form was applied in some food products as a source of fiber, stabilizer and minerals as well as for its potential healthy effect. Doum powder was fractionated and the fraction of 0.1mm that containing hemi cellulose (12.88%), cellulose (21.37%) and lignin (1.08%), was added at levels of 1, 3, 5 and 7% in ice cream mix. Another Doum powder fraction (0.25 mm) containing hemi cellulose (15.60%), cellulose (14.75%) and lignin (5.95%) was used at levels of 5,10,15 and 20% in the production of sesame butter, which is commonly used in some Middle East countries as appetizing and known as Tehena. Changes in specific gravity, freezing point, weight of gallon, titratable acidity, protein stability of ice cream mixes as well as the overrun, melting resistance and sensory evaluation of the produced ice cream were investigated. The results confirmed the presence of a proportional relation between the added quantities of Doum powder and the apparent viscosity of both the produced ice cream mixes and the prepared Tehena. Ice cream sample containing 3% Doum powder was organoleptically superior followed by that of 5 % Doum powder. It seems evident that Tehena manufactured from 5 and 10% Doum powder (0.25mm) was acceptable and having good nutritional value for its mineral content and fiber. A preliminary experiment indicated a noticeable decrement of systolic blood pressure with values ranged between 5 and 10mmHg, after consumption of ice cream containing different levels (1-7%) of Doum powder (0.1mm). On the other hand, more reduction in diastolic blood pressure was observed (1.6-5.0mmHg) for the sample of people under study (age 30 to 60 years). Subsequently, utilizing Doum palm powder as a potential source for dietary fiber and minerals in both ice cream and Tehena can be achieved successfully beside its expected efficiency in reducing the risk of hypertension.
Predicting the aesthetic performance of web sites: what attracts people?

This paper focuses upon the visual aesthetic performance of web sites. It describes an experiment in which a site, designed at three controlled levels of visual ‘enrichment’, was evaluated on a number of measures by two subject groups. The measures used represent the two main facets of the Categorical-Motivation model of aesthetics, and included others specific to the performance of web sites. Using Multidimensional Scaling the results were consistent with predictions derived from this model. They indicate that the drivers of site evaluation were primarily exploratory, ‘collative’ variables representing ‘interest’, ‘novelty’ and ‘fun’. General Terms Design, Performance, Experimentation, Measurement, Theory.
Environment characteristics associated with tornado events near closed cold core 500 mb lows

Previous studies have discussed tornado events that occur in relatively close proximity to closed cold core 500 mb lows (hereafter C500L). Modest measures of low level moisture (namely in terms of surface dewpoints) and instability can render some tornado events near C500L difficult to forecast. Miller (1972) referred to these events as “type D” patterns. Subsequent studies by Goetsch (1988), Davies (1993), and McDonald (2000) have examined severe thunderstorms and tornadoes east of the Rocky Mountains associated with “cold core” or “small” (nontropical) tornadic supercell patterns. More recently, a preliminary study by Davies and Guyer (2004, hereafter DG04) examined the synoptic scale patterns (also see Davies 2006) and climatological tendencies associated with C500L tornadoes in the central and eastern United States over a five year period (1999-2003). A C500L was defined as at least one closed 30 m contour at 500 mb (Bell and Bosart 1989), with 500 mb temperatures of -10°C or colder. Most common during the transitional spring and fall months, tornadoes that occur within 320 km (approximately 200 statute miles) of a C500L were the focus of DG04. In close proximity to, and typically east or southeast of the C500L, DG04 found that tornadoes tend to occur along a boundary intersection focus point, oftentimes in the form of a surface occlusion and/or wind shift axis (Fig. 1). DG04 noted that C500L tornado environments are often characterized by marginal boundary layer moisture (surface dewpoints as low as 48-55 °F) and relatively weak instability (e.g. CAPE of 1000 J/kg or less). Readers of this manuscript are encouraged to consult DG04 and Davies (2006) for additional discussion on the preliminary patterns and climatology of C500L tornado events. As a follow-up to DG04, this study focuses on the thermodynamic and kinematic characteristics associated with C500L tornadoes. This includes a comparison of C500L tornado environments vs. a diverse dataset of traditional supercell tornado environments (section 3) and C500L tornado null events (section 4).
On the MV(peak) versus Orbital Period Relation for Dwarf Nova Outbursts

We present computations for the accretion disk limit cycle model in an attempt to explain the empirical relation for dwarf nova outbursts between the peak visual absolute magnitude and orbital period found by Warner. For longer period systems one sees intrinsically brighter outbursts. This is accounted for in the limit cycle model by the scaling with radius of the critical surface density Σmax that triggers the dwarf nova outbursts. During the storage phase of the instability, the accretion disk mass must be less than some maximum value, a value that scales with radius and therefore with orbital period. When the instability is triggered and the accumulated mass is redistributed into a quasi-steady state disk in outburst, the resultant peak optical flux from the disk is a measure of the total mass that was stored in quiescence. We compute light curves for a range in outer disk radius (or equivalently, orbital period), and find that our peak values of MV are within less than 1 mag of the observed relation MV(peak) = 5.64 - 0.259Porbital for 2 ≲ Porbital ≲ 8, where Porbital is in hours.
Growth Performance of Broiler Chickens Fed a Carboxymethyl Cellulose Containing Diet with Supplemental Carvacrol and/or Cinnamaldehyde

The question addressed was whether the essential oil components, carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde, would have an interactive effect with regard to growth performance. One-day old female broiler chickens were subjected to one of 5 dietary treatments for 21 days: a base diet as a negative control, the base diet with 1% Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), the CMC diet with 200 ppm carvacrol, the CMC diet with 200 ppm cinnamaldehyde and the CMC diet with 100 ppm carvacrol plus 100 ppm cinnamaldehyde. Group mean daily weight gain was 10% less in birds fed on the CMC diet when compared with those fed the CMC-free diet. Birds fed the CMC-containing diet with the blend of carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde gained significantly less weight when compared with those fed on the CMC-free diet, the decrease in weight gain being 24%. The feeding of either carvacrol or cinnamaldehyde alone with the CMC-containing diet did not influence weight gain as opposed to the CMC control diet, but the combination of the two principles reduced group mean weight gain by 16%. The feeding of CMC caused hypertrophy of the small intestine, but the essential oil components had no further effect. No significant treatment differences were observed as t o plasma lipid concentrations. The present data indicate that essential oil components can have interactive effects with respect to growth performance.
Predictors of Indolent Versus Aggressive Disease Behavior for Patients With Newly Diagnosed Mantle Cell Lymphoma

M comprises less than 10% of all cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and has heterogeneous clinical behavior ranging from indolent to very aggressive. The disease is characterized by the presence of t(11;14) and frequently presents at an advanced stage with a male predominance and median age of 64.1 There is currently no standard of care for patients with newly diagnosed MCL, although many fit patients are considered for intensive, Ara-C–containing, induction therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). This approach has resulted in a median time to treatment failure of up to 9 years in studies such as the recently reported MCL Younger study, and similar impressive results have been reported in other studies incorporating Ara-C–containing induction regimens with ASCT.2-5 In addition, currently available novel therapies and those still under investigation have markedly improved outcomes for patients with relapsed disease, resulting in prolonged overall survival (OS) for most patients with MCL, including those who cannot undergo ASCT in first remission.6-11 However, despite recent advances, most patients with MCL will ultimately die of their disease, and very few patients are cured outside of an allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloSCT). 12 This review summarizes the currently available data regarding identification of indolent compared with aggressive disease, the role of ASCT in first remission, and the appropriate scenarios in which to use maintenance therapies. DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN AGGRESSIVE AND LESS AGGRESSIVE MCL Risk Stratification in MCL Identification of low-risk disease and consideration of a watchful waiting approach. Although most patients with MCL will initiate therapy at the time of diagnosis, a subset of patients with indolent disease can be safely observed (Fig. 1). Martin et al first described a cohort of deferred patients at Cornell, where 31 patients who delayed treatment of at least 3 months could be safely monitored for a median of 12 months (range, 4-128 months) without a negative impact on OS.13 In this series, patients with a good performance status and low International Prognostic Index (IPI) score were more likely to receive deferred therapy. Similar series have been presented in abstracts from British Columbia (74 patients), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (91 patients), and an Emory University–led multicenter cohort (71 patients) describing patients deferring therapy for at least 3 months.14-16 In these series, 17% to 29% of patients have pursued deferred therapy with a median time to treatment of 8–35.6 months. Consistent predictors of deferred therapy include good performance status, lack of B-symptoms, and normal lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Additional pathologic factors including Ki67 less than 30% and lack of blastoid morphology have been associated with deferred therapy in some series. Finally, patients with early-stage disease and those with a leukemic COHEN, ZAIN, AND KAHL
Electronic Reprint Synchrotron Radiation Synergistic Effect of Cisplatin and Synchrotron Irradiation on F98 Gliomas Growing in Nude Mice Synchrotron Radiation Synergistic Effect of Cisplatin and Synchrotron Irradiation on F98 Gliomas Growing in Nude Mice

Author(s) of this paper may load this reprint on their own web site or institutional repository provided that this cover page is retained. Republication of this article or its storage in electronic databases other than as specified above is not permitted without prior permission in writing from the IUCr. Synchrotron radiation research is rapidly expanding with many new sources of radiation being created globally. Synchrotron radiation plays a leading role in pure science and in emerging technologies. The Journal of Synchrotron Radiation provides comprehensive coverage of the entire field of synchrotron radiation research including instrumentation, theory, computing and scientific applications in areas such as biology, nanoscience and materials science. Rapid publication ensures an up-to-date information resource for scientists and engineers in the field. Among brain tumors, glioblastoma multiforme appears as one of the most aggressive forms of cancer with poor prognosis and no curative treatment available. Recently, a new kind of radio-chemotherapy has been developed using synchrotron irradiation for the photoactivation of molecules with high-Z elements such as cisplatin (PAT-Plat). This protocol showed a cure of 33% of rats bearing the F98 glioma but the efficiency of the treatment was only measured in terms of overall survival. Here, characterization of the effects of the PAT-Plat on tumor volume and tumor blood perfusion are proposed. Changes in these parameters may predict the overall survival. Firstly, changes in tumor growth of the F98 glioma implanted in the hindlimb of nude mice after the PAT-Plat treatment and its different modalities have been characterized. Secondly, the effects of the treatment on tumor blood perfusion have been observed by intravital two-photon microscopy. Cisplatin alone had no detectable effect on the tumor volume. A reduction of tumor growth was measured after a 15 Gy synchrotron irradiation, but the whole therapy (15 Gy irradiation + cisplatin) showed the largest decrease in tumor growth, indicating a synergistic effect of both synchrotron irradiation and cisplatin treatment. A high number of unperfused vessels (52%) were observed in the peritumoral area in comparison with untreated controls. In the PAT-Plat protocol the transient tumor growth reduction may be due to synergistic interactions of tumor-cell-killing effects and reduction of the tumor blood perfusion.
Shared Execution of Clustering Tasks

Clustering is a central problem in non-relational data analysis, with k-means being the most popular clustering technique. In various scenarios, it may be necessary to perform clustering over the same input data multiple times - with different values of k, different clustering attributes, or different initial centroids - before arriving at the final solution. In this paper, we propose algorithms for parallel execution of multiple runs of k-means clustering in a way that achieves substantial savings of IO and processing resources. Proposed algorithms can easily be implemented over Hadoop/MapReduce, Spark, etc., with savings in map and reduce phases. Extensive performance evaluation using real-world datasets show that the proposed algorithms result in up to 40% savings in response times when compared to other optimization techniques proposed in literature as well as open-source implementations. The algorithms scale well with increasing data sizes, values of k, and number of clustering tasks.
The Profile of Cross-Linked Chitosan and Collagen Derived-Chicken Shank Scaffold as Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering

Periodontitis, congenital disorder, degenerative disease, and bone tumor are the major problems in oral cavity that could damage bone continuity. The damage is irreversible and in most cases the bone cannot heal properly, so a biomimetic scaffold is needed to mediate the healing process. Scaffold made of chitosan and collagen derived-chicken shank (CDCS) is on a development in recent researches. Scaffold combined with 0.25% glutaraldehyde as cross linking agent shows a good improvement in biologic and mechanical properties. The aim of this study is to discover the profile of cross-linked chitosan-CDCS scaffold as biomaterial in tissue engineering. Methods: Scaffolds’ profiles were examined with degradation test, swelling test, WCP test and porosity size by using SEM. These scaffolds have degradation rate 20.909%, swelling ratio 1.625, WCP 59.851%, and porosity size36. 06μm. The profile of cross-linked chitosan-CDCS scaffold seem to fulfill the requirements as biomaterial for tissue engineering.
Design methodology for PicoRadio networks

One of the most compelling challenges of the next decade is the "last-meter" problem, extending the expanding data network into end-user data-collection and monitoring devices. PicoRadio supports the assembly of an ad hoc wireless network of self-contained mesoscale, low-cost, low-energy sensor and monitor nodes. While technology advances have made it conceivable to deploy wireless networks of heterogeneous nodes, the design of a low-power, low-cost, adaptive node in a reduced time to market is still a challenge. We present a design methodology for PicoRadio Networks, from system conception and optimization to silicon platform implementation. For each phase of the design, we demonstrate the applicability of our methodology through promising experimental results.
The influence of financial markets and corporate governance on R&D policy of Dutch companies

The Dutch capital market is peculiar, at least because of the three following reasons. Only a relatively small number of Dutch companies is listed at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, because most Dutch companies raise funds from retained earnings, bank- credits and long term borrowing. Furthermore, the relatively small group of listed companies is heavily dominated by a small number of large companies. Finally, the liquidity of the stock market is relatively low and concentrated in the thirty largest funds. Not only the structure and functioning of the stock market influences the relationship between shareholders and company management, but also the corporate governance structure of companies. Dutch corporate governance can be characterized as a system aiming at balancing the interests of shareholders, management and workers. One of the side effects of Dutch legislation at this point is that it provides Dutch companies also a large number of measures to prevent hostile take-overs. In this chapter, the most important information about the Dutch capital market will be provided, as well as the most relevant legislation on corporate governance in The Netherlands. This information provides the background for our analysis of the perception by Dutch corporate financial managers of the short term pressures their shareholders place upon them. We will also try to evaluate what the effects of short term pressures are on Research and Development (R&D) policy and R&D management in Dutch companies. A final paragraph gives a brief summary of the most important findings and discusses the most relevant findings of our study.
On Behalf of the European Working Group for Legionella Infections 1

Nine hundred and forty six cases of travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease were reported to the European Surveillance Scheme for Travel Associated Legionnaires’ Disease (EWGLINET) with onset during 2007; 890 were confirmed and 56 were presumptive. Twenty eight cases died, giving a case fatality rate of 3.0%. 8.2% of cases were diagnosed by culture, an important increase from 5.2% in 2006. One hundred and twelve new clusters were identified; the largest involved nine cases. Sixteen of these clusters (14.3%) occurred in countries outside EWGLINET, and three involved cruise ships. Twenty nine of the new clusters (25.9%) would not have been detected without the EWGLINET scheme. A total of 151 investigations were conducted in Europe, 42 of which were conducted at re-offending sites (where additional cases had onset after a report was received to say that investigations and control measures had been satisfactorily conducted). The names of 13 accommodation sites were published on the European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI) website; 11 of these were situated in Turkey.