Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Petri nets graphic method of reduction using birth-death processes

Stochastic Petri nets are a powerful tool for performance evaluation of concurrent systems like parallel computing, communication network and production systems. In many practical applications, performance evaluation using this model is very difficult because of the great dimension of the marking space. We present a graphical method for the reduction of stochastic Petri nets, applied to safe production system modeling. The approach is based on the principle of places interactivity in the model and the function of transition firing rates. The reduction of the Petri net is applied directly to the graphical model after a simple analysis of places efficiency by using mathematical techniques of birth-death processes. Thus, the problem of the model dimension is solved since our method is independent of the marking graph.
An English-Spanish contrastive analysis of culturally loaded phraseological units containing kinship terms

This paper focuses on phraseological units that contain kinship terms. The aim of this dissertation is verifying which cultural connotations of the selected terms are reflected in the phraseological units contained in the corpus and identifying any possible cross-cultural and linguistic difference or similitude. Data have been selected from dictionaries and colloquial language and analyzed conducting a qualitative contrastive analysis between English and Spanish. Results seem to demonstrate that the cultural connotations of each kinship term and phraseological units vary according to the language. Furthermore, they call for a deepest a more systematized “linguo-cultural” analysis within the field of phraseology and kinship.
Comparison of two self-help smoking cessation booklets

OBJECTIVE To compare two self-help smoking cessation booklets distributed to callers to a Quitline telephone service in Queensland (Australia). DESIGN Callers were randomised to receive either a structured 14-day quit programme (Time to quit) or another booklet that described four broad stages of quitting (Can quit). Approximately one month later, these callers were interviewed by telephone. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reported smoking status at one month and recent quit attempts together with process measures. RESULTS Altogether, 521 callers (78.3%) were interviewed. They were heavier smokers when compared with all Queensland smokers: on average they had smoked for more than 15 years, smoked nearly 25 cigarettes per day, and almost two-thirds had attempted to quit smoking in the past year. In each group, significant proportions either did not begin to use the booklet (50.5–56.0%), or did not complete its use (77.4–82.3%). There were no differences in the self-reported quit rates at one month (17.0%vs 16.1%; p = 0.93). In an ordinal regression modelling procedure involving age, sex, number of recent quit attempts, number of cigarettes smoked per day, smoking status of partner, number of five closest friends who smoke, education, and booklet received, only the number of cigarettes smoked per day was significantly related to smoking status at one month. CONCLUSIONS Callers to telephone Quitline services are typically heavier smokers than the general smoking population, and simple strategies, such as self-help booklets, appear to achieve relatively high success. Nevertheless, there is potential to improve the effectiveness of these materials by making a range of materials available and encouraging callers to make a serious attempt to quit smoking.
The PERK Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2α Kinase Is Required for the Development of the Skeletal System, Postnatal Growth, and the Function and Viability of the Pancreas

ABSTRACT Phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF-2α) is typically associated with stress responses and causes a reduction in protein synthesis. However, we found high phosphorylated eIF-2α (eIF-2α[P]) levels in nonstressed pancreata of mice. Administration of glucose stimulated a rapid dephosphorylation of eIF-2α. Among the four eIF-2α kinases present in mammals, PERK is most highly expressed in the pancreas, suggesting that it may be responsible for the high eIF-2α[P] levels found therein. We describe a Perk knockout mutation in mice. Pancreata of Perk−/− mice are morphologically and functionally normal at birth, but the islets of Langerhans progressively degenerate, resulting in loss of insulin-secreting beta cells and development of diabetes mellitus, followed later by loss of glucagon-secreting alpha cells. The exocrine pancreas exhibits a reduction in the synthesis of several major digestive enzymes and succumbs to massive apoptosis after the fourth postnatal week. Perk−/− mice also exhibit skeletal dysplasias at birth and postnatal growth retardation. Skeletal defects include deficient mineralization, osteoporosis, and abnormal compact bone development. The skeletal and pancreatic defects are associated with defects in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of the major secretory cells that comprise the skeletal system and pancreas. The skeletal, pancreatic, and growth defects are similar to those seen in human Wolcott-Rallison syndrome.
Agent-based modeling of human decision-making behavior within Spatial Decision Support Systems

The modeling of physical processes is well-established, and quite often included as standard tools within Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS). However, models of individual human behavior that could significantly impact the outcome of a simulation, and alter the decision-making environment, are not as well documented or integrated with GIS software. In the social sciences, there has been considerable work done on modeling humans as spatial “agents” that impact the landscape in some fashion. For example, considerable effort has been made to capture the behavior of farmers as individual “agents” that accept or reject ecosystem service payments (Chattoe and Gilbert 1998). We propose that this form of modeling that simulates human behavior be included within SDSS, and identify one method of developing such systems. Specifically, an agent-based model that predicts the attitude of individual farmers towards the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and simulates its adoption rates by southern Illinois farmers, is developed. Personal characteristics of the individual, such as age and income, and spatial characteristics of their land holdings, such as soil productivity and size, are used to develop this model.
Caracterização da população inimputável em medida de segurança

The aim of this study was to obtain the characterization of the nonimputability population in terms of security. Imputability is the personal capacity of an individual to understand and self-determine his behavior. In what concerns the criminal behavior, the justice system depends on the level of awareness that each individual has of his act, and its consequences and effects (Toledo, 1999). The data were collected through the consult of 110 processes of individuals considered with criminal nonimputability. For this purpose, in order to gather socio demographic, clinic, criminal and imprisonment information of the target population, a grill was used. The results reveal that the majority of the individuals considered with nonimputability present a diagnosis of schizophrenia as well as a bigger incidence of homicide crimes. Based on these results some searching proposals on the issue of nonimputability are presented for the future.
A Clinical and Pathological Variant of Acute Transplant Glomerulopathy

Acute transplant glomerulopathy transplant glomerulopathy (TG) is a common cause of late renal allograft loss. We describe a unique case of a renal transplant recipient who developed rapid-onset nephrotic-range proteinuria and acute kidney injury secondary to C4d negative acute TG. Two courses of intravenous Rituximab resulted in significant improvement in proteinuria and allograft function. In the setting of acute nephrotic-range proteinuria postrenal allograft, both renal biopsy with electron microscopy and screening for de novo donor-specific antibody should be performed to distinguish atypical presentations of TG from other diagnoses.
Constructions of Models in Fuzzy Logic with Evaluated Syntax

This paper is a contribution to the development of model theory of fuzzy logic in narrow sense. It is known that there are many formal systems of fuzzy logic, most of them having traditional syntax and many-valued semantics. Our logic is further generalization, where also syntax is evaluated, i.e. we may consider fuzzy sets of axioms. In the paper we show the possibilities how to construct the model in fuzzy logic with evaluated syntax.
Closed-loop person tracking and detection

We present a system that detects people in indoor scenes by modeling the motion history of foreground blobs, rather than their shape or appearance. The system tracks all foreground blobs over time with a multi-hypothesis tracker, and considers a blob to be a person if it exhibited sufficient autonomous movement in the course of its tracking history. This way, people can be correctly classified even if they are seen in a wide range of body poses, if they remain still for a long time, or if they change appearance by taking off a coat. Evaluation on over 1h of video demonstrated good performance for both heuristic and decision tree based classification.
Twist Confers Chemoresistance to Anthracyclines in Bladder Cancer through Upregulating P-Glycoprotein

Background: The membrane transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was found to mediate chemoresistance, which is one of the obstacles to effective chemotherapy in several types of human cancer. The transcription factor Twist, which has been reported to participate in cancer invasion and metastasis, also plays a vital role in the progression of chemoresistance. However, the effect of Twist on P-gp-related chemoresistance remains dubious. Methods and Results: We found that Twist can regulate the expression of P-gp and then confer resistance to anthracycline drugs in human bladder cancer cells. Firstly, Twist was found to be coexpressed with P-gp in human bladder cancer cells and tissues, which were associated with enhanced chemoresistance to anthracycline drugs. Secondly, knockdown of Twist by specific siRNA treatment significantly sensitized bladder cancer cells to anthracycline drugs via inhibiting P-gp expression. Bladder cancer cells that survived transient exposure to anthracycline drugs showed higher levels of P-gp expression and more nuclear localization of Twist than untreated cells. Conclusion: We report a novel mechanism of anthracycline chemoresistance in bladder cancer in which activated Twist mediates P-gp expression in addition to its antiapoptotic roles. Therapeutic strategies targeting Twist may improve the management of recurrent bladder cancer after chemotherapy.
Differential expression of intermediate-filament proteins in murine sarcoma 180 ascites or solid tumor.

The intermediate-filament proteins in Sarcoma 180 ascites cells and solid tumors generated by s.c. injection of ascites cells in NMRI or nude mice were analyzed by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and identified by immunological methods. The ascites form of Sarcoma 180 coexpresses keratin and vimentin, whereas the solid tumor ceases to synthesize keratins but continues to express vimentin. These reversible changes in the expression of intermediate-filament proteins may be due to a change in the differentiation program induced by environmental conditions like growth with or without cell contact.
Enhancing Named Entity Extraction by Effectively Incorporating the Crowd

Named entity extraction is an established research area in the field of information extraction. When tailored to a specific domain and with sufficient pre-labeled training data, state-of-the-art extraction algorithms have achieved near human performance. However, when presented with semi-structured data, informal text or unknown domains where training data is not available, extraction results can deteriorate significantly. Recent research has focused on crowdsourcing as an alternative to automatic named entity extraction or as a tool to generate the required training data. While humans easily adapt to semi-structured data and informal style, a crowd-based approach also introduces new issues due to monetary costs or spamming. We address these issues by combining automatic named entity extraction algorithms with crowdsourcing into a hybrid approach. We have conducted a wide range of experiments on real world data to identify a set of subtasks or operators, that can be performed either by the crowd or automatically. Results show that a meaningful combination of these operators into complex processing pipelines can significantly enhance the quality of named entity extraction in challenging scenarios, while at the same time reducing the monetary costs of crowdsourcing and the risk of misuse.
Genotype-Property Patient-Phenotype Relations Suggest that Proteome Exhaustion Can Cause Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Late-onset neurodegenerative diseases remain poorly understood as search continues for the perceived pathogenic protein species. Previously, variants in Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1) causing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) were found to destabilize and reduce net charge, suggesting a pathogenic aggregation mechanism. This paper reports analysis of compiled patient data and experimental and computed protein properties for variants of human SOD1, a major risk factor of ALS. Both stability and reduced net charge correlate significantly with disease, with larger significance than previously observed. Using two independent methods and two data sets, a probability < 3% (t-statistical test) is found that ALS-causing mutations share average stability with all possible 2907 SOD1 mutations. Most importantly, un-weighted patient survival times correlate strongly with the misfolded/unfolded protein copy number, expressed as an exponential function of the experimental stabilities (R 2 = 0.31, p = 0.002), and this phenotype is further aggravated by charge (R 2 = 0.51, p = 1.8 x 10−5). This finding suggests that disease relates to the copy number of misfolded proteins. Exhaustion of motor neurons due to expensive protein turnover of misfolded protein copies is consistent with the data but can further explain e.g. the expression-dependence of SOD1 pathogenicity, the lack of identification of a molecular toxic mode, elevated SOD1 mRNA levels in sporadic ALS, bioenergetic effects and increased resting energy expenditure in ALS patients, genetic risk factors affecting RNA metabolism, and recent findings that a SOD1 mutant becomes toxic when proteasome activity is recovered after washout of a proteasome inhibitor. Proteome exhaustion is also consistent with energy-producing mitochondria accumulating at the neuromuscular junctions where ALS often initiates. If true, this exhaustion mechanism implies a complete change of focus in treatment of ALS towards actively nursing the energy state and protein turnover of the motor neurons.
Conceptual development of “at-homeness” despite illness and disease: A review

Only one empirical study, the one by Zingmark, Norberg and Sandman published in 1995, explicitly focuses on at-homeness, the feeling of being metaphorically at-home, as a particular aspect of wellness. However, other studies reveal aspects of at-homeness, but if or how such aspects of at-homeness are related to each other is unclear. For this reason, the aim was to review Scandinavian nursing research related to at-homeness in the context of wellness–illness in severe and long-term conditions in order to take a step towards conceptual clarification of “at-homeness. ” The review included interpretive studies related to severe and long-term illness conducted in Sweden: 10 original articles and 5 doctoral theses. “At-homeness” was found to be a contextually related meaning of wellness despite illness and disease embedded in the continuum of being metaphorically at-home and metaphorically homeless. This was characterized by three interrelated aspects and four processes: being safe through expanding–limiting experiences of illness and time, being connected through reunifying–detaching ways of relating, and being centred through recognition–non-recognition of oneself in the experience and others giving–withdrawing a place for oneself. This conceptualization is to be regarded as a step in conceptual clarification. Further empirical investigation and theoretical development of “at-homeness” are needed. The conceptualization will be a step of plausible significance for the evaluation of interventions aimed at enhancing wellness for people with severe long-term illness, such as the frail elderly, and people with chronic illness or palliative care needs.
Effects of Whole-Body Vibration on Physiological Responses to One Bout of Resistance Training

Osawa Y, Oguma Y. Effects of Whole -Body Vibration on Physiological Responses to One Bout of Resistance Training. JEPonline 2011;14(2):36-45. It is widely known that sufficient training intensity and volume are needed to improve muscle fitness. Although numerous exercise programs using vibration platforms have been previously evaluated, little is known about the number of training set that are optimal for 3-axial whole-body vibration training (WBV). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 3-axial WBV on neuromuscular and cardiovascular responses to one bout of resistance training measured by surface electromyography, oxygen consumption (VO2), and heart rate (HR). Ten healthy subjects performed 45 sec static squat exercise for 3 sets with a 60 sec rest period with and without WBV (frequency = 35 Hz, amplitude = 2 mm). Oxygen consumption, HR, and surface electromyography (vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and biceps femoris) were measured throughout the trial. Significant condition-bytime interactions were observed in surface electromyography, VO2, and HR. In vastus medialis, muscle activities progressively increased throughout the trial only under WBV. Oxygen consumption in the second set was significantly higher than that in the first set in both conditions. In addition, the values for both first and second sets with WBV were significantly higher than those without WBV. Although higher HR was observed under WBV compared with that without WBV throughout the trial, no significant increases were observed throughout the trial. We concluded that whole-body vibration has the potential to influence training intensity and probably lead to an increase in accumulated fatigue caused by resistance training with 2 to 3 sets.
Characterization of Tetracycline-Resistant Streptococcus thermophilus Isolates from Italian Soft Cheeses

ABSTRACT Tetracycline-resistant Streptococcus thermophilus isolates from soft cheeses harbored the genes tet(S), tet(M), and tet(L). Molecular analysis of these genes revealed their expression, localization on plasmids or Tn916-Tn1545 family transposons, and their similarity with published sequences. The study highlights the importance of an accurate safety assessment of using S. thermophilus as a starter culture.
Brain Plasticity during Adolescence: Effects of Stress, Sleep, Sex and Sounds on Decision Making

Adolescence represents a critical time window of neural plasticity when different regions of the brain are still maturing. This phase of life is associated with risk taking and impulsivity and these behavioral outcomes are expected to be adaptive. Personality traits, stress, sleep deprivation as well as a person’s sex influence adolescent risk taking, behavior. The effects of these factors range from the anatomical to the molecular levels. Risk taking behavior is controlled by extensive interactions between the prefrontal cortex the limbic system and the dopamine signaling system. In adolescent brains, limbic regions mature at a faster rate than the impulse-managing prefrontal regions. As a result, the neurological transformation from childhood to adulthood can create an imbalance in the neural circuitry controlling decision making and especially risk taking behaviors. Here we discuss the neural basis of risk taking in adolescents at the anatomical, physiological and molecular levels and examine how stress and other factors influence the neurodevelopmental process. We postulate that musical sounds processed by some of the same brain regions involved in decision making can impact the developing neural circuits and physiological status of an individual.
Performance Measure Congruity and Diversity in Multi-Task Principal/Agent Relations

SYNOPSIS AND INTRODUCTION: Accounting numbers are frequently used in evaluating management performance, and performance evaluation is an important ingredient in motivating managers. Three significant factors generally create difficulties in developing performance measures for a given manager. First, the actions and strategies implemented by the manager are not observable directly, so the manager cannot be compensated directly for his input into the firm. Second, the full consequences of the manager's actions are not observable, in large part because the impact of those actions extend beyond his subunit of the firm and beyond his time as managerof that subunit. Third, uncontrollable events influence the consequences that are observed. The agency theory literature has explored extensively the implications of the nonobservability of the manager's actions and the fact that performance measures are influenced by unobservable, uncontrollable events. However, this literature has given only limited attention to the fact that performance measures frequently are incomplete or imperfect representations of the economic consequences of the manager's actions.1 On the other hand, discussions of performance evaluation in management accounting texts often raise issues regarding the incompleteness and imperfectness of the accounting numbers that are used as performance measures. For example,
A Survey Leading to a New Evaluation Framework for Network-based Botnet Detection

During the last decade, botnet emerged as one of the most serious malware which possess a serious threat to the Internet. Due to significant research effort in this domain there are many different detection methods based on diverse technical principles. Of these, detection based-on network traffic analysis is one of the noninvasive and resilient detection techniques. There are several survey papers published on the detection methods, but either they didn't mention the analysis of the proposed methods or they just demonstrated a few different dimensions or did not have dimensions at all. Therefore, a complete evaluation framework for assessing the proposed methods is vital. In this paper, we first provide a comprehensive overview of this field by summarizing current significant methods and gathers all related network traffic features followed by a new evaluation framework with fourteen dimensions and the analysis of the existing detection methods to identify their characteristics, limitations, and performances.
Real-time lane marking detection using modified 1-bit transform based pre-processing

In this work, an image processing based lane-detection approach is proposed. In the proposed approach, candidate pixels that can be used for lane markings are detected by making use of 1-bit transform as a pre-processing step. Next, feature points are extracted via Sobel filter and candidate lane markings are decided employing a correlation and Hough transform based approach. Finally, Kalman filter is utilized to exploit temporal correlation of lane markings in successive frames. Experimental results show that the proposed approach provides similar or better lane detection performance compared to some recently presented methods while having real-time processing capability.