Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sodium sensitivity related to albuminuria appearing before hypertension in type 2 diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE To find whether sodium sensitivity of blood pressure appears before hypertension and whether the sensitivity is related to diabetic nephropathy, we examined type 2 diabetic patients with normal levels of serum creatinine. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 32 patients were divided into three age-matched groups: 11 patients had normoalbuminuria, 12 had microalbuminuria, and 9 had macroalbuminuria. Patients stayed on a diet with ordinary sodium levels for 1 week and a sodium-restricted diet for 1 week, in random order. Urinary excretion of sodium and albumin and systemic blood pressure were measured daily. A pressure-natriuresis curve was drawn by linkage of the two datum points obtained in the steady state during the different diets. We calculated the sodium sensitivity index as the reciprocal of the slope of this curve. RESULTS The median sodium sensitivity index and the mean blood pressure were higher in micro- and macroalbuminuric patients than in normoalbuminuric patients. Eighteen patients were without hypertension (<140/90 mmHg); of these, 10 had blood pressure readings <130/85 mmHg with ordinary sodium levels. Urinary albumin was correlated with the index but not with blood pressure. For these 10 patients, the index in those with albuminuria was higher than in those with normoalbuminuria. In such patients with albuminuria, sodium restriction decreased albuminuria and blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS In type 2 diabetic patients with albuminuria but normal levels of serum creatinine, sodium sensitivity of blood pressure appears before hypertension and is related to albuminuria; sodium restriction is one treatment for diabetic nephropath, even without hypertension.
Surveillance in Public Spaces as a Means of Protecting Security: Questions of Legitimacy and Policy

The Greek Data Protection Authority (DPA) was asked in July 2009 to review a proposed legislation that was exempting personal data processing via camera installations in public spaces from the scope of the Greek Data Protection Law 2472/1997. Such an exemption was justified, among other reasons, for the protection of public safety and crime prevention. This paper examines the legitimacy of this security measure from two angles: European and Greek Law. Furthermore, our analysis focuses on questions of privacy, the concept of public safety and its application, as well as the DPA’s role in safeguarding citizens’ privacy even in city streets. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-323-2.ch2. 6
Directional Antennas for Interference Management in Full-Duplex Cellular Networks

In this paper, we consider two fundamental full-duplex (FD) architectures, two-node and three-node, in the context of cellular networks where the terminals employ directional antennas. The simultaneous transmission and reception of data in non-orthogonal channels makes FD radio a potential solution for the currently limited spectrum. However, its implementation generates high levels of interference either in the form of loopback interference (LI) from the output to the input antenna of a transceiver or in the form of co-channel interference in large-scale multicell networks due to the large number of active links. Using a stochastic geometry model, we investigate how directional antennas can manage and control the co-channel interference. Furthermore, we provide a model which characterizes the way directional antennas manage the LI in order to passively suppress it. Our results show that both architectures can benefit significantly by the employment of directional antennas. Finally, we consider the case where both architectures are employed in the network and derive the optimal values for the density fraction of each architecture which maximize the success probability and the network throughput.
Interpolation of scattered data: investigating alternatives for the modified Shepard method

Many scientific applications use scattered data originating from samples. Interpolation techniques are necessary to estimate the values on non-sampled regions. In previous work, the modified Shepard interpolation method was implemented and some unpredictable results occurred. Due to the flexibility of parameter definition for interpolant generation in this method we decided to investigate solutions for those problems. In this paper we present four versions for the modified Shepard method, and compare their results through the analysis of the images, processing time and accuracy. Future work for further improvements of the method is also discussed.
Using Visual Interpretation of Small Ensembles in Microarray Analysis

Many different classification models and techniques have been employed on gene expression data. These computational methods are in rapid and continuous evolution and there is no clear consensus on which methods are best to cope with the complex microarray data analysis. Currently ensembles of classifiers are regarded as one of the best classification techniques as they can achieve excellent classification accuracy in comparison to single classifiers methods. One of their main drawbacks is their incomprehensibility. This paper addresses the important issue of the tradeoff between accuracy and comprehensibility when building ensembles and proposes a novel visual technique for interactive interpretation of the knowledge from the small ensembles consisting of only a few decision trees. This way we can achieve better accuracy compared to single classifier, but still maintain a certain level of comprehensibility in small ensembles. The results show that our small ensembles outperform the single classifiers and still retain comprehensibility. Our study also points out that in order to take advantage of our proposed method we need more effective small ensemble building techniques
Towards a theoretical framework for understanding Muslim-Centered User Interface Design

User interface is a discipline which focuses on the principles of design and metaphor in the digital landscape. However, normally the development of user interface is standardized in order to cater compatibility. Some evidence indicate that the application of standardized solution pose problems to some ethnic groups. Hence, some researchers suggested that interface design should consider the cultural aspects. Although localization is adopted in some web designs, more insights is needed on culture-centered design. This study focuses on understanding the Islamic culture and interface design. As Muslims form a large proportion of the world population, and the percentage of Internet users among them is rising, it is imperative that a more suitable approach in interface design is explored. A framework of Muslim Centered User interface Design (MCUID) is proposed inspired from Culture- Centered Design. Several relevant theories are explored and used as a basis in the construction of the framework.
Whole-Genome Profiling of a Novel Mutagenesis Technique Using Proofreading-Deficient DNA Polymerase δ

A novel mutagenesis technique using error-prone DNA polymerase δ (polδ), the disparity mutagenesis model of evolution, has been successfully employed to generate novel microorganism strains with desired traits. However, little else is known about the spectra of mutagenic effects caused by disparity mutagenesis. We evaluated and compared the performance of the polδ MKII mutator, which expresses the proofreading-deficient and low-fidelity polδ, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae haploid strain with that of the commonly used chemical mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). This mutator strain possesses exogenous mutant polδ supplied from a plasmid, tthereby leaving the genomic one intact. We measured the mutation rate achieved by each mutagen and performed high-throughput next generation sequencing to analyze the genome-wide mutation spectra produced by the 2 mutagenesis methods. The mutation frequency of the mutator was approximately 7 times higher than that of EMS. Our analysis confirmed the strong G/C to A/T transition bias of EMS, whereas we found that the mutator mainly produces transversions, giving rise to more diverse amino acid substitution patterns. Our present study demonstrated that the polδ MKII mutator is a useful and efficient method for rapid strain improvement based on in vivo mutagenesis.
Hidden Markov models based dynamic hand gesture recognition with incremental learning method

This paper proposes a real-time dynamic hand gesture recognition system based on Hidden Markov Models with incremental learning method (IL-HMMs) to provide natural human-computer interaction. The system is divided into four parts: hand detecting and tracking, feature extraction and vector quantization, HMMs training and hand gesture recognition, incremental learning. After quantized hand gesture vector being recognized by HMMs, incremental learning method is adopted to modify the parameters of corresponding recognized model to make itself more adaptable to the coming new gestures. Experiment results show that comparing with traditional one, the proposed system can obtain better recognition rates.
User-Friendly Clustering for Atmospheric Data Analysis

Atmospheric data analysis is an important area of scientific endeavor, with both government and industrial applications. Our work focuses on clustering particle data acquired via an Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS), which is sold and marketed by TSI, Inc. Most papers and software tools developed by the single-particle mass spectrometry community use the ART-2a clustering algorithm. We present in this paper a comparison of the well-known K-means algorithm with ART-2a in this application area. Specifically, we show that despite the entrenched position of the ART-2a algorithm in this domain, Kmeans is faster, more scalable, and considerably easier for practitioners to use while obtaining results of similar accuracy. For data mining practitioners in general and for those who develop software in particular, our work shows that in an important application area K-means is much easier for users to use than ART-2a without sacrificing accuracy. For researchers in the single-particle mass spectrometry community, our experiments demonstrate that ART-2a presents some issues that may be of concern. We propose that K-means offers an attractive alternative.
Semantics directed compiling for functional languages

The use of a two-level meta-language in denotational definitions imposes a formal distinction between compile-time entities and run-time entities. The automatic generation of compilers benefits from such an explicit distinction, in partlcular because it gives a general framework for the automatic application of data flow analyses and program transformations. Central to the approach is the concept of an interpretation of the meta-language and in this paper we show how code generation can be specified as an interpretation. This gives a great deal of flexibillty with respect to the choice of target language.
On the Convergence of Iterative Simulation-Based Methods for Singular Linear Systems

We consider simulation-based algorithms for linear systems of equations, Ax = b, where A is singular. The convergence properties of iterative solution methods can be impaired when the methods are implemented with simulation, as is often done in important classes of large-scale problems. We focus on special cases of singular systems, including some arising in approximate dynamic programming, where convergence of the residual sequence may be obtained without a stabilization mechanism, while the sequence of iterates may diverge. For some of these special cases, under additional assumptions, we show that the sequence is guaranteed to converge. For situations where the sequence of iterates diverges, we propose schemes for extracting from the divergent sequence another sequence that converges to a solution of Ax = b. LIDS Report 2879, December 2011 (Revised March 2012) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems
Functions and toxicity of cadmium in plants : recent advances and future prospects

* Correspondence: lpopova@bio21.bas. bg 1. Brief historical notes and discovery of cadmium Friedrich Stromeyer and Karl Hermann discovered cadmium (Cd) almost simultaneously in 1817 in samples of zinc oxide obtained by roasting zinc carbonate from Salzgitter (Germany). Cd has no amphoteric properties and, although cadmiate anions are found, it does not dissolve in bases (Borsari, 2011). Cd is a relatively rare element and is not found in a pure state in nature. In the air, Cd is rapidly oxidised into cadmium oxide. It easily reacts with carbon dioxide, water vapour, sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide, or hydrogen chloride and produces cadmium carbonate, hydroxide, sulphide, or chloride. Cd can undergo weak bonding to carbon and other more electronegative atoms.
Biglycan- and Sphingosine Kinase-1 Signaling Crosstalk Regulates the Synthesis of Macrophage Chemoattractants

In its soluble form, the extracellular matrix proteoglycan biglycan triggers the synthesis of the macrophage chemoattractants, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand CCL2 and CCL5 through selective utilization of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and their adaptor molecules. However, the respective downstream signaling events resulting in biglycan-induced CCL2 and CCL5 production have not yet been defined. Here, we show that biglycan stimulates the production and activation of sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) in a TLR4- and Toll/interleukin (IL)-1R domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon (IFN)-β (TRIF)-dependent manner in murine primary macrophages. We provide genetic and pharmacological proof that SphK1 is a crucial downstream mediator of biglycan-triggered CCL2 and CCL5 mRNA and protein expression. This is selectively driven by biglycan/SphK1-dependent phosphorylation of the nuclear factor NF-κB p65 subunit, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases. Importantly, in vivo overexpression of soluble biglycan causes Sphk1-dependent enhancement of renal CCL2 and CCL5 and macrophage recruitment into the kidney. Our findings describe the crosstalk between biglycan- and SphK1-driven extracellular matrix- and lipid-signaling. Thus, SphK1 may represent a new target for therapeutic intervention in biglycan-evoked inflammatory conditions.
Low-pressure gas discharge modelling

Low-pressure gas discharge modeling is reviewed, both from a historical perspective and for current industrial applications. An overview of the basic mathematical and physical models used to describe low-pressure discharges is given, together with a summary of the most common numerical techniques which have been adopted. Modelling of the DC glow discharge and discharges maintained by high-frequency (RF and microwave) electromagnetic fields is reviewed with illustrations of the validity of these models in predicting discharge properties and explaining and interpreting experimental results.
Developing an application using eye tracker

Eye tracking measures where the eye is focused or the movement of eye with respect to the head. The eye tracker will track the eye positions and eye movement for the visual stimulus presented on the computer system. Various features like gaze point, pupil size and mouse position can be extracted and it can be represented using visualization techniques such as fixation, saccade, scanpath and heat map. The features obtained from eye tracker can be extended to real life applications. Using this technology companies could be able to analyze thousands of customer's eye patterns in real-time, and make decisions on marketing based on the data. The technology can analyze the stress level of patients, employees in IT, BPO, accounting, banking, front office etc. Here we are illustrating the advantages and applications of eye tracking, its usability and how to develop an application using a commercial eye tracker.
Fully-textile polymer-based ECG electrodes: Overcoming the limits of metal-based textiles

In recent years, there has been a particular interest in wearable electronics for electrocardiogram (ECG) recording. The ultimate goal is the integration of both sensors and electronics in clothes, for both clinical and non-clinical use. To date, textile ECG electrodes have been mainly based on the use of conductive metal fibers woven or stitched on a finished substrate. In this work, textiles electrodes for ECG are obtained by treating finished fabrics with the conductive organic polymer poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene doped with poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). Compared to previous works based on the treatment of a whole piece of fabric by immersion in the PEDOT:PSS solution, the adoption of a novel screen printing technique enables to achieve good definition and control over the quantity of deposited polymer. The proposed fabrication approach compares favorably with the previous one. A small trial with 10 subjects, aimed to record 12-lead ECG traces with clinical instrumentation, revealed the capability of the proposed electrodes to accurately capture the ECG signal morphology with performance comparable to off-the-shelf disposable gelled Ag/AgCl electrodes.
Target-Specific Regulation of Synaptic Amplitudes in the Neocortex

In layers 2/3 in the rat visual cortex, glutamatergic synapses, between pyramidal neurons and GABAergic interneurons, show target-specific depression or facilitation. To study the mechanisms regulating these short-term synaptic modifications, we recorded from synaptically connected pyramidal neurons (presynaptic) and multipolar or bitufted interneurons (postsynaptic). Evoked AMPA receptor (AMPAR)- or NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated EPSCs were pharmacologically isolated at these pyramidal-to-interneuron synapses while altering release probability (Pr) by changing the extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o). At the pyramidal-to-multipolar synapse, which shows paired-pulse depression, elevation of [Ca2+]o from physiological concentrations (2 mm) to 3 mm increased the amplitude of the initial AMPAR-mediated EPSC and enhanced paired-pulse depression. In contrast, the initial NMDAR-mediated EPSC did not change in amplitude with raised Pr nor was paired-pulse depression altered. This lack of an increase of NMDAR-mediated currents is not a result of Ca2+-dependent effects on the NMDAR. Rather, at the pyramidal-to-multipolar synapse, raised Pr increases the transient glutamate concentration at individual release sites, possibly reflecting multivesicular release. In contrast, at the pyramidal-to-bitufted synapse, which shows facilitation, AMPAR- and NMDAR-meditated EPSCs showed parallel increases in response to raised Pr. Thus, our results reveal differential recruitment of AMPA and NMDARs at depressing and facilitating synapses in layers 2/3 of the cortex and suggest that the mechanisms regulating dynamic aspects of synaptic transmission are target specific.
A Mass for the Extrasolar Planet Gliese 876b Determined from Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor 3 Astrometry and High-Precision Radial Velocities

We report the first astrometrically determined mass of an extrasolar planet, a companion previously detected by Doppler spectroscopy. Radial velocities first provided an ephemeris with which to schedule a significant fraction of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations near companion peri- and apastron. The astrometry residuals at these orbital phases exhibit a systematic deviation consistent with a perturbation due to a planetary mass companion. Combining HST astrometry with radial velocities, we solve for the proper motion, parallax, perturbation size, inclination, and position angle of the line of nodes, while constraining period, velocity amplitude, longitude of periastron, and eccentricity to values determined from radial velocities. We find a perturbation semimajor axis and inclination, α = 0.25 ± 0.06 mas, i = 84° ± 6°, and Gl 876 absolute parallax, πabs = 214.6 ± 0.2 mas. Assuming that the mass of the primary star is M* = 0.32 M☉, we find the mass of the planet, Gl 876b, Mb = 1.89 ± 0.34 MJup.
Underpricing for construction projects—a double-edged sword: Survey of australian construction contractors

Over the period of 2011-2013, there was a spate of bankruptcies of medium-to-large Australian construction contractors (many of whom were well-established), coinciding with a prolonged decline of the property market. Anecdotal evidence suggests that underpricing played a major role in the collapse of these companies and the financial misfortune of many major Australian construction contractors. On the other hand, anecdotal evidence also suggests that underpricing can be an effective tactic to penetrate markets or weaken competitors when used as part of a strategic mix—a double-edged sword. Because of the political sensitivity of the topic of underpricing, there has been a dearth of research in this area. This study investigates the extent and consequences of the practice of underpricing (in the Australian context), where it is defined as the submission of a tender price at a significantly lower level than the best estimate for the costs, profit margins, and risks of the construction project. Drawing from the literature on construction tender-price formulation, we develop a framework that separates the motives for underpricing into need-for-work and marketing-based competitive pricing; and predict the consequences of the practice of underpricing in terms of adverse financial consequence or profitability in circumstances driven by the two different motives. The framework is validated through data analysis based on a survey of the members of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and randomly selected large contractors. Underpricing was found to be prevalent in construction projects. Contributing to the literature, the results show that when underpricing is primarily driven by a contractor’s need for work to maintain cash flow; underpricing contractors are likely to engage in deceptive practices, such as submission of unwarranted variations or reducing the standard of work. Further, the findings indicate that, although such deceptive conduct could lead to short-term relief of adverse financial outcomes, it does not contribute to the competitiveness of the company in the longer Underpricing for Construction Projects—A Double-edged Sword ©2014 Project Management Institute Research and Education Conference 2 term. By contrast, underpricing driven by deliberate marketing strategies, such as market penetration or to weaken competitors, was found to be linked with long-term financial profitability of the contractor.
Optimal Treatment Strategy for a Tumor Model under Immune Suppression

We propose a mathematical model describing tumor-immune interactions under immune suppression. These days evidences indicate that the immune suppression related to cancer contributes to its progression. The mathematical model for tumor-immune interactions would provide a new methodology for more sophisticated treatment options of cancer. To do this we have developed a system of 11 ordinary differential equations including the movement, interaction, and activation of NK cells, CD8+T-cells, CD4+T cells, regulatory T cells, and dendritic cells under the presence of tumor and cytokines and the immune interactions. In addition, we apply two control therapies, immunotherapy and chemotherapy to the model in order to control growth of tumor. Using optimal control theory and numerical simulations, we obtain appropriate treatment strategies according to the ratio of the cost for two therapies, which suggest an optimal timing of each administration for the two types of models, without and with immunosuppressive effects. These results mean that the immune suppression can have an influence on treatment strategies for cancer.