Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholera Caused by Vibrio cholerae O1 Induces T-Cell Responses in the Circulation

ABSTRACT Considerable effort is being made to understand the acute and memory antibody responses in natural cholera infection, while rather less is known about the roles of cellular immune responses involving T and B lymphocytes. We studied responses in adult patients hospitalized with cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae O1. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients (n = 15) were analyzed by flow cytometry after stimulation with V. cholerae O1 membrane protein (MP) or toxin-coregulated pilus antigen (TcpA). The gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) responses in stimulated-lymphocyte supernatants were studied. The responses were compared with those of healthy controls (n = 10). Patients responded with increased frequencies of gut-homing CD4+ T cells (CD4+ β7+), gut-homing CD8+ T cells (CD8+ β7+), and gut-homing B cells (CD19+ β7+) at the early and/or late convalescent stages compared to the acute stage. After stimulation with MP or TcpA, proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was increased at the acute stage and/or early convalescent stage compared to healthy controls. Increased IL-13 and IFN-γ responses were observed after antigenic stimulation at the acute and convalescent stages compared to healthy controls. Thus, increases in the levels of gut-homing T and B cells, as well as involvement of CD8 and CD4 Th1-mediated (IFN-γ) and CD4 Th2-mediated (IL-13) cytokine responses, take place in acute dehydrating disease caused by V. cholerae O1. Further studies are needed to determine if such responses are also stimulated after immunization with oral cholera vaccines and if these responses play a role in protection following exposure to cholera.
Image Browsing and Natural Language Paraphrases of Semantic Web Annotations

Abstract : Recently, there has been interest in marking up digital images with annotations describing the content of the images using Web-based ontologies encoded in the W3C's Web Ontology Language (OWL). The annotations are subsequently exploited to improve the user experience of large collections of images, whether by enhanced search or by a structured browsing experience. In the latter case, the complexity and unfamiliarity of logic-based ontology languages may do more to impede, than aid, the user. To alleviate this problem, the authors propose using automatic generation of natural language (NL) paraphrases of OWL statements to assist browsing image content. In this paper, they provide an overview of their NL generation approach and an empirical evaluation of the use of their paraphrases for image browsing.
Analysis of Problems in Testing Practices

The objective of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the problems of software testing in practice and find improvement proposals for these issues. The study focused on organizational units that develop and test technical software for automation or telecommunication domains, for which a survey of testing practices was conducted and 26 organizations were interviewed. From this sample, five organizations were further selected for an in-depth grounded theory case study. The analysis yielded hypotheses indicating that a software project design should promote testability as architectural attribute and apply specialized personnel to enhance testing implementation. Testing tools should also be selected based on usability and configurability criteria. These results of this study can be used in developing the efficiency of software testing and in development of the testing strategy for organization.
Using process-mapping to design integrated health information management systems

There is growing interest internationally in the development and effective integration of efficient and useable electronic health information management systems. However, it is essential that researchers, designers and implementers have a clear understanding of the current care processes in place before they start to develop or implement new electronic systems within health care settings. A critical first step to designing such systems is the development of accurate models depicting existing care pathways and clinical processes. Here, we introduce the concepts of process-mapping, and discuss how these tools are currently being applied to a comprehensive process mapping project of pre-operative assessment services across Scotland.
Combined effect of folate and adiposity on homocysteine in children at three years of age

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Cardiovascular diseases is a major cause of death and is responsible for 23.8% of deaths in Korea. Clinical symptoms manifest in adulthood, but susceptibility begins in utero. Elevated homocysteine levels and adiposity might be linked to a greater risk in children as well as adults. We hypothesized that those who have simultaneous risk for folate and adiposity would be affected with elevated homocysteine levels at 3 years of age. SUBJECTS/METHODS From the ongoing birth cohort at Ewha Womans University Mok-Dong Hospital, we compared adiposity parameters, serum homocysteine, and folate levels in 238 children (118 boys and 120 girls) at three years of age. The relationship between birth outcome, current weight and body mass index (BMI), postnatal growth, and homocysteine level were assessed using correlation and general linear model. Additionally, we assessed the combined effect between blood folate status and adiposity on current homocysteine levels. RESULTS Birth characteristics were not correlated with homocysteine. Current weight, BMI, upper-arm circumference, skinfold thickness, waist circumference, and hip circumference were positively correlated with homocysteine at three years of age (P < 0.05). Folate level was negatively correlated with homocysteine at three years of age (P < 0.0001). A relative high anthropometric measure which is compatible with adiposity and low folate level was associated with high homocysteine levels. CONCLUSION We found a combined effect of adiposity and folate levels with homocysteine levels at three years of age. This implicates the beneficial role of folate supplementation in the high-risk population at an early age.
An automatic 2D to 3D conversion algorithm using multi-depth cues

The 2D to 3D conversion technique plays a crucial role in the development and promotion of three-dimensional television (3DTV) for it can provide adequate supply of high-quality 3D program material. In this paper, a novel automatic 2D to 3D conversion method using multi-depth cues is presented. The depth cues used in our system, which will be integrated into one depth map according to the types of the 2D scenes, include perspective geometry, defocus, visual saliency and adaptive depth models. After the depth maps are extracted, the original 2D image or video is converted to stereoscopic one for showing on 3D display devices. Our method is verified on various sequences and the experimental results show that the resulting image or video is both realistic and visual pleasing.
Perceptions of self-efficacy, stress, and the conditions of developmentof nursing student competencies during their first practical classes

Introduction: The character and quality of students’ clinical experience, in addition to knowledge, play an important role in the proces of competence development. Nursing students’ first experiences is of utmost importance. Aim of the study: The aim was to assess the relationship between selected individual variables and the nursing students’ perceptions of the quality of their clinical placement experience. Material and methods: The research tools included: an original questionnaire, Ascent to Nursing Competence Scale, Generalized Self Efficacy Scale and Perceived Stress Scale. The subjects were 322 undergraduate nursing students. Results: Younger students, those with a high sense of self efficacy and those who experienced low levels of stress achieved higher scores in all subscales of the ACS scale. Conclusions: Supportive learning environment facilitates the development of competence of nursing students. The sense of self-efficacy and the sense of belonging to an interdisciplinary team of learners play a crucial role in this process.
An Information-Theoretic Approach for Unsupervised Topic Mining in Large Text Collections

In this paper we focus on the task of identifying topics in large text collections in a completely unsupervised way. In contrast to probabilistic topic modeling methods that require first estimating the density of probability distributions, we model topics as subsets of terms that are used as queries to an index of documents. By retrieving the documents relevant to those topical-queries we obtain overlapping clusters of semantically similar documents. In order to find the topical-queries we generate candidate queries using signature-calculation heuristics such as those used on duplicate-detection methods and then evaluate candidates using an information-gain function defined as "semantic force". The method is targeted to the semantic analysis of collections sized in the order of millions of documents, so, it has been implemented in map-reduce style. We present some initial results to support the feasibility of the approach.
Vacuuming Temporal Databases

A wide range of real-world database applications, including financial and medical applications, are faced with accountability and trace-ability requirements. These requirements lead to the replacement of the usual update-in-place policy by an append-only policy, yielding so-called transaction-time databases. With logical deletions being implemented as insertions at the physical level, these databases retain all previously current states and are ever-growing. A variety of physical storage structures and indexing techniques as well as query languages have been proposed for transaction-time databases, but the support for physical deletion, termed vacuuming, has received precious little attention. Such vacuuming is called for by, e.g., the laws of many countries. Although necessary, with vacuuming, the database’s previously perfect and reliable recollection of the past may be manipulated via, e.g., selective removal of records pertaining to past states. This paper provides a semantic framework for the vacuuming of transaction-time databases. The main focus is to establish a foundation for the correct and user-friendly processing of queries and updates against vacuumed databases. Queries that may return results affected by vacuuming are intercepted, and the user is presented with the option of issuing similar queries that are not affected by vacuuming.
ODM-201: a new-generation androgen receptor inhibitor in castration-resistant prostate cancer

Androgen deprivation therapy is the standard of care for patients with advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Despite an initial response, most patients progress to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The realization that CRPC remains driven by androgen receptor (AR) signaling has formed the basis for a new generation of agents targeting the AR axis. Two of these agents, abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide, have been shown to prolong overall survival in patients with CRPC. Several other AR inhibitors are currently in development for the treatment of CRPC. The present article reviews ODM-201, a new-generation AR inhibitor with a unique molecular structure, in the treatment of CRPC. The design of an ongoing Phase III trial (ARAMIS) of ODM-201 in men with non-metastatic CRPC is also discussed, at a disease stage for which there is currently no approved treatment.
PRODUCTION FUNCTION ANALYSIS AS A METHOD OF MEASURING CREDIT IMPACT

Agriculture is a potential engine for growth in many developing countries, however growth in agricultural productivity in Iran has been insufficient to meet the country's needs for food in the face of rapid population growth. A notable feature of Iranian agricultural is the predominance of small holdings and therefore improving small farmers productivity has been identified as an important objective of economic policy. It is argued that many forms of the new technology such as machinery and irrigation which are seen as a means of increasing productivity, demand high capital formation which cannot be met from the farmers' own funds. This is especially so for small farmers as pre-adoption incomes are barely sufficient to provide the minimum necessities of life let alone accumulate significant savings. The provision of adequate and timely credit has been a focus for attention in this connection and yet there has been little empirical research to confirm whether the credit which has been provided has improved agricultural productivity or not. The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of agricultural credit to the development of Iran's agriculture by examining its contribution towards improving productivity and efficiency in resource use. Production function analysis was applied in an attempt to determine whether the use of credit is associated with differences in production methods. A translog functional form was selected as an appropriate model for this analysis. The analysis indicated a shift in the production function of borrowers, compared to non-borrowers, which was neutral in character and provided only limited support for the proposition that credit availability is associated with the adoption of new technology (i.e. increased use of modern inputs such as improved seeds, fertiliser and sprays).
PCA of the spectral energy distribution and emission line properties of red 2MASS AGN

We analyze the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and emission line properties of the red (J-K$_S$ > 2) 2MASS AGN observed by Chandra using principle component analysis. The sample includes 44 low redshift AGN with low or moderate obscuration (N_H < 10^{23} cm^{-2}) as indicated by X-rays and SED modeling. The obscuration of the AGN allows us to see weaker emission components (host galaxy emission, AGN scattered light) which are usually outshone by the AGN. The first four eigenvectors explain 70% of the variance in the sample. The dominant cause of variance in the sample (eigenvector 1) is the L/Ledd ratio strengthened by intrinsic absorption. Eigenvector 2 is related to host galaxy (relative to the observed AGN) emission and eigenvectors 3 and 4 distinguish between two sources of obscuration: host galaxy absorption and circumnuclear absorption. Although our analysis is consistent with unification schemes where inclination dependent obscuration is important in determining the AGN SEDs, the L/Ledd ratio is the most important factor, followed by host galaxy emission.
Model-Free Power-Spectral-Density Estimation for Low-Light-Level CMOS Imaging Sensors

We report on a method to estimate the noise power spectral density (PSD) of a CMOS image sensor (CIS), without any prior analytical assumptions. The method is based on the swept time operation of the correlated double sampling (CDS) output of a low-light-level CIS. We illustrate the method’s applicability through a direct frequency domain analysis of noise contributions to the sensor performance. The method is demonstrated to reveal useful frequency domain information about the PSD of pixels showing distinct noise behavior. We also provide results validating the frequency domain calibration of the method.
Applying Backpropagation through Time to a Real Inverted Pendulum Problem

The “inverted pendulum problem” is perhaps the most widely used benchmarking study to assess the effectiveness of emerging control design techniques. In this paper the “Backpropagation Through Time” learning method is used to train a multilayer perceptron neural network to control an actual physical system, consisting in a pendulum free to pivot on a cart, which is moved by a DC motor within a space of 60 cm on a pair of slide guides. The goal of the neural controller is to maintain the inverted pendulum balanced at the middle of the slide guides. The neural network has been implemented both with a DSP and with a Fast Prototipyng Neural System (FPNS) hardware. The experimental results how the effectiveness of the used technique: the network is able to balance the pendulum also from difficult initial conditions.
Stochastic Processes and the Dirac Equation with External Fields

For many decades, the relations between stochastic processes and quantum mechanics have attracted much attention [1–3]. The Schrodinger’s equation for a nonrelativistic electron and the heat equation are related [4,5] as the Feynman path integral [6] and the Wiener integral are connected by an analytic continuation. This correspondence was extended to the relativistic case by studying the telegrapher’s equation which produced the Dirac equation when analytically continued [7]. A decade ago, McKeon and Ord further extended the study by introducing the probability of moving backward in time and deriving the Dirac equation in 1+1-dimensional spacetime without analytical continuation [8]. In this paper, we will extend these considerations by introducing external gauge fields and giving different ‘turning’ probabilities to forward and backward moving particles in time. In these models, particles are supposed to suffer random, Poisson-distributed reversals in the moving direction. Notations and procedures similar to those used in Ref. 8 are adopted. Let F+ (F−) and B+ (B−) be the probabilities for moving to the positive(negative) x-direction for forward-moving particles and backward-moving particles, respectively, in the tdirection. The probability for reversal in time interval 4t is aR (aL)4t for turning right(left) with respect to the direction of motion for the forward moving particles, and aR(a B L )4t for the backward moving particles(See Fig. 1). In this paper, we assume that a R,L can be analytically continued to the imaginary part. This requires a
The Model of Baduy's Community System to Anticipate the Social Environment Change

This study aims to find theoretically the model of the Baduy community kinship system in anticipating changes in the social environment. The process of inheriting the value of the kinship system so far has the values of local wisdom and can anticipate changes in the social environment and minimize the potential for conflict among members of the community. This research is based on the qualitative approach principle, considering the problem under study describes the socialistic condition of naturalistic culture. The results showed that the Baduy community through its adat institutions sought to maintain a kinship system that had been going on for several generations in the past, in the midst of relatively fast social changes. The marriage system of Baduy people uses endogamy and monogamous patterns. Based on the pattern of endogamy, then the bride must come from fellow Baduy Dalam or fellow Baduy Luar. If there is a marriage between the women Baduy Dalam with the Baduy Luar, Baduy Dalam women must live in the Baduy Luar, or Baduy Luar men must stay in Baduy Dalam. Likewise with Baduy Luar woman who married a man outside Baduy then he must get out of the Baduy settlement and vice versa. Although members of Baduy community who are married to Baduy outsiders are prohibited to live in the Baduy area, but the influence is still felt on the social changes of the Baduy community itself. The kinship system became more widespread with relatives outside Baduy and gave birth to a less intensive interaction system if still allowed to live in Baduy. The gap between kinship causes separated members to gain a new cultural value system from the outside that is gradually absorbed in the cultural values of Baduy. Based on the results of the study can be concluded that the social changes that occur can affect the order of value Baduy community that has been embraced for generations. Along with the increase of population, the mechanism of the kinship system is increasingly tightened by banning members of the Baduy community who married with outsiders Baduy not to be affected by ideas or ideas of changes such as those that occur outside the Baduy community.
Optimal Design of Structures of PV Array in Photovoltaic Systems

Photovoltaic (PV) arrays are always assembled based on centralized, string and multi-string technology. These complex configurations of PV arrays and non-dependent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms based on PV arrays but not PV modules lead to the low output power efficiency of PV arrays. In view of the above questions, this paper analyzes the output characteristics of PV arrays under different kinds of configurations and conditions of illumination first, finds the connections between the configurations and output power efficiency of PV arrays, gives the optimal design rules of the structure of PV arrays, then proposes a novel structure of PV array.
NF-κB Is Activated in CD4+ iNKT Cells by Sickle Cell Disease and Mediates Rapid Induction of Adenosine A2A Receptors

Reperfusion injury following tissue ischemia occurs as a consequence of vaso-occlusion that is initiated by activation of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. Sickle cell disease (SDC) results in widely disseminated microvascular ischemia and reperfusion injury as a result of vaso-occlusion by rigid and adhesive sickle red blood cells. In mice, iNKT cell activation requires NF-κB signaling and can be inhibited by the activation of anti-inflammatory adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs). Human iNKT cells are divided into subsets of CD4+ and CD4- cells. In this study we found that human CD4+ iNKT cells, but not CD4- cells undergo rapid NF-κB activation (phosphorylation of NF-κB on p65) and induction of A2ARs (detected with a monoclonal antibody 7F6-G5-A2) during SCD painful vaso-occlusive crises. These findings indicate that SCD primarily activates the CD4+ subset of iNKT cells. Activation of NF-κB and induction of A2ARs is concordant, i.e. only CD4+ iNKT cells with activated NF-κB expressed high levels of A2ARs. iNKT cells that are not activated during pVOC express low levels of A2AR immunoreactivity. These finding suggest that A2AR transcription may be induced in CD4+ iNKT cells as a result of NF-κB activation in SCD. In order to test this hypothesis further we examined cultured human iNKT cells. In cultured cells, blockade of NF-κB with Bay 11–7082 or IKK inhibitor VII prevented rapid induction of A2AR mRNA and protein upon iNKT activation. In conclusion, NF-κB-mediated induction of A2ARs in iNKT cells may serve as a counter-regulatory mechanism to limit the extent and duration of inflammatory immune responses. As activated iNKT cells express high levels of A2ARs following their activation, they may become highly sensitive to inhibition by A2AR agonists.
Real-Time Scheduling of Energy Harvesting Embedded Systems with Timed Automata

In this paper, we propose feasibility and schedulability tests for a real-time scheduling problem under energy constraints. We first introduce the problem and show how to model it using timed automata. We then propose a feasibility test based on CTL model checking and schedulability tests for EDF and Preemptive Fixed Priority algorithms (PFP). Our approach also permits to generate a feasible schedule if one exists or otherwise to find how to correct battery characteristics to make the problem feasible. It is finally possible to generate schedules that optimize some criteria, such as the number of context switches between the battery recharging and discharging modes, the minimal and the maximal energy levels reached during the execution, or the number of preemptions. The approach is illustrated by some experiments using the model checking tool UPAAL [1].