Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Legendre Wavelets Direct Method for the Numerical Solution of Fredholm Integral Equation of the First Kind

In this paper, an efficient direct method based on Legendre wavelets is introduced to approximate the solution of Fredholm integral equations of the first kind. These basic functions are orthonormal and have compact support. The properties of the Legendre wavelets are utilized to convert the integral equations into a system of linear algebraic equations. The main characteristic of the method is low cost of setting up the equations without using any projection method. Furthermore an estimation of error bound for the present method is proved. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the applicability and accuracy of the proposed technique.
Chronic conditions in children and young people: learning from administrative data

Over the last century, the primary burden of disease in children and young people has shifted from infectious diseases towards chronic conditions.1 Improvements in neonatal and paediatric care for chronic conditions mean more children with previously lethal conditions are now surviving into adulthood.2 ,3 Depending on the definition used, 13–27% of children are affected by chronic conditions.4 Chronic conditions affect many aspects of the lives of children with consequences that endure into adulthood.5 Quality of healthcare for children with chronic conditions is a research and policy priority, but comes at a cost. In the USA, it is estimated that children with serious, complex chronic conditions account for 10% of admissions, but 41% of hospital charges.6 As life expectancy increases, these costs extend into adulthood. Better quality of healthcare during childhood can improve educational achievement and employment prospects and reduce disability and dependency in adulthood. To find out whether improvements in healthcare are indeed improving long-term outcomes for children with chronic conditions and their families, we need data. In this article, we review how administrative health data can be used to evaluate the frequency of healthcare utilisation by children affected by chronic conditions and to evaluate outcomes. Administrative health data are collected routinely for non-research purposes, including for patient or service management or financial reimbursement. We focus specifically on hospital administrative databases and vital registration systems. The evidence generated by administrative hospital data on the burden and type of chronic conditions can help with planning and design of services and can be used to determine (the effects of) changes in practice of policy. We also discuss how studies using administrative health databases could be extended through data linkage, to other sectors, such as education and social care, to measure outcomes in adulthood, and to data …
Summarization techniques for visualization of large, multidimensional datasets

One of the main issues confronting visualization, is how to effectively display large, high dimensional datasets within a limited display area, without overwhelming the user. In this report, we discuss a data summarization approach to tackle this problem. Summarization is the process by which data is reduced in a meaningful and intelligent fashion, to its important and relevant features. We survey several different techniques from within computer science, which can be used to extract various characteristics from raw data. Using summarization techniques intelligently within visualization systems, could potentially reduce the size and dimensionality of large, high dimensional data, highlight relevant and important features, and enhance comprehension.
Independent homeostatic regulation of B cell compartments

In the present study we used mice with a developmental arrest of B cell production to study the ability of a limited number of normal B cell precursors to populate peripheral B cell pools. In chimeras reconstituted with mixtures of bone marrow (BM) cells from normal and B cell‐deficient donors, we show that the rate of BM B cell production is a constant function of the number of BM pre‐B cells and is not modified by the peripheral B cell pool size, i.e. there is no feedback regulation of the central pre‐B cell compartment by the number of mature B cells. We also show that the physiological number of peripheral B cells requires a minimum continuous input of newly formed cells, but is not determined by the number of B cell precursors. Chimeras with a threefold reduced rate of BM B cell production have normal numbers of peripheral B cells. Parabiosis between normal and B cell‐deficient mice showed that the BM B cell production of one mouse suffices to replenish the B cell pool of three mice. Finally, we show that the compartment of activated IgM‐secreting B cells is homeostatically autonomous since the number of cells it comprises is regulated independently of the size of the mature B cell pool. The results presented here support a model of the immune system in which the size of the different B cell compartments, i.e. pre‐B, resting B and IgM‐secreting, is autonomously regulated.
Sequence Variations in the Flagellar Antigen Genes fliC H25 and fliC H28 of Escherichia coli and Their Use in Identification and Characterization of Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O145:H25 and O145:H28

Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) serogroup O145 is regarded as one of the major EHEC serogroups involved in severe infections in humans. EHEC O145 encompasses motile and non-motile strains of serotypes O145:H25 and O145:H28. Sequencing the fliC-genes associated with the flagellar antigens H25 and H28 revealed the genetic diversity of the fliC H25 and fliC H28 gene sequences in E. coli. Based on allele discrimination of these fliC-genes real-time PCR tests were designed for identification of EHEC O145:H25 and O145:H28. The fliC H25 genes present in O145:H25 were found to be very similar to those present in E. coli serogroups O2, O100, O165, O172 and O177 pointing to their common evolution but were different from fliC H25 genes of a multiple number of other E. coli serotypes. In a similar way, EHEC O145:H28 harbor a characteristic fliC H28 allele which, apart from EHEC O145:H28, was only found in enteropathogenic (EPEC) O28:H28 strains that shared some common traits with EHEC O145:H28. The real time PCR-assays targeting these fliC H25[O145] and fliC H28[O145] alleles allow better characterization of EHEC O145:H25 and EHEC O145:H28. Evaluation of these PCR assays in spiked ready-to eat salad samples resulted in specific detection of both types of EHEC O145 strains even when low spiking levels of 1–10 cfu/g were used. Furthermore these PCR assays allowed identification of non-motile E. coli strains which are serologically not typable for their H-antigens. The combined use of O-antigen genotyping (O145wzy) and detection of the respective fliC H25[O145] and fliC H28[O145] allele types contributes to improve identification and molecular serotyping of E. coli O145 isolates.
Entailment with Conditional Equality Constraints ( Extended Version ) ?

Equality constraints (uni cation constraints) have widespread use in program analysis, most notably in static polymorphic type systems. Conditional equality constraints extend equality constraints with a weak form of subtyping to allow for more accurate analyses. We give a complete complexity characterization of the various entailment problems for conditional equality constraints and for a natural extension of conditional equality constraints.
Model selection for quantitative trait loci mapping in a full-sib family

Statistical methods for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in full-sib forest trees, in which the number of alleles and linkage phase can vary from locus to locus, are still not well established. Previous studies assumed that the QTL segregation pattern was fixed throughout the genome in a full-sib family, despite the fact that this pattern can vary among regions of the genome. In this paper, we propose a method for selecting the appropriate model for QTL mapping based on the segregation of different types of markers and QTLs in a full-sib family. The QTL segregation patterns were classified into three types: test cross (1:1 segregation), F2 cross (1:2:1 segregation) and full cross (1:1:1:1 segregation). Akaike’s information criterion (AIC), the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and the Laplace-empirical criterion (LEC) were used to select the most likely QTL segregation pattern. Simulations were used to evaluate the power of these criteria and the precision of parameter estimates. A Windows-based software was developed to run the selected QTL mapping method. A real example is presented to illustrate QTL mapping in forest trees based on an integrated linkage map with various segregation markers. The implications of this method for accurate QTL mapping in outbred species are discussed.
Considering The Impossible: Explaining The Effects of Implausible Anchors

Research on judgmental anchoring - the assimilation of a numeric estimate towards a previously considered standard - has demonstrated that implausible anchors produce large effects. We propose an insufficient adjustment plus selective accessibility account for these effects. Specifically, judges may adjust from an implausible anchor until a plausible value for the target is reached and may then test the hypothesis that the target’s extension is similar to this value. If this is indeed the case, then differentially extreme implausible anchors should produce similar absolute estimates, because adjustment from any implausible anchor should terminate at the same value. Results of two studies are consistent with this prediction. They show that implausible anchors that differ extremely produce similar absolute estimates. The implications of these findings for alternative models of anchoring are discussed. Human judgment under uncertainty is often influenced by salient judgmental anchors. In what is probably the best known demonstration of such anchoring effects (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974), participants first received a comparative judgment task in which they were asked whether the percentage of African nations in the UN is higher or lower than an arbitrary number (the anchor) that had been determined by spinning a wheel of fortune (i.e., 65% or 10%). In the subsequent absolute judgment task, participants were asked to give their
Exploring the multiple dimensions of social support among elite female adolescent swimmers

McGill University, CanadaThis study concurrently explored multiple dimensions of social support ofnine elite female adolescent swimmers. Data were collected and analyzed using theprinciples of constructivist phenomenology. Results highlighted the importance ofthe structural, functional, and perceptual social support dimensions on athletes’experiences in elite swimming in relation to their coaches, parents, and peers.Coaches were an important provider of almost every aspect of social support. Par-ents provided social support on a more general level, with their swimming-specificinformational support being the single most unappreciated aspect of social support.Teammatesprovidedasenseofaffiliationandsharedexperiencethatwasdescribedas the most positive aspect of their swimming involvement. The current qualitativefindings provide new insights into the concurrent structural, functional, and per-ceptual dimensions of social support in female youth elite sport.
Music Composition with Interactive Evolutionary Computation

Interactive Evolutionary Computation (IEC), i.e., Evolutionary Computation whose fitness function is provided by a user his/herself, has been applied to esthetic areas, such as art, design and music. We cannot necessarily define fitness functions explicitly in these areas. With IEC, however, we can embed the user's implicit preference into the optimization system. This paper describes a new approach to music composition, more precisely the composition of rhythms, by means of IEC. The main feature of our method is to combine Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Genetic Programming (GP). In our system, GA individuals represent short pieces of rhythmic patterns, while GP individuals express how these patterns are arranged in terms of their functions. Both populations are evolved interactively through the user's evaluation. The integration of interactive GA and GP makes it possible to search for musical structures effectively in the vast search space. In this paper, we show how successfully our proposed method can generate attractive musical rhythms. The effectiveness of our system is demonstrated by the evolved rhythm phrases, which are available from our web site as sound files.
Asymmetric Information and the Medium of Exchange in Takeovers: Theory and Tests

In a model of takeovers under asymmetric information, we identify a separating equilibrium in which the value of the bidder firm is revealed by the mix of cash and securities used as payment for the target. The model predicts that the revealed bidder value is monotonically increasing and convex in the fraction of the total offer that consists of cash. We examine the model restrictions using data from Canada where mixed offers are both relatively frequent and free of the confounding tax-related options characterizing mixed offers in the U.S. We find that the average announcement-month bidder abnormal return in mixed offers is large and significant. However, maximum likelihood estimates of parameters in both linear and non-linear cross-sectional regressions fail to support the model predictions.
Regulation of connexin 43-mediated gap junctional intercellular communication by Ca2+ in mouse epidermal cells is controlled by E- cadherin

Gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) of cultured mouse epidermal cells is mediated by a gap junction protein, connexin 43, and is dependent on the calcium concentration in the medium, with higher GJIC in a high-calcium (1.2 mM) medium. In several mouse epidermal cell lines, we found a good correlation between the level of GJIC and that of immunohistochemical staining of E-cadherin, a calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecule, at cell-cell contact areas. The variant cell line P3/22 showed both low GJIC and E-cadherin protein expression in low- and high-Ca2+ media. P3/22 cells showed very low E-cadherin mRNA expression. To test directly whether E-cadherin is involved in the Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of GJIC, we transfected the E-cadherin expression vector into P3/22 cells and obtained several stable clones which expressed high levels of E-cadherin mRNA. All transfectants expressed E-cadherin molecules at cell-cell contact areas in a calcium- dependent manner. GJIC was also observed in these transfectants and was calcium dependent. These results suggest that Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of GJIC in mouse epidermal cells is directly controlled by a calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecule, E-cadherin. Furthermore, several lines of evidence suggest that GJIC control by E-cadherin involves posttranslational regulation (assembly and/or function) of the gap junction protein connexin 43.
Core self-evaluations and well-being in persons with disabilities.

PURPOSE The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of core self-evaluations (CSE), which is conceptualized as the overall, fundamental perception that individuals have about their worth and capability as people (Judge, Locke, Durham, & Kluger, 1998). CSE is a higher order variable that is reflective of the self-concept and comprises personality traits including self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability. METHOD In this article, the theoretical background of the CSE construct is reviewed, the existing literature on CSE in the general population is summarized, and future directions for the use of CSE in rehabilitation psychology research and clinical settings is proposed. IMPLICATIONS CSE has great potential as a global positive contributor of well-being in persons with disabilities, and research addressing its relationship with outcomes such as well-being and its clinical applications has great promise to augment rehabilitation psychology practice in the future.
Reformed passive queue management algorithm

Although passive queue management is defective, it is simpler than active queue management algorithm, so it is still widely used in Internet. In order to improve the deficiencies, the multi-dropping packets passive queue management algorithm is proposed. When the queue is full, randomly multi-dropping packets. Simulation results show that this algorithm develops the transmission performance of the network, improves the RTT fairness and speed fairness effectively, and the computation is small, so it is suitable for Internet.
Computer Assisted Parental Sequences Analysis as a Previous Step to DNA Shuffling Process

Experiments of directed evolution have been successfully used to improve specific biological functions. DNA shuffling is a directed evolution process which generates genetic diversity through the recombination of parental sequences. It is expected that the sequences resulting from a Shuffling process be a mixture of the parental sequences. In order to evaluate which pair of sequences could potentially produce the best result, this paper analyses, using information given by a software, the adequacy of three pairs of parental sequences as candidates for undergoing a DNA shuffling process.
Game theoretic energy aware power management in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

The major goal of research in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET) is the efficient utilization of scarce available resources while improving network throughput and network lifetime. Energy consumption is one precious component of these resources as multimedia applications consumes enormous amount of energy during communication. To achieve the goal of optimal energy conservation of a MANET, an optimal power control technique based on non-cooperative algorithm is presented in this paper. The proposed power control game uses Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), residual energy of nodes as an efficient pricing function to deduce the utility of nodes which achieves the required Quality of Service (QoS) of MANET. The pricing function helps to achieve Pareto improvement in power control game. To improve energy efficiency and get fast convergence point, “Nash equilibrium”, a Logarithmic Grey Wolf Optimization (lGWO) algorithm is used to achieve global optimum solution. Simulation results and its analysis of the proposed Energy-Aware Power Control Game (EAPCG) shows that the convergence speed of the proposed technique is better than Non-Cooperative Power Control Game (NCPCG) and Utility based Stochastic Fictitious Play with Exploiting the Utility Structure (USFP-EUS).
Reduced complexity decoding of space time trellis codes in the frequency selective channel

An iterative approach is developed for decoding space time trellis codes (STTCs) in frequency selective multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channels. The method uses the partitioned Viterbi algorithm (PVA) as an equaliser for the MIMO system. It is used iteratively with a STTC decoder that provides soft outputs using the soft output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA). It is shown through simulation that the iterative procedure achieves a performance within 2.0 dB of maximum likelihood (ML) decoding, at a FER of 10-2, but suffers a small diversity loss. It is also shown that the complexity of the iterative approach is lower than that of ML decoding.
Axenic cultivation and comparative phospholipase A2 activity of Giardia duodenalis in a serum-free medium

Mammalian serum is essential for the growth of Giardia duodenalis cultivated under axenic conditions. Unfortunately, some factors present in bovine serum used as supplement in the culture medium may inhibit protozoal growth and activity. TYI-33-PACSR is a TYI medium supplemented with a serum replacement (PACSR) made up of Earle’s amino acid solution, Diamond’s vitamin-tween 80 mixtures and LCR (a lipid-cholesterol — rich mixture). PACSR was previously used in the culture media for axenic cultivation of Entamoeba histolytica and Trichomonas vaginalis. The main objective of this work was to demonstrate that TYI-33-PACSR is useful for axenic cultivation of G. duodenalis. Additionally, the activity of phospholipase A2 (PLA A2) in the sub-cellular vesicular fraction (P30) of G. duodenalis grown in TYI-S-33 and TYI-33-PACSR was compared. All strains of Giardia grown in TYI-33-PACSR reached relative cellular densities of 91 to 95% compared to controls growing in serum-supplemented TYI-S-33 medium. Additionally, PLA A2 activity was similar in the P30 sub-cellular fraction obtained from trophozoites growing in TYI-S-33 and TYI-33-PACSR. Thus, TYI-33-PACSR could be useful in analyzing the biological properties of G. duodenalis in the absence of serum.
New pruning criteria for efficient decoding

In large vocabulary continuous speech recognizers the search space needs to be constrained efﬁciently to make the recognition task feasible. Beam pruning and restricting the number of active paths are the most widely applied techniques for this. In this paper, we present three additional pruning criteria, which can be used to further limit the search space. These new criteria take into account the state of the search space, which enables tighter pruning. In the speech recognition experiments, the new pruning criteria were shown to reduce the search space up to 50% without affecting the search accuracy. We also present a method for optimizing the threshold parameters of the pruning criteria for the selected level of recognition accuracy. With this method even a large number of different pruning thresholds can be determined with little effort.
Targeting TRAIL Death Receptor 4 with Trivalent DR4 Atrimer Complexes

TRAIL is a trimeric protein that potently induces apoptosis in cancer cells by binding to the trimeric death receptors (DR4 or DR5). Death receptors are attractive therapeutic targets through both the recombinant TRAIL ligand as well as receptor agonist monoclonal antibodies. Although efficacy of the ligand is hampered by its short half-life, agonistic antibodies have a much longer half-life and have shown some clinical efficacy as antitumor agents. However, the efficacy of these antibodies may be limited by their bivalent nature that does not optimally mimic the trimeric ligand. To overcome limitations of currently used death receptor-targeting agents, we engineered trimeric proteins called Atrimer complexes that selectively bind DR4 and potently induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. Atrimer complexes are based on human tetranectin, a trimeric plasma protein of approximately 60 kDa. Loop regions within the tetranectin C-type lectin domains (CTLD) were randomized to create a large phage display library that was used to select DR4-binding complexes. A panel of unique and potent agonist DR4 Atrimer complexes with subnanomolar affinity to DR4 and no detectable binding to DR5 or the decoy receptors was identified. Mechanism of action studies with a selected Atrimer complex, 1G2, showed that Atrimer complexes induce caspase-dependent and DR4-specific apoptosis in cancer cells while sparing normal human fibroblasts and, importantly, hepatocytes. This proof-of-principle study supports the use of alternative proteins engineered to overcome limitations of therapeutically desirable molecules such as TRAIL. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(10); 2087–95. ©2012 AACR.
Critical points of the Onsager functional on a sphere

We study Onsager's model of isotropic–nematic phase transitions with orientation parameter on a sphere. We consider two interaction potentials: the antisymmetric (with respect to orientation inversion) dipolar potential and symmetric Maier–Saupe potential. We prove the axial symmetry and derive explicit formulae for all critical points, thus obtaining their complete classification. Finally, we investigate their stability and construct the corresponding bifurcation diagrams.