Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE TRANSPORT RICH AND THE TRANSPORT POOR: CAR DEPENDENCY AND SOCIAL CLASS IN FOUR EUROPEAN CITIES

Social inequities in access to transport in Dublin since the economic boom are explored. An analysis of the causes and consequences of car dependency was conducted by comparing Athens, Bologna, Dublin and Helsinki. Car usage was not explained by wealth or by population density, but by decision making concerning town planning. Successful urban transport policies were dependent on strong regional and urban governments with the financial and administrative resources to make relatively independent decisions. Other groups, such as property developers are then more likely to align their plans with those for the city. Studies of areas of the cities differing in socioeconomic status showed that poverty and unemployment are exacerbated by poor public transport. Dublin emerged as the most socially segregated of the four cities. The middle class areas of all cities had the highest levels of household car ownership and the inner city the lowest levels. The responses of car-free people indicated that this was a result of poverty in Athens and Dublin, and of choice in Bologna and Helsinki where public transport is better and is used more. Car ownership and use was most common among middle-aged people. Dubliners had a more negative view of their public transport than citizens of the other cities studied. Helsinki had the best perception of its public transport. Modal split in the journey to work followed the expected trends. Lack of accessible shops increased the proportion of people in working class suburban Dublin using a car to obtain food. The walking quality of the cities is discussed. This paper was presented at a conference 'Urbanism and Suburbanism at the end of the Century' held at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 26-27 November 1999.
Asymmetric Evaluations of Erasure and Undetected Error Probabilities

The problem of channel coding with the erasure option is revisited for discrete memoryless channels. The interplay between the code rate, the undetected and total error probabilities is characterized. Using the information spectrum method, a sequence of codes of increasing blocklengths n is designed to illustrate this tradeoff. Furthermore, for additive discrete memoryless channels with uniform input distribution, we establish that our analysis is tight with respect to the ensemble average. This is done by analyzing the ensemble performance in terms of a tradeoff between the code rate, the undetected and total errors. This tradeoff is parameterized by the threshold in a generalized likelihood ratio test. Two asymptotic regimes are studied. First, the code rate tends to the capacity of the channel at a rate slower than n-1/2 corresponding to the moderate deviations regime. In this case, both error probabilities decay subexponentially and asymmetrically. The precise decay rates are characterized. Second, the code rate tends to capacity at a rate of n-1/2. In this case, the total error probability is asymptotically a positive constant, while the undetected error probability decays as exp (-bn1/2) for some b > 0. The proof techniques involve the applications of a modified (or shifted) version of the Gärtner-Ellis theorem and the type class enumerator method to characterize the asymptotic behavior of a sequence of cumulant generating functions.
Strategies for sustainable MT for Basque: incremental design, reusability, standardization and open-source

We present some Language Technology applications that have proven to be effective tools to promote the use of Basque, a European less privileged language. We also present the strategy we have followed for almost twenty years to develop those applications as the top of an integrated environment of language resources, language foundations, language tools and other applications. When we have faced a difficult task such as Machine Translation to Basque, our strategy has worked well. We have had good results in a short time just reusing previous works for Basque, reusing other open-source tools, and developing just a few new modules in collaboration with other groups. In addition, new reusable tools and formats have been produced.
Civil Society, Corporate Accountability and the Politics of Climate Change

This article uses the lens of accountability to explore the shifting strategies of a range of civil society groups in their engagement with key actors in the global regime on climate change. It first reviews traditional strategies aimed at increasing the public accountability of governments and UN bodies for agreed actions on climate change. This approach is then compared with the growing tendency to pursue the accountability of private corporations with respect to climate change. These strategies aim, among other things, to promote civil regulation: that is, governance of the private sector through civil society oversight. The final part of the article reflects on the possibilities and limitations of civil society actors performing such accountability roles in the contemporary politics of climate change and suggests key challenges for future climate advocacy. It argues that success in enhancing the accountability of public and private actors on the issue of climate change has been highly uneven and reflects both the effectiveness of the strategies adopted and the responsiveness of the target actors and institutions.
Routine and Project-Based Leisure, Happiness, and Meaning in Life

Abstract The search for happiness and life meaning is an ancient quest. Positive psychology has brought this topic to the forefront of modern research. Previous research has shown that meaning and happiness can be found through one's vocation and through leisure pursuits. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of routine and project-based leisure experiences on meaning and happiness. Three-hundred and five college students participated in the study. Structural equation modeling and regression analyses revealed significant relationships between meaning, happiness, and routine leisure pursuits. Social engagement, personal reflection, and time spent outdoors were potent predictors of happiness and meaning. Implications for the leisure field are discussed in light of these findings and other relevant research.
miR-597 inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion through FOSL2

Many reports suggest that the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) might provide a novel therapeutical target for many diseases, even of human cancers; however, there are no reports on the role of miR-597 in human cancers. In the present study, by detecting mRNA expression with qRT-PCR, compared with the adjacent normal tissues we found that miR-597 was significantly downregulated in breast cancer tissues. By using the MTT assay, the cell wound-healing assay and the cell invasion assay, we demonstrated that miR-597 mimics were able to suppress breast cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, with flow cytometry, we found that miR-597 influenced the growth of breast cancer cells through regulating the G1-S phase transition. Furthermore, we identified one binding site for miR-597 at the 3′UTR of the FOSL2 gene, using bioinformatics methods and the luciferase reporter assay, it was confirmed that FOSL2 was a direct target of miR-597. Moreover, overexpression of FOSL2 in MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 cells can block the vast majority of the miR-597 roles, suggesting that miR-597 acts as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer cells by the downregulation of FOSL2. Additionally, we also found a negative correlation between the expression of FOSL2 and miR-597 in the tumor samples. This new regulatory mechanism in breast cancer may provide another method for diagnosis and therapy.
A multicriteria method based approach to the BPMM selection problem

Given the need for organizations that develop Business Process Management (BPM) initiatives to assess their maturity levels in this field, the complexity of choosing a suitable BPM maturity model (BPMM) to do so and the difficulty of applying the solutions proposed in the literature to address this problem, this paper presents a multicriteria decision model for choosing a BPMM. In this work, the alternatives were identified from the literature and the evaluation criteria based on a previous study. The Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff (FITradeoff) multicriteria method chosen needs less effort from the decision maker (DM) and is supported by a Decision Support System (DSS). The DSS establishes the tradeoff among the criteria according to the DM preferences. As a result, a BPMM was chosen that adhered to the organization's needs and objectives The DM that participated in this application is a process analyst of a large utility company located in Recife, Brazil.
Immunomodulatory and Anti-inflammatory Activity in Vitro and in Vivo of a Novel Antimicrobial Candidate*

The synthetic antimicrobial peptide SET-M33 has strong activity against bacterial infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. It is currently in preclinical development as a new drug to treat lung infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Here we report its strong anti-inflammatory activity in terms of reduced expression of a number of cytokines, enzymes, and signal transduction factors involved in inflammation triggered by LPS from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. Sixteen cytokines and other major agents involved in inflammation were analyzed in macrophages and bronchial cells after stimulation with LPS and incubation with SET-M33. The bronchial cells were obtained from a cystic fibrosis patient. A number of these proteins showed up to 100% reduction in expression as measured by RT-PCR, Western blotting, or Luminex technology. LPS neutralization was also demonstrated in vivo by challenging bronchoalveolar lavage of SET-M33-treated mice with LPS, which led to a sharp reduction in TNF-α with respect to non-SET-M33-treated animals. We also describe a strong activity of SET-M33 in stimulating cell migration of keratinocytes in wound healing experiments in vitro, demonstrating a powerful immunomodulatory action generally characteristic of molecules taking part in innate immunity.
Digital Predistortion for Joint Mitigation of I/Q Imbalance and MIMO Power Amplifier Distortion

This paper analyzes the joint effects of in-phase and quadrature (I/Q) imbalance and power amplifier (PA) distortion for RF multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmitters in the presence of crosstalk. This paper proposes candidate models for the digital predistortion of static I/Q imbalanced sources exciting a dynamic MIMO Volterra system. The proposed models are enhanced using a novel technique based on subsample resolution to account for dynamic I/Q imbalance distortions. Finally, the computational complexity of the proposed models is analyzed for implementation suitability in digital platforms. It is shown that the error spectrum for the proposed models in subsample resolution reaches the noise floor of the measurements. The proposed models achieve a normalized mean squared error of −50 dB and an adjacent channel power ratio of −57 dB for signal bandwidths upto 65 MHz and crosstalk levels ranging to −10 dB. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques in the joint mitigation of I/Q imbalance and PA distortion with crosstalk for a typical $2\times 2$ MIMO telecommunication setup.
An Automated Design Synthesis Method for Compliant Mechanisms With Application to Morphing Wings

An automated design synthesis method is developed to design an airfoil with a reconfigurable shape, which can change from one type of geometry to another. A design synthesis method using unit truss approach and particle swarm optimization is presented. In the unit truss approach, unit truss is used as a new unit cell for mechanics analysis of cellular structures, including lightweight structures and compliant mechanisms. Using unit truss approach, axial forces, bending, torsion, nonlinearity, and buckling in structures can be considered. It provides good analysis accuracy and computational efficiency. A synthesis method using unit truss approach integrated with particle swarm optimization is developed to systematically design adaptive cellular structures, in particular, compliant mechanisms discussed in this paper. As an example study, the authors realize the design synthesis of a compliant mechanism that enables an entire closed-loop airfoil profile to change shape from NACA 23015 to FX60-126 for the desired morphing wing. The nonlinear behavior of compliant mechanisms under large deformation is considered. The resulting design is validated by testing its robustness and considering nonlinearity.
A hybrid phonic web news recommender system for pervasive access

With the development of the Mobile Internet, it is possible for people to access their daily portion of news over the Web with various types of terminals connected to it. EagleRadio is a phonic Web news recommendation system which helps users access personalized news via mobile Internet. It reads news via a speech synthesizer to users. We propose a hybrid news recommending strategy considering not only the user's listening history, but also taking the user's neighbors with similar tastes and preferences into account. It can track multiple threads of user's interests and the diversity of recommended news list is also guaranteed. Finally, we evaluate the proposed algorithms and quantify the effect of them from a user's perspective.
Slow slip events in Costa Rica detected by continuous GPS observations, 2002–2011

A network of continuously recording GPS stations has operated in the Nicoya Peninsula of northern Costa Rica since 2002. We processed all available data from this network for the period of 2002–2011 to investigate the occurrence of Slow Slip Events (SSE) on the subduction interface between the Cocos and Caribbean plates. In order to overcome signal masking by high levels of tropospheric noise, we developed a new technique that facilitates detection of transient events in the presence of noise. We identified five significant SSEs during the 2002–2011 period, with event middle times in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011, with an average recurrence interval of 21 ± 6 months. Time series analysis shows that transient deformation imparts a signature similar to random walk. Removal of the SSEs and regional common mode errors from the time series reduced velocity uncertainty by nearly an order of magnitude. Limited available data for the 2003, 2005 and 2011 events preclude detailed characterization of these events. However, good spatiotemporal coverage of the 2007 and 2009 events suggest that both events had irregular duration and distribution. In the 2007 event, slow slip started in the northwest coastal area and migrated southeastward over a period of ∼1 month. The 2009 event had a significantly longer event duration and larger surface displacement. Stations in the northwest area observed two separate SSEs in 2008.6 and 2009.4, correlating well with the tremor episodes offshore, indicating a shallow SSE slip patch with shorter recurrence interval. Significant differences between the 2009 and 2007 events lead us to question the simple recurrence interval model for the SSE in Nicoya.
Germline-Competent Mouse-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Generated on Human Fibroblasts without Exogenous Leukemia Inhibitory Factor

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have attracted enormous attention due to their vast potential in regenerative medicine, pharmaceutical screening and basic research. Most prior established iPS cell lines were derived and maintained on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells supplemented with exogenous leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Drawbacks of MEF cells impede optimization as well as dissection of reprogramming events and limit the usage of iPS cell derivatives in therapeutic applications. In this study, we develop a reproducible protocol for efficient reprogramming mouse neural progenitor cells (NPCs) on human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells via retroviral transfer of human transcriptional factors OCT4/SOX2/KLF4/C-MYC. Two independent iPS cell lines are derived without exogenous LIF. They display typical undifferentiated morphology and express pluripotency markers Oct4 and Sox2. Transgenes are inactivated and the endogenous Oct4 promoter is completely demethylated in the established iPS cell lines, indicating a fully reprogrammed state. Moreover, the iPS cells can spontaneously differentiate or be induced into various cell types of three embryonic germ layers in vitro and in vivo when they are injected into immunodeficient mice for teratoma formation. Importantly, iPS cells extensively integrate with various host tissues and contribute to the germline when injected into the blastocysts. Interestingly, these two iPS cell lines, while both pluripotent, exhibit distinctive differentiation tendencies towards different lineages. Taken together, the data describe the first genuine mouse iPS cell lines generated on human feeder cells without exogenous LIF, providing a reliable tool for understanding the molecular mechanisms of nuclear reprogramming.
Physician inpatient order writing on microcomputer workstations. Effects on resource utilization.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects on health care resource utilization of a network of microcomputer workstations for writing all inpatient orders. DESIGN Randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING Inpatient internal medicine service of an urban public hospital. SUBJECTS A total of 5219 internal medicine patients and the 68 teams of house officers, medical students, and faculty internists who cared for them. INTERVENTION Microcomputer workstations, linked to a comprehensive electronic medical record system, for writing all inpatient orders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Total inpatient charges for each admission and charges for specific categories of orders. A time-motion study of selected interns assessed the ordering system's time consumption. RESULTS Intervention teams generated charges that were $887 (12.7%) lower per admission than did control teams (P = .02). Significant reductions (P < .05) were demonstrated separately for bed charges, diagnostic test charges, and drug charges. Reductions of similar proportion and statistical significance were found for hospital costs. The mean length of stay was 0.89 day shorter for intervention resident teams (P = .11). Interns in the intervention group spent an average of 33 minutes longer (5.5 minutes per patient) during a 10-hour observation period writing orders than did interns in the control group (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS A network of microcomputer workstations for writing all inpatient orders significantly lowered patient charges and hospital costs. This would amount to savings of more than $3 million in charges annually for this hospital's medicine service and potentially tens of billions of dollars nationwide. However, the system required more physician time than did the paper charts. Research at other sites and system advances to reduce time requirements are warranted.
Apoptosis and In Vitro Development of Preimplantation Porcine Embryos Derived In Vitro or by Nuclear Transfer1

Abstract Apoptosis occurs during preimplantation development in both in vivo- and in vitro-produced embryos, and it may contribute to embryonic loss. The present study investigated the development of porcine nuclear transfer (NT) embryos reconstructed by using fetal fibroblasts as compared to embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF). The onset and the frequency of apoptosis in NT and IVF embryos were examined via morphological and nuclear changes and TUNEL assay. The NT blastocysts had a similar number of nuclei as compared to IVF blastocysts and appeared to be morphologically similar. Relative to IVF embryos, the NT embryos had a lower cleavage rate (42.7% vs. 71.0%) and a lower developmental rate (11.1% vs. 28.6%) to the blastocyst stage. The earliest positive TUNEL signals were detected in the NT embryos on Day 5 of culture. The percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis in the NT embryos was higher than that of the IVF embryos and increased with time in vitro. Some of the abnormal morphological changes observed during early development related to apoptosis. Cytoplasmic fragmentation, developmental arrest, and nuclear condensation were typical characteristics of embryos undergoing apoptosis. Some mechanisms of the apoptotic pathway were triggered by changes in the NT embryos. The developmental rates of NT embryos might be improved by identifying specific apoptotic pathways and then intervening in these pathways to improve development.
Corner feature based object tracking using Adaptive Kalman Filter

The efficiency and accuracy of moving object (MO) tracking in outdoor area is an important issue for the surveillance community. This paper modifies the prototype of Kalman Filter and proposed a corner feature based adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) for MO tracking. Unlike pixel-level feature, corner feature is insensitive to dynamic change of outdoor scenes such as water ripples, plants and illumination. Thus, the corner feature can robustly describe MO in outdoor area. The main contribution of this paper is to take advantage of corner points to describe MO and then use the variation in the number of occluded corner points across consecutive frames to design an AKF. The proposed tracking method is able to track MO in the presence of occlusion and velocity variation. Experiments on challenging video clips demonstrate our method can portray the trajectory of MO accurately and stably.
A computer-assisted protocol for endovascular target interventions using a clinical MRI system for controlling untethered microdevices and future nanorobots

The possibility of automatically navigating untethered microdevices or future nanorobots to conduct target endovascular interventions has been demonstrated by our group with the computer-controlled displacement of a magnetic sphere along a pre-planned path inside the carotid artery of a living swine. However, although the feasibility of propelling, tracking and performing real-time closed-loop control of an untethered ferromagnetic object inside a living animal model with a relatively close similarity to human anatomical conditions has been validated using a standard clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system, little information has been published so far concerning the medical and technical protocol used. In fact, such a protocol developed within technological and physiological constraints was a key element in the success of the experiment. More precisely, special software modules were developed within the MRI software environment to offer an effective tool for experimenters interested in conducting such novel interventions. These additional software modules were also designed to assist an interventional radiologist in all critical real-time aspects that are executed at a speed beyond human capability, and include tracking, propulsion, event timing and closed-loop position control. These real-time tasks were necessary to avoid a loss of navigation control that could result in serious injury to the patient. Here, additional simulation and experimental results for microdevices designed to be targeted more towards the microvasculature have also been considered in the identification, validation and description of a specific sequence of events defining a new computer-assisted interventional protocol that provides the framework for future target interventions conducted in humans.