Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proteomic Analysis of the Vitreous following Experimental Retinal Detachment in Rabbits

Purpose. The pathogenesis of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) remains incompletely understood, with no clinically effective treatment for potentially severe complications such as photoreceptor cell death and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Here we investigate the protein profile of the vitreous following experimental retinal detachment using a comparative proteomic based approach. Materials and Methods. Retinal detachment was created in the right eyes of six New Zealand red pigmented rabbits. Sham surgery was undertaken in five other rabbits that were used as controls. After seven days the eyes were enucleated and the vitreous was removed. The vitreous samples were evaluated with two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the differentially expressed proteins were identified with tandem mass spectrometry. Results. Ten protein spots were found to be at least twofold differentially expressed when comparing the vitreous samples of the sham and retinal detachment surgery groups. Protein spots that were upregulated in the vitreous following retinal detachment were identified as albumin fragments, and those downregulated were found to be peroxiredoxin 2, collagen-Iα1 fragment, and α-1-antiproteinase F. Conclusions. Proteomic investigation of the rabbit vitreous has identified a set of proteins that help further our understanding of the pathogenesis of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and its complications.
A Semantic Question Answering Framework for Large Data Sets

Traditionally, the task of answering natural language questions has involved a keyword-based document retrieval step, followed by in-depth processing of candidate answer documents and paragraphs. This post-processing uses semantics to various degrees. In this article, we describe a purely semantic question answering (QA) framework for large document collections. Our high-precision approach transforms the semantic knowledge extracted from natural language texts into a language-agnostic RDF representation and indexes it into a scalable triplestore. In order to facilitate easy access to the information stored in the RDF semantic index, a user's natural language questions are translated into SPARQL queries that return precise answers back to the user. The robustness of this framework is ensured by the natural language reasoning performed on the RDF store, by the query relaxation procedures, and the answer ranking techniques. The improvements in performance over a regular free text search index-based question answering engine prove that QA systems can benefit greatly from the addition and consumption of deep semantic information.
High frequency trading, liquidity, and execution cost

We build a model under the framework of discrete optimization to explain how high frequency trading (HFT) can be applied to supply liquidity and reduce execution cost. We derive the analytical properties of our model in finding the optimal solution to minimize the overall execution cost of HFT. We show that the execution cost can be reduced after increasing trading frequency (i.e., the higher the trading frequency, the lower the execution cost) with a simulation study. In addition, we conduct an empirical investigation with tick level data from US equity market through January 2008 to October 2010 to verify our conclusion drawn from the simulation study. Based on the simulation and empirical results we collected, we show that the HFT can reduce the execution cost when supplying liquidity.
The Treatment Cascade for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Identifying gaps in care for people with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is important to clinicians, public health officials, and federal agencies. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature to provide estimates of the proportion of chronic HCV-infected persons in the United States (U.S.) completing each step along a proposed HCV treatment cascade: (1) infected with chronic HCV; (2) diagnosed and aware of their infection; (3) with access to outpatient care; (4) HCV RNA confirmed; (5) liver fibrosis staged by biopsy; (6) prescribed HCV treatment; and (7) achieved sustained virologic response (SVR). Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for articles published between January 2003 and July 2013. Two reviewers independently identified articles addressing each step in the cascade. Studies were excluded if they focused on specific populations, did not present original data, involved only a single site, were conducted outside of the U.S., or only included data collected prior to 2000. Results 9,581 articles were identified, 117 were retrieved for full text review, and 10 were included. Overall, 3.5 million people were estimated to have chronic HCV in the U.S. Fifty percent (95% CI 43–57%) were diagnosed and aware of their infection, 43% (CI 40–47%) had access to outpatient care, 27% (CI 27–28%) had HCV RNA confirmed, 17% (CI 16–17%) underwent liver fibrosis staging, 16% (CI 15–16%) were prescribed treatment, and 9% (CI 9–10%) achieved SVR. Conclusions Continued efforts are needed to improve HCV care in the U.S. The proposed HCV treatment cascade provides a framework for evaluating the delivery of HCV care over time and within subgroups, and will be useful in monitoring the impact of new screening efforts and advances in antiviral therapy.
Comparative study of complex N- and O-bearing molecules in hot molecular cores

Aims. We have observed several emission lines of two Nitrogen-bearing (C2H5CN and C2H3CN) and two Oxygen-bearing (CH3OCH3 and HCOOCH3) molecules towards a sample of well-known hot molecular cores (HMCs) in order to check whether the chemical differentiation seen in the Orion-HMC and W3(H2O) between O- and N-bearing molecules is a general property of HMCs. Methods. With the IRAM-30m telescope we have observed 12 HMCs in 21 bands, centered at frequencies from 86 250 to 258 280 MHz. Results. In six sources, we have detected a number of transitions sufficient to derive their main physical properties. The rotational temperatures obtained from C2H5CN, C2H3CN and CH3OCH3 range from ∼100 to ∼150 K in these HMCs. The total column densities of these molecules are of the order of ∼10 15 −10 17 cm −2 . Single Gaussian fits performed to unblended lines show a marginal difference in the line peak velocities of the C2H5CN and CH3OCH3 lines, indicating a possible spatial separation between the region traced by the two molecules. On the other hand, neither the linewidths nor the rotational temperatures and column densities confirm such a result. The average molecular abundances of C2H5CN, C2H3CN and CH3OCH3 are in the range ∼10 −9 −10 −10 , comparable to those seen in the Orion hot core. In other HMCs Bisschop et al. 2007 found comparable values for C2H5CN but values ∼2.5 times larger for CH3OCH3. By comparing the abundance ratio of the pair C2H5CN/C2H3CN with the predictions of theoretical models, we derive that the age of our cores ranges between 3.7 and 5.9 × 10 4 yr. Conclusions. The abundances of C2H5CN and C2H3CN are strongly correlated, as expected from theory which predicts that C2H3CN is formed through gas phase reactions involving C2H5CN . A correlation is also found between the abundances of C2H5CN and CH3OCH3 ,a nd C 2H3CN and CH3OCH3. In all tracers the fractional abundances increase with the H2 column density while they are not correlated with the gas temperature. On average, the chemical and physical differentiation between O- and N-bearing molecules seen in Orion and W3(H2O) is not revealed by our observations. We believe that this is partly due to the poor angular resolution of our data, which allows us to derive only average values over the sources of the discussed parameters.
Improvement of port wine stain laser therapy by skin preheating prior to cryogen spray cooling: A numerical simulation

Although cryogen spray cooling (CSC) in conjunction with laser therapy has become the clinical standard for treatment of port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks, the current approach does not produce complete lesion blanching in the vast majority of patients. The objectives of this study are to: (1) experimentally determine the dynamic CSC heat flux when a skin phantom is preheated, and (2) numerically study the feasibility of using skin preheating prior to CSC to improve PWS laser therapeutic outcome.
Selection of Time-Domain Features for Fall Detection Based on Supervised Learning

—Latest mobile phones bring many advantages to our daily life. These gadgets are usually equipped with multiple sensors, such as camera, GPS, and accelerometer. The data collected from these sensors are used to develop several applications, such as face recognition, voice recognition, and daily activity analysis. Studies show that many accidents occur during daily activities, and we propose the idea that mobile phones can be used to distinguish these accidents from activities of daily living (ADL). Early intervention may reduce or eliminate the risk of fatal injury during an accident. In this study, we introduce a new mobile phone application designed for the recognition of falls and reporting the incident to appropriate authorities. We built a predictive model using supervised learning methods with selected features to detect falls with ratio as high as possible. 8 healthy people performed various activities carrying smart phone on their pockets to record simulated falls and ADLs to build our data set. The data-set consist of 43 time-domain features extracted from 3-axis accelerometer data. The analysis of several feature selection algorithms demonstrates that only 5 to 10 most discriminative features give the best success ratio for fall detection. Our test results show that the proposed system can recognize the fall events with approximately %90 success ratio.
A hybrid cascaded multi-level converter for power storage system

Power storage system using battery and super-capacitor are more and more popular in renewable energy, smart grid and electrical vehicles. But the voltage and current of the basic battery cells and super-capacitor are limited. So in practical applications, a large number of cells are connected in seriously or parallel to improve the output voltage and current ability. Due to the differences between the cells, voltage and current equalizations are necessary to prevent overcharge or over-discharge on some cells. In this paper, a novel hybrid cascaded multi-level converter is proposed to solve the voltage equalization problems. The battery cells are connected by the cascaded half-bridges instead of being connected directly. The charge and discharge of the battery cells can be controlled separately and then the voltage equalization can be realized. Some experimental results will be given to verify the effects of the proposed converter.
Against information literacy

This article argues that advocates of “information literacy” (IL) within the library profession are guilty of grossly exaggerating its importance. It presents several, referenced examples of hyperbole in recent literature and shows how this is partly a consequence of a conflation of IL with lifelong learning. Identifies a tendency amongst IL proponents to write about information-seeking in generic, abstract terms and to over-emphasise its complexity. Criticises the lack of debate within the UK IL movement and notes its failure to respond to the discourse of Web 2.0. The article proposes a more modest and practical model of information skills, closer to the librarian’s traditional role of guiding and advising students and researchers.
A new semantic similarity measuring method based on web search engines

Word semantic similarity measurement is a basic research area in the fields of natural language processing, intelligent retrieval, document clustering, document classification, automatic question answering, word sense disambiguation, machine translation, etc. To address the issues existing in current approaches to word semantic similarity measurement, such as the low term coverage and difficult update, a novel word semantic similarity measurement method based on web search engines is proposed, which exploits the information, including page count and snippets, in retrieved results to do calculation. The proposed method can resolve the issues mentioned above due to the huge volumes of information in the Web. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
The Potential for Adoption of Electronic Commerce in the Tasmanian Timber Industry

This paper reports on research set in the Tasmanian timber industry that aimed to increase the competitiveness of the industry by identifying options for the adoption of electronic commerce. As part of the investigation the information flows that took place within the industry were mapped. An interpretivist epistemology was used for the study, which adopted qualitative methods and a case study approach. Little, if any, prior relevant research had been undertaken in the Tasmanian timber industry. The study revealed the state of readiness of the Tasmanian timber industry to adopt electronic commerce, and recommended areas within the industry that had most potential for its introduction.
Vectorial Capacity of Aedes aegypti for Dengue Virus Type 2 Is Reduced with Co-infection of Metarhizium anisopliae

Background Aedes aegypti, is the major dengue vector and a worldwide public health threat combated basically by chemical insecticides. In this study, the vectorial competence of Ae. aegypti co-infected with a mildly virulent Metarhizium anisopliae and fed with blood infected with the DENV-2 virus, was examined. Methodology/Principal Findings The study encompassed three bioassays (B). In B1 the median lethal time (LT50) of Ae. aegypti exposed to M. anisopliae was determined in four treatments: co-infected (CI), single-fungus infection (SF), single-virus infection (SV) and control (C). In B2, the mortality and viral infection rate in midgut and in head were registered in fifty females of CI and in SV. In B3, the same treatments as in B1 but with females separated individually were tested to evaluate the effect on fecundity and gonotrophic cycle length. Survival in CI and SF females was 70% shorter than the one of those in SV and control. Overall viral infection rate in CI and SV were 76 and 84% but the mortality at day six post-infection was 78% (54% infected) and 6% respectively. Survivors with virus in head at day seven post-infection were 12 and 64% in both CI and SV mosquitoes. Fecundity and gonotrophic cycle length were reduced in 52 and 40% in CI compared to the ones in control. Conclusion/Significance Fungus-induced mortality for the CI group was 78%. Of the survivors, 12% (6/50) could potentially transmit DENV-2, as opposed to 64% (32/50) of the SV group, meaning a 5-fold reduction in the number of infective mosquitoes. This is the first report on a fungus that reduces the vectorial capacity of Ae. aegypti infected with the DENV-2 virus.
Exciton fine structure in a single carbon nanotube revealed through spectral diffusion

We studied the spectral diffusion and exciton ﬁne structures of single-walled carbon nanotubes (cid:1) SWNTs (cid:2) by using single carbon nanotube spectroscopy. Two types of single nanotube photoluminescence (cid:1) PL (cid:2) spectra were observed at temperatures below 50 K, which are double peaks with spectral diffusion and a single peak without spectral diffusion. The spectral diffusion that occurs in the lower energy peak of the split PL spectrum is associated with the quantum-conﬁned Stark effect. Our observations suggest that symmetry breaking caused by the strong local electric ﬁeld enables us to observe the dark exciton state below the bright exciton state in single SWNTs.
A novel model for preserving Location Privacy in Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an Internet-based architecture for the exchange of information and services amongst millions of devices. Due to massive use of IoT for various benefits, there are high security and privacy related issues which need to be addressed. Many techniques have been proposed for preserving location privacy in the context of IoT. Some of these techniques are based on anonymization and others on obfuscation. However, the existing research clearly lags in preserving location privacy in IoT and has common issues such as being specific or restricted to certain location. This research focuses on preserving location privacy in the context of IoT. In this paper, we propose an Enhanced Semantic Obfuscation Technique (ESOT) for preserving location privacy in the IoT. We compare the performance of ESOT with previously developed Semantic Obfuscation Technique (SOT). The results show that ESOT achieves better location privacy and provides a balance between privacy and utility of location services.
Excitation and Inhibition Compete to Control Spiking during Hippocampal Ripples: Intracellular Study in Behaving Mice

High-frequency ripple oscillations, observed most prominently in the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal layer, are associated with memory consolidation. The cellular and network mechanisms underlying the generation of the rhythm and the recruitment of spikes from pyramidal neurons are still poorly understood. Using intracellular, sharp electrode recordings in freely moving, drug-free mice, we observed consistent large depolarizations in CA1 pyramidal cells during sharp wave ripples, which are associated with ripple frequency fluctuation of the membrane potential (“intracellular ripple”). Despite consistent depolarization, often exceeding pre-ripple spike threshold values, current pulse-induced spikes were strongly suppressed, indicating that spiking was under the control of concurrent shunting inhibition. Ripple events were followed by a prominent afterhyperpolarization and spike suppression. Action potentials during and outside ripples were orthodromic, arguing against ectopic spike generation, which has been postulated by computational models of ripple generation. These findings indicate that dendritic excitation of pyramidal neurons during ripples is countered by shunting of the membrane and postripple silence is mediated by hyperpolarizing inhibition.
The European Union and Internal Security: Guardian of the People?

The subject of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) within the European Union only developed during the early 1990s and has consequently been a relatively neglected area of study. This however is no longer the case as the EU has been expanding its activities in JHA matters to the point where they have become some of the most important areas of responsibility for the Union. The EU is engaged in the process of constructing an internal security regime that encapsulates police cooperation, mutual assistance in matters of civil and criminal law and the creation of a judicial network. This EU approach to internal security policy has come about in response to perceptions of threat. With the dismantling of Europe's internal borders and the rise of organized crime and illegal immigration, the EU has been working to develop policies to counter these challenges. The European Union and Internal Security investigates the development of these security challenges and the measures by which the EU seeks to combat them. With the imminent enlargement of the EU to central and eastern Europe, these security challenges are expected to grow.
Quality of Life and Civic Involvement in Three Urban Knoxville Neighborhoods

This thesis, contributes to the methodology and operationalization for measurement of neighborhood quality of life. Three neighborhoods in Knoxville, TN were surveyed via a mail-in questionnaire in order to analyze residents cognitive perceptions of life quality. Descriptive statistics related to Quality of Life and Civic Engagement were calculated and a regression model with a neighborhood quality of life dependent variable was estimated. It was concluded that affluence was closely related to life quality and civic participation. Furthermore, two distressed federally designated Empowerment Zone neighborhoods displayed differing levels of attachment to their community and perceptions of their life quality. Race was determined to be a contributing factor with these phenomena.
Minimal-overhead virtualization of a large scale supercomputer

Virtualization has the potential to dramatically increase the usability and reliability of high performance computing (HPC) systems. However, this potential will remain unrealized unless overheads can be minimized. This is particularly challenging on large scale machines that run carefully crafted HPC OSes supporting tightly-coupled, parallel applications. In this paper, we show how careful use of hardware and VMM features enables the virtualization of a large-scale HPC system, specifically a Cray XT4 machine, with < = 5% overhead on key HPC applications, microbenchmarks, and guests at scales of up to 4096 nodes. We describe three techniques essential for achieving such low overhead: passthrough I/O, workload-sensitive selection of paging mechanisms, and carefully controlled preemption. These techniques are forms of symbiotic virtualization, an approach on which we elaborate.
Prospective Assessment of XPD Lys751Gln and XRCC1 Arg399Gln Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Lung Cancer

Purpose: XRCC1 and XPD play key roles in the repair of DNA lesions and adducts. Contrasting findings have been reported on the effect of polymorphisms of these genes on the response to platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the XPD Lys751Gln and XRCC1 Arg399Gln genotypes and outcome in lung cancer patients. Experimental Design: We genotyped 203 NSCLC and 45 small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) patients for the two polymorphisms. Most of the patients (81%) received a platinum-based chemotherapy. Results: The patients' genotype frequencies did not significantly differ from controls and both groups were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for the two polymorphisms. The XRCC1399 Gln/Gln variant genotype was associated with a higher median survival time (80 weeks versus 54.6 weeks for the Arg/Gln heterozygous and 55.6 weeks for the wild-type Arg/Arg genotype; P = 0.09). At the multivariable analysis adjusted for histology, stage of the disease, performance status, age, and gender, the Gln/Gln genotype was associated with a better survival of borderline significance in the subgroup of patients treated with cisplatin (hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.30-1.00); this association became significant for those with grade 3-4 clinical toxicity (hazard ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.22-0.98). No association between XPD Lys751Gln genotype and clinical outcome was found. Conclusion: This prospective investigation provides suggestive evidence of a favorable effect of the XRCC1399 Gln/Gln genotype on survival in platinum-treated NSCLC and, for the first time, in SCLC patients also. This contrasts with other authors who did not include non–platinum-treated patients, but it does fit the expectation for a suboptimal ability to remove DNA adducts.