Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxygen and Nitrogen Reactive Metabolites and Phagocytic Cells

The goal of this chapter is to clarify the role of phagocytic cells (mainly neutrophils) as mediators of both protection and destruction. Specifically, the linkage between the oxidative metabolic pathways and protection against bacterial invasion is contrasted with the subsequent tissue damage that ensues when these processes are not properly regulated. Historically, tissue injury, microbial killing, and many pathogenic mechanisms have been ascribed to reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). However, with the realization of the importance of reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI), attention has shifted somewhat from ROI. This recent understanding of the role of nitrogen radicals such as nitric oxide and peroxinitrite is compared to the oxygen radical pathways. Following the discovery of antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) by McCord and Fridovich in 1969 (McCord and Fridovich, 1969b), most studies published in neutrophil physiology have been related to the destructive nature of superoxide (O;), hydrogen peroxide (H,O,), or hydroxyl radical (OH) with the reasonable understanding that these reactive molecules were also the causative agents in tissue damage involving phagocytic cells. Neutrophils and macrophages have a tremendous capacity for production of these molecules. Sixty million neutrophils per minute are released into the circulation through the
Structural Coupling of Extrinsic Proteins with the Oxygen-Evolving Center in Photosystem II

Photosystem II (PSII), which catalyzes photosynthetic water oxidation, is composed of more than 20 subunits, including membrane-intrinsic and -extrinsic proteins. The PSII extrinsic proteins shield the catalytic Mn4CaO5 cluster from the outside bulk solution and enhance binding of inorganic cofactors, such as Ca2+ and Cl-, in the oxygen-evolving center (OEC) of PSII. Among PSII extrinsic proteins, PsbO is commonly found in all oxygenic organisms, while PsbP and PsbQ are specific to higher plants and green algae, and PsbU, PsbV, CyanoQ, and CyanoP exist in cyanobacteria. In addition, red algae and diatoms have unique PSII extrinsic proteins, such as PsbQ′ and Psb31, suggesting functional divergence during evolution. Recent studies with reconstitution experiments combined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy have revealed how the individual PSII extrinsic proteins affect the structure and function of the OEC in different organisms. In this review, we summarize our recent results and discuss changes that have occurred in the structural coupling of extrinsic proteins with the OEC during evolutionary history.
The inertia of unicyclic graphs and bicyclic graphs

Let G be a graph with n vertices and (G) be the matching number of G. The inertia of a graph G, In(G) = (n+;n ;n0) is an integer triple specifying the numbers of positive, negative and zero eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix A(G), respectively. Let (G) = n0 denote the nullity of G (the multiplicity of the eigenvalue zero of G). It is well known that if G is a tree, then (G) = n 2 (G). Guo et al. [Ji-Ming Guo, Weigen Yan and Yeong-Nan Yeh. On the nullity and the matching number of unicyclic graphs, Linear Algebra and its Applications, 431 (2009), 1293{1301. ] proved if G is a unicyclic graph, then (G) equals n 2 (G) 1;n 2 (G) or n 2 (G) + 2. Barrett et al. determined the inertia sets for trees and graphs with cut vertices. In this paper, we give the nullity of bicyclic graphs B ++ . Furthermore, we determine the inertia set in unicyclic graphs and B ++ , respectively.
Persistent Associations between Maternal Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates on Child IQ at Age 7 Years

Background Prior research reports inverse associations between maternal prenatal urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and mental and motor development in preschoolers. No study evaluated whether these associations persist into school age. Methods In a follow up of 328 inner-city mothers and their children, we measured prenatal urinary metabolites of di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP), di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate and diethyl phthalate in late pregnancy. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition was administered at child age 7 years and evaluates four areas of cognitive function associated with overall intelligence quotient (IQ). Results Child full-scale IQ was inversely associated with prenatal urinary metabolite concentrations of DnBP and DiBP: b = −2.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] = −4.33, −1.05) and b = −2.69 (95% CI = −4.22, −1.16) per log unit increase. Among children of mothers with the highest versus lowest quartile DnBP and DiBP metabolite concentrations, IQ was 6.7 (95% CI = 1.9, 11.4) and 7.6 (95% CI = 3.2, 12.1) points lower, respectively. Associations were unchanged after control for cognition at age 3 years. Significant inverse associations were also seen between maternal prenatal metabolite concentrations of DnBP and DiBP and child processing speed, perceptual reasoning and working memory; DiBP and child verbal comprehension; and BBzP and child perceptual reasoning. Conclusion Maternal prenatal urinary metabolite concentrations measured in late pregnancy of DnBP and DiBP are associated with deficits in children’s intellectual development at age 7 years. Because phthalate exposures are ubiquitous and concentrations seen here within the range previously observed among general populations, results are of public health significance.
Workplace Bullying among Healthcare Workers

This paper aims to assess consistent predictors through the use of a sample that includes different actors from the healthcare work force to identify certain key elements in a set of job-related organizational contexts. The utilized data were obtained from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey, conducted in 2010 by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. In light of these objectives, we collected a subsample of 284 health professionals, some of them from the International Standard Classification of Occupations—subgroup 22—(ISCO-08). The results indicated that the chance of a healthcare worker referring to him/herself as bullied increases among those who work on a shift schedule, perform monotonous and rotating tasks, suffer from work stress, enjoy little satisfaction from their working conditions, and do not perceive opportunities for promotions in their organizations. The present work summarizes an array of outcomes and proposes within the usual course of events that workplace bullying could be reduced if job demands were limited and job resources were increased. The implications of these findings could assist human resource managers in facilitating, to some extent, good social relationships among healthcare workers.
Exploiting concept hierarchy for result diversification

The goal of result diversification is to maximize the coverage of query subtopics while minimizing the redundancy in the search results. Intuitively, it is more desirable for a diversification system to cover independent subtopics since it would retrieve sets of non-overlapped relevant documents, which leads to less redundancy in the search results. Unfortunately, existing diversification methods assume that query subtopics are independent and ignore their relations in the diversification process. To overcome this limitation, we propose to exploit concept hierarchies to extract query subtopics and infer their relations. We then apply axiomatic approaches to derive a structural diversification method that can leverage the subtopic relations in result diversification. Experimental results over an enterprise collection show that the relations among query subtopics are useful to improve the diversification performance.
Inputs drive cell phenotype variability

What is the significance of the extensive variability observed in individual members of a single-cell phenotype? This question is particularly relevant to the highly differentiated organization of the brain. In this study, for the first time, we analyze the in vivo variability within a neuronal phenotype in terms of input type. We developed a large-scale gene-expression data set from several hundred single brainstem neurons selected on the basis of their specific synaptic input types. The results show a surprising organizational structure in which neuronal variability aligned with input type along a continuum of sub-phenotypes and corresponding gene regulatory modules. Correlations between these regulatory modules and specific cellular states were stratified by synaptic input type. Moreover, we found that the phenotype gradient and correlated regulatory modules were maintained across subjects. As these specific cellular states are a function of the inputs received, the stability of these states represents “attractor”-like states along a dynamic landscape that is influenced and shaped by inputs, enabling distinct state-dependent functional responses. We interpret the phenotype gradient as arising from analog tuning of underlying regulatory networks driven by distinct inputs to individual cells. Our results change the way we understand how a phenotypic population supports robust biological function by integrating the environmental experience of individual cells. Our results provide an explanation of the functional significance of the pervasive variability observed within a cell type and are broadly applicable to understanding the relationship between cellular input history and cell phenotype within all tissues.
Adaptive Inverse Induction Machine Control Based on Variable Learning Rate BP Algorithm

The adaptive inverse control technology is utilized for induction machine (IM) control. Adaptive inverse control is actually an open-loop control scheme and so in the adaptive inverse control the instability problem caused by feedback control is avoided and the better dynamic performances can also be achieved. Linear LMS technique of adaptive inverse control is extended to control the MIMO, nonlinear IM based on BP neural network. And the BP algorithm is improved by using variable learning rate. Simulation study is made to validate the effectiveness of the control scheme.
Floorplanning using a tree representation

We present an ordered tree (O tree) structure to represent nonslicing floorplans. The O tree uses only n(2+[lg n]) bits for a floorplan of n rectangular blocks. We define an admissible placement as a compacted placement in both x and y directions. For each admissible placement, we can find an O-tree representation. We show that the number of possible O-tree combinations is O(n! 2/sup 2n-2//n/sup l.5/). This is very concise compared to a sequence pair representation that has O((n! )/sup 2/) combinations. The approximate ratio of sequence pair and O-tree combinations is O(n/sup 2/(n/4e)/sup n/). The complexity of O tree is even smaller than a binary tree structure for slicing floorplan that has O(n! 2/sup 5n-3//n/sup 1.5/) combinations. Given an O tree, it takes only linear time to construct the placement and its constraint graph. We have developed a deterministic floorplanning algorithm utilizing the structure of O tree. Empirical results on MCNC (www.mcnc.org) benchmarks show promising performance with average 16% improvement in wire length and 1% less dead space over previous central processing unit (CPU) intensive cluster refinement method.
Influence seasons of the year and somatic cell counts on physical-chemical and sensory parameters of milk and coalho cheese

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence seasons of the year and somatic cell counts (SCC) on physical-chemical and sensory parameters of cow’s milk from individual and collective refrigeration tanks with different milking systems. In addition to analyzing the sensory acceptance of pasteurized milk and coalho cheese developed with high (> 800,000 cells mL -1 ) and low SCC levels (<200,000 cells mL -1 ). Seasonality did not affect fat content, casein, lactose, total solids, defatted dry extract and SCC, but lower protein levels than May and June were observed from July to September. Based on the SCC results, milk from refrigeration tanks was classified as low SCC and high SCC. The samples were used to obtain pasteurized milk and coalho cheese which were sensorially evaluated for general appearance, odor and flavor by a panel of untrained tasters using a hedonic scale of 9 points. Pasteurized milk with high and low SCC presented pleasant sensory characteristics to the consumer up until two days of storage. The same behavior was observed for coalho cheese at 20 and 40 days of shelf life, respectively.
The Use of Cases as Heuristics to speed up Multiagent Reinforcement Learning

This work presents a new approach that allows the use of cases in a case base as heuristics to speed up Multiagent Reinforcement Learning algorithms, combining Case Based Reasoning (CBR) and Multiagent Reinforcement Learning (MRL) techniques. This approach, called Case Based Heuristically Accelerated Multiagent Reinforcement Learning (CB-HAMRL), builds upon an emerging technique, Heuristic Accelerated Reinforcement Learning (HARL), in which RL methods are accelerated by making use of heuristic information. CB-HAMRL is a subset of MRL that makes use of a heuristic functionH derived from a case base, in a Case Based Reasoning manner. An algorithm that incorporates CBR techniques into the Heuristically Accelerated Minimax–Q is also proposed and a set of empirical evaluations were conducted in a simulator for the robot soccer domain, comparing the three solutions for this problem: MRL, HAMRL and CB-HAMRL. Experimental results show that using CB-HAMRL, the agents learn faster than using RL or HAMRL methods.
Landscape genetics of the blotched tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum)

The field of landscape genetics has great potential to identify habitat features that influence population genetic structure. To identify landscape correlates of genetic differentiation in a quantitative fashion, we developed a novel approach using geographical information systems analysis. We present data on blotched tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum) from 10 sites across the northern range of Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Wyoming, USA. We used eight microsatellite loci to analyse population genetic structure. We tested whether landscape variables, including topographical distance, elevation, wetland likelihood, cover type and number of river and stream crossings, were correlated with genetic subdivision (FST). We then compared five hypothetical dispersal routes with a straight‐line distance model using two approaches: (i) partial Mantel tests using Akaike's information criterion scores to evaluate model robustness and (ii) the BIOENV procedure, which uses a Spearman rank correlation to determine the combination of environmental variables that best fits the genetic data. Overall, gene flow appears highly restricted among sites, with a global FST of 0.24. While there is a significant isolation‐by‐distance pattern, incorporating landscape variables substantially improved the fit of the model (from an r2 of 0.3 to 0.8) explaining genetic differentiation. It appears that gene flow follows a straight‐line topographic route, with river crossings and open shrub habitat correlated with lower FST and thus, decreased differentiation, while distance and elevation difference appear to increase differentiation. This study demonstrates a general approach that can be used to determine the influence of landscape variables on population genetic structure.
The rosetta experiment: atmospheric soft error rate testing in differing technology FPGAs

Results are presented from real-time experiments that evaluated large field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) fabricated in different CMOS technologies (0.15 /spl mu/m, 0.13 /spl mu/m, and 90 nm) for their sensitivity to radiation-induced single-event upsets (SEUs). These results are compared to circuit simulation (Qcrit) studies as well as to Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) neutron beam results and Crocker Nuclear Laboratory (University of California, Davis) cyclotron proton beam results.
WEB USAGE MINING USING NEURAL NETWORK APPROACH : A CRITICAL REVIEW

The emergence of WWW has drawn new frontiers for database research. The analysis of Web log files may give information that are useful for improving the services offered by Web portals and information access and retrieval tools, giving information on problems occurred to the users. This study reports on initial findings on a specific aspect that is highly relevant for personalization services: the study of Web user sessions. The key component of this paper is a Web-mining approach for Web-log analysis via introducing ART structure for huge, widely distributed, highly heterogeneous, semistructured, interconnected, evolving, hypertext information repository of World Wide Web. So, the Web sites automatically improve their organization and presentation by self-learning.
Interfacing cooperative transactions to software development environments

Many cooperative transaction models have been proposed to support teams of programmers working together on a software development project. However, papers on this topic often neglect to describe how the programmers might actually interact with the cooperative transactions in terms of user commands and corresponding responses from the software development environment. In this paper, we consider a particular cooperative transaction model, Participant Transactions, and describe the corresponding user model that needs to be implemented by a software development environment.
Embodied Seeing-In, Empathy, and Expansionism

I will argue that the ambition to provide a naturalized aesthetics of film in Murray Smith’s Film, Art, and the Third Culture is not fully matched by the actual explanatory work done. This is because it converges too much on the emotional engagement with character at the expense of other features of film. I will make three related points to back up my claim. I will argue (1) that Smith does not adequately capture in what ways the phenomenon of seeing-in, introduced early in the book, could explain our complex engagement with moving images; (2) that because of this oversight he also misconstrues the role of the mirror neuron system in our engagement with filmic scenes; and (3) that an account of embodied seeing-in could be a remedy for the above. In order to demonstrate the latter point, I will show how such an account could contribute to the analysis of a central sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951) that Smith also discusses.
Patients with Acromegaly Presenting with Colon Cancer: A Case Series

Introduction. Frequent colonoscopy screenings are critical for early diagnosis of colon cancer in patients with acromegaly. Case Presentations. We performed a retrospective analysis of the incidental diagnoses of colon cancer from the ACCESS trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01995734). Colon cancer was identified in 2 patients (4.5%). Case 1 patient was a 36-year-old male with acromegaly who underwent transsphenoidal surgery to remove the pituitary adenoma. After surgery, the patient underwent routine colonoscopy screening, which revealed a 40 mm tubular adenoma in the descending colon. A T1N1a carcinoma was surgically removed, and 1 of 22 lymph nodes was positive for metastatic disease, leading to a diagnosis of stage 3 colon cancer. Case 2 patient was a 50-year-old male with acromegaly who underwent transsphenoidal surgery to remove a 2 cm pituitary adenoma. The patient reported severe cramping and lower abdominal pain, and an invasive 8.1 cm3 grade 2 adenocarcinoma with signet rings was identified in the ascending colon and removed. Of the 37 lymph nodes, 34 were positive for the presence of tumor cells, and stage 3c colon cancer was confirmed. Conclusion. Current guidelines for colonoscopy screening at the time of diagnosis of acromegaly and at appropriate follow-up intervals should be followed.
Comparative Analysis of Packet Scheduling Schemes for HSDPA Cellular Networks

In this paper we present comparison analysis for packet scheduling algorithms for HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Networks). In particular, we analyze the round robin, max C/I and FCDS packet scheduling algorithms in HSDPA by comparing the average throughput, delay and fairness of the users, changing the number of the users in pedestrian and vehicular environment. The results have showed that the number of the users in a given coverage area is very important when choosing which packet scheduling algorithm for HSDPA networks. These results will be very useful for choosing the adequate scheduling algorithm in HSDPA network with aim to satisfy the desired quality of service for the mobile users.
Constructing stylistic synthesis databases from audio books

In this paper, we explore how to construct stylistic TTS databases from audio books, in which a storyteller performs multiple roles. The goal is to identify and build a set of speech corpora, each of which not only portrays a representative voice style performed by the speaker, but also has sufficient sentences to synthesize natural speech using unit selection approach. We solve the problem in two procedures: first, by representing each role with Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM), all speech data are partitioned into a number of voice style clusters with a criterion that maximizes the likelihood of all utterances with respect to roles’ speaker models; then, pruning in terms of both acoustic and prosodic measures is followed to purify the clusters. The resulting 4 voice styles are subjectively interpreted as Neutral, Young, Elder and Adult, respectively. Perceptual experiments show that the proposed approach can synthesize speech with the recognizable voice styles with an average 72.5% identification rate, and the synthesized speech sounds better than those synthesized with utterances from a single role.
Multiple outflows in IRAS 19410+2336 ?

Plateau de Bure Interferometer high-spatial resolution CO observations combined with near-infrared H2 data disentangle at least seven (maybe even nine) molecular outflows in the massive star-forming region IRAS19410+2336. Position-velocity diagrams of the outflows reveal Hubble-like relationships similar to outflows driven by low-mass objects. Estimated accretion rates are of the order 10 −4 M⊙ yr −1 , sufficiently high to overcome the radiation pressure and form massive stars via disk-mediated accretion processes. The single-dish large-scale mm continuum cores fragment into several compact condensations at the higher spatial resolution of the PdBI which is expected due to the clustering in massive star formation. While single-dish data give a simplified picture of the source, sufficiently high spatial resolution resolvesthe structures into outflows resembling those of low- mass star-forming cores. We interpret this as further support for the hypothesis that massive stars do form via disk-accretion processes similar to low-mass stars.