Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LACK OF TRANSIT TIMING VARIATIONS OF OGLE-TR-111b: A RE-ANALYSIS WITH SIX NEW EPOCHS

We present six new transits of the exoplanet OGLE-TR-111b observed with the Magellan Telescopes in Chile between 2008 April and 2009 March. We combine these new transits with five previously published transit epochs for this planet between 2005 and 2006 to extend the analysis of transit timing variations (TTVs) reported for this system. We derive a new planetary radius value of 1.019 ± 0.026 RJ, which is intermediate to the previously reported radii of 1.067 ± 0.054 RJ and 0.922 ± 0.057 RJ. We also examine the TTV and duration change claims of Dìaz et al. Our analysis of all 11 transit epochs does not reveal any points with deviations larger than 2σ, and most points are well within 1σ. Although the transit duration nominally decreases over the four year span of the data, systematic errors in the photometry can account for this result. Therefore, there is no compelling evidence for either a timing or a duration variation in this system. Numerical integrations place an upper limit of about 1 M⊕ on the mass of a potential second planet in a 2:1 mean-motion resonance with OGLE-TR-111b.
Modeling of Measurement Space Error of AACMM

The error sources of AACMM were many and complex, and the measurement space error was uncertain. In order to obtain the measurement space error of AACMM accurately, the single-point measurement precision experiment of AACMM was carried out by using the standard cone. According to the experiment, also obtained the training data sample and test data sample. The measurement space error model of AACMM was built up by BP neural network, and the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) was introduced to optimize the convergence speed and the operation speed of BP neural network. The prediction and verification of the model was carried out. Results show that BP neural network and PSO-BP neural network both can predict the measurement space error, the prediction results of PSO-BP neural network model are more accurate, and the relative error is smaller.
Immunolocalization of calpain I-mediated spectrin degradation to vulnerable neurons in the ischemic gerbil brain

Transient ischemia-induced perturbations in calcium homeostasis have been proposed to lead to pathological activation of the cysteine protease calpain I and subsequent delayed neuronal death in the CA1 region of hippocampus. We report here on the design and characterization of antibodies selective for calpain-generated fragments of brain spectrin, and their use for immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses of calpain activation following cerebral ischemia in the gerbil. Although spectrin was susceptible to degradation in vitro by many mammalian proteases, only calpain degraded spectrin to generate fragments immunoreactive with the antibodies. Following 5 min of global ischemia, immunoreactivity for calpain- degraded spectrin was rapidly (within 30 min) and markedly elevated in the perikarya and dendrites of several populations of forebrain neurons. The rapid calpain activation was completely prevented by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801. At later times postischemia, but prior to frank neuronal necrosis, calpain-degraded spectrin was restricted to hippocampal area CA1 pyramidal neurons. Silver impregnation histochemistry confirmed that neuronal damage was confined to area CA1. The results indicate that while nonpathological NMDA receptor stimulation can activate calpain, only those neurons showing sustained calpain activation are destined to die.
TWO-METRIC PROJECTION METHODS FOR CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION*

This paper is concerned with the problem min $\{ f(x)\mid x \in X\} $ where X is a convex subset of a linear space H, and f is a smooth real-valued function on H. We propose the class of methods $x_{k + 1} = P(x_k - \alpha _k g_k )$, where P denotes projection on X with respect to a Hilbert space norm $\| \cdot \|$ , $g_k $ denotes the Frechet derivative of f at $x_k $ with respect to another Hilbert space norm $\| \cdot \|_k $ on H, and $\alpha _k $ is a positive scalar stepsize. We thus remove an important restriction in the original proposal of Goldstein [1] and Levitin and Poljak [2], where the norms $\| \cdot \|$ and $\| \cdot \|_k $ must be the same. It is therefore possible to match the norm $\| \cdot \|$ with the structure of X so that the projection operation is simplified while at the same time reserving the option to choose $\| \cdot \|_k $on the basis of approximations to the Hessian of f so as to attain a typically superlinear rate of convergence. The resulting methods are particularly attrac.
Measurement-based admission control: a large deviations approach for bufferless multiplexers

In order to provide quality of service (QoS) assurances networks perform call admission control before accepting a new connection. Rather than relying on a priori traffic descriptors (such as leaky buckets), which often poorly characterize the actual traffic, measurement-based admission control bases admission decisions on measurements of the actual traffic. We first develop a novel large deviations (LD) approach to measurement-based admission control for bufferless multiplexers. We then conduct simulation studies with traces of MPEG 1 encoded movies to compare the performance of the admission rules in the literature with that of the large deviations approach. We demonstrate that for bufferless multiplexing the LD approach achieves both higher link utilizations and smaller loss probabilities. Finally, we compare the performance of measurement-based admission control with that of traditional admission control, which relies on a priori traffic descriptors. Our numerical work indicates that measurement-based admission control achieves significant gains in link utilizations over traditional admission control.
Going viral: Optimizing Discount Allocation in Social Networks for Influence Maximization

In this paper, we investigate the discount allocation problem in social networks. It has been reported that 40\% of consumers will share an email offer with their friend and 28\% of consumers will share deals via social media platforms. What does this mean for a business? Essentially discounts should not just be treated as short term solutions to attract individual customer, instead, allocating discounts to a small fraction of users (called seed users) may trigger a large cascade in a social network. This motivates us to study the influence maximization discount allocation problem: given a social network and budget, we need to decide to which initial set users should offer the discounts, and how much should the discounts be worth. Our goal is to maximize the number of customers who finally adopt the target product. We investigate this problem under both non-adaptive and adaptive settings. In the first setting, we have to commit the set of seed users and corresponding discounts all at once in advance. In the latter case, the decision process is performed in a sequential manner, and each seed user that is picked provides the feedback on the discount, or, in other words, reveals whether or not she will adopt the discount. We propose a simple greedy policy with an approximation ratio of $\frac{1}{2}(1 - 1/e)$ in non-adaptive setting. For the significantly more complex adaptive setting, we propose an adaptive greedy policy with bounded approximation ratio in terms of expected utility.
Effect of spices on Vibrio parahaemolyticus survival and growth.

In this study, the antibacterial activity of a total of 16 spices at a fi nal concentration of 2.5 % against V. parahaemolyticus at two different temperatures, 5 and 37 oC, was tested. Anise seed, chili, cloves, cinnamon, coriander seed, cumin, curry, garlic, ginger, oregano, paprika, black and white pepper, rosemary, thyme and turmeric, were collected from a retail store from the same producer. Prior to antibacterial screening, the spices were analyzed using standard microbiological procedures for: aerobic spore forming bacteria, sulfi te-reducing clostridia, yeast and molds, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci, and the presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. For detection of anti-Vibrio activity, the same amount of V. parahaemolyticus culture in NaCl-BHI broth, at 104 cfu/mL, was added to the 5 % suspension of spices, incubated for 24 h and then inoculated onto TCBS agar. After screening, minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined for spices, which showed strong antimicrobial activity. Salmonella spp. , Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and coagulase-positive staphylococci were not detected in any of the spice samples. Aerobic spore forming bacteria were present in 93.7 %, sulfi te reducing clostridia in 43.7 %, yeasts in 12.5 %, molds in 62.5 % and Enterobacteriaceae in 18.7 % of the spice samples. At 5 °C, all spices except anise and coriander seed showed antibacterial activity against V. parahaemolyticus, with viable count reduced by at least 1 log; strong antibacterial activities at this temperature were found for oregano, garlic, thyme, cloves, cinnamon, curry, rosemary, ginger and turmeric. Oregano, garlic, thyme, cloves and cinnamon showed strong antibacterial activity at 37 °C. The lowest minimal inhibitory concentration at 37 °C was 0.078 % in cloves, and at 5 °C was 0.0012 % in turmeric. The effect of the accompanying microfl ora of the spices on the number of V. parahaemolyticus was not observed. This result showed that some spices have potential for reducing the risk of contaminating V. parahaemolyticus in seafood, combined with low temperature.
Default theory for Well Founded Semantics

One aim of this paper is to deene a default theory for Well Founded Semantics of logic programs which have been extended with explicit negation, such that the models of a program correspond exactly to the extensions of the default theory corresponding to the program. To do so we must introduce a new default theory semantics that satisses principles of modularity, enforcedness, and uniqueness of minimal extension (if it has an extension), which have a natural counterpart in the program semantics. Other default theories, with which we compare our own, do not satisfy all these principles, namely Reiter's default theory, Baral and Subrahmanian's well founded extensions, and Przymusinski's stationary extensions. The relationship between logic programs and defaults theories opens the way for a mutual fertilization, which we have enhanced: On the one hand, we widen the class of programs which can be given a semantics by a suitable default theory, show that explicit negation can be translated into classical negation in such a default theory, and that it clariies the use of rules in extended logic programs. On the other hand, since our logic program semantics is deenable by a monotonic xpoint operator, it has desirable computational properties, including top{down and bottom{up procedures. As our semantics is sound with respect to Reiter's default semantics, whenever an extension exists, we thus provide sound methods for computing the intersection of all extensions for an important subset of Reiter's default theories.
Pulse Extraction for Radar Emitter Location

Two related data compression methods for radar signals are described and analyzed. The methods use the singular value decomposition (SVD) of a data matrix containing one pulse in each row to exploit pulse- to-pulse redundancy. By using a rank-one approximation to the data matrix it is possible to achieve compression ratios typically of the order of several 10's and sometimes over 150:1 for typical radar types while maintaining accurate location; the amount of compression depends on the radar's parameters. Alternatively, by retaining a single singular vector as an extracted prototype pulse, it is possible to use it for matched filter processing, thus providing an improved method for doing noncoherent time-of-arrival (TOA) processing for a slight cost of a small amount of additional data to be sent.
CD4 and total lymphocyte counts as predictors of HIV disease progression.

CD4+ T-lymphocyte (CD4) counts are a standard laboratory marker of disease progression in HIV infection, but expense precludes their use in large parts of the world. Total lymphocyte counts (TLC), in contrast, are widely available. We compared CD4 and TLC counts as predictors of developing AIDS or death in 831 HIV-positive out-patients (582 males and 249 females with both homosexual (males, n = 316) and heterosexual (n = 515) transmission patterns. The first CD4 count < 200/microliter and first TLC < 1250/microliter predicted similar (p = 0.52) survival, irrespective of clinical stage. For each clinical stage, a significant difference in progression to AIDS and mortality was predicted by TLC above or below 1250/microliter (p < 0.03). Survival and progression to AIDS occurred at similar rates in patients with a TLC < 1250/microliter or a CD4 count < 200/microliter (p > 0.1), and patients with a TLC > 1250/microliter or a CD4 count > 200/microliter (p > 0.5). A TLC < 1250/microliter preceded the development of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia or cerebral toxoplasmosis in 76% of patients. In this longitudinal study, TLC and CD4 counts were equal predictors of disease progression. A TLC < 1250/microliter could be considered an indication for commencing cotrimoxazole prophylaxis.
GenomeTools: A Comprehensive Software Library for Efficient Processing of Structured Genome Annotations

Genome annotations are often published as plain text files describing genomic features and their subcomponents by an implicit annotation graph. In this paper, we present the GenomeTools, a convenient and efficient software library and associated software tools for developing bioinformatics software intended to create, process or convert annotation graphs. The GenomeTools strictly follow the annotation graph approach, offering a unified graph-based representation. This gives the developer intuitive and immediate access to genomic features and tools for their manipulation. To process large annotation sets with low memory overhead, we have designed and implemented an efficient pull-based approach for sequential processing of annotations. This allows to handle even the largest annotation sets, such as a complete catalogue of human variations. Our object-oriented C-based software library enables a developer to conveniently implement their own functionality on annotation graphs and to integrate it into larger workflows, simultaneously accessing compressed sequence data if required. The careful C implementation of the GenomeTools does not only ensure a light-weight memory footprint while allowing full sequential as well as random access to the annotation graph, but also facilitates the creation of bindings to a variety of script programming languages (like Python and Ruby) sharing the same interface.
A wearable stereo vision system for visually impaired

In recent years, a number of stereovision-capable devices emerge as travel aids for the visually impaired. However, these head-mounted devices are bulky and can only assist a user to avoid obstacles. In this paper, we detail a wearable stereovision system that can not only help avoid obstacles, but also stream real-time video feed via the 3G network. This wearable device is composed of an eyeglasses and a power-efficient embedded processing device. On one end, the eyeglasses carries two miniature cameras for the stereo-imaging. On the other end, we utilize a FPGA and FIFO buffers to synchronize and combine the stereo-images. Moreover, through a series of parallel programming techniques, we achieve a real-time stereo-matching on the embedded processor. In addition, the video captured by this system can be streamed to a mobile device over the 3G network. A prominent application of this device is that, the healthy sighted individual can make use of the live video feed to provide logistical guidance to a visually impaired user.
CLUES: a unified framework supporting interactive exploration of density-based clusters in streams

Although various mining algorithms have been proposed in the literature to efficiently compute clusters, few strides have been made to date in helping analysts to interactively explore such patterns in the stream context. We present a framework called CLUES to both computationally and visually support the process of real-time mining of density-based clusters. CLUES is composed of three major components. First, as foundation of CLUES, we develop an evolution model of density-based clusters in data streams that captures the complete spectrum of cluster evolution types across streaming windows. Second, to equip CLUES with the capability of efficiently tracking cluster evolution, we design a novel algorithm to piggy-back the evolution tracking process into the underlying cluster detection process. Third, CLUES organizes the detected clusters and their evolution interrelationships into a multidimensional pattern space - presenting clusters at different time horizons and across different abstraction levels. It provides a rich set of visualization and interaction techniques to allow the analyst to explore this multi-dimensional pattern space in real-time. Our experimental evaluation, including performance studies and a user study, using real streams from ground group movement monitoring and from stock transaction domains confirm both the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed CLUES framework.
Optimal plaintiff incentives when courts are imperfect

The incentives of a plaintiff in a lawsuit are affected by a variety of legal rules. One leading example is the proportion of the fine imposed on the defendant that is awarded to the plaintiff. Another is the identity of the plaintiff himself: private litigants are motivated by the prospect of receiving damages, while government employed plaintiffs (such as public prosecutors and employees of regulatory agencies) are instead rewarded (if at all) by career advancement. The paper examines the interaction between court characteristics and plaintiff incentives on the deterrence provided by contracts/laws/regulations. It shows that a key determinant of the optimal level of plaintiff incentives is the extent to which a party arguing ``against the facts'' is able to influence the court. When such influence is possible, it is generally optimal to restrict plaintiff incentives. Implications for the use of split-award statutes, loser-pays rules, class action lawsuits, and public enforcement are discussed. In more general terms, the paper makes precise an avenue via which legal rules affect the efficacy of a legal system
Employee Job Satisfaction and Employees' Voluntary Turnover Intentions (VTIs)

Employee Job Satisfaction and Employees’ Voluntary Turnover Intentions (VTIs) by Bridgette Larkin-Perkins MBA, University of Phoenix, 2009 BBA, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2007 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration
The Possible Role of Epigenetics in Gestational Diabetes: Cause, Consequence, or Both

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as the glucose intolerance that is not present or recognized prior to pregnancy. Several risk factors of GDM depend on environmental factors that are thought to regulate the genome through epigenetic mechanisms. Thus, epigenetic regulation could be involved in the development of GDM. In addition, the adverse intrauterine environment in patients with GDM could also have a negative impact on the establishment of the epigenomes of the offspring.
MicroRNA profiling in hepatocellular tumors is associated with clinical features and oncogene/tumor suppressor gene mutations

Molecular classifications defining new tumor subtypes have been recently refined with genetic and transcriptomic analyses of benign and malignant hepatocellular tumors. Here, we performed microRNA (miRNA) profiling in two series of fully annotated liver tumors to uncover associations between oncogene/tumor suppressor mutations and clinical and pathological features. Expression levels of 250 miRNAs in 46 benign and malignant hepatocellular tumors were compared to those of 4 normal liver samples with quantitative reverse‐transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. miRNAs associated with genetic and clinical characteristics were validated in a second series of 43 liver tumor samples and 16 nontumor samples. miRNA profiling unsupervised analysis classified samples in unique clusters characterized by histological features (tumor/nontumor, P < 0.001; benign/malignant tumors, P < 0.01; inflammatory adenoma and focal nodular hyperplasia, P < 0.01), clinical characteristics [hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, P < 0.001; alcohol consumption, P < 0.05], and oncogene/tumor suppressor gene mutations [β‐catenin, P < 0.01; hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α (HNF1α), P < 0.01]. Our study identified and validated miR‐224 overexpression in all tumors and miR‐200c, miR‐200, miR‐21, miR‐224, miR‐10b, and miR‐222 specific deregulation in benign or malignant tumors. Moreover, miR‐96 was overexpressed in HBV tumors, and miR‐126* was down‐regulated in alcohol‐related hepatocellular carcinoma. Down‐regulations of miR‐107 and miR‐375 were specifically associated with HNF1α and β‐catenin gene mutations, respectively. miR‐375 expression was highly correlated to that of β‐catenin–targeted genes as miR‐107 expression was correlated to that of HNF1α in a small interfering RNA cell line model. Thus, this strongly suggests that β‐catenin and HNF1α could regulate miR‐375 and miR‐107 expression levels, respectively. Conclusion: Hepatocellular tumors may have a distinct miRNA expression fingerprint according to malignancy, risk factors, and oncogene/tumor suppressor gene alterations. Dissecting these relationships provides a new hypothesis to understand the functional impact of miRNA deregulation in liver tumorigenesis and the promising use of miRNAs as diagnostic markers. (HEPATOLOGY 2008.)
Molecular hydrogen polarization images of OMC-1

An image of the polarization of the shocked H2 v = 1-0 S(1) line emission in the core of OMC-1 has been obtained. Along the molecular outflow of the source, the line is dichroically polarized by a medium of aligned grains located between the earth and the shock fronts. The polarization pattern traces the magnetic field direction, which is parallel to the outflow axis and to the large-scale field direction determined from far-IR continuum measurements. Close to the IR source IRc2, the likely source of the outflow, the aligned vectors twist, indicating that the magnetic field direction changes. Modeling the line ratios of scattered H2 lines in the reflection nebula, it is concluded that the size distribution of grains there is typical of the small grains in the diffuse interstellar medium. By contrast, the scattered continuum radiation from the core region suggests that the grains there are larger than this. 33 refs.