Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Re-evaluation of Sedimentary Thickness and Curie Point Depth (CPD) of Parts of Lower Benue Trough and Anambra Basin, Nigeria, Using Regional Magnetic Field Data

Spectral depth analysis has proven to be a veritable tool in characterizing the basement morphology. In an attempt to estimate the sedimentary thickness and the Curie Point Depth (CPD), several researches have been carried out. This study therefore re-appraised the sedimentary thickness and the Curie Point Depth (CPD) of parts of lower Benue trough and Anambra basin using spectral analysis of a high resolution aeromagnetic data covering the study area. For effective data analysis, processing and interpretation, the WingLink, ArcGIS softwares were used for qualitative interpretation while the MS excel, Surfer 10 and Origin Pro 8 Geophysical software’s were used for quantitative interpretation. The data was processed and converted in a format usable by the WingLink visualization software with the aid of the ArcGIS. The digitization was done in grid of 1 km x 1 km spacing and values of the total magnetic intensity, TMI, X (latitude) and Y (longitude) were picked at the intersection of the grid nodes. Regional-residual separation was applied on the TMI map which gave rise to the regional and residual maps. The gridding of the residual into sixteen overlapping grids was undertaken and then Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) performed on each of the grids or windows. The FFT decomposed the anomalies into its energy and frequency components and thereafter Log of energy spectrum against frequency was plotted. A straight line which aided in determining the depth models is visually fitted into the high and low frequency component of the energy curve. This research identified and proposed three depth source models, Zt, Zc, Zb. The depth due to the deep seated anomalous sources or the centriod depth (Zc) varies from 7.7 km to 12.0 km. On the other hand, the depth due to the shallow bodies or due to the top boundary of magnetic sources ranges between 0.5 km m to 3.1 km while the corresponding CPD ranges from 14.9 km to 23.0 km. The true or average depths for each of the respective windows were calculated and this varies between 4.1 km and 6.1 km. Generally, a true depth of 5.7 km was ascertained within the study area. However, the depth value of 5.7 km suggests relative sedimentary thickness within the study area.
Phase-based adaptive recompilation in a JVM

Modern JIT compilers often employ multi-level recompilation strategies as a means of ensuring the most used code is also the most highly optimized, balancing optimization costs and expected future performance. Accurate selection of code to compile and level of optimization to apply is thus important to performance. In this paper we investigate the effect of an improved recompilation strategy for a Java virtual machine. Our design makes use of a lightweight, low-level profiling mechanism to detect high-level, variable length phases in program execution. Phases are then used to guide adaptive recompilation choices, improving performance. We develop both an offline implementation based on trace data and a self-contained online version. Our offline study shows an average speedup of 8.7% and up to 21%, and our online system achieves an average speedup of 4.4%, up to 18%. We subject our results to extensive analysis and show that our design achieves good overall performance with high consistency despite the existence of many complex and interacting factors in such an environment.
Charles A . Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics Information Disclosure and Corporate Governance

In public-policy discussions about corporate disclosure, more is typically judged better than less. In particular, better disclosure is seen as a way to reduce the agency problems that plague firms. We show that this view is incomplete. In particular, our theoretical analysis shows that increased disclosure is a two-edged sword: More information permits principals to make better decisions; but it can, itself, generate additional agency problems and other costs for shareholders, including increased executive compensation. Consequently, there can exist a point beyond which additional disclosure decreases firm value. We further show that larger firms will tend to adopt stricter disclosure rules than smaller firms, ceteris paribus. Firms with better disclosure will tend, all else equal, to employ more able management. We show that governance reforms that have imposed greater disclosure could, in part, explain recent increases in both ceo compensation and ceo turnover rates.
An efficient multicast routing in IEEE 802.15.5 networks

The IEEE 802.15. 5 standard for WPAN mesh adds mesh links to a tree structure for efficient communications for unicast routing. However, for multicasting, the basic tree routing scheme which does not exploit mesh links is adopted, which leads to inefficient multicasting. In this paper, we propose ‘MTM (Multicast Tree with Mesh)’ routing scheme which leverages mesh links for multicast routing. The proposed scheme shows better performance than the basic tree routing of IEEE 802.15. 5 standard in terms of the number of participating nodes in multicast trees, control message overhead, and the number of data transmissions.
Soft-Actuated Modular Knee-Rehabilitation Device: Proof of Concept

Rehabilitation robotics is currently an open research area due to the necessity of having devices to support people with any impairment. According to the World Health Organization near 15% of world's population has some disability caused by accidents, chronic diseases, or other conditions. Rehab robots are aimed to simplify and improve people's quality of life and several characteristics are required, as safe human-robot interaction and more natural motions given by the actuation system. In this paper, we evaluate the design and implementation of a modular mechanism for knee rehabilitation, with soft actuation. The device can be used in sitting and lying positions for which the model changes, i.e. either a single pendulum or a five-bar linkage mechanism. The actuation will not be placed directly on the knee joint but at joints on the fixed link, to avoid undesired loading. We carry out in detail the latter kinematic model and give an insight of dynamics that in future will be used for controlling the structure. We validate the model and present results on simulation of the behavior of the links when giving a desired angular position and velocity to the actuated joints. Results suggest that the proposed system is feasible to be implemented with a proper control strategy or compensation for the link's position and stiffness.
Proposal for a scalable class of graphical models for Social Networks

This proposal is about new statistical machine learning approaches to detect evolving relationships among large numbers of entities. One example is the set of friendship relations among participants in Friendster. Three major recent developments make it an important area of study. First, there has been a dramatic increase in collection of data, providing input to a system that deduces an underlying social-network-like structure. Second, there are immediate uses for this technology in business, security and the social sciences. Third, the recent rapid growth in probabilistic and statistical approaches to tractable machine learning mean that it may be possible to analyze networks with millions of entities. Statistical models in traditional social network literature can manage at most a few hundred nodes. In this thesis I am planning to develop a new stochastic model for describing relations in a social network and evolution of those relations over time. Initial explorations led to the creation of an algorithm for structural search of Bayesian Networks from sparse data (Goldenberg and Moore, 2004). SBNS is a scalable search procedure that learns Bayes Nets from the binary events data, i.e. the estimation is based solely on information about which entities (variables) participated in the set of given events (records). I am planning to build on this work by analyzing the properties of the obtained links. Also, it is important to introduce secondary characteristics of the entities into the model, such as profession or location for people, to make sure that the strength of relationships between them is affected by their similarity or dissimilarity on a more personal level. This will be accomplished by incorporating the secondary information in the parameter estimation process. Finally, I am planning to extend the model to account for the evolution of the social networks over time.
The analysis of online insurance market potential based on the distribution fitting

Online insurance is the tendency of the insurance marketing method, but the development of China's online insurance is still at a relatively primary stage, even lacking a clear and objective understanding towards the online insurance market potential. Considering the importance of the market potential in the development of online insurance, this paper proposes a method based on data distribution fitting to estimate the market potential of China's online insurance in 2007, and finds that about 3% of the policy-holder may purchase insurance through the internet. This paper also estimates the market potential in 2004 in the same way, discovering China's online insurance market potential increases by 4 times over just three years. It shows great potential for online insurance in China, and the online insurance will be developed rapidly in the near future.
Networking projects on fruit flies between Europe and Africa

In 2014, funding for two networking projects with partners in Europe and Africa were approved. The first project, “ERAfrica FRUIT FLY”, is co-ordinated by Citrus Research International (CRI) in South Africa. Its main objectives are improving detection and monitoring methods for fruit flies, and identification of African fruit fly pests. Partnering institutions in the project are CIRAD (Reunion), Centre National de Recherche Agronomique - CNRA (Ivory Coast), and the Royal Museum for Central Africa - RMCA (Belgium). Trapping surveys with new and standard attractants are being conducted in South Africa and the Ivory Coast over two years. The CIRAD team focuses on screening fruit volatiles for monitoring of female fruit flies with poor response towards currently available food-based attractants. The RMCA team makes use of specimens and information obtained from trapping to test, modify and improve existing identification tools. The second networking project, entitled “FRUITFLYNET: Monitoring Network for fruit flies in South-eastern Africa” is funded by the Belgian Science Policy (BELSPO) and co-ordinated by RMCA. Partnering institutions are Stellenbosch University (South Africa), the Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania) and the Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique). All have ongoing fruit fly monitoring activities in their own countries which are diverse in nature. The main objective is to try to harmonize the different activities, and facilitate further interactions between them. This will be done through a number of meetings over a period of two years. Because of overlapping interests in both networks, there is a regular exchange of information between the partners by both groups through joint meetings. (Texte integral)
The expression of virulence genes in Listeria monocytogenes is thermoregulated

The expression of listeriolysin, a major virulence factor of the gram-positive facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, is positively regulated by a transcriptional activator, the prfA gene product. We had previously shown that mutations within the prfA gene lead to loss of listeriolysin production. In this communication, the regulation of expression of listeriolysin by a specific environmental condition, namely, temperature, was studied in wild-type strains of Listeria monocytogenes. We found that expression of the hemolysis phenotype was thermoregulated. A lisA::lacZ fusion was constructed, and its expression in the wild-type strain was studied at various growth temperatures. The results showed that the fusion beta-galactosidase activity was expressed only when cultures were grown at temperatures above 30 degrees C. This activity could be either specifically repressed or induced, depending on growth temperature. No change in activity was detected in a strain harboring a control beta-galactosidase fusion at the various growth temperatures tested. Northern (RNA) blot analysis of lisA-specific RNA transcripts showed that thermoregulation is manifested at the level of transcription. We also found that the transcription of other PrfA-regulated virulence genes in L. monocytogenes was similarly affected by growth temperature. Hence, as in other facultative intracellular pathogens, Shigella and Yersinia spp. , temperature is an important cue in the induction of expression of virulence genes in L. monocytogenes. Our studies revealed that a higher level of regulation is imposed on the PrfA-mediated activation of virulence genes in pathogenic L. monocytogenes.
Putative neurohemal release zones in the stomatogastric nervous system of decapod crustaceans

The stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) of decapod crustaceans has long been used to study the modulation of small neural circuits. Profiles in the sheath of the nerves and ganglia of the STNS, which contain only dense‐core vesicles, have been described in electron microscopical studies (Friend [1976] Cell Tissue Res. 175:369–380; Kilman and Marder [1997] Soc Neurosci Abstr. 23:477; Skiebe and Ganeshina [2000] J Comp Neurol 420:373–397). These profiles resemble those found in neurohemal organs and suggest the presence of neurohemal release zones in the STNS. To map these putative neurohemal release zones, a combination of two antibodies was used in the present study. A synapsin antibody recognizing vesicle proteins of clear vesicles was combined with a synaptotagmin antibody recognizing vesicle proteins of clear and dense‐core vesicles. Exclusive synaptotagmin‐like staining, therefore, indicated the regions with only dense‐core vesicles. Such a staining was found in a mesh in the perineural sheath of nerves in the STNS of all three species investigated. In the crayfish Cherax destructor and the lobster Homarus americanus, the stained mesh was located in the sheath of nerves connecting all four ganglia of the STNS, whereas in the crab Cancer pagurus it was found on different nerves, which are more directly exposed to the hemolymph in this species. Exclusive synaptotagmin‐like staining was also found in a putative neurohemal release zone in the sheath of the circumoesophageal connectives and the postoesophageal commissure in C. destructor. These data suggest that an important source of modulation of the networks and the muscles of the stomach is a compartmentalized release of neurohormones from zones in the STNS. J. Comp. Neurol. 453:280–291, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Parallel Branch‐and‐Bound Algorithms

1.1. INTRODUCTION In the beginning of the twenty-first century, large unsolved combinatorial optimization problems have been solved exactly. Two impressive cases should be mentioned. First are two instances of the Monde, Transfert) newspapers. This impressive media frenzy reflected the impact of the achievement, which was deemed of the same order of magnitude as the victory of IBMs parallel computer DeepBlue over the chess world champion Kasparov. Several factors combined to bring on these achievements. A first reason is the scientific progress in Operations Research, in particular regarding the quality of the lower bounds for these problems (cutting plane techniques for the TSP and convex quadratic programming for the QAP). The computation of these new bounds is very time consuming, however. Moreover, the bounds are computed at each node of a tree whose size is huge (several billions of nodes). The progress in processor computing power certainly contributed.
Erg28p is a key protein in the yeast sterol biosynthetic enzyme complex Published, JLR Papers in Press, July 1, 2005. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M500153-JLR200

Previously, a microarray expression study in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae indicated that the ERG28 gene was strongly coregulated with ergosterol biosynthesis. Subsequently, Erg28p was shown to function as an endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane protein, acting as a scaffold to tether the C-4 demethylation enzymatic complex and also to interact with a downstream enzyme, Erg6p. To understand all possible protein interactions involving Erg28p in sterol biosynthesis, a yeast two-hybrid system designed to assess interactions between membrane proteins was used. The Erg28p fusion protein was used as bait to assess interactions with all 14 sterol biosynthetic proteins in a pairwise study based on two reporter systems as well as Western blots demonstrating the release of a transcription factor. Our results indicated that Erg28p not only interacted with the C-4 demethylation enzymes and Erg6p but also with Erg11p and Erg1p. Interactions between Erg28p and seven ergosterol biosynthetic enzymes were confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Furthermore, by comparing the reporter gene expression levels, we demonstrate that Erg28p is most closely associated with Erg27p, Erg25p, Erg11p, and Erg6p and less with Erg26p and Erg1p. Based on these results, we suggest that many if not all sterol biosynthetic proteins may be tethered as a large complex.
Improved Oral Bioavailability of Lopinavir in Melt-Extruded Tablet Formulation Reduces Impact of Third Trimester on Lopinavir Plasma Concentrations

ABSTRACT Lopinavir exposure was reduced during the third trimester in pregnant women receiving standard dosing of the soft-gel capsule (SGC; 400/100 mg twice daily [b.i.d.]). Pharmacokinetic data on the lopinavir tablet in pregnancy are limited. On the basis of the tablet's improved bioavailability, standard dosing (400/100 mg b.i.d.) may provide adequate lopinavir exposure in pregnancy without a need for dose adjustment. Here we compared the total and unbound lopinavir pharmacokinetics throughout pregnancy in the second and third trimesters in HIV-infected women receiving standard dosing of the lopinavir SGC or tablet. Postpartum sampling was also performed in patients continuing therapy postdelivery. Blood samples were collected at 0 to 12 h postdosing, and lopinavir concentrations were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Nineteen patients were included: 8 received the SGC (cohort 1) and 11 received the tablet (cohort 2). Total lopinavir exposures in the third trimester were lower than those in the second trimester (35 and 28% for cohorts 1 and 2, respectively) and postpartum (35% for cohort 2). In the third trimester, the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) from 0 to 12 h (AUC0–12) and maximum concentration were ∼15% and 25% higher, respectively, for the lopinavir tablet than the SGC. One SGC patient had lopinavir concentrations of <1,000 ng/ml; all patients on the tablet had concentrations of >1,000 ng/ml. In cohort 2, the percentage of the AUC that was unbound was higher (nonsignificantly) in the second (1.28%) and third (1.18%) trimesters than postpartum (1.01%). Seventeen of 19 patients had an undetectable viral load at delivery. There were no HIV transmissions. Although lopinavir (tablet) exposures were reduced during the third trimester, the higher total and unbound concentrations achieved in women receiving the tablet than in women receiving the SGC suggest that the tablet's improved oral bioavailability may partly compensate for the reduction in lopinavir exposure during the later stages of pregnancy.
A Holistic User-Centered Approach to Immersive Digital Cultural Heritage Installations

This article deals with the design and implementation of an immersive installation where users could gesturally navigate around the wreck of Vrouw Maria, a Dutch merchant ship that sank near the Finnish coast in 1771 and was rediscovered in 1999. The installation was built for the Maritime Museum in Kotka, Finland, and is part of the preservation efforts of the wreck, which still remains underwater. In addition to the cultural heritage aspect, the project was an experiment in holistic user-centered design, where several design methods, such as scenarios, role playing and informance, storyboards, and prototyping, were employed throughout the process in order to envision the final product as well as assess their utility in the scope of immersive installations. The approach we have taken and documented here can be used as a starting point for similar projects where archaeological sites are reconstructed virtually and presented, for example, in a museum setting.
An Efficient Hardware Circuit for Spike Sorting Based on Competitive Learning Networks

This study aims to present an effective VLSI circuit for multi-channel spike sorting. The circuit supports the spike detection, feature extraction and classification operations. The detection circuit is implemented in accordance with the nonlinear energy operator algorithm. Both the peak detection and area computation operations are adopted for the realization of the hardware architecture for feature extraction. The resulting feature vectors are classified by a circuit for competitive learning (CL) neural networks. The CL circuit supports both online training and classification. In the proposed architecture, all the channels share the same detection, feature extraction, learning and classification circuits for a low area cost hardware implementation. The clock-gating technique is also employed for reducing the power dissipation. To evaluate the performance of the architecture, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) implementation is presented. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed circuit exhibits the advantages of a low chip area, a low power dissipation and a high classification success rate for spike sorting.
Prospective study of chemical exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background: Although environmental toxins, including pesticides, are suspected of contributing to the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), no data exist from large prospective investigations. This study assessed the association between exposure to chemicals and risk of ALS in a prospective cohort study. Methods: The relation between self-report of regular exposure to 11 different chemical classes or x rays and ALS mortality among over 1 million participants in the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II was prospectively assessed. Follow-up from 1989 through 2004 identified 617 deaths from ALS among men and 539 among women. Adjusted rate ratios (RR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards. Results: The RR for ALS mortality among individuals exposed to pesticides/herbicides compared with that among unexposed individuals was 1.07 (95% CI 0.79 to 1.44), but somewhat higher after excluding those with missing duration of pesticides exposure (RR 1.44; 95% CI 0.89 to 2.31; p = 0.14). A non-significant increase in ALS mortality was found among individuals who reported exposure to formaldehyde (RR 1.34; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.92). Excluding those with a missing duration of formaldehyde exposure, the RR was 2.47 (95% CI 1.58 to 3.86), and there was a strongly significant dose–response relation with increasing years of exposure (p trend = 0.0004). Conclusions: There was little evidence for any association between pesticides/herbicide exposure and ALS. In contrast, evidence was found, suggesting an increased risk of ALS with formaldehyde exposure. Because of the longitudinal design, this result is unlikely to be due to bias, but it should nevertheless be interpreted cautiously and needs to be verified independently.