Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of PDCD 1 gene polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis : an update meta-analysis

Background: A genome-wide scan has suggested a strongly significant association between chromosome 2q37 gene loci and susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and just right the programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1) gene is located on chromosome 2q37, but there is no precise conclusion existing. Aim: To derive a more precise evaluation the association of PDCD1 gene single nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs) with susceptibility to SLE and lupus nephritis (LN) through meta-analysis. Methods: EMBASE and PubMed were exhaustively searched for studies up to September 2015. Begg’s funnel plot and Egger’s test were performed to assess the publication bias of the literature, and sensitivity analyses were performed to identify heterogeneity. A fixedor a random-effects model was applied to calculate the pooled odds ratio (OR). Results: The results of the pooled analysis suggested that PD1.3 SNPs were significantly associated with the risk of SLE. When the studies were stratified by ethnicity, a significant association between PD1.3A/G and SLE was observed in Latin [OR=2.961, 95% CI=1.776-4.936, P<0.001], but not in Caucasian, African and Asian populations. The PD1.3A allele was a risk factor for LN both in overall and Caucasian descendants [overall: OR=1.776, 95% CI=1.290-2.444, P<0.001; Caucasian: OR=1.873, 95% CI=1.341-2.616, P<0.001]. Whereas, no significant associations were found between PD1.1, PD1.5 or PD1.6 SNPs and SLE. Conclusions: PD1.3A allele is associated with susceptibility to SLE and LN. However, more welldesigned studies with large sample size are needed to validate this association.
Whistle characteristics of common dolphins (Delphinus sp.) in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand

Quantifying the vocal repertoire of a species is critical for subsequent analysis of signal functionality, geographic variation and social relevance. Vocalisations of free-ranging common dolphins (Delphinus sp) have not previously been described from New Zealand waters. Herein, I present the first quantitative analysis of whistle characteristics to be undertaken on the New Zealand population. Acoustic data were collected in the Hauraki Gulf, Auckland between February 2008 and May 2009, during surveys from the tour boat Dolphin Explorer. Data were collected from 28 independent dolphin groups using PZ-1A hydrophone and MZ-NH700 digital audio disk. Recordings were analysed using Raven Pro 1.3 and whistles classified into seven contours containing 29 subtypes. A total of 105.1 minutes of recordings were collected involving 11,715 whistles. Vocalisations of New Zealand common dolphins spanned 3.2 to 23.00 kHz, with most whistles occurring between 11 and 13 kHz. The shortest and longest whistles recorded were 0.01 and 4.00 s (mean = 0.27, SD = 0.32), respectively. Of the twelve whistle types recorded, 82% have previously been recorded within U.K populations. Additional contours, apparently specific to New Zealand Delphinus were also identified. Of the 2,663 whistles analysed, downsweeps (35.9%) were the most frequent whistle type, followed by upsweeps (28.5%), constant (16.4%) and sine (7.0%) contours. Concave and convex contours were least observed within the New Zealand population, accounting for just 6.1% each. Of all the whistle types identified in Hauraki Gulf common dolphins, the least modulated subtypes were the most prevalent. Data presented here offer a first insight into the whistle characteristics of New Zealand common dolphins. Comparsions with previously studied populations reveal marked differences in the whistle frequency and modulation of the New Zealand population. Inter-population differences suggest behaviour and the local environment likely play a role in shaping the vocal repertoire of this species.
Model-driven Self-optimization Using Integer Linear Programming and Pseudo-Boolean Optimization

The development of self-optimizing software systems usually requires developers to apply optimization techniques manually, which is time consuming and prone to error. The application of model-driven software development combined with models at runtime takes this burden from developers by generating optimization problems using model transformations. In this paper, we present two such approaches applying integer linear programming and pseudoboolean optimization. Furthermore, we provide a scalability analysis of both approaches showing their feasibility for pipeand-filter applications. Keywords—self-adaptive systems; integer linear programming; pseudo-boolean optimization; MDSD
Reproductive and behavioral aspects of red-winged tinamous (Rhynchotus rufescens) in groups with different sex ratios

The aim of this research study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of tinamous submitted to five different male:female ratios. The study was carried out with 72 birds in a randomized experimental design with 4 replications. Tinamous were housed in cages, using the ratios of one (1:1), two (2:1), three (3:1) and four (4:1) females per male, and also one male was housed with three females individually (3R:1), in a rotational system. Reproductive records of the breeding season from September 2004 to March 2005 were used. The reproductive traits studied were: number of eggs laid, fertility, and percentage of eggs damaged and cracked by pecking. Nonparametric analyses of these traits were performed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Two replications of treatments 1:1 and 4:1, and one of treatment 2:1 were video-taped for three days, 12 hours/day. The videotapes were sampled according to the scan method to fit an ethogram. Birds were also watched for one hour per day to study dominance and agonistic behavior. None of the reproductive traits was affected by mating sex ratio (p<0.05). Female dominance could be related to displacement behavior (r=1.00), and male sitting in immobility plus sitting in activity behaviors were related to lower number of damaged eggs (r=-0.90). Social dominance was indirectly determined by displacement behavior in the study situation. A large number of damaged eggs occurred in all treatments, thereby not allowing a clear conclusion on the best male:female ratio.
YARATICI TURİZME KAVRAMSAL VE COĞRAFİ BİR YAKLAŞIM

Son yillarda, kuresel akimlarin etkisiyle ortaya cikan tekduzelik, yeni ve farkli turistik egilimlere ilgiyi artirmistir. Yeni yerler ve kulturler, farkli turizm turleri ve deneyimler, turizm talebinde birtakim degisimlere neden olmustur. 1980’lere kadar daha cok geleneksel kulturel turizm olarakadlandirabilecegimiz, antik kulturu, muzeleri ve tasinmaz varliklari ziyaret ile sinirlanan kulturel turizm, 1980’lerden sonra geleneksel kultur, cagdas kultur ve yasayan kultur ile butunlesen bir kulturel turizm modeline donusmustur. 2000’lerden sonra ise deneyim ve paylasim ekonomisinin urunu olarak “yereldeki gibi yasama” vurgusu ile pasif ziyaretten aktif yasama katilimin ve yaraticiligin one ciktigi kulturel turizm uygulamalari dikkat cekmistir. Turizm, modern donemdeki kitlesel niteliginden uzaklasarak bireysellik on plana cikmis ve turistlerin bireysel gorus ve beklentilerini yansitan, onlarin isteklerini ve duyarliliklarini yanitlayan yaratici turistik urunlere ilgi artmistir. Yaratici turizm kavrami; bir bolgenin ozgun kulturel mirasini ve sanatini, bolgede yasayan insanlarla yakin iliskiler kurarak ve etkin katilimla deneyimleyerek ogrenme imkâni sunan surdurebilir bir turizm sekli olarak tanimlanabilir. Yaratici turizmi klasik kulturel turizmden ayiran en onemli ozellikleri “etkin katilim”, “deneyimleyerek ogrenme”, “yaratici potansiyel-beceri gelistirme” ve “yerel halk ile yakin iliskiler”dir. Bu baglamda calismanin amaci; surdurulebilirlik, yerel kulturturist- mekân etkilesimi, bolgesel kalkinma ve cografya ile yakindan iliskili olan yaratici turizm kavramini turizm cografyasi yaklasimi ile degerlendirmektir. Bu amacla ulusal ve uluslararasi yazin taramasi yapilarak yaratici turizm kavramsal olarak ele alinmis ardindan yaratici turizm uygulamalari ornekleriyle anlatilmaya calisilmistir.
Is prediction necessary to understand language? Probably not

ABSTRACT Some recent theoretical accounts in the cognitive sciences suggest that prediction is necessary to understand language. Here we evaluate this proposal. We consider arguments that prediction provides a unified theoretical principle of the human mind and that it pervades cortical function. We discuss whether evidence of human abilities to detect statistical regularities is necessarily evidence for predictive processing and evaluate suggestions that prediction is necessary for language learning. We point out that not all language users appear to predict language and that suboptimal input makes prediction often very challenging. Prediction, moreover, is strongly context-dependent and impeded by resource limitations. We also argue that it may be problematic that most experimental evidence for predictive language processing comes from “prediction-encouraging” experimental set-ups. We conclude that languages can be learned and understood in the absence of prediction. Claims that all language processing is predictive in nature are premature.
An Entropy-Based Approach for Preserving Diversity in Evolutionary Topical Search

Topic-based information retrieval is the process of matching a topic of interest against the resources that are indexed. An approach for retrieving topicrelevant resources is to generate queries that are able to reflect the topic of interest. Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms have demonstrated great potential to deal with the problem of topical query generation. In an evolutionary approach to topic-based information retrieval the topic of interest is used to generate an initial population of queries, which is evolved towards successively better candidate queries. A common problem with such an approach is poor recall due to loss of genetic diversity. This work proposes a novel strategy inspired on the information theoretic notion of entropy to favor population diversity with the aim of attaining good global recall. Preliminary experiments conducted on a large dataset of labeled documents show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.
Detection of Aflatoxin M 1 in Pasteurized Canned Milk and Using of UV Radiation for Detoxification

-The current study was designed to investigate the presence of aflatoxin M1 in 25 samples of pasteurized canned milk which collected randomly from some Iraqi local markets using ELISA technique. Aflatoxin M1 was present in 21 samples, the concentration of aflatoxin M1 ranged from (0.25-50 ppb). UV radiation (365nm wave length) was used for detoxification of aflatoxin M1 (sample with highest concentration /50 ppb of aflatoxin M1 in two different volumes ((25 & 50 ml)) for two different time (15 & 30 min) and 30, 60, 90 cm distance between lamp and milk layer were used for this purpose). Results showed that distance between lamp and milk layer was the most effective parameter in reduction of aflatoxin M1, and whenever the distance increase the effect also increase. KeywordsAflatoxin M1, detection, Milk, UV radiation, Detoxification
Intraspecific dietary variation in the short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis in the Bay of Biscay: importance of fat fish

Investigations of trophic interactions between marine mammals and marine resources typically use trophic models that are based on food composition, energy content of the prey and energy requirements of the predators. Although the diets are known to vary intraspecifically accord- ing to year, season, sex and age, this variation is rarely taken into account in published models. The aim of the present study was to assess the diet of the short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus del- phis in the Bay of Biscay (France), examine intraspecific dietary variation and explore its effects on calculated daily food intake. Stomach contents were analysed from 71 common dolphins stranded along the French coast between 1999 and 2002. The composition of the fresh fraction of the diet was quantified by occurrence, relative abundance, reconstructed mass and prey size distributions for all prey taxa. Overall, the most important prey species were sardine, anchovy, sprat and horse mackerel, which represented 44.9, 22.6, 8.0 and 5.0% by mass of the fresh diet, respectively. The diet composi- tion displayed significant variation in relation to season and sex/maturity status, in terms of both prey species composition and prey size distributions. Temporal variation in diet composition was interpreted in relation to prey availability in the Bay of Biscay. Because different prey types have different energetic values, changes in diet composition could lead to changes in the estimated total biomass needed to fulfil energetic requirements. In spite of the main prey species varying ex- tensively, estimated daily food intakes changed relatively little because all diets included a high proportion of fat fish (73 to 93% by mass).
UNIVERSAL ANDROID REMOTE CONTROLLER : AN IoT BASED SMART HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEM

Smart home automation technology is an application of IoT. Using this, controller is used to control home devices or appliances (inside or outside) in a smart home. With numerous connected devices and appliances, there is a difficulty in operating as complexity increases due to various controllers comprising of several buttons and is not User-friendly. It is also noticed that complicated formats and functions used for controlling home appliances may produce large transmission messages e.g., eXtensible Markup Language (XML) messages, for these kind of things a universal remote console are constructed to increase the convenience of the smart home control system. On the other hand, with unnecessary, nonfunctional, and even useless functions or buttons appear on the screen of the controller, a higher probability of incorrect operations may be generated when controlling appliances. The idea of universal remote controller (URC) is introduced to integrate multiple functions of home devices or appliances into a single remote controller. A unique intelligent universal remote controller (Command-Based, Voice-Based) is designed in order to simplify these problems and resolve the issue of multiple remote controllers. A sensor based technology is used to create a Wireless Home Automation System (WHAS) where devices are controlled and managed by sensors (LDR, Gas, Temperature, Humidity etc.,) and a URC. Sensors are used to control a device or appliances and can also generate an alert upon the detection of abnormal conditions. The proposed system is implemented in a mobile phone device which supports Android operating system which has several open source Universal Plug-n-Play libraries useful for development and implementation of UI. Therefore, the device or appliance can be automatically detected via a network (Wi-Fi) and a UI is dynamically generated from descriptions and properties of the device or appliance. An android smart phone device is used as a Universal Remote Controller (URC) for controlling all the devices or appliances in and around the home area.
Rapid Prototyping of Microgrid Controllers for Autonomous and Grid-Connected Operation

This project aimed to design a controller for a microgrid that would maintain a desired frequency and voltage throughout several steps. These were disconnecting the microgrid to islanded mode, shifting the phase angle with respect to the main grid and finally reconnecting the grids. Four different scenarios were executed. The first one without the controller, two with different loads and one with renewable energy. A PIregulator was implemented in a Raspberry PI which served as controller. The results showed that the first scenario without a controller ended up with instability. Once the PI-regulator was installed the full simulation could be completed properly, except slightly too high overshoot on the voltage with renewable energy sources installed. Consequently the goal was achieved and the controller performed the requested tasks. Regarding the scenario with renewable energy the controller would need some adjustments to regulate the voltage properly.
Depth Two (n-2)-Majority Circuits for n-Majority

We present an explicit construction of a MAJn−2 ◦MAJn−2 circuit computing MAJn for every odd n ≥ 7. This gives a partial solution to an open problem by Kulikov and Podolskii (Proc. of STACS 2017, Article No.49).
Detecting Trends in Job Advertisements

We present an automatic method for trend detection in job ads. From a job-posting website, we collect job ads from 16 countries and in 8 languages and 6 job domains. We pre-process them by removing stop words, lemmatising and performing cross-domain ﬁltering. Then, we improve the vocabulary by forming n-grams and restrict it by ﬁltering based on named-entity and part-of-speech tags. We split the job ads to compare two time periods: the ﬁrst halves of 2016 and 2017. A trending word is deﬁned as a word with a higher TF-IDF weight in 2017 than in 2016. The results obtained show a close correlation between the position of a word in its text and its trendiness regardless of country, language or job domain.
Triple primary cancer of the head and neck, skin and prostate: A case report and literature review

Second primary cancer (SPC) is an important prognostic factor for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC); therefore, the association between the prognosis and development of SPC has been well-reported. The use of 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is valuable to examine cancer stage, evaluate treatment responses and investigate suspected relapses or metastases. In the present study, the case of a male patient who was diagnosed with three primary cancer types, including well to moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the mandible, axillary cutaneous poorly differentiated SCC and prostate adenocarcinoma, was described. Among these, mandible cancer was the first diagnosed when the patient was 70 years of age. Synchronous skin and prostate cancer (PRC) types then developed 3 years later. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the aforementioned combination of cancer types. Postoperative FDG-PET was not performed as no lesions of recurrence or metastases of mandible cancer were found. Three years later, the PRC was asymptomatic and was incidentally detected by FDG-PET performed for a preoperative evaluation of skin cancer. It was indicated that FDG-PET could be utilized in patients with HNC due to there being no accurate FDG-PET protocol to detect SPC over a long-term follow-up.
Expanding a Motion Controlled Game With Focus on Maintainability

Motion controlled games can be a good physical activity for children, but the game has to be fun and engaging. We have, with a starting point in an existing base game, developed an achievement module which follows certain code standards to make it easier to understand, and to make hand overs of the code smoother. More work on the rest of the game has also been done to make it more engaging, while clean up of the existing code to follow the same standards. Author
Efficacy of Microperimetric Biofeedback after Retinal Detachment

Background: To evaluate visual recovery after rehabilitation with microperimetric biofeedback in patients submitted to surgery for retinal detachment. Methods: We have randomly divided 44 eyes of 44 patients after surgery for retinal detachment into two group: group A, 23 eyes, submitted to biofeedback training with microperimetry MP-1, 10 training sessions, once a week, ten minutes for each eye; group B (control group), 21 eyes, treated with common care strategy. We have compared best correct visual acuity (BCVA) of two groups at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks with Student’s t test. Results: At baseline the mean BCVA was 0.6 ± 0.43 logMAR in group A and 0.66 ± 0.67 logMAR in group B (p=0.74). At 6 weeks after training the mean BCVA of group A was 0.27 ± 0.29 logMAR significantly better (p=0.02) than group B (0.67 ± 0.67 logMAR). At 12 weeks the mean BCVA was 0.18 ± 0.25 logMAR in group A better than the control group in which the mean BCVA was 0.60 ± 0.66 logMAR (p=0.01). At 18 weeks visual performances were still better in biofeedback group than in group B (p=0.01) in which the mean BCVA was 0.58 ± 0.68 logMAR. Conclusions: Microperimetric biofeedback allowed a better and faster visual recovery after surgery for retinal detachment than normal condition.
Self-improving property of degenerate parabolic equations of porous medium-type

Abstract:We show that the gradient of solutions to degenerate parabolic equations of porous medium-type satisfies a reverse H\"older inequality in suitable intrinsic cylinders. We modify the by-now classical Gehring lemma by introducing an intrinsic Calder\'on-Zygmund covering argument, and we are able to prove local higher integrability of the gradient of a proper power of the solution $u$.
The Induced Charge Computation Method and its Application in Monte Carlo Simulations of Inhomogeneous Dielectric Systems

In a recent publication we have introduced the induced charge computation (ICC) method for the calculation of polarization charges induced on dielectric boundaries. It is based on the minimization of an appropriate functional. The resulting solution produces an integral equation that is transformed into a linear matrix equation after discretization. In this work, we discuss the effect of careful calculation of the matrix element and the potential by treating the polarization charges as constant surface charges over the various surface elements. The correct calculation of these quantities is especially important for curved surfaces where mutual polarization of neighboring surface elements is considerable. We report results for more complex geometries including dielectric spheres and an ion channel geometry with a surface of revolution.
Estimating Snow Water Equivalent Using Snow Depth Data and Climate Classes

Abstract In many practical applications snow depth is known, but snow water equivalent (SWE) is needed as well. Measuring SWE takes ∼20 times as long as measuring depth, which in part is why depth measurements outnumber SWE measurements worldwide. Here a method of estimating snow bulk density is presented and then used to convert snow depth to SWE. The method is grounded in the fact that depth varies over a range that is many times greater than that of bulk density. Consequently, estimates derived from measured depths and modeled densities generally fall close to measured values of SWE. Knowledge of snow climate classes is used to improve the accuracy of the estimation procedure. A statistical model based on a Bayesian analysis of a set of 25 688 depth–density–SWE data collected in the United States, Canada, and Switzerland takes snow depth, day of the year, and the climate class of snow at a selected location from which it produces a local bulk density estimate. When converted to SWE and tested against t.