Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Architectural Technical Debt : Models and Impact

A known problem in large software companies is to balance the prioritization of short-term with long-term responsiveness. To illustrate such a phenomenon, a financial metaphor has been coined, which relates taking sub-optimal decisions in order to meet short-term goals to taking a financial debt, which has to be repaid with interests in the long term. Such a concept is referred to as Technical Debt (TD), and recently it has been recognized as a useful basis for the development of theoretical and practical frameworks (Kruchten et al., 2012). Tom et al. (Tom et al., 2013) have explored the TD metaphor and outlined a first framework in 2013. Part of the overall TD is to be related to architecture sub-optimal decisions, and it’s regarded as Architecture Technical Debt (ADT). ATD is regarded as violations in the code towards an intended architecture. The problem of visualizing and communicating the ATD is particularly relevant for large companies, where the architecture documentation is not capable of capturing all the updated information for compliance checking of the source code. It’s therefore difficult, both for software architects and managers not involved directly in the development of parts of the system, to monitor and understand the level of current ATD. This, in turn, affects negatively their ability of taking informed decision about the prioritization of architectural improvements and refactorings and about estimating the time needed for product development. ATD has been recognized as part of TD, but the specific phenomenon of accumulation of ATD, its recovery to avoid the later payment of interest (in terms of effort) and the impact (effects) of such interest in future development has not been tackled yet.
The Pentacovalent Phosphorus Intermediate of a Phosphoryl Transfer Reaction

Enzymes provide enormous rate enhancements, unmatched by any other type of catalyst. The stabilization of high-energy states along the reaction coordinate is the crux of the catalytic power of enzymes. We report the atomic-resolution structure of a high-energy reaction intermediate stabilized in the active site of an enzyme. Crystallization of phosphorylated β-phosphoglucomutase in the presence of the Mg(II) cofactor and either of the substrates glucose 1-phosphate or glucose 6-phosphate produced crystals of the enzyme–Mg(II)–glucose 1,6-(bis)phosphate complex, which diffracted x-rays to 1.2 and 1.4 angstroms, respectively. The structure reveals a stabilized pentacovalent phosphorane formed in the phosphoryl transfer from the C(1)O of glucose 1,6-(bis)phosphate to the nucleophilic Asp8 carboxylate.
Combination of face recognition methods with watermarking technology for authentication of digital images

As the substantial challenge in providing security of digital images is owners authentication in many security schemes based on cryptography, steganography and watermarking technology, biometric recognition methods are introduced. In the sequel to these studies in presented methodology the combination of biometric recognition methods based on facial images with watermarking technology to perform automated authentication of digital images owners/users is elaborated. Presented approach involves computing reduced face image representation (feature vector) and embedding it in some cover image in a few watermarking schemes. The robustness of watermarking algorithms is measured by identification accuracy results obtained using neural networks (NN).
Prediction the Deformation in Upsetting Process by Neural Network and Finite Element

— In this paper back-propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) is employed to predict the deformation of the upsetting process. To prepare a training set for BPANN, some finite element simulations were carried out. The input data for the artificial neural network are a set of parameters generated randomly (aspect ratio d/h, material properties, temperature and coefficient of friction). The output data are the coefficient of polynomial that fitted on barreling curves. Neural network was trained using barreling curves generated by finite element simulations of the upsetting and the corresponding material parameters. This technique was tested for three different specimens and can be successfully employed to predict the deformation of the upsetting process
Spreading code protocols for distributed spread-spectrum packet radio networks

Spreading code protocols for a distributed spread-spectrum packet radio network are presented. A distributed single-hop system (i.e. each terminal can hear all other terminals) with the users approximately synchronized and a set of prespecified spreading codes are presented. The spreading code protocol is a policy for choosing a spreading code to be used, given that a terminal has a packet to send, and a policy for monitoring spreading codes, given that a terminal is idle. A slotted system where a packet occupies a number of slots is considered, and two protocols that involve changing the spreading code of a transmission after an initial header is transmitted are presented. In one protocol, the header is transmitted on a common code, and in the other it is transmitted on a receiver-based code, the rest of the packet being transmitted on a transmitter-based code. In the receiving mode, a terminal monitors either a common code, in the first case, or a receiver-based code in the latter. Upon recognizing its own address and the source address, the receiver dynamically switches to a despreading code corresponding to the source. Throughput results are obtained for the case of geometrically distributed packet lengths. >
Increased Escherichia coli enterotoxin detection after concentrating culture supernatants: possible new enterotoxin detectable in dogs but not in infant mice

The heat-stable enterotoxin (ST) of Escherichia coli can be detected by infant mouse or dog intestinal loop tests. These tests differ in that the dog assay uses concentrated culture supernatants and is based on measurements of net intestinal absorption, whereas the mouse test uses unconcentrated supernatants and depends on gross fluid accumulation. To compare the relative sensitivities of these assays, culture supernatants of randomly selected E. coli isolates from 34 Bangalee diarrhea patients were tested for ST in dog loops and infant mice. Supernatants were also tested for heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) in dog loops, Y-1 adrenal cells, and Chinese hamster ovary cells. E. coli supernatants that produced positive responses for both ST and LT in the dog loop assay (ST+/LT+) also produced positive responses when tested for ST in infant mice and for LT in cell lines. Supernatants of strains negative for ST and LT in dog loop (ST-/LT) were also negative in other assays. Of 10 strains positive for just ST in the dog loop test (ST+/LT-), only 5 were ST positive in the standard infant mouse test. Supernatants of the other five strains (dog loop positive, mouse test negative) were then concentrated 100-fold and retested in mice. Three of these five gave consistently positive results after concentration, and two were only intermittently positive. Concentrated supernatants of negative control strains (ST-/LT-) were all negative in mice. The dog assay detects more strains producing ST than the infant mouse test. The infant mouse test, which detects only gross fluid accumulation, failed to detect approximately half of the 10 strains which produced ST alone (ST+/LT-; P = 0.025). Concentrating supernatants for the mouse assay increases sensitivity for detection of ST, but certain E. coli strains produce a variety of ST to which infant mice do not respond.
What is thought?

In What Is Thought? Eric Baum proposes a computational explanation of thought. Just as Erwin Schrodinger in his classic 1944 work What Is Life? argued ten years before the discovery of DNA that life must be explainable at a fundamental level by physics and chemistry, Baum contends that the present-day inability of computer science to explain thought and meaning is no reason to doubt there can be such an explanation. Baum argues that the complexity of mind is the outcome of evolution, which has built thought processes that act unlike the standard algorithms of computer science and that to understand the mind we need to understand these thought processes and the evolutionary process that produced them in computational terms. Baum proposes that underlying mind is a complex but compact program that corresponds to the underlying structure of the world. He argues further that the mind is essentially programmed by DNA. We learn more rapidly than computer scientists have so far been able to explain because the DNA code has programmed the mind to deal only with meaningful possibilities. Thus the mind understands by exploiting semantics, or meaning, for the purposes of computation; constraints are built in so that although there are myriad possibilities, only a few make sense. Evolution discovered corresponding subroutines or shortcuts to speed up its processes and to construct creatures whose survival depends on making the right choice quickly. Baum argues that the structure and nature of thought, meaning, sensation, and consciousness therefore arise naturally from the evolution of programs that exploit the compact structure of the world.
Dissolution and absorption of caffeine from guarana

Abstract— The rate of release of caffeine from capsules of guarana was compared with that from capsules containing an equivalent amount of caffeine using the British Pharmacopoeia dissolution test apparatus. Determinations were carried out in media of pH 2 and 6·8 and caffeine concentrations in the dissolution fluid were determined by HPLC. No significant differences in release rates were found between the two preparations at either pH. The rate of absorption of caffeine across rat intestine using the everted gut was also compared for a guarana suspension and a solution containing an equivalent amount of caffeine. Experiments were carried out using fluids of pH 4·0 and 7·4. No significant differences in absorption between the two preparations were observed. These results show that the release and uptake of caffeine from guarana is the same as for preparations containing free caffeine.
Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy of Pancreatic Cancer Xenografts: TF10–90Y-IMP-288 Alone and Combined with Gemcitabine

Pancreatic cancer is a silent disease that most commonly presents in an already metastatic form. Current treatment options provide little survival benefit. Radiolabeled PAM4 IgG, a monoclonal antibody that recognizes a unique epitope associated with a mucin found almost exclusively in pancreatic cancer, has shown encouraging therapeutic effects in animal models and in early clinical testing (90Y-humanized PAM4 IgG, 90Y-clivatuzumab tetraxetan). The studies reported herein examine a new pretargeting procedure for delivering therapeutic radionuclides. Methods: We prepared a humanized, recombinant tri-Fab bispecific monoclonal antibody (bsmAb) (TF10) using specificity for targeting pancreatic cancer of PAM4 and another Fab binding to a hapten (histamine-succinyl-glycine [HSG]) and tested this in a pretargeting setting with a 90Y-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N′,N″,N‴-tetraacetic acid-di-HSG-peptide (pretargeted radioimmunotherapy [PT-RAIT]). Nude mice bearing established Capan-1 human pancreatic cancer xenografts were given TF10 and then received the 90Y peptide as a single bolus dose 19 h later, or the therapy cycle was fractionated weekly. Other studies examined different combinations with gemcitabine. Results: PT-RAIT of 18.5 MBq (∼50% of its maximum tolerated dose [MTD]) was as effective as the MTD of 90Y-PAM4 IgG (5.55 MBq). Three monthly doses of 9.25 MBq of PT-RAIT combined with a monthly cycle of gemcitabine (3 weekly, 6-mg doses) significantly enhanced survival, compared with PT-RAIT alone. Adding gemcitabine as a radiosensitizer to 9.25 MBq of PT-RAIT enhanced objective responses. Weekly fractionation of the PT-RAIT, as compared with a single treatment, improved responses. Conclusion: PAM4-based PT-RAIT with 90Y hapten peptide is an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer, with less toxicity than 90Y-PAM4 IgG, in this model. Combinations with gemcitabine and dose fractionation of the PT-RAIT enhanced therapeutic responses.
Concurrent Engineering - Past, Present and Future

Concurrent Engineering received much attention all over the world in the past two decades. The concept comprises integration of technology, but also of various functional areas within and between organisations with a strong focus on enterprise-wide processes. In addition, new forms of business have emerged, due to new technological developments. In the literature, much emphasis has been given to such new technological development, but the importance of applied research is increasingly being recognized. The concept of Concurrent Engineering has strongly developed over the years and has been given many different names. In the ISPE lecture to be presented at the conference, the development of the concept will be addressed, as demonstrated through the work published in the many proceedings of the CE conference. Various areas for current and future research and application will be presented, and reference made to the future relevance of concurrent engineering as a discipline.
Regulation of alpha-1 adrenergic receptor density and functional responsiveness in rat brain.

The effects of changes in norepinephrine availability on alpha-1 adrenergic receptor density and responsiveness were determined in several regions of rat brain. Receptor density was determined from specific 125I-BE 2254 binding, and responsiveness was determined by norepinephrine-stimulated increases in inositol phosphate accumulation and in cyclic AMP accumulation in the absence or presence of adenosine in slices where beta adrenergic receptors had been inactivated. Adrenergic input was reduced by destroying noradrenergic neurons with DSP-4, depleting amines with chronic reserpine treatment or blocking alpha-1 adrenergic receptors with chronic prazosin treatment. All three treatments caused similar increases in alpha-1 adrenergic receptor density in cerebral cortex but not in striatum or hippocampus. DSP-4 treatment increased the maximal cyclic AMP response to both norepinephrine and phenylephrine but did not alter the maximal inositol phosphate response or the maximal potentiation of the cyclic AMP response to adenosine. DSP-4 treatment also increased the potency of norepinephrine in activating all three responses in cerebral cortex. Adrenergic input was increased by chronic treatment with desmethylimipramine to block norepinephrine reuptake, chronic i.c. v. infusion of norepinephrine or chronic yohimbine treatment to block presynaptic autoreceptors. None of these treatments caused significant changes in alpha-1 adrenergic receptor density or functional responsiveness in any region studied. The results suggest that alpha-1 adrenergic receptor density and responsiveness in rat brain can be increased but not easily decreased. They also suggest that different brain regions are affected differently by alterations of adrenergic input and that the different responses are not coregulated.
Volitional Spine Stabilization During a Drop Vertical Jump From Different Landing Heights: Implications for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury.

CONTEXT Volitional preemptive abdominal contraction (VPAC) during dynamic activities may alter trunk motion, but the role of the core musculature in positioning the trunk during landing tasks is unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine whether volitional core-muscle activation incorporated during a drop vertical jump alters lower extremity kinematics and kinetics, as well as trunk and lower extremity muscle activity at different landing heights. DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. SETTING Clinical biomechanics laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Thirty-two young healthy adults, consisting of 17 men (age = 25.24 ± 2.88 years, height = 1.85 ± 0.06 m, mass = 89.68 ± 16.80 kg) and 15 women (age = 23.93 ± 1.33 years, height = 1.67 ± 0.08 m, mass = 89.68 ± 5.28 kg). INTERVENTION(S) Core-muscle activation using VPAC. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) We collected 3-dimensional ankle, knee, and hip motions, moments, and powers; ground reaction forces; and trunk and lower extremity muscle activity during 0.30- and 0.50-m drop vertical-jump landings. RESULTS During landing from a 0.30-m height, VPAC performance increased external oblique and semitendinosis activity, knee flexion, and knee internal rotation and decreased knee-abduction moment and knee-energy absorption. During the 0.50-m landing, the VPAC increased external oblique and semitendinosis activity, knee flexion, and hip flexion and decreased ankle inversion and hip-energy absorption. CONCLUSIONS The VPAC performance during landing may protect the anterior cruciate ligament during different landing phases from different heights, creating a protective advantage just before ground contact and after the impact phase. Incorporating VPAC during high injury-risk activities may enhance pelvic stability, improve lower extremity positioning and sensorimotor control, and reduce anterior cruciate ligament injury risk while protecting the lumbar spine.
Brain transient receptor potential channels and stroke

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels have been increasingly implicated in the pathological mechanisms of CNS disorders. TRP expression has been detected in neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and ependymal cells as well as in the cerebral vascular endothelium and smooth muscle. In stroke, TRPC3/4/6, TRPM2/4/7, and TRPV1/3/4 channels have been found to participate in ischemia‐induced cell death, whereas other TRP channels, in particular those expressed in nonneuronal cells, have been less well studied. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the expression and functions of the TRP channels in various cell types in the brain and our current understanding of TRP channels in stroke pathophysiology. In an aging society, the occurrence of stroke is expected to increase steadily, and there is an urgent requirement to improve the current stroke management strategy. Therefore, elucidating the roles of TRP channels in stroke could shed light on the development of novel therapeutic strategies and ultimately improve stroke outcome. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Double-Line-Frequency Ripple Model, Analysis, and Impedance Design for Energy-Stored Single-Phase Quasi-Z-Source Photovoltaic System

The battery energy-stored quasi-Z-source (BES-qZS)-based photovoltaic (PV) power generation system combines advantages of the qZS inverter and the battery energy storage system. However, the second-harmonic (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\text{2}}\omega $</tex-math></inline-formula>) power ripple degrades the system's performance and affects the system's design. An accurate model to analyze the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\text{2}}\omega $</tex-math></inline-formula> ripple is very important. The existing models did not consider the battery, or assumed a symmetric qZS network with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{{1}}= L_{{2}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{{1}}= C_{{2}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, which limits the design freedom and causes oversized impedance parameters. This paper proposes a comprehensive model for the single-phase BES-qZS-PV inverter system, where the battery is considered and there is no restriction of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $L_{{1}}= L_{{2}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{{1}}= C_{{2}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Based on the built model, a BES-qZS impedance design method is proposed to mitigate the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\text{2}}\omega $</tex-math></inline-formula> ripple with asymmetric qZS network. Simulation and experimental results verify the proposed <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> ${\text{2}}\omega $</tex-math></inline-formula> ripple model and impedance design method.
Principals’ Perceptions of the Importance and Availability of Response to Intervention Practices Within High School Settings

Abstract. Although many educational practices are being modified to meet the needs of all learners within elementary schools, there is a paucity of research and resources that explore the essential knowledge base and application of response to intervention within secondary settings. The purpose of this investigation was to explore (a) how important high school principals perceived response to intervention practices to be within secondary settings, and (b) if such practices currently were available within their respective school. Although exploratory in nature, the results of a nationally distributed survey indicated that high school principals perceive response to intervention to be important within their schools, but would require significant and complex change. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
Apprentissage supervisé de données symboliques et l'adaptation aux données massives et distribuées. (Supervised learning of Symbolic Data and adaptation to Big Data)

Cette these a pour but l'enrichissement des methodes supervisees d'analyse de donnees symboliques et l'extension de ce domaine aux donnees volumineuses, dites "Big Data". Nous proposons a cette fin une methode supervisee nommee HistSyr. HistSyr convertit automatiquement les variables continues en histogrammes les plus discriminants pour les classes d'individus. Nous proposons egalement une nouvelle methode d'arbres de decision symbolique, dite SyrTree. SyrTree accepte tous plusieurs types de variables explicatives et a expliquer pour construire l'arbre de decision symbolique. Enfin, nous etendons HistSyr aux Big Data, en definissant une methode distribuee nommee CloudHistSyr. CloudHistSyr utilise Map/Reduce pour creer les histogrammes les plus discriminants pour des donnees trop volumineuses pour HistSyr. Nous avons teste CloudHistSyr sur Amazon Web Services (AWS). Nous demontrons la scalabilite et l’efficacite de notre methode sur des donnees simulees et sur les donnees experimentales. Nous concluons sur l’utilite de CloudHistSyr qui , grâce a ses resultats, permet l'etude de donnees massives en utilisant les methodes d'analyse symboliques existantes.
Superparamagnetic core-shell nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles have been widely studied for various scientific and technological applications such as magnetic storage media, contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), biolabelling and separation of biomolecules, and magnetic targetted drug delivery. In the absence of surface coating, Fe3O4 nanoparticles tend to aggregate due to the Van der Waals forces coupled with the magnetic dipole-dipole attractions between the particles. In order to successfully prepare stable magnetite dispersions, any attractive forces between the nanoparticles must be overcome. In this study, magnetite nanoparticles have been prepared by chemical precipitation method. Gold (Au) and silver (Ag) are ideal coating for Fe3O4 nanoparticles due to their high chemical stability, biocompatibility, and their affinity for binding to amine/thiol terminal groups of organic molecules. In addition these coatings also render the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with plasmonic properties.