Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association Between a 50bp Ins/Del Genetic Variation at Promoter of the Superoxide Dismutase-1 (SOD1) and the Risk of Dependency to Opium and Methamphetamine

Superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1, OMIM: 147450, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase) is one of the major antioxidant enzymes, which plays an important role in clearance of reactive oxygen species. A common genetic polymorphism of 50 bp insertion/deletion (Ins/Del) in the promoter region of the SOD1 has been reported. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between this polymorphism and the risk of opium (OD) and methamphetamine (MD) dependency. The present report was consisted of two casecontrol studies. The first study consisted of 143 OD subjects and 570 healthy controls. The second study consisted of 65 cases with MD and 635 controls. The controls were selected randomly from the healthy blood donors. Genotyping were carried out using PCR based method. Statistical analysis indicated that neither the Ins/Del (OR=1.06, 95% CI: 0.69-1.62, P=0.788) nor the Del/Del (OR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.13-2.55, P=0.464) genotypes were associated with the risk of OD. Although the frequency of the Ins/Del genotype was lower among methamphetamine-dependent persons compared to healthy control subjects, there was no significant association between the Ins/Del polymorphism and the risk of MD (OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.44-1.53, P=0.547). The present findings demonstrated that the SOD1 50bp Ins/Del polymorphism is not associated with the risk of OD and MD. © 2018 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. Acta Med Iran 2018;56(10):635-639.
Аннотація: Статтю присвячено питанням підвищення якості підготовки су- часних конкурентоспроможних фахівців у вищій школі. У роботі представлений ав- торський погляд на структуру та критерії лідерських компетентностей. У центрі уваги перебувають способи розвитку лідерських компетентностей в ак

The article is dedicated to improving the quality of the preparation of future competitive engineers in higher education. The paper presents the author's view of the structure and criteria of leadership competencies. The focus is on the ways to develop leadership competencies in the academic environment and modern methods for assessing leadership skills. The significance of leadership as a systemic competence of the future specialist was introduced on the basis of the theoretical and practical experience in pedagogy, psychology and management. The results of psychological and pedagogical research on leadership competencies development of future professionals in the academic environment of the technical university are discussed in the article.
Consumption in Precancerous Epithelial Tissues Metabolic Changes Related to Enhanced Glycolysis and Glutamine Endogenous Two-Photon Fluorescence Imaging Elucidates

Alterations in the balance between different metabolic pathways used to meet cellular bioenergetic and biosynthetic demands are considered hallmarks of cancer. Optical imaging relying on endogenous fluorescence has been used as a noninvasive approach to assess tissue metabolic changes during cancer development. However, quantitative correlations of optical assessments with variations in the concentration of relevant metabolites or in the specific metabolic pathways that are involved have been lacking. In this study, we use high-resolution, depthresolved imaging, relying entirely on endogenous two-photon excited fluorescence in combination with invasive biochemical assays andmass spectrometry to demonstrate the sensitivity and quantitative nature of optical redox ratio tissue assessments. We identify significant differences in the optical redox ratio of live, engineered normal and precancerous squamous epithelial tissues. We establish that while decreases in the optical redox ratio are associated with enhanced levels of glycolysis relative to oxidative phosphorylation, increases in glutamine consumption to support energy production are associated with increased optical redox ratio values. Such mechanistic insights in the origins of optical metabolic assessments are critical for exploiting fully the potential of such noninvasive approaches tomonitor and understand important metabolic changes that occur in live tissues at the onset of cancer or in response to treatment. Cancer Res; 74(11); 3067–75. 2014 AACR.
Sockeye 2: A Toolkit for Neural Machine Translation

We present Sockeye 2, a modernized and streamlined version of the Sockeye neural machine translation (NMT) toolkit. New features include a simplified code base through the use of MXNet’s Gluon API, a focus on state of the art model architectures, and distributed mixed precision training. These improvements result in faster training and inference, higher automatic metric scores, and a shorter path from research to production.
Estimation of the Particle Sizing Error Due to Particle Position in an Integrated PM2.5 Optical Particle Counter

An increasing need for portable personal time- and size-resolved monitoring of the fine airborne particulate matter drives the development towards miniaturization and cost reduction of the optical particle counters. In an integrated design of the optical particle counters, the confinement of the air is becoming more critical, since variations in particle positions are getting bigger relative to the dimensions of the sensor. Variations in particle position directly affect the light collection angle and hence induce the particle sizing error. We have developed a 3D simulation framework based on a Lorentz-Mie theory and analyzed the effect of particle position on the particle sizing error. We show that the relative sizing error induced by particle position is detrimental and seriously limits the sizing performance of downscaled PM2.5 sensors.
RESTRICTED NEYMAN-PEARSON APPROACH BASED SPECTRUM SENSING IN COGNITIVE RADIO SYSTEMS

RESTRICTED NEYMAN-PEARSON APPROACH BASED SPECTRUM SENSING IN COGNITIVE RADIO SYSTEMS Esma Turgut M.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Sinan Gezici June 2012 Over the past decade, the demand for wireless technologies has increased enormously, which leads to a perceived scarcity of the frequency spectrum. Meanwhile, static allocation of the frequency spectrum leads to under-utilization of the spectral resources. Therefore, dynamic spectrum access has become a necessity. Cognitive radio has emerged as a key technology to solve the conflicts between spectrum scarcity and spectrum under-utilization. It is an intelligent wireless communication system that is aware of its operating environment and can adjust its parameters in order to allow unlicensed (secondary) users to access and communicate over the frequency bands assigned to licensed (primary) users when they are inactive. Therefore, cognitive radio requires reliable spectrum sensing techniques in order to avoid interference to primary users. In this thesis, the spectrum sensing problem in cognitive radio is studied. Specifically, the restricted Neyman-Pearson (NP) approach, which maximizes the average detection probability under the constraints on the minimum detection and false alarm probabilities, is applied to the spectrum sensing problem in cognitive radio systems in the presence of uncertainty in the prior probability distribution of
Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Melon by Grafting

Identification of rootstocks capable of improving the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of the scion could reduce N fertilization and nitrate leaching; however, screening different graft combinations under field conditions can be costly and time-consuming. This study evaluated a rapid and economical methodology for screening of melon rootstocks for NUE. Two experiments were designed. In the first, melon plants (Cucumis melo L. cv. Proteo) either ungrafted or grafted onto four commercial rootstocks: 'Dinero' and 'Jador' (Cucumis melo L.), 'P360', and 'PS1313' (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne x Cucurbita moschata Duchesne) grown in hydroponics were compared in terms of shoot dry biomass, leaf area, root-to-shoot ratio, SPAD index, shoot N uptake, and nitrate reductase (NR) activity at the early developmental stage in response to nitrate availability (0.5, 2.5, 5, 10, or 15 mM of NO 3 - ). The second experiment was aimed to confirm whether the use of a selected rootstock with high NUE ('P360') could improve crop performance and NUE of grafted melon plants under field conditions. In the first experiment, carried out under greenhouse conditions, melon plants grafted onto 'Dinero', 'Jador', and 'P360' rootstocks needed 5.7, 5.2, and 6.1 mM of NO 3 - , respectively, to reach half-maximum shoot dry weight, whereas plants grafted onto 'PS1313' rootstock and the control treatment (ungrafted plants) needed 9.1 and 13.1 mM of NO 3 - , respectively. Total leaf area, SPAD index, and shoot N uptake increased linearly and quadratically in response to an increase of the N concentration in the nutrient solution. At 2.5 m M of NO 3 - ; melon plants grafted onto both C. melo and Cucurbita maxima x Cucurbita moschata rootstocks had the highest NR activity, whereas no significant difference was observed at 10 mM of NO 3 - . In the second experiment, carried out under open field conditions, increasing the N fertilization rates from 0 to 120 kg·ha -1 increased the total and marketable yields of melon plants, whereas the NUE decreased. When averaged over N levels, the marketable yield, NUE, and N uptake efficiency were higher by 9%, 11.8%, and 16.3%, respectively, in 'Proteo' grafted onto 'P360' than in ungrafted 'Proteo' plants.
An Interaction-Admittance Model for Multi-Inverter Grid-Connected Systems

In modern power systems, the increasing penetration of renewables and power electronics, particularly inverter-based wind and solar power generation, is altering power system dynamics and bringing new stability concerns. One challenging issue that is attracting considerable attention is the wide range of power oscillations associated with multiple parallel grid-connected inverters. In such systems, the characteristics in terms of resonance and oscillation are significantly different from single-inverter systems. This paper investigates the mutual interaction and stability issues of multiple grid-interfacing inverters with LCL-filters in power-electronics-based power systems under various grid conditions. The investigation reveals that such interactions between power inverters and the grid may excite multiple resonances at various frequencies under certain grid conditions. The nodal admittance matrix concept, which was originally from power systems engineering, is adopted here. Moreover, this paper further develops an Interaction-Admittance model that can effectively describe these mutual interactions in terms of a physical network admittance. We apply our model to various scenarios such as stiff grid conditions and inductive grids with/without power factor correction capacitors. The results with the proposed framework demonstrate an intuitive interpretation of multi-inverter system resonance and instabilities. Finally, simulations and experiments on a lab-scale system are provided to verify the theoretical analysis.
ECFIN COUNTRY FOCUS

Record growth in UK house prices since 1997 is partly explained by rising average incomes and falls in mortgage interest rates. Non-price loosening of mortgage credit conditions appears to have further contributed to rapid lending growth, partly in the sub-prime market segment. Despite strong population growth and even faster household formation rates since the mid-1990s, increases in housing supply managed to keep pace with greater demand for housing units until 2000, with structural supply weaknesses in particular related to the UK planning system becoming more apparent thereafter. Current government targets for increased longterm housing supply appear challenging, necessary though they are. A downward adjustment of house prices may continue, as in late 2008 house prices are still above levels that could be judged consistent with housing market equilibrium, however defined.
Rethinking Social Action. Core Values in Practice Students’ Perception Concerning Gender Equality as a Strong Responsible Research and Innovation Dimension

In education, the gender equality (which lets to ensure educational equality between boys and girls) have sparked great interest and provoked intensive discussions amongst various education stakeholders since ancient times. Thus, from the historical perspective, the traditional pedagogy the magistrocentrist paradigm was performed differently, in relation to gender dimension, taking also into account aspects related to differentiation of the education in report to social, political, economic and cultural context. Several aspects concerning the differentiation of the educational phenomenon in relation to gender dimension envisage: access of individuals to various forms of education, learning contents that include messages that leverages explicitly or implicitly gender characteristics, school performances in different subjects, forms of organization and duration of studies towards a particular career, valences of teachers who train girls or boys. In this respect, the paper aims to identify the students’ perceptions about gender equality and its valuing in the own educational routes. More, the level of understanding of the gender dimension as part of the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) paradigm is explored. A questionnaire containing 4 items was designed and applied to students enrolled in different university professional paths, but who are also involved in the psycho-pedagogical study programme (level I). In addition, the students were introduced in the RRI processes, with the view to emphasize its importance for the needs and expectations of the actual society. 1 Prof. Ph.D., Valahia University Targovişte, Romania, ggorghiu@gmail.com. 2 Lect. Ph.D., Valahia University Targoviste, Romania, anapetrescu2007@yahoo.com. 3 Assoc. Prof. Ph.D., Valahia University Targoviste, Romania, lgorghiu@gmail.com. 4 Assoc. Prof., Ph.D., Valahia University Targoviste, Romania, dumitrescucrinela@yahoo.com. * Corresponding author. Gabriel GORGHIU, et. al. | LUMEN Proceedings 1 | RSACVP2017 298
Connections as Jumps : Estimating Financial Interconnectedness from Market Data ∗

I develop a new methodology for finding evidence of interconnectedness between financial institutions using readily available market price data. I argue that the classic endogeneity problem that arises when using contemporaneous price movements can be avoided by focusing on connections that trigger substantial spillovers upon default. I show that, under appropriate identification assumptions, regressing jump-like default risk on non-jump-like default risk recovers evidence of direct and indirect exposures. In my empirical work, I adapt existing techniques for estimating jump risk to a model in which the firm is a levered claim on a latent asset, and use equity, equity options, and credit default swap data on large US financial institutions to isolate jump-risk. Applying the methodology to the largest financial firms during the 2008 Financial Crisis, I find estimates of connections that are consistent with anecdotal evidence. My estimates further show that, during this period, default at connected firms would have lead to broad spillovers to the rest of the system, rather than isolated spillovers to a handful of firms. The methodology developed in the paper provides a new tool for monitoring the financial sector using contemporaneous market data.
EEG epileptic seizure detection and classification based on dual-tree complex wavelet transform and machine learning algorithms

The visual analysis of common neurological disorders such as epileptic seizures in electroencephalography (EEG) is an oversensitive operation and prone to errors, which has motivated the researchers to develop effective automated seizure detection methods. This paper proposes a robust automatic seizure detection method that can establish a veritable diagnosis of these diseases. The proposed method consists of three steps: (i) remove artifact from EEG data using Savitzky-Golay filter and multi-scale principal component analysis (MSPCA), (ii) extract features from EEG signals using signal decomposition representations based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD), discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) allowing to overcome the non-linearity and non-stationary of EEG signals, and (iii) allocate the feature vector to the relevant class (i.e., seizure class "ictal" or free seizure class "interictal") using machine learning techniques such as support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The experimental results were based on two EEG datasets generated from the CHB-MIT database with and without overlapping process. The results obtained have shown the effectiveness of the proposed method that allows achieving a higher classification accuracy rate up to 100% and also outperforms similar state-of-the-art methods.
Physicochemical Characterization of Argon Plasma-Treated Starch Film

Cold plasma is a novel non-thermal technology for the food and packaging industry. In this study, the effects of argon glow discharge plasma on the mechanical properties, surface topography, chemical composition, film hydrophilicity, film solubility, and barrier properties of the starch films were examined. Plasma treatment improved Tensile Strength (TS) of the starch film. In contrast to TS, elongation at the break of the plasmatreated films remained unchanged. The surface roughness of starch film increased after plasma treatment. An apparent increase in the surface hydrophilicity was observed due to formation of oxygen-containing polar groups. FTIR analysis confirmed the increase in the oxygen containing groups in plasma-treated starch film. However, film surface hydrophilicity caused no significant change in the solubility of films. No significant difference was found in the barrier properties of the starch films. The evaluation of films modifications by glow discharge plasma will contribute to in-package decontamination studies of food products by plasma.
The Business Performance Evaluation of Securities Listed Companies Based on DEA Model

Under the macro background of rapid economic development, the market competition is increasingly fierce. As the main body of market competition, it is the first important issue for enterprises to improve their own economic efficiency in the face of increasingly fierce competition. DEA is a relatively effective tool to study the same type of departments’ revenue (or units), and it is also a very complete method to deal with a class of multi-objective decision-making problems in theory. In this paper, data envelopment analysis (DEA) and lingo software are used to effectively measure the performance of 8 listed companies through DEA analysis and scale return analysis.
Expansion and Brightness Changes in the Pulsar-wind Nebula in the Composite Supernova Remnant Kes 75

We report new Chandra X-ray observations of the shell supernova remnant Kes 75 (G29.7−0.3) containing a pulsar and pulsar-wind nebula (PWN). Expansion of the PWN is apparent across four epochs—2000, 2006, 2009, and 2016. We find an expansion rate between 2000 and 2016 of the northwest edge of the PWN of 0.249% ± 0.023% yr−1, for an expansion age R/(dR/dt) of 400 ± 40 yr and an expansion velocity of about 1000 km s−1. We suggest that the PWN is expanding into an asymmetric nickel bubble in a conventional Type IIP supernova. Some acceleration of the PWN expansion is likely, giving a true age of 480 ± 50 yr. The pulsar’s birth luminosity was larger than the current value by a factor of 3–8, while the initial period was within a factor of 2 of its current value. We confirm directly that Kes 75 contains the youngest known PWN, and hence the youngest known pulsar. The pulsar PSR J1846−0258 has a spindown-inferred magnetic field of 5 × 1013 G; in 2006, it emitted five magnetar-like short X-ray bursts, but its spindown luminosity has not changed significantly. However, the flux of the PWN has decreased by about 10% between 2009 and 2016, almost entirely in the northern half. A bright knot has declined by 30% since 2006. During this time, the photon indices of the power-law models did not change. This flux change is too rapid to be due to normal PWN evolution in one-zone models.
Complementarity of the Relevance-theoretic and Cognitive Linguistic Approaches to Metaphor Study: A Critical Review

This paper attempts to take a critical review of research work on the complementarity of the cognitive linguistic and relevance-theoretic approaches to metaphor study. Addressing the current concerns and problems of metaphor studies, the complementarity view demonstrates the cooperative potential of relevance-theoretic and cognitive linguistic approaches which will benefit metaphor studies and give full accounts of metaphor understanding and interpretation. In particular, the relevance-theoretic approach gives an account of ad hoc concept, emergent property and mental imagery which complements the cognitive linguistics and helps solve some issues in metaphor interpretation.
Magnitude and Predictors of Pneumonia among Under-Five Children in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Pneumonia is currently the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among under-five children in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Although these problems are easily preventable and treatable, it contributes to more than 18% of deaths of under-five children every year in Ethiopia. Regardless of these facts, there is a paucity of information regarding the magnitude and its predictors of pneumonia in Ethiopia. Therefore, the main objective of this review is to determine the pooled magnitude of pneumonia and its predictors among under-five children in Ethiopia. Methods The international databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were scientifically explored. Articles were also searched by examining the gray literature on institutional databases and by reviewing reference lists of already identified articles. We considered all primary studies reporting the magnitude of pneumonia among under-five children and its predictors in Ethiopia. We retrieved all necessary data by using a standardized data extraction format spreadsheet. STATA 14 statistical software was used to analyze the data, and Cochrane's Q test statistics and I2 test were used to assess the heterogeneity between the studies. Significant variability was found between the studies in such a way that a random-effect model was used. Result The pooled magnitude of pneumonia among under-five children was 20.68% (I2 = 97.9%; P ≤ 0.001) out of 12 studies in Ethiopia. Children who have unvaccinated (OR = 2.45), food cooking in the main house (OR = 2.46), vitamin A supplementation status (OR = 2.85), malnutrition (OR = 2.98), mixed breastfeeding (OR = 2.46), and child history of respiratory tract infection (OR = 4.11) were potential determinates of pneumonia. Conclusion and Recommendations. This review showed that the magnitude of pneumonia was relatively high. Hence, appropriate intervention on potential determinates such as health education on exclusive breastfeeding and nutrition, place of food cooking, increased immunization and vitamin A supplementation, and early control of respiratory tract infection was recommended to prevent those risk factors.