Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applied Koopmanism.

A majority of methods from dynamical system analysis, especially those in applied settings, rely on Poincaré's geometric picture that focuses on "dynamics of states. " While this picture has fueled our field for a century, it has shown difficulties in handling high-dimensional, ill-described, and uncertain systems, which are more and more common in engineered systems design and analysis of "big data" measurements. This overview article presents an alternative framework for dynamical systems, based on the "dynamics of observables" picture. The central object is the Koopman operator: an infinite-dimensional, linear operator that is nonetheless capable of capturing the full nonlinear dynamics. The first goal of this paper is to make it clear how methods that appeared in different papers and contexts all relate to each other through spectral properties of the Koopman operator. The second goal is to present these methods in a concise manner in an effort to make the framework accessible to researchers who would like to apply them, but also, expand and improve them. Finally, we aim to provide a road map through the literature where each of the topics was described in detail. We describe three main concepts: Koopman mode analysis, Koopman eigenquotients, and continuous indicators of ergodicity. For each concept, we provide a summary of theoretical concepts required to define and study them, numerical methods that have been developed for their analysis, and, when possible, applications that made use of them. The Koopman framework is showing potential for crossing over from academic and theoretical use to industrial practice. Therefore, the paper highlights its strengths in applied and numerical contexts. Additionally, we point out areas where an additional research push is needed before the approach is adopted as an off-the-shelf framework for analysis and design.
Working conditions and fatigue in professional truck drivers at Israeli ports

Background: Trucks represent 6% of all vehicles, but truck crashes account for 20% of road deaths in Israel, even though travel distances are usually short (<200 km) and overnight travel is uncommon. Objective: To determine occupational and individual predictors of fatigue, falling asleep at the wheel, and involvement in crashes with injuries and deaths in truck drivers. Setting and methods: We carried out field interviews of 160 port truck drivers regarding driver characteristics, workplace and driving conditions, employer-employee relations, medical conditions, sleep quality and fatigue, falling asleep at the wheel, and involvement in road crashes. Results: One day before interview, 38.1% of the drivers had worked more than the 12 hour legal limit. More than 30% reported falling asleep at the wheel recently, and 13% had prior involvement in a sleep related crash. Sixty seven (41.9%) drivers said that their employer forced them to work beyond the legal 12 hour daily limit. Involvement in a crash with casualties was associated with poor sleep quality (adjusted OR = 2.9; p = 0.042) and frequent difficulty finding parking when tired (OR = 3.7; p = 0.049). Self assessment of fatigue underestimated fatigue from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire. However fatigue occurred in many drivers without sleep problems and many crashes occurred without fatigue. Conclusions: Prevention requires measures to reduce work stresses, screening drivers, speed control, and modal shifts. The work risks and adverse outcomes of truck drivers in large countries with long overnight journeys occur in a small country with small distances, relatively short work journeys, and little overnight travel.
Applying Multiple Data Collection Tools to Quantify Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Communication on Twitter

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. There are several vaccines that protect against strains of HPV most associated with cervical and other cancers. Thus, HPV vaccination has become an important component of adolescent preventive health care. As media evolves, more information about HPV vaccination is shifting to social media platforms such as Twitter. Health information consumed on social media may be especially influential for segments of society such as younger populations, as well as ethnic and racial minorities. Objective The objectives of our study were to quantify HPV vaccine communication on Twitter, and to develop a novel methodology to improve the collection and analysis of Twitter data. Methods We collected Twitter data using 10 keywords related to HPV vaccination from August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015. Prospective data collection used the Twitter Search API and retrospective data collection used Twitter Firehose. Using a codebook to characterize tweet sentiment and content, we coded a subsample of tweets by hand to develop classification models to code the entire sample using machine learning procedures. We also documented the words in the 140-character tweet text most associated with each keyword. We used chi-square tests, analysis of variance, and nonparametric equality of medians to test for significant differences in tweet characteristic by sentiment. Results A total of 193,379 English-language tweets were collected, classified, and analyzed. Associated words varied with each keyword, with more positive and preventive words associated with “HPV vaccine” and more negative words associated with name-brand vaccines. Positive sentiment was the largest type of sentiment in the sample, with 75,393 positive tweets (38.99% of the sample), followed by negative sentiment with 48,940 tweets (25.31% of the sample). Positive and neutral tweets constituted the largest percentage of tweets mentioning prevention or protection (20,425/75,393, 27.09% and 6477/25,110, 25.79%, respectively), compared with only 11.5% of negative tweets (5647/48,940; P<.001). Nearly one-half (22,726/48,940, 46.44%) of negative tweets mentioned side effects, compared with only 17.14% (12,921/75,393) of positive tweets and 15.08% of neutral tweets (3787/25,110; P<.001). Conclusions Examining social media to detect health trends, as well as to communicate important health information, is a growing area of research in public health. Understanding the content and implications of conversations that form around HPV vaccination on social media can aid health organizations and health-focused Twitter users in creating a meaningful exchange of ideas and in having a significant impact on vaccine uptake. This area of research is inherently interdisciplinary, and this study supports this movement by applying public health, health communication, and data science approaches to extend methodologies across fields.
The Financial Impact of IT Security Breaches: What Do Investors Think?

Abstract Internet security is a pervasive concern for all companies. While many previous studies have attempted to quantify financial losses resulting from IT security breaches, reliance on self-reported survey data has undermined the credibility of their results. Using an event-study methodology, this article analyzes the financial impact of cyber-breaches, by measuring the stock market reaction, and reveals several new perspectives.
Quorum consensus algorithms for secure and reliable data

The authors address the issue of maintaining security in a fault-tolerant replicated database. They present a data-management protocol that integrates the information-dispersal algorithm (for security) and the quorum-consensus algorithm (for reliability). Although this protocol provides the desired level of security, it does not achieve the same level of availability for both read and write operations as the quorum-consensus algorithm. By integrating a log-based propagation mechanism with their protocol, the authors are able to achieve the same level of availability for both read and write operations as other quorum-consensus protocols, while maintaining the desired level of security. <<ETX>>
[Role of STAT3 signaling pathway in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage of neonatal rats].

OBJECTIVE To study the role and mechanisms of STAT3 signaling pathway in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) of neonatal rats. METHODS Eighty 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: HI and sham-operated (n=40 each). The rats in the HI group were subjected to right carotid artery ligation and subsequent hypoxia exposure (8% O2) for 2.5 hours, and the rats in the sham-operated group underwent the right carotid artery dissection without subsequent ligation or hypoxia treatment. Brain tissue samples were collected at 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours after operation and hypoxic exposure. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of STAT3, phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins. TUNEL staining was used to detect apoptotic cells. RESULTS No significant difference in STAT3 expression was observed at all time points between the HI and sham-operated groups (P>0.05). Compared with the sham-operated group, the expression of p-STAT3 protein in the HI group was significantly upregulated at 4, 6, 8, 12 hours after operation and hypoxic exposure, and peaked at 6 hours (P<0.01). The VEGF expression in the HI group was higher than that in the sham-operated group at all time points, which peaked at 8 hours (P<0.05). TUNEL staining showed that the apoptotic cells increased significantly in a time-dependent manner compared with the sham-operated group (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS HI may lead to phosphorylation of STAT3 which probably induces the VEGF expression in the brain of neonatal rats. The activated STAT3 signaling pathway may be involved in the apoptosis regulation of nerve cells, and related to apoptosis inhibition of nerve cells.
Study on perceived service quality evaluation in power supply industry

In this paper, a power supply service quality evaluation system is constructed based on SERVQUAL model and confirmatory factor analysis, and the index weight is determined by PLS modeling principle, for which data is collected from 8347 citizens of 13 cities in Jiangsu Province as samples. Empirical results show that the method is applicable and effective.
Dlx5 and Dlx6 expression in the anterior neural fold is essential for patterning the dorsal nasal capsule

Morphogenesis of the vertebrate facial skeleton depends upon inductive interactions between cephalic neural crest cells (CNCCs) and cephalic epithelia. The nasal capsule is a CNCC-derived cartilaginous structure comprising a ventral midline bar (mesethmoid) overlaid by a dorsal capsule (ectethmoid). Although Shh signalling from the anterior-most region of the endoderm (EZ-I) patterns the mesethmoid, the cues involved in ectethmoid induction are still undefined. Here, we show that ectethmoid formation depends upon Dlx5 and Dlx6 expression in a restricted ectodermal territory of the anterior neural folds, which we name NF-ZA. In both chick and mouse neurulas, Dlx5 and Dlx6 expression is mostly restricted to NF-ZA. Simultaneous Dlx5 and Dlx6 inactivation in the mouse precludes ectethmoid formation, while the mesethmoid is still present. Consistently, siRNA-mediated downregulation of Dlx5 and Dlx6 in the cephalic region of the early avian neurula specifically prevents ectethmoid formation, whereas other CNCC-derived structures, including the mesethmoid, are not affected. Similarly, NF-ZA surgical removal in chick neurulas averts ectethmoid development, whereas grafting a supernumerary NF-ZA results in an ectopic ectethmoid. Simultaneous ablation or grafting of both NF-ZA and EZ-I result, respectively, in the absence or duplication of both dorsal and ventral nasal capsule components. The present work shows that early ectodermal and endodermal signals instruct different contingents of CNCCs to form the ectethmoid and the mesethmoid, which then assemble to form a complete nasal capsule.
Use of a virtual platform as a supporting element for the acquisition of basic mathematical skills in engineering students

This paper presents the use of a virtual platform based on Moodle as a supporting element for the acquisition of basic mathematical skills. The project was aimed at first engineering course students whose initial mathematical knowledge presented some shortcomings. After the use of the designed online tools, there has been an increase in pupils' confidence in their mathematical skills and their chances of success in the subjects of mathematical content, all which has been reflected positively on the academic results.
Performance enhancement of supervisory control for largely mismatched processes

Even through being an effective approach to handle robustness, the single H∞ controller is challenging to meet strict performance requirement when the modeling mismatch is relatively large. This paper presents a supervisory method to enhance the robust stability and performance of H∞ control using a multiple model switching configuration. A new scheduling logic which selects the most proper controller into loop is proposed to ensure bounded exponentially weighted H∞ norm of the closed loop system. The candidate controllers are obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The effectiveness of this supervisory H∞ control method is validated with a fist-order inertial process with pure time delay.
Internet traffic classification using machine learning approach: Datasets validation issues

Internet traffic classification is an area of current research interest. The failure of port and payload based classification motivates researchers to head towards a machine learning (ML) approach. However, training and testing dataset validation has not been formally addressed. This paper discusses the problem of ML dataset validation and highlights three training issues to be considered in ML classification. The first issue is when training and testing datasets collected from same or different network characteristics. The second issue considers training dataset classes whose real online traffic classes are not presented. The third issue is the geographic place where the network traffic is captured. Real Internet traffic datasets collected from a campus network are used to study the traffic features and classification accuracy for each validation training issue. The experimental results demonstrate that there are differences in some traffic features such as inter-arrival time when training and testing data were collected from different networks. Furthermore, the experiment of the second issue shows that the online classifier achieved the highest accuracy (92.22%) when the ML classifier was trained by dataset classes which have the same ratio of the real online traffic. For the geographic capturing level, the results indicate that there is a difference in the traffic statistical features when the capturing level is different.
Regulation of Cerebral Cholesterol Metabolism in Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that manifests as a progressive loss of memory and deterioration of higher cognitive functions. Alzheimer disease is characterized by accumulation in the brain of the β-amyloid peptide generated by β- and γ-secretase processing of amyloid precursor protein. Epidemiological studies have linked elevated plasma cholesterol and lipoprotein levels in midlife with AD development. Cholesterol-fed animal models exhibit neuropathologic features of AD including accumulation of β-amyloid peptide. Specific isoforms of the cholesterol transporter apolipoprotein E are associated with susceptibility to AD. Although multiple lines of evidence indicate a role for cholesterol in AD, the exact impact and mechanisms involved remain largely unknown. This review summarizes the current state of our knowledge of the influence of cholesterol and lipid pathways in AD pathogenesis in vitro and in vivo.
Axon swelling is electrophysiologically disruptive: A theoretically confirmed hypothesis

We have theoretically studied the effect of swelling of axons on the electrophysiological properties of action potential propagation. The modified cable equation is solved numerically by considering the deformation and abnormalities in the axon's geometry. The result shows that the broadening of action potential pulses, amplitudes and the latency of the action potential are all affected. The extent of influence depends on the morphology and structure of the swell. In some geometry, the swell structure leads to irregularity in the shape of the action potential and steep variations in the transmembrane potential.
Effectiveness of Prenatal Versus Postpartum Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccination in Preventing Infant Pertussis

Background. Most severe and fatal cases of pertussis occur in infants <8 weeks of age, before initiation of the primary pertussis vaccine series. Women are recommended to receive tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine at the start of the third trimester of each pregnancy to optimize transplacental transfer of antibodies to the fetus. This recommendation was made by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices based on immunogenicity data, and no studies in the United States have yet evaluated the effectiveness of this strategy in reducing pertussis incidence in infants. Methods. We evaluated a cohort of mothers with documented Tdap vaccination histories in the California Immunization Registry to determine whether infants whose mothers received Tdap vaccine at 27–36 weeks gestation had a lower risk of pertussis at <8 weeks of age than infants born to women who received Tdap vaccine within 14 days post partum. Results. Tdap vaccination received at 27–36 weeks gestation was found to be 85% (95% confidence interval, 33%–98%) more effective than postpartum Tdap vaccination at preventing pertussis in infants <8 weeks of age . Vaccination at 27–36 weeks gestation was more effective at preventing pertussis in infant than vaccination during the second trimester. Conclusions. Tdap vaccination at 27–36 weeks gestation was 85% more effective than postpartum vaccination at preventing pertussis in infants <8 weeks of age. Efforts should be made by prenatal care providers to provide Tdap vaccine to pregnant women during routine prenatal visits at the earliest opportunity between 27 and 36 weeks gestation.
Thymosin β4 stimulates directional migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) is a 4.9 kDa polypeptide that interacts with G‐actin and is thought to be an important mediator in cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Tβ4 has been identified as a factor involved in the differentiation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured on Matrigel. Here we have used various in vitro and in vivo migration assays to demonstrate the role of Tβ4 in endothelial cell migration. Our results demonstrate that Tβ4 acts as a chemoattractant for endothelial cells, stimulating the migration of HUVECs in Boyden chambers four‐ to sixfold over that observed with media alone. Of the primary cell types tested, only human coronary artery cells responded to Tβ4 treatment, suggesting that the migration activity of Tβ4 was endothelial cell‐specific. Tβ4 significantly accelerated the rate of migration into the scratch wounded area of a HUVEC monolayer. Tβ4 treatment also increased the production of matrix metalloproteinases that may degrade the basement membrane during angiogenesis. Additional experiments using subcutaneously implanted Matrigel showed that Tβ4 stimulated cell migration in vivo. These results provide the first direct evidence that Tβ4 has chemoattractive activity and promotes angiogenesis by stimulating the migration of endothelial cells. —Malinda, K. M. , Goldstein, A. L. , Kleinman, H. K. Thymosin β4 stimulates directional migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. FASEB J. 11, 474–481 (1997)
Clinical review 167: Procalcitonin and the calcitonin gene family of peptides in inflammation, infection, and sepsis: a journey from calcitonin back to its precursors.

Calcitonin (CT) is a hormone that received its name because of its secretion in response to induced hypercalcemia and its hypocalcemic effect (1). It was shown to originate from the thyroid gland (2). More specifically, the hormone was revealed to be located within the thyroidal parafollicular cells, interspersed within and about the follicular epithelium (3–5). Subsequently termed C cells, they occur primarily in the central region of each lobe of the human thyroid gland (6, 7). These cells, which have CT-containing secretion granules, are neuroendocrine. Embryologically, they originate from the neural crest and migrate to the ultimobranchial glands (8). In mammals, the ultimobranchial glands fuse with the thyroid gland. It was the demonstration that medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) was a malignancy of the C cells (5, 9) that eventually led to the isolation of human CT from this tumor and the determination of its structure (10, 11). Simultaneously, the amino acid sequence of porcine CT was determined (12). Later, the development of immunoassays of serum CT in humans led to the observation that the level of this hormone was increased in the serum of patients with MTC (13–15) and to the demonstration that these levels were further augmented after iv calcium and/or pentagastrin administration (13, 16, 17). These findings had a great impact on the clinical diagnosis, the evaluation of efficacy of surgical extirpation, and the follow-up monitoring of MTC. Although RET germline mutation testing has replaced CT for the purpose of determining the presence of carriers of this tumor associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (18, 19), the measurement of serum CT has become and has remained the classical clinical marker for MTC. Immature and mature CT
Arginine as a General Acid Catalyst in Serine Recombinase-mediated DNA Cleavage*

Background: Sin resolvase is a site-specific DNA recombinase that catalyzes phosphotransfer without the use of divalent cations. Results: Mutation of Arg-69 in the active site is partially rescued by a 3′ phosphorothiolate substrate. Conclusion: Arg-69 is linked to protonation of the leaving group and most likely acts as a general acid catalyst. Significance: Serine recombinases employ a different catalytic strategy than most other phosphoryl transfer enzymes. Members of the serine family of site-specific DNA recombinases use an unusual constellation of amino acids to catalyze the formation and resolution of a covalent protein-DNA intermediate. A recent high resolution structure of the catalytic domain of Sin, a particularly well characterized family member, provided a detailed view of the catalytic site. To determine how the enzyme might protonate and stabilize the 3′O leaving group in the strand cleavage reaction, we examined how replacing this oxygen with a sulfur affected the cleavage rate by WT and mutant enzymes. To facilitate direct comparison of the cleavage rates, key experiments used suicide substrates that prevented religation after cleavage. The catalytic defect associated with mutation of one of six highly conserved arginine residues, Arg-69 in Sin, was partially rescued by a 3′ phosphorothiolate substrate. We conclude that Arg-69 has an important role in stabilizing the 3′O leaving group and is the prime candidate for the general acid that protonates the 3′O, in good agreement with the position it occupies in the high resolution structure of the active site of Sin.
Constructing Bilingual Multiword Lexicons for a Resource-Poor Language Pair

This paper presents a method for constructing bilingual multiword lexicons for a resource-poor language pair such as Korean-French. For this, at first, we identify multiword candidates from parallel corpora, and then use the pivot context approach (1) to align those candidates. Our empirical study shows encouraging results (e.g., accuracy), even though this study is ongoing.