Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Clustering Validity Index for Cluster Analysis Based on a Two-Level SOM

Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is a powerful tool for the exploratory of clustering methods. Clustering is the most important task in unsupervised learning and clustering validity is a major issue in cluster analysis. In this paper, a new clustering validity index is proposed to generate the clustering result of a two-level SOM. This is performed by using the separation rate of inter-cluster, the relative density of inter-cluster, and the cohesion rate of intra-cluster. The clustering validity index is proposed to find the optimal numbers of clusters and determine which two neighboring clusters can be merged in a hierarchical clustering of a two-level SOM. Experiments show that, the proposed algorithm is able to cluster data more accurately than the classical clustering algorithms which is based on a two-level SOM and is better able to find an optimal number of clusters by maximizing the clustering validity index.
Detection of oil-pressboard insulation aging with dielectric spectroscopy in time and frequency domain measurements

The insulation system of power transformers consists of oil and cellulose, whose dielectric properties are strongly influenced by moisture, temperature and aging. Their condition can therefore, be evaluated using dielectric response measurements. This contribution describes the return voltage measurement (RVM) diagnostic method based on scanning the polarization spectra of the oil-paper insulation in the time range of 1 s to 1200 s at an excitation voltage of 500 V (DC). The variation of the dissipation factor (tan /spl delta/) and power factor (cos /spl theta/) in the frequency range of 0.0001 to 1000 Hz were measured and the effects of moisture and aging were analyzed. Furthermore accelerated aging processes of oil-paper samples were investigated under air environment up to a temperature of 388 K (115/spl deg/C). Typical transformer proportions of copper, aluminum, zinc and iron were added to oil-paper insulation during the aging process in order to simulate the possible oxidation processes. For the investigation of the long time behavior, the oilpaper insulation samples were aged at different aging times at 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 hours which simulate long time service condition due to the used severe aging conditions.
H ∞-Based Pinning Synchronization of Complex Dynamical Networks with a Coupling Time Delay

This paper investigates the synchronization of complex dynamical networks with coupling delays and external disturbances by applying local feedback injections to a small fraction of nodes in the whole network. Based on H ∞ control theory, some delayindependent and -dependent synchronization criteria with a prescribed H ∞ disturbances attenuation index are derived for such controlled networks in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which guarantee that by placing a small number of feedback controllers on some nodes, the whole network can be pinned to reach network synchronization. A simulation example is included to validate the theoretical results.
Binge pattern ethanol exposure in adolescent and adult rats: differential impact on subsequent responsiveness to ethanol.

BACKGROUND Recent evidence indicates that adolescent animals are more sensitive than adults to the disruptive effects of acute ethanol exposure on spatial learning. It is not yet known whether adolescent animals are also more sensitive than adults to the enduring neurobehavioral effects of repeated ethanol exposure. In this study, animals were exposed to ethanol in a binge-pattern during either adolescence or adulthood. At a time when all subjects were adults, spatial working memory was examined in the absence and presence of an acute ethanol challenge. METHODS Rats were exposed to ethanol (5.0 g/kg intraperitoneally) or isovolumetric saline at 48 hr intervals over 20 days. Exposure began on either postnatal day 30 (adolescent group) or 70 (adult group). Twenty days after the final injection, a time at which all animals were adults, the subjects were tested on an elevated plus maze and then were trained to perform a spatial working memory task on an eight-arm radial maze. At the beginning of each session of training on the working memory task, subjects retrieved food rewards on four of the eight arms. After a delay, subjects were placed on the maze and allowed to retrieve food from the remaining four arms. RESULTS Prior exposure to ethanol did not influence behavior on the plus maze. Performance of the groups did not differ during acquisition of the spatial working memory task with a 5 min delay or during subsequent testing with a 1 hr delay. However, animals treated with ethanol during adolescence exhibited larger working memory impairments during an ethanol challenge (1.5 g/kg intraperitoneally) than subjects in the other three groups. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that binge pattern exposure to ethanol during adolescence enhances responsiveness to the memory-impairing effects of ethanol in adulthood.
Host Range and Receptor Binding Properties of Vectors Bearing Feline Leukemia Virus Subgroup B Envelopes Can Be Modulated by Envelope Sequences outside of the Receptor Binding Domain

ABSTRACT To evaluate host range differences between two different strains of feline leukemia virus subgroup B (FeLV-B), we compared the binding and infectivity patterns of retrovirus vectors bearing either FeLV-B-90Z or FeLV-B-GA envelopes. We report here that the ability of these envelopes to utilize different Pit1 orthologs is mediated primarily by the receptor binding domain; however, in the case of FeLV-B-90Z, the C terminus also contributes to the recognition of certain Pit1 orthologs.
The Core Mechanism of Dry Eye Disease Is Inflammation

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review the evidence for the hypothesis that the core mechanism of dry eye disease (DED) is inflammation, including evidence from recent basic, clinical, and translational research involving human patients, animal models, and cell cultures. Methods: Using the key words “dry eye + inflammation,” the authors conducted a comprehensive search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases for scientific articles published in English between January 1, 1900 and August 30, 2013 on the role of inflammation in DED in cell cultures, animal models, and humans. The resulting articles were then categorized and reviewed. Results: The literature search revealed a total of 458 publications, almost all published after 1992. The percentages of original studies and review articles are 77.29% (354) and 22.71% (104), respectively. Among the original studies, the number of reports on human DED is 200 (43.7%), on animal models is 115 (25.1%), and cell cultures is 39 (8.5%). A yearly distributing plot revealed that 76% were published from 2003 to 2011, 53% from 2008 to 2012, and 11% during the first 9 months of 2013. This distribution signifies a rapidly growing awareness of the importance of inflammation in DED pathogenesis. Conclusions: Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of DED as evidenced by research using tissue culture, animal models, and subjects with DED. Developing biomarkers for inflammation of the ocular surface will provide improved understanding of the mechanisms leading to DED, classification of the severity of DED, and objective metrics for outcome measures of treatment. The chronicity of the disease suggests that dysregulation of immune mechanisms leads to a cycle of continued inflammation, accompanied by alterations in both innate and adaptive immune responses. Given the underlying mechanism for DED, developing effective and safe anti-inflammatory treatments is likely to be beneficial for patients with DED.
A Business Process Modelling Tool with Continuous Validation Support

In this article, we want to present the prototype of a modelling tool that applies graph-based rules for identifying problems in business process models. The advantage of our approach is twofold. Firstly, it is unnecessary to compute the complete state space of the model in order to find errors. Secondly, our technique can be applied to incomplete business process models. Thus, the modeller can be supported by direct feedback during the model construction. This feedback does not only report problems, but it also identifies their reasons and makes suggestions for improvement.
Ab initio studies on the structural and dynamical properties of ice.

The structural and dynamical properties of cubic H 2 O and D 2 O ice phases are studied using ab initio molecular dynamics combined with ultrasoft pseudopotentials. Phonon frequencies are extracted from the velocity autocorrelation functions; contributions from different normal modes in the phonon spectra are separated and easily identified. For the low-pressure phases, the agreement with the experimental data is reasonable and the isotope effects are well reproduced. High-pressure phases are also studied. The equations of state for cubic ice (ice I c ), and for the ice VII-VIII-X family, are calculated
The need for more vitamin D.

Vitamin D is an essential precursor of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the steroid hormone required not only for bone development and growth in children and maintenance of bone in adults, but also for the prevention of osteoporosis and fractures in the elderly. Although rickets and osteomalacia — the consequences of severe vitamin D deficiency — have largely disappeared, there is increasing evidence of widespread vitamin D deficiency in old and sick people. The findings by Thomas et al. in this issue of the Journal 1 of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in 57 percent of 290 patients hospitalized on a medical service indicate .
Medical thoracoscopy vs CT scan-guided Abrams pleural needle biopsy for diagnosis of patients with pleural effusions: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND In cases of pleural effusion, tissue samples can be obtained through Abrams needle pleural biopsy (ANPB), thoracoscopy, or cutting-needle pleural biopsy under the guidance of CT scan (CT-CNPB) for histopathologic analysis. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic efficiency and reliability of ANPB under CT scan guidance (CT-ANPB) with that of medical thoracoscopy in patients with pleural effusion. METHODS Between January 2006 and January 2008, 124 patients with exudative pleural effusion that could not be diagnosed by cytologic analysis were included in the study. All patients were randomized after the CT scan was performed. Patients either underwent CT-ANPB or thoracoscopy. The two groups were compared in terms of diagnostic sensitivity and complications associated with the methods used. RESULTS Of the 124 patients, malignant mesothelioma was diagnosed in 33, metastatic pleural disease in 47, benign pleural disease in 42, and two were of indeterminate origin. In the CT-ANPB group, the diagnostic sensitivity was 87.5%, as compared with 94.1% in the thoracoscopy group; the difference was not statistically significant (P = .252). No difference was identified between the sensitivities of the two methods based on the cause, the CT scan findings, and the degree of pleural thickening. Complication rates were low and acceptable. CONCLUSION We recommend the use of CT-ANPB as the primary method of diagnosis in patients with pleural thickening or lesions observed by CT scan. In patients with only pleural fluid appearance on CT scan and in those who may have benign pleural pathologies other than TB, the primary method of diagnosis should be medical thoracoscopy. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT00720954.
Development and Evaluation of the Environment and Communication Assessment Toolkit with Speech-Language Pathologists

Abstract Communication dysfunction that results from dementia can be exacerbated by environmental barriers such as inadequate lighting, noisy conditions, poor or absent environmental cues, and visual clutter. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) should address these environmental barriers as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for clients with dementia. The Environment and Communication Assessment Toolkit for Dementia Care (ECAT) was evaluated by SLPs to determine: (1) changes in awareness of environmental factors prior to and after training; (2) impact of the ECAT on practice as measured by changes in the number of environmental modifications recommended and made prior to and after training; (3) utility of the information as measured by the helpfulness, amount of new information, and usefulness of the ECAT; and (4) usability of the ECAT materials based on ease of use. The SLPs used the ECAT with clients with dementia who had functional limitations and required substantial assistance with daily activities. Results indicate that the ECAT is an effective tool for SLPs, providing information about the impact of the environment on communication and supplying sufficient resources to make recommendations and implement effective interventions. The ECAT successfully increased awareness of environmental modifications, influenced the practice of recommending environmental modifications, and had utility in diverse aspects of clinical practice.
Speculative trades and financial regulations: simulations based on genetic programming

By exploring a two-dimensional parameter space, the paper pinpoints the area where speculative trades can contribute to the reduction of price volatility and are hence imperative for market efficiency. This area is delimited by a rather restrictive financial regulations imposed on an inherently unstable economy. Specifically, depending on the associated financial regulations, the authors' GP-based simulations of cobweb markets show that speculative trades may reduce price volatility by 20% to 50% in an inherently unstable economy; on the other hand they may also increase price volatility by 300% to 3000%. The paper generalizes the earlier finding by Chen and Yeh (1997), which basically shows that in an inherently stable economy, speculative trades can only be destabilizing.
The air space of the hen's egg and its changes during the period of incubation

THE air space of the hen's egg and that of the bird's egg in general, and its changes during the period of incubation, are insufficiently known in many respects, in spite of the fact that its phenomena might be of interest for the study of foetal respiration in the chick. Even its origin is not fully known. According to Lataste [1925] its appearance is the result of contraction of the soft parts from the rigid egg shell as the egg cools after having left the mother's body. Evaporation of water from the surface of the shell was considered to increase its volume gradually, but no importance should in his opinion be attached to this regarding its appearance. It is not easy to understand why evaporation of water should not contribute to its appearance as well as to its expansion, the egg being exposed to both influences simultaneously as soon as it has been laid. Lataste's argumentation that reptile eggs with flexible walls have no air space does not disprove this view. There are three properties of the air space which interested us especially: (1) the volume and its changes during the period of incubation, (2) the composition of the gas contained and its changes, and (3) pressure of the gas and its changes.
Family planning and sex education: the Chinese approach.

The limitation of population growth in China to about 1.7% annually is, in large part, the result of changing sexual norms which have been brought about by community-wide sexual education. These changes include elevating the status of women, dismissing the traditional striving for male children as "old fashioned," and emphasizing responsible parenthood. About 6% of China's population is made up of minority peoples, some 54 distinctive groups including a few such as the Khalkhas and Sibos who have virtually been saved from extinction during the past 25 years. For these groups the growth rate is 6% and the central government in Peking stresses to visitors that for minorities there is no limitation of family size but that health of the mother is stressed. Conversations with Chinese health workers indicate that rural women are much more in favor of family planning than their husbands and are much more willing to be sterilized when the acceptable family size of 2 or 3 children is reached. However, men are becoming more willing to use condoms which are available without cost from village health workers. There is little sex education in the schools. Physiology is included as a minor part of general biology. Young people are cautioned not to "fall in love" at too early an age or else they will not keep their minds on their studies and will get married too early. Emphasis is on late marriage, 25 for women and 27 for men. Only a modest glance at population or sexually oriented topics are encouraged until marriage is contemplated. Then sex education is given in great variety and detail. It is the opinion of doctors and health workers that sex education is a matter for the married, not the single. Chinese society has little external sexual stimuli, nudity or seminudity is not acceptable except at the beach or the swimming pool, and the young people are generally taught to be circumspect. There is none of the advertising which permeates Western culture. It is understandable that Chinese educators are surprised when asked about the need for sex education in the schools.
Multi-elemental analysis of serum and amyloid fibrils in familial amyloid polyneuropathy patients

There is accumulating evidence of the involvement of biological metal imbalance in the progression of amyloid diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and prion diseases. However, the mineral status in patients affected with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) has not been investigated. It is the aim of this study to determine the metal concentrations in the serum and in the transthyretin (TTR) amyloid fibrils of FAP amyloidogenic TTR (ATTR) V30M patients. Multi-elemental analysis of 17 metals by high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) revealed a significant decrease of the metals Fe, Cu, Zn, Cs and Ba in the serum of FAP patients (mean age 38.5 ± 8.3 years; duration of disease 4 ± 2.6 years) in comparison with that of healthy individuals (mean age 36.2 ± 9.2 years). On the other hand, these metals, except Cs, were found at high levels in the amyloid fibrils of FAP patients (mean age 55.8 ± 9.2; duration of disease 6.5 ± 1.3 years) compared with other metals. These findings firstly suggest that the mineral status could be a candidate factor, which participates in the wide spectrum of clinical pictures of FAP patients.
1.25Gbps wireless Gigabit Ethernet link at 60GHz-band

A 1.25Gbps 60GHz-band full duplex wireless Gigabit Ethernet link has been developed. Direct ASK modulation and demodulation scheme is adopted for the 60GHz-band transceiver. CPW MMICs and planar filters are flip-chip mounted in TX and RX LTCC MCMs. The wireless Gigabit Ethernet link has a function to convert an optical fiber link to a wireless link seamlessly combining a 60GHz-band transceiver with a 1000 Base-SX optical in/out module. The size is 159/spl times/97/spl times/44mm/sup 3/.
Aspartyl‐phosphate phosphatases deactivate the response regulator components of the sporulation signal transduction system in Bacillus subtilis

Bacteria use two‐component signal transduction systems to sense and respond to their environment. A sensor kinase and a response‐regulator transcription factor work in concert by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation through kinase and phosphatase activities to maintain a level of phosphorylated response regulator commensurate with the level of signal input. Signal input can be accommodated through stimulation of the kinase activity or the phosphatase activity of the two‐component system. With some notable exceptions, the sensor kinases recognize a single stimulatory ligand. A new dimension in the regulation of two‐component signal transduction systems was discovered in the Rap phosphatases which dephosphorylate the Spo0F response‐regulator of Bacillus subtilis independent of the sensor kinases. This family of phosphatases is encoded by at least six chromosomal genes. Although not all of the phosphatases of the family have activity on phosphorylated Spo0F, the two best‐characterized members, RapA and RapB, prevent sporulation by dephosphorylating this response regulator component of the phosphorelay. Phosphatase activity of RapA is regulated by a gene, phrA, in the same transcriptional unit, that encodes a peptide secreted from the cell which may serve as a quorum sensor. Most of the Rap phosphatase operons have a gene coding for a protein with some similarity to PhrA in their transcription units, but it is uncertain whether all of these play a role in regulation. The Rap phosphatases are postulated to be a mechanism for allowing signals other than those that affect the sensor kinases to regulate the signal transduction pathway. They may have been recruited to help regulate sporulation because the multiple signals regulating this process may out‐strip the recognition capacity of the kinases.
INTEGRAL/IBIS 7-year all-sky hard X-ray survey - II. Catalog of sources

This paper is the second in a series devoted to the hard X-ray (17−60 keV) whole sky survey performed by the INTEGRAL observatory over seven years. Here we present a catalog of detected sources that includes 521 objects, 449 of which exceed a 5σ detection threshold on the time-averaged map of the sky, and 53 were detected in various subsamples of exposures. Among the identified sources with known and suspected nature, 262 are Galactic (101 low-mass X-ray binaries, 94 high-mass X-ray binaries, 37 cataclysmic variables, and 30 of other types) and 221 are extragalactic, including 217 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and 4 galaxy clusters. The extragalactic (|b| > 5 ◦ ) and Galactic (|b| < 5 ◦ ) persistently detected source samples have high identification completeness (respectively ∼96% and ∼93%) and are valuable for population studies.
ADAPTIVE VECTOR QUANTIZATION FOR REINFORCEMENT LEARNING

Abstract Dynamic programming methods are capable of solving reinforcement learning problems, in which an agent must improve its behavior through trial-and-error interactions with a dynamic environment. However, these computational algorithms suffer from the curse of dimensionality (Bellman, 1957) that the number of computational operations increases exponentially with the cardinality of the state space. In practice, this usually results in a very long training time and applications in continuous domain are far from trivial. In order to ease this problem, we propose the use of vector quantization to adaptively partition the state space based on the recent estimate of the action-value function. In particular, this state-space partitioning operation is performed incrementally to reflect the experience accumulated by the agent as it explores the underlying environment.