Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the effect of impulse noise on multicarrier and single carrier QAM systems

The paper first shows the equivalence of the Bernoulli-Gaussian impulse noise model in the discrete time domain to the continuous-time model of Poisson arriving delta functions with random area distributed according to the power Rayleigh probability density function. This equivalence is then used to develop a closed form expression for the probability of error for single carrier QAM that is easily evaluated. Furthermore, the performance of multicarrier modulation (MCM) is also analyzed using the same impulse noise model and it is shown that in most cases MCM performs better than single carrier systems, specifically when the probability of an impulse is not too high and the impulse power is moderate.
A criminalização da sonegação fiscal e das fraudes no Brasil

A criminalizacao da sonegacao fiscal nao e um fato novo na realidade brasileira, tendo sido iniciada na decada de 1950. Fatos recentes apontam para a necessidade de uma reflexao critica sobre como esta criminalizacao tem sido tratada. O artigo pretende discutir como se tem dado a atuacao das instituicoes publicas voltadas para o combate da chamada criminalidade de fraude, revelando uma complexa rede de relacoes e oposicoes de praticas e sistemas normativos vigentes, cujo funcionamento muitas vezes nao esta direcionado para a universalizacao de justica.
Usage and performance of bellwether polls for election forecasting

A non-traditional methodology of polling in small areas, called bellwethers, improves the accuracy of forecasts drawn from a large area. Bellwether areas are small government units (such as cities or counties) which exhibit voting patterns close to actual election outcomes in the larger areas of which they are a part (such as states). The bellwether methodology of one polling organization is described in detail using data from the 2012 US Senate election in Massachusetts. An overview of the performance of the bellwether methodology is provided. In use at Suffolk University Political Research Center since 2003, bellwethers combined with state polls correctly forecast election outcomes in 97% of trials where a clear winner could be determined (i.e., no ties). The contribution of this work is to offer an open-source methodology for improving accuracy in election forecasting.
Possible regulation of caveolar endocytosis and flattening by phosphorylation of F-BAR domain protein PACSIN2/Syndapin II

ABSTRACT. Caveolae are flask-shaped invaginations of the plasma membrane. The BAR domain proteins form crescent-shaped dimers, and their oligomeric filaments are considered to form spirals at the necks of invaginations, such as clathrin-coated pits and caveolae. PACSIN2/Syndapin II is one of the BAR domain-containing proteins, and is localized at the necks of caveolae. PACSIN2 is thought to function in the scission and stabilization of caveolae, through binding to dynamin-2 and EHD2, respectively. These two functions are considered to be switched by PACSIN2 phosphorylation by protein kinase C (PKC) upon hypotonic stress and sheer stress. The phosphorylation decreases the membrane binding affinity of PACSIN2, leading to its removal from caveolae. The removal of the putative oligomeric spiral of PACSIN2 from caveolar membrane invaginations could lead to the deformation of caveolae. Indeed, PACSIN2 removal from caveolae is accompanied by the recruitment of dynamin-2, suggesting that the removal provides space for the function of dynamin-2. Otherwise, the removal of PACSIN2 decreases the stability of caveolae, which could result in the flattening of caveolae. In contrast, an increase in the amount of EHD2 restored caveolar stability. Therefore, PACSIN2 at caveolae stabilizes caveolae, but its removal by phosphorylation could induce both caveolar endocytosis and flattening.
Notice of RetractionAnalysis of domain knowledge limitation in Chinese natural science basic research

The main objective of the investigation is to discuss the limitation of domain knowledge. Using the achievement files of Chinese nature science basic research in management department, we construct the network of domain knowledge elements (NDKE) to represent domain knowledge. In NDKE, two knowledge elements are considered to be connected if they have the same word or phrase except the stop words. The analysis of the real data shows that domain knowledge elements are finite, that the density of NDKE is stable, and that the cliques in NDKE are numbered. These statistical characteristics illuminates that the domain knowledge of Chinese natural science basic research is limited.
A practical approach to evaluate the potential donor pool and trends in cadaveric kidney donation.

BACKGROUND The potential supply of transplantable cadaver kidneys is often expressed as donors per million population (pmp), which ignores some essential factors governing organ donation. METHODS We performed a modeled analysis of kidney donor extraction rates by age, gender, race, cause of death, geographic region, and year in a cohort of evaluable deaths and actual cadaver donors between the ages of 1 and 65 years (1988-1993). Evaluable death was defined as an in-hospital death in patients between the ages of 1 and 65 years whose ICD-9-CM cause of death was not an obvious contraindication to kidney donation. The main outcome measures were the crude donation rate and an adjusted donor extraction rate (DER) per 1000 evaluable deaths. RESULTS A total of 1.4x10(6) in-hospital deaths produced 300,502 evaluable deaths and 20,575 actual donors. Between 1989 and 1993, DER increased from 61.1 to 75 per 1,000 evaluable deaths. DERs were highest among the youngest age groups, declining significantly with age from 405.0 to 16.7/1,000 evaluable deaths for age groups 1-10 and 56-65 years, respectively. There was a small difference in donors pmp between blacks and whites (15 vs. 18). In contrast, DER was seven times higher in whites compared with blacks (112.5 vs. 16.5/1,000 evaluable deaths; P<0.001). The crude donation rate (per 1,000 evaluable deaths) was high for stroke (604.8) and trauma-related deaths (230.6), resulting in highly efficient donor extraction from these deaths. Region-specific DERs ranged from 49.4 to 83/1,000 evaluable deaths and differed significantly from the corresponding donors pmp. CONCLUSIONS Estimating kidney donation relative to in-hospital evaluable deaths is a meaningful measure of organ procurement efficiency. Efforts to enhance cadaveric kidney donation should seek to understand and reduce the marked demographic and regional disparity in donor extraction rates.
Does illicit drug use affect labor market outcomes? Evidence from a developing country

Illicit drug use is often related to several problems for individuals who participate on the labor market due to decreasing productivity, absenteeism, increasing crime and health consequences. This study analyzes the relationship between substance use and labor market outcomes using econometric methods to address the potential endogeneity problem. We use a large data set for Medellin, Colombia, to find the causal effect of drug use on labor supply and labor force participation. According to most existing research, we found that drug use affects negatively the probability of being employed and the probability of participate in the labor force.
Tail-greedy bottom-up data decompositions and fast multiple change-point detection

This article proposes a ‘tail-greedy’, bottom-up transform for one-dimensional data, which results in a nonlinear but conditionally orthonormal, multiscale decomposition of the data with respect to an adaptively chosen Unbalanced Haar wavelet basis. The ‘tail-greediness’of the decomposition algorithm, whereby multiple greedy steps are taken in a single pass through the data, both enables fast computation and makes the algorithm applicable in the problem of consistent estimation of the number and locations of multiple changepoints in data. The resulting agglomerative change-point detection method avoids the disadvantages of the classical divisive binary segmentation, and offers very good practical performance. It is implemented in the R package breakfast, available from CRAN.
Determining Appropriate Substrate Conversion for Enzymatic Assays in High-Throughput Screening

It is generally accepted that the conversion of substrate should be kept at less than 10% of the total substrate used when studying enzyme kinetics. However, 10% or less substrate conversion often will not produce sufficient signal changes required for robust high-throughput screening (HTS). To increase the signal-to-background ratio, HTS is often performed at higher than 10% substrate conversion. Because the consequences of high substrate conversion are poorly understood, the screening results are sometimes questioned by enzymologists. The quality of an assay is judged by the ability to detect an inhibitor under HTS conditions, which depends on the robustness of the primary detection signal (Z factor) and the sensitivity to an inhibitor. The assay sensitivity to an inhibitor is reflected in the observed IC50 value or percent inhibition at a fixed compound concentration when single-point data are collected. The major concern for an enzymatic assay under high substrate conversion is that the sensitivity of the screen may be compromised. Here we derive the relationship between the IC 50 value for a given inhibitor and the percentage of substrate conversion using a first-order kinetic model under conditions that obey Henri-Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The derived theory was further verified experimentally with a cAMP-dependent protein kinase. This model provides guidance for assay developers to choose an appropriate substrate conversion in designing an enzymatic assay, balancing the needs for robust signal and sensitivity to inhibitors.
Integrating User Stories and i* Models - A Systematic Approach

User stories are a common way to describe requirements in Agile methods. However, the use of user stories is restricted, since they offer only a limited view of the whole system. In contrast, one of the features of the i* framework is provides a visual representation of the actors involved in a system and the goals that are to be met. This allows for a better understanding of the problem as well as for a better overview and evaluation of alternative solutions. In addition, i* models consider the early phases of requirements engineering, while user stories cover the later phases. In this context, this paper presents an approach to map user stories to i* models and vice versa, aiming at providing a bigger picture of the system as a whole. A case study to evaluate this work is also presented, suggesting the viability of the approach.
Dynamique et régulation des assemblages nucléoprotéiques des télomères humains : Fonctions de la protéine TRF2.

La proteine TRF2 est une proteine cle dans la dynamique des telomeres, ces structures nucleoproteiques presentes a l'extremite des chromosomes lineaires et responsables de leur protection. Bien que la maniere dont les telomeres s'organisent pour proteger l'ADN soit encore meconnue, il a ete montre recemment que TRF2 est a l'origine de la formation d'une structure en boucle, ou boucle telomerique qui empecherait les extremites telomeriques d'etre reconnus comme des coupures double brin. Un modele propose que TRF2 permette la formation de cette boucle en induisant l'invasion du simple brin telomerique terminal a l'interieur de la sequence double brin apres repliement du telomere sur lui meme. Les etudes realisees lors de cette these montrent que TRF2 est en mesure de stimuler l'invasion telomerique de maniere indirecte facilitant l'ouverture de la double helice grâce a des modifications d'ordre topologique de l'ADN cible. Par ailleurs, les travaux realises mettent egalement en evidence un second mode de fixation a l'ADN de TRF2, par l'intermediaire de son domaine N-terminal qui possede une affinite remarquable pour la structure des jonctions de Holliday. La derniere partie de cette these met en evidence l'activite 5' exonuclease d'une nouvelle proteine telomerique, la proteine Apollon, qui serait impliquee dans la protection des telomeres. Tous ces resultats participent a une meilleure comprehension du fonctionnement de TRF2 sur les telomeres et en particulier de son role dans la formation de la boucle telomerique.
Industrial wireless sensor networks: A selection of challenging applications

Industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs) have the potential to offer several competitive advantages over traditional wired industrial monitoring and control systems, such as self organization, rapid deployment, maintenance, troubleshooting, flexibility and aggregated intelligence via parallel processing. Cable and connector failures, one of the most common reliability risks in harsh environments where chemicals, vibration, or moving parts can damage cables and connectors, are significantly reduced. There is a growing demand to improve process efficiencies, comply with environmental regulations and meet corporate financial objectives. IWSNs could impact significantly on achieving these goals by creating a highly reliable and self healing system that rapidly responds to real-time events with appropriate actions through utilizing intelligent and low cost devices. The implementation of IWSNs and challenges involved are very application specific. This paper will only consider the smart grid and underground application domains. Challenges, outstanding research issues and potential solutions within these domains will be discussed.
Cellular scaling rules for primate brains

Primates are usually found to have richer behavioral repertoires and better cognitive abilities than rodents of similar brain size. This finding raises the possibility that primate brains differ from rodent brains in their cellular composition. Here we examine the cellular scaling rules for primate brains and show that brain size increases approximately isometrically as a function of cell numbers, such that an 11× larger brain is built with 10× more neurons and ≈12× more nonneuronal cells of relatively constant average size. This isometric function is in contrast to rodent brains, which increase faster in size than in numbers of neurons. As a consequence of the linear cellular scaling rules, primate brains have a larger number of neurons than rodent brains of similar size, presumably endowing them with greater computational power and cognitive abilities.
Food allergy : innovation in advocacy, research and training to support and protect those at risk

The profile of severe allergy and particularly food allergy has developed significantly since the early 1990s. The establishment of the Anaphylaxis Campaign in 1994 in the UK led to a serendipitous relationship between advocacy and research. Investigating the impact of food allergy through early member surveys informed Campaign initiatives and government and food industry policies, both to improve food information and the control of allergen risks, and access to specialist health care and the management of allergic emergencies. Their success in turn depended on individuals and organisations understanding their own roles in reducing allergy risks and being ready to work together to contribute to further research and advocacy. Collaborative and trusted partnerships within and beyond the UK continue to shape food and healthcare regulation and best practice, and contribute to standards for patient and consumer support, clinical and academic research. Formal and informal education and training, strategies to make scientific and clinical research accessible and applicable in food production and healthcare, and active use of social and other media shape knowledge and understanding for individuals at risk, those caring for them and those responsible for supplying their food. There are elusive knowledge gaps and research questions which require further attention. Primary prevention of food allergy seems to be possible through protocols for early dietary intervention, but the longer-term allergy profile for these children is not yet known. Initiatives are underway to reverse food allergy through immunotherapy, both through supervised consumption of everyday foods and through pharmaceutically prepared updosing for consumption or via the skin. The impact of severe allergy on quality of life indicates a need for tailored psychological support for some children, young people and adults. The role of local and national food control bodies to advise and supervise food businesses in controlling and communicating the presence of food allergens is key to ensuring consumer protection for those at risk. Investigations following severe and fatal reactions which may have involved food allergy require a collaborative approach, the timely collection of samples (wherever possible), careful selection and use of appropriate legislation, analytical support and reporting. Work continues to define allergen thresholds, and to understand their inter-relationship with symptom severity. Studies currently underway attempt to take into account some of the co-factors associated with severity. Progress towards the adoption and acceptance of allergen thresholds in food production and labelling, voluntarily or through regulation depends on improved stakeholder understanding and a high degree of trust, particularly for those making risk decisions about their own food, or food for those in their care.
mmpL7 Gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is Responsible for Isoniazid Efflux in Mycobacterium smegmatis

ABSTRACT The Mycobacterium tuberculosis mmpL7 gene, encoding a hypothetical resistance nodulation division transporter, confers a high resistance level to isoniazid when overexpressed in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The resistance level decreased in the presence of the efflux pump inhibitors reserpine and CCCP (carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone). Energy-dependent efflux of isoniazid from M. smegmatis cells expressing the mmpL7 gene was observed.
The migration of neural crest cells to the wall of the digestive tract in avian embryo.

Isotopic and isochronic grafts of quail neural primordium in chick embryos have been made. Due to the particular structure of their nuclei, quail cells can be distinguished from chick cells and so be used as natural markers to study the migration of neural crest cells. We have been able to demonstrate by this technique that the parasympathetic enteric ganglion cells arise from two different levels of the embryonic neural axis which correspond to the vagal and lumbo-sacral parasympathetic centres. The main source of the enteric neuroblasts is located at the level of the somites 1–7. It gives rise to ganglion cells which migrate in the whole gut including the large intestine and rectum. The other region from which enteric neuroblasts originate is situated behind the level of the 28th somite and gives rise only to some post-umbilical gut ganglion cells. In this region of the intestine the ganglia are made up of a mixture of cells arising from the vagal and the lumbo-sacral levels of the neural axis. The part of the neural primordium between the 8th and the 28th somite does not participate in the formation of the enteric ganglia. The chronology of the enteric neuroblast migration has been studied. Most cells of vagal origin leave the neural crest before the 13-somite stage but the migration lasts sometimes until after the 16-somite stage. Those cells which have to reach the hind-gut level accomplish a long-term migration which can be evaluated at 6 days or more. The presumptive neuroblasts of lumbo-sacral origin are not found in the hind-gut before the 7th day of incubation. In our experiments we have never observed the migration of any quail cells into the endoderm of the chick host embryo. Therefore we consider that enterochromaffin cells of the digestive epithelium are not derived from the levels of the neural crest concerned in these experiments (i.e. rhombencephalic and medullary Anlagen).
HmuP Is a Coactivator of Irr-Dependent Expression of Heme Utilization Genes in Bradyrhizobium japonicum

ABSTRACT Utilization of heme as an iron source by Bradyrhizobium japonicum involves induction of the outer membrane heme receptor gene hmuR and other genes within the heme utilization locus. Here, we discovered the hmuP gene located upstream of hmuR and transcribed divergently from it along with hmuTUV. hmuP encodes a small protein that accumulated under iron limitation and is transcriptionally controlled by the global iron-responsive regulator Irr, as were all genes within the heme utilization locus. Cross-linking and immunoprecipitation experiments showed that Irr occupies the hmuR-hmuP promoter in vivo. An hmuP mutant did not grow on heme as an iron source, but retained the ability to use ferric chloride. Correspondingly, induction of hmuR mRNA under iron limitation was severely diminished in an hmuP strain, but other genes within the Irr regulon were unaffected. HmuP occupied the hmuR-hmuP promoter, and thus it plays a direct regulatory role in gene expression. HmuP was not required for Irr occupancy, nor was ectopic expression of hmuP from an Irr-independent promoter sufficient to induce the hmuR gene. Thus, both HmuP and Irr occupancy are necessary for hmuR induction. We suggest that HmuP is a coactivator of Irr-dependent expression of hmuR.
Contact sensitization from Compositae‐containing herbal remedies and cosmetics

The Compositae (Asteraceae) family of plants is currently an important cause of allergic plant contact dermatitis in Europe. The family comprises some of the oldest and most valued medicinal plants, and the increasing popularity of herbal medicine and cosmetics may theoretically result in a growing number of Compositae sensitizations from these sources. According to the literature at least 15 species, including among others arnica (Arnica montana), German and Roman chamomile (Chamomilla recutita and Chamaemelum nobile), marigold (Calendula officinalis), Echinacea and elecampane (Inula helenium), have been suspected of sensitization or elicitation of Compositae dermatitis. Epidemiological data are available for 2 species only, arnica and German chamomile, the rest of the evidence being anecdotal. Based on this, sensitization seems to occur relatively frequently with a few species such as arnica and elecampane, and occurs rarely with the majority, especially the widely used German chamomile. Sesquiterpene lactones are the most important allergens, but there are a few cases of sensitization from a coumarin, a sesquiterpene alcohol and a thiophene. The risk of elicitation of dermatitis by using Compositae‐containing products in Compositae‐sensitive individuals is by‐and‐large unknown.
Propagation Dynamics of Epileptiform Activity Acutely Induced by Bicuculline in the Hippocampal–Parahippocampal Region of the Isolated Guinea Pig Brain

Summary: Purpose: Aim of the study is to investigate the involvement of parahippocampal subregions in the generation and in the propagation of focal epileptiform discharges in an acute model of seizure generation in the temporal lobe induced by arterial application of bicuculline in the in vitro isolated guinea pig brain preparation.
Is shading a linear filter?

The decomposition of an input image into its materialdependent “intrinsic” properties and its light-dependent shading properties is useful for many computer vision tasks such as image segmentation, object recognition, and geometric inference. For example, image segmentation and edge detection can be performed by grouping sets of pixels by reflectance values; object recognition will be more robust to differences in lighting if shading is removed; and information about the 3D geometry of a scene can be determined from patterns in shading alone. The decomposition is expressed as I(x) = s(x)R(x), where I(·) is the observed intensity and S(·) and R(·) represent the light-dependent and material-dependent properties respectively at any pixel x. A computationally efficient algorithm for recovering S and R from any image I could possibly increase the efficiency of many common higherlevel tasks in computer vision.