Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discussion of large covariance estimation by thresholding principal orthogonal complements

We congratulate the authors on a very interesting contribution, which takes the fundamentally important field of covariance matrix estimation in some important new directions. We agree that now is a good time to be studying asymptotic contexts, where the first K eigenvalues of Σ grow quickly. The asymptotic mode of the sample size tending to infinity, with an exponentially growing dimension can be improved by taking the dimension as the asymptotic driver, with the sample size growing at a logarithmic rate. This makes it clear that this setting is very close to the high dimension low sample size (HDLSS) setting with fixed sample size, Hall et al. (2005). Shen et al. (2012a) studied another notion of PCA consistency, in a wide range of such settings. Shen et al. (2012b) studied another approach to sparsity under a growing eigenvalue assumption, establishing a new characterization of the boundary between regions of consistency and strong inconsistency for sparse PCA, in HDLSS settings. Can similar results be established for POET? Another reason we are excited about these results, is that covariance estimation is a critical component of SigClust, which is very useful for testing statistical significance of clusters in high dimensional contexts, Liu et al. (2008) and Huang et al. (2012). This motivated us to compare POET with the approaches used in SigClust. A key step of the SigClust analysis is to estimate the eigenvalues of the covariance matrix of the null multivariate Gaussian distribution. The latter paper proposed a likelihood based soft thresholding approach for estimating the covariance eigenvalues which gave a large improvement relative to the hard thresholding approach of the former paper. Figure A shows estimates of the eigenvalue spectrum for two simulated HDLSS examples with sample size n = 50 and dimension d = 1000. Gaussian data are simulated with mean 0 and covariance matrix Λ = diag(λ, · · · , λ } {{ }
Control of Chua's Circuit

This paper considers the control of a polynomial variant of the original Chua's circuit. Both state space techniques and input-output techniques are presented. It is shown that standard control theory approaches can easily accommodate a chaotic system. Furthermore, it is shown that a harmonic balance approach could predict the period doubling phenomenon and onset of the double scroll chaos, as well as providing a control approach.
Role of pncA gene mutations W68R and W68G in pyrazinamide resistance

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) resistance toward anti‐tuberculosis drugs is a widespread problem. Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a first line antitubercular drug that kills semi‐dormant bacilli when converted into its activated form, that is, pyrazinoic acid (POA) by Pyrazinamidase (PZase) enzyme coded by pncA gene. In this study, we conducted several analyses on native and mutant structures (W68R, W68G) of PZase before and after docking with the PZA drug to explore the molecular mechanism behind PZA resistance caused due to pncA mutations. Structural changes caused by mutations were studied with respect to their effects on functionality of protein. Docking was performed to analyze the protein‐drug binding and comparative analysis was done to observe how the mutations affect drug binding affinity and binding site on protein. Native PZase protein was observed to have the maximum binding affinity in terms of docking score as well as shape complementarity in comparison to the mutant forms. Molecular dynamics simulation analyses showed that mutation in the 68th residue of protein results in a structural change at its active site which further affects the biological function of protein, that is, conversion of PZA to POA. Mutations in the protein thereby led to PZA resistance in the bacterium due to the inefficient binding.
Increasing implementability of /spl beta/-driven threshold checkers

Implementation of checkers on the basis of threshold functions is problematic due to low stability of component threshold schemes. The paper proposes two methods allowing increasing the implementability: a) by introducing a relatively small overhead for preliminary exclusion of defective circuits; and b) by using a specific procedure of calibration. The first method is proposed upon considering a method of majority reservation while the second is based on a specific learning procedure that is known from studying /spl beta/-driven threshold elements as a basis for CMOS artificial neurons.
¿Hacia dónde va Bolivia?: Una reflexión propositiva sobre su historia y desarrollo

Bolivia is facing a moment of political, social and economic antagonism in the framework of an inequitable distribution model lacking a business system that is the motor of development; In the words of Barbens (2004), without a company we have a broken or broken country. In a world with clear trends such as globalization, the technological revolution and competitiveness, and with increasingly better-positioned blocs and nations, such as the United States, China and the European Union, the question of rigor for this remote land that barely listen in the world concert is: where is Bolivia going?
The use of metabolic engineering to produce fatty acid-derived biofuel and chemicals in Saccharomyces cerevisiae : a review

Production of fatty acid-derived biofuels and chemicals have garnered attention in recent years owing to their potential to replace petroleum and plant oil-derived products. Through the metabolic engineering of the fatty acid metabolism pathway, advanced fuels and chemicals such as free fatty acid, triacylglycerol, biodiesel, fatty alcohols, alkanes/alkene, R-3-hydroxybutyric acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates and flavonoids have been produced. The robustness, high tolerance to organic solvent, good reputation in industrial fermentations and excellent availability of genetic tools make the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae a suitable cell factory for fatty acid-derived biofuels and chemicals production. This review will describe the successful metabolic engineering strategies employed to produce the fatty acid-derived bio-products in S. cerevisiae , including the enhancement of precursors and co-factors supply, promotion of the enzyme expression and activity, elimination of competing pathways, and the improvement of strain tolerance.
Control of Rumen Microbial Fermentation for Mitigating Methane Emissions from the Rumen

The rumen microbial ecosystem produces methane as a result of anaerobic fermentation. Methanogenesis in the rumen is thought to represent a 2-12% loss of energy intake and is estimated to be about 15% of total atmospheric methane emissions. While methanogenesis in the rumen is conducted by methanogens, PCR-based techniques have recently detected many uncultured methanogens which have a broader phylogenetic range than cultured strains isolated from the rumen. Strategies for reduction of methane emissions from the rumen have been proposed. These include 1) control of components in feed, 2) application of feed additives and 3) biological control of rumen fermentation. In any case, although it could be possible that repression of hydrogen-producing reactions leads to abatement of methane production, repression of hydrogen-producing reactions means repression of the activity of rumen fermentation and leads to restrained digestibility of carbohydrates and suppression of microbial growth. Thus, in order to reduce the flow of hydrogen into methane production, hydrogen should be diverted into propionate production via lactate or fumarate.
Speed Identification of Ultrasonic Motors Based on Evolutionary Elman Network

A learning algorithm for dynamic recurrent Elman neural networks is proposed based on an improved adaptive genetic algorithm. The proposed algorithm performs the evolution of network structure, weights, initial inputs of the context units and self-feedback coefficient of the modified Elman network together. Two dynamic identification algorithms for nonlinear systems are constructed successively based on the proposed algorithm to perform the speed identification for ultrasonic motors. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithms not only realize the fully automatic optimization design for the dynamic recursive neural network, but also improve the precision of convergence for model identification.
Evaluation of Serological Tests To Identify Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Humans and Determine Cross-Reactivity with Trypanosoma rangeli and Leishmania spp

ABSTRACT Five commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), one in-house ELISA, and two hemagglutination assays were evaluated to determine their diagnostic accuracy for Chagas' disease in two studies. In study 1, ELISA kits showed 100% sensitivity, but specificities ranged from 82.84% to 100% when leishmaniasis cases were included and from 95.57% to 100% when leishmaniasis cases were excluded. Kits using recombinant antigens or synthetic peptides are more specific than those using crude extracts from Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigote forms. Kits evaluated in Panama, in study 2, showed 75% to 100% sensitivity and 97.12% to 100% specificity. These data were obtained by using a Western blot assay with T. cruzi trypomastigote excreted-secreted antigens as a reference test to confirm T. cruzi infection.
A Single-Crystal-Silicon Bulk-Acoustic-Mode Microresonator Oscillator

A timing reference incorporating a single-crystal-silicon micromechanical resonator with a quality factor of larger than one million and a resonant frequency of 2.18 MHz is demonstrated. The resonator is excited in the square extensional bulk acoustic mode at 4 mtorr, and it has been fabricated in a foundry SOI MEMS process. The silicon microresonator is adapted as a timing element for a precision oscillator with a measured short-term Allan deviation of 0.6 ppb.
DNA image cytometry and human papillomavirus (HPV) detection help to select smears at high risk of high‐grade cervical lesions

Three samples were submitted from women undergoing routine screening (n=910): two smears (one for routine cytology and one for DNA image cytometry) and a scrape for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. DNA histograms were classified as suspect in cases of aneuploidy, polyploidy, and/or diploidy with a high proliferation rate. Follow‐up was available in 239 cases. The primary end‐point was the presence of a high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) at biopsy. Seventy women (7.7%) had a high‐risk (HR) HPV infection and a suspect DNA profile. In 77 women with cytological abnormalities, 28 HGSILs were detected: four with a prior diagnosis of ASCUS (all HR‐HPV infected including three with a suspect DNA profile), three with smears evocative of LGSIL (all with HR‐HPV infection and a suspect DNA profile), and 21 with smears evocative of HGSIL (all with HR‐HPV infection and 20 with a suspect DNA profile). During the follow‐up period, out of 239 women with a cytologically normal smear at first entry, five developed a HGSIL; all were HR‐HPV‐positive and four had a suspect DNA profile at the first smear. HR‐HPV detection alone gives a sensitivity of 100% for the detection of HGSIL, with a specificity of 84.3%, whereas DNA measurement associated with HPV testing significantly enhances the specificity to 95.4%. Thus, the combination of HPV testing and DNA measurement provides a highly sensitive and specific evaluation of the risk of HGSIL on cervical smears. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Generation of Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles by Use of a Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Vector

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major etiologic agent of hepatocellular carcinoma, presently infects approximately 400 million people worldwide, making the development of protective measures against HCV infection a key objective. Here we have generated a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which expresses the HCV structural proteins, by inserting the contiguous Core, E1, and E2 coding region of HCV into the VSV genome. Recombinant VSV expressing HCV Core, E1, and E2 (VSV-HCV-C/E1/E2) grew to high titers in vitro and efficiently expressed the incorporated HCV gene product, which became fully processed into the individual HCV structural proteins. Biochemical and biophysical analysis indicated that the HCV Core, E1, and E2 proteins assembled to form HCV-like particles (HCV-LPs) possessing properties similar to the ultrastructural properties of HCV virions. Mice immunized with VSV-HCV-C/E1/E2 generated cell-mediated immune responses to all of the HCV structural proteins, and humoral responses, particularly to E2, were also readily evident. Our data collectively indicate that engineered VSVs expressing HCV Core, E1, and E2 and/or HCV-LPs represent useful tools in vaccine and immunotherapeutic strategies designed to address HCV infection.
Revolutionary optical sensor for physiological monitoring in the battlefield

SRICO has developed a revolutionary approach to physiological status monitoring using state-of-the-art optical chip technology. The company’s patent pending Photrode is a photonic electrode that uses unique optical voltage sensing technology to measure and monitor electrophysiological parameters. The optical-based monitoring system enables dry-contact measurements of EEG and ECG signals that require no surface preparation or conductive gel and non-contact measurements of ECG signals through the clothing. The Photrode applies high performance optical integrated circuit technology, that has been successfully implemented in military & commercial aerospace, missile, and communications applications for sensing and signal transmission. SRICO’s award winning Photrode represents a new paradigm for the measurement of biopotentials in a reliable, convenient, and non-intrusive manner. Photrode technology has significant applications on the battlefield for rapid triage to determine the brain dead from those with viable brain function. An ECG may be obtained over the clothing without any direct skin contact. Such applications would enable the combat medic to receive timely medical information and to make important decisions regarding identification, location, triage priority and treatment of casualties. Other applications for the Photrode include anesthesia awareness monitoring, sleep medicine, mobile medical monitoring for space flight, emergency patient care, functional magnetic resonance imaging, various biopotential signal acquisition (EMG, EOG), and routine neuro and cardio diagnostics.
A Global-Analysis Approach to Robust Control

Many important problems in robust control can be formulated as analytic interpolation problems or generalized moment problems. In this talk we take a global analysis approach where we consider bijective transformations from spaces of tuning parameters to entire classes of controllers. These nonlinear transformations can be given variational interpretations. In particular, each controller can be determined by convex optimization.
Sulfate Transport in Normal and S-Deprived Chlorella fusca

Abstract Sulfate uptake into the unicellular green alga Chlorella fusca Shihira et Krauss strain 211-8 b was described as a pH-, temperature-and energy-dependent process. Transport followed triphasic kinetics with Km-values of 1.3 x 10-5, 3.9 x 10-5 and 2.8 x 10-4M. The Hill plot showed coefficients of 1.0 for each uptake isotherm. Sulfate uptake was substantially inhibited by chromate, selenate, sulfite, thiosulfate and tetrathionate. Cysteine and other mercaptides diminished sulfate transport, whereas methionine was not inhibitory. Uptake was sensitive towards inhibitors of photosynthesis and respiration and towards SH-group reagents. Sulfate uptake could be strongly enhanced by polyvalent cations, apparently via reduction of the surface potential. Sulfate uptake in S-deprived algae was markedly different from constitutive sulfate uptake. Time kinetics was not linear but showed an initial rapid phase. Uptake was neither multiphasic nor conformed to simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Sulfate uptake was hardly affected by pH and temperature in the suboptimal range. The Arrhenius plot was biphasic with a discontinuity at 38 °C.
DEVELOPMENTAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE FORMATION OF ATAVISMS

1. Atavisms emerge as evidence of localized modifications in development of an organ or of one of its parts. Different developmental processes can be triggered within the same organ rudiment, presumably in response to the same stimulus. We saw that that stimulus can have a genetic basis in a mutational event, which can be selected for. We also saw that atavism can be produced by experimental manipulation within developing systems ‐increased growth of the chick fibula, enamel production from avian ectoderm, and balancer formation in amphibians. Such atavisms are not based on heritable genetic changes. They indicate the developmental plasticity that exists within embryos and the relative ease with which development can be switched from one programme to another.
Where am I from ? – East Asian Ethnicity Classification from Facial Recognition

We implemented the machine learning approach to classify and predict Chinese, Japanese and Korean based on the facial images. A series of computational approaches were used to train the classifier, including a k-nearest Neighbor algorithm, a Support Vector Machine, a two-layer neural network and a convolutional neural network (CNN). Of all the methods we proposed, CNN had the highest prediction accuracy(89.2%) in the 3-class classification. Keywords— Ethnicity Classification among East Asians, Facial Recognition, Computer Vision, Machine Learning
Extrahepatic bile duct cancer and smoking, beverage consumption, past medical history, and oral‐contraceptive use

Information on potential causal factors in 67 patients with histologically confirmed cancer of the extrahepatic bile ducts was compared with that from 273 patients with other cancers. The control group did not include subjects with tobacco‐ or alcohol‐related cancers. The study subjects were interviewed at 11 large hospitals in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island between 1975 and 1979. Among the patients with extrahepatic bile duct cancer, the male‐female ratio was 1.5. The use of cigarettes was associated with decreased risk of extrahepatic bile duct cancer. The use of alcohol and coffee was not related to risk of extrahepatic bile duct cancer. Fewer patients than controls reported tea consumption. A statistically significant association between the use of oral contraceptives and extrahepatic bile duct cancer was observed among women under 60 years of age. Patients reported significantly higher frequencies of history of ulcerative colitis or diseases of the gallbladder.
Variability of flow-mediated dilation measurements with repetitive reactive hyperemia

To capture the response of an acute intervention, multiple post intervention measurements of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) must be performed. The effect of repetitive reactive hyperemia on endothelial function and the measurement of FMD are unknown. The purpose of this investigation was (1) to examine the effect of repetitive reactive hyperemia on brachial artery FMD and (2) to determine whether brachial artery FMD is stable during a 2-h morning period. We investigated FMD in 20 apparently healthy college students on three randomized treatment days every 30 min (T30), 60 min (T60), and 120 min (T120) throughout a 2-h morning period (08.00 h to 10.00 h). An ANOVA (p > 0.05) and ICC (>0.40) were both needed to confirm no difference among repetitive reactive hyperemia treatments. In response to repetitive reactive hyperemia, there was no difference (p = 0.307; ICC > 0.40) within the first and last FMD measurements of each treatment condition or between treatment conditions (p = 0.344; ICC > 0.40). FMD was similar (p = 0.348) throughout the 2-h morning period. In conclusion, repetitive reactive hyperemia over a 2-h period has no effect on FMD measurements in apparently healthy college students. In addition, this study found no time trends for FMD measurements during the 2-h morning period to allow for pre/post intervention FMD measurements.
Contrasts, independent component analysis, and blind deconvolution

A general definition of contrast criteria is proposed, which induces the concept of trivial filters. These optimization criteria enjoy identifiability properties, and aim at delivering outputs satisfying specific properties, such as statistical independence or a discrete character. Several ways of building new contrast criteria are described. It is then briefly elaborated on practical numerical algorithms. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Abnormal Drug Metabolism after Barbiturate and Paracetamol Overdose

Drug-metabolizing capacity has been assessed by serial measurements of the plasma antipyrine half life in 11 patients with severe barbiturate intoxication and in 17 patients with acute hepatic necrosis due to paracetamol overdosage. Drug metabolism was strikingly enhanced after barbiturate over-dosage, and this effect was still present six weeks later. In contrast the antipyrine half life was greatly prolonged in patients with paracetamol-induced acute hepatic necrosis but returned to normal or near-normal values within seven to 21 days.
Truncation and Thresholding Algorithms in CT Imaging of Coronary Calcification

Clinical and preclinical studies of cardiovascular calcification often require interpretation of images from histopathology, computed tomography, intravascular ultrasound, and positron emission tomography. To avoid potential pitfalls in biological inferences, investigators should know what happens to data in image processing algorithms, the limitations of cross-sectional images in studying mechanostability, and how smoothing algorithms can mask partial-volume artifacts in positron emission tomography.
Conformal geometric algebra based band selection and classification for hyperspectral imagery

Conformal geometric algebra (CGA) has several advantages such as consistent geometric representation, compact algebra formulae, efficient geometric computing, coordinate free, and dimensionality independent etc., it can provides a new mathematical tool for hyperspectral dimensionality reduction. In this paper, an efficient band selection and classification approach for hyperspectral imagery based on CGA is proposed. In order to achieve more concise, fast, robust hyperspectral dimensionality reduction, the CGA-supported band selection method in conformal space is designed. The experiment results show that the CGA-based band selection algorithm outperforms the popular sequential forward selection (SFS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) with lower cost for hyperspectral band selection.
Research on Application of Mobile Agent Based on Immune Algorithms in Ad Hoc Network

Ad Hoc network is a kind of multi hop, self-organizing wireless network without center. Each node in network can be used as host as well as router and it can form any network topology through wireless connections. Because of characteristics of itself, many new service items and application fields appear; meanwhile, it is also faced with many new security threats. Using immune agent can perceive the change of network node and make corresponding decision behavior, find the misbehavior nodes in the network as soon as possible and reduce the network attack and improve the immune competence of network.