Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Revisions of Knowledge Systems Using Epistemic Entrenchment

A major problem for knowledge representation is how to revise a knowledge system in the light of new information that is inconsistent with what is already in the system. Another related problem is that of contractions, where some of the information in the knowledge system is taken away. Here, the problems of modelling revisions and contractions are attacked in two ways. First, two sets of rationality postulates or integrity constraints are presented, one for revisions and one for contractions. On the basis of these postulates it is shown that there is a natural correspondence between revisions and contractions. Second, a more constructive approach is adopted based on the "epistemic entrenchment" of the facts in a knowledge system which determines their priority in revisions and contractions. We introduce a set of computationally tractable constraints for an ordering of epistemic entrenchments. The key result is a representation theorem which says that a revision method for a knowledge system satisfies the set of rationality postulates, if and only if, there exists an ordering of epistemic entrenchment satisfying the appropriate constraints such that this ordering determines the retraction priority of the facts of the knowledge system. We also prove that the amount of information needed to uniquely determine the required ordering is linear in the number of atomic facts of the knowledge system.
SNP Set Association Analysis for Familial Data

Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) are a popular approach for identifying common genetic variants and epistatic effects associated with a disease phenotype. The traditional statistical analysis of such GWAS attempts to assess the association between each individual single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and the observed phenotype. Recently, kernel machine‐based tests for association between a SNP set (e.g., SNPs in a gene) and the disease phenotype have been proposed as a useful alternative to the traditional individual‐SNP approach, and allow for flexible modeling of the potentially complicated joint SNP effects in a SNP set while adjusting for covariates. We extend the kernel machine framework to accommodate related subjects from multiple independent families, and provide a score‐based variance component test for assessing the association of a given SNP set with a continuous phenotype, while adjusting for additional covariates and accounting for within‐family correlation. We illustrate the proposed method using simulation studies and an application to genetic data from the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study.
Endothelin-induced vasoconstriction and release of atrial natriuretic peptides in the rat.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) was given to male Sprague-Dawley rats in i.v. bolus injections to evaluate its effects on blood pressure and the release of atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP). In awake rats ET-1 (0.3, 1 and 3 nmol kg-1 body wt) transiently reduced mean arterial pressure (MAP) and increased heart rate (HR), followed by a prolonged increase in MAP. The magnitude of these changes and the duration of the increase in MAP were dose-related. The increase in MAP was completely blocked by verapamil, reversed by sodium nitroprusside, slightly reduced by rat atrial natriuretic factor (103-126) and unaffected by saralasin. The initial fall in MAP was also unaltered by these agents. In all groups HR changes were mirror-images of MAP. In anaesthetized rats ET-1 (1 nmol kg-1 body wt) induced a sustained release of ANP. Right atrial pressure increased transiently and then fell below baseline. When the increase in MAP was blocked with sodium nitroprusside, ET-1 still produced an increase in ANP. In conclusion we find that repeated i.v. administration of ET-1 induces immediate vasodilatation, without signs of tachyphylaxis, followed by long-lasting severe vasoconstriction. Baroreceptor function seems to be unchanged. ET-1 appears to induce ANP release by a direct action on atrial myocytes, independent of right atrial and systemic arterial pressure. We hypothesize that endothelin may be a mediator of stretch-induced release of ANP.
The Effect of Ownership Structure on Stock Prices after Crisis: A Study on Ise 100 Index

Using Turkish data, in this study it is investigated that whether a firm’s ownership structure has an impact on its stock prices after the crisis. A linear regression model is conducted on the data of non-financial firms that are trading in Istanbul Stock Exchange 100 Index (ISE 100) index. The findings show that, all explanatory variables such as inside ownership, largest ownership, concentrated ownership, foreign shareholders, family controlled and dispersed ownership are not very important to explain stock prices after the crisis. Family controlled firms and concentrated ownership is positively related to stock price, dispersed ownership, largest ownership, foreign shareholders, and inside ownership structures have negative interaction between stock prices, but because of the p value is not under the value of 0.05 this relation is not significant. In addition, the analysis shows that, the shares of firms that have inside, largest and dispersed ownership structure are outperform comparing with the other firms. Furthermore, ownership concentrated firms outperform to family controlled firms. Keywords—Financial crisis, ISE 100 Index, Ownership structure, Stock price.
Pattern of contraceptives choice among the married women attending the family planning clinic of a tertiary health institution.

BACKGROUND Rampart population growth is the most fundamental problem of our times. It affects adversely the advancement of nations and the wellbeing of all peoples. The fertility rate in Nigeria remains high at a national average of about 5.2 children per woman. When a woman effectively uses a modern method of contraceptive she is less likely to be exposed to the hazards of grand multiparity and also unlikely to resort to dangerous illegal abortion. METHOD This is a retrospective study, a review of the records of the family planning clinic of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo was undertaken. These were new clients coming for the first time to the family planning clinic of the institution from January, 2001 to December 2006. RESULT A total of 1355 married women were coming for the first time to the family planning clinic within the study period, and their age range between 18 and 51 years with a mean of 33.5+/-6.1 years. 170 (12.5%) were Para 1, Para 2-4 were 855 (63.1%), while Para 5 and above were 330 (24.4%). The clients source of information about family planning was: family planning clinic personnel 1039 (76.7%), media (print and electronic) 152 (11.2%), friends and relatives 127 (9.4%), and community health workers 37 (2.7%). Intrauterine contraceptive device was the most chosen method by the clients 1011 (74.6%), while condom was the least chosen 3 (0.2%); 264 (19.5%), and 77 (5.7%) clients chose injectables and pills, respectively. CONCLUSION An increase in the level of knowledge on modern contraceptive methods through mass and interpersonal communications could be one of the key strategies to increase the utilization rate of modern contraceptive methods.
A fuzzy logic-based method for outliers detection

The paper presents a method based on a fuzzy inference system that is capable of pointing out outliers in a series of data. The proposed algorithm has been adopted in order to process data coming from a real industrial context. The overall purpose of the work is to point out anomalous data due to several causes such as erroneous measurements, errors made by the operator that filled the database or anomalous process conditions. A standard statistical technique for outlier detection as been exploied for the same purpose: the performance obtained by the two methods are compared and discussed.
A Multi-Objective Approach to Test Suite Reduction

Durante o processo de desenvolvimento de Software, o codigo precisa de ser alterado muitas vezes. Isto acontece porque os requerimentos podem ter mudado, os programadores podem precisar de corrigir uma falha, ou podem estar a melhorar a qualidade do codigo. Depois de cada alteracao, o Software precisa de ser testado novamente para garantir que continua funcional. A este processo chamamos testes de regressao.Embora os testes de regressao sejam necessarios para garantir qualidade no Software, eles sao um processo dispendioso. Normalmente, quanto maior o numero de testes, mais tempo os testes demoram a correr - a maioria dos programadores nao sao produtivos durante esse tempo. Podemos assim concluir que o custo dos testes de regressao aumenta com o numero de testes.Correr testes redundantes ou obsoletas que nao aumentam a capacidade de detecao de falhas e um custo desnecessario. A comunidade cientifica esta ciente deste facto. Varios metodos automatizados foram propostos para remover testes desnecessarios (metodos de minimizacao). A maioria dos metodos propostos olham apenas a um objetivo - encontram o melhor subconjunto de testes que maximiza uma variavel, normalmente a cobertura de codigo.Embora ter apenas um objetivo em conta possa dar bons resultados em alguns casos, para muitos outros nao e isso que acontece. Por exemplo se o conjunto de testes for muito grande pode-se querer dar mais relevância a diminuir o conjunto de testes que a cobertura de codigo. Usar metodos que otimizam o conjunto de testes (Teste Suite) atendendo a varios objetivos (Multiobjectivo) durante o processo de minimizacao e mais adaptavel as diferentes necessidades de minimizacao.Para alem dos teste automatizados serem uteis a detetar falhas eles tambem podem ajudar na sua localizacao. Tal e possivel recorrendo a tecnicas automatizadas tais como SBFL ("Spectum Based fault Localization" ). A qualidade do diagnostico gerado depende da Teste Suite. Tanto quanto sabemos ate ao momento nao ha abordagens multiobjectivo que tentam produzir teste suites minimizadas boas a localizar falhas.Segundo alguns autores da area sem ferramentas prontas a utilizar a adocao de tecnicas de minimizacao vai permanecer limitada. Devido a isso, nos propomos uma ferramenta multiobjectivo de minimizacao de testes que tambem tenta a maximizar a capacidade de localizacao de falhas.Nos nossos testes empiricos, conseguimos em media reduzir o esforco em localizar uma falha em 31%, e concluimos com um grau de certeza de 95% que entre 77% e 100% das vezes a nossa abordagem produz um valor medio para o esforco de localizar uma falha menor que a abordagem multiobjectivo mais comum ate agora.
A New Monoterpene from the Leaves of a Radiation Mutant Cultivar of Perilla frutescens var. crispa with Inhibitory Activity on LPS-Induced NO Production

The leaves of Perilla frutescens var. crispa (Lamiaceae)—known as ‘Jureum-soyeop’ or ‘Cha-jo-ki’ in Korean, ‘ZI SU YE’ in Chinese, and ‘Shiso’ in Japan—has been used as a medicinal herb. Recent gamma irradiated mutation breeding on P. frutescens var. crispa in our research group resulted in the development of a new perilla cultivar, P. frutescens var. crispa (cv. Antisperill; PFCA), which has a higher content of isoegomaketone. The leaves of PFCA were extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction, and phytochemical investigation on this extract led to the isolation and identification of a new compound, 9-hydroxy-isoegomaketone [(2E)-1-(3-furanyl)-4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-penten-1-one; 1]. Compound 1 exhibited inhibitory activity on nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 cells with an IC50 value of 14.4 μM. The compounds in the SC-CO2 extracts of the radiation mutant cultivar and the original plant were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection.
Development of Dominant Rice Blast
 Pi‐ta
 Resistance Gene Markers

Incorporation of resistance genes into existing rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars is a powerful strategy and is commonly applied in breeding rice resistance to blast disease [caused by Pyricularia grisea Sacc. = P. oryzae Cavara (teleomorph: Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr)]. The rice blast resistance gene, Pi-ta, originally introgressed into japonica from indica rice is important in breeding for rice blast resistance worldwide. In the southern USA, the rice cultivar Katy contains Pi-ta and is resistant to the predominant blast M. grisea races IB-49 and IC-17 and has been used as the blast resistant breeding parent. Three pairs of DNA primers specific to the dominant indica Pi-ta gene were designed to amplify the Pi-ta DNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products amplified by these Pi-ta specific primers were cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis confirmed the presence of the dominant indica Pi-ta allele. These Pi-ta primers were used to examine the presence of Pi-ta alleles in advanced Arkansas rice breeding lines. The Pi-ta containing rice lines, as determined by PCR analysis, were resistant to both IB-49 and IC-17 in standard pathogenicity assays. In contrast, lines lacking the Pi-ta genes failed to protect rice plants against both races IB-49 and IC-17. The presence of Pi-ta markers correlated with the Pi-ta resistance spectrum. Thus, the Pi-ta gene markers provide a basis for stacking other blast resistance genes into high yielding and good quality advanced breeding rice lines.
Presenilin 1 Facilitates the Constitutive Turnover of β-Catenin: Differential Activity of Alzheimer’s Disease–Linked PS1 Mutants in the β-Catenin–Signaling Pathway

Although an association between the product of the familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) gene, presenilin 1 (PS1), and β-catenin has been reported recently, the cellular consequences of this interaction are unknown. Here, we show that both the full length and the C-terminal fragment of wild-type or FAD mutant PS1 interact with β-catenin from transfected cells and brains of transgenic mice, whereas E-cadherin and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) are not detected in this complex. Inducible overexpression of PS1 led to increased association of β-catenin with glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), a negative regulator of β-catenin, and accelerated the turnover of endogenous β-catenin. In support of this finding, the β-catenin half-life was dramatically longer in fibroblasts deficient in PS1, and this phenotype was completely rescued by replacement of PS1, demonstrating that PS1 normally stimulates the degradation of β-catenin. In contrast, overexpression of FAD-linked PS1 mutants (M146L and ΔX9) failed to enhance the association between GSK-3β and β-catenin and interfered with the constitutive turnover of β-catenin. In vivo confirmation was demonstrated in the brains of transgenic mice in which the expression of the M146L mutant PS1 was correlated with increased steady-state levels of endogenous β-catenin. Thus, our results indicate that PS1 normally promotes the turnover of β-catenin, whereas PS1 mutants partially interfere with this process, possibly by failing to recruit GSK-3β into the PS1–β-catenin complex. These findings raise the intriguing possibility that PS1–β-catenin interactions and subsequent activities may be consequential for the pathogenesis of AD.
Problèmes de satisfaction de contraintes : étude de mécanismes d'abstraction et de construction de hiérarchies

De nombreux problemes issus de l'intelligence artificielle et de la recherche operationnelle peuvent s'exprimer naturellement sous forme de contraintes. Cette these est une etude de deux aspects importants concernant les problemes de satisfaction de contraintes (ou CSP pour constraint satisfaction problem). Dans une premiere partie, nous nous sommes intersses a la definition d'un cadre formel permettant de construire des abstractions de CSPS. Notre principal objectif a ete de rendre aussi generale que possible notre proposition. Cela se traduit par la possibilite d'integrer aussi bien les formes classiques d'abstraction de csps (introduites dans la litterature), que des formes originales identifiees dans cette these. Ces dernieres correspondent a la notion de regroupement dit general de valeurs et de variables. L'origine de la generalite du cadre est liee a l'utilisation de relations d'approximation comme liens d'abstraction. Afin de prouver experimentalement l'interet des formes originales d'abstraction, nous avons developpe le prototype abscon. Dans une seconde partie, nous nous sommes interesses a la modelisation de csps prenant en compte des preferences (ou priorites). Nous proposons a cet effet un modele de hierarchie flexible qui permet d'evaluer et de classer l'ensemble des instanciations possibles (ou solutions potentielles). Nous calculons une evaluation globale qui integre pour chaque niveau de la hierarchie un degre de satisfaction et un degre de tolerance. Le degre de tolerance d'un niveau permet de prendre plus ou moins en compte les niveaux suivants de la hierarchie. Le modele que nous proposons est directement construit a partir de l'expression des contraintes, ce qui le rend naturellement declaratif. Nous illustrons notre approche a l'aide d'une application reelle: la determination du profil de reseaux d'assainissement.
Plasma Current Measurement in Thermonuclear Fusion Reactors Using a Photon-Counting POTDR

In this letter, we present a fiber-optic current sensor for the measurement of plasma current in thermonuclear fusion reactors. The sensor includes a low-birefringence optical fiber placed around a section of the vacuum vessel that hosts the fusion reaction. The interrogating unit consists of a polarization-sensitive photon-counting optical time domain reflectometer that enables to determine the light polarization rotation induced by the plasma current. The measurement principle is demonstrated by means of the Jones formalism. The sensor has been experimentally validated on the Tore Supra tokamak fusion reactor for a plasma current range going from 0.6 to 1.5 MA. A maximum error of 13.50% has been observed for the lowest current.
Rapid mobilization of CD34+ cells following administration of the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 to patients with multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE Interactions between the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand stromal derived factor-1 regulate hematopoietic stem-cell trafficking. AMD3100 is a CXCR4 antagonist that induces rapid mobilization of CD34+ cells in healthy volunteers. We performed a phase I study assessing the safety and clinical effects of AMD3100 in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirteen patients (MM, n=7; NHL, n=6) received AMD3100 at a dose of either 160 microg/kg (n=6) or 240 microg/kg (n=7). WBC and peripheral blood (PB) CD34+ cell counts were analyzed at 4 and 6 hours following injection. RESULTS AMD3100 caused a rapid and statistically significant increase in the total WBC and PB CD34+ counts at both 4 and 6 hours following a single injection. The absolute CD34+ cell count increased from a baseline of 2.6 +/- 0.7/microL (mean +/- SE) to 15.6 +/- 3.9/microL and 16.2 +/- 4.3/microL at 4 hours (P=.002) and 6 hours after injection (P =.003), respectively. The absolute CD34+ cell counts observed at 4 and 6 hours following AMD3100 were higher in the 240 microg/kg group (19.3 +/- 6.9/microL and 20.4 +/- 7.6/microL, respectively) compared with the 160 microg/kg group (11.3 +/- 2.7/microL and 11.3 +/- 2.5/microL, respectively). The drug was well tolerated and only grade 1 toxicities were encountered. CONCLUSION AMD3100 appears to be a safe and effective agent for the rapid mobilization of CD34+ cells in patients who have received prior chemotherapy. Further studies in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in patients with lymphoid malignancies are warranted.
A transcriptional roadmap to wood formation

The large vascular meristem of poplar trees with its highly organized secondary xylem enables the boundaries between different developmental zones to be easily distinguished. This property of wood-forming tissues allowed us to determine a unique tissue-specific transcript profile for a well defined developmental gradient. RNA was prepared from different developmental stages of xylogenesis for DNA microarray analysis by using a hybrid aspen unigene set consisting of 2,995 expressed sequence tags. The analysis revealed that the genes encoding lignin and cellulose biosynthetic enzymes, as well as a number of transcription factors and other potential regulators of xylogenesis, are under strict developmental stage-specific transcriptional regulation.
Prescribing patterns for Alzheimer disease: survey of Canadian family physicians.

OBJECTIVE To describe Canadian family physicians' prescribing practices with regard to Alzheimer disease (AD). DESIGN Cross-sectional survey administered by facsimile. SETTING Four regions in Canada (British Columbia, the Prairie Provinces, Ontario, and the Atlantic Provinces). PARTICIPANTS A stratified random sample of 1000 Canadian family physicians (250 per region) chosen from the Canadian Medical Directory; 81 of whom were excluded as ineligible. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prescribing practices regarding cholinesterase inhibitors (ChIs) for patients with AD. RESULTS Response rate was 36.3%. About 27% of respondents reported that ChIs were prescribed for less than 10% of their AD patients, while 12.5% reported that ChIs were prescribed for more than 90% of their AD patients. More physicians prescribed ChIs in the two regions with provincial formulary coverage (Prairie Provinces and Ontario) than in the two regions without coverage (British Columbia and Atlantic Provinces). Factors that significantly predicted lower prescribing rates included female sex, perception of ChIs' effectiveness, and self-reported knowledge of ChIs. CONCLUSION Canadian physicians' prescribing patterns for ChIs vary; the optimal prescribing rate is unclear. Provincial coverage of these drugs along with physicians' sex, knowledge of ChIs, and perception of the effectiveness of ChIs appear to influence prescribing rates.
Inhibition of HIV-1 replication by eIF3f

Viruses often use host machinery in unusual ways to execute different steps during their replication. To identify host factors critical for virus replication, we screened cDNA expression libraries for genes or gene fragments that could interfere with HIV-1 vector transduction. The DNA clone that most potently inhibited HIV-1 expression encoded the N-terminal 91 aa of the eukaryotic initiation factor 3 subunit f (N91-eIF3f). Overexpression of N91-eIF3f or full-length eIF3f drastically restricted HIV-1 replication by reducing nuclear and cytoplasmic viral mRNA levels. N91-eIF3f and eIF3f specifically targeted the 3′ long terminal repeat (3′LTR) region in the viral mRNA. We show that the 3′ end cleavage of HIV-1 mRNA precursors is specifically reduced in N91-eIF3f expressing cells. Our results suggest a role of eIF3f in mRNA maturation and that it can specifically interfere with the 3′ end processing of HIV-1 mRNAs.
A Experiência do Tempo em Merleau-Ponty: Contribuições para a Fenomenologia Clínica

This article describes the experience of time in the thought of Merleau-Ponty as a possible contribution to the phenomenological clinic. Merleau-Ponty compares the experience of time with a network of intentionalities. In this sense, he departs from the notion of a structural sequence that surpasses itself. Time is the product of a dialectical tension between past and future, who is only overcomed by itself in as much as, jointly, preserves itself. It an also be understood as an ambiguity between the retentional and the successive. Thus, we propose to bring the idea of time as an ambiguous process to the psychological clinic, in a contribution to the humanisticphenomenological approach. This is so because, characterized by experiential ground, it makes use both of existentialist and phenomenological tradition.