Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Heuristic Approach for Assembly Scheduling and Transportation Problems with Parallel Machines

Many firms have to deal with the problems of scheduling and transportation allocation. The problems of assembly scheduling mainly focus on how to arrange orders in proper sequence on the assembly line with the purpose of minimizing the maximum completion time before they are flown to their destinations. Transportation allocation problems arise in how to assign processed orders to transport modes in order to minimize penalties such as earliness and tardiness. The two problems are usually separately discussed due to their complexity. This paper simultaneously deals with these two problems for firms with multiple identical parallel machines. We formulate this problem as a mixed integer programming model. The problem belongs to the class of NP-complete combinatorial optimization problems. This paper develops a hybrid genetic algorithm to obtain a compromised solution within a reasonable CPU time. We evaluate the performance of the presented heuristic with the well-known GAMS/CPLEX software. The presented approach is shown to perform well compared with well-known commercial software.
The ALS5 gene of Candida albicans and analysis of the Als5p N‐terminal domain

ALS genes of Candida albicans encode a family of cell‐surface glycoproteins with a three‐domain structure. Each Als protein has a relatively conserved N‐terminal domain, a central domain consisting of a tandemly repeated motif, and a serine‐threonine‐rich C‐terminal domain that is relatively variable across the family. The ALS family exhibits several types of variability that indicate the importance of considering strain and allelic differences when studying ALS genes and their encoded proteins. Analysis of ALS5 provided additional evidence of variability within the ALS family. Comparison of the ALS5 sequence from two strains indicated sequence differences larger than strain or allelic mismatches observed for other C. albicans genes. Screening a collection of commonly used C. albicans strains and clinical isolates indicated that ALS5 is not present in several of these strains, supporting the conclusion that the Als protein profile is variable among C. albicans isolates. Physical mapping of ALS5 showed that it is located close to ALS1 on chromosome 6. The N‐terminal domain of Als5p was produced in Pichia pastoris to initiate structural analysis of this portion of the protein. The hydrophobic character of this portion of the protein was exploited in the purification scheme. Circular dichroism analysis of the purified, authenticated protein yielded a high content of antiparallel β‐sheet and little to no α‐helical structure. These results are consistent with the conclusion that the N‐terminal domain of Als5p has an immunoglobulin fold structure similar to that found in many cell adhesion molecules. Gene sequences of C. albicans ALS5 (Accession No. AF068866) and TPI1 (Accession No. AF124845) have been deposited in the GenBank database. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using gaze analysis for learning analytics to assess learners of mathematics

In learning analytics, we use eye tracking technology to get deeper insights into the learning processes. In this paper, we propose to capture eye movements (fixation points and saccades) of learners of mathematics. The study aims at using eye tracking technology to understand the correlation between attention, gaze patterns and performance. The captured data will help us understand the relationships between texts, diagrams and formulas as well as identify quick and weak learners in mathematics and provide appropriate guidance.
The R1162 relaxase/primase contains two, type IV transport signals that require the small plasmid protein MobB

The relaxase of the plasmid R1162 is a large protein essential for conjugative transfer and containing two different and physically separate catalytic activities. The N‐terminal half cleaves one of the DNA strands at the origin of transfer (oriT) and becomes covalently linked to the 5′ terminal phosphate; the C‐terminal half is a primase essential for initiation of plasmid vegetative replication. We show here that the two parts of the protein are independently transported by the type IV pathway. Part of the domain containing the catalytic activity, as well as an adjacent region, is required in each case, but the required regions do not physically overlap. Both transport systems contribute to the overall frequency of conjugative transfer. MobB is a small protein, encoded within mobA but in a different reading frame, that stabilizes the relaxase at oriT. MobB is required for efficient type IV transport of both the complete relaxase and its two, separate functional halves. MobB inserts into the membrane and could thus stabilize the association between the relaxase and the type IV transfer apparatus.
Vancomycin‐Induced Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis

Vancomycin is well recognized as causing the nonallergic skin reaction known as red man syndrome; however, it is rarely suspected as causative in the setting of an immune‐mediated skin reaction. We describe a 76‐year‐old Caucasian woman with a history of penicillin and sulfa allergies who was transferred to our medical center while receiving vancomycin for treatment of persistent methicillin‐sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia. After admission, the patient's pacemaker was explanted; cultures from the pacemaker grew MSSA. Based on the culture data and her allergy to penicillin, vancomycin was continued. On day 4 of therapy, the patient developed a papular rash with small blisters on her distal upper extremities. Furosemide, which she was receiving intermittently to maintain fluid balance, was initially suspected as the likely cause. Furosemide was withheld; however, the rash worsened and spread to her neck and torso. Results of skin biopsy confirmed a severe leukocytoclastic, necrotizing small‐cell vasculitis that met the criteria for a hypersensitivity vasculitis associated with drug therapy. Five days after discontinuation of vancomycin, the vasculitis was resolving and continued to resolve throughout the remainder of her hospitalization. Furosemide was readministered without worsening of the vasculitis. Use of the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale indicated that the likelihood of vancomycin being the cause of the vasculitis was probable (score of 5). Clinicians should be aware of vancomycin as a potential cause of small‐vessel vasculitis.
Dynamics of Singularity Surfaces for Compressible Navier-Stokes Flows in Two Space Dimensions

We prove the global existence of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations of compressible, barotropic flow in two space dimensions with piecewise smooth initial data. These solutions remain piecewise smooth for all time, retaining simple jump discontinuities in the density and in the divergence of the velocity across a smooth curve, which is convected with the flow. The strengths of these discontinuities are shown to decay exponentially in time, more rapidly for larger acoustic speeds and smaller viscosities. The Navier-Stokes equations describe the conservation of mass and the balance of momentum: ρt + div(ρu) = 0 (1) (ρu)t + div(ρu u) + P (ρ)xj = ε∆u j + λdiv uxj . (2) Here t ≥ 0 is time, x ∈ R is the spatial coordinate, and ρ(x, t), P = P (ρ), and u(x, t) = (u(x, t), u(x, t)) are the fluid density, pressure, and velocity. ε > 0 and λ ≥ 0 are viscosity constants, and div and ∆ are the usual spatial divergence and Laplace operators. Specifically, we fix a positive, constant reference density ρ̃, and we assume that Cauchy data (ρ0, u0) is given for which ρ0 − ρ̃ is small in L ∩ L∞, u0 is small in H for some arbitrary but positive β (the L-norms must be weighted slightly), and that ρ0 is piecewise C (0 < α < β), having simple jump discontinuities across a C curve C(0). We then show that there is a global weak solution (ρ, u) for which ρ(·, t) and div u(·, t) are piecewise C, having simple jump discontinuities across a C curve C(t), which is the transport of C(0) by the velocity field u, and that certain other features of the solution concerning its singularities, readily obtainable from heuristic jump conditions, hold in a strict, pointwise sense. This research was supported in part by the NSF under Grant No. DMS-9986658. MSC 2000 : 35Q30, 76N10.
A User Study on Judging the Target Node in Partial Link Drawings

Partially drawn links are a possibility to reduce visual clutter in node-link visualizations of relational data caused by link crossings. Although partial links have some benefits concerning task performance, they exhibit issues regarding target node ambiguities. In this paper, we provide the results of a user study that investigates the performance in terms of task accuracy when judging target nodes to which partial links are pointing. We vary the link lengths and link directions as independent variables and measure the task accuracy as dependent variable while the exposure duration for each stimulus is fixed. The major result of our user study is that people tend to make more target node judgment errors with shorter link lengths. Moreover, the direction of the partial links also has an impact on the accuracy. With these results, we are able to choose appropriate parameter settings for graphs drawn with partial links. This can be regarded as a novel graph drawing criterion for improving the readability of graphs represented with partial links.
Prepartum work, job characteristics, and risk of cesarean delivery.

BACKGROUND Reducing the rate of cesarean deliveries in the United States is a high priority among public health officials and members of the medical community. Many factors known to contribute to an individual woman's risk of having a cesarean rather than a vaginal delivery are not readily altered by public policy intervention. In this study we explored the effects on type of delivery of prepartum work practices, a category of factors that has a potential to affect the likelihood of cesarean delivery and to be amenable to change. METHODS Data are from U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Infant Feeding Practices Study, using questions on mail surveys administered prenatally and at 1 month postpartum. The sample comprised 1194 women who worked during pregnancy. The outcome measure is type of delivery. Predictor variables are characteristics of prepartum work: how far into their pregnancy the women work, number of hours worked, and occupation. RESULTS For most women, maintaining employment through the third trimester, working long hours, and working in certain occupations are not independently associated with the odds of having a cesarean delivery. However, we found marginally significant evidence that those women who worked more than 40 hours a week in a sales job were more likely to have cesarean deliveries than women who worked in other occupations. Conversely, women working part-time in sales jobs were less likely to have a cesarean delivery. CONCLUSION This study provides evidence that prenatal work does not substantially increase the probability of having a cesarean delivery in most occupational categories.
Prostate-specific antigen levels in patients receiving long-term dialysis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect, if any, of renal failure upon prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and the validity of PSA estimation as a marker of prostatic disease in renal failure. PATIENTS AND METHODS PSA was measured in 65 men (median age 67 years, range 39-84) on regular haemodialysis and 37 men (median age 70 years, range 42-77) on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Patients with a PSA level > 4 ng/mL underwent prostatic biopsy guided by transrectal ultrasonography. RESULTS There was no evidence of an artefactual elevation of PSA attributable solely to renal failure. All eight patients with a PSA level > 4 ng/mL had prostatic disease. CONCLUSION PSA measurements in patients with end-stage renal failure treated by dialysis remain a useful marker of prostatic disease.
Investigations of Cellular Automata Linear Rules for Edge Detection

Edge detection of images is one of the basic and most significant operations in image processing and is used for object background separation, 3-D interpretation of a 2-D image, and pre-processing in image understanding and recognition algorithms. In this paper we investigate cellular automata linear rules for edge detection and based on this investigation we have classified the rules into no edge detection rules, strong edge detection rules and weak edge detection rules. Finally, we show the comparative analysis of the proposed technique with already defined techniques for edge detection and the results show desirable performance.
Efficacy of Inhaled Budesonide and Oral Theophylline in Asthmatic Subjects

The aim of present study was to evaluate clinical, functional, and anti-inflammatory effects of inhaled budesonide and oral theophylline treatments in patients with mild to moderate asthma. The study included 38 patients. After a 10-day run-in period, the patients were randomly assigned into two groups. Group 1 received inhaled budesonide (Pulmicort Turbuhaler) 800 μg/day for 4 weeks. Group 2 received oral theophylline (Talotren tablets, 200 mg twice daily) for 4 weeks. Inhaled budesonide therapy was accompanied by a significant decrease in serum interleukin (IL)-5 levels (p < 0.0005) and blood, sputum, and nasal eosinophil counts (p < 0.005). It produced a significant reduction in daytime (p < 0.01) and nighttime (p < 0.005) symptom scores and an increase in morning (p < 0.005) and evening (p < 0.05) peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) values (p < 0.01). Theophylline therapy was associated with a significant decrease in blood (p < 0.02) and nasal (p < 0.01) eosinophil counts and serum IL-5 levels (p < 0.01). It resulted in significant improvements in daytime and nighttime symptom scores (p < 0.05), and morning PEF and FEV1 values (p < 0.05). These changes were more significant in group 1 than in group 2. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with respect to post-treatment values. Our results confirm the role of inhaled corticosteroids in the treatment of asthma and are consistent with the recommendation that theophylline exerts an anti-inflammatory effect. Further studies should be conducted to determine long-term benefits of theophylline.
Etching of ${\rm MgB}_{2}$ Thin Films for Transition Edge Superconducting Bolometer Fabrication

Membrane-structured superconducting MgB2 thin films are potential candidates for the development of moderately cooled bolometers sensitive to far infra-red radiation. On the path to developing such devices, we present a comparison of three etching techniques for MgB2 thin films namely, chlorine plasma etch, aqueous hydrochloric acid etch and an aqueous nitric acid etch. Out of the three etch techniques, the aqueous 50% nitric acid solution etch, using standard photolithography, proved to have a high MgB2 etch rate (> 51 nm/s), with better sidewall delineation and selectivity to the underlying SiN-film-coated Si substrate, moreover the etched film structure showed good superconductivity transition characteristics, namely, a superconducting critical transition at 38.57 plusmn 0.6 K, a transition width of 0.09 K and a RRR of 2.22.
Phagotrophic ciliates and flagellates in an oligotrophic, deep, alpine lake: contrasting variability with seasons and depths

We followed the changes in the protist assemblage over an annual cycle at 3 sites and different depths of Traunsee in the Austrian Alps and quantified the variability of the ciliate assem- blage along successive depth and time intervals, respectively. More than 60 ciliate species were iden- tified alive and after quantitative protargol staining (QPS). The ciliate diversity was high, and is described in detail for 50 taxa in time-depth intervals. Rimostrombidium brachykinetum/Rimostrom- bidium hyalinum and Balanion planctonicum were the most frequent species, accounting for 44% of the annual mean abundance and 15% of the annual mean biovolume, respectively. Our results sug- gested a stronger variability in the ciliate assemblage structure within seasons than along the depth gradient. Gradual changes in the assemblage structure with depths: (1) were accompanied by a decrease of algivorous and mixotrophic and an increase of bacterivorous ciliates from surface to deeper layers; (2) were highly significantly altered with steep depth gradients of their potential food resources, i.e. the biomass of heterotrophic flagellates, bacteria and algae; and (3) were related with lower significance to environmental parameters. High similarity (>80%) between successive months was reached only when net changes in the total ciliate abundance were negligible, while a strong increase or decrease in the ciliate abundance was associated with pronounced changes in the species composition. These seasonal changes in the ciliate assemblage structure (4) were linked to shifts of algivorous and mixotrophic, but not of bacterivorous ciliates and (5) were less predictable with food resources compared to the depth gradient. The phagotrophic flagellates generally followed the seasonal and vertical patterns described for ciliates, and were shown to be important members of the planktonic food web in a cold, deep, oligotrophic lake.
Studies on the adsorption behavior of CO2-CH4 mixtures using activated carbon

Separation of CO2 from CO2-CH4 mixtures is an important issue in natural gas and biogas purification. The design of such separation processes depends on the knowledge of the behavior of multicomponent adsorption, particularly that of CO2-CH4 mixtures. In this study, we present a series of experimental binary equilibrium isotherms for CO2-CH4 mixtures on an activated carbon at 293 K and compare them with predicted values using the Ideal Adsorption Solution Theory (IAST) and the Extended Langmuir (EL) model. Even at concentrations of ca. 20% for all binary isotherms, CO2 already presents higher adsorbed amounts with respect to CH4. A maximum selectivity of around 8.7 was observed for a nearly equimolar mixture at 0.1 MPa. The IAST in conjunction with the Toth equation showed slightly better results than IAST using the Langmuir equation and both showed better results than the EL model.
Resistance Mechanisms in Clinical Isolates of Candida albicans

ABSTRACT Resistance to azole antifungals continues to be a significant problem in the common fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Many of the molecular mechanisms of resistance have been defined with matched sets of susceptible and resistant clinical isolates from the same strain. Mechanisms that have been identified include alterations in the gene encoding the target enzyme ERG11 or overexpression of efflux pump genes including CDR1, CDR2, and MDR1. In the present study, a collection of unmatched clinical isolates of C. albicans was analyzed for the known molecular mechanisms of resistance by standard methods. The collection was assembled so that approximately half of the isolates were resistant to azole drugs. Extensive cross-resistance was observed for fluconazole, clotrimazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole. Northern blotting analyses indicated that overexpression of CDR1 and CDR2 correlates with resistance, suggesting that the two genes may be coregulated. MDR1 overexpression was observed infrequently in some resistant isolates. Overexpression of FLU1, an efflux pump gene related to MDR1, did not correlate with resistance, nor did overexpression of ERG11. Limited analysis of the ERG11 gene sequence identified several point mutations in resistant isolates; these mutations have been described previously. Two of the most common point mutations in ERG11 associated with resistance, D116E and E266D, were tested by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the isolates from this collection. The results indicated that the two mutations occur frequently in different isolates of C. albicans and are not reliably associated with resistance. These analyses emphasize the diversity of mechanisms that result in a phenotype of azole resistance. They suggest that the resistance mechanisms identified in matched sets of susceptible and resistant isolates are not sufficient to explain resistance in a collection of unmatched clinical isolates and that additional mechanisms have yet to be discovered.
Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) in Medical Systems

In the last decade, the application of content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system has raised in the medical field such as medical imaging, crime prevention. The first content-based image retrieval system was introduced in 1990s. The content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system tried to overcome the problem of retrieving images automatically from a large database based on the different features such as shape, color and texture. This aim of this paper is to review some achievements of contentbased image retrieval system in the medical applications.
Multiple emboli after gastrectomy

A 60 year old man underwent a total gastrectomy for T2a, N0, M0 gastric cancer. Seven days after the operation, while still recovering in hospital, he developed left lower leg pain of sudden onset. He described the pain as severe and said that his leg below the knee felt cold and numb. His medical history included one deep vein thrombosis and one pulmonary embolus several years apart. He had no other medical history of note. In particular, he had no history of peripheral vascular disease or intermittent claudication. Before the gastrectomy, the only drug that he was taking was long term warfarin; this had been changed to therapeutic dose low molecular weight heparin perioperatively, and he remained on heparin at the onset of leg pain. He was an ex-smoker. On examination he seemed to be in pain, with a regular pulse of 100 beats/min, blood pressure of 140/70 mm Hg, and temperature of 36.5°C. His left leg was cold and pale, with no pulses palpable below the thigh. The rest of the cardiovascular examination was normal. Computed tomography angiography showed abrupt occlusion of the left common femoral artery, with a further occlusion of the left popliteal artery. Blood tests were as follows: haemoglobin 99 g/l, white blood cell count 17.7×109/l, platelets 65×109/l, urea 4.7 mmol/l; creatinine 68 µmol/l, bilirubin 12 µmol/l, activated partial thromboplastin time 27.7 seconds (normal range 26-36), and prothrombin time 14.4 seconds (normal range 11-26). Three days before the onset of leg pain his blood results had been: haemoglobin 101 g/l, white blood cell count 17.6×109/l, and platelets 163×109/l. An embolectomy was performed. Two days later he developed left subchondral and pleuritic chest pain. Oxygen saturation fell to 92% on air. Respiratory examination was otherwise unremarkable; examination of the …