Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallel Differential Evolution Algorithms for Stackelberg-Nash Bilevel Optimization Problems

The Bilevel Programming Problems with inter-dependent followers are characterized by three or more optimization problems nested in a hierarchical structure of the type leader-followers whose solution configures a Stackelberg-Nash equilibrium game. Their complexity and structure make many of them almost impracticable for solving via classical deterministic methods. Thus, population-based metaheuristics have been used to handle this class of problems. However, while the meta-models-based implementations are not indicated to tackle the inter-dependent followers BLPs, their nested structure can greatly increment the already high computational cost of the metaheuristics. Thus, we offer and study the three first parallel models for solving Stackelberg-Nash equilibrium BLPs via metaheuristics. All our parallel approaches are scalable and can be efficiently executed in individual multi-cores computing nodes and in high-distributed computational clusters. We reported relevant speedups for different computing architectures, which endorsed the potential of the proposals of this work as relevant tools to enable the study of increasingly larger and complex inter-dependent followers BLPs.
Psychoacoustical excitation of the (N)LMS algorithm for acoustical system identification

This paper presents an algorithm and an implementation of orthogonal perfect correlation sequences for acoustical system identification using psychoacoustical masking effects. Therefore, the common NLMS-algorithm has been modified to incorporate hidden orthogonal Ipatov- and Huffman-sequences for fast system identification. Using this method, the speed and accuracy of the identification of the loudspeaker-room-microphone-system is increased and the overall-performance of an echo and noise cancellation has been improved.
An efficient unconditionally stable three-dimensional LOD-FDTD method

This paper presents an unconditionally stable three-dimensional (3-D) finite-difference time-method (FDTD) based on the locally one-dimension (LOD-FDTD) scheme. The unconditional stability is proven theoretically and validated numerically. Numerical dispersion of the method is also derived analytically. Through the dispersion analysis and a numerical example, the proposed LOD-FDTD method is found to use less memory and CPU time than the conventional unconditionally stable alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) FDTD and other LOD-FDTD methods but with the same level of numerical accuracy. The saving in CPU time can be more than 55% in comparisons with the ADI-FDTD method and more than 29% in comparisons with a previously reported LOD-FDTD method.
Quality Management of Learning Management Systems: A User Experience Perspective

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have been the main vehicle for delivering and managing e-learning courses in educational, business, governmental and vocational learning settings. Since the mid-nineties there is a plethora of LMS in the market with a vast array of features. The increasing complexity of these platforms makes LMS evaluation a hard and demanding process that requires a lot of knowledge, time, and effort. Nearly 50% of respondents in recent surveys have indicated they seek to change their existing LMS primarily due to user experience issues. Yet the vast majority of the extant literature focuses only on LMS capabilities in relation to administration and management of teaching and learning processes. In this study the authors try to build a conceptual framework and evaluation model of LMS through the lens of User Experience (UX) research and practice, an epistemology that is quite important but currently neglected in the elearning domain. They conducted an online survey with 446 learning professionals, and from the results, developed a new UX-oriented evaluation model with four dimensions: pragmatic quality, authentic learning, motivation and engagement, and autonomy and relatedness. Their discussion on findings includes some ideas for future research.
Lifestyle factors affecting fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK Women's Cohort Study

The UK Women's Cohort Study (UKWCS) was originally set up to look at morbidity and mortality data on subjects with a wide range of dietary intakes including vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians, non-red meat eaters and red meat eaters. The aim of the present study was to investigate factors that affect fruit and vegetable consumption within this particular cohort of women. Females of ages 35-69 years, taking part in the UK Women's Cohort Study (N=35 367), provided health and lifestyle information including a 217-item food frequency questionnaire. In multiple logistic regression, the strongest predictors of a higher reported level of fruit and vegetable consumption were being a vegetarian or vegan, taking vitamin or mineral supplements, being married, educated to A-level or degree level and belonging to a higher socio-economic group. Conversely, smokers were found to be only half as likely as non-smokers to be high fruit and vegetable consumers. These lifestyle distinctions among three levels of reported fruit and vegetable consumption are relevant to the future targeting of health promotion strategies.
[Statins in the patient with chronic kidney disease and with diabetes mellitus].

Le complicanze cardiovascolari rappresentano la principale causa di mortalita e morbilita dei pazienti con malattia renale cronica che mostrano un graduale aumento del rischio cardiovascolare con la riduzione della funzione renale, fino a raggiungere, nelle fasi terminali di malattia, un rischio di mortalita fino a 30 volte maggiore rispetto alla popolazione generale di pari eta e sesso [1-2]. La malattia renale cronica quale fattore di rischio cardiovascolare trova ragione nella presenza dei numerosi fattori di rischio “non tradizionali” propri della malattia renale, come l’anemia, le alterazione del metabolismo minerale e l’infiammazione cronica; ma anche dell’elevata prevalenza nella popolazione nefropatica, dei tradizionali fattori di rischio cardiovascolari, quali l’ipertensione arteriosa,il diabete e la dislipidemia [3]. Nella malattia renale cronica le alterazioni del profilo lipidico sono di frequente riscontro (prevalenza del 60%) e si caratterizzano per la presenza di elevati valori di trigliceridemia, bassi valori di colesterolo HDL ed elevati valori di LDL, in particolare delle particelle piccole e dense (sdLDL) ed in forma ossidata (ox-LDL), quindi molto aterogene [4]. Tuttavia solo una piccola parte (circa 20%) dei pazienti nefropatici che presenta alterazioni lipidiche viene trattata con statine [5].
Grating Monopole Antenna for DVB-T Applications

A novel grating monopole antenna which consists of a grating patch and a rectangular ground plane with a concave shows a wide operating 2:1 VSWR bandwidth of 502 MHz for digital video broadcasting-terrestrial application is presented. This wideband property is achieved by using an impedance-matching technique of cutting a notch at the ground pattern opposite to the microstrip line. The concavity in the ground pattern serves as an effective technique for the gap between the radiating element and the ground plane. The large grating number can lower the resistance at higher resonant mode, thus it enhances the bandwidth. The proposed antenna has omnidirectional radiation patterns in the yz-plane. Details of the proposed antenna designs and experimental results of the constructed prototypes are presented.
Numbers of Antral Follicles During Follicular Waves in Cattle: Evidence for High Variation Among Animals, Very High Repeatability in Individuals, and an Inverse Association with Serum Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Concentrations1

Abstract The extent, causes, and physiological significance of the variation in number of follicles growing during ovarian follicular waves in human beings and cattle are unknown. Therefore, the present study examined the variability and repeatability in numbers of follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter during the follicular waves in bovine estrous cycles, and we determined if the variation in number of follicles during waves was associated with alterations in secretion of FSH, estradiol, inhibin, and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Dairy cattle were subjected to twice-daily ultrasound analysis to count total number of antral follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter throughout 138 different follicular waves. In another study, blood samples were taken at frequent intervals from cows that consistently had low or very high numbers of follicles during waves and were subjected to immunoassays. Results indicate the following: First, despite an approximately sevenfold variation in number of follicles during waves among animals and marked differences in age, stage of lactation, and season of the year, a very highly repeatable (0.95) number of follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter is maintained during the ovulatory and nonovulatory follicular waves of individuals. Second, variation in number of follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter during waves and the inverse association of number of follicles during waves with FSH are not directly explained by alterations in the patterns of secretion of estradiol, inhibin, or IGF-I. Third, ovarian ultrasound analysis can be used reliably by investigators to identify cattle that consistently have low or high numbers of follicles during waves, thus providing a novel experimental model to determine the causes and physiological significance of the high variation in antral follicle number during follicular waves among single-ovulating species, such as cattle or humans.
Moral Hypocrisy

People are capable of performing unambiguously immoral acts (Darley, 1992; Staub, 1989), but appear equipped with the psychological mechanisms to relieve themselves of responsibility (Bandura, 1990, 1996). Indeed, moral hypocrisy has been conceptualized as an individual’s ability to hold a belief while acting in discord with it (Batson, Kobrynowicz, Dinnerstein, Kampf, & Wilson, 1997). An equally unsettling, and perhaps more socially relevant, type of hypocrisy could be an interpersonal phenomenon whereby individuals’ evaluations of their own moral transgressions differ substantially from their evaluations of the same transgressions enacted by others. If such hypocrisy is common, there is good reason to theorize that this asymmetric charity might extend beyond the self. Specifically, group affiliation might stand as a limit on the radius of one’s ‘‘moral circle,’’ qualifying in-group members for the same leniency that individuals apply to their own transgressions. To the extent that the group stands as an important source of self-definition, one may have an interest in protecting the sanctity of that entity. Indeed, ‘‘in-group morality’’ has been posited as a fundamental moral intuition (Haidt & Graham, in press). To examine these hypotheses, we modified a paradigm developed by Batson et al. (1997). In one condition, subjects were required to distribute a resource (i.e., time and energy) to themselves and another person, and could do so either fairly (i.e., through a random allocation procedure) or unfairly (i.e., selecting the better option for themselves). They were then asked to evaluate the morality, or fairness, of their actions. In another condition, subjects viewed a confederate acting in the unfair manner, and subsequently evaluated the morality of this act. We defined hypocrisy as the discrepancy between the fairness judgments for this same transgression when committed by the self or by the other. To determine if hypocrisy would extend beyond the self, we included two additional conditions in which subjects judged the unfair action of a confederate who was either a member of their in-group or a member of an out-group. If hypocrisy emerged in these conditions as well, it would suggest flexibility in the radial boundaries of hypocrisy as a function of the target’s affiliation with the self. Using minimal groups to demonstrate such variability would constitute themost strict and compelling test of our hypothesis, revealing the deep-seated nature of hypocrisy.
Features and Prognostic Factors of Large Node-Negative Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancers Shifted to Stage II

Background: During the period that randomized clinical trials were establishing the role of adjuvant therapy in tumors larger than 5 cm without lymph-node invasion, which shifted from stage IB (6th TNM) to stage II (7th TNM), we derived the rate of shifted patients in our series and analyzed the relationship between specific patient- and tumor- characteristics, and clinical outcome, to identify putative prognostic factors. Methods: We retrospectively collected data (age, sex, smoking status, type of surgery grading, and histological type) from 467 patients who underwent radical surgery for primary 6th TNM-T2N0 non–small cell lung cancer patients between 1998 and 2009 at our institute. Categorical variables were cross-tabulated by tumor staging according to the 7th TNM edition, and they were tested both for association with stage and survival. Results: One hundred and eighteen patients shifted to stage II, mainly older patients and patients with a sarcomatoid or a poorly differentiated carcinoma. Median overall survival time was significantly different across stages. Among the factors investigated, only the tumor dimension resulted in being statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Nearly a quarter of patients shifted from stage I (6th TNM) to stage II (7th TNM), raising a major need for information on the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy in this group of patients. Our findings suggest that randomized clinical trials aimed at addressing this topic should consider only tumor dimensions as principal selection criteria.
Prevalence of microalbuminuria in non-diabetic hypertensive patients attended by Portuguese GPs.

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria in a sample of non-diabetic hypertensive patients and to correlate the presence of microalbuminuria with the patients' different clinical profiles. DESIGN A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional and non-interventional enquiry based on strict respect for the standard general practitioner's medical practice and the physician-patient relationship. SETTING Portuguese general practitioners (GPs) who had participated in a preliminary opinion survey on evaluation of renal function in hypertensive patients. POPULATION Non-diabetic uncontrolled and controlled hypertensive patients. METHOD Data were collected via written questionnaires completed by physicians at inclusion. Standard biochemical and microalbuminuria tests were performed by the laboratory chosen by each physician following the laboratory's usual practice. A Micral-Test"* to detect microalbuminuria was also performed on a spot morning urine collection. RESULTS Between May and October 2003, 531 general practitioners recruited 1582 non-diabetic hypertensive patients (58% female) with a mean age of 60.4 +/- 11.3 years; 11% of them were physically active and 10% were smokers. Almost all the patients (>95%) were under antihypertensive medication; 44% were also taking statins and 19% aspirin. Of the 1582 subjects, 57% (n=906) and 41% (n=652) had uncontrolled and controlled hypertension respectively, and 34% (n=539) had markers of renal function damage such as proteinuria, hematuria, microalbuminuria or albuminuria. Data for the Micral-Test were obtained in 98% of the patients and 29% (n=458) had a positive test. The mean albuminuria level was 12.34 +/- 37.88 mg/l. Seventy-six per cent of the patients (n=1196) had a normal urine test. Microalbuminuria was significantly more frequent in patients with uncontrolled (29%) than in controlled (20%) hypertension (p < 0.01), with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (33%) than without (24%) (p < 0.01), with ventricular arrhythmias (35%) than without (25%) (p < 0.05) and with cerebral hemorrhage or transient ischemic attack (41%) than without (25%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION This study confirmed that microalbuminuria is a powerful discriminator of high cardiovascular risk, and is associated with higher BP values and higher prevalence of LVH, ventricular arrhythmias and cerebrovascular disease in non-diabetic hypertensive patients.
The toolbox of Trichoderma spp. in the biocontrol of Botrytis cinerea disease.

Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen causing disease in many plant species, leading to economically important crop losses. So far, fungicides have been widely used to control this pathogen. However, in addition to their detrimental effects on the environment and potential risks for human health, increasing fungicide resistance has been observed in the B. cinerea population. Biological control, that is the application of microbial organisms to reduce disease, has gained importance as an alternative or complementary approach to fungicides. In this respect, the genus Trichoderma constitutes a promising pool of organisms with potential for B. cinerea control. In the first part of this article, we review the specific mechanisms involved in the direct interaction between the two fungi, including mycoparasitism, the production of antimicrobial compounds and enzymes (collectively called antagonism), and competition for nutrients and space. In addition, biocontrol has also been observed when Trichoderma is physically separated from the pathogen, thus implying an indirect systemic plant defence response. Therefore, in the second part, we describe the consecutive steps leading to induced systemic resistance (ISR), starting with the initial Trichoderma-plant interaction and followed by the activation of downstream signal transduction pathways and, ultimately, the defence response resulting in ISR (ISR-prime phase). Finally, we discuss the ISR-boost phase, representing the effect of ISR priming by Trichoderma spp. on plant responses after additional challenge with B. cinerea.
Synthesis of highly enantioenriched C-tertiary amines from boronic esters: application to the synthesis of igmesine.

Tertiary alkylamines are common motifs in many natural products and pharmaceuticals but access to them in enantiomerically enriched form can sometimes present a major challenge. A standard route to these compounds involves the addition of nucleophiles, for example, organometallic reagents or cyanide to ketimines, but other indirect methods have also been reported. Whilst many of these methods have been successful in delivering high levels of stereocontrol, the level of selectivity is highly substratedependent. We recently reported a conceptually new method for the synthesis of tertiary alcohols that routinely delivered more than 98% ee over a broad range of substrates (Scheme 1). In
Expression of Six1 homeobox gene during development of the mouse submandibular salivary gland.

BACKGROUND Members of the Six family of homeoproteins are expressed in numerous tissues during vertebrate embryogenesis, and are critical regulators of both cell proliferation and survival. Here we report the temporal and spatial expression of Six1 during maturation of the mouse submandibular salivary gland (SSG) from embryonic day 18.5 (E18.5) to postnatal day 28. Additionally, we examine the role of Six1 during SSG development using Six1-deficient mice. METHODS Six1 expression was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunofluorescence. Proliferation was measured by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation index, and apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL assay. RESULTS Six1 mRNA and protein levels are high in the epithelial SSG cells at E18.5 and decrease progressively in the postnatal maturing SSG. Although SSGs from Six1(-/-) embryos are significantly smaller than wild type SSGs, the histological structures of the SSG acini and ducts are similar. Six1(-/-) salivary epithelial cells exhibit an intrinsic defect in cell proliferation accompanied by a significant reduction in the Six1 target gene cyclin A1, previously shown to be a critical mediator of Six1-induced proliferation. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that the reduction in size of Six1(-/-) SSGs is result of a decrease in cell proliferation during development/maturation.
Characterization of female breast lesions from multi-wavelength time-resolved optical mammography

Characterization of both malignant and benign lesions in the female breast is presented as the result of a clinical study that involved more than 190 subjects in the framework of the OPTIMAMM European project. All the subjects underwent optical mammography, by means of a multi-wavelength time-resolved mammograph, in the range 637–985 nm. Optical images were processed by applying a perturbation model, relying on a nonlinear approximation of time-resolved transmittance curves in the presence of an inclusion, with the aim of estimating the major tissue constituents (i.e. oxy- and deoxy-haemoglobin, lipid and water) and structural parameters (linked to dimension and density of the scatterer centres) for both the lesion area and the surrounding tissue. The critical factors for the application of the perturbation model on in vivo data are also discussed. Forty-six malignant and 68 benign lesions were analysed. A subset of 32 cancers, 40 cysts and 14 fibroadenomas were found reliable for the perturbation analysis. For cancers, we show a higher blood content with respect to the surrounding tissue, while cysts are characterized by a lower concentration of scattering centres with respect to the surrounding tissue. For fibroadenomas, the low number of cases does not allow any definite conclusions.
Migration and fate of newly born cells after focal cortical ischemia in adult rats

Neural cell migration and differentiation may participate in neural repair after adult brain injury; however, the survival and differentiation of newly born cells after different brain lesions are poorly understood. We have examined the migration and fate of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)‐labeled cells after a highly reproducible focal ischemic lesion restricted to the frontoparietal cortex in adult rats. Thermocoagulation of pial blood vessels induces a circumscribed degeneration of all cortical layers while sparing the corpus callosum and striatum and increases cell proliferation in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and rostral migratory stream (RMS) within 7 days. We now show that, although the rostral migration of the newly born SVZ cells and their differentiation into neurons in the olfactory bulb were not affected by the lesion, numerous cells expressing the neuroblast marker doublecortin migrated laterally in the striatum and corpus callosum 5 days postinjury. In addition to the SVZ, BrdU‐labeled cells were seen in the striatum, in the corpus callosum, and around the lesion. One month later, BrdU‐labeled cells in the corpus callosum expressed transferrin and the π isoform of glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST‐π), markers of oligodendrocytes. Other BrdU+ cells expressed a marker of astrocytes, but none expressed neuronal markers, suggesting that new neurons do not form or survive under these conditions. Numerous BrdU‐labeled cells were still observed in the SVZ and RMS. The data show that focal cortical ischemia does not lead to the long‐term survival of new neurons in the striatum or cortex but induces long‐term alterations in the SVZ and the production of new oligodendrocytes that may contribute to neural repair. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.