Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Loan Performance for Bank Offices: A Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach

Abstract This paper aims at evaluating loan performance of bank offices. For this purpose, a multicriteria decision support model given uncertainty is developed, in which the criteria to evaluate loan performance are the different discount rates which can be potentially used to compute the net present value (NPV) of each loan outflow and repayment inflow. This proposal is motivated by the fact that the true discount rate (opportunity cost of capital) is uncertain. The bank offices are classified in non-dominated and dominated by other bank offices in terms of loan performance from the multiple NPV criteria. As a further result, a complete ranking of the bank offices from their performance indexes is obtained. This ranking relies on a principle of moderate pessimism to solve uncertainty tables. Although the proposed method is applicable to various types of loans, the special class of personal loans is emphasised in the paper. As an actual case, a set of bank offices are evaluated from their loans and repayments during the period 2001–2010. Numerical data are tabulated together with the computing process and the results.
The Botrytis cinerea cerato-platanin BcSpl1 is a potent inducer of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in tobacco and generates a wave of salicylic acid expanding from the site of application.

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a potent plant defence system that, in response to a first contact with a plant pathogen, prepares the whole plant for subsequent attacks, so that it becomes more resistant to the same and to other pathogens. BcSpl1, a cerato-platanin family protein abundantly secreted by Botrytis cinerea, is required for full virulence and elicits the hypersensitive response in the host. Here, we report that BcSpl1 is also able to induce in tobacco systemic resistance to two plant pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae and B. cinerea, which correlates with the induction of two pathogenesis-related genes, PR-1a and PR-5. Levels of salicylic acid were quantified in situ on BcSpl1 infiltration, and a wave of salicylic acid departing from the point of infiltration and running through the leaf was observed, as well as the appearance of this plant hormone in the neighbouring leaves as early as 3 days after infiltration.
Effect of feeding various gestation and lactation dietary protein sequences on long-term reproductive performance in swine.

An experiment was conducted at two locations with 87 crossbred swine for three parities to evaluate reproductive performance as affected by three different dietary protein regimens. During each of three gestation/lactation periods, one sow group received a 14/15% protein diet sequence, respectively, while a second received an 8.5/20% diet regimen. A third group was fed an 8.5% protein corn diet the first 75 days of pregnancy, 14% until parturition and a 16% lactation diet. Corn and soybean meal diets were formulated with ratios adjusted to achieve the desired protein level. Sow weights and gains were influenced by gestation protein level with lower gains consistently resulting at each parity when the corn (8.5%) diet was fed throughout pregnancy. Farrowing percentage and the number of pigs born were not significantly affected by any of the dietary treatments. Lactation feed intakes were highest from the sow group fed the 14/15% sequence and similar for the other two treatments at each parity. All sow groups gained weight during lactation with the largest gains with the group fed the 8.5/20% protein sequence. There was a trend for larger pig birth weights with a higher proportion of heavier pigs from sows fed the 14/15% protein sequence. This weight differential was, however, attributed to initial colostral consumption before birth weights were obtained, since initial milk pro-
Seminal Plasma Calcium in Normal and Infertile Patients

Introduction In this study an attempt is made to find out the level of calcium in seminal plasma of normal and infertile patients. Materials and Methods Semen samples are collected from 34 normal men and 112 infertile patients. After semen evaluation seminal plasma was separated and calcium level was measured in it. Results Calcium level in mg% is recorded in each group as follows; in normozospermia (n34) 20.14 ± 1.25 (±SE), oligozoospermia (n26) 9.76 ± 1.17, azoospermia (n33) 14.65 ± 2.63, oligoasthenozoosperma (n28) 20.91 ± 1.94 and in asthenozoospermia (n25) 11.56 ± 1.68. Statistically highly significant reduction in calcium is seen in Oligozoospermia and asthenozoospermia. Conclusions The probable reasons for these two conditions are discussed.
Comparison of the Real-Time PCR Method and the Gen-Probe Amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis Direct Test for Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Pulmonary and Nonpulmonary Specimens

ABSTRACT Real-time PCR was compared to Amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis Direct Test (AMTDII) for 100 clinical specimens. The overall sensitivities of the real-time PCR method and AMTDII were similar for respiratory and nonrespiratory specimens. However, real-time PCR seemed to be less susceptible to amplification inhibitors than AMTDII.
Compressed Air Energy Storage in an Electricity System With Significant Wind Power Generation

In this paper, a stochastic electricity market model is applied to estimate the effects of significant wind power generation on system operation and on economic value of investments in compressed air energy storage (CAES). The model's principle is cost minimization by determining the system costs mainly as a function of available generation and transmission capacities, primary energy prices, plant characteristics, and electricity demand. To obtain appropriate estimates, notably reduced efficiencies at part load, start-up costs, and reserve power requirements are taken into account. The latter are endogenously modeled by applying a probabilistic method. The intermittency of wind is covered by a stochastic recombining tree and the system is considered to adapt on increasing wind integration over time by endogenous modeling of investments in selected thermal power plants and CAES. Results for a German case study indicate that CAES can be economic in the case of large-scale wind power deployment
Text Detection for Multi-Orientation Scene Images using Adaptive Clustering

Detection of text in camera-based images is a vital requirement for several computer vision applications. Text detection task is frequently challenging due to difficulties like composite backgrounds, dissimilarities of text orientations, font, size, color. The aim is to recognize text in a combine manner by searching for words from the image into text areas or single character candidates. Text captured in natural scenes is most of the times with multiple orientations and point of distortions. Currently most research efforts focuses on horizontal orientation from images. To address same issues a novel approach unified distance metric learning framework is proposed an adaptive hierarchical clustering, which learns weights of the character candidates once at a time and adaptively integrate different feature similarities. An effective multi-orientation text detection system, which constructs the text character candidates by grouping characters based on an adaptive clustering.
COGNITIVE MAPPING AS A TOOL FOR REQUIREMENTS CAPTURE

This paper describes the application of cognitive mapping techniques, for eliciting and representing cognitive structure, to the problem of user requirement capture for the design of an electronic database. The research is based upon the assumption that organising information so as to be compatible with the structure of users' knowledge will enhance information retrieval by supporting more effective navigation behaviour. Although several researchers have noted the potential of cognitive mapping techniques, previous research has generally failed to address serious methodological problems associated with their application to design. A methodological approach is devised which addresses these problems, and thereby enhances the utility of the techniques as tools for user requirement capture.
Characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase by using monoclonal antibodies: role of the C terminus in antibody reactivity and enzyme function

We describe the production of eight monoclonal antibodies reactive with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) by immunization of mice with purified recombinant RT. These antibodies were found to react with one or the other of two regions of the enzyme and were found to be useful in immunodeficiency purification of large amounts of the enzyme. One epitope located at the C terminus of the enzyme was of particular interest, since it was present in only the larger, 66-kilodalton (kDa) RT species and not its smaller, 51-kDa counterpart. To define this epitope, a series of mutants was made which synthesized C-terminally truncated RT. These mutants indicated that the same region of the enzyme, when deleted, both removed the C-terminal epitope and drastically reduced RT activity, indicating the importance of this region in the function of the enzyme; however, even the 51-kDa enzyme component had demonstrable activity.
The natural history of the anterior cruciate ligament autograft of patellar tendon origin

A rabbit model for ACL reconstruction using autoge nous patellar tendon (PT) was used to study graft viability, its response to new physical forces, and the intrasynovial milieu. The autograft was assessed grossly, histologically, and biochemically with respect to time. Histologic observations demonstrated that autografts were centrally acellular with a peripheral rim of cells at 2 weeks, and had a central focal proliferation of cells at 3 weeks and cellular homogeneity by 4 weeks pos toperation. Necrosis followed by cellular proliferation suggested that a population of cells other than the native PT fibroblasts may be inhabiting the graft. Graft sequestration experiments demonstrated that autografts are repopulated by cells of extrinsic origin after transplantation. Autografts showed a gradual as sumption of the microscopic properties of normal ACL; by 30 weeks posttransplant the tissue characteristics were ligamentous in appearance. Histologic changes paralleled the biochemical metamorphosis: Type III col lagen was not observed in PT; however, a gradual increase in its concentration was seen in the grafts; by 30 weeks its concentration (10%) was the same as in normal ACL. Similarly, glycosaminoglycan content in creased from its normally low level in PT to that found in native ACL. Collagen-reducible cross-link analysis revealed that grafted tissue changed from the normal PT pattern of low dihydroxylysinonorleucine and high histidinohydroxymerodesmosine to the opposite pat tern seen in normal ACL by 30 weeks. These data suggest that PT autografts undergo a process of "ligamentization" when placed in the ACL environment, and that cells responsible for this meta morphosis are of extragraft origin.
Differential proteomic analysis reveals novel links between primary metabolism and antibiotic production in Amycolatopsis balhimycina

A differential proteomic analysis, based on 2‐DE and MS procedures, was performed on Amycolatopsis balhimycina DSM5908, the actinomycete producing the vancomycin‐like antibiotic balhimycin. A comparison of proteomic profiles before and during balhimycin production characterized differentially and constitutively expressed protein isoforms, which were associated with 203 ORFs in the A. balhimycina genome. These data, providing insights on the major metabolic pathways/molecular processes operating in this organism, were used to compile 2‐DE reference maps covering 3–10, 4–7 and 4.5–5.5 pH gradients available over the World Wide Web as interactive web pages (http://www.unipa.it/ampuglia/Abal‐proteome‐maps). Functional clustering analysis revealed that differentially expressed proteins belong to functional groups involved in central carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism and protein biosynthesis, energetic and redox balance, sugar/amino sugar metabolism, balhimycin biosynthesis and transcriptional regulation or with hypothetical and/or unknown function. Interestingly, proteins involved in the biosynthesis of balhimycin precursors, such as amino acids, amino sugars and central carbon metabolism intermediates, were upregulated during antibiotic production. qRT‐PCR analysis revealed that 8 out of 14 upregulated genes showed a positive correlation between changes at translational and transcriptional expression level. Furthermore, proteomic analysis of two nonproducing mutants, restricted to a sub‐set of differentially expressed proteins, showed that most proteins required for the biosynthesis of balhimycin precursors are downregulated in both mutants. These findings suggest that primary metabolic pathways support anabolic routes leading to balhimycin biosynthesis and the differentially expressed genes are interesting targets for the construction of high‐yielding producer strains by rational genetic engineering.
In situ hybridization for gastrin‐releasing peptide receptor (GRP receptor) expression in prostatic carcinoma

Bombesin‐like peptides (BLPs), which have been implicated in the regulation of growth of prostatic carcinoma cells, are a product of neuroendocrine cells frequently found in prostate tissue and are postulated to play a role in the initiation or progression of prostatic carcinoma. In this report, we examined the expression, in human prostate tissue, of mRNA encoding the 3 known receptors that respond to BLPs in humans, i.e., gastrin‐releasing peptide (GRP) receptor, neuromedin B (NMB) receptor and bombesin receptor subtype 3 (BRS‐3). Competitive rt‐PCR experiments demonstrated the widespread but variable expression of GRP receptor mRNA in fresh‐frozen specimens of prostatic carcinoma (12 cases) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (6 cases). NMB receptor mRNA expression was also widespread, but its level was less variable than GRP receptor message. In contrast, we could not detect BRS‐3 mRNA in most tissue samples by rt‐PCR. To address which cells in the prostate express the GRP receptor, we used in situ hybridization methods to stain selectively GRP receptor mRNA. GRP receptor mRNA was expressed predominantly in the luminal and basal epithelial cells in both histologically normal and cancerous glands within sections of normal (3 cases) and diseased (37 cases) tissue. GRP receptor mRNA staining in cancerous tissue ranged widely from very intense to not detectable (about 30% of the cases), while normal tissue consistently displayed a low level of message staining. Taken together, our results demonstrate expression of the GRP receptor in a high percentage of basal and/or luminal epithelial cells of normal and diseased prostate tissues. Int. J. Cancer (Pred. Oncol.) 79:82–90, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Splicing in action: assessing disease causing sequence changes

Variations in new splicing regulatory elements are difficult to identify exclusively by sequence inspection and may result in deleterious effects on precursor (pre) mRNA splicing. These mutations can result in either complete skipping of the exon, retention of the intron, or the introduction of a new splice site within an exon or intron. Sometimes mutations that do not disrupt or create a splice site activate pre-existing pseudo splice sites, consistent with the proposal that introns contain splicing inhibitory sequences. These variants can also affect the fine balance of isoforms produced by alternatively spliced exons and in consequence cause disease. Available genomic pathology data reveal that we are still partly ignorant of the basic mechanisms that underlie the pre-mRNA splicing process. The fact that human pathology can provide pointers to new modulatory elements of splicing should be exploited.
Prevalence and Evolution of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Spanish Hospitals between 1996 and 2002

ABSTRACT Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis of 2,144 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from patients in Spanish hospitals over a 7-year period revealed 17 predominant profiles. Typing showed the replacement of Iberian clone E1 (ST247-MRSA-I) by two prevalent clones, E7 and E8, that are closely related to each other and have the same genetic background as ST125-MRSA-IV.
Conductance anomaly near the Lifshitz transition in strained bilayer graphene

Strain qualitatively changes the low-energy band structure of bilayer graphene, leading to the appearance of a pair of low-energy Dirac cones near each corner of the Brillouin zone, and a Lifshitz transition (a saddle point in the dispersion relation) at an energy proportional to the strain [ Mucha-Kruczynski, Aleiner and Fal'ko Phys. Rev. B 84 041404 (2011)]. Here, we show that in the vicinity of the Lifshitz transition, the conductance of a ballistic n-p and n-p-n junction exhibits an anomaly: a nonmonotonic temperature and chemical potential dependence, with the size depending on the crystallographic orientation of the principal axis of the strain tensor. This effect is characteristic for junctions between regions of different polarity (n-p and n-p-n junctions), while there is no anomaly in junctions between regions of the same polarity (n-n′ and n-n′-n junctions).
Proteomics to Identify Proteins Interacting with P2X2 Ligand-Gated Cation Channels

Ligand-gated ion channels underlie synaptic communication in the nervous system1. In mammals there are three families of ligand-gated channels: the cys loop, the glutamate-gated and the P2X receptor channels2. In each case binding of transmitter leads to the opening of a pore through which ions flow down their electrochemical gradients. Many ligand-gated channels are also permeable to calcium ions3, 4, which have downstream signaling roles5 (e.g. gene regulation) that may exceed the duration of channel opening. Thus ligand-gated channels can signal over broad time scales ranging from a few milliseconds to days. Given these important roles it is necessary to understand how ligand-gated ion channels themselves are regulated by proteins, and how these proteins may tune signaling. Recent studies suggest that many, if not all, channels may be part of protein signaling complexes6. In this article we explain how to identify the proteins that bind to the C-terminal aspects of the P2X2 receptor cytosolic domain. P2X receptors are ATP-gated cation channels and consist of seven subunits (P2X1-P2X7). P2X receptors are widely expressed in the brain, where they mediate excitatory synaptic transmission and presynaptic facilitation of neurotransmitter release7. P2X receptors are found in excitable and non-excitable cells and mediate key roles in neuronal signaling, inflammation and cardiovascular function8. P2X2 receptors are abundant in the nervous system9 and are the focus of this study. Each P2X subunit is thought to possess two membrane spanning segments (TM1 & TM2) separated by an extracellular region7 and intracellular N and C termini (Fig 1a)7. P2X subunits10 (P2X1-P2X7) show 30-50% sequence homology at the amino acid level11. P2X receptors contain only three subunits, which is the simplest stoichiometry among ionotropic receptors. The P2X2 C-terminus consists of 120 amino acids (Fig 1b) and contains several protein docking consensus sites, supporting the hypothesis that P2X2 receptor may be part of signaling complexes. However, although several functions have been attributed to the C-terminus of P2X2 receptors9 no study has described the molecular partners that couple to the intracellular side of this protein via the full length C-terminus. In this methods paper we describe a proteomic approach to identify the proteins which interact with the full length C-terminus of P2X2 receptors.
Tracking Collagen Fibres through Image Volumes from SBFSEM

Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) has become an important modality for examining small structures in biology, and new instruments are capable of gathering large volumes of data. Analysing these datasets manually is difficult because of the number of individual images involved. Objects of interest often span many slices, and must be tracked by the user through these slices to understand their full 3D structure. In this paper we focus on analysing the shape and structure of collagen fibres. There can be over 10,000 fibres in a single image, and ideally each would be tracked through the volume in order to estimate their lengths and how they form into bundles. Manual annotation of such data has proved impractical. Here we describe an automated system which detects the fibres and tracks them through large image volumes. We show that multi-scale normalised cross correlation is effective for finding candidates in a single image, and that false positive matches can be eliminated using a random forest classifier. Tracking is performed by linking candidates from one image to the next. We describe the system in detail, including experiments assessing the accuracy and reliability of the approach when tracking through hundreds of image slices in a volume.
Autophagy Contributes to Caspase-independent Macrophage Cell Death*

Macrophage cell death plays a role in many physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Previous work has shown that macrophages can undergo caspase-independent cell death, and this process is associated with Nur77 induction, which is involved in inducing chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. Here we show that autophagy is a cytosolic event that controls caspase-independent macrophage cell death. Autophagy was induced in macrophages treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) and the pan-caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp (Z-VAD), and the inhibition of autophagy by either chemical inhibitors or by the RNA interference knockdown of beclin (a protein required for autophagic body formation) inhibited caspase-independent macrophage cell death. We also found an increase in poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) polymerase (PARP) activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in LPS + Z-VAD-treated macrophages, and both are involved in caspase-independent macrophage cell death. We further determined that the formation of autophagic bodies in macrophages occurs downstream of PARP activation, and PARP activation occurs downstream of ROS production. Using macrophages in which receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1) was knocked down by small interfering RNA, and macrophages isolated from Toll/interleukin-1 receptor-domain-containing adaptor inducing IFN-β (TRIF)-deficient mice, we found that TRIF and RIP1 function upstream of ROS production in LPS + Z-VAD-treated macrophages. We also found that Z-VAD inhibits LPS-induced RIP1 cleavage, which may contribute to ROS over-production in macrophages. This paper reveals that TRIF, RIP1, and ROS production, as well as PARP activation, are involved in inducing autophagy, which contributes to caspase-independent macrophage cell death.