Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydra: a hybrid recommender system [cross-linked rating and content information]

This paper discusses the combination of collaborative and content-based filtering in the context of web-based recommender systems. In particular, we link the well-known MovieLens rating data with supplementary IMDB content information. The resulting network of user-item relations and associated content features is converted into a unified mathematical model, which is applicable to our underlying neighbor-based prediction algorithm. By means of various experiments, we demonstrate the influence of supplementary user as well as item features on the prediction accuracy of Hydra, our proposed hybrid recommender. In order to decrease system runtime and to reveal latent user and item relations, we factorize our hybrid model via singular value decomposition (SVD).
Transcriptomic Changes Drive Physiological Responses to Progressive Drought Stress and Rehydration in Tomato

Tomato is a major crop in the Mediterranean basin, where the cultivation in the open field is often vulnerable to drought. In order to adapt and survive to naturally occurring cycles of drought stress and recovery, plants employ a coordinated array of physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses. Transcriptomic studies on tomato responses to drought and subsequent recovery are few in number. As the search for novel traits to improve the genetic tolerance to drought increases, a better understanding of these responses is required. To address this need we designed a study in which we induced two cycles of prolonged drought stress and a single recovery by rewatering in tomato. In order to dissect the complexity of plant responses to drought, we analyzed the physiological responses (stomatal conductance, CO2 assimilation, and chlorophyll fluorescence), abscisic acid (ABA), and proline contents. In addition to the physiological and metabolite assays, we generated transcriptomes for multiple points during the stress and recovery cycles. Cluster analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the conditions has revealed potential novel components in stress response. The observed reduction in leaf gas exchanges and efficiency of the photosystem PSII was concomitant with a general down-regulation of genes belonging to the photosynthesis, light harvesting, and photosystem I and II category induced by drought stress. Gene ontology (GO) categories such as cell proliferation and cell cycle were also significantly enriched in the down-regulated fraction of genes upon drought stress, which may contribute to explain the observed growth reduction. Several histone variants were also repressed during drought stress, indicating that chromatin associated processes are also affected by drought. As expected, ABA accumulated after prolonged water deficit, driving the observed enrichment of stress related GOs in the up-regulated gene fractions, which included transcripts putatively involved in stomatal movements. This transcriptomic study has yielded promising candidate genes that merit further functional studies to confirm their involvement in drought tolerance and recovery. Together, our results contribute to a better understanding of the coordinated responses taking place under drought stress and recovery in adult plants of tomato.
THERMODYNAMICS OF SOLIDIFYING OR MELTING VISCOELASTIC MATERIAL

Investigated are thermodynamic restrictions on rate-type creep laws . for porous materials which slowly solidify while carrying load (aging of concrete. I.e., ,radual filling of pores in concrete by hydration products) or slowly melt (gradual dehydration of concrete at high temperature). Thermodynamic potentials (Helmholtz free energy and complementary or Gibbs free energy) are determined. The chemical dissipation of elastic energy is calculated and the con~ition of its positiveness . is proposed; this requires that elastic relations be introduced m t~rms of str~s and st~am rates for solidifying materials and in terms of stresses and strams for. meltll~g mat~n.als. Some creep laws used in practice are found to have thermodynamically madmlsslble form. Creep laws of thermodynamically correct form are shown. The known forms of such laws often cannot, however, lit available long-time creep test data for concrete very well, unless some material parameters or rates. are ~llowed to have thermodynamically inadmissible negative values for shon penods of time. REFERENCE: Bazant, Zdenek P., "Thermodynamics of Solidifying or Melting Viscoelastic Material," lounu/ of the Engineering Meclwlics Division, ASCE, Vol. lOS, No. EM6, Pnc:. p . 15041, December, 1979, pp. 933-9S2
Hubungan antara kesepian (loneliness) dengan kecenderungan fanatik terhadap hewan pada komunitas pecinta hewan

Fanatisme merupakan fenomena yang sangat penting dalam budaya modern, pemasaran, serta realitas pribadi dan sosial di masyarakat, hal ini karena budaya sekarang sangat berpengaruh besar terhadap individu dan hubungan yang terjadi pada diri individu menciptakan suatu keyakinan dan pemahaman berupa hubungan, kesetian, pengabdian, kecintaan, dan sebagainya. Fanatisme adalah salah satu cara untuk mempertahankan diri dari keterasingan dan kesepian jiwa. tapi ada beberapa faktor yang secara dominan dapat mempengaruhi munculnya fanatisme yaitu antusiasme berlebihan dan pendidikan. Seseorang yang berpendidikan dan berwawasan luas dapat menimbulkan benih-benih sikap simpati atau fanatisme yang positif, begitu juga sebaliknya pengajaran yang sempit dapat mengakibatkan benihbenih fanatisme yang cenderung ke arah fanatisme negatif karena diberikan pengajaran secara terus menerus namun tidak diimbangi dengan wawasan yang luas, sehingga bukan pengembangan diri berdasarkan wawasan, pengetahuan dan pengalaman yang dimiliki, tetapi pembentukan diri yang dipaksakan berdasarkan pengajaran yang diberikan secara terus menerus sehingga akan menimbulkan bibit fanatisme dalam diri individu. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji hubungan kesepian (loneliness) dengan kecenderungan fanatisme terhadap hewan pada komunitas pecinta hewan. Subyek dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 120 orang namun hanya 81 skala yang terisi lengkap dan data dapat dianalisis. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan skala yang diuji dengan Cronbach‟s Alpha untuk memastikan alat tes yang digunakan reliabel. Hasil yang diperoleh sebagai berikut skala kesepian (loneliness) memiliki koefisien reliabilitas = 0,815, dan skala kecenderungan fanatisme memiliki koefisien reliabilitas = 0,724. Kemudian diuji menggunakan analisis korelasi product moment. Berdasarkan hasil pengujian diketahui ada hubungan positif antara kesepian (loneliness) dengan kecenderungan fanatisme (rxy) = 0,005 dengan (p) = 0,967, sehingga korelasi dari kedua variabel tersebut adalah tidak signifikan.
Value-based medicine, comparative effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness analysis of topical cyclosporine for the treatment of dry eye syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To assess the comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness (cost-utility) of a 0.05% emulsion of topical cyclosporine (Restasis; Allergan Inc, Irvine, California) for the treatment of moderate to severe dry eye syndrome that is unresponsive to conventional therapy. METHODS Data from 2 multicenter, randomized, clinical trials and Food and Drug Administration files for topical cyclosporine, 0.05%, emulsion were used in Center for Value-Based Medicine analyses. Analyses included value-based medicine as a comparative effectiveness analysis and average cost-utility analysis using societal and third-party insurer cost perspectives. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Outcome measures of comparative effectiveness were quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gain and percentage of improvement in quality of life, and for cost-effectiveness were cost-utility ratio (CUR) using dollars per QALY. RESULTS Topical cyclosporine, 0.05%, confers a value gain (comparative effectiveness) of 0.0319 QALY per year compared with topical lubricant therapy, a 4.3% improvement in quality of life for the average patient with moderate to severe dry eye syndrome that is unresponsive to conventional lubricant therapy. The societal perspective incremental CUR for cyclosporine over vehicle therapy is $34,953 per QALY and the societal perspective average CUR is $11,199 per QALY. The third-party-insurer incremental CUR is $37,179 per QALY, while the third-party-insurer perspective average CUR is $34,343 per QALY. CONCLUSIONS Topical cyclosporine emulsion, 0.05%, confers considerable patient value and is a cost-effective therapy for moderate to severe dry eye syndrome that is unresponsive to conventional therapy.
Measurement of non-axisymmetry in centres of advanced mergers of galaxies

We measure the non-axisymmetry in the luminosity distribution in the inner few kpc of the remnants of advanced mergers of galaxies with a view to understand the relaxation in the central regions. For this, we analyse the images from the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) archival data for a selected sample of 12 merging galaxies, which show signs of interaction but have a single nucleus. The central regions are fitted by elliptical isophotes whose centres are allowed to vary to get the best fit. The centres of isophotes show a striking sloshing pattern with a spatial variation of up to 20-30 per cent within the central 1 kpc. This indicates mass asymmetry and a dynamically unrelaxed behaviour in the central region. Next, we Fourier-analyse the galaxy images while keeping the centre constant and measure the deviation from axisymmetry in terms of the fractional Fourier amplitudes (A(1), A(2), etc.) as a function of radius. All the mergers show a high value of lopsidedness (up to A(1) similar to 0.2) in the central 5 kpc. The m = 2 asymmetry is even stronger, with values of A(2) up to similar to 0.3, and in three cases these are shown to represent bars. The corresponding values denoting non-axisymmetry in inner regions of a control sample of eight non-merger galaxies are found to be several times smaller. Surprisingly, this central asymmetry is seen even in mergers where the outer regions have relaxed into a smooth elliptical-like r(1/4) profile or a spiral-like exponential profile. Thus, the central asymmetry is long lived, estimated to be similar to 1 Gyr, and hence lasts for over 100 local dynamical time-scales. These central asymmetries are expected to play a key role in the future dynamical evolution of the central region of a merger, and can help in feeding of a central active galactic nucleus.
Educational Productivity, Pedagogy and Culture.

The study reported in this paper combined qualitative (observation, interview and case study techniques) and quantitative (questionnaire and survey instruments) methods to examine; (1) the relationship of current teaching practices to a number of variables that affected students' learning in science laboratory classrooms, (2) which factors affected academic success in an external science achievement examination, (3) whether an educational productivity model was applicable to a developing country context, namely Papua New Guinea (PNG). The sample consisted of 3,182 grade 10 students in 46 PNG secondary schools. Overall, boys had a more favorable attitude towards science than girls. Multivariate analysis showed that PNG science academic achievement was related to quality and quantity of instriktion, science laboratory learning environment scales and gender. Male students performed better than female students in external science achievement examinations; however, female students scored higher on a practical process test. The study also revealed that PNG science teachers were very didacti in their approach to teaching. An examination of the cultural context provided some help in trying to explain these teaching practices and students' learning patterns. Finally, this study showed that a modified educational productivity model was applicable to the Papua New Guinea context. (ZWH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * 0 14.1 EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY, PEDAGOGY AND CULTURE Bruce G. Wa ! drip and Geoffrey J. Giddings Faculty of Education Curtin University of Technology GPO Box U 1987, Perth, 6001, Australia Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 4-8, 1994 "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY B. Waldrip TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). " 2 BEST COPY P/MLABLE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION mcco'EcrucaionaiFtesewco,waimiyow. ,em EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC/ O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated ir, this document do not necessarily represent official OEM position or policy Educational Productivity, Pedagogy and Culture
Contrasting effects of nitric oxide and corticotropin-releasing factor within the dorsal periaqueductal gray on defensive behavior and nociception in mice

The anxiogenic and antinociceptive effects produced by glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation within the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG) matter have been related to nitric oxide (NO) production, since injection of NO synthase (NOS) inhibitors reverses these effects. dPAG corticotropin-releasing factor receptor (CRFr) activation also induces anxiety-like behavior and antinociception, which, in turn, are selectively blocked by local infusion of the CRF type 1 receptor (CRFr1) antagonist, NBI 27914 [5-chloro-4-(N-(cyclopropyl)methyl-N-propylamino)-2-methyl-6-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)aminopyridine]. Here, we determined whether i) the blockade of the dPAG by CRFr1 attenuates the anxiogenic/antinociceptive effects induced by local infusion of the NO donor, NOC-9 [6-(2-hydroxy-1-methyl-2-nitrosohydrazino)-N-methyl-1-hexanamine], and ii) the anxiogenic/antinociceptive effects induced by intra-dPAG CRF are prevented by local infusion of Nω-propyl-L-arginine (NPLA), a neuronal NOS inhibitor, in mice. Male Swiss mice (12 weeks old, 25-35 g, N = 8-14/group) were stereotaxically implanted with a 7-mm cannula aimed at the dPAG. Intra-dPAG NOC-9 (75 nmol) produced defensive-like behavior (jumping and running) and antinociception (assessed by the formalin test). Both effects were reversed by prior local infusion of NBI 27914 (2 nmol). Conversely, intra-dPAG NPLA (0.4 nmol) did not modify the anxiogenic/antinociceptive effects of CRF (150 pmol). These results suggest that CRFr1 plays an important role in the defensive behavior and antinociception produced by NO within the dPAG. In contrast, the anxiogenic and antinociceptive effects produced by intra-dPAG CRF are not related to NO synthesis in this limbic midbrain structure.
High-speed FPGA-based implementations of a Genetic Algorithm

One very promising approach for solving complex optimizing and search problems is the Genetic Algorithm (GA) one. Based on this scheme a population of abstract representations of candidate solutions to an optimization problem gradually evolves toward better solutions. The aim is the optimization of a given function, the so called fitness function, which is evaluated upon the initial population as well as upon the solutions after successive generations. In this paper, we present the design of a GA and its implementation on state-of-the-art FPGAs. Our approach optimizes significantly more fitness functions than any other proposed solution. Several experiments on a platform with a Virtex-II Pro FPGA have been conducted. Implementations on a number of different high-end FPGAs outperforms other reconfigurable systems with a speedup ranging from 1.2x to 96.5x.
The effect of the solar rotational irradiance variation on the middle and upper atmosphere calculated by a three-dimensional chemistry-climate model

This paper analyzes the effects of the solar rota- tional (27-day) irradiance variations on the chemical compo- sition and temperature of the stratosphere, mesosphere and lower thermosphere as simulated by the three-dimensional chemistry-climate model HAMMONIA. Different methods are used to analyze the model results, including high reso- lution spectral and cross-spectral techniques. To force the simulations, an idealized irradiance variation with a constant period of 27 days (apparent solar rotation period) and with constant amplitude is used. While the calculated thermal and chemical responses are very distinct and permanent in the up- per atmosphere, the responses in the stratosphere and meso- sphere vary considerably in time despite the constant forcing. The responses produced by the model exhibit a non-linear behavior: in general, the response sensitivities (not ampli- tudes) decrease with increasing amplitude of the forcing. In the extratropics the responses are, in general, seasonally de- pendent with frequently stronger sensitivities in winter than in summer. Amplitude and phase lag of the ozone response in the tropical stratosphere and lower mesosphere are in sat- isfactory agreement with available observations. The agree- ment between the calculated and observed temperature re- sponse is generally worse than in the case of ozone.
Report of NEWS 2010 Transliteration Generation Shared Task

This report documents the Transliteration Generation Shared Task conducted as a part of the Named Entities Workshop (NEWS 2010), an ACL 2010 workshop. The shared task features machine transliteration of proper names from English to 9 languages and from 3 languages to English. In total, 12 tasks are provided. 7 teams from 5 different countries participated in the evaluations. Finally, 33 standard and 8 non-standard runs are submitted, where diverse transliteration methodologies are explored and reported on the evaluation data. We report the results with 4 performance metrics. We believe that the shared task has successfully achieved its objective by providing a common benchmarking platform for the research community to evaluate the state-of-the-art technologies that benefit the future research and development.
Peer Support for African American Male College Achievement: Beyond Internalized Racism and the Burden of “Acting White”

Theorists posit that the social reinforcement of racially oppressive assumptions eventually works its way into the psyche of African Americans and negatively shapes the way they see themselves and others within their race. Some scholars have attempted to prove and others have subsequently disputed the idea that school achievement within African American peer groups is seen as “acting White. ” In this study, internalized racism and Fordham and Ogbu's (1986) Acting White Hypothesis were explored among high-achieving African American male undergraduates at six predominantly White universities. Findings from individual interviews contradict the hypothesis and reveal ways through which peer support for leadership and achievement were negotiated within African American peer groups on the six campuses. There was no evidence of internalized racism in the domains of academic achievement and African American male leadership. Instead, the participants attributed much of their college success to the support offered by their same-race peers.
Effects of Formal Strategic Planning on Financial Performance in Small Firms: A Meta-Analysis

Researchers have been examining the effects of formal strategic planning on small firm financial performance for more than twenty years. Reviewers of prior studies have drawn differing conclusions as to whether formal planning improves small firm performance. We have applied meta-analysis for the first time to the results of previous studies on formal strategic planning and small firm performance. The results suggest that even though the size of the effects for planning for individual studies Is not large, the overall relationship between formal planning and performance across studies Is positive and significant. Much of the variance in the size of the effects, however, Is not explained by sampling error, Indicating the potential for other variables to moderate the effects of planning on the performance of small firms. It is concluded, in general, that strategic planning is a beneficial activity for small firms.
Toward a Value Inclusive Theory of Economic Decision-Making: A 'New Science' Model

This paper explores one option for the development of a theoretical approach to economic decision-making that goes beyond the mechanical-mathematical models based on the assumptions of rational self-interest and utility maximization. The proposed model incorporates facts, values, relationships, cooperation, learning, and other factors into economic decision-making and applies to both the micro- and macroeconomic levels. While the model is descriptive in nature, it has predictive potential to establish a menu of alternative outcomes or “opportunity sets. ” The goal of this discussion is to move the language of economic decision-making away from the mid-nineteenth century language of science toward the concepts associated with the complex systems approach of the new science.
Marginal likelihood estimation via power posteriors

Summary. Model choice plays an increasingly important role in statistics. From a Bayesian perspective a crucial goal is to compute the marginal likelihood of the data for a given model. However, this is typically a difficult task since it amounts to integrating over all model parameters. The aim of the paper is to illustrate how this may be achieved by using ideas from thermodynamic integration or path sampling. We show how the marginal likelihood can be computed via Markov chain Monte Carlo methods on modified posterior distributions for each model. This then allows Bayes factors or posterior model probabilities to be calculated. We show that this approach requires very little tuning and is straightforward to implement. The new method is illustrated in a variety of challenging statistical settings.
A new variable stiffness actuator (CompAct-VSA): Design and modelling

This paper describes the design and modelling of a new variable stiffness actuator (CompAct-VSA). The principle of operation of CompAct-VSA is based on a lever arm mechanism with a continuously regulated pivot point. The proposed concept allows for the development of an actuation unit with a wide range of stiffness and a fast stiffness regulation response. The implementation of the actuator makes use of a cam shaped lever arm with a variable pivot axis actuated by a rack and pinion transmission system. This realization results in a highly integrated and modular assembly. Size and weight are indeed an open issue in the VSAs design, which ultimately limit their implementation in multi-dof robotic systems. The paper introduces the mechanics, the principle of operation and the model of the actuator. Preliminary results are presented to demonstrate the fast stiffness regulation response and the wide range of stiffness achieved by the proposed CompAct-VSA design.