Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Random Test Case Generation and Manual Unit Testing: Substitute or Complement in Retrofitting Tests for Legacy Code?

Unit testing of legacy code is often characterized by the goal to find a maximum number of defects with minimal effort. In context of restrictive time frames and limited resources, approaches for generating test cases promise increased defect detection effectiveness. This paper presents the results of an empirical study investigating the effectiveness of (a) manual unit testing conducted by 48 master students within a time limit of 60 minutes and (b) tool-supported random test case generation with Randoop. Both approaches have been applied on a Java collection class library containing 35 seeded defects. With the specific settings, where time and resource restrictions limit the performance of manual unit testing, we found that (1) the number of defects detected by random test case generation is in the range of manual unit testing and, furthermore, (2) the randomly generated test cases detect different defects than manual unit testing. Therefore, random test case generation seems a useful aid to jump start manual unit testing of legacy code.
Big data based retail recommender system of non E-commerce

Recommender system, as a means of achieving precision marketing, has been widely used and brought about significant benefits in modern ecommerce systems. However, there is a lack of study on the applying of recommender system to traditional non e-commerce retailing mode. This paper presents a retail recommender model based on collaborative filtering, and designs the corresponding distributed computing algorithm on MapReduce, so as to implement a big data based retail recommender system. The big data mechanism helps the system do scalable data processing easily. Experimental results show that the system is effective for the estimation of retail sales for each store and product. As a result, non ecommerce enterprises could benefit from this novel way of precision marketing supports.
Viewing Systems as Services: The Role of Service Quality

The significant and sustained growth in services worldwide prompts IS researchers to give special attention to service and service concepts as core aspects of the IS field. This study proposes that ‘viewing systems as services’ is critical to extend the focus of technology&business alignment in service science re search. The study evaluates the influence of mHealth service quality on satisfaction, perceived value and continuance intentions using an interdisciplinary approach. The conceptual model is rooted in the traditional cognition & affective– conation chain bu t explicitly identifies system quality, interaction quality and information quality as the core dimensions of mHealth service quality. The model is validated in the context of a business&to&consumer (B2C) mHealth service systems using PLS path modeling. The results confirm that service quality has a direct impact on continuance intentions and an indirect impact through perceived value and satisfaction in mHealth service systems.
Credit Markets with Differences in Abilities: Education, Distribution, and Growth

An endogenous growth model is presented in which the existence of credit markets affects time allocation of individuals who differ in education abilities. Credit markets allow the more able to specialize in studying and the less able in working. This specialization can increase growth and welfare by accelerating an economy's human capital accumulation. This paper also shows that in economies with high (low) average level of education abilities, the opening of credit markets will induce a more disperse (equal) income distribution. The role of intergenerational transfers within a family in overcoming the absence of credit markets is also discussed. Finally, we discuss the growth effect of credit markets in the case of imperfect credit markets, where people can save using storage but cannot borrow.
Relaxing the Gaussian AVC

The arbitrarily varying channel (AVC) is a conservative way of modeling an unknown interference, and the corresponding capacity results are pessimistic. We reconsider the Gaussian AVC by relaxing the classical model and thereby weakening the adversarial nature of the interference. We examine three different relaxations. First, we show how a very small amount of common randomness between transmitter and receiver is sufficient to achieve the rates of fully randomized codes. Second, akin to the dirty paper coding problem, we study the impact of an additional interference known to the transmitter. We provide partial capacity results that differ significantly from the standard AVC. Third, we revisit a Gaussian MIMO AVC in which the interference is arbitrary but of limited dimension.
Metagenomic pyrosequencing and microbial identification.

BACKGROUND The Human Microbiome Project has ushered in a new era for human metagenomics and high-throughput next-generation sequencing strategies. CONTENT This review describes evolving strategies in metagenomics, with a special emphasis on the core technology of DNA pyrosequencing. The challenges of microbial identification in the context of microbial populations are discussed. The development of next-generation pyrosequencing strategies and the technical hurdles confronting these methodologies are addressed. Bioinformatics-related topics include taxonomic systems, sequence databases, sequence-alignment tools, and classifiers. DNA sequencing based on 16S rRNA genes or entire genomes is summarized with respect to potential pyrosequencing applications. SUMMARY Both the approach of 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing and the whole-genome sequencing approach may be useful for human metagenomics, and numerous bioinformatics tools are being deployed to tackle such vast amounts of microbiological sequence diversity. Metagenomics, or genetic studies of microbial communities, may ultimately contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of human health, disease susceptibilities, and the pathophysiology of infectious and immune-mediated diseases.
Early use of glucocorticoids was a risk factor for critical disease and death from pH1N1 infection.

BACKGROUND Glucocorticoids increase the risk of developing critical disease from viral infections. However, primary care practitioners in China use them as antipyretics, potentially exposing hundreds of millions to this risk. METHODS We enrolled all patients with confirmed pandemic influenza A (pH1N1) virus infection aged ≥3 years with available medical records at 4 Shenyang City hospitals from 20 October to 30 November 2009. A critical patient was any confirmed, hospitalized pH1N1 patient who developed ≥1 of the following: death, respiratory failure, septic shock, failure or insufficiency of ≥2 nonpulmonary organs, mechanical ventilation, or ICU admission. In a retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the risk of developing critical illness in relation to early (≤72 hours of influenza-like illness [ILI] onset) glucocorticoids treatment. RESULTS Of the 83 hospitalized case-patients, 46% developed critical illness, 17% died, and 37% recovered and were discharged. Critically ill and other patients did not differ by underlying conditions and severity, median temperature at first clinic visit, and other measured risk factors. Of 17 patients who received early glucocorticoid treatment, 71% subsequently developed critical disease compared with 39% of 66 patients who received late (>72 hours) or no glucocorticoid treatment (RR(M-H) = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.2-2.8, after adjusting for 2 summary variables; ie, presence of underlying diseases and presence of underlying risk factors). Proportional hazards modeling showed that use of glucocorticoids tripled the hazard of developing critical disease (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.3-6.2, after adjusting for the same summary variables). CONCLUSIONS Early use of parenteral glucocorticoids therapy for fever reduction and pneumonia prevention increases the risk for critical disease or death from pH1N1 infection. We recommend that guidelines on glucocorticoid use be established and enforced.
Antibacterial and Antimembrane Activities of Cecropin A in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT The ability of cecropin A to permeabilize and depolarize the membranes of Escherichia coli ML-35p bacteria has been compared to its bactericidal activity in an extension of earlier studies performed on synthetic lipid vesicle membranes (L. Silvestro, K. Gupta, J. H. Weiser, and P. H. Axelsen, Biochemistry 36:11452–11460, 1997). Our results indicate that differences in the concentration dependences of membrane permeabilization and depolarization seen in synthetic vesicles are not manifested in whole bacteria. The concentration dependences of both phenomena roughly correlate with bactericidal activity, suggesting that the bactericidal mechanism of cecropin A is related to membrane permeabilization.
ESCRT-III binding protein MITD1 is involved in cytokinesis and has an unanticipated PLD fold that binds membranes

The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) proteins have a critical function in abscission, the final separation of the daughter cells during cytokinesis. Here, we describe the structure and function of a previously uncharacterized ESCRT-III interacting protein, MIT-domain containing protein 1 (MITD1). Crystal structures of MITD1 reveal a dimer, with a microtubule-interacting and trafficking (MIT) domain at the N terminus and a unique, unanticipated phospholipase D-like (PLD) domain at the C terminus that binds membranes. We show that the MIT domain binds to a subset of ESCRT-III subunits and that this interaction mediates MITD1 recruitment to the midbody during cytokinesis. Depletion of MITD1 causes a distinct cytokinetic phenotype consistent with destabilization of the midbody and abscission failure. These results suggest a model whereby MITD1 coordinates the activity of ESCRT-III during abscission with earlier events in the final stages of cell division.
Highly Scalable Sequential Pattern Mining Based on MapReduce Model on the Cloud

Sequential pattern mining is an essential data mining technique that has been widely applied to many real world applications. However, traditional algorithms generally suffer from the scalability problem when dealing with big data. In this paper, we aim to significantly upgrade the scale and propose Sequential PAttern Mining algorithm based on MapReduce model on the Cloud (abbreviated as SPAMC). Derived from the prior SPAM algorithm, we design an iterative MapReduce framework to efficiently generate and prune candidate patterns when constructing the lexical sequence tree. This framework not only distributes the sub-tasks of tree construction to independent mappers in parallel, but also enables the parallel processing of support counting. We conduct extensive experiments on the cloud environment of 32 virtual machines with up to 12.8 million transactional sequences. Experimental results show that SPAMC can significantly reduce mining time with big data, achieve extremely high scalability, and provide perfect load balancing on the cloud cluster.
On "Indirect" Trade-Related Research and Development Spillovers

Influential literature argues that trade promotes knowledge flows and technology transmission between trading partners. This literature focuses on'direct'research and development (R&D) spillovers which are related to the levels of R&D produced by the trading partners. In this paper the authors argue that'indirect'trade-related R&D spillovers also take place between countries, even if they do not trade with each other. These'indirect'spillovers are associated with available rather than with produced levels of R&D. The empirical results suggest that these'indirect'trade-related spillovers are at least as important as the'direct'ones, and strengthen the view that trade does matter for the international transmission of R&D. The empirical results also suggest that, due to the existence of these'indirect'effects, bilateral trade patterns are relatively less important as determinants of the level of foreign R&D spillovers acquired through trade.
Measuring unconscious cognition: Beyond the zero-awareness criterion

Visual masking can be employed to manipulate observers’ awareness of critical stimuli in studies of masked priming. This paper discusses two different lines of attack for establishing unconscious cognition in such experiments. Firstly, simple dissociations between direct measures (D) of visual awareness and indirect measures (I) of processing per se occur when I has some nonzero value while D is at chance level; the traditional requirement of zero awareness is necessary for this criterion only. In contrast, double dissociations occur when some experimental manipulation has opposite effects on I and D, for instance, increasing priming effects despite decreasing prime identification performance (Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006). Double dissociations require much weaker measurement assumptions than other criteria. An attractive alternative to this dissociation approach would be to use tasks that are known to violate necessary conditions of visual awareness altogether. In particular, it is argued here that priming effects in speeded pointing movements (Schmidt, Niehaus, & Nagel, 2006) occur in the absence of the recurrent processing that is often assumed to be a necessary condition for awareness (for instance, DiLollo, Enns, & Rensink, 2000; Lamme & Roelfsema, 2000). Feedforward tasks such as this might thus be used to measure the time-course of unconscious processing directly, before intracortical feedback and awareness come into play.
Why information technology is not being used for financial advisory

Swiss banks have returned to their roots and pay an increasing amount of attention to differentiating themselves from others through good financial advisory services. This has led to a loudly publicized standardization of IT-advisory processes, but not to an increasing use of supporting IT tools. This paper uses interviews with Swiss advisors, sales managers and IT managers, as well as focus groups of users and a survey with users to identify reasons for non-usage. The analysis is based on a framework combining principal-agent theory, IT-business alignment, technology acceptance and information behaviour. We provide evidence that the key problem explanation is the incentive system of the advisors and that poor usability of the software and lack of engagement by sales managers also contribute to the non-usage of most tools.
Shifting academic careers: implications for enhancing professionalism in teaching and supporting learning

This report commences by asking what we can tell from the data that are collected about academic and other staff in higher education institutions in the UK. It then examines some of the major medium term trends, followed by an assessment of some more recent, short-term developments. The report focuses in particular on academics on teaching-only contracts and in teaching-focused roles, the various routes into them, and the possible reasons for these developments. It suggests that these shifts may be storing up problems for the continuing attractiveness of academic work and careers and argues for a reinvigoration of professionalism and professional identity in the sector.
Development of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit in Patients after Endovascular Aortic Repair: A Retrospective Evaluation of the Prevalence and Risk Factors

Delirium is an acute form of nervous system dysfunction often observed in patients in the intensive care unit. Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is considered a minimally invasive surgical treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Although the operation method is widely used, there are few investigations of the rate and risk factors of delirium development after the operation. In this study, we retrospectively examined the rate of delirium development in the intensive care unit (ICU) after EVAR, as well as the associated preoperative risk factors and effects on the lengths of ICU and hospital stays. We examined the 81 consecutive patients who underwent elective EVAR between November 2013 and August 2014. The Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist was used to diagnose delirium. Twenty patients (24.7%) were diagnosed with delirium in this study. The ICU and hospital length of stays of patients with delirium were 3.3 ± 2.4 days and 14.5 ± 11.9 days, respectively, the latter of which was significantly longer than that of patients without delirium (p = 0.019). Additionally, renal dysfunction, preoperative benzodiazepine use, and intraoperative transfusion were found to be risk factors for the development of delirium after elective EVAR.
Is Sadness Only One Emotion? Psychological and Physiological Responses to Sadness Induced by Two Different Situations: “Loss of Someone” and “Failure to Achieve a Goal”

We investigated whether sadness elicited by two different situations—loss of someone (loss) and failure to achieve a goal (failure)—had different physiological responses. Seventy-four participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (loss, failure, and neutral). Physiological responses were recorded during an imagery task that was designed to evoke sadness. The results of characteristics in the subjective ratings indicated that loss-evoked sadness was only associated with expressive words relating to tears. For the results of physiological measures, skin conductance levels (SCLs) increased during the imagery task across all conditions and differed between conditions during the post-task. For the loss condition, restoration to baseline level took longer, while in the failure the SCL decreased sharply back to baseline. Furthermore, tear ratings correlated with blood pressures in the loss condition, while sadness intensity correlated with blood pressures in the failure condition. These results suggest that sadness includes at least two subtypes that produce different responses in subjective ratings and physiological measures.
ANALYZING THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF ISO 9000 STANDARDS ON U.S. AGRIBUSINESSES SITES

We used a non-competitive market framework to assess the perceived impact of ISO 9000 standards on the operational efficiency of registered U.S. agribusiness sites. Kendall Coefficient of Concordance, W, was used to rank selected reasons for seeking registration to ISO 9000 standards. The results indicated that registered sites seem to be achieving their goals for registration.
A Domain-driven Approach for Designing Management Services

— A service-oriented software solution to flexibly support changing business environments requires the existence of an adaptable management support system. Decoupling management processes from concrete tools by encapsulating needed management functionality into management services can help meet this requirement. However, creating management solutions is a difficult and challenging task. Due to the complexity of domain management, a formal approach based on a domain model and assorted design rules would help to increase the stability of engineered solutions. Existing approaches tend to gather only at the tools level, while neglecting process requirements, which result in solutions that are hard to adapt. In this paper, we discuss the value of domain modeling to address this situation and demonstrate how designing management services by using a set of assorted design rules can be achieved. This approach is exemplified within a concrete incident management scenario.
Cost Efficiency in South Asian Banking: The Impact of Bank Size, State Ownership and Stock Exchange Listings

This study examines the cost efficiency performance of 111 commercial banks in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka over 1997-2004. The primary focus is to assess whether bank size, state ownership and stock exchange listing have significant effects on South Asian banks' efficiency performance. To this end, a translog-form composite-error cost efficiency model, which allows for exogenous environmental influences, is estimated. The results indicate that the overall efficiency of South Asian banks declined over 1997-2004. Larger banks and banks with widespread ownership through stock exchange listings were found to be relatively more cost efficient. In contrast, state-owned banks were less efficient. Copyright (c) International Review of Finance Ltd. 2007.
2 0 Ju l 2 00 0 Quantum Measurement and Entropy Production

We study the time evolution of a quantum system without classical counterpart, undergoing a process of entropy increase due to the environment influence. We show that if the environment-induced decoherence is interpreted in terms of wave-function collapses, a symbolic sequence can be generated. We prove that the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy of this sequence coincides with rate of von Neumann entropy increase.
Identifying the ideal body size and shape characteristics associated with children's physical performance tests in Peru

We used allometric models to identify the optimal body size/shape characteristics associated with physical and motor performance tests in Peruvian schoolchildren. The sample consisted of 3624 subjects (1669 boys and 1955 girls) aged 11–17 years from 31 public schools belonging to four cities located in the three natural regions in central Peru. Motor performance included 12‐min run, standing long jump, grip strength, curl‐ups, shuttle run, and sit and reach. The reciprocal Ponderal index (RPI), a characteristic sometimes referred to as the somatotype “ectomorphy,” was found to be the most suitable body shape indicator associated with 12‐min run, standing long jump, curl‐up, and shuttle run performance. A positive maturation offset parameter was also associated with greater standing long jump, grip strength, shuttle run, and sit‐and‐reach performances. With the exception of the sit‐and‐reach flexibility, sex differences are pervasive in all tests favoring boys. Rainforest schoolchildren are best performers in the power and flexibility tests, whereas those from high altitude were superior in the 12‐min endurance test even after taking their much lighter body size characteristics into account. This latter finding suggests that living at high altitude in Peru benefits children's endurance performance both before and even after controlling for differences in the confounding variable of body size/shape.
ANGLE AND TIME OF ARRIVAL STATISTICS OF A THREE DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRICAL SCATTERING CHANNEL MODEL FOR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR PROPAGATION ENVIRONMENTS

In this paper, a three dimensional geometrical scattering channel model for indoor and outdoor wireless propagation environments is introduced. It is based on the assumption that the scatterers are distributed within a spheroid, in which the mobile station and base station are located at the spheroid’s foci. This model captures both the spatial and temporal statistical distributions of the received multipath signals. Several angle of arrival and time of arrival probability density functions of the received multipath signals are provided in compact forms. The angle of arrival probability density functions are obtained in terms of both the azimuth and elevation angles. Numerical results are presented to illustrate and verify the derived expressions. To validate the model, it has been compared against some of the available two dimensional models and measured data. Received 11 August 2010, Accepted 6 October 2010, Scheduled 21 October 2010 Corresponding author: Mohammad Alsehaili (msehaili@ee.umanitoba.ca). 192 Alsehaili et al.