Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploiting user similarity based on rated-item pools for improved user-based collaborative filtering

An approach to user-based collaborative filtering is proposed that refines prediction of item ratings that is based on global user similarity by incorporating information derived from a more detailed user comparison made on the basis of Rated Item Pools (RIPs). The preference spectrum defined by items that a user has rated, and ranging from best-liked to most disliked items, is divided into item sets, or RIPs, which supply the basis for a fine-grained calculation of similarity between users. The RIP-based approach makes it possible for the model to take advantage of user tastes that are matched at one end of the spectrum, e.g., two users agree on favorites, without requiring complete correspondence of item ratings between user profiles. The approach improves rating prediction, as compared to a baseline that uses the global user similarity alone. It does not unduly inflate computational complexity or rely on external resources, common shortcomings of competing rating prediction methods. Cases in which the nearest neighbors are relatively dissimilar, known to be challenging for user-based collaborative filtering, demonstrate particularly substantial improvement. Performance is shown to be stable across the choice of neighborhood size, number of pools and relative pool size.
THE LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OF X-RAY SOURCES IN SPIRAL GALAXIES

X-ray sources in spiral galaxies can be approximately classified into bulge and disk populations. The bulge (or hard) sources have X-ray colors which are consistent with low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) but the disk sources have softer colors suggesting a different type of source. In this paper, we further study the properties of hard and soft sources by constructing color-segregated X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) for these two populations. Since the number of sources in any given galaxy is small, we co-added sources from a sample of nearby, face-on spiral galaxies observed by Chandra as a Large Project in Cycle 2. We use simulations to carefully correct the XLF for completeness. The composite hard source XLF is not consistent with a single-power-law fit. At luminosities Lx > 3 × 1038 erg s−1, it is well fitted by a power law with a slope that is consistent with that found for sources in elliptical galaxies by Kim & Fabbiano. This supports the suggestion that the hard sources are dominated by LMXBs. In contrast, the high-luminosity XLF of soft sources has a slope similar to the “universal” high-mass X-ray binary XLF. Some of these sources are stellar-mass black hole binaries accreting at high rates in a thermal/steep power-law state. The softest sources have inferred disk temperatures that are considerably lower than found in galactic black holes binaries. These sources are not well understood, but some may be super-soft ultra-luminous X-ray sources in a quiescent state as suggested by Soria & Ghosh.
Exceptional singular Q-homology planes

We consider singular Q-acyclic surfaces with smooth locus of non-general type. We prove that if the singularities are topologically rational then the smooth locus is C^1- or C*-ruled or the surface is up to isomorphism one of two exceptional surfaces of Kodaira dimension zero. For both exceptional surfaces the Kodaira dimension of the smooth locus is zero and the singular locus consists of a unique point of type A1 and A2 respectively. These surfaces can be constructed starting from two classical configurations of lines on the projective plane: the dual Hesse configuration and the complete quadrangle.
A Convex Condition for Robust Stability Analysis via Polyhedral Lyapunov Functions

In this paper we study the robustness analysis problem for linear continuous-time systems subject to parametric time-varying uncertainties making use of piecewise linear (polyhedral) Lyapunov functions. A given class of Lyapunov functions is said to be “universal” for the uncertain system under consideration if the robust stability of the system is equivalent to the existence of a Lyapunov function belonging to the class. In the literature it has been shown that the class of polyhedral functions is universal, while, for instance, the class of quadratic functions is not. This fact justifies the effort of developing efficient algorithms for the construction of polyhedral Lyapunov functions. In this context, we provide a low computational cost procedure, based on a novel convex condition, for the construction of a polyhedral Lyapunov function. In the section on the numerical examples, we consider some benchmark problems for the robust stability analysis and we show that the proposed low computational cost approach, though only sufficient, is less conservative than all the other approaches presented so far in the literature.
Urinary Albumin Excretion and Vascular Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with significant cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Increased urinary albumin excretion is a marker of CV risk. There are only few data on urinary albumin excretion in RA patients. Aim of the present study was to investigate urinary albumin excretion in RA patients and analyze, whether there is an association between urinary albumin excretion and vascular function as measured by the augmentation index (AIx). In a total of 341 participants (215 with RA, 126 without RA) urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) was determined and the AIx was measured. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov-test was used to cluster patient groups whose distributions of ACR can be considered to be equal. A crude analysis showed a median ACR of 6.6 mg/g in the RA group and 5.7 mg/g in patients without RA (P > 0.05). In order to account for diabetes (DM) we formed 4 distinct patient groups. Group 1: RA-/DM- (n = 74); group 2: RA+/DM- (n = 195); group 3: RA-/DM+ (n = 52); group 4: RA+/DM+ (n = 20). Clustering of these groups revealed two distinct patient groups: those without RA and DM, and those with either RA or DM or both. The latter group showed statistically significant higher ACR (median 8.1 mg/g) as the former (median 4.5 mg/g). We found no significant correlation between AIx and ACR. Urinary albumin excretion in patients with RA or DM or both is higher than in subjects without RA and DM. This can be seen as a sign of vascular alteration and increased CV risk in these patients.
Gender differences in dyadic dominance during interpersonal interaction: the comparison of friends’ dyads and romantic couples

Background. Dominance can be found in every dyadic relationship including romantic couples, friendships or business partnership. Even though research confirms that men tend to have more power than woman not only in romantic relationships, but also in friendships. However, some scholars doubt that men’s dominance and women’s submissiveness are just an established stereotype. Thus, more information about gender differences in power distribution in different types of dyads (friends and romantic) during interpersonal interaction is needed. Aim.The aim of this study was to assess the differences in male and female dominance during the interpersonal interaction considering the types of dyads (same-sex friendships or heterosexual romantic partners). Participants. 36 dyads participated in this study, which consisted of male friends’ dyads (N = 12), female friends’ dyads (N = 12), and heterosexual romantic couples (N = 12). The participants aged between 18 and 31 years old with a mean age of 22 years old (SD = 2.23). Method. The study consisted of two stages. In the first stage, the participants were asked some questions about themselves and their relationship, and were invited to participate in the experiment. All of the participants were informed about the terms of experiment (usage of video record) and were able to express their willingness to participate in this study in written form. The second stage of the research was a quasi-experiment. During this stage participants, i.e. friends and romantic partners’ dyads, played the game “Jenga” for about 20 minutes. Results, conclusion. It was found that women tend to dominate more than men during the interpersonal interaction in general and in romantic couples. No differences in dominance were found comparing female friends’ and male friends’ dyads. However, more dominance was found in heterosexual romantic couples comparing to the male and female friends’ dyads.
Determination of Screw and Nail Withdrawal Resistance of Some Important Wood Species

In this study, screw and nail withdrawal resistance of fir (Abies nordmanniana), oak (Quercus robur L.) black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) and Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) wood were determined and compared. The data represent the testing of withdrawal resistance of three types of screws as smart, serrated and conventional and common nails. The specimens were prepared according to TS 6094 standards. The dimensions of the specimens were 5×5×15cm and for all of the directions. Moreover, the specimens were conditioned at ambient room temperature and 65±2% relative humidity. The screws and nails were installed according to ASTM-D 1761 standards. Nail dimensions were 2.5mm diameter and 50 mm length, conventional screws were 4×50mm, serrated screws were 4×45mm and smart screws were 4×50mm. Results show that the maximum screw withdrawal resistance value was found in Stone pine for the serrated screw. There were no significant differences between Stone pine and oak regarding screw withdrawal resistance values. Conventional screw yielded the maximum screw withdrawal resistance value in oak, followed by Stone pine, black pine and fir. Oak wood showed the maximum screw withdrawal resistance value for the smart screw, followed by Stone pine, black pine, and fir. Oak wood showed higher nail withdrawal resistances than softwood species. It was also determined that oak shows the maximum nail withdrawal resistance in all types. The nail withdrawal resistances at the longitudinal direction are lower with respect to radial and tangential directions.
Determination of Bovine Rotavirus G and P Serotypes in Italy by PCR

ABSTRACT Determination of the G and P serotypes of group A bovine rotaviruses from 149 samples of feces or intestinal contents collected from calves showing clinical signs of neonatal diarrhea was performed by a nested reverse transcription-PCR typing assay. The G6 serotype was the most prevalent, accounting for viruses in 55.7% of the samples; viruses of the G10 and G8 serotypes were found in 34.9 and 4.7% of the samples, respectively. The virus in one sample (0.7%) was not classified due to concomitant infection with G6 and G8 strains, whereas viruses in six samples (4.0%) could not be characterized with any of the three G serotype-specific primers selected for the present study. When examined for their P-serotype specificities, viruses in 55 and 42.3% of the samples were characterized as P[11] and P[5], respectively, no P[1] serotype was identified, and viruses in 2.7% of the samples could not be classified due to multiple reactivity with both P[5]- and P[11]-specific primers. Various combinations of G and P serotypes were observed, the most frequent being G6,P[5] (38.3%), G10,P[11] (31.5%), and G6,P[11] (15.4%). The results of the present study, while contributing to a better understanding of the epidemiology of bovine rotaviruses in Italy, address the relevance of serotype specificity with regard to the constancy of the quality of bovine rotavirus vaccines under different field conditions.
Ontology-Based Testing Platform for Reusing

With more and more attention on the software quality, the test case reuse has become a focus in current research. By integrating knowledge management and software reuse theory, several design guidelines for reusable test cases are identified according to the characteristics of software components. A reusable test case knowledge management model is proposed to support the knowledge reuse based on the ontology representation of reusable test cases in this paper. With the ontology and knowledge management model, test engineers can retrieve and reuse test cases flexibly.
MSEEC – A Multi Search Engine with Multiple Clustering

This paper presents a scalable architecture for a multi search engine for web documents with multiple cluster algorithms (MSEEC[12]). Querying search engines in the web may result in an overwhelming amount of matching documents. Clustering techniques are used to find a set of similar documents which are presented using a suitable cluster title. The scalable and modular architecture of MSEEC allows to process information with multiple cluster algorithms to present alternative clusters and the related cluster title to the user. This paper presents as well a novel clustering technique that is based on the LZW compression method.
BEEINFO: Interest-Based Forwarding Using Artificial Bee Colony for Socially Aware Networking

Socially aware networking (SAN) provides a promising paradigm for routing and forwarding data packets by exploiting social properties of involved entities, for example, in vehicular social networks (VSNs). The mobility of individuals often features some regularity in location and time, particularly in vehicular environments. However, individuals' learning capability and awareness to the dynamic environments have not been well explored in the literature. Inspired by the artificial bee colony, we present BEEINFO, which is a set of interest-based forwarding schemes for SAN, which consists of BEEINFO-D, BEEINFO-S, and BEEINFO-D&S. BEEINFO adopts the food foraging behavior of bees to detect the environment information and to optimize the forwarding procedure. BEEINFO takes advantage of individuals' perceiving and learning capability to gather information of density and social ties. BEEINFO-D, BEEINFO-S, and BEEINFO-D&S are distinct from each other according to different utilization of density and social ties. This enhances the adaptability to dynamic environments. Additionally, BEEINFO performs message scheduling and buffer management to improve the forwarding performance. Extensive simulations have been conducted to compare BEEINFO with two representative protocols, i.e., PRoPHET and Epidemic. The results illustrate that BEEINFO outperforms PRoPHET and Epidemic with higher message delivery ratio, less overhead, and fewer hop counts.
Effect of network configuration and load profile on efficiency of LVDC distribution network

The low voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution network is a promising solution to be considered in future smart grids. For facilitating the design of cost effective LVDC distribution networks, the total losses of the network with different configurations are evaluated and compared. The possibility to connect the customer loads asymmetrically, when the bipolar DC network is used and the fact that the customer has single-phase loads, which lead to phase-asymmetrical loading of a three-phase converter, are taken into account. According to the results presented in this paper, the highest efficiency is achieved when the ungrounded LVDC distribution network is supplied by two series connected line converters. When the length of the bipolar network is 600 m at maximum, three-phase load converters should be connected to 750 V DC with a 400V/400V isolation transformer. Instead, while the length of the DC network is over 600 m, the maximum efficiency is achieved when the unipolar network configuration is used by connecting the load converters to 1500 V DC with a 800V/400V isolation transformer.
Factors Important in Bank Selection: Empirical Evidences from Customers’ Perspective in Saudi Arabia

The main purpose of this study is to find out important factors for consumers in Saudi Arabia to select a bank for their banking needs. Total 300 respondents had participated in this research. A structured questionnaire has been used as research instrument comprising 16 variables on five point Likert Scale intensity. A pilot study has been conducted to refine the survey instrument. Mean, Standard Deviation statistics and Factor Analysis technique has been used to assess the importance of variables. Analysis result shows that all sixteen variables were found important for consumers in selecting a bank. Out of sixteen variables, thirteen variables were found very important with much higher mean value and three were considered important with higher mean value than average. With the help of Factor Analysis Technique Sixteen variables had been group into three factors i.e., i.e., “Product Offerings of the Bank” consisting nine variables, “Service Delivery of the Bank” with five variables and “Banking Institution Type” including two variables respectively. Study findings would be profitable and essential for banking institution in focusing the consumers’ needs and also in making necessary and comprehensive strategy to attract and retain their customers and also to consumers in decision making in selecting a bank for their financial necessities.
Policy Shaping with Human Teachers

In this work we evaluate the performance of a policy shaping algorithm using 26 human teachers. We examine if the algorithm is suitable for human-generated data on two different boards in a pac-man domain, comparing performance to an oracle that provides critique based on one known winning policy. Perhaps surprisingly, we show that the data generated by our 26 participants yields even better performance for the agent than data generated by the oracle. This might be because humans do not discourage exploring multiple winning policies. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of different verbal instructions, and different interpretations of silence, finding that the usefulness of data is affected both by what instructions is given to teachers, and how the data is interpreted.
Variable Speed Control Moment Gyroscope Workbench: a new simulation tool for tomorrow's spacecraft

This paper describes the Variable Speed Control Moment Gyroscope (VSCMG) Workbench, a simulation software tool developed at Georgia Tech. This program will provide the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with a tool for studying spacecraft control system design for vehicles equipped with VSCMG actuators for combined attitude control and energy storage.
Meta-Reinforcement Learning with Episodic Recall: An Integrative Theory of Reward-Driven Learning

Research on reward-driven learning has produced and substantiated theories of modelfree and model-based reinforcement learning (RL), which respectively explain how humans and animals learn reflexive habits and build prospective plans. A highly developed line of work has unearthed the role of striatal dopamine in model-free learning, while the prefrontal cortex (PFC) appears to critically subserve model-based learning. The recent theory of meta-reinforcement learning (meta-RL) explained a wide array of findings by positing that the model-free dopaminergic reward prediction error trains the recurrent prefrontal network to execute arbitrary RL algorithms – including model-based RL – in its activations. In parallel, a nascent understanding of a third reinforcement learning system is emerging: a non-parametric system that stores memory traces of individual experiences rather than aggregate statistics. Research on such episodic learning has revealed its unmistakeable traces in human behavior, developed theory to articulate algorithms underlying that behavior, and pursued the contention that the hippocampus is centrally involved. These developments lead to a set of open questions about (1) how the neural mechanisms of episodic learning relate to those underlying incremental model-free and model-based learning and (2) how the brain arbitrates among the contributions of this abundance of valuation strategies. This thesis extends meta-RL to provide an account for episodic learning, incremental learning, and the coordination between them. In this theory of episodic meta-RL (EMRL), episodic memory reinstates activations in the prefrontal network based on contextual similarity, after passing them through a learned gating mechanism (Chapters 1 and 2). In simulation, EMRL can solve episodic contextual water maze navigation problems and episodic contextual bandit problems, including those with Omniglot class contexts and others with compositional structure (Chapter 3). Further, EMRL reproduces episodic model-based RL and its coordination with incremental iii model-based RL on the episodic two-step task (Vikbladh et al., 2017; Chapter 4). Chapter 5 discusses more biologically detailed extensions to EMRL, and Chapter 6 analyzes EMRL with respect to a set of recent empirical findings. Chapter 7 discusses EMRL in the context of various topics in neuroscience.
Regulation of SNAREs by tomosyn and ROCK

Extension of neurites requires the SNARE-dependent fusion of plasmalemmal precursor vesicles with the plasma membrane of growth cones. Here, we show that tomosyn localizes at the palm of growth cones and inhibits the fusion of the vesicles there, thus promoting transport of the vesicles to the plasma membrane of the leading edges of growth cones. Tomosyn localizes because ROCK activated by Rho small G protein phosphorylates syntaxin-1, which increases the affinity of syntaxin-1 for tomosyn and forms a stable complex with tomosyn, resulting in inhibition of the formation of the SNARE complex. In retraction of neurites, tomosyn localizes all over the edges of the neurites and inhibits fusion of the vesicles with the plasma membrane. Thus, tomosyn demarcates the plasma membrane by binding to syntaxin-1 phosphorylated by ROCK, and thereby regulates extension and retraction of neurites.
A-Bees See: A Simulation to Assess Social Bee Visual Attention During Complex Search Tasks

Foraging bees often search in complex natural environments for "target" flowers that they have learnt provide nectar rewards. To maximise efficiency, bees must avoid landing on "distractor" flowers that do not offer rewards, as this potentially wastes time and energy. This paper reports on artificial-life inspired agent-based simulations of two contrasting approaches different bee species use to scan for targets in a scene containing many flowers. The two scanning approaches simulated are a parallel scan typical of bumblebees that is not slowed by distractors, and a serial scan typical of honeybees that is faster than parallel scan for single element processing, but is slowed by the presence of distractor flowers. The simulations were conducted over a range of target densities, and over a range of target/distractor ratios, to evaluate the types of environment in which each scan mechanism is most effective. Serial scan was found to be generally more effective in environments populated with a single type of rewarding species of flower, and parallel scan appears to be relatively more effective in environments populated with a mix of rewarding and unrewarding flowers. Our results support the hypothesis that environmental factors led to the evolution of different visual processing mechanisms in honeybees and bumblebees. This establishes a firm basis for psychophysical research exploring how and why the two different processing mechanisms may have evolved in these animals.
Removing Judgement: Discussing BDSM in Adult Sexuality Education

Abstract With increasing cultural attention to kink and BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, and Sadism/Masochism), it is more important than ever for sexuality educators to teach these topics with respect and acceptance. Many depictions of BDSM in the media are deliberately shocking. With limited resources and research surrounding the topic, it can be difficult for educators to not fall into the same trap. This paper discusses the impact of the shock-culture surrounding BDSM and offers suggestions for combating it in the classroom via implementing a combination of affective and cognitive learning.