Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Building blocks for self-organizing software development teams a framework model and empirical pilot study

Self-organization is one of the foundations of agile software development. Many positive outcomes have been associated with having teams operating at high levels of self-organization. This paper reports the results of a pilot study which reviews the existing body of empirical literature and presents a novel model for building self-organizing teams. The model is empirically validated in two case studies performed in Software Factory, an academic but close-to-industry experimental R&D laboratory. It is shown that autonomy together with communication and collaboration are the major components for building self-organizing software development teams.
Semi-coupled dictionary learning with applications to image super-resolution and photo-sketch synthesis

In various computer vision applications, often we need to convert an image in one style into another style for better visualization, interpretation and recognition; for examples, up-convert a low resolution image to a high resolution one, and convert a face sketch into a photo for matching, etc. A semi-coupled dictionary learning (SCDL) model is proposed in this paper to solve such cross-style image synthesis problems. Under SCDL, a pair of dictionaries and a mapping function will be simultaneously learned. The dictionary pair can well characterize the structural domains of the two styles of images, while the mapping function can reveal the intrinsic relationship between the two styles' domains. In SCDL, the two dictionaries will not be fully coupled, and hence much flexibility can be given to the mapping function for an accurate conversion across styles. Moreover, clustering and image nonlocal redundancy are introduced to enhance the robustness of SCDL. The proposed SCDL model is applied to image super-resolution and photo-sketch synthesis, and the experimental results validated its generality and effectiveness in cross-style image synthesis.
Rapid Growth of High-Redshift Black Holes

We discuss a model for the early assembly of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of galaxies that trace their hierarchical buildup far up into the dark halo "merger tree. " Motivated by the observations of luminous quasars around redshift z ≈ 6 with SMBH masses ≈109 M☉, we assess the possibility of an early phase of stable supercritical quasi-spherical accretion in the BHs hosted by metal-free halos with virial temperature Tvir > 104 K. We assume that the first "seed" black holes formed with intermediate masses following the collapse of the first generation of stars in minihalos collapsing at z ~ 20 from high-σ density fluctuations. In high-redshift halos with Tvir > 104 K, conditions exist for the formation of a fat disk of gas at Tgas ≈ 5000-10,000 K. Cooling via hydrogen atomic lines is in fact effective in these comparatively massive halos. The cooling and collapse of an initially spherical configuration of gas leads to a rotationally supported disk at the center of the halo if baryons preserve their specific angular momentum during collapse. The conditions for the formation of the gas disk and accretion onto central black holes out of this supply of gas are investigated, as well as the feedback of the emission onto the host and onto the intergalactic medium. We find that even a short phase of supercritical accretion eases the requirements set by the z ≈ 6 quasars.
Bridging Saliency Detection to Weakly Supervised Object Detection Based on Self-Paced Curriculum Learning

Weakly-supervised object detection (WOD) is a challenging problems in computer vision. The key problem is to simultaneously infer the exact object locations in the training images and train the object detectors, given only the training images with weak image-level labels. Intuitively, by simulating the selective attention mechanism of human visual system, saliency detection technique can select attractive objects in scenes and thus is a potential way to provide useful priors for WOD. However, the way to adopt saliency detection in WOD is not trivial since the detected saliency region might be possibly highly ambiguous in complex cases. To this end, this paper first comprehensively analyzes the challenges in applying saliency detection to WOD. Then, we make one of the earliest efforts to bridge saliency detection to WOD via the self-paced curriculum learning, which can guide the learning procedure to gradually achieve faithful knowledge of multi-class objects from easy to hard. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can successfully bridge saliency detection and WOD tasks and achieve the state-of-the-art object detection results under the weak supervision.
Changes in Food Selection after Implementation of a Nutritional Labeling Program in a Worksite Cafeteria

This quantitative study examined the individual employee selection changes that occur in cafeteria purchases after the implementation of nutritional information point of purchase campaign in a hospital worksite. The study utilized data received from daily sales. Twelve selected variables were obtained from the labeling campaign. One entree, soup, side item, and dessert were chosen from each of the nutrition color categories: red, yellow, and green. A comparison of the monthly sales totals for the selected menu items from each category (red, yellow, green) items was completed. Each monthly total was compared for any identifiable trends. The original analysis plan was hampered by a number of factors. Implications of the results and recommendations for future research are discussed.
In vitro modulation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in adult human sarcoma cell lines by cytokines, inducers and inhibitors

The highly aggressive adult sarcomas are characterized by high levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9, which play crucial roles in tumor invasion and metastasis by degradation of the extracellular membrane leading to cancer cell spread to distal organs. We examined the effect of cytokines, mitogens, inducers and inhibitors on MMP-2 and MMP-9 secretion in chondrosarcoma (SW-1353), fibrosarcoma (HT-1080), liposarcoma (SW-872) and synovial sarcoma (SW-982) cell lines. The selected compounds included natural cytokines and growth factors, as well as chemical compounds applied in therapy of sarcoma and natural compounds that have demonstrated anticancer therapeutic potential. MMP-2 and MMP-9 secretions were analyzed by gelatinase zymography following 24-h exposure to the tested agents and quantitated by densitometry. Fibrosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma showed bands corresponding to MMP-2 and MMP-9 with dose-dependent enhancement of MMP-9 with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment. In chondrosarcoma cells, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α had a stimulatory effect on MMP-9 and insignificant effect on MMP-2 and interleukin (IL)-1β stimulated MMP-9 and MMP-2. In fibrosarcoma and liposarcoma cells, TNF-α had a profound stimulatory effect on MMP-9, but no effect on MMP-2 and in synovial sarcoma an inhibitory effect on MMP-2 and no effect on MMP-9. IL-1β had a slight inhibitory effect on fibrosarcoma, liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma MMP-2 and MMP-9 except for MMP-9 in synovial sarcoma which showed slight stimulation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated expression of MMP-2 in fibrosarcoma and chondrosarcoma while inhibited it in liposarcoma. Doxycycline, epigallocatechin gallate and the nutrient mixture inhibited MMP-2 and MMP-9 in all cell lines. Actinomycin-D, cyclohexamide, retinoic acid, and dexamethasone inhibited MMP-2 and -9 in chondrosarcoma and fibrosarcoma cells. Our results show that cytokines, mitogens, inducers and inhibitors have an up or down regulatory effect on MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in adult sarcoma cell lines, suggesting these agents may be effective strategies to treat these cancers.
INFRARED STUDIES OF MOLECULAR SHOCKS IN THE SUPERNOVA REMNANT HB21. I. THERMAL ADMIXTURE OF SHOCKED H2 GAS IN THE NORTH

We present near- and mid-infrared observations on the shock–cloud interaction region in the northern part of the supernova remnant HB21, performed with the infrared camera (IRC) aboard the AKARI satellite and the wide-field infrared camera (WIRC) at the Palomar 5 m telescope. The IRC 7 μm (S7), 11 μm (S11), and 15 μm (L15) band images and the WIRC H2 υ = 1 → 0 S(1) 2.12 μm image show similar shock–cloud interaction features. We chose three representative regions, and analyzed their IRC emissions through comparison with H2 line emissions of several shock models. The IRC colors are well explained by the thermal admixture model of H2 gas—whose infinitesimal H2 column density has a power-law relation with the temperature T, dN ∼ T−bdT—with n(H2)∼103 cm−3, b ∼ 3, and N(H2; T > 100 K) ∼3×1020 cm−2. The derived b value may be understood by a bow shock picture, whose shape is cycloidal (cuspy) rather than paraboloidal. However, this picture raises another issue that the bow shocks must reside within ∼0.01 pc size scale, smaller than the theoretically expected. Instead, we conjectured a shocked clumpy interstellar medium picture, which may avoid the size-scale issue while explaining the similar model parameters. The observed H2 υ = 1 → 0 S(1) intensities are a factor of ∼17–33 greater than the prediction from the power-law admixture model. This excess may be attributed to either an extra component of hot H2 gas or to the effects of collisions with hydrogen atoms, omitted in our power-law admixture model, both of which would increase the population in the υ = 1 level of H2.
Simultaneous exploitation of explicit and implicit tags in affect-based multimedia retrieval

Affect-based retrieval of multimedia items requires tags that describe the content of these items. These tags are added by users that interact with the items. In this paper, it is shown to what extent different ways of creating the tags result in similar or non-similar information about the item. Three types of affective tags are being considered here: explicit self-assessed tags, implicit multimedia-based tags, and implicit physiology-based tags. The novelty of this paper is to show that affect-based retrieval accuracy (as measured by precision and recall) benefits from having a database that contains both explicit and implicit tags. A database that contains a mixture of explicit and implicit tags has higher retrieval accuracy when compared to a database that contains uniquely either explicit or implicit tags. This shows that information in explicit and implicit tags is complementary rather than redundant. The improvement in retrieval accuracy is immediately evident when explicit tags are added. Results for low recall rates are of particular importance because these focus on the most relevant items in a database. When over 60% of the items in the database with implicit tags are also tagged by explicit tags, retrieval accuracy at a low recall rate (0.1) is higher than accuracy based uniquely on explicit tags.
Winning Isn't Everything: Mood and Testosterone Regulate the Cortisol Response in Competition

Dominance contests are recurrent and widespread causes of stress among mammals. Studies of activation of the stress axis in social defeat – as reflected in levels of adrenal glucocorticoid, cortisol – have generated scattered and sometimes contradictory results, suggesting that biopsychological individual differences might play an important mediating role, at least in humans. In the context of a larger study of the regulation of endocrine responses to competition, we evaluated the notion that mood states, such as self-assurance and hostility, may influence cortisol reactivity to dominance cues via an interplay with baseline testosterone, considered as a potential marker of individual differences in dominance. Seventy healthy male university students (mean age 20.02, range 18–26) provided saliva samples before and after competing for fifteen minutes on a rigged computer task. After a winner was determined, all participants were assessed on their mood states through a standardized psychometric instrument (PANAS-X). Among winners of a rigged videogame competition, we found a significant interaction between testosterone and self-assurance in relation to post-competition cortisol. Specifically, self-assurance was associated with lower post-competition cortisol in subjects with high baseline testosterone levels, but no such relationship was observed in subjects with lower baseline testosterone levels. In losers of the competition no interaction effect between basal testosterone and hostility was observed. However, in this subgroup a significant negative relationship between basal testosterone and post-competition cortisol was evident. Overall, these findings provide initial support for the novel hypothesis that biological motivational predispositions (i.e. basal testosterone) and state (i.e. mood changes) may interact in regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation after a social contest.
Resolving stellar populations outside the Local Group: MAD observations of UKS 2323-326

Aims. We present a study aimed at deriving constraints on star formation at intermediate ages from the evolved stellar populations in the dwarf irregular galaxy UKS 2323-326. These observations were also intended to demonstrate the scientific capabilities of the multi-conjugated adaptive optics demonstrator (MAD) implemented at the ESO Very Large Telescope as a test-bench of adaptive optics (AO) techniques. Methods. We perform accurate, deep photometry of the field using J and Ks band AO images of the central region of the galaxy. Results. The near-infrared (IR) colour-magnitude diagrams clearly show the sequences of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, red supergiants, and red giant branch (RGB) stars down to ∼1 mag below the RGB tip. Optical-near-IR diagrams, obtained by combining our data with Hubble Space Telescope observations, provide the best separation of stars in the various evolutionary stages. The counts of AGB stars brighter than the RGB tip allow us to estimate the star formation at intermediate ages. Assuming a Salpeter initial mass
Working with Group-Tasks and Group Cohesiveness

This study aimed at exploring the connection between the use of group task and group cohesiveness. This study is very important because the nature of the learner's success is largely determined by the values of cooperation, interaction, and understanding of the learning objectives together. Subjects of this study are 28 students on the course Teaching English for Young Learners at the University of Muhammadiyah Gresik. After the application of group work activities during the learning process, all subjects are given questionnaires and some are interviewed to make sure the group cohesiveness. The results showed that the group work activities had settled the group cohesiveness mainly to the dominance of group pride, interpersonal attractions, and commitment to tasks of the group.
Intakes of Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium and Risk of Stroke

Background and Purpose— We aimed to investigate the associations of dietary and total potassium, magnesium, and calcium intakes with stroke occurrence. Methods— A prospective cohort study was conducted among 36 094 participants aged 21 to 70 years. Dietary intake was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Results— During 12 years of follow-up, 631 strokes occurred. After adjustment for confounders, magnesium intake was associated with reduced stroke risk (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] per 100 mg/d, 0.80 [0.67–0.97] dietary magnesium; 0.78 [0.65–0.93] total magnesium). Potassium and calcium intakes were not associated with stroke. Conclusions— This study supports an association between high magnesium intake and a reduced stroke risk.
Sourcing from the Enemy: Horizontal Subcontracting in Highway Procurement

type="main"> I empirically consider the effect of horizontal subcontracting on firm bidding strategies in California highway construction auctions. Subcontractors are hired by prime contractors prior to the auction, and the subcontractor may also be a competitor in the primary auction. While horizontal subcontracting may improve productive efficiency, it softens the horizontal subcontractor's bid strategy, since winning the auction may entail losing subcontracting business. I find that while each additional competitor supplied by the firm is estimated to increase its bid by 1.4 per cent, the winning bid is uncorrelated with horizontal subcontracting. This points toward an efficiency motive for cross-supply.
A Novel Animal Model of Borrelia recurrentis Louse-Borne Relapsing Fever Borreliosis Using Immunodeficient Mice

Louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) borreliosis is caused by Borrelia recurrentis, and it is a deadly although treatable disease that is endemic in the Horn of Africa but has epidemic potential. Research on LBRF has been severely hampered because successful infection with B. recurrentis has been achieved only in primates (i.e., not in other laboratory or domestic animals). Here, we present the first non-primate animal model of LBRF, using SCID (-B, -T cells) and SCID BEIGE (-B, -T, -NK cells) immunocompromised mice. These animals were infected with B. recurrentis A11 or A17, or with B. duttonii 1120K3 as controls. B. recurrentis caused a relatively mild but persistent infection in SCID and SCID BEIGE mice, but did not proliferate in NUDE (-T) and BALB/c (wild-type) mice. B. duttonii was infectious but not lethal in all animals. These findings demonstrate that the immune response can limit relapsing fever even in the absence of humoral defense mechanisms. To study the significance of phagocytic cells in this context, we induced systemic depletion of such cells in the experimental mice by injecting them with clodronate liposomes, which resulted in uncontrolled B. duttonii growth and a one-hundred-fold increase in B. recurrentis titers in blood. This observation highlights the role of macrophages and other phagocytes in controlling relapsing fever infection. B. recurrentis evolved from B. duttonii to become a primate-specific pathogen that has lost the ability to infect immunocompetent rodents, probably through genetic degeneration. Here, we describe a novel animal model of B. recurrentis based on B- and T-cell-deficient mice, which we believe will be very valuable in future research on LBRF. Our study also reveals the importance of B-cells and phagocytes in controlling relapsing fever infection.
Content Based Image Retrieval Using Independent Component Analysis

Summary Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) has become one of the most active research areas in the past few years. Many indexing techniques are based on global features distribution such as Gabor Wavelets. [1]. In this paper we present a new approach for global feature extraction using an emerging technique known as Independent Component Analysis (ICA). A comparative study is done between ICA feature vectors and Gabor feature vectors for 180 different texture and natural images in a databank. Result analysis show that extracting color and texture information by ICA provides significantly improved results in terms of retrieval accuracy, computational complexity and storage space of feature vectors as compared to Gabor approaches.
Increased Production of Clusterin in Biopsies of Repair Tissue following Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation

Objective To characterize the immunolocalization of clusterin in the repair cartilage of patients having undergone autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and evaluate correlation to clinical outcome. Design Full-depth core biopsies of repair tissue were obtained from 38 patients who had undergone ACI at an average of 18 ± 13 months previously (range 8-67 months). The biopsies were snap frozen, cryosectioned, and clusterin production immunolocalized using a specific monoclonal clusterin antibody and compared with normal and osteoarthritic cartilage. Clinical outcome was assessed from patients preoperatively, at the time of biopsy, and annually postoperatively. Results Intensity of immunostaining for clusterin decreased with age in healthy cartilage tissue. Clusterin was detected to a variable degree in 37 of the 38 ACI cartilage biopsies, in single and clustered chondrocytes, in the pericellular capsule and the cartilage extracellular matrix, as well as the osteocytes and osteoid within the bone. Chondrocytes in hyaline repair tissue were significantly more immunopositive than those in fibrocartilage repair tissue. Clinical outcome improved significantly post-ACI, but did not correlate with the presence of clusterin in the repair tissue. Conclusions These results demonstrate the presence of clusterin in actively repairing human cartilage and indicate a different distribution of clusterin in this tissue compared to normal cartilage. Variability in clusterin staining in the repair tissue could indicate different states of chondrogenic differentiation. The clinical significance of clusterin within repair tissue is difficult to assess, although the ideal functioning repair tissue morphology should resemble that of healthy adult cartilage.
Design and analysis of a decoupled XY micro compliant parallel manipulator

In this paper, a new compliant parallel mechanism driven by piezoelectric actuators is designed, which is a modified structure from our previous designed stage. In order to compensate the limited stroke of PZT, the secondary amplification mechanism was adopted in this design, and also the matrix method is utilized to calculate its stiffness and compliance for this compliant mechanism. In practical application, the accuracy of mechanism is an essential index that we wish to achieve, meanwhile the parasitic motion analysis, dynamic and static analysis are also presented in this paper. The method is validated by finite element analysis to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Interdependent Durations

This paper studies the identification of a simultaneous equation model where the variable of interest is a duration measure. It proposes a game theoretic model in which durations are determined by strategic agents. In the absence of strategic motives, the model delivers a version of the generalized accelerated failure time model. In its most general form, the system resembles a classical simultaneous equation model in which endogenous variables interact with observable and unobservable exogenous components to characterize a certain economic environment. In this paper, the endogenous variables are the individually chosen equilibrium durations. Even though a unique solution to the game is not always attainable in this context, the structural elements of the economic system are shown to be semiparametrically point identified. We also present a brief discussion of estimation ideas and a set of simulation studies on the model.
Fermions in nonrelativistic AdS/CFT correspondence

We extend the nonrelativistic AdS/CFT correspondence to the fermionic fields. In particular, we study the two point function of a fermionic operator in nonrelativistic CFTs by making use of a massive fermion propagating in geometries with Schr\"odinger group isometry. Although the boundary of the geometries with Schr\"odinger group isometry differ from that in AdS geometries where the dictionary of AdS/CFT is established, using the general procedure of AdS/CFT correspondence, we see that the resultant two point function has the expected form for fermionic operators in nonrelativistic CFTs, though a nontrivial regularization may be needed.