Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the Terms Within- and Cross-Company in Software Effort Estimation

Background: the terms Within-Company (WC) and Cross-Company (CC) in Software Effort Estimation (SEE) have the connotation that CC projects are considerably different from WC projects, and that WC projects are more similar to the projects being estimated. However, as WC projects can themselves be heterogeneous, this is not always the case. Therefore, the use of the terms WC and CC has been questioned as potentially misleading and possibly unhelpful. Aims: to raise awareness of the SEE community in terms of the problems presented by the terms WC and CC, and to encourage discussions on the appropriateness of these terms. Method: existing literature on CC and WC SEE is discussed to raise evidence in favour and against the use of these terms. Results: existing evidence suggests that the terms WC and CC are helpful, because distinguishing between WC and CC projects can help the predictive performance of SEE models. However, due to their connotation, they can be misleading and potentially lead to wrong conclusions in studies comparing WC and CC SEE models. Conclusions: the issue being tackled when investigating WC and CC SEE is heterogeneity, and not the different origins of the software projects per se. Given that the terms WC and CC can be misleading, researchers are encouraged to discuss and consider the problems presented by these terms in SEE papers. Labelling projects as "potentially homogeneous" and "potentially heterogeneous" may be safer than directly labelling them as WC and CC projects.
High Spatial Resolution Optical Image Texture for Improved Estimation of Forest Stand Leaf Area Index

RESUMEL'indice de surface foliaire LAI (Leaf Area Index) est relie au fonctionnement atmosphere-biosphere et constitue un important attribut structurel des ecosystemes et des peuplements forestiers. Generalement, le LAI est estime pour des zones de grande etendue au moyen d'un ratio ou d'un indice de teledetection multibande tel que le NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index/Indice d'activite vegetale normalise). De tels ratios sont relies au LAI dans la mesure ou le LAI et le rayonnement photosynthetiquement actif absorbe (APAR - Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation) sont interrelies. Le NDVI ou une mesure semblable est calcule pour des pixels individuels et les valeurs sont ensuite regroupees par rapport aux zones d'interet, par exemple, un ecosysteme entier, un polygone de peuplement forestier dans un SIG ou dans des parcelles individuelles. Les donnees de teledetection a haute resolution spatiale combinees aux techniques avancees de traitement d'image, telle que l'analyse de texture, peuv.
How well can we encode spatial layout from sparse kinesthetic contact?

We investigated people's ability to report the shape and scale of a spatial layout after sparse contact, without vision. We propose that the initial representation of sparsely contacted layout is kinesthetic. From this can be computed a configural representation that supports reports of shape and scale, but at the cost of increased error. In four experiments, participants' fingers were guided to a two-point layout, after which they returned to the points or reported distance and/or angle, subject to a change in location and sometimes a rotation as well. Errors in reproducing inter-point distance, i.e., the scale of the layout, were smallest for the task of returning to the touched points and nearly twice as great when distance was reported at a new location. Errors in reproducing inter-point angle, i.e., the shape of the layout, were smallest for the task of returning to the touched points and nearly twice as great when angle was reported subject to rotation. The data highlight limitations on reporting the shape and scale of a haptically rendered layout after sparse contact.
Minimum classification error training of landmark models for real-time continuous speech recognition

Though many studies have shown the effectiveness of the minimum classification error (MCE) approach to discriminative training of HMM for speech recognition, few if any have reported MCE results for large (> 100 hours) training sets in the context of real-world, continuous speech recognition. Here we report large gains in performance for the MIT JUPITER weather information task as a result of MCE-based batch optimization of acoustic models. Investigation of word error rate versus computation time showed that small MCE models significantly outperform the maximum likelihood (ML) baseline at all points of equal computation time, resulting in up to 20% word error rate reduction for in-vocabulary utterances. The overall MCE loss function was minimized using Quickprop, a simple but effective second-order optimization method suited to parallelization over large training sets.
Transient Myocarditis Associated With Acute Zika Virus Infection.

: Zika virus outbreak is spreading in America. This emerging infection is associated with neurological complication. We report the first travel-acquired Zika acute infection complicated with myocarditis imported in Mainland France. We recommand an electrocardiogram and an troponin if any cardiac symptoms are present in a patient with acute Zika infection.
Contact versus noncontact piled raft foundations

In the last few decades there has been a rapid increase in the number of piled foundations where the piles have been employed as settlement reducers; in some recent projects, the piles have been separated from the raft by a granular layer, which creates a more uniform pressure distribution on the raft bottom and reduces constraint reactions in the soil, foundation, and superstructure. A series of centrifuge model tests has been performed to investigate the load transfer mechanisms between a square rigid raft and a group of instrumented piles jacked in dry dense sand, in direct contact with the raft or separated from the raft by an interposed granular layer. The test results have shown that contact piles act as settlement reducers by diffusing the load applied to their heads to greater and deeper volumes of soil. The insertion of a deformable layer between a raft and pile heads does not ensure displacement compatibility, and the pressure diffused by the granular fill acts partly on the pile heads and partl.
Involvement of transglutaminase in myofibril assembly of chick embryonic myoblasts in culture

Involvement of transglutaminase in myofibrillogenesis of chick embryonic myoblasts has been investigated in vitro. Both the activity and protein level of transglutaminase initially decreased to a minimal level at the time of burst of myoblast fusion but gradually increased thereafter. The localization of transglutaminase underwent a dramatic change from the whole cytoplasm in a diffuse pattern to the cross- striated sarcomeric A band, being strictly colocalized with the myosin thick filaments. For a brief period prior to the appearance of cross- striation, transglutaminase was localized in nonstriated filamental structures that coincided with the stress fiber-like structures. When 12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate was added to muscle cell cultures to induce the sequential disassembly of thin and thick filaments, transglutaminase was strictly colocalized with the myosin thick filaments even in the myosacs, of which most of the thin filaments were disrupted. Moreover, monodansylcadaverine, a competitive inhibitor of transglutaminase, reversibly inhibited the myofibril maturation. In addition, myosin heavy chain behaved as one of the potential intracellular substrates for transglutaminase. The cross-linked myosin complex constituted approximately 5% of the total Triton X-100- insoluble pool of myosin molecules in developing muscle cells, and its level was reduced to below 1% upon treatment with monodansylcadaverine. These results suggest that transglutaminase plays a crucial role in myofibrillogenesis of developing chick skeletal muscle.
A ray tracing method for modeling indoor wave propagation and penetration

This paper presents a ray tracing method to evaluate the wave propagation and penetration properties for indoor wireless communications. Similar problems had been studied by other investigators. They used total path loss per transmission of structures or considered only reflections from boundaries to determine ray tracing contributions. We will demonstrate a ray tracing method which includes multiple reflections and transmissions in walls, ceiling, and floor for wave propagation and penetration between rooms. The building structures are modeled as flat slabs with uniform dielectric properties measured by using a free-space approach. A two-dimensional (2D) moment method solution is compared with the ray tracing method for 2D structures. Good agreements are obtained. Also, ray tracing results inside a two-room 3D structure are shown.
EMC Issues in the Interaction Between Smart Meters and Power-Electronic Interfaces

Electronic-smart meters are increasingly installed in electricity networks of many countries. In several cases, their operation in parallel with photovoltaic inverters and other power-electronic devices can result in measurement errors reaching up to 45%. In practice, this problem cannot be tackled by current standards due to the gap in standardization of electromagnetic immunity and emissions in the 2–150 kHz range. This paper provides a comprehensive review of international and national standards, guidelines, technical reports, and papers on this challenging electromagnetic-compatibility issue highlighting the gap in the 2–150 kHz range. The ongoing standardization activity to establish both emission and immunity levels and suitable testing procedures is described in detail. Laboratory setups for testing the immunity of smart meters and the emissions of grid-tie inverters are described and experimental results to validate the suitability of the proposed approaches are presented.
LMI-Based Approaches for the Calibration of Continuous Glucose Measurement Sensors

The problem of online calibration and recalibration of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices is considered. Two different parametric relations between interstitial and blood glucose are investigated and constructive algorithms to adaptively estimate the parameters within those relations are proposed. One characteristic is the explicit consideration of measurement uncertainty of the device used to collect the calibration measurements. Another feature is the automatic detection of fingerstick measurements that are not suitable to be used for calibration. Since the methods rely on the solution of linear matrix inequalities resulting in convex optimization problems, the algorithms are of moderate computational complexity and could be implemented on a CGM device. The methods were assessed on clinical data from 17 diabetic patients and the improvements with respect to the current state of the art is shown.
Cyclosporin A treatment and airways inflammation in corticosteroid‐dependent asthma

Cyclosporin A is a potent immunosuppressive agent which inhibits activation of T cells and other inflammatory ceils. It has been shown to be of clinical benefit in patients with corticosteroid dependent asthma, but there are no data on its in vivo effects on airways inflammation. In this report, we describe the case of a 47‐year‐old man with chronic severe corticosteroid‐dependent asthma who made a dramatic clinical response to therapy with cyclosporin
Sensitivities of terrestrial water cycle simulations to the variations of precipitation and air temperature in China

[1] The quality of simulated soil hydrological variables (i.e., soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and runoff) is largely dependent on the accuracy of meteorological forcing data, especially precipitation and air temperature. This issue is quantitatively addressed here by running the Community Land Model (CLM3.5) over China from 1993 to 2002 using the reanalysis-based precipitation and air temperature and in situ observations in the meteorological forcing data set. Compared to the in situ measured soil moisture data, the CLM3.5 simulation can generally capture the spatial and seasonal variations of soil moisture but produces too-wet soil in northeastern and eastern China and too-dry soil in northwestern China. This deficiency is significantly reduced when the in situ measured precipitation data are used to drive the model. An index is also constructed to quantify the sensitivities of soil hydrological variables to variations of precipitation and air temperature. The highest sensitivity of surface hydrological variables to precipitation appears over semiarid regions, while the sensitivity to air temperature for different variables varies regionally (semiarid regions for runoff and soil moisture and humid regions for evapotranspiration (ET)). Over semiarid regions, precipitation and air temperature are equally important to the simulations of soil hydrological variables. Over humid regions, in contrast, ET is more dependent on air temperature than on precipitation, while soil moisture and runoff are less affected by air temperature.
AVALIAÇÃO SIMPLIFICADA DE IMPACTOS AMBIENTAIS NA BACIA DO ALTO SOROCABA (SP)

The objective of this study was to evaluate environmental impacts on the Alto Sorocaba basin in order to define the most degraded areas and their causes and to propose solutions and management strategies for them. An impacts indicator questionnaire was designed, that allowed us to establish a direct relationship between reactions achieved and environmental factors by attributing value to some impacting parameters obtained by simple visualization in the field. The questionnaire was applied at 50 points, based on the influence area of the sub-basin and variability in land use. It was determined that the main environmental impacts that affect the basin are deforestation, due to the intensive agriculture and real estate development at the margins of the reservoir, and the in natura domestic wastewater released into water bodies. These factors were mainly noticed near to Ibiuna district, the most populated region. Such information provides subsidies necessary to environmental management in this basin and to decreasing environmental degradation. Among the management strategies suggested, it is possible to highlight that related to the accomplishment of environmental legislation, recuperation of degraded areas recuperation and sustainable planning for natural resources. Key-words: Watershed, Environmental Impact Assessment, Alto Sorocaba basin.
Analysis of diel variability in chlorophyll fluorescence

ABSTRACT Examples of the die1 variability in chlorophyll and beam attenuation are presented using data from moored in situ fluorometers and transmissometers, and from profiles of the beam attenuation coefficient and fluorescence. The data are discussed in terms of the three primary processes thought to influence the die1 variability in chlorophyll: (1) fluorescence yield per unit chlorophyll a, (2) chlorophyll a changes per cell (or, carbon), and (3) changes in phytoplankton carbon (growth). A simple, provisional, model is presented which incorporates these three biological processes, under the assumption that the corresponding die1 variability in particle attenuation represents the change in phytoplankton carbon. The analysis produces qualitative agreement with the in situ data. The model suggests that while under high-light conditions fluorescence declines, chlorophyll can still increase during the day. Under low-light conditions, the die1 variability of chlorophyll and fluorescence are in phase. The model is limited by (1) physiological understanding of the processes involved in producing fluorescence and chlorophyll changes over die1 time scales; (2) biomass-independent variations in particle attenuation; and (3) not including, for the present, physical forcing.
Comparison of the diastereoisomeric excess of uridine, inosine and adenosine cyanohydrins determined by HPLC-DAD and 1H NMR.

ABSTRACT The separation of the diastereoisomers of the nucleoside derivatives of uridine, inosine and adenosine was performed by HPLC using chiral and no chiral columns, it was observed with the no chiral columns the resolution was good enough to determine diastereoisomeric excess. These methods were compared with 1H NMR, and no significant differences were observed between the three techniques. Diastereoisomeric uridine (3a), inosine (3b) and adenosine (4c) cyanohydrins were resolved by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), chiral normal phase-high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (NP-HPLC-DAD) and reversed phase (RP-HPLC-DAD); these methods allowed the assesment of the percent diastereoisomeric excess (% de) of the nucleosidic cyanohydrins of 3a (4, 6 and 4), 3b (10, 8 and 6) and 4c (4, 4 and 4). To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports using analytical techniques for the separation of the epimers of 3a, 3b and 4c.
Hyperthermus butylicus, a hyperthermophilic sulfur-reducing archaebacterium that ferments peptides

The hyperthermophilic peptide-fermenting sulfur archaebacterium Hyperthermus butylicus was isolated from the sea floor of a solfataric habitat with temperatures of up to 112 degrees C on the coast of the island of São Miguel, Azores. The organism grows at up to 108 degrees C, grows optimally between 95 and 106 degrees C at 17 g of NaCl per liter and pH 7.0, utilizes peptide mixtures as carbon and energy sources, and forms H2S from elemental sulfur and molecular hydrogen as a growth-stimulating accessory energy source but not by sulfur respiration. The same fermentation products, CO2, 1-butanol, acetic acid, phenylacetic acid, and a trace of hydroxyphenylacetic acid, are formed both with and without of S0 and H2. Its ether lipids, the absence of a mureine sacculus, the nature of the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and phylogenetic classification by DNA-rRNA cross-hybridization characterize H. butylicus as part of a novel genus of the major branch of archaebacteria comprising the orders Thermoproteales and Sulfolobales, representing a particularly long lineage bifurcating with the order Sulfolobales above the branching off of the genus Thermoproteus and distinct from the genera Desulfurococcus and Pyrodictium.
History and future lines of urbanization process in Finland

Urbanization began in Finland relatively late by comparison with other European countries, but the process has taken place all the more rapidly. The population has concentrated to the southern part of Finland and there are nowadays only few growth centres. The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of urbanization over a long time span and light up the different scenarios of future population distribution. The number of cities and towns in Finland increased by 57 % between 1950 and 1998, but one notable feature of these cities and towns is their small size in terms of population, 86 % of them having less than 50 000 inhabitants and only 6 of them exceeding 100 000 inhabitants in 1998. According to forecasts the population will concentrate still in future in Finland. The proportion of people who are living in the built-up areas will be 84 % in 2005. Finland`s development is 15 years behind Sweden: Sweden reached this figure already in 1990. The population of the rural areas will continue to decrease in future. Population of Helsinki will grow up to 2020 by almost 68 000 persons. The population level will be then 611 361 inhabitants.
JamLab: Augmenting sensornet testbeds with realistic and controlled interference generation

Radio interference drastically affects the performance of sensor-net communications, leading to packet loss and reduced energy-efficiency. As an increasing number of wireless devices operates on the same ISM frequencies, there is a strong need for understanding and debugging the performance of existing sensornet protocols under interference. Doing so requires a low-cost flexible testbed infrastructure that allows the repeatable generation of a wide range of interference patterns. Unfortunately, to date, existing sensornet testbeds lack such capabilities, and do not permit to study easily the coexistence problems between devices sharing the same frequencies. This paper addresses the current lack of such an infrastructure by using off-the-shelf sensor motes to record and playback interference patterns as well as to generate customizable and repeat-able interference in real-time. We propose and develop JamLab: a low-cost infrastructure to augment existing sensornet testbeds with accurate interference generation while limiting the overhead to a simple upload of the appropriate software. We explain how we tackle the hardware limitations and get an accurate measurement and regeneration of interference, and we experimentally evaluate the accuracy of JamLab with respect to time, space, and intensity. We further use JamLab to characterize the impact of interference on sensornet MAC protocols.
Dental pulp regeneration in paediatric dentistry: the role of stem cells.

AIM In the last decade, tissue engineering has undergone enormous expansion in the fields of regenerative medicine and dentistry. In response to mechanical and chemical injuries, the dentine-pulp complex possesses a regenerative ability due to a speci? c population of mesenchymal stem cells, which have been widely described in literature. The postnatal dental pulp also contains progenitor stem cells that participate in dental regeneration. Knowledge of the regenerative potential of these cells is important in terms of understanding and applying their biological and chemical characteristics. CONCLUSION Through the isolation and exploration of the regenerative abilities of these stem cells, new therapeutic possibilities may be possible, opening the way for improving paediatric endodontic therapy.
Rice crop area estimation of an administrative division in China using remote sensing data

In crop production estimation using remotely sensed data, it is necessary to estimate the crop area and its yeild per unit area in a particular administrative division. Two approaches were adopted: (1) the target image of the study area was cut with the administrative boundary, land cover/use classification was processed and crop identification and area calculation were carried out, (2) land cover/use classification was carried out first and then the study area was cut from the image with administrative boundary, and area was estimated. We call these two methods strategy A (cut and classify) and strategy B (classify and cut), respectively. In this paper, the two strategies were applied to rice crop area estimation. The results indicate that strategy B is better than strategy A in the unsupervized classification-cluster process and the rice crop area was estimated with an accuracy over 81% for semi-late rice and 90% for early rice.