Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life in the "Matrix": Human Mobility Patterns in the Cyber Space

With the wide adoption of the multi-community setting in many popular social media platforms, the increasing user engagements across multiple online communities warrant research attention. In this paper, we introduce a novel analogy between the movements in the cyber space and the physical space. This analogy implies a new way of studying human online activities by modelling the activities across online communities in a similar fashion as the movements among locations. First, we quantitatively validate the analogy by comparing several important properties of human online activities and physical movements. Our experiments reveal striking similarities between the cyber space and the physical space. Next, inspired by the established methodology on human mobility in the physical space, we propose a framework to study human "mobility" across online platforms. We discover three interesting patterns of user engagements in online communities. Furthermore, our experiments indicate that people with different mobility patterns also exhibit divergent preferences to online communities. This work not only attempts to achieve a better understanding of human online activities, but also intends to open a promising research direction with rich implications and applications.
Exposure to Muslims in Media and Support for Public Policies Harming Muslims

Few studies have empirically examined how media stereotypes of Muslims influence Americans’ support for public policies exclusively harming Muslims. Across three studies, we tested the short-term and long-term effects of news portraying Muslims as terrorists on Americans’ support for public policies harming Muslims domestically and internationally. Study 1 revealed that exposure to news portraying Muslims as terrorists is positively associated with support for military action in Muslim countries. Study 2 revealed that exposure to news portraying Muslims as terrorists is positively associated with support for public policies that harm Muslims domestically and internationally; this effect was fully mediated by perceptions of Muslims as aggressive. Experimental results from Study 3 revealed that exposing participants to negative Muslim media footage, relative to neutral or no-video footage, increased perceptions of Muslims as aggressive, increased support for harsh civil restrictions of Muslim Americans, and increased support for military action in Muslim countries. Exposure to positive Muslim footage yielded opposite results. We discuss the importance of media in exacerbating aggressive attitudes and public policies in the context of intergroup relations.
Artificial Neural Network Based Prosody Models for Finnish Text-to-Speech Synthesis

This thesis presents a series of experiments conducted on Finnish prosody for text-to-speech synthesis using artificial neural networks. The study serves the purpose of mapping and extracting out the relevant factors that have an effect on prosody in general – be they phonetic or linguistic in nature. The interplay between the relevant factors and the behavior of the prosodic parameters range from the simplest, phonetically determined variation on the segmental level to the linguistically determined variation on the level of the utterance. The fundamental idea of this work is to use similar models for all aspects and levels of suprasegmental and segmental prosodic phenomena – in effect building a superpositional and modular model from similar building blocks. All in all, a framework that can be further extended to encompass all levels of prosody is presented. Since the models are intended to work on all aspects and parameters of prosody, any underlying models that are generally used for prosody control in speech synthesis systems have been intentionally left out. That is, by allowing a large amount of redundancy in the models, the conceptual and practical discrepancy between, say, a tone sequence intonation model and a CART-based duration model has been circumvented. Nevertheless, it is not claimed that in a real world situation these models would out-perform a less redundant but more heterogeneous set of models. Instead, a conceptual framework that can be tailored to suit arbitrarily large domains and to include separate models for all aspects and scopes of prosody is presented. As mentioned, these models have not only intended for prosody control, but also to extract the relevant factors for each type of network – or each problem the network is intended to solve. That is, the presented artificial
High-Frequency EMI Attenuation at Source With the Auxiliary Commutated Pole Inverter

Fast-switching power converters are a key enabling technology for the more electric aircraft (MEA), but the generated electromagnetic interference (EMI) poses significant challenges to the electrification effort. To meet the stringent aerospace EMI standards, passive filters are commonly employed, despite the weight and size constraints imposed by the MEA. Alternatively, the EMI source, i.e., the high $dv\text{/} dt$ and $di\text{/} dt$ slew rates, can be addressed through waveform-shaping techniques. For example, while most soft-switching converters can reduce switching loss, they do so by switching the semiconductor devices in a slower and smoother manner, resulting in the attenuation of high-frequency harmonics. This paper examines the auxiliary commutated pole inverter (ACPI) topology, and its first contribution is the attenuation of the high-frequency content of its EMI source, that is, the output voltage, in a predictable manner, through the active control of the resonant circuit. This is achieved by first, discussing the time-domain characteristics of trapezoidal and S-shaped pulse-trains that lead to attenuated high-frequency harmonic content, and second, by analyzing the equivalent LC circuit of the ACPI. The design of the inverter is then focused on the active control of the resonant parameters, for a predetermined and enhanced output voltage high-frequency response. The second contribution of this paper is the comparison of the EMI performance of hard switching and of three soft-switching modes, fixed-timing control, variable-timing control, and capacitive turn-offs, and how this informs important metrics such as power efficiency, current stress, and implementation complexity. Finally, the third contribution is on the trade-offs that arise when the primary design goal is enhanced EMI performance as opposed to switching loss reduction. A 5-kW, 3-phase ACPI prototype is used for validating the high-frequency content attenuation at source. It is shown that the ACPI can achieve a 37 dB harmonic attenuation of its output voltage at 4 MHz, compared to a hard-switched inverter.
Identity and combinations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal isolates influence plant resistance and insect preference

Accumulating evidence indicates that plant resistance against above‐ground herbivores can be affected by the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in association with the host plant. Little is known, however, about how AMF composition can influence herbivore choice to feed on a particular plant. Unravelling the preference–performance hypothesis in a multitrophic context is needed to expand our knowledge of complex multitrophic interactions in natural systems. If given mycorrhizal fungal genotypes increase attractiveness for a herbivore (reduced plant resistance), then the benefits of increased unpalatability provided by the mycorrhizal fungi (increased plant resistance) might be outweighed by the increased herbivore recruitment. This was addressed by designing three experiments to test the effects of different AMF genotypes, inoculated either alone or in combination, to measure intraspecific AMF effects on plant resistance and insect herbivore preference. Using strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.) plants that were colonised by eight different combinations of Rhizophagus irregularis isolates, we measured effects on plant growth, insect growth and survival, as well as feeding preferences of a generalist herbivore caterpillar (Spodoptera littoralis Boisduval). Overall, it was found that: (i) AMF influenced plant resistance in an AMF genotype‐specific manner; (ii) some AMF inoculations decreased insect performance; (iii) insects preferentially chose to feed more on leaves originating from non‐mycorrhizal plants; but also that (iv) in a whole plant bioassay, insects preferentially chose the biggest plant, regardless of their mycorrhizal status. Therefore, AMF‐mediated trade‐offs between growth and resistance against herbivores have been shown. Such trade‐offs, particularly driven by plant attractiveness to herbivores, buffer the positive effects of the mycorrhizal symbiosis on enhanced plant growth.
Effect of chin tuck against resistance exercise on patients with dysphagia following stroke: A randomized pilot study.

BACKGROUND Recently, chin tuck against resistance exercise (CTAR) has been reported as a remedial treatment for pharyngeal dysphagia. However, the clinical evidence of the effect is still lacking. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the effect of CTAR on the swallowing function in patients with dysphagia following subacute stroke. METHODS The patients were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 11) or a control group (n = 11). The experimental group performed CTAR using the CTAR device. The control group received only conventional dysphagia treatment. Both groups received training on five days a week, for four weeks. The swallowing function was measured using functional dysphagia scale (FDS) and penetration-aspiration scale (PAS), based on a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS). RESULTS The experimental group showed more improvements in the oral cavity, laryngeal elevation/epiglottic closure, residue in valleculae, and residue in pyriform sinuses of FDS and PAS compared to the control group (p < 0.05, all). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that CTAR is effective in improving the pharyngeal swallowing function in patients with dysphagia after stroke. Therefore, we recommend CTAR as a new remedial training alternative to HLE.
Preliminary comparison of techniques for dealing with imbalance in software defect prediction

Imbalanced data is a common problem in data mining when dealing with classification problems, where samples of a class vastly outnumber other classes. In this situation, many data mining algorithms generate poor models as they try to optimize the overall accuracy and perform badly in classes with very few samples. Software Engineering data in general and defect prediction datasets are not an exception and in this paper, we compare different approaches, namely sampling, cost-sensitive, ensemble and hybrid approaches to the problem of defect prediction with different datasets preprocessed differently. We have used the well-known NASA datasets curated by Shepperd et al. There are differences in the results depending on the characteristics of the dataset and the evaluation metrics, especially if duplicates and inconsistencies are removed as a preprocessing step. Further Results and replication package: http://www.cc. uah.es/drg/ease14
Penggunaan Pot Berbahan Dasar Organik untuk Pembibitan Gmelina arborea Roxb. di Persemaian The Use of Pot Organic Based Material for Gmelina arborea Roxb. Seedling Production in the Nursery

The objectve of this research was to obtain the best materials composition and adhesive of organic pot for forest trees seedling production. Organic pot strength was evaluated by testing the strength of rupture elasticity and elasticity stiffness of each composition. The bioassay testing used Completely Randomized Design with factorial pattern, consisting of two factors, (1) basic raw materials of the pot (used newspaper, litter and compost) and (2) the type of adhesive (control, tanin and starch). The results showed that the adhesive starch gave higher strength, whereas adhesive tannin gave higher stiffness as compared to control. Results of bioassay showed that the mixture (50:50 v/v) of basic materials of used newspaper and compost (KKK) which were glued with tannin, produced the best results for height and diameter increament with the value of 35.85 cm, 0.31 cm respectively and biomass value of 0.99 g after 12 weeks of planting. The highest level of damage in organic pot with basic raw materials KKK without adhesive was 47.6%, whereas lowest level of damage in organic pot with basic raw material used newspaper (KK) with tannin addhesive was 2.0% after 12 weeks in the nursery.
Tablet formulation of Famotidine-loaded P-gp inhibiting nanoparticles using PLA-g-PEG grafted polymer

Abstract Our work aimed at evaluating the use of permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibiting nanoparticles (NPs) as a part of a suitable oral solid dosage to improve bioavailability. Famotidine (Pepcid®), a stomach acid production inhibitor, was used as a drug model to test our hypothesis. Famotidine-loaded NPs were prepared by solvent emulsion evaporation using PEG grafted on a polylactide acid (PLA) polymer backbone (PLA-g-PEG), with a 5% molar ratio of PEG versus lactic acid monomer and PEG of either 750 or 2000 Da molecular weight. Tablet formulation was composed of 40% Famotidine-loaded NPs, 52.5% microcrystalline cellulose as filler, 7% pre-gelatinized starch as binder/disintegrant, and 0.5% magnesium stearate as lubricant. Tablets containing 1.6 mg of Famotidine were prepared at an average weight of 500 mg, thickness of 6.2–6.5 mm, hardness of 5–8 kp, and disintegration time of <1 min. Our results suggest that Famotidine-loaded NPs using grafted PEG-g-PLA polymers can be formulated as an oral solid dosage form while effectively inhibiting P-gp mediated Famotidine efflux, irrespective of PEG molecular weights. This could therefore represent an attractive formulation alternative to enhance oral permeability and bioavailability of drugs that are P-gp substrates.
Development of a Novel Noncontact ECG Electrode by MEMS Fabrication Process

Contact electrodes pose threats like inflammation, metal poisoning, and allergic reaction to the user during long term ECG procedure. Therefore, we present a novel noncontact electrocardiographic electrode designed through microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) process. The proposed ECG electrode consists of small inner and large outer circular copper plates separated by thin insulator. The inner plate enables capacitive transduction of bio-potential variations on a subject’s chest into a voltage that can be processed by a signal processing board, whereas the outer plate shields the inner plate from environmental electromagnetic noise. The electrode lead wires are also coaxially designed to prevent cables from coupling to ground or electronic devices. A prototype ECG electrode has an area of about 2.324 cm 2 , is very flexible and does not require power to operate. The prototype ECG electrode could measure ECG at about 500 um distance from the subject’s chest.
Open Datasets and Tools for Arabic Text Detection and Recognition in News Video Frames

Recognizing texts in video is more complex than in other environments such as scanned documents. Video texts appear in various colors, unknown fonts and sizes, often affected by compression artifacts and low quality. In contrast to Latin texts, there are no publicly available datasets which cover all aspects of the Arabic Video OCR domain. This paper describes a new well-defined and annotated Arabic-Text-in-Video dataset called AcTiV 2.0. The dataset is dedicated especially to building and evaluating Arabic video text detection and recognition systems. AcTiV 2.0 contains 189 video clips serving as a raw material for creating 4063 key frames for the detection task and 10,415 cropped text images for the recognition task. AcTiV 2.0 is also distributed with its annotation and evaluation tools that are made open-source for standardization and validation purposes. This paper also reports on the evaluation of several systems tested under the proposed detection and recognition protocols.
Effects of girth, saddle and weight on movements of the horse.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Although the saddle is seen as one of the biggest causes of back pain, and weightbearing is seen as an important aetiological factor in 'kissing spine' syndrome (KSS), the effects of a saddle and weight on the back movements of the horse have never been studied. OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of pressure on the back, exerted by tack and weight, on movements of the horse. HYPOTHESIS Weight has an extending effect on the horse's back and, as a compensatory mechanism to this extension, an alteration in pro- and retraction angles was expected. A similar but smaller effect was expected from a saddle only and a lungeing girth. METHODS Data were captured during treadmill locomotion at walk, trot and canter under 4 conditions: unloaded; with lungeing girth; saddle only; and saddle with 75 kg of weight. Data were expressed as maximal extension, maximal flexion angles, range of motion of L3 and L5 and maximal pro- and retraction angles of the limbs. RESULTS At walk and trot, there was a significant influence on back kinematics in the 'saddle with weight' situation, but not in the other conditions. Overall extension of the back increased, but the range of movement remained the same. Limb kinematics changed in the sense that forelimb retraction increased. At canter, both the 'saddle with weight' and 'saddle only' conditions had a significant extending effect on the back, but there was no effect on limb kinematics. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Weight and a saddle induce an overall extension of the back. This may contribute to soft tissue injuries and the KSS. The data from this study may help in understanding the reaction of the equine back to the challenges imposed by man when using the animal for riding.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Metabolism Signature in Ischemia Differs from Reperfusion in Mouse Intestine

Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolites are bioactive autoacoids that play an important role in the pathogenesis of a vast number of pathologies, including gut diseases. The induction and the resolution of inflammation depend on PUFA metabolic pathways that are favored. Therefore, understanding the profile of n-6 (eicosanoids)/n-3 (docosanoids) PUFA-derived metabolites appear to be as important as gene or protein array approaches, to uncover the molecules potentially implicated in inflammatory diseases. Using high sensitivity liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, we characterized the tissue profile of PUFA metabolites in an experimental model of murine intestinal ischemia reperfusion. We identified temporal and quantitative differences in PUFA metabolite production, which correlated with inflammatory damage. Analysis revealed that early ischemia induces both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory eicosanoid production. Primarily, LOX- (5/15/12/8-HETE, LTB4, LxA4) and CYP- (5, 6-EET) metabolites were produced upon ischemia, but also PGE3, and PDx. This suggests that different lipids simultaneously play a role in the induction and counterbalance of ischemic inflammatory response from its onset. COX-derived metabolites were more present from 2 to 5 hours after reperfusion, fitting with the concomitant inflammatory peaks. All metabolites were decreased 48 hours post-reperfusion except for to the pro-resolving RvE precursor 18-HEPE and the PPAR−γαμμα agonist, 15d-PGJ2. Data obtained through the pharmacological blockade of transient receptor potential vanilloid-4, which can be activated by 5, 6-EET, revealed that the endogenous activation of this receptor modulates post-ischemic intestinal inflammation. Altogether, these results demonstrate that different lipid pathways are involved in intestinal ischemia-reperfusion processes. Some metabolites, which expression is severely changed upon intestinal ischemia-reperfusion could provide novel targets and may facilitate the development of new pharmacological treatments.
Intermineral oxygen three‐isotope systematics of silicate minerals in equilibrated ordinary chondrites

High‐precision oxygen three‐isotope ratios were measured for four mineral phases (olivine, low‐Ca and high‐Ca pyroxene, and plagioclase) in equilibrated ordinary chondrites (EOCs) using a secondary ion mass spectrometer. Eleven EOCs were studied that cover all groups (H, L, LL) and petrologic types (4, 5, 6), including S1–S4 shock stages, as well as unbrecciated and brecciated meteorites. SIMS analyses of multiple minerals were made in close proximity (mostly <100 μm) from several areas in each meteorite thin section, to evaluate isotope exchange among minerals. Oxygen isotope ratios in each mineral become more homogenized as petrologic type increases with the notable exception of brecciated samples. In type 4 chondrites, oxygen isotope ratios of olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene are heterogeneous in both δ18O and Δ17O, showing similar systematics to those in type 3 chondrites. In type 5 and 6 chondrites, oxygen isotope ratios of the four mineral phases plot along mass‐dependent fractionation lines that are consistent with the bulk average Δ17O of each chondrite group. The δ18O of three minerals, low‐Ca and high‐Ca pyroxene and plagioclase, are consistent with equilibrium fractionation at temperatures of 700–1000 °C. In most cases the δ18O values of olivine are higher than those expected from pyroxene and plagioclase, suggesting partial retention of premetamorphic values due to slower oxygen isotope diffusion in olivine than pyroxene during thermal metamorphism in ordinary chondrite parent bodies.
Where Has All the Education Gone?

Cross-national data show no association between increases in human capital attributable to the rising educational attainment of the labor force and the rate of growth of output per worker. This implies that the association of educational capital growth with conventional measures of total factor production is large, strongly statistically significant, and negative. These are 'on average' results, derived from imposing a constant coefficient. However, the development impact of education varied widely across countries and has fallen short of expectations for three possible reasons. First, the institutional/governance environment could have been sufficiently perverse that the accumulation of educational capital lowered economic growth. Second, marginal returns to education could have fallen rapidly as the supply of educated labor expanded while demand remained stagnant. Third, educational quality could have been so low that years of schooling created no human capital. The extent and mix of these three phenomena vary from country to country in explaining the actual economic impact of education, or the lack thereof.