Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An accuracy-assured privacy-preserving recommender system for internet commerce

Recommender systems, tool for predicting users? potential preferences by computing history data and users? interests, show an increasing importance in various Internet applications such as online shopping. As a well-known recommendation method, neighbourhood-based collaborative filtering has attracted considerable attentions recently. The risk of revealing users? private information during the process of filtering has attracted noticeable research interests. Among the current solutions, the probabilistic techniques have shown a powerful privacy preserving effect. The existing methods deploying probabilistic methods are in three categories, one [19] adds differential privacy noises in the covariance matrix; one [1] introduces the randomisation in the neighbour selection process; the other [29] applies differential privacy in both the neighbour selection process and covariance matrix. When facing the k Nearest Neighbour (kNN) attack, all the existing methods provide no data utility guarantee, for the introduction of global randomness. In this paper, to overcome the problem of recommendation accuracy loss, we propose a novel approach, Partitioned Probabilistic Neighbour Selection, to ensure a required prediction accuracy while maintaining high security against the kNN attack. We define the sum of k neighbours? similarity as the accuracy metric ? , the number of user partitions, across which we select the k neighbours, as the security metric ? We generalise the k Nearest Neighbour attack to the ? k Nearest Neighbours attack. Differing from the existing approach that selects neighbours across the entire candidate list randomly, our method selects neighbours from each exclusive partition of size k with a decreasing probability. Theoretical and experimental analysis show that to provide an accuracy-assured recommendation, our Partitioned Probabilistic Neighbour Selection method yields a better trade-off between the recommendation accuracy and system security.
Disparity in elevational shifts of European trees in response to recent climate warming

Predicting climate‐driven changes in plant distribution is crucial for biodiversity conservation and management under recent climate change. Climate warming is expected to induce movement of species upslope and towards higher latitudes. However, the mechanisms and physiological processes behind the altitudinal and latitudinal distribution range of a tree species are complex and depend on each tree species features and vary over ontogenetic stages. We investigated the altitudinal distribution differences between juvenile and adult individuals of seven major European tree species along elevational transects covering a wide latitudinal range from southern Spain (37°N) to northern Sweden (67°N). By comparing juvenile and adult distributions (shifts on the optimum position and the range limits) we assessed the response of species to present climate conditions in relation to previous conditions that prevailed when adults were established. Mean temperature increased by 0.86 °C on average at our sites during the last decade compared with previous 30‐year period. Only one of the species studied, Abies alba, matched the expected predictions under the observed warming, with a maximum abundance of juveniles at higher altitudes than adults. Three species, Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris, showed an opposite pattern while for other three species, such as Quercus ilex, Acer pseudoplatanus and Q. petraea, we were no able to detect changes in distribution. These findings are in contrast with theoretical predictions and show that tree responses to climate change are complex and are obscured not only by other environmental factors but also by internal processes related to ontogeny and demography.
Practical Learning in Virtual Worlds: Confronting Literature with Health Educators’ Perspectives

In a radically changing educational world with rapid technological advances, educators need to adapt to new learning styles. This study investigates the use of Second Life (SL) within the Virtual World (VW) environment by healthcare educators as a method to enhance teaching and learning.A case study design ascertained the views of healthcare educators to determine relationship variables of VW SL initiatives.The findings reveal healthcare educators had limited expertise in using SL, but recognised its usefulness in bridging the theory/practice gap especially for nursing and midwifery training. The findings confirmed educators’ confusion between VW and Web 2.0 / 3.0 technologies and recommends increasing technological competency. It highlighted educators’ professional expertise of care standards in real-life situations but demonstrated a competency issue in their pedagogical style to deliver SL practice scenarios. Consequently, opportunities for developing critical thinking through SL scenarios remain stilted and solutions through problem-based learning scenarios remain underdeveloped.
Evaluation of handover activities from the perspective of the system acquisition and front-end support

Even if software handover is a critical process in the lifecycle of a software system, there is still very little research done within its domain. In this paper, we evaluate the taxonomy of handover activities as defined in EM3: Handover Process Model. We do it in an industrial setting in a context where a software system is handed over from a vendor conducting system development, evolution and maintenance to an acquirer using the system and conducting front-end support. Our results show that the taxonomy is realistic in the context studied. However, it misses some important deployment and training activities.
Trib2 Suppresses Tumor Initiation in Notch-Driven T-ALL

Trib2 is highly expressed in human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and is a direct transcriptional target of the oncogenic drivers Notch and TAL1. In human TAL1-driven T-ALL cell lines, Trib2 is proposed to function as an important survival factor, but there is limited information about the role of Trib2 in primary T-ALL. In this study, we investigated the role of Trib2 in the initiation and maintenance of Notch-dependent T-ALL. Trib2 had no effect on the growth and survival of murine T-ALL cell lines in vitro when expression was blocked by shRNAs. To test the function of Trib2 on leukemogenesis in vivo, we generated Trib2 knockout mice. Mice were born at the expected Mendelian frequencies without gross developmental anomalies. Adult mice did not develop pathology or shortened survival, and hematopoiesis, including T cell development, was unperturbed. Using a retroviral model of Notch-induced T-ALL, deletion of Trib2 unexpectedly decreased the latency and increased the penetrance of T-ALL development in vivo. Immunoblotting of primary murine T-ALL cells showed that the absence of Trib2 increased C/EBPα expression, a known regulator of cell proliferation, and did not alter AKT or ERK phosphorylation. Although Trib2 was suggested to be highly expressed in T-ALL, transcriptomic analysis of two independent T-ALL cohorts showed that low Trib2 expression correlated with the TLX1-expressing cortical mature T-ALL subtype, whereas high Trib2 expression correlated with the LYL1-expressing early immature T-ALL subtype. These data indicate that Trib2 has a complex role in the pathogenesis of Notch-driven T-ALL, which may vary between different T-ALL subtypes.
Making matters worse by trying to make them better? Exploring vicious circles of decision in hybrid partnerships

Our research is concerned with how and why vicious circles of decision occur in hybrid partnerships. The literature reports three types of decision dysfunctions that can alter the trajectory of multi-stakeholder collaborations: escalation of commitment, procrastination and indecision. While previous studies focused on one dysfunction at a time, we inquire about cases in which dysfunctions coexist and interact in the same partnership. Employing multiple sources of qualitative data, we conducted a longitudinal field study in a cross-sector partnership that co-created and managed a science park. We offer an in-depth account of ‘vicious circles of decision’ in which partners’ attempts to solve a dysfunction paradoxically led to the accumulation of additional dysfunctions. We explain that the process is more likely to happen when solutions are (1) conditioned by the very risk–opportunity tensions they try to solve and (2) inscribed in material artefacts for greater visibility. As well as augmenting the literature on hybrid partnerships, we contribute to the debate in organization studies about the evolution of collaborations within frames of concurrent risk–opportunity tensions and theorize about the role of materiality in such processes.
Internal load in elite young soccer players during a whole season according to playing positions

The aims of this study were 1) to compare the internal load, measured as session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE), between training sessions and official matches among playing positions in young elite soccer players and 2) to analyze the s-RPE association between training and official match-play. Nineteen young elite soccer players who competed in the Spanish First Division Under-19 Championship participated in this study. Internal load was registered during 120 training sessions and during 30 official matches. Only the players who participated in all the weekly sessions and played at least 70 min were included in the further analysis. No significant differences (P > 0.05, ES = -0.57/0.62) among playing positions were found in the s-RPE registered by soccer players in training sessions, official matches nor in the total sessions. On the other side, higher s-RPE was observed during trainings in comparison to matches in each playing position (P < 0.001, ES = 5.51-30.77). However, no association was observed between training s-RPE and match s-RPE for the whole of the players (P = 0.60, r = 0.04), nor for each specific playing positions (P = 0.29-0.89, r = -0.11/0.16). These findings could be useful for coaches in order to plan the distribution of the weekly training load. Nonetheless, it is also suggested that internal load monitoring cannot be confidently used, in isolation, as a tool to detect differences in the match-play demands, attending to playing positions, in young soccer players. Thus, the use of both internal (i.e., s-RPE) and external (i.e., global positioning system measures) load is suggested to manage the training and match load and to prescribe the training sessions appropriately.
Fourier Modeling of the Radio Torus Surrounding SN 1987A

We present detailed Fourier modeling of the radio remnant of SN 1987A using high-resolution 9 and 18 GHz data taken with the Australia Telescope Compact Array over the period 1992-2008. We develop a parameterized three-dimensional torus model for the expanding radio shell, in which the emission is confined to an inclined equatorial belt; our model also incorporates both a correction for light-travel time effects and an overall east-west gradient in the radio emissivity. By deriving an analytic expression for the two-dimensional Fourier transform of the projected three-dimensional brightness distribution, we can fit our spatial model directly to the interferometric visibility data. This provides robust estimates of the radio morphology at each epoch. The best-fit results suggest a constant remnant expansion at 4000 ± 400 km s−1 over the 16 yr period covered by the observations. The model fits also indicate substantial midlatitude emission, extending to ±40° on either side of the equatorial plane. This likely corresponds to the extraplanar structure seen in Hα and Lyα emission from the supernova reverse shock, and broadly supports hydrodynamic models in which the complex circumstellar environment was produced by a progression of interacting winds from the progenitor. Our model quantifies the clear asymmetry seen in the radio images: we find that the eastern half of the radio remnant is consistently ~40% brighter than the western half at all epochs, which may result from an asymmetry in the ejecta distribution between these two hemispheres.
Multifrequency VLBI observations of faint gigahertz peaked spectrum sources

We present the data and analysis of VLBI observations at 1.6, 5 and 15 GHz of a sample of faint gigahertz peaked spectrum (GPS) sources selected from the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey. The 5-GHz observations involved a global array of 16 stations and yielded data on the total sample of 47 sources. A subsample of 26 GPS sources with peak frequencies and/or peak flux densities was observed with the VLBA at 15 GHz. A second subsample of 29 sources, with was observed at 1.6 GHz using a 14-station global VLBI array. In this way, 44 of the 47 sources (94 per cent) in the sample were observed above and at or below their spectral peak. Spectral decomposition allowed us to identify three, 11, seven and two objects as compact symmetric objects, compact doubles, core–jet and complex sources, respectively. However, many of the sources classified as compact double or core–jet sources show only two components making their classification rather tentative. This may explain why the strong morphological dichotomy of GPS quasars and galaxies found for radio-bright GPS sources is not as clear in this faint sample.
Baicalin Protects Mice from Aristolochic Acid I-Induced Kidney Injury by Induction of CYP1A through the Aromatic Hydrocarbon Receptor

Exposure to aristolochic acid I (AAI) can lead to aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN), Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) and urothelial cancer. The induction of hepatic CYP1A, especially CYP1A2, was considered to detoxify AAI so as to reduce its nephrotoxicity. We previously found that baicalin had the strong ability to induce CYP1A2 expression; therefore in this study, we examined the effects of baicalin on AAI toxicity, metabolism and disposition, as well as investigated the underlying mechanisms. Our toxicological studies showed that baicalin reduced the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CRE) in AAI-treated mice and attenuated renal injury induced by AAI. Pharmacokinetic analysis demonstrated that baicalin markedly decreased AUC of AAI in plasma and the content of AAI in liver and kidney. CYP1A induction assays showed that baicalin exposure significantly increased the hepatic expression of CYP1A1/2, which was completely abolished by inhibitors of the Aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), 3ʹ,4ʹ-dimethoxyflavone and resveratrol, in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Moreover, the luciferase assays revealed that baicalin significantly increased the luciferase activity of the reporter gene incorporated with the Xenobiotic response elements recognized by AhR. In summary, baicalin significantly reduced the disposition of AAI and ameliorated AAI-induced kidney toxicity through AhR-dependent CYP1A1/2 induction in the liver.
Prevalence and Factors of Addictive Internet Use among Adolescents in Wuhan, China: Interactions of Parental Relationship with Age and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity

Purposes This study examined the prevalence of addictive Internet use and analyzed the role of parental relationship in affecting this behavior among a random sample of adolescents in Wuhan, China. Methods Students (n = 1,101) were randomly selected from four schools, including 638 boys and 463 girls with a mean age of 13.8 (standard deviation = 1.2) years. Addictive Internet use, parental relationship, hyperactivity-impulsivity were measured by validated instruments. Prevalence rate, ANOVA and multiple linear regression method were used to analyze the level of Internet addiction and its association with parental relationship, hyperactivity-impulsivity, as well as the interaction of parental relationship with chronological age and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Results The prevalence rate of Internet addiction was 13.5% (16.5% for boys and 9.5% for girls, p<0.01). Compared to non-addictive users, addictive Internet users were scored significantly lower on parental relationships and significantly higher on hyperactivity-impulsivity. Interaction analysis indicated that better parental relationship was associated with more reductions in risk of addictive Internet use for younger students than for older students, and with more risk of Internet addiction among higher than among lower hyperactivity-impulsivity students. Conclusions Findings of this study indicate that adolescent addictive Internet use is a significant public health threat in China. Prevention interventions targeting parental relationship must consider adolescent’s age and hyperactivity-impulsivity tendency.
Pose-conditioned Spatio-Temporal Attention for Human Action Recognition

We address human action recognition from multi-modal video data involving articulated pose and RGB frames and propose a two-stream approach. The pose stream is processed with a convolutional model taking as input a 3D tensor holding data from a sub-sequence. A specific joint ordering, which respects the topology of the human body, ensures that different convolutional layers correspond to meaningful levels of abstraction. The raw RGB stream is handled by a spatio-temporal soft-attention mechanism conditioned on features from the pose network. An LSTM network receives input from a set of image locations at each instant. A trainable glimpse sensor extracts features on a set of predefined locations specified by the pose stream, namely the 4 hands of the two people involved in the activity. Appearance features give important cues on hand motion and on objects held in each hand. We show that it is of high interest to shift the attention to different hands at different time steps depending on the activity itself. Finally a temporal attention mechanism learns how to fuse LSTM features over time. We evaluate the method on 3 datasets. State-of-the-art results are achieved on the largest dataset for human activity recognition, namely NTU-RGB+D, as well as on the SBU Kinect Interaction dataset. Performance close to state-of-the-art is achieved on the smaller MSR Daily Activity 3D dataset.
Stable isotope ecology of South African kelp forests

i PREFACE . iv PLAGIARISM DECLARATION . v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . vi TABLE OF CONTENTS . viii CHAPTER 1 . 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1. Kelp forests—an ecological overview . 2 1.2. Kelp forests in southern Africa . 3 1.3. Kelps of South Africa—overview of biology . 5 1.4. Kelp forests in South Africa—sources of productivity . 8 1.5. Kelp forests in South Africa—trophic interactions . 11 1.6. Ecological impacts of climate change on kelp forests . 13 1.6. Role of stable isotope analysis in understanding kelp forest ecology . 14 1.7. Thesis structure and overview . 16 CHAPTER 2 . 20 Variability in stable isotope values of Ecklonia maxima and Laminaria pallida: implications for kelp forest food web studies . 20 2.
Maternal Treatment with Agonistic Autoantibodies against Type-1 Angiotensin II Receptor in Late Pregnancy Increases Apoptosis of Myocardial Cells and Myocardial Susceptibility to Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Offspring Rats

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that offspring born to mothers preeclampsia (PE) are at increased risk for developing cardiovascular diseases after birth, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Angiotensin II receptor type 1 autoantibody (AT1-AA), an agonist acting via activation of the AT1 receptor, is believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of both PE and fetal growth restriction. The aim of the present study was to confirm the hypothesis that prenatal AT1-AA exposure increases the heart susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) in the offspring in an AT1-AA-induced animal model of PE, and determine whether or not the increase of maternal AT1-AA level is a factor contributing to sustained abnormalities of the heart structure during infancy. The hearts of 45-day-old offspring rats were studied using Langendorff preparation to determine the susceptibility of the heart to IRI. The results showed that the body weight of the maternal rats was not significantly different between the study and control groups, but the body weight of their offspring in AT1-AA group was decreased slightly at day 21 of gestational age, and at day 3 after birth. Although the heart weight index was not significantly affected at all ages examined, AT1-AA significantly increased the size of myocardial cells of the left ventricle (LV) at the age of 45 days. AT1-AA gained access to fetal circulation via the placenta and induced apoptosis of fetal myocardial cells. AT1-AA also significantly delayed recovery from IRI and affected the LV function of 45-day-old offspring. This was associated with a significant increase in IRI-induced LV myocardial infarct size. These results suggest that AT1-AA induced abnormal apoptosis of fetal myocardial cells during the fetal period and increased the cardiac susceptibility to IRI in adult offspring.
Herringbone and Tri Focus Steve Snyder Technique: The Techniques for Teaching Reading Comprehension Viewed from Students’ Reading Habit

Reading skill plays a pivotal role in the process of acquiring information. An appropriate teaching technique should be implemented in order to improve the students’ reading skill. This research aimed at revealing whether or not: (1) Herringbone technique (HT) is more effective than Tri Focus Steve Snyder technique (TFSST) to teach reading comprehension, (2) Students having high reading habit have better reading comprehension than those having low reading habit, and (3) there is an interaction between teaching techniques and students’ reading habit in teaching reading comprehension. This research was conducted in one State Junior High School in Indonesia. The research was a quasi-experimental study. The population was 75 students of the ninth-grade. Through cluster random sampling, the samples were chosen. The IX-A class was the experimental group and the IX-B class was the control group. The result of comparing HT and TFSST by using two-way Anova shows that Fobs was 436.6268 while the Fα with the significant level of 0.05 was 4.0471. Therefore, it implies that HT is more effective than TFSST in teaching reading comprehension. The result of comparing high and low reading habit by using two-way Anova shows that Fobs was 43.3862 while the Fα with the significant level of 0.05 was 4.0471.
Are tortillas a Giffen Good in Mexico

Jensen and Miller (2001) have recently demonstrated rice and noodles to be Giffen Goods among the poor in South and North China respectively. We examine whether tortillas, the main staple in Mexico, are also a Giffen Good. The large income change due to the 1995 Peso Crisis and the large tortilla price increase arising from the removal of government subsidies provide an ideal environment for this test. We find tortillas to be an inferior good, but not a Giffen Good.