Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inferring community-driven structure in complex networks

Despite a long tradition in the study of graphs and relational data, for decades the analysis of complex networks was limited by difficulties in data collection and computational burdens. The advent of new technologies in life sciences, as well as in our daily life, has suddenly shed light on the many interconnections that our world features, from friendships and collaborations between individuals or organizations, to functional couplings between cellular molecules. This has highly facilitated the collection of relational data, fostering an unprecedented interest in network science. Understanding relations encoded in complex networks, however, still represents a challenging task, and statistical methods that can help to summarize and simplify complex networks are needed. In this thesis we show that often one can gain a deep insight of a network by focusing their attention on communities, i.e. on clusters of nodes, and on the relations that exist between them. We begin by presenting NEAT, a network-based test that allows to assess relations between gene sets in a gene interaction network. NEAT extends traditional gene enrichment analysis tests by incorporating information on interactions between genes and it overcomes some limitations of existing network enrichment analysis approaches. Then, we propose two extended stochastic blockmodels that allow to infer the relations that exist between communities from relations between pairs of individuals in a social network. We advocate the use of penalized inference to estimate these models, with the aim of deriving a sparse reduced graph between communities. Application of these models to bill cosponsorship networks in the Italian Chamber of Deputies allows us to reconstruct the pattern of collaborations between Italian political parties from 2001 to 2015. Finally, we propose a novel clustering strategy for sequences of graphs, based on mixtures of generalized linear models. We show that the proposed clustering method not only is capable to retrieve subpopulations of networks within a cross-sectional or longitudinal sequence of networks, but it also allows to directly characterize them by considering each of the components that form the mixture model.
The l/sub 2/ anti-windup problem for discrete-time linear systems: definition and solutions

The anti-windup problem for discrete-time linear systems is formalized in terms of the l/sub 2/ norm of the deviation of the actual response of the system with saturation and anti-windup compensation from the (ideal) unconstrained response. We show that, paralleling continuous-time results, the problem is globally solvable if and only if the plant is non exponentially unstable and it is robustly globally solvable if and only if the plant is exponentially stable. We provide a constructive solution whenever the problem is solvable. Also offered is a high-performance global solution for exponentially stable plants based on receding horizon control. Illustrative simulations are included.
Perceptions and Attitudes toward Online Mapping Services

ABSTRACT Online mapping services, such as Google Maps and Bing Maps, have become increasingly popular. In addition to providing map, navigation, and directory information, such services provide third-party applications with a technology framework including geospatial-visualization capabilities. For instance, consumers often use location-based services and spatial decision support systems (SDSS) to locate the nearest restaurants, search for ideal homes, navigate specific routes, and effectively participate in car and bike sharing programs. Organizations utilize SDSS to perform retail site selection, manage global assets, and optimize supply chains. While geospatial-visualization is a vital capability of online mapping services, little is understood about how it impacts the acceptance of technology. Through a partial least squares analysis of 577 subject responses, this paper demonstrates that the user-acceptance of geospatial-visualization is influenced by utilitarian, hedonic, and cognitive measures. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results to research and practice.
Usage context influences the evolution of overspecification in iterated learning

This article investigates the inﬂuence of contextual pressures on the evolution of overspeciﬁcation, i.e. the degree to which communicatively irrelevant meaning dimensions are speciﬁed, in an iterated learning setup. To this end, we combine two lines of research: In artiﬁcial language learning studies, it has been shown that (miniature) languages adapt to their contexts of use. In experimental pragmatics, it has been shown that referential overspeciﬁcation in natural language is more likely to occur in contexts in which the communicatively relevant feature dimensions are harder to discern. We test whether similar functional pressures can promote the cumulative growth of referential overspeciﬁca-tion in iterated artiﬁcial language learning. Participants were trained on an artiﬁcial language which they then used to refer to objects. The output of each participant was used as input for the next participant. The initial language was designed such that it did not show any overspeciﬁcation, but it allowed for overspeciﬁcation to emerge in 16 out of 32 usage contexts. Between conditions, we manipulated the referential context in which the target items appear, so that the relative visuospatial complexity of the scene would make the communicatively relevant feature dimensions more difﬁcult to discern in one of them. The artiﬁcial languages became overspeciﬁed more quickly and to a signiﬁcantly higher degree in this condition, indicating that the trend toward overspeciﬁcation was stronger in these contexts, as suggested by experimental pragmatics research. These results add further support to the hypothesis that linguistic conventions can be partly determined by usage context and shows that experimental pragmatics can be fruitfully combined with artiﬁcial language learning to offer valuable insights into the mechanisms involved in the evolution of linguistic phenomena.
Ultrasound Image Simulation with GPU-based Ray Tracing

Medical simulators are gaining importance because the experience and skills necessary to perform many of the medical procedures are difficult to obtain due to patient safety and ethical issues. With the development of graphic cards, stereographic and haptic devices, more VR-based simulators are being created. We are developing an interactive ultrasound image simulation that include deformations and needle visualization as part of a training simulator for the application of regional anesthesia. In this paper, we present a new method for rendering the simulated images directly from 3D polygonal meshes, i.e., it does not use volume data, as presented in most of the previous works. This approach will allow us to apply and render deformations with common physics-based mesh solutions. To improve interactivity, we adapt a ray tracing approach using general programming GPU (GPGPU) methods, taking advantage of parallelism in modern graphic cards. We present the results of performance measurements conducted to test the scalability of our approach.
SAS System for Statistical Graphics,First Edition

From the Publisher: Learn to produce powerful displays of statistical data. Emphasized are displays that reveal aspects of data not easily captured in numerical summaries or tabular formats and diagnostic displays that help determine if assumptions of an analysis are met. Clearly written, with solid examples of careful analyses, this book is intended for users with basic to intermediate levels of experience with SAS software and statistics. Topics covered in this book include the role of statistical graphics in data analysis, graphical standards for data display, and simple, enhanced, and three-dimensional scatter plots. With this book you will also become proficient at displaying multivariate data and plotting variables and observations together. Supports releases 6.09 and higher of SAS software. Author Biography: Michael Friendly Michael Friendly is assocate professor and associate director of the Statistical Consulting Service at York University in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Friendly teaches graduate-level courses in multivariate data analysis and computer methods in the Department of Psychology, where he has been teaching the SAS System for over ten years. His research interests generally apply quantitative and computer methods to problems in cognitive psychology, including the cognitive aspects of extracting information from graphical displays. He is the author of Advanced Logo: A Language for Learning (1988).
Double-edge-triggered D-flip-flops for high-speed CMOS circuits

Two circuits are proposed for double edge-triggered D flip-flops (DETDFFs). A DETDFF responds to both edges of the clock pulse. As compared with positive or negative edge-triggered flip-flops, a DETDFF has advantages in terms of power dissipation and speed. Delay figures for these circuits are measured by simulation. It is shown that these circuits are faster and have lower transistor counts than previously reported circuits. It is shown that these flip-flops can be used at 320-400-MHz clock frequency in a 2- mu m technology. >
Possible Coding And Modulation Approaches To Improve Service Availability For Digital HDTV Satellite Broadcasting At 22 GHz

Novel coding/modulation approaches for improving the service availability of digital HDTV (high-definition television) satellite broadcasting services at 22 GHz are considered. Two possible approaches are described which use the concept of layered modulation in conjunction with layered picture coding and channel coding. By means of this technique, the service continuity can be extended without the needs to increase the satellite transmitted power, the service quality under severe atmospheric attenuations being reduced from high definition to normal definition. Most of the time, e.g., for up to 99% of the worst month, the service provides nominal HDTV quality, while during heavy rain fades the receiver decodes the normal TV picture. >
STRUCTURAL KLD FOR CROSS-VARIETY SPEAKER ADAPTATION IN HMM-BASED SPEECH SYNTHESIS

While the synthesis of natural sounding, neutral style speech can be achieved using today’s technology, fast adaptation of speech synthesis to different contexts and situations still poses a challenge. In the context of variety modeling (dialects, sociolects) we have to cope with the problem that no standardized orthographic form is available and that existing speech resources for these varieties are rare. We present recent approaches in the field of cross-lingual speaker transformation for HMM-based speech synthesis and propose a method for transforming an arbitrary speaker’s voice from one variety to another one. We apply Kullback-Leibler divergence for data mapping of HMM-states, transfer probability density functions to the decision tree of the other variety and perform speaker adaptation. A method to integrate structural information in the mapping is also presented and analyzed. Subjective listening tests show that the proposed method produces speech of significantly higher quality than standard speaker adaptation techniques.
Anchor-Based Methods for Judgmentally Estimating Item Difficulty Parameters. LSAC Research Report Series.

The purposes of this research study were to develop and field test anchor-based judgmental methods for enabling test specialists to estimate item difficulty statistics. The study consisted of three related field tests. In each, researchers worked with six Law School Admission Test (LSAT) test specialists and one or more of the LSAT subtests. The three field tests produced a number of conclusions. A considerable amount was learned about the process of extracting test specialists' estimates of item difficulty. The ratings took considerably longer to obtain than had been expected. Training, initial ratings, and discussion took a considerable amount of time. Test specialists felt they could be trained to estimate item difficulty accurately and, to some extent, they demonstrated this. Average error in the estimates of item difficulty varied from about 11% to 13 %. Also the discussions were popular with the panelists, and almost always resulted in improved item difficulty estimates. By the end of the study, the two expected frameworks that developers thought they might provide test specialists, had merged to one. Test specialists seemed to benefit from the descriptions of items located at three levels of difficulty and from information about the item statistics of many items. Four appendixes describe tasks and contain the field test materials. (Contains 8 tables and 18 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document.
Drawing a Link—Women’s Empowerment and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Study Conducted in the Goalpara District, Assam

This article reports on an empirical research that examined the extent of economic empowerment gained by women engaged in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the district of Goalpara, Assam. The key objective of the MGNREGA is to provide social security to rural households by guaranteeing 100 days of paid employment in public works within a year. Based on nine variables (education, land ownership, ownership of other assets, control over income contributed by a woman to her family, control over the income of the family, savings, access to credit, social participation, cash income earned from income generating activities) and calculated using empowerment index, the research compared the magnitude of women’s empowerment before and after getting involved in MGNREGA. The findings suggest that while MGNREGA is an important leap to ensuring economic empowerment to rural women, but the scheme has not been implemented properly in the district—women and men not getting 100 days of employment, irregular mode of payment, very slow progress and poor quality in public works.
Linearizable Iterators for Concurrent Set Implementations

This paper proposes a general framework for adding linearizable iterators to certain data structures that implement set operations. We introduce a condition on set operations, called locality, which informally states that set operations never make elements existing in the data structure unreachable to a sequential iterator's traversal. Data structures satisfying the locality condition can be augmented with a linearizable iterator via the proposed framework. Our technique is broadly applicable to a variety of data structures, including hash tables and binary search trees. We apply the technique to data structures taken from existing literature, prove locality of their operations, and demonstrate that the iterator framework does not significantly affect the performance of concurrent set operations.
Wireless communications and networking

(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with Recommended Reading/Websites and Key Terms, Review Questions, and Problems.) 1. Introduction. Wireless Comes of Age. The Cellular Revolution. The Global Cellular Network. Broadband. The Trouble with Wireless. Outline of the Book. Internet and Web Resources.I. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND. 2. Transmission Fundamentals. Signals for Conveying Information. Analog and Digital Data Transmission. Channel Capacity. Transmission Media. Multiplexing. 3. Communication Networks. LANs, MANs, and WANs. Switching Techniques. Circuit-Switching. Packet-Switching. Asynchronous Transfer Mode. 4. Protocols and the TCP/IP Suite. The Need for a Protocol Architecture. The TCP/IP Protocol Architecture. The OSI Protocol Architecture. Internetworking.II. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY. 5. Antennas and Propagation. Antennas. Propagation Modes. Line-of-Sight Transmission. Fading in the Mobile Environment. 6. Signal Encoding Techniques. Signal Encoding Criteria. Digital Data, Analog Signals. Analog Data, Analog Signals. Analog Data, Digital Signals. 7. Spread Spectrum. The Concept of Spread Spectrum. Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum. Code-Division Multiple Access. Generation of Spreading Sequences. 8. Coding and Error Control. Error Detection. Block Error Correction Codes. Convolutional Codes. Automatic Repeat Request.III. WIRELESS NETWORKING. 9. Satellite Communications. Satellite Parameters and Configurations. Capacity Allocation--Frequency Division. Capacity Allocation--Time Division.10. Cellular Wireless Networks. Principles of Cellular Networks. First Generation Analog. Second Generation TDMA. Second Generation CDMA. Third Generation Systems.11. Cordless Systems and Wireless Local Loop. Cordless Systems. Wireless Local Loop. IEEE 802.16 Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Standard.12. Mobile IP and Wireless Access Protocol. Mobile IP. Wireless Application Protocol.IV. WIRELESS LANS. 13. Wireless LAN Technology. Overview. Infrared LANs. Spread Spectrum LANs. Narrowband Microwave LANs.14. IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard. IEEE 802 Protocol Architecture. IEEE 802.11 Architecture and Services. IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control. IEEE 802.11 Physical Layer.15. Bluetooth. Overview. Radio Specifications. Baseband Specification. Link Manager Specification. Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol.V. APPENDICES. Appendix A: Standards and Standard-Setting Organizations. The Importance of Standards. Standards and Regulation. The International Telecommunications Union. Internet Standards and the Internet Society. IEEE 802 Standards.Appendix B: Traffic Analysis. Basic Traffic Concepts. Multiserver Models. Recommending Reading.Appendix C: Fourier Analysis. Fourier Series Representation of Periodic Signals. Fourier Transform Representation of Aperiodic Signals. Recommended Reading.Appendix D: Data Link Control Protocols. High-Level Data Link Control.Glossary. References. Index.
The effects of educational delivery methods on knowledge retention

ABSTRACT In today's dynamic learning environment, educational delivery methods have become increasingly diverse. Using a unique opportunity to assess three types of course delivery—face-to-face, interactive television (iTV), and purely online delivery—the authors look at both initial knowledge acquisition and the retention of this knowledge. The results indicate that the online class outperformed the face-to-face and iTV sections on the initial performance evaluation; however, knowledge retention was greater in the face-to-face and iTV sections. The authors' findings suggest that diverse educational delivery methods provide unique benefits to students, but these benefits vary in relation to immediate learning outcomes and knowledge retention.
Performance models of access latency in cloud storage systems

Access latency is a key performance metric for cloud storage systems and has great impact on user experience, but most papers focus on other performance metrics such as stora ge overhead, repair cost and so on. Only recently do some models argue that coding can reduce access latency. However, they a re developed for special scenarios, which may not reflect reali ty. To fill the gaps between existing work and practice, in this pape r, we propose a more practical model to measure access latency. Th is model can also be used to compare access latency of different codes used by different companies. To the best of our knowled ge, this model is the first to provide a general method to compare access latencies of different erasure codes.
Tighter Effective Bandwidth Estimation for Multifractal Network Traffic

In literature, several studies have shown the presence of fractal nature in a wide variety of traffic and the impact of these phenomena on network performance. In this paper, we derive a new expression for effective bandwidth estimation in order to offer better resource allocation in network planning and design, especially for network traffic with multifractal characteristics. Based on a new construction approach for conservative multiplicative cascades proposed in literature and the corresponding multifractal traffic parameters, a global scaling parameter is determined and used together with the multifractal traffic model parameters for the effective bandwidth computation. The proposed approach was validated in terms of dynamically allocated bandwidths.
A New RP-HPLC Method Development and Validation of Dapagliflozin inBulk and Tablet Dosage Form

A new, simple, selective, accurate, rapid and precise reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic technique of Dapagliflozin was established as per ICH Guidelines. RP-HPLC was performed on a Waters C18, 5 µm particle size, 25 cm × 4.6 mm i.d. , with phosphate buffer and acetonitrile in the ratio of 60:40 v/v as a mobile phase and a flow rate of 1.0 ml min-1. UV detection was performed at 237 nm. Total run time was 6.0 min. The retention time of Dapagliflozin was found to be 3.461 minutes. Validation of the developed method was done as per USP and ICH guidelines. Method validation revealed that the method is rapid, accurate, precise, reliable, and reproducible. Linear calibration plots were obtained in the concentration range of 10-60 µg/ml for Dapagliflozin. Limit of detection were 0.02 µg/ml and limit of quantification were 0.06 µg/ml for Dapagliflozin. The high recovery and low coefficients of variation confirm the effectiveness of process in the dosage form. The validated method was successfully used for quantitative analysis of commercial available tablets.
Comparative effectiveness and student choice for online and face-to-face classwork

ABSTRACT The authors examined learning and task choices made by students when the same interactive course design was used online and face-to-face. A survey was administered in an operations management course covering both conceptual and quantitative topics. Course grades were compared and correlations were measured to determine relevant relationships. Results showed that online students performed equally as well as face-to-face students. The most important task choice for face-to-face success was regular class attendance, whereas for online students it was completion of interactive worksheets. Passive textbook reading was neither chosen as often, nor significant to student success. Minimal uncertainty was important to success, with self-discipline, clarity of instructions, and virtual presence of an instructor most important.