Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Causality quantification and its applications: structuring and modeling of multivariate time series

Time series prediction is an important issue in a wide range of areas. There are various real world processes whose states vary continuously, and those processes may have influences on each other. If the past information of one process X improves the predictability of another process Y, X is said to have a causal influence on Y. In order to make good predictions, it is necessary to identify the appropriate causal relationships. In addition, the processes to be modeled may include symbolic data as well as numerical data. Therefore, it is important to deal with symbolic and numerical time series seamlessly when attempting to detect causality. In this paper, we propose a new method for quantifying the strength of the causal influence from one time series to another. The proposed method can represent the strength of causality as the number of bits, whether each of two time series is symbolic or numerical. The proposed method can quantify causality even from a small number of samples. In addition, we propose structuring and modeling methods for multivariate time series using causal relationships of two time series. Our structuring and modeling methods can also deal with data sets which include both types of time series. Experimental results demonstrate that our methods can perform well even if the number of samples is small.
Molecular basis of inherited microcytic anemia due to defects in iron acquisition or heme synthesis

This review article examines our present knowledge on the molecular basis of inherited microcytic anemia due to defects in iron acquisition or heme synthesis. The conditions examined include congenital sideroblastic anemias due to mutations in ALAS2, ABCB7 or GRX5, microcytic anemias due to DMT1 mutations, and the microcytic anemia associated with TMPRSS6 mutations. Microcytic anemia is the most commonly encountered anemia in general medical practice. Nutritional iron deficiency and β thalassemia trait are the primary causes in pediatrics, whereas bleeding disorders and anemia of chronic disease are common in adulthood. Microcytic hypochromic anemia can result from a defect in globin genes, in heme synthesis, in iron availability or in iron acquisition by the erythroid precursors. These microcytic anemia can be sideroblastic or not, a trait which reflects the implications of different gene abnormalities. Iron is a trace element that may act as a redox component and therefore is integral to vital biological processes that require the transfer of electrons as in oxygen transport, oxidative phosphorylation, DNA biosynthesis and xenobiotic metabolism. However, it can also be pro-oxidant and to avoid its toxicity, iron metabolism is strictly controlled and failure of these control systems could induce iron overload or iron deficient anemia. During the past few years, several new discoveries mostly arising from human patients or mouse models have highlighted the implication of iron metabolism components in hereditary microcytic anemia, from intestinal absorption to its final inclusion into heme. In this paper we will review the new information available on the iron acquisition pathway by developing erythrocytes and its regulation, and we will consider only inherited microcytosis due to heme synthesis or to iron metabolism defects. This information could be useful in the diagnosis and classification of these microcytic anemias.
Information systems and ecological sustainability

Purpose – There is a growing awareness by researchers and practitioners of organizations' ecological responsibilities. Past research in management suggests that it is important to develop ecological sustainability, a long‐missing piece of the sustainability puzzle, together with economic sustainability and social sustainability. However, little research has been conducted to explore how information systems (IS), as one of the defining technologies in human society, can help organizations develop ecological sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a conceptual model and propositions with regard to the roles of IS in the pursuit of ecological sustainability.Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on how organizations are motivated to act in the same legitimate way (i.e. eco‐friendly way) and proposes institutional theory as a lens to better understand how IS can be leveraged to achieve the three milestones of ecological sustainability, i.e. eco‐efficiency, eco‐equity and eco‐effective.
Deepening the understanding of mobile game success

It is increasingly difficult for game developers to build a mobile game that achieves the top positions on app store charts. There is currently no clear strategy to build successful games. In this context, the main purpose of our work is to investigate the relationship between the mobile game features and their success in terms of the number of downloads and the gross revenue. This paper extends a previous work that analyzed the importance of 37 features of performing a linear regression on 34 games inside Top 100 games from both download and grossing charts. The current research analyses 60 games inside the Top 100 games and also 40 between the Top 400 and Top 500 games. Besides including more games that are more widespread in the chart, we also perform other analysis including data discrimination and classification techniques to compare successful games against unsuccessful ones. A decision tree model is trained to identify frequent patterns and discover useful associations and correlations within data. Besides that, a linear regression model that maps game features and charts performance is trained using a M5 prime classifier. Results show a different result from previous study. There is no correlation between features and game position on top download charts. Besides, it were identified 9 game features that influence the revenue performance of successful mobile games.
Loss of UCHL1 promotes age-related degenerative changes in the enteric nervous system

UCHL1 (ubiquitin carboxyterminal hydrolase 1) is a deubiquitinating enzyme that is particularly abundant in neurons. From studies of a spontaneous mutation arising in a mouse line it is clear that loss of function of UCHL1 generates profound degenerative changes in the central nervous system, and it is likely that a proteolytic deficit contributes to the pathology. Here these effects were found to be recapitulated in mice in which the Uchl1 gene had been inactivated by homologous recombination. In addition to the previously documented neuropathology associated with loss of UCHL1 function, axonal swellings were detected in the striatum. In agreement with previously reported findings the loss of UCHL1 function was accompanied by perturbations in ubiquitin pools, but glutathione levels were also significantly depleted in the brains of the knockout mice, suggesting that oxidative defense mechanisms may be doubly compromised. To determine if, in addition to its role in the central nervous system, UCHL1 function is also required for homeostasis of the enteric nervous system the gastrointestinal tract was analyzed in UCHL1 knockout mice. The mice displayed functional changes and morphological changes in gut neurons that preceded degenerative changes in the brain. The changes were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to those observed in wild type mice of much greater age, and strongly resemble changes reported for elderly humans. UCHL1 knockout mice should therefore serve as a useful model of gut aging.
Release kinetics of β-Cyfluthrin from its encapsulated formulations in water

Controlled release formulations of β-cyfluthrin, a non-systemic, broad spectrum contact insecticide, have been prepared using laboratory synthesized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based amphiphilic copolymers. Copolymers of polyethylene glycols of different molecular weights and various dimethyl esters, viz. dimethyl isophthalate, which self assemble into nano micellar aggregates in aqueous media, have been synthesized. The kinetics of β-cyfluthrin from developed controlled release (CR) formulations were studied in comparison with that of the commercially available 025 SC. Release from the commercial formulation was faster than with the developed CR formulations. The rate of release of encapsulated β-cyfluthrin from nano micellar aggregates is reduced by increasing the molecular weight of PEG. The diffusion exponent (n value) of β-cyfluthrin in water ranged from 0.427 to 0.622 in the tested formulations. The release was diffusion controlled with a half-release time (t1/2) of 3.92 to 7.9 days in water from different formulations, and the period of optimum availability (POA) of β-cyfluthrin ranged from 1.4 to 20.5 days. The results suggest that the application rate of β-cyfluthrin can be optimized to achieve insect control at the desired level and period.
The Substantial Interdependence of Wikipedia and Google: A Case Study on the Relationship Between Peer Production Communities and Information Technologies

While Wikipedia is a subject of great interest in the computing literature, very little work has considered Wikipedia’s important relationships with other information technologies like search engines. In this paper, we report the results of two deception studies whose goal was to better understand the critical relationship between Wikipedia and Google. These studies silently removed Wikipedia content from Google search results and examined the effect of doing so on participants’ interactions with both websites. Our findings demonstrate and characterize an extensive interdependence between Wikipedia and Google. Google becomes a worse search engine for many queries when it cannot surface Wikipedia content (for example, click-through rates on results pages drop significantly) and the importance of Wikipedia content is likely greater than many improvements to search algorithms. Our results also highlight Google’s critical role in providing readership to Wikipedia. However, we also found evidence that this mutually beneficial relationship is in jeopardy: changes Google has made to its search results that involve directly surfacing Wikipedia content are significantly reducing traffic to Wikipedia. Overall, our findings argue that researchers and practitioners should give deeper consideration to the interdependence between peer production communities and the information technologies that use and surface their content.
Integrating network ecology with applied conservation: a synthesis and guide to implementation

Ecological networks are a useful tool to study the complexity of biotic interactions at a community level. We introduce a framework for network analysis to be harnessed to advance biodiversity conservation by using plant–pollinator networks and islands as model systems. Conservation practitioners require indicators to assess management effectiveness and validate overall conservation goals. We propose the use of several network metrics that indicate human-induced changes to plant-pollinator communities, and illustrate an implementation pathway to successfully embed a network approach in biodiversity conservation. We list potential obstacles to the framework, highlight the shortfall in experimental network data, and discuss solutions.
Organoids and the genetically encoded self‐assembly of embryonic stem cells

Understanding the mechanisms of early embryonic patterning and the timely allocation of specific cells to embryonic regions and fates as well as their development into tissues and organs, is a fundamental problem in Developmental Biology. The classical explanation for this process had been built around the notion of positional information. Accordingly the programmed appearance of sources of Morphogens at localized positions within a field of cells directs their differentiation. Recently, the development of organs and tissues from unpatterned and initially identical stem cells (adult and embryonic) has challenged the need for positional information and even the integrity of the embryo, for pattern formation. Here we review the emerging area of organoid biology from the perspective of Developmental Biology. We argue that the events underlying the development of these systems are not purely linked to “self‐organization,” as often suggested, but rather to a process of genetically encoded self‐assembly where genetic programs encode and control the emergence of biological structures.
Confirmed infection with intestinal schistosomiasis in semi-captive wild-born chimpanzees on Ngamba Island, Uganda.

BACKGROUND Intestinal schistosomiasis, caused by Schistosoma mansoni, is endemic to Lake Victoria, with high prevalence of the disease observed in human lakeshore communities. However, nonhuman primates have recently been overlooked as potential hosts of the disease, despite known susceptibility. METHODS Using a variety of stool, urine, and serological diagnostic methods, 39 semi-captive wild-born chimpanzees and 37 staff members at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Lake Victoria, Uganda, were examined for S. mansoni infection. Miracidia recovered from stool were DNA barcoded to investigate cross-over between humans and chimpanzees. The island was also surveyed for Biomphalaria intermediate host snails, which were examined for infection with S. mansoni. RESULTS Chimpanzees were unequivocally shown to be infected with intestinal schistosomiasis with a seroprevalence in excess of 90%. Three egg-positive cases were detected, although the sensitivity of the diagnostic tests varied due to earlier prophylactic praziquantel treatment. Miracidia hatched from chimpanzee stool revealed three DNA haplotypes commonly found in humans living throughout Lake Victoria, including staff on Ngamba Island, as well as two novel haplotypes. At one site, a snail was observed shedding schistosome cercariae. CONCLUSIONS The anthropozoonotic potential of intestinal schistosomiasis on Ngamba Island is greater than previously thought. Moreover, the ability of chimpanzees to void schistosome eggs capable of hatching into viable miracidia further suggests that these nonhuman primates may be capable of maintaining a local zoonotic transmission of schistosomiasis independently of humans. The implications for management of captive and wild primate populations at risk of exposure are discussed.
Automatic laser-based geometrical modeling using multiple mobile robots

This paper presents an automatic 3-D laser measurement system of an environmental structure using the cooperation of multiple mobile robots. The robots are equipped with two types of laser sensors and measure the 3D environmental structure while moving around the environment automatically. To identify the measurement positions by the robots, Cooperative Positioning System (CPS) is utilized which is a highly precise positioning technique of co-operative multiple robots. Since the positions of the robots for 3D laser scanning are identified precisely, the 3D environmental model can be constructed without any post-processing procedure such as the ICP algorithm or manual intervention. Therefore, a fully automatic 3-D measurement system of the environmental model can be realized. This paper presents the manual and automatic planning experiments of measurement procedure using the partially measured structure of the environment. Planning and measurement experiments by three mobile robots are successfully carried out.
Oral Anticoagulation Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Coronary Artery Stenting With a High HAS-BLED Bleeding Risk Score ?

The assessment of thromboembolic risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is recommended before initiation of oral anticoagulation (OAC). Current guidelines recommend that in patients with one or more stroke risk factors (eg, a CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score [congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes, history of previous stroke, vascular disease, age 65–74 years, and sex category {female}] ≥1), OAC is recommended. Nonetheless, stroke risk is closely related to bleeding risk in patients with AF.
Extremely Sparse Deep Learning Using Inception Modules with Dropfilters

This paper reports a successful application of highly sparse convolutional network model for offline handwritten character recognition. The model makes use of spatial dropout techniques named dropfilters for sparsifying the inception modules in GoogLeNet, resulting in extremely sparse deep networks. The model is industry-deployable regarding model size and performance, which trained by a handwritten dataset of 520 classes and 260,000 Hangul(Korean) characters for tablet PCs and smartphones. The proposed model obtained significant improvement in recognition performance while the number of parameters is much smaller than that of the LeNet, a classical sparse convolutional network. We also evaluated the dropfiltered inception networks on the handwritten Hangul dataset and achieved 3.275% higher recognition accuracy with approximately three times fewer parameters than a deep network based on LeNet structure without dropfilters.
Channel estimation for space-time orthogonal block codes

Space-time coding is an efficient technique to exploit transmitting and receiving diversities for wireless channels. One of the key components in the design of receivers for space-time codes is channel estimation. For the block codes based on orthogonal design proposed by Alamouti and Tarokh (see IEEE Trans. on Information Theory, vol45, no.5, p.1456-67, 1999), a new class of pilot assisted channel estimation schemes are presented where pilot symbols are superimposed on the data symbols. Placement strategies are examined for their efficiency in channel estimation and data transmission.
Deriving Generic Functions by Example

A function is said to be generic if it operates over values of any data type. For example, a generic equality function can test pairs of booleans, integers, lists, trees etc. In most languages programmers must define generic functions multiple times, specialised for each data type. Alternatively, a tool could be used to specify the relationship between the data type and the implementation, but this relationship may be complex. This paper describes a solution: given a single example of the generic function on one data type, we can infer the relationship between a data type and the implementation. We have used our method in the Derive tool, allowing the implementation of 60% of the generic functions to be inferred.
Optimal point-to-point motion planning of flexible parallel manipulator with adaptive Gauss pseudo-spectral method

Optimal point-to-point motion planning of flexible parallel manipulator was investigated in this paper. First, the dynamic model of a 3RRR planar parallel manipulator was derived through Kane equation and the improved curvature-based finite element (ICFE) method. Secondly, an optimal point-to-point motion planning problem was constructed with consideration of the flexible dynamic model. Then, an adaptive Gauss Pseudo-spectral Method (GPM) was proposed to transcribe the trajectory optimization problem into Nonlinear Programming (NLP) problem, and the SQP was adopted to solve the NLP problem. At last, the simulation was carried out on a 3RRR flexible parallel manipulator, the result showed residue vibration of the flexible links can be diminished and the predefined accuracy can be satisfied by adding collocation points or refining the mesh interval through the proposed adaptive algorithm.
Characterization of wideband decoupling power line with extremely low characteristic impedance for millimeter-wave CMOS circuits

A wideband decoupling power line for millimeter-wave circuits can be realized with a transmission line having an extremely low characteristic impedance, Z0 → 0Ω. It is, however, very difficult to characterize such a line with the ordinary two-port S-parameter measurement. This paper presents an alternative measurement technique that uses transmission line stubs. The measurement results confirm that a power line impedance below 1Ω is successfully achieved over a very wide frequency range (> 80 GHz). A measurement-based method of finding the necessary length of such a low-impedance line for realizing good decoupling is also proposed.
On the development of idShare, a platform to support interaction design activities of small co-located teams

Externalizations and boundary objects are crucial for effectively communicating between stakeholders in multidisciplinary design teams. Especially when discussing ideas for new interactions, practitioners are increasingly finding themselves in need of new tools that allow them to rapidly, easily and more explicitly describe the dynamically changing aspects of their designs. For this purpose, we are investigating, in collaboration with the design departments of three industrial companies, the development and evaluation of a platform to support co-located (interaction) design activities. Previous research has already resulted in innovations in both hardware and software infrastructure, and in this workshop paper we therefore mostly report on some recent and planned activities towards a more coherent vision for an environment that we have named idShare. This is an interactive space that consists of two areas, an area for individual work and an area for the coordination of collaborative activities. In this paper we describe the aim and motivation of our research, the current stage of the development of the tools, and the design process and evaluations that are conducted in collaboration with the industrial partners.
Pseudo-haptic feedback: can isometric input devices simulate force feedback?

This paper considers whether a passive isometric input device, such as a Spaceball/sup TM/, used together with visual feedback, could provide the operator with a pseudo-haptic feedback. For this aim, two psychophysical experiments have been conducted. The first experiment consisted of a compliance discrimination, between two virtual springs hand-operated by means of the Spaceball/sup TM/. In this experiment, the stiffness (or compliance) JND turned out to be 6%. The second experiment assessed stiffness discrimination between a virtual spring and the equivalent spring in reality. In this case, the stiffness (or compliance) JND was found to be 13.4%. These results are consistent with previous outcomes on manual discrimination of compliance. Consequently, this consistency reveals that the passive apparatus that was used can, to some extent, simulate haptic information. In addition, a final test indicated that the proprioceptive sense of the subjects was blurred by visual feedback. This gave them the illusion of using a nonisometric device.