Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Robust Fingerprint Indexing Scheme Using Minutia Neighborhood Structure and Low-Order Delaunay Triangles

Fingerprint indexing is a key technique in automatic fingerprint identification systems (AFIS). However, handling fingerprint distortion is still a problem. This paper concentrates on a more accurate fingerprint indexing algorithm that efficiently retrieves the top N possible matching candidates from a huge database. To this end, we design a novel feature based on minutia neighborhood structure (we call this minutia detail and it contains richer minutia information) and a more stable triangulation algorithm (low-order Delaunay triangles, consisting of order 0 and 1 Delaunay triangles), which are both insensitive to fingerprint distortion. The indexing features include minutia detail and attributes of low-order Delaunay triangle (its handedness, angles, maximum edge, and related angles between orientation field and edges). Experiments on databases FVC2002 and FVC2004 show that the proposed algorithm considerably narrows down the search space in fingerprint databases and is stable for various fingerprints. We also compared it with other indexing approaches, and the results show our algorithm has better performance, especially on fingerprints with distortion.
Trauma and dissociation among prisoners

The current study examined childhood abuse, dissociation and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among male prisoners. A sample of 101 randomly selected male prisoners was interviewed. The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), Childhood Abuse and Neglect Questionnaire (CANQ) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I)-PTSD module were applied. Probands reported high frequency of criterion A trauma (85.2%) and lifetime PTSD (66.4%). Also, dissociative experiences more frequent than that of general population and most frequent dissociative symptoms were amnesia and absorption. PTSD and childhood traumas occur at high rates in prisoners and this finding has implications for management and treatment.
Keyword query cleaning

Unlike traditional database queries, keyword queries do not adhere to predefined syntax and are often dirty with irrelevant words from natural languages. This makes accurate and efficient keyword query processing over databases a very challenging task. In this paper, we introduce the problem of query cleaning for keyword search queries in a database context and propose a set of effective and efficient solutions. Query cleaning involves semantic linkage and spelling corrections of database relevant query words, followed by segmentation of nearby query words such that each segment corresponds to a high quality data term. We define a quality metric of a keyword query, and propose a number of algorithms for cleaning keyword queries optimally. It is demonstrated that the basic optimal query cleaning problem can be solved using a dynamic programming algorithm. We further extend the basic algorithm to address incremental query cleaning and top-k optimal query cleaning. The incremental query cleaning is efficient and memory-bounded, hence is ideal for scenarios in which the keywords are streamed. The top-k query cleaning algorithm is guaranteed to return the best k cleaned keyword queries in ranked order. Extensive experiments are conducted on three real-life data sets, and the results confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solutions.
Reflective metalogical frameworks

A metalogical framework is a logic with an associated methodology that is used to represent other logics and to reason about their metalogical properties. We propose that logical frameworks can be good metalogical frameworks when their theories always have initial models and they support reflective and parameterized reasoning.We develop this thesis both abstractly and concretely. Abstractly, we formalize our proposal as a set of requirements and explain how any logic satisfying these requirements can be used for metalogical reasoning. Concretely, we present membership equational logic as a particular metalogic that satisfies these requirements. Using membership equational logic, and its realization in the Maude system, we show how reflection can be used for different, nontrivial kinds of formal metatheoretic reasoning. In particular, one can prove metatheorems that relate theories or establish properties of parameterized classes of theories.
Consumption of artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages and incident type 2 diabetes in the Etude Epidemiologique aupres des femmes de la Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.

BACKGROUND It has been extensively shown, mainly in US populations, that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but less is known about the effects of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs). OBJECTIVE We evaluated the association between self-reported SSB, ASB, and 100% fruit juice consumption and T2D risk over 14 y of follow-up in the French prospective Etude Epidémiologique auprès des femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. DESIGN A total of 66,118 women were followed from 1993, and 1369 incident cases of T2D were diagnosed during the follow-up. Cox regression models were used to estimate HRs and 95% CIs for T2D risk. RESULTS The average consumption of sweetened beverages in consumers was 328 and 568 mL/wk for SSBs and ASBs, respectively. Compared with nonconsumers, women in the highest quartiles of SSB and ASB consumers were at increased risk of T2D with HRs (95% CIs) of 1.34 (1.05, 1.71) and 2.21 (1.56, 3.14) for women who consumed >359 and >603 mL/wk of SSBs and ASBs, respectively. Strong positive trends in T2D risk were also observed across quartiles of consumption for both types of beverage (P = 0.0088 and P < 0.0001, respectively). In sensitivity analyses, associations were partly mediated by BMI, although there was still a strong significant independent effect. No association was observed for 100% fruit juice consumption. CONCLUSIONS Both SSB consumption and ASB consumption were associated with increased T2D risk. We cannot rule out that factors other than ASB consumption that we did not control for are responsible for the association with diabetes, and randomized trials are required to prove a causal link between ASB consumption and T2D.
A Tractable Approach for designing Piecewise Affine Policies in Dynamic Robust Optimization

We consider the problem of designing piecewise affine policies for two-stage adjustable robust linear optimization problems under right hand side uncertainty. It is well known that a piecewise affine policy is optimal although the number of pieces can be exponentially large. A significant challenge in designing a practical piecewise affine policy is constructing good pieces of the uncertainty set. Here we address this challenge by introducing a new framework in which the uncertainty set is “approximated” by a “dominating” simplex. The corresponding policy is then based on the map from the uncertainty set to the simplex. Although our piecewise affine policy has exponentially many pieces, it can be computed efficiently by solving a compact linear program. Furthermore, the performance of our policy is significantly better than the affine policy for many important uncertainty sets both theoretically and numerically. For instance, for hypersphere uncertainty set, our piecewise affine policy can be computed by an LP and gives a O(m)-approximation whereas the affine policy requires us to solve a second order cone program and has a worst-case performance bound of O( √ m). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first tractable approach for designing piecewise affine policies with significantly improved theoretical performance guarantees.
Methods of goodness of fit for GNSS interference detection

The number of applications based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology is constantly increasing; consequently, the requirements related to signal quality are becoming more and more important. This paper exploits results of the decision theory, aiming at investigating the performance of the goodness of fit test when applied to interference detection in GNSS receivers. It proposes two versions of a signal quality monitoring algorithm: one working exclusively precorrelation, the other providing postcorrelation information as well.
Minireview Stress-response Hormesis and Aging: ''that Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger'' Figure 1. Dose-response Curve of a Treatment with a Hormetic Effect Minireview Cell Metabolism

Hormesis refers to the beneficial effects of a treatment that at a higher intensity is harmful. In one form of hormesis, sublethal exposure to stressors induces a response that results in stress resistance. The principle of stress-response hormesis is increasingly finding application in studies of aging, where hormetic increases in life span have been seen in several animal models. What Is Hormesis? The term hormesis comes from the field of toxicology, and there are several variants of its exact meaning. In its broadest (and older) sense, it describes the dose-response relationships of treatments (e.g., chemical, thermal, or radiological) that are beneficial at a low level but harmful at a higher level (Figure 1) (for a detailed review, see Calabrese et al., 1999). Beneficial effects observed include increased growth rate, fecundity, and stress resistance. Given the toxicological axiom ''the dose determines the poison,'' this sort of dose-response relationship can apply to agents that are not commonly considered toxic as well as those that are. For example, oxygen sustains life at atmospheric levels but is noxious at much higher levels. However, there is a narrower sense in which hormesis is more often understood in recent studies, which can be illustrated as follows. Brief exposure to very high levels of oxygen can be beneficial , for example, increasing life span in the nematode Caeno-rhabditis elegans (Cypser and Johnson, 2002). Here, hormesis appears to involve induction by stress of mechanisms that protect against stress. We shall refer to this form of hormesis as ''stress-response hormesis'' to distinguish it from hormesis in the broader sense. The principle of stress-response hormesis is nicely captured by the well-known maxim of the nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: ''That which does not kill us makes us stronger. '' The principle of stress-response hormesis can be seen in action in many contexts. As a classical example, low levels of insecticides can induce chemical resistance by increasing xenobi-otic detoxification (Calabrese et al., 1999). Various other phenomena involve stress-response hormesis, though they are not typically described as such. For example, induction of drug-metabolizing enzymes by xenobiotic chemicals can provide protection against carcinogenesis (so-called chemoprotection) (Talalay et al., 2003), and innate and acquired immunity involves pathogen-stimulated resistance. Over the years, the concept of hormesis has been influential in a number of unusual contexts, including quack medicine and the popular imagination. Ideas about the benign effects of low levels of toxins have their origins in …
Look-back Techniques for ASP Programs with Aggregates

The introduction of aggregates has been one of the most relevant language extensions to Answer Set Programming (ASP). Aggregates are very expressive, they allow to represent many problems in a more succinct and elegant way compared to aggregate-free programs. A significant amount of research work has been devoted to aggregates in the ASP community in the last years, and relevant research results on ASP with aggregates have been published, on both theoretical and practical sides. The high expressiveness of aggregates (eliminating aggregates often causes a quadratic blow-up in program size) requires suitable evaluation methods and optimization techniques for an efficient implementation. Nevertheless, in spite of the above-mentioned research developments, aggregates are treated in a quite straightforward way in most ASP systems. In this paper, we explore the exploitation of look-back techniques for an efficient implementation of aggregates. We define a reason calculus for backjumping in ASP programs with aggregates. Furthermore, we describe how these reasons can be used in order to guide look-back heuristics for programs with aggregates. We have implemented both the new reason calculus and the proposed heuristics in the DLV system, and have carried out an experimental analysis on publicly available benchmarks which shows significant performance benefits.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN HERITAGE RESOURCES INFORMATION SYSTEM (SAHRIS): DEVELOPMENT AND CHALLENGES THROUGH MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE RESOURCES THROUGH AN INTEGRATED WEB-BASED PLATFORM

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is a statutory body created to implement the National Heritage Resources Act No.25 of 1999 and is responsible for the identification and management of the national estate of South Africa. In 2013, the South African Heritage Resources Information System (SAHRIS) was developed to create an inventory of the national estate and facilitate the management of heritage resources. The SAHRIS platform is an interactive system that provides a collaborate space through which government officials, heritage practitioners, developers and researchers can engage with the management of the national estate of South Africa. Core functions include an online application system, in which public users and governement officials collaborate and communicate; an archive of heritage sites and resources; protect heritage sites and resources that are threatened by development or mining activities; a collections management system for the effective management of heritage objects. Despite its progressive efficiency, users of SAHRIS encounter challenges such as difficult navigatibility due to it serving a variety of users and applications. Furthermore, although it is a public domain and should therefore allow free access to all records, privacy of certain documents and records is important in order to protect researchers’ interests and heritage resources from loitering and destruction. The advantage of a digital system is that it is work in progress and open to continuous improvement.
Linear-algebraic lambda-calculus

With a view towards models of quantum computation and/or the interpretation of linear logic, we define a functional language where all functions are linear operators by construction. A small step operational semantic (and hence an interpreter/simulator) is provided for this language in the form of a term rewrite system. The linear-algebraic lambda-calculus hereby constructed is linear in a different (yet related) sense to that, say, of the linear lambda-calculus. These various notions of linearity are discussed in the context of quantum programming languages. KEYWORDS: quantum lambda-calculus, linear lambda-calculus, $\lambda$-calculus, quantum logics.
The Nedd4-Type Rsp5p Ubiquitin Ligase Inhibits Tombusvirus Replication by Regulating Degradation of the p92 Replication Protein and Decreasing the Activity of the Tombusvirus Replicase

ABSTRACT Recent in vitro proteomics screens revealed that many host proteins could interact with the replication proteins of Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV), which is a small, plus-stranded RNA virus (Z. Li, D. Barajas, T. Panavas, D. A. Herbst, and P. D. Nagy, J. Virol. 82:6911-6926, 2008). To further our understanding of the roles of host factors in TBSV replication, we have tested the effect of Rsp5p, which is a member of the Nedd4 family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. The full-length Rsp5p, via its WW domain, is shown to interact with p33 and the central portion of p92pol replication proteins. We find that overexpression of Rsp5p inhibits TBSV replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, while downregulation of Rsp5p leads to increased TBSV accumulation. The inhibition is caused by Rsp5p-guided degradation of p92pol, while the negative effect on the p33 level is less pronounced. Interestingly, recombinant Rsp5p also inhibits TBSV RNA replication in a cell-free replication assay, likely due to its ability to bind to p33 and p92pol. We show that the WW domain of Rsp5p, which is involved in protein interactions, is responsible for inhibition of TBSV replication, whereas the HECT domain, involved in protein ubiquitination, is not necessary for Rsp5p-mediated inhibition of viral replication. Overall, our data suggest that direct binding between Rsp5p and p92pol reduces the stability of p92pol, with consequent inhibition of TBSV replicase activity.
Tail Risk Dynamics in Stock Returns: Links to the Macroeconomy and Global Markets Connectedness

We propose a new time-varying peaks over threshold model to study tail risk dynamics in equity markets: the laws of motion for the parameters are defined through the score-based approach. We apply the model to daily returns from U.S. size-sorted decile stock portfolios and show that large firms' tail risk increases during recessions more than small firms' tail risk. Our results are consistent with the granular hypothesis of aggregate fluctuations, and we quantify the impact of large firms' tail risk shocks on the economy. A measure of tail connectedness is proposed: evidence from international equity markets shows that tail connectedness increases during periods of turmoil. This paper was accepted by Lauren Cohen, finance.
A Cross-Sectional Survey on Dietary Supplements Consumption among Italian Teen-Agers

Introduction In the last decades, dietary supplements consumption has increased in the Western world for all age groups. The long-term potentially dangerous effects related to an indiscriminate consumption of dietary supplements are still unknown and are becoming a matter of public health concern. Therefore, the aims of the present study were: to explore the contribution of dietary supplements to micronutrient daily intake, and to evaluate awareness and knowledge about dietary supplements. Methods Participants (age ranging from 14 to 18 years) were recruited among students attending 8 high schools in the province of Frosinone (Italy). An anonymous questionnaire, composed of 12 multiple-choice items, was administered to all the participants. T-test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to describe differences between means of the groups, while the chi-square test was used to compare observed and expected frequencies. The logistic regression model, aimed at identifying the characteristics of potential consumers of dietary supplements, Results A total of 686 teenagers (288 males and 398 females, average age: 17,89±0,91 years) participated in the study. The 83,6% of participants affirmed to be aware of dietary supplements. 239 participants consumed dietary supplements: 118 males and 121 females. 49,1% of females consumed dietary supplements less than twice a week, whereas 43,6% of males consumed dietary supplements from 2 to 5 times per week. Statistically significant differences emerged between the genders with respect to the source of information regarding dietary supplements, the perceived indications for their use, and the choice of the store/place to purchase them. Discussion Findings in the present study provide insight into the consumption of dietary supplements among young Italians, highlighting the need to foster further awareness among adolescents about the correct use of dietary supplements, especially in terms of indications and contraindications.
Sleep disturbance, distress, and quality of life in ovarian cancer patients during the first year after diagnosis

Sleep disturbance is a common clinical complaint of oncology patients and contributes to substantial morbidity. However, because most sleep studies have been cross‐sectional, associations between sleep quality and distress in patients with ovarian cancer over time remain unclear. This prospective longitudinal study examined rates of sleep disturbance; contributions of depression, anxiety, and medication use in sleep disturbance; and associations between sleep quality and quality of life (QOL) during the first year after diagnosis among women with ovarian cancer.
A hybrid approach for automatic clause boundary identification in Hindi

A complex sentence, divided into clauses, can be analyzed more easily than the complex sentence itself. We present here, the task of clauses identification in Hindi text. To the best of our knowledge, not much work has been done on clause boundary identification for Hindi, which makes this task more important. We have built a Hybrid system which gives 90.804% F1-scores and 94.697% F1-scores for identification of clauses’ start and end respectively.
Addressing Younger Workers’ Needs: The Promoting U through Safety and Health (PUSH) Trial Outcomes

Most younger workers, less than 25 years old, receive no training in worker safety. We report the feasibility and outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of an electronically delivered safety and health curriculum for younger workers entitled, PUSH (Promoting U through Safety and Health). All younger workers (14–24 years old) hired for summer work at a large parks and recreation organization were invited to participate in an evaluation of an online training and randomized into an intervention or control condition. Baseline and end-of-summer online instruments assessed acceptability, knowledge, and self-reported attitudes and behaviors. One-hundred and forty participants (mean age 17.9 years) completed the study. The innovative training was feasible and acceptable to participants and the organization. Durable increases in safety and health knowledge were achieved by intervention workers (p < 0.001, effect size (Cohen’s d) 0.4). However, self-reported safety and health attitudes did not improve with this one-time training. These results indicate the potential utility of online training for younger workers and underscore the limitations of a single training interaction to change behaviors. Interventions may need to be delivered over a longer period of time and/or include environmental components to effectively alter behavior.