Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clause/Term Resolution and Learning in the Evaluation of Quantified Boolean Formulas

Resolution is the rule of inference at the basis of most procedures for automated reasoning. In these procedures, the input formula is first translated into an equisatisfiable formula in conjunctive normal form (CNF) and then represented as a set of clauses. Deduction starts by inferring new clauses by resolution, and goes on until the empty clause is generated or satisfiability of the set of clauses is proven, e.g., because no new clauses can be generated. In this paper, we restrict our attention to the problem of evaluating Quantified Boolean Formulas (QBFs). In this setting, the above outlined deduction process is known to be sound and complete if given a formula in CNF and if a form of resolution, called "Q-resolution", is used. We introduce Q-resolution on terms, to be used for formulas in disjunctive normal form. We show that the computation performed by most of the available procedures for QBFs -based on the Davis-Logemann-Loveland procedure (DLL) for propositional satisfiability- corresponds to a tree in which Q-resolution on terms and clauses alternate. This poses the theoretical bases for the introduction of learning, corresponding to recording Q-resolution formulas associated with the nodes of the tree. We discuss the problems related to the introduction of learning in DLL based procedures, and present solutions extending state-of-the-art proposals coming from the literature on propositional satisfiability. Finally, we show that our DLL based solver extended with learning, performs significantly better on benchmarks used in the 2003 QBF solvers comparative evaluation.
Some Unusual Open Learner Models

Open learner models to facilitate reflection are becoming more common in adaptive learning environments. There are a variety of approaches to presenting the learner model to the student, and for the student to interact with their open learner model, as the requirements for an open learner model will vary depending on the aims of the system. In this paper we extend existing approaches yet further, presenting three environments that offer: (i) haptic feedback on learner model data; (ii) a handheld open learner model to support collaboration amongst mobile learners; (iii) an approach which allows students to open their model to selected or to all peers and instructors, in anonymous or named form.
Ecological Momentary Assessment

Ecological momentary assessments represent a methodological tool that is uniquely suited to capture time-varying behaviors, feelings, and experiences as individuals engage in their typical routines in their own environments. The purpose of this entry is to lay out specific questions that this methodological tool helps address that advance our understanding of developmentally meaningful phenomena; to identify recent trends and key challenges that characterize research using this method, and to highlight promising avenues for future research. Keywords: ambulatory assessments; diary methods; ecological momentary assessment; event-sampling; intensive longitudinal methods; measurement bursts; real-time monitoring; time-sampling
OBSERVATION AND SPECTRAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE CRAB NEBULA WITH MILAGRO

The Crab Nebula was detected with the Milagro experiment at a statistical significance of 17 standard deviations over the lifetime of the experiment. The experiment was sensitive to approximately 100 GeV–100 TeV gamma-ray air showers by observing the particle footprint reaching the ground. The fraction of detectors recording signals from photons at the ground is a suitable proxy for the energy of the primary particle and has been used to measure the photon energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula between ∼1 and ∼100 TeV. The TeV emission is believed to be caused by inverse-Compton upscattering of ambient photons by an energetic electron population. The location of a TeV steepening or cutoff in the energy spectrum reveals important details about the underlying electron population. We describe the experiment and the technique for distinguishing gamma-ray events from the much more-abundant hadronic events. We describe the calculation of the significance of the excess from the Crab and how the energy spectrum is fitted. The differential photon energy spectrum, including the statistical errors from the fit, obtained using a simple power-law hypothesis for data between 2005 September and 2008 March is (6.5 ± 0.4) × 10−14(E/10 TeV)−3.1±0.1(cm2 s TeV )−1 between ∼1 TeV and ∼100 TeV. Allowing for a possible exponential cutoff, the photon energy spectrum is fitted as (2.5+0.7− 0.4) × 10−12(E/3 TeV)−2.5 ± 0.4exp (− E/32+39− 18 TeV) (cm2 s TeV)−1. The results are subject to an ∼30% systematic uncertainty in the overall flux and an ∼0.1 systematic uncertainty in the power-law indices quoted. Uncertainty in the overall energy scale has been absorbed into these errors. Fixing the spectral index to values that have been measured below 1 TeV by IACT experiments (2.4–2.6), the fit to the Milagro data suggests that Crab exhibits a spectral steepening or cutoff between about 20–40 TeV.
Realization Theory for Linear Hybrid Systems

The paper develops realization theory for linear hybrid systems, i.e., hybrid systems in continuous-time without guards whose continuous dynamics is determined by linear control systems and whose discrete dynamics is determined by a finite-state automaton. We will formulate necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a realization. We will show that minimality is equivalent to observability and span-reachability, and that minimal systems are isomorphic. In turn, observability and span-reachability can be characterized by rank conditions.
Multi-modal respiratory motion prediction using sequential forward selection method

In robotic radiotherapy, systematic latencies have to be compensated by prediction of external optical surrogates. We investigate possibilities to increase the prediction accuracy using multi-modal sensors. The measurement setup includes position, acceleration, strain and flow sensors. To select the most relevant and least redundant information from the sensors and to limit the size of the feature set, a sequential forward selection (SFS) method is proposed. The method is evaluated with three prediction algorithms – the least means square (LMS) algorithm, a wavelet-based LMS algorithm (wLMS) and an algorithm using relevance vector machines (RVM). We show that multi-modal inputs can easily be integrated into general algorithms. The relative root mean square error (RMSrel) of the best predictor, RVM, could be decreased from 60.5 % to 49.0 %. Furthermore, the results indicate that more complex algorithms can efficiently use different modalities like acceleration which are less correlated with the optical sensor to be predicted. keywords: radiosurgery, respiratory motion prediction, feature selection
Evolutionary Multi-objective Simulated Annealing with adaptive and competitive search direction

In this paper, we propose a population-based implementation of simulated annealing to tackle multi-objective optimisation problems, in particular those of combinatorial nature. The proposed algorithm is called Evolutionary Multi-objective Simulated Annealing Algorithm (EMOSA), which combines local and evolutionary search by incorporating two distinctive features. The first feature is to tune the weight vectors of scalarizing functions (i.e., search directions) for selection during local search using a two-phase strategy. The second feature is the competition between members of the current population with similar weight vectors. We compare the proposed algorithm to three other multi-objective simulated annealing algorithms and also to the Pareto archived evolutionary strategy (PAES). Experiments are carried out on a set of bi-objective travelling salesman problem (TSP) instances with convex or nonconvex Pareto-optimal fronts. Our experimental results demonstrate that the two-phase tuning of weight vectors and the competition between individuals make a significant contribution to the improved performance of EMOSA.
A Comparative Analysis of Tools for Verification of Security Protocols

The area of formal verification of protocols has gained substantial importance in the recent years. The research results and subsequent applications have amply demonstrated that the formal verification tools have indeed helped correct the protocols even after being standardized. However, the standard protocol verification tools and techniques do not verify the security properties of a cryptographic protocol. This has resulted in the emergence of the security protocol verifiers to fill the need. In this paper, taking the two popular security verification tools namely Scyther and ProVerif as the basis, we identify a few security protocols and implement them in both Scyther and ProVerif, to aptly evaluate the tools, in terms of the security properties of the selected protocols. In the process, we not only characteristically present a comparative evaluation of the two tools, but also reveal interesting security properties of the protocols selected, showing their strengths and weaknesses. To the best of our knowledge, this is a unique attempt to juxtapose and evaluate the two verification tools using the selected security protocols.
A Rank-by-Feature Framework for Unsupervised Multidimensional Data Exploration Using Low Dimensional Projections

Exploratory analysis of multidimensional data sets is challenging because of the difficulty in comprehending more than three dimensions. Two fundamental statistical principles for the exploratory analysis are (1) to examine each dimension first and then find relationships among dimensions, and (2) to try graphical displays first and then find numerical summaries (D.S. Moore, (1999). We implement these principles in a novel conceptual framework called the rank-by-feature framework. In the framework, users can choose a ranking criterion interesting to them and sort 1D or 2D axis-parallel projections according to the criterion. We introduce the rank-by-feature prism that is a color-coded lower-triangular matrix that guides users to desired features. Statistical graphs (histogram, boxplot, and scatterplot) and information visualization techniques (overview, coordination, and dynamic query) are combined to help users effectively traverse 1D and 2D axis-parallel projections, and finally to help them interactively find interesting features
Multidisciplinary Group Rehabilitation Versus Individual Physiotherapy for Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Randomized Trial

Study Design. A randomized trial. Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of a semi-intensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation for patients with chronic low back pain in an outpatient setting. Summary and Background Data. Systematic reviews have shown that there is strong evidence that intensive multidisciplinary treatment (>100 hours), which includes functional restoration, improves function among chronic patients with low back pain, and moderate evidence that it reduces pain but contradictory evidence regarding improvement of working ability. However, there is paucity of data whether semi-intensive outpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation in groups is more effective than individual physiotherapy. Materials and Methods. A total of 120 women employed as healthcare and social care professionals with nonspecific chronic low back pain were recruited from two occupational healthcare centers. The patients were randomized into two intervention programs. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation (n = 59) was conducted in groups and comprised of physical training, workplace interventions, back school, relaxation training, and cognitive-behavioral stress management methods for 70 hours. The individual physiotherapy (n = 61) included physical exercise and passive treatment methods administered for 10 hours. Main outcome measures were: back pain and sciatic pain intensity, disability, sick leaves, healthcare consumption, symptoms of depression, and beliefs of working ability after 2 years. Results. There were no statistically significant differences between the two treatment groups in main outcome measures just after rehabilitation, at 6-, at 12-, or 24-month follow-up. In both intervention arms, however, the before-and-after comparison showed favorable effects, and the effects were still maintained at 2 years follow-up. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that semilight outpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation program for female chronic low back pain patients does not offer incremental benefits when compared with rehabilitation carried out by a physiotherapist having a cognitive-behavioral way of administering the treatment.
Ikaros and RAG-2-Mediated Antisense Transcription Are Responsible for Lymphocyte-Specific Inactivation of NWC Promoter

Recombination activating gene-2 (RAG-2) and NWC are strongly evolutionarily conserved overlapping genes which are convergently transcribed. In non-lymphoid cells the NWC promoter is active whereas in lymphocytes it is inactive due to the DNA methylation. Analysing the mechanism responsible for lymphocyte-specific methylation and inactivation of NWC promoter we found that Ikaros, a lymphocyte-specific transcription factor, acts as a repressor of NWC promoter - thus identifying a new Ikaros target - but is insufficient for inducing its methylation which depends on the antisense transcription driven by RAG-2 promoter. Possible implications of these observations for understanding evolutionary mechanisms leading to lymphocyte specific expression of RAG genes are discussed.
Affinities among anostracan (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) families inferred from phylogenetic analyses of multiple gene sequences.

To gain insights into the relationships among anostracan families, molecular phylogenetic analyses were performed on nuclear (28S D1-D3 ribosomal DNA) and mitochondrial (16S rDNA, COI) gene regions for representatives of seven families and an outgroup. Data matrices used in the analyses included 951 base pairs (bp) of aligned sequences for 28S, 465 bp for 16S, and 658 bp (219 amino acids) for COI. Maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees, enabling the evaluation of both previous hypotheses of taxonomic relationships among families based on morphology, and of the relative merits of independent versus simultaneous analyses of multiple data sets for phylogeny construction. Data from various combinations of the gene regions produced relatively congruent patterns of phylogenetic affinity. In most analyses, two monophyletic groups were resolved: one cluster included the families Polyartemiidae, Chirocephalidae, Branchinectidae, Streptocephalidae, and Thamnocephalidae, while the other contained the Artemiidae and Branchipodidae. Comparative analyses showed that combining gene regions in a single matrix generally resulted in increased resolution and support for each cluster relative to those obtained from single-gene analyses. Statistical tests demonstrated that morphology-based hypotheses of relationships among families had poorer support than those determined from molecular data, reflecting the homoplasy in characters used to differentiate families.
The Subsystems Approach to Genome Annotation and its Use in the Project to Annotate 1000 Genomes

The release of the 1000th complete microbial genome will occur in the next two to three years. In anticipation of this milestone, the Fellowship for Interpretation of Genomes (FIG) launched the Project to Annotate 1000 Genomes. The project is built around the principle that the key to improved accuracy in high-throughput annotation technology is to have experts annotate single subsystems over the complete collection of genomes, rather than having an annotation expert attempt to annotate all of the genes in a single genome. Using the subsystems approach, all of the genes implementing the subsystem are analyzed by an expert in that subsystem. An annotation environment was created where populated subsystems are curated and projected to new genomes. A portable notion of a populated subsystem was defined, and tools developed for exchanging and curating these objects. Tools were also developed to resolve conflicts between populated subsystems. The SEED is the first annotation environment that supports this model of annotation. Here, we describe the subsystem approach, and offer the first release of our growing library of populated subsystems. The initial release of data includes 180 177 distinct proteins with 2133 distinct functional roles. This data comes from 173 subsystems and 383 different organisms.
Localization of CHMP2B‐immunoreactivity in the brainstem of Lewy body disease

Alpha‐synuclein (αS) is one of the major constituents of Lewy bodies (LBs). Several lines of evidence suggest that the autophagy‐lysosome pathway (ALP) is involved in the removal of αS. We have previously reported that granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) in neurons involved a subunit of the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT). In this study, we examined the association between alpha‐synucleinopathy and autophagy through immunohistochemical analysis of charged multivesicular body protein 2B (CHMP2B), a component of the ESCRT‐pathway. We examined the brainstems of 17 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), incidental Lewy body disease (ILBD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) immunohistochemically using antibodies against phosphorylated αS (pαS), phosphorylated tau and CHMP2B. LBs and a proportion of glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) were immunopositive for pαS and CHMP2B. Neurons containing CHMP2B‐immunoreactive granules were detected in PD and ILBD, but not in MSA and AD brains. CHMP2B immunoreactivity was increased in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve (DMNX) in PD and ILBD brains, relative to that in MSA and AD. These findings indicate that the ESCRT‐pathway is implicated in the formation of αS inclusions, especially in PD and ILBD.
DlgS97/SAP97, a Neuronal Isoform of Discs Large, Regulates Ethanol Tolerance

From a genetic screen for Drosophila melanogaster mutants with altered ethanol tolerance, we identified intolerant (intol), a novel allele of discs large 1 (dlg1). Dlg1 encodes Discs Large 1, a MAGUK (Membrane Associated Guanylate Kinase) family member that is the highly conserved homolog of mammalian PSD-95 and SAP97. The intol mutation disrupted specifically the expression of DlgS97, a SAP97 homolog, and one of two major protein isoforms encoded by dlg1 via alternative splicing. Expression of the major isoform, DlgA, a PSD-95 homolog, appeared unaffected. Ethanol tolerance in the intol mutant could be partially restored by transgenic expression of DlgS97, but not DlgA, in specific neurons of the fly’s brain. Based on co-immunoprecipitation, DlgS97 forms a complex with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, a known target of ethanol. Consistent with these observations, flies expressing reduced levels of the essential NMDA receptor subunit dNR1 also showed reduced ethanol tolerance, as did mutants in the gene calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (caki), encoding the fly homolog of mammalian CASK, a known binding partner of DlgS97. Lastly, mice in which SAP97, the mammalian homolog of DlgS97, was conditionally deleted in adults failed to develop rapid tolerance to ethanol’s sedative/hypnotic effects. We propose that DlgS97/SAP97 plays an important and conserved role in the development of tolerance to ethanol via NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity.
A Novel Obligate Intracellular Gamma-Proteobacterium Associated with Ixodid Ticks, Diplorickettsia massiliensis, Gen. Nov., Sp. Nov

Background Obligate intracellular bacteria of arthropods often exhibit a significant role in either human health or arthropod ecology. Methodology/Principal Findings An obligate intracellular gamma-proteobacterium was isolated from the actively questing hard tick Ixodes ricinus using mammalian and amphibian cell lines. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a unique morphology of the bacterium, including intravacuolar localization of bacteria grouped predominantly in pairs and internal structures composed of electron-dense crystal-like structures and regular multilayer sheath-like structures. The isolate 20B was characterized to determine its taxonomic position using a polyphasic approach. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that this strain belongs to the family Coxiellaceae, order Legionellales of Gamma-proteobacteria, and the closest relatives are different Rickettsiella spp. The level of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain 20B and other recognized species of the family was below 94.5%. Partial sequences of the rpoB, parC and ftsY genes confirmed the phylogenetic position of the new isolate. The G+C content estimated on the basis of whole genome analysis of strain 20B was 37.88%. On the basis of its phenotypic and genotypic properties, together with phylogenetic distinctiveness, we propose that strain 20B to be classified in the new genus Diplorickettsia as the type strain of a novel species named Diplorickettsia massiliensis sp. nov. Conclusions/Significance Considering the source of its isolation (hard tick, often biting humans) the role of this bacterium in the pathology of humans, animals and ticks should be further investigated.
Effects of Visual Cortex Activation on the Nociceptive Blink Reflex in Healthy Subjects

Bright light can cause excessive visual discomfort, referred to as photophobia. The precise mechanisms linking luminance to the trigeminal nociceptive system supposed to mediate this discomfort are not known. To address this issue in healthy human subjects we modulated differentially visual cortex activity by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or flash light stimulation, and studied the effect on supraorbital pain thresholds and the nociceptive-specific blink reflex (nBR). Low frequency rTMS that inhibits the underlying cortex, significantly decreased pain thresholds, increased the 1st nBR block ipsi- and contralaterally and potentiated habituation contralaterally. After high frequency or sham rTMS over the visual cortex, and rMS over the right greater occipital nerve we found no significant change. By contrast, excitatory flash light stimulation increased pain thresholds, decreased the 1st nBR block of ipsi- and contralaterally and increased habituation contralaterally. Our data demonstrate in healthy subjects a functional relation between the visual cortex and the trigeminal nociceptive system, as assessed by the nociceptive blink reflex. The results argue in favour of a top-down inhibitory pathway from the visual areas to trigemino-cervical nociceptors. We postulate that in normal conditions this visuo-trigeminal inhibitory pathway may avoid disturbance of vision by too frequent blinking and that hypoactivity of the visual cortex for pathological reasons may promote headache and photophobia.
Curvature Motion for Union of Balls

This work proposes a scheme for multi-resolution representation of union of balls in the plane. This representation is inspired by curvature motion for smooth curves. More precisely, the proposed evolution of centres and radii of the balls are based on equations of evolution of the medial axis of a curve that performs curvature motion. The results obtained are very close to the pixel approximation of curvature motion.