Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Randomised Relevance Model

Relevance Models are well-known retrieval models and capable of producing competitive results. However, because they use query expansion they can be very slow. We address this slowness by incorporating two variants of locality sensitive hashing (LSH) into the query expansion process. Results on two document collections suggest that we can obtain large reductions in the amount of work, with a small reduction in effectiveness. Our approach is shown to be additive when pruning query terms.
The yeast branchpoint sequence is not required for the formation of a stable U1 snRNA‐pre‐mRNA complex and is recognized in the absence of U2 snRNA.

Commitment complexes contain U1 snRNP as well as pre‐mRNA and are the earliest functional complexes that have been described during in vitro spliceosome assembly. We have used a gel retardation assay to analyze the role of the yeast pre‐mRNA cis‐acting sequences in commitment complex formation. The results suggest that only a proper 5′ splice site sequence is required for efficient U1 snRNA‐pre‐mRNA complex formation. A role for the highly conserved UACUAAC branchpoint sequence is indicated, however, by competition experiments and by the direct analysis of branchpoint mutant substrates, which cannot form one of the two commitment complex species observed with wild‐type substrates. The results suggest that the formation of a U1 snRNP‐pre‐mRNA complex is not dependent upon the presence of a branchpoint sequence but that the branchpoint sequence is recognized prior to U2 snRNP addition during in vitro spliceosome assembly.
TuneRank Model for Main Melody Extraction from Multi-part Musical Scores

A musical part is a strand of music played by an individual instrument within a larger music work, main melody is a single musical part which consists of the most significant melodic elements of multi-part musical score. This part is typically related to dissonance between musical parts and musical instruments. In this paper, we propose a novel model for extracting the main melody from multi-part musical scores. This model is referred to as the TuneRank model that has the conceptually similar idea of the PageRank model. If each musical note can be considered like a web page in the Internet, and the dissonance value between two notes is like the quantity of links between two web pages. The TuneRank (rank of becoming main melody) of each note is calculated using Markov transition probability. This model is tested on the ECPK4 database. By comparing to the previous work, we find that this note-based model is more effective for processing scores containing main melody in multiple parts. Also, the accuracy does not change with the increase of the number of parts. In general, this model can be used for extracting the single-part main melody of digital musical scores.
CXCL16 and oxLDL are induced in the onset of diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major cause of end‐stage renal failure worldwide. Oxidative stress has been reported to be a major culprit of the disease and increased oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) immune complexes were found in patients with DN. In this study we present evidence, that CXCL16 is the main receptor in human podocytes mediating the uptake of oxLDL. In contrast, in primary tubular cells CD36 was mainly involved in the uptake of oxLDL. We further demonstrate that oxLDL down‐regulated α3‐integrin expression and increased the production of fibronectin in human podocytes. In addition, oxLDL uptake induced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human podocytes. Inhibition of oxLDL uptake by CXCL16 blocking antibodies abrogated the fibronectin and ROS production and restored α3 integrin expression in human podocytes. Furthermore we present evidence that hyperglycaemic conditions increased CXCL16 and reduced ADAM10 expression in podocytes. Importantly, in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice an early induction of CXCL16 was accompanied by higher levels of oxLDL. Finally immunofluorescence analysis in biopsies of patients with DN revealed increased glomerular CXCL16 expression, which was paralleled by high levels of oxLDL. In summary, regulation of CXCL16, ADAM10 and oxLDL expression may be an early event in the onset of DN and therefore all three proteins may represent potential new targets for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention in DN.
A Novel Multi-Path Routing Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), multi-path routing can find multiple paths from source node to sink node for achieving high reliability and high energy-efficiency. However, the existing multi-path routing protocols in the literature construct multiple paths with long latency and high overhead [C. Intanagonwiwat et al., 2000] [D. Ganesan et al.] [B. Deb et al., 2003]. In this paper, a novel multi-path routing protocol in WSNs is proposed, which can discover multiple paths with short latency and low overhead. Performance analyses and simulation results show that our proposed protocol has much better performance than the existing ones in terms of both latency and overhead.
A novel experimental setup for solenoid actuators

We present a novel experimental setup for the analysis of solenoid actuators. Because the main purpose of the experimental setup is the identification and the modeling of different types of solenoid actuators (wide range of possible spool strokes), cost effectiveness and flexibility are key design principles. In solenoid actuators the relevant mechanical quantities are the position (velocity) of the moving part (spool position) and the external load forces. In the proposed setup the position is measured by a reflective optical sensor (photo diode and transistor) with marginal cost and hardware requirement compared to other traditional transducers e.g. inductive sensors. The experimental setup has a vertical configuration and the external load forces are realized by the gravitational force of masses. Thus, the load is exactly known in steady state and does not depend on the spool position; therefore, the force sensors and their hardware are not necessary. Friction associated with the experimental setup is also overcome by the vertical orientation. The test setup is designed in particular consideration of measuring very small spool strokes (~1 mm). The possible error sources which are associated with the measurement of small displacements are also highlighted and reviewed.
A Comparative Study of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) in Implementation of ERP in Developed and Developing Countries

The main goal of this research is to understand is there any difference between ERP implementation's CSF in developed and developing countries? Understanding this subject can help us to implement ERP systems properly in developing nations. This research showed that in developed and developing countries "Change Management" was most important factor and in developed countries "Country-related functional requirements" factor was less important factor and "Fit between ERP and business/process" was the least cited factor among developing nations. In last it concluded that national culture of developing countries has an impressive effect on ERP implementation in these countries. In other hand developing countries companies more depend on ERP vendors in compare to developed countries companies. In addition it seems developing countries underestimate business process reengineering (BPR) and fit between ERP and business/process factors in comparison with developed countries.
Modeling Deceptive Action in Virtual Communities

Trust and shared interest are the building blocks for most relationships in human society. A deceptive action and the associated risks can affect many people. Although trust relationship in virtual communities can be built up more quickly and easily, it is more fragile. This research concentrates on analyzing the Information Quality in the open rating systems; especially studying the way deceptive data spread in virtual communities. In this paper, we have proposed several novel ideas on assessing deceptive actions and how the structure of the virtual community affects the information flow among subjects in the web of trust. Furthermore, our experiments illustrate how deceptive data would spread and to what extent the deceptive data would affect subjects in virtual communities.
Example based generation of custom data analysis appliances

Custom interfaces, which we call appliances, allow users to efficiently carry out specialized tasks. Without one, a user is often required to perform repetitive mechanical steps using general purpose interfaces, which we call tools. Much research has attempted to enable non-programmers to create appliances for themselves. >We present a system in which a user can choose an example of the task behavior to be automated from a visualization of his past operations. The example is transformed into a visual language, using two simple rules to generalize from the single example to a class of tasks. The user can then edit this representation directly, or continue to refine the example using selective undo and redo. The visual representation can be transformed into an esthetically pleasing appliance by deleting irrelevant components, and rearranging, resizing, and relabeling other components. Restricting the domain to data analysis tasks enables a well-matched visual query language to be used. Appliance interactions are automatically provided by the underlying interactive visualization system in which the appliance is embedded. An observational study suggests that this system represents a useful point on the ease-of-use vs. expressive power tradeoff appropriate for data analysis, and that the ability to choose and modify examples after the fact is helpful.
How Achaeans Would Construct Columns in Troy

Column stores are becoming popular with data analytics in modern enterprises. However, traditionally, database vendors offer column stores as a different database product all together. As a result there is an all-or-none situation for column store features. To bridge the gap, a recent effort introduced column store functionality in SQL server (a row store) by making deep seated changes in the database system. However, this approach is expensive in terms of time and effort. In addition, it is limited to SQL server. In this paper, we present Trojan Columns, a novel technique for injecting column store functionality into a given closed source row-oriented commercial database system. Trojan Columns does not need access to the source code of the database system. Instead, it uses UDFs as a pluggable storage layer to write and read data. Furthermore, Trojan Columns is transparent to users, i.e. users do not need to change their schema and their queries remain almost unchanged. We demonstrate Trojan Columns on a row-oriented commercial database DBMS-X, a closed source top notch database system. We show experimental results from TPC-H benchmarks. Our results show that Trojan Columns can improve the performance of DBMSX by a factor of up to 9 for TPC-H queries and up to factor 17 for micro-benchmarks — without changing the source code and with minimal user effort.
Ventricular Mass in Relation to Body Size, Composition, and Skeletal Age in Adolescent Athletes

Objective:To examine the contribution of chronological age (CA), skeletal age (SA), stature, sitting stature, fat-free mass (FFM), and fat mass (FM) to interindividual variability in left ventricular mass (LVM) in male adolescent roller hockey players using allometric models. Design:Cross sectional. Setting:Training and competitive sport during adolescence. Participants:Seventy-three Portuguese male roller hockey players aged 14.5 to 16.5 years. Independent Variables:Stature, sitting stature, body mass, estimated FM and FFM, and SA assessed by the Fels method. Main Outcome Measures:Allometric modeling of LVM assessed in accordance with recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography. Results:Hockey players (CA: 15.4 ± 0.6 years; SA: 16.4 ± 1.5 years) showed an eccentric remodeling of LV structure within the reference range (ie, 0.24-0.42), a dilated LV chamber, but no LVM increase. Exponents for body size descriptors were 2.69 for stature (R2 = 27%; P < 0.001), 2.49 for sitting stature (R2 = 37%; P < 0.001), 0.76 for FFM (R2 = 31%; P < 0.001), and 0.22 for FM (R2 = 26%; P < 0.001). The combination of size descriptors with CA and SA increased the explained variance in LVM slightly (26%-45%). Conclusions:When stature and FM are used for indexing LVM in a sample of adolescent athletes, biological maturity status should also be considered.
Application of Terahertz Radiation to Soil Measurements: Initial Results

Developing soil sensors with the possibility of continuous online measurement is a major challenge in soil science. Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic radiation may provide the opportunity for the measurement of organic material density, water content and other soil parameters at different soil depths. Penetration depth and information content is important for a functional soil sensor. Therefore, we present initial research on the analysis of absorption coefficients of four different soil samples by means of THz transmission measurements. An optimized soil sample holder to determine absorption coefficients was used. This setup improves data acquisition because interface reflections can be neglected. Frequencies of 340 GHz to 360 GHz and 1.627 THz to 2.523 THz provided information about an existing frequency dependency. The results demonstrate the potential of this THz approach for both soil analysis and imaging of buried objects. Therefore, the THz approach allows different soil samples to be distinguished according to their different absorption properties so that relations among soil parameters may be established in future.
Gender, age and marital status as predictors of managerial competency needs: Empirical evidence from a Sri Lankan telecommunication service provider

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that predict competency needs of managers using quantitative methodology.Design/methodology/approach – For the study, 31 individual competencies were analysed. The study is confined to a fully integrated telecommunication service provider; 198 managerial employees participated in the survey.Findings – Marital status, age and gender have significant main effects in predicting competency needs. The results also revealed significant interaction effects among the variables of marital status and the number of subordinates, and marital status and gender in predicting competency needs.Originality/value – Though there is an enormous diversity in the scope of competency literature, a few empirical research studies have been conducted on the predictors of management competency requirements. Further, a limited number of competency studies have been conducted in Asia. Hence, empirical research studies are needed to fill this lacuna in literature.
Surgery and Brain Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Elderly Subjects and Subjects Diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background: Structural magnetic resonance imaging is used to longitudinally monitor the progression of Alzheimer disease from its presymptomatic to symptomatic phases. Using magnetic resonance imaging data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, we tested the hypothesis that surgery would impact brain parameters associated with progression of dementia. Methods: Brain images from the neuroimaging initiative database were used to study normal volunteer subjects and patients with mild cognitive impairment for the age group 55 to 90 inclusive. We compared changes in regional brain anatomy for three visits that defined two intervisit intervals for a surgical cohort (n = 41) and a propensity matched nonsurgical control cohort (n = 123). The first interval for the surgical cohort contained the surgical date. Regional brain volumes were determined with Freesurfer and quantitatively described with J-image software (University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California). Statistical analysis used Repeated Measures ANCOVA (SPSS, v.18.0; Chicago, IL). Results: We found that surgical patients, during the first follow-up interval (5–9 months), but not subsequently, had increased rates of atrophy for cortical gray matter and hippocampus, and lateral ventricle enlargement, as compared with nonsurgical controls. A composite score of five cognitive tests during this interval showed reduced performance for surgical patients with mild cognitive impairment. Conclusions: Elderly subjects after surgery experienced an increased rate of brain atrophy during the initial evaluation interval, a time associated with enhanced risk for postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Although there was no difference in atrophy rate by diagnosis, subjects with mild cognitive impairment suffered greater subsequent cognitive effects.
Interactive route search in the presence of order constraints

A route search is an enhancement of an ordinary geographic search. Instead of merely returning a set of entities, the result is a route that goes via entities that are relevant to the search. The input to the problem consists of several search queries, and each query defines a type of geographical entities. When visited, some of the entities succeed in satisfying the user while others fail to do so; however, only the probability of success is known prior to arrival. The main task is to find a route that visits at least one satisfying entity of each type. In an interactive search, the route is computed in steps. In each step, only the next entity of the route is given to the user, and after visiting that entity, the user provides a feedback specifying whether the entity satisfies her. This paper investigates interactive route search in the presence of order constraints that specify that some types of entities should be visited before others. We present heuristic algorithms for interactive route search for two cases, depending on whether the constraints define a complete order or a partial one. The main challenge is to utilize the feedback in order to compute a route that is shorter and has a higher degree of success, compared to routes that are computed non-interactively. We also discuss how to compare the results of the algorithms and introduce suitable measures for doing so. Experiments on real-world data illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our algorithms.
Abstract non-interference: parameterizing non-interference by abstract interpretation

In this paper we generalize the notion of non-interference making it parametric relatively to what an attacker can analyze about the input/output information flow. The idea is to consider attackers as data-flow analyzers, whose task is to reveal properties of confidential resources by analyzing public ones. This means that no unauthorized flow of information is possible from confidential to public data, relatively to the degree of precision of an attacker. We prove that this notion can be fully specified in standard abstract interpretation framework, making the degree of security of a program a property of its semantics. This provides a comprehensive account of non-interference features for language-based security. We introduce systematic methods for extracting attackers from programs, providing domain-theoretic characterizations of the most precise attackers which cannot violate the security of a given program. These methods allow us both to compare attackers and program secrecy by comparing the corresponding abstractions in the lattice of abstract interpretations, and to design automatic program certification tools for language-based security by abstract interpretation.
A linear-time algorithm for computing the voronoi diagram of a convex polygon

We present an algorithm for computing certain kinds of three-dimensional convex hulls in linear time. Using this algorithm, we show that the Voronoi diagram ofn sites in the plane can be computed in Θ(n) time when these sites form the vertices of a convex polygon in, say, counterclockwise order. This settles an open problem in computational geometry. Our techniques can also be used to obtain linear-time algorithms for computing the furthest-site Voronoi diagram and the medial axis of a convex polygon and for deleting a site from a general planar Voronoi diagram.
DataMill: a distributed heterogeneous infrastructure forrobust experimentation

Empirical systems research is facing a dilemma. Minor aspects of an experimental setup can have a significant impact on its associated performance measurements and potentially invalidate conclusions drawn from them. Examples of such influences, often called hidden factors, include binary link order, process environment size, compiler generated randomized symbol names, or group scheduler assignments. The growth in complexity and size of modern systems will further aggravate this dilemma, especially with the given time pressure of producing results. How can one trust any reported empirical analysis of a new idea or concept in computer science? DataMill is a community‐based services‐oriented open benchmarking infrastructure for rigorous performance evaluation. DataMill facilitates producing robust, reliable, and reproducible results. The infrastructure incorporates the latest results on hidden factors and automates the variation of these factors. DataMill is also of interest for research on performance evaluation. The infrastructure supports quantifying the effect of hidden factors, disseminating the research results beyond mere reporting. It provides a platform for investigating interactions and composition of hidden factors. This paper discusses experience earned through creating and using an open benchmarking infrastructure. Multiple research groups participate and have used DataMill. Furthermore, DataMill has been used for a performance competition at the International Conference on Runtime Verification (RV) 2014 and is currently hosting the RV 2015 competition. This paper includes a summary of our experience hosting the first RV competition. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.