Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Hierarchical Relationships among Partially Ordered Objects with Heterogeneous Attributes and Links

Objects linking with many other objects in an information network may imply various semantic relationships. Uncovering such knowledge is essential for role discovery, data cleaning, and better organization of information networks, especially when the semantically meaningful relationships are hidden or mingled with noisy links and attributes. In this paper we study a generic form of relationship along which objects can form a treelike structure, a pervasive structure in various domains. We formalize the problem of uncovering hierarchical relationships in a supervised setting. In general, local features of object attributes, their interaction patterns, as well as rules and constraints for knowledge propagation can be used to infer such relationships. Existing approaches, designed for specific applications, either cannot handle dependency rules together with local features, or cannot leverage labeled data to differentiate their importance. In this study, we propose a discriminative undirected graphical model. It integrates a wide range of features and rules by defining potential functions with simple forms. These functions are also summarized and categorized. Our experiments on three quite different domains demonstrate how to apply the method to encode domain knowledge. The efficacy is measured with both traditional and our newly designed metrics in the evaluation of discovered tree structures.
System of Systems Engineering and Family of Systems Engineering from a standards, V-Model, and Dual-V Model perspective

System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) and Family of Systems Engineering (FoSE) continue to be two of the least well-understood SE disciplines. Knowledge of the SE standards, the V-Model, and particularly the 3-dimensional Dual-V Model, significantly aid this understanding, including the relationship between SE, SoSE, and FoSE. The goals of this paper are to: 1) define SoS, SoSE, and FoSE from an SE standards perspective; 2) describe the original V-Model and the Dual-V Model; 3) show how to apply these SE standards and V-Models to a system, to SoSs, and to FoSs; and 4) encourage and challenge the participants to understand, select, tailor, and apply these SE standards and V-Models to complex SoSs and FoSs. Individuals may have an understanding of portions of SE, SoSE, and FoSE based on other sources. The SE standards, V-Model, and Dual-V Model provide a more complete and common understanding.
Habitat selection by European badgers in Mediterranean semi-arid ecosystems

We studied the habitat selection patterns of badgersMeles meles (Linnaeus, 1758) in Mediterranean semiarid ecosystems. Fifty-seven plots were sampled in two semi-arid regions of Spain. In each plot, badger latrines were located along 2.6 km transects. The number of badger latrines per km was used as a surrogate of badger abundance and as an index of habitat selection by badgers. For each plot, a series of environmental variables were measured at two spatial scales. These variables were related to land use and vegetation formation parameters that are considered potentially important for habitat requirements (i.e., food and shelter). The habitat selection model was carried out using generalised linear models (GLM) and an information-theoretic approach. Results indicated that badgers prefer fruit orchards, and shrub and rock-covered areas, which provide additional trophic and shelter resources, and avoid intensively cultivated fields and human settlements. We conclude that badger conservation in semi-arid environments of the Iberian Peninsula requires the existence of fruit orchards and the limitation of human development. Policies restraining agriculture intensification would encourage traditional or new non-intensive agricultural practices and increase shrub-patch availability, which would benefit this
Statistical Shape Analysis of Metopic Craniosynostosis: A Preliminary Study

This preliminary study was conducted to explore different analytical shape methods for use in evaluating children born with cranial vault deformities. Twenty skull outlines from patients with metopic craniosynostosis were ascribed landmarks. Scale, location, and rotational factors were removed using Procrustes analysis. A single index of severity from 0-5, with 5 being the most severe, was developed using Procrustes distance in shape space. Skull 20 had the highest score in our data set. Principal component analysis was performed to determine areas of large shape variability. Principal component 1 and 2 accounted for 86 % of the shape variability which was attributed to early closure of the metopic suture. Procrustes analysis used in combination with Procrustes distance and principal component analysis are powerful tools for the evaluation of cranial vault deformities and can be used to objectively categorize the severity of the skull deformity and outcome from surgical reconstructive surgery
‘Sound of silence’ – changing from an oral to a computer-mediated handover

In this article, we study the change from oral to computer-mediated handover among nurses in the psycho-geriatric ward at the University Hospital of Northern Norway. We explore what issues are at stake when introducing written handover to a particular nursing practice. At the core of nursing documentation is the electronic care plan, and we discuss its role and interplay vis-à-vis the other information sources in the ward. Furthermore, we examine the inherent tension between the increased pressure (among nurses) to document on the one hand, and the need to discuss patient issues first on the other. Finally, we discuss how the use of the care plan, video-projector and the newly established morning meeting collectively served as a basis for a new and better collaborative setting for the nurses.
Adiponectin and catecholamine concentrations during acute exercise in children with type 1 diabetes

Objective: Adiponectin, an adipokine secreted by the adipocyte, is inversely related to adiposity and directly related to insulin sensitivity. In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), however, data thus far are contradictory. We investigated the relationship between adiponectin and exercise inT1DM.
Molecular Markers for the Prediction of Anti-EGFR Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Efficacy in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

The implementation of individualized targeted therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), in addition to standard chemotherapeutic regimens, currently is a topic under debate. Approximately 35% - 45% of mCRC patients exhibit mutated KRAS, which is considered to be an independent predictor of poor response to treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody. However, only about 50% of patients with wild-type KRAS respond to anti-EGFR therapy. Two major EGFR-dependent signaling pathways, RAS-RAF-MAPK and PI3K-PTEN-AKT, may be involved in the poor response to anti-EGFR. Increased EGFR gene copy number as detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization, but not increased EGFR protein expression, correlates with efficacy of anti-EGFR treatment. The identification of mutations in BRAF and PIK3CA (exon 20) and deletions in PTEN also may help clinicians screen for anti-EGFR resistance in mCRC patients with wild-type KRAS. To guide health professionals through the realm of individualized targeted therapies for mCRC, we review recent progress on identifying negative predictors and prognostic markers of anti-EGFR treatment efficacy.
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What To Do About It

The classic guide to understanding and controlling one of the most common and frustrating behavioral problems. Based on years of counseling, psychologists Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen offer a probing, sensitive, and sometimes humorous look at the problem that troubles everyone. Revealing the reasons we put off tasks-fears of failure, success, control, separation, and attachment-the authors outline a practical, tested program to overcome procrastination. Candid and understanding, is a must-have today for anyone who puts everything off until tomorrow.
School of Computer Studies Research Report Series Applications of Information Technology for Bus and Driver Scheduling

Research in bus and driver scheduling at Leeds University has been taking advantage of new technologies since the early 1960s, with the objective of yielding better schedules more quickly. Here recent SERC supported work is presented. Most bus scheduling systems produce schedules for only one operating scenario. In practice, planning and scheduling are interconnected, and operators have to explore flexibility in timings and route structures. An interactive framework is described which integrates tools designed to minimise trial and error in the process. We also report on two new approaches to driver scheduling. A knowledge-based approach has resulted in an effective set of domain specific rules critically analysing a given problem and accurately estimating the schedule composition and total number of duties required. This estimate will strengthen existing and new methods. Genetic algorithms are powerful in deriving refined solutions to problems very quickly. However, driver scheduling seems to be too difficult a problem for traditional genetic algorithms to yield schedules of acceptable quality. We have analysed the search processes of genetic algorithms and developed new algorithms to overcome shortcomings. Potential for further exploiting these researches is also discussed.
The Essential Skills Series in Evaluation: Assessing the Validity of the ESS Participant Workshop Evaluation Questionnaire

Abstract: Since 2003, the Essential Skills Series training program developed by the Canadian Evaluation Society has been offered to more than 15 groups in the province of Québec. The evaluations of these workshops were based on the participants’ reactions collected by a Participant Feedback Questionnaire. This article describes the process used to assess the structure of the questionnaire and document its psychometric properties in order to determine whether it covered all subjects addressed by the training program and the extent to which it measured the items it was intended to measure. The results suggest that the questionnaire is effective in measuring participant responses to all the relevant components of the training program. This procedure may interest professional evaluators who want to ensure that questionnaires used to evaluate training programs are suitable for their intended purpose.
Rapid Identification of Staphylococcal Strains from Positive-Testing Blood Culture Bottles by Internal Transcribed Spacer PCR Followed by Microchip Gel Electrophoresis

ABSTRACT PCR analysis of the 16S-23S rRNA gene internal transcribed spacer (ITS) followed by microchip gel electrophoresis (MGE) was evaluated for its usefulness in identification of staphylococci. Forty ITS PCR patterns were demonstrated among 228 isolated colonies of Staphylococcus aureus: 26 patterns for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA; 91 strains), 11 patterns for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA; 99 strains), and 3 patterns for both MSSA and MRSA (38 strains). Thirty-seven control strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) representing 16 species showed unique ITS PCR patterns (24 patterns) at the species and subspecies levels: two patterns for S. caprae, S. cohnii, S. haemolyticus, and S. saprophyticus; three patterns for S. lugdunensis; four patterns for S. capitis; and one pattern for each of the other CNS species. The combined PCR-MGE method was prospectively adapted to the positive blood culture bottles, and this method correctly identified MSSA and MRSA in 102 (89%) of 114 blood cultures positive for S. aureus on the basis of the ITS PCR patterns. Eight ITS PCR patterns were demonstrated from 166 blood culture bottles positive for CNS. The most frequent CNS species isolated from blood cultures were S. epidermidis (76%), S. capitis (11%), and S. hominis (8%). Overall, all 280 blood culture bottles shown to contain a single Staphylococcus species by routine phenotypic methods were correctly identified by the PCR-MGE method at the species level, whereas the organism failed to be identified in 8 culture bottles (3%) with mixed flora. The PCR-MGE method is useful not only for rapid identification (∼1.5 h) of staphylococci in positive blood culture bottles, but also for strain delineation of S. aureus.
Low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with elevated C-reactive protein levels in women with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine differences in novel markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women with type 2 diabetes stratified according to cardiorespiratory fitness. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 28 women (mean age 57 +/- 6 years) with type 2 diabetes who were free from overt CVD were placed into low cardiorespiratory fitness (LCF) or average cardiorespiratory fitness (ACF) groups based on a graded exercise test to exhaustion. A group of eight women without type 2 diabetes were also examined and served as healthy control subjects. The median VO(2peak) value was used as a cutoff for group determination. We assessed both conventional CVD risk factors, including blood pressure, BMI, and lipid profile, as well as novel CVD risk factors, such as left ventricular filling dynamics, arterial stiffness, fasting insulin, and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS VO(2peak) values were 69 +/- 14 and 91 +/- 24% of predicted values for sedentary age-matched healthy individuals in the LCF and ACF groups, respectively. BMI was significantly greater in the LCF group (P < 0.05); however, no differences were observed in age, lipid profile, or resting hemodynamics. CRP was 3.3-fold higher in the LCF group (6.3 +/- 41. vs. 1.9 +/- 1.7 mg/l, P < 0.05), whereas other novel markers of CVD were not significantly different between the groups. Significant negative relationships were observed between VO(2peak) and both CRP (r = -0.49) and the homeostasis model assessment index (r = -0.48) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The novel finding of this investigation is that low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with elevated CRP and reduced fasting glucose control in women with type 2 diabetes.
Tree-Width for First Order Formulae

We introduce tree-width for first order formulae φ, fotw(φ). We show that computing fotw is fixed-parameter tractable with parameter fotw. Moreover, we show that on classes of formulae of bounded fotw, model checking is fixed parameter tractable, with parameter the length of the formula. This is done by translating a formula φ with fotw(φ) < k into a formula of the k-variable fragment Lk of first order logic. For fixed k, the question whether a given first order formula is equivalent to an Lk formula is undecidable. In contrast, the classes of first order formulae with bounded fotw are fragments of first order logic for which the equivalence is decidable. Our notion of tree-width generalises tree-width of conjunctive queries to arbitrary formulae of first order logic by taking into account the quantifier interaction in a formula. Moreover, it is more powerful than the notion of elimination-width of quantified constraint formulae, defined by Chen and Dalmau (CSL 2005): For quantified constraint formulae, both bounded elimination-width and bounded fotw allow for model checking in polynomial time. We prove that fotw of a quantified constraint formula φ is bounded by the elimination-width of φ, and we exhibit a class of quantified constraint formulae with bounded fotw, that has unbounded elimination-width. A similar comparison holds for strict tree-width of non-recursive stratified datalog as defined by Flum, Frick, and Grohe (JACM 49, 2002). finally, we show that fotw has a characterization in terms of a robber and cops game without monotonicity cost.
Towards Conversational Human-Computer Interaction

The belief that humans will be able to interact with computers in conversational speech has long been a favorite subject in science fiction. This reflects the persistent belief that spoken dialogue would be the most natural and powerful user interface to computers. With recent improvements in computer technology and in speech and language processing, such systems are starting to appear feasible. There are significant technical problems that still need to be solved before speech-driven interfaces become truly conversational. This paper describes the results of a ten-year effort building robust spoken dialogue systems at the University of Roches-
THE AGORA HIGH-RESOLUTION GALAXY SIMULATIONS COMPARISON PROJECT. II. ISOLATED DISK TEST

Using an isolated Milky Way-mass galaxy simulation, we compare results from nine state-of-the-art gravito-hydrodynamics codes widely used in the numerical community. We utilize the infrastructure we have built for the AGORA High-resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project. This includes the common disk initial conditions, common physics models (e.g., radiative cooling and UV background by the standardized package Grackle) and common analysis toolkit yt, all of which are publicly available. Subgrid physics models such as Jeans pressure floor, star formation, supernova feedback energy, and metal production are carefully constrained across code platforms. With numerical accuracy that resolves the disk scale height, we find that the codes overall agree well with one another in many dimensions including: gas and stellar surface densities, rotation curves, velocity dispersions, density and temperature distribution functions, disk vertical heights, stellar clumps, star formation rates, and Kennicutt–Schmidt relations. Quantities such as velocity dispersions are very robust (agreement within a few tens of percent at all radii) while measures like newly formed stellar clump mass functions show more significant variation (difference by up to a factor of ∼3). Systematic differences exist, for example, between mesh-based and particle-based codes in the low-density region, and between more diffusive and less diffusive schemes in the high-density tail of the density distribution. Yet intrinsic code differences are generally small compared to the variations in numerical implementations of the common subgrid physics such as supernova feedback. Our experiment reassures that, if adequately designed in accordance with our proposed common parameters, results of a modern high-resolution galaxy formation simulation are more sensitive to input physics than to intrinsic differences in numerical schemes.
Diversity-Multiplexing Tradeoff in the Low-SNR Regime

An extension of the popular diversity-multiplexing tradeoff framework to the low-SNR (or wideband) regime is proposed. The concept of diversity gain is shown to be redundant in this regime since the outage probability is SNR-independent and depends on the multiplexing gain and the channel power gain statistics only. The outage probability under the DMT framework is obtained in an explicit, closed form for a broad class of channels. The low and high-SNR regime boundaries are explicitly determined for the scalar Rayleigh-fading channel, indicating a significant limitation of the SNR-asymptotic DMT when the multiplexing gain is small.
Probing the Age of Elliptical Galaxies

In this paper we address the question whether age and metallicity effects can be disentangled with the aid of the broad-band colours and spectral indices from absorption feature strengths, so that the age of elliptical galaxies can be inferred. The observational data under examination are the indices Hbeta and [MgFe], and the velocity dispersion Sigma for the sample of galaxies of Gonzales (1993), supplemented by the ultra-violet data, i.e. the colour (1550-V), of Burstein et al. (1988). The analysis is performed with the aid of chemo-spectro-photometric models of elliptical galaxies with infall of primordial gas (aimed at simulating the collapse phase of galaxy formation) and the occurrence of galactic winds. The galaxy models are from Tantalo et al. (1995).
Monitoring the execution of query plans

Monitoring the execution of a query plan is the activity concerned with the collection of information that becomes available from the completed or on-going parts of the execution. Monitoring can be classified in three categories according to the transmission of data and messages that are related to the monitoring procedure. First, monitoring can be performed at the level of physical operators that comprise the query plan. In that case, no data is conveyed, and consequently, there is no communication overhead. Second, monitoring may require a set of operators of the query plan on a node to communicate with each other. In that case, the communication overhead can remain very low. Third, operators or sets of operators on different nodes may send data to each other in order to monitor aspects of the query plan. The third case applies to situations in which the query plan is executed in a parallel or distributed setting. In the last two cases, the monitoring incurs communication overhead. In all cases there is a CPU overhead. In order to have a complete view about the quality of the execution of the query plan, apart from the query plan, the execution environment needs to be monitored as well (which can be seen as a fourth case of monitoring). In this report, the focus is on the first case of monitoring, in which no data is conveyed. The improvements in the quality of the derived information when monitoring falls in the other two categories are also discussed.
Locally rigid globally non-rigid surface registration

We present a novel non-rigid surface registration method that achieves high accuracy and matches characteristic features without manual intervention. The key insight is to consider the entire shape as a collection of local structures that individually undergo rigid transformations to collectively deform the global structure. We realize this locally rigid but globally non-rigid surface registration with a newly derived dual-grid Free-form Deformation (FFD) framework. We first represent the source and target shapes with their signed distance fields (SDF). We then superimpose a sampling grid onto a conventional FFD grid that is dual to the control points. Each control point is then iteratively translated by a rigid transformation that minimizes the difference between two SDFs within the corresponding sampling region. The translated control points then interpolate the embedding space within the FFD grid and determine the overall deformation. The experimental results clearly demonstrate that our method is capable of overcoming the difficulty of preserving and matching local features.
VMFlock : VM Co-Migration for the Cloud

This paper presents VMFlockMS, a migration service optimized for cross-datacenter transfer and instantiation of groups of virtual machine (VM) images that comprise an application-level solution (e.g., a three-tier web application). We dub these groups of related VM images VMFlocks. VMFlockMS employs two main techniques: first, data deduplication within the VMFlock to be migrated and between the VMFlock and the data already present at the destination datacenter, and, second, accelerated instantiation of the application at the target datacenter after transferring only a partial set of data blocks and prioritization of the remaining data based on previously observed access patterns originating from the running VMs. VMFlockMS is designed to be deployed as a set of virtual appliances which make efficient use of the available cloud resources to locally access and deduplicate the images and data in a distributed fashion with minimal requirements imposed on the cloud API to access the VM image repository. VMFlockMS provides an incrementally scalable and highperformance migration service. Our evaluation shows that VMFlockMS can reduce the data volumes to be transferred over the network to as low as 3% of the original VMFlock size, enables the complete transfer of the VM images belonging to a VMFlock over transcontinental link up to 3.5x faster than alternative approaches, and enables booting these VM images with as little as 5% of the compressed VMFlock data available at the destination.