Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporations, Cooperatives, and the State

Focusing on shepherds' cooperatives in Sardinia, Italy, I show how cooperatives have borrowed incessantly from other types of businesses, including private capital businesses, and have provided models for those businesses and other organizations. In order to highlight the place of these organizations within a common institutional environment, “corporations” here are corporate bodies—including firms, trade unions, and political parties—and the cooperatives are also a type of corporation. The Italian state and the market are key institutions in the organizational context and climate within which cooperatives in general, and Sardinian cooperatives in particular, function. The emergence and consolidation of the European Community has added a new layer of complexity to the organizational environment as it tries to regulate in all European countries the ways in which capitalist businesses and cooperatives operate.
Surface-immobilization of chromatographically purified bacteriophages for the optimized capture of bacteria

Bacteriophages offer interesting alternatives to antibodies for the specific capture and detection of pathogenic bacteria onto biosensing surfaces. Procedures for the optimal chemical immobilization of lytic bacteriophages onto surfaces are presented. More specifically, the removal of lysate contaminants from bacteriophage suspensions by size exclusion chromatography significantly increases the resultant planar surface density of immobilized bacteriophages. E. coli T4 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium P22 phage systems seem to undergo highly heterogeneous adsorption to the surface, possibly explaining the observed phage clustering at higher surface densities. The T4 phage and its E. coli host were initially employed as a model system where we discovered an optimal planar surface density of phages for best bacterial capture: 18.9 ± 0.8 phages/μm2 capturing 18.0 ± 0.3 bacteria/100 μm2. Phage surface clustering ultimately limits the T4 phage-immobilized surface’s ability to specifically capture its host bacteria. Nevertheless, this is to our knowledge the largest surface capture density of E. coli reported using intact T4 bacteriophages. Two additional purified bacteriophage systems (P22 and Campylobacter jejuni phage NCTC 12673) were then similarly studied for their ability to capture their corresponding host bacteria (Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Campylobacter jejuni respectively) on a surface.
Autocompletion interfaces make crowd workers slower, but their use promotes response diversity

Creative tasks such as ideation or question proposal are powerful applications of crowdsourcing, yet the quantity of workers available for addressing practical problems is often insufficient. To enable scalable crowdsourcing thus requires gaining all possible efficiency and information from available workers. One option for text-focused tasks is to allow assistive technology, such as an autocompletion user interface (AUI), to help workers input text responses. But support for the efficacy of AUIs is mixed. Here we designed and conducted a randomized experiment where workers were asked to provide short text responses to given questions. Our experimental goal was to determine if an AUI helps workers respond more quickly and with improved consistency by mitigating typos and misspellings. Surprisingly, we found that neither occurred: workers assigned to the AUI treatment were slower than those assigned to the non-AUI control and their responses were more diverse, not less, than those of the control. Both the lexical and semantic diversities of responses were higher, with the latter measured using word2vec. A crowdsourcer interested in worker speed may want to avoid using an AUI, but using an AUI to boost response diversity may be valuable to crowdsourcers interested in receiving as much novel information from workers as possible.
A Family of Penalty Functions for Structured Sparsity

We study the problem of learning a sparse linear regression vector under additional conditions on the structure of its sparsity pattern. We present a family of convex penalty functions, which encode this prior knowledge by means of a set of constraints on the absolute values of the regression coefficients. This family subsumes the li norm and is flexible enough to include different models of sparsity patterns, which are of practical and theoretical importance. We establish some important properties of these functions and discuss some examples where they can be computed explicitly. Moreover, we present a convergent optimization algorithm for solving regularized least squares with these penalty functions. Numerical simulations highlight the benefit of structured sparsity and the advantage offered by our approach over the Lasso and other related methods.
A Survey of Security Issues for Data Sharing over Untrusted Cloud Providers

Interest in cloud computing market is growing rapidly in the recent years. It provides on-demand, high scalability computing resources with high availability and reliability. However, security is considered as one of the biggest obstacles for cloud computing. In this paper, we focus on the main security and privacy issues, pertinent to store and share data on untrusted cloud storage. We have investigated several existing approaches focused on security concerns in cloud computing. We classify the discussed studies based on three categories, which are: encryption and key management approaches, searching methods over encrypted data and access control schemes. We provide a comparative study of the existing solutions from each category identifying their strengths and limitations. We emphasize that although several techniques were proposed to protect data from cloud provider or any unauthorized users, there are still limitations need to be tackled. Therefore, we identified the research challenges indicating the future research directions in this area.
Distance Oracles beyond the Thorup-Zwick Bound

We give the first improvement to the space/approximation trade-off of distance oracles since the seminal result of Thorup and Zwick [STOC'01]. For unweighted graphs, our distance oracle has size $O(n^{5/3}) = O(n^{1.66\cdots})$ and, when queried about vertices at distance $d$, returns a path of length $2d+1$. For weighted graphs with $m=n^2/\alpha$ edges, our distance oracle has size $O(n^2 / \sqrt[3]{\alpha})$ and returns a factor 2 approximation. Based on a plausible conjecture about the hardness of set intersection queries, we show that a 2-approximate distance oracle requires space $\tOmega(n^2 / \sqrt{\alpha})$. For unweighted graphs, this implies a $\tOmega(n^{1.5})$ space lower bound to achieve approximation $2d+1$.
Detection of Quantitative Trait Loci for Meat Quality and Carcass Composition Traits in Blackface Sheep

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified for traits related to carcass and meat quality in Scottish Blackface sheep. The population studied comprised a double backcross between lines of sheep previously divergently selected for carcass lean content (LEAN and FAT lines), comprising nine half-sib families. Carcass composition (600 lambs) was assessed non-destructively using computerised tomography (CT) scanning and comprehensive meat quality measurements (initial and final pH of meat, flavour, colour and carcass weight) were taken on 300 male lambs. Lambs and their sires were genotyped across candidate regions on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 14, 18, 20 and 21. QTL analyses were performed using regression interval mapping techniques. In total, eight genome-wise significant and 12 chromosome-wise and suggestive QTL were detected in seven out of eight chromosomal regions. The genome-wise significant QTL (chromosomes 1, 2, 3 and 5) affected flavour, meat colour, muscle density, bone density and live weight-related traits. The most significant QTL affected meat flavour and was segregating in several families on chromosome 1. This study provides information on new QTL affecting meat quality and carcass composition traits in sheep. Verification of these results is now required in independent sheep populations.
Comparison of Individual Radiosensitivity to γ-Rays and Carbon Ions

Carbon ions are an up-and-coming ion species, currently being used in charged particle radiotherapy. As it is well established that there are considerable interindividual differences in radiosensitivity in the general population that can significantly influence clinical outcomes of radiotherapy, we evaluate the degree of these differences in the context of carbon ion therapy compared with conventional radiotherapy. In this study, we evaluate individual radiosensitivity following exposure to carbon-13 ions or γ-rays in peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy individuals based on the frequency of ionizing radiation (IR)-induced DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) that was either misrepaired or left unrepaired to form chromosomal aberrations (CAs) (simply referred to here as DSBs for brevity). Levels of DSBs were estimated from the scoring of CAs visualized with telomere/centromere-fluorescence in situ hybridization (TC-FISH). We examine radiosensitivity at the dose of 2 Gy, a routinely administered dose during fractionated radiotherapy, and we determined that a wide range of DSBs were induced by the given dose among healthy individuals, with highly radiosensitive individuals harboring more IR-induced breaks in the genome than radioresistant individuals following exposure to the same dose. Furthermore, we determined the relative effectiveness of carbon irradiation in comparison to γ-irradiation in the induction of DSBs at each studied dose (isodose effect), a quality we term “relative dose effect” (RDE). This ratio is advantageous, as it allows for simple comparison of dose–response curves. At 2 Gy, carbon irradiation was three times more effective in inducing DSBs compared with γ-irradiation (RDE of 3); these results were confirmed using a second cytogenetic technique, multicolor-FISH. We also analyze radiosensitivity at other doses (0.2–15 Gy), to represent hypo- and hyperfractionation doses and determined that RDE is dose dependent: high ratios at low doses, and approaching 1 at high doses. These results could have clinical implications as IR-induced DNA damage and the ensuing CAs and genomic instability can have significant cellular consequences that could potentially have profound implications for long-term human health after IR exposure, such as the emergence of secondary cancers and other pathobiological conditions after radiotherapy.
GeMSS: A Great Multivariate Short Signature

The purpose of this document is to present GeMSS : a Great Multivariate Signature Scheme. As suggested by its name, GeMSS is a multivariate-based [14, 22, 4, 2, 20, 19] signature scheme producing small signatures. It has a fast verification process, and a medium/large public-key. GeMSS is in direct lineage from QUARTZ [18] and borrows some design rationale of the Gui multivariate signature scheme [5]. The former schemes are built from the Hidden Field Equations crypotsystem (HFE) [17, published in 1996] by using the so-called minus and vinegar modifiers, i.e. HFEv[12]. It is fair to say that HFE, and its variants, are the most studied schemes in multivariate cryptography. QUARTZ produces signatures of 128 bits for a security level of 80 bits and was submitted to the Nessie Ecrypt competition [15] for public-key signatures. In contrast to many multivariate schemes, no practical attack has been reported against QUARTZ. This is remarkable knowing the intense activity in the cryptanalysis of multivariate schemes, e.g. [16, 13, 7, 8, 11, 10, 6, 9, 4, 2, 3, 1, 19, 21]. The best known attack remains [8] that serves as a reference to set the parameters for GeMSS.
Design of LCL filter for wind power inverter

An LCL filter is more and more widely used in wind power inverters. However, it may easily result in instability due to resonance, which makes it difficult for stability control without damping. A voltage oriented control strategy under the dq synchronization reference frame is adopted based on the mathematical model of the three-phase inverter for wind power, and then the characteristics and performance of an LCL filter compared with the L filter are investigated in detail. At the same time, the design of the LCL filter and the influence of system stability with different damping are given. Experimental results have effectively verified the design.
Delay-constrained scheduling for providing guaranteed QoS in a virtual machine environment

Scheduling in a virtual machine environment is pivotal because of its significant effect on the responsibility of Virtual Machines (VMs). Scheduling of Virtual CPU uses the BOOST mechanism and drives priority inversion and interference to the delay-sensitive VM. To tackle these issues, various techniques and methodologies have been proposed. However, these techniques can excessively delay VMs because they only focus on preferentially processing the high-priority VM. This in turn can violate the Quality of Service (QoS) of a virtual machine with relatively low priority despite the small gap. Therefore, it is imperative to apply a delay bound mechanism. In this paper, we propose a delay-constrained scheduling algorithm to guarantee the QoS of virtual machines running in a real-time virtual machine environment by applying maximum delay. We also define those factors of the proposed algorithm that will affect the system's performance. The proposed algorithm can simultaneously ensure fast response time for high-priority tasks and improve the QoS of a low-priority virtual machine, with minimum overhead.
Emerging role of calprotectin in gastroenterology

Abstract Calprotectin is a calcium and zinc binding protein of the S100 family derived predominantly from neutrophils and monocytes. It is detectable in body fluids and tissue samples and is emerging as a valuable marker in the diagnosis, and the monitoring and determining of the prognosis of commonly encountered gastroenterological conditions. Fecal calprotectin, in particular, has for a long time been regarded as a promising marker of gastrointestinal pathology and has now been established as a routine test in Norway and at several centers in the UK.
Pharmaceuticals in the environment: scientific evidence of risks and its regulation

During the past two decades scientists, regulatory agencies and the European Commission have acknowledged pharmaceuticals to be an emerging environmental problem. In parallel, a regulatory framework for environmental risk assessment (ERA) of pharmaceutical products has been developed. Since the regulatory guidelines came into force the German Federal Agency (UBA) has been evaluating ERAs for human and veterinary pharmaceutical products before they are marketed. The results show that approximately 10% of pharmaceutical products are of note regarding their potential environmental risk. For human medicinal products, hormones, antibiotics, analgesics, antidepressants and antineoplastics indicated an environmental risk. For veterinary products, hormones, antibiotics and parasiticides were most often discussed as being environmentally relevant. These results are in good correlation with the results within the open scientific literature of prioritization approaches for pharmaceuticals in the environment. UBA results revealed that prospective approaches, such as ERA of pharmaceuticals, play an important role in minimizing problems caused by pharmaceuticals in the environment. However, the regulatory ERA framework could be improved by (i) inclusion of the environment in the risk–benefit analysis for human pharmaceuticals, (ii) improvement of risk management options, (iii) generation of data on existing pharmaceuticals, and (iv) improving the availability of ERA data. In addition, more general and integrative steps of regulation, legislation and research have been developed and are presented in this article. In order to minimize the quantity of pharmaceuticals in the environment these should aim to (i) improve the existing legislation for pharmaceuticals, (ii) prioritize pharmaceuticals in the environment and (iii) improve the availability and collection of pharmaceutical data.
Design of a Hemispherical Magnetic Levitation Haptic Interface Device

We are currently fabricating a haptic interface device to enable direct physical interaction with dynamic simulated three-dimensional environments by exerting and reacting to forces and motions between the user’s hand and a magnetically levitated object. Our device uses magnetic levitation rather than a motorized linkage so that the dynamics are simple and actuator nonlinearities such as hysteresis, backlash and static friction are eliminated. Magnetic levitation haptic interaction was previously demonstrated using a fine motion robot wrist. A new magnetic levitation device was then designed specifically to address the requirements of realistic tool-based haptic interaction. A hemispherical device shape was adopted to maximize the ranges of translation and rotation and the ratio of actuator surface area to the levitated mass while enabling the user to grip a tool handle at the hemisphere center, near the center of mass, where translation, rotation, force, and torque ranges are the same in all directions. The new device will have a motion range of at least ±12 mm and ±7°, position sensing resolution within 3 μm, and will be capable of generating peak forces up to 60 N. Preliminary results from testing of position sensors and actuator assemblies support the performance data obtained from model analysis.
Measuring Comprehensibility of Web Pages Based on Link Analysis

We put forward a hypothesis that if there is a link from one page to another, it is likely that comprehensibility of the two pages is similar. To investigate whether this hypothesis is true or not, we conduct experiments using existing readability measures. We investigate the relationship between links and readability of text extracted from web pages for two datasets, set of English and Japanese pages. We could find that links and readability of text extracted from web pages are correlated. Based on the hypothesis, we propose a link analysis algorithm to measure comprehensibility of web pages. Our method is based on the Trust Rank algorithm which is originally used for combating web spam. We use link structure to propagate readability scores from source pages selected based on their comprehensibility. The results of experimental evaluation demonstrate that our method could improve estimation of comprehensibility of pages.
Automated knowledge discovery in advanced knowledge management

Purpose – To resent approaches and some research results of various research areas contributing to knowledge discovery from different sources, different data forms, on different scale, and for different purpose. Design/methodology/approach – Contribute to knowledge management by applying knowledge discovery approaches to enable computer search for the relevant knowledge whereas the humans give just broad directions. Findings – Knowledge discovery techniques proved to be very appropriate for many problems related to knowledge management. Surprisingly, it is often the case that already relatively simple approaches provide valuable results. Research limitations/implications – Still there are many open problems and scalability issues that arise when dealing with real‐world data and especially in the areas involving text and network analysis. Practical implications – Each problem should be handled with care, taking into account different aspects and selecting/extending the most appropriate available methods or.
Is Anyone Looking? Mitigating Shoulder Surfing on Public Displays through Awareness and Protection

Displays are growing in size, and are increasingly deployed in semi-public and public areas. When people use these public displays to pursue personal work, they expose their activities and sensitive data to passers-by. In most cases, such shoulder-surfing by others is likely voyeuristic vs. a deliberate attempt to steal information. Even so, safeguards are needed. Our goal is to mitigate shoulder-surfing problems in such settings. Our method leverages notions of territoriality and proxemics, where we sense and take action based on the spatial relationships between the passerby, the user of the display, and the display itself. First, we provide participants with awareness of shoulder-surfing moments, which in turn helps both parties regulate their behaviours and mediate further social interactions. Second, we provide methods that protect information when shoulder-surfing is detected. Here, users can move or hide information through easy to perform explicit actions. Alternately, the system itself can mask information from the passerby's view when it detects shoulder-surfing moments.
AR Timewarping: A Temporal Synchronization Framework for Real-Time Sensor Fusion in Head-Mounted Displays

A significant issue associated with the use of head-mounted displays for augmented reality is the presence of latency between the real world and the augmented images displayed to the headset, which, if uncompensated for, results in registration error that may limit the effectiveness of the augmented information as well as bring about user discomfort. In addition, further temporal discrepancies arise in the case when fusing information from multiple cameras of different capture frequencies to construct the augmented image as, in addition to temporal misalignment between the real world and the augmented image, there is desynchronization among the different sensors that may also lead to registration mismatch. In order to address these temporal inconsistencies, we present AR Timewarping, a novel temporal synchronization framework that is particularly adapted for video see-through (VST) head-mounted displays and consists of two main algorithms, one for head motion and one for scene motion, that together act to temporally warp and merge information from multiple sensors to significantly improve registration in the augmented image. System tests of our algorithms show that we can reduce registration error between two unsynchronized video streams by 87.04% and 81.64% for registration error arising from head motion and scene motion, respectively. Results from a user experiment show that subjects' abilities to track a moving object were significantly improved by our algorithms, with a 32.14% average reduction in angular tracking error, and furthermore subjects rated the combined algorithms better overall than the base case in terms of both image clarity and user comfort.