Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Change Requests Artifacts to Assess Impact on Structural Design of SDLC Phases

Current escalating demands on software, software developers to be obliged to generate software that can be altered, which escape from the risk of mortifying the software structuraldesign of the "SDLC phases". Degraded software structuraldesign is problematic because it makes the system more prone to defects and change requests turn to be costlier. The impacts of change requests to software can be hard to determine. One way to determine these consequences is to artifact the causes and effects caused by change request. A software change artifact allows to assess the effects of a change using different criteria such as causes to apply the change to be requested, change request type and the software module influenced by that changes. Once these artifacts identified then these artifacts can be used to scale the potential impact of the change. Another benefit of defining artifacts of the changerequests are that it allows engineers to develop a common approach to deal with changes that have similar in defined artifacts, rather than addressing each change individually. This paper introduces a mechanism that defines artifacts of the change-request to assist developers in measuring the impact of a software change on the structural-design of the SDLC-phases.
Title Data Visualization through Graph Drawing Permalink

In this paper the problem of visualizing categorical multivariate data sets is considered. By representing the data as the adjacency matrix of an appropriately defined bipartite graph, the problem is transformed to one of graph drawing. A general graph drawing framework is introduced, the corresponding mathematical problem defined and an algorithmic approach for solving the necessary optimization problem discussed. The new approach is illustrated through several examples.
Approximation of Linear Dynamical Systems

Approximation is an important issue in the theory and practice of dynamical systems. In this essay we will review a theory of approximation of linear dynamical systems which has two important properties. First, it preserves stability and second, explicit a priori bounds for the norm of the error can be derived. Main ingredients of this theory are: the 2-norms used to measure the quantities involved, in particular the Hankel norms, the innnity norms, and a set of invariants called the Hankel singular values. The main tool for the construction of approximants is the all-pass dilation.
Attaining the Promise and Avoiding the Pitfalls of TCP in the Datacenter

Over the last several years, datacenter computing has become a pervasive part of the computing landscape. In spite of the success of the datacenter computing paradigm, there are significant challenges remaining to be solved--particularly in the area of networking. The success of TCP/IP in the Internet makes TCP/IP a natural candidate for datacenter network communication. A growing body of research and operational experience, however, has found that TCP often performs poorly in datacenter settings. TCP's poor performance has led some groups to abandon TCP entirely in the datacenter. This is not desirable, however, as it requires reconstruction of a new transport protocol as well as rewriting applications to use the new protocol. Over the last few years, promising research has focused on adapting TCP to operate in the datacenter environment. We have been running large datacenter computations for several years, and have experienced the promises and the pitfalls that datacenter computation presents. In this paper, we discuss our experiences with network communication performance within our datacenter, and discuss how we have leveraged and extended recent research to significantly improve network performance within our datacenter.
Formalization and verification of the AMBA AHB communication architecture using the ACL2 theorem prover

We apply a method, based on an automatic theorem prover, to verify the correctness of communication systems at the first step of the design. The prover has reasoning capabilities that do not require fixed size systems, and large parameterized architectures, like IPs or SoCs can be modeled and proved correct through this approach. We illustrate the approach on an industrial onchip bus, the AMBA AHB.
Insight, part of a Special Feature on Exploring Opportunities for Advancing Collaborative Adaptive Management (CAM): Integrating Experience and Practice Results Chains: a Tool for Conservation Action Design, Management, and Evaluation

Every day, the challenges to achieving conservation grow. Threats to species, habitats, and ecosystems multiply and intensify. The conservation community has invested decades of resources and hard work to reduce or eliminate these threats. However, it struggles to demonstrate that its efforts are having an impact. In recent years, conservation project managers, teams, and organizations have found themselves under increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable impacts that can be attributed to their actions. To do so, they need to answer three important questions: (1) Are we achieving our desired impact? ; (2) Have we selected the best interventions to achieve our desired impact? ; and (3) Are we executing our interventions in the best possible manner? We describe results chains, an important tool for helping teams clearly specify their theory of change behind the actions they are implementing. Results chains help teams make their assumptions behind an action explicit and positions the team to develop relevant objectives and indicators to monitor and evaluate whether their actions are having the intended impact. We describe this tool and how it is designed to tackle the three main questions above. We also discuss the purposes for which results chains have been used and the implications of their use. By using results chains, the conservation community can learn, adapt, and improve at a faster pace and, consequently, better address the ongoing threats to species, habitats, and ecosystems.
Stabilized Controller Design for Attitude and Altitude Controlling of Quad-Rotor Under Disturbance and Noisy Conditions

This article presents a control approach to obtain the better stabilization in attitude and altitude o f quad-rotor under different disturbance conditions. In the stan dard Quad-rotor rotor type UAV, controlling of atti tude and altitude is one of the most critical tasks and appr opriate controller for stabilization of UAV is esse ntial and necessary. These two controls under various conditi ons of disturbances was a field of research stimula ting for the researchers. The controller proposed is contingent on the PID feedback structure with Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). From Lyapunov Stability Theorem, it is proved that quad-rotor proposed altitude control system is asymptotic as well exponentially stability. Extende d Kalman Filter (EKF) is used to filter out the sen sors and system noises. Finally, the simulations carried out on MATLAB and the result proved the effectiveness of proposed recommended method for stabilization of attitude and altitude of quad-rotor.
Safety Characterization and Antimicrobial Properties of Kefir-Isolated Lactobacillus kefiri

Lactobacilli are generally regarded as safe; however, certain strains have been associated with cases of infection. Our workgroup has already assessed many functional properties of Lactobacillus kefiri, but parameters regarding safety must be studied before calling them probiotics. In this work, safety aspects and antimicrobial activity of L. kefiri strains were studied. None of the L. kefiri strains tested caused α- or β-hemolysis. All the strains were susceptible to tetracycline, clindamycin, streptomycin, ampicillin, erythromycin, kanamycin, and gentamicin; meanwhile, two strains were resistant to chloramphenicol. On the other hand, all L. kefiri strains were able to inhibit both Gram(+) and Gram(−) pathogens. Regarding the in vitro results, L. kefiri CIDCA 8348 was selected to perform in vivo studies. Mice treated daily with an oral dose of 108 CFU during 21 days showed no signs of pain, lethargy, dehydration, or diarrhea, and the histological studies were consistent with those findings. Moreover, no differences in proinflammatory cytokines secretion were observed between treated and control mice. No translocation of microorganisms to blood, spleen, or liver was observed. Regarding these findings, L. kefiri CIDCA 8348 is a microorganism isolated from a dairy product with a great potential as probiotic for human or animal use.
Investigation of efficiency and accuracy on incremental SSTA

This paper compares the characteristics and performances of incremental statistical static timing analysis (SSTA) methods. In contrast to incremental analysis in the deterministic static timing analysis (STA), timing error is indispensable for an efficient incremental SSTA, and the efficiency and accuracy have a trade-off relation. We compared and analyzed the differences between the incremental STA and SSTA, and presented the error source of the incremental SSTA. From the experimental results by three major incremental analysis methods, we presented the relationship between the efficiency and accuracy in incremental SSTA. We showed as well that all tested incremental SSTA methods give relatively accurate results that errors are lower than 1% with the some sacrifice of the efficiency. However, the merits and demerits of each method differs to that of each others, we compared the merits and demerits of each method.
The Role of Base Rates in Category Learning

Previous researchers have discovered perplexing inconsistencies in how human subjects appear to utilize knowledge of category base rates when making category judgments. In particular, Medin and Edelson (1988) found an “inverse base rate effect” in which subjects tended to select a rare category when tested with a combination of conflicting cues, and Gluck and Bower (1988) reported apparent “base rate neglect” in which subjects tended to select a rare category when tested with a single symptom whose objective diagnosticity was equal for all categories. In this article I suggest that two principles underlie those effects: First, base rate information is learned and consistently deployed during all training and testing cases. Second, the dominant effect of base rates is to cause frequent categories to be learned before rare categories, so that the common categories are encoded in terms of their typical features, and the rare categories are encoded by whichever features distinguish them relative to the already-learned, common categories. Four new experiments are reported which confirm those principles. Experiment 1 replicates and extends the basic inverse base rate effect and establishes a standard for subsequent experiments and modeling. Experiment 2 shows that pre-training on a subset of categories has comparable effects as giving those categories high base rates during training. Experiment 3 shows that apparent “base rate neglect” is simply an attenuated case of the “inverse base rate effect,” hence any model of one effect should account for the other. Experiment 4 uses probabilistic categories, and shows that apparent “base rate neglect” can be obtained even for cues that occur in less than 50% of the rare category’s exemplars, and that cues that are not associated with any category decrease the base-rate bias. The principles are formalized in a new connectionist model that modifies attention to stimulus features based on the network’s current knowledge. Quantitative fits to the empirical data are reported, and provide additional support for the principles.
Approaches & Case Studies

— The system of Bologna porticoes, included in 2006 in the Italian tentative list of World heritage sites of UNESCO, will undergo a definitive recognition of the nomination as part of the program of the current municipal council. The nomination is aimed at highlighting the portico, not only as a high-quality architectural work, which in the past centuries has become a distinctive feature of the town, but also in its social, community and anthropological meanings, as a meeting place, a protected space. The nomination project refers to different subjects and is divided into many levels of action. Among them we are going to develop a platform conceived for on-line accessing the wealth of data and resources related to the Bolognese porticoes system, such as historical, artistic, architectural resources, besides all those data regarding its actual management. The platform will perform the harvesting of several already existing databases, making the data available to citizens, tourists and scholars thanks to a graphic interface allowing a navigation in space and time. Therefore our system will facilitate the development of further cultural and promotional cross-medial applications, such as apps for mobile devices, augmented graphics and 3D architectural mapping events. Through social media tools, citizens will be invited not only to enjoy and share the proposed contents, but also to take an active stance in the project by uploading contents and comments. The core of our platform will consist of reality-based high quality 3D models usable and navigable within the system as main user interface. Uniform quality and consistency of our reality-based 3D digital models along the more than 40 km of porticoes was ensured by a controlled, low-cost process starting from photo-modeling techniques.
The effects of gum arabic, wheat offal and various of its fractions on the metabolism of 14C-labelled aflatoxin B1 in the male weanling rat

1. Male weanling rats were given for extended periods diets containing gum arabic or wheat offal or various offal fractions. The fractions included two lipid fractions, a water-soluble extract and a modified-acid-detergent (MAD)-fibre extract. The diets contained either low concentrations of aflatoxin B1 (induced rats) or were free from this source of aflatoxin (non-induced rats). The distribution of 14C was then studied after the rats received 14C-labelled aflatoxin B1 in their feed. Blood plasma concentrations of triglycerides, and total cholesterol were also measured. 2. Gum arabic and wheat offal accelerated the rate of passage of 14C through the small intestine and wheat offal very considerably decreased retention time in the large intestine. Both fibre sources increased faecal bulk. However, only wheat offal decreased liver and urinary accumulation of 14C and the effect could be explained entirely by the MAD-fibre fraction of wheat offal. 3. The possible induction of either microsomal enzymes unrelated to the production of mutagenic aflatoxin metabolites, or of extramicrosomal enzymes is discussed; but it is concluded that the main effect brought about by wheat offal on the toxicity and carcinogenicity of aflatoxin can be attributed to a direct influence of the MAD fibre fraction of wheat offal on the intestinal absorption of aflatoxin B1. 4. The relevance of these conclusions to drug safety studies is discussed, because comparable studies may yield differing results, despite a use of diets having the same nutrient composition but differing ingredient composition.
An Efficient Optical Switch Architecture with Controlled Latency for GRID Networks

In this paper we evaluate a hybrid optoelectronic switch architecture, which can be used under optical burst switching (OBS) or even optical packet switching (OPS) schemes. The proposed architecture incorporates electronic switching equipment to a limited degree utilizing the large buffering capacity available only by means of electronic subsystems. This hybrid architecture achieves efficient utilization of optical network resources, which can be assigned dynamically in small time scales, limiting loss probability with controlled average latency. Thus, the proposed switch architecture is suitable for critical networking applications with high capacity and dynamically changing requirements like GRID networking.
Linkage Disequilibrium and Genome-Wide Association Mapping in Tetraploid Wheat (Triticum turgidum L.)

Association mapping is a powerful tool for the identification of quantitative trait loci through the exploitation of the differential decay of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between marker loci and genes of interest in natural and domesticated populations. Using a sample of 230 tetraploid wheat lines (Triticum turgidum ssp), which included naked and hulled accessions, we analysed the pattern of LD considering 26 simple sequence repeats and 970 mostly mapped diversity array technology loci. In addition, to validate the potential for association mapping in durum wheat, we evaluated the same genotypes for plant height, heading date, protein content, and thousand-kernel weight. Molecular and phenotypic data were used to: (i) investigate the genetic and phenotypic diversity; (ii) study the dynamics of LD across the durum wheat genome, by investigating the patterns of LD decay; and (iii) test the potential of our panel to identify marker–trait associations through the analysis of four quantitative traits of major agronomic importance. Moreover, we compared and validated the association mapping results with outlier detection analysis based on population divergence. Overall, in tetraploid wheat, the pattern of LD is extremely population dependent and is related to the domestication and breeding history of durum wheat. Comparing our data with several other studies in wheat, we confirm the position of many major genes and quantitative trait loci for the traits considered. Finally, the analysis of the selection signature represents a very useful complement to validate marker–trait associations.
Phylogenetic prediction of the maximum per capita rate of population growth

The maximum per capita rate of population growth, r, is a central measure of population biology. However, researchers can only directly calculate r when adequate time series, life tables and similar datasets are available. We instead view r as an evolvable, synthetic life-history trait and use comparative phylogenetic approaches to predict r for poorly known species. Combining molecular phylogenies, life-history trait data and stochastic macroevolutionary models, we predicted r for mammals of the Caniformia and Cervidae. Cross-validation analyses demonstrated that, even with sparse life-history data, comparative methods estimated r well and outperformed models based on body mass. Values of r predicted via comparative methods were in strong rank agreement with observed values and reduced mean prediction errors by approximately 68 per cent compared with two null models. We demonstrate the utility of our method by estimating r for 102 extant species in these mammal groups with unknown life-history traits.
Effects of Bacillus subtilis sporulation regulatory protein SpoIIID on transcription by sigma K RNA polymerase in vivo and in vitro

SpoIIID is a sequence-specific, DNA-binding protein that activates or represses transcription of different genes by sigma K RNA polymerase in vitro. A Bacillus subtilis strain engineered to produce both sigma K and SpoIIID during growth showed effects of SpoIIID on expression of sigma K-dependent genes that were consistent with the effects of a small amount of SpoIIID on transcription of these genes in vitro, indicating that the strain provides a simple, in vivo method to screen for effects of SpoIIID on transcription of sigma K-dependent genes.
Circulating Levels of Adiponectin, Leptin, Fetuin-A and Retinol-Binding Protein in Patients with Tuberculosis: Markers of Metabolism and Inflammation

Background Wasting is known as a prominent feature of tuberculosis (TB). To monitor the disease state, markers of metabolism and inflammation are potentially useful. We thus analyzed two major adipokines, adiponectin and leptin, and two other metabolic markers, fetuin-A and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4). Methods The plasma levels of these markers were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in 84 apparently healthy individuals ( = no-symptom group) and 46 patients with active pulmonary TB around the time of treatment, including at the midpoint evaluation ( = active-disease group) and compared them with body mass index (BMI), C-reactive protein (CRP), chest radiographs and TB-antigen specific response by interferon-γ release assay (IGRA). Results In the no-symptom group, adiponectin and leptin showed negative and positive correlation with BMI respectively. In the active-disease group, at the time of diagnosis, leptin, fetuin-A and RBP4 levels were lower than in the no-symptom group [adjusted means 2.01 versus 4.50 ng/ml, P<0.0001; 185.58 versus 252.27 µg/ml, P<0.0001; 23.88 versus 43.79 µg/ml, P<0.0001, respectively]. High adiponectin and low leptin levels were associated with large infiltrates on chest radiographs even after adjustment for BMI and other covariates (P = 0.0033 and P = 0.0020). During treatment, adiponectin levels increased further and then decreased. Leptin levels remained low. Initial low levels of fetuin-A and RBP4 almost returned to the normal reference range in concert with reduced CRP. Conclusions Our data and recent literature suggest that low fat store and underlying inflammation may regulate these metabolic markers in TB in a different way. Decreased leptin, increased adiponectin, or this ratio may be a promising marker for severity of the disease independent of BMI. We should further investigate pathological roles of the balance between these adipokines.
Following the Money: European Union Funding of Civil Society Organizations

This article presents analyses from an original database of 1,164 civil society groups that received funding from the European Commission from 2003 to 2007, compiled from funding documents recently released through the European Transparency Initiative, and identifies the empirical patterns behind Commission funding behaviour. Based on the literature on input legitimacy, one would expect the Commission to seek to achieve balance across Member States and across diffuse and specific interests. Based on the literature on European integration which argues the EU has preferentially supported Euro groups, one would expect the Commission to support groups that promote pan‐Europeanism and are organized at the European Union (EU) level. The data analysis shows that groups which promote a European identity, democracy and civic engagement and intercultural exchange, as well as those that are organized at the EU level, receive stronger support from the Commission. Additionally, groups based in the old Member States of western Europe receive significantly more funding than those in central and eastern Europe. The database is freely available to scholars online.
The Effect of Brimonidine on Transepithelial Resistance in a Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Line

Purpose To investigate the effects of brimonidine, an α-2-adrenergic agonist, on barrier function in ARPE-19 cells by measuring transepithelial resistance (TER). Methods ARPE-19 cells were cultured into a confluent monolayer on a microporous filter. Brimonidine was added to the apical medium, and the barrier function of the cells was evaluated by measuring TER. A subset of cells was treated under hypoxic conditions, and the TER changes observed upon administration of brimonidine were compared to those observed in cells in normoxic conditions. Results The ARPE cell membrane reached a peak resistance of 29.1±7.97 Ωcm2 after four weeks of culture. The TER of the cells treated under normoxic conditions increased with brimonidine treatment; however, the TER of the cells treated under hypoxic conditions did not change following the administration of brimonidine. Conclusions Barrier function in ARPE-19 cells increased with brimonidine treatment. Understanding the exact mechanism of this barrier function change requires further investigation.