Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phoneme complexity and frequency in the acquisition of Hebrew rhotics

This study investigates the roles of two factors potentially affecting acquisition order of phonemes: (a) the lexical frequency of the phoneme in various prosodic positions, and (b) phoneme consistency. The research analyses rhotic attempts and productions in the spontaneous speech of two Hebrew-acquiring children from the onset of speech until the completion of rhotic acquisition. I show that the more consistent (i.e. less allophonic variation) a phoneme is in a given prosodic position, the more likely the infant is to attempt targets with this phoneme in this position (selectivity) and the earlier the faithful production of the phoneme in this position will be. Lexical frequency is shown to play no noticeable role in the early acquisition of Hebrew rhotics. Rather, it is phoneme consistency which drives selectivity and biases acquisition order.
Architectural issues in Java runtime systems

The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is the cornerstone of Java technology, and its efficiency in executing portable Java bytecodes is crucial for the success of this technology. Interpretation, just-in-time (JIT) compilation and hardware realization are well-known solutions for JVM, and previous research has proposed optimizations for each of these techniques. However, each technique has its pros and cons and may not be uniformly attractive for all hardware platforms. Instead, an understanding of the architectural implications of JVM implementations with real applications can be crucial to the development of enabling technologies for efficient Java runtime system development on a wide range of platforms (from resource-rich servers to resource-constrained hand-held/embedded systems). Towards this goal, this paper examines architectural issues, from both the hardware and JVM implementation perspectives. It specifically explores the potential of a smart JIT compiler strategy that can dynamically interpret or compile based on associated costs, investigates the CPU and cache architectural support that would benefit JVM implementations, and examines the synchronization support for enhancing performance, using applications from the SpecJVM98 benchmarks.
Job Scheduling for Multi-User MapReduce Clusters

Sharing a MapReduce cluster between users is attractive because it enables statistical multiplexing (lowering costs) and allows users to share a common large data set. However, we find that traditional scheduling algorithms can perform very poorly in MapReduce due to two aspects of the MapReduce setting: the need for data locality (running computation where the data is) and the dependence between map and reduce tasks. We illustrate these problems through our experience designing a fair scheduler for MapReduce at Facebook, which runs a 600-node multiuser data warehouse on Hadoop. We developed two simple techniques, delay scheduling and copy-compute splitting, which improve throughput and response times by factors of 2 to 10. Although we focus on multi-user workloads, our techniques can also raise throughput in a single-user, FIFO workload by a factor of 2.
DINÂMICA DE INUNDAÇÃO EM ÁREAS ÚMIDAS COSTEIRAS: ZONA URBANA DE MACAPÁ E SANTANA, COSTA AMAZÔNICA, AMAPÁ

As areas umidas representam cerca de um terco da area do Estado do Amapa. cujos processos de inundacao ainda nao foram devidamente esclarecidos e podem causar situacoes de calamidade publica, durante o periodo de chuvas, em areas com adensamento populacional, gerando diversos riscos a populacao e danos socioeconomicos. Este trabalho apresenta o mapeamento das areas umidas nas areas urbanas, nas cidades de Macapa e Santana, com o intuito de reconhecer a dinâmica de inundacao e processos associados. As areas e suas respectivas bacias hidrograficas foram mapeadas, aplicando criterios geomorfologicos utilizando um modelo digital de elevacao superficial e um mosaico de imagens de sensores oticos de alta resolucao. Trabalhos de campo foram realizados para identificar a rede de drenagem e suas nascentes e medir as variacoes no nivel de agua, em tres pontos ao longo da bacia do Igarape Fortaleza, nos periodos de maximos (marco e maio) e minimos (setembro e novembro) niveis d´agua. As informacoes foram integradas em um Sistema de Informacao Geografica (SIG). Tres conjuntos de areas umidas foram reconhecidas: os diques marginais, recobertos pelas florestas de varzeas; a planicie de inundacao com as areas de pântanos, denominados localmente de "ressacas”; e um conjunto de canais de mares que bordejam a margem do rio Amazonas. Na planicie de inundacao, quinze sistemas de pântanos (“ressacas”) foram mapeados. Os resultados podem contribuir para implementacao de politicas para monitoramento e mitigacao dos riscos a inundacao em bacias hidrograficas costeiras, os quais se agravarao com o quadro de mudancas climaticas previsto para o futuro proximo
An Efficient PDP Scheme for Distributed Cloud Storage

: Cloud computing is the use of Internet for the tasks performed on the local computer, with the hardware and software demands maintained elsewhere. It represents a different way to architect and remotely manage various computing resources. Cloud is widely used everywhere owing to its convenience, be it in simple data analytic program or composite web or mobile applications. Cloud computing is being driven by many which includes Amazon, Google and Yahoo as well as traditional vendors including IBM, Microsoft and Intel. The data should be available in the cloud for it to be accessed by many users. There are four main types of cloud storage-Multi Cloud Storage or distributed cloud storage, Public Cloud Storage, Private Cloud Storage, Mobile Cloud Storage. Distributed cloud is a combination of public and private cloud storage where some critical data resides in the enterprise's private cloud while other data is stored and accessible from a public cloud storage provider. Provable data possession (PDP) is a technique for ensuring the integrity of data stored in storage outsourcing. In this paper, we propose a method called cooperative PDP (CPDP) scheme based on homomorphic verifiable response and hash index hierarchy.
Managing Change in Large-Scale Data Sharing Systems

The problem of sharing data across multiple sources has received considerable attention in recent years because of its relevance to enterprise data management, scientific data management, and information integration on the WWW. However, the management of updates in such systems has received very little attention. In a data sharing system, the set of sources and clients is not fixed, and therefore the sources publishing the updates do not necessarily know exactly who will consume them. Consequently, the system needs to support a variety of update propagation strategies. In this paper, our approach is based on identifying two kinds of objects of interest, which are treated as first-class citizens in the system: updategrams, which are descriptions of updates over base relations, and boosters, which complement updategrams to speed up the processing of join views. We derive a complete set of rules governing the production, combination, and reconciliation of updategrams and boosters over differing time intervals. Our rules cover both GAV and LAV style mediation, as well as views involving certain forms of aggregation. We show how to use our rules to produce efficient query execution plans by extending the System-R style query optimizer, and present experiments that evaluate several heuristics for pruning the search space of plans that use updategrams and views for query evaluation.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TYPES OF SELF-EFFICACY AND ANGER: THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF SOCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING

he aim of the present study was to examine the mediating role of social problem solving in the relationship between types of self-efficacy and anger.Three hundred and ninety studentsn (228 females,162 males) were selected using multistage cluster sampling method from Shiraz University. The participants completed the Social Problem-Solving Inventory. (D’Zurill et al., 2002), the State and Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spilberger, 1999), the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (Kirk et al., 2008), the Creative Self-Efficacy Scale (Karwowski, 2010), and the Perceived Social Self-Efficacy Scale (Smith & Betz, 2000). The results of path analysis indicated that all types of self-efficacy were significant predictors of constructive problem solving but only the creative self-efficacy significantly predicted non-constructive problem solving. Dimensions of social problem Solving were significant predictors of anger as well. Moreover, the mediating role of social problem solving in the relationship between types of self-efficacy and anger was confirmed. The fit indices indicated that the model had good fit indices.
Double and Single Yolked Duck Eggs: Their Contents and Dimensions Compared and the Mechanical Stimulation Hypothesis for Albumen Secretion Is Supported

The external dimensions, weight and contents (yolk, albumen, shell) of Double Yolked (DY) and Single Yolked (SY) eggs of the duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) were measured and compared. The yolks in DY eggs did not differ in weight (p = 0.144), although each double yolk was significantly lighter than the yolk of a SY egg (p<0.001). DY albumen weight was below that expected of a SY egg of comparable weight. However, DY eggs had 24.5% more albumen on the basis of SY yolk weight. In DY eggs, the yolk closer to the airspace (Yolk 1) was heavier in 62.5% of the eggs and heavier yolks are regarded as the first in the ovulation sequence. Thus, DY eggs were divided into two groups based on yolk weight. In Group A, Yolk 1 was heavier. In Group B, Yolk 2 was heavier. Significantly more albumen was found in Group B (Group A: 51.37% vs. Group B: 53.29% albumen; p = 0.031). This supports the mechanical stimulation hypothesis, with the larger Yolk 2 stimulating the secretion of additional albumen by the magnum wall. It is suggested that work with DY eggs could provide a useful non-invasive tool to examine the mechanisms underlying albumen secretion.
Securing the Neurocity

The most highly developed cities are on the brink of an enormous and potentially fundamental transformation. Described as 'pervasive' or 'ubiquitous computing', 'ubiquitous media', or 'ambient intelligence', the 'combining of virtual and material worlds', or the emergence of an 'Internet of things', this transformation provides a basic neural infrastructure for the city in addition to the physical infrastructures of transport, sewerage, electricity and so on, with which we are familiar (Graham and Murakami Wood, 2006). Urban designer, Dana Cuff argues that these systems: 'challenge some of our fundamental ideas about the subjectivity, visibility, space, and the distinction between public and private. [and] reformulate our conception of the civic realm' (43). The Neurocity is coming.
"Will a Black Hole Eventually Swallow the Earth?" Fifth Graders' Interest in Questions from a Textbook, an Open Educational Resource, and Other Students' Questions.

Can questions sent to Open-Educational-Resource (OER) websites such as Ask-An-Expert serve as indicators for students’ interest in science? This issue was examined using an online questionnaire which included an equal number of questions about the topics “space” and “nutrition” randomly selected from three different sources: a 5th-grade science textbook, the “Ask-An-Expert” website, and questions collected from other students in the same age group. A sample of 113 5thgraders from two elementary schools were asked to rate their interest level in finding out the answer to these questions without knowledge of their source. Significant differences in students’ interest level were found between questions: textbook questions were ranked lowest for both subjects, and questions from the open-resource were ranked high. This finding suggests that questions sent to an open-resource could be used as an indicator of students’ interest in science. In addition, the high correlation of interests expressed by students from the two schools may point to a potential generalization of the findings. This study contributes by highlighting OER as a new and promising indicator of student interest, which may help bring “student voices” into mainstream science teaching to increase student interest in science.
Viral Findings in Adult Hematological Patients with Neutropenia

Background Until recently, viral infections in patients with hematological malignancies were concerns primarily in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. During the last years, changed treatment regimens for non-transplanted patients with hematological malignancies have had potential to increase the incidence of viral infections in this group. In this study, we have prospectively investigated the prevalence of a broad range of respiratory viruses in nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) as well as viruses that commonly reactivate after allogeneic HSCT. Methodology/Principal Findings Patients with hematological malignancies and therapy induced neutropenia (n = 159) were screened regarding a broad range of common respiratory viruses in the nasopharynx and for viruses commonly detected in severely immunosuppressed patients in peripheral blood. Quantitative PCR was used for detection of viruses. A viral pathogen was detected in 35% of the patients. The detection rate was rather similar in blood (22%) and NPA (18%) with polyoma BK virus and rhinovirus as dominating pathogens in blood and NPA, respectively. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (p<0.01) and patients with fever (p<0.001) were overrepresented in the virus-positive group. Furthermore, viral findings in NPA were associated with upper respiratory symptoms (URTS) (p<0.0001). Conclusions/Significance Both respiratory viral infections and low titers of viruses in blood from patients with neutropenia were common. Patients with CLL and patients with fever were independently associated to these infections, and viral findings in NPA were associated to URTS indicating active infection. These findings motivate further studies on viruses' impact on this patient category and their potential role as causative agents of fever during neutropenia.
Edge-Based Multi-Touch Graph Exploration Techniques

Node-links diagrams are a very common way to visualize datasets of different graphs like friendships in social communities, flight maps or communication networks. In these datasets nodes are often connected by a huge number of edegs, which leads to edge crossings and edge congested areas, occluding nodes and further information underlying the diagram. To allow exploring the graph despite those problems, several graph interaction techniques approaches have been developed. This thesis explains the adaption of such techniques for the use on a multi-touch tables. Additionally I propose a new technique, developed using the new possibilities provided by touch devices. All proposed techniques are designed for simultaneous use in one application. A gesture set is suggested, allowing concurrent interaction on all techniques without changing modes. The implementation of an example application regrading different challenges in edge drawing and the new field of gesture interaction is described. Significance and limitation of the system are named and some outlines for future work into this research field are given. Zusammenfaßung Netzwerk Diagramme bilden die Grundlager für die Darstellung von Graphen und können Bekanntschaften in sozialen Gruppen, Karten von Flugrouten oder verschiedene Kommunikationsnetzwerke darstellen. Knoten in diesen Diagrammen haben oft eine hohe Anzahl an Verbindungen untereinander. Dies führt zu Anhäufung und zunehmender überschneidung von Kanten. Die Kanten überdecken dabei Knoten und weitere unter der Visualisierung liegende Informationen. Um trotzdem eine Analyse dieser Daten zu ermöglichen wurden verschiedene Interaktion-Techniken entwickelt. Diese Studienarbeit beschreibt die Adaption dieser Techniken für die Nutzung an Multi-Touch Tischen. Zusätzlich wurde eine weitere Interaktions-Technik, unter Berücksichtigung der neuen Möglichkeiten der neuen Eingabemedien, entwickelt. Alle gezeigten Techniken können gleichzeitige und ohne Wechsel in verschiedene Modi in einer Applikation genutzt werden. Die Implementierung einer Beispiel Anwendung wird beschrieben und Problemstellungen im Bereich Kantendarstellung und dem neuen Forschungsfeld der Gesten-Interaktion werden erklärt. Bedeutung und Einschränkungen des Systems werden zusammenfaßend genannt und Richtungen für eine weitere Entwicklung in der Forschung angedeutet.
Broadband Transmission Loss Using the Overlap of Resonances in 3D Sonic Crystals

The acoustic properties of a three-dimensional sonic crystal made of square-rod rigid scatterers incorporating a periodic arrangement of quarter wavelength resonators are theoretically and experimentally reported in this work. The periodicity of the system produces Bragg band gaps that can be tuned in frequency by modifying the orientation of the square-rod scatterers with respect to the incident wave. In addition, the quarter wavelength resonators introduce resonant band gaps that can be tuned by coupling the neighbor resonators. Bragg and resonant band gaps can overlap allowing the wave propagation control inside the periodic resonant medium. In particular, we show theoretically and experimentally that this system can produce a broad frequency band gap exceeding two and a half octaves (from 590 Hz to 3220 Hz) with transmission lower than 3%. Finite element methods were used to calculate the dispersion relation of the locally resonant system. The visco-thermal losses were accounted for in the quarter wavelength resonators to simulate the wave propagation in the semi-infinite structures and to compare the numerical results with the experiments performed in an echo-free chamber. The simulations and the experimental results are in good agreement. This work motivates interesting applications of this system as acoustic audible filters.
Auranofin Suppresses Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-2 Expression through Annexin A5 Induction in Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Auranofin has been developed as antirheumatic drugs, which is currently under clinical development for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Previous report showed that auranofin induced apoptosis by enhancement of annexin A5 expression in PC-3 cells. To understand the role of annexin A5 in auranofin-mediated apoptosis, we performed microarray data analysis to study annexin A5-controlled gene expression in annexin A5 knockdown PC-3 cells. Of differentially expressed genes, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-2 was increased by annexin A5 siRNA confirmed by qRT-PCR and western blot. Treatment with auranofin decreased PAI-2 and increased annexin A5 expression as well as promoting apoptosis. Furthermore, auranofin-induced apoptosis was recovered by annexin A5 siRNA but it was promoted by PAI-2 siRNA. Interestingly, knockdown of annexin A5 rescued PAI-2 expression suppressed by auranofin. Taken together, our study suggests that induction of annexin A5 by auranofin may enhance apoptosis through suppression of PAI-2 expression in PC-3 cells.
Towards subspace clustering on dynamic data: an incremental version of PreDeCon

Todays data are high dimensional and dynamic, thus clustering over such kind of data is rather complicated. To deal with the high dimensionality problem, the subspace clustering research area has lately emerged that aims at finding clusters in subspaces of the original feature space. So far, the subspace clustering methods are mainly static and thus, cannot address the dynamic nature of modern data. In this paper, we propose an incremental version of the density based projected clustering algorithm PreDeCon, called incPreDeCon. The proposed algorithm efficiently updates only those subspace clusters that might be affected due to the population update.
Information retrieval through the fusion of multi-sensors data over multi-resolutions

Every sensor is designed to meet a specific objective. To meet the different objectives varieties of sensors are designed. Sometimes the derived information from these specific sensors individually is not enough to meet the objective of current application. There is a need to improve the accuracy of the information with confidence over period of time. In such circumstances, fusion of two or more sensors' data improves the accuracy and confidence in information extraction. In this paper, we propose novel fusion approaches developed by exploring the benefits of the spatial, spectral, temporal and radiometric resolutions of space borne sensors, and multi-modalities of bio sensors. Spatial-spectral fusion method is developed by using Fast Discrete Curvelet Transforms (FDCT). It improves the spatial resolution of a coarser multispectral image. Spatial-radiometric fusion method is developed by using Wavelet Transforms. It improves the radiometric resolution of the high spatial multispectral image. Spatial-temporal fusion method is developed through temporal high pass modulation. It improves the temporal resolution of the high spatial multispectral image. In medical imaging modalities, MRI has an advantage of high spatial resolution compared to the CT, PET, and SPECT imaging modalities. But each one of them has a specific advantage in diagnosing the disease. In this paper, we presented MRI-CT, MRI-PET and MRI-SPECT image fusion approaches by using Wavelet Transforms. Experimental results of MRI-CT image fusion demonstrated which can obtain the benefits of multi-modalities fusion in information retrieval. The tomographic sections of fused images are used for constructing 3D model to derive the complete information. Experimental results of these methods are discussed for the potential opportunities to improve accuracy and confidence in precise information retrieval.
Isobenzofuranone derivatives exhibit antileishmanial effect by inhibiting type II DNA topoisomerase and inducing host response

Leishmania, a protozoan parasite, causes a wide range of human diseases ranging from the localized self‐healing cutaneous lesions to fatal visceral leishmaniasis. Toxicity of traditional first line drugs and emergence of drug‐resistant strains have worsened the situation. DNA topoisomerase II in kinetoplastid protozoan parasites are of immense interest as drug target because they take part in replication of unusual kinetoplast DNA network. In this study, we have taken target‐based therapeutic approaches to combat leishmaniasis. Two isobenzofuranone compounds, viz., (1) 3,5‐bis(4‐chlorophenyl)‐7‐hydroxyisobenzofuran‐1(3H)‐one (JVPH3) and (2) (4‐bromo)‐3′‐hydroxy‐5′‐(4‐bromophenyl)‐benzophenone(JVPH4) were synthesized chemically and characterized by NMR and mass spectrometry analysis. Activity of type II DNA topoisomerase of leishmania (LdTOPII) was monitored by decatenation assay and plasmid cleavage assay. The antiparasitic activity of these compounds was checked in experimental BALB/c mice model of visceral leishmaniasis. Isobenzofuranone derivatives exhibited potent antileishmanial effect on both antimony (Sb) sensitive and resistant parasites. Treatment with isobenzofuranone derivatives on promastigotes caused induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐mediated apoptosis like cell death in leishmania. Both the compounds inhibited the decatenation activity of LdTOPII but have no effect on bi‐subunit topoisomerase IB. Treatment of LdTOPII with isobenzofuranone derivatives did not stabilize cleavage complex formation both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, treatment with isobenzofuranone derivatives on Leishmania donovani‐infected mice resulted in clearance of parasites in liver and spleen by induction of Th1 cytokines. Taken together, our data suggest that these compounds can be exploited as potential antileishmanial agents targeted to DNA topoisomerase II of the parasite.