Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multi-criteria item-based collaborative filtering framework

Collaborative filtering methods are utilized to provide personalized recommendations for users in order to alleviate information overload problem in different domains. Traditional collaborative filtering methods operate on a user-item matrix in which each user reveal her admiration about an item based on a single criterion. However, recent studies indicate that recommender systems depending on multi-criteria can improve accuracy level of referrals. Since multi-criteria rating-based collaborative filtering systems consider users in multi-aspects of items, they are more successful at forming correlation-based user neighborhoods. Although, proposed multi-criteria user-based collaborative filtering algorithms' accuracy results are very promising, they have online scalability issues. In this paper, we propose an item-based multi-criteria collaborative filtering framework. In order to determine appropriate neighbor selection method, we compare traditional correlation approaches with multi-dimensional distance metrics. Also, we investigate accuracy performance of statistical regression-based predictions. According to real data-based experiments, it is possible to produce more accurate recommendations by utilizing multi-criteria item-based collaborative filtering algorithm instead of a single criterion rating-based algorithm.
Chloride Accumulation in Mammalian Olfactory Sensory Neurons

The generation of an excitatory receptor current in mammalian olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) involves the sequential activation of two distinct types of ion channels: cAMP-gated Ca2+-permeable cation channels and Ca2+-gated Cl- channels, which conduct a depolarizing Cl- efflux. This unusual transduction mechanism requires an outward-directed driving force for Cl-, established by active accumulation of Cl- within the lumen of the sensory cilia. We used two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of the Cl--sensitive dye 6-methoxy-quinolyl acetoethyl ester to measure the intracellular Cl- concentration in dendritic knobs of OSNs from mice and rats. We found a uniform intracellular Cl- concentration in the range of 40-50 mm, which is indicative of active Cl- accumulation. Functional assays and PCR experiments revealed that NKCC1-mediated Cl- uptake through the apical membrane counteracts Cl- depletion in the sensory cilia, and thus maintains the responsiveness of OSNs to odor stimulation. To permit Cl- accumulation, OSNs avoid the “chloride switch”: they do not express KCC2, the main Cl- extrusion cotransporter operating in neurons of the adult CNS. Cl- accumulation provides OSNs with the driving force for the depolarizing Cl- current that is the basis of the low-noise receptor current in these neurons.
A New Active Sinusoidal Noise Control System

This paper proposes a new method to reduce sinusoidal noise components whose frequencies are known. This new method bases the adjustment on the filtered-x algorithm, therefore requires correctly modeling a replica on the secondary path. However, the secondary path is continuously changing. The new method hence updates the replica at a specific interval by using the simultaneous equation technique that does not require feeding extra noise to the loudspeaker for the update. By slightly loosening the adjustment, the new method can compose the solvable simultaneous equations on the secondary path. The solutions give the gain and the phase rotation of the secondary path. This paper finally presents a simulation result to examine the performance of the new method. INTRODUCTION Active noise control system reduces primary noise by radiating secondary noise from a loudspeaker. In this system, the filtered-x algorithm is widely used as a means to adjust the amplitude and phase of the secondary noise. A problem is that the filtered-x algorithm requires correctly modeling a replica on the secondary path. In practical system, the secondary path is continuously changing. This paper proposes a new method to be able to reduce sinusoidal noise components under the changing. The new method updates the replica at a specific interval by using the simultaneous equation technique [1, 2] that does not require feeding extra noise to the loudspeaker for the update. This paper finally examines the performance of the new method with computer simulation. Figure 1 is a configuration of active sinusoidal noise control systems using the filtered-x LMS (least mean squares) algorithm. In this system, the primary sinu-soidal noise) (j f is reduced to) (j e , by the secondary sinusoidal noise) (j F radiated from the loudspeaker. This paper here assumes that the primary noise is expressed as ∑ = − = K k k k k jT j f 1) cos() (φ ω α ∑ ∑ = = + = K k k k K k k k jT b jT a 1 1) sin() cos(ω ω , (1) where T is the sampling period, and the radian frequency k ω is known, while the magnitude k α and the phase k k k k a φ α cos = and k k k b φ α sin = , are unknown. The filtered-x LMS algorithm updates the gains, k a ˆ and k b ˆ , so as to …
Wearable ECG recognition and monitor

ECG (electrocardiogram) recognition and monitor are inevitable to trace and determine heart diseases. As self-health being focused on and social medical grade being progressed, ECG monitors with features such as portable/wearable, wireless, use-friendly, low-cost and convenient at home, are more and more necessary. Unfortunately, such kind of equipments couldn't be got currently. Thus, wearable ECG recognition and monitor instrument is developed. Palm, mobile phone and PC could be acting as display and relay terminals, where ECG signals would be transmitted to service center (e.g. hospital) through GSM/GPRS/CDMA and Internet. After introducing system architecture, the paper describes software design, direct ECG recognition method with morphology parameters based on specialists' experiences. The first generation product includes wearable monitor and palm is ready now, which has huge market.
Connection of off-shore wind farms using a diode based HVDC link with reduced filter banks

This paper shows that it is possible to substantially reduce the rectifier capacitor and filter banks when using diode based HVDC link for the connection of large off-shore wind farms. The considered wind turbines are based on full power power converters. The paper includes a control strategy that allows the wind turbine front-end converters to control the offshore ac-grid voltage and frequency and, at the same time, absorb a substantial amount of the harmonic currents produced by the LC-HVDC rectifier. The proposed control strategy for filter reduction is validated by means of PSCAD simulation, highlighting adequate active, reactive and harmonic current sharing between the wind turbines. Impact on overall efficiency is is also analysed and discussed.
School-research partnerships: a model for health promotion intervention programs in school settings

The intervention literature frequently suggests that effective research in health promotion programs is more likely to occur when researchers are cognizant of and responsive to the nature and needs of the host environment. This paper initially outlines the policies, responsibilities, needs and resources of the Victorian school system in the area of affective education. The Bright Ideas program (Brandon & Cunningham, 1999a, 1999b), a program that is embedded within the framework of rational emotive education and teaches optimistic thinking skills, was developed and implemented for students in 5and 6grade in Victorian primary schools in response to identified school needs. The expectation that school-based personnel take a more proactive role in the emotional education of all students, together with issues of cost effectiveness, resulted in a model in which classroom teachers and school psychologists jointly implemented the program. The findings from various studies that support the efficacy of the program and its method of implementation in increasing the coping resources of young people are then reported. Results support the feasibility of implementing school based low-cost programs that address the emotional health of young people when the program intervention goals are congruent with the goals of system.
The new model of parallel genetic algorithm in multi-objective optimization problems - divided range multi-objective genetic algorithm

Proposes a divided-range multi-objective genetic algorithm (DRMOGA), which is a model for the parallel processing of genetic algorithms (GAs) for multi-objective problems. In the DRMOGA, the population of GAs is sorted with respect to the values of the objective function and divided into sub-populations. In each sub-population, a simple GA for multi-objective problems is performed. After some generations, all the individuals are gathered and they are sorted again. In this model, the Pareto-optimal solutions which are close to each other are collected into one sub-population. Therefore, this algorithm increases the calculation efficiency and a neighborhood search can be performed. Through numerical examples, the following facts become clear: (i) the DRMOGA is a very suitable GA model for parallel processing, and (ii) in some cases it can derive better solutions compared to both the single-population model and the distributed model.
Gene-Environment Interaction Research and Transgenic Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease

The etiology of the sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains largely unknown. Recent evidence has suggested that gene-environment interactions (GxE) may play a crucial role in its development and progression. Whereas various susceptibility loci have been identified, like the apolipoprotein E4 allele, these cannot fully explain the increasing prevalence of AD observed with aging. In addition to such genetic risk factors, various environmental factors have been proposed to alter the risk of developing AD as well as to affect the rate of cognitive decline in AD patients. Nevertheless, aside from the independent effects of genetic and environmental risk factors, their synergistic participation in increasing the risk of developing AD has been sparsely investigated, even though evidence points towards such a direction. Advances in the genetic manipulation of mice, modeling various aspects of the AD pathology, have provided an excellent tool to dissect the effects of genes, environment, and their interactions. In this paper we present several environmental factors implicated in the etiology of AD that have been tested in transgenic animal models of the disease. The focus lies on the concept of GxE and its importance in a multifactorial disease like AD. Additionally, possible mediating mechanisms and future challenges are discussed.
Preferred orientations and anisotropy in shales: Callovo-Oxfordian shale (France) and Opalinus Clay (Switzerland)

Anisotropy in clay-rich sedimentary rocks is receiving increasing attention. Seismic anisotropy is essential in the prospecting for petroleum deposits. Anisotropy of diffusion has become relevant for environmental contaminants, including nuclear waste. In both cases, the orientation of component minerals is a critical ingredient and, largely because of small grain size and poor crystallinity, the orientation distribution of clay minerals has been difficult to quantify. A method is demonstrated that relies on hard synchrotron X-rays to obtain diffraction images of shales and applies the crystallographic Rietveld method to deconvolute the images and extract quantitative information about phase fractions and preferred orientation that can then be used to model macroscopic physical properties. The method is applied to shales from European studies which investigate the suitability of shales as potential nuclear waste repositories (Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory near Bure, France, and Benken borehole and Mont Terri Rock Laboratory, Switzerland). A Callovo-Oxfordian shale from Meuse/Haute-Marne shows a relatively weak alignment of clay minerals and a random distribution for calcite. Opalinus shales from Benken and Mont Terri show strong alignment of illite-smectite, kaolinite, chlorite, and calcite. This intrinsic contribution to anisotropy is consistent with macroscopic physical properties where anisotropy is caused both by the orientation distribution of crystallites and high-aspect-ratio pores. Polycrystal elastic properties are obtained by averaging single crystal properties over the orientation distribution and polyphase properties by averaging over all phases. From elastic properties we obtain anisotropies for p waves ranging from 7 to 22%.
Informal Labour and Credit Markets: A Survey

This paper reviews the literature on the informal economy, focusing first on empirical findings and then on existing approaches to modeling informality within both partial and general equilibrium environments. We concentrate on labour and credit markets, since these tend to be most affected by informality. The phenomenon is particularly important in emerging and other developing economies, given their high degrees of informal labour and financial services and the implications these have for the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy. We emphasize the need for dynamic general equilibrium (DGE) and ultimately dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models for a full understanding of the costs, benefits and policy implications of informality. The survey shows that the literature on informality is quite patchy, and that there are several unexplored areas left for research.
Clinico-hemato-biochemical profile of dogs with liver cirrhosis

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relevant tools in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in dogs. Material and Methods: A total of 140 dogs presented at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, showing clinical signs of hepatic insufficiency were subjected to clinico-hemato biochemical, urological, ultrasonographic (USG), and USG guided fine-needle biopsy examinations by standard methods. On the basis of these results, 6 dogs out of 140 dogs were found to be suffering from liver cirrhosis. Six clinically healthy dogs constituted the control group. Results: The dogs suffering from liver cirrhosis manifested inappetence, halitosis, abdominal distension, weight loss, melena, icterus, anemia, and neutrophilic leukocytosis with the left shift. Levels of hemoglobin, lymphocytes, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), and platelet count were significantly lower in liver cirrhosis group than control group while total leukocyte count, neutrophils, and MCH concentration were significantly higher. Glucose, total protein, albumin, A/G ratio, and fibrinogen were significantly lower, and creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, prothrombin time, and APTT were significantly higher than the control values. Ultrasound revealed diffuse increase in echogenicity with rounded and irregular liver margins. Cytological examination of the ascitic fluid and fine-needle aspiration biopsy of liver was not fruitful in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Conclusions: Liver cirrhosis causes clinical and hemo-biochemical alterations, which require special consideration when treating diseased animals. USG, diffuse increase in echogenicity of liver, rounding and irregularity of liver margins and microhepatica were the consistent findings. It is suggested that USG along with hemo-biochemical alterations may be used as a diagnostic tool for liver cirrhosis in dogs.
Confusion modelling for automated lip-reading usingweighted finite-state transducers

Automated lip-reading involves recognising speech from only the visual signal. The accuracy of current state-ofthe-art lip-reading systems is significantly lower than that obtained by acoustic speech recognisers. These poor results are most likely due to the lack of information about speech production that is available in the visual signal: for example, it is impossible to discriminate voiced and unvoiced sounds, or many places of articulation, from visual signals. Our approach to this problem is to regard the visual speech signal as having been produced by a speaker who has a reduced phonemic repertoire and to attempt to compensate for this. In this respect, visual speech is similar to dysarthric speech, which is produced by a speaker who has poor control over their articulators, leading them to speak with a reduced and distorted set of phonemes. In previous work, we found that the use of weighted finite-state transducers improved recognition performance on dysarthric speech considerably. In this paper, we report the results of applying this technique to lip-reading. The technique works, but our initial results are not as good as those obtained by using a conventional approach, and we discuss why this might be so and what the prospects for future investigation are.
Approximating Euler products and class number computation in algebraic function fields

We provide a number of results that can be used to derive approximations for the Euler product representation of the zeta function of an arbitrary algebraic function field. Three such approximations are given here. Our results have two main applications. They lead to a computationally suitable algorithm for computing the class number of an arbitrary function field. The ideas underlying the class number algorithms in turn can be used to analyze the distribution of the zeros of its zeta function. 1. Background and Motivation The zeta function of an algebraic object incorporates a large amount of information about its associated object. For computational purposes, it is often necessary to compute a large but finite number of terms in the Euler product representation of the zeta function. This idea has been primarily used for regulator and class number computation of global fields, as well as in other applications. Analytic class number formulas are a powerful number theoretic tool, since they relate the class number of a global field to its zeta function. In the 1970’s and 80’s, a number of algorithms for computing the class number and, where applicable, the regulator, of an algebraic number field by way of truncated Euler products were proposed. Quadratic number fields were investigated by Shanks [47] and Lenstra [38], and cubic extensions by Williams et al. [4, 57, 17]. Hafner and McCurley’s seminal subexponential algorithm for imaginary quadratic fields [22] was subsequently generalized to arbitrary number fields by Buchmann et al. [9, 8] and has since undergone many improvements, especially in for quadratic number fields. Newer methods use Bach’s improved method for approximating Euler products [3]. In addition, the analytic class number and truncated Euler products have been employed in numerous other applications by Buchmann, Williams, and others; these applications include proving regulator and class number computation NP-complete [10], testing whether a real quadratic field has class number one [51], investigating bounds on the regulator of a real quadratic field [25], finding polynomials with high prime value density and testing the Hardy-Littlewood Conjecture F [39, 28], as well as numerically verifying the Cohen-Lenstra heuristics [53] and the Ankeny-ArtinChowla conjecture [54, 55]. The function field analog of the class number question is the problem of finding the divisor class number of an algebraic function field over a finite field, or Date: May 27, 2008. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 11R58, 11Y16. Secondary 11M38, 11R65.
Persistency of Prediction Accuracy and Genetic Gain in Synthetic Populations Under Recurrent Genomic Selection

Recurrent selection (RS) has been used in plant breeding to successively improve synthetic and other multiparental populations. Synthetics are generated from a limited number of parents (Np), but little is known about how Np affects genomic selection (GS) in RS, especially the persistency of prediction accuracy (rg,g^) and genetic gain. Synthetics were simulated by intermating Np= 2–32 parent lines from an ancestral population with short- or long-range linkage disequilibrium (LDA) and subjected to multiple cycles of GS. We determined rg,g^ and genetic gain across 30 cycles for different training set (TS) sizes, marker densities, and generations of recombination before model training. Contributions to rg,g^ and genetic gain from pedigree relationships, as well as from cosegregation and LDA between QTL and markers, were analyzed via four scenarios differing in (i) the relatedness between TS and selection candidates and (ii) whether selection was based on markers or pedigree records. Persistency of rg,g^ was high for small Np, where predominantly cosegregation contributed to rg,g^, but also for large Np, where LDA replaced cosegregation as the dominant information source. Together with increasing genetic variance, this compensation resulted in relatively constant long- and short-term genetic gain for increasing Np > 4, given long-range LDA in the ancestral population. Although our scenarios suggest that information from pedigree relationships contributed to rg,g^ for only very few generations in GS, we expect a longer contribution than in pedigree BLUP, because capturing Mendelian sampling by markers reduces selective pressure on pedigree relationships. Larger TS size (NTS) and higher marker density improved persistency of rg,g^ and hence genetic gain, but additional recombinations could not increase genetic gain.
Modeling service management for programmable architectures

The concept of Service Management was first described in the TMN (Telecommunications Management Network) framework. TMN was aimed at public networks that provided a small and well defined set of telecommunication services. However, this old architecture can not adequately deal with current demands brought on by the recent explosion of distributed multimedia applications and services. New telecom architectures, called Programmable Architectures, are necessary to facilitate a rapid and flexible provision of new services with QoS capabilities and pose new challenges to management that are only beginning to be addressed. This thesis presents a top-down approach to understanding service management in the context of programmable architectures. I propose a standard language to describe networks and services based on graphs; this allows us to define the control and management activities on them as graph construction and manipulation activities. This graph model helps in defining APIs for the management of multilayered networks as well as multimedia services. I establish a methodology to compare programmable architectures based on the graph model. Specifically I compare TINA and xbind as two important representatives of programmable architectures. TINA represents the direction in which telco operators are moving, beyond IN (Intelligent Networks), while xbind is an example of an open programmable network. I show that the precise definition of services as graphs leads to a foundation of comparative analysis between programmable architectures that guarantee QoS. Finally, I address the design and implementation of a multicast service in which to test the management model mentioned above. We tested the prototype on two platforms: an emulation testbed to address scalability issues, and a real testbed (xbind) to experiment with a real transport service. To speed up the prototyping process we designed and implemented a new software environment, TeleSoft, that facilitates the move of source code between platforms. The prototyping work proved the validity of the management model and that it may be generally applicable.