Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
R&D project selection using the analytic network process

The analytic network process (ANP) is presented as a potentially valuable method to support the selection of projects in a research and development (R&D) environment. This paper first discusses the requirements of the R&D project selection problem, which requires the allocation of resources to a set of competing and often disparate project proposals. Among the factors complicating this task is the need to make the decision within the framework of an enterprise's strategic objectives and organizational structure while considering and integrating financial and strategic benefits of each project. The paper discusses the use of the ANP, a general form of Saaty's analytic hierarchy process, as a model to evaluate the value of competing R&D project proposals. A generic ANP model developed by the authors, which includes in its decision levels the actors involved in the decision, the stages of research, categories of metrics, and individual metrics, is presented. The paper concludes with a case study describing the implementation of this model at a small high-tech company, including data based on the actual use of the decision making model.
High-Pass Filter Characteristics of the Baroreflex – A Comparison of Frequency Domain and Pharmacological Methods

Pharmacological methods to assess baroreflex sensitivity evoke supra-physiological blood pressure changes whereas computational methods use spontaneous fluctuations of blood pressure. The relationships among the different baroreflex assessment methods are still not fully understood. Although strong advocates for each technique exist, the differences between these methods need further clarification. Understanding the differences between pharmacological and spontaneous baroreflex methods could provide important insight into the baroreflex physiology. We compared the modified Oxford baroreflex gain and the transfer function modulus between spontaneous RR interval and blood pressure fluctuations in 18 healthy subjects (age: 39±10 yrs., BMI: 26±4.9). The transfer function was calculated over the low-frequency range of the RR interval and systolic blood pressure oscillations during random-frequency paced breathing. The average modified Oxford baroreflex gain was lower than the average transfer function modulus (15.7±9.2 ms/mmHg vs. 19.4±10.5 ms/mmHg, P<0.05). The difference between the two baroreflex measures within the individual subjects comprised a systematic difference (relative mean difference: 20.7%) and a random variance (typical error: 3.9 ms/mmHg). The transfer function modulus gradually increased with the frequency within the low-frequency range (LF), on average from 10.4±7.3 ms/mmHg to 21.2±9.8 ms/mmHg across subjects. Narrowing the zone of interest within the LF band produced a decrease in both the systematic difference (relative mean difference: 0.5%) and the random variance (typical error: 2.1 ms/mmHg) between the modified Oxford gain and the transfer function modulus. Our data suggest that the frequency dependent increase in low-frequency transfer function modulus between RR interval and blood pressure fluctuations contributes to both the systematic difference (bias) and the random variance (error) between the pharmacological and transfer function baroreflex measures. This finding suggests that both methodological and physiological factors underlie the observed disagreement between the pharmacological and the transfer function method. Thus both baroreflex measures contribute complementary information and can be considered valid methods for baroreflex sensitivity assessment.
Knowledge Discovery in the Virtual Social Network Due to Common Knowledge of Proverbs

Historically, the oral culture was divulged inside the society mainly by the direct oral contact between the members of a society. But in the modern time of globalization the written culture and the mass media seem to be the dominant factor in the public discourse. Therefore, it would be interesting to know if the transmission of proverbs nowadays is still based on the local social embedding or if it is substituted by the virtual contact of the mass media. Due to the cultural space related to the Archipelago of the Azores, formed by 9 physical islands and some virtual islands of emigration, located especially on the American continent, we analysed a huge amount of data about the recognition of proverbs. Even in selecting the best known proverbs, we find several groups distinctive by the specific composition of their individual lexicon. With the exception of groups of extreme high performance, almost all other groups are dominated by a specific geographic location. This distribution is high evidence that the face to face transmission maintains its structural role while it is the only vehicle which depends totally on local physical contact between both communicative actors. Because of the specific geography of the Azores, there is reasonable doubt to generalize these results to mobile societies on an extended continental space. But we should take in account that, on one hand, the specific migration pattern between the island and the huge waves of emigration show the high mobility inside the Azorean society. And that, on the other hand, the existing local characteristics such as the massive influence of the mass media, like television and newspapers, is a cultural homogenizer. We believe that this case study could contribute to reflect on the impact of study bases exclusively on material divulged by the mass media.
Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in 1998: updated recommendations of the International AIDS Society-USA Panel.

OBJECTIVE To provide recommendations for antiretroviral therapy based on information available in mid-1998. PARTICIPANTS An international panel of physicians with expertise in antiretroviral research and care of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, first convened by the International AIDS Society-USA in December 1995. EVIDENCE The panel reviewed available clinical and basic science study results (including phase 3 controlled trials; clinical, virologic, and immunologic end point data; data presented at research conferences; and studies of HIV pathophysiology); opinions of panel members were also considered. Recommendations were limited to drugs available in mid-1998. CONSENSUS PROCESS Panel members monitor new clinical research reports and interim results. The full panel meets regularly to discuss how the new information may change treatment recommendations. Updated recommendations are developed through consensus of the entire panel at each stage of development. CONCLUSIONS Accumulating data from clinical and pathogenesis studies continue to support early institution of potent antiretroviral therapy in patients with HIV infection. A variety of combination regimens show potency, expanding choices for initial regimens for individual patients. Plasma HIV RNA assays with increased sensitivity are important in monitoring therapeutic response; however, more data are needed to determine precisely the HIV RNA levels that define treatment failure. Long-term adverse drug effects are beginning to emerge, requiring ongoing attention. Some issues regarding optimal long-term approaches to antiretroviral management are unresolved. The increased complexity in HIV management requires ongoing monitoring of new data for optimal treatment of HIV infection.
Software approach to hazard detection using on-line analysis of safety constraints

Hazard situations in safety-critical systems are typically complex, so there is a need for means to detect complex hazards and react in a timely and meaningful way. This paper addresses the problem of hazard detection through the development of an online analysis tool. The approach allows the user to specify complex multi-source hazards using a query-like language, uses both synchronous and asynchronous online checking approaches to balance efficiency and expressiveness, accommodates dynamic applications through dynamic constraint addition, and supports distributed and parallel applications running in heterogeneous environments.
SUMOylation of the MAGUK protein CASK regulates dendritic spinogenesis

Membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) proteins interact with several synaptogenesis-triggering adhesion molecules. However, direct evidence for the involvement of MAGUK proteins in synapse formation is lacking. In this study, we investigate the function of calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK), a MAGUK protein, in dendritic spine formation by RNA interference. Knockdown of CASK in cultured hippocampal neurons reduces spine density and shrinks dendritic spines. Our analysis of the time course of RNA interference and CASK overexpression experiments further suggests that CASK stabilizes or maintains spine morphology. Experiments using only the CASK PDZ domain or a mutant lacking the protein 4.1–binding site indicate an involvement of CASK in linking transmembrane adhesion molecules and the actin cytoskeleton. We also find that CASK is SUMOylated. Conjugation of small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 (SUMO1) to CASK reduces the interaction between CASK and protein 4.1. Overexpression of a CASK–SUMO1 fusion construct, which mimicks CASK SUMOylation, impairs spine formation. Our study suggests that CASK contributes to spinogenesis and that this is controlled by SUMOylation.
Speech/noise separation using two microphones and a VQ model of speech signals

In this paper we address the problem of using two or more microphones to enhance speech corrupted by nonstationary noise, such as that of a competing speaker (cocktail party effect) at very low SNR, by means of linear filtering of two microphone signals. This work is a variant to the probabilistic Independent Component Analysis (ICA) method but using a more accurate probability distribution of the speech signal based on a mixture Autoregressive model. Comparison with other algorithms on published real recordings shows more separation than with previously existing ICA algorithms.
Small Broadband Antenna Composed of Dual-Meander Folded Loop and Disk-Loaded Monopole

A small broadband antenna composed of a dual-meander folded loop and a disk-loaded monopole is designed and measured. Measurement results confirm a fractional bandwidth of 10.8% with the voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) less than 2. The measured radiation efficiency exceeds 65% over the whole band. This antenna has an omnidirectional radiation pattern of vertical polarization in the horizontal plane. The ground plane size is also optimized to achieve the above radiation characteristics.
FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF MATRIX TABLETS FOR COLON SPECIFIC DELIVERY OF MEBENDAZOLE

In the present study, an attempt was made to prepare and evaluate natural polymers based matrix tablets of Pectin, Xanthan gum and guar gum & their combination for colon targeted delivery of Mebendazole. The matrix tablets were prepared by wet granulation method. The weight and drug contents of all tablets were found to be uniform with low SD values. The hardness & friability were within specified range. The DSC & FTIR study indicated that the drug is stable in the formulations. The in-vitro drug release study was performed using dissolution rate test apparatus in gastric and intestinal fluids. The uncoated tablets failed to retard the drug release in the environment of stomach and small intestine; hence they are not suitable for colon targeted delivery of drug as maximum amount of drug was released in the physiological environment of stomach and small intestine within 5 hours. Whereas, tablets coated with Eudragit RS100 released small amount of drug within 5 hours and maximum amount of drug was targeted to colonic region. Therefore Eudragit RS100 was found very effective in targeting drug to colon. The M2 tablet which showed satisfactory release in-vitro was tested for its integrity and transit in-vivo in rabbits. The results of in vivo roentgenography showed that the prepared tablet was intact up to 11 hours and transit was clearly seen. Drug release mechanism followed non-Fickian transport.
Studies of marine planktonic diatoms. I. Cyclotella nana Hustedt, and Detonula confervacea (cleve) Gran.

Bacteria-free clones of the small centric diatom Cyclotella nana Hustedt were isolated, three from estuarine localities, one from Continental Shelf waters, and one from the Sargasso Sea. Detonula confervacea was isolated from Narragansett Bay. Morphology of all clones was studied with the light and electron microscopes. Morphological differences between clones of C. nana do not at present warrant separating any as distinct species.Clones of C. nana require only vitamin B12; D. confervacea has no vitamin requirement.Growth of the estuarine clones of C. nana was unaffected by salinity down to 0.5‰ and increased with temperature to 25 °C. The Shelf clone grew more rapidly at salinities above 8‰ and at temperatures between 10° and 20 °C. The Sargasso Sea clone did not survive below 15 °C or 17.5‰, while D. confervacea did not survive at temperatures above 15° or at salinities below 8‰. The physiological differences between clones correspond roughly to the conditions obtaining in nature where each was collected.
Routing bandwidth guaranteed paths with restoration in label switched networks

Label switched networks have become increasingly attractive to both network providers and customers. By creating aggregate, bandwidth-reserved flows, these networks offer routing flexibility, predictable bandwidth usage, and quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning. This flexibility in routing enables fault-persistent QoS reservations, where connectivity, and allotted bandwidth remains available, even if some links or network nodes fail. The automatic switch-over from a now-defunct path to a new, working path is known as restoration. Restoring bandwidth-guaranteed paths requires allocation of resources on backup paths that will be used in the event of faults. In this paper, we investigate distributed algorithms for routing with backup restoration. Specifically, we propose a new concept of backup load distribution matrix that captures partial network state, greatly reducing the amount of routing information maintained and transmitted while achieving efficient bandwidth usage. We present and simulate two new distributed routing algorithms, which provide significant improvements in rejection rates and provide substantial savings in bandwidth used and call setup time compared to existing algorithms.
On Assigning Implicit Reputation Scores in an Online Labor Marketplace

In online labor marketplaces employers post job openings and receive applications by workers interested in them. The employers decide which applicant to hire and then they work with the selected worker to accomplish the job requirements. At the end of the contract, an employer can provide his worker with some rating that becomes visible in the online worker profile and can guide future hiring decisions of other employers. In this paper, we discuss some of the shortcomings of the existing reputation system and we propose a new reputation mechanism that combines employer implicit feedback signals in a link-analysis-based approach. The new system addresses the shortcomings of the existing one while yielding similar or better signal for the worker quality.
Assessing the energy landscape of CAPRI targets by FunHunt

RosettaDock has repeatedly created high‐resolution structures of protein complexes in the CAPRI experiment, thanks to the explicit modeling of conformational changes of the monomers at the side chain level. These models can be selected based on their energy. During the search for the lowest‐energy model, RosettaDock samples a deep funnel around the native orientation, but additional funnels may appear in the energy landscape, especially in cases where backbone conformational changes occur upon binding. We have previously developed FunHunt, a Support Vector Machine‐based classifier that distinguishes the energy funnels around the native orientation from other funnels in the energy landscape. Here we assess the ability of FunHunt to help in model selection in the CAPRI experiment. For all of 12 recent CAPRI targets, FunHunt clearly identifies a near‐native funnel in comparison to the funnel around the lowest energy model identified by the RosettaDock global search protocol. FunHunt is also able to choose a near‐native orientation among models submitted by predictor groups, demonstrating its general applicability for model selection. This suggests that FunHunt will be a valuable tool in coming CAPRI rounds for the selection of models, and for the definition of regions that need further refinement with restricted backbone flexibility. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An extended Tanner graph approach to decoding LDPC codes over decode-and-forward relay channels

This paper reexamines the decoding problem for LDPC-coded relay channels applying the decode-and-forward protocol. The error-free decoding process at the relay is typically assumed by the conventional MRC based decoder at the destination. However, in practice, the unsuccessful decoding at the relay is unavoidable and the resultant error propagation may become a performance bottleneck. In this paper, we propose a new Tanner graph error representation to accurately characterize the relay decoding errors. Based on the proposed error representation, we derive a new message passing decoder which is implemented on an extended Tanner graph of the system. It is empirically verified that the new decoder can outperform existing decoders, and achieve promising performance improvement in the scenario of symmetric links. Moreover, the proposed error representation allows us to conduct density evolution to analyze the threshold performance of the new decoder for LDPC-coded relay channels.
Hybrid KM: Integrating Documents, Knowledge Bases, Databases, and the Web

Knowledge is a critical resource but we still do not have many new ideas on how to manage it. Most (online) knowledge is currently kept in conventional documents that are hard to structure, classify, browse, search, and even find. Organizations struggle with masses of such documents in hundreds of formats. Classical AI has largely ignored this real and serious problem, and while information retrieval research has tackled some of the problems, it is totally at odds with how AI tries to deal with knowledge problems. Cooperative work systems such as the Web and Lotus Notes are beginning to tackle that aspect. Database systems can contribute much of the required functionality. Hence we seek to integrate functionality and ideas from these sources. This paper describes an attack on the knowledge management problem by introducing a new hybrid notion of document cum knowledge base. We also discuss IKARUS, our experimental testbed.
THE VAPOR PRESSURE OF DOG'S BLOOD AT BODY TEMPERATURE

The vapor pressures of dog's blood and blood plasma were determined at 37.5° by the dynamic method and the osmotic pressures calculated from the experimental data. The vapor pressures calculated from experimentally determined freezing point data agreed, within the experimental error, with the values obtained from direct measurement. The vapor pressure lowering produced by the colloid constituents of the blood was also determined and found to be minimal compared to that of the other constituents.
A Basic Knowledge of Image Morphing

The term "morphing" is used to describe the combination of generalized image warping with a crossdissolve between image elements. The term is derived from "image metamorphosis". Morphing is an image processing technique typically used as an animation tool for the metamorphosis from one image to another. The idea is to specify a warp that distorts the first image into the second. Its inverse will distort the second image into the first.The morph process consists of warping two images so that they have the same "shape", and then cross dissolving the resulting images. Cross- dissolving is the major problem as how to warp an image. In this paper I have concentrated on one of the methodology of image morphing named “Mesh Warping”.
Walking the Walled City. Gender and the Dérive as Urban Ethnography

This paper focuses on the possibilities and limitations of the contemporary derive as a form of ethnography in contemporary Delhi. The derive, which originated as the Surrealist deambulation and subsequently became the Situationist derive in the late 1950s, has now been re-imagined by walking artists and practitioners. In seeking to locate the Situationist derive as an ethnographic practice within (Old) Delhi through Abdelhafid Khatib’s derive, this paper dwells on the experimental origins of the Situationist derive and its journey through contemporary pedestrian practices, and asks how walking as a gendered, autoethnographic practice of the city might help narrate and navigate Indian urban spaces.
A Toll-Like Receptor 2-Responsive Lipid Effector Pathway Protects Mammals against Skin Infections with Gram-Positive Bacteria

ABSTRACT flake (flk), an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced recessive germ line mutation of C57BL/6 mice, impairs the clearance of skin infections by Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, gram-positive pathogens that elicit innate immune responses by activating Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) (K. Takeda and S. Akira, Cell. Microbiol. 5:143-153, 2003). Positional cloning and sequencing revealed that flk is a novel allele of the stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase 1 gene (Scd1). flake homozygotes show reduced sebum production and are unable to synthesize the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) palmitoleate (C16:1) and oleate (C18:1), both of which are bactericidal against gram-positive (but not gram-negative) organisms in vitro. However, intradermal MUFA administration to S. aureus-infected mice partially rescues the flake phenotype, which indicates that an additional component of the sebum may be required to improve bacterial clearance. In normal mice, transcription of Scd1—a gene with numerous NF-κB elements in its promoter—is strongly and specifically induced by TLR2 signaling. Similarly, the SCD1 gene is induced by TLR2 signaling in a human sebocyte cell line. These observations reveal the existence of a regulated, lipid-based antimicrobial effector pathway in mammals and suggest new approaches to the treatment or prevention of infections with gram-positive bacteria.
Hi-Rise: A High-Radix Switch for 3D Integration with Single-Cycle Arbitration

This paper proposes a novel 3D switch, called 'Hi-Rise', that employs high-radix switches to efficiently route data across multiple stacked layers of dies. The proposed interconnect is hierarchical and composed of two switches per silicon layer and a set of dedicated layer to layer channels. However, a hierarchical 3D switch can lead to unfair arbitration across different layers. To address this, the paper proposes a unique class-based arbitration scheme that is fully integrated into the switching fabric, and is easy to implement. It makes the 3D hierarchical switch's fairness comparable to that of a flat 2D switch with least recently granted arbitration. The 3D switch is evaluated for different radices, number of stacked layers, and different 3D integration technologies. A 64-radix, 128-bit width, 4-layer Hi-Rise evaluated in a 32nm technology has a throughput of 10.65 Tbps for uniform random traffic. Compared to a 2D design this corresponds to a 15% improvement in throughput, a 33% area reduction, a 20% latency reduction, and a 38% energy per transaction reduction.