Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Consequences of Recent Changes in Financing for Australian Higher Education

The changes made to Australian higher education financing in the 1996-97 Budget are arguable the most significant since the abolition of tertiary fees in 1974. This paper examines the nature and extent of the changes in terms of what they mean for students enrolling for the first time in 1997 and beyond, and for current HECS debtors.
Optimal scheduling of a CHP system with energy storage

Microgrid concept has been proven to have a positive impact on the operation of the power system. Distributed generation and energy storage enable control of microgrid power flow which can be optimized for participation in the electricity markets. This paper presents an optimization model for economical scheduling of a microgrid using linear programming. Two microgrid models are taken into account. The microgrid proposed in the first model consists of thermal and electrical loads and a CHP unit. The second model consists of the units considered in the first model with addition of thermal and electrical storage. Optimization results for the two cases are compared to determine the impact of energy storage on an optimal scheduling. Operational costs are calculated for both cases and compared to the benchmark case where thermal energy is supplied from a gas fired boiler and all electricity is acquired from the grid. Additionally, the savings in several cases of energy storage size are compared.
Selectivity and Types of Cell Death in the Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs)

Cloning of the individual genes that are mutated in neuronal cerold lipofuscinoses (NCLs), or Batten disease, has opened up new avenues of research into the pathogenesis of these fatal autosomal recessive storage disorders. Genetically accurate mouse models have now been generated for each major form of disorder, together with several variant forms. Ongoing analysis of these mice is revealing significant new data about the staging and progression of disease phenotypes. Combined with data from human autopsy tissues and large animal models, it is now clear that neurodegeneration is initially selective In the NCL CNS, targeting specific regions and particular cell populations. There is also evidence of selective glial activation that appears to precede obvious neurodegeneration, becoming more widesparead with disease progression. Currently, there is debate over the mechanisms of cell deat that operate in each form of NCL, with evidence of both apoptosis and autophagy. It is likely that these mechanisms may encompass a spectrum of cell death events, depending upon the specific context of each neuronal population. Taken together, these data have significant clinical implication for the development and targeting of appropriate therapeutic strategies, and for providing the landmarks to judge their efficacy.
A 16-bit ultra-thin tri-axes capacitive microaccelerometer for mobile application

A 16-bit ultra-thin tri-axes capacitive microaccelerometer is presented, where tri-axes MEMS (microrlectromechanical systems) sensing elements, capacitive readout ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), and EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) are integrated to an ultra-thin LGA (land grid array) package. The input range and input-output non-linearity of x/y-axis channel is measured to be plusmn1.5 g and 0.35% FSO, respectively. The input range and input-output non-linearity of z-axis accelerometer channel are measured to be plusmn1.5 g and 0.19% FSO, respectively. The fabricated microaccelerometer system is suitable for many applications, including robots, game interfaces and mobile phone input interfaces.
Prediction of Student Academic Performance by an Application of K-Means Clustering Algorithm

Data Clustering is used to extract meaningful information and to develop significant relationships among variables stored in large data set/data warehouse. In this paper data clustering technique named k-means clustering is applied to analyze student's learning behavior. The student's evaluation factor like class quizzes, mid and final exam assignment are studied. It is recommended that all these correlated information should be conveyed to the class advisor before the conduction of final exam. This study will help the teachers to reduce the drop out ratio to a significant level and improve the performance of students.
Detection of continuous barking actions from search and rescue dogs' activities data

We have developed a method to visualize search and rescue (SAR) dogs' activities from sensor data recorded by the SAR dogs' sensor vests. This paper proposes two methods for detecting continuous barking actions of SAR dogs, which locate victims by smell and then bark continuously to tell handlers where victims are located. Continuous barking action is detected from audio information and a dog's body motions. This detection method is based on dynamic time warping (DTW), which has been used successfully to analyze human audio information. Cyclic body motion was observed during dogs' barking motions. This cyclic motion can be detected by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to the vest. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) is used to analyze a dog's barking motion. The proposed detection methods were evaluated using audio and IMU data recorded during actual SAR dog training sessions. The F-scores of the audio and motion-based barking detection methods were 0.95 and 0.90, respectively. As a trial, we marked victim locations on a map based on the body motion.
Nuovi fermenti di sviluppo sostenibile nel turismo: l'esempio dell' "albergo diffuso": tra borghi storici, residenze d'epoca e antichi casali rurali

In the last two decades the development of tourism has shown ambiguities and contradictions as of sustainable development and social responsibility concerns. The discussion, however, bring about a more general issue such as innovation. As of hotels, in fact, that is particularly relevant, as they do have a remarkable impact on the territory, under different points of view. New trends in consumers’ behavior and new organizational models for service firms are the evidence of an increasing attention to sustainable development. In Italy too some innovative tourist firms are paying great attention to the territory. Aim of this paper, then, is to analyze the so called “albergo diffuso” as a new and original model of hotel hospitality. The method of our analysis focuses the correlation between sustainable development and the co-evolutionary nature of the firm-environment relationship. As of this aspect, we emphasize the importance of systemic adaptation to the environment and corporate social responsibility as well as the time factor in its meaning of “time-knowledge” binomial. Aim of this study is to verify whether and how the model of “albergo diffuso” could be a good example of territory promotion in the perspective of sustainable development and
ADAPTIVE DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZATION FOR HEARING AIDS

Clinical trials of the adaptive dynamic range optimization (ADRO) amplifier show that it produces more comfortable sound, higher speech recognition in quiet at low input levels, higher speech recognition in background noise, and improved sound quality relative to conventional wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) hearing aids. Instead of attempting to compress a wide range of input sounds into a narrower range of hearing, ADRO uses statistical rules to select the most informative parts of the intensity range and presents it at a comfortable level for the listener. Typically, ADRO uses a higher number of narrow frequency channels and slower adaptation rates than WDRC. First used in cochlear implants, ADRO is particularly well-suited to bimodal and hybrid stimulation which combine electric and acoustic stimulation in opposite ears, or in the same ear respectively.
Error resilience for multi-view video using redundant macroblock coding

Multi-view video coding has received a considerable amount of interest in recent years. However, error resilience for multi-view video coding has not yet been investigated in great depth. This paper presents a novel error resilience method to mitigate the effects of packet loss during transmission. Bandwidth efficient redundant coding is used, where the redundant stream is generated only for selected macroblocks that fall within a Region of Interest (ROI). Otsu's gray threshold selection method is employed for selecting ROIs. The proposed system is implemented using the Joint Scalable Video Model (JSVM) codec and its' performance is analyzed in a simulated Internet protocol packet network environment. The results show that the proposed system provides considerable quality gain, in terms of both PSNR and SSIM metrics
APPLICATION OF DIFFERENTIAL SPLINES FOR RELIEF SIMULATION

For automatic map-making comprising as partial processes the isoline map compiling, three-dimensional surface image construction as well the additional characteristics that are different from them, it is necessary to create a mathematical model of the relief. Such modeling depends on the means of presenting the output information as well as the approximation methods and the surface interpolating. The output information about the relief is usually presented in a discrete form with regular, semi-regular and irregular arrangement of points. The most frequently used construction methods of DEM are known to be as follows: polynomial method, multiquadrics method, spline method, distance-weighting method on the basis of triangulation, Kriging method. The result of our research is as follows: for effective approximation of relief a mathematical model is constructed on the basis of collocations when the locality surface is approximated by low degree polynomial with additional interpolating the differential spline. The experimental research for various types of relief proves that a highly accurate reproduction of the surface, excluding places with a certain difference of inclinations with the approximation error is about 1/2 - 2/3 of relief crosssection.
An Epistemic Formulation of Information Flow Security ( Draft , Under Review )

The non-interference (NI) property defines a program to be secure if changes to high-security inputs cannot alter the values of lowsecurity outputs. NI indirectly states the epistemic property that no low-security principal acquires knowledge of high-security data. We consider a directly epistemic account of information flow (IF) security focusing on the knowledge flows engendered by the program’s execution. Storage effects are of primary interest, since principals acquire knowledge from the execution only through these effects. The IF properties of the individual effectful actions are characterized using a substructural epistemic logic that accounts for the knowledge transferred through their execution. We prove that a low-security principal never acquires knowledge of a high-security input by executing a well-typed program. The epistemic approach has several advantages over NI. First, it directly accounts for the knowledge flow engendered by a program. Second, in contrast to the bimodal NI property, the epistemic approach accounts for authorized declassification. We prove that a low-security principal acquires knowledge of a high-security input only if it is authorized by a proof in authorization logic. Third, the explicit formulation of IF properties as an epistemic theory provides a crisp treatment of “side channels. ” Rather than prove that a principal does not know a secret, we instead prove that it is not provable that the principal knows that secret. The latter statement characterizes the “minimal model,” for which a precise statement may be made, whereas the former applies to “any model,” including those with “side channels” that violate the model’s basic premises. Fourth, the NI property is re-positioned as providing an adequacy proof of the epistemic theory of effects, ensuring that the logical theory corresponds to the actual program behavior. In this way we obtain a generalization of the classical approach to IF security that extends to authorized declassification.
A new generalized harmonic evolution system

A new representation of the Einstein evolution equations is presented that is first order, linearly degenerate and symmetric hyperbolic. This new system uses the generalized harmonic method to specify the coordinates, and exponentially suppresses all small short-wavelength constraint violations. Physical and constraint-preserving boundary conditions are derived for this system, and numerical tests that demonstrate the effectiveness of the constraint suppression properties and the constraint-preserving boundary conditions are presented.
Association between Coagulation Function and Cerebral Microbleeds in Ischemic Stroke Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and/or Rheumatic Heart Disease

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), which indicate hemorrhage-prone disease, may associate with hemostatic abnormalities, but the association between CMBs and coagulation function is uncertain. We aimed to examine this possible association. The following coagulation function indicators were evaluated in 85 consecutive ischemic stroke patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and/or rheumatic heart disease: prothrombintime (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and levels of D-dimer and fibrinogen. Indicators were assessed within 24 h after admission. CMBs were identified based on published criteria by two experienced stroke neurologists working independently. PT, APPT, and levels of D-dimer and fibrinogen were compared between patients with and without CMBs using univariate and multivariate analysis. CMBs were detected in 48 patients (56.5%), and fibrinogen levels in these patients were independently and significantly higher than in patients without CMBs after adjustment (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.20-3.90, P=0.01), whereas the two types of patients did not differ significantly in PT, APPT, or D-dimer levels. The presence of CMBs in ischemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation and/or rheumatic heart disease is associated with elevated levels of fibrinogen. Larger prospective studies are needed to verify this association and explore the mechanisms involved.
"Tell me what I want to know!": the effect of relationship closeness on the relevance of profile attributes

The growing amount of personal information on the web raises increasing concerns about what and with whom we share information online. Nevertheless, little effort has been made in determining the relevance of the information shared with us or in filtering it accordingly. We conducted a study to identify the most relevant characteristics when seeking information about people and to scrutinize their differences among relationship types. To achieve that, we asked users to describe people (friends, acquaintances and famous people). Afterwards, we asked them to rate the perceived relevance of a carefully pre-determined set of attributes for each type. Results showed that their relevance varied depending on the relationship. As an outcome, we present the most relevant attributes when seeking information about friends, acquaintances and famous people and the major differences among them. We conclude suggesting how our findings may influence the design of interactive systems where such data is paramount.
From Microarrays to Promoters: The Visual Story of Stat3

High-throughput technologies have established themselves as indispensable for the study of biological systems, from gene expression level changes, protein concentrations, to their modifications and interactions in complex diseases and systems. This kind of data analysis is not well served by the biostatistical techniques traditionally applied to biomedical and clinical data sets. Non-trivial patterns are most often discovered using visual and other computational tools applied to this data. We derive patterns and information from a series of differentially expressed genes on eight microarrays combined with analysis of promoter regions using regular expression-driven examination of short representative sequences called motifs. These non-trivial patterns are used to aid the discovery process through the use of information visualization and by harnessing userpsilas perceptual and cognitive capabilities.
An Adaptive Polling Algorithm for PCF Mode of 802 . 11 Wireless LANs

IEEE 802.11 PCF mode is defined to support timebounded applications in wireless LANs. The poll scheduling plays an important role in PCF mode operation. It differs from the packet scheduling of routers in that incomplete queueing information in each pollable station is known to the scheduler. This paper proposes an adaptive polling algorithm to improve the wireless medium utilization. In our scheme, each mobile station is assigned a priority by the point coordinator. Based on recent poll feedbacks, the priority for each mobile station will be dynamically updated using the Additive Increase/Multiplicative Decrease algorithm. The proposed polling algorithm is compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and requires a simple extension. our simulation studies show that the performance of wireless LANs are improved in terms of the successful poll rate and the aggregate throughput.
CONTINUOUS 6 DOF GESTURE RECOGNITION : A FUZZY LOGIC APPROACH

The method described in this paper recognizes previ ously learned gestures which the system was taught by performing them. Any kind of 6DOF input device (e.g. data glove, vis ual systems, space mouse etc.) can be used to gathe r the motion data that carries out the gesture. The relia bility of the recognition process can be improved b y repeating the same gestures several times and correcting wron g recognition results. This extends the system’s kn owledge. Once learned, the system translates the recognized gestures into (for a computer) identifiable objects (numbers, strings, events, etc.) that can be further processe d. The system’s advantages are its usability (e.g. wit h 2D or 3D input devices or in combination with fin ger status information, etc.), the minimum of information need d to recognize a gesture, and, consequently, the h ig speed of its scanning and comparison process.
Heat Shock Protein 90α Is a Potential Serological Biomarker of Acute Rejection after Renal Transplantation

Background Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), a molecular chaperone associated with the activation of client proteins, was recently reported to play an important role in immunologic reactions. To date, the role of HSP90 in solid organ transplantations has remained unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum HSP90α levels and acute allograft rejection after organ and tissue transplantation using serum samples from kidney allograft recipients, an in vitro antibody-mediated rejection model, and a murine skin transplantation. Results Serum HSP90α levels were significantly higher in kidney recipients at the time of acute rejection (AR) than in those with no evidence of rejection. In most cases with AR, serum HSP90 decreased to baseline after the treatment. On the other hand, serum HSP90α was not elevated as much in patients with chronic rejection, calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity, or BK virus nephropathy as in AR patients. In vitro study showed that HSP90α concentration in the supernatant was significantly higher in the supernatant of human aortic endothelial cells cocultured with specific anti-HLA IgG under complement attack than in that of cells cocultured with nonspecific IgG. In mice receiving skin transplantation, serum HSP90α was elevated when the first graft was rejected and the level further increased during more severe rejection of the second graft. Conclusions The results suggest that HSP90α is released into the serum by cell damage due to AR in organ and tissue transplantation, and it is potentially a new biomarker to help detect AR in kidney recipients.
A novel methodology for evaluating user interfaces in health care

A pilot study is reported to identify an improved method of evaluating digital user interfaces in health care. Experience and developments from the aviation industry and the NASA-TLX mental workload assessment tools are applied in conjunction with Nielsen heuristics for evaluating an Electronic Health Record System in an Irish hospital. The NASA-TLX performs subjective workload assessments on operators working with various human-computer systems. Results suggest that depending on the cognitive workload and the working context of users, the usability will differ for the same digital interface. We conclude that incorporating the NASA-TLX with Nielsen's heuristics offers a more reliable method in design and evaluation of digital user interfaces in clinical environments, since the healthcare work context is taken into account. Improved interfaces can be expected to reduce medical errors and improve patient care.
Suppression of angiogenesis and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo using an anti-angiopoietin-2 single-chain antibody

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) are tumors with a highly developed vascular architecture. HCC cells require access to blood vessels for growth and metastasis; therefore, the inhibition of angiogenesis represents a potential therapeutic target for HCC that may reduce the mortality and morbidity from HCC. Various attempts to develop an anti-angiogenic therapy have been made in past decades; however, modest results have been achieved in clinical trials and the challenge of HCC treatment remains. Single-chain antibodies (scFv) are characterized by low molecular weight, low immunogenicity, high penetration and a short half-life, and are easy to produce on a large scale by genetic engineering. Accordingly, an scFv against a specific angiogenic regulator, such as angiopoietin (Ang), may be a promising anti-angiogenic therapy for HCC. Our previous study indicated that an imbalanced expression of angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) vs. angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) in HCCs contributes to initiation of neovascularization and promotes the angiogenesis and progression of HCCs. Therefore, we suggest that specific Ang-2-targeting interventions may be valuable in the treatment of HCC via remodeling the neovascular network and changing the tumor microenvironment. In this study, a prokaryotic expression vector of Ang-2 was constructed and purified human Ang-2 protein was isolated. An scFv against human Ang-2 (scFv-Ang2) was identified and purified via phage display technology, and the effects of scFv-Ang2 in vitro and in vivo on HCC in nude mice were evaluated. The results show that scFv-Ang2 inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Ang-2 induces the proliferation, migration and tubule formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. In the in vivo assay, statistical indices, including tumor weight and volume, metastases to lungs, CD31 expression and the microvessel density (MVD) count in the scFv-Ang2-treated group of mice were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the successfully generated scFv-Ang2 showed significant inhibitory effects on the angiogenesis and tumor growth of human HCC in vitro and in vivo.