Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meta-level representations in the IDP knowledge base system: Towards bootstrapping inference engine development

Declarative systems aim at solving tasks by running inference engines on a specification, to free its users from having to specify how a task should be tackled. In order to provide such functionality, declarative systems themselves apply complex reasoning techniques, and, as a consequence, the development of such systems can be laborious work. In this paper, we demonstrate that the declarative approach can be applied to develop such systems, by tackling the tasks solved inside a declarative system declaratively. In order to do this, a meta-level representation of those specifications is often required. Furthermore, by using the language of the system for the meta-level representation, it opens the door to bootstrapping : an inference engine can be improved using the inference it performs itself. One such declarative system is the IDP knowledge base system, based on the language FO(·), a rich extension of first-order logic. In this paper, we discuss how FO(·) can support meta-level representations in general and which language constructs make those representations even more natural. Afterwards, we show how meta-FO(·) can be applied to bootstrap its model expansion inference engine. We discuss the advantages of this approach: the resulting program is easier to understand, easier to maintain and more flexible.
Comparative proteomics in acute myeloid leukemia

The term proteomics was used for the first time in 1995 to describe large-scale protein analyses. At the same time proteomics was distinguished as a new domain of the life sciences. The major object of proteomic studies is the proteome, i.e. the set of all proteins accumulating in a given cell, tissue or organ. During the last years several new methods and techniques have been developed to increase the fidelity and efficacy of proteomic analyses. The most widely used are two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) and mass spectrometry (MS). In the past decade proteomic analyses have also been successfully applied in biomedical research. They allow one to determine how various diseases affect the pattern of protein accumulation. In this paper, we attempt to summarize the results of the proteomic analyses of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. They have increased our knowledge on the mechanisms underlying AML development and contributed to progress in AML diagnostics and treatment.
An efficient mechanism for prediction of protein-ligand interactions based on analysis of protein tertiary substructures

Analysis of protein-ligand interactions is a fundamental issue in drug design. As the detailed and accurate analysis of protein-ligand interactions involves calculation of binding free energy based on thermodynamics and even quantum mechanics, which is highly expensive in terms of computing time, conformational and structural analysis of proteins and ligands has been widely employed as a screening process in computer-aided drug design. In this paper, an efficient mechanism for identifying possible protein-ligand interactions based on analysis of protein tertiary substructures is proposed. In one experiment reported in this paper, the proposed prediction mechanism has been exploited to obtain some clues about a hypothesis that the biochemists have been speculating. The main distinction in the design of the prediction mechanism is the filtering process incorporated to expedite the analysis. The filtering process extracts the residues located in a cave of the protein tertiary structure for analysis and operates with O(nlogn) time complexity, where n is the number of residues in the protein. In comparison, the /spl alpha/hull algorithm, which is a widely used algorithm in computer graphics for identifying those instances that are on the contour of a 3-dimensional object, features O(n/sup 2/) time complexity. Experimental results show that the filtering process presented in this paper is able to speed up the analysis by a factor ranging from 3.11 to 9.79 times.
Planetary nebulae, tracers of stellar nucleosynthesis

We review the information that planetary nebulae and their immediate progenitors, the post-AGB objects, can provide to probe the nucleosynthesis and mixing in low and intermediate mass stars. We emphasize new approaches based on high signal-to-noise spectroscopy of planetary nebulae and of their central stars. We mention some of the problems still to overcome. We emphasize that, as found by several authors, planetary nebulae in low metallicity environments cannot be used to probe the oxygen abundance in the interstellar medium out of which their progenitors were formed, because of abundance modification during stellar evolution.
Fuzzy Genetic Semantic Based Text Summarization

Automatic text summarization is a data reduction process to exclude unnecessary details and present important information in a shorter version. One way to summarize document is by extracting important sentences in the document. To select suitable sentences, a numerical rank is assigned to each sentence based on a sentence scoring approach. Highly ranked sentences are used for the summary. This paper proposed an automatic text summarization approach based on sentence extraction using fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, semantic role labeling and their combinations to generate high quality summaries. This study explored the benefits of the genetic algorithm in the optimization problem in for feature selection during the training phase and adjusts feature weights during the testing phase. Fuzzy IF-THEN rules were used to balance the weights between important and unimportant features. Conventional extraction methods cannot capture semantic relations between concepts in a text. Therefore, this research investigates the use of the semantic role labeling to capture the semantic contents in sentences and incorporate it into the summarization method. This paper is evaluated in terms of performance using ROUGE toolkit. Experimental results showed that the summaries produced by the proposed approaches are better than other approaches produced by Microsoft Word 2007, Copernic Summarizer, and MANYASPECTS summarizers.
A Concept and Service based Analysis of Commercial and Open Source Enterprise 2.0 Tools

There is a growing market for integrated web-based tools to support team collaboration and knowledge management within enterprises. The goal of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of their concepts and services. We examine seven Enterprise 2.0 tools in detail and derive a unifying multi-dimensional classification and evaluation framework. For each dimension we identify several technical criteria to characterize the functional capabilities of a given tool. Based on this schema we provide a detailed description of the following commercial and open source tools: Alfresco Share, Atlassian Confluence, GroupSwim, Liferay Social Office, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Socialtext, Tricia. This work contributes to a better technical understanding of this emerging family of enterprise applications, highlights strengths and weaknesses of existing tools and identifies areas for further system research and development.
Effect of activation function symmetry on training of SFFANNs with the backpropagation algorithm

On 17 learning task (12 function approximation and 5 real life regression problems), we compare the efficiency and efficacy of using asymmetric or anti-symmetric activation functions in sigmoidal feedforward artificial neural network training and usage. The result obtained in the experiment allows us to conclude that for networks trained using the batch update variant of the backpropagation algorithm, the usage of antisymmetric activation functions may give better performance is some cases, but in a few cases networks using antisymmetric activation functions may give better performance and in majority of cases the performance of networks using anti-symmetric or asymmetric activation are equivalent. Thus a clear preference for anti-symmetric activation functions cannot be made.
Quality of life and location-specific amenities : a subjective well-being approach

In recent years, economists have started using socio-economic and socio-demographic characteristics to explain self-reported individual happiness or satisfaction with life. Using data disaggregated at the individual and regional level, this paper shows that while these variables are relevant, consideration of amenities such as climate, environmental and urban conditions, typically employed in hedonic wage and housing regressions, is critical when analysing subjective well-being. Location-specific factors are shown to have a direct impact on life satisfaction, suggesting that their effect on quality of life is not fully captured by compensating differentials in housing and labour markets.
Why life speeds up: Chunking and the passage of autobiographical time

Abstract Time seems to speed up as one ages, and it affects how people find meaning in life and plan their future. What creates this perception? We examine the role of “chunking” – mentally bundling individual moments of experience under broad categories. With age, people group experiences into progressively bigger chunks (e.g., work, family). Consequently, fewer things seem to have occurred in a given period, so it seems to have passed faster in retrospect. Supporting this account, three studies (overall N = 324) show that people led to chunk (vs. not chunk) their past year perceived it as passing faster. The effect of chunking emerged reliably across converging operations and specifically accelerated the chunked period, not other periods. Furthermore, chunking increased the appeal of nostalgia, suggesting that processes that accelerate time instigate a compensatory urge to reflect on momentous occasions of one’s life. Implications for the “self across time” are discussed.
Testing and evaluating computer intrusion detection systems

A high voltage solid-state rectifier includes multiple series connected ac-compensated diodes and series buffer resistors in a stepped spiral stack. The stack is encased in a sectionalized faraday shield which provides 360 DEG isolation from external rf electrostatic fields and provides external capacitance grading along the stack. Spark gaps between shield sections prevent excessive voltage build-up due to electrical discharges and are arranged in line of sight of each other to permit the ultra-violet light produced from one spark gap firing to stimulate the firing of the other spark gaps. A trigger spark-gap derives its voltage from an inductance in series with the solid-state rectifier. Any electrical discharges which result in an excessive voltage appear initially across the inductance, firing the trigger spark gap which in turn initiates the other spark gaps to fire by ultra-violet stimulation.
Steganalysis of Adaptive JPEG Steganography Using 2D Gabor Filters

Adaptive JPEG steganographic schemes are difficult to preserve the image texture features in all scales and orientations when the embedding changes are constrained to the complicated texture regions, then a steganalysis feature extraction method is proposed based on 2 dimensional (2D) Gabor filters. The 2D Gabor filters have certain optimal joint localization properties in the spatial domain and in the spatial frequency domain. They can describe the image texture features from different scales and orientations, therefore the changes of image statistical characteristics caused by steganography embedding can be captured more effectively. For the proposed feature extraction method, the decompressed JPEG image is filtered by 2D Gabor filters with different scales and orientations firstly. Then, the histogram features are extracted from all the filtered images.Lastly, the ensemble classifier is used to assemble the proposed steganalysis feature as well as the final steganalyzer. The experimental results show that the proposed steganalysis feature can achieve a competitive performance by comparing with the other steganalysis features when they are used for the detection performance of adaptive JPEG steganography such as UED, JUNIWARD and SI-UNIWARD.
Transgender youth in small towns: perceptions of community size, climate, and support

ABSTRACT Transgender youth are at risk of stigma and marginalization which can negatively impact their mental and physical health. Transgender youth in small towns may face increased stigma and a lack of supportive resources. It is essential to find ways to enhance support and resources and mitigate the effects of stigma. This exploratory study utilized qualitative interviews and an online survey to examine how transgender and gender questioning youth in nonmetropolitan and small metropolitan counties perceive their communities in terms of size, community climate, and transgender-specific resources. Results revealed variations in community climate by county size. Interviews revealed more complexity in descriptions of climate including the presence of support and hostility and a lack of visibility of transgender identities, rather than based solely on community size. Community size was not associated with the provision of supportive resources; rather community climate was associated with the availability, utilization, and unmet needs for community resources, above and beyond the impact of community size. The findings from this study contribute to minority stress theory and have direct practical implications.
Strengthening the Conversation in Blended and Face-to Face Courses: Connecting Online and In-Person Learning with Crossover Protocols

ABSTRACT There is currently strong and widespread support among university administrators for blended learning at the college level, or courses that incorporate some degree of online instruction. As instructors are called on to incorporate online and face-to-face elements into their instruction, they face the critical question of how to intentionally connect the two modalities in ways that strengthen learning. This article first outlines the historical context of social-constructivism's presence in online instruction, and then presents a rationale for the use of “crossover” discussion protocols that connect online forums and face-to-face discussions. The article argues that by drawing deliberately on the benefits of both online and in-person learning environments, crossover protocols help students make more insightful connections among ideas and push their own—and each others'—thinking in unexpected ways. A set of crossover protocols is then provided, along with considerations for implementing them effectively. These practical strategies for facilitating conversations across the two modalities were developed in the author's undergraduate and graduate level courses in English and education and are adaptable across course levels and disciplines. The article concludes with a discussion of how students experience the learning benefits of crossover protocols.
Mapping livestock-oriented agricultural production systems for the developing world

Questions as to whether public investment in international agricultural research is a ‘Good Thing’ or not may best be addressed using two arguments: (1) justifications based on whether or not past investments have yielded substantial benefits to societies and the resource-poor; and (2) that future investments need to be made as effectively and efficiently as possible, which means they must be targeted as closely as possible. A major component of any impact assessment framework that aspires to comprehensiveness is information on the location of different agricultural systems and pertinent characteristics of the resource-poor who operate them. Given the importance of livestock to the diets and incomes of poor farming households, and the predicted increase in demand for livestock products throughout the developing world over the next few decades, understanding how livestock fit into these systems, and how these systems may evolve in the future, is critical. This is especially true in Africa, where approximately 27% (162 million people) of the world’s poor livestock keepers live. In this paper, we further develop a global livestock production system classification put forward by Seré and Steinfeld in 1996. These livestock systems fall into four categories: landless systems, livestock only/rangeland-based systems (areas with minimal cropping), mixed rainfed systems (mostly rainfed cropping combined with livestock) and mixed irrigated systems (a significant proportion of cropping uses irrigation and is interspersed with livestock). We then describe a method for mapping the classification, based on agro-climatology (length of growing period), land cover, and human population density. We conclude with a discussion of how the maps could be refined, and indicate their potential use in a range of different policy and research and development applications. # 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Heterologous Expression of the Chrysanthemum R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor CmMYB1 Alters Lignin Composition and Represses Flavonoid Synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant R2R3-MYB transcription factor genes are widely distributed in higher plants and play important roles in the regulation of many secondary metabolites at the transcriptional level. In this study, a chrysanthemum subgroup 4 R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene, designated CmMYB1, was isolated through screening chrysanthemum EST (expressed sequence tag) libraries and using rapid application of cDNA ends (RACE) methods and functionally characterized. CmMYB1 is expressed in the root, stem, leaf and flowers, but most strongly in the stem and most weakly in the root. Its heterologous expression in Arabidopsis thaliana reduced the lignin content and altered the lignin composition. The heterologous expression also repressed the flavonoids content in A. thaliana. Together, these results suggested that CmMYB1 is a negative regulator of genes involved in the lignin pathway and flavonoid pathway, it may be a promising gene for controlling lignin and flavonoids profiles in plants.
A multicore accelerated implementation for statistical analysis of facial expressions in video

Recently, the analysis of facial expressions has become one of the important research areas in computer vision and image processing. Analysing facial expressions quickly and accurately play a critical role in many software systems for various applications. In this study, a new algorithm is proposed for the acceleration of video-based facial expression analysis that is performed using cubic Bézier curves. Performance evaluation of the expression analysis accelerated with parallel threads on multi-core computers has been presented. The experiments have been conducted with eNTERFACE'05 emotion video database. Experimental results were obtained using quad-core processor with Hyper Threading technology. According to experimental results, quad core processor using two threads produced about 1.8 fold speed-up and four threads produced about 2.9 fold speed-up while eight threads produced about 3.5 fold speed-up has been obtained.
Creatinine index and lean body mass are excellent predictors of long-term survival in haemodiafiltration patients.

BACKGROUND No single measurement adequately defines protein-energy malnutrition. In the dialysis population, somatic protein mass, a useful marker of protein malnutrition, is estimated using the creatinine index (CI), lean body mass (LBM) or both, but the clinical usefulness of these indices remains uncertain. Moreover, calculating these indices requires formal creatinine kinetics or urine and dialysate collection. A simpler method to estimate the creatinine generation rate (G(Cr)) probably might widen its use. METHODS We evaluated the usefulness of creatinine-based indices for predicting mortality in a cohort of 226 French haemodiafiltration patients using the Cox proportional hazards method. We also proposed simple yet precise formulas to calculate post-dialysis creatinine (Cr(post)) concentrations and derive creatinine generation rates (G(Cr)) from readily available measures. These formulas were developed using a large database containing more than 10 000 measured Cr(post) and G(Cr) values based on formal creatinine modelling. A single set of monthly values was used to evaluate the validity of the formulas. RESULTS When adjusted for comorbidities, sex and Kt/V, CI and LBM/body weight (LBM/BW) were better predictors of 5 year all-cause mortality than urea-based indices [survival relative risk (RR) = 0.24, P<0.01 for CI<22 mg/kg/day; RR = 0.33, P<0.02 for LBM/BW<0.75]. When the cohort was divided according to gender, similar results were found in males, but not in females. The different formulas allowed adequate prediction of Cr(post) and G(Cr) and classification of patients with good accuracy (CI<22: sensitivity = 94%, specificity = 82%; LBW/BW<0.75: sensitivity = 89%, specificity = 90%). CONCLUSIONS In a haemodiafiltration population, CI and LBM are excellent predictors of long-term survival. In anuric Caucasian haemodialysis patients, CI and LBM can be estimated from biochemical and anthropometric measurements without relying on formal modelling.
Design of Collaborative, Cross & Carry Mobile RoBots "C3Bots"

This paper presents an introduction about C3Bots project which aims to design collaborative, cross and carry mobile robots. In this project it is considered to design an innovative robotic system based on modular entities with a simple mechanical architecture able to collaborate to ensure object co-manipulation and transport. The resulting multi-robot system is called C3Bots. In this paper we present the first version of this system using a parallelogram mechanism for co-manipulation and the realized prototypes which are going to be used for first experiments.
StegAnim-A Novel Information Hiding Technique using Animations

Literature in the field of information hiding exhibits a number of steganographic techniques that conceal data effectively. But, conventional steganography utilizes data embedding in some form or the other that is not robust to simple manipulations of the stego-object. Since there are a lot of contemporary steganographic software available, there is a need for measuring the robustness the algorithms used by those software. This paper proposes a novel technique to hide information using animations as cover-object. We also propose a measure for the robustness of the steganographic technique. Experimental results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed technique when applied to digital image steganography. Steganalytic attacks include resizing, sharpening, blurring, and insertion of noise into the stego-object.
User untraceability in the next-generation Internet: a proposal

Internet is changing. The adoption of IPv6 is only one change. The number of mobile hosts connected to the network is increasing also due to the wide application of the wireless technology. In this scenario there are also new threats to user privacy. This paper analyzes how to protect the user privacy in a global view from the data link level up to the applications. In fact, several information about user habits in terms of identity, physical location and movements as well as corresponding hosts and visited sites can be inferred by eavesdropping the data exchanged on local networks at the data link layer. We describe a method to compute dynamically changing unique hardware addresses of network interfaces for the anonymization of data-link traffic and how to integrate this protection with those available at the upper layers. 1. Dept. of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Italy. mauro@ferrara.linux. it 2. Dept. of Computer Science, University of Bologna. Italy. renzo@cs.unibo. it