Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of Information Technology Governance in the Malaysian Public Sector Practice

The increased dependence on IT and rise of security threats in organisations has led to the awareness of the need for adopting formal IT governance practices. However, how far have organisation came to realise the implementation of these practices is yet unknown at least in the Malaysian context. The article discusses information technology governance practices in public sector agencies from the perspective of an emerging country like Malaysia. The study sets forth to explore how the Malaysian public sector agencies implement IT governance through structure, process and relational mechanisms. This research uses qualitative approach in selected public sector agencies in EPU, ICU, MoF and CGICT. The result shows that each public sector agency define IT governance structure, process and relational mechanisms to align IT and business, thus enabling collaboration between business units and IT. Each public sector agencies in this case study practices IT governance structure, process and relational mechanism to align IT and business using different approaches based on organisational context. Keywords— information technology governance; public sector; information technology governance
CLaC-SentiPipe: SemEval2015 Subtasks 10 B,E, and Task 11

CLaC Labs participated in two shared tasks for SemEval2015, Task 10 (subtasks B and E) and Task 11. The underlying system configuration is nearly identical and consists of two major components: a large Twitter lexicon compiled from tweets that carry certain selected hashtags (assumed to guarantee a sentiment polarity) and then inducing that same polarity for the words that occur in the tweets. We also use standard sentiment lexica and combine the results. The lexical sentiment features are further differentiated according to some linguistic contexts in which their triggers occur, including bigrams, negation, modality, and dependency triples. We studied feature combinations comprehensively for their interoperability and effectiveness on different datasets using the exhaustive feature combination technique of (Shareghi and Bergler, 2013a; Shareghi and Bergler, 2013b). For Subtask 10B we used a SVM, and a decision tree regressor for Task 11. The resulting systems ranked ninth for Subtask 10B, fourth for Subtask 10E, and first for Task 11.
A Two-Pass Realistic Image Synthesis Method for Complex Scenes

This paper presents a survey of two-pass global illumination algorithms that use a local pass (gather) and shadow ray optimization techniques as well as a new two-pass algorithm which relies on spatial coherence to e ciently handle the problem of numerous luminaires. The algorithm presented operates on scenes with Lambertian re ectors and luminaires with arbitrary emission distributions. A radiosity prepass is performed on a simpli ed version of the scene. Bright re ecting surfaces are reclassi ed as light sources. A spatial data structure is then built that associates bright visible surfaces to regions in the environment. The visibility of these surfaces is probabilistically estimated. Finally, a view-dependent \gather" is performed at each pixel. This gather is made signi cantly more e cient than previous algorithms because of careful integration based on the contents of the spatial data structure. CR
Optimal Gait Analysis of Snake Robot Dynamics

Though there have been a lot of research in the area of snake-robot kinematics and dynamics, a little attention has been given to find out an optimal gait for the robot. This optimal gait until now is being calculated using a graphical method. An attempt, here, is made to get these optimum gait parameters using evolutionary algorithms. We intend to optimize the input power consumed by the robot for a given propulsive speed. A popular multi-objective evolutionary algorithm developed by Deb et al., NSGA-II is used in this work and the results are presented. Results from an approximation of objective function through polynomials and from the actual simulation are presented. Two different frictional models are considered and their results are given. The results are in good agreement with the literature. A parametric study is also included to find minimum population size and number of generations. The performance metrics are used to justify the parametrization.
Passive internet search∗

Advertisers compete in a market for horizontally differentiated products. Consumers are reached by unsolicited ads while surfing on the internet. Search is passive and searching through ads has no cost because consumers are online to enjoy some content. Delaying a purchase however involves some cost because future surplus is discounted. Clicking on an ad is costly and provides perfect information about the advertised product as well as an opportunity to buy. The market is either in a competitive regime or in a monopoly regime depending on whether click costs are low or high. In the competitive regime, firms advertise only product information, price increases with the click cost and it is lower if the advertised product information is more precise. In the monopoly regime, price is also advertised and decreases as the click cost become larger. Precise targeting may achieve a monopoly regime with complete surplus appropriation by firms even if click costs are low. If ads are solicited and search is active, the consumer’s exclusive purpose on the internet is to purchase a product. As a result, searching through ads is costly. In the competitive regime, firms advertise price information in order to influence the consumers’ search behavior. As a result, prices are lower and the competitive regime prevails for a larger range of click costs, but there is no monopoly regime and precise targeting leads to market unravelling because of a holdup problem.
Misexpression of noggin leads to septal defects in the outflow tract of the chick heart.

BMP-2 and BMP-4 are known to be involved in the early events which specify the cardiac lineage. Their later patterns of expression in the developing mouse and chick heart, in the myocardium overlying the atrioventricular canal (AV) and outflow tract (OFT) cushions, also suggest that they may play a role in valvoseptal development. In this study, we have used a recombinant retrovirus expressing noggin to inhibit the function of BMP-2/4 in the developing chick heart. This procedure resulted in abnormal development of the OFT and the ventricular septum. A spectrum of abnormalities was seen ranging from common arterial trunk to double outlet right ventricle. In hearts infected with noggin virus, where the neural crest cells have been labelled, the results show that BMP-2/4 function is required for the migration of neural crest cells into the developing OFT to form the aortopulmonary septum. Prior to septation, misexpression of noggin also leads to a decrease in the number of proliferating mesenchymal cells within the proximal cushions of the outflow tract. These results suggest that BMP-2/4 function may mediate several key events during cardiac development.
Neuronal Diversity in GABAergic Long-Range Projections from the Hippocampus

The formation and recall of sensory, motor, and cognitive representations require coordinated fast communication among multiple cortical areas. Interareal projections are mainly mediated by glutamatergic pyramidal cell projections; only few long-range GABAergic connections have been reported. Using in vivo recording and labeling of single cells and retrograde axonal tracing, we demonstrate novel long-range GABAergic projection neurons in the rat hippocampus: (1) somatostatin- and predominantly mGluR1α-positive neurons in stratum oriens project to the subiculum, other cortical areas, and the medial septum; (2) neurons in stratum oriens, including somatostatin-negative ones; and (3) trilaminar cells project to the subiculum and/or other cortical areas but not the septum. These three populations strongly increase their firing during sharp wave-associated ripple oscillations, communicating this network state to the septotemporal system. Finally, a large population of somatostatin-negative GABAergic cells in stratum radiatum project to the molecular layers of the subiculum, presubiculum, retrosplenial cortex, and indusium griseum and fire rhythmically at high rates during theta oscillations but do not increase their firing during ripples. The GABAergic projection axons have a larger diameter and thicker myelin sheet than those of CA1 pyramidal cells. Therefore, rhythmic IPSCs are likely to precede the arrival of excitation in cortical areas (e.g., subiculum) that receive both glutamatergic and GABAergic projections from the CA1 area. Other areas, including the retrosplenial cortex, receive only rhythmic GABAergic CA1 input. We conclude that direct GABAergic projections from the hippocampus to other cortical areas and the septum contribute to coordinating oscillatory timing across structures.
Ethnicity and sex similarities and differences in drug resistance

Abstract Drug resistance skills form the core of most drug prevention programs. Recent work has begun to describe drug resistance processes among high school and college students. The current study attempts to extend this work by examining a younger population and describing ethnic and sex similarities and differences. The primary goal was to establish the descriptive basis for future research by identifying how drugs are offered and resisted, examining the social context of drug offers, and reporting on the roles of ethnicity and sex. Results of interviews with 158 middle school adolescents indicate that most offers they receive are simple and explicit, with slightly more than a quarter of these offers followed by repeated pressure. Offers are resisted by enacting a relatively restricted range of strategies, the primary resistance strategy being a simple no. Drugs tend to be offered in public or in homes. When European American, African American, and Latino/a students are compared, Latinos/as are signifi.
Uncertainty analysis of floodplain friction in hydrodynamic models

Abstract. This study proposes a framework to estimate the uncertainty of hydrodynamic models on floodplains. The traditional floodplain resistance formula of Pasche (1984) (based on Lindner, 1982) used for river modelling as well as the approaches of Baptist et al. (2007), Järvelä (2004), and Battiato and Rubol (2014) have been considered for carrying out an uncertainty analysis (UA). The analysis was performed by means of three different methods: traditional Monte Carlo (MC), First-Order Second-Moment (FOSM) and Metamodelling. Using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, a 10 km reach of the River Rhine was simulated. The model was calibrated with water level measurements under steady flow conditions and then the analysis was carried out based on flow velocity results. The compared floodplain friction formulae produced qualitatively similar results, in which uncertainties in flow velocity were most significant on the floodplains. Among the tested resistance formulae the approach from Järvelä presented on average the smallest prediction intervals i.e. the most accurate results. It is important to keep in mind that UA results are not only dependent on the defined input parameters deviations, but also on the number of parameters considered in the analysis. In that sense, the approach from Battiato and Rubol is still attractive for it reduces the current analysis to a single parameter, the canopy permeability. The three UA methods compared gave similar results, which means that FOSM is the less expensive one. Nevertheless it should be used with caution as it is a first-order method (linear approximation). In studies involving dominant non-linear processes, one is advised to carry out further comparisons.
Wideband modeling of RF/analog circuits via hierarchical multi-point model order reduction

This paper proposes a novel wideband modeling technique for high-performance RF passives and linear(ized) analog circuits. The new method is based on a recently proposed s-domain hierarchical modeling and analysis method (Tan, 2003). Theoretically, we show that the s-domain hierarchical reduction is equivalent to implicit moment matching around s = 0, and that the existing hierarchical reduction method by one-point expansion is numerically stable for general tree-structured circuits. Practically, we propose a hierarchical multi-point reduction scheme for high-fidelity, wideband modeling of general passive or active linear circuits. A novel explicit waveform matching algorithm is proposed for searching the dominant poles and residues from different expansion points based on the unique hierarchical reduction framework. Experimental results with large analog circuits, on-chip spiral inductors are presented to validate the proposed method.
Glucose-Independent Ethnic Differences in HbA1c in People Without Known Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To determine whether glucose-independent differences in HbA1c exist between people of African, South Asian, and Chinese ethnicities. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data from 6,701 people aged 19–78 years, without known diabetes, from Mauritius, and participating in the population-based Non-Communicable Disease Surveys of the main island and the island of Rodrigues were included. Participants were African (n = 1,219 from main island, n = 1,505 from Rodrigues), South Asian (n = 3,820), and Chinese (n = 157). Survey data included HbA1c, plasma glucose during oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT), anthropometry, demographics, and medical and lifestyle history. RESULTS Mean HbA1c, after adjustment for fasting and 2-h plasma glucose and other factors known to influence HbA1c, was higher in Africans from Rodrigues (6.1%) than in South Asians (5.7%, P < 0.001), Chinese (5.7%, P < 0.001), or Africans from the main island of Mauritius (5.7%, P < 0.001). The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes among Africans from Rodrigues differed substantially depending on the diagnostic criteria used [OGTT 7.9% (95% CI 5.8–10.0); HbA1c 17.3% (15.3–19.2)]. Changing diagnostic criteria resulted in no significant change in the prevalence of diabetes within the other ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS People of African ethnicity from Rodrigues have higher HbA1c than those of South Asian or African ethnicity from the main island of Mauritius for reasons not explained by plasma glucose during an OGTT or traditional factors known to affect glycemia. Further research should be directed at determining the mechanism behind this disparity and its relevance to clinical outcomes.
The role of antibiotics and probiotics in pouchitis

Pouchitis is a non-specific inflammation of the ileal reservoir and the most common complication of proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) in patients with ulcerative colitis. Its frequency is related to the duration of the follow up, occurring in up to 50% of patients 10 years after IPAA in large series from major referral centers. Treatment of pouchitis is largely empirical and only small placebo-controlled trials have been conducted. The rationale for using probiotics and antibiotics in pouchitis is based on convincing evidence that implicates intestinal bacteria in the pathogenesis of this disease. Probiotics are living organisms, which, upon ingestion in certain numbers, exert health benefits beyond inherent basic nutrition. VSL#3, a highly concentrated cocktail of probiotics has been shown to be effective in the prevention of pouchitis onset and relapses. Antibiotics are the mainstay of treatment of pouchitis, and metronidazole and ciprofloxacin are the most common initial approaches, often with a rapid response. The use of antibiotics in pouchitis is largely justified although proper controlled trials have not been conducted.
Methane production in relation to body mass of ruminants and equids

Background: Mammalian herbivores produce methane during digestion. Questions: Do ruminants (such as bovids) produce more methane during digestion than do equids (non-ruminants)? What are the effects of allometric scaling of methane production when different species feed on similar diets? Methods: From the literature, we collected a set of data on methane production (litres ·day−1) of ruminants (body mass 26–610 kg) and equids (208–850 kg) fed only roughage. To these data we added our own experimental results from three sheep (Ovis orientalis aries, 94 ± 4 kg) and three mini Shetland ponies (Equus ferus caballus, 97 ± 6 kg). We gave these six animals ad libitum access to the same batch of grass hay. We measured their food intake and methane production (using respiratory chambers), and calculated gut fill and food digestibility. Results: Daily dry matter intake and dry matter digestibility were 39 ± 10 g ·kg−0.75 day−1 and 48 ± 2% in sheep and 72 ± 16 g ·kg−0.75 day−1 and 41 ± 3% in ponies, respectively; the calculated dry matter gut fill was 2.0 ± 0.5% of body mass in sheep and 1.9 ± 0.4% in ponies. Methane production was higher in sheep (30.3 ± 3.0 litres ·day−1) than in ponies (13.4 ± 4.6 litres ·day−1), representing 6.7 ± 1.7% and 1.5 ± 0.2% of gross energy intake, respectively. The data set revealed a linear increase of methane production with body mass (i.e. M1.0) in equids and ruminants. However, a ruminant produces 3.6 times as much methane as does an equid of comparable body mass. Conclusions: Because energy and food intake scale allometrically with body mass (M0.75), our results mean that energetic losses due to methane production (as a proportion of overall energy intake) increase with increasing body mass. The magnitude of the losses is enough to limit the maximum size of a ruminant’s body, but not that of an equid.
Performance evaluation of three GPSR-based routing protocols in a military setting

Recent research has highlighted the potential of equipping soldiers with portable computing devices as a means to regularly report complex and important observations to mission planners at headquarters. To realise such scenarios connectivity between disparate elements in the battlefield needs to be established and appropriate supporting algorithms developed. In MANET literature several algorithms have been proposed to this effect for topologies where infrastructure is poor or non-available but not specifically for a military setting. In this work, we present a topology derived from a battalion deployment plan suitably parametrised to account for different personnel fill-up rates. In this setting we examine the performance of three position-based routing protocols, namely the Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR) protocol and two optimisations; the Divisional Perimeter Routing (GPSR-DP), and Buffering Zone Greedy Forwarding Strategy (GPSR-BZGFS). Our results indicate that the default GPSR approach as well as the two optimisations do not perform adequately due to frequent network disconnections, which occur as a consequence of the large deployment area. We highlight the need for more research to discover a workable solution and discuss possible approaches to the issue.
An Entropy Measure to Assess Nonrigid Registration Algorithms for Statistical Atlas Construction

Assessment of normal and abnormal anatomical variability requires a coordinate system enabling inter-subject comparison. We present a minimum entropy criterion to assess affine and nonrigid transformations bringing a group of subject scans into alignment. This measure is a data-driven measure allowing the identification of an intrinsic coordinate system of a particular group of subjects. We assessed two statistical atlases derived from magnetic resonance imaging of newborn infants with gestational age ranging from 24 to 40 weeks. Over this age range major structural changes occur in the human brain and existing atlases are inadequate to capture the resulting anatomical variability. The entropy measure we propose allows an objective choice between competing registration algorithms to be made.
Flexible Bandwidth Allocation in Filterless Optical Networks

We introduce the new concept of an elastic filterless optical network and propose an efficient heuristic algorithm for solving the static routing and spectrum assignment problem. Our simulation results obtained for different network topologies under multi-period traffic show increasing bandwidth savings with the growth of traffic load compared to a fixed-grid scenario. We also show the benefits of periodical spectrum defragmentation.
Interaction and localization of Necl‐5 and PDGF receptor β at the leading edges of moving NIH3T3 cells: Implications for directional cell movement

It was previously shown that platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor physically and functionally interacts with integrin αvβ3, effectively inducing cell movement. We previously showed that Necl‐5, originally identified as a poliovirus receptor, interacts with integrin αvβ3 and enhances its clustering and the formation of focal complexes at the leading edges of moving cells, resulting in an enhancement of cell movement. We showed here that Necl‐5 additionally interacts with PDGF receptor in NIH3T3 cells and regulates the interaction between PDGF receptor and integrin αvβ3, effectively inducing directional cell movement. PDGF receptor co‐localized with Necl‐5 and integrin αvβ3 at peripheral ruffles over lamellipodia, which were formed at the leading edges of moving cells in response to PDGF, but not at the focal complexes under these ruffles, whereas Necl‐5 and integrin αvβ3 co‐localized at these focal complexes. The clustering of these three molecules at peripheral ruffles required the activation of integrin αvβ3 by vitronectin and the PDGF‐induced activation of the small G protein Rac and subsequent re‐organization of the actin cytoskeleton. These results indicate a key role of Necl‐5 in directional cell movement by physically and functionally interacting with both integrin αvβ3 and PDGF receptor.
RESEARCH ON LOSSLESS NETWORK COMPRESSION OF RAILWAY DATA BASED ON TOPOLOGY POTENTIAL COMMUNITY

Research of lossless network compression based on t opology potential community is carried out. To meet the different needs, two approaches of lossless net work compression are proposed in this research. One approach, judging importance of the nodes according to their roles playing in the community compositio n, quantifies the importance of every node in communities, and achieves lossless network compression through layers; another approach, judging importanc e of the nodes according to the distances from the community representative nodes to them, differentia tes the nodes with different distances, and achieve s lossless network compression through compression ratio. Comparative experiments show that the two approaches not only can achieve perfect compression ratio, and retain the relationship between the communities, but also can reserve the important nod es or basic community structures during the compression process according to the needs.
Analytical Models of Information-Psychological Impact of Social Information Networks on Users

The article is devoted to the modeling of information-psychological impacts (IPI) of social information networks (SIN) on users, introduces the concept of IPI, shows a risk of IPI and discusses the possible types of information-psychological threats for the users of the SIN. The article substantiates the probabilistic model of IPI impact on the users of the SIN describing an approach to determination of the number of the most visited sites of SIN and further, the total probability of successful attacks on the most visited sites of the SIN of the total number of sites - the subjects of IPI. We introduce and assess the concept of detriment of the IPI for SIN users, used further for the building of the risk-model of IPI for SIN users, which includes the analytical expressions for elementary, total and normalized risk of IPI, absolute and relative indicators of protection of the SIN and approximate estimation of the risk mode of IPI.