Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ontologies: principles, methods and applications

Abstract This paper is intended to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field concerned with the design and use of ontologies. We observe that disparate backgrounds, languages, tools and techniques are a major barrier to effective communication among people, organisations and/or software understanding (i.e. an “ontology”) in a given subject area, can improve such communication, which in turn, can give rise to greater reuse and sharing, inter-operability, and more reliable software. After motivating their need, we clarify just what ontologies are and what purpose they serve. We outline a methodology for developing and evaluating ontologies, first discussing informal techniques, concerning such issues as scoping, handling ambiguity, reaching agreement and producing definitions. We then consider the benefits and describe, a more formal approach. We re-visit the scoping phase, and discuss the role of formal languages and techniques in the specification, implementation and evalution of ontologies. Finally, we review the state of the art and practice in this emerging field, considering various case studies, software tools for ontology development, key research issues and future prospects.
Crowdsourcing Health Labels: Inferring Body Weight from Profile Pictures

To use social media for health-related analysis, one key step is the detection of health-related labels for users. But unlike transient conditions like flu, social media users are less vocal about chronic conditions such as obesity, as users might not tweet ``I'm still overweight''. As, however, obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, and even cancer are on the rise, this obese-or-not label could be one of the most useful for studies in public health. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of using profile pictures to infer if a user is overweight or not. We show that this is indeed possible and further show that the fraction of labeled-as-overweight users is higher in U.S. counties with higher obesity rates. Going from public to individual health analysis, we then find differences both in behavior and social networks, for example finding users labeled as overweight to have fewer followers.
Study of mechanical properties of a composite-based plant fibre of the palm and thermoplastic matrices (PP)

The use of natural fibres in the development of composite materials is a sector in full expansion. These fibres were used for their low cost, availability and renewable character. The fibres of the palm (palm tree) were used as reinforcement in polypropylene. The date palm fibres have some potential because of their ecological and economic interest. Both unmodified and compatibilised fibres are used. Compatibilisation was carried out with the use of maleic anhydride copolymers. The morphology and mechanical properties were characterised by scanning electron microscopy and tensile tests. The influence of fibre content on mechanical properties of composite polypropylene/date palm has been evaluated and demonstrated that the maximum stress and elongation decreases with increasing fibre content, on the contrary, they notice an increase of the tensile modulus, but after the improvement of fibres, the maximum stress increase significantly up to 25% weight.
An on-line method for segmentation and identification of non-stationary time series

We present a method for the analysis of non-stationary time series from dynamical systems that switch between multiple operating modes. In contrast to other approaches, our method processes the data incrementally and without any training of internal parameters. It straightaway performs an unsupervised segmentation and classification of the data on-the-fly. In many cases it even allows to process incoming data in real-time. The main idea of the approach is to track and segment changes of the probability density of the data in a sliding window on the incoming data stream. An application to a switching dynamical system demonstrates the potential usefulness of the algorithm in a broad range of applications.
Stable adaptive neurocontrol for nonlinear discrete-time systems

This paper presents a novel approach in designing neural network based adaptive controllers for a class of nonlinear discrete-time systems. This type of controllers has its simplicity in parallelism to linear generalized minimum variance (GMV) controller design and efficiency to deal with complex nonlinear dynamics. A recurrent neural network is introduced as a bridge to compensation simplify controller design procedure and efficiently to deal with nonlinearity. The network weight adaptation law is derived from Lyapunov stability analysis and the connection between convergence of the network weight and the reconstruction error of the network is established. A theorem is presented for the conditions of the stability of the closed-loop systems. Two simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the approach.
Updated standardized endpoint definitions for transcatheter aortic valve implantation: the Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 consensus document.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the current Valvular Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 initiative was to revisit the selection and definitions of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)- clinical endpoints to make them more suitable to the present and future needs of clinical trials. In addition, this document is intended to expand understanding of patient risk stratification and case selection. BACKGROUND A recent study confirmed that VARC definitions have already been incorporated into clinical and research practice and represent a new standard for consistency in reporting clinical outcomes of patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing TAVI. However, as the clinical experience with this technology has matured and expanded, certain definitions have become unsuitable or ambiguous. METHODS AND RESULTS Two in-person meetings (held in September 2011 in Washington, DC, USA, and in February 2012 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands) involving VARC study group members, independent experts (including surgeons, interventional and non-interventional cardiologists, imaging specialists, neurologists, geriatric specialists, and clinical trialists), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and industry representatives, provided much of the substantive discussion from which this VARC-2 consensus manuscript was derived. This document also provides an overview of risk assessment and patient stratification that needed to be considered for accurate patient inclusion in studies. Working groups were assigned to define the following clinical endpoints: mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, bleeding, acute kidney injury, vascular complications, conduction disturbances & arrhythmias, and a miscellaneous category including relevant complications not previously categorized. Furthermore, comprehensive echocardiographic recommendations are provided for evaluation of prosthetic valve (dys)function. Definitions for quality of life assessments are also reported. These endpoints formed the basis for several recommended composite endpoints. CONCLUSIONS This VARC-2 document has provided further standardization of endpoint definitions for studies evaluating the use of TAVI, which will lead to improved comparability and interpretability of study results, supplying an increasingly growing body of evidence with respect to transcatheter aortic valve implantation and/or surgical aortic valve replacement. This initiative and document can furthermore be used as a model during current endeavors of applying definitions to other transcatheter valve therapies (for example, mitral valve repair).
Radiation Effects on Ytterbium-doped Optical Fibers

Abstract : This work focused on the impact of gamma and mixed gamma/neutron radiation on transmission through single-mode and multi-mode ytterbium-doped single-mode fibers operated as amplifiers for a 1060-nm light source. Ytterbium-doped optical fibers demonstrate sensitivity to gamma and mixed neutron/gamma radiation exposures that is independent of the operational configuration of the fiber during irradiation. No identifiable dose rate damage production mechanism was encountered. However, fiber damage recovery following irradiation was found to be dependent on the radiation dose rate.
Assembly of metallic nanoparticle arrays on glass via nanoimprinting and thin-film dewetting

We propose a nanofabrication process to generate large-area arrays of noble metal nanoparticles on glass substrates via nanoimprinting and dewetting of metallic thin films. Glass templates were made via pattern transfer from a topographic Si mold to an inorganically cross-linked sol–gel (IGSG) resist on glass using a two-layer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp followed by annealing, which turned the imprinted resist into pure silica. The transparent, topographic glass successfully templated the assembly of Au and Ag nanoparticle arrays via thin-film deposition and dewetting at elevated temperatures. The microstructural and mechanical characteristics that developed during the processes were discussed. The results are promising for low-cost mass fabrication of devices for several photonic applications.
Analysis of Drought-Induced Proteomic and Metabolomic Changes in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Leaves and Roots Unravels Some Aspects of Biochemical Mechanisms Involved in Drought Tolerance

In this study, proteomic and metabolomic changes in leaves and roots of two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes, with contrasting drought tolerance, subjected to water deficit were investigated. Our two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF and MALDI-TOF/TOF) analyses revealed 121 drought-responsive proteins in leaves and 182 in roots of both genotypes. Many of the identified drought-responsive proteins were associated with processes that are typically severely affected during water deficit, including photosynthesis and carbon metabolism. However, the highest number of identified leaf and root proteins represented general defense mechanisms. In addition, changes in the accumulation of proteins that represent processes formerly unassociated with drought response, e.g., phenylpropanoid metabolism, were also identified. Our tandem gas chromatography – time of flight mass spectrometry (GC/MS TOF) analyses revealed approximately 100 drought-affected low molecular weight compounds representing various metabolite types with amino acids being the most affected metabolite class. We compared the results from proteomic and metabolomic analyses to search for existing relationship between these two levels of molecular organization. We also uncovered organ specificity of the observed changes and revealed differences in the response to water deficit of drought susceptible and tolerant barley lines. Particularly, our results indicated that several of identified proteins and metabolites whose accumulation levels were increased with drought in the analyzed susceptible barley variety revealed elevated constitutive accumulation levels in the drought-resistant line. This may suggest that constitutive biochemical predisposition represents a better drought tolerance mechanism than inducible responses.
Selective Uptake of Palladium From High-Level Liquid Wastes by Hybrid Microcapsules Enclosed With Insoluble Ferrocyanides

Fine crystalline powders of KCuFC were immobilized with alginate gel polymers by sol-gel methods. The uptake properties of KCuFC-microcapsules (KCuFC-MC) were examined by batch and column methods. The size of KCuFC-MC particle was estimated to be about 1 mm in diameter, and KCuFC powders were uniformly dispersed in KCuFC-MC particles. The uptake rate of Pd2+ for KCuFC-MC was attained within 3 d, and the uptake of Pd2+ was found to be independent of the temperature and coexisting HNO3 concentration. As for the breakthrough properties of Pd2+ through a column packed with KCuFC-MC, a breakpoint of 5% breakthrough was enhanced with lowering of flow rate and independent of coexisting HNO3 concentration. The Pd2+ ions were selectively adsorbed in the KCuFC crystal phase, while other metal ions such as Ru(NO)3+ and ZrO2+ were absorbed in the alginate phase. High uptake percentage of 98.6% was obtained by using the dissolved solutions of spent fuel from FBR-JOYO (119 GWd/t, JAEA). The alginate film enclosing KZnFC was further prepared by using the support of cellulose filter paper, where the Pd2+ ions were selectively adsorbed on the KZnFC-MC film. The alginate film enclosing insoluble ferrocyanides are predicted for the selective separation of Pd2+ as an ion-exchange filter. Thus, the microcapsules enclosing insoluble ferrocyanides are effective for the selective separation of Pd2+ from high-level liquid waste (HLLW). Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Visual Words Assignment Via Information-Theoretic Manifold Embedding

Codebook-based learning provides a flexible way to extract the contents of an image in a data-driven manner for visual recognition. One central task in such frameworks is codeword assignment, which allocates local image descriptors to the most similar codewords in the dictionary to generate histogram for categorization. Nevertheless, existing assignment approaches, e.g., nearest neighbors strategy (hard assignment) and Gaussian similarity (soft assignment), suffer from two problems: 1) too strong Euclidean assumption and 2) neglecting the label information of the local descriptors. To address the aforementioned two challenges, we propose a graph assignment method with maximal mutual information (GAMI) regularization. GAMI takes the power of manifold structure to better reveal the relationship of massive number of local features by nonlinear graph metric. Meanwhile, the mutual information of descriptor-label pairs is ultimately optimized in the embedding space for the sake of enhancing the discriminant property of the selected codewords. According to such objective, two optimization models, i.e., inexact-GAMI and exact-GAMI, are respectively proposed in this paper. The inexact model can be efficiently solved with a closed-from solution. The stricter exact-GAMI nonparametrically estimates the entropy of descriptor-label pairs in the embedding space and thus leads to a relatively complicated but still trackable optimization. The effectiveness of GAMI models are verified on both the public and our own datasets.
El uso de glauconita gastada en la producción de agregados ligeros

El trabajo presentado ha demostrado una aplicacion de agotado deposito de glauconita despues de la purificacion de aguas residuales para la produccion de aridos ligeros de arcilla expandida. Las aguas residuales, de la que fueron eliminados los iones Zn, vinieron de la linea tecnologica del equipo de comunicacion de la fabrica �gPZL�h . widnik. Agotado deposito de glauconita se utiliza como aditivo en la produccion de aridos ligeros que se obtuvo utilizando el metodo de plastico de la sinterizacion, a temperatura C. 1140 o y 1200 o C, de spent glauconita amouts10, 15, 20 y 25% en peso. con arcillas de la mina a cielo abierto �gBudy Mszczonowskie�h. La presencia de este mineral mejora la textura de sinterizacion, aumenta la porosidad y contribuye a la formacion de la capa vitrea en la superficie de los agregados. Pruebas de elucion de zinc a partir de las muestras de aridos ligeros ha demostrado la movilidad muy baja de iones de zinc. Contenido de zinc en los extractos acuosos obtenidos a partir de aridos ligeros es definitivamente menor que la concentracion de zinc permitido para la descarga de aguas residuales al agua o al suelo, significa que el material usado no es ofensivo para el medio ambiente ya que puede ser utilizado como un producto de alta calidad de la construccion.
Global Stability Analysis about a Congestion Control Scheme for Networks with Time Delay

In this paper, a congestion control scheme is developed, analyzed and implemented in a noncooperative game framework. By using a network model based on fluid approximations and through a realistic modeling of queues, the existence of a unique equilibrium is established as well as its global asymptotic stability for a general network topology, where boundary effects are also taken into account. The sufficient conditions are also provided for system stability when there is a bottleneck link shared by multiple users experiencing non-negligible communication delays. The theoretic results are meaningful for communication networks.
Automatic Optic Disc Detection and Removal of False Exudates for Improving Retinopathy Classification Accuracy

Detection of Optic disc (OD) in a fundus image is one of the important step in the process of automated screening of diabetic retinopathy. Hard Exudates detection algorithms generally find lot of false positives at the OD region since the intensity and colour distribution of OD region will much resemble that of a Hard Exudates region. So, most of the Exudates detection algorithms will wrongly classify the pixels at the OD region as Hard Exudates or Soft Exudates. In our previous work, we used Genetic Algorithm(GA) to find the OD location and size and reduced overall time, even doing the search on the entire problem space. In this work we are going to remove false hard exudates and will improving Retinopathy detection accuracy using GA based automatic optic disc detection and removal method. We are going to use the outputs of baseline hard exudates detection method presented in the of DIARETDB1(8) for evaluating the improvement after the removal of false positives in the OD region. We will evaluate the improvement in performance using the more versatile metric 'weighted error rate' (WER). After removing false positives at OD region by manual removal method and the proposed automatic removal method, we will compare the results of baseline method for evaluating the improvement in classification accuracy.
Device for spectral emissivity measurements of ceramics using a FT-IR spectrometer

Ceramic materials, in particular high temperature technical ceramics and refractories, are used in a wide range of temperature. Band and total emissivities of ceramics are needed for non-contact temperature measurements and for modeling of radiation heat transfer. If the spectral emissivities are known in a sufficient range of wavelength and temperature, the band and total emissivities for most applications can be calculated. At the University Duisburg-Essen an experimental setup for measuring of temperature-dependent spectral emissivities was modernized with a FT-IR-spectrometer. A remarkable quality improvement of the measurements could be reached. The spectral and temperature ranges of the measuring device are now 0.8 to 25 μm and 100 to 1200°C. In the paper a description of the measuring device will be given and selected examples of measuring possibilities of the spectrometer are shown. By the example of high temperature ceramics the obtained improvements of the device are presented for measured temperature-dependent spectral emissivities.
Reliable transmission of H.264 video over wireless network

A new error resilient method based on data partitioning and unequal error protection for H.264 video transmission over wireless network is proposed in this paper. By introducing the Impact factor of Inter MB and /spl rho/-curve, the method further divides the C type partition into several subtypes according to their effects to error propagation, then unequal error protection are applied to each partition including that of A, B and C partition. The theoretical model of rate allocation and a fast bidirectional local search algorithm based on iteratively improvement are also presented. The simulation results show that our proposed approach can achieve better results than conventional H.264 coding method (about 0.2-0.6 dB's gain in PSNR) when transmitting over wireless channel and can obtain more graceful degradation with the increasing of packet loss rate.
The Tumorigenic Roles of the Cellular REDOX Regulatory Systems

The cellular REDOX regulatory systems play a central role in maintaining REDOX homeostasis that is crucial for cell integrity, survival, and proliferation. To date, a substantial amount of data has demonstrated that cancer cells typically undergo increasing oxidative stress as the tumor develops, upregulating these important antioxidant systems in order to survive, proliferate, and metastasize under these extreme oxidative stress conditions. Since a large number of chemotherapeutic agents currently used in the clinic rely on the induction of ROS overload or change of ROS quality to kill the tumor, the cancer cell REDOX adaptation represents a significant obstacle to conventional chemotherapy. In this review we will first examine the different factors that contribute to the enhanced oxidative stress generally observed within the tumor microenvironment. We will then make a comprehensive assessment of the current literature regarding the main antioxidant proteins and systems that have been shown to be positively associated with tumor progression and chemoresistance. Finally we will make an analysis of commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs that induce ROS. The current knowledge of cancer cell REDOX adaptation raises the issue of developing novel and more effective therapies for these tumors that are usually resistant to conventional ROS inducing chemotherapy.
CONVERSATIONAL SPEECH USING DENOISING AUTOENCODER AND LSTM

In current studies, an extended subjective self-report method is generally used for measuring emotions. Even though it is commonly accepted that speech emotion perceived by the listener is close to the intended emotion conveyed by the speaker, research has ind icated that there still remains a mis match between them. In addition, the ind ividuals with different personalities generally have different emotion expressions. Based on the investigation, in this study, a support vector machine (SVM)-based emotion model is first developed to detect perceived emotion from daily conversational speech. Then, a denoising autoencoder (DAE) is used to construct an emotion conversion model to characterize the relationship between the perceived emotion and the expressed emotion of the subject for a specific personality. Finally, a long short-term memory (LSTM)based mood model is constructed to model the temporal fluctuation of speech emotions for mood detection. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieved a detection accuracy of 64.5%, improving by 5.0% compared to the HMM-based method.
Average BER Analysis of Differential Modulation in DF Cooperative Communication System over Gamma-Gamma Fading FSO Links

In this letter, we study differential modulation for decode-and-forward (DF) based free space optical (FSO) cooperative communication system over Gamma-Gamma fading channels. We derive exact bit error rate (BER) of the differential DF FSO system in terms of power series. The diversity order and coding gain of the differentially modulated DF FSO system are analytically obtained. It is demonstrated by analysis and simulation that the differential DF FSO system is able to achieve significant performance gain over a non-cooperative direct transmission based differential FSO system.
EGO: A Biomedical Ontology for Integrative Epigenome Representation and Analysis

Epigenomics is crucial to understand biological mechanisms beyond genome DNA. To better represent epigenomic knowledge and support data integration, we developed a prototype Epigenome Ontology (EGO). EGO top level hierarchy and design pattern are provided with a use case illustration. EGO is proposed to be used for statistically analyzing enriched epigenomic features based on given sequence data input using statistical methods. Keywords—Epigenome; ontology; EGO; enrichment analysis; ENCODE; ChIP-seq