Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linearly Constrained Nonsmooth and Nonconvex Minimization

Motivated by variational models in continuum mechanics, we introduce a novel algorithm to perform nonsmooth and nonconvex minimizations with linear constraints in Euclidean spaces. We show how this algorithm is actually a natural generalization of the well-known nonstationary augmented Lagrangian method for convex optimization. The relevant features of this approach are its applicability to a large variety of nonsmooth and nonconvex objective functions, its guaranteed convergence to critical points of the objective energy independently of the choice of the initial value, and its simplicity of implementation. In fact, the algorithm results in a nested double loop iteration. In the inner loop an augmented Lagrangian algorithm performs an adaptive finite number of iterations on a fixed quadratic and strictly convex perturbation of the objective energy, depending on a parameter which is adapted by the external loop. To show the versatility of this new algorithm, we exemplify how it can be used for computing c.
Merging, Masquerading and Morphing: Metaphors and the World Wide Web

We examine the role of metaphors in relation to Web-based phenomena through a comparative study of 29 Web portals, established under a World Bank project known as the Development Gateway. Our analysis suggests that three metaphors — expert, market and community — are particularly significant across these portals, either separately or in combination. The study indicates three particular ways in which these metaphors can combine — merging, masquerading and morphing. We conclude by discussing the implications of using metaphor to understand how practitioners design Web portals and how users engage with them.
Algebraic Analysis of LEX

LEX is a stream cipher that progressed to Phase 3 of the eSTREAM stream cipher project. In this paper, we show that the security of LEX against algebraic attacks relies on a small equation system not being solvable faster than exhaustive search. We use the byte leakage in LEX to construct a system of 21 equa- tions in 17 variables. This is very close to the require- ment for an efficient attack, i.e. a system containing 16 variables. The system requires only 36 bytes of keystream, which is very low.
Using Problem-Solving Conversation With Children

Verbal communication is a major tool for parents and educators who want to influence children's behavior and development. Although the literature concerning interviewing skills is extensive, only a few authors address conversation techniques, specifically processes that may be used with children. Problem-solving conversation (PSC) with children comprises a structured interview that parents, educators, counselors, and therapists can implement. It consists of four stages: listening to the child, probing reevaluation, exploring alternatives and setting a new plan, and follow up. It facilitates the development of the child's ego, personal growth, and sense of responsibility and is an aid to dealing with children's daily behavioral problems as well as more global issues.
When Eros meets autos: Marriage to someone with autism spectrum disorder

While research attention focuses on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Asperger syndrome (AS) in children, little is known about the condition in adulthood. The majority of adults with AS/ASD remain undiagnosed and many of these individuals marry, bringing unexplained and significant challenges to the couple’s relationship. When a partner or couple seeks therapy, an important source of problematic symptoms remains unrecognized, and therapists who do not discern how AS neurology impacts a family system risk compounding their clients’ presenting issues. Often it is the partner without AS, or neurotypical (NT), who is considered responsible for the relational distress, usually the female due to the heavily male-skewed AS diagnostic ratio of 8:1. Anecdotal and clinical reports consistently underscore serious adverse effects on the physical and psychosocial well-being of NT spouses, yet the lived experience of this population has been remarkably neglected by researchers. This study used Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method to investigate what it is like to be married to someone with Asperger syndrome, based on semi-structured individual interviews with 10 current or former NT spouses. Edith Stein’s feminist phenomenological theory was applied in order to level power hierarchy, while Finlay’s model of “reflexive embodied empathy” served for data collection and “embodied dwelling” for analysis. To illumine the core mental processes involved in adult intimate relationships, attachment and interpersonal neurobiology theory oriented the literature review which served to identify the knowledge gap that this study sought to address. The results were unexpected, and revealed a pattern of intimate partner abuse so pervasive that it emerged as the lifestyle of the couples. The five forms of domestic violence (emotional, sexual, psychological, economic, physical) characterized the lived experience of the participants. Based on the results, suggested interventions include: screening for PTSD and complex trauma in distressed NT spouses or former spouses; Korn’s integrative psychobiological treatment approach to trauma; Jordan’s mutually empathic relational-cultural model to restore intersubjective processes; and, Brown’s feminist therapy to reclaim a sense of self and inform subsequent support strategies.
Improved efficiency for revocation schemes via Newton interpolation

We present a novel way to implement the secret-sharing-based family of revocation schemes of Naor and Pinkas [2003]. The basic scheme of [Naor and Pinkas 2000] uses Shamir's polynomial secret-sharing to revoke up to r users, where r is the degree of the secret-sharing polynomial, and it is information theoretically secure against coalitions of up to r collaborators. The nonrevoked users use Lagrange interpolation in order to compute the new key. Our basic scheme uses a novel modification of Shamir's polynomial secret-sharing: The secret equals the leading coefficient of the polynomial (as opposed to the free coefficient as in the original scheme) and the polynomial is reconstructed by Newton interpolation (rather than Lagrange interpolation). Comparing our scheme to one variant of the Naor--Pinkas scheme, we offer revocation messages that are shorter by a factor of almost 2, while the computation cost at the user end is smaller by a constant factor of approximately 13/2. Comparing to a second variant of the Naor--Pinkas scheme, our scheme offers a reduction of O(r) in the computation cost at the user end, without affecting any of the other performance parameters. We then extend our basic scheme to perform multiround revocation for stateless and stateful receivers, along the lines offered by Naor and Pinkas [2000] and Kogan et al. [2003]. We show that using Newton rather than Lagrange interpolants enables a significantly more efficient transmission of the new revocation message and shorter response time for each round. Pay TV systems that implement broadcast encryption techniques can benefit significantly from the improved efficiency offered by our revocation schemes.
Music, Mind and Programs

In the novel Die Autoanate (Hoffmann, 1957 ed.), the German writer Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822) describes different kinds of musical automatons which play music with expression and musicality. The whole novel is based on the effect of the automatic performances on the feelings of the two personages and on the appearance of musical automatons which simulate, with their musical skill and expressiveness, the structures of the knowledge and feelings of human beings. Such a theme is not surprising in that period. At the end of the 18th century, the representation of man as a machine was a featuring point of philosophical thought (La Mettrie, 1970; Cabanis 1960). But the relevant feature of the novel was representing the
The use of encryption to ensure the integrity of reusable software components

Several efforts are currently underway to foster a marketplace for reusable software components based upon interoperating electronic libraries containing managed collections of components. In such a marketplace, it is necessary for potential users to be able to verify the origin of candidate components and to assure that they have not been modified by third parties. This paper proposes a method for providing the assurance through the application of modern encryption techniques. <<ETX>>
Investigating Purchase Timing Behavior in Two Related Product Categories

The authors’ objective is to investigate the purchase timing behavior of households in two product categories for which the decision of a household to make a purchase in one category at a given point in time influences purchase in the other category. Interdependence in purchase timing between the two categories is modeled using a bivariate hazard function approach that accounts for unobserved heterogeneity. The authors provide empirical results from five durable and nondurable goods product category pairs—pasta and pasta sauce, liquid and powder detergents, clothes washers and dryers, soup and yogurt, and room air conditioners and dishwashers. The latter two categories are included in the analysis to ensure that the model can distinguish between true and spurious dependence caused by categories being purchased together. The authors find that the estimated cross-category correlation parameter obtained from the bivariate hazard model is consistent with prior expectations in each of the product categories. As in the literature on univariate hazard models, the authors find the bivariate hazard functions to be nonmonotonic in nature. Using the proposed model, the impact of price reductions in one category on the purchase probabilities in both categories is examined using the pasta/pasta sauce product pair. Given the positive relationship in the purchasing in these two categories, the authors find that a price cut in one category increases the purchase probabilities of both pasta and pasta sauce.
Cultural consequences on traveler risk perception and safety

This article explores the relationship between national culture and perceived travel risk, safety, anxiety, and travel intentions. Two hundred forty-six Australian and 336 foreign respondents were surveyed as to their cultural orientation, travel risk and safety perception, anxiety, and intentions to travel. The results of path analysis show that the uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism and, in particular, long/short-term cultural orientations are the most significant predictors of travel risk and safety perceptions in both samples. The terrorism and sociocultural risk emerged as the most significant determinants of travel anxiety and safety. Anxiety and level of perceived safety determined intentions to travel internationally. Implications of the study results are discussed.
Ten minutes a day: The impact of Interactive Writing instruction on first graders’ independent writing

This study examined the effects of Interactive Writing, a dynamic approach to writing instruction designed specifically for young children, on the independent writing of first graders enrolled in urban schools in a large metropolitan area. Children in the Interactive Writing condition (N = 49) showed greater growth on measures of independent writing than a comparison group (N = 52). Students’ written performance in response to a prompt indicated that those who participated in Interactive Writing not only improved in their overall independent writing, but also made greater gains on nine out of 10 of the individual subcomponents of writing measured: Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Spelling of High-Frequency Words, Spelling of Other Words, Capitalization, Punctuation, and Handwriting. These results were obtained in classrooms that spent an average of 10.5 minutes a day engaged in Interactive Writing and thus demonstrate its potential as a daily practice to improve children’s independent writing.
HLA Class I Supertype Associations With Clinical Outcome of Secondary Dengue Virus Infections in Ethnic Thais.

BACKGROUND Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) supertypes are groups of functionally related alleles that present structurally similar antigens to the immune system. OBJECTIVES To analyze HLA class I supertype associations with clinical outcome in hospitalized Thai children with acute dengue illness. METHODS Seven hundred sixty-two patients and population-matched controls recruited predominantly in Bangkok were HLA-A and -B typed. HLA supertype frequencies were compared and tested for significant dengue disease associations using logistic regression analyses. Multivariable models were built by conducting forward stepwise selection procedures. RESULTS In the final logistic regression model, the HLA-B44 supertype was protective against dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in secondary infections (odds ratio [OR] = 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI], .30-.72), while the HLA-A02 supertype (OR = 1.92, 95% CI, 1.30-2.83) and the HLA-A01/03 supertype (OR = 3.01, 95% CI, 1.01-8.92) were associated with susceptibility to secondary dengue fever. The B07 supertype was associated with susceptibility to secondary DHF in the univariate analysis (OR = 1.60, 95% CI, 1.05-2.46), whereas that was not retained in the final model. CONCLUSIONS As the HLA-B44 supertype is predicted to target conserved epitopes in dengue, our results suggest that B44 supertype-restricted immune responses to highly conserved regions of the dengue proteome may protect against secondary DHF.
Teacher education lesson observation as boundary crossing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test and develop a new tool for lesson observation and feedback within the context of initial teacher education. The tool was designed to align with the practitioner enquiry model of teacher learning underpinning the course, and as such it drew mentors into the mode of responding to their students’ questions.Design/methodology/approach – The research was undertaken as a Design Study. The design of the tool led to an iterative, collaborative, process‐focused approach to the development of the observation tool. Students and their mentors were encouraged to experiment with and report on their observation experience.Findings – The observation tool altered the quality of the mentoring relationship through focusing on enquiry as its foundation. Feedback from student teachers and their mentors helped us to define the role of observation in the process of professional learning and to review the nature of the mentoring relationship which emerged.Practical implications – Si.
A practical PID-based scheme for the collaborative driving of automated vehicles

For automated vehicles operated in platoons, it is important to see what information is necessary to be communicated between vehicles to ensure safety and performance in maneuvering, and how complicated the controllers are to be implemented. In this paper, we address the platoon problem by using the decentralized proportional, integral and derivative (PID) control approach for the applications of autonomous vehicles, which are modelled as an interconnected system in the form of the well known bicycle model. The control inputs for each vehicle are the traction force and steering angle. The practical collaborative driving approach consists of two main scenarios: the leader-follower platoon and the overtaking maneuver. Only the relative position and following angle between two adjacent vehicles are required for the controller design. Simulation results and dynamic visualization using virtual reality toolbox are demonstrated to show the effectiveness of the simple and practical approach.
An Efficient Numerical Scheme for Solving Fractional Optimal Control Problems

This paper presents an accurate numerical method for solving a class of fractional optimal control problems (FOCPs). The fractional derivative in these problems is in the Caputo sense. In this technique, we approximate FOCPs and end up with a finite dimensional problem. The method is based on the combination of the useful properties of Chebyshev polynomials approximation and finite difference method. The fractional derivative approximated using the proposed formula here, along with Clenshaw and Curtis procedure for the numerical integration of a non-singular functions and the Rayleigh-Ritz method for the constrained extremum are considered. By the proposed method the given FOCP is reduced to a problem for solving a system of algebraic equations and by solving it, we obtain the solution of FOCP. The error upper bound of the obtained approximate formula is proved. Illustrative examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed technique. A comparison with another method is given.
Combined Method for Adaptive Channel Estimation with Application to DMT Systems

We propose a Second-Order Statistics (SOS)-based channel estimator that finds application in Discrete MultiTone (DMT) systems. Most SOS adaptive channel estimators are based either on Newton–Raphson or on steepest descent methods. These classes of methods have complementary advantages and disadvantages. In this contribution, a new adaptive channel estimator based on combined Conjugate Gradient-NR method is developed. Among a number of attractive features, the combined estimator demands less computational complexity than that required by NR-based estimators, and when compared to CG estimators, the combined estimator exhibits better convergence especially for ill-conditioned channels. All mentioned theoretical results are illustrated by numerical results for estimates of randomly generated and real measured channels. Comparison with other well-known algorithms shows good trade off between performance and complexity.
Technology, change, and management control: a temporal perspective

Purpose - This paper aims to analyze the implications of technology change on management control. Specifically, the paper seeks to examine the deployment of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP), and to apply a temporal perspective of practice as a theoretical tool to discuss the effects of the ERP on the organization's management control systems. Design/methodology/approach - The research is based on a longitudinal case study of a North American Financial. Data were collected during the deployment of a new management control system. The paper introduces the temporal view of agency as a means of examining the practices involved in control system. Findings - The observations suggest that ERP can create an illusion of control, and may jeopardize the systems they are meant to augment through the presence of practices meant to by-pass the control system and invisible work (work-arounds). Originality/value - The paper seeks to augment existing studies of technology mitigated change through framing the analysis in a temporal practice perspective to offer insight into the paths of action individuals adopt: the how and why.
Nudging: A Very Short Guide

This brief essay offers a general introduction to the idea of nudging, along with a list of 10 of the most important “nudges. ” It also provides a short discussion of the question whether to create some kind of separate “behavioral insights unit,” capable of conducting its own research, or instead to rely on existing institutions.
Efficient Approach for Sinusoidal Frequency Estimation of Gapped Data

The problem of frequency estimation for noisy sinusoidal signals from multiple segments or channels, which are referred to as gapped data, is addressed. Based on linear prediction and weighted least squares techniques, an iterative relaxation-based frequency estimator is devised and analyzed. The proposed algorithm is also extended to harmonically related frequencies. Computer simulations are conducted to compare the estimation performance of the developed approach with an existing multichannel frequency estimator and Crame¿r-Rao lower bound.
Multivalued Subsets under Information Theory

In the fields of finance, engineering and sciences data mining/ machine learning has held an eminent position in predictive analysis. Complex algorithms and adaptive decision models have contributed towards streamlining research as well as improve forecasting. Extensive study in areas surrounding computation and mathematical sciences has primarily been responsible for the field's development. Classification based modeling, which holds a prominent position amongst the different rule-based algorithms, is one of the most widely used decision making tool. The decision tree has a place of profound significance in classification modeling. A number of heuristics have been developed over the years to refine its decision making process. Most heuristics applied to such tree-based learning algorithms derive their roots from Shannon's 'Information Theory'. The current application of this theory is directed towards individual assessment of the attribute-values. The proposed study takes a look at the effects of combining these values with the aim to improve the 'Information Gain'. A search-based heuristic tool is applied for identifying the subsets sharing a better gain value than the ones presented in the GID3 approach. An application towards the feature selection stage of the mining process has been tested and presented with statistical analysis.
Phosphatidic Acid-dependent Recruitment and Function of the Rac Activator DOCK1 during Dorsal Ruffle Formation*

Background: DOCK1 is an atypical Rac activator. Results: Activation of the PDGF receptor induces DOCK1 translocation to the dorsal ruffles through association with phosphatidic acid. Blocking of this interaction impairs dorsal, but not peripheral, ruffle formation. Conclusion: Phosphatidic acid acts as a lipid anchor for DOCK1 during dorsal ruffle formation. Significance: A novel regulatory mechanism for dorsal ruffle formation was identified. Activation of receptor tyrosine kinases leads to the formation of two different types of plasma membrane structures: peripheral ruffles and dorsal ruffles. Although the formation of both ruffle types requires activation of the small GTPase Rac, the difference in kinetics suggests that a distinct regulatory mechanism operates for their ruffle formation. DOCK1 and DOCK5 are atypical Rac activators and are both expressed in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). We found that although PDGF-induced Rac activation and peripheral ruffle formation were coordinately regulated by DOCK1 and DOCK5 in MEFs, DOCK1 deficiency alone impaired dorsal ruffle formation in MEFs. Unlike DOCK5, DOCK1 bound to phosphatidic acid (PA) through the C-terminal polybasic amino acid cluster and was localized to dorsal ruffles. When this interaction was blocked, PDGF-induced dorsal ruffle formation was severely impaired. In addition, we show that phospholipase D, an enzyme that catalyzes PA synthesis, is required for PDGF-induced dorsal, but not peripheral, ruffle formation. These results indicate that the phospholipase D-PA axis selectively controls dorsal ruffle formation by regulating DOCK1 localization.