Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Canonical Forms for Isomorphic and Equivalent RDF Graphs

Existential blank nodes greatly complicate a number of fundamental operations on Resource Description Framework (RDF) graphs. In particular, the problems of determining if two RDF graphs have the same structure modulo blank node labels (i.e., if they are isomorphic), or determining if two RDF graphs have the same meaning under simple semantics (i.e., if they are simple-equivalent), have no known polynomial-time algorithms. In this article, we propose methods that can produce two canonical forms of an RDF graph. The first canonical form preserves isomorphism such that any two isomorphic RDF graphs will produce the same canonical form; this iso-canonical form is produced by modifying the well-known canonical labelling algorithm Nauty for application to RDF graphs. The second canonical form additionally preserves simple-equivalence such that any two simple-equivalent RDF graphs will produce the same canonical form; this equi-canonical form is produced by, in a preliminary step, leaning the RDF graph, and then computing the iso-canonical form. These algorithms have a number of practical applications, such as for identifying isomorphic or equivalent RDF graphs in a large collection without requiring pairwise comparison, for computing checksums or signing RDF graphs, for applying consistent Skolemisation schemes where blank nodes are mapped in a canonical manner to Internationalised Resource Identifiers (IRIs), and so forth. Likewise a variety of algorithms can be simplified by presupposing RDF graphs in one of these canonical forms. Both algorithms require exponential steps in the worst case; in our evaluation we demonstrate that there indeed exist difficult synthetic cases, but we also provide results over 9.9 million RDF graphs that suggest such cases occur infrequently in the real world, and that both canonical forms can be efficiently computed in all but a handful of such cases.
Measuring the perceptual similarity of pitch contours

It has been shown that visual display systems of intonation can be employed beneficially in teaching intonation to persons with deafness and in teaching the intonation of a foreign language. In current training situations the correctness of a reproduced pitch contour is rated either by the teacher or automatically. In the latter case an algorithm mostly estimates the maximum deviation from an example contour. In game-like exercises, for instance, the pupil has to produce a pitch contour within the displayed floor and ceiling of a "tunnel" with a preadjusted height. In an experiment described in the companion paper, phoneticians had rated the dissimilarity of two pitch contours both auditorily, by listening to two resynthesized utterances, and visually, by looking at two pitch contours displayed on a computer screen. A test is reported in which these dissimilarity ratings were compared with automatic ratings obtained with this tunnel measure and with three other measures, the mean distance, the root-mean-square (RMS) distance, and the correlation coefficient. The most frequently used tunnel measure appeared to have the weakest correlation with the ratings by the phoneticians. In general, the automatic ratings obtained with the correlation coefficient showed the strongest correlation with the perceptual ratings. A disadvantage of this measure, however, may be that it normalizes for the range of the pitch contours. If range is important, as in intonation teaching to persons with deafness, the mean distance or the RMS distance are the best physical measures for automatic training of intonation.
Simplified rotor load models and fatigue damage estimates for offshore wind turbines

The aim of rotor load models is to characterize and generate the thrust loads acting on an offshore wind turbine. Ideally, the rotor simulation can be replaced by time series from a model with a few parameters and state variables only. Such models are used extensively in control system design and, as a potentially new application area, structural optimization of support structures. Different rotor load models are here evaluated for a jacket support structure in terms of fatigue lifetimes of relevant structural variables. All models were found to be lacking in accuracy, with differences of more than 20% in fatigue load estimates. The most accurate models were the use of an effective thrust coefficient determined from a regression analysis of dynamic thrust loads, and a novel stochastic model in state-space form. The stochastic model explicitly models the quasi-periodic components obtained from rotational sampling of turbulent fluctuations. Its state variables follow a mean-reverting Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. Although promising, more work is needed on how to determine the parameters of the stochastic model and before accurate lifetime predictions can be obtained without comprehensive rotor simulations.
Challenges in Data-to-Document Generation

Recent neural models have shown significant progress on the problem of generating short descriptive texts conditioned on a small number of database records. In this work, we suggest a slightly more difficult data-to-text generation task, and investigate how effective current approaches are on this task. In particular, we introduce a new, large-scale corpus of data records paired with descriptive documents, propose a series of extractive evaluation methods for analyzing performance, and obtain baseline results using current neural generation methods. Experiments show that these models produce fluent text, but fail to convincingly approximate human-generated documents. Moreover, even templated baselines exceed the performance of these neural models on some metrics, though copy- and reconstruction-based extensions lead to noticeable improvements.
Central Government Strategies to Promote Local Governments’ Transparency: Guidance or Enforcement?

Abstract The push to make governments more transparent extends worldwide, as transparency is expected to boost citizens’ trust in government and participation in public affairs. Recent transparency laws and open-government initiatives have encouraged local governments to share more information with their constituents. A growing number of recent studies have investigated the drivers of local governments’ transparency, but have not yet addressed the role of higher levels of government in making local governments more transparent. In light of implementation scholarship arguing the success of centrally designed programs is a function of higher-level involvement, this study contributes to the transparency literature by approaching local governments’ transparency as an intergovernmental implementation process. We assess the explanatory power of two central government strategies: enforcement mechanisms and central government guidance on Chilean municipalities’ transparency levels. Results show that both types of central government strategies can have a substantial impact on transparency over time.
Fission yeast meu14+ is required for proper nuclear division and accurate forespore membrane formation during meiosis II

Using a meiosis-specific subtracted cDNA library of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we identified meu14+ as a gene whose expression is upregulated during meiosis. Transcription of meu14+ is induced abruptly after the cell enters meiosis. Its transcription is dependent on the meiosis-specific transcription factor Mei4. In meu14Δ cells, the segregation and modification of the SPBs (spindle pole bodies) and microtubule elongation during meiosis II were aberrant. Meiotic meu14Δ cells consequently produced a high frequency of abnormal tetranucleate cells harboring aberrant forespore membranes and failed to produce asci. In wild-type cells harboring the integrated meu14+-gfp fusion gene, Meu14-GFP first appeared inside the nuclear region at prophase II, after which it accumulated beside the two SPBs at metaphase II. Thereafter, it formed two ring-shaped structures that surrounded the nucleus at early anaphase II. At post-anaphase II, it disappeared. Meu14-GFP appears to localize at the border of the forespore membrane that later develops into spore walls at the end of sporulation. This was confirmed by coexpressing Spo3-HA, a component of the forespore membrane, with Meu14-GFP. Taken together, we conclude that meu14+ is crucial in meiosis in that it participates in both the nuclear division during meiosis II and the accurate formation of the forespore membrane.
British civil defence policy in response to the threat of nuclear attack, 1972-1986

This thesis investigates how successive British governments in the last two decades of the Cold War developed and adapted civil defence policies aimed at mitigating the effects of a nuclear attack on the population of Britain. It tests the hypothesis that civil defence in Britain from 1972 until 1986 was shaped by three distinct influences; economic, ideological and external. It establishes in which ways and to what extent policy was shaped by these factors and which, if any, was the primary determinant of the major policy decisions of the time. It explains how changing economic, ideological and external contexts fused those policies with the political framework during those 15 years. It examines the theory and reality of civil defence, from its rebirth as a political and practical concern in 1972 until the end of civil defence as a practical and political response against a specific nuclear threat in 1986. It does so within the framework of a wider Cold War defence policy and explains how policy assumptions were constituted and perpetuated. By extrapolating and further analysing the idea of policy development as a direct result of certain key factors, this thesis charts the conceptualisation and evolution of civil defence through its fluctuating humanitarian, political, insurance and deterrent functions by which such policy may be explained and understood. The thesis concludes that determining one dominant influence from within the intensely symbiotic relationship of ideology, economics and external affairs is problematic. Rather it can be seen that the initiation of civil defence policy was the aspect of the policy cycle most closely influenced by ideology. The later formulation and implementation of that policy was primarily determined by the economic resources available. The ultimate existence of civil defence in its manifestation as protection against nuclear attack was wholly a reaction to the shifting developments of international affairs.
Room temperature wafer bonding using surface activated bonding method

The bonding possibility of Si-Si/Au-Au/Cu-Cu wafers is confirmed at room temperature using surface activated bonding method. The surface condition and the thickness of surface contamination of Si, Au and Cu are evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Various parameters, such as vacuum pressure, bonding time, bonding load, and bonding temperature, are studied in Si-Si wafer bonding. In the case of Au-Au and Cu-Cu wafer bonding, the influence of bonding temperature is investigated. Vacuum pressure is an important factor for room temperature Si-Si wafer bonding, whereas it is not sensitive in the case of Au-Au and Cu-Cu wafer bonding. The bonding energy of bonded Si-Si wafers can be obtained more than 1.95 J/m2 under the vacuum pressure of 2.5 times 10-6 Pa. Heating at 200degC may improve the bonding strength of Au-Au and Cu-Cu wafers, however it is not useful in Si-Si wafer bonding. At room temperature, the bonding strength of the bonded Si-Si wafer reaches 16.0 MPa, and that of bonded Au-Au wafer reaches 12.4 MPa.
Engraftment Versus Immunosuppression: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Immunosuppression After Intrahepatic Murine Islet Transplantation

Objective Immunosuppression (IS) in islet transplantation (Tx) is a double-edged sword: it prevents immunoreaction but has the potential to impair islet engraftment. The aim of this study was to identify in murine animal models the IS platform with the best balance between these two opposite effects. Methods To study the impact of IS on islet engraftment diabetic C57BL/6 mice were transplanted with 350 syngeneic islets through the portal vein and treated once-daily with either rapamycin (RAPA; 0.1–0.5–1 mg/kg ip), tacrolimus (FK506; 0.1–0.5–1 mg/kg ip), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF; 60–120–300 mg/kg oral) or vehicle for 14 days. Islet function was evaluated by measuring not-fasting glycemia and by performing an IVGTT on days 15 and 30 post-Tx. Results RAPA ≥0.5 mg/Kg, FK506 ≥0.5 mg/Kg, and MMF ≥120 mg/kg had detrimental effects on islet engraftment but not on the function of islets already engrafted in the liver. The effect on engraftment was irreversible and persisted even after IS withdrawal. The lower dose of IS that did not affect engraftment was tested for preventing rejection in the full mismatch allogeneic Tx BALB/c to C57BL/6 model. RAPA and/or FK506 were inefficient in preventing rejection, even when anti-IL2R mAb was added to the IS regimen. On the other hand, MMF alone or in association with FK506 significantly prolonged the time to islet rejection. Conclusion IS showed profound dose-dependent deleterious effects on islet cell engraftment. The MMF/FK506 combination proved the best balance with less toxicity at the time of engraftment and more efficacy in controlling graft rejection.
Determination of fossil carbon content in Swedish waste fuel by four different methods

This study aimed to determine the content of fossil carbon in waste combusted in Sweden by using four different methods at seven geographically spread combustion plants. In total, the measurement campaign included 42 solid samples, 21 flue gas samples, 3 sorting analyses and 2 investigations using the balance method. The fossil carbon content in the solid samples and in the flue gas samples was determined using 14C-analysis. From the analyses it was concluded that about a third of the carbon in mixed Swedish waste (municipal solid waste and industrial waste collected at Swedish industry sites) is fossil. The two other methods (the balance method and calculations from sorting analyses), based on assumptions and calculations, gave similar results in the plants in which they were used. Furthermore, the results indicate that the difference between samples containing as much as 80% industrial waste and samples consisting of solely municipal solid waste was not as large as expected. Besides investigating the fossil content of the waste, the project was also established to investigate the usability of various methods. However, it is difficult to directly compare the different methods used in this project because besides the estimation of emitted fossil carbon the methods provide other information, which is valuable to the plant owner. Therefore, the choice of method can also be controlled by factors other than direct determination of the fossil fuel emissions when considering implementation in the combustion plants.
Overcoming the technological hurdles in the development of probiotic foods

While it is undoubted that clinical evidence supporting the health-promoting activity of probiotic cultures is of paramount importance, it is probably less well appreciated that the technological suitability of these strains is also critical to their exploitation. In this respect, it is not surprising that many human intestinal isolates, many of which are obligatively anaerobic grow very poorly outside their natural habitat, the human gut. Indeed, much of the human intestinal flora are at present unculturable and can only be studied using culture-independent approaches. Consequently, the large-scale cultivation and subsequent storage of probiotic lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in high numbers often presents a major bottleneck to the realization of their commercial potential. For this reason, intensive research efforts have recently focussed on protecting the viability of probiotic cultures both during product manufacture and storage and during gastric transit. These studies have demonstrated that cultures can be significantly protected via encapsulation in a variety of carriers, which include milk proteins and complex (prebiotic) carbohydrates. In many cases, the resultant products not only have better probiotic viability but can also be regarded as 'synbiotics' given the presence of probiotics and prebiotics (Roberfroid 1998). The physiological state of the probiotic cultures being added to a product can also be a major factor affecting overall culture viability. In this respect, the induction of stress responses in probiotic strains can have a dramatic effect on the ability of cultures to survive processing, such as freeze drying and spray drying and during gastric transit. Indeed, we have recently generated probiotic cultures that overexpress the heat shock proteins GroESL and have demonstrated improved performance of the culture under a variety of conditions including heat, spray drying and exposure to gastric acid (Desmond et al. 2004). The addition of various protective compounds to probiotic cultures can also improve their viability during manufacture - examples include glucose to energize cells on exposure to acid (Corcoran et al. 2005) and cryoprotectents such as inulin to improve survivability during freeze drying (Carvalho et al. 2004). In conclusion, a number of novel technologies are now emerging which can improve the viability of human intestinal strains for probiotic applications, which means that it may be possible to exploit many 'sensitive' cultures which hitherto have been difficult to propagate and maintain at high cell numbers.
All Markets are not Created Equal - Evidence from the Ghana Stock Exchange

We investigated the model fit for volatility of returns from the Ghana Stock Exchange All Share Index for the Bayesian versions of GARCH(1,1) with student-t innovations and stochastic volatility. We found evidence in favour of the GARCH(1,1) with student-t innovations against the recommendation from the developed equity markets of preference for stochastic volatility models. We are of the view that model fit has to do with the development stage of a particular market. Issues like thin and asynchronous trading influence the data generating process; hence, we view financial econometric models as suitable to data depending on whether the market is developed, emerging or frontier.
Explaining election outcomes using web search data : evidence from the U.S. presidential elections 2008 - 2016

Can Google Trends data be used to proxy socially sensitive sentiments, and can such proxies explain election outcomes? This thesis analyzes the effects of different social sentiments, proxied by Google search data, on outcomes for the Republican Party in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 U.S. presidential elections. We assess the relationship between three socially sensitive sentiments and the outcome of presidential elections. The sentiments we examine are racial animus, immigration skepticism and far-right sentiment. We use data on the search terms “nigger” or “niggers”, “Breitbart News”, “Stormfront” and “Drudge Report”, and “Illegal immigration and residence” ahead of the three latest U.S. presidential elections to assess the prevalence of these sentiments. We look at the sentiments in both a long-term context, over a year, and short-term context, over two weeks. Using a fixed effects model controlling for both state and time fixed effects, we find a positive effect of long-term immigration skepticism, and both long-term and short-term farright sentiment, on the Republican election outcome. The estimated effects are small in magnitude. However, in the context of presidential elections, where a change of 1 percentage point can alter the election outcome, even small effects have potentially large consequences. Thus, our findings should be of value to both opinion pollsters and campaign strategists. Also, our analysis shows that higher increases than 1 index point in the proxied social sentiments should be regarded when interpreting the estimated effects, suggesting that the actual effect on the election outcome is likely larger in magnitude. The findings presented are especially interesting in two regards. Firstly, they contribute to the existing literature on the use of Internet search data in predicting and explaining election outcomes, as well as the literature on determinants of voting. Secondly, they bolster the argument for consideration of web search data in future election predictions and analyses. Further, the size, variation and availability of search data increases constantly due to continuing and substantial growth in online searches.
Adaptive Tracking Control for a Class of Stochastic Uncertain Nonlinear Systems With Input Saturation

In this technical note, the problem of adaptive tracking control is investigated for a class of stochastic uncertain nonlinear systems in the presence of input saturation. To analyze the effect of input saturation, an auxiliary system is employed. With the help of backstepping technique, an adaptive stochastic tracking control approach is developed. Under the proposed adaptive tracking controller, the boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop system is achieved almost surely. Moreover, distinct from most of the existing results, the ultimate tracking error can be bounded by an explicit function of design parameters and input saturation error (the error between the control input and saturated input) in the mean quartic sense. Finally, an example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Does studying abroad enhance employability?

Over 200,000 European students study abroad under the Erasmus programme. It appears that studying abroad may impart skills which are helpful for professional careers after graduation. Approximately, 54% of European students report that participation in the Erasmus exchange programme helped them to obtain a first job; however, interestingly, those from Central and Eastern European countries report it much more often—in 73% of cases. The aim of this paper is to find out whether studying abroad enhances the employability of higher education graduates in Poland. Using the propensity score matching method and data from a nationwide tracer survey of Polish graduates, we find that Polish students who completed at least one semester of their studies abroad do not benefit in terms of a higher employment rate after graduation.
Maintenance therapy with triple versus double immunosuppressive regimen in renal transplantation: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of triple immunosuppressive maintenance therapy (cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisolone) with that of double therapy (cyclosporine and prednisolone) in renal transplant patients using graft failure, mortality, and acute rejection episodes as outcome measures. METHODS A systematic overview of articles published between 1984 and 1995 was done. MEDLINE, Science Citation Index, reference lists, and expert files were searched. Of 449 originally identified studies, five controlled trials were finally selected. Information was retrieved on the topics of methodological quality, baseline characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. The Mantel-Haenszel fixed effect method was used to combine results from different studies. RESULTS Pooled analysis did not show a statistically significant difference between triple-drug therapy and double-drug therapy in the main outcome of graft failure (odds ratio [OR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-1.16), survival (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.57-1.21), or the occurrence of acute graft rejection (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.76-1.36). There was a nonsignificant trend for better graft survival under triple therapy. A lower withdrawal rate suggests a more stable immunosuppressive effect on triple therapy. CONCLUSIONS There is no statistically significant difference in the long-term management of renal transplant recipients between the two treatment regimens.