Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling Context Aware Dynamic Trust Using Hidden Markov Model

Modeling trust in complex dynamic environments is an important yet challenging issue since an intelligent agent may strategically change its behavior to maximize its profits. In thispaper, we propose a context aware trust model to predict dynamic trust by using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to model an agent's interactions. Although HMMs have already been applied in the past to model an agent's dynamic behavior to greatly improve the traditional static probabilistic trust approaches, most HMM based trust models only focus on outcomes of the past interactions without considering interaction context, which we believe, reflects immensely on the dynamic behavior or intent of an agent. Interaction contextual information is comprehensively studied and integrated into the model to more precisely approximate an agent's dynamic behavior. Evaluation using real auction data and synthetic data demonstrates the efficacy of our approach in comparison with previous state-of-the-art trust mechanisms.
CURRENT AND FUTURE LAND USE MODELS

The urgency of the environmental debate has renewed the interest in the application of integrated models of urban land use and transportation. In the United States new legislation inspired by growing environmental awareness such as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 requires that transportation planning must consider the interaction between transportation and land use in a consistent fashion – as it can be done only by land-use transportation models. However, this new interest in land use models also presents new challenges to the land use modelling community. A new generation of activity-based travel models and new neighborhoodscale transportation planning policies require more detailed information on household demographics and employment characteristics and the location of activities. Moreover, the models need to be able to predict not only economic but also environmental impacts of land-use transportation policies. Today there exist several operational urban land-use transportation models which have the potential to respond to these challenges. At the same time there exist exciting opportunities to incorporate new theoretical developments and methodologies into the field. The paper reviews the current state of the art of operational land-use transportation models using criteria such as comprehensiveness, overall structure, theoretical foundations, modeling techniques, dynamics, data requirements, calibration and validation, operationality and applicability and evaluates their suitability with respect to the new requirements and speculates about the most promising avenues to further improvement and diffusion of this kind of model.
Out of Vocabulary Words Decrease, Running Texts Prevail and Hashtags Coalesce: Twitter as an Evolving Sociolinguistic System

Twitter is one of the most popular social media. Due to the ease of availability of data, Twitter is used significantly for research purposes. Twitter is known to evolve in many aspects from what it was at its birth, nevertheless, how it evolved its own linguistic style is still relatively unknown. In this paper, we study the evolution of various sociolinguistic aspects of Twitter over large time scales. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on the evolution of such aspects of this OSN. We performed quantitative analysis both on the word level as well as on the hashtags since it is perhaps one of the most important linguistic units of this social media. We studied the (in)formality aspects of the linguistic styles in Twitter and find that it is neither fully formal nor completely informal, while on one hand, we observe that Out-Of-Vocabulary words are decreasing over time (pointing to a formal style), on the other hand it is quite evident that whitespace usage is getting reduced with a huge prevalence of running texts (pointing to an informal style). We also analyze and propose quantitative reasons for repetition and coalescing of hashtags in Twitter. We believe that such phenomena may be strongly tied to different evolutionary aspects of human languages.
Viewpoint Paper: Electronic Support for Public Health: Validated Case Finding and Reporting for Notifiable Diseases Using Electronic Medical Data

Health care providers are legally obliged to report cases of specified diseases to public health authorities, but existing manual, provider-initiated reporting systems generally result in incomplete, error-prone, and tardy information flow. Automated laboratory-based reports are more likely accurate and timely, but lack clinical information and treatment details. Here, we describe the Electronic Support for Public Health (ESP) application, a robust, automated, secure, portable public health detection and messaging system for cases of notifiable diseases. The ESP application applies disease specific logic to any complete source of electronic medical data in a fully automated process, and supports an optional case management workflow system for case notification control. All relevant clinical, laboratory and demographic details are securely transferred to the local health authority as an HL7 message. The ESP application has operated continuously in production mode since January 2007, applying rigorously validated case identification logic to ambulatory EMR data from more than 600,000 patients. Source code for this highly interoperable application is freely available under an approved open-source license at http://esphealth.org.
The structure of the Social Self-Concept (SSC) Questionnaire

The aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of the Social Self-Concept Questionnaire (SSQ), newly, made up of two scales: social responsibility and social competence. A review of both theories of human social development as previous attempts to measure social self-concept a theoretical proposal that the social self is the conjunction of two basic self-perceptions was born: competence in social relationships and response to the demands of social functioning. Participated in research 818 students aged between 17 and 52 years. The results obtained by confirmatory factor analysis, endorse the hypothesized two interrelated factors structure. This work, in addition to providing a new measuring instrument with adequate psychometric characteristics and validity that justify its use both in practice as applied in the field of research, helps to better understand the inner nature of the social domain of the self-concept.
Cosy: Develop in User-Land, Run in Kernel-Mode

User applications that move a lot of data across the user-kernel boundary suffer from a serious performance penalty. We provide a framework, Compound System Calls (Cosy), to enhance the performance of such user-level applications. Cosy provides a user-friendly mechanism to execute the data-intensive code segment of the application in the kernel. This is achieved by aggregating the data-intensive system calls and the intermediate code into a compound. This compound is executed in the kernel, avoiding redundant data copies. A Cosy version of GCC makes the formation of a Cosy compound simple. Cosy-GCC automatically converts user-defined code segments into compounds. To ensure the security of the kernel, we use a combination of static and dynamic checks. We limit the execution time of the application in the kernel by usinga modified preemptible kernel. Kernel data integrity is assured by performing necessary dynamic checks. Static checks are enforced by Cosy-GCC. To study the performance benefits of our Cosy prototype, we instrumented applications such as grep and ls. These application showed an improvement of 20-80%. Our current work focuses on faster and secure execution of entire programs in the kernel without source code modification.
The Dream Palace of the Arabs: A Generation's Odyssey

MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS The Dream Palace of the Arabs: A Generation's Odyssey by Fouad Ajami. New York: Pantheon Books, 1998. xx + 312 pages. Notes to p. 322. Acknowledgments to p. 324. Index to p. 344. $26. Reviewed by Charles E. Butterworth This rich, provocative book poignantly reveals Fouad Ajami's inability to make cultural and political sense of a political, intellectual, and literary world he disparages even as he seems to admire its many layers. Still, Ajami's style, as befitting one who must be likened to V.S. Naipaul in tone and content, is most attractive. The dream palace of the title hearkens back to a passage in T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and Ajami seeks to account for what has become of this "intellectual edifice of secular nationalism and modernity" since 1970 or so. Somewhat autobiographical, especially in the first two chapters, the book betrays Ajami's bitterness both toward his elders and his own generation. At the same time, it offers a most unusual, thickly woven social history of prominent Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian Arab writers. For the most part, Ajami refers to the writings and general history of their lives to illustrate their sorrow at the transformation of their world, all the while attempting to identify the agents of that change. In chapter 2, for example, he probes the life of Khalil Hawi-reaching back to Beirut of the 19th century and describing its evolution through the middle and late 20th century-to provide a rich social history of the city and of how it shaped Lebanon. The reader comes to know Hawi, his family, and his struggle intimately, as well as the literary and even the para-military endeavors of Christians (e.g., Anton Saadah) to gain recognition there. The tale, replete with little by-ways and sketches of writers as academics, nonetheless celebrates petty injustice while ignoring massive outrage. It was not, after all, slights fueled by false social values that prompted Hawi to kill himself on June 6, 1982, but the Israeli invasion. In the face of such horror, how can it be said that "he protested too much" (p. 73 with pp. 87-89)? Chapter 3 provides a sweeping political history of the Middle East from that infamous day on to Desert Storm 1991, as reflected in the writings and actions of Adonis, Nizar Qabbani, and Abdelrahman Munif-these given perspective by mini-dissertations on language, tribal custom, and religious doctrine. Seizing upon the tension these writers (above all, Adonis) discerned between the demands of tradition and modernity, Ajami probes for their response to it in their biography, not their writings. …
The in vitro effect of pegylated recombinant human megakaryocyte growth and development factor (PEG rHuMGDF) on megakaryopoiesis in normal subjects and patients with myelodysplasia and acute myeloid leukaemia

Mpl ligand is a recently cloned haemopoietic growth factor that stimulates megakaryopoiesis in vitro and in vivo. We describe the in vitro effect of a truncated form of Mpl ligand, recombinant human megakaryocyte growth and development factor (rHuMGDF), on megakaryopoiesis in bone marrow from normal subjects and patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We used both semi‐solid and suspension culture techniques to assess the effect of pegylated (PEG) rHuMGDF on megakaryocyte colony growth (CFU‐Mk) and on the production of CD61+ cells in 7 d suspension cultures. PEG rHuMGDF increased CFU‐Mk growth and CD61+ cell production in a dose‐dependent fashion in all normal marrows tested. Normal CFU‐Mk growth was increased threefold with the addition of 10 ng/ml PEG rHuMGDF to cultures and CD61+ cells were increased 8–10‐fold by the same dose. Although increased CFU‐Mk growth was only seen in 1/10 AML and 6/16 MDS marrows, CD61+ cell numbers in suspension culture were increased in 9/13 AML and 12/15 MDS samples, responses ranged from very limited to normal magnitude. There was no correlation between platelet count and CFU‐Mk number, CD61+ cell number or response to PEG rHuMGDF. We did not find any increased CFU‐GM colony or cluster growth in response to PEG rHuMGDF and the CD61+ cells produced in suspension culture had features of megakaryocytic differentiation. These data suggest that PEG rHuMGDF can enhance megakaryocyte proliferation in some patients with MDS and AML, and may have a role in the treatment of thrombocytopenia in these patients.
Coherence-Based 3-D and Spectral Imaging and Laser-Scanning Microscopy

The basics of three-dimensional (3-D) and spectral imaging techniques that are based on the detection of coherence functions and other related techniques are reviewed. The principle of the 3-D source retrieval is based on understanding the propagation law of optical random field through the free space. The 3-D and spectral information are retrieved from the cross-spectral density function of optical random field or numerical calculation of the inverse propagation of the cross-spectral density. We will first introduce the coherence-based spectral tomography techniques with low-coherence light sources. These techniques limit their scheme of coherence detection only along the optical axis and some of them achieve simultaneously the high resolution and high speed of detection taking advantage of an imaging lens. We then provided explanations of the principle of 3-D source retrieval that is based on the propagation law of optical random field through the free space along with the introduction of the numerical holography and computed tomography techniques. We will lastly show 3-D spectral imaging schemes with the concurrent laser-scanning cross-sectioning techniques: one is the confocal laser scanning microscopy and the other is the two-photon laser-scanning fluorescence microscopy.
Use of Insecticide-Treated School Uniforms for Prevention of Dengue in Schoolchildren: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Background Dengue-related illness is a leading cause of hospitalization and death, particularly among children. Practical, acceptable and affordable measures are urgently needed to protect this age group. Schools where children spend most of their day is proposed as an ideal setting to implement preventive strategies against day-biting Aedes mosquitoes. The use of insecticide-treated school uniforms is a promising strategy currently under investigation. Methods Using a decision-analytic model, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the use of insecticide-treated school uniforms for prevention of dengue, compared with a “do-nothing” alternative, in schoolchildren from the societal perspective. We explored how the potential economic value of the intervention varied under various scenarios of intervention effectiveness and cost, as well as dengue infection risk in school-aged children, using data specific to Thailand. Results At an average dengue incidence rate of 5.8% per year in school-aged children, the intervention was cost-effective (ICER≤$16,440) in a variety of scenarios when the intervention cost per child was $5.3 or less and the intervention effectiveness was 50% or higher. In fact, the intervention was cost saving (ICER<0) in all scenarios in which the intervention cost per child was $2.9 or less per year and the intervention effectiveness was 50% or higher. The results suggested that this intervention would be of no interest to Thai policy makers when the intervention cost per child was $10.6 or higher per year regardless of intervention effectiveness (ICER>$16,440). Conclusions Our results present the potential economic value of the use of insecticide-treated uniforms for prevention of dengue in schoolchildren in a typical dengue endemic setting and highlight the urgent need for additional research on this intervention.
Relationship between shortness of final body height and fluctuating asymmetry in Turkish young males

Background: Body height is a versatile bio-indicator in that it reflects the quality of physical development. Fluctuating asymmetry, on the other hand, refers to small random deviations from perfect symmetry in bilaterally paired structures and is believed to reflect the ability of an organism to cope with genetic and environmental stresses during its development. Aim: This study sought to investigate the relationship between body height and fluctuating asymmetry in young adult males who display different height-development structures. Subject and methods: Height and eight bilateral non-facial traits were measured in a sample of 320 young male individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds who display differences in height. Z-scores of each individual were calculated based on the age-range values indicated in the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) 2000 growth data of the US. Results: The five measurements demonstrating fluctuating asymmetry indicate that there is a significant increase in fluctuating asymmetry that parallels the decrease in body height. Developmental stability increases with the increasing body height. Conclusion: This finding implies that the stresses causing slower growth in body height might have negative effects also on fluctuating asymmetry.
ASEP PROCEDURES RECOMMENDATION I: ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND POWER

LEE E. BROWN AND JOSEPH P. WEIR. ASEP Procedures Recommendation I: Accurate Assessment Of Muscular Strength And Power. JEPonline. 2001;4(3):1-21. The content of this manuscript is intended to assist the reader in collecting valid and reliable data for quantifying muscular strength and power. Various drawbacks and pitfalls of specific tests, as well as recommendations for the practitioner are also provided. The content is divided into sections covering isometric, isotonic, field tests, and isokinetic modes of exercise. Inherent in these modes are both concentric and eccentric muscle actions as well as both open and closed kinetic chain activities. For Isometric testing, contractions should occur over a four to five seconds duration with a one second transition period at the start of the contraction. At least one minute of rest should be provided between contractions. For each muscle tested at each position, at least three contractions should be performed although more may be performed if deemed necessary by the tester. For isotonic testing, the 1-RM test should be performed. After the general warm-up, the subject should perform a specific warm-up set of 8 repetitions at approximately 50% of the estimated 1-RM followed by another set of 3 repetitions at 70% of the estimated 1RM. Subsequent lifts are single repetitions of progressively heavier weights until failure. Repeat until the 1-RM is determined to the desired level of precision. The rest interval between sets should be not less than one and not more than five minutes. The optimal number of single repetitions ranges from three to five. Data and guidelines of the following field tests are also provided ; vertical jump, bench press, Wingate anaerobic cycle test (WAT), and the Margaria stair-run test. For isokinetic testing, details are provided for testing peak torque, work, power, endurance, and estimation of fiber type percentages.
Accurate clock models for simulating Wireless Sensor Networks

Time-critical parts of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications, like medium access (MAC) and synchronization protocols, require an accurate timing analysis of their behavior. Meaningful simulation results are only achieved when the simulator provides a realistic model of the node's hardware (HW) clock. This paper provides three main contributions: (1) a realistic clock-drift model that allows to simulate HW clocks with an accuracy error of less than 1 μsec, (2) a clear interface to schedule timers/events that abstracts the artificial simulation time from the user and ensures that the HW time is used when implementing applications, and (3) a clock translator that converts the HW time of a node to the simulation time when scheduling events (hidden from the user). We implement and validate these extensions in Castalia, a WSNs simulator based on the OMNeT++ platform. We show that they have only minimal effects on the memory and processing demands of the simulation.
An efficient sequential iterative matching algorithm for CIOQ switches

This paper presents a sequential mode that can be used to improve the efficiency of iterative matching algorithm for CIOQ crossbar switches. The proposed matching algorithm is collectively called SIM-δ, and four different configuration are presented: restricted iteration, pipelined iteration, exhaustive transmission, and GSI (general state information)-based matching arbitration. The implementation-based simulation results show that switches with SIM-δ outperform switches with other matching algorithms, such as iSLIP, under uniform Bernoulli and bursty, non-uniform local hotspot and diagonal traffic models. We also explore the impact of speedup to throughput and delay. For uniform Bernoulli traffic, without or with small speedup, SIM-δ can achieve higher aggregate throughput and lower average delay than iSLIP.
Encompassing Others: The Magic of Modernity in Melanesia

An engaging, beautifully written account by an ethnographer who lived in the mountains of Papua New Guinea, "Encompassing Others" is at once a history of the encounter of two cultures and an attempt to challenge theoretically the main concepts that have informed the study of modernity. Going beyond accounts that grasp modernity solely in terms of domination, imperialism, and local resistance, it explores how capitalism, Christianity, and mass commercial culture enchant the senses, create a carnival of new goods, and open up new possibilities for thought and action.Focusing on the Maring people of Highland New Guinea and on the Westerners who interacted with them, Edward LiPuma presents issues from the perspectives of both sides. We hear the voice of the Anglican priest from San Francisco as well as the most powerful Maring shamans. Further, the book seeks to develop a theory of generations that helps explain how change accelerates and societies take on new directions across generations.Theoretical, descriptive, but almost entirely free of jargon, this book is intended for all those who are interested in how the West's encompassment of other peoples influences how these others conceive of their past, imagine their future, and experience the present. It will have wide appeal for anthropologists and others concerned with colonialism, globalization, and the fo rmation of the nation-state.Edward LiPuma is Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Miami.
Rule-Based Automatic Phonetic Transcription for the Romanian Language

In this paper, we report on an implemented rule-based tool for grapheme to phoneme conversion for the Romanian language and experiments run on two different sets of words. A 4779 words database consisting of the most frequent words in a text corpus collected from 93 books representing genuine Romanian literature, foreign literary works translated into Romanian and scientific texts was transcribed obtaining more than 95% accurate phonetic transcriptions, using a set of 102 letter-to-sound rules. Then, using the same rules, a larger set consisting of 15599 words was transcribed generating 91.46% accurate transcriptions. Although the rules weren’t written by phoneticians and can be further improved, it is clear that even for mostly phonetic languages like Romanian, rule-based letter-to sound systems with manually introduced rules are limited by the human inability to spot important patterns in the pronunciation.