Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RDF-Based Retrieval of Information Extracted from Web Product Catalogues

Extraction of relevant data from the raw source of HTML pages poses specific requirements on their subsequent RDF storage and retrieval. We describe an application of statistical information extraction technique (Hidden Markov Models) on product catalogues, followed with conversion of extracted data to RDF format and their structured retrieval. The domain-specific query interface, built on the top of Sesame repository, offers a simple form of navigational retrieval. Integration of further web-analysis methods, within the Rainbow architecture, is forthcoming.
Graphlet Data Mining of Energetical Interaction Patterns in Protein 3D Structures

Interactions between secondary structure elements (SSEs) in the core of proteins are evolutionary conserved and define the overall fold of proteins. They can thus be used to classify protein families. Using a graph representation of SSE interactions and data mining techniques we identify overrepresented graphlets that can be used for protein classification. We find, in total, 627 significant graphlets within the ICGEB Protein Benchmark database (SCOP40mini) and the Super-Secondary Structure database (SSSDB). Based on graphlets, decision trees are able to predict the four SCOP levels and SSSDB (sub)motif classes with a mean Area Under Curve (AUC) better than 0.89 (5-fold CV). Regularized decision trees reveal that for each classification task about 20 graphlets suffice for reliable predictions. Graphlets composed of five secondary structure interactions are most informative. Finally, we find that graphlets can be predicted from secondary structure using decision trees (5-fold CV) with a Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) reaching up to 0.7.
Building the Case for Dynamic Location Query Processing

The increasing popularity of mobile devices in recent years has spurred interest in querying and tracking their locations for a wide variety of applications. Many naive approaches to localizing mobile devices, however, suffer from excessive energy use, poor accuracy in indoor environments, or excessive complexity presented to the application developer. We ask: does processing and evaluating location queries using a server help reduce complexity and inaccuracy for these queries without overusing the limited energy available on mobile devices? Also, what techniques can be combined with this approach to further reduce energy use? In this work, we try to answer these questions by developing a dynamic query optimization framework. We implement a simple prototype using Android smartphones and evaluate its performance against common naive approaches and Google's geofences location query system. Our results show energy-use reductions of up to 75% and dramatically improved precision of 45-60% compared to less sophisticated approaches, which compare favorably to Google's geofences while allowing more fine-grained selection of regions of interest.
Using methods and IT tools innovatively for the management of International IS development projects

Increasingly, information systems (IS) development is done internationally. International IS development is very complex. Some of the factors that lead to this high complexity include geographically dispersed teams, time-zone differences, cultural differences, language problem, and communication challenges. All these affect coordination and collaboration significantly. Therefore, the project management activities have to be executed via different methods and information technology (IT) tools. There is a significant lack of studies dealing with the management of international IS development using methods and IT tools innovatively. Therefore, this study has been undertaken to fill in this research gap. It investigates the management of international IS development using methods and IT tools innovatively. It develops an all-encompassing conceptual model on the basis of an in-depth literature review and our long practical experience in managing of international IS development projects. The conceptual model covers various elements that should be taken into account for managing an international IS development project. It also exhibits how companies can manage international IS development using various methods and IT tools innovatively and efficiently. The conceptual model can be useful for both practice and further research in international IS development project management.
Faster than optimal snapshots (for a while): preliminary version

This paper presents a novel implementation of a snapshot object for n processes, with O(log2blogn) step complexity for update operations and O(logb) step complexity for scan operations, where b is the number of updates. The algorithm uses only reads and writes. For polynomially many updates, this is an exponential improvement on previous snapshot algorithms, which have linear step complexity. It overcomes the existing Ω(n) lower bound on step complexity by having the step complexity depend on the number of updates. The key to this implementation is the construction of a new object consisting of a pair of max registers that supports a scan operation. Applications of this construction include an implementation of a limited-use generalized counter with polylogarithmic step complexity. This can be used, for example, to monitor the number of active processes, which is crucial to adaptive algorithms.
Jambanja: Ideological Ambiguities in the Politics of Land and Resource Ownership in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's current restructuring of land and resource ownership has not only been violent and coercive, but also disorganised and divisive. In its call for radical land redistribution, the state has increasingly resorted to authoritarian nationalism, invoking identity politics. This has resulted in new conceptions about rights and power – conceptions that basically uphold racial and ethnic politics and the pre-eminence of majority over minority rights. The current processes have also rekindled important questions about citizenship, identity, nationhood, rights and entitlement in post-independence Africa, issues that have been a subject of intense debate among various African scholars. Focusing on the experiences of ‘invisible minorities’, such as Coloureds and descendants of immigrants from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, this article discusses both the ambiguities and contradictions in the current exercise, as well as newly emerging notions about race, identity, nation and citizenship neglected by most political and academic commentators. I argue that the resulting policy positions, and particularly the current emphasis on race and nativism, have not only supported contradictory perspectives on justice, rights, citizenship and nationality but have also structured the debate on these issues in very narrow and problematic terms. More important, the historical processes unfolding in Zimbabwe have engendered feelings of exclusion and insecurity, especially among the subject minorities marginalised by the current processes.
Decomposition of Organic Matter in Sea Water by Bacteria

1. Investigations are reported on the decomposition of organic matter in sea water placed under controlled laboratory conditions. It has been found that, under these conditions, the organic matter in the water, both in suspension and in solution, can undergo rapid decomposition. It is quite possible that a change in temperature, resulting from the sudden warming up of the water, may bring about not only an increase in the biological reactions, but also a change in their very nature; this limitation need not invalidate the results obtained, since these results are not a measure of what actually happens in nature under different conditions, but what may happen under any one set of conditions.2. The abundance of readily decomposable organic matter in sea water was measured by the rate of oxygen absorption in the water, incubated under uniform conditions. The rapidity of libenation of nitrogen in the decomposition of the organic matter can be measured by the rate of decomposition of glucose added to the water.
Field Spectroscopy in the VNIR-SWIR Region to Discriminate between Mediterranean Native Plants and Exotic-Invasive Shrubs Based on Leaf Tannin Content

The invasive shrub, Acacia longifolia, native to southeastern Australia, has a negative impact on vegetation and ecosystem functioning in Portuguese dune ecosystems. In order to spectrally discriminate A. longifolia from other non-native and native species, we developed a classification model based on leaf reflectance spectra (350–2500 nm) and condensed leaf tannin content. High variation of leaf tannin content is common for Mediterranean shrub and tree species, in particular between N-fixing and non-N-fixing species, as well as within the genus, Acacia. However, variation in leaf tannin content has not been studied in coastal dune ecosystems in southwest Portugal. We hypothesized that condensed tannin concentration varies significantly across species, further allowing for distinguishing invasive, nitrogen-fixing A. longifolia from other vegetation based on leaf spectral reflectance data. Spectral field measurements were carried out using an ASD FieldSpec FR spectroradiometer attached to an ASD leaf clip in order to collect 750 in situ leaf reflectance spectra of seven frequent plant species at three study sites in southwest Portugal. We applied partial least squares (PLS) regression to predict the obtained leaf reflectance spectra of A. longifolia individuals to their corresponding tannin concentration. A. longifolia had the lowest tannin concentration of all investigated species. Four wavelength regions (675–710 nm, 1060–1170 nm, 1360–1450 nm and 1630–1740 nm) were identified as being highly correlated with tannin concentration. A spectra-based classification model of the different plant species was calculated using a principal component analysis-linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA). The best prediction of A. longifolia was achieved by using wavelength regions between 1360–1450 nm and 1630–1740 nm, resulting in a user’s accuracy of 98.9%. In comparison, selecting the entire wavelength range, the best user accuracy only reached 86.5% for A. longifolia individuals.
LIFO-Backpressure Achieves Near-Optimal Utility-Delay Tradeoff

There has been considerable work developing a stochastic network utility maximization framework using Backpressure algorithms, also known as MaxWeight. A key open problem has been the development of utility-optimal algorithms that are also delay-efficient. In this paper, we show that the Backpressure algorithm, when combined with the last-in-first-out (LIFO) queueing discipline (called LIFO-Backpressure), is able to achieve a utility that is within O(1/V) of the optimal value, for any scalar V ≥ 1, while maintaining an average delay of O([log(V)]2) for all but a tiny fraction of the network traffic. This result holds for a general class of problems with Markovian dynamics. Remarkably, the performance of LIFO-Backpressure can be achieved by simply changing the queueing discipline; it requires no other modifications of the original Backpressure algorithm. We validate the results through empirical measurements from a sensor network testbed, which show a good match between theory and practice. Because some packets may stay in the queues for a very long time under LIFO-Backpressure, we further develop the LIFOp-Backpressure algorithm, which generalizes LIFOp-Backpressure by allowing interleaving between first-in-first-out (FIFO) and LIFO. We show that LIFOp Backpressure also achieves the same O(1/V) close-to-optimal utility performance and guarantees an average delay of O([log(V)]2) for the packets that are served during the LIFO period.
Palliative Care, Terminal Illness, and the Model of Human Occupation

ABSTRACT The objective of the article is to demonstrate how Palliative Care (PC) can be included in the theory of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). The philosophy of PC focuses on a client-centered approach like the MOHO in Occupational Therapy (OT). The definition of PC and the role of OT in this camp are presented. A theoretical comparison was made of the perspective and theory of MOHO for Later Adulthood to PC, focused in dying persons. A non-systematic review bibliography was made. The Occupational Therapist based on MOHO can evaluate and help the client to maintain or re-gain his/her occupational identity, and life story. On the other hand, the Occupational Therapist should help the client to accomplish their last wishes and live with quality of life till the last moment. It is possible to apply MOHO in PC but evidence is necessary.
Association between Accessory Gene Regulator Polymorphism and Mortality among Critically Ill Patients Receiving Vancomycin for Nosocomial MRSA Bacteremia: A Cohort Study

Background. Polymorphism of the accessory gene regulator group II (agr) in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is predictive of vancomycin failure therapy. Nevertheless, the impact of group II agr expression on mortality of patients with severe MRSA infections is not well established. Objective. The goal of our study was to evaluate the association between agr polymorphism and all-cause in-hospital mortality among critically ill patients receiving vancomycin for nosocomial MRSA bacteremia. Methods. All patients with documented bacteremia by MRSA requiring treatment in the ICU between May 2009 and November 2011 were included in the study. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to evaluate whether agr polymorphism was associated with all-cause in-hospital mortality. Covariates included age, APACHE II score, initial C-reactive protein plasma levels, initial serum creatinine levels, vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration, vancomycin serum levels, and time to effective antibiotic administration. Results. The prevalence of group I and group II agr expression was 52.4% and 47.6%, respectively. Bacteremia by MRSA group III or group IV agr was not documented in our patients. The mean APACHE II of the study population was 24.3 (standard deviation 8.5). The overall cohort mortality was 66.6% (14 patients). After multivariate analysis, initial plasma C-reactive protein levels (P = 0.01), initial serum creatinine levels (P = 0.008), and expression of group II agr (P = 0.006) were positively associated with all-cause in-hospital mortality. Patients with bacteremia by MRSA with group II agr expression had their risk of death increased by 12.6 times when compared with those with bacteremia by MRSA with group I agr expression. Conclusion. Group II agr polymorphism is associated with an increase in mortality in critically ill patients with bacteremia by MRSA treated with vancomycin.
Perception of quality of life in an elderly Angolan sample / Percepción de calidad de vida en una muestra de ancianos angoleños

Abstract Increased life expectancy and the ageing of the population have made it particularly important to distinguish between the old (usually 60–79 years, or the ‘young old’) and the oldest old (80 years or more, or the ‘fourth age’). This study explores the effects of age, gender and institutionalization on perceived health and life satisfaction in 1003 elderly people from Luanda, Angola. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was estimated to test for these effects. Results provide evidence of lower scores on life satisfaction and perceived health for the oldest old and the institutionalized. However, the higher life satisfaction among the non-institutionalized disappeared when they reach the fourth age. No differences were found by gender, although there was a slight drop in the life satisfaction of women over the age of 80.
The boundary value problem for maximal hypersurfaces.

A spacelike hypersurface (condimension 1) in a Lorentzian manifold is called a maximal surface if it extremizes the hypervolume functional. Although maximal surfaces are superficially analogous to minimal hypersurfaces in Riemannian geometry, their properties can be dramatically different, as can be seen from the validity of Bernstein's theorem in all dimensions [Cheng, S. -Y. & Yau, S. -T. (1976) Ann. Math. 104, 407-419]. Here we establish a point of contact between maximal surfaces and minimal surfaces by solving the Dirichlet problem for acausal boundary data but using boundary curvature conditions similar to those of H. Jenkins and J. Serrin [(1968) J. Reine Angew. Math. 229, 170-187].
Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds

From the Publisher: Minds are complex artifacts, partly biological and partly social, and only a unified, multidisciplinary approach will yield a realistic theory of how minds came into existence and how they work. One of the foremost thinkers in this multidisciplinary field is Daniel Dennett. This book brings together his essays on philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and cognitive ethology that appeared in relatively inaccessible journals from 1984 to 1996.
DAT1 and 5HTT Are Associated With Pathological Criminal Behavior in a Nationally Representative Sample of Youth

The study of serious, violent, and chronic offenders is a primary research area in criminology; however, its genetic underpinnings are relatively unknown. Based on genetically sensitive data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study empirically explored the genetic antecedents of chronic and dangerous criminal behavior. Controlling for age, gender, cognitive ability, and self-control, the models yielded some significant effects for the genetic polymorphisms dopamine transporter (DAT1) and serotonin transporter (5HTT), and these effects were conditioned by the delinquent peer network within which adolescents were situated—thereby suggesting a significant Gene × Environment interaction.
Beyond the Aesthetic

This study debunks the myth that arts economic development (AED) is a recent phenomenon. Although marked by piecemeal policies, different motivations, and scattered implementation, AED has played a strategic role in modern city planning over the past hundred years. This research unveils AED’s trajectory through seven forms: (1) aesthetics, (2) cultural agglomeration, (3) workforce investments, (4) city building, (5) amenities and livability, (6) creative regions, and (7) community development. The article outlines central motivations, program character and proponents, accomplishments, shortcomings, and planning legacy for each approach. The examination shows how modern AED, with roots in the City Beautiful era, adapted over time to address changes in urban problems. This century-long quest has resulted in variations on a general strategy to refocus attention and resources on forgotten or challenged places. A cacophony of interventions emerged while a comprehensive narrative came up short, creating confusion about AED’s purpose and use. This article provides the first historical treatment of local AED and explains how and why art is used today as an instrument in urban life.
How Do Religious Identities and Basic Value Orientations Affect Each Other Over Time?

Religion and values appear to be related, but their causal underpinnings remain unclear. To evaluate causality, we conducted a series of cross-lagged random effect regression models assessing residualized change over a 1-year period (2009–2010) in religious identification and basic value orientations. These models analyzed data from 1,571 religious people who formed part of a broader longitudinal national probability sample conducted in New Zealand. First finding: Religious identification predicted change in conservative/tradition values. Specifically, those low in religious identification at Time 1 became lower in conservative/tradition values at Time 2, whereas those high in religious identification at Time 1 became higher in conservative/tradition values at Time 2. Religious identification was not associated with change in other value domains. Second finding: Openness values predicted change in religious identity. Specifically, those low in openness values at Time 1 became higher in religious identification at Time 2, whereas those high in openness values at Time 1 became lower in their religious identification at Time 2. Only openness values were associated with changes in religious identification. Third finding: The random components in our multilevel models were nonsignificant, indicating that these cross-lagged effects were comparable across the religious denominations of an entire country.
An Examination of the Effects of Organizational Norms, Organizational Structure, and Environmental Uncertainty on Entrepreneurial Strategy

Investigators have examined the impact of organizations' structural and environmental characteristics on innovation. We developed a measure of the innovation management process, specifically organizational norms toward innovation, and examined its relationship to innovation (as measured by effective entrepreneurial strategy) in combination with measures of organizational structure and environment. Survey responses from respondents within 77 strategic business units were analyzed. Innovation norms, degree of decentralization in organizational structure, and environmental uncertainty explained significant and meaningful variance in entrepreneurial strategy. Interestingly, correlations between success of entrepreneurial strategy and (a) organizational structure and (b) environmental uncertainty approach zero when innovation-related norms are partialled out. Implications are discussed for the integration of this previously unexamined process variable innovation norms-to extend theories of innovation and corporate entrepreneurship.
Modeling the Cerebellar Microcircuit: New Strategies for a Long-Standing Issue

The cerebellar microcircuit has been the work bench for theoretical and computational modeling since the beginning of neuroscientific research. The regular neural architecture of the cerebellum inspired different solutions to the long-standing issue of how its circuitry could control motor learning and coordination. Originally, the cerebellar network was modeled using a statistical-topological approach that was later extended by considering the geometrical organization of local microcircuits. However, with the advancement in anatomical and physiological investigations, new discoveries have revealed an unexpected richness of connections, neuronal dynamics and plasticity, calling for a change in modeling strategies, so as to include the multitude of elementary aspects of the network into an integrated and easily updatable computational framework. Recently, biophysically accurate “realistic” models using a bottom-up strategy accounted for both detailed connectivity and neuronal non-linear membrane dynamics. In this perspective review, we will consider the state of the art and discuss how these initial efforts could be further improved. Moreover, we will consider how embodied neurorobotic models including spiking cerebellar networks could help explaining the role and interplay of distributed forms of plasticity. We envisage that realistic modeling, combined with closed-loop simulations, will help to capture the essence of cerebellar computations and could eventually be applied to neurological diseases and neurorobotic control systems.
Correlations for the Rorschach with the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking

The present study examined the correlations between some variables of the Rorschach test and scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking which were administered to 40 normal volunteers. The Rorschach protocols were scored using Exner System. All the variables of the Figural Form of the Torrance tests showed clear association with the Developmental Quality, Synthesised Responses of the Rorschach, except for the Figural Elaboration scores. The group of Verbal variables of the Torrance tests correlated with the scores on Space and Unusual Form Quality Responses of the Rorschach. The results are discussed in terms of the cognitive operations involved in creative aspects of thinking.