Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival of Campylobacter jejuniduring Stationary Phase: Evidence for the Absence of a Phenotypic Stationary-Phase Response

ABSTRACT When Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11351 was grown microaerobically in rich medium at 39°C, entry into stationary phase was followed by a rapid decline in viable numbers to leave a residual population of 1% of the maximum number or less. Loss of viability was preceded by sublethal injury, which was seen as a loss of the ability to grow on media containing 0.1% sodium deoxycholate or 1% sodium chloride. Resistance of cells to mild heat stress (50°C) or aeration was greatest in exponential phase and declined during early stationary phase. These results show that C. jejuni does not mount the normal phenotypic stationary-phase response which results in enhanced stress resistance. This conclusion is consistent with the absence of rpoS homologues in the recently reported genome sequence of this species and their probable absence from strain NCTC 11351. During prolonged incubation of C. jejuniNCTC 11351 in stationary phase, an unusual pattern of decreasing and increasing heat resistance was observed that coincided with fluctuations in the viable count. During stationary phase ofCampylobacter coli UA585, nonmotile variants and those with impaired ability to form coccoid cells were isolated at high frequency. Taken together, these observations suggest that stationary-phase cultures of campylobacters are dynamic populations and that this may be a strategy to promote survival in at least some strains. Investigation of two spontaneously arising variants (NM3 and SC4) of C. coli UA585 showed that a reduced ability to form coccoid cells did not affect survival under nongrowth conditions.
Enhancement of Flash Webpage Segmentation for Web Mining Applications

Web page segmentation is a crucial step for many applications like information retrieval, text classification, noise removal, full text search and automatic page adaptation can benefit from this structure. In literature, many methods have been proposed on HTML Web page segmentation because of its more availability, whereas XML and Flash Web pages are omitted because of their less availability. But, in recent days we can see many XML/Flash Web pages on Web. In this article, we propose a segmentation method based on fusion and block merging concepts to improve the existing (Connected Component) Flash Web page segmentation method [10]. Finally, we perform experimental analysis based on ground truth analysis (actual blocks in Web page as per human perception) and obtained the better accuracy level when compared with the existing systems.
REal-time local stereo matching using guided image filtering

Adaptive support weight algorithms represent the state-of-the-art in local stereo matching. Their limitation is a high computational demand, which makes them unattractive for many (real-time) applications. To our knowledge, the algorithm proposed in this paper is the first local method which is both fast (real-time) and produces results comparable to global algorithms. A key insight is that the aggregation step of adaptive support weight algorithms is equivalent to smoothing the stereo cost volume with an edge-preserving filter. From this perspective, the original adaptive support weight algorithm [1] applies bilateral filtering on cost volume slices, and the reason for its poor computational behavior is that bilateral filtering is a relatively slow process. We suggest to use the recently proposed guided filter [2] to overcome this limitation. Analogously to the bilateral filter, this filter has edge-preserving properties, but can be implemented in a very fast way, which makes our stereo algorithm independent of the size of the match window. The GPU implementation of our stereo algorithm can process stereo images with a resolution of 640 × 480 pixels and a disparity range of 26 pixels at 25 fps. According to the Middlebury on-line ranking, our algorithm achieves rank 14 out of over 100 submissions and is not only the best performing local stereo matching method, but also the best performing real-time method.
ADAPTIVE LEAST SQUARES CORRELATION: A POWERFUL IMAGE MATCHING TECHNIQUE

The Adaptive Least Squares Correlation is a very potent and flexible technique for all kinds of data matching problems. Here its application to image matching is outlined. It allows for simultaneous radiometric corrections and local geometrical image shaping, whereby the system parameters are automatically assessed, corrected, and thus optimized during the least squares iterations. The various tools of least squares estimation can be favourably utilized for the assessment of the correlation quality. Furthermore, the system allows for stabilization and improvement of the correlation procedure through the simultaneous consideration of geometrical constraints, e.g. the collinearity condition. Some exciting new perspectives are emphasized, as for example multiphoto correlation, multitemporal and multisensor correlation, multipoint correlation, and simultaneous correlation/triangulation.
How Diffusivity, Thermocline and Incident Light Intensity Modulate the Dynamics of Deep Chlorophyll Maximum in Tyrrhenian Sea

During the last few years theoretical works have shed new light and proposed new hypotheses on the mechanisms which regulate the spatio-temporal behaviour of phytoplankton communities in marine pelagic ecosystems. Despite this, relevant physical and biological issues, such as effects of the time-dependent mixing in the upper layer, competition between groups, and dynamics of non-stationary deep chlorophyll maxima, are still open questions. In this work, we analyze the spatio-temporal behaviour of five phytoplankton populations in a real marine ecosystem by using a one-dimensional reaction-diffusion-taxis model. The study is performed, taking into account the seasonal variations of environmental variables, such as light intensity, thickness of upper mixed layer and profiles of vertical turbulent diffusivity, obtained starting from experimental findings. Theoretical distributions of phytoplankton cell concentration was converted in chlorophyll concentration, and compared with the experimental profiles measured in a site of the Tyrrhenian Sea at four different times (seasons) of the year, during four different oceanographic cruises. As a result we find a good agreement between theoretical and experimental distributions of chlorophyll concentration. In particular, theoretical results reveal that the seasonal changes of environmental variables play a key role in the phytoplankton distribution and determine the properties of the deep chlorophyll maximum. This study could be extended to other marine ecosystems to predict future changes in the phytoplankton biomass due to global warming, in view of devising strategies to prevent the decline of the primary production and the consequent decrease of fish species.
Invariants of genus 2 mutants

Pairs of genus 2 mutant knots can have different Homfly polynomials, for example some 3-string satellites of Conway mutant pairs. We give examples which have different Kauffman 2-variable polynomials, answering a question raised by Dunfield et al. in their study of genus 2 mutants. While pairs of genus 2 mutant knots have the same Jones polynomial, given from the Homfly polynomial by setting v = s2, we give examples whose Homfly polynomials differ when v = s3. We also give examples which differ in a Vassiliev invariant of degree 7, in contrast to satellites of Conway mutant knots.
Tracking Evolutionary Processes with Large Samples of Galaxy Pairs

Modern redshift surveys enable the identification of large samples of galaxies in pairs, taken from many different environments. Meanwhile, cosmological simulations allow a detailed understanding of the statistical properties of the selected pair samples. Using these tools in tandem leads to a quantitative understanding of the effects of galaxy-galaxy interactions and, separately, the effects quenching processes in the environments of even very small groups. In the era of the next generation of large telescopes, detailed studies of interactions will be enabled to much higher redshifts.
Experimental study of an active control for a faulty perturbed flexible structure

In this paper, a linear dynamic control is developed for a faulty flexible structure subject to external ground perturbation. This active controller is based on H∞ theory and is designed using linear matrix inequality (LMI) theory. Lyapunov theory is invoked to validate the control design. According to experiments, where a two levels flexible building with active mass damper and external perturbation is employed, show that this strategy improves controller performance when it is compared with a given controller. This design faces the nonlinear structural system too. 20th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED12).
Examining the influence of interval and observation length on the dependability of data

Direct observation techniques are popular among school psychologists, and a number of methods can be employed. Despite its popularity, the psychometric properties of systematic direct observation have not received much attention. Because procedures and targets vary widely across coding systems, research in this area provides insight into how procedural aspects influence the reliability of direct observation data. Specifically, the influences of behavioral definition, time sampling method, interval length, observation length, time of observation, and number of observations on the obtained results of systematic direct observation are explored. Both implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed. INFLUENCE OF INTERVAL AND OBSERVATION LENGTH 8
Dialog Management with Deep Neural Networks

This document is a dissertation proposal submitted in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements for the doctoral exams. Its purpose is to deﬁne the dissertation goals and summarize initial experiments. We propose a novel approach to dialog state tracking in spoken dialog systems based on long short-term memory recurrent neural neural networks. The proposed model allows incremental, word-by-word dialog state tracking and is trainable from a corpus of annotated dialogs. The experiments show that the model achieves competitive performance on sub-tasks and suggest ways for improvement. Future work proposes extensions to the model and a way to use it for dialog state tracking with large knowledge-bases.
The Perception of High School Teachers of the Efficacy of Transition Planning for Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

CAPALDI, ROBERT J., Ed.D. , December 2016, Educational Administration The Perception of High School Teachers of the Efficacy of Transition Planning for Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities Director of Dissertation: Charles Lowery Individuals with intellectual disabilities often have a difficult time transitioning to adulthood once they leave high school. This is evidenced by low employment rates and multiple reports showing that many still live in their family home. Though legislation over the past forty years has attempted to address these issues, the outcomes for individuals with intellectual disabilities reflect an over reliance on an institutional model of service delivery once they reach adulthood. Research regarding the effectiveness of transition planning in education is critical. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of high school teachers in Ohio. Using data collected from survey instruments, this study considered the perspectives of teachers regarding the effectiveness of transition planning approaches for their students as they play an important role in the process. Findings revealed that teachers have a high level of personal self-efficacy with regards to transition planning but are less confident in the effectiveness of the process or the schools’ services in promoting good transitions. Recommendations from this study are for more research regarding transition planning and having teachers more involved in the process.
The Reception of John Dewey’s Democratic Concept of School in Different Countries of the World

The paper deals with John Dewey’s democratic concept of school and its international significance. The man of the XX century, John Dewey (1859-1952) has made great impact on the development of world pedagogy. The masterwork «Democracy and Education» published in 1916 by American scholar and educational reformer is in the focus of attention too. The main elements of John Dewey’s concept of child-oriented school are given along with the following three conditions: «democracy», «growth» and «experience». The author explains the reasons of Dewey’s influence on educational thought and practice in the XXth century. The experience of old European countries such as Great Britain, France, Turkey, as well as Japan, Russia and Latin America is touched upon in the paper. It is stressed that cultural interpretations of Dewey’s ideas and practices in different countries served as the instrument of modernization of the state and school reform stimulator. John Dewey’s democratic ideas brought him international reputation of an outstanding philosopher and the best educator of the XXth century alongside with the other three: George Kershensteiner, Maria Montessori and Anton Makarenko.
Overexpression of PGC-1α Increases Fatty Acid Oxidative Capacity of Human Skeletal Muscle Cells

We investigated the effects of PGC-1α (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α) overexpression on the oxidative capacity of human skeletal muscle cells ex vivo. PGC-1α overexpression increased the oxidation rate of palmitic acid and mRNA expression of genes regulating lipid metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis, and function in human myotubes. Basal and insulin-stimulated deoxyglucose uptake were decreased, possibly due to upregulation of PDK4 mRNA. Expression of fast fiber-type gene marker (MHCIIa) was decreased. Compared to skeletal muscle in vivo, PGC-1α overexpression increased expression of several genes, which were downregulated during the process of cell isolation and culturing. In conclusion, PGC-1α overexpression increased oxidative capacity of cultured myotubes by improving lipid metabolism, increasing expression of genes involved in regulation of mitochondrial function and biogenesis, and decreasing expression of MHCIIa. These results suggest that therapies aimed at increasing PGC-1α expression may have utility in treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Interfacing synchronous and asynchronous modules within a high-speed pipeline

This paper describes a new technique for integrating asynchronous modules within a high-speed synchronous pipeline. Our design eliminates potential metastability problems by using a clock generated by a stoppable ring oscillator, which is capable of driving the large clock load found in present day microprocessors. Using the ATACS design tool, we designed highly optimized transistor-level circuits to control the ring oscillator and generate the clock and handshake signals with minimal overhead. Our interface architecture requires no redesign of the synchronous circuitry. Incorporating asynchronous modules in a high-speed pipeline improves performance by exploiting data-dependent delay variations. Since the speed of the synchronous circuitry tracks the speed of the ring oscillator under different processes, temperatures, and voltages, the entire chip operates at the speed dictated by the current operating conditions, rather than being governed by the worst-case conditions. These two factors together can lead to a significant improvement in average-case performance. The interface design is tested using the 0.6 /spl mu/m HP CMOS14B process in HSPICE.
Spoken Language Understanding in Dialog Systems for Olympic Game Information

Spoken dialog system can provide an interface between the user and a computer-based application that permits spoken interaction with the application in a relatively natural manner. However extracting user's intention from such spoken queries is a very difficult challenge. This paper presents a mixed approach to spoken language understanding that tries to make best use of the statistical and knowledge-based approaches. The method was test with real data from users, and resulted in a task error rate of 1.94% and a semantic concept error rate of 5.73%. Furthermore, this paper briefly introduces the MLISS - multi-lingual information services system for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Game information service.
Remembered or Forgotten?—An EEG-Based Computational Prediction Approach

Prediction of memory performance (remembered or forgotten) has various potential applications not only for knowledge learning but also for disease diagnosis. Recently, subsequent memory effects (SMEs)—the statistical differences in electroencephalography (EEG) signals before or during learning between subsequently remembered and forgotten events—have been found. This finding indicates that EEG signals convey the information relevant to memory performance. In this paper, based on SMEs we propose a computational approach to predict memory performance of an event from EEG signals. We devise a convolutional neural network for EEG, called ConvEEGNN, to predict subsequently remembered and forgotten events from EEG recorded during memory process. With the ConvEEGNN, prediction of memory performance can be achieved by integrating two main stages: feature extraction and classification. To verify the proposed approach, we employ an auditory memory task to collect EEG signals from scalp electrodes. For ConvEEGNN, the average prediction accuracy was 72.07% by using EEG data from pre-stimulus and during-stimulus periods, outperforming other approaches. It was observed that signals from pre-stimulus period and those from during-stimulus period had comparable contributions to memory performance. Furthermore, the connection weights of ConvEEGNN network can reveal prominent channels, which are consistent with the distribution of SME studied previously.
Adaptive concurrent mapping and localization using sonar

In order to create a truly autonomous vehicle, the task of concurrent mapping and localization (CML) in an a priori unknown environment is an important problem. Traditionally, the task of CML has been separated from the vehicle's motion and sensing strategies. We introduce a method for adaptive concurrent mapping and localization in unknown environments using a scanning sonar sensor. This method maximizes the information gained by the next action of the robot, given the space of available actions. The viability of the approach is shown in simulation and experiments. Results are shown for both adaptive control of motion and adaptive control of motion and sensing. Improved performance is demonstrated in comparison to straight-line motion and random motion.
Towards a Genetic Algorithm Based Approach for Task Migrations

Pervasive cloud computing heavily depends on task migrations in order to mitigate resource scarceness in some cloud nodes, especially the light weight nodes. In order to make decisions on task migrations, a number of possibly conflicting objectives should be considered, such as less energy consumption, quick response, in order to find an optimal migration path and optimal configurations. In this paper, we conduct initial exploration on using a Genetic algorithm (GA) based approach which is effective in solving multi-objective optimization problems. The preliminary evaluations we have done shows that the proposed approach is promising.
Multi-view matching points extraction algorithm based on union find sets

The extraction of multi-view matching points is one of the key elements in 3D reconstruction of multi-view image scene, because the extraction results will directly affect the accuracy of 3D reconstruction. With the conversion from the extraction of multi-view matching points to dynamic connectivity, a solution based on the Union Find algorithm was designed. The efficient tree structure with parent-link was used to organize the nodes in the Union Find sets, so that it was only needed to modify the addressing parameter of a single node in each process of adding the matching points pair, which avoided the computational process of the traversal array to compare with addressing parameter and improved the efficiency to find and modify. At the same time, the weighted method was applied to optimize the algorithm and the weighted encoding method was used to replace the commonly used hard encoding, which can balance the dendrogram structure and reduce the average depth of nodes in the tree. Experimental results of multiple groups of image sets showed that, compared with the traditional breadth-first search algorithm, the algorithm based on Union Find had higher reliability and computational efficiency.
Preparing to Teach a Slavery Past: History Teachers and Educators as Navigators of Historical Distance

Abstract Using an analytical framework based on the concept of historical distance, this article explores how Dutch history teachers and educators navigate between the past and the present when making curriculum decisions on the sensitive topic of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. Four history teachers and 2 museum educators were selected on the criteria of ethnicity, professional context, and student audience. They were interviewed twice, using open questions and a task-based design directed at 14–15-year-old students of various cultural backgrounds. Two conclusions are drawn: (1) the curriculum decisions of the selected participants can be interpreted as configurations of historical distance, which are the result of interactions between various types of knowledge, values, and beliefs. Some participants make a distinction between their own personal distancing and the curriculum decisions they take, while others do not or are unsure about deciding, and (2) curriculum decisions are difficult to predict. Some teachers and educators have a preference for certain distancing approaches but do not always follow it, depending on the historical sources they are dealing with. The conclusion discusses how research on history teaching can be facilitated by a deeper comprehension of the decisions teachers and educators make as navigators of historical distance.
E-Tail-SERVQUAL: Conceptualization and its validity

This study proposes an E-Tail-SERVQUAL model to identify service quality dimensions and its sub-factors in the context of e-tailing. The model classifies service quality based on e-tailing into four dimensions: environment quality, interaction quality, outcome quality, and recovery quality. Environment quality results from interface access, interface aesthetics, system effective and information available. Interactive quality results from website reaction, professional service and transaction security. Outcome quality results from e-store fulfillment and quality assurance. Recovery quality results from e-store responsiveness and e-store compensation. The empirical results confirm the validity of E-Tail-SERVQUAL model. They highlight further understanding of service quality structure and efficiently implementing strategies for service quality creation in the context of e-tailing.