Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Matchsimile: a Flexible Approximate Matching Tool for Searching Proper Name

We present the architecture and algorithms behind Matchsimile, an approximate string matching lookup tool especially designed for extracting person and company names from large texts. Part of a larger information extraction environment, this specific engine receives a large set of proper names to search for, a text to search, and search options; and outputs all the occurrences of the names found in the text. Beyond the similarity search capabilities applied at the intraword level, the tool considers a set of specific person name formation rules at the word level, such as combination, abbreviation, duplicity detections, ordering, word omission and insertion, among others. This engine is used in a successful commercial application (also named Matchsimile), which allows searching for lawyer names in official law publications.
Stochastic gradient descent for minimal enclosing ball

In this paper, we apply Stochastic Gradient Descent framework to the problem of finding minimal enclosing ball for anomaly detection purpose. The main difficulty lies in the fact that the primal form of the optimization problem behind minimal enclosing ball is not convex and hence a convergence to a global minima with a good convergence rate is not guaranteed in theory. We address this issue by transforming the problem of finding a minimal enclosing ball to that of finding a largest margin hyperplane in the extended space. We validate the proposed method on several benchmark datasets. The experimental results point out that our proposed method gains higher testing accuracy while simultaneously achieving a significantly computational speedup.
Multi-biometrics based crypto-biometric session key generation and sharing protocol

In this paper, the issue of generating and sharing biometrics based secure cryptographic keys is addressed. In particular, we propose a protocol which integrates multi-biometrics, in which information from multiple biometric sources is combined. This protocol allows generation and sharing of multi-biometrics based crypto-biometric session keys. The protocol achieves mutual authentication between a client and a server without the need of third party certificates. The stored templates are revocable/cancelable and thus protect user privacy. The most distinctive feature of this protocol is that it can integrate multi-biometrics and depending on the required security level, the choice of the biometric modalities to use can be made at runtime.
Calling Nonconvertible D bt and the Problem of Related Wealth Transfer Effects

Francis A. Longstaff is Associate Professor An often-cited rule in corporate finance is that a firm should call a bond as soon as of Finance at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. Bruce the bond's market price equals its call price. But, in fact, many callable bonds sell for A. Tuckman is Vice President at Salomon more than their call prices. One explanation is that the implicit assumption that calls Brothers Inc. are executed so as to leave capital structure unchanged fails to hold in practice. This paper examines the impact of capital structure changes on optimal call policy and
Creative Personalities: How Personality Influences Creativity of Concept Ideation Methods

This paper details an independent confirmatory study to Choo et al. (2014), which demonstrated that correlations exist between personality type and the outcome of concept ideation methods. We confirm previous research by conducting a similar experiment with a larger sample size. Four concept ideation techniques were selected from those used in the previous research: individual and group brainstorming, and individual and group mind mapping. A larger sample size consisting of 90 junior level engineering design students completed an Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) sorter and concept ideation activities using each of the four ideation methods. The creativity of the generated output was measured with metrics for the quality, quantity, and variety of ideas produced by each method. The resulting dataset was statistically analyzed to find how individual output from these activities correlated with MBTI results to investigate how personality type correlates with the creativity of output generated by concept ideation methods.
Normalized and differential convolution

It is shown how false operator responses due to missing or uncertain data can be significantly reduced or eliminated. It is shown how operators having a higher degree of selectivity and higher tolerance against noise can be constructed using simple combinations of appropriately chosen convolutions. The theory is based on linear operations and is general in that it allows for both data and operators to be scalars, vectors or tensors of higher order. Three new methods are represented: normalized convolution, differential convolution and normalized differential convolution. All three methods are examples of the power of the signal/certainty-philosophy, i.e., the separation of both data and operator into a signal part and a certainty part. Missing data are handled simply by setting the certainty to zero. In the case of uncertain data, an estimate of the certainty must accompany the data. Localization or windowing of operators is done using an applicability function, the operator equivalent to certainty, not by changing the actual operator coefficients. Spatially or temporally limited operators are handled by setting the applicability function to zero outside the window. <<ETX>>
AN EXAMINATION OF PREDICTOR VARIABLES FOR PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE

This study examines problematic Internet use among university students in terms of gender, while also gauging the impact of personality traits, life satisfaction and loneliness variables on problematic Internet use. A total of 411 university students studying Education in North Cyprus participated in the study. The participants were selected using quota sampling; 64 percent (n=263) of the participants were female and 36 percent (n=148) were male. Data was collected using the Online Cognition Scale (OCS), UCLA Loneliness Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Abbreviated Form (EPQR-A), and was analysed using “t-Test” and multiple regression methods. Findings suggest that problematic Internet use shows significant variation depending on gender. Predictor variables (neuroticism, extraversion, psychoticism, lie, life satisfaction, and loneliness) meaningfully predict problematic Internet use.
Clustering for probabilistic model estimation for CF

Based on the type of collaborative objects, a collaborative filtering (CF) system falls into one of two categories: item-based CF and user-based CF. Clustering is the basic idea in both cases, where users or items are classified into user groups where users share similar preference or item groups where items have similar attributes or characteristics. Observing the fact that in user-based CF each user community is characterized by a Gaussian distribution on the ratings for each item and the fact that in item-based CF the ratings of each user in item community satisfy a Gaussian distribution, we propose a method of probabilistic model estimation for CF, where objects (user or items) are classified into groups based on the content information and ratings at the same time and predictions are made considering the Gaussian distribution of ratings. Experiments on a real-world data set illustrate that our approach is favorable.
MicroRNA-338-3p and microRNA-451 contribute to the formation of basolateral polarity in epithelial cells

MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA species, some of which are playing important roles in cell differentiation. However, the level of participations of microRNAs in epithelial cell differentiation is largely unknown. Here, utilizing an epithelial differentiation model with T84 cells, we demonstrate that miR-338-3p and miR-451 contribute to the formation of epithelial basolateral polarity by facilitating translocalization of β1 integrin to the basolateral membrane. Among 250 microRNAs screened in this study, the expression levels of four microRNAs (miR-33a, 210, 338-3p and 451) were significantly elevated in the differentiated stage of T84 cells, when epithelial cell polarity was established. To investigate the involvement of these microRNAs in terms of epithelial cell polarity, we executed loss-of- and gain-of-function analyses of these microRNAs. The blockade of endogenous miR-338-3p or miR-451 via each microRNA-specific antisense oligonucleotides inhibited the translocalization of β1 integrin to the basolateral membrane, whereas inhibition of miR-210 or miR-33a had no effect on it. On the other hand, simultaneous transfection of synthetic miR-338-3p and miR-451 accelerated the translocalization of β1 integrin to the basolateral membrane, although the introduction of individual synthetic microRNAs exhibited no effect. Therefore, we concluded that both miR-338-3p and miR-451 are necessary for the development of epithelial cell polarity.
Solar cycle signal in a general circulation and chemistry model with internally generated quasi-biennial oscillation

[1] Simulations with the HAMMONIA general circulation and chemistry model are analyzed to improve the understanding of the atmospheric response to solar cycle variations and the role of the quasi-biennial oscillation of equatorial winds (QBO) for this response. The focus is on the Northern Hemisphere winter stratosphere. Owing to the internally produced QBO, albeit with a too short period of 24 months, the model is particularly suited for such an exercise. The simulation setup with only solar and QBO forcing allows an unambiguous attribution of the simulated signals. Two separate simulations have been performed for perpetual solar maximum and minimum conditions. The simulations confirm the plausibility of dynamical mechanisms, suggested earlier, that propagate the solar signal from the stratopause region downward to the troposphere. One feature involved in this propagation is a response maximum of temperature and ozone in the lower equatorial stratosphere. In our model, this maximum appears as a pure solar signal independent of the QBO and of other forcings. As observed, the simulated response of the stratospheric polar vortex to solar cycle forcing depends on the QBO phase. However, in the model this is statistically significant only in late winter. The simulation for early and mid winter suffers probably from a too strong internal variability of the polar vortex in early winter.
Extensive population admixture on drone congregation areas of the giant honeybee, Apis dorsata (Fabricius, 1793)

The giant honeybee Apis dorsata often forms dense colony aggregations which can include up to 200 often closely related nests in the same location, setting the stage for inbred matings. Yet, like in all other Apis species, A. dorsata queens mate in mid-air on lek like drone congregation areas (DCAs) where large numbers of males gather in flight. We here report how the drone composition of A. dorsata DCAs facilitates outbreeding, taking into the account both spatial (three DCAs) and temporal (subsequent sampling days) dynamics. We compared the drones’ genotypes at ten microsatellite DNA markers with those of the queen genotypes of six drone-producing colonies located close to the DCAs (Tenom, Sabah, Malaysia). None of 430 sampled drones originated from any of these nearby colonies. Moreover, we estimated that 141 unidentified colonies were contributing to the three DCAs. Most of these colonies were participating multiple times in the different locations and/or during the consecutive days of sampling. The drones sampled in the DCAs could be attributed to six subpopulations. These were all admixed in all DCA samples, increasing the effective population size an order of magnitude and preventing matings between potentially related queens and drones.
ANALYTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE R-MODE INSTABILITY IN UNIFORM DENSITY STARS

We present an analytic description of the r-mode instability in newly-born neutron stars, using the approximation of uniform density. Our computation is consistently accurate to second order in the angular velocity of the star. We obtain formulae for the growth-time of the instability due to gravitationalwave emission, for both current and mass multipole radiation and for the damping timescale, due to viscosity. The l = m = 2 current-multipole radiation dominates the timescale of the instability. We estimate the deviation of the second order accurate results from the lowest order approximation and show that the uncertainty in the equation of state has only a small effect on the onset of the r-mode instability. The viscosity coefficients and the cooling process in newly-born neutron stars are, at present, uncertain and our analytic formulae enable a quick check of such effects on the development of the instability.
Topographic structure from motion: a new development in photogrammetric measurement

The production of topographic datasets is of increasing interest and application throughout the geomorphic sciences, and river science is no exception. Consequently, a wide range of topographic measurement methods have evolved. Despite the range of available methods, the production of high resolution, high quality digital elevation models (DEMs) requires a significant investment in personnel time, hardware and/or software. However, image‐based methods such as digital photogrammetry have been decreasing in costs. Developed for the purpose of rapid, inexpensive and easy three‐dimensional surveys of buildings or small objects, the ‘structure from motion’ photogrammetric approach (SfM) is an image‐based method which could deliver a methodological leap if transferred to geomorphic applications, requires little training and is extremely inexpensive. Using an online SfM program, we created high‐resolution digital elevation models of a river environment from ordinary photographs produced from a workflow that takes advantage of free and open source software. This process reconstructs real world scenes from SfM algorithms based on the derived positions of the photographs in three‐dimensional space. The basic product of the SfM process is a point cloud of identifiable features present in the input photographs. This point cloud can be georeferenced from a small number of ground control points collected in the field or from measurements of camera positions at the time of image acquisition. The georeferenced point cloud can then be used to create a variety of digital elevation products. We examine the applicability of SfM in the Pedernales River in Texas (USA), where several hundred images taken from a hand‐held helikite are used to produce DEMs of the fluvial topographic environment. This test shows that SfM and low‐altitude platforms can produce point clouds with point densities comparable with airborne LiDAR, with horizontal and vertical precision in the centimeter range, and with very low capital and labor costs and low expertise levels. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Local stability of Belief Propagation algorithm with multiple fixed points

A number of problems in statistical physics and computer science can be expressed as the computation of marginal probabilities over a Markov random field. Belief propagation, an iterative message-passing algorithm, computes exactly such marginals when the underlying graph is a tree. But it has gained its popularity as an efficient way to approximate them in the more general case, even if it can exhibits multiple fixed points and is not guaranteed to converge. In this paper, we express a new sufficient condition for local stability of a belief propagation fixed point in terms of the graph structure and the beliefs values at the fixed point. This gives credence to the usual understanding that Belief Propagation performs better on sparse graphs.
Chemokine-Ligands/Receptors: Multiplayers in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in complex posttraumatic sequelae affecting the whole neuraxis. Due to its involvement in varied neuromodulatory processes, the chemokine-ligand/receptor-network is a key element of secondary lesion cascades induced by SCI. This review will provide a synopsis of chemokine-ligand/receptor-expression along the whole neuraxis after traumatic spinal cord (sc) insults on basis of recent in vivo and in vitro findings in a SCI paradigm of thoracic force-defined impact lesions (Infinite Horizon Impactor) in adult rats. Analyses of chemokine-ligand/receptor-expression at defined time points after sc lesion of different severity grades or sham operation revealed that these inflammatory mediators are induced in distinct anatomical sc regions and in thalamic nuclei, periaqueductal grey, and hippocampal structures in the brain. Cellular and anatomical expression profiles together with colocalization/expression of neural stem/progenitor cell markers in adult sc stem cells niches or with pain-related receptors and mediators in dorsal horns, dorsal columns, and pain-processing brain areas support the notion that chemokines are involved in distinct cascades underlying clinical posttraumatic impairments and syndromes. These aspects and their implication in concepts of tailored SCI treatment are reviewed in the context of the recent literature on chemokine-ligand/receptor involvement in complex secondary lesion cascades.
Towards Least Privilege Containers with Cimplifier

Application containers, such as Docker containers, have recently gained popularity as a solution for agile and seamless deployment of applications. These light-weight virtualization environments run applications that are packed together with their resources and configuration information, and thus can be deployed across various software platforms. However, these software ecosystems are not conducive to the true and tried security principles of privilege separation (PS) and principle of least privilege (PLP). We propose algorithms and a tool Cimplifier, which address these concerns in the context of containers. Specifically, given a container our tool partitions them into simpler containers, which are only provided enough resources to perform their functionality. As part our solution, we develop techniques for analyzing resource usage, for performing partitioning, and gluing the containers together to preserve functionality. Our evaluation on real-world containers demonstrates that Cimplifier can preserve the original functionality, leads to reduction in image size of 58-95%, and processes even large containers in under thirty seconds.
Top-k frequent induced subgraph mining using sampling

These days Frequent Induced Subgraph Mining (FISM) is an active research direction, in various application domains like biological networks, chemical, or social networks. A number of FISM approaches have been proposed over the years. However, existing methods take long execution time since they perform numerous subgraph isomorphism (SI) operations, an NP-hard for counting frequency of subgraphs in a graph database. In this paper, we propose kFISM, a new sampling-based method for top-k Frequent Induced Subgraph Mining from a graph database. To avoid SI operations in kFISM, we present a measure, indFreq, to compute frequency of subgraphs. kFISM executes a biased random walk-based sampling over fixed-size vertex-induced subgraphs so that the potentially frequent subgraphs are visited with high probability. We evaluate execution time and accuracy of finding our desired types of subgraphs using kFISM on a real-life dataset. We observe that our proposed method outperforms state of the art approach in execution time and accuracy.
Lysosome biogenesis/scattering increases host cell susceptibility to invasion by Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclic forms and resistance to tissue culture trypomastigotes

A fundamental question to be clarified concerning the host cell invasion by Trypanosoma cruzi is whether the insect‐borne and mammalian‐stage parasites use similar mechanisms for invasion. To address that question, we analysed the cell invasion capacity of metacyclic trypomastigotes (MT) and tissue culture trypomastigotes (TCT) under diverse conditions. Incubation of parasites for 1 h with HeLa cells in nutrient‐deprived medium, a condition that triggered lysosome biogenesis and scattering, increased MT invasion and reduced TCT entry into cells. Sucrose‐induced lysosome biogenesis increased HeLa cell susceptibility to MT and resistance to TCT. Treatment of cells with rapamycin, which inhibits mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), induced perinuclear lysosome accumulation and reduced MT invasion while augmenting TCT invasion. Metacylic trypomastigotes, but not TCT, induced mTOR dephosphorylation and the nuclear translocation of transcription factor EB (TFEB), a mTOR‐associated lysosome biogenesis regulator. Lysosome biogenesis/scattering was stimulated upon HeLa cell interaction with MT but not with TCT. Recently, internalized MT, but not TCT, were surrounded by colocalized lysosome marker LAMP2 and mTOR. The recombinant gp82 protein, the MT‐specific surface molecule that mediates invasion, induced mTOR dephosphorylation, nuclear TFEB translocation and lysosome biogenesis/scattering. Taken together, our data clearly indicate that MT invasion is mainly lysosome‐dependent, whereas TCT entry is predominantly lysosome‐independent.
Perceived need and willingness of a sample of registered casualty unit nurses to engage in supplementary counselling skills training

In 2002 there were an estimated 1.5 million people admitted into casualty emergency units within the Republic of South Africa. Many of these admissions dealt with events that were traumatic for both families and practitioners and these traumatic events have effects on the biological, psychological and social wellbeing of these individuals. Coupled with this is an ever increasing demand for mental health services and a worldwide shortage of qualified individuals to provide these services. Registered nurses in casualty units deal with the majority of these issues and the effect of these traumatic events. The crisis intervention model may provide these registered nurses with the necessary skills to deal with these problems not only for patients but possibly for themselves. Furthermore the biopsychosocial model of health allows these registered nurses to assess the impact of these events on the individuals. Yet, some registered nurses feel that they lack the necessary skills to deal with and assess these problems and intervene in these crisis situations. This study was exploratory descriptive in nature and aimed to examine whether there was a perceived need for registered casualty unit nurses to engage in supplementary counselling skills training. These perceptions were obtained through purposively sampled interviews and analysed qualitatively, using Tesch’s model of content analysis. Findings indicated that the registered nurses do perceive a need for supplementary counselling training, both for use with the patients and for themselves, and are willing to engage in this training although there are problems that inhibit this willingness. Recommendations regarding the implementation of a supplementary counselling skills training course as well as future research in the field were made.
Design And Real-time Implementation Of A 3-D Rational Filter For Edge Preserving Smoothing

A nonlinear spatio-temporal filter capable of significantly attenuating noise in image sequences without corrupting image details is presented. The characteristics of the filter are described, and the results of several simulations on real-world sequences are shown. A real-time implementation of the algorithm on a last generation DSP is also described. It is shown that, by suitably exploiting the computational capability of the DSP, it is possible to process CIF images at 10 frames/sec.