Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expanding Interactive Digital

This paper expands the unique pipelined work flow called FUSE, to enable the combination of some of the best features of multiple image synthesis processes into a possible framework. The goal is to develop the flexibility and usability of this work flow into a more fluid process by filling a large gap in the current functionality by the inclusion of an image registration process. Additionally, other novel enhancements are explored to increase the responsiveness of imaging objectives, such as multi-scale graph cutting and alpha transparency region-exclusion.
Automatic Authorship Detection Using Textual Patterns Extracted from Integrated Syntactic Graphs

We apply the integrated syntactic graph feature extraction methodology to the task of automatic authorship detection. This graph-based representation allows integrating different levels of language description into a single structure. We extract textual patterns based on features obtained from shortest path walks over integrated syntactic graphs and apply them to determine the authors of documents. On average, our method outperforms the state of the art approaches and gives consistently high results across different corpora, unlike existing methods. Our results show that our textual patterns are useful for the task of authorship attribution.
Influx mechanisms in the embryonic and adult rat choroid plexus: a transcriptome study

The transcriptome of embryonic and adult rat lateral ventricular choroid plexus, using a combination of RNA-Sequencing and microarray data, was analyzed by functional groups of influx transporters, particularly solute carrier (SLC) transporters. RNA-Seq was performed at embryonic day (E) 15 and adult with additional data obtained at intermediate ages from microarray analysis. The largest represented functional group in the embryo was amino acid transporters (twelve) with expression levels 2–98 times greater than in the adult. In contrast, in the adult only six amino acid transporters were up-regulated compared to the embryo and at more modest enrichment levels (<5-fold enrichment above E15). In E15 plexus five glucose transporters, in particular Glut-1, and only one monocarboxylate transporter were enriched compared to the adult, whereas only two glucose transporters but six monocarboxylate transporters in the adult plexus were expressed at higher levels than in embryos. These results are compared with earlier published physiological studies of amino acid and monocarboxylate transport in developing rodents. This comparison shows correlation of high expression of some transporters in the developing brain with higher amino acid transport activity reported previously. Data for divalent metal transporters are also considered. Immunohistochemistry of several transporters (e.g., Slc16a10, a thyroid hormone transporter) gene products was carried out to confirm translational activity and to define cellular distribution of the proteins. Overall the results show that there is substantial expression of numerous influx transporters in the embryonic choroid plexus, many at higher levels than in the adult. This, together with immunohistochemical evidence and data from published physiological transport studies suggests that the choroid plexus in embryonic brain plays a major role in supplying the developing brain with essential nutrients.
Perspectives on Inclusive Development

The pursuit of inclusive development raises numerous questions and challenges for academics, practitioners and policymakers. To demystify the subject and move towards addressing the challenges, this paper first highlights the concept of inclusive development. Next, the key approaches as advanced by various proponents of inclusive development are presented. This is followed by a discussion of the neo-liberal ideologyâ€™s demise and its likely impact on inclusive development. The findings suggest that inclusive development should be shaped by various factors, such as; the functional definition of inclusive development, interventions that enhance governance and promote effective institutions, sound economic policies, and cultural and socio-economic considerations in policymaking and implementation. Furthermore, inclusive development requires â€“ as with the generic Asian approach to capitalism â€“ that planning and interventions are state-led, with indispensable but ancillary engagement by the private sector and other stakeholders. In lieu of the failed neo-liberal model of governance and the free-market system, the generic Asian approach to development is suggested to be one realistic option to pursuing inclusive development goals in developing countries.
A Telomeric Avirulence Gene Determines Efficacy for the Rice Blast Resistance Gene Pi-ta

Genetic mapping showed that the rice blast avirulence gene AVR-Pita is tightly linked to a telomere on chromosome 3 in the plant pathogenic fungus Magnaporthe grisea. AVR-Pita corresponds in gene-for-gene fashion to the disease resistance (R) gene Pi-ta. Analysis of spontaneous avr-pita– mutants indicated that the gene is located in a telomeric 6.5-kb BglII restriction fragment. Cloning and DNA sequencing led to the identification of a candidate gene with features typical of metalloproteases. This gene is located entirely within the most distal 1.5 kb of the chromosome. When introduced into virulent rice pathogens, the cloned gene specifically confers avirulence toward rice cultivars that contain Pi-ta. Frequent spontaneous loss of AVR-Pita appears to be the result of its telomeric location. Diverse mutations in AVR-Pita, including point mutations, insertions, and deletions, permit the fungus to avoid triggering resistance responses mediated by Pi-ta. A point mutation in the protease consensus sequence abolishes the AVR-Pita avirulence function.
The GridSite Web/Grid security system

We present an overview of the current status of the GridSite toolkit, describing the security model for interactive and programmatic uses introduced in the last year. We discuss our experiences of implementing these internal changes and how they and previous rounds of improvements have been prompted by requirements from users and wider security trends in Grids (such as CSRF). Finally, we explain how these have improved the user experience of GridSite-based websites, and wider implications for portals and similar web/grid sites.
Stroke Severity Score based on Six Signs and Symptoms The 6S Score: A Simple Tool for Assessing Stroke Severity and In-hospital Mortality

Background and Purpose Ascertaining stroke severity and predicting risk of in-hospital mortality is crucial to advise patients and families about medical decisions. We developed and tested the validity of a new stroke score, the 6S Score (Stroke Severity Score based on Six Signs and Symptoms), for quantifying ischemic stroke severity and predicting in-hospital mortality. Methods We prospectively assessed 210 consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients. The cohort was further divided into a derivation (n=120) and a validation (n=90) sample. From a total of 10 stroke signs and symptoms, we selected those with likelihood ratio's P<0.005. We tested the validity of the score for predicting in-hospital mortality by using receiver operating characteristic curves. We used a scatterplot and the Spearman's test to evaluate the correlation between the 6S Score and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale as a marker of stroke severity. We used principal component and exploratory factor analyses for assessing qualitative aspects of the 6S Score. Results The C statistic for in-hospital mortality was 0.82 for the 6S Score and 0.86 for the National Institutes of health Stroke Scale, respectively, with no significant differences between each other (P=0.79). The correlation between both scores was strong (Spearman's rho 0.68, P<0.001). The factor analyses showed a good balance between left/right hemispheres and anterior/posterior circulations. Conclusions The 6S Score may constitute a tool for easily assessing stroke severity and predicting stroke mortality. Further research is needed for further assessing its external validity.
Building Policy Networks

This study compares two recent Nordic attempts, at the municipal level, to make industrial policy by using a network approach. The first case focuses on biotechnology development in Turku, a city in southwestern Finland, while the second case highlights the making of a strategic industrial plan for Trondheim, a city in the middle of Norway. The commonality of the two cases is that policy was formulated in collaboration with academia and industry, and that a multi-actor implementation apparatus was established. Yet a closer look shows that there were significant differences in the ways the policy processes were organised and the role that the municipality took upon itself. The Turku effort was more focused and better resourced, and will therefore probably have more significant effects on its focus area (biotechnology). The Trondheim effort was less focused, and hardly at all resourced by the municipality, which means that implementation will be dependent on the other actors involved. These differences seem to have had, and can be predicted to continue having, significant effects on the ability of the public actors to make policy by using networks. A positive aspect in the Trondheim process was that the action plan included a broad range of actors, and distributed tasks to interest organisations, political parties and even media. However, as a result of the other weaknesses, the Trondheim case does not yet provide a good example of how a higher degree of participation could be combined with successful industrial policies.
The Salmonella typhimurium locus mviA regulates virulence in Itys but not Ityr mice: functional mviA results in avirulence; mutant (nonfunctional) mviA results in virulence

The virulent Salmonella typhimurium strain WB600 carries the mviA allele of the gene mouse virulence A. As shown here, the virulent phenotype of WB600 is the result of a nonfunctional mviA gene. As compared to the functional allele mviA+, mviA increases virulence in Itys mice, but not in Ityr mice. A specific BglII site, mviA4185, between osmZ and galU, located at approximately 35 min on the salmonella chromosome, was within mviA. Insertion of an antibiotic cassette in the mviA4185 site of mviA+ or the homologous mviA4093 site of mviA DNA resulted in virulence when either cassette was recombined into the chromosome. When mviA and mviA+ were both expressed in the same strain with one carried in the chromosome and the other on a plasmid, avirulence was dominant. Replacement of the mviA allele of strain WB600 using P22 transductions of linked antibiotic cassettes cloned into the chromosome of virulent S. typhimurium strains (SR-11, TML, SL1344, C5, ATCC14028, W118-2, and WB600) showed that all but WB600 contained the avirulent mviA+ allele. Southern hybridizations provided no evidence for a second mviA allele anywhere in the genome of the six non-WB600 strains.
The Motive for Status Maintenance and Inequality in Educational Decisions. Which of the Parents Defines the Reference Point

Several theoretical approaches assume that the motive for status maintenance, that is the desire to avoid intergenerational status downward mobility, explains educational decisions and effects of the families’ social status hereon. Not much is known about whether this assumption is empirically valid, and it is completely an open question which of the parents’ social status provides the reference point when evaluating educational options with respect to their suitability for status maintenance. We utilize data from the Mannheim Educational Panel Study to test whether the beliefs about how likely secondary school degrees ensure the maintenance of the mothers’ and fathers’ status explain the decision between school tracks leading to these degrees in Germany. We compare the explanatory power of altogether nine measures, assuming the reference status to be determined by different models about how the families’ status is mentally represented. Results have shown that the motive for status maintenance exerts in all versions significant effects on educational decisions. However, it proved to be strongest when the fathers’ status was assumed to define success in avoiding intergenerational status demotion. After controlling for the effect of this measure, direct effects of the families’ educational and occupational status were substantially reduced, but not completely explained.
Efficient Map/Reduce-Based DBSCAN Algorithm with Optimized Data Partition

DBSCAN is a well-known algorithm for density-based clustering because it can identify the groups of arbitrary shapes and deal with noisy datasets. However, with the increasing amount of data, DBSCAN algorithm running on a single machine has to face the scalability problem. In this paper, we propose a Map/Reduce-based DBSCAN algorithm called DBSCAN-MR to solve the scalability problem. In DBSCAN-MR, the input dataset is partitioned into smaller parts and then parallel processed on the Hadoop platform. However, choosing different partition mechanisms will affect the execution efficiency and load balance of each node. Therefore, we propose a method, partition with reduce boundary points (PRBP), to select partition boundaries based on the distribution of data points. Our experimental results show that DBSCAN-MR with the design of PRBP has higher efficiency and scalability than competitors.
Silicon photonics for optical interconnects

Integration density, channel scalability, low switching energy and low insertion loss are the major prerequisites for on-chip Wavelength Division Multiplexing systems. A number of device geometries have already been demonstrated that fulfil these criteria, at least in part, but combining all of the requirements is still a difficult challenge. Photonic crystal cavities provide the ultimate confinement of light in space and time, giving the potential to realise devices with the lowest energy consumption and highest integration densities. Here, we demonstrate Photonic Crystal cavity modulators with very low switching energies and high speed Mach Zehnder interferometer modulators and discuss their relative merits.
Online Media Forums as Separate Social Lives: A Qualitative Study of Disclosure Within and Beyond Reddit

Social media websites and web forums increasingly resemble massive media-sharing spaces where participants must manage self-presentation by targeting data disclosures to anticipated audiences. To explore the dynamics of selective disclosure, we conducted a qualitative study with participants on the social news site, reddit, and examined how people discuss its content in conversation on the website, in other websites, and in face-to-face conversation. We conducted 24 interviews with users and analyzed a supplementary corpus of popular reddit threads and reddit Internet Relay Chat logs. We also made regular use of the website to ground our understanding of the community. In our inductive analysis we found that many reddit users described deliberate social choices to compartmentalize discussions involving content on the website from their social lives beyond.
Active Variable Stiffness Elastic Actuator: design and application for safe physical human-robot interaction

In classical robotic applications, robotic systems consist of servo motors, high-ratio reduction and rigid links; mechanical designers prefer to design robotic applications as stiff as possible to make robots manipulate with remarkable speed and precise position movements. However, these robotic applications can hardly interact with people and environments under safety constraints. It poses the very fundamental problem of ensuring safety to humans and protecting the robot. This paper presents an Active Variable Stiffness Elastic Actuator (AVSEA) that is designed and application for safe physical human robot interaction. The AVSEA consists of two DC-motors: one is used to control the position of the joint and the other is used to adjust the stiffness of the system. The stiffness is generated by a leaf spring. By changing the effective length of the leaf spring, AVSEA has the ability to minimize large impact forces due to shocks, to safely interact with the user and/or to become as stiff as possible to make precise position movements or trajectory tracking control easier. Experiment results are presented to show that AVSEA is capable of providing precise position movements while offering safe human-robot interaction.
PopTour: Discovering Journey Group T-Patterns from Instagram Trajectories to Recommend Hot Travel Routes

Instagram is an popular photo-sharing smart phone application of social network and is widely used among tourists to record their journey information such as location, time and content. Consequently, huge volume of spatio-temporal data are generated in the form of trajectories. Discovering useful patterns from these trajectories can reveal valuable knowledge to a variety of critical applications. In this light, we propose a novel concept, called Journey Group (JG), which is a group trajectory pattern reflecting a large number of users who walk through a common trajectory and depart from the trajectory for several times allowed. In this paper, we focus on data generated by Instagram to discover the JG Trajectory Patterns i.e., JG T-Patterns, from travel trajectories. Previous researches on T-Patterns mining concentrate on GPS-based data, which is different from Instagram data, a kind of UGC-based (User Generated Content based) data. GPS-based data is dense because it is often generated automatically by moving devices in a certain pace, while UGC-based data is sparse because data is generated randomly by the uploading of users. Aiming at this, a novel JG T-Patterns mining strategy from UGC-based data is also proposed. Finally, a demo for discovering hot travel routes based on JG T-Patterns from Instagram trajectories, named Pop Tour, is implemented and experimental results show that Pop Tour is an effective system.
The influence of coupling layer thickness on hollow axles ultrasonic testing

The thickness of coupling layer between the hollow axle inner wall and the probe wedge may vary during actual ultrasonic inspection. To study the influence of coupling layer thickness on the hollow ultrasonic inspection, the simulation models with different probe angles and different thicknesses of coupling layer were established with COMSOL Multiphysics. Flaw echoes from 38° and 45° probes under various coupling thickness were calculated and analyzed in details. A special experimental system was designed to validate the simulation results. Both simulation and experiment show that the coupling thickness variation may impact the reliability of ultrasonic testing results when the coupling thickness is less than 0.9mm.
Systematic testing of parallel programs

The paper presents a new structural model of parallel software deened as a graph consisting of interconnected sequential modules. This representation facilitates the testing process, because the number of cases to deal with during the test is much lower than with the use of traditional owgraph representations. We propose a systematic testing procedure based on this new model. Our procedure allows to deene a testing scenario based on the concept of a test window. Various testing scenarios may be deened for windows, with regard to speciic classes of errors, testing strategies, internal system state and external environment settings. A tool supporting this procedure is currently under development for the European Copernicus SEPP project 13]; basic functions, structure and principles of this tool are brieey speciied and discussed.
Nonlinear Discriminant Analysis Using Kernel Functions

Fishers linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is a classical multivariate technique both for dimension reduction and classification. The data vectors are transformed into a low dimensional subspace such that the class centroids are spread out as much as possible. In this subspace LDA works as a simple prototype classifier with linear decision boundaries. However, in many applications the linear boundaries do not adequately separate the classes. We present a nonlinear generalization of discriminant analysis that uses the kernel trick of representing dot products by kernel functions. The presented algorithm allows a simple formulation of the EM-algorithm in terms of kernel functions which leads to a unique concept for unsupervised mixture analysis, supervised discriminant analysis and semi-supervised discriminant analysis with partially unlabelled observations in feature spaces.
Can instant messaging empower teams at work?

Instant messaging (IM) has become increasingly prevalent as a communication tool of choice for social networking. However, application of IM at work remains controversial due to the inherent challenges associated with quantifying the benefits for organizations. In this study we integrate social network theory and transactive memory theory to examine IM's significance for organizations. We propose that IM has the potential to facilitate knowledge sharing by establishing relationship networks in the workplace, which sequentially enhance teamwork performance. This conceptual model is validated by 253 survey responses collected from employees of Chinese organizations. The data indicates that IM can empower teams at work via social networks and knowledge sharing. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Contribution of Exploratory Methods to the Investigation of Extended Large-Scale Brain Networks in Functional MRI: Methodologies, Results, and Challenges

A large-scale brain network can be defined as a set of segregated and integrated regions, that is, distant regions that share strong anatomical connections and functional interactions. Data-driven investigation of such networks has recently received a great deal of attention in blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We here review the rationale for such an investigation, the methods used, the results obtained, and also discuss some issues that have to be faced for an efficient exploration.
Deriving salient learners’ mispronunciations from cross-language phonological comparisons

This work aims to derive salient mispronunciations made by Chinese (L1 being Cantonese) learners of English (L2 being American English) in order to support the design of pedagogical and remedial instructions. Our approach is grounded on the theory of language transfer and involves systematic phonological comparison between two languages to predict possible phonetic confusions that may lead to mispronunciations. We collect a corpus of speech recordings from some 21 Cantonese learners of English. We develop an automatic speech recognizer by training cross-word triphone models based on the TIMIT corpus. We also develop an "extended" pronunciation lexicon that incorporates the predicted phonetic confusions to generate additional, erroneous pronunciation variants for each word. The extended pronunciation lexicon is used to produce a confusion network in recognition of the English speech recordings of Cantonese learners. We refer to the statistics of the erroneous recognition outputs to derive salient mispronunciations that stipulates the predictions based on phonological comparison.
The improvement and simulation of LEACH protocol for WSNs

In wireless sensor networks, the power resource of each sensor node is limited. Minimizing energy dissipation and maximizing network lifetime are important issues in the design of routing protocols for sensor networks. In this paper, Cluster routing protocol LEACH (Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) is research and improved. We extend LEACH stochastic cluster-head selection algorithm via changing the round time According to the situation of sensor network. It is named Variable-round LEACH. The result simulated in NS2 shows that the energy is significantly reduced and the lifetime of the whole network is increased compared with the previous routing algorithm for the sensor networks.