Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research Paper: An Empiric Modification to the Probabilistic Record Linkage Algorithm Using Frequency-Based Weight Scaling

OBJECTIVE To incorporate value-based weight scaling into the Fellegi-Sunter (F-S) maximum likelihood linkage algorithm and evaluate the performance of the modified algorithm. Background Because healthcare data are fragmented across many healthcare systems, record linkage is a key component of fully functional health information exchanges. Probabilistic linkage methods produce more accurate, dynamic, and robust matching results than rule-based approaches, particularly when matching patient records that lack unique identifiers. Theoretically, the relative frequency of specific data elements can enhance the F-S method, including minimizing the false-positive or false-negative matches. However, to our knowledge, no frequency-based weight scaling modification to the F-S method has been implemented and specifically evaluated using real-world clinical data. METHODS The authors implemented a value-based weight scaling modification using an information theoretical model, and formally evaluated the effectiveness of this modification by linking 51,361 records from Indiana statewide newborn screening data to 80,089 HL7 registration messages from the Indiana Network for Patient Care, an operational health information exchange. In addition to applying the weight scaling modification to all fields, we examined the effect of selectively scaling common or uncommon field-specific values. RESULTS The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for applying weight scaling to all field-specific values were 95.4, 98.8, and 99.9%, respectively. Compared with nonweight scaling, the modified F-S algorithm demonstrated a 10% increase in specificity with a 3% decrease in sensitivity. CONCLUSION By eliminating false-positive matches, the value-based weight modification can enhance the specificity of the F-S method with minimal decrease in sensitivity.
Assessing Conformance of Manually Simplified Corpora with User Requirements: the Case of Autistic Readers

In the state of the art, there are scarce resources available to support development and evaluation of automatic text simplification (TS) systems for specific target populations. These comprise parallel corpora consisting of texts in their original form and in a form that is more accessible for different categories of target reader, including neurotypical second language learners and young readers. In this paper, we investigate the potential to exploit resources developed for such readers to support the development of a text simplification system for use by people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). We analysed four corpora in terms of nineteen linguistic features which pose obstacles to reading comprehension for people with ASD. The results indicate that the Britannica TS parallel corpus (aimed at young readers) and the Weekly Reader TS parallel corpus (aimed at second language learners) may be suitable for training a TS system to assist people with ASD. Two sets of classification experiments intended to discriminate between original and simplified texts according to the nineteen features lent further support for those findings.
On the quadrotor trajectory tracking problem via super twisting technique

This paper presents the design of a controller for trajectory tracking of a quadrotor helicopter based on the block control technique combined with the super twisting control algorithm. The virtual control inputs are estimated via the first order exact differentiator, which simplify the control law design. Moreover, the wind parameter resulting from the aerodynamic forces is also estimated in order to ensure robustness against these unmatched perturbations. The stability and finite time convergence characteristics of this algorithm have been recently proved using Lyapunov functions, so the stability analysis of the proposed controller has been carried out in the same way. A simulation study that takes into account external disturbances is carried out in order to show the performance of the proposed controller.
Improved Bases Selection in Acoustic Model Interpolation for Fast On-Line Adaptation

This work presents a novel bases selection approach for acoustic model interpolation based fast on-line adaptation. The proposed approach employs a correlation based similarity measure in the supervector domain (derived by concatenating the Gaussian mean parameters of the adapted models) for the selection of bases. This approach is found to greatly reduce the computational complexity in comparison to the Viterbi-alignment based bases search. Moreover, the proposed approach employs joint representation along with orthogonalization for the dynamic selection of bases. Consequently, the selected bases result in a much balanced coverage of phonetic contexts in the synthesized adapted model. The proposed technique is found to result in improved performance for all three modes of adaptation viz. the utterance-specific, the incremental and the batch modes. For utterance-specific mode, it achieves a relative improvement of 10.2% over baseline with only 3 to 5 seconds of adaptation data.
Exploratory Patent Search with Faceted Search and Configurable Entity Mining

Searching for patents is usually a recall-oriented problem and depending on the patent search type, quite often a problem which is characterized by uncertainty and evolution or change of the information need. We propose an exploratory strategy for patent search that exploits the metadata already available in patents in addition to the results of clustering and entity mining that are performed at query time. The results (metadata, clusters and entities grouped in categories) can complement the ranked list of patents produced from the core search engine with useful information for the user (e.g. providing a concise overview of the search results) which are further exploited in a faceted and sessionbased interaction scheme that allows the users to focus their searches gradually and to change between search methods as their information need is better defined and their understanding of the topic evolves in response to found information. In addition, we propose the exploitation of Linked Data for specifying the entities of interest and for providing further information about the identified entities. The proposed system offers a dynamic, entity-based integration of patent documents, patents metadata and other external (semantic) resources.
Shape-based image retrieval

Shape is one of the most important image features for retrieval of images in a Content-Based Image Retrieval system. However, due to inherent difficulties and limitations of processes to describe a shape, this feature is fairly less commonly used. We propose a neural network-based shape retrieval system in which moment invariants and/or Zernike moments form a feature vector to describe the shape of an object. Fuzzy k-means clustering groups similar images in an image collection into k-clusters whereas neural network facilitates efficient retrieval of similar images. Neural network is trained by the clustering results of all of the images in the data collection such that its input is the feature vector obtained through the calculated moments and its output dictates the degree of membership among the k-clusters. Retrieval results and performance of the proposed system is compared and analyzed against an earlier proposed system.
Multiple-Input Describing Functions and Nonlinear System Design

ABRAMSON Information theory and coding BATTIN Astronautical guidance BLACHMAN Noise and its effect on communication BREMER Superconductive devices BROXMEYER Inertial navigation systems GELB AND VANDER VELDE Multiple-input describing functions and nonlinear system design GILL Introduction to the theory of finite-state machines HANCOCK AND WINTZ Signal detection theory HUELSMAN Circuits, matrices, and linear vector spaces KELSO Radio ray propagation in the ionosphere MERRIAM Optimization theory and the design of feedback control systems MUUM Biological control systems analysis NEWCOMB Linear multiport synthesis PAPOULIS The fourier integral and its applications R. N. BRACEWELL) STEINBERG AND LEQUEUX (TRANSLATOR Radio astronomy WEEKS Antenna engineering PREFACE The theory of automatic control has been advanced in important ways during recent years, particularly with respect to stability and optimal control. These are significant contributions which appeal to many workers, including the writers, because they answer important questions and are both theoretically elegant and practically useful. These theories do not, however, lay to rest all questions of importance to the control engineer. The designer of the attitude control system for a space vehicle booster which, for simplicity, utilizes a rate-switched engine gimbal drive, must know the characteristics of the limit cycle oscillation that the system will sustain and must have some idea of how the system will respond to attitude commands while continuing to limit-cycle. The designer of a chemical process control system must be able to predict the transient oscillations the process may experience during start-up due to the limited magnitudes of important variables in the system. The designer of a radar antenna pointing system with limited torque capability must be able to predict the rms pointing error due to random wind disturbances on the antenna, and must understand how these random disturbances will influence the behavior of the system in its response to command inputs. But more important than just being able to evaluate how a given system will behave in a postulated situation is the fact that these control engineers must design their systems to meet specifications on important characteristics. Thus a complicated exact analytical tool, if one existed, would be of less value to the designer than an approximate tool which is simple enough in application to give insight into the trends in system behavior as a function of system parameter values or possible compensations, hence providing the basis for system design. As an analytical tool to answer questions such as these in a way …
Remote attestation on program execution

Remote attestation provides the basis for one platform to establish trusts on another. In this paper, we consider the problem of attesting the correctness of program executions. We propose to measure the target program and all the objects it depends on, with an assumption that the Secure Kernel and the Trusted Platform Module provide a secure execution environment through process separation. The attestation of the target program begins with a program analysis on the source code or the binary code in order to find out the relevant executables and data objects. Whenever such a data object is accessed or a relevant executable is invoked due to the execution of the target program, its state is measured for attestation. Our scheme not only testifies to a program's execution, but also supports fine-granularity attestations and information flow checking.
Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in XRCC3 and Radiation-Induced Adverse Effects on Normal Tissue: A Meta-Analysis

The X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) protein plays an important role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The relationship between XRCC3 polymorphisms and the risk of radiation-induced adverse effects on normal tissue remains inconclusive. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to elucidate the association between XRCC3 polymorphisms and radiation-induced adverse effects on normal tissue. All eligible studies up to December 2014 were identified through a search of the PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases. Seventeen studies involving 656 cases and 2193 controls were ultimately included in this meta-analysis. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the association between XRCC3 polymorphisms and the risk of radiation-induced normal tissue adverse effects. We found that the XRCC3 p.Thr241Met (rs861539) polymorphism was significantly associated with early adverse effects induced by radiotherapy (OR = 1.99, 95%CI: 1.31–3.01, P = 0.001). A positive association lacking statistical significance with late adverse effects was also identified (OR = 1.28, 95%CI: 0.97–1.68, P = 0.08). In addition, the rs861539 polymorphism was significantly correlated with a higher risk of adverse effects induced by head and neck area irradiation (OR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.49–3.89, p = 0.0003) and breast irradiation (OR = 1.41, 95%CI: 1.02–1.95, p = 0.04), whereas the correlation was not significant for lung irradiation or pelvic irradiation. Furthermore, XRCC3 rs1799794 polymorphism may have a protective effect against late adverse effects induced by radiotherapy (OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.26–0.86, P = 0.01). Well-designed large-scale clinical studies are required to further validate our results.
Herbivore-induced chemical and molecular responses of the kelps Laminaria digitata and Lessonia spicata

Kelps are founding species of temperate marine ecosystems, living in intertidal coastal areas where they are often challenged by generalist and specialist herbivores. As most sessile organisms, kelps develop defensive strategies to restrain grazing damage and preserve their own fitness during interactions with herbivores. To decipher some inducible defense and signaling mechanisms, we carried out metabolome and transcriptome analyses in two emblematic kelp species, Lessonia spicata from South Pacific coasts and Laminaria digitata from North Atlantic, when challenged with their main specialist herbivores. Mass spectrometry based metabolomics revealed large metabolic changes induced in these two brown algae following challenges with their own specialist herbivores. Targeted metabolic profiling of L. spicata further showed that free fatty acid (FFA) and amino acid (AA) metabolisms were particularly regulated under grazing. An early stress response was illustrated by the accumulation of Sulphur containing amino acids in the first twelve hours of herbivory pressure. At latter time periods (after 24 hours), we observed FFA liberation and eicosanoid oxylipins synthesis likely representing metabolites related to stress. Global transcriptomic analysis identified sets of candidate genes specifically induced by grazing in both kelps. qPCR analysis of the top candidate genes during a 48-hours time course validated the results. Most of these genes were particularly activated by herbivore challenge after 24 hours, suggesting that transcriptional reprogramming could be operated at this time period. We demonstrated the potential utility of these genes as molecular markers for herbivory by measuring their inductions in grazed individuals of field harvested L. digitata and L. spicata. By unravelling the regulation of some metabolites and genes following grazing pressure in two kelps representative of the two hemispheres, this work contributes to provide a set of herbivore-induced chemical and molecular responses in kelp species, showing similar inducible responses upon specialist herbivores in their respective ecosystems.
An Investigation of Factors Affecting Elementary School Students' BMI Values Based on the System Dynamics Modeling

This study used system dynamics method to investigate the factors affecting elementary school students' BMI values. The construction of the dynamic model is divided into the qualitative causal loop and the quantitative system dynamics modeling. According to the system dynamics modeling, this study consisted of research on the four dimensions: student's personal life style, diet-relevant parenting behaviors, advocacy and implementation of school nutrition education, and students' peer interaction. The results of this study showed that students with more adequate health concepts usually have better eating behaviors and consequently have less chance of becoming obese. In addition, this study also verified that educational attainment and socioeconomic status of parents have a positive correlation with students' amounts of physical activity, and nutrition education has a prominent influence on changing students' high-calorie diets.
Ice supersaturation and the potential for contrail formation in a changing climate

Abstract. Ice supersaturation (ISS) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere is important for the formation of cirrus clouds and long-lived contrails. Cold ISS (CISS) regions (taken here to be ice-supersaturated regions with temperature below 233 K) are most relevant for contrail formation. We analyse projected changes to the 250 hPa distribution and frequency of CISS regions over the 21st century using data from the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 simulations for a selection of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models. The models show a global-mean, annual-mean decrease in CISS frequency by about one-third, from 11 to 7% by the end of the 21st century, relative to the present-day period 1979–2005. Changes are analysed in further detail for three subregions where air traffic is already high and increasing (Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes) or expected to increase (tropics and Northern Hemisphere polar regions). The largest change is seen in the tropics, where a reduction of around 9 percentage points in CISS frequency by the end of the century is driven by the strong warming of the upper troposphere. In the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes the multi-model-mean change is an increase in CISS frequency of 1 percentage point; however the sign of the change is dependent not only on the model but also on latitude and season. In the Northern Hemisphere polar regions there is an increase in CISS frequency of 5 percentage points in the annual mean. These results suggest that, over the 21st century, climate change may have large impacts on the potential for contrail formation; actual changes to contrail cover will also depend on changes to the volume of air traffic, aircraft technology and flight routing.
Unveiling the degradative route of the V247M α-sarcoglycan mutant responsible for LGMD-2D

Many membrane and secretory proteins that fail to pass quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are dislocated into the cytosol and degraded by the proteasome. In applying rigid rules, however, quality control sometimes discharges proteins that, even though defective, retain their function. The unnecessary removal of such proteins represents the pathogenetic hallmark of diverse genetic diseases, in the case of ΔF508 mutant of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator being probably the best known example. Recently, the inappropriate proteasomal degradation of skeletal muscle sarcoglycans (α, β, γ and δ) with missense mutation has been proposed to be at the bases of mild-to-severe forms of limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) known as type 2D, 2E, 2C and 2F, respectively. The quality control pathway responsible for sarcoglycan mutant disposal, however, is so far unexplored. Here we reveal key components of the degradative route of V247M α-sarcoglycan mutant, the second most frequently reported mutation in LGMD-2D. The disclosure of the pathway, which is led by the E3 ligases HRD1 and RFP2, permits to identify new potential druggable targets of a disease for which no effective therapy is at present available. Notably, we show that the pharmacological inhibition of HRD1 activity rescues the expression of V247-α-sarcoglycan both in a heterologous cell model and in myotubes derived from a LGMD-2D patient carrying the L31P/V247M mutations. This represents the first evidence that the activity of E3 ligases, the enzymes in charge of mutant fate, can be eligible for drug interventions to treat sarcoglycanopathy.
A novel de novo mutation in ATP1A3 and childhood-onset schizophrenia

We describe a child with onset of command auditory hallucinations and behavioral regression at 6 yr of age in the context of longer standing selective mutism, aggression, and mild motor delays. His genetic evaluation included chromosomal microarray analysis and whole-exome sequencing. Sequencing revealed a previously unreported heterozygous de novo mutation c.385G>A in ATP1A3, predicted to result in a p.V129M amino acid change. This gene codes for a neuron-specific isoform of the catalytic α-subunit of the ATP-dependent transmembrane sodium–potassium pump. Heterozygous mutations in this gene have been reported as causing both sporadic and inherited forms of alternating hemiplegia of childhood and rapid-onset dystonia parkinsonism. We discuss the literature on phenotypes associated with known variants in ATP1A3, examine past functional studies of the role of ATP1A3 in neuronal function, and describe a novel clinical presentation associated with mutation of this gene.
Finding social interaction patterns using call and proximity logs simultaneously

This paper proposes a topic-based method to reflect calls and proximities simultaneously into finding interaction patterns from a mobile log. For this purpose, the proposed method regards calls and proximities as a homogeneous information type that are drawn from the same temporal space expressed by the same distribution, but with different parameters. The number of proximities in a mobile log usually overwhelms that of calls and the proximities are observed regularly. Therefore, the proposed method models a single directional influence from proximities to calls, where both call and proximity are modeled by the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). According to the experiments on the data set from MIT's Reality Mining project, the proposed method outperforms the method that treats calls and proximities independently, which proves the plausibility of the proposed method.
FreeRTOS user mode scheduler for mixed critical systems

Real-time systems are applied in the more diverse applications. Most of these applications require specific configurations in order to meet their timing constraints. Real-time Operating Systems offer scheduling policies that produce a certain behavior of the application, difficult to change in order to get a specific and desired dynamic of the system. On the other hand, most real-time applications include tasks with different real-time constraints: from hard real-time tasks to sporadic and soft real-time tasks. Configuring a real-time operating system to get the desire response for each one of these tasks generally involves a deep knowledge of the structure of the kernel and programming it in a privilege mode. In this paper, it is proposed an implementation of a user-level scheduler, easily configurable to adapt the dynamic of the system to the specific features of the application.
FACES : 3 D FAcial reConstruction from anciEnt Skulls using content based image retrieval

Powerful techniques for modelling and rendering tridimensional organic shapes, like human body, are today available for applications in many fields such as special effects, ergonomic simulation or medical visualization, just to name a few. These techniques, combined with Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR), are proving to be very useful also to archaeologists and anthropologists committed to reconstruct the aspect of the inhabitants of historically relevant sites like Pompei. This paper presents an integrated system to provide 3D FAcial reConstruction from anciEnt Skulls (FACES). FACES, starting from radiological analysis of an ancient skull and a database of modern individuals of the same area/gender/age, produces a tridimensional facial model compatible to the anthropological and craniometrical features of the original skull. Finally, we compare FACES peculiarities to the most used facial reconstruction methodologies available today. r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.