Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward Learning Based Web Query Processing

In this paper, we describe a novel Web query processing approach with learning capabilities. Under this approach, user queries are in the form of keywords and search engines are employed to find URLs of Web sites that might contain the required information. The first few URLs are presented to the user for browsing. Meanwhile, the query processor learns both the information required by the user and the way that the user navigates through hyperlinks to locate such information. With the learned knowledge, it processes the rest URLs and produces precise query results in the form of segments of Web pages without user involvement. The preliminary experimental results indicate that the approach can process a range of Web queries with satisfactory performance. The architecture of such a query processor, techniques of modeling HTML pages, and knowledge for query processing are discussed. Experiments on the effectiveness of the approach, the required knowledge, and the training strategies are presented.
Advances in Integrating Statistical Inference

We present recent developments on the syntax of Real, a library for interfacing two Prolog systems to the statistical language R. We focus on the changes in Prolog syntax within SWI-Prolog that accommodate greater syntactic integration, enhanced user experience and improved features for web-services. We recount the full syntax and functionality of Real as well as presenting sister packages which include Prolog code interfacing a number of common and useful tasks that can be delegated to R. We argue that Real is a powerful extension to logic programming, providing access to a popular statistical system that has complementary strengths in areas such as machine learning, statistical inference and visualisation. Furthermore, Real has a central role to play in the uptake of computational biology and bioinformatics as application areas for research in logic programming.
Temperature hysteresis in the unstable combustion mode of SHS: experiment with high-speed micro-pyrometry

The aim of this study is to report a new experimental regularity of the change in the propagation velocity of SHS as a function of the adiabatic temperature at the local point of the combustion front. The paper presents the results of measuring the temperature and velocity in the propagation of a combustion wave, obtained using a special television micro-pyrometer (1200×800 pixels) with high spatial (5.85 μm/pixel) and resolution time (1000 fps). High accuracy of temperature measurement was provided by using a new method of spectrally-bright pyrometry (patent RUS 2616937) from 800 to 2000°C with an error of less than 1%. This paper shows the experimental procedure and statistical data on the hysteretic dependence of velocity on temperature.
Mutations in sdh (succinate dehydrogenase genes) alter the thiamine requirement of Salmonella typhimurium

Mutants lacking the first enzyme in de novo purine synthesis (PurF) can synthesize thiamine if increased levels of pantothenate are present in the culture medium (J. L. Enos-Berlage and D. M. Downs, J. Bacteriol. 178:1476-1479, 1996). Derivatives of purF mutants that no longer required pantothenate for thiamine-independent growth were isolated. Analysis of these mutants demonstrated that they were defective in succinate dehydrogenase (Sdh), an enzyme of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Results of phenotypic analyses suggested that a defect in Sdh decreased the thiamine requirement of Salmonella typhimurium. This reduced requirement correlated with levels of succinyl-coenzyme A (succinyl-CoA), which is synthesized in a thiamine pyrophosphate-dependent reaction. The effect of succinyl-CoA on thiamine metabolism was distinct from the role of pantothenate in thiamine synthesis.
Generalized Vibrational Perturbation Theory for Rotovibrational Energies of Linear, Symmetric and Asymmetric Tops: Theory, Approximations, and Automated Approaches to Deal with Medium-to-Large Molecular Systems

Models going beyond the rigid-rotor and the harmonic oscillator levels are mandatory for providing accurate theoretical predictions for several spectroscopic properties. Different strategies have been devised for this purpose. Among them, the treatment by perturbation theory of the molecular Hamiltonian after its expansion in power series of products of vibrational and rotational operators, also referred to as vibrational perturbation theory (VPT), is particularly appealing for its computational efficiency to treat medium-to-large systems. Moreover, generalized (GVPT) strategies combining the use of perturbative and variational formalisms can be adopted to further improve the accuracy of the results, with the first approach used for weakly coupled terms, and the second one to handle tightly coupled ones. In this context, the GVPT formulation for asymmetric, symmetric, and linear tops is revisited and fully generalized to both minima and first-order saddle points of the molecular potential energy surface. The computational strategies and approximations that can be adopted in dealing with GVPT computations are pointed out, with a particular attention devoted to the treatment of symmetry and degeneracies. A number of tests and applications are discussed, to show the possibilities of the developments, as regards both the variety of treatable systems and eligible methods. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sustainability of donor programs: evaluating and informing the transition of a large HIV prevention program in India to local ownership

Background Sustainability is the holy grail of many development projects, yet there is limited evidence about strategies that effectively support transition of programs from donor funding to national governments. The first phase of Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2003–2009), aimed to demonstrate an HIV/AIDS prevention program at scale, primarily targeted at high-risk groups. During the second phase (2009–2013), this large-scale program will be transitioned to its natural owners: the Government of India and local communities. This paper describes the evaluation design for the Avahan transition strategy. Methods/Design A detailed logic model for the transition was developed. The Avahan transition strategy focuses on three activities: 1 enhancing capacities among communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and government entities, in line with India's national AIDS control strategy; 2 aligning technical and managerial aspects of Avahan programs with government norms and standards; and 3 promoting and sustaining commitment to services for most-at-risk populations. It is anticipated that programs will then transfer smoothly to government and community ownership, become institutionalized within the government system, and support a sustained HIV/AIDS response.The research design evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of 1 activities undertaken by the program; 2 intermediate effects including the process of institutionalization and the extent to which key Avahan organizational procedures and behaviors are integrated into government systems; and 3 overarching effects namely the impact of the transition process on the sustained delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention services to high-risk groups. Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches are employed so that the evaluation will both assess outcomes and explain why they have occurred. Conclusions It is unusual for donor-supported projects in low- and middle-income countries to carefully plan transition processes, and prospectively evaluate these. This evaluation is designed so as to both inform decision making throughout the transition process and answer larger questions about the transition and sustainability of donor programs.
Low-Overhead Dynamic Sampling for Redundant Traffic Elimination

Protocol-independent redundant traffic elimination (RTE) is an "on the fly" method for detecting and removing redundant chunks of data from network-layer packets traversing a constrained link or path. Efficient algorithms are needed to sample data chunks and detect redundancy, so that RTE does not hinder network throughput. A recently proposed static algorithm samples chunks based on highly-redundant trigger bytes observed in data content. While this algorithm is fast, it requires pre-computed traffic information for the configuration of its static parameters, and it tends to either under-sample (reducing byte savings) or over-sample (increasing processing cost) on heterogeneous traffic. We propose a dynamic sampling algorithm for redundant content detection. Our algorithm is adaptive and self-configuring, and can precisely match the specified sampling rate. Furthermore, it offers byte savings comparable to the static algorithm, with very low additional processing overhead.
Emerging strategies for EphA2 receptor targeting for cancer therapeutics

Importance of the field: High mortality rates with cancers warrant further development of earlier diagnostics and better treatment strategies. Membrane-bound erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular receptor tyrosine kinase class A2 (EphA2) is overexpressed in breast, prostate, urinary bladder, skin, lung, ovary and brain cancers. Areas covered in this review: EphA2 overexpression in cancers, its signaling mechanisms and strategies to target its deregulation. What the reader will gain: High EphA2 expression in cancer cells is correlated with a poor prognosis associated with recurrence due to enhanced metastasis. Interaction of the EphA2 receptor with its ligand (e.g., ephrinA1) triggers events that are deregulated and implicated in carcinogenesis. EphrinA1-independent oncogenic activity and ephrinA1-dependent tumor suppressor roles for EphA2 are described. Molecular interactions of EphA2 with signaling proteins are associated with the modulation of cytoskeleton dynamics, cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and metastasis. The deregulated signaling by EphA2 and its involvement in oncogenesis provide multiple avenues for the rational design of intervention approaches. Take home message: EphA2 has been tested as a drug target using multiple approaches such as agonist antibodies, RNA interference, immunotherapy, virus vector-mediated gene transfer, small-molecule inhibitors and nanoparticles. With over a decade of research, encouraging results with targeting of EphA2 expression in various pre-clinical cancer models necessitate further studies.
Sketching and Conceptions of Software Design

In this paper, we describe a study of sketching and design within a software organization in which hundreds of hours of video of development activity in situ were captured and analyzed. We use the study as a basis from which to question how researcher conceptions of software design -- what it is, when and where it occurs, and how it is accounted -- affect the way in which design is empirically studied. When researcher conceptions of design substantially differ from the actual design practices of those who are studied, researchers are at risk of seeing only what they are looking for and in this way miss the very design practices carried out by software developers in their quotidian work that the researchers were hoping to characterize.
Spectrum Weighted HRTF Based Sound Localization

In the framework of humanoid robotics it’s of great importance studying and developing computational techniques that enrich robot perception and its interaction with the surrounding environment. The most important cues for the estimation of sound source azimuth are interaural phase differences (IPD), interaural time differences (ITD) and interaural level differences (ILD) between the binaural signals. In this paper we present a method for the recognition of the direction of a sound located on the azimuthal plane (i.e. the plane containing the interaural axis). The proposed method is based on a spectrum weighted comparison between ILD’s and IPD’s extracted from microphones located at the ears and a set of stored cues; these cues where previously measured and stored in a database in the form of a Data Lookup Table. While the direct lookup in the table of the stored cues suffers from the presence of both ambient noise and reverberation, as usual in real environments, the proposed method, exploiting the overall shape of the actual frequency spectrum of the signal, both its phase and modulus, reduces dramatically errors in the localization. In the paper we give also the experimental evidence that such method improves greatly the usual HRTF based identification methods.
Possibilistic Explanation

The philosophy literature has been struggling with the problem of defining causality. There has been extensive discussion about it. Hume taught that talk of causation was metaphysics and should be consigned to the flames (D. Hume, 1748). We present a comparison between two approaches that model this notion: The first one is the normative approach which is based on an interventionist conception of the cause (D. Kayser, A. Mokhtari, 1998). The second one is the structuralmodel approach that gives a new definition of actual causes, using structural equations to model counterfactuals (J. Y.Halpern, J. Pearl, 2005). Both approaches propose a modelling of the explanation using the notion of causation. Halpern and Pearl define the notion of partial explanation, so that every explanation will not be considered equally good. In order to make difference between them, the authors add a probability to the set of possible contexts (J. Y. Halpern, J. Pearl, 2005). Our purpose in this paper is to modify this definition, rather than to use a probability (quantitative modelling). We suggest to affect a degree of possibility (a more qualitative modelling) which is nearer to the human way of reasoning (P. Prade, D. Dubois, 1994). We propose to give a stratification of all possible partial explanations for a given request of an agent. The explanations in the first stratum are more possible than those belonging to the other strata.
Mapping the 3D Structure of Corrugated “Cardboard” M0S2

Building 3D structures from 2D materials through folding opens new possibilities in nanodevice fabrication [1]. Origami scales well from folding regular pieces of paper down to folding atomically thin sheets. The use of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) like MoS2 bring additional functionality through their material properties beyond the geometry of the folded 3D object. This creates the possibility of cell-sized devices that can transform, move, and communicate. However, it is technically challenging to construct functional 3D structures merely with flat sheets of a 2D material owing to its low bending stiffness. Thus, we have grown atomically-thin corrugated MoS2 with bumps around 50 nm in diameter and 20 nm in height. Since single-crystal 2D materials are intrinsically flat, the key question is to understand how curvature is accommodated and achieved at a microscopic level.
Symbolic Synthesis and Verification of Hierarchical Interface-based Supervisory Control

Hierarchical interface-based supervisory control (HISC) decomposes a discrete-event system (DES) into a high-level subsystem which communicates with n ges 1 low-level subsystems, through separate interfaces which restrict the interaction of the subsystems. It provides a set of local conditions that can be used to verify global conditions such as nonblocking and controllability. The current HISC verification and synthesis algorithms are based upon explicit state and transition listings which limit the size of a given level to about 107 states when 1GB of memory is used. In this paper, we extend the HISC approach by introducing a set of predicate based fixed point operators that allow us to do a per level synthesis to construct for each level a maximally permissive supervisor that satisfies the corresponding HISC conditions. We prove that these fixpoint operators compute the required level-wise supremal languages. We then present algorithms that implement the fixpoint operators. Based on these algorithms, a symbolic implementation is briefly discussed which can be implemented using binary decision diagrams. We also discuss a method to implement our synthesized supervisors in a more compact manner. A large manufacturing system example (worst case state space on the order of 1030) extended from the ALP example is briefly discussed. The example showed that we can now handle a given level with a statespace as large as 10 15 states, using less than 160MB of memory. This represents a significant improvement in the size of systems that can be handled by the HISC approach. A software tool for synthesis and verification of HISC systems using our approach was also developed
Changes in dissolved organic material determine exposure of stream benthic communities to UV‐B radiation and heavy metals: implications for climate change

Changes in regional climate in the Rocky Mountains over the next 100 years are expected to have significant effects on biogeochemical cycles and hydrological processes. In particular, decreased discharge and lower stream depth during summer when ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the highest combined with greater photo‐oxidation of dissolved organic materials (DOM) will significantly increase exposure of benthic communities to UVR. Communities in many Rocky Mountain streams are simultaneously exposed to elevated metals from abandoned mines, the toxicity and bioavailability of which are also determined by DOM. We integrated field surveys of 19 streams (21 sites) along a gradient of metal contamination with microcosm and field experiments conducted in Colorado, USA, and New Zealand to investigate the influence of DOM on bioavailability of heavy metals and exposure of benthic communities to UVR. Spatial and seasonal variation in DOM were closely related to stream discharge and significantly influenced heavy metal uptake in benthic organisms. Qualitative and quantitative changes in DOM resulting from exposure to sunlight increased UV‐B (290–320 nm) penetration and toxicity of heavy metals. Results of microcosm experiments showed that benthic communities from a metal‐polluted stream were tolerant of metals, but were more sensitive to UV‐B than communities from a reference stream. We speculate that the greater sensitivity of these communities to UV‐B resulted from costs associated with metal tolerance. Exclusion of UVR from 12 separate Colorado streams and from outdoor stream microcosms in New Zealand increased the abundance of benthic organisms (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies) by 18% and 54%, respectively. Our findings demonstrate the importance of considering changes in regional climate and UV‐B exposure when assessing the effects of local anthropogenic stressors.
Muscle fiber types: how many and what kind?

STUDIES on normal and pathological striated muscle are increasingly clouded by inconsistencies in the definition of fiber types and lack of correlation between different systems of nomenclature. The purpose of the present communication is to point out some of the problems involved in the classification of fibers and to add new information of value in the analysis of human biopsy material. The histochemical reaction for myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and the pH lability of this reaction is used to characterize the various types of fibers. Material and Methods Muscle was obtained by biopsy in man, rat, and rabbit. Gastrocnemius and soleus were investigated in the animals. The human biopsies were taken from the biceps. The methods used for histochemical analysis have been given elsewhere. 1 In summary, unfixed frozen material was sectioned at 10μ thickness in the cryostat and the following histochemical reactions were carried out: (1) reduced diphosphopyridine
Switching processes in mesoscopic systems

Switching processes are widespread in nature and technology, from receptor switches in cell membranes to semiconductor transistors present in almost every electronic device today. They play a crucial role in communication, since the inherent discreteness of these processes leads to higher noise tolerance compared to analog communication. Another observation concerning information processing is the rapid miniaturization of integrated circuits that has taken place during the past six decades. The size of the components of an electronic device is reaching the regime where quantum interference and charge quantization become important. It is therefore necessary to investigate how electronic devices function at very small size scales. This thesis connects the two aforementioned aspects and looks at different switching processes at the nanoscale. The discrete nature of quantum mechanical systems, such as energy and spin quantization, often provides a setting where some kind of switching is built-in. We look at three different models that involve switching. The first one is concerned with electron spin. The possibility to control and manipulate it has created the field of spintronics that aims to use the spin degree of freedom for information transfer and processing. In this work we investigate the switching of spins on the surface of a topological insulator by passing a current through the surface. The perfect correlation between electron spin and momentum on topological insulator surfaces provides a handle for the spin without the need to apply a magnetic field. The spin-momentum locking also increases the efficiency of the mechanism compared to other materials. Another model we investigate stems from electron quantum optics, a field that aims to reproduce quantum optics experiments with electrons instead of photons. We look at how an abrupt switching of the conductance of a quantum point contact affects the shape of a transmitted wave packet as part of a protocol for electron tomography. In particular, we investigate how the Wigner function of the wave packet transforms during scattering off different potentials and derive a quantum mechanical expression for the transmitted charge through a quantum point contact under the influence of the potential. A third model we look at is that of a single-molecule transistor. The motivation for this is an experimentally observed conductance gap in the gate voltage-bias voltage diagram that differs from the expected single-electron transistor picture. We introduce a modification in the model by allowing the molecule to be in different conformations whose lower-energy states are differently charged. This leads to a qualitative agreement with the experimental results. This single-molecule transistor can be regarded as a switch in two aspects—in the conventional transistor sense, as well as a conformational switch that can be controlled with the gate or bias voltage.
Caloric restriction reveals a metabolomic and lipidomic signature in liver of male mice

Lipid composition, particularly membrane unsaturation, has been proposed as being a lifespan determinant, but it is currently unknown whether caloric restriction (CR), an accepted life‐extending intervention, affects cellular lipid profiles. In this study, we employ a liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight‐based methodology to demonstrate that CR in the liver of male C57BL/6 mice: (i) induces marked changes in the cellular lipidome, (ii) specifically reduces levels of a phospholipid peroxidation product, 1‐palmitoyl‐2‐glutaryl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphatidylcholine, (iii) alters cellular phosphoethanolamine and triglyceride distributional profiles, (iv) affects mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes, increasing complex II and decreasing complex III and (v) is associated with specific changes in liver metabolic pathways. These data demonstrate that CR induces a specific lipidome and metabolome reprogramming event in mouse liver which is associated with lower protein oxidative damage, as assessed by mass spectrometry‐based measurements. Such changes may be critical to the increased lifespan and healthspan observed in C57BL/6 mice following CR.