Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pathfinder/MonetDB : a Relational Runtime for XQuery

This master thesis proposes the use of a relational database as special query processor for the XML query language XQuery. We chose MonetDB, an extensible RDBMS, to become our relational back-end. Its low level interpreter language MIL, which combines a relational algebra and a procedural language, became our target language for the XQuery compilation. The thesis first sketches concepts of the two languages as well as general ideas of the MonetDB DBMS and the Pathfinder compiler. The overview is followed by the description of storage structures for XML documents and XQuery item sequences. The mapping from normalized XQuery Core to relational algebra by means of inference rules formalizes the compilation scheme and serves as basis for explaining the concepts of the transformation. From the inference rules we also derive the mapping from normalized XQuery Core to our target language MIL. Different optimizations increase the performance of the semantically correct but sometimes inefficient translation. Amongst others, an extension of the staircase join algorithm, which efficiently evaluates XPath location steps, enables us to exploit its techniques in the domain of XQuery. Another important optimization is the join recognition that, based on normalized XQuery Core patterns, detects relational joins and emits appropriate join plans. Experiments not only justify the optimizations, but also demonstrate the outstanding scaling of our approach. An extensive performance comparison with other XQuery processors (using the XMark benchmark) furthermore marks the effectiveness of the approach. Finally, a conclusion sums up the ideas developed in this thesis and provides an outlook for the future topics in the course of the Pathfinder project.
Give the People What They Want : Studying Non-Programmers Describing End-User Web Programming

Understanding end-user's needs is a prerequisite for designing End-User Programming (EUP) environments. This paper reports on two qualitative studies that answer the following questions: 1) what do end-users want to improve on the Web; and 2) how do end-users without programming knowledge describe computational tasks? For the first question we asked 35 Web users about their daily activities and problems on the Web, and how they would improve it. As a result of this, we proposed functional requirements of future WebEUP systems that enable end-users to create, modify, and extend extensions with rich design details and interactivity. The second study focused on nonprogrammer’s mental models about computational tasks. The interviewer asked 13 non-programmers to describe three programs (drawing a histogram, creating a custom filter, and combining information from multiple web pages). We summarized existing challenges and suggest design implications for building an easy, efficient, and expressive WebEUP system. Author
Cost Modeling and Projection for Stacked Nanowire Fabric

To continue scaling beyond 2-D CMOS with 3-D integration, any new 3-D IC technology has to be comparable or better than 2-D CMOS in terms of scalability, enhanced functionality, density, power, performance, cost, and reliability. Transistor-level 3-D integration carries the most potential in this regard. Recently, we proposed a stacked horizontal nanowire based transistor-level 3-D integration approach, called SN3D [1][2] that solves scaling challenges and achieves tremendous benefits with respect to 2-D CMOS while keeping manageable thermal profile. In this paper, we present the cost analysis of SN3D and show comparison with 2-D CMOS (2D), conventional TSV based 3-D (T3D) and Monolithic 3-D integrations (M3D). In our cost model, we capture the implications of manufacturing, circuit density, interconnects, bonding and heat in determining die cost, and evaluate how cost scales as transistor count increases. Since SN3D is a new 3-D IC fabric, based on our proposed manufacturing pathway[1] we assumed complexity of fabrication steps as proportionality constants in our cost estimation model. Our analysis revealed 86%, 72% and 74% reduction in area; 55%, 43% and 43% reduction in interconnects distribution and total interconnect length for SN3D, which largely contributed to 70%, 67% and 68% reduction in cost in comparison to 2D, T3D and M3D respectively.
The role of AMP‐activated protein kinase in mitochondrial biogenesis

While it has been known for more than 75 years that physical activity is associated with increased mitochondrial content in muscle, the molecular mechanism for this adaptive process has only recently been elucidated. This brief review examines existing studies that have identified AMPK‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and several other key regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis, including peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ coactivator‐1α and ‐1β, calcium/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase IV, and nitric oxide. In addition, the potential role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance associated with ageing and type 2 diabetes mellitus is also discussed.
Geomechanical, Hydraulic and Thermal Characteristics of Deep Oceanic Sandy Sediments Recovered during the Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition

This study investigates the geomechanical, hydraulic and thermal characteristics of natural sandy sediments collected during the Ulleung Basin gas hydrate expedition 2, East Sea, offshore Korea. The studied sediment formation is considered as a potential target reservoir for natural gas production. The sediments contained silt, clay and sand fractions of 21%, 1.3% and 77.7%, respectively, as well as diatomaceous minerals with internal pores. The peak friction angle and critical state (or residual state) friction angle under drained conditions were ~26° and ~22°, respectively. There was minimal or no apparent cohesion intercept. Stress- and strain-dependent elastic moduli, such as tangential modulus and secant modulus, were identified. The sediment stiffness increased with increasing confining stress, but degraded with increasing strain regime. Variations in water permeability with water saturation were obtained by fitting experimental matric suction-water saturation data to the Maulem-van Genuchen model. A significant reduction in thermal conductivity (from ~1.4–1.6 to ~0.5–0.7 W·m −1 ·K −1 ) was observed when water saturation decreased from 100% to ~10%–20%. In addition, the electrical resistance increased quasi-linearly with decreasing water saturation. The geomechanical, hydraulic and thermal properties of the hydrate-free sediments reported herein can be used as the baseline when predicting properties and behavior of the sediments containing hydrates, and when the hydrates dissociate during gas production. The variations in thermal and hydraulic properties with changing water and gas saturation can be used to assess gas production rates from hydrate-bearing deposits. In addition, while depressurization of hydrate-bearing sediments inevitably causes deformation of sediments under drained conditions, the obtained strength and stiffness properties and stress-strain responses of the sedimentary formation under drained loading conditions can be effectively used to assess sediment responses to depressurization to ensure safe gas production operations in this potential target reservoir.
Close friendships and the development of psychological resilience across the lifespan : a dual cohort study

In a novel contribution to the literature, this research employs a social psychological approach to the meaning, import and impact of a single, supportive close friendship upon experiences and processes underpinning resilience in socioeconomically vulnerable adolescents, using a conceptual comparison with adults. A critical literature review interrogating the concept of subjective psychological resilience demonstrates the need to investigate the potential protective role of a single close friendship. The thesis uses a pragmatic mixed methods approach employing the complementary strengths of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. First, a cross-sectional correlational study of 409 socioeconomically vulnerable adolescents aged 11-19 years uses structural equation modelling analyses to develop an Adolescent Friendship and Resilience Model. A supportive close friendship is revealed to contribute to psychological resilience processes in these boys and girls, particularly by facilitating constructive coping. A longitudinal correlational study of 121 of these adolescents shows effects did not persist over one year. Longitudinal analysis of variance with this sample shows differences between resilience-promotion and risk-reduction as distinct resources are developed or attenuated along adolescents’ trajectories of increasing or decreasing risk. Next, a longitudinal correlational design and analysis of variance within a community sample of 75 adults aged 35-55 explores developmental components to the relationship between friendship and resilience. A single close friendship is shown to facilitate resilience, although explanatory mechanisms are unclear. Finally, analysis of semi-structured interviews with 14 socioeconomically vulnerable adolescents using a novel combination of thematic analysis and empirical phenomenology reveals interlinked experiences of close friendship and resilience support as spatial. The distinct studies are interweaved into a coherent understanding of the relationship between close friendships and psychological resilience. The research extends and re-conceptualises understandings of psychological resilience amongst socioeconomically vulnerable adolescents and over the lifespan, showing the capacities of a single close friendship to nourish strength, meaning, and growth.
Synergistic interactions of antibodies in rate of virus neutralization.

Antibodies and antibody combinations are often evaluated only by their potency in inactivating a known quantity of virus in dose-effect assays. However, a crucial additional parameter is the rate at which neutralization takes place, or kinetics. Synergism of certain antibody combinations in dose-effect assays has been previously demonstrated. In the present report, using a battery of murine monoclonal antibodies to herpes simplex virus (HSV), we investigated whether antiviral antibodies can also synergize in neutralization kinetics. To determine whether synergism in dose-effect assays can predict synergism in neutralization rate, the ability of neutralizing antibodies to synergize in neutralization rate (kinetics) was compared to their ability to synergize in dose-effect assays (potency) in cell-free assays. Although certain antibody combinations synergized in both neutralization rate and potency, combinations that did not clearly synergize in potency could still significantly synergize in neutralization rate. Weak neutralizing antibodies could also greatly increase the neutralization rate of more potent antibodies. These results suggest that evaluating antibody combinations in dose-effect assays but not in neutralization kinetics provides a partial picture of neutralizing antibody dynamic interactions and may prevent the identification of certain favorable antibody combinations. These findings also support the importance of establishing defined antibody cocktails for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes. A simple strategy to evaluate antibody interactions in neutralization kinetics is proposed in which a quantitative prediction of additivity is made on the basis of the neutralization rate constants of the individual antibodies in the combination.
Mapping product descriptions to a large ontology

In this paper we describe an information retrieval approach for mapping online business information texts to concepts in a large ontology. We adopt the traditional vector space model by representing the texts as queries and the concept labels in the ontology as documents. Because of the size of the ontology and the fact that concept labels are very sparse and generic, we conducted additional experiments for reducing the set of concepts, as well as the enrichment and enlargement of concept labels. The documents in our collection were of too poor quality for this task, and although we show that our enrichment technique did provide us with an ontology with good overall similarity to our query collection, individual concepts did not include enough terms for our method to achieve good results.
An Enhanced Memetic Algorithm for Single-Objective Bilevel Optimization Problems

Bilevel optimization, as the name reflects, deals with optimization at two interconnected hierarchical levels. The aim is to identify the optimum of an upper-level leader problem, subject to the optimality of a lower-level follower problem. Several problems from the domain of engineering, logistics, economics, and transportation have an inherent nested structure which requires them to be modeled as bilevel optimization problems. Increasing size and complexity of such problems has prompted active theoretical and practical interest in the design of efficient algorithms for bilevel optimization. Given the nested nature of bilevel problems, the computational effort (number of function evaluations) required to solve them is often quite high. In this article, we explore the use of a Memetic Algorithm (MA) to solve bilevel optimization problems. While MAs have been quite successful in solving single-level optimization problems, there have been relatively few studies exploring their potential for solving bilevel optimization problems. MAs essentially attempt to combine advantages of global and local search strategies to identify optimum solutions with low computational cost (function evaluations). The approach introduced in this article is a nested Bilevel Memetic Algorithm (BLMA). At both upper and lower levels, either a global or a local search method is used during different phases of the search. The performance of BLMA is presented on twenty-five standard test problems and two real-life applications. The results are compared with other established algorithms to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Eating Pathology and Female Sibling Relationships: Social Comparison and Competition Between Sisters

The present study expanded upon current research on risk factors for eating pathology by exploring the predictive power of and correlations between variables of social comparison and competition with a sister. Seventy-one women responded to measures of general social comparison, social comparison with a sister, physical-appearance-related social comparison, general competitiveness and competitiveness with a sister, as well as a measure of eating pathology. The results suggest that competitiveness with a sister and physicalappearance-related social comparison are correlated with eating pathology. In addition, competitiveness with a sister is a significant predictor of eating pathology, and explained 30% of the variance in eating pathology in this sample. Implications for treatment and assessment are discussed.
Market Success of Premium Product Innovation: Empirical Evidence from the German Food Sector.

It is well documented that a large share of new products does not survive their first year in the market. Research reported in this paper examined the relationship between product quality and innovation success. In contrast to existing product innovation literature that focused on industrial goods, this study used food product data from a 2002 German food manufacturing firm survey. Results of Sample Selection Model suggest that premium quality increases product? s success rate. Furthermore, firm size has a significant positive impact on success rate. Intensity of competition as well as retailers? market power reduce product? s success rate.
Wisdom: Toward a psychology of wisdom and its ontogenesis

The conceptual focus of our approach is to conceive of wisdom as an expert knowledge system (expertise). Specifically, we view wisdom as a highly developed body of factual and procedural knowledge and judgment dealing with what we call the “fundamental pragmatics of life. ” The fundamental pragmatics of life concern important but uncertain matters of life. Specifically, they involve knowledge and judgment about the course, variations, conditions, conduct, and meaning of life. Before we describe this approach in more detail, we present some of the historical background and theoretical rationales that have stimulated us to pursue research and theory on the topic of wisdom. Conceptual background Our interest in the psychological study of wisdom is motivated by three general lines of psychological inquiry. A first is our interest in the study of high levels of human performance, the kind of performance that can be labeled as exceptional and expertlike (Baltes & Kliegl, 1986; Ericsson, in press; Kliegl & Baltes, 1987; Smith & Baltes, in press; Smith, Dixon, & Baltes, 1989). The second line of inquiry is our search for positive aspects of the aging mind (Baltes & Baltes, in press; Baltes & Labouvie, 1973; Baltes & Schaie, 1976). The third line of interest is work on conceptions of intelligence that reflect a concern with the contextual and pragmatic features of everyday functioning (Cornelius & Caspi, 1987; Denney, 1984; Dixon & Baltes, 1986; Rogoff & Lave, 1984; Sternberg & Wagner, 1986). These three general lines of inquiry are described in more detail in later sections of this chapter.
Wasting as an independent predictor of mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common life threatening autosomal recessive disorder in the white population. Wasting has long been recognised as a poor prognostic marker in CF. Whether it predicts survival independently of lung function and arterial blood gas tensions has not previously been reported. METHODS 584 patients with CF (261 women) of mean (SD) age 21 (7) years were studied between 1985 and 1996, all of whom were being followed up in a tertiary referral centre. Lung function tests, body weight, arterial blood oxygen (Pao 2) and carbon dioxide (Paco 2) tensions were measured. The weight was calculated as a percentage of the ideal body weight for age, height, and sex. RESULTS Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) recorded at the start of the study was 1.8 (1.0) l (52 (26)% predicted FEV1), Pao 2 9.8 (1.9) kPa, Paco 2 5.0 (0.9) kPa, and % ideal weight 92 (18)%. During the follow up period (45 (27) months) 137 patients died (5 year survival 72%, 95% CI 67 to 73). FEV1, % predicted FEV1, Pao 2, % ideal weight (all p<0.0001), and Paco 2 (p=0.04) predicted survival. In multivariate analysis, % predicted FEV1 (p<0.0001), % ideal weight (p=0.004), and Paco 2 (p=0.02) were independent predictors of outcome. Patients with >85% ideal body weight had a better prognosis at 5 years (cumulative survival 84%, 95% CI 79 to 89) than those with ⩽85% ideal weight (survival 53%, 95% CI 45 to 62), p<0.0001. Percentage predicted FEV1 (area under curve 0.83; 95% CI 0.78 to 0.87) and % ideal weight (area under curve 0.74; 95% CI 0.68 to 0.79) were accurate predictors of survival at 5 years follow up (receiver-operating characteristic analysis). CONCLUSIONS Body wasting is a significant predictor of survival in patients with CF independent of lung function, arterial blood oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions.
A preliminary linkage map of the hard tick, Ixodes scapularis

A linkage map of the Ixodes scapularis genome was constructed, based upon segregation amongst 127 loci. These included 84 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, 32 Sequence‐Tagged RAPD (STAR) markers, 5 cDNAs, and 5 microsatellites in 232 F1 intercross progeny from a single, field‐collected P1 female. A preliminary linkage map of 616 cM was generated across 14 linkage groups with one marker every 10.8 cM. Assuming a genome size of ≈ 109 bp, the relationship of physical to genetic distance was found to be ≈ 300 kb/cM in the I. scapularis genome.
Rational Unified Process for Systems Engineering Part III: Requirements analysis and design

In the August issue of The Rational Edge, we began a three-part series to provide an overview of the latest evolution of Rational Unified Process for Systems Engineering,® or RUP SE. ® RUP SE is an application of the Rational Unified Process,® or RUP,® software engineering process framework. RUP users should note that the currently available RUP Plug-In for SE is the RUP SE v1 Plug-In, which was made available in 2002.
Second‐order motion‐compensated spin echo diffusion tensor imaging of the human heart

Myocardial microstructure has been challenging to probe in vivo. Spin echo–based diffusion‐weighted sequences allow for single‐shot acquisitions but are highly sensitive to cardiac motion. In this study, the use of second‐order motion‐compensated diffusion encoding was compared with first‐order motion‐compensated diffusion‐weighted imaging during systolic contraction of the heart.
Intergenerational and Life-Course Transmission of Social Exclusion: Influences and Childhood Poverty, Family Disruption and Contact with the Police

This study uses data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS), a longitudinal study of children born in 1958, to examine the following questions. How far is social exclusion and disadvantage transmitted from parents to their children and from childhood into adulthood? In particular, how far do childhood experiences of poverty, family discruption, and contact with the police link to adult outcomes? What associations are there for a range of other parental and childhood factors - social class of origin, social class during childhood, housing, tenure, father's and mother's interest in schooling, 'aggression', 'anxiety', and 'restlessness', and educational test scores? And how do these factors link to outcomes by age 33, including three indicators of demographic behaviour, one of psychological well-being, three of welfare position, two of educational qualifications and three of economic position? Which childhood factors have a general influence on adult exclusion and are there specific 'inheritance' patterns?
The Time Course of Visual Afterimages: Data and Theory

Sequential viewing of two orthogonally related patterns produces an afterimage of the first pattern (Vidyasagar et al, 1999 Nature 399 422 – 423; Francis and Rothmayer, 2003 Perception & Psychophysics 65 508 – 522). We investigated how the timing between the first stimulus (a vertical bar grating) and the second stimulus (a horizontal bar grating) affected the visibility of the afterimage (a perceived vertical grating). As the duration from offset of the first stimulus increased, reports of afterimages decreased. Holding fixed the total time from offset of the first stimulus and increasing the duration from offset of the second stimulus while decreasing the time between the first and second stimuli, caused a decrease in afterimage reports. We interpret this finding in terms of Grossberg's BCS – FCS (boundary contour system – feature contour system) theory. In this theory, the afterimage percept is the result of color complement after-responses in the FCS system interacting with orientation after-responses in the BCS system. The two types of after-responses interact at a stage of neural filling-in to produce the afterimage percept. As the duration between the stimuli increases, the color after-responses weaken so that visible filling-in is less likely to occur. A similar effect occurs for the orientation after-responses but at a faster time scale. Simulations of the model match the experimental data.