Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ECIR - A Lightweight Approach for Entity-Centric Information Retrieval

This paper describes our system developed for the TREC 2010 Entity track. In particular we study the exploitation of advanced features of different Web search engines to achieve high quality answers for the 'related entity finding'-task. Our system preprocesses a user query using part-of- speech tagging and synonym dictionaries, and generates an enriched keyword query employing advanced features of particular Web search engines. After retrieving a corpus of documents, the system constructs rules to extract candidate entities. Potentially related entities are deduplicated and scored for each document with respect to the distance to the source entity that is defined in the query. Finally, these scores are aggregated across the corpus by incorporating the rank position of a document. For homepage retrieval we further employ advanced features of Web search engines, for instance to retrieve candidate URLs by queries such as 'entity in anchor'. Homepages are ranked by a weighted aggregation of feature vectors. The weight for each individual feature was determined in beforehand using a genetic learning algorithm. We employed a commercial information extraction sys- tem as a basis and implemented our system for three different search engines. We discuss our experiments for the different web search engines and elaborate on the lessons learned.
Multilayer Kerceptron

Multilayer Perceptrons (MLP) are formulated within Support Vector Machine (SVM) framework by constructing multilayer networks of SVMs. The coupled approximation scheme can take advantage of generalization capabilities of the SVM and the combinatory feature of the hidden layer of MLP. The network, the Multilayer Kerceptron (MLK) assumes its own backpropagation procedure that we shall derive here. Tuning rule will be provided for quadratic cost function, with regularization capability as well. A further appealing property of our approach is that by the aid of the so called kernel trick the MLK computations can be performed in the dual space.
Contribution of Polymorphisms in IKZF1 Gene to Childhood Acute Leukemia: A Meta-Analysis of 33 Case-Control Studies

Objective Two common polymorphisms in the IKZF1 gene (rs4132601 and rs11978267 variants) have been reported to be associated with childhood acute leukemia (AL) risk, however the results were inconsistent. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to generate large-scale evidence on whether IKZF1 variants are risk factors for childhood AL. Methods The PubMed, Embase, EBSCO, and Web of Science were searched up to June 2, 2014 for studies on the association of IKZF1 polymorphisms with childhood AL risk. Data were extracted and the odd ratios (ORs) and95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated by a fixed-effects orrandom-effects model. Subgroup analysis by ethnicity and leukemia subtype, sensitivity and cumulative meta-analyses were performed. Moreover, publication bias was assessed by Begg's and Egger's tests. Results In total, 33 case control studies were finally included in this meta-analysis. For rs4132601 polymorphism, significantly increased AL risk was observed in all genetic models (the association was still significant when the p value was Bonferroni adjusted to 0.025). In the subgroup analysis by tumor type, statistical association was observed in B-cell precursor ALL (BCP-ALL). Additionally, when stratified by ethnicity, significantly increased AL risk was only observed in European subgroup, but not among African or mixed population subgroups. Finally, similar results were found forrs11978267 polymorphism. Conclusion In summary, this meta-analysis provides evidence that rs4132601 and rs11978267 polymorphisms in the IKZF1 gene mightcontribute to the occurrence of BCP-ALL, especially in European populations. Moreover, further studies with large sample size are required to clarify possibleroles of IKZF1 variants in other ethnic groups (e.g., Asians and Africans).
Building an encrypted file system on the EGEE grid: application to protein sequence analysis

Bioinformatics needs high-throughput computing and huge data storage to understand datasets such as ones produced by complete genome projects. But these data are linked to patients, and used in scientific or industrial processes such as drug design and gene function identification. These use cases need to have a certain level of confidentiality and integrity to preserve the patient privacy or the patent secret. Obviously important in a local computing context such as supercomputer or cluster, these requirements are exarcebated in the context of a grid such EGEE, where the computing and storage resources are distributed across a worldwide platform. We have developed the EncFile encrypted files management system, deployed on the production platform of the EGEE project, and associated to encrypted representative biological resources. Thus we provided grid users with a user-friendly component that doesn't require any user privileges. Moreover, our EncFile system can be also deployed on other distributed systems as it is not linked to the EGEE grid components.
Research on Control Strategies of Steer-by-Wire System

Steer-By-Wire system, in which the conventional mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the front wheel are removed, is suited to active steering control. It can have better vehicle stability, dynamics and maneuverability, and assist the drivers to control the vehicle. Handling and stability is very important for the automobile, especially in high speed. In this paper, firstly, according to the vehicle handling stability of Steer-By-Wire, there are two control strategies were researched. One is the immobile steering sensibility type control strategy, the other is the yaw rate and sideslip angle control strategy. Then, the hardware-in-loop experiment of Steer-By-Wire based on dSPACE was processed for testing the control strategy. Finally, on the basis of experiment about steering transient response in national standards, the vehicle handling stability of the vehicle with the control strategy was testing. The results show that the vehicle had a good handling and stability with the control strategies.
ARTIFICIAL EMBRYOLOGY The Genetic Programming of Cellular Differentiation

This paper introduces some ideas and early results concerning the Genetic Programming of artificial shapes. Genetic Programming (GP) [de GARIS 1990, 1991, 1992] is defined to be "the art of using Genetic Algorithms to build/evolve complex systems". Complex systems are defined to be systems which are too complex in their structures or dynamics to be predictable or analyzable. Embryos and brains are obvious examples. This paper shows how GP techniques can be applied to (reproductive) cellular automata [WOLFRAM 1986] to build a colony of cells having a desired global shape. This paper shows that this type of work can be extended to building shapes sequentially, e.g. "limbs" can be "grown" out of "bodies", so that a 2D "artificial embryo" is grown. It is hoped that such techniques will contribute towards the creation of a new branch of ALife, called "Artificial Embryology", which is defined to be "the art of generating instructions to enable abstract cells to reproduce and differentiate in abstract media, such that a final agglomeration of cells has certain properties (such as a desired shape, or desired behaviors etc)". It may be possible that these ideas will be taken over into a form of "embryological electronics", which uses GP techniques to "grow" electronic circuits in an electronic substrate, using special devices called "Darwin Machines".
Out of Sight Out of Mind--How Our Mobile Social Network Changes during Migration

In this work we use anonymous telecommunication data to investigate how migration influences the dynamics of mobile social networks. We analyze the evolution of social ties for an entire country over a period of 11 months, examining: tie strength, sociality level, distance of ties, and persistence of ties. We find changes in tie strengths pre and post migration, specifically at six months before and a month after migration and discover that on average it takes approximately seven to eight months to restructure ones social network at a new residential location following migration. Moreover, the strongest ties such as those between families and close friends appear to be independent of migration. These ties continue to persist at nearly constant rates, in stark contrast to the weaker ties whose persistence rates drop significantly. Finally, we quantify the interdependency between the persistence rate, social strength, and migration distance, as a result, we are able to estimate how likely a given tie would persist, given the pre-migration social strength and distance of migration.
Adjacent vessel sign and breast imaging reporting and data system are valuable for diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether an adjacent vessel sign (AVS) observed on the maximum intensity projections (MIPs) from the subtracted images can help distinguish between malignant and benign breast lesions and to test whether the combination of breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) category and AVS can increase the specificity and diagnostic accuracy of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study included 63 histologically verified lesions which underwent dynamic breast MRI before biopsy. All magnetic resonance (MR) images were evaluated by two radiologists in consensus, who were unaware of the histopathological outcome. The MR images of all cases were analyzed according to BI-RADS-MRI assessment category. Levels of suspicion were reported as categories of I–V. The presence of vessels either entering the enhancing lesion or in contact with the lesion edge on MIP images was considered as the presence of AVS. Final analysis of 63 masses revealed 41 malignant lesions (65.1%) and 22 benign lesions (34.9%). Thirty seven out of 41 malignant lesions and 3 out of 22 benign lesions were associated with adjacent vessel, with highly significant difference between benign and malignant lesions (P < 0.001), especially for lesions smaller than 2.0 cm. The corresponding specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of contrast-enhanced 3.0-T breast were 86.4%, 82.9% and 84.1%, respectively. Based on BI-RADS-MRI category, the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of breast MRI were 54.5%, 100% and 84.1%, respectively. After combining BI-RADS category and AVS, the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of breast MRI were 90.9%, 82.9% and 85.7%, respectively. AVS can help differentiate malignant from benign breast lesions, especially for the lesions smaller than 2.0 cm. The combination of BI-RADS category and AVS can increase the specificity and the diagnostic accuracy of breast MRI.
Con dence Judgements , Performance , and Practice , in Arti cial Grammar

Artiicial grammar learning is noted for the claim that subjects are unaware of their knowledge. Chan (1992) and Dienes et al. (in press) have demonstrated that subjects are unaware in the sense that they lack meta-knowledge. Dissociations between subjects' performance and their conndence in their decisions suggest that the learning mechanism may be in some sense encapsulated from the \conndence system". Here we tested the alternative hypothesis that the conndence system is initially poorly calibrated, or does not know which aspects of the learning mechanism to attend to, by training and testing subjects over four weekly sessions. On all four weeks we found a strong, near-perfect association between conndence and performance for trained subjects, but a dissociation for untrained control subjects. We discuss possible explanations for these results, and previously observed dissociations. Artiicial grammar learning is notable for the controversial claim that subjects acquire knowledge which allows them to distinguish strings which follow the same rules as a set of previously memorised strings, from those which do not, but that they are not consciously aware of this knowledge (Reber, 1967, 1989). However, measuring subjects' conscious knowledge is plagued with the problems of nding suitably sensitive, explicit tests, and of ensuring that the knowledge these explicit tests measure is the same as the knowledge subjects use to perform (in press) set issues of consciousness aside and focus instead on behaviour: Subjects' ability to make conndence judgements about their performance. This tests meta-knowledge, or \what subjects know about what they know". Chan (1992) showed that subjects' conndence in their judgements was unrelated to the likelihood that those judgements were correct. Similarly, Dienes et al. (in press) showed that even when subjects thought that they were guessing, their performance was above chance (and untrained control) levels. Chan (1992) and Dienes et al. (in press) propose that the dissociation between conndence and accuracy is evidence that subjects lack meta-knowledge. This suggests that the learning mechanism is to a certain extent encapsulated from the \conndence system", so that its inner workings (e.g. the strengths of its rules, or connection weights, or its error signals) are inaccessible. In this paper, we present a study which aimed to test a possible alternative explanation for this dissociation; that meta-knowledge is in principle available, but simply that extraction of this knowledge requires learning or calibration, and is initially inaccurate. Dienes and Perner's (in press) discussion of the extent and …
MORPHOLOGICAL BINARY INTERPOLATION WITH CONVEX MASK

In the paper an image interpolation method based on the mathematical morphology is proposed. The method deals with binary images and allows transforming one input binary object into another one. The proposed method is an improvement of the Hausdorff distance approach. Two ways of improvement are proposed. The first one allows controling more precisely the process of object growing during the interpolation process, the second and most important one introduces a mask inside which the interpolation is performed. The interpolated object is intersected with this mask, created as a the smallest convex hull covering both input objects. Both improvements increase the quality of interpolated objects by the reduction of their oversizing. In addition, a distance function approach, which increases the algorithm’s effectiveness, is given. The proposed method is illustrated in the paper by three examples. It can be successfully applied to metamorphosis of intersected as well as disjoint binary objects.
Bayesian Inference for Smoking Cessation with a Latent Cure State

Summary We present a Bayesian approach to modeling dynamic smoking addiction behavior processes when cure is not directly observed due to censoring. Subject‐specific probabilities model the stochastic transitions among three behavioral states: smoking, transient quitting, and permanent quitting (absorbent state). A multivariate normal distribution for random effects is used to account for the potential correlation among the subject‐specific transition probabilities. Inference is conducted using a Bayesian framework via Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. This framework provides various measures of subject‐specific predictions, which are useful for policy‐making, intervention development, and evaluation. Simulations are used to validate our Bayesian methodology and assess its frequentist properties. Our methods are motivated by, and applied to, the Alpha‐Tocopherol, Beta‐Carotene Lung Cancer Prevention study, a large (29,133 individuals) longitudinal cohort study of smokers from Finland.
Xenopus tropicalis egg extracts provide insight into scaling of the mitotic spindle

The African clawed frog Xenopus laevis has been instrumental to investigations of both development and cell biology, but the utility of this model organism for genetic and proteomic studies is limited by its long generation time and unsequenced pseudotetraploid genome. Xenopus tropicalis, which is a small, faster-breeding relative of X. laevis, has recently been adopted for research in developmental genetics and functional genomics, and has been chosen for genome sequencing. We show that X. tropicalis egg extracts reconstitute the fundamental cell cycle events of nuclear formation and bipolar spindle assembly around exogenously added sperm nuclei. Interestingly, X. tropicalis spindles were ∼30% shorter than X. laevis spindles, and mixing experiments revealed a dynamic, dose-dependent regulation of spindle size by cytoplasmic factors. Measurements of microtubule dynamics revealed that microtubules polymerized slower in X. tropicalis extracts compared to X. laevis, but that this difference is unlikely to account for differences in spindle size. Thus, in addition to expanding the range of developmental and cell biological experiments, the use of X. tropicalis provides novel insight into the complex mechanisms that govern spindle morphogenesis.
Genomic Characteristics of Chinese Borrelia burgdorferi Isolates

In China, B. burgdorferi, B.garinii, B. afzelii and B. yangtze sp. nov have been reported; B.garinii and B. afzelii are the main pathogenic genotypes. But until now only one Chinese strain was reported with whole genome sequence. In order to further understand the genomic characteristics and diversity of Chinese Borrelia strains, 5 isolates from China were sequenced and compared with the whole genome sequences of strains in other areas. The results showed a high degree of conservation within the linear chromosome of Chinese strains, whereas plasmid showed a much larger diversity according to the majority genomic information of plasmids. The genome sequences of the five Chinese strains were compared with the corresponding reference strains, respectively, according to the genospecies. Pairwise analysis demonstrates that there are only 70 SNPs between the genomes of CS4 and B31. However, there are many more SNPs between the genomes of QX-S13 and VS116, PD91 and PBi, FP1 and PKo, R9 and Pko, respectively. Gene comparison showed some important different genes. OspA was one of the important different genes. Comparative genomic studies have found that OspA gene sequences of PD91 and R9 had great differences compared with the sequence of B31. OspA gene sequence of R9 had a 96bp deletion; OspA gene of PD91 had two deletions: 9bp and 10 bp. To conclude, we showed the genomic characteristics of four genotype Chinese B. burgdorferi strains. The genomic sequence of B. yangtze sp. nov and differences from B. valaisiana were first reported. Comparative analysis of Chinese strains with the different Borrelia species from other areas will help us to understand evolution and pathogenesis of Chinese Borrelia burgdorferi strains.
Design of Neuro-Fuzzy based inferential measurement of stripper unit in a fertilizer plant

This paper proposes an alternative solution to overcome the difficulties in measuring the primary variable of a stripper unit in a fertilizer plant using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) technique. Inferential measurement is a method to predict the value of the primary variable of the model generated by the input-output relationships of the process affecting the primary variable the process. Using the real-time operational data collected from stripper unit of the fertilizer plant, the technique was able to estimate the value of the primary variable (benfield solution) with error criteria (RMSE value) of 0.467 in the learning stage, and 0.447 at the validation stage.
The Effect of Information Consistency and Information Aggregation on eWOM Readers' Perception of Information Overload

This study examines the effects of information consistency and information aggregation on eWOM readers’ perception of information overload; we also examine the influence of information overload on eWOM readers’ perception of information usefulness. An online experiment using a stimulated online consumers’ review forum, which manipulated the two factors-information consistency (high and low) and information aggregation (yes and no), was conducted to test our hypotheses. The results indicate 1) eWOM readers perceive lower information overload when the review group comprises consistent information; 2) eWOM readers perceive lower information overload with the presence of information aggregation tool; 3) information consistency and information aggregation tool have an interactive effect on eWOM readers’ perception of information overload, and finally, 4) eWOM readers’ perception of information overload will negatively affect their perception of information usefulness. The theoretical and practical implications for this study are also introduced.
Linear switched reluctance motor for High Speed Transit System

This paper presents the requirements, need and applications of Linear motors for High Speed Transit System (HSTS). Suitability of Linear SRM motors for high speed transit system, its construction and working principle along with the advantages are discussed. A comparative study of motors used in High Speed Transit System is also presented. Static and dynamic performance of LSRM is investigated by Finite element analysis.
Bootstrapping Student Understanding of What is Going on in Econometrics

Abstract Econometrics is an intellectual game played by rules based on the sampling distribution concept. Most students in econometrics classes are uncomfortable because they do not know these rules and so do not understand what is going on in econometrics. This article contains some explanations for this phenomenon and suggestions for how this problem can be addressed. Instructors are encouraged to use explain-how-to-bootstrap exercises to promote student understanding of the rules of the game.
Prediction and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus — A machine learning approach

Diabetes is a disease caused due of the expanded level of sugar fixation in the blood. Various computerized information systems were outlined utilizing diverse classifiers for anticipating and diagnosing diabetes. Selecting legitimate classifiers clearly expands the exactness and proficiency of the system. Here a decision support system is proposed that uses AdaBoost algorithm with Decision Stump as base classifier for classification. Additionally Support Vector Machine, Naive Bayes and Decision Tree are also implemented as base classifiers for AdaBoost algorithm for accuracy verification. The accuracy obtained for AdaBoost algorithm with decision stump as base classifier is 80.72% which is greater compared to that of Support Vector Machine, Naive Bayes and Decision Tree.
Energy-aware scheduling in transactional memory systems

Transaction scheduling is a relatively new technique for transactional memory systems responsible for deciding which transactions to run in a given moment. Current transactional schedulers are designed with performance in mind, leaving unattended other important metrics such as energy consumption. In order to address this important concern, this paper presents a novel heuristic, called Dynamic Serializer (DS), for scheduling transactions with the aim of reducing energy consumption and improving the energy-delay product (EDP) of transactional applications. DS serializes the execution by choosing either a spinlock or mutex according to a dynamic profile based on abort rates. The idea is to use a spinlock when a transaction is likely to succeed in the near future, since spinning while waiting for the lock is faster than blocking as in the case of a mutex. On the other hand, a mutex is used in case transactions need to wait a long time before resuming because in this case energy can be saved by blocking a thread and enabling the processor Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) to act. DS exploits this tradeoff to improve the EDP of transactional programs. Experimental results with an Intel Core i7 with 8 logical threads and the STAMP benchmark show an EDP improvement of up to 17% and an average of 4.9% compared to LUTS-Dynamic, a state-of-the-art scheduling heuristic for transactional systems.