Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speculative Query Processing

Speculation is an every day phenomenon whereby one acts in anticipation of particular conditions that are likely to hold in the future. Computer science research has seen many successfull applications of speculation: modern processors, for example, speculate on the run-time properties of a program and decide to pre-execute instructions accordingly. We draw inspiration from these techniques and introduce speculation to query processing. Our approach is based on a visual query interface that monitors the construction of a query and takes advantage of the user ‘think time’. In particular, based on the features of the partial query specied at any point, the interface prepares the database by issuing asynchronous manipulations to it that are likely to make the nal query (or even queries further into the future) more ecien t. Furthermore, the interface applies machine learning techniques on past user actions and builds a user-behavior model that guides speculation and deals with future uncertainty. We formalize speculative query processing as an optimization problem and derive algebraic properties of the corresponding cost model that are sucien t to address the complexities of the particular optimization. We have implemented our framework on top of an existing commercial database system and have evaluated its eectiv eness experimentally, with actual user traces. Our results show that speculation outperforms normal query processing, reducing query execution time by an average of 35% and achieving performance improvements of more than 90% on certain queries.
Alternative approaches for Generating Bodies of Grammar Rules

We compare two approaches for describing and generating bodies of rules used for natural language parsing. In today's parsers rule bodies do not exist a priori but are generated on the fly, usually with methods based on n-grams, which are one particular way of inducing probabilistic regular languages. We compare two approaches for inducing such languages. One is based on n-grams, the other on minimization of the Kullback-Leibler divergence. The inferred regular languages are used for generating bodies of rules inside a parsing procedure. We compare the two approaches along two dimensions: the quality of the probabilistic regular language they produce, and the performance of the parser they were used to build. The second approach outperforms the first one along both dimensions.
Mechanism of degradation of CPEB during Xenopus oocyte maturation

CPEB, a cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein, plays an important role in translational control of maternal mRNAs in early animal development. During Xenopus oocyte maturation, CPEB undergoes a Cdc2-mediated phosphorylation- and ubiquitin-dependent degradation that is required for proper entry into meiosis II. However, the precise mechanism of CPEB degradation, including the identity of the responsible E3 ubiquitin ligase, is not known. Here, we show that the SCFβ-TrCP E3 ubiquitin ligase complex targets CPEB for degradation during Xenopus oocyte maturation. β-TrCP, the F-box protein of SCFβ-TrCP, specifically binds to a sequence 190TSGFSS195 (termed here the TSG motif) of CPEB, thereby targeting CPEB for degradation. β-TrCP binding depends on phosphorylation of Thr-190, Ser-191, and Ser-195 in the TSG motif. Among these residues, Ser-191 is phosphorylated by the Polo-like kinase Plx1, which binds CPEB at a specific Thr-125 residue prephosphorylated by Cdc2. Finally, Cdc2-mediated phosphorylation of other multiple Ser residues, previously implicated in CPEB degradation, is required for both Thr-125 phosphorylation and β-TrCP binding, presumably causing conformational changes of CPEB. We propose that Cdc2 and Plx1 sequentially phosphorylate CPEB and target it for SCFβ-TrCP-dependent degradation in Xenopus oocytes. We suggest that many other proteins carrying the TSG-like motif may be targeted by SCFβ-TrCP.
An exploratory analysis of factors associated with depression in a vulnerable group of young people living in informal settlements in South Africa

ABSTRACT Depression amongst young people is a major health challenge and is often shaped by social marginalisation. Informal settlements are growing rapidly. There is a need to deepen understandings of depression amongst young people in these contexts. We sought to understand factors associated with depressive symptomology amongst 232 young people (122 women, 110 men) aged 18–30 in urban informal settlements in South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected for the Stepping Stones and Creating Futures pilot. Logistic regression modelled relationships between depressive symptomology, livelihoods and violence. Symptomatic depression in this population was 49.5% for men and 57.9% for women. In multiple regression, depression in men was associated with stealing because of hunger (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 5.78, p = . 03), being more controlling in relationships (aOR 0.81, p = .008) and being more ashamed about lack of work (aOR 0.75, p = .01). For women, depressive symptoms were associated with greater stress about lack of work (aOR 0.72, p < .0001) and food insecurity (aOR 5.57, p = .039). The study emphasises that socio-economic factors, shaped by local understandings of gender, play a significant role in depressive symptomology. We suggest reducing economic distress may have an important role in reducing depression in this population.
Assessment of unhealthy days among Iranian reproductive age women in 2012

Background: Unhealthy days are defined as the number of days during the past 30 days that a woman has not had a feeling of wellbeing. Wellbeing includes the woman’s judgments about the level of satisfaction and quality in her life. Assessment of a woman’s perception of unhealthy days can be used to help her determine the extent of the burdens associated with mental and physical feelings that things are not going well in her life, job and relationship. This study was conducted to measure unhealthy days and the general health status in Iranian women of reproductive age based on their own perceptions. Methods: The participants of this study were women of reproductive age who were referred to health centers in Mashhad, Iran, in 2012. With the stratified random sampling method, 220 women were included in the study. The health-related quality of life-4 (HRQOL-4) questionnaire was used to assess the women’s self-perceived unhealthy days. The data that were collected were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, chi-squared, Pearson correlation, and logistic linear regression tests with SPSS 11.5. Results: The mean age of the participants was 32.6 years, and the median number of the self-perceived unhealthy days was 7.1 days (per month). In the domains of physical, mental, and disability unhealthy days, the data indicated 2 days, 2.1 days, and 0.1 day in a month, respectively. Also, nearly half of the participants reported that their general health status was poor to fair. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there was a significant difference between unhealthy days in the different age groups (p=0.01) as well as for the physical (p=0.02) and mental domains (p=0.4). The results of the regression analysis showed that the number of physical unhealthy days increased with age, number of children, and education. The number of mental unhealthy days increased with age, and the number of disability days increased as the age at which they were married decreased (p<0.05). A significant inverse relationship was observed between physical unhealthy days and education, with the number of physical unhealthy days decreasing as the years of education increased (r=−0.19, p=0.005). Conclusion: Women with less education who were older than 40, who married at an early age, and had more children reported more unhealthy days. These results emphasize the importance of preventive and educational health interventions in these vulnerable groups based on their physical and mental needs.
High prevalence of DUOX2 mutations in Japanese patients with permanent congenital hypothyroidism or transient hypothyroidism

Abstract Background: Dual oxidase 2 (DUOX2) mutations are a cause of dyshormonogenesis (DH) and have been identified in patients with permanent congenital hypothyroidism (PH) and with transient hypothyroidism (TH). We aimed to elucidate the prevalence and phenotypical variations of DUOX2 mutations. Methods: Forty-eight Japanese DH patients were enroled and analysed for sequence variants of DUOX2, DUOXA2, and TPO using polymerase chain reaction-amplified direct sequencing. Results: Fourteen sequence variants of DUOX2, including 10 novel variants, were identified in 11 patients. DUOX2 variants were more prevalent (11/48, 22.9%) than TPO (3/48, 6.3%) (p=0.020). The prevalence of DUOX2 variants in TH was slightly, but not significantly, higher than in PH. Furthermore, one patient had digenic heterozygous sequence variants of both DUOX2 and TPO. Conclusions: Our results suggest that DUOX2 mutations might be the most common cause of both PH and TH, and that phenotypes of these mutations might be milder than those of other causes.
Weighted Best-First Search for W-Optimal Solutions over Graphical Models

The paper explores the potential of weighted best-ﬁrst search schemes as anytime optimization algorithms for solving graphical models tasks such as MPE (Most Probable Explanation) or MAP (Maximum a Posteri-ori) and WCSP (Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Prob-lem). While such schemes were widely investigated for path-ﬁnding tasks, their application for graphical models was largely ignored, possibly due to their memory requirements. Compared to the depth-ﬁrst branch and bound, which has long been the algorithm of choice for optimization in graphical models, a valuable virtue of weighted best-ﬁrst search is that they are w -optimal, i.e. when terminated, they return a solution cost C and a weight w , such that C ≤ w · C ∗ , where C ∗ is the optimal cost. We report on a signiﬁcant empirical evaluation, demonstrating the usefulness of weighted best-ﬁrst search as approximation anytime schemes (that have suboptimality bounds) and compare against one of the best depth-ﬁrst branch and bound solver to date. We also investigate the impact of different heuristic functions on the behaviour of the algorithms.
Design and fabrication of a dual band 1.8/2.5 GHZ antenna for RF energy harvester

This paper proposes a patch antenna that integrated with the RF energy harvester system. The research goal is to propose a slotted and shorted pin patch antenna, which offers a promising solution for efficient dual band RF receiver. A high gain and directivity parameter is desired to reach the goal as it defines the strength of an antenna in capturing more energy and to maximize the transferred power towards the harvesting system. The fabricated antenna on RT/Duroid 5880 is measured to evaluate the simulated results by CST-MWS. The measure-ment is carried in an anechoic chamber. The measured dual antenna gain is 2.29 dBi and 5.51 dBi at 1.8 GHz and 2.5 GHz band, respective-ly. The gain obtained by the proposed antenna is higher compared to the previous patch antenna designs in the frequency range of 1 to 3 GHz, with reasonable matching parameter. The antenna meets the acceptable specifications in the bandwidth range of 0.1 to 2.45 GHz, ex-hibit top omnidirectional pattern, the VSWR < 2 and the directivity > 7 dBi across the dual band. Thus, the proposed antenna is good enough to be adopted with the RF energy harvester.
Diminished Bone Strength Is Observed in Adult Women and Men Who Sustained a Mild Trauma Distal Forearm Fracture During Childhood

Children and adolescents who sustain a distal forearm fracture (DFF) owing to mild, but not moderate, trauma have reduced bone strength and cortical thinning at the distal radius and tibia. Whether these skeletal deficits track into adulthood is unknown. Therefore, we studied 75 women and 75 men (age range, 20 to 40 years) with a childhood (age <18 years) DFF and 150 sex‐matched controls with no history of fracture using high‐resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT) to examine bone strength (ie, failure load) by micro–finite element (µFE) analysis, as well as cortical and trabecular bone parameters at the distal radius and tibia. Level of trauma (mild versus moderate) was assigned using a validated classification scheme, blind to imaging results. When compared to sex‐matched, nonfracture controls, women and men with a mild trauma childhood DFF (eg, fall from standing height) had significant reductions in failure load (p < 0.05) of the distal radius, whereas women and men with a moderate trauma childhood DFF (eg, fall while riding a bicycle) had values similar to controls. Consistent findings were observed at the distal tibia. Furthermore, women and men with a mild trauma childhood DFF had significant deficits in distal radius cortical area (p < 0.05), and significantly lower dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA)‐derived bone density at the radius, hip, and total body regions compared to controls (all p < 0.05). By contrast, women and men with a moderate trauma childhood DFF had bone density, structure, and strength that did not differ significantly from controls. These findings in young adults are consistent with our observations in children/adolescents with DFF, and they suggest that a mild trauma childhood DFF may presage suboptimal peak bone density, structure, and strength in young adulthood. Children and adolescents who suffer mild trauma DFFs may need to be targeted for lifestyle interventions to help achieve improved skeletal health. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Evaluation of a Rapid Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Strongyloidiasis

ABSTRACT Diagnosis of strongyloidiasis using stool examination remains unsatisfactory due to the lack of sensitivity and fastidious techniques. In this work, we investigated the value of an anti-Strongyloides IgG enzyme immunoassay (EIA), using a panel of 207 sera retrospectively collected from patients with definitive diagnoses of strongyloidiasis (n = 57), other helminthic infections (n = 46), eosinophilia without parasitic infection diagnosis (n = 54), and digestive disturbances following a tropical journey (n = 30) and from 20 negative controls. By following a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, it was possible to optimize the test to reach a sensitivity of 91.2% and a specificity of 93.3%, with 92.8% of patients correctly classified. Considering the incidence of strongyloidiasis diagnosed in our own laboratory, the negative predictive value was calculated at 99.9%. In conclusion, this test is very rapid and easy to perform and may be valuable for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis both in cases where the infection is unrevealed by a parasitological stool examination and in patients at risk for severe clinical forms, such as patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
Effect of extrinsic factors and structural components on sport functionality of artificial turf surfaces

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of environmental factors on the mechanical behaviour of artificial turf football pitches and evaluate the effect of induced wear on the mechanical properties of the surface. A series of laboratory tests were conducted on 31 samples of artificial turf. The tests were done by a Fédération Internationale de Football Association–accredited test institute. In wet conditions, the shock absorption and linear friction slide were significantly higher than in dry conditions, whereas the angle ball rebound was significantly lower. Regarding the wear effect, a significant increment of the vertical rebound and rotational resistance was produced. The shock absorption and vertical deformation significantly decreased. The mechanical properties deteriorated 5.90% less in the samples that had installed an elastic layer compared to those that did not. The shock absorption was significantly lower at 40°C compared to the shock absorption at −5°C and 23°C. These findings highlight the importance of installing an elastic layer in artificial turf football pitches, to increase their useful life and, therefore, to assure the security of the users for a longer time.
Parametric investigation of heat transfer and fluid flow on laser micro-welding

The aim of this research is to investigate heat transfer and fluid flow phenomena during laser micro-welding of thin stainless steel sheet. A transient 3-D model is developed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method to understand some critical characterisation such as temperature fields and melt pool formation and also the perform parameters on laser micro-welding process. The applications of developed thermal models have demonstrated that the laser parameters, such as laser power,scanning velocity and spot diameter have considerable effect on the peak temperature and resulted weld pool. The heat source model is consisted of surface heat source and adaptive volumetric heat source that could be well represented the real laser welding as the heat penetrates into the material. In the computation of melt dynamics, mass conservation, momentum and energy equations have been considered to count the effects of melt flow and the thermo-fluid energy heat transfer. The three-dimensional governing equations from the Navier-Stokes for Newtonian fluid are used to estimate the melt flow that influences the rate of heat transfer and the distribution of temperature in a 3-D domain. Melt penetration is produced by the use of high power density distribution that results in rapid evaporation, which is expected to generate recoil pressure in the weld pool. Assuming that atmospheric and vaporised material pressure are balanced at the front of the laser beam, the evaporation of the melt leads to significant pressure that drills down the melt to the opposite side of the base material when it is heated over the boiling point. Furthermore, the surface tension of the molten material is also highly responsible for widening the melt pool. The melt surface layer is often influenced by contractive forces of the molten material to minimize its surface free energy. Minimization of the energy has a substantial effect on the melt surface to stretch out its extent towards the non-melted solid region. The simulation results have been compared with two sets of experimental research to predict the weld bead geometry and solidification pattern which laser welds are made on stainless steel (SUS304). The shape comparison describes those parameters relevant to any changes in the melt dynamics and temperatures are of great importance in the formation of weld pool and heat distribution during laser micro-welding. The fair agreement between simulated and experimental results has been achieved.
Occupational Trichloroethylene Exposure and Kidney Cancer: A Meta-analysis

Background: We conducted a meta-analysis of occupational studies of trichloroethylene-exposed workers to evaluate patterns of associations by study design, exposure assessment methods, and occupational groups. Methods: Estimates of summary relative risk (RR) were calculated using inverse-variance weighting methods. Cohort studies were classified as group I or group II, depending on quality of the study design and exposure assessment procedures. We conducted sensitivity analyses to examine sources of heterogeneity. Results: Across all studies meeting our inclusion criteria (n = 23), the summary RR was 1.42 (95% confidence interval = 1.17–1.77), with heterogeneity present (test for heterogeneity: P = 0.001). After removal of 3 outlier studies, the summary RR for the remaining studies was 1.24 (1.06–1.45 (test for heterogeneity: P = 0.616)). The summary RR for studies of workers who were identified as more likely exposed to trichloroethylene (group I studies) was 1.34 (1.06–1.68). With outlier studies removed, the group II summary RR estimates for the cohort studies was 0.88 (0.58–1.33) and for the case-control studies was 1.33 (1.02–1.73). The summary RR for studies that used biomarkers to classify exposure (n = 3) was 1.02 (0.59–1.77) and for studies of aerospace/aircraft workers (n = 7) was 1.14 (0.84–1.57). Conclusions: Positive associations were observed across various study groups. However, considerations of unmeasured potential confounding, lack of quantitative exposure assessment and lack of exposure-response patterns limit epidemiologic insight into the role of trichloroethylene exposure and its potential causal association with kidney cancer.
Ecological Temporal Stability of Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage

ABSTRACT We described the colonization dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus in a group of 266 healthy carriers over a period of approximately 1 year. We used precise genotyping methods, i.e., amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), spa typing, and double-locus sequence typing (DLST), to detect changes in strain identity. Strain change took place rather rarely: out of 89 carriers who had initially been colonized, only 7 acquired a strain different from the original one. Approximately one-third of the carriers eliminated the colonization, and a similar number became newly colonized. Some of these events probably represent detection failure rather than genuine colonization loss or acquisition. Lower bacterial counts were associated with increased probability of eliminating the colonization. We have confirmed a high mutation rate in the spa locus: 6 out of 53 strains underwent mutation in the spa locus. There was no overall change in S. aureus genotype composition.
Auctions for task allocation to robots

We present an auction-based method for dynamic allocation of tasks to robots. The robots operate in a 2D environment for which they have a map. Tasks are locations in the map that have to be visited by the robots, in any order. Unexpected obstacles and other delays may prevent a robot from completing its allocated tasks. Therefore tasks not yet achieved are rebid every time a task has been completed. This provides an opportunity to improve the allocation of the remaining tasks and to reduce the overall time for task completion. We present experimental results that we have obtained in simulation using Player/Stage.
Adaptive agent integration architectures for heterogeneous team members

With the proliferation of software agents and smart hardware devices there is a growing realization that large-scale problems can be addressed by integration of such standalone systems. This has led to an increasing interest in integration architectures that enable a heterogeneous variety of agents and humans to work together. These agents and humans differ in their capabilities, preferences, the level of autonomy they are willing to grant the integration architecture and their information requirements and performance. The challenge in coordinating such a diverse agent set is that potentially a large number of domain-specific and agent specific coordination plans may be required. We present a novel two-tiered approach to address this coordination problem. We first provide the integration architecture with general purpose teamwork coordination capabilities, but then enable adaptation of such capabilities for the needs or requirements of specific individuals. A key novel aspect of this adaptation is that it takes place in the context of other heterogeneous team members. We are realizing this approach in an implemented distributed agent integration architecture called Teamcore. Experimental results from two different domains are presented.