Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing Quality Related Information in Software Development Processes

An effective communication between the parties in the software development process is important for coming to and complying with appropriate agreements on the quality of the prospective software. Such communication is impaired when developers and business stakeholders perceive quality differently. To address this problem, we aim at a solution that supports understandability and reusability of quality-related communicated information, and the quality of decisions based on this information. In this paper, we first introduce a set of knowledge structures for representing communicated information and then discuss how to map raw communication data into these structures.
Partner's support during pregnancy as the mediator of women's sexual satisfaction after childbirth

Abstract The aim of the study was an empirical verification of a model assuming the influence of subjectively perceived sexual attractiveness and positive childbirth experience (PCE) (independent variables) on the level of women’s sexual satisfaction after home birth or hospital birth (dependent variable) with the mediating involvement of subjectively perceived partner’s support during pregnancy. The study was conducted with a group of 253 women after childbirth. Three standardised research tools were used in the study: the PCE Questionnaire, Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire and Body Esteem Scale as well as original tools for the evaluation of subjectively perceived partner’s support during pregnancy and childbirth. The empirical verification of the theoretical model was performed with the use of multiple regression methods. The level of subjectively perceived partner’s support during pregnancy, level of attractiveness and PCE had influence on the level of women’s sexual satisfaction. Such an influence was, however, not noticed in relation to the partner's presence during childbirth, level of partner’s support during childbirth or role of the place of childbirth. Subjectively perceived partner’s support during pregnancy is of key importance, mediating between PCE and the level of women’s sexual satisfaction after childbirth.
An Improved Method for Surface Immobilisation of RNA: Application to Small Non-Coding RNA - mRNA Pairing

Characterisation of RNA and its intermolecular interactions is increasing in importance as the inventory of known RNA functions continues to expand. RNA-RNA interactions are central to post-transcriptional gene regulation mechanisms in bacteria, and the interactions of bacterial small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) with their mRNA targets are the subject of much current research. The technology of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is an attractive approach to studying these interactions since it is highly sensitive, and allows interaction measurements to be recorded in real-time. Whilst a number of approaches exist to label RNAs for surface-immobilisation, the method documented here is simple, quick, efficient, and utilises the high-affinity streptavidin-biotin interaction. Specifically, we ligate a biotinylated nucleotide to the 3′ end of RNA using T4 RNA ligase. Although this is a previously recognised approach, we have optimised the method by our discovery that the incorporation of four or more adenine nucleotides at the 3′ end of the RNA (a poly-A-tail) is required in order to achieve high ligation efficiencies. We use this method within the context of investigating small non-coding RNA (sRNA) - mRNA interactions through the application of surface technologies, including quantitative SPR assays. We first focus on validating the method using the recently characterised Escherichia coli sRNA-mRNA pair, MicA-ompA, specifically demonstrating that the addition of the poly-A-tail to either RNA does not affect its subsequent binding interactions with partner molecules. We then apply this method to investigate the novel interactions of a Vibrio cholerae Qrr sRNA with partner mRNAs, hapR and vca0939; RNA-RNA pairings that are important in mediating pathogenic virulence. The calculated binding parameters allow insights to be drawn regarding sRNA-mRNA interaction mechanisms.
David Kirk on physical education and sport pedagogy: in dialogue with Steven Stolz (part 1)

Forming the first of two articles, this dialogue begins from the dilemma posed in the writings of David Kirk that physical education is in crisis because the dominant practice of physical education as ‘sport-techniques’ is resistant to change. In order to make sense of crisis discourse, the discussion explores the potential for change in physical education by examining current practice and practices, and concludes with some remarks that physical education is part of a historical tradition that is dynamic and endlessly evolving due to ongoing and continuous debates surrounding what physical education is or ought to be.
Portfolio Performance Measure and a New Generalized Utility-Based N-Moment Measure

Most of the performance measures proposed in the financial and academic literature are subject to be gamed in an active management framework (Goetzmann et al., 2007). One of the main reasons of this drawback is due to an incomplete characterization by these measures of studied return distributions. We introduce a new flexible Generalized Utility-based N-moment measure of performance (GUN, in short), characterizing the whole return distribution, and thus hardly gamable. More precisely, it takes into account the first four moments of the return distribution and the associated sensitivities of the studied agent, reflecting his preferences and risk profile. The new performance measure is also well adapted for analyzing performance of hedge funds and more peculiarly in presence of derivative instruments associated with non-Gaussian return distributions. Length: 34
Genetic operations that consider effective building blocks are proposed for using genetic algorithms to solve Sudoku puzzles

Sudoku puzzles. A stronger local search function is also proposed. Evaluation of the proposed techniques using commercial Sudoku puzzle sets and three puzzles ranked as super difficult compared with previously reported examples show that the rate of optimum solutions can be greatly improved. It is demonstrated that even further improvement in accuracy is expected from a correction technique based on disparity hypothesis.
Emulation-based study of dynamic service placement in mobile micro-clouds

Tactical networks are highly constrained in communication and computation resources, particularly at the edge. This limitation can be effectively addressed by the emerging technology of mobile micro-clouds (MMCs) that is aimed at providing seamless computing/data access at the edge of such networks. Deployment of MMCs can enable the delivery of critical, timely, and mission relevant situational awareness to end users in highly dynamic environments. Different from traditional clouds, an MMC is smaller and deployed closer to users, typically attached to a fixed or mobile basestation that is deployed in the field. Due to the relatively small coverage area of each basestation, a mobile user may frequently switch across areas covered by different basestations. An important issue therefore is where to place the service so that acceptable service performance can be maintained, while coping with the user and network dynamics. Existing work has considered this problem mainly from a theoretical angle. In this paper, with the aim of pushing the theoretical results one step closer to practice, we study the performance of dynamic service placement using an emulation framework, namely the Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) which embeds the Extendable Mobile Ad-hoc Network Emulator (EMANE). We first present the system architecture used in the emulation. Then, we present the message exchange and control process between different network entities, as well as methods of deciding where to place the services. Finally, we perform emulation using real-world user mobility traces of San Francisco taxis and present the results. The results show several insightful observations in a realistic network setting, such as the impact of randomness and delay on the service placement performance.
Translation of Unseen Bigrams by Analogy Using an SVM Classifier

Detecting language divergences and predicting possible sub-translations is one of the most essential issues in machine translation. Since the existence of translation divergences, it is impractical to straightforward translate from source sentence into target sentence while keeping the high degree of accuracy and without additional information. In this paper, we investigate the problem from an emerging and special point of view: bigrams and the corresponding translations. We first profile corpora and explore the constituents of bigrams in the source language. Then we translate unseen bigrams based on proportional analogy and filter the outputs using an Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The experiment results also show that even a small set of features from analogous can provide meaningful information in translating by analogy.
Developing biases

German nouns may alternate from singular to plural in two different ways. Some singular forms that end in a voiceless obstruent have a plural in which this obstruent is voiced. Another alternation concerns the vowel. Some singular forms with a back vowel have a plural form in which this back vowel is front. For each noun it has to be established individually whether it alternates or not. The voicing alternation is phonetically grounded, but the vowel alternation is not. Knowledge about such alternations involves two things. First, it involves knowledge of which words alternate and which words do not and second, it involves the ability to extend the alternations to novel words. We studied the knowledge of which words alternate and the proportion to which they alternate in two corpus studies. We studied the knowledge of speakers concerning which words alternate and what generalizations can be based upon these words by means of a production study. The production study involved words and nonces. We asked twenty 5 year-olds, twenty 7 year-olds, and ten adults to produce the plural for a given singular word and a plural for a given singular nonce. In the corpus study we found that both alternations occur with the same frequency. In the production of alternations in words we found that participants in all age groups make few mistakes. With respect to the production of alternations in nonce words, we found that the proportion of voicing alternations decreases with age, while the proportion of vowel alternations increases. We explain this change in the ability to generalize the alternations to nonces on the basis of the confidence speakers can have in a generalization. Young children have a small lexicon and they can form relatively unreliable generalizations on lexical distributions. They are, however, proficient users of language and have great phonetic experience. They can more confidently form generalizations on the basis of this experience. Adults have a large lexicon and, as a consequence, they can confidently form generalizations based on their lexicon. In addition, they know that many alternations are not based on phonetic considerations.
Essential elements of ecological literacy and the pathways to achieve it: Perspectives of ecologists

187 Introduction.188 The GK-12 Model.192 The UM GK-12 Program.193 Tracking the Development of Renaissance Scientists at UM and Beyond.196 Professional Growth as Teachers.197 Professional Growth as Renaissance Scientists.202 A Difference in Perceptions between Fellows and Advisors.206 Implications for Graduate Education.208 Acknowledgements.210 References.211 CHAPTER 6. NATURE‟S PALETTE: A COLORFUL INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGICAL INQUIRY.215 Abstract.215 Teacher Preparation.218
Improved Microaneurysm Detection using Deep Neural Networks

In this work, we propose a novel microaneurysm (MA) detection for early diabetic retinopathy screening using color fundus images. Since MA usually the first lesions to appear as an indicator of diabetic retinopathy, accurate detection of MA is necessary for treatment. Each pixel of the image is classified as either MA or non-MA using a deep neural network with dropout training procedure using maxout activation function. No preprocessing step or manual feature extraction is required. Substantial improvements over standard MA detection method based on the pipeline of preprocessing, feature extraction, classification followed by post processing is achieved. The presented method is evaluated in publicly available Retinopathy Online Challenge (ROC) and Diaretdb1v2 database and achieved state-of-the-art accuracy.
Lecture content classification tool

In this paper, we address the problem of content classification for chalkboard images. Unlike document images, classifying chalkboard content into different categories is a challenging task. The task gets even tougher with varying handwriting styles and arbitrary drawings. We therefore, propose a tool with a set of functions to distinguish equations from text and figures. A hybrid solution is proposed, consisting of, the state of the art support vector machine (SVM) and optical character recognition (OCR) for this purpose. Prior to feature extraction and classification, some preprocessing steps are performed to remove noise and to enhance the chalk contrast. Our initial experiment shows promising results of above 85% accuracy for chalkboard images. We later on applied our algorithm to MNIST database of handwritten digits, our created handwritten lower-case and upper-case characters and basic mathematical operators and obtained 96% accuracy.
Follow Whom? Chinese Users Have Different Choice

Sina Weibo, which was launched in 2009, is the most popular Chinese micro-blogging service. It has been reported that Sina Weibo has more than 400 million registered users by the end of the third quarter in 2012. Sina Weibo and Twitter have a lot in common, however, in terms of the following preference, Sina Weibo users, most of whom are Chinese, behave differently compared with those of Twitter. This work is based on a data set of Sina Weibo which contains 80.8 million users' profiles and 7.2 billion relations and a large data set of Twitter. Firstly some basic features of Sina Weibo and Twitter are analyzed such as degree and activeness distribution, correlation between degree and activeness, and the degree of separation. Then the following preference is investigated by studying the assortative mixing, friend similarities, following distribution, edge balance ratio, and ranking correlation, where edge balance ratio is newly proposed to measure balance property of graphs. It is found that Sina Weibo has a lower reciprocity rate, more positive balanced relations and is more disassortative. Coinciding with Asian traditional culture, the following preference of Sina Weibo users is more concentrated and hierarchical: they are more likely to follow people at higher or the same social levels and less likely to follow people lower than themselves. In contrast, the same kind of following preference is weaker in Twitter. Twitter users are open as they follow people from levels, which accords with its global characteristic and the prevalence of western civilization. The message forwarding behavior is studied by displaying the propagation levels, delays, and critical users. The following preference derives from not only the usage habits but also underlying reasons such as personalities and social moralities that is worthy of future research.
THE BETA ELEMENTS βtp2/r IN THE HOMOTOPY OF SPHERES

In [1], Miller, Ravenel and Wilson defined generalized beta elements in the E2-term of the Adams-Novikov spectral sequence converging to the stable homotopy groups of spheres, and in [5], Oka showed that the beta elements of the form βtp2/r for positive integers t and r survives to the stable homotopy groups at a prime p > 3, when r ≤ 2p − 2 and r ≤ 2p if t > 1. In this paper, we expand the condition so that βtp2/r for r ≤ p2 − 3 survives to the stable homotopy groups.
On the r-value of weakly-textured sheet metals

The r-value of a sheet metal is a measure of plastic anisotropy frequently used for prediction of performance in deep-drawing. It has also gured prominently in the literature for validation of theories where the predicted angular dependence of r is compared with the measured dependence. As plastic anisotropy in sheet metals is caused mainly by the preferred orientations of grains within the polycrystalline metal, it is natural to ask how r would depend on the orientation distribution function (ODF) w which de nes the crystallographic texture of the polycrystal. In this paper a general formula relating r to w is derived for weakly-textured sheet metals whose plastic ow behavior is governed by a plastic potential f( ; w), where denotes the deviator of the Cauchy stress. Speci c forms of this formula for orthorhombic sheets of cubic and of hexagonal metals are explicitly given.
Population Coding by Globally Coupled Phase Oscillators (General)

A system of globally coupled phase oscillators subject to an external input is considered as a simple model of neural circuits coding external stimulus. The information coding efficiency of the system in its asynchronous state is quantified using Fisher information. The effect of coupling and noise on the information coding efficiency in the stationary state is analyzed. The relaxation process of the system after the presentation of an external input is also studied. It is found that the information coding efficiency exhibits a large transient increase before the system relaxes to the final stationary state.
Abnormal mass classification in breast mammography using rotation invariant LBP

We present a novel approach for abnormal breast mass classification from digitized mammography images. The proposed framework exploits rotation invariant uniform Local Binary Pattern (LBP) as texture feature. These features are classified using Support Vector Machine (SVM). In addition, we take advantage of the breast mammograms taken from multiple views or angles. We classify breast scans from ‘cranial-caudal’ view and ‘mediolateral-oblique’ view separately, and combine these classification scores to make an improved diagnosis. This reduces the classification error, and achieves higher recognition rate than that of either views individually. The proposed computer aided diagnosis system was evaluated on DDSM (Digital Database for Screening Mammography) data set, and was able to achieve a classification accuracy of 74%.
Comparison of Imaging Techniques for Tracking Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy

A growing number of exciting animal and preclinical studies are beginning to reveal the immense potential in stem cell–based therapies, particularly in the area of treating cardiovascular diseases. However, to evaluate the efficacy of these treatments in clinical trials, the transplanted stem cells must be monitored quantitatively and qualitatively in vivo. To date, several noninvasive imaging approaches have been used to follow the fate of stem cells in vivo. Here, we review the basic principles of the current techniques for cardiac stem cell tracking, compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of these imaging modalities, and discuss the future prospects for cardiac stem cell trafficking. Despite recent advances in medical and surgical treatments, cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The societal and financial consequences are tremendous. For example, the American Heart Association estimates the
Moving Fresh Cows through Pens Before and After Calving Observations made

Has the reproductive performance in your herd improved, remained the same or declined over time? If your herd is typical for the Southeast, reproductive performance has declined over time. A study that evaluated reproductive performance from 1976 to 2002, in Florida and Georgia dairy herds, showed that days to first service, days to conception, and calving interval increased significantly over time (de Vries and Risco, 2006). Further, average pregnancy rates decreased from 22% to 11%. Although, causes for this decline is multifactorial, attenuation of estrus expression in high producing cows, embryonic mortality, energy metabolism early postpartum and its interactions with immune function play a major role (Wiltbank et al., 2006; Santos et al, 2007; Hammon et al., 2006). Further, the trend for larger herds has resulted in new challenges with compliance of reproductive programs, namely inseminating cows on a timely basis at the end of the voluntary waiting period (VWP).
Fitting two languages into one brain.

As Europe moves into the next century, the language barrier appears more formidable than ever. Eleven languages are recognized as official languages of the European community, but the actual number of languages needed to operate with other countries must be closer to 40. Multilingualism is a complex problem for the European administration, which has had to appoint the largest translation service in the world, Brussels' Joint Interpreting and Conference Service. But multilingualism also poses special challenges to the human brain. How can cerebral circuits that normally handle a single phonology, lexicon and syntax adapt to the storage of multiple language systems? Consider the case of German and English. Verbs are placed at the end of sentences in German, but not in English. How then do English–German bilinguals avoid mixing up the two sets of rules? The co-existence of multiple languages in the same brain suggests that sophisticated mechanisms of segregation and coordination must exist to prevent cross-talk. In this issue, Cathy Price, David Green and Roswitha von Studnitz use positron emission tomography to throw some light on bilinguals' cerebral organization (Price et al ., 1999). Their results clarify how bilingual brains escape the curse of Babel, and also help make sense of some puzzling reports of bilingual aphasia. Price and her collaborators studied six subjects whose native language (L1) was German and who became fluent in their second language (L2), English, after they started learning it at about the age of nine. Subjects were scanned while they read or translated written words, one at …
HYPERGEO: A DATA ORGANIZATION AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM FOR TOURIST INFORMATION

A system is described for determining the phase relationship between two coherent beams and, if the beams are not in phase, providing a correction signal to bring them into phase. The system combines the beams to create an interference fringe pattern, the pattern exhibiting, if the beams are in phase, a central peak (zero order) irradiance fringe bounded on either side by lesser peak (higher order) irradiance fringes. The fringe pattern responds to a change in the relative phase of the beams by the fringes walking to the left or right under the stationary modulation envelope depending upon the direction of phase change between the beams. A pair of side fringe detectors are positioned to detect the lesser peak irradiance fringes but not the central peak irradiance fringe and to provide signals indicative of the power in each lesser peak irradiance fringe. A processor responsive to those signals, provides a correction output when the signals indicate unequal powers. A preferred embodiment OPD correction system is described and additionally includes a center fringe detector for detecting the central peak irradiance fringe as well as detectors for the lesser peak irradiance fringes. The central fringe output signal is applied to the processor which, in combination with the lesser peak irradiance fringe signals, is used by the processor to derive the correction output.