Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distinct Roles for Signals Relayed through the Common Cytokine Receptor γ Chain and Interleukin 7 Receptor α Chain in Natural T Cell Development

The commitment, differentiation, and expansion of mainstream α/β T cells during ontogeny depend on the highly controlled interplay of signals relayed by cytokines through their receptors on progenitor cells. The role of cytokines in the development of natural killer (NK)1+ natural T cells is less clearly understood. In an approach to define the role of cytokines in the commitment, differentiation, and expansion of NK1+ T cells, their development was studied in common cytokine receptor γ chain (γc) and interleukin (IL)-7 receptor α (IL-7Rα)–deficient mice. These mutations block mainstream α/β T cell ontogeny at an early prethymocyte stage. Natural T cells do not develop in γc-deficient mice; they are absent in the thymus and peripheral lymphoid organs such as the liver and the spleen. In contrast, NK1+ T cells develop in IL-7Rα–deficient mice in the thymus, and they are present in the liver and in the spleen. However, the absolute number of NK1+ T cells in the thymus of IL-7Rα–deficient mice is reduced to ∼10%, compared to natural T cell number in the wild-type thymus. Additional data revealed that NK1+ T cell ontogeny is not impaired in IL-2– or IL-4–deficient mice, suggesting that neither IL-2, IL-4, nor IL-7 are required for their development. From these data, we conclude that commitment and/or differentiation to the NK1+ natural T cell lineage requires signal transduction through the γc, and once committed, their expansion requires signals relayed through the IL-7Rα.
Automatic Diacritics Insertion in Romanian Texts

The problem of automatic insertion of diacritics into an electronic text is well justified for several languages. Even if the diacritical characters concerned are present in the extended 8-bit ASCII charset (as the case is with French) any 7-bit filtering transmission of such a text will corrupt it. The situation is even worse when the diacritic characters are not in the 8-bit ASCII charset. To find a way to automating the diacritics insertion is worthy not only for old valuable texts stored in electronic form, but also for contemporary electronic texts as they continue to be produced in non-diacritical form. The reasons for this could be many, including the lack of localised and standardised keyboards. Ergonomic factors can also be mentioned (if someone is supposed to press more than two keys to get a diacritical character, then, mainly in informal communication (e.g. e-mail), he/she will probably take the easiest one-stroke solution). In Romanian, every second word might contain at least one diacritical character and for large texts that lack diacritics, to insert them manually is highly time-consuming, boring and errorprone. Unfortunately, the automatic recovery of diacritics is non deterministic whatever the language which uses them. Various approaches can be envisaged to solve this problem but, when speed is of the utmost importance, then the approaches to be made are few. We present such an approach for Romanian language based on our recent results in probabilistic tagging technology. Proceedings of COMPLEX’99 International Conference on Computational Lexicography, Pecs, June 16-19, 1999
Hybrid segmentation and exploration of the human lungs

Segmentation of the tracheo-bronchial tree of the lungs is notoriously difficult. This is due to the fact that the small size of some of the anatomical structures is subject to partial volume effects. Furthermore, the limited intensity contrast between the participating materials (air, blood, and tissue) increases the segmentation of difficulties. In this paper, we propose a hybrid segmentation method which is based on a pipeline of three segmentation stages to extract the lower airways down to the seventh generation of the bronchi. User interaction is limited to the specification of a seed point inside the easily detectable trachea at the upper end of the lower airways. Similarly, the complementary vascular tree of the lungs can be segmented. Furthermore, we modified our virtual endoscopy system to visualize the vascular and airway system of the lungs along with other features, such as lung tumors.
Regression-type inference in nonparametric autoregression

We derive a strong approximation of a local polynomial estimator (LPE) in nonparametric autoregression by an LPE in a corresponding nonparametric regression model. This generally suggests the application of regression-typical tools for statistical inference in nonparametric autoregressive models. It provides an important simplification for the bootstrap method to be used: It is enough to mimic the structure of a nonparametric regression model rather than to imitate the more complicated process structure in the autoregressive case. As an example we consider a simple wild bootstrap, which is used for the construction of simultaneous confidence bands and nonparametric supremum-type tests.
ANOCAST: Rethinking Broadcast Anonymity in the Case of Wireless Communication

In this work we present the ANOCAST environment being an anonymous communication framework based on wireless technology having reached prototype status. By exploiting the availability of current broadcast communication systems (e. g. digital satellites and Wi-Fi) we achieve recipient anonymity and unobservability. We examine our approach by a simulation approach using a prototype implementation, raising several questions concerning its scalability, efficiency and possible application scenarios as well as a discussion on its security accomplishments. The key finding of our work shows that practicability of anonymous communication for the masses can be realised today and the community should rethink the common consensus that enormous traffic overhead jeopardises any practical anonymous communication system.
Appendix to : Improving Performance per Watt of Asymmetric Multicore Processors via Online Program Phase Classification and Adaptive Core Morphing

Asymmetric multicore processors (AMPs) have been shown to outperform symmetric ones in terms of performance and performance/watt. The improved performance and power efficiency are achieved when the program threads are matched to their most suitable cores. Since the computational needs of a program may change during its execution, the best thread to core assignment will likely change with time. We have therefore, developed an online program phase classification scheme that allows swapping of threads when the current needs of the threads justify a change in the assignment. The architectural differences among the cores in an AMP can never match the diversity that exists among different programs and even between different phases of the same program. Consider, for example, a program (or a program phase) that has a high instruction level parallelism (ILP) and will exhibit high power efficiency if executed on a powerful core. We can not however, include in the designed AMP, such powerful cores since they will remain underutilized most of the time, and they are not power efficient when the programs do not exhibit high degree of ILP. Thus, we must expect to see program phases where the designed cores will be unable to support the ILP that the program can exhibit. We therefore, propose in this paper a dynamic morphing scheme. This scheme will allow a core to gain control of a functional unit that is ordinarily under the control of a neighboring core, during periods of intense computation with high ILP. This way, we dynamically adjust the hardware resources to the current needs of the application. Our results show that combining online phase classification and dynamic core morphing can significantly improve the performance/watt of most multi-threaded workloads.
Building a retargetable local instruction scheduler

While high‐performance architectures have included some Instruction‐Level Parallelism (ILP) for at least 25 years, recent computer designs have exploited ILP to a significant degree. Although a local scheduler is not sufficient for generation of excellent ILP code, it is necessary as many global scheduling and software pipelining techniques rely on a local scheduler. Global scheduling techniques are well‐documented, yet practical discussions of local schedulers are notable in their absence. This paper strives to remedy that disparity by describing a list scheduling framework and several important practical details that, taken together, allow implementation of an efficient local instruction scheduler that is easily retargetable for ILP architectures.
MONTE-CARLO TREE SEARCH FOR THE "MR JACK" BOARD GAME

Recently the use of the Monte-Carlo Tree Search algorithm, and in particular its most famous implementation, the Upper Confidence Tree can be seen has a key moment for artificial intelligence in games. This family of algorithms provides huge improvements in numerous games, such as Go, Havannah, Hex or Amazon. In this paper we study the use of this algorithm on the game of Mr Jack and in particular how to deal with a specific decision-making process. Mr Jack is a 2-player game, from the family of board games. We will present the difficulties of designing an artificial intelligence for this kind of games, and we show that Monte-Carlo Tree Search is robust enough to be competitive in this game with a smart approach
Social skills as a moderator between R&D personnel’s knowledge sharing and job performance

Purpose Research and development (R&D) personnel are an organization’s ultimate source of creative knowledge. Thus, their job performance ensures an organization’s innovative capability. Focusing on the process nature of creativity and innovation in organizations, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of R&D personnel’s active knowledge sharing on their job performance and highlight the significance of social skills by examining their moderation effect. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a survey of 252 R&D personnel in 60 R&D organizations in large South Korean firms. Data reliability and validity were confirmed, and regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses. Findings The authors found that R&D personnel’s knowledge sharing has a significant effect on their job performance. Furthermore, social skills significantly moderate the relationship between knowledge sharing and job performance. Originality/value This study addresses the existing literature’s limited understanding of the process nature of creativity and innovation by examining knowledge sharing as a personal engagement in the innovation process, which has a positive effect on job performance. The study also casts new light on the importance of social skills in fortifying personal engagement in the innovation process. The overall results will prove valuable in the selection of effective R&D personnel and the design of competency development programs for R&D organizations.
‘The message is the medium’: Evaluating the use of visual images to provoke engagement and active learning in politics and international relations lectures *

Globalization and digitization have combined to create a ‘pictorial turn’ that has transformed communication landscapes. Routine exposure to visual stimuli like images has acculturated our students’ learning processes long before their arrival at university. But when they reach us, we expose them to text-centric teaching out of kilter with the worlds from which they come. More importantly, emerging scholarship argues that such textual hegemony is out of kilter with how they learn. This article describes a 3-year experiment to assess the veracity of such claims. It found that student academic engagement was greater when apposite images were applied. In addition, the experiment revealed that introducing imagery triggered active learning behaviours. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for politics and international relations teaching.
Mining Web Graph For Query Recommendation

: Recommender systems which comes under web content mining have become extremely important as user generated information is more free style and unstructured, that creates difficulties in mining important information from data sources. So, in order to satisfy the information requirements of Web users and to expand the user experience in many Web applications, recommendation system has been studied in academia and widely deployed in industry. This paper presents the system, in which data sources can be modeled in the form of various types of web graphs using DRec algorithm. These web graphs can be used for various recommendation systems. This framework is built upon heat diffusion which will create a web graph diffusion model. Then, query suggestion algorithm is applied to test the queries and to generate recommendation. The work is extended with personalized query recommendation and comparative analysis of algorithm and proves the results in the terms of accuracy. And this system can be used to most of the web graphs for query suggestions, image recommendation, and social as well as personalized recommendation.
Mobility management requirements and framework for systems beyond IMT-2000

This paper addresses mobility management (MM) requirements and framework for systems beyond IMT-2000 (SBI2K), based on the standardization works that has so far been done in ITU-T study group 19. We first identify the requirements for MM in SBI2K. Based on the identified MM requirements, we describe the MM framework for location management and handover management for SBI2K. We then review and analyze some of the existing IP-based MM protocols. From the analysis and comparison, we see that the existing MM schemes cannot meet all of the MM requirements for SBI2K. It is naturally concluded that further work is needed to enhance the available MM schemes SBI2K.
A metabolomics approach used to profile plasma from portal–arterial pigs revealed differences between breads incurred by dietary fibre and protein contents

A liquid chromatography–MS (LC-MS) metabolomics analysis of plasma from portal–arterial catheterised pigs fed breads prepared with whole-grain rye or wheat flour with added concentrated arabinoxylan (AX) or β-glucan (BG) was conducted. Comparison of the effects of concentrated fibres with whole grains has received little attention. Six female catheterised pigs were given two white wheat breads with wheat AX or oat BG, two rye breads with ground rye (GR) or intact rye kernels (RK), and a control white wheat bread (WF) on separate occasions in a randomised cross-over design. The amount of available carbohydrate was similar for the five breads but varied in the content of protein. Plasma was collected continuously for 4 h after feeding. Glucose levels in the portal vein were reduced postprandially in response to the AX, GR and RK breads that had high contents of AX compared with WF bread (P < 0·03). AX and RK breads further tended to decrease plasma levels of some lysophosphatidylcholine species (P ≤ 0·10). The abundance of amino acids in plasma correlated with the protein contents in the breads and leucine uptake significantly affected insulin secretion in the mesenteric artery. In conclusion, the present study revealed that concentrated AX in wheat bread had similar positive effects as whole-grain rye bread on glucose and lipid metabolism.
Spectral properties of expansive configuration spaces: An empirical study

Motion planning in high dimensional configuration space is an intractable problem. Sampling based motion planning is considered as one of the best ways to tackle the “curse of dimensionality” and to model the configuration space. In these methods (e.g. probabilistic roadmap (PRM)), a graph is produced by random nodes of valid configurations. As the number of the nodes N increases, for expansive configuration spaces the failure probability of PRM planner exponentially approaches zero; but computing expansiveness property is not feasible for most interesting problems. Another major hurdle is narrow passages detection. Therefore, we need easily computable ways to characterize the properties of configuration spaces. We propose a new framework for narrow passage detection using spectral analysis of the graph Laplacian of the PRM. We give empirical evidences to show that eigenvalues and eigenvectors reveal useful information about number and size of narrow passages, visibility and expansiveness. Simulations on various motion planning scenarios are done to verify the framework.
Formant Analysis of Altered Notes in a Diatonic Harmonica

59 Professional diatonic harmonica players are able to play half-step notes which are not in the standard frequency settings using bending techniques. By changing the shape of the vocal tract, the timbre of the sound changes and the notes bend. This way, players are able to play a full chromatic scale by using altered notes. This paper tries to explain the altered notes phenomenon in terms of formants. Our experiments demonstrate that there is a relation between formants and pitch frequency while a note bends.
Gaussian class multivariate Weibull distributions: theory and applications in fading channels

Ascertaining on the suitability of the Weibull distribution to model fading channels, a theoretical framework for a class of multivariate Weibull distributions, originated from Gaussian random processes, is introduced and analyzed. Novel analytical expressions for the joint probability density function (pdf), moment-generating function (mgf), and cumulative distribution function (cdf) are derived for the bivariate distribution of this class with not necessarily identical fading parameters and average powers. Two specific distributions with arbitrary number of correlated variates are considered and studied: with exponential and with constant correlation where their pdfs are introduced. Both cases assume equal average fading powers, but not necessarily identical fading parameters. For the multivariate Weibull distribution with exponential correlation, useful corresponding formulas, as for the bivariate case, are derived. The presented theoretical results are applied to analyze the performance of several diversity receivers employed with selection, equal-gain, and maximal-ratio combining (MRC) techniques operating over correlated Weibull fading channels. For these diversity receivers, several useful performance criteria such as the moments of the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (including average output SNR and amount of fading) and outage probability are analytically derived. Moreover, the average symbol error probability for several coherent and noncoherent modulation schemes is studied using the mgf approach. The proposed mathematical analysis is complemented by various evaluation results, showing the effects of the fading severity as well as the fading correlation on the diversity receivers performance.
Leuven summarization system at DUC 2004

This year at the Document Understanding Conference the K.U. Leuven participated in 3 tasks: very short singledocument summarization (headlines), short multi-document summarization and short summarization focused by questions. In the preceding DUC competitions, the summaries were evaluated manually for coverage and quality. This year, an automatic score ROUGE [5] was suggested to replace the manual evaluation. For the multidocument summaries and the summaries answering a question, also the manual evaluation was performed for one submission/task/team. The main conclusion from our experiments is that simple accurate techniques can be effective. Considering manual evaluation, we placed second in the question-focused summarization and fourth in the multi-document summarization. The headlines performed average. We did additional experiments for the headlines and question-focused summaries and we performed short studies on how people build them. The article is organized as follows: for each of the tasks in which we participated, we present the methods used, the results and discussion of the results. For the headlines and for the question-focused summaries we add our observations about the manually made summaries. We end with conclusions.
On the Approximability of Reachability-Preserving Network Orientations

Abstract We introduce a graph-orientation problem arising in the study of biological networks. Given an undirected graph and a list of ordered source–target vertex pairs, the goal is to orient the graph such that a maximum number of pairs admit a directed source-to-target path. We study the complexity and approximability of this problem. We show that the problem is -hard even on star graphs and hard to approximate to within some constant factor. On the positive side, we provide an Ω(log log n/log n) factor approximation algorithm for the problem on n-vertex graphs. We further show that for any instance of the problem there exists an orientation of the input graph that satisfies a logarithmic fraction of all pairs and that this bound is tight up to a constant factor. Our techniques also lead to constant-factor approximation algorithms for some restricted variants of the problem.
IPv6 in Low-Power Wireless Networks

With deeply embedded wireless sensors, a new tier of the Internet is emerging that will extend into the physical world. These wireless sensor nodes are expected to vastly outnumber conventional computer hosts as we see them today, but their strict resource constraints are unlike other technologies already common to the Internet. As wireless sensor network research took off, many in the field eschewed the use of IP as inadequate and in contradiction to the needs of wireless sensor networking. Since then, the field has matured and IP has evolved. In this paper, we show that the convergence of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) and low-power multihop wireless networking is possible, pragmatic, and efficient-especially in regard to the metrics that matter most for embedded applications, low memory footprint, high reliability, and low energy usage. Using real commercial deployments, we show that it is possible to simultaneously achieve an average duty cycle of <; 0.4%, average message delivery rate of > 99.9%, and average per-hop latency of <; 125 ms over 12 months in different environments.
Lacam&Int@UNIBA at the EVALITA 2016-SENTIPOLC Task

English. This paper describes our first experience of participation at the EVALITA challenge. We participated only to the SENTIPOLC Sentiment Polarity subtask and, to this purpose we tested two systems, both developed for a generic Text Categorization task, in the context of the sentiment analysis: SentimentWS and SentiPy. Both were developed according to the same pipeline, but using different feature sets and classification algorithms. The first system does not use any resource specifically developed for the sentiment analysis task. The second one, which had a slightly better performance in the polarity detection subtask, was enriched with an emoticon classifier in order to fit better the purpose of the challenge. Italiano. Questo articolo descrive la nostra prima esperienza di partecipazione ad EVALITA. Il nostro team ha partecipato solo al subtask inerente il riconoscimento della Sentiment Polarity, In questo contesot abbiamo testato due sistemi sviluppati genericamente per la Text Categorization applicandoli a questo specifico task: SentimentWS e SentiPy. Entrambi i sistemi usano la stessa pipeline ma con set di feature e algoritmi di classificazione differenti. Il primo sistema non usa alcuna risorsa specifiche per la sentment analysis, mentre il secondo, che si è classifcato meglio, pur mantendendo la sua genericità nella classificazione del testo, è stato arricchito con un classificatore per le emoticon per cercare di renderlo più adatto allo scopo della challenge.