Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Making of a Voiceless Youth: Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Higher Education

MAKING OF A VOICELESS YOUTH: CORRUPTION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA’S HIGHER EDUCATION Amra Sabic-El-Rayess This research has analyzed a set of structural elements, procedures, and behaviors within Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (thereafter, “Bosnia” or “B&H”) higher education that have jointly created an encouraging space for the increasing and self-serving utilization of higher education by the country’s post-war elite. Of the particular interest is this elite’s impact on the forms of educational corruption, which have shifted away from standard bribing processes and moved toward more complex favor reciprocation networks. This process has ensured that today’s corruption is perceived as a norm in Bosnia’s higher education. Its prevalence has disrupted existing social mobility mechanisms and created a duality in the social mobility process so that the unprivileged still work hard to obtain their degrees while those with social connections are reliant on Turner’s (1960) sponsorship model. The analysis goes beyond dissecting corruption’s impact on modes of social mobility by redefining Hirschman’s (1970) notions of voice, exit, and loyalty within higher education and expanding his theoretical framework to adequately capture and understand the unique set of coping mechanisms that has emerged within Bosnia’s corrupt higher education. I reinterpret the voice mechanism that Hirschman sees as a political tool capable of bringing about change as, ironically, severely diminished in its power when observed within a corrupt environment. I further reformulate the notion of exit and contextualize it within the corrupt Bosnian educational system by differentiating amongst various types of exit. In the process, the study finds that Bosnian students often remain in the same educational institution despite the high level of perceived corruption. By ignoring their immediate surroundings and rather than departing physically as Hirschman would expect, students choose to exit mentally from the corrupt operational framework in which they continue to function physically. Lastly, with hard-work and morality marginalized, the question remains open on when the youth will push the educational system in Bosnia toward a tipping point, regain their voice, and transform from an indolent mass to an active reformer. Projects requiring greater transparency of the exam and grading procedures, enhancing external support, and providing spaces for disclosure and adequate management of incidences of corruption, when and if detected, would constitute a meaningful starting point that would help incentivize change. In the absence of concern with the current level of educational corruption, however, the dominance of the incompetent elites will only continue to dilute the effectiveness of the aid being poured into the EU’s broader nation-building agenda for post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nine New Species of Bugula Oken (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) in Brazilian Shallow Waters

Background Bugula is a speciose genus of marine bryozoans, represented by both endemic and cosmopolitan species distributed in tropical and temperate waters and important to marine biologists because of the occurrence of many species in harbor and fouling communities, therefore as potential invaders. The southeastern Brazilian coast in the southern Atlantic hosts the highest known diversity of the genus, a status intimately associated with the intensity of collecting efforts. Methodology Morphological data based on the examination of living specimens, scanning electron and light microscopic images, and morphometric analyses were used to assess the diversity of Bugula along the coastal areas of southern, northeastern, and southeastern Brazil. In this study, morphological species boundaries were based mainly on avicularian characters. For two morphologically very similar species, boundaries are partially supported by 16 S rDNA molecular data. Results Nine species are newly described from Brazil, as follows: Bugula bowiei n. sp. ( = Bugula turrita sensu Marcus, 1937) from the southern, northeastern, and southeastern coasts; Bugula foliolata n. sp. ( = Bugula flabellata sensu Marcus, 1938), Bugula guara n. sp. , Bugula biota n. sp. and Bugula ingens n. sp from the southeastern coast; Bugula gnoma n. sp. and Bugula alba n. sp. from the northeastern coast; Bugula rochae n. sp. ( = Bugula uniserialis sensu Marcus, 1937) from the southern coast; and Bugula migottoi n. sp. , from the southeastern and southern coasts. Conclusion The results contribute to the morphological characterization and the knowledge of the species richness of the genus in the southwestern Atlantic (i.e., Brazil), through the description of new species in poorly sampled areas and also on the southeastern coast of that country. Additionally, the taxonomic status of the Brazilian specimens attributed to B. flabellata, B. turrita and B. uniserialis are clarified by detailed studies on zooidal and avicularia morphology.
Are all global alignment algorithms and implementations correct?

Pairwise sequence alignment is perhaps the most fundamental bioinformatics operation. An optimal global alignment algorithm was described in 1970 by Needleman and Wunsch. In 1982 Gotoh presented an improved algorithm with lower time complexity. Gotoh’s algorithm is frequently cited (1447 citations, Google Scholar, May 2015), taught and, most importantly, used as well as implemented. While implementing the algorithm, we discovered two mathematical mistakes in Gotoh’s paper that induce sub-optimal sequence alignments. First, there are minor indexing mistakes in the dynamic programming algorithm which become apparent immediately when implementing the procedure. Hence, we report on these for the sake of completeness. Second, there is a more profound problem with the dynamic programming matrix initialization. This initialization issue can easily be missed and find its way into actual implementations. This error is also present in standard text books. Namely, the widely used books by Gusfield and Waterman. To obtain an initial estimate of the extent to which this error has been propagated, we scrutinized freely available undergraduate lecture slides. We found that 8 out of 31 lecture slides contained the mistake, while 16 out of 31 simply omit parts of the initialization, thus giving an incomplete description of the algorithm. Finally, by inspecting ten source codes and running respective tests, we found that five implementations were incorrect. Note that, not all bugs we identified are due to the mistake in Gotoh’s paper. Three implementations rely on additional constraints that limit generality. Thus, only two out of ten yield correct results. We show that the error introduced by Gotoh is straightforward to resolve and provide a correct open-source reference implementation. We do believe though, that raising the awareness about these errors is critical, since the impact of incorrect pairwise sequence alignments that typically represent one of the very first stages in any bioinformatics data analysis pipeline can have a detrimental impact on downstream analyses such as multiple sequence alignment, orthology assignment, phylogenetic analyses, divergence time estimates, etc.
Interactive Visualizations for Testing Physics Engines in Robotics

Physics engines in robotics simulators should yield a simulation that is physically faithful to the real world. However, simple scenarios like dropping a ball on the floor already reveal that this is not so. There is hence a need to be able to test such engines in real world scenarios, to see where they are lacking. To help to quickly and efficiently develop unit tests for real-world behavior we developed a tool we call Live Tests for Robotics. In this tool paper we show how its interactive visualizations allow for the efficient construction of such unit tests.
Effect or ractopamine on growth and body composition of pigs during compensatory growth

The purpose of this study was to measure the growth and body composition of pigs during normal or compensatory growth from 60 to 100 kg, without (C) or with ractopamine (RAC) supplementation (20 mg/kg of diet). Thirty‐four pigs were scanned by DXA for body composition analysis at a starting weight of 61.4 ± 0.3 kg and at a final weight of 100.4 ± 0.5 kg. Half the pigs were fed ad libitum throughout (8 C and 9 RAC). The other half were fed at maintenance for eight weeks and then scanned again by DXA. Following maintenance feeding the pigs were fed ad libitum (9 C and 8 RAC) to the final weight. Compensatory growth resulted in a 30% increase in the rate of weight gain (1.23 vs. 0.94 kg/d, P<0.05), including a 44% increase in the rate of lean tissue deposition (0.90 vs. 0.62 kg/d, P<0.05), but no change in the rate of fat deposition (0.31 vs. 0.30 kg/d, P>0.05). Feeding RAC resulted in a 13% increase in the rate of weight gain (1.15 vs. 1.02 kg/d, P<0.05), consisting of a 29% increase in the rate of lean tissue deposition (0.86 vs. 0.67 kg/d, P<0.05) and an 18% reduction in the rate of fat deposition (0.27 vs. 0.33 kg/d, P<0.05). The effects of RAC on the rates of fat and lean tissue deposition were similar for pigs continuously fed ad libitum and those experiencing compensatory growth. For lean tissue deposition there was an additive effect for RAC and compensatory growth. Thus, RAC will enhance growth and body composition during compensatory growth.
THE HIGH-ENERGY EMISSION OF THE CRAB NEBULA FROM 20 keV TO 6 MeV WITH INTEGRAL SPI

The SPI spectrometer aboard the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory mission regularly observes the Crab Nebula since 2003. We report on observations distributed over 5.5 years and investigate the variability of the intensity and spectral shape of this remarkable source in the hard X-rays domain up to a few MeV. While single power-law models give a good description in the X-ray domain (mean photon index ∼ 2.05) and MeV domain (photon index ∼ 2.23), crucial information is contained in the evolution of the slope with energy between these two values. This study has been carried out through individual observations and long duration (∼ 400 ks) averaged spectra. The stability of the emission is remarkable and excludes a single power-law model. The slopes measured below and above 100 keV agree perfectly with the last values reported in the X-ray and MeV regions, respectively, but without indication of a localized break point. This suggests a gradual softening in the emission around 100 keV and thus a continuous evolution rather than an actual change in the mechanism parameters. In the MeV region, no significant deviation from the proposed power-law model is visible up to 5–6 MeV. Finally, we take advantage of the spectroscopic capability of the instrument to seek for previously reported spectral features in the covered energy range with negative results for any significant cyclotron or annihilation emission on 400 ks timescales. Beyond the scientific results, the performance and reliability of the SPI instrument is explicitly demonstrated, with some details about the most appropriate analysis method.
A direct discrete complex image method from the closed-form Green's functions in multilayered media

Sommerfeld integration is introduced to calculate the spatial-domain Green's functions (GF) for the method of moments in multilayered media. To avoid time-consuming numerical integration, the discrete complex image method (DCIM) was introduced by approximating the spectral-domain GF by a sum of exponentials. However, traditional DCIM is not accurate in the far- and/or near-field region. Quasi-static and surface-wave terms need to be extracted before the approximation and it is complicated to extract the surface-wave terms. In this paper, some features of the matrix pencil method (MPM) are clarified. A new direct DCIM without any quasi-static and surface-wave extraction is introduced. Instead of avoiding large variations of the spectral kernel, we introduce a novel path to include more variation before we apply the MPM. The spatial-domain GF obtained by the new DCIM is accurate both in the near- and far-field regions. The CPU time used to perform the new DCIM is less than 1 s for computing the fields with a horizontal source-field separation from 1.6/spl times/10/sup -4//spl lambda/ to 16/spl lambda/. The new DCIM can be even accurate up to 160/spl lambda/ provided the variation of the spectral kernel is large enough and we have accounted for a sufficient number of complex images.
Non-parametric Depth Estimation for Images from a Single Reference Depth

We present a non-parametric method for estimating depth of a single still image. We start from a single reference image and its corresponding 3-d depth and use an unsupervised neural network to transform the reference depth to represent the target image. In doing so, we attempt to mimic the human vision capability of perceiving the depth of a given image. Existing depth recovery methods either work for scenes with perpendicular planar surfaces or assume availability of a training database of known images and depths. We propose a method that can recover depth of a target image from a single reference depth. We redesign Self-organizing map (SOM) to learn in an environment with only three input data points and each data point with a different semantic meaning. We combine the proposed Parallel SOM (PSOM) with Gabor wavelets to handle discrepancy between the target and reference images in lighting and orientation. The proposed method gives promising results on images of faces and of daily objects even when using reference image and depth obtained in a poorly lighted setting.
A novel learning method to classify data streams in the internet of things

Data streams are high volume of multi-dimensional unlabeled data generated in environments such as stock market, astronomical data, Weblogs, Click streams, Flood, Fire and Crops monitoring. Knowledge discovery in data streams is valuable task for research, business and community. The fundamental step of knowledge discovery in data stream is the classification of the data streams in target classes. In this paper we have proposed classification mechanism for the data streams, conventional classification algorithm are of little significance in data streams due to the complex nature, unbounded memory requirements and concept drifting problem in data streams. The proposed method takes a novel approach towards the classification of the data streams through applying unsupervised classification techniques such as clustering followed by supervised classifier such as Support Vector Machine. The high volume data is sampled and reduced with Simple Aggregation and Approximation (SAX) Density based clustering algorithm DB Scan is applied on the data stream to reveal the number of classes present and subsequently label the data. Support vector Machine (SVM) is a well-known and proven supervised classification algorithm, SVM are applied to classify the label data. We tested our proposed method on the Intel Lab Data set, a data set of four environmental variables (Temperature, Voltage, Humidity, light) collected through 54 Mica2Dot sensors over 36 Days at per second rate. We have sampled the data stream in days and window of certain size n is trained on the SVM classifier. The algorithm is evaluated on different test size and average accuracy of 80% is obtained.
Inhibition of angiogenesis by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3.

PURPOSE It has been established that Sorsby's fundus dystrophy, a dominantly inherited form of blindness, is caused by mutations in the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) gene. Because choroidal neovascularization is a prominent feature of Sorsby's fundus dystrophy, the authors have examined whether TIMP-3 protein plays a role in the regulation of angiogenesis. METHODS Chemotaxis of endothelial cells toward vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was examined using a modified Boyden chamber assay. Endothelial cells placed in the upper chamber were allowed to migrate through a polycarbonate membrane with 8 microns pores toward VEGF or bFGF present in the lower chamber. Next, the ability of TIMP-3 to inhibit chemotaxis was studied by incubating the cells with varying amounts of TIMP-3 during the assay. Finally, an in vitro angiogenesis assay was performed on collagen gels. Endothelial cells were seeded onto three-dimensional collagen gels. Treatment with bFGF and VEGF induced invasion of the gel and the formation of tube-like structures. TIMPs (1, 2, and 3) were added to the cultures to determine their effect on invasion. An in vivo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay was performed using methylcellulose discs containing bFGF with or without TIMP-3. Induction of new blood vessels was observed with a stereomicroscope. RESULTS TIMP-3 inhibits chemotaxis of vascular endothelial cells toward VEGF and bFGF, inhibits collagen gel invasion and capillary morphogenesis in vitro, and inhibits bFGF-induced angiogenesis in the CAM assay in vivo. CONCLUSIONS TIMP-3 has the potential to inhibit angiogenesis. These results allow us to speculate on a possible mechanism by which mutant TIMP-3 protein might contribute to the Sorsby fundus dystrophy phenotype.
Demand volatility and the lag between the growth of temporary and permanent employment

The growth rate of temporary help service employment is often considered to be a leading business cycle indicator, because the firing and hiring of temporary help workers typically lead that of permanent workers. However, few works in the literature focus on the mechanism that generates the lag between temporary and permanent growth. This paper investigates how demand volatility is related to the lag. Focusing on the relationship between a firm? s information extraction and their hiring/firing decisions, our simple model predicts that the average size of transitory demand shocks increase the lag while the average size of shocks that persist longer shortens the lag. Our empirical analysis based on cross-city variation finds supporting evidence to the above predictions, after controlling for city size and other city-specific demographic characteristics.
The Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm: How to Select the Number of Iteration

The particle swarm optimization algorithm is an algorithm to find optimal regions of complex spaces through the interaction of individuals. The number of iterations required to meet a termination criterion is a critical dependent variable in the particle swarm optimization algorithm. In this paper, we analyze how to select the number of iteration. It can be seen as a guideline to the particle swarm optimization.
Investigating white matter changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using high-dimensional deformable diffusion-tensor image registration

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerative disease of motor neurons, whose diagnosis requires evidence of both upper and lower motor neuron dysfunction. Currently, upper motor neuron (UMN) disease is assessed primarily by physical examination, because no objective quantitative test is widely available for clinical use. Several groups have reported the efficacy of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to evaluate the white matter tracts in the brain as a surrogate marker of UMN disease, specifically finding reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the corticospinal tracts. In this study, we evaluated the use of a high-dimensional DTI normalization algorithm to detect the location and magnitude of FA changes in patients with ALS.
Induction of rat aortic smooth muscle cell growth by the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal.

BACKGROUND Atherosclerotic lesion formation is a complex process, in part mediated by inflammatory and oxidative mechanisms including lipid peroxidation. To further characterize the potential role of lipid peroxidation products in atherogenesis, we studied the effects of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) on rat aortic smooth muscle cell growth. METHODS AND RESULTS HNE, at concentrations of 1.0 and 2.5 micromol/L, significantly stimulated rat aortic smooth muscle cell growth as determined by cell counts, [3H]-thymidine uptake, and incorporation of bromo-deoxyuridine. To characterize the mechanism of HNE-induced mitogenesis, its effect on activation of intracellular growth signaling pathways was examined. Treatment with HNE resulted in activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases ERK1 and ERK2, induction of c-fos and c-jun protein expression, and an increase in transcription factor AP-1 DNA binding activity. In addition, HNE induced expression of platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA) protein, and an anti-PDGF-AA antibody specifically inhibited HNE-mediated DNA synthesis, suggesting that growth factor induction may play a role in HNE-induced vascular smooth muscle cell growth. The role of redox-sensitive mechanisms in this process was further supported by the observation that HNE-induced DNA synthesis and AP-1 activation were inhibited by the antioxidants N-acetylcysteine and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that HNE, one of several important lipid peroxidation products, induces rat aortic smooth muscle cell growth through redox-sensitive mechanisms and growth factor expression. These observations are consistent with a role for lipid peroxidation products in vascular smooth muscle cell growth in atherogenesis.
Digital Signature using Biometrics

It is desirable to generate a digital signature using biometrics but not practicable because of its inaccurate measuring and complex methodologies, without using specific hardware devices that hold signature keys or biometric templates securely. Proposed model resolves the problem in biometric based digital signature by making it simple and secure. Proposed model uses the biometric template and generate the key which uses the AES which is much secure to make the signature useful.
Analysing Network Intrusion Data

Developmening systems applying machine learning and data mining techniques is one of the approaches to combating network intrusion.Many IDS Intrusion Detection Systems)suffer from a high rate of false alarms and missed intrusions.Tha challenge is to be able to improve the intrusion detection rate at a reduced false positive rate. To counter imbalance in data, a combination of oversampling (synthetic generation using SMOTE) and undersampling techniques had been employed. Two classifier models have been evaluated, Random Forest and Support Vector Machines. Data being used is the KDD Cup 99 data. The results of the experiment shows reasonable improvement in evaluating minority classes through oversampling and under sampling techniques.
Rationale, decisions and alternatives traceability for architecture design

When designing information systems, architects must often deal with many requirements and constraints. Also, many parties may collaborate during design phases. Therefore, the rationale and decisions sustaining the architecture model can be lost if not documented appropriately. However, in order to understand and maintain these systems, we need to have a clear picture of the rationale and decisions behind their designs. To tackle this problem, we propose a design approach combining architecturally significant requirement modelling and architecture modelling. Constraint and Requirement are attached to architectural constructs. And any modification in the architecture model resulting from a decision made in the requirement model is recorded as a model transformation. We present both modelling formalisms and explain how we combine them to increase the traceability of the rationale, design decisions and alternatives as well as the maintainability of information systems.