Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mining Indecisiveness in Customer Behaviors

In the retail market, the consumers' indecisiveness refers to the inability to make quick and assertive decisions when they choose among competing product options. Indeed, indecisiveness has been investigated in a number of fields, such as economics and psychology. However, these studies are usually based on the subjective customer survey data with some manually defined questions. Instead, in this paper, we provide a focused study on automatically mining indecisiveness in massive customer behaviors in online stores. Specifically, we first give a general definition to measure the observed indecisiveness in each behavior session. From these observed indecisiveness, we can learn the latent factors/reasons by a probabilistic factor-based model. These two factors are the indecisive indexes of the customers and the product bundles, respectively. Next, we demonstrate that this indecisiveness mining process could be useful in several potential applications, such as the competitive product detection and personalized product bundles recommendation. Finally, we perform extensive experiments on a large-scale behavioral logs of online customers in a distributed environment. The results reveal that our measurement of indecisiveness agrees with the common sense assessment, and the discoveries are useful in predicting customer behaviors and providing better recommendation services for both customers and online retailers.
Goal Modeling Education with GRL: Experience Report

Goal modeling and analysis with the Goal-oriented Requirement Language (GRL) is taught in software engineering and computer science at the University of Ottawa since 2003. This paper presents the general education ap- proach taken in an undergraduate requirements engineering course and in a graduate software engineering course. Some of the particularities of these courses involve the use of a general GRL modeling pattern, the combined use with Use Case Maps (for operationalization and for business processes), the coverage of qualitative and quantitative analysis approaches, the use of indica- tors, and automated evaluations of strategies supported by the jUCMNav tool. This paper also reflects on some successes and difficulties observed in the past decade while teaching these concepts.
I heart hacker news: expanding qualitative research findings by analyzing social news websites

Grounded theory is an important research method in empirical software engineering, but it is also time consuming, tedious, and complex. This makes it difficult for researchers to assess if threats, such as missing themes or sample bias, have inadvertently materialized. To better assess such threats, our new idea is that we can automatically extract knowledge from social news websites, such as Hacker News, to easily replicate existing grounded theory research --- and then compare the results. We conduct a replication study on static analysis tool adoption using Hacker News. We confirm that even a basic replication and analysis using social news websites can offer additional insights to existing themes in studies, while also identifying new themes. For example, we identified that security was not a theme discovered in the original study on tool adoption. As a long-term vision, we consider techniques from the discipline of knowledge discovery to make this replication process more automatic.
A 30-ns recovery time, 11.5-nC input charge range, 16-channel read-out ASIC for PET application

This paper presents a read-out chip for Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) targeting Positron Emission Tomography (PET) application. The ASIC contains 16 channels, each consisting of a current buffer, a charge sensitive amplifier, a digital validation block, a 10-bit ADC and a 12-bit TDC with 45-ps resolution. The ASIC was realized in a 0. 15μm CMOS technology, and has a size of 2.8×2.2 mm2. The high input charge range (11.5nC) was designed for a wide range of SiPM cell gain and size, from 15μm to 50μm, and for a maximum input current of 20mA per channel. The proposed double-trigger event validation allows setting the triggering threshold at a very low level, for optimal photon arrival time statistics in the scintillation light readout. Also the recovery time in each channel is reduced down to 30ns. Characterization results with a 511keV gamma source show an energy resolution of 11.2% with 3×3mm2 SiPMs coupled to 3×3×5mm3 LYSO scintillator and coincidence timing resolution of 663ps.
Raisonnement Automatisé: Principes et Applications (partie I: logique du premier ordre)

This document contains the first part of the M2R course RAPA: Automated Reasoning: Principle and Applications. It presents the basis of first-order logic and automated deduction: syntax, semantics, transformation into clausal form, unification and the Resolution calculus (with selection functions and atom ordering). Some basic properties of the Resolution calculus are also investigated (w.r.t. complexity and termination). This document is self-contained but additional references are provided for the interested reader. More details and additional explanations can be found in [5, 6]. [8] is an advanced textboook on the Resolution calculus and the Handbook of Automated Reasoning [12] covers the main lines of research in this field.
Career choice in management: findings from US MBA students

Purpose – This research aims to explore the role of values, family, and non‐family influences on career choice in management among a sample of US MBA students.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using self‐reported questionnaires from 109 students in a mid‐sized university located on the west coast of the USA. The respondents were in the first semester of their MBA program. Males and females were almost equally represented in the sample.Findings – This study did not find people (family and non‐family) to be a predictor of career decisions. Instead, these decisions reflect the independent‐self among US students in the career choice and exploration process. In particular, the students placed a strong emphasis on self‐development (i.e. education). Most of the respondents aspired to careers, and not jobs or callings, reflecting a desire for career benefits and becoming wealthy. Men and women, with few exceptions, appear to have similar patterns in the factors affecting their career choice. Many .
Voices of students with special educational needs (SEN): views on schooling.

As important decisions are being made with regard to educational legislation, policy and provision for children with special educational needs (SEN), it is critical that the views of these key stakeholders are heard and considered. This article reports the perspectives of 38 children and young people with special educational needs on their schooling which formed part of a national review of the role of special schools and special classes in Ireland. Findings from the focus groups and individual interviews point to more favourable support for learning and social issues in special schools and special classes than in mainstream classes. Friendship is a recurrent theme in students' accounts and appears to mediate their enjoyment of school. The implications are considered with reference to research, policy and practice and the authors conclude that educators and policy makers should provide increased opportunities for students to play an active part in matters affecting them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Developing a Learning Notification Express Delivery Service for Students Based on Petri-Net

This paper designs a learning notification express delivery service for providing students information about their learning status, their next learning activities, and even reminder notes. The learning notification express delivery service uses Petri-net for modeling learning activities. In order to make students knowing what status they are and what activities they need to do during the learning process, a learning planner is also developed to make teachers feel more comfortable in planning their teaching schedule
Automated Event Extraction from Email

On a daily basis, most email users will send and receive numerous emails of varying types thereby generating massive amounts of digital communication. At present, it is the user’s responsibility to filter and archive all of her email data which, depending upon the average number of messages she receives, may be an extremely time consuming task. Often important information is not properly archived or noted and, as a result, lost in a sea of email communication.
Together We Can

T ogether we can do this . ," Gracie remembers saying to herself many times the first year. "Together we can make a great learning experience for the children. " Gracie is a Head Start teacher. Her co-teachers are Mimi, an early childhood special educator; Paula, a paraprofessional; Sandra, a Title I teacher; Kerri, who is paid by the state preschool program; and Joan and David, child care providers. Several therapists are present part-time. Together this team operates two large classrooms with 35 children attending at each of two sessions per day. The space can be-and usually is-subdivided into smaller pods of children and teachers. Eight of the children in the morning group and seven in the afternoon group have special needs, some quite significant. Several children arrive for child care as early as 6:45 AM, and others stay as late as 5:15. Some children attend for three hours and some for four hours, while other children receive extended care and education. The children funded by the state preschool program attend just two days per week on alternating schedules. Together . this team has created a blended preschool program.
Weight matters: The role of physical weight in non-physical language across age and culture

Languages commonly use physical properties to discuss distinctly non-physical states and events in the world (e.g., “I’m not a huge fan of licorice”). Here, we investigate the degree to which associations between physical properties and abstract concepts are culturally specific constructs. To do this, we tested three distinct populations—US adults, US children, and adults from an indigenous group in the lowlands of Bolivia, the Tsimane’—on their associations between the physical concept of weight and a variety of abstract attributes (e.g., importance, emotional state, moral worth). We find a strong relationship between the associations of US and Tsimane’ adults, but littleto-no relationship between US children and either adult population. These results suggest that the property of weight plays a similar role in everyday thought across cultures, but that it takes time to develop. Further, we found that these associations could not be recovered from a simple semantic embedding analysis, suggesting that the cross-culturally shared connections between physical and abstract attributes may be learned through more complex experiences than language alone. Marty: Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me? Doc: Precisely! Marty: Whoa, this is heavy. Doc: There’s that word again: ”heavy. ” Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth’s gravitational pull? (Back to the Future. Dir. Robert Zemeckis)
Estrogen receptor alpha drives proliferation in PTEN-deficient prostate carcinoma by stimulating survival signaling, MYC expression and altering glucose sensitivity

While high doses of estrogen, in combination with androgens, can initiate prostate cancer (PCa) via activation of the estrogen receptor α (ERα), the role of ERα in PCa cells within established tumors is largely unknown. Here we show that expression of ERα is increased in high grade human PCa. Similarly, ERα is elevated in mouse models of aggressive PCa driven by MYC overexpression or deletion of PTEN. Within the prostate of PTEN-deficient mice, there is a progressive pattern of ERα expression: low in benign glands, moderate in tumors within the dorsal, lateral and ventral lobes, and high in tumors within the anterior prostate. This expression significantly correlates with the proliferation marker Ki67. Furthermore, in vitro knockdown of ERα in cells derived from PTEN-deficient tumors causes a significant and sustained decrease in proliferation. Depletion of ERα also reduces the activity of the PI3K and MAPK pathways, both downstream targets of non-genomic ERα action. Finally, ERα knockdown reduces the levels of the MYC protein and lowers the sensitivity of cellular proliferation to glucose withdrawal, which correlates with decreased expression of the glucose transporter GLUT1. Collectively, these results demonstrate that ERα orchestrates proliferation and metabolism to promote the neoplastic growth of PCa cells.
Root hydraulic conductivity measured by pressure clamp is substantially affected by internal unstirred layers

Using the root pressure probe in the pressure clamping (PC) mode, the impact of internal unstirred layers (USLs) was quantified for young corn roots, both in experiments and in computer simulations applying the convection/diffusion model of Knipfer et al. In the experiments, water flows (JVrs) during PC were analysed in great detail, showing that JVrs (and the apparent root hydraulic conductivity) were high during early stages of PC and declined rapidly during the first 80 s of clamping to a steady-state value of 40–30% of the original. The comparison of experimental results with simulations showed that, during PC, internal USLs at the inner surface of the endodermis substantially modify the overall force driving the water. As a consequence, JVr and Lpr were inhibited. Effects of internal USLs were minimized when using the pressure relaxation mode, when internal USLs had not yet developed. Additional stop-clamp experiments and experiments where the endodermis was punctured to reduce the effect of internal USLs verified the existence of internal USLs during PC. Data indicated that the role of pressure propagation along the root xylem for both PC and pressure relaxation modes should be small, as should the effects of filling of the capacities during root pressure probe experiments, which are discussed as an alternative model. The results supported the idea that concentration polarization effects at the endodermis (internal USLs) cause a serious problem whenever relatively large amounts of water (xylem sap) are radially moved across the root, such as during PC or when using the high-pressure flow meter technique.
Farnesol, a Fungal Quorum-Sensing Molecule Triggers Candida Albicans Morphological Changes by Downregulating the Expression of Different Secreted Aspartyl Proteinase Genes

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of exogenous farnesol in yeast-to-hyphae morphogenesis, and Saps (2, 4, 5 and 6) mRNA expressions by a Candida strain that does not produce endogenous farnesol. C. albicans was cultured in the absence and presence of farnesol at various concentrations (10, 100, and 300 µM), in proteinase induction medium, and then used to determine yeast-to- hyphae changes, Candida ultrastructure and to determine Saps 2, 4, 5 and 6 expressions using q-TR-PCR and ELISA (for Sap2). Data demonstrated that farnesol greatly reduced the yeast-to-hyphae morphogenesis of a Candida strain that does not produce endogenous farnesol. Farnesol induced several ultrastructural alterations, including changes in the cell-wall shape, a visible disconnection between the cell wall and cytoplasm with an electron-lucent zone between them, and the presence of electron-dense vacuoles. Tested on gene expressions, farnesol was able to significantly (p < 0.01) decrease Sap2 secretion and mRNA expression. Farnesol downregulated also Sap4-6 mRNA expression. These results demonstrated for the first time that farnesol modules Candida morphogenesis through a downregulation of Saps 2, 4, 5 and 6 expressions. Overall these data point to the potential use of farnesol as an antifungal molecule
Determination of part-per-trillion concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in fish.

Analytical Chemistry is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W. , Washington, DC 20036 Determination of part-per-trillion concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in fish L. L. Lamparski, T. J. Nestrick, and R. H. Stehl Anal. Chem., 1979, 51 (9), 1453-1458• DOI: 10.1021/ac50045a023 • Publication Date (Web): 01 May 2002 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs. org on February 16, 2009
A 6.0-mW 10.0-Gb/s Receiver With Switched-Capacitor Summation DFE

A low-power receiver with a one-tap decision feedback equalization (DFE) was fabricated in 90-nm CMOS technology. The speculative equalization is performed using switched-capacitor-based addition at the front-end sample-hold circuit. In order to further reduce the power consumption, an analog multiplexer is used in the speculation technique implementation. A quarter-rate-clocking scheme facilitates the use of low-power front-end circuitry and CMOS clock buffers. The receiver was tested over channels with different levels of ISI. The signaling rate with BER<10-12 was significantly increased with the use of DFE for short- to medium-distance PCB traces. At 10-Gb/s data rate, the receiver consumes less than 6.0 mW from a 1.0-V supply. This includes the power consumed in all quarter-rate clock buffers, but not the power of a clock recovery loop. The input clock phase and the DFE taps are adjusted externally
The detection of deception with the reality monitoring approach: a review of the empirical evidence

One of the verbal approaches to the detection of deceit is based on research on human memory that tries to identify the characteristics that differentiate between internal and external memories (reality monitoring). This approach has attempted to extrapolate the contributions of reality monitoring (RM) research to the deception area. In this paper, we have attempted to review all available studies conducted in several countries in order to yield some general conclusions concerning the discriminative power of this approach. Regarding individual criteria, the empirical results are not very encouraging: few criteria discriminate significantly across studies, and there are several variables that moderate their effect. Some of the contradictory findings may have emerged because of differences in the operationalizations and procedures used across individual studies. However, more promising results have been reported in recent studies, and the approach as a whole appears to discriminate above chance level, reaching accuracy rates that are similar to those of criteria-based content analysis (CBCA). Some suggestions for future research are made.
DRAMATIC PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY IN BARNACLE LEGS (BALANUS GLANDULA DARWIN): MAGNITUDE, AGE DEPENDENCE, AND SPEED OF RESPONSE

Abstract The precise dependence of barnacle leg form on flow suggests the wave-swept environment imposes strong selection on suspension feeding limbs. I conducted three experiments to determine the mechanism, age dependence, and response time of cirrus variation in the acorn barnacle Balanus glandula. (1) To test whether cirrus variation arises via genetic or environmental mechanisms, I transplanted juvenile barnacles from one wave-exposed and one protected population into high and low flow conditions. Both populations exhibited similar abilities to modify cirri in response to experimental velocities: transplanted barnacles grew legs up to 84% longer in low flow. A small (up to 24%), but significant difference between source populations suggested slight genetic divergence in leg form. (2) Because flow is heterogeneous over space and time, I tested whether cirrus plasticity was limited to juveniles by transplanting both juveniles and adults from exposed and protected shores into quiet water. Remarkably, both juveniles and adults from the wave-exposed population produced legs over 100% longer than the original population, whereas protected barnacles remained unchanged. (3) A third transplant of adults into quiet water demonstrated that wave-exposed B. glandula modified cirrus form very quickly—within 18 days, or one to two molts. Results from these experiments suggest that variation in cirrus form is largely environmentally induced, but genetic differences may account for some variation observed among field populations; spatial and temporal flow heterogeneity appear to have selected for extreme flexibility of feeding form throughout a barnacle's life; and flow heterogeneity in the wave-swept environment appears to have selected for rapid ecophenotypic responses in the form of feeding structures.
A Compression Framework for Generating User Profiles

Predicting user preferences is a core task in many online applications from ad targeting to content recommendation. Many prediction methods rely on the being able to represent the user by a profile of features. In this paper we propose a mechanism for generating such profiles by extracting features that summarize their past online behavior. The method relies on finding a compressed representation of the behavior by selecting the dominant features contributing to the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the default distribution over user actions and the user specific properties. We show that the feature selection model of [1] can be extended to a hierarchical encoding of user behavior by means of using an intermediate clustering representation. Preliminary experiments suggest the efficacy of our method.
A Simulation Study of the Sarir Field-Tobruk Terminal Crude Oil Pipeline

This study considers the simulation of the pipeline that transports crude oil from Sarir field in the South East of the Libyan Sahara desert to the Tobruk terminal which is located in the East of the Libyan coast. The VariSim™ pipeline simulation software is to be exploited in this work. The pipeline, and its pumping facilities, was constructed in 1969 with 34 inch diameter, 514 Km long pipework from the source to the demand. In the existing operational circumstances, the pipeline ships approximately 110,000 barrels per day with aid of one pump station placed in Sarir field. The considered transportation line is owned by the National Oil Corporation and operated by Arab Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO). In this work, a hydraulic analysis study is carried out for the investigating the pipeline.
The Academic, Behavioral, and Mental Health Status of Children and Youth at Entry to Residential Care

SUMMARY Often considered a “last resort placement,” residential settings serve a broad range of children who present significant risks. While much is known about emotional and behavioral functioning, less is known about academic strengths and limitations. This study evaluated 127 children at intake into a residential care program to determine demographic, behavioral, mental health, and educational characteristics. Results indicated that children entering care present high levels of risk across domains. Primary risks were found on indicators of behavior (e.g., rule breaking, aggression), mental illness (e.g., disruptive behavior, anxiety), and academic performance (e.g., general knowledge, reading). Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.