Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data quality issues in collaborative filtering

In this paper, we present our experience in applying collaborative filtering to real-life corporate data. The quality of collaborative filtering recommendations is highly dependent on the quality of the data used to identify users’ preferences. To understand the influence that highly sparse server-side collected data has on the accuracy of collaborative filtering, we ran a series of experiments in which we used publicly available datasets and, on the other hand, a real-life corporate dataset that does not fit the profile of ideal data for collaborative filtering. We have performed a series of experiments on two standard data sets (EachMovie and Jester) and a real-life corporate data.
Newcomers vs. incumbents: How firms select their partners for R\&D collaborations

This paper studies the selection of partners for R&D collaborations of firms both empirically, by analyzing a large data set of R&D alliances over 25 years, and theoretically, by utilizing an agent-based model of alliance formation. We quantify the topological position of a firm in the R&D network by means of the weighted $k$-core decomposition which assigns a coreness value to each firm. The evolution of these coreness values over time reconstructs the career path of individual firms, where lower coreness indicates a better integration of firms in an evolving R&D network. Using a large patent dataset, we demonstrate that coreness values strongly correlate with the number of patents of a firm. Analyzing coreness differences between firms and their partners, we identify a change in selecting partners: less integrated firms choose partners of similar coreness until they reach their best network position. After that, well integrated firms (with low coreness) choose preferably partners with high coreness, either newcomers or firms from the periphery. We use the agent-based model to test whether this change in behavior needs to be explained by means of strategic considerations, i.e. firms switching their strategy in choosing partners dependent on their network position. We find that the observed behavior can be well reproduced without such strategic considerations, this way challenging the role of strategies in explaining macro patterns of collaborations.
Augmented projection methods for incompressible and dilatable flows

First, we build a Galerkin incremental projection scheme for the problem at hand, developped within the framework set up in [3]. It involves three independent variables, namely an intermediate velocity, the pressure and the end-of-step mass flow-rate: the intermediate velocity is searched in a discrete space Vh included in (H (Ω)) and the pressure in Mh ⊂ L (Ω), whereas the mass flow-rate is searched in Xh = Vh + ∇Mh, which in fine allows to recover the usual Poisson problem for the computation of the pressure.
An ontology framework for recommendation about a crime scene investigation

Currently, process of recording the evidence at the scene of the forensic science of police center is facing a problem of long delay, information redundancy and disorganized structure. The semantic analysis found that words and phrases in case reports are semantic structures. Moreover, the content of a case report can be represented by the knowledge base concept (Ontology). This research developed ontology to recommend words to fill-in a case report of the crime scene investigation report about properties for the Forensic Science Police Center 4 of Thailand. The purpose is to suggest words or sentenceswhich areappropriate and have most possibilities to be used by users. The rules of ontology were defined based on theexisting documents. The ontology was bringing into acknowledge feeding unitof an application program on a tablet with Android OS to enhance the performance of the crime scene investigation process. The figures of merit of the ontology were measured by filling-in of 30 real crime cases. The results were 82.50%, 96.67% and 88.49% of precision, recall and F-measure, respectively.Thus, the suggestions based on the developed ontology can reduce the key stroke and get a shortening the time, higher accuracy and more standardized document.
DEDV: A Data Collection Method for Mobile Sink Based on Dynamic Estimation of Data Value in WSN

Applying mobile sink to collect data in wireless sensor networks can avoid the energy hole problem and lengthen the networks' life time. Current related researches have achieved significant improvements on reducing the data collection latency in the scenario where the mobile sink has enough or limited energy. However, it will lead to waste of network resource if not taking the spatial and temporal correlation of data into consideration during the collection because of the high similarity and low quality in the collected data. In this paper, we first propose a method named Dynamic Estimation of Data Value (DEDV) to estimate the value of data stored in the nodes dynamically. Furthermore, we define a heuristic method that drives the mobile sink to collect data from the nodes to maximize the value of the collected data in a power-limited mobile sink scenario. Both simulation and experiments results show that our method can achieve at most over 85% of the theoretical maximum data value determined by the OPT model.
A Theorem Prover for Quantum Hoare Logic and Its Applications

Quantum Hoare Logic (QHL) was introduced in Ying's work to specify and reason about quantum programs. In this paper, we implement a theorem prover for QHL based on Isabelle/HOL. By applying the theorem prover, verifying a quantum program against a specification is transformed equivalently into an order relation between matrices. Due to the limitation of Isabelle/HOL, the calculation of the order relation is solved by calling an outside oracle written in Python. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first theorem prover for quantum programs. To demonstrate its power, the correctness of two well-known quantum algorithms, i.e., Grover Quantum Search and Quantum Phase Estimation (the key step in Shor's quantum algorithm of factoring in polynomial time) are proved using the theorem prover. These are the first mechanized proofs for both of them.
The dynamics and high-energy emission of conductive gas clouds in supernova-driven galactic superwinds

Superwinds from starburst galaxies are multiphase outflows that sweep up and incorporate ambient galactic disc and halo gas. The interaction of this denser material with the more diffuse hot wind gas is thought to give rise to the O vi emission and absorption in the far ultraviolet (FUV) and the soft thermal X-ray emission observed in superwinds. In this paper, we present high-resolution hydrodynamical models of warm ionized clouds embedded in a superwind, and compare the O vi and soft X-ray properties to the existing observational data. These models include thermal conduction, which we show plays an important role in shaping both the dynamics and radiative properties of the resulting wind/cloud interaction. Heat conduction stabilizes the cloud by inhibiting the growth of Kelvin–Helmholtz and Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities, and also generates a shock wave at the cloud's surface that compresses the cloud. This dynamical behaviour influences the observable properties. We find that while O vi emission and absorption always arises in cloud material at the periphery of the cloud, most of the soft X-ray arises in the region between the wind bow shock and the cloud surface, and probes either wind or cloud material depending on the strength of conduction and the relative abundances of the wind with respect to the cloud. In general, only a small fraction (≲1 per cent) of the wind mechanical energy intersecting a cloud is radiated away at ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray wavelengths, with more wind energy going into accelerating the cloud. Clouds in relatively slow cool winds radiate a larger fraction of their energy, which are inconsistent with observational constraints. Models with heat conduction at Spitzer-levels are found to produce observational properties closer to those observed in superwinds than models with no thermal conduction, in particular, in terms of the O vi to X-ray luminosity ratio, but cloud life times are uncomfortably short (≲1 Myr) compared to the dynamical ages of real winds. We experimented with reducing the thermal conductivity for one set of model parameters, and found that even when we reduced conduction by a factor of 25 that the simulations retained the beneficial hydrodynamical stability and low O vi to X-ray luminosity ratio found in the Spitzer-level conductive models, while also having reduced evaporation rates. Although more work is required to simulate clouds for longer times and to investigate cloud acceleration and thermal conduction at sub-Spitzer levels in a wider range of models, we conclude that thermal conduction can no longer be ignored in superwinds.
Long-term properties of accretion discs in X-ray binaries – I. The variable third period in SMC X-1

Long-term X-ray monitoring data from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) All-Sky Monitor (ASM) and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) reveal that the third (superorbital) period in SMC X-1 is not constant, but varies between 40 and 60 d. A dynamic power spectrum analysis indicates that the third period has been present continuously throughout the five years of ASM observations. This period changed smoothly from 60 to 45 d and then returned to its former value, on a time-scale of approximately 1600 d. During the nearly 4 yr of overlap between the CGRO and RXTE missions, the simultaneous BATSE hard X-ray data confirm and extend this variation in SMC X-1. Our discovery of such an instability in the superorbital period of SMC X-1 is interpreted in the context of recent theoretical studies of warped, precessing accretion discs. We find that the behaviour of SMC X-1 is consistent with a radiation-driven warping model.
Filtering local features for logo detection and localization in sports videos

This paper presents a system for the detection and localization of multiple instances of trademark logos in sports videos. It is based on SIFT features and considers the local geometry of neighboring features in order to differentiate between different logos with ambiguous local features such as text-based logos. In contrast to other approaches, we do not rely on a training phase and therefore no labeled data with annotated or absent logos is needed. The focus of the detection approach is on images of sports videos which suffer from compression artifacts, motion blur, small object sizes, occlusion and several other artifacts. Results are presented on video images of a soccer game containing logos on different advertising media.
Autobiographical Narratives of Oldest-Old Persons: What Matters at That Age?

This study adopts the Valuation theory and the Self-Confrontation Method to explore the autobiographic narrative in oldest old persons, considering a temporal perspective (past, present, future). The sample comprises three men and two women (84-95 years old). The findings suggest that the narrative of oldest-old persons emerges structured in a way that their narration of the past focus on outside connections (proximity with others; success achieved); their narration of the present centers on attaining a life philosophy and proximity with others and their narration of the future concentrates on self-enhancement (maintaining autonomy vs. experiencing powerlessness and lack of involvement).
Using Serum Advanced Glycation End Products-Peptides to Improve the Efficacy of World Health Organization Fasting Plasma Glucose Criterion in Screening for Diabetes in High-Risk Chinese Subjects

The efficacy of using fasting plasma glucose (FPG) alone as a preferred screening test for diabetes has been questioned. This study was aimed to evaluate whether the use of serum advanced glycation end products-peptides (sAGEP) would help to improve the efficacy of FPG in diabetes screening among high-risk Chinese subjects with FPG <7.0 mmol/L. FPG, 2-h plasma glucose (2h-PG), serum glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and sAGEP were measured in 857 Chinese subjects with risk factors for diabetes. The areas under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves generated by logistic regression models were assessed and compared to find the best model for diabetes screening in subjects with FPG <7.0 mmol/L. The optimal critical line was determined by maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity. Among the enrolled subjects, 730 of them had FPG <7.0 mmol/L, and only 41.7% new diabetes cases were identified using the 1999 World Health Organization FPG criterion (FPG ≥7.0 mmol/L). The area under ROC curves generated by the model on FPG-sAGEP was the largest compared with that on FPG-HbA1c, sAGEP, HbA1c or FPG in subjects with FPG <7.0 mmol/L. By maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity, the optimal critical line was determined as 0.69×FPG + 0.14×sAGEP = 7.03, giving a critical sensitivity of 91.2% in detecting 2h-PG ≥11.1 mmol/L, which was significantly higher than that of FPG-HbA1c or HbA1c. The model on FPG-sAGEP improves the efficacy of using FPG alone in detecting diabetes among high-risk Chinese subjects with FPG <7.0 mmol/L, and is worth being promoted for future diabetes screening.
The 2004 BBN/LIMSI 20xRT English conversational telephone speech recognition system

In this paper we describe the English Conversational Telephone Speech (CTS) recognition system jointly developed by BBN and LIMSI under the DARPA EARS program for the 2004 evaluation conducted by NIST. The 2004 BBN/LIMSI system achieved a word error rate (WER) of 13.5% at 18.3xRT (realtime as measured on Pentium 4 Xeon 3.4 GHz Processor) on the EARS progress test set. This translates into a 22.8% relative improvement in WER over the 2003 BBN/LIMSI EARS evaluation system, which was run without any time constraints. In addition to reporting on the system architecture and the evaluation results, we also highlight the significant improvements made at both sites.
A single dose of doxorubicin-functionalized bow-tie dendrimer cures mice bearing C-26 colon carcinomas

The antitumor effect of doxorubicin (DOX) conjugated to a biodegradable dendrimer was evaluated in mice bearing C-26 colon carcinomas. An asymmetric biodegradable polyester dendrimer containing 8–10 wt % DOX was prepared. The design of the dendrimer carrier optimized blood circulation time through size and molecular architecture, drug loading through multiple attachment sites, solubility through PEGylation, and drug release through the use of pH-sensitive hydrazone linkages. In culture, dendrimer–DOX was >10 times less toxic than free DOX toward C-26 colon carcinoma cells after exposure for 72 h. Upon i.v. administration to BALB/c mice with s.c. C-26 tumors, dendrimer–DOX was eliminated from the serum with a half-life of 16 ± 1 h, and its tumor uptake was ninefold higher than i.v. administered free DOX at 48 h. In efficacy studies performed with BALB/c mice bearing s.c. C-26 tumors, a single i.v. injection of dendrimer–DOX at 20 mg/kg DOX equivalents 8 days after tumor implantation caused complete tumor regression and 100% survival of the mice over the 60-day experiment. No cures were achieved in tumor-implanted mice treated with free DOX at its maximum tolerated dose (6 mg/kg), drug-free dendrimer, or dendrimer–DOX in which the DOX was attached by means of a stable carbamate bond. The antitumor effect of dendrimer–DOX was similar to that of an equimolar dose of liposomal DOX (Doxil). The remarkable antitumor activity of dendrimer–DOX results from the ability of the dendrimer to favorably modulate the pharmacokinetics of attached DOX.
Silencing of TBX20 gene expression in rat myocardial and human embryonic kidney cells leads to cell cycle arrest in G2 phase

Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are the most common birth defects due to abnormal cardiac development. The T-box 20 (TBX20) gene is a member of the T-box family of transcription factors and encodes TBX20, which is essential for early heart development. In the present study, reduced TBX20 expression was observed in CHD tissue samples compared with normal tissues, and the function of TBX20 in Rattus norvegicus myocardial cells [H9c2(2-1)] and human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) was investigated. TBX20 was silenced in H9c2 and HEK293 cells via transfection of small interfering RNA and short hairpin RNA duplexes, respectively, and TBX20 mRNA and protein levels were subsequently examined using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. Cell proliferation was assessed using a cell counting kit and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression was determined by western blotting. Analysis of cell apoptosis was achieved by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining and a fluorometric terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling system. Cell cycle analysis was achieved using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and, an RT-qPCR array was used to profile the expression of TBX20-related genes. Silencing of TBX20 in H9c2 and HEK293 cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell apoptosis and led to G2/M cell cycle arrest. A reduction in cyclin B1 mRNA levels and an increase in cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B mRNA levels was observed, which indicated that cells were arrested in G2 phase. Concurrently, the mRNA levels of GATA binding protein 4 were increased in both cell lines, which may provide an explanation for the abnormal cardiac hypertrophy observed in patients with congenital heart disease. These results suggest that TBX20 is required for heart morphogenesis, and inhibition of TBX20 expression may lead to the suppression of cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest.
Cloning and characterization of a glutamine transport operon of Bacillus stearothermophilus NUB36: effect of temperature on regulation of transcription

We cloned and sequenced a fragment of the Bacillus stearothermophilus NUB36 chromosome that contains two open reading frames (ORFs) whose products were detected only in cells of cultures grown in complex medium at high temperature. The nucleotide sequence of the two ORFs exhibited significant identity to the sequence of the glnQ and glnH loci of the glutamine transport system in enteric bacteria. In addition, growth response to glutamine, sensitivity to the toxic glutamine analog gamma-L-glutamylhydrazide, and glutamine transport assays with parental strain NUB3621 and mutant strain NUB36500, in which the ORF1 coding segment in the chromosome was interrupted with the cat gene, demonstrated that glnQ and glnH encode proteins that are active in the glutamine transport system in B. stearothermophilus. The inferred promoter for the glnQH operon exhibited a low homology to the -35 and -10 regions of the consensus promoter sequences of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli genes. In addition, the inferred promoter for the glnQH operon also exhibited a low homology with the consensus promoter sequence deduced from the sequences of the promoters of nine different genes from B. stearothermophilus. Transcription of the glnQH operon was activated in a nitrogen-rich medium at high temperature and inhibited under the same conditions at low temperature. Transcription of the glnQH operon was partially activated in a nitrogen-poor medium at low temperature. The region upstream from glnQ contains sequences that have a low homology with the nitrogen regulator I-binding sequences and the nitrogen-regulated promoters of enteric bacteria. The effect of temperature on the regulation of the glnQH operon is discussed.
Joint Angular and Time Diversity of Multi-Antenna CDMA Systems in Wireless Fading Channels

In this paper, a multi-antenna based receiver structure for direct sequence code division multiple access DS/CDMA system is proposed. The proposed scheme exploits the excellent time resolution of a CDMA RAKE receiver and uses an antenna array beamforming structure to resolve multipath returns in both angular and time domains. A much higher diversity gain than that based only on the time domain diversity can be achieved. This work suggests a new space-time diversity paradigm, namely angular-time diversity, which differs from traditional Alamouti-type space-time coded schemes. The impairments caused by multipath and multiuser interference are analyzed. The performance of the proposed receiver in multipath fading channel is explicitly evaluated. An expression for uncoded system bit error probability is derived. Simulation results show the performance improvement in terms of BER due to the use of multi-antenna in the receiver, and the results illustrate that the multi-antenna based receiver works effectively in resolving multipaths in both angular and time domains to achieve performance improvement due to angular and time diversity gain provided by the multi-antenna system.
TRACKING TRENDS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

Debates about scientific trends pervade all fields of scientific research. Scientists often monitor and discuss the amount of attention given to the various schools of thought within their field, and they typically hold strong views about which schools are currently “hot. ” Competition among opposing schools can produce a continuing tug-of-war between prevailing and competing ideas, providing fertile ground for speculation. Although such debates may stimulate lively conversation, they are rarely informative and often misguided. Unfortunately, scientists often make consequential decisions—about allocating funding, hiring faculty, and so on—based on their personal views. Such decisions profoundly shape the direction taken by a science, and thus should be guided by empirical research rather than mere speculation. Since the birth of scientific psychology more than a century ago, many schools have risen and fallen from prominence. Much has changed since Heidbreder (1933) described the early days of the field in terms of “seven
Rule based clinical decision support system for hematological disorder

Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) has become a popular approach to medical decision making. It is a method of assisting in clinical decision making by using the most relevant research evidence to answer clinical questions. Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered blood test that could be done within minutes and is mostly used as a basis for further testing. Therefore, CBC could be used as a base to quickly diagnose a patient and later on, use external clinical evidence from systematic research to further diagnose the patient. This paper proposes the development of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to assist physicians in evidence based practice. The system will be able to provide the list of external evidence (electronic medical journals) for each type of generated probable disease. Usability and user acceptance testing were conducted with a group of physicians and medical students. This study reveals some usability issues of the system and significant improvements that are required to improve the accuracy of the system in generating probable hematological disorder.
A new two-step learning vector quantization algorithm for image compression

The learning vector quantization (LVQ) algorithm is widely used in image compression because of its intuitively clear learning process and simple implementation. However, LVQ strongly depends on the initialization of the codebook and often converges to local optimal results. To address the issues, a new two-step LVQ (TsLVQ) algorithm is proposed in the paper. TsLVQ uses a correcting learning stage after LVQ to move the synaptic weight vector away from the incorrectly clustered training vector and towards the correctly clustered training vector. Experimental results show that TsLVQ outperforms kernel-based LVQ (KLVQ) and LVQ in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio.