Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF SYMBIOTIC STARS. VIII. ORBITS FOR THREE S-TYPE SYSTEMS: AE ARAE, Y CORONAE AUSTRALIS, AND SS 73-147

With new infrared radial velocities we have computed orbits of the M giants in three southern S-type symbiotic systems. AE Ara and SS 73-147 have circular orbits with periods of 803 and 820 days, respectively. The eccentric orbit of Y CrA has a period that is about twice as long, 1619 days. Except for CH Cyg it is currently the S-type symbiotic system with the longest period for which a spectroscopic orbit has been determined. The Paschen δ emission line velocities of AE Ara are nearly in antiphase with the M giant absorption feature velocities and result in a mass ratio of 2.7. Emission lines in the 1.005 μm region for the other two symbiotic systems are not good proxies for the hot components in those systems. There is no evidence that these three symbiotics are eclipsing. With spectral classes of M5.5 or M6, the three giants presumably also have velocity variations that result from pulsations, but we have been unable to identify specific pulsation periods in the absorption line velocity residuals.
Vein pattern recognition . Image enhancement and feature extraction algorithms

Vein pattern recognition is one of the newest biometric techniques researched today. While the concept behind the method is quite simple, there are various challenges to be found throughout the design and implementation of a vein scanning device concerning the hardware lighting system and the actual algorithms used for processing the acquired images. In order to keep the scanning errors to a minimum the image acquired from the camera should be almost noiseless and the algorithms should be able to detect the vein pattern in various real life conditions. Many implementations of this method are now in a commercial phase and there is a great need for a system that can detect, analyze and extract the correct human vein pattern while keeping a low cost and reducing the computational needs of the image processing algorithms. This paper will offer some hardware implementation solutions based on our research and different algorithms will be discussed.
Shading illusion: A novel way for 3-D representation on paper media

Content printed on the paper media is not rewritable, but its appearances can be controlled by illumination. In this paper, we propose a new method to represent three-dimensional (3-D) shape on the print media by the shading animation using projector-camera feedback. The proposed method consists of a hue, saturation, and value (HSV) map and an appearance control technique, and these are key technologies. The HSV map represents a normal map of the 3-D content, and it is embedded in the printed media by full color print. While the system is projecting a shading animation for the 3-D representation, the embedded information is decoded by modulation estimation using the appearance control technique.
Simple Dynamics for Majority Consensus ∗

We study a Majority Consensus process in which each of n anonymous agents of a communication network supports an initial opinion (a color chosen from a finite set [k]) and, at every time step, he can revise his color according to a random sample of neighbors. It is assumed that the initial color configuration has a sufficiently large bias s towards a fixed majority color, that is, the number of nodes supporting the majority color exceeds the number of nodes supporting any other color by an additive factor s. The goal (of the agents) is to let the process converge to the stable configuration where all nodes support the majority color. We consider a basic model in which the network is a clique and the update rule (called here the 3-majority dynamics) of the process is that each agent looks at the colors of three random neighbors and then applies the majority rule (breaking ties uniformly). We prove that the process converges in time O ( min{k, (n/ logn)1/3} logn ) with high probability, provided that s > c √ min{2k, (n/ logn)1/3}n logn. Departing significantly from the previous analysis, our proof technique also yields a polylog(n) bound on the convergence time whenever the initial number of nodes supporting the majority color is larger than n/polylog(n) and s > √ n polylog(n), no matter how large k is. We then prove that our upper bound above is tight as long as k 6 (n/ logn). This fact implies an exponential time-gap between the majority-consensus process and the median process studied in [6]. A natural question is whether looking at more (than three) random neighbors can significantly speed up the process. We provide a negative answer to this question: in particular, we show that samples of polylogarithmic size can speed up the process by a polylogarithmic factor only. ∗Partially supported by Italian MIUR-PRIN 2010-11 Project ARS TechnoMedia and the EU FET Project MULTIPLEX 317532. 1
Inverse statistical problems: from the inverse Ising problem to data science

Inverse problems in statistical physics are motivated by the challenges of ‘big data’ in different fields, in particular high-throughput experiments in biology. In inverse problems, the usual procedure of statistical physics needs to be reversed: Instead of calculating observables on the basis of model parameters, we seek to infer parameters of a model based on observations. In this review, we focus on the inverse Ising problem and closely related problems, namely how to infer the coupling strengths between spins given observed spin correlations, magnetizations, or other data. We review applications of the inverse Ising problem, including the reconstruction of neural connections, protein structure determination, and the inference of gene regulatory networks. For the inverse Ising problem in equilibrium, a number of controlled and uncontrolled approximate solutions have been developed in the statistical mechanics community. A particularly strong method, pseudolikelihood, stems from statistics. We also review the inverse Ising problem in the non-equilibrium case, where the model parameters must be reconstructed based on non-equilibrium statistics.
High Speed and High Accuracy Rough Classification for Handwritten Characters Using Hierarchical Learning Vector Quantization

We propose a rough classification system using Hierarchical Learning Vector Quantization (HLVQ) for large scale classification problems which involve many categories. HLVQ of proposed system divides categories hierarchically in the feature space, makes a tree and multiplies the nodes down the hierarchy. The feature space is divided by a few codebook vectors in each layer. The adjacent feature spaces overlap at the borders. HLVQ classification is both speedy and accurate due to the hierarchical architecture and the overlapping technique. In a classification experiment using ETL9B [2], the largest database of handwritten characters in Japan, (it contains a total of 607,200 samples from 3036 categories) the speed and accuracy of classification by HLVQ was found to be higher than that by Self-Organizing feature Map (SOM) [3] and Learning Vector Quantization [4] methods. We demonstrate that the classification rate of the proposed system which uses multi-codebook vectors for each category under HLVQ can achieve higher speed and accuracy than that of systems which use average vectors. key words: LVQ, Hierarchical LVQ, window, overlapping technique, large scale classification problem
Prediction of the secondary structures of proteins by using PREDICT, a nearest neighbor method on pattern space

We introduce a novel method for predicting the secondary structure of proteins, PREDICT (PRofile Enumeration DICTionary), in which the nearest-neighbor method is applied to a pattern space. For a given protein sequence, PSI-BLAST is used to generate a profile that defines patterns for amino acid residues and their local sequence environments. By applying the PSI-BLAST to protein sequences with known secondary structures, we construct pattern databases. The secondary structure of a query residue of a protein with unknown structure can be determined by comparing the query pattern with those in the pattern databases and selecting the patterns close to the query pattern. We have tested the PREDICT on the CB513 set (a set of 513 non-homologous proteins) in three different ways. The first test was based on a pattern database derived from 7777 proteins in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), including those homologous to proteins in the CB513 set and gave an average Q3 score of 78.8 % per chain. In the second test, in order to carry out a more stringent benchmark test on the CB513 set, we removed from the 7777 proteins all proteins homologous to the CB513 set, leaving 4330 proteins. Pattern databases were constructed based on these proteins, and the average Q3 score was 74.6 %. In the third test, we selected one query protein among the CB513 set and built pattern databases by using the remaining 512 proteins. This procedure was repeated for each of the 513 proteins, and the average Q3 score was 73.1 %. Finally, we participated in the CASP5 (group ID: 531) where we employed the first-layer database based on the 7777 proteins and the second-layer database based on the CB513 set. The PREDICT gave quite promising results with an average Q3 (Sov) score of 78.1 (77.4) % on 55 CASP5 targets.
Decision-Aiding Methodology for the School Bus Routing and Scheduling Problem

We consider the school bus routing and scheduling problem, where transportation demand is known and bus scheduling can be planned in advance. We present a comprehensive methodology designed to support the decision of practitioners. We first propose a modeling framework where the focus is on optimizing the level of service for a given number of buses, then we describe an automatic procedure generating a solution to the problem. The procedure first builds a feasible solution, which is subsequently improved using a heuristic. We analyze two important issues associated with this methodology. On the one hand, we analyze the performance of three types of heuristics both on real and synthetic data. We recommend the use of a simulated annealing technique exploring infeasible solutions, which performs slightly better than all others. More importantly, we find that the performance of all heuristics is not globally affected by the choice of the parameters. This is important from a practitioner viewpoint, because the fine-tuning of algorithm parameters is not critical for the algorithm's performance. We have successfully applied our methods on real problems and on large-scale problems. On the other hand, we propose an interactive tool allowing the practitioner to visualize the proposed solution, to test its robustness, and to dynamically rebuild new solutions if the data of the original problem are modified.
Application of swine manure on agricultural fields contributes to extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli spread in Tai'an, China

The prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) is increasing rapidly in both hospital environments and animal farms. A lot of animal manure has been directly applied into arable fields in developing countries. But the impact of ESBL-positive bacteria from animal manure on the agricultural fields is sparse, especially in the rural regions of Tai'an, China. Here, we collected 29, 3, and 10 ESBL-producing E. coli from pig manure, compost, and soil samples, respectively. To track ESBL-harboring E. coli from agricultural soil, these isolates of different sources were analyzed with regard to antibiotic resistance profiles, ESBL genes, plasmid replicons, and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) typing. The results showed that all the isolates exhibited multi-drug resistant (MDR). CTX-M gene was the predominant ESBL gene in the isolates from pig farm samples (30/32, 93.8%) and soil samples (7/10, 70.0%), but no SHV gene was detected. Twenty-five isolates contained the IncF-type replicon of plasmid, including 18 strains (18/32, 56.3%) from the pig farm and 7 (7/10, 70.0%) from the soil samples. ERIC-PCR demonstrated that 3 isolates from soil had above 90% genetic similarity with strains from pig farm samples. In conclusion, application of animal manure carrying drug-resistant bacteria on agricultural fields is a likely contributor to antibiotic resistance gene spread.
Influence of PJ34 on the genotoxicity induced by melphalan in human multiple myeloma cells

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential biological activity of N-(6-oxo-5,6-dihydrophenanthridin-2-yl)-(N,N-dimethylamino)acetamide hydrochloride (PJ34) on the genotoxicity induced by melphalan in human multiple myeloma cells. Material and methods The inhibitory effects of the drugs on the growth of RPMI8226 cells were determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The expression of Fanconi anemia/breast cancer (FA/BRCA) pathway related genes was determined by western blot analysis. Cell cycle phase and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Coadministration of PJ34 and melphalan had additional effects on cell cycle distribution and enhanced apoptosis of RPMI8226 cells. PJ34 plus melphalan inhibited cell-cycle progression, as evidenced by the increased proportion of cells in the G2/M phase with the decreasing proportion of cells in the G0/1 and S phases. Results However, no significant synergistic effect of PJ34 and melphalan on cell proliferation was observed. These effects were accompanied by inhibition of the FA/BRCA pathway by downregulation of Fanconi D2 (FANCD2) protein expression. The results showed that treatment with 60 µmol/l of PJ34 previously to melphalan administration increased cell apoptosis. Pretreatment also caused cell cycle arrest. Conclusions This study suggests that enhancement of melphalan efficacy may be best achieved by the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) inhibitor PJ34. The effects of PJ34 are associated with inhibition of the FA/BRCA pathway, increased apoptosis percentage, and G2/M cell cycle arrest. Administration of PJ34 has been shown to protect DNA from damage induced by melphalan. This corroborates the biological activities of PJ34 and points to the need for further studies.
On the Use of Histograms for Processing Exact Aggregate Queries in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are typically used to collect values of some phenomena in a monitored area. In many applications, users are interested in statistical summaries of the observed data, e.g., histograms reflecting the distribution of the collected values. In this paper we discuss how to leverage on a histogram query processing algorithm in order to process other aggregate queries within a WSN exactly. Our experimental results using both synthetic and real data sets show that our proposed solutions are able to substantially decrease the overall amount of bytes sent, thus saving energy and increasing the WNS lifespan, when compared to other classical approaches.
Tillage and residue management for organic carbon sequestration in coconut (Cocos nucifera)-based cropping systems

A field experiment was carried out on a garden land clay loam soil at Vellayani, Kerala during 2004-06 to study the effect of cropping systems, residue management and tillage practices on organic carbon sequestration in soils and thereby improvement in soil properties for better growth and production of intercrops in a coconut garden. Among the different cropping systems, coconut ( Cocos nucifera)+pineapple ( Ananas comosus) cropping system maintained the highest organic carbon content of 1.30% at the end of two years, whereas the coconut + maize ( Zea mays L.) system maintained only 1.21% soil organic carbon. Surface mulching with crop residues could maintain organic carbon up to 1.37% by the end of the study, but when the residues were incorporated to soil, the soil organic carbon (SOC) status was only 1.13%. Among tillage practices, reduced till maintained 1.29% organic carbon, whereas the conventional tillage could maintain only 1.22% SOC after two years of study. Improvement in soil properties, like aggregate stability, porosity, bulk density, water-holding capacity etc was observed with the maintenance of soil organic carbon. The improvement in soil properties reflected in better yield and returns. Coco- nut + pineapple cropping system registered the highest B:C ratio of 3.61. Coconut + banana ( Musa spp.) system recorded a B:C ratio of 2.52, whereas coconut + maize recorded the lowest of 1.31. Benefit: cost ratios were better with reduced till practices (2.63) as well as surface mulching of crop residues (2.69).
A Framework for Automatically Detecting and Assessing Performance Antipatterns in Component Based Systems using Run-Time Analysis

We propose a framework for automatically detecting and assessing the impact of poor performance design (performance antipatterns) in component based systems using run time analysis. The framework consists of three modules, a monitoring module, a detection module, and a visualization module. Our framework borrows techniques from the field of Knowledge Discovery in Databases. We intend to instantiate the framework for the Enterprise Java Beans platform.
Association of Inherited Thrombophilia with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss in Palestinian Women

Objective. This study aimed at analyzing the association between recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and factor V G1691A (FVL), prothrombin G20210 (FII); and MTHFR C677T (MTHFR) in Palestinian women. Method. We studied 329 Palestinian women with RPL and/or stillbirth (SB); and compared them to 402 healthy reproductive Palestinian women. Cases and controls were tested for the above mutations. Odds ratio (OR) at confidence interval (CI) of 95% was used as a measure of association between the mutations and RPL. Results. Our statistical analysis showed a slightly increased association, which was not significant between FVL and RPL (OR 1.32, 95% CI 0.90–1.94), and no association between FII (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.38–1.92), MTHFR (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.32–1.03), and RPL. Further analysis of RPL subgroups revealed an association between FVL and first-trimester loss (OR 1.33, 95% CI 0.892–1.989), and second-trimester loss (OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.480–2.426), both were not statistically significant. Furthermore, the only statistically significant association was between FVL and SB (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.05–3.70). Conclusion. Our analysis had failed to find a significant association between FVL, FII, MTHFR; and RPL in either the first or second trimester. FVL was significantly associated with fetal loss if the loss was a stillbirth.
Handling a large number of machine learning experiments in a MAS based system

ABSTRACT Meta-learning is concerned with the study of the computational learning process in general and is oriented to achieve the best possible theory from data. This type of problems are very characteristic, from a computational point of view. Basically, they require an intensive use of storage and computational resources. In this paper, a software architecture intended to guide the engineering of a multi-agent system to cope with meta-learning is presented.
On the significance of the permutation problem in neuroevolution

In this paper we investigate the impact of the Permutation Problem on a standard Genetic Algorithm evolving neural networks for a difficult control problem. Through the use of Price's equation and an explicit enumeration of permutations within the population we demonstrate that for the given problem and representation the Permutation Problem is not as serious a concern as previously thought. In addition we present the concept of incompatible representations as a more useful guide for what to avoid in the evolution of neural networks.
The Race for Sponsored Links: Bidding Patterns for Search Advertising

Paid placements on search engines reached sales of nearly $11 billion in the United States last year and represent the most rapidly growing form of online advertising today. In its classic form, a search engine sets up an auction for each search word in which competing websites bid for their sponsored links to be displayed next to the search results. We model this advertising market, focusing on two of its key characteristics: (1) the interaction between the list of search results and the list of sponsored links on the search page and (2) the inherent differences in attractiveness between sites. We find that both of these special aspects of search advertising have a significant effect on sites' bidding behavior and the equilibrium prices of sponsored links. Often, sites that are not among the most popular ones obtain the sponsored links, especially if the marginal return of sites on clicks is quickly decreasing and if consumers do not trust sponsored links. In three extensions, we also explore (1) heterogeneous valuations across bidding sites, (2) the endogenous choice of the number of sponsored links that the search engine sells, and (3) a dynamic model where websites' bidding behavior is a function of their previous positions on the sponsored list. Our results shed light on the seemingly random order of sites on search engines' list of sponsored links and their variation over time. They also provide normative insights for both buyers and sellers of search advertising.
Scent Presentation Expressing Two Smells of Different Intensity Simultaneously

Studies aiming at increasing the sense of reality by using scents with the picture medium, such as movies, have lately attracted much attention. In the picture medium, multiple objects with different scents are seen at the same time. Therefore, it is thought that by controlling the presentation of scent in accordance with the various scented objects seen, the viewer will experience a greater sense of realism. This realism will be further heightened by expressing through scent the distance relation between the multiple objects, that is, stronger scent for objects in the foreground and weaker scent for those in the background. However, this requires a technique that can not only present multiple scents which must be perceived simultaneously, but also express a distance relation between them. In this study, by using pulse ejection which emits scents for only very short periods of time and by measuring the olfactory characteristics for various scent presentation patterns by changing the relative amount and presentation frequency of the two scents, we succeeded in enabling around 90 percent of users to sense the distance relation between two scents. The proposed method for presenting scent depicting multiple objects shown simultaneously in the picture medium is expected to further enhance the sense of reality.
Investigation on Spatial Reuse by Using Virtual Relay in 60GHz Dense Environment

The directivity characteristic in 60GHz communication brings great potential to do spatial reuse in a dense environment, which usually requires the ability of network to support concurrent connections within the same space. This paper proposed a new approach to achieve interference mitigation and spatial reuse, which use the physical reflector as the virtual relay to forward signal to the target node. The exhaust method is used to perform path selection to maximize the overall channel capacity. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the overall channel capacity can be improved and the outage ratio of link can be decreased.