Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automating XML markup of text documents

We present a novel system for automatically marking up text documents into XML and discuss the benefits of XML markup for intelligent information retrieval. The system uses the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) algorithm to arrange XML marked-up documents on a two-dimensional map so that similar documents appear closer to each other. It then employs an inductive learning algorithm C5 to automatically extract and apply markup rules from the nearest SOM neighbours of an unmarked document. The system is designed to be adaptive, so that once a document is marked-up; its behaviour is modified to improve accuracy. The automatically marked-up documents are again categorized on the Self-Organizing Map.
Psychological symptoms predicted chest pain intensity and discomfort in cardiac rehabilitation patients

Dear Editor, Cardiac chest pain or angina is an annoying condition that about one‐third of patients complained of it even after successful revascularization and they expressed powerless to control its severity and duration. [1] This situation led to investigate the role of different treatment methods in reducing angina by researchers, and the results have shown that many treatment methods failed to control cardiac chest pain and angina recurrence. [1] Cardiac rehabilitation is a secondary prevention measure,[2] which is expected to be effective in reducing the pain severity and discomfort caused by angina. However, it seems that its role as one of the traditional cures is influenced through nonphysical factors of pain such as beliefs associated with angina[1,3] and psychological symptoms. According to the results of a report,[3] beliefs associated with angina are effective in psychological and functional status of patients so that patients with maladaptive beliefs about chest pain showed more anxiety and poorer physical performance. Irrational beliefs and psychological symptoms as factors influencing the experience of chest pain by noncoronary patients[4‐7] could be raised in cardiac patients. Thus, given that the pain intensity and discomfort and their distress may lead to an annoying situation for the patients,[7] it is clear that exploring the psychological factors associated with pain in the stage of cardiac rehabilitation can help to early control of pain, improve the quality of life, and return to work. [3]
The two major membrane skeletal proteins (articulins) of Euglena gracilis define a novel class of cytoskeletal proteins

60% of the peripheral membrane skeleton of Euglena gracilis consists of equimolar amounts of two proteins (articulins) with M(r)s in SDS gels of 80 and 86 kD. To understand eventually how these proteins assemble and function in maintaining cell form and membrane integrity we have undertaken a molecular characterization of articulins. A lambda gt11 expression library constructed from Euglena gracilis mRNAs was screened with antibodies against both articulins. Two sets of cDNAs were recovered, and evidence from three independent assays confirmed that both sets encoded articulins: (a) Anti-articulin antibodies recognized a high molecular weight beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) fusion protein expressed in bacteria infected with lambda gt11 cDNA clones. (b) Antibodies generated against the bacterially expressed beta-gal fusion protein identified one or the other articulin in Western blots of Euglena proteins. These antibodies also localized to the membrane skeletal region in thin sections of Euglena. (c) Peptide maps of the beta-gal fusion protein were similar to peptide maps of Euglena articulins. From the nucleotide sequence of the two sets of cDNAs an open reading frame for each articulin was deduced. In addition to 37% amino acid identity and overall structural similarity, both articulins exhibited a long core domain consisting of over 30 12-amino acid repeats with the consensus VPVPV--V--. Homology plots comparing the same or different articulins revealed larger, less regular repeats in the core domain that coincided with predicted turns in extended beta- sheets. Outside the core domain a short hydrophobic region containing four seven-amino acid repeats (consensus: APVTYGA) was identified near the carboxy terminus of the 80-kD articulin, but near the amino terminus of the 86-kD articulin. No extensive sequence similarities were found between articulins and other protein sequences in various databanks. We conclude that the two articulins are related members of a new class of membrane cytoskeletal proteins.
Direct transfer of solar radiation to high temperature applications

This paper reviews the different methods of directly transferring solar radiation from concentrated solar collectors to medium to high temperature thermal absorbers, at temperatures ranging from 100 to 400°. These methods are divided into four main categories associated with the radiation transfer medium: optical fibres, photonic crystal fibres, metal waveguides and light guides. The reviewed methods are novel compared to most rooftop solar concentrators that have a receiver and a thermal storage unit coupled by heat transfer fluids. Bundled optical fibres have the capability of transferring concentrated solar energy across the full wavelength spectrum with the maximum optical efficiency. In this study two different types of optical bundle, including hard polymer cladding silica (HPCS) and polymer clad silica (PCS) fibres are introduced which offer a broad spectrum transmission range from 300 to 1700 nm, low levels of losses through attenuation and the best resistance to heating. These fibres are able to transmit about 94% of the solar radiation over a distance of 10 m. The main parameters that determine the overall efficiency of the system are the concentration ratio, the acceptance angle of the fibres, and the matching of the diameter of the focus spot of the concentrator and the internal diameter of the fibre. In order to maximize the coupling efficiency of the system, higher levels of concentration are required which can be achieved through lenses or other non-imaging concentrators. However, these additional components add to the cost and complexity of the system. To avoid this problem we use tapered bundles of optical fibres that enhance the coupling efficiency by increasing the acceptance angle and consequently the coupling efficiency of the system.
High-Efficiency Fuel Cell Power Conditioning System With Input Current Ripple Reduction

A high-efficiency fuel cell power conditioning system with input current ripple reduction is proposed. The proposed system consists of a high-efficiency high-step-up current-fed resonant push-pull converter and a full-bridge inverter. The converter conserves inherent advantages of a conventional current-fed push-pull converter such as low input-current stress and high voltage conversion ratio. Also, a voltage-doubler rectifier is employed in order to remove the reverse-recovery problem of the output rectifying diodes and provide much higher voltage conversion ratio. The current ripple reduction control without an external component is suggested. Therefore, the proposed system operates in a wide input-voltage range with a high efficiency. By using a current-ripple reduction control, the input current ripple is furthermore reduced. A 1.5-kW prototype is implemented with input-voltage range from 30 to 70 V. Experimental results show that minimum efficiency at full load is about 92.5% and that ripple current is less than 2% of the rated input current.
Benzylaminopurine application on two different apple cultivars (Malus domestica) displays new and unexpected fruitlet abscission features.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS It has been previously shown that abscission of apple fruitlets is preceded by an increase in ethylene evolution and in the amount of transcripts for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO), an enzyme catalysing the final step in ethylene biosynthesis. These events are concomitant with shedding induction and chemical thinning. There are several thinners but their mode of action and efficacy is poorly understood. One of them is benzylaminopurine (BA), a cytokinin believed to act by enhancing vegetative activity and stressing the competition between shoots and fruitlets, thus leading to fruitlet shedding. Nevertheless, the specific mechanism of action of BA and the variable effect depending on apple cultivar (easy or difficult to thin) are poorly understood. METHODS Abscission, the amount of MdACO1 transcripts and other parameters were followed in immature apple fruits during the period of physiological drop. The cultivars studied were 'Golden Delicious' and the 'spur' type 'Red Delicious'. BA was used as a thinning agent and was sprayed 14 d after petal fall (DAPF). Fruitlets were divided into central (C) and lateral (L) fruitlet populations. KEY RESULTS Fruitlet size was significantly different between C and L fruitlets but it did not differ much between the populations within the same cultivar. C fruitlets were characterized by basal ethylene evolution while L fruitlets displayed an increase in hormone biosynthesis during abscission induction. Cluster composition evaluated by the L/C ratio differed in the two varieties, being almost unchanged throughout abscission induction in 'Golden Delicious' and progressively decreasing in 'Red Delicious'. Shoot growth activity evaluated at the end of the season indicated a possible connection with both the ongoing abscission and BA application. MDACO1 transcripts were mainly detected in L fruitlets and the accumulation was related to total abscission in 'Golden Delicious', while in 'Red Delicious' expression was observed in both C and L fruitlets. CONCLUSIONS BA probably exerts its thinning effect through vegetative growth. In the 'spur' type 'Red Delicious' the chemical is ineffective, probably due to a limited action on shoot growth due to genetic characteristics. The amount of MdACO1 transcripts in seeds is a good indicator of abscission.
Joint Segmentation and Recognition of Worker Actions using Semi-Markov Models

Vision-based automated recognition of worker actions has gain lots of interest during the past few years. However, existing research all requires presegmented video clips, which is not applicable in the real situation. Furthermore, pre-segmented videos abandon the temporal information of action transition. A joint action segmentation and recognition method, which can segment continuous video stream while recognizing the action type for each segment, is an urgent need. In this paper, we model the worker actions with a discriminative semiMarkov model. In the model, a set of features is defined to capture both the local and global characteristics of each action cycle. Then the semiMarkov model is formulated as an optimization problem and solved by the cutting plane method for simultaneous action segmentation and recognition. Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) is applied to detect feature points in the region of interest in every frame. Two descriptors (Histograms of Oriented Gradients – HOG, Histograms of Optical Flow – HOF), are computed in the feature points to encode the scenario and motion flow simultaneously. Finally, the Bag-of-Feature strategy is adopted for feature representation. Experimental results from real world construction videos show that the proposed method is able to segment and recognize continuous worker actions correctly, resulting in a prospecting application in automated productivity analysis.
Severity quantification of pediatric viral respiratory illnesses in chest X-ray images

Accurate assessment of severity of viral respiratory illnesses (VRIs) allows early interventions to prevent morbidity and mortality in young children. This paper proposes a novel imaging biomarker framework with chest X-ray image for assessing VRI's severity in infants, developed specifically to meet the distinct challenges for pediatric population. The proposed framework integrates three novel technical contributions: a) lung segmentation using weighted partitioned active shape model, b) obtrusive object removal using graph cut segmentation with asymmetry constraint, and c) severity quantification using information-theoretic heterogeneity measures. This paper presents our pilot experimental results with a dataset of 148 images and the ground-truth severity scores given by a board-certified pediatric pulmonologist, demonstrating the effectiveness and clinical relevance of the presented framework.
Inoculation of VacA- and CagA- Helicobacter pylori delays gastric ulcer healing in the rat.

BACKGROUND Helicobacter pylori is associated with peptic ulcer disease. In the present study, the influence of VacA and CagA- H. pylori on gastric ulcer healing was studied in the rat. METHODS Twenty-four rats with acetic-acid-induced gastric ulcer were divided into two groups and given either vehicle (Brucella broth) or H. pylori suspension by gavage every 12 h for 7 days. The animals were killed 1 and 8 days after the last H. pylori gavage (i.e. 10 and 17 days after the induction of the ulcer). One hour before death, 3H-thymidine was given intraperitoneally. Tissue samples from the stomach (including the ulcer area) and the duodenum were processed for determination of labelling index and apoptotic cells. RESULTS Compared with the vehicle-treated controls, the ulcer area in H. pylori-inoculated rats was significantly larger, the epithelial apoptotic cells in the ulcer margin and intact corpus were more numerous, while the cell proliferation of gastroduodenal epithelium was slightly, but not significantly, increased by H. pylori gavage. CONCLUSION Gastric ulcer healing was delayed after the inoculation of VacA- and CagA- H. pylori in the rat, possibly as a result of excess cell loss by apoptosis.
Hierarchical AWGR-based Computing Node Architecture : Performance under Realistic Benchmark Workload

We propose a scalable multi-board HPC blade (computing node) architecture with hierarchical interconnection based on wavelength routing with Arrayed Waveguide Grating Routers (AWGRs). We validate performance through realistic benchmarking simulations and shows reductions up to 2× in energy consumption and 3× in execution time.
Molecular Karyotyping: From Microscope to SNP Arrays

Chromosomal rearrangements are an important cause of distinctive and recognizable clinical phenotypes. For many years conventional karyotyping has been a successful tool to detect such chromosomal rearrangements. However, this technique has a limited resolution of 5–10 Mb. In the past decades, the development of new high-resolution techniques has led to the field of molecular cytogenetics. One of the most significant changes has been the use of molecular karyotyping by high-resolution whole-genome array techniques in the diagnostic setting. This technology is able to detect chromosomal aberrations at a resolution beyond the detection level of conventional karyotyping. Many new microdeletion and microduplication syndromes have been identified by this new method. In this review, we will focus on the most commonly used (molecular) cytogenetic techniques.
An anticlastogenic function for the Polycomb Group gene Bmi1

BMI1 is a key component of multiprotein Polycomb repression complex 1 (PRC1), and its disruption in mice induces severe aplastic anemia by early adulthood. The contributing mechanisms responsible for this phenotype remain elusive. Here we show that transformed human cell lines as well as primitive hematopoietic cells exhibit a high frequency of spontaneous chromosome breaks upon BMI1 depletion and are hypersensitive to genotoxic agents. Consistent with these observations, we found that BMI1 is recruited rapidly to DNA damage foci where it blocks transcriptional elongation. We also show that BMI1 contributes to homologous recombination DNA repair and is required for checkpoint recovery. Taken together, our results suggest that BMI1 is critical for the maintenance of chromosome integrity in both normal and transformed cells.
Nonreversible MAIT cell‐dysfunction in chronic hepatitis C virus infection despite successful interferon‐free therapy

Immune exhaustion is a hallmark of chronic viral infections. However, pathogen eradication can result in reinvigorated immune responses. Indeed, this was recently suggested for antigen‐specific CD8+ T cells and NK cells in HCV‐infected patients receiving an interferon‐free treatment regimen. Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are evolutionarily conserved innate‐like effector T cells. Here, we show that MAIT cells are severely diminished in frequency in chronic HCV‐infection, and in this regard the most affected immune cell type in peripheral blood of humans with this disease. Residual MAIT cells show an activated phenotype with high expression of granzyme B, HLA‐DR, PD‐1, and CD69 as well as altered transcription factor expression and suppressed responsiveness to MR1‐dependent antigen stimulation. In contrast to other immune cells, MAIT cells are not reinvigorated after successful HCV‐clearance using interferon‐free therapy. The present results hence demonstrate persistent immune cell‐dysfunction in humans despite successful elimination of a chronic pathogen.
Analysis of propagation of orthogonally polarized supermode in straight and curved multicore microstructured fibres

We analyze the dependence of radiation loss, effective indices and difference of the effective indices of the two modes with similar field distribution propagating in dual-core microstructured fibres as well as their polarization behavior on fibre parameters (air hole diameter, hole separation, distance between guiding cores) and fibre bending. Optimization of the parameters of such fibres using as vector bend sensors
A Multi-Instrument Study of the Helix Nebula Knots with the Hubble Space Telescope,

We have conducted a combined observational and theoretical investigation of the ubiquitous knots in the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293). We have constructed a combined hydrodynamic + radiation model for the ionized portion of these knots and have accurately calculated a static model for their molecular regions. Imaging observations in optical emission lines were made with the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS, operating in a "slitless" mode, complemented by WFPC2 images in several of the same lines. The NICMOS camera was used to image the knots in H2. These observations, when combined with other studies of H2 and CO, provide a complete characterization of the knots. They possess dense molecular cores of densities about 106 cm-3 surrounded on the central star side by a zone of hot H2. The temperature of the H2-emitting layer defies explanation either through detailed calculations for radiative equilibrium or through simplistic calculations for shock excitation. Farther away from the core is the ionized zone, whose peculiar distribution of emission lines is explained by the expansion effects of material flowing through this region. The shadowed region behind the core is the source of most of the CO emission from the knot and is of the low temperature expected for a radiatively heated molecular region.
The Dynamics of Micro-Task Crowdsourcing: The Case of Amazon MTurk

Micro-task crowdsourcing is rapidly gaining popularity among research communities and businesses as a means to leverage Human Computation in their daily operations. Unlike any other service, a crowdsourcing platform is in fact a marketplace subject to human factors that affect its performance, both in terms of speed and quality. Indeed, such factors shape the dynamics of the crowdsourcing market. For example, a known behavior of such markets is that increasing the reward of a set of tasks would lead to faster results. However, it is still unclear how different dimensions interact with each other: reward, task type, market competition, requester reputation, etc. In this paper, we adopt a data-driven approach to (A) perform a long-term analysis of a popular micro-task crowdsourcing platform and understand the evolution of its main actors (workers, requesters, and platform). (B) We leverage the main findings of our five year log analysis to propose features used in a predictive model aiming at determining the expected performance of any batch at a specific point in time. We show that the number of tasks left in a batch and how recent the batch is are two key features of the prediction. (C) Finally, we conduct an analysis of the demand (new tasks posted by the requesters) and supply (number of tasks completed by the workforce) and show how they affect task prices on the marketplace.
Focalization in Video Games 3 . 1 Examples

This paper investigates Bal’s concept of focalization for 3D video games. First, the argument traces focalization in the historical development of camera strategies in 3D video games. It highlights the detachment of the camera into an own interactive operator. Then, it exemplifies the visual focalization in video games using two case studies. In the following, it looks at possible problems and effects of focalization. The argument concludes that dynamic focalization allows video games to apply narrative guidance without the linearity of a “telling” voice.
Higher Education in Further Education in England: An Actor-Network Ethnography

The provision of higher education courses within further education colleges in England poses particular questions for the researcher. This article argues that the complexities of the relationships between colleges where courses are run, and the universities that supply these courses, can be fruitfully explored using actor-network theory. This article provides an actor-network account of one teacher-training course as an example of the ways in which both people and text-based artefacts are coalesced and coordinated so that the course functions across institutional and spatial boundaries. Assessment has been chosen as a specific focus several reasons: it must be performed in certain ways and must conform to particular outcomes that are standardised across colleges; it is an established focus of research; and it is a focus of specific observable activities. The article concludes that assessment processes are regulated and ordered in complex ways for which actor-network theory provides an appropriate conceptual framework. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]
vScale: automatic and efficient processor scaling for SMP virtual machines

SMP virtual machines (VMs) have been deployed extensively in clouds to host multithreaded applications. A widely known problem is that when CPUs are oversubscribed, the scheduling delays due to VM preemption give rise to many performance problems because of the impact of these delays on thread synchronization and I/O efficiency. Dynamically changing the number of virtual CPUs (vCPUs) by considering the available physical CPU (pCPU) cycles has been shown to be a promising approach. Unfortunately, there are currently no efficient mechanisms to support such vCPU-level elasticity. We present vScale, a cross-layer design to enable SMP-VMs to adaptively scale their vCPUs, at the cost of only microseconds. vScale consists of two extremely light-weight mechanisms: i) a generic algorithm in the hypervisor scheduler to compute VMs' CPU extendability, based on their proportional shares and CPU consumptions, and ii) an efficient method in the guest OS to quickly reconfigure the vCPUs. vScale can be tightly integrated with existing OS/hypervisor primitives and has very little management complexity. With our prototype in Xen/Linux, we evaluate vScale's performance with several representative multithreaded applications, including NPB suite, PARSEC suite and Apache web server. The results show that vScale can significantly reduce the VM's waiting time, and thus can accelerate many applications, especially synchronization-intensive ones and I/O-intensive ones.