Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrating Web Caching and Web Prefetching in Client-Side Proxies

Web caching and Web prefetching are two important techniques used to reduce the noticeable response time perceived by users. Note that by integrating Web caching and Web prefetching, these two techniques can complement each other since the Web caching technique exploits the temporal locality, whereas Web prefetching technique utilizes the spatial locality of Web objects. However, without circumspect design, the integration of these two techniques might cause significant performance degradation to each other. In view of this, we propose in this paper an innovative cache replacement algorithm, which not only considers the caching effect in the Web environment, but also evaluates the prefetching rules provided by various prefetching schemes. Specifically, we formulate a normalized profit function to evaluate the profit from caching an object (i.e., either a nonimplied object or an implied object according to some prefetching rule). Based on the normalized profit function devised, we devise an innovative Web cache replacement algorithm, referred to as Algorithm IWCP (standing for the Integration of Web Caching and Prefetching). Using an event-driven simulation, we evaluate the performance of Algorithm IWCP under several circumstances. The experimental results show that Algorithm IWCP consistently outperforms the companion schemes in various performance metrics.
The Impact of Self-Concept/Product-Image Congruity and Functional Congruity on Brand Preference:Three Product Categories

Bhat and Reedy (1998) explain that consumers’ essential needs may be categorized as either symbolic or functional. In relation to symbolic needs, the self-concept/product-image congruity theory is based on the premise that consumers choose products that are consistent with their self-concept in an attempt to satisfy symbolic needs. Alternatively, functional congruity theory has been introduced to explain a consumer’s decision to choose a product based on its perceived functional or utilitarian aspects. Functional congruity is defined as the match between the product or brand’s utilitarian attribute(s) and the consumer’s expectation of that attribute (Sirgy, Johar, & Samli, 1991). Previous research has examined the two models individually, and through integrated work, in an effort to explain and predict various consumer behavior outcome variables (Kang, 2002; Samli & Sirgy, 1985; Sirgy, Johar, Samil, & Claiborne, 1991). A limitation of previous work is that different interrelationships among variables have been examined in isolation.
BMRT: A Global Illumination Implementation of the RenderMan Standard

The RenderMan Interface specification proposed by Pixar is a standard for communication between modeling software and rendering software or devices. This standard has proven very powerful and is extremely popular in production work. Although the standard itself claims not to specify a rendering algorithm, people have speculated RenderMan and global illumination are mutually incompatible.We have implemented a rendering system which fully adheres to the RenderMan Interface and uses global illumination algorithms. Specifically, this implementation supports progressive refinement radiosity and distribution ray tracing in a two-pass approach. This rendering system is widely distributed, very popular, and has been used in production (three properties usually not found in global illumination renderers). We discuss how we overcame problems in mating global illumination algorithms with the RenderMan standard and make recommendations for future versions of the standard to better accommodate such algorithms. We also present a summary of important lessons we learned by creating and distributing this tool.
What is Movement Interaction in Virtual Reality for?

This paper raises the question of why movement base interaction is important in Virtual Reality (VR). This is an important question as new VR hardware is increasingly being released together with movement interfaces. Slater's view is that VR reproduces the sensorimotor contingencies present in our interactions with the real world. This provides a powerful justification, but when the contingencies are not perfectly reproduced, they can result in interfaces that lack important features of established interaction design: discoverability memorability, and feedback. However, Embodied Cognition suggests that these imperfect reproductions can still have value if they allow us to reproduce our cognitive and emotional engagement with the world and our movements.
Towards an understanding of teacher judgement in the context of social moderation

Social moderation involves teachers gathering together to discuss their judgements of the quality of student work and to reach agreement regarding the standard awarded. This qualitative study conducted over a three-year period investigated the social practice of moderation and the influence on teachers’ judgements of students’ work. An initial survey of teachers’ understandings of moderation and standards, pre- and post-interviews of teachers who participated in the moderation meetings, observations of these meetings with a particular focus on one teacher (focus teachers) comprised the data collection methods. Data analysis involved organising, matching, coding, identifying patterns and themes using a constant comparative method. Socio-cultural theories of learning and assessment underpinned the approach to data analysis and proved helpful in explaining the diverse influences on teachers’ judgements beyond the task criteria, and the progressive development of shared understandings through engaging in professional discussions of students’ work. The study revealed that the process is not clear and linear and is influenced by factors such as the representation of the standards and the knowledge base of the teachers.
On Parameter Estimation Using Nonparametric Noise Models

Fitting multidimensional parametric models in frequency domain using nonparametric noise models is considered in this paper. A nonparametric estimate of the noise statistics is obtained from a finite number of independent data sets. The estimated noise model is then substituted for the the true noise covariance matrix in the maximum likelihood loss function to obtain suboptimal parameter estimates. The goal here is to present an analysis of the resulting estimates. Sufficient conditions for consistency are derived, and an asymptotic accuracy analysis is carried out. The first- and second-order statistics of the cost function at the global minimum point are also explored, which can be used for model validation. The analytical findings are validated using numerical simulation results
Is unit selection aware of audible artifacts?

This paper presents a new analytic method that can be used for analyzing perceptual relevance of unit selection costs and/or their sub-components as well as for tuning of unit selection weights. The proposed method is leveraged to investigate the behavior of a unit selection based system. The outcome is applied in a simple experiment with the aim to improve speech output quality of the system by setting limits on the costs and their sub-components during the search for optimal sequences of units. The experiments reveal that a large number (36.17%) of artifacts annotated by listeners are not reflected by the values of the costs and their sub-componets as currently implemented and tuned in the evaluated system. Index Terms: speech synthesis, unit selection, concatenation cost, target cost, audible artifacts
Contributions of individual differences in stress reactivity to post-traumatic stress disorder vulnerability and resilience

CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN STRESS REACTIVITY TO POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE Jonathan Edward Hill, B.A. Marquette University, 2013 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder precipitated by exposure to extreme emotional and/or physical stress, is characterized by persistent, intrusive memories of the precipitating trauma. Thus, the pathogenesis of PTSD has been conceptualized as involving a deficit in consolidation mechanisms underlying the extinction of fear memory. The mechanisms underlying this deficit have not been elucidated. In addition to intrusive memories, patients with PTSD display heightened sensitivity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axis to glucocorticoid negative feedback. As glucocorticoids are important modulators of memory consolidation, increased sensitivity to HPA negative feedback, by blunting glucocorticoid responses, may contribute to memory-related symptoms in PTSD patients. Emerging evidence in human patients suggests that the observed heightened negative feedback sensitivity in PTSD patients represents a marker of susceptibility to developing PTSD, rather than an effect of exposure to trauma, but this hypothesis has not been tested in animal studies. We examined individual differences in HPA responsiveness in rats displaying low (LR) and high (HR) locomotor responses to novelty. LR rats exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviors and less motility as compared to HR rats. HR rats displayed larger increases in corticosterone in response to restraint stress as compared to LR rats. LR and HR rats were subjected to contextual fear conditioning in order to examine consolidation, incubation, and extinction effects. LR rats exhibited increased freezing time and a reduction in the ability to extinguish fear memory as compared to HR rats. Additional animals were measured for acoustic startle prior to and following exposure the animal PTSD-model single-prolonged stress. LR rats subjected to a SPS exhibited a small increase in freezing indicative. HR rats expressed slightly lower levels of startle amplitude for most conditions, suggestive of habituation between trials. Overall, LR rats provide a working model to examine how individual differences in the HPA axis stress response play a role in the formation of PTSD-like behaviors.
A method to reduce interruption time considering number of clients on broadcast and communications integration environments

Due to the continued popularization of broadcast and communications integration environments, streaming delivery using broadcast and communication is attracting great attention. In streaming delivery on an environment, clients concurrently receive such data as music or movies from both broadcasting and communication systems. Although conventional methods reduce the interruption time, they fail to consider the upper limit in the available bandwidth. In this paper, we propose a delivery method that reduces the interruption time by considering the number of clients. Our proposed method reduces the interruption time by setting the bandwidths of the broadcast and communication systems and making a delivery schedule.
Outdoor MIMO wireless channels: models and performance prediction

We present a new model for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) outdoor wireless fading channels and their capacity performance. The proposed model is more general and realistic than the usual independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) model, and allows us to investigate the behavior of channel capacity as a function of the scattering radii at transmitter and receiver, distance between the transmit and receive arrays, and antenna beamwidths and spacing. We show how the MIMO capacity is governed by spatial fading correlation and the condition number of the channel matrix through specific sets of propagation parameters. The proposed model explains the existence of "pinhole" channels which exhibit low spatial fading correlation at both ends of the link but still have poor rank properties, and hence, low ergodic capacity. In fact, the model suggests the existence of a more general family of channels spanning continuously from full rank i.i. d. to low-rank pinhole cases. We suggest guidelines for predicting high rank (and hence, high ergodic capacity) in MIMO channels, and show that even at long ranges, high channel rank can easily be sustained under mild scattering conditions. Finally, we validate our results by simulations using ray tracing techniques. Connections with basic antenna theory are made.
Encapsulation of thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) aqueous extract in calcium alginate beads.

BACKGROUND Encapsulation of Thymus serpyllum L. aqueous extract within calcium alginate beads was studied in order to produce dosage formulations containing polyphenolic compounds. Electrostatic extrusion was applied for encapsulation of thyme aqueous extract in alginate gel beads. In addition to hydrogel beads, heat-dried and freeze-dried forms of beads were examined. METHODS Encapsulation systems were examined and compared in order to choose the optimal one with respect to entrapment efficiency, preservation of antioxidant activity and thermal behaviour under heating conditions simulating the usual food processing. RESULTS The beads obtained with approximately 2 mg g⁻¹ of gallic acid equivalents encapsulated in 0.015 g mL⁻¹ of alginate were spheres of a uniform size of about 730 µm. Encapsulation efficiency varied in the range 50-80% depending on the encapsulation method. Besides, the analysis reveals that the encapsulation process and the material used did not degrade the bioactive compounds, as the total antioxidant content remained unchanged. This was verified by Fourier transform infrared analysis, which proved the absence of chemical interactions between extracted compounds and alginate. Addition of a filler substance, such as sucrose and inulin, in the dried product reduced its collapse and roundness distortion during drying process. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the potential of using hydrogel material for encapsulation of plant poplyphenols to improve their functionality and stability in food products.
Neuregulin‐1‐β1 enters brain and spinal cord by receptor‐mediated transport

Proteins of the neuregulin (NRG) family play important regulatory roles in neuronal survival and synaptic activity. NRG‐1‐β1 has particular potential as a therapeutic agent because it enhances myelination of neurites in spinal cord explants. In this study, we determined the permeation of NRG‐1‐β1 across the blood‐brain and blood–spinal cord barriers (BBB and BSCB respectively). Intact radioactively labeled NRG‐1‐β1 had a saturable and relatively rapid influx rate from blood to the CNS in mice. Capillary depletion studies showed that NRG‐1‐β1 entered the parenchyma of the brain and spinal cord rather than being trapped in the capillaries that compose the BBB. The possible mechanism of receptor‐mediated transport was shown by the ability of antibodies to erbB3 and erbB4 receptors to inhibit the influx. Lipophilicity, less important for such saturable transport mechanisms, was measured by the octanol : buffer partition coefficient and found to be low. The results indicate that NRG‐1‐β1 enters spinal cord and brain by a saturable receptor‐mediated mechanism, which provides the opportunity for possible therapeutic manipulation at the BBB level.
The Proposed Model for Strategic Change and Performance Loss in the Front Lines

Adopting a frontline employee (FLE) perspective, this study models a performance loss process during an organization’s strategic change implementation. The process is activated by changes in unit management’s emphases on cost containment and revenue-generating strategies and is governed by FLE detachment. The authors also examine an intervention mechanism for mitigating performance loss by including the influence of FLE participation in change decisions. The model is tested with data from five service organizations that employ 843 FLEs. The results indicate that (1) FLE detachment is effective in separating out the negative and positive effects of change, (2) FLE change perceptions are sensitive to the focus of strategic change (cost containment versus revenue enhancement strategies), and (3) FLE participation significantly enhances the positive effects of change and mitigates performance loss.
Hopelessness and suicidal feelings among the community dwelling elderly in Dublin

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the one-month frequency of hopelessness and suicidal feelings in a community dwelling elderly sample in Dublin. Method: A total of 891 individuals of 65 years and over, without a dementia, were interviewed using the Geriatric Mental State (GMS)-AGECAT system. Items from the GMS relating to reports of hopelessness and suicidal feelings over the previous month were identified and the relationship of these items to gender and age was studied. Result: Serious suicidal feelings were rare with 0.2% of the sample expressing a pervasive wish to die, but less intense feelings were more common with 15.5% reporting that life was not worth living. Hopelessness and suicidal feelings were present with similar gender frequencies unlike other studies which have demonstrated a higher frequency among females. Any feeling of hopelessness or suicidality was present in 18.4% of those aged 65-74 years (‘young elderly’) compared with 14.8% of those over 75 years (‘old elderly’). Depressed elderly who reported hopelessness or suicidal feelings were not more likely to be taking antidepressants than the depressives without such feelings. Conclusion: Cultural factors may explain the pattern of suicidal feelings reported in our sample, with the more intense feelings being rare, and may influence the gender distribution. Hopelessness and suicidality is not more common in the ‘old elderly’ than in the ‘young elderly’ and should not be regarded as an integral part of ageing. The small number of elderly depressives with feelings of hopelessness or suicidality wh o are being treated with antidepressants is a cause for concern.
Dynamic Spectrum Management: A Complete Complexity Characterization

Consider a multi-user multi-carrier communication system where multiple users share multiple discrete subcarriers. To achieve high spectrum efficiency, the users in the system must choose their transmit power dynamically in response to fast channel fluctuations. Assuming perfect channel state information, two formulations for the spectrum management (power control) problem are considered in this paper: the first is to minimize the total transmission power subject to all users’ transmission data rate constraints, and the second is to maximize the min-rate utility subject to individual power constraints at each user. It is known in the literature that both formulations of the problem are polynomial time solvable when the number of subcarriers is one and strongly NP-hard when the number of subcarriers are greater than or equal to three. However, the complexity characterization of the problem when the number of subcarriers is two has been missing for a long time. This paper answers this long-standing open question: both formulations of the problem are strongly NP-hard when the number of subcarriers is two.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM IN SAM RATULANGI UNIVERSITY MANADO

Nowadays is the era of globalization and rapid development of science and technology are increasingly sophisticated. Internet is one of the results of sophistication and advancement of science and technology men-made. Social media is one of the functions of the internet. Many of problems caused social media in real life, especially real impact on the world of education. This research is designed to analyze the three proponents including social influence, time spending and social lifestyle on student academic performance of international business administration program in Manado. This research is a quantitative research that associative with multiple linear regression analysis technique. The population in this study is student of IBA, with sample of 100 respondents using simple random sampling. The result of this research shows that there is significant simultaneous and partial influence of social influence, time spending and social lifestyle on student academic performance of IBA Program in Sam Ratulangi University Manado. Therefore, to enhance the development of Student Academic Performance of IBA Program the students should create a balance between using the social media and academic activities. Keywords : time, social lifestyle, academic performance
Design of a broadband E-shaped microstrip antenna

A broadband E-shaped microstrip antenna is proposed in this paper. Its bandwidth is further increased by inserting a pair of tapered slits into an appropriate radiating edge of the rectangular patch antenna. The Antenna is designed and simulated by three-dimensional electromagnetic field software HFSS. Results show that the designed antenna has an impedance bandwidth over 21% (from 12.7GHz to15.7 GHz) for VSWR &#60; 2, which is four times greater than the conventional rectangular patch antenna. Satisfactory radiation patterns have also been obtained through simulation. The maximum gain in frequency band is 8.52dB. The resulting size of the microstrip antenna is 15 mm×15mm, realizing miniaturization, high power gain, and wide band features of the microstrip antennas.
Paragonimus westermani and some rare intestinal trematodes recovered from raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus) introduced recently on Yakushima Island, Japan.

Helminth parasites were collected from 9 raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus) and 2 Japanese weasels (Mustela itatsi sho) on Yakushima Island, Japan. The former carnivore was introduced to this World Natural Heritage Area presumably within the last two decades, expanding its population thence, although detailed process(es) of the introduction is unknown. The collected trematodes from raccoon dogs included the triploid form of Paragonimus westermani, Brachylaima tokudai, Maritrema eroliae, and Pseudocryptotropa sp. Simultaneously, Paragonimus ohirai was found in one weasel killed by a traffic accident. Although the triploid form of P. westermani and P. ohirai are known to be distributed in some river-mouth areas of Yakushima Island based on previous surveys on crab hosts, natural infection was detected for the first time in wild final hosts. Particularly, the raccoon dog infected with P. westermani was caught in a mountainous area, distant from human residence or river-mouth areas. Although it is possible that the infected raccoon dog moved from a river-mouth area endemic with P. westermani after infection, the alternative scenario remains to be pursued; the endemic area of this zoonosis is expanding along with the recent expansion of raccoon dogs or feral cats (Felis catus), that became prevalent recently on this island including the mountainous areas. Maritrema eroliae taking a variety of shorebirds as its natural final hosts, and a minute trematode, Pseudocryptotropa sp. , taking unknown natural final host(s) were recorded for the first time in raccoon dogs.
Designing a Novel SOA Architecture for Security and Surveillance WSNs with COTS

We consider the challenge of enhancing sensor networks for surveillance and global security with increased distributed data processing capabilities, including multi-sensor fusion, data aggregation or mining, and rule-based alert generation. We advocate a novel architecture that will enable the creation of more resilient and complex monitoring applications. We exemplify its benefits in a chemical accident scenario. The architecture introduces new processing nodes in the field and derives the requirements for the software they will run. We propose to consider the use of a service oriented architecture (SOA) to program and deploy the data processing applications. We analyze existing and on-going work within the Web Services community and conclude that it is possible to implement the architecture with an appropriate combination of COTS (commercial off-the-shelf software components). We conclude with our plans to move forward in this direction and validate the approach on a hardware and software testbed.