Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A small-world network model for distributed storage of semantic metadata

The growing uptake of semantic web and grid ideas is raising the importance of optimising distribution algorithms for semantic metadata. While it is not yet clear how real-world metadata distribution patterns ought to evolve, practical experience of social and technical networks suggests that a small-world pattern is desirable and practical. We explore simulated small-world networks of semantic metadata and some graph parameters and metrics. We discuss the implications of inter- and intra-domain path lengths for semantic queries on web and grid structures.
Ask and you might receive: The actor–partner interdependence model approach to estimating cultural and gender variations in social support

As an essential part of close relationships, social support is a dynamic interactive process. This paper aims to simultaneously investigate social support-seeking and provision behaviours using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Ninety-two friendship dyads participated in this study. Supportive versus negative friendship qualities were used to predict different support-seeking and support-provision behaviours during an experimental task. Cultural and gender variations were also examined. Results showed that self-reported friendship qualities influence support-seeking and provision behaviours intrapersonally and interpersonally. Female participants were more likely to provide emotion-focused support than were male participants. After accounting for friendship qualities in the dyads, there was no evidence of cultural group differences on support-seeking or provision behaviours among same-sex friends. These results demonstrate the conceptual and empirical advantages of using APIM to unpack cultural and gender variations in social support processes.
Dual Polarised Directional Communication Based Medium Access Control Protocol for Performance Enhancement of MANETs

Due to increasing popularity of Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs), research in this area has constantly strived to improve performance of these networks. In this paper Dual Polarized Directional Antenna based Medium Access Control (DPDA-MAC) protocol is presented to enhance the throughput of MANETs. Nodes operating in accordance with DPDA-MAC are capable of simultaneously using orthogonal (vertical and horizontal) polarisations of directional antenna for communication. DPDA-MAC is designed to support directional medium access over orthogonal polarisations (vertical and horizontal). Through extensive simulations it is proved that DPDA-MAC mitigates interference, exposed node problem and deafness, thus enhancing throughput of MANETs.
On Delay-Dependent Robust Stability of Neutral Systems with Time-Varying Delays and Fractional Norm-bounded Uncertainties

This paper is concerned with the robust stability problem of the neutral system with time-varying discrete delay and fractional norm-bounded uncertainties. Several asymptotic stability criteria are presented by employing the Lyapunov-Krasovskii method and utilizing some bounding inequalities to deal with the cross products between two vectors. The conditions are represented in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and the feasibility of the proposed method.
Marked reduction in myocardial infarct size due to prolonged infusion of an antioxidant during reperfusion.

BACKGROUND There has been controversy about whether early reperfusion of myocardial infarcts causes further necrosis mediated by reactive oxygen species or other mechanisms. Unequivocal evidence that therapeutic agents given only during reperfusion can prevent, rather than delay or modify, injury has been sparse. Failure to account for variables, such as collateral blood flow, that influence infarct size independently and attempts to measure infarct size too early in reperfusion may have limited the sensitivity and specificity of some previous studies. METHODS AND RESULTS After 90 minutes of coronary occlusion and 48 hours of reperfusion in a canine model, we examined the effect on infarct size of intravenous infusion of N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)-glycine (MPG), a diffusible antioxidant. Infarct size and region at risk were measured by post-mortem dual perfusion with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and Evans blue dyes, and regional myocardial blood flow was measured with radioactive microspheres. Infusion of MPG 100 mg.kg-1.h-1, beginning either 15 minutes before the onset of reperfusion or 30 minutes after the onset of reperfusion and continued until 4 hours of reperfusion and followed by an intramuscular dose, reduced infarct size, normalized for both region at risk and the level of collateral blood flow, by 60% and 45%, respectively. When infusion of MPG was limited to the last 15 minutes of ischemia and the first hour of reperfusion only, the normalized infarct size was reduced by 26%. Heart rate, blood pressure, and their product did not differ among the four groups studied. The plasma half-time of MPG was < 10 minutes. In in vitro experiments MPG was a scavenger of hydrogen peroxide but not of superoxide radical. CONCLUSIONS After 90 minutes of coronary ligation, infusion of the diffusible hydrogen peroxide scavenger, MPG, for several hours, beginning as late as 30 minutes after the onset of reperfusion, substantially reduced infarct size measured 48 hours later. In this model, necrosis caused by processes during reperfusion may be more extensive than necrosis caused by ischemia alone. Since infusion of this agent for only the first hour of reperfusion was considerably less effective, it appears that most of the oxidant injury leading to necrosis occurred after the first 60 minutes but within the first 4 hours of reperfusion.
Local Authentication with Bluetooth enabled Mobile Devices

As the processing power of mobile devices such as PDAs and smartphones increase they constitute the target platforms for new value-added services and applications and excellent candidates for personal trusted devices (PTDs). Furthermore, handheld devices are increasingly networked and thus provide a natural and ubiquitous token for authentication purposes. This paper presents a framework and prototype system for exploiting these facts. A Bluetooth-enabled smartphone is used to protect a laptop from unauthorised access with an approach that improves convenience and usability from the user's perspective. The main building blocks are a Diffie-Hellmann based two-party key agreement protocol with authentication mechanisms based on Java midlets and low-entropy human memorable passwords. The results are readily extended to other environments such as payment transactions, remote control of appliances and services, transactions on unattended dispensers of goods such as parking meters, petrol stations, etc
Poor Prognosis of HIV-Associated Tuberculous Meningitis Regardless of the Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐ associated tuberculosis (TB) carries a high mortality risk and accounts for approximately 25% of global HIV/AIDS deaths each year [1]. Case management requires a combination of appropriate antituberculosis treatment, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and trimethoprimsulphamethoxazole prophylaxis against other opportunistic infections [2]. ART reduces mortality by 64%‐95% in patients with drug-susceptible TB [3], and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole prophylaxis halves mortality risk [4]. For patients with HIV-associated TB involving the central nervous system (CNS) or pericardium, adjunctive treatment with corticosteroids is also recommended [5]. Despite the clear benefits of ART, the optimal time to initiate ART during TB treatment has remained unclear, since this is associated with a complex series of competing risks that may vary between different settings and patient populations [6, 7]. However, the cumulative findings from observational studies and more recent randomized controlled trials indicate that delays in ART initiation are associated with increased mortality among patients with TB across a wide
Performance comparison of two virtual machine scenarios using an HPC application: a case study using molecular dynamics simulations

Obtaining high flexibility to performance-loss ratio is a key challenge of today's HPC virtual environment landscape. And while extensive research has been targeted at extracting more performance from virtual machines, the idea that whether novel virtual machine usage scenarios could lead to high flexibility Vs performance trade-off has received less attention. We, in this paper, take a step forward by studying and comparing the performance implications of running the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) application on two virtual machine configurations. First configuration consists of two virtual machines per node with 1 application process per virtual machine. The second configuration consists of 1 virtual machine per node with 2 processes per virtual machine. Xen has been used as an hypervisor and standard Linux as a guest virtual machine. Our results show that the difference in overall performance impact on LAMMPS between the two virtual machine configurations described above is around 3%. We also study the difference in performance impact in terms of each configuration's individual metrics such as CPU, I/O, Memory, and interrupt/context switches.
A Direct Test Of The 'Grey World Hypothesis'; A Comparison Of Different Matching Methods

Many of the proposed ways in which the visual system could disentangle influences of illumination from influences of reflection on the colour of the light that reaches our eyes, are implicitly or explicitly based on the assumption that the average reflectance of our environment is grey; the ‘Grey World Hypothesis’. Here we investigate whether subjects make large errors when this assumption is not true. Subjects performed matching tasks in which they matched the colour and luminance of a test plate, either by setting the colour o f an adjustable patch on a monitor or by selecting a sample from a large set of printed colour samples ‘(Pantone Colour Specifier)’. Matches were made with the test plates embedded in scenes either containing only red or only green objects. Matches hardly differed between the red and green scenes. Thus, the average colour of the scene cannot be the primary scene statistic underlying colour constancy. We found that the matches were most consistent both across and within subjects when using the Pantone Specifier.
A dynamic safety interval protocol for VANETs

In IEEE 802.11p/1609-based vehicular networks, the channel access time of a synchronization interval is divided into two fixed-length intervals, i.e. control channel (CCH) and service channel (SCH) intervals. Since the fixed-length intervals cannot be effective for dynamically changing traffic load, some protocols have been recently proposed to support variable-length CCH intervals in order to improve channel utilization. In existing protocols, the CCH interval is subdivided into safety and non-safety intervals, and each interval is dynamically determined based on traffic load. However, they do not consider the presence of hidden nodes. Hence, each interval has no additional room for transmissions from hidden nodes. Consequently, messages transmitted in each interval are likely to overlap with simultaneous transmissions (i.e. interference) from hidden nodes. Particularly, life-critical safety messages can be unreliably delivered due to such interference, which deteriorates QoS of safety applications such as cooperative collision warning. In this paper, we therefore propose a new dynamic safety interval (DSI) protocol. DSI calculates the number of vehicles sharing the channel with the consideration of hidden nodes. The safety interval is derived based on the measured number of vehicles. From simulation study using the ns-2, we verified that DSI achieves better delivery ratio of periodic messages such as beacon.
On the need for on-line learning in brain-computer interfaces

We motivate the need for on-line learning in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and illustrate its benefits with the simplest method, namely fixed learning rates. However, the use of this method is supported by the risk of hampering the user to acquire suitable control of the BCI if the embedded classifier changes too rapidly. We report the results with 3 beginner subjects in a series of consecutive recordings, where the classifiers are iteratively trained with the data of a given session and tested on the next session. Interestingly, performance improved over sessions significantly for 2 of the subjects. These results show that on-line learning improves systematically the performance of the subjects. Moreover, performance with online learning is statistically similar to that obtained training the classifier off-line with the same amount of data.
MODELING INFORMATION SPREADING ON COMPLEX NETWORKS

A b s t r a c t: In this article we propose a model for the spread of two types of information in networks. The model is a natural generalization of the epidemic susceptible-infective-susceptible (SIS) model. The two information types have different attractiveness, which affects the nodes' decision on which information type to adopt when both arrive at a node in the same time step. At difference with results from other authors, the model shows simultaneous existence of the two information types in the stable state. We give approximations for the average number of nodes informed with each information type at the end of the spreading process when nodes have high degree.
The History of the Mysterious Eclipses of KH 15D: Asiago Observatory, 1967-1982

We are gathering archival observations to determine the photometric history of the unique and unexplained eclipses of the pre–main-sequence star KH 15D. Here we present a light curve from 1967 to 1982, based on photographic plates from Asiago Observatory. During this time, the system alternated periodically between bright and faint states, as observed today. However, the bright state was 0.9 mag brighter than the modern value, and the fractional variation between bright and faint states (ΔI = 0.7 mag) was smaller than observed today (3.5 mag). A possible explanation for these findings is that the system contains a second star that was previously blended with the eclipsing star but is now completely obscured.
Algebraic description of a two-dimensional system of charged particles in an external magnetic field and periodic potential

Properties of the magnetic translation operators for a charged particle moving in a crystalline potential and a uniform magnetic field show that it is necessary to consider all inequivalent irreducible projective representations of the crystal lattice translation group. These considerations lead to the concept of magnetic cells and indicate the periodicity of physical properties with respect to the charge. It is also proven that a direct product of such representations describes a system of two (many, in general) particles. Therefore, they can be applied in a description of interacting electrons in a magnetic field, for example in the fractional quantum Hall effect.
Risk Parity Portfolios : Efficient Portfolios Through True Diversification

Risk Parity Portfolios are a family of efficient beta portfolios that allocate market risk equally across asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and commodities. The investment approach for Risk Parity Portfolios is different than traditional asset allocation; it delivers true diversification that limits the impact of losses of individual components to the overall portfolios. Using this approach, Risk Parity Portfolios are expected to generate superior return for a given level of targeted risk. In addition, Risk Parity Portfolios can be combined with alpha sources such as tactical asset allocation and security selection to achieve even higher total return objectives.
Chaotic Dynamical Systems

A Chaotic Dynamical System is a non-linear system which exhibits three most important properties: the orbits are aperiodic, they are bounded, and exhibit sensitive dependence on initial conditions. The Lorenz system is an example of such a system. In this essay, general properties of chaotic dynamical systems are addressed and the Lorenz system is used as an example in each case. Numerical solutions are generated to explain some of the properties. Some properties in other non-linear systems are also referred to in order to aid proper understanding of the Lorenz system. Using the Gram-Schmidt method of re-orthogonalization, the Lyapunov exponents of the Lorenz system are calculated for σ = 10, b = 8/3 and, varying r in the range 0.1 ≤ r ≤ 500, and plots are generated to show their relationships. Different types of bifurcations exist in the Lorenz system. The Pitchfork and the Hopf bifurcations are discussed. The various types of attractors that exist in a system are discussed and the Fractal dimensions of the Lorenz system are calculated to justify the name ’strange attractor’ in the system. As a method of controlling chaos to achieve desirable results, Feedback and Non-Feedback methods of chaos control are discussed and the Entrainment and Migration method of controlling chaos is addressed and applied to the Lorenz system.
Compiler testing via a theory of sound optimisations in the C11/C++11 memory model

Compilers sometimes generate correct sequential code but break the concurrency memory model of the programming language: these subtle compiler bugs are observable only when the miscompiled functions interact with concurrent contexts, making them particularly hard to detect. In this work we design a strategy to reduce the hard problem of hunting concurrency compiler bugs to differential testing of sequential code and build a tool that puts this strategy to work. Our first contribution is a theory of sound optimisations in the C11/C++11 memory model, covering most of the optimisations we have observed in real compilers and validating the claim that common compiler optimisations are sound in the C11/C++11 memory model. Our second contribution is to show how, building on this theory, concurrency compiler bugs can be identified by comparing the memory trace of compiled code against a reference memory trace for the source code. Our tool identified several mistaken write introductions and other unexpected behaviours in the latest release of the gcc compiler.
American Journal of Epidemiology Original Contribution Socioeconomic Position and the Tracking of Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness from Childhood to Adulthood

This study examined the influence of childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and social mobility on activity and fitness tracking from childhood into adulthood. In a prospective cohort of 2,185 Australian adults (aged 26–36 years), first examined in 1985 (at ages 7–15 years), self-reported physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness (subsample only) were measured. SEP measures included retrospectively reported parental education (baseline) and own education (follow-up). There was little evidence of a relation between childhood SEP and activity tracking, but high childhood SEP (maternal education) was associated with a 59% increased likelihood of persistent fitness, and medium childhood SEP (paternal and parental education) was associated with a 33%–36% decreased likelihood of persistent fitness. Upward social mobility was associated with a greater likelihood of increasing activity (38%–49%) and fitness (90%), and persistently high SEP was associated with a greater likelihood of increasing activity (males: 58%) and fitness (males and females combined: 89%). In conclusion, persistently high SEP and upward social mobility were associated with increases in activity and fitness from childhood to adulthood. Findings highlight socioeconomic differentials in activity and fitness patterns and suggest that improvements in education may represent a pathway through which physical activity levels can be increased and health benefits achieved. Despite well-documented benefits of physical activity (1), many people fail to meet physical activity recommendations (2, 3). Understanding influences on physical activity is therefore an important public health priority. Childhood physical activity has been examined as a predictor of activity in adulthood. These investigations are referred to as ''tracking'' studies, and they examine the maintenance of relative rank or position within a group over time. While physical activity tends to be relatively stable in the short term (4), tracking weakens with increasing length of follow-up (5). Tracking of physical activity from childhood to adulthood is generally weak (r ¼ 0.05–0.54), whereas car-diorespiratory fitness tracking is stronger (r ¼ 0.30À0.46) (6). Difficulties in measuring physical activity, particularly in childhood (7), may partly explain the weak associations observed (8). Participation in physical activity is unevenly distributed across population groups. Adults of lower socioeconomic position (SEP) are commonly found to be less active in their leisure time than adults of higher SEP (9). Although some socioeconomic disparities in children's physical activity behavior have been documented (10–12), evidence is equivocal (13), and the few studies using objective measures of physical activity or longitudinal study designs have failed to find an association (14, 15), suggesting …
Pittsburgh Brain Activity Interpretation Competition 2006 a Whole-brain Correlation-based Approach to Decoding High-level Features in Fmri Data

To discover and decode multiple high-level features of fMRI activity of subjects watching feature-salient television clips, we employed a whole-brain correlation-based method for determining feature-related regions of interest, combined with independent component analysis. To train on and predict this data, we used three main algorithms: (a) standard linear regression, (b) sparse logistic regression (a novel Bayesian method by our group), and (c) a hybrid linear classifier-regression algorithm (a novel tree-based method by our group). Using a leave-one-run-out cross-validation test, we achieved an average correlation score (of the first 14 features) of 0.392 when training on movie 1 and testing on movie 2, and a score of 0.308 when training on movie 2 and testing on 1. This demonstrates that an anatomically-blind, correlation-based method of ROI selection combined with ICA and simple linear prediction methods can provide surprisingly powerful tools for identifying feature-related ROI's and predicting high-level features in complex fMRI activity.
A method for the selection of software development life cycle models using analytic hierarchy process

The success rate of software system depends upon the type of software development life cycle (SDLC) models that we employ at the time of software development process. In literature, we have identified different types of SDLC models like, agile methods, rapid application development method, and traditional methods; and choosing one of them is not an easy task according to need/criteria of the software projects. Therefore, in order to address this issue, we present a method for the selection of SDLC models using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Finally, the utilization of the proposed approach is demonstrated with the help of an example.
Glass Ceilings or Sticky Floors

According to surprising raw data from the British Household Panel Survey, full-time women are more likely than men to be promoted. Controlling for observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity, we find that women are promoted at roughly the same rate as men, but receive smaller wage increases consequent upon promotion. These facts contradict the conventional view that "glass ceilings" limit the promotion of women. They are consistent with our new "sticky floors" model of discrimination where women are just as likely as men to be promoted, but find themselves stuck at the bottom of the wage scale for the new grade.