Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The reachability-bound problem

We define the reachability-bound problem to be the problem of finding a symbolic worst-case bound on the number of times a given control location inside a procedure is visited in terms of the inputs to that procedure. This has applications in bounding resources consumed by a program such as time, memory, network-traffic, power, as well as estimating quantitative properties (as opposed to boolean properties) of data in programs, such as information leakage or uncertainty propagation. Our approach to solving the reachability-bound problem brings together two different techniques for reasoning about loops in an effective manner. One of these techniques is an abstract-interpretation based iterative technique for computing precise disjunctive invariants (to summarize nested loops). The other technique is a non-iterative proof-rules based technique (for loop bound computation) that takes over the role of doing inductive reasoning, while deriving its power from the use of SMT solvers to reason about abstract loop-free fragments. Our solution to the reachability-bound problem allows us to compute precise symbolic complexity bounds for several loops in . Net base-class libraries for which earlier techniques fail. We also illustrate the precision of our algorithm for disjunctive invariant computation (which has a more general applicability beyond the reachability-bound problem) on a set of benchmark examples.
Shape Conformal and Thermal Insulative Organic Solar Absorber Sponge for Photothermal Water Evaporation and Thermoelectric Power Generation

Solar‐driven interfacial vaporization by localizing solar‐thermal energy conversion to the air–water interface has attracted tremendous attention due to its high conversion efficiency for water purification, desalination, energy generation, etc. However, ineffective integration of hybrid solar thermal devices and poor material compliance undermine extensive solar energy exploitation and practical outdoor use. Herein, a 3D organic bucky sponge that has a combination of desired chemical and physical properties, i.e., broadband light absorbing, heat insulative, and shape‐conforming abilities that render efficient photothermic vaporization and energy generation with improved operational durability is reported. The highly compressible and readily reconfigurable solar absorber sponge not only places less constraints on footprint and shape defined fabrication process but more importantly remarkably improves the solar‐to‐vapor conversion efficiency. Notably, synergetic coupling of solar‐steam and solar‐electricity technologies is realized without trade‐offs, highlighting the practical consideration toward more impactful solar heat exploitation. Such solar distillation and low‐grade heat‐to‐electricity generation functions can provide potential opportunities for fresh water and electricity supply in off‐grid or remote areas.
Utopian spaces and the promise of education: a conceptual analysis

Abstract This paper states that modern education and utopian discourse share one common trait, that of being structurally founded on the promise of human betterment. The changing relations between concepts of education and utopianism will be developed through conceptual analysis of the dynamics of the promise in their interweaving process. This shall be discussed through three main topics. The first is the appropriation of space in early modern education (sixteenth century onward), with particular emphasis on the influence of print technology on framing a new conception of educational spaces and practices. Second, the promise of the idea of progress in the Enlightenment period, which will become the further technological promise of a society-to-come, no longer spatially but temporally presented. Finally, the promise of autonomy through and against the modern subject, in which such autonomy is presented like the end of the journey through education, supposed that there is an end to such a journey. The key frame uniting the three topics is that utopian discourse journeying towards a normative conception of human society, as well as modern educational schemes journeying towards a normative conception of adulthood, are limited insofar as their respective promises, which are more impatient than the slow project of creation, more than often outruns it. The paper thus inquires whether or not there is a way to uphold the creative and imaginative possibilities of utopia in education, by acknowledging the pervasive effects of the promise on the social imaginary.
Neuronal correlates of a visual “sense of number” in primate parietal and prefrontal cortices

“Sense of number” refers to the classical idea that we perceive the number of items (numerosity) intuitively. However, whether the brain signals numerosity spontaneously, in the absence of learning, remains unknown; therefore, we recorded from neurons in the ventral intraparietal sulcus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of numerically naive monkeys. Neurons in both brain areas responded maximally to a given number of items, showing tuning to a preferred numerosity. Numerosity was encoded earlier in area ventral intraparietal area, suggesting that numerical information is conveyed from the parietal to the frontal lobe. Visual numerosity is thus spontaneously represented as a perceptual category in a dedicated parietofrontal network. This network may form the biological foundation of a spontaneous number sense, allowing primates to intuitively estimate the number of visual items.
Visual walkthrough as a tool for utility assessment in a usability test

This paper presents a compact procedure for classifying the importance of elements in a user interface based on the visual walkthrough method. This method was used during a usability evaluation of an information service for healthcare professionals. Paper printouts were given to users who were asked to highlight the parts of the system they consider most important for them. This method proved to be a quick and useful way to understand which parts of complex user interfaces are the most important for users. In addition, heat maps were constructed based on these answers and they proved to be an easy way to visualise the results both for the evaluators and the different stakeholders. These heat maps could be formed right after the last test session, on the spot of the actual test session.
Identification of Priority Conservation Areas and Potential Corridors for Jaguars in the Caatinga Biome, Brazil

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a top predator with the extant population found within the Brazilian Caatinga biome now known to be on the brink of extinction. Designing new conservation units and potential corridors are therefore crucial for the long-term survival of the species within the Caatinga biome. Thus, our aims were: 1) to recognize suitable areas for jaguar occurrence, 2) to delineate areas for jaguar conservation (PJCUs), 3) to design corridors among priority areas, and 4) to prioritize PJCUs. A total of 62 points records of jaguar occurrence and 10 potential predictors were analyzed in a GIS environment. A predictive distributional map was obtained using Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) as performed by the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) algorithm. Areas equal to or higher than the median suitability value of 0.595 were selected as of high suitability for jaguar occurrence and named as Priority Jaguar Conservation Units (PJCU). Ten PJCUs with sizes varying from 23.6 km2 to 4,311.0 km2 were identified. Afterwards, we combined the response curve, as generated by SDM, and expert opinions to create a permeability matrix and to identify least cost corridors and buffer zones between each PJCU pair. Connectivity corridors and buffer zone for jaguar movement included an area of 8.884,26 km2 and the total corridor length is about 160.94 km. Prioritizing criteria indicated the PJCU representing c.a. 68.61% of the total PJCU area (PJCU # 1) as of high priority for conservation and connectivity with others PJCUs (PJCUs # 4, 5 and 7) desirable for the long term survival of the species. In conclusion, by using the jaguar as a focal species and combining SDM and expert opinion we were able to create a valid framework for practical conservation actions at the Caatinga biome. The same approach could be used for the conservation of other carnivores.
Therapeutic Effect of Kinesio-taping on Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand in Patients with Subacromial Impingement Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of KT on the disability of arm, shoulder and hand in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was used and 30 patients with shoulder impingement syndrome participated in this study. Patients were assigned randomly to a control (N=15, mean age=46.53 ± 13.31) and a treatment group (N=15, mean age=46.6 ± 14.24). The protocol was standardized therapeutic KT in the treatment group and placebo taping in control group. Disability of arm, hand and shoulder (DASH) questionnaire and was collected before treatment and after 1 week in both groups. Results: There was no significant difference in pre-test scores between two groups (P=0.62). Statistical analysis revealed a significant decrease in DASH after 1 week KT in treatment group (P=0.001) and control group (P=0.02) compared with pre-treatment score. Mann-whitney test revealed that change in DASH after 1 week was significantly greater for treatment group than control group (P=0.01). Conclusions: The application of KT produces improvement in the disability of arm, shoulder and hand in patients
Analytical Evaluation of Unbiased Random Walks in Wireless Sensor Networks

Over the last decade, design of wireless sensor networks using methodologies and mechanisms from other dis ciplines has gained popularity for addressing many networking aspects and providing more flexible and robust algorithms. Among these mechanisms, random walk techniques have attracted co nsiderable interest in numerous research efforts. The popul arity of this approach is attributed to the natural properties of random walks such as locality, simplicity, low-overhead and inher ent robustness. However, throughout the variety of research wo rks that assess the effectiveness of random walk techniques, mo st results are derived from a qualitative view, heuristics or by means of simulations. Furthermore, when analytical tools are use d, the obtained results often provide bounds and approximations f or various performance metrics of interest, which may have lit tle consequences for practical applications. Instead, our goa l in this paper is to quantify the effectiveness of such techniques ba sed on the derivation of closed-form expressions. In particular, we focus on the data delivery delay taken for the random walk to deliver messages from sensor to sink nodes and study its stat istics through closed-form derivations.
Subjective Physical Age and its Role in Health Behavior Change Strategies for Physical Activity

With an increasing age levels of physical activity tend to decrease, though maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is a crucial factor in the prevention of severe chronic diseases. Due to this it is of great importance to understand age-related changes and maintenance of behaviors such as physical activity. Effects of chronological age on processes of health behavior change are well documented, but probably fail to demonstrate the impact of aging comprehensively. Therefore, other age-related factor should be investigated which might provide new insights in the adoption and maintenance of physical activity throughout the life-span. The primary goal of this dissertation was to introduce subjective physical age as a facet of subjective age and investigate its additional value in the prediction of physical activity while focusing on intentional processes. The second goal was to highlight self-regulatory processes which aid the transition of intentions into behavior, in the light of subjective physical age. Furthermore, differences in social-cognitive predictors and their interplay were investigated. Results from this dissertation suggest that subjective physical age contributes to in the explanation of physical activity, even when controlling for strong correlates of subjective age (health status & chronological age). Those who feel physically younger indicate higher levels of physical activity. Feeling physically younger is also related to better self-regulatory planning skills which help to translate intentions in actual behavior. Finally, results provide insights in differing cognitions regarding health behavior change predictors and mechanisms between those who feel physically younger, as old as they are, and older. These findings are of special interest, as subjective physical age can be intervened upon to change cognitions about own ageing and age-related, physical capabilities in health behavior change interventions. They also provide a new proxy to tailor content towards the characteristics of participants in tailored, web-based health behavior change interventions to further personalize content (e.g., in web-based interventions for rehabilitation patients).
R‐spondin 1 and noggin facilitate expansion of resident stem cells from non‐damaged gallbladders

Pioneering studies within the last few years have allowed the in vitro expansion of tissue‐specific adult stem cells from a variety of endoderm‐derived organs, including the stomach, small intestine, and colon. Expansion of these cells requires activation of the receptor Lgr5 by its ligand R‐spondin 1 and is likely facilitated by the fact that in healthy adults the stem cells in these organs are highly proliferative. In many other adult organs, such as the liver, proliferating cells are normally not abundant in adulthood. However, upon injury, the liver has a strong regenerative potential that is accompanied by the emergence of Lgr5‐positive stem cells; these cells can be isolated and expanded in vitro as organoids. In an effort to isolate stem cells from non‐regenerating mouse livers, we discovered that healthy gallbladders are a rich source of stem/progenitor cells that can be propagated in culture as organoids for more than a year. Growth of these organoids was stimulated by R‐spondin 1 and noggin, whereas in the absence of these growth factors, the organoids differentiated partially toward the hepatocyte fate. When transplanted under the liver capsule, gallbladder‐derived organoids maintained their architecture for 2 weeks. Furthermore, single cells prepared from dissociated organoids and injected into the mesenteric vein populated the liver parenchyma of carbon tetrachloride‐treated mice. Human gallbladders were also a source of organoid‐forming stem cells. Thus, under specific growth conditions, stem cells can be isolated from healthy gallbladders, expanded almost indefinitely in vitro, and induced to differentiate toward the hepatocyte lineage.
Machine Learning in Automatic Music Chords Generation

Melodies and chords compose a basic music piece. Assigning chords for a music melody is an important step in music composition. This project is to apply machine learning techniques to assign chords to follow several measures of melody and generate pleasant music pieces. In real music chord assignment process, to choose which chord to use for a measure, musicians normally consider the notes in this measure and how chords are progressed. So our aim is to learn the relationship between notes and chords, as well as the relationship between adjacent chords, and use that to assign chords for a new melody. The input to our algorithm is a music piece with several measures. We then try different models to output a predicted chord for each measure. We will use basic models taught in the class (Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine) as well as some advanced models (Random Forest, Boosting, Hidden Markov Model), and compare their performance for our problem.
Active ranking from pairwise comparisons and when parametric assumptions do not help

We consider sequential or active ranking of a set of n items based on noisy pairwise comparisons. Items are ranked according to the probability that a given item beats a randomly chosen item, and ranking refers to partitioning the items into sets of pre-specified sizes according to their scores. This notion of ranking includes as special cases the identification of the top-k items and the total ordering of the items. We first analyze a sequential ranking algorithm that counts the number of comparisons won, and uses these counts to decide whether to stop, or to compare another pair of items, chosen based on confidence intervals specified by the data collected up to that point. We prove that this algorithm succeeds in recovering the ranking using a number of comparisons that is optimal up to logarithmic factors. This guarantee does not require any structural properties of the underlying pairwise probability matrix, unlike a significant body of past work on pairwise ranking based on parametric models such as the Thurstone or Bradley-Terry-Luce models. It has been a long-standing open question as to whether or not imposing these parametric assumptions allows for improved ranking algorithms. For stochastic comparison models, in which the pairwise probabilities are bounded away from zero, our second contribution is to resolve this issue by proving a lower bound for parametric models. This shows, perhaps surprisingly, that these popular parametric modeling choices offer at most logarithmic gains for stochastic comparisons.
Comparison of learning in two context-based university chemistry classes

ABSTRACT Context-based learning (CBL) is advocated as beneficial to learners, but more needs to be understood about how different contexts used in courses influence student outcomes. Gilbert defined several models of context that appear to be used in chemistry. In one model that achieves many criteria of student meaning-making, the context is provided by ‘personal mental activity’, meaning that students engage in a role to solve a problem. The model’s predicted outcomes are that students develop and use the specialised language of chemistry, translate what they learn in the immediate context to other contexts, and empathise with the community of practice that is created. The first two of these outcomes were investigated in two large-enrolment university chemistry courses, both organised as this CBL model, in which students were introduced to kinetic molecular theory (KMT). Sample 1 students (N1 = 105) learned KMT through whole-class kinaesthetic activity as a human model of a gas while focusing on a problem identifying substances in balloons filled with different gases. Sample 2 students (N2 = 110) manipulated molecular dynamics simulations while focusing on the problem of reducing atmospheric CO2. Exam answers and pre-/post-test responses, involving a new KMT context, were analysed. Students in Sample 1 demonstrated a stronger understanding of particle trajectories, while Sample 2 students developed more sophisticated mechanistic reasoning and greater fluidity of translation between contexts through increased use of chemists’ specialised language. The relationships of these outcomes to the contexts were examined in consideration of the different curriculum emphases inherent in the contexts.
Peripheral vascular stiffness, assessed with two-dimensional speckle tracking versus the degree of coronary artery calcification, evaluated by tomographic coronary artery calcification index

Introduction Even in asymptomatic patients, the result of atherosclerosis progression is deterioration of the function and morphology of the artery wall. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking (2DST) is a sonographic technique that allows for precise evaluation of arterial wall compliance. Together with measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT), it can be applied for quick and non-invasive assessment of the progression of peripheral artery atherosclerosis. Material and methods Fifty-eight patients of mean age 61 years (SD 10.6) underwent cardiac computed tomography (CT) and subsequent ultrasonographic evaluation of the left common carotid artery. The calcium score was calculated according to the Agatston method and compared with IMT, circumferential strain variables assessed by 2DST, conventional arterial stiffness parameters (β-stiffness index and elastic modulus) and clinical data. Intra-observer and inter-observer agreement was evaluated. Results Strain variables and IMT differed significantly in patients with calcium score (CS) > 0 and CS = 0. Moreover, they correlated with CS, systolic blood pressure and age of patients. Conventional stiffness parameters were not able to identify the group of patients with calcifications present in the coronary arteries. For the 2DST technique, interclass and intraclass agreements were 84.83% and 94.42% respectively. Conclusions Circumferential strain variables assessed by 2DST and measurement of IMT can be used for evaluation of peripheral artery deterioration in patients until the 6th decade of life. These parameters reflect the development of calcifications in coronary arteries and, more importantly, can be used for a more detailed estimation of the atherosclerosis risk in patients with CS = 0.
Analysis of Trunk Movement for Pregnant Women with Lumbopelvic Pain Using Inertial Measurement Unit

Many women experience lumbopelvic pain (LPP) during pregnancy. It is thought that motion patterns, especially when accompanied by flexure and rotation of the trunk, are associated with LPP. This study investigates methods to evaluate the characteristics of the motion patterns that affect LPP during pregnancy. An experiment was conducted to obtain the motion characteristics of standing up and sitting down of pregnant women by using an inertial measurement unit (IMU). Then motion evaluation indexes were proposed from measured data of lumbar angular velocity obtained from the IMU. Next, the proposed indexes, maximum peak value, minimum peak value, peak-to-peak (PP: range between maximum and minimum peaks) value, time of PP, PP divided by time of PP, root mean square of each parameter, and each index divided by body mass index (BMI), were calculated during standing up and sitting down for the roll, pitch, and yaw angles. Finally, we considered the presence of any relation between LPP and the motion characteristics by comparing the proposed indexes of an LPP group with those of a non-LPP group. Thus, it appears that maximum peak, PP/time of PP, maximum peak/BMI, PP/BMI, and (PP/Time of PP)/BMI of the pitch angle have some relevance to LPP.
Prescription Extraction from Clinical Notes: Towards Automating EMR Medication Reconciliation

Medication in for ma lion is one of [he most important clinical data types in electronic medical records (EMR) This study developed an NLP application (PredMED) to extract full prescriptions and their relevant components from a large corpus of unstructured ambulatory office visit clinical notes and the corresponding structured medication reconciliation (MED REC) data in the EMR. PredMED achieved an 84.4% F-score on office visit encounter notes and 95.0% on MED„REC data, outperforming two available medication extraction systems. To assess the potential for using automatically extracted prescriptions in the medication reconciliation task, we manually analyzed discrepancies between prescriptions found in clinical encounter notes and in matching MED_REC data for sample patient encounters.