Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment Issues in Mathematics: Design Science Approach for developing an Expert-System Based Solution

Information and communication technology (ICT) tools are ineffective when assessing solutions of questions with more than one step. ICT tools assessing these types of questions are paralleled to solving complex problems. This conceptual paper describes the method that will be adopted to create rule based expert system (ES) prototype implementing method marking concept (MMC) in assessing multi-step questions (MSQ) solutions. Pragmatist views and mixed methods will be used to conduct document analysis using undergraduate students' solutions to past examination papers and related findings from previous research. Design science research paradigm and ES development phases will be used to design, construct and evaluate an artifact based on ES. The expected functioning ES artifact will enhance the authenticity of assessment, because evaluation of solution strategies in MSQ solution reveals how much the comprehension of the domain under evaluation is shown. The artifact and the conceptual framework can be applied to a similar domain with modifications or as it is.
The document as an ergodic markov chain

In recent years, statistical language models are being proposed as alternative to the vector space model. Viewing documents as language samples introduces the issue of defining a joint probability distribution over the terms.The present paper models a document as the result of a Markov process. It argues that this process is ergodic, which is theoretically plausible, and easy to verify in practice.The theoretical result is that the joint distribution can be easily obtained. This can also be applied for search resolutions other than the document level. We verified this in an experiment on query expansion demonstrating both the validity and the practicability of the method. This holds a promise for general language models.
EdgeCloudSim: An environment for performance evaluation of Edge Computing systems

Edge Computing is a fast growing field of research covering a spectrum of technologies such as Cloudlets, Fog Computing and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC). Edge Computing involves technically more sophisticated setup when compared with the pure Cloud Computing and pure Mobile Computing cases since both computational and network resources should be considered simultaneously. In that respect, it provides a larger design space with many parameters rendering a variety of novel approaches feasible. Given the complexity, Edge Computing designs deserve scientific scrutiny for sound assessment of their feasibility. However, despite increasing research activity, this field lacks a simulation tool compatible with the requirements. Starting from available simulators a significant programming effort is required to obtain a simulation tool meeting the actual needs. To decrease the barriers, a new simulator tool called EdgeCloudSim streamlined for Edge Computing scenarios is proposed in this work. EdgeCloudSim builds upon CloudSim to address the specific demands of Edge Computing research and support necessary functionality in terms of computation and networking abilities. To demonstrate the capabilities of EdgeCloudSim an experiment setup based on different edge architectures is simulated and the effect of the computational and networking system parameters on the results are depicted.
Gray watermarks to prove the rightful ownership for digital coloured images

Solving the problem of rightful ownership for digital images is the main application of watermarking technology. In this work, the proposed algorithm solves the problem of proving rightful ownership for digital coloured images. This algorithm succeeded in using gray watermarks which represent valuable information. The Human Visual System sensitivity has been taken into consideration. The algorithm satisfies all the necessary conditions for successful watermarking algorithms. Broadband of test images, watermarks and attacks are used to judge fairly the algorithm. Subjective and objective tests are used to validate the success of proving rightful ownership for digital coloured images.
Filter design with secrecy constraints: Zero-forcing constraint at the legitimate receiver

This paper considers the problem of filter design with secrecy constraints, where two legitimate parties (Alice and Bob) communicate in the presence of an eavesdropper (Eve), over a Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wiretap channel. In particular, this problem involves the design of the transmit and the receive filters, subject to a power constraint, which minimize the mean-squared error (MSE) between the legitimate parties whilst assuring that the eavesdropper MSE remains above a certain level. We consider a general Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Gaussian wiretap scenario, where a Zero-Forcing (ZF) filter is used at the legitimate receiver, whilst the eavesdropper uses an optimal linear receive filter, and characterize the receive and transmit filters in various power regimes. Finally, we present a set of numerical results that support some of the main conclusions.
Plasmid pR386 renders Escherichia coli cells restrictive to the growth of bacteriophage T4 unf mutants

The introduction of the F1 incompatibility group plasmid pR386 Tc into several common laboratory strains of Escherichia coli rendered them restrictive to the growth of bacteriophage T4 unf mutants, which are defective in unfolding the host genome. The growth inhibition was temperature dependent. The single mutant unf39 x 5 exhibited an efficiency of plating of less than 10(-8) at 27 degrees C. However, at 37 degrees C, complete growth inhibition occurred only when host DNA degradation was also absent.
Bayesian inference on the patient population size given list mismatches

In applying capture–recapture methods for closed populations to epidemiology, one needs to estimate the total number of people with a certain disease in a certain research area by using several lists with information of patients. Problems of lists error often arise due to mistyping or misinformation. Adopting the concept of tag‐loss methodology in animal populations, Seber et al. (Biometrics 2000; 56:1227–1232) proposed solutions to a two‐list problem. This article reports an interesting simulation study, where Bayesian point estimates based on improper constant and Jeffreys prior for unknown population size N could have smaller frequentist standard errors and MSEs compared to the estimates proposed in Seber et al. (2000). The Bayesian credible intervals based on the same priors also have super frequentist coverage probabilities while some of the frequentist confidence intervals procedures have drastically poor coverage. Seber's real data set on gestational diabetics is analysed with the proposed new methods. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Weapons carrying in British teenagers: The role of personality, delinquency, sensational interests, and mating effort

Abstract It has been suggested that weapon carrying by adolescents reflects status display, intra-sexual competition, and mating effort. We investigated links between weapon carrying, delinquency, personality, sensational interests, and mating effort in 121 adolescents (M:F = 62:59; mean age = 15.7 years, SD = 2.12). Logistic regression found four predictors of weapon carrying; aggressive identity (OR = .30, 95% CI=.16 – 0.57, p < .001); delinquency (OR = 1.11, 95% CI=1.04 – 1.19, p < .05); low conscientiousness (OR = .80, 95% CI = .68 – .95); and greater military interests (OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.03 – 1.45). Effects of gender, age, hostility, and mating effort on weapon carrying were subsumed by delinquency. These results suggest adolescent weapon carriers tend to be more irresponsible, delinquent, and have a greater interest in aggressive display. However, attitudes to weapon carrying did not explicitly reflect status display, which was primarily attributed to weapon carriers by non-weapon carriers.
Being in the Game: Effects of Avatar Choice and Point of View on Psychophysiological Responses During Play

The innovative features of multi-player computer games offer compelling opportunities for self-representation during interactions, and the ways in which these avatars are chosen and manipulated may change interactive experiences. This study investigated the effects of avatar choice (choice vs. no choice) and visual point of view (POV; first-person vs. third-person) on the physiological arousal and subjective evaluations of game experiences. A 2 (Avatar Choice, No Avatar Choice) × 2 (first-person POV, third-person POV) × 2 (female players, male players) mixed-design experiment was conducted (N = 22). The results demonstrated that being able to pick the character that will represent the player in the game leads to greater arousal, especially for males. Visual POVs alone did not affect the game player's arousal, but moderated the effect of avatar choice on the game player's heart rates. Avatar choice produced a more pronounced effect in the third-person POV (where the “camera” was located behind the avatar) in which avatar choice was visually more reinforced than in the first-person POV (where the “camera” was the eyes of the avatar). The results also revealed that the gender of the game player was a significant factor in game play experience. The results suggest theoretical implications of video game self-representation and effects on game player's psychophysiological responses.
Error-Resilient Video Redundancy Coding with Scene Adaptation in H.263+

Abstract: The quality of video streams transmitted via today’s Internet suffers severely from significant packet losses. To reduce the quality degradation, we need the error-resilient coding method. Video Redundancy Coding is an efficient error resilience mechanisms built in the H.263+. In this paper, we propose an Adaptive Video Redundancy Coding using network status and scene characteristics. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method does not only utilize network resources efficiently, but also reduces the fluctuation of the video quality.
A Global Assessment of the Chemical Recalcitrance of Seagrass Tissues: Implications for Long-Term Carbon Sequestration

Seagrass ecosystems have recently been identified for their role in climate change mitigation due to their globally-significant carbon sinks; yet, the capacity of seagrasses to sequester carbon has been shown to vary greatly among seagrass ecosystems. The recalcitrant nature of seagrass tissues, or the resistance to degradation back into carbon dioxide, is one aspect thought to influence sediment carbon stocks. In this study, a global survey investigated how the macromolecular chemistry of seagrass leaves, sheaths/stems, rhizomes and roots varied across 23 species from 16 countries. The goal was to understand how this seagrass chemistry might influence the capacity of seagrasses to contribute to sediment carbon stocks. Three non-destructive analytical chemical analyses were used to investigate seagrass chemistry: thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and solid state 13C-NMR and infrared spectroscopy. A strong latitudinal influence on carbon quality was found, whereby temperate seagrasses contained 5% relatively more labile carbon, and tropical seagrasses contained 3% relatively more refractory carbon. Sheath/stem tissues significantly varied across taxa, with larger morphologies typically containing more refractory carbon than smaller morphologies. Rhizomes were characterized by a higher proportion of labile carbon (16% of total organic matter compared to 8–10% in other tissues); however, high rhizome biomass production and slower remineralization in anoxic sediments will likely enhance these below-ground tissues' contributions to long-term carbon stocks. Our study provides a standardized and global dataset on seagrass carbon quality across tissue types, taxa and geography that can be incorporated in carbon sequestration and storage models as well as ecosystem valuation and management strategies.
A starvation-induced noncoding RNA modulates expression of Dicer-regulated genes

Although much has been learned about short noncoding RNAs, long noncoding transcripts are largely uncharacterized. Here, we describe Caenorhabditis elegans rncs-1, a highly base-paired, 800-nucleotide noncoding RNA expressed in hypodermis and intestine. Transcription of rncs-1 is modulated in response to food supply. Although highly double-stranded, we show that rncs-1 RNA is not a substrate for Dicer because of branched structures at its termini. However, rncs-1 RNA inhibits Dicer cleavage of a second dsRNA in vitro, presumably by competition. We validate this observation in vivo by demonstrating that mRNA levels of several Dicer-regulated genes vary with changes in rncs-1 expression. Certain viruses express dsRNA to compete with cellular dsRNA-mediated pathways, and our data suggest that rncs-1 provides a cellular correlate of this phenomenon.
A Bullying Intervention System: Reducing Risk and Creating Support for Aggressive Students

ABSTRACT Involvement in bullying is a contributor to student failure. The author describes a bullying intervention system that has been developed and implemented in a high school that aimed to interrupt bullying, conflict, and aggression before it escalates. A high school tried to reduce student involvement with the school's disciplinary system and advocated nonpunitive educative interventions to support student behavioral change. This attempt reflected a systemic, schoolwide response to bullying and the behaviors that can lead to bullying.
Phase II study of vicriviroc versus efavirenz (both with zidovudine/lamivudine) in treatment-naive subjects with HIV-1 infection.

BACKGROUND Vicriviroc (VCV) is a CCR5 antagonist with nanomolar activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication in vitro and in vivo. We report the results of a phase II dose-finding study of VCV plus dual nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) in the treatment-naive HIV-1-infected subjects. METHODS This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that began with a 14-day comparison of 3 dosages of VCV with placebo in treatment-naive subjects infected with CCR5-using HIV-1. After 14 days of monotherapy, lamivudine/zidovudine was added to the VCV arms; subjects receiving placebo were treated with efavirenz and lamivudine/zidovudine; the planned treatment duration was 48 weeks. RESULTS Ninety-two subjects enrolled. After 14 days of once-daily monotherapy, the mean viral loads decreased from baseline values by 0.07 log(10) copies/mL in the placebo arm, 0.93 log(10) copies/mL in the VCV 25 mg arm, 1.18 log(10) copies/mL in the VCV 50 mg arm, and 1.34 log(10) copies/mL in the VCV 75 mg arm (P < .001 for each VCV arm vs. the placebo arm). The combination-therapy portion of the study was stopped because of increased rates of virologic failure in the VCV 25 mg/day arm (relative hazard [RH], 21.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8-168.9) and the VCV 50 mg/day arm (RH, 11.7; 95% CI, 1.5-92.9), compared with that in the control arm. CONCLUSIONS VCV administered with dual NRTIs in treatment-naive subjects with HIV-1 infection had increased rates of virologic failure, compared with efavirenz plus dual NRTIs. No treatment-limiting toxicity was observed. Study of higher doses of VCV as part of combination therapy is warranted.
Peer Effects : Do First-Year Classmates , Roommates , and Dormmates Affect Students ’ Academic Success

We use data on ten years of entering students at Reed College to test for peer effects among three groups of peers: roommates, residents in the same dorm grouping, and classmates in a required freshman class. In each case, peer groupings are apparently random, allowing us to avoid statistical problems that often make testing for peer effects impossible. We find strong effects of the academic quality of roommates and dormmates on student achievement. We do not find evidence of classmate peer effects. *The authors are, respectively, a senior economics/mathematics student, George Hay Professor of Economics, and Director of Institutional Research at Reed College. This research was supported by a Bernard Goldhammer Summer Collaborative Research Grant. We would like to thank John Colgrove, Sharon Goodman-Lasher, Paul Marthers, and Ellen Yerkes for assistance with data acquisition, Albyn Jones and Marc Schneiberg for helpful methodological comments, and the summer inhabitants of the Public Policy Workshop, including Greg Agamalian, Michael Anderson, Dan Englander, Yves Savoir, Josh Simon, and Dawn Teele, for their contributions as this research was progressing. Remaining shortcomings are our own.
Rhinovirus-Induced Barrier Dysfunction in Polarized Airway Epithelial Cells Is Mediated by NADPH Oxidase 1

ABSTRACT Previously, we showed that rhinovirus (RV), which is responsible for the majority of common colds, disrupts airway epithelial barrier function, as evidenced by reduced transepithelial resistance (RT), dissociation of zona occludins 1 (ZO-1) from the tight junction complex, and bacterial transmigration across polarized cells. We also showed that RV replication is required for barrier function disruption. However, the underlying biochemical mechanisms are not known. In the present study, we found that a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) mimetic, poly(I:C), induced tight junction breakdown and facilitated bacterial transmigration across polarized airway epithelial cells, similar to the case with RV. We also found that RV and poly(I:C) each stimulated Rac1 activation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and Rac1-dependent NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1) activity. Inhibitors of Rac1 (NSC23766), NOX (diphenylene iodonium), and NOX1 (small interfering RNA [siRNA]) each blocked the disruptive effects of RV and poly(I:C) on RT, as well as the dissociation of ZO-1 and occludin from the tight junction complex. Finally, we found that Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is not required for either poly(I:C)- or RV-induced reductions in RT. Based on these results, we concluded that Rac1-dependent NOX1 activity is required for RV- or poly(I:C)-induced ROS generation, which in turn disrupts the barrier function of polarized airway epithelia. Furthermore, these data suggest that dsRNA generated during RV replication is sufficient to disrupt barrier function.
Event valence and spatial metaphors of time

Recent research suggests that people's understanding of the abstract domain of time is dependent on the more concrete domain of space. Boroditsky and Ramscar (2002) found that spatial context influences whether people see themselves as moving through time (ego-moving perspective) or as time moving towards them (time-moving perspective). Based on studies of the embodiment of affective experience, we examined whether affect might also influence which spatial metaphor of time people adopt. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that participants who imagined a negative event were more likely to report that the event was approaching them, whereas those who imagined a positive event were more likely to report that they were approaching the event. Experiments 3a and 3b showed that participants judge an event to be more positive if it is described from the ego-moving perspective than if it is described from the time-moving perspective. Results from these studies provide initial evidence that positive and negative events are associated with different spatial metaphors of time.
Hidden-Mode Markov Decision

Samuel P. M. Choi Dit-Yan Yeung Nevin L. Zhang pmchoi@cs.ust. hk dyyeung@cs.ust. hk lzhang@cs.ust. hk Department of Computer Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Abstract Traditional reinforcement learning (RL) assumes that environment dynamics do not change over time (i.e., stationary). This assumption, however, is not realistic in many real-world applications. In this paper, a formal model for an interesting subclass of nonstationary environments is proposed. The environment model, called hidden-mode Markov decision process (HM-MDP), assumes that environmental changes are always con ned to a small number of hidden modes. A mode basically indexes a Markov decision process (MDP) and evolves with time according to a Markov chain. HM-MDP is a special case of partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDP). Nevertheless, modeling an HM-MDP environment via the more general POMDP model unnecessarily increases the problem complexity. In this paper the conversion from the former to the latter is discussed. Learning a model of HM-MDP is the rst step of two steps for nonstationary model-based RL to take place. This paper shows how model learning can be achieved by using a variant of the Baum-Welch algorithm. Compared with the POMDP approach, empirical results reveal that the HM-MDP approach signi cantly reduces computational time as well as the required data.
Semantic-based road environment recognition in mixed traffic for intelligent vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems

Comprehensive situational awareness is paramount to the effectiveness of higher-level functions of the intelligent vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs). This paper addresses a hierarchical vision system designed for recognizing a number of objects of interest in mixed traffic, in which, the host vehicle have to drive inside the road boundary and interact with other road users. In the proposed system, the semantic knowledge of the scene is utilized to construct a graph. S tereo vision associated with the semantic graph is employed to seek the drivable road boundary in a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The results are then used as the road contextual information for the following procedure, in which, particular objects of interest, including vehicles, pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycles, are recognized by using a multi-class object detector. Experimental results in various typical but challenging scenarios show the effectiveness of the proposed system.
A Small-Molecule Oxocarbazate Inhibitor of Human Cathepsin L Blocks Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola Pseudotype Virus Infection into Human Embryonic Kidney 293T cells

A tetrahydroquinoline oxocarbazate (PubChem CID 23631927) was tested as an inhibitor of human cathepsin L (EC 3.4.22.15) and as an entry blocker of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus and Ebola pseudotype virus. In the cathepsin L inhibition assay, the oxocarbazate caused a time-dependent 17-fold drop in IC50 from 6.9 nM (no preincubation) to 0.4 nM (4-h preincubation). Slowly reversible inhibition was demonstrated in a dilution assay. A transient kinetic analysis using a single-step competitive inhibition model provided rate constants of kon = 153,000 M−1s−1 and koff = 4.40 × 10−5 s−1 (Ki = 0.29 nM). The compound also displayed cathepsin L/B selectivity of >700-fold and was nontoxic to human aortic endothelial cells at 100 μM. The oxocarbazate and a related thiocarbazate (PubChem CID 16725315) were tested in a SARS coronavirus (CoV) and Ebola virus-pseudotype infection assay with the oxocarbazate but not the thiocarbazate, demonstrating activity in blocking both SARS-CoV (IC50 = 273 ± 49 nM) and Ebola virus (IC50 = 193 ± 39 nM) entry into human embryonic kidney 293T cells. To trace the intracellular action of the inhibitors with intracellular cathepsin L, the activity-based probe biotin-Lys-C5 alkyl linker-Tyr-Leu-epoxide (DCG-04) was used to label the active site of cysteine proteases in 293T lysates. The reduction in active cathepsin L in inhibitor-treated cells correlated well with the observed potency of inhibitors observed in the virus pseudotype infection assay. Overall, the oxocarbazate CID 23631927 was a subnanomolar, slow-binding, reversible inhibitor of human cathepsin L that blocked SARS-CoV and Ebola pseudotype virus entry in human cells.