Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast Distributed Dynamics of Semantic Networks via Social Media

We investigate the dynamics of semantic organization using social media, a collective expression of human thought. We propose a novel, time-dependent semantic similarity measure (TSS), based on the social network Twitter. We show that TSS is consistent with static measures of similarity but provides high temporal resolution for the identification of real-world events and induced changes in the distributed structure of semantic relationships across the entire lexicon. Using TSS, we measured the evolution of a concept and its movement along the semantic neighborhood, driven by specific news/events. Finally, we showed that particular events may trigger a temporary reorganization of elements in the semantic network.
Adaptive segmenting of non-stationary signals

OF THE THESIS ADAPTIVE SEGMENTING OF NON-STATIONARY SIGNALS by Christopher Albin Edmonds Florida International University, 1998 Miami, Florida Professor Jean H. And rian, Major Professor Many data compression techniques rely on the low entropy and/or the large degree of autocorrelation exhibited by stationary signals. In non-stationary signals, however, these characteristics are not constant, resulting in reduced data compression efficiency. An adaptive scheme is developed that divides non-stationary signals into smaller locally stationary segments, thereby improving overall efficiency. Two principal issues arise in implementing this procedure. The first is practical; an exhaustive search of all possible segmentations is in general computationally prohibitive. The concept of dynamic programming is applied to reduce the expense of such a search. The second involves choosing a cost function that is appropriate for a particular compression method. Two cost functions are employed here, one based on entropy and the other on correlation. It is shown that by using an appropriate cost function, an adaptively segmented signal offers better data compression efficiency than an unsegmented or arbitrarily segmented signal.
Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous and Hybrid Materials Obtained by Sol-Gel Processing for Biomedical Applications

An interesting research field with medical applications is represented today by ceramics, as they can be used to obtain useful biomaterials for the production of implants (Vallet-Regi, 2001, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c); many parts of the human body, in fact, can be replaced or repaired with biomaterials and more specifically with bioceramics (Black & Hastings, 1998). Regardless of the ceramic type and the application procedure, the introduction of an implant in a living body always causes inflammation phenomena and frequently infection processes as well. Those problems can be overcome by using local drug delivery methods to confine pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogens, etc. (Arcos et. al., 2001; Ragel & Vallet-Regi, 2000; Vallet-Regi et al., 2000). The possibility of introducing certain drugs into the ceramic matrices employed for bone and teeth repair is undoubtedly an added value to be taken into account. The traditional use of high temperature procedures to model glasses and ceramics to the desired shape is very well known; on the other hand, the degradation temperature of a pharmaceutical compound is usually around 100°C, which is very low if compared with the high ones needed to compact the components (around 1000°C). Consequently, the main problem is how to include pharmaceuticals in conventional glass and ceramic implants. The scientific community is currently investigating new procedures to incorporate drugs into implantable biomaterials. The sol-gel process, among others, has proved to be a versatile one and has been widely used in the preparation of amorphous and or hybrid materials (Hench & West, 1990; Judeinstein & Sanchez, 1996; Novak, 1993), with applications, for example, in non-linear optical materials (Hsiue et al., 1994) and mesomoporous materials (Wei et al., 1999). The family of organicinorganic hybrid materials has attracted considerable attention because of its interesting properties such as molecular homogeneity, transparency, flexibility and durability. A key issue that remains unresolved in these organic-modified materials is the degree of mixing of the organic-inorganic components, i.e., phase homogeneity. The high optical transparency to visible light indicates that the organic-inorganic phase separation, if any, is on a scale of ≤ 400nm. Such hybrids are promising materials for various applications, e.g.: solid state lasers (optical components), replacements for silicon dioxide as insulating materials in the
Describing the What and Why of Students’ Difficulties in Boolean Logic

The ability to reason with formal logic is a foundational skill for computer scientists and computer engineers that scaffolds the abilities to design, debug, and optimize. By interviewing students about their understanding of propositional logic and their ability to translate from English specifications to Boolean expressions, we characterized common misconceptions and novice problem-solving processes of students who had recently completed a digital logic design class. We present these results and discuss their implications for instruction and the development of pedagogical assessment tools known as concept inventories.
Ambient Intelligence: Science or Fad?

Weiser's vision has been used to justify and define new research within an extremely diverse collection of fields. It is increasingly evident that such research cannot be carried out in isolation. Research in this area is fundamentally multi-disciplinary, requiring the assimilation of problems and concepts from a variety of specializations. From our perspective, in its current state, ambient intelligence is only the latest stage in the evolution of informatics as a scientific discipline. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the field in its current state.
The Role of Natural Vegetative Disturbance in Determining Stream Reach Characteristics in Central Idaho and Western Montana

We evaluated the relationship between natural vegetative disturbance and changes in stream habitat and macroinvertebrate metrics within 33 randomly selected minimally managed watersheds in central Idaho and western Montana. Changes in stream reach conditions were related to vegetative disturbance for the time periods from 1985 to 1993 and 1993 to 2000, respectively, at the following three spatial scales; within the stream buffer and less than 1 km from the evaluated reach, within the watershed and within 1 km of the stream reach, and within the watershed. Data for stream reaches were based on field surveys and vegetative disturbance was generated for the watershed above the sampled reach using remotely sensed data and geographical information systems. Large scale (>100 ha) vegetative disturbance was common within the study area. Even though natural vegetative disturbance rates were high, we found that few of the measured attributes were related to the magnitude of vegetative disturbance. The three physical habitat attributes that changed significantly were sinuosity, median particle size, and percentage of undercut bank; each was related to the disturbance in the earlier (1985–1993) time frame. There was a significant relationship between changes in two macroinvertebrate metrics, abundance and percent collectors/filterers, and the magnitude of disturbance during the more recent time period (1993–2000). We did not find a consistent relationship between the location of the disturbance within the watershed and changes in stream conditions. Our findings suggest that natural vegetative disturbance within the northern Rocky Mountains is complex but likely does not result in substantial short-term changes in the characteristics of most stream reaches.
Cumulative Incidence and Predictors of Progression in Corticosteroid-Naïve Patients with Sarcoidosis

Background Assessment of the clinical course of sarcoidosis requires long-term observation. However, the appropriate period of follow-up for sarcoidosis remains unclear, especially in patients without indication of corticosteroid therapy at the time of diagnosis. Objective This study aimed to clarify the cumulative incidence and identify risk factors for disease progression in corticosteroid-naïve sarcoidosis patients. Methods The clinical courses of 150 Japanese patients with sarcoidosis, who were followed for more than 2 years and had no indication for corticosteroid therapy at diagnosis, were retrospectively reviewed. Disease progression was defined as worsening of pulmonary sarcoidosis, development of new organ involvement, or extrapulmonary organ damage. The cumulative incidence of progression was estimated by generating a cumulative incidence curve with the Fine and Gray method. Results The median follow-up duration was 7.7 years (interquartile range, 4.7–13.6 years). Thirty-two (21%) patients experienced disease progression. New organ involvement appeared in 16 patients (11%). The 6-month, and 1-, 5-, 10-, and 15-year cumulative incidence of progression was 2%, 5%, 15%, 28%, and 31%, respectively. The number of organs involved at diagnosis was an independent predictor for progression with a multifactorial adjusted hazard ratio of 1.71 (95% confidence interval, 1.11–2.62). The optimal cut-off of the number of organs involved at diagnosis to identify future progression was three. Conclusions In corticosteroid-naïve sarcoidosis patients, the risks of disease progression are comparable from 0–5 years and 5–10 years after diagnosis. The number of organs involved at diagnosis is a useful predictor for progression of sarcoidosis.
The evolution of whisker‐mediated somatosensation in mammals: Sensory processing in barrelless S1 cortex of a marsupial, Monodelphis domestica

Movable tactile sensors in the form of whiskers are present in most mammals, but sensory coding in the cortical whisker representation has been studied almost exclusively in mice and rats. Many species that possess whiskers lack the modular “barrel” organization found in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) of mice and rats, but it is unclear how whisker‐related input is represented in these species. We used single‐unit extracellular recording techniques to characterize receptive fields and response properties in S1 of Monodelphis domestica (short‐tailed opossum), a nocturnal, terrestrial marsupial that shared its last common ancestor with placental mammals over 160 million years ago. Short‐tailed opossums lack barrels and septa in S1 but show active whisking behavior similar to that of mice and rats. Most neurons in short‐tailed opossum S1 exhibited multiwhisker receptive fields, including a single best whisker (BW) and lower magnitude responses to the deflection of surrounding whiskers. Mean tuning width was similar to that reported for mice and rats. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical receptive fields were present. Neurons tuned to ventral whiskers tended to show broad tuning along the rostrocaudal axis. Thus, despite the absence of barrels, most receptive field properties were similar to those reported for mice and rats. However, unlike those species, S1 neuronal responses to BW and surround whisker deflection showed comparable latencies in short‐tailed opossums. This dissimilarity suggests that some aspects of barrel cortex function may not generalize to tactile processing across mammalian species and may be related to differences in the architecture of the whisker‐to‐cortex pathway. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3587–3613, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
La Cathedrale Notre Dame d’Amiens

Amiens Cathedral serves as a testament to the beauty and grace of the French Gothic movement in the Middle Ages. This stunning cathedral stands in the once thriving and bustling town of Amiens, France, roughly 140 kilometers north of Paris. The cathedral was built to replace the previous church, which was destroyed in a fire in 1218. Work on the cathedral was started in 1222 and ended in 1269. The cathedral survived a fire during construction, in 1258, which damaged the walls of the fledgling church, setting construction back. The bishop who broke ground on this tremendous undertaking was Bishop Evrard de Fouilloy (1211-1222). The construction was completed under Bishop Bernard d’Abbeville (1259-1278). There were four bishops in between these two who saw the Cathedral’s humble beginnings and it glorious completion. The original master builder, Robert de Luzarches, died two years into construction of the church, according to local legend, and it is not clear who oversaw the subsequent design and construction of this masterpiece of High Gothic. The plan of Amiens is very typical of the Classical Gothic buildings in France. The transept is pulled down the body of the nave, instead of copying earlier models that have a transept more towards the east end of the building. The transept is not the focal point of this church, but instead is very short and truncated. The nave and the two side aisles are the center of attention, leading to the apse and ambulatory. Coming away from the ambulatory there are seven radiating chapels (see Figure 1). This plan is very similar to the plans of cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, and Notre Dame de Paris.
Conceptualizing Psychosocial Disability in Social Exclusion: A Preliminary Discourse

This article conceptualizes identity-mediated psychosocial disability of socially excluded individuals and groups from a socio-behavioural perspective. It postulates collective representations, inequitable social interactions and personal characteristics that lead to perception and internalization of negative identity in members of stigmatized groups. Non-dominant identity induces self-imposed and society-ascribed psychosocial disability through stigmatization and discrimination. Psychosocial disability is a state where individual or collective sense of incapacity restricts optimal use of individual and collective human agency to influence out-groups favourably to achieve self-expansion and communal expansion. The aspects of psychosocial disability include poor self-concept, low ethnic self-esteem, negatively internalized identity, poor social integration and conflicts in social relations. It results in psychosocial disability that further increases social exclusion, reduces quality of life and well-being. This article concludes that socially excluded individuals and groups experience psychosocial disability in everyday life.
Blockchain technology for robot swarms : A shared knowledge and reputation management system for collective estimation

In this work, we demonstrate how a blockchain can be used as shared knowledge medium, computing platform, and reputation management system in robot swarms. We show that a swarm of robots can collectively determine the relative frequency of environmental features via blockchain-based smart contracts (decentralized protocols executed via blockchain technology). Consensus in the swarm is achieved in a fully decentralized way without the need of an external observer. Via the presented reputation management system residing on the blockchain, the impact of malfunctioning robots (Byzantine robots) can be managed. We conducted three experiments using a robot swarm simulator, showing (i) the feasibility of the approach, (ii) the trade-off between blockchain size and accuracy, and (iii) the suitability of the blockchain as a reputation management system.
approaChing relief: CompensaTory iDeals relieve ThreaT-inDUCeD anXieTy by promoTing approaCh-moTivaTeD sTaTes

We propose that in anxious circumstances people are drawn toward idealistic meanings and purposes because ideals efficiently and reliably engage approach motivated states. We present evidence that approach motivation and anxiety are inversely related; that approach motivation and anxiety are positively and negatively associated with meaning in life, respectively; and that ideals are more reliable vehicles than concrete goals for sustaining meaning, approach motivation, and relief from anxiety. We suggest that various threats arouse anxiety because they generate goal conflict, review evidence for a reactive approach-motivation (raM) interpretation of idealistic and worldview defense (nash, McGregor, & Prentice, 2011), and integrate consistency, terror management, self-affirmation, and attachmentrelated theories of threat and compensatory defense from a raM theory perspective. We conclude with a raM account for why compensatory defenses tend to be idealistically conservative, group-based, and religious, and how they can be either antisocial or prosocial.
Comparing Different GPS Data Processing Techniques for Modelling Residual Systematic Errors

In the case of traditional GPS data processing algorithms, systematic errors in GPS measurements cannot be eliminated completely, nor accounted for satisfactorily. These systematic errors can have a significant effect on both the ambiguity resolution process and the GPS positioning results. Hence this is a potentially critical problem for high precision GPS positioning applications. It is therefore necessary to develop an appropriate data processing algorithm which can effectively deal with systematic errors in a non-deterministic manner. Recently several approaches have been suggested to mitigate the impact of systematic errors on GPS positioning results: the semi-parametric model, the use of wavelets and new stochastic modelling techniques. These approaches use different bases and have different implications for data processing. This paper aims to compare the above three methods, in both the theoretical and numerical sense.
Determination of crystallization kinetics parameters of a Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 (LAGP) glass by differential scanning calorimetry

Crystallization kinetics parameters of a stoichiometric glass with the composition Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4 ) 3 were investigated by subjecting parallelepipedonal samples (3 × 3 × 1.5 mm) to heat treatment in a differential scanning calorimeter at different heating rates (3, 5, 8 and 10 °C/min). The data were analyzed using Ligero's and Kissinger's methods to determine the activation energy (E) of crystallization, which yielded, respectively, E = 415 ± 37 kJ/mol and 378 ± 19 kJ/mol. Ligero's method was also employed to calculate the Avrami coefficient ( n), which was found to be n = 3.0. A second set of samples were heat-treated in a tubular furnace at temperatures above the glass transition temperature, T g , to induce crystallization. The X-ray diffraction analysis of these samples indicated the presence of LiGe 2 (PO 4 ) 3 which displays a NASICON-type structure. An analysis by optical microscopy revealed the presence of spheric crystals located primarily in the volume, in agreement with the crystallization mechanism predicted by the Avrami coefficient.
OrthoDB: the hierarchical catalog of eukaryotic orthologs

The concept of orthology is widely used to relate genes across different species using comparative genomics, and it provides the basis for inferring gene function. Here we present the web accessible OrthoDB database that catalogs groups of orthologous genes in a hierarchical manner, at each radiation of the species phylogeny, from more general groups to more fine-grained delineations between closely related species. We used a COG-like and Inparanoid-like ortholog delineation procedure on the basis of all-against-all Smith-Waterman sequence comparisons to analyze 58 eukaryotic genomes, focusing on vertebrates, insects and fungi to facilitate further comparative studies. The database is freely available at http://cegg.unige. ch/orthodb
ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL IN REGENERATED TISSUES OF MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT ATROPA ACUMINATA

Due to random exploitation from natural resources, an efficient regeneration system of medicinally important but rare plant species, Atropa acuminata for conservation was inevitable. Leaf explants were incubated on MS medium with different level of various plant growth regulators (PGRs) alone and in combination for callus induction and induced organogenesis. After 4 weeks of culture, callus induction was recorded with the highest frequency with 1.0 mg/l thidiazuron (TDZ) supplement. After 5 weeks of subsequent sub-culturing, optimum shoot induction frequency of 89% was achieved with 1.0 mg/l TDZ and 1.0 mg/l αnaphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) supplement. Highest number of shoots/explant (8.2) were recorded on MS medium with 2.0 mg/l 6benzyladenine (BA)+1.0 mg/l NAA supplement. Shoots in elongation medium was recorded 5.8 cm long in two medium i.e., 1.0 mg/l TDZ supplement and 1.0 mg/l TDZ+1.0 mg/l NAA supplement. Successful In vitro rooting was induced on MS medium with all applied level of indole butyric acid (IBA). The regenerated shoots with well developed roots were successfully acclimatized in sterilized soil and transferred to greenhouse conditions. Furthermore higher activity for detoxifying DPPH free radical was shown by regenerated shoots in this medicinally important plant species.
Distributed in-network cooperative caching

Named Data Networking (NDN) featuring in-network caching capability is a large effort that exemplifies information-centric approach to networking by shifting emphasis from hosts to data so as to meet growing demand on content. This work explores a scheme that enables a NDN domain to make full use of its in-network caches to enhance its performance, availability, and reliability. Currently, each NDN router independently determines what contents to cache and is unaware of content cached in nearby routers and thus their caches are not utilized in an efficient way. This paper proposes to have routers in a NDN domain share cached data and coordinate to make caching decisions (which is dubbed in-network cooperative caching) and formulates it into a constrained optimization problem. The Lagrangian relaxation and primal-dual decomposition method is applied to decompose the optimization problem into object placement subproblems and object locating subproblems, each of which can be solved in a distributed manner at each router, such that the in-network cooperative caching is addressed in a distributed way. Our simulation results, although preliminary, suggest that our scheme can benefit users, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as well as content servers, and the improvement can be as much as 88% compared to current NDN caching policy.
Rank and relevance in novelty and diversity metrics for recommender systems

The Recommender Systems community is paying increasing attention to novelty and diversity as key qualities beyond accuracy in real recommendation scenarios. Despite the raise of interest and work on the topic in recent years, we find that a clear common methodological and conceptual ground for the evaluation of these dimensions is still to be consolidated. Different evaluation metrics have been reported in the literature but the precise relation, distinction or equivalence between them has not been explicitly studied. Furthermore, the metrics reported so far miss important properties such as taking into consideration the ranking of recommended items, or whether items are relevant or not, when assessing the novelty and diversity of recommendations. We present a formal framework for the definition of novelty and diversity metrics that unifies and generalizes several state of the art metrics. We identify three essential ground concepts at the roots of novelty and diversity: choice, discovery and relevance, upon which the framework is built. Item rank and relevance are introduced through a probabilistic recommendation browsing model, building upon the same three basic concepts. Based on the combination of ground elements, and the assumptions of the browsing model, different metrics and variants unfold. We report experimental observations which validate and illustrate the properties of the proposed metrics.