Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrating e-commerce standards and initiatives in a multi-layered ontology

The proliferation of different standards and joint initiatives for the classification of products and services (UNSPSC, e-cl@ss, RosettaNet, NAICS, SCTG, etc.) reveals that B2B markets have not reached a consensus on the coding systems, on the level of detail of their descriptions, on their granularity, etc. This paper shows how these standards and initiatives, which are built to cover different needs and functionalities, can be integrated in an ontology using a common multi-layered knowledge architecture. This multi-layered ontology will provide a shared understanding of the domain for applications of e-commerce, allowing the information sharing between heterogeneous systems. We will present a method for designing ontologies from these information sources by automatically transforming, integrating and enriching the existing vocabularies with the WebODE platform. As an illustration, we show an example on the computer domain, presenting the relationships between UNSPSC, e-cl@ss, RosettaNet and an electronic catalogue from an e-commerce platform.
Online discriminative dictionary learning for visual tracking

Dictionary learning has been applied to various computer vision problems, such as image restoration, object classification and face recognition. In this work, we propose a tracking framework based on sparse representation and online discriminative dictionary learning. By associating dictionary items with label information, the learned dictionary is both reconstructive and discriminative, which better distinguishes target objects from the background. During tracking, the best target candidate is selected by a joint decision measure. Reliable tracking results and augmented training samples are accumulated into two sets to update the dictionary. Both online dictionary learning and the proposed joint decision measure are important for the final tracking performance. Experiments show that our approach outperforms several recently proposed trackers.
System comparison of smart and dumb antennas

Different approaches have been proposed to utilize multiple antennas at both transmitters and receivers of wireless systems. Herein, we provide a system comparison between covariance feedback schemes where a large amount of information is fed back at a low rate and opportunistic beamforming schemes where a small amount of information is fed back at a high rate.
Mitigation of Bandwidth Limitation in Wireless Doherty Amplifiers With Substantial Bandwidth Enhancement Using Digital Techniques

This paper proposes a new method for extending the bandwidth of Doherty power amplifiers (PAs) in the digital domain. The bandwidth enhancement is achieved through a frequency-selective pre-compensation mechanism that is derived to prevent the efficiency degradation that naturally occurs as the frequency of operation deviates from the center frequency. A methodical analysis of the frequency response of the conventional Doherty PA and that of the proposed Doherty PA is carried out to point out the limitations of the former and demonstrate the capability of the latter in recovering the bandwidth. Over the frequency range spanning from 1.96 to 2.46 GHz, the measured drain efficiency at 6-7-dB output power back-off is higher than 40% for the proposed Doherty PA. Such efficiency performance is achievable only from 2.04 to 2.22 GHz using the conventional Doherty PA. Hence, the bandwidth is enhanced from 180 to 500 MHz, which corresponds to an increase by a factor of 2.8 (i.e., almost triple). By applying the proposed methodology, a Doherty PA that is originally designed at the center frequency of 2.14 GHz for downlink wideband code division multiple access became operative at 1.98-GHz uplink wideband code division multiple access (UL-WCDMA), 2.22-GHz long-term evolution (LTE), and 2.34-GHz worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) bands. The average drain efficiencies for UL-WCDMA, LTE, and WiMAX applications, were 40.1%, 44.2%, and 41.4%, respectively, using the proposed Doherty PA, and 37%, 37.3%, and 35.2%, respectively, using the conventional Doherty PA.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor promotes the survival and sprouting of serotonergic axons in rat brain

A pathology of brain serotonergic (5-HT) systems has been found in psychiatric disturbances, normal aging and in neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Despite the clinical importance of 5-HT, little is known about the endogenous factors that have neurotrophic influences upon 5-HT neurons. The present study examined whether chronic pain parenchymal administration of the neurotrophins brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) or NGF could prevent the severe degenerative loss of serotonergic axons normally caused by the selective 5-HT neurotoxin p-chloroamphetamine (PCA). The neurotrophins (5–12 micrograms/d) or the control substances (cytochrome c or PBS vehicle) were continuously infused into the rat frontoparietal cortex using an osmotic minipump. One week later, rats were subcutaneously administered PCA (10 mg/kg) or vehicle, and the 5-HT innervation was evaluated after two more weeks of neurotrophin infusion. As revealed with 5-HT immunocytochemistry, BDNF infusions into the neocortex of intact (non-PCA-lesioned) rats caused a substantial increase in 5-HT axon density in a 3 mm diameter region surrounding the cannula tip. In PCA-lesioned rats, intracortical infusions of BDNF completely prevented the severe neurotoxin-induced loss of 5-HT axons near the infusion cannula. In contrast, cortical infusions of vehicle or the control protein cytochrome c did not alter the density of serotonergic axons in intact animals, nor did control infusions prevent the loss of 5-HT axons in PCA-treated rats. NT-3 caused only a modest sparing of the 5-HT innervation in PCA-treated rats, and NGF failed to prevent the loss of 5-HT axon density. The immunocytochemical data were supported by neurochemical evaluations which showed that BDNF attenuated the PCA-induced loss of 5-HT and 5- HIAA contents and 3H-5-HT uptake near the infusion cannula. Thus, BDNF can promote the sprouting of mature, uninjured serotonergic axons and dramatically enhance the survival or sprouting of 5-HT axons normally damaged by the serotonergic neurotoxin PCA.
Sensor Selection by Linear Programming

We learn sensor trees from training data to minimize sensor acquisition costs during test time. Our system adaptively selects sensors at each stage if necessary to make a confident classification. We pose the problem as empirical risk minimization over the choice of trees and node decision rules. We decompose the problem, which is known to be intractable, into combinatorial (tree structures) and continuous parts (node decision rules) and propose to solve them separately. Using training data we greedily solve for the combinatorial tree structures and for the continuous part, which is a non-convex multilinear objective function, we derive convex surrogate loss functions that are piecewise linear. The resulting problem can be cast as a linear program and has the advantage of guaranteed convergence, global optimality, repeatability and computational efficiency. We show that our proposed approach outperforms the state-of-art on a number of benchmark datasets.
Identification of a serum gelatinase associated with the occurrence of cerebral aneurysms as pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Subarachnoid hemorrhage from intracranial aneurysm rupture produces a severe form of stroke. Extracellular matrix remodeling is associated with cerebral aneurysms and may play a role in the formation or rupture of these lesions. We previously reported a 3-fold increase in a 72-kDa serum gelatinase in a subgroup of aneurysm patients. The purpose of the present study was to further characterize and identify this gelatinase. METHODS Serum samples were collected from surgical patients with intracranial aneurysms. The following series of experiments was designed to further characterize and identify the predominant serum gelatinase found in the subgroup of patients with increased gelatinase activity. Gelatin zymography was performed on native serum samples and compared with serum that had been pretreated with a known metalloproteinase activator (4-aminophenylmercuric acetate [APMA]). Gelatin zymography was repeated in the presence of a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor (EDTA) and a serine proteinase inhibitor (phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride [PMSF]). Final identification was made by Western blotting with the use of monoclonal antibodies to MMP-2 and MMP-9. RESULTS A consistent gelatinolytic band (72 kDa) was identified in all serum samples (n = 60). Pretreatment of the serum by APMA (n = 60) lowered the molecular weight of the band to 66 kDa. The band was inhibited by EDTA (n = 10) but not PMSF (n = 10), thus characterizing the circulating 72-kDa gelatinase as an inactive pro-MMP. Western blotting (n=20) identified the 72-kDa band as MMP-2. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirm that the increased gelatinolytic activity observed in vitro in a subset of cerebral aneurysm patients is due to pro-MMP-2.
Exploring the Mediating Role of Training on the Relationship between Future Orientation and Context Performance

This study aimed to determine the mediating role of training (perceived trainer performance, PTP; perceived usefulness of training, PUT and perceived efficiency of training, PET) between future orientation and context performance. Questionnaire was the tool of collecting data from a sample of (210) pharmacists. The results of the study indicated that there is a positive effect of future orientation on context performance. Also, there is partial effect of the three mediator variables (perceived trainer performance, PTP; perceived usefulness of training, PUT and perceived efficiency of training, PET) on the relationship between independent and dependent variables.
Multipath TCP with Network Coding for Wireless Mesh Networks

In wireless multihop networks, techniques such as multipath, local retransmissions and network coding have been successfully used to increase throughput and reduce losses. However, while these techniques improve forwarding performance for UDP, they often introduce side effects such as packet reordering and delay that heavily affect TCP traf&#64257;c. In this paper we introduce CoMP, a network coding multipath forwarding scheme that improves the reliability and the performance of TCP sessions in wireless mesh networks. CoMP exploits the wireless mesh path diversity using network coding, performs congestion control and uses a credit-based method to control the rate at which linear combinations are transmitted. CoMP uses a simple algorithm to estimate losses and to send redundant linear combinations in order to maintain the decoding delay at a minimum and to prevent TCP timeouts and retransmissions. We evaluate CoMP through extensive simulations and compare it to state-of-the-art protocols. We show that CoMP not only achieves a higher throughput, but also is more ef&#64257;cient than existing protocols, making TCP sessions feasible for wireless mesh networks even under heavy losses.
Dynamo-generated Turbulence and Large-Scale Magnetic Fields in a Keplerian Shear Flow

The nonlinear evolution of magnetized Keplerian shear ows is simulated in a local, three-dimensional model, including the eeects of compressibility and stratiication. Supersonic ows are initially generated by the Balbus-Hawley magnetic shear instability. The resulting ows regenerate a turbulent magnetic eld which, in turn, reinforces the turbulence. Thus, the system acts like a dynamo that generates its own turbulence. However, unlike usual dynamos, the magnetic energy exceeds the kinetic energy of the turbulence by a factor of 3{10. By assuming the eld to be vertical on the outer (upper and lower) surfaces we do not constrain the horizontal magnetic ux. Indeed, a large scale toroidal magnetic eld is generated, mostly in the form of toroidal ux tubes with lengths comparable to the toroidal extent of the box. This large scale eld is mainly of 1 even (i.e. quadrupolar) parity with respect to the midplane and changes direction on a timescale of about 30 orbits, in a possibly cyclic manner. The eeective Shakura-Sunyaev alpha viscosity parameter is between 0.001 and 0.005, and the contribution from the Maxwell stress is about 3-7 times larger than the contribution from the Reynolds stress.
Graph Search for Optimizing the Discrete Location Sequence in Hybrid Optimal Control

Abstract If an optimal control problem (OCP) for hybrid systems with autonomous switching is solved by use of the hybrid minimum principle (HMP), it is necessary to apply the HMP to each possible discrete location sequence separately, i.e. the complexity is exponential in the number of switches. To reduce the combinatorial complexity, this paper proposes a graph search algorithm where the graph encodes the location sequence and the underlying OCP is solved by using the HMP. First, the hybrid OCP with autonomous switching is relaxed to a problem with controlled switching. When tightening the relaxation iteratively, a branch-and-bound scheme is used to prune the graph for reducing the search space for the optimal location sequence. The efficiency of the algorithm is illustrated for a numerical example.
Regulation of Cholesterol Homeostasis by Hedgehog Signaling in Osteoarthritic Cartilage

With no effective therapies to attenuate cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis (OA), the result is pain and disability. Activation of hedgehog (HH) signaling causes changes related to the progression of OA, with higher levels of Gli‐mediated transcriptional activation associated with increased disease severity. To elucidate the mechanism through which this occurs, this study sought to identify genes regulated by HH signaling in human OA chondrocytes.
Prediction of Convective Initiation and Storm Evolution on 12 June 2002 during IHOP_2002. Part I: Control Simulation and Sensitivity Experiments

Abstract The 12–13 June 2002 convective initiation case from the International H2O Project (IHOP_2002) field experiment over the central Great Plains of the United States is simulated numerically with the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) at 3-km horizontal resolution. The case involves a developing mesoscale cyclone, a dryline extending from a low center southwestward with a cold front closely behind, which intercepts the midsection of the dryline, and an outflow boundary stretching eastward from the low center resulting from earlier mesoscale convection. Convective initiation occurred in the afternoon at several locations along and near the dryline or near the outflow boundary, but was not captured by the most intensive deployment of observation instruments during the field experiment, which focused instead on the dryline–outflow boundary intersection point. Standard and special surface and upper-air observations collected during the field experiment are assimilated into the ARPS at hourly inte.
Comparative Study of Robust Controllers for Vibration Control of Flexible Structures by Combining Pre-Compressed Layer Damping and ACLD Treatment

It is well known fact that system parameters of the flexible structures keep on changing due to several reasons. Ordinary controllers loose their effectiveness in changed situations and do not guarantee the stability of the closed loop system. However, controllers designed based on robust control theory, not only maintain the closed loop stability of the perturbed system with a large variation in system parameters but also maintain the best performance.  H Loop shaping controller is designed and implemented on a smart flexible structure treated with precompressed layer damping and ACLD treatment. It outperforms Linear Quadratic Gaussian and standard  H controller both in terms of robust stability and robust performance. Relative merits and demerits of the μ – synthesis based controller are also discussed.
Ecosystem carbon storage capacity as affected by disturbance regimes: A general theoretical model

Disturbances have been recognized as a key factor shaping terrestrial ecosystem states and dynamics. A general model that quantitatively describes the relationship between carbon storage and disturbance regime is critical for better understanding large scale terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics. We developed a model (REGIME) to quantify ecosystem carbon storage capacities (E[x]) under varying disturbance regimes with an analytical solution E[x] = U {center_dot} {tau}{sub E} {center_dot} {lambda}{lambda} + s {tau} 1, where U is ecosystem carbon influx, {tau}{sub E} is ecosystem carbon residence time, and {tau}{sub 1} is the residence time of the carbon pool affected by disturbances (biomass pool in this study). The disturbance regime is characterized by the mean disturbance interval ({lambda}) and the mean disturbance severity (s). It is a Michaelis-Menten-type equation illustrating the saturation of carbon content with mean disturbance interval. This model analytically integrates the deterministic ecosystem carbon processes with stochastic disturbance events to reveal a general pattern of terrestrial carbon dynamics at large scales. The model allows us to get a sense of the sensitivity of ecosystems to future environmental changes just by a few calculations. According to the REGIME model, for example, approximately 1.8 Pg C will be lost in the high-latitude regionsmore » of North America (>45{sup o} N) if fire disturbance intensity increases around 5.7 time the current intensity to the end of the twenty-first century, which will require around 12% increases in net primary productivity (NPP) to maintain stable carbon stocks. If the residence time decreased 10% at the same time additional 12.5% increases in NPP are required to keep current C stocks. The REGIME model also lays the foundation for analytically modeling the interactions between deterministic biogeochemical processes and stochastic disturbance events. « less
Investigation of SNP rs2060546 Immediately Upstream to NTN4 in a Danish Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome Cohort

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. GTS is a complex disorder, with environmental factors and several genes involved. Although variations within a few genes such as AADAC, NRXN1, SLITRK1, HDC, and IMMP2L have been tentatively associated with GTS (in a small number of patients), the causative genes underlying GTS pathophysiology remain unknown. In a previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs2060546) near the Netrin-4 (NTN4 - MIM 610401) gene was shown to be associated with GTS [odds ratio (OR) = 1.7; p-value = 5.8 × 10-7] thus warranting further investigations. As NTN4 is one of the axon guidance molecules expressed in the central nervous system and it interacts with the encoded proteins of SLIT and WNT genes guiding the growth cone toward its target, it is an attractive candidate susceptibility gene for GTS. In this study we attempted to replicate the association of rs2060546 with GTS by genotyping a Danish cohort of 240 GTS patients and 1006 healthy controls. Our results did not reveal an association (OR = 1.363; p-value = 0.3329) in the Danish cohort alone, which may be due to the small sample size. However, a meta-analysis including the present cohort and a total of 1316 GTS patients and 5023 controls from the GTS GWAS Replication Initiative (GGRI) and the first GTS-GWAS yielded a significant signal (OR = 3.74; p-value = 0.00018) and same direction of effect in the three cohorts. Thus, our study strengthens the evidence of the possible involvement of NTN4 in GTS etiology, suggesting that further studies in even larger samples and functional studies are warranted to investigate the role of this region in GTS pathogenesis.
3D motion planning for UAVs in GPS-denied unknown forest environment

In this paper, a decomposition hierarchic on-line motion planning approach consisting of path planning and trajectory generation is proposed for VTOL UAVs to fly in a GPS-denied unknown obstacle-rich environment such as forest and urban canyon. A closed-loop 3D path planning based on A* search algorithm is used to generate collision-free path and a 3D on-line trajectory generation based on maneuver automaton methods is used to generate a collision-free reference trajectory. The simulation and experiment on a VTOL UAV demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed motion planning approach.
IDENTITY VERIFICATION

This report first provides an review of important concepts in the field of information fusion, followed by a review of important milestones in audio-visual person identification and verification. Several recent adaptive and non-adaptive techniques for reaching the verification decision (i.e., to accept or reject the claimant), based on speech and face information, are then evaluated in clean and noisy audio conditions on a common database; it is shown that in clean conditions most of the non-adaptive approaches provide similar performance and in noisy conditions most exhibit a severe deterioration in performance; it is also shown that current adaptive approaches are either inadequate or utilize restrictive assumptions. A new category of classifiers is then introduced, where the decision boundary is fixed but constructed to take into account how the distributions of opinions are likely to change due to noisy conditions; compared to a previously proposed adaptive approach, the proposed classifiers do not make a direct assumption about the type of noise that causes the mismatch between training and testing conditions. This report is an extended and revised version of [59].
Teaching Text Structure to Improve Reading and Writing.

Children in the middle grades often have difficulty learning from reading the expository prose of their content area textbooks (Spiro & Taylor, 1980). The symptoms of this problem are familiar? chil dren have trouble identifying important infor mation, determining main ideas, and writing summaries (e.g., Taylor, 1986; Winograd, 1984). In addition, children have difficulty writing the expository prose required by re ports or essay questions (e.g., Applebee, Langer, & Mullis, 1989). One reason children have trouble reading content area textbooks is a lack of knowledge of the various ways that the text is organized or structured. The structures of exposition have been defined and exemplified in other ar ticles (e.g., McGee & Richgels, 1985; Piccolo, 1987). Although the terms may vary, lists of text structures generally include (a) de scription, (b) sequence, (c) cause-effect, (d) compare/contrast, and (e) problem-solution. The reader's sensitivity to text structure is related to comprehension and memory (McGee, 1982; Meyer, Brandt, & Bluth, 1980; Taylor, 1980, 1985). Yet many children are unaware of expository text structures (Englert & Hiebert, 1984). Fortunately, instruction about text struc ture can improve learning from textbooks. Three different approaches to teaching text structure have been successful in reported re search. One approach is to teach readers to use format cues such as headings, subhead ings, and paragraphs as indicators of text structure (Taylor, 1982; Taylor & Beach, 1984). A second approach is to teach readers to make concrete, visual representations of the organization of ideas in a text (Armbruster & Anderson, 1980; Berkowitz, 1986). A third approach is to teach children the common structures of expository text. McGee and Richgels (1985) and Piccolo (1987) suggest methods that combine the last two ap proaches, that is, teaching text structures by using visual representations of these struc tures. Recent descriptions of the relationship between reading and writing (Shanahan, 1988; Squire, 1983) suggest that instruction about text structure can also improve writing.