Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Context aware scalable collaborative filtering

Traditional Collaborative Filtering (CF) based Recommender Systems (RS) typically do not consider the contextual attributes of users or items while making recommendations. However, there are plenty of applications in day to day life, where the choices made by a person may not only depend on his or her earlier preferences, but more on the context. In this work, we incorporate the contextual attributes to cluster the original user-item rating matrix and then apply CF based recommendation algorithms to the clusters independently. It helps to bring down the runtime as we can bypass computations over the entire data and also generate more accurate recommendations as the partitioned clusters hold similar ratings, which produce greater impacts on each other. In order to cluster the rating matrix, we use both centroid based (k-means) and density based (DBSCAN) clustering techniques and finally compare the results. One of the main objectives of our work is to make it more scalable by reducing the runtime without compromising the recommendation quality much. Experiments performed on two publicly available datasets: MovieLens-1M and MovieLens-100K show that our approach is scalable and accurate.
Susceptibilities of beta-lactamase-producing and -nonproducing ampicillin-resistant strains of Haemophilus influenzae to ceftibuten, cefaclor, cefuroxime, cefixime, cefotaxime, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid

In in vitro studies we evaluated the susceptibilities of beta-lactamase-producing and -nonproducing, ampicillin-resistant strains of Haemophilus influenzae and compared them with those of ampicillin-susceptible strains. Ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftibuten, cefaclor, cefuroxime, cefixime, and cefotaxime were evaluated by broth microdilution tests and disk diffusion tests. The disk diffusion tests accurately categorized beta-lactamase-producing strains and ampicillin-susceptible strains as being susceptible to the study drugs other than ampicillin. Ampicillin-resistant, beta-lactamase-nonproducing strains were relatively resistant to all seven study drugs, but the disk diffusion test did not always predict that resistance. The clinical relevance of the decreased susceptibility to various agents remains unclear, but to be conservative, all ampicillin-resistant, beta-lactamase-nonproducing strains might be assumed to be resistant to other beta-lactams. After excluding that small group of isolates, reliable susceptibility test results were obtained with lots of Haemophilus Test Medium that met quality assurance criteria.
Clustering algorithm based on Delaunay triangulation density metric

According to the problem that K-Means clustering algorithm fails to correctly distinguish non-convex shape clusters, computation mode of distance in the algorithm is changed and density metric mode which can reflect the characteristics of data themselves is adopted instead. In the mode, Delaunay triangulation graph which has the advantages of nearest neighbour and adjacency is introduced to compute density. Simultaneously, because K-Means clustering algorithm itself belongs to a global optimization problem, chaos optimization dedicated to global optimization is applied to optimize objective function for the sake of obtaining global minimum solution. Experiments results indicate that clustering algorithm based on Delaunay triangulation density metric can find arbitrary non-convex shape clusters.
Information Technology and Diversification: How Their Relationship Affects Firm Performance

Information technology (IT) makes its fullest impact on organizations when it is deployed in conjunction with changes in business processes, structures, and strategies. While the importance of IT coupled with organizational changes for business performance has been widely discussed in the information systems (IS) literature, there has been little empirical research on the issue. Using information week's annual data set of IS budgets and the Compustat database, this research examines empirically the relationship between IT and diversification by employing multiple diversification measures. It also examines empirically the relative impact on performance of IT and diversification. Results show that diversification coupled with increased IT spending improves firm performance when its strategic emphasis is on related diversification. The results also show that firms place strategic focus on related diversification when they increase IT spending, and that they require more IT when their strategic emphasis is tilted toward related diversification. The findings imply that by providing a better means of coordination, IT enables scope economies, efficient utilization of business resources and collaboration across individual business units, eventually leveraging the benefits of diversification
Angiogenesis in preinvasive, early invasive bronchial lesions and micropapillomatosis and correlation with EGFR expression

Aims: To study the association between morphological changes of the bronchial epithelium and its angiogenic status evaluated by microvessel count (MVC), in order to gain a better understanding of bronchial carcinogenesis. Also, to correlate MVC with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression.
Custom sizing of lower limb exoskeleton actuators using gait dynamic modelling of children with cerebral palsy

Abstract The use of exoskeletons as an aid for people with musculoskeletal disorder is the subject to an increasing interest in the research community. These devices are expected to meet the specific needs of users, such as children with cerebral palsy (CP) who are considered a significant population in pediatric rehabilitation. Although these exoskeletons should be designed to ease the movement of people with physical shortcoming, their design is generally based on data obtained from healthy adults, which leads to oversized components that are inadequate to the targeted users. Consequently, the objective of this study is to custom-size the lower limb exoskeleton actuators based on dynamic modeling of the human body for children with CP on the basis of hip, knee, and ankle joint kinematics and dynamics of human body during gait. For this purpose, a multibody modeling of the human body of 3 typically developed children (TD) and 3 children with CP is used. The results show significant differences in gait patterns especially in knee and ankle with respectively 0.39 and −0.33 (Nm/kg) maximum torque differences between TD children and children with CP. This study provides the recommendations to support the design of actuators to normalize the movement of children with CP.
Early bone formation adjacent to rough and turned endosseous implant surfaces. An experimental study in the dog.

OBJECTIVE To validate a proposed model (Berglundh et al. 2003) and to evaluate the rate and degree of osseointegration at turned (T) and sand blasted and acid etched (SLA) implant surfaces during early phases of healing. MATERIAL AND METHODS The devices used for the study of early healing had a geometry that corresponded to that of a solid screw implant with either a SLA or a T surface configuration. A circumferential trough had been prepared within the thread region (intra-osseous portion) that established a geometrically well-defined wound chamber. Twenty Labrador dogs received totally 160 experimental devices to allow the evaluation of healing between 2 h and 12 weeks. Both ground and decalcified sections were prepared from mesial/distal and buccal/lingual device sites. Histometric and morphometric analyses of the ground sections and morphometric analysis of the tissue components in decalcified sections were performed. RESULTS The ground sections provided an overview of the various phases of tissue formation, while the decalcified, thin sections enabled a more detailed study of events involved in bone tissue modeling and remodeling for both SLA and T surfaces. The initially empty wound chamber became occupied with a coagulum and a granulation tissue that was replaced by a provisional matrix. The process of bone formation started already during the first week. The newly formed bone present at the lateral border of the cut bony bed appeared to be continuous with the parent bone, but on the SLA surface woven bone was also found at a distance from the parent bone. Parallel-fibered and/or lamellar bone as well as bone marrow replaced this primary bone after 4 weeks. In the SLA chambers, more bone-to-device contact, more initial woven bone and earlier lamellar bone formation was found than in the T chambers. CONCLUSION Osseointegration represents a dynamic process both during its establishment and its maintenance. While healing showed similar characteristics with resorptive and appositional events for both SLA and T surfaces, the rate and degree of osseointegration were superior for the SLA compared with the T chambers.
Fully automatic, retrospective enhancement of real‐time acquired cardiac cine MR images using image‐based navigators and respiratory motion‐corrected averaging

Real‐time imaging may be clinically important in patients with congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or in pediatric cases. However, real‐time imaging typically has compromised spatial and temporal resolution compared with gated, segmented studies. To combine the best features of both types of imaging, a new method is proposed that uses parallel imaging to improve temporal resolution of real‐time acquired images at the expense of signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), but then produces an SNR‐enhanced cine by means of respiratory motion‐corrected averaging of images acquired in real‐time over multiple heartbeats while free‐breathing. The retrospective processing based on image‐based navigators and nonrigid image registration is fully automated. The proposed method was compared with conventional cine images in 21 subjects. The resultant image quality for the proposed method (3.9 ± 0.44) was comparable to the conventional cine (4.2 ± 0.99) on a 5‐point scale (P = not significant [n.s.]). The conventional method exhibited degraded image quality in cases of arrhythmias whereas the proposed method had uniformly good quality. Motion‐corrected averaging of real‐time acquired cardiac images provides a means of attaining high‐quality cine images with many of the benefits of real‐time imaging, such as free‐breathing acquisition and tolerance to arrhythmias. Magn Reson Med, 2007. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Aluminium cyclohexaphosphate

Single crystals of the title compound, Al2P6O18, were obtained by solid-state reaction. The monoclinic structure is isotypic with its CrIII, GaIII and RuIII analogues and is built up of six-membered phosphate ring anions, P6O18 6−, isolated from each other and further linked by isolated AlO6 octahedra by sharing corners. Each AlO6 octahedron is linked to four P6O18 6− rings. More accurately, two rings are linked through bidentate diphosphate groups attached in the cis-positions to the AlO6 octahedron. The other two rings are linked to the two remaining corners, also in cis-positions of the AlO6 octahedron.
Pseudopropionibacterium rubrum sp. nov., a novel red‐pigmented species isolated from human gingival sulcus

In this study, sStrain SK‐1T, a novel gram‐positive, pleomorphic, rod‐shaped, non‐spore forming, non‐motile organism, designated SK‐1T, was isolated from human gingival sulcus and found to produce acetic acid, propionic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid as end products of glucose fermentation. Strain SK‐1T is most closely related to Pseudopropionibacterium (Propionibacterium) propionicum with sequence homologies of the 16S rRNA and RNA polymerase β subunit (rpoB) genes of 96.6% and 93.1%, respectively. The genomic DNA G + C content of the isolate was 61.8 mol%. On the basis of the sequence data of the 16S rRNA and housekeeping (rpoB) genes, a novel taxon is here proposed, Pseudopropionibacterium rubrum sp. nov. (type strain SK‐1T = JCM 31317T = DSM 100122T). The 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequences of strain SK‐1T have been deposited in the DDBJ under the accession numbers LC002971 and LC102236, respectively.
Enhanced Transformer Model for Low- and Mid-Frequency Transients—Part I: Model Development

Based on an enhanced topological representation of the transformer core, flux air paths, and tank, a duality-based transformer model is proposed for low and mid-frequency transients analysis. In the developed transformer model, the core and tank iron are represented based on a frequency-dependent hysteresis model. The winding capacitances and the frequency dependency of the winding resistance are also incorporated in the developed model. Furthermore, a detailed model is developed for the air gap and tank, and the corresponding average equivalent is presented which is more appropriate for extracting the parameters from the measurement. In addition, the nonuniform air gap and the fringing flux effects are taken into account, and an approach is presented to obtain the corresponding parameters. The developed models also include the equivalents of the tank magnetic shield and the structural parts. Part II of this paper provides validations and further simulation results.
Identification and Characterization of the Fifth Membrane-type Matrix Metalloproteinase MT5-MMP*

A new member of the membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase (MT-MMP) subfamily tentatively named MT5-MMP was isolated from mouse brain cDNA library. It is predicted to contain (i) a candidate signal sequence, (ii) a propeptide region with the highly conserved PRCGVPD sequence, (iii) a potential furin recognition motif RRRRNKR, (iv) a zinc-binding catalytic domain, (v) a hemopexin-like domain, (vi) a 24-residue hydrophobic domain as a potential transmembrane domain, and (vii) a short cytosolic domain. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of its transcripts indicates that MT5-MMP is expressed in a brain-specific manner consistent with the origin of its EST clone from cerebellum. It is also highly expressed during embryonic development at stages day 11 and 15. Like other MT-MMPs, MT5-MMP specifically activates progelatinase A when co-expressed in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Its ability to activate progelatinase A is dependent on its proteolytic activity since a mutation converting Glu to Ala in the zinc binding motif HE255LGH renders MT5-MMP inactive against progelatinase A. In contrast to other MT-MMPs, MT5-MMP tends to shed from cell surface as soluble proteinases, thus offering flexibility as both a cell bound and soluble proteinase for extracellular matrix remodeling processes. Taken together, these properties serve to distinguish MT5-MMP as a versatile MT-MMP playing an important role in extracellular matrix remodeling events in the brain and during embryonic development.
Charge reusing in switched-capacitor voltage multipliers with reduced dynamic losses

In this work we study the application of charge reusing to switched-capacitor voltage multipliers. Considering three popular circuits (i.e. the Dickson, the heap, and the Fibonacci charge pumps), we analyze the dynamic power losses due to parasitic capacitances. We show how a charge reuse technique effectively decreases the dynamic power losses. The validity of our analysis is verified through simulations of design examples, which also illustrate the impact of charge reusing on voltage gain, output resistance, and conversion efficiency.
Provision of Fault-Tolerant Mechanism for Peer-to-Peer Video-on-Demand Systems in Broadcast Environment

Peer-to-peer (P2P) communications have become a popular alternative solution to provide large-scale video-on-demand (VoD) services. Recent approaches are designed for streaming applications in a unicast infrastructure. As the successful deployment of IP broadcast delivery, the system could have a further improvement in terms of cost effective and scalability when broadcasting scheme can be coupled with P2P paradigm in a suitable manner. In this paper, we develop a possible solution for building a VoD system using existing broadcasting protocol coupled with P2P paradigm denoted broadcast-based peer-to-peer protocol with erasure correcting codes (BPP-ECC). A video is partitioned and distributed to a number of peer servers for broadcasting. Because of the dynamic nature of P2P application, a fault tolerant mechanism based on erasure correcting codes is employed to increase the system reliability. To avoid the disruption of service, a central server is still deployed in the system to take over the service when the system does not have sufficient peer server to sustain the service. We thus consider the trade-off between the number of peer servers required and the bandwidth requirement of the central server. An analytical model is developed to determine the minimum number of peer servers required for the system. The results showed that 51 peers, each of which has the availability of 0.6 and has a storage of 288 seconds, are enough to leverage the workload of the central server up to 95%, when the startup delay of the system is 5 minutes.
Institutional Reforms and the Effects of Family Control on Corporate Governance

According to the institution-based view of corporate governance, firm-governance efficiency is influenced by the institutional environment in which the firm operates. In this study, we examine how firms under a family-governance system adapted to institutional reforms over time. The results of the analysis indicate that institutional reforms reduce firm dependence on family governance and eliminate the negative effects on performance exerted by a controlling family’s pyramidal ownership structure. We also find that institutional reforms foster external corporate governance by domestic institutional investors. In conclusion, our study shows that institutional reforms alter the essence of family firm governance.
Identifying Failed Test Cases Through Metamorphic Testing

When testing a program without a test oracle, it is impossible to know whether a test case will lead to a failure or not. The infeasibility to identify a failed test case severely restricts the applicability of many testing, debugging and fault localization techniques. However, with the help of Metamorphic Testing (MT) which was proposed to alleviate the test oracle problem, we are able to estimate how likely a test case is a failed test case.
Comb-Filter Based on In-Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Using a Twin-Core Fiber

A comb-filter based on in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is experimentally fabricated by splicing a section of single mode noncircular twin-core fiber (TCF) between two single mode fibers (SMFs). The wavelength spacing between the adjacent transmission peaks was numerically and experimentally analyzed, and it is associated with the effective index difference of the two cores and the length of the TCF. The wavelength spacing between the adjacent transmission peaks can be narrowed by increasing the length of the TCF or the effective index difference of the two cores. This device is compact and easy to be fabricated.
UWB localization of moving targets in shadowed regions

This article analyzes localization of moving targets by means of ultra-wideband sensors which operate in real-time. We assume that the target does not carry any tag and it must be detected and localized by means of electromagnetic waves scattered from it. Furthermore, we assume that the line of sight is completely blocked by obstacles which prohibit direct penetration of electromagnetic waves toward the target. Therefore, the localization is based on three bounce echoes scattered by the target and reflected by a mirroring wall. We performed theoretical analysis of this scenario in terms of the localization precision and the coverage in a specific arrangement. We demonstrate performance of the proposed localization approach on data measured by means of an UWB sensor.
Reliability of embedded wafer level ball grid arrays in automotive applications

A general trend in automotive electronics is the development of customized products with the focus on system integration, increased reliability, and lower costs. For Continental's transmission control units (TCUs), this means a minimum of available space with extended functionalities and high operating temperatures. As a result, small package solutions with a sufficient number of interconnects and excellent thermal, electrical, and mechanical performance and reliability are needed. The family of Wafer Level Packages (WLP) was developed to provide very small packages down to the outline of the chip size. The embedded Wafer-Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB) is a WLP with a fan out area beside the chip edge, which enables a greater number of external contacts. These packages were successfully introduced and widely established in consumer electronics and mobile applications. The high volume production has been globally established for years and makes the eWLB package an interesting candidate for future automotive applications with minimized space requirements. A key issue in automotive applications is the 2nd-level reliability due to high numbers of temperature cycling at higher temperature ranges. In this paper, the board level reliability for eWLB packages is investigated. This includes the influence of selected underfill materials on the solder joint fatigue of lead-free solder during high temperature storage (150 °C) and during temperature cycles between −40 °C and 150 °C. An integrated daisy chain chip allows electrical in-situ measurements for the detailed statistical failure analysis.
Unilateral Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation in the Treatment of Asymmetric Parkinson"s Disease with Early Motor Complications.

AIM The aim of this study was to assess the results of unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson"s disease (PD) with marked asymmetry of parkinsonian motor symptoms and early motor complications. MATERIAL AND METHODS The clinical series consisted of 32 consecutive PD patients, in whom unilateral STN stimulation was performed. All patients were assessed according to the Unified Parkinson"s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and Hoehn and Yahr staging. The patients were assessed preoperatively, and at 12, and 24 months after unilateral STN stimulation. 22 patients were followed for 2 years. RESULTS Medication off/stimulation on total UPDRS motor scores were improved by 29% when compared to the baseline medication off motor scores. The contralateral motor scores improved by 49%, whereas the axial motor scores by 18% in medication off/stimulation on condition. The duration and severity of levodopa induced dyskinesia were reduced respectively by 73% and by 77%. The daily levodopa dose was decreased by only 10%. CONCLUSION Unilateral STN stimulation is a safe and effective procedure for selected patients with marked asymmetry Parkinson"s disease motor symptoms and early motor complications.
Usefulness of Bone Formation Markers in Breast Cancer

The skeleton is the main site affected by metastases and breast cancer is the most frequent tumor to invade bone. The assessment of bone metastases is difficult and biochemical markers of bone formation (BFMs) could be a promising alternative. Although the essential role of osteoblasts in the metastatic process of bone destruction is now well established, little attention has been paid to BFMs. We conducted a Medline search for studies about BFMs in breast cancer. Our review allows us to conclude that BFMs have high specificity but low sensitivity for the diagnosis of bone metastases. The available biochemical markers cannot replace imaging techniques for the diagnosis of bone metastases. Several studies indicate that BFM serum levels reflect total tumor burden in the skeleton. BFM levels are higher in patients with blastic lesions compared to those with lytic lesions. Serial measurements of BFMs could be useful for the clinical assessment of response to antineoplastic treatment or to bisphosphonate therapy. Besides markers of bone resorption, biochemical markers of bone formation are a promising alternative for the assessment of metastatic bone disease, but large prospective studies are needed to address this important issue.