Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repairing Concavities in ROC Curves

In this paper we investigate methods to detect and repair concavities in ROC curves by manipulating model predictions. The basic idea is that, if a point or a set of points lies below the line spanned by two other points in ROC space, we can use this information to repair the concavity. This effectively builds a hybrid model combining the two better models with an inversion of the poorer models; in the case of ranking classifiers, it means that certain intervals of the scores are identified as unreliable and candidates for inversion. We report very encouraging results on 23 UCI data sets, particularly for naive Bayes where the use of two validation folds yielded significant improvements on more than half of them, with only one loss.
Potential utility of conventional MRI signs in diagnosing pseudoprogression in glioblastoma

Objective: To examine the potential utility of conventional MRI signs in differentiating pseudoprogression (PsP) from early progression (EP). Methods: This retrospective study reviewed initial postradiotherapy MRI scans of 321 patients with glioblastoma undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A total of 93 patients were found to have new or increased enhancing mass lesions, raising the possibility of PsP. Final diagnosis of PsP or EP was established upon review of surgical specimens from a second resection or by clinical and radiologic follow-up. A total of 11 MRI signs potentially helpful in the differentiation between PsP and EP were examined on the initial post-RT MRI and were correlated with the final diagnosis through χ2 or Fisher exact test. Results: Sixty-three (67.7%) of the 93 patients had EP, of which 22 (34.9%) were diagnosed by pathology. Thirty patients (32.3%) had PsP; 6 (16.7% of the 30) were diagnosed by pathology. Subependymal enhancement was predictive for EP (p = 0.001) with 38.1% sensitivity, 93.3% specificity, and 41.8% negative predictive value. The other 10 signs had no predictive value (p = 0.06–1.0). Conclusions: Conventional MRI signs have limited utility in diagnosing PsP in patients with recently treated glioblastomas and worsening enhancing lesions. We did not find a sign with a high negative predictive value for PsP that would have been the most useful for the clinical physician. When present, subependymal spread of the enhancing lesion is a useful MRI marker in identifying EP rather than PsP.
Lexico-Semantic Multiword Expression Extraction

This paper describes a fully unsupervised and automated method for the large-scale extraction of multiword expressions (MWEs) from large corpora. The method takes into account the non-compositionality of MWEs; the intuition is that a noun within a MWE cannot easily be replaced by a semantically similar noun. To implement this intuition, a noun clustering is automatically extracted (using distributional similarity measures), which gives us clusters of semantically related nouns. Next, a number of statistical measures – based on selectional preferences – is developed that formalize the intuition of non-compositionality. The ratio of individual noun preference over cluster preference shows how likely a particular expression is to be a MWE (i.e. whether or not an individual noun accounts for all the preference of a certain cluster). Our approach has been tested on Dutch, and has been both manually and automatically evaluated.
Possible Mechanisms for Neural Reconfigurability and their Implications

The paper introduces a biologically and evolutionarily plausible neural architecture that allows a single group of neurons, or an entire cortical pathway, to be dynamically reconfigured to perform multiple, potentially very different computations. The paper shows that reconfigurability can account for the observed stochastic and distributed coding behavior of neurons and provides a parsimonious explanation for timing phenomena in psychophysical experiments. It also shows that reconfigurable pathways correspond to classes of statistical classifiers that include decision lists, decision trees, and hierarchical Bayesian methods. Implications for the interpretation of neurophysiological and psychophysical results are discussed, and future experiments for testing the reconfigurability hypothesis are explored.
Decay of correlations in nearest-neighbor self-avoiding walk, percolation, lattice trees and animals.

We consider nearest-neighbor self-avoiding walk, bond percolation, lattice trees, and bond lattice animals on Z d . The two-point functions of these models are respectively the generating function for self-avoiding walks from the origin to x ∈ Z d , the probability of a connection from the origin to x, and the generating functions for lattice trees or lattice animals containing the origin and x. Using the lace expansion, we prove that the two-point function at the critical point is asymptotic to const. |x| 2-d as |x| → ∞, for d ≥ 5 for self-avoiding walk, for d ≥ 19 for percolation, and for sufficiently large d for lattice trees and animals. These results are complementary to those of [Ann. Probab. 31 (2003) 349-408], where spread-out models were considered. In the course of the proof, we also provide a sufficient (and rather sharp if d > 4) condition under which the two-point function of a random walk on Z d is asymptotic to const. |x| 2-d as |x| → ∞.
A self-adaptive study method for multi-parameters thresholds in AOI system

Hundreds of features extracted from object images need to be detected and every feature need to be evaluated by its threshold in AOI system. In order to cope with the study problem of multi-parameters thresholds during the solder joint surface qualify inspection in AOI system, a self-adaptive study method is proposed in this manuscript. Firstly, solder joint features are extracted from the solder joint image, which is divided into several key regions based on its features distribution. And the models of the solder joint types including good, excessive, poor, pseudo, shift, and tombstone are built based on extracting several key features of the solder joint. Secondly, considering two comparison ways of threshold parameters, a self-adaptive study method is proposed based on samples intelligent study by a designed closed loop feedback system. With the self-adaptive study method, all threshold parameters can approximate to their ideal values with increasing sample study. Thirdly, to evaluate the performances of the proposed method, several experiments are performed in the AOI system developed by authors. Experiment results show that threshold parameters can be obtained and converge to their ideal values quickly. Furthermore, with the help of the learned threshold parameters, the rate of correction inspection of AOI algorithm is up to 98.3%.
Acceleration of Statistical Detection of Zero-day Malware in the Memory Dump Using CUDA-enabled GPU Hardware

This paper focuses on the anticipatory enhancement of methods of detecting stealth software. Cyber security detection tools are insufficiently powerful to reveal the most recent cyber-attacks which use malware. In this paper, we will present first an idea of the highest stealth malware, as this is the most complicated scenario for detection because it combines both existing anti-forensic techniques together with their potential improvements. Second, we present new detection methods, which are resilient to this hidden prototype. To help solve this detection challenge, we have analyzed Windows memory content using a new method of Shannon Entropy calculation; methods of digital photogrammetry; the Zipf Mandelbrot law, as well as by disassembling the memory content and analyzing the output. Finally, we present an idea and architecture of the software tool, which uses CUDA enabled GPU hardware to speed-up memory forensics. All three ideas are currently a work in progress.
Elementary Teachers' Participation in Edmodo as a Community of Practice: A Phenomenology

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the shared, lived experience of elementary teachers’ participation in Edmodo as a community of practice. The theoretical framework guiding this research included Lave and Wenger’s (1991) community of practice theory and Bandura’s social learning theory (1977, 1984) which explained how learning through participation and observation occurs among teachers involved in learning communities. Social constructivism (Bruner, 1996; Piaget, 1971; Vygotsky, 1978) and adult learning theories (Mezirow, 1991, 1995; Knowles, 1984) also provided understanding as to how adults learn and create knowledge. This study described the lived experience of 10 elementary teachers and one elementary math coach in central Virginia who participated in Edmodo as a community of practice, how the presence of external factors influenced teachers’ beliefs about participating in a community of practice, how the experience of teaching more rigorous mathematics instruction changed for elementary teachers before and after participating in Edmodo as a community of practice, and how elementary teachers viewed the future of their profession based on their shared experience of participating in Edmodo as a community of practice. Qualitative data collection methods to include semi-structured interviews, online document analysis, and focus group interviews were employed. Data analysis provided a rich textural and structural description of the phenomenon that elementary teachers experience when participating in Edmodo as a community of practice. This analysis included a generation of significant themes and statements followed by coding to capture the essence of the phenomenon. Further, this research study offered suggestions for future studies concerning elementary teachers’ participation in online professional learning networks as communities of practice.
Dynamic OOBNs applied to water management in dams

Bayesian networks (BNs) are a mature technology now widely used for modelling complex domains requiring decision making under certainty, such as environmental modelling. Object-oriented BNs (OOBNs) have been proposed to help manage the modelling complexity through structured decomposition, abstraction and encapsulation. OOBNs have been applied previously to water catchment management, but without explicit spatial modelling. In this paper, we present a novel schema that captures the spatial relationships between connected dams, as well as the temporal dynamics of the catchment over successive seasons. This is validated on an abstracted 5 dam example, with results presented for two representative cases.
Supervised learning from multiple experts: whom to trust when everyone lies a bit

We describe a probabilistic approach for supervised learning when we have multiple experts/annotators providing (possibly noisy) labels but no absolute gold standard. The proposed algorithm evaluates the different experts and also gives an estimate of the actual hidden labels. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method is superior to the commonly used majority voting baseline.
Knowledge management process in the local government

Knowledge management is an important issue. The employ of new information technologies, like content management systems contribute to the improvement of knowledge management process. But it is not enough. It is why in this context, communication genres are used. In fact, with this approach is possible identifying communication genres actually used in local government. Communication genres approach may be used in requirement analysis and then in the analysis and design activities of information system development and customization.
Mechanized quantifier elimination for linear real-arithmetic in Isabelle / HOL

We integrate Ferrante and Rackoff’s quantifier elimination procedure for linear real arithmetic in Isabelle/HOL in two manners: (a) tactic-style, i.e. for every problem instance a proof is generated by invoking a series of inference rules, and (b) reflection, where the whole algorithm is implemented and verified within Isabelle/HOL. We discuss the performance obtained for both integrations.
Performance-Contingent Rewards and Self-Efficacy: Moderating Effects of Timing of Reward Determination and Performance Standards

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine the moderating effects of the timing of reward determination and performance standards on the relationship between performance-contingent rewards and self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach – The sample included 568 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk. They were provided with a webpage developed purposely for our online experiment. The model was tested for mediation and moderation processes using regression analysis and ANOVA. Findings – We found a mediating effect of self-efficacy between performance-contingent rewards and intrinsic motivation. A moderating effect of performance standards (absolute, relative, ambiguous) on the relationship between performance-contingent rewards and self-efficacy was also found. Performance standards were found to be more important moderators than the timing of reward determination. Research limitations/implications – We suggested the concept of reward determining timing, and verified cognitive evaluation theory empirically. Limitations can be caused by the methodology, online experiment. Practical implications – People measure their own efficacy or competence by comparing themselves with others more than with performance standards. Use of relative performance standards should be considered to increase self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation of employees. Originality/value – This study describes the importance of the timing of reward determination (i.e., before or after completion of a performance-related task).
Comparison of fricative vocal tract transfer functions derived using two different segmentation techniques

The acoustic and articulatory properties of fricative speech sounds are being studied using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and acoustic recordings from a single subject. Area functions were derived from a complete set of axial and coronal MR slices using two different methods: the Mermelstein technique and the Blum transform. Area functions derived from the two techniques were shown to differ significantly in some cases. Such differences will lead to different acoustic predictions and it is important to know which is the more accurate. The vocal tract acoustic transfer function (VTTF) was derived from these area functions for each fricative and compared with measured speech signals for the same fricative and same subject. The VTTFs for /f/ in two vowel contexts and the corresponding acoustic spectra are derived here; the Blum transform appears to show a better match between prediction and measurement than the Mermelstein technique. Keywords—Area functions, fricatives, vocal tract transfer function, MRI, speech.
Looking at Personal Development and the American Dream as Possible Solutions to Overcome the European Identity Crisis and the European Nightmare

Europeans speak, both through their leaders and through the media, about the crisis of the European civilization. They cultivate the image of Europe threatened in its own existence by the waves of population wishing to settle in Western European countries. Additionally, the threat is sensed in the context of their belonging to other religions but the Christian one. To solve this crisis, we start from the premise that the European dream in the refugees' case may be deemed similar to the American dream of the Europeans settling in American territories where they were to build the American Civilization. Although the anguish of incoming foreigners is psychologically natural, problematic is the fact that they are not perceived as individuals driven by the dream of prosperity and happiness as the European dream. Lacking identity and engulfed in a diffuse mass, they are perceived as an amorphous, threatening and violent collective. I propose to reevaluate alterity in terms of that consecrated in the cultural imaginary as the American dream (the model for what was to be the European dream), by means of the philosophy of success as construed in the theories and practice of personal development.
Adaptive View Validation: A First Step Towards Automatic View Detection

Multi-view algorithms reduce the amount of required training data by partitioning the domain features into separate subsets or views that are sufficient to learn the target concept. Such algorithms rely on the assumption that the views are sufficiently compatible for multi-view learning (i.e., most examples are labeled identically in all views). In practice, it is unclear whether or not two views are sufficiently compatible for solving a new, unseen learning task. In order to cope with this problem, we introduce a view validation algorithm: given a learning task, the algorithm predicts whether or not the views are sufficiently compatible for solving that particular task. We use information acquired while solving several exemplar learning tasks to train a classifier that discriminates between the tasks for which the views are sufficiently and insufficiently compatible for multi-view learning. Our experiments on wrapper induction and text classification show that view validation requires only a modest amount of training data to make high accuracy predictions.
Gardening May Repeatedly Activate the Frontal Pole

Previous epidemiological studies have indicated the effectiveness of gardening and other activities for dementia prevention. Our previous study using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) suggested seeding and watering tasks could induce greater activation than other gardening tasks in the prefrontal area of older adults, but repetitive effects were not fully addressed. The objective of this NIRS study was to investigate the effects of repeated gardening tasks on activation of the frontal pole (FP). We measured oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) values in the FP while 24 healthy right-handed older adults (60 - 73 years) performed a seeding task, a watering task, and a motor programming task (FAB 3) of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Each task was repeated five times. After the fourth trial, comparison of maximum Oxy-Hb values among the three tasks demonstrated that, in the medial FP, activation during the two gardening tasks was significantly or marginally significantly greater than activation during the FAB 3 task. The results may be attributable to differences in the number of sensory information sources and the number of stimulus-oriented (SO) attention switches and SO thoughts. No significant differences were observed in activation in the lateral FP. Comparison of maximum Oxy-Hb values among five trials within each task showed sustained medial FP activation in all tasks, while the watering task and FAB 3 task showed significantly decreased activation in a portion of the lateral FP. This was possibly due to differences in the number of times switching between SO attention and stimulus-independent (SI) attention, and differences in frequency of changes of visual dimension weighting. Also, in the gardening tasks, the participants needed to respond to changes in the external environment; it can be speculated that the need for collating external information corresponding to changes in the external environment induced repeated FP activation during the gardening tasks.
A Rational Analysis of Semantic Processing by the Left Cerebral Hemisphere

The left and right cerebral hemispheres each make important, distinguishable contributions to the process of ordinary language comprehension. Both behavioural and event-related brain potential (ERP) studies have revealed hemispheric differences in lexical/semantic processing, chiefly in the way in which contextual information influences or interacts with other information during cognitive tasks such as word recognition (e.g., Chiarello, Burgess, Richards & Pollock, 1990; Swaab, Baynes & Knight, 1998) and sentence understanding (e.g., Faust, Kravetz & Babkoff, 1993; Federmeier & Kutas, 1999b). The left hemisphere (LH) in particular has been implicated in pre-activating, or predicting the semantic properties of upcoming words during sentence comprehension (Federmeier & Kutas, 1999b). This function of the LH is the focus of investigation in the current paper. Using the methods of rational analysis, we identify a potential source of information – the statistical structure of the linguistic environment – that the processor could conceivably exploit in order to predict the meaning of upcoming words. Our goal is not to provide a detailed account of ERP data, but rather to introduce a new perspective on human semantic processing, by merging the methods of rational analysis with current techniques for the analysis of large language corpora.
Cancer Recognition using Conditional Entropy based Fuzzy Classification Approach for Gene Expression Data

Classification is one of the major widely used data mining techniques for medical diagnosis. In order to overcome the small sample size(SSS) problem, the dimensionality of the feature space is reduced either through feature selection or feature extraction. Many algorithms and techniques have been developed for the microarray gene classification process. These developed techniques accomplish microarray gene classification process with the aid of three basic phases namely dimensionality reduction, feature selection and gene classification, In this paper feature selection method is adopted. A framework is proposed to find informative genes for classification process. Conditional Entropy based filtering approach is used for ranking the cancer genes and fuzzy rules generated for classification. Genes selected are classified based on fuzzy soft sets and this approach reduced the complexity and increased the accuracy of classification compared with other classifiers like Naive Bayes , Decision Tree and Random Forest. This framework also illustrates the effectiveness compared to other state of the art approaches. This method is applied on two gene expression data sets namely lung cancer dataset and prostate cancer dataset.
Vitamin K epoxide reductase contributes to protein disulfide formation and redox homeostasis within the endoplasmic reticulum

Ero1 oxidation of PDI family members drives disulfide bond formation, but parallel pathways support Ero1 function. Relative contributions of known and candidate ER oxidation pathways are ranked by combinatorial RNAi in human hepatoma cells to reveal VKOR as a substantial contributor to ER oxidation, but no role for QSOX1 is observed.
APLRAC: A Pattern Language for Designing and Implementing Role-Based Access Control

The Object-Oriented paradigm approaches the software development by representing real world entities into classes of software objects. Interactions between classes can be captured by patterns. A pattern language is a collection of patterns composed to solve a complex design problem. This paper presents a collection of object-oriented design patterns structured to form a pattern language for Role Based Access Control (RBAC).
Comparable Fora

As the title suggests, our paper deals with web discussion fora, whose content can be considered to be a special type of comparable corpora. We discuss the potential of this vast amount of data available now on the World Wide Web nearly for every language, regarding both general and common topics as well as the most obscure and specific ones. To illustrate our ideas, we propose a case study of seven wedding discussion fora in five languages.