Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Social Feedback in a Reddit Weight Loss Community

It is generally accepted as common wisdom that receiving social feedback is helpful to (i) keep an individual engaged with a community and to (ii) facilitate an individual's positive behavior change. However, quantitative data on the effect of social feedback on continued engagement in an online health community is scarce. In this work we apply Mahalanobis Distance Matching (MDM) to demonstrate the importance of receiving feedback in the "loseit" weight loss community on Reddit. Concretely we show that (i) even when correcting for differences in word choice, users receiving more positive feedback on their initial post are more likely to return in the future, and that (ii) there are diminishing returns and social feedback on later posts is less important than for the first post. We also give a description of the type of initial posts that are more likely to attract this valuable social feedback. Though we cannot yet argue about ultimate weight loss success or failure, we believe that understanding the social dynamics underlying online health communities is an important step to devise more effective interventions.
Solving the Bottleneck in the Hybrid MIMO Transceiver Scheme : Channel Coding vs . Partial CSI at Transmitter Side

Resumo— Neste paper, ńos tentamos resolver o “gargalo”presente nos esquemas de transceptores MIMO hı́bridos propondo e comparando algumas possı́veis soluç ões. Em [1], nós avaliamos o desempenho dos esquemas de transceptores MIMO hı́bridos considerando um esquema de codificaç̃ao de canal nas camadas seguindo a t écnica V-BLAST. Nós aqui propomos um novo esquema usando a informaç ̃o parcial do estado atual do canal (CSI, da sigla em Ingl ês) no lado do transmissor e comparamos o desempenho com a soluç ão considerando a codificaç̃ ao de canal.
Tangent-Bundle Maps on the Grassmann Manifold: Application to Empirical Arithmetic Averaging

The present paper elaborates on tangent-bundle maps on the Grassmann manifold, with application to subspace arithmetic averaging. In particular, the present contribution elaborates on the work about retraction/lifting maps devised for the Stiefel manifold in the recently published paper T. Kaneko, S. Fiori and T. Tanaka, “Empirical arithmetic averaging over the compact Stiefel manifold,” IEEE Trans. Signal Process. , Vol. 61, No. 4, pp. 883-894, February 2013, and discusses the extension of such maps to the Grassmann manifold. Tangent-bundle maps are devised on the basis of the thin QR matrix decomposition, the polar matrix decomposition and the exponential map. Also, tangent-bundle pseudo-maps based on the matrix Cayley transform are devised. Theoretical and numerical comparisons about the devised tangent-bundle maps are performed in order to get an insight into their relative merits and demerits, with special emphasis to their computational burden. The averaging algorithm based on the thin-QR decomposition maps stands out as it exhibits the best trade off between numerical precision and computational burden. Such algorithm is further compared with two Grassmann averaging algorithms drawn from the scientific literature on an handwritten digits recognition data set. The thin-QR tangent-bundle maps-based algorithm exhibits again numerical features that make it preferable over such algorithms.
Towards contractual interfaces for reusable functional quality attribute operationalisations

The quality of a software system can be measured by the extent to which it possesses a desired combination of quality attributes (QAs). While some QAs are achieved implicitly through the interaction of various functional components of the system, others (e.g., security) can be encapsulated in dedicated software components. These QAs are known as functional quality attributes (FQAs). As applications may require different FQAs, and each FQA can be composed of many concerns (e.g., access control and authentication), integrating FQAs is very complex and requires dedicated expertise. Software architects are required to manually define FQA components, identify appropriate points in their architecture where to weave them, and verify that the composition of these FQA components with the other components is correct. This is a complex and error prone process. In our previous work we defined reusable FQAs by encapsulating them as aspectual architecture models that can be woven into a base architecture. So far, the joinpoints for weaving had to be identified manually. This made it difficult for software architects to verify that they have woven all the necessary FQAs into all the right places. In this paper, we address this problem by introducing a notion of contract for FQAs so that the correct application of an FQA (or one of its concerns) can be checked or, alternatively, appropriate binding points can be identified and proposed to the software architect automatically.
Provable Synthetic Coordinates for Increasing PoWs Effectiveness against DoS and Spam

The effectiveness of synthetic coordinate systems against DoS and spam stems from the fact that, while changing or hiding a logical address is easier, changing the location of the spammer inside the network should be harder. But synthetic coordinate systems are limited by the fact that malicious nodes can easily lie about their position or introduce additional delays which have an immediate impact on it. For this purpose, we enhance the synthetic coordinate system provided by Vivaldi with secure nonces that are periodically broadcasted by trusted servers to achieve a provable location claim within the overlay network. As we advocate in this work, secure localization can help in choosing the hardness of PoWs since locations from which more malicious traffic originates can receive PoWs with higher difficulties.
Cellular Immunity Confers Transient Protection in Experimental Buruli Ulcer following BCG or Mycolactone-Negative Mycobacterium ulcerans Vaccination

Background Buruli ulcer (BU) is an emerging infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans that can result in extensive necrotizing cutaneous lesions due to the cytotoxic exotoxin mycolactone. There is no specific vaccine against BU but reports show some degree of cross-reactive protection conferred by M. bovis BCG immunization. Alternatively, an M. ulcerans-specific immunization could be a better preventive strategy. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we used the mouse model to characterize the histological and cytokine profiles triggered by vaccination with either BCG or mycolactone-negative M. ulcerans, followed by footpad infection with virulent M. ulcerans. We observed that BCG vaccination significantly delayed the onset of M. ulcerans growth and footpad swelling through the induction of an earlier and sustained IFN-γ T cell response in the draining lymph node (DLN). BCG vaccination also resulted in cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in M. ulcerans-infected footpads, given the predominance of a chronic mononuclear infiltrate positive for iNOS, as well as increased and sustained levels of IFN-γ and TNF. No significant IL-4, IL-17 or IL-10 responses were detected in the footpad or the DLN, in either infected or vaccinated mice. Despite this protective Th1 response, BCG vaccination did not avoid the later progression of M. ulcerans infection, regardless of challenge dose. Immunization with mycolactone-deficient M. ulcerans also significantly delayed the progression of footpad infection, swelling and ulceration, but ultimately M. ulcerans pathogenic mechanisms prevailed. Conclusions/Significance The delay in the emergence of pathology observed in vaccinated mice emphasizes the relevance of protective Th1 recall responses against M. ulcerans. In future studies it will be important to determine how the transient CMI induced by vaccination is compromised.
Shape Identificaiton And Ranking In Temporal Data Sets by Machon Gregory

Title of thesis: Shape Identification And Ranking In Temporal Data Sets Machon Gregory, Master of Science, 2009 Thesis directed by: Professor Ben Shneiderman Department of Computer Science Shapes are a concise way to describe temporal variable behaviors. Some commonly used shapes are spikes, sinks, rises, and drops. A spike describes a set of variable values that rapidly increase, then immediately rapidly decrease. The variable may be the value of a stock or a person’s blood sugar levels. Shapes abstractly describe a variable’s behavior. Details such as the height of a spike or its rate increase, are lost in the abstraction. These hidden details make it difficult to define shapes and compare one instance to another. For example, what attributes can be used to define a spike’s behavior? And what attributes of a spike determine its “spikiness”? The ability to define and compare shapes is important because it allows shapes to be identified and ranked, according to an attribute of interest. A lot of work has been done in the area of shape identification through pattern matching and other data mining techniques, but ideas combining the identification and comparison of shapes have received less attention. This dissertation fills the gap by presenting a set of shapes and their attributes, by which they can be identified, compared, and ranked. Neither the set of shapes, nor their attributes presented in this dissertation are exhaustive, but it provides an example of how a shape’s attributes can be used for identification and comparison. Spikes, sinks, rises, drops, lines, plateaus, valleys, and gaps are the shapes presented in this dissertation. Several attributes for each shape are identified and defined. These attributes will be the basis for constructing definitions that identify a particular behavior of a shape and allow it to be ranked. The second contribution of this work is an information visualization tool, TimeSearcher: Shape Search Edition (SSE), which allows users to explore data sets using the identification and ranking ideas, presented in this dissertation. Case studies were performed to evaluate the benefit of shape identification and ranking in different data sets. Four case studies were performed with a single user, exploring network traffic data and X-ray diffraction data. Shape Identificaiton And Ranking In Temporal Data Sets
On the Complexity of Mining Association Rules

In this paper we describe our ongoing research towards establishing the complexity of mining association rules from relational databases. We consider both quantitative, categorical and boolean association rules and various forms of quality indexes, including confidence, support, gain, laplace. The presented results show that all these problems are, generally, computationally hard to solve, even if we are able to single out some interesting tractable special cases.
Situated simulation in the human conceptual system

Four theories of the human conceptual system—semantic memory, exemplar models, feed‐forward connectionist nets, and situated simulation theory—are characterised and contrasted on five dimensions: (1) architecture (modular vs. non‐modular), (2) representation (amodal vs. modal), (3) abstraction (decontextualised vs. situated), (4) stability (stable vs. dynamical), and (5) organisation (taxonomic vs. action–environment interface). Empirical evidence is then reviewed for the situated simulation theory, and the following conclusions are reached. Because the conceptual system shares mechanisms with perception and action, it is non-modular. As a result, conceptual representations are multi-modal simulations distributed across modality‐specific systems. A given simulation for a concept is situated, preparing an agent for situated action with a particular instance, in a particular setting. Because a concept delivers diverse simulations that prepare agents for action in many different situations, it is dynamical. Because the conceptual system’s primary purpose is to support situated action, it becomes organised around the action–environment interface.
Detection of StegoBot: a covert social network botnet

StegoBot is a recently discovered social network security threat that allows probabilistically unobservable communication through social network. The main aim of a Stegobot is to spread social malware and steal the information from targeted machines. Stegobot takes the advantage of image Steganography to hide the presence of communication within the image sharing behavior of user interaction. In this paper, we present a detection scheme to detect StegoBot. We analyzed different entropies of images to show that image files are generally very sensitive to embedding. Ensemble classification is employed here as a powerful tool that allows fast detection of StegoBot. The power of the proposed framework is demonstrated on different social networks with different evaluation metrics.
Effects of Two Fullerene Derivatives on Monocytes and Macrophages

Two fullerene derivatives (fullerenes 1 and 2), bearing a hydrophilic chain on the pyrrolidinic nitrogen, were developed with the aim to deliver anticancer agents to solid tumors. These two compounds showed a significantly different behaviour on human neoplastic cell lines in vitro in respect to healthy leukocytes. In particular, the pyrrolidinium ring on the fullerene carbon cage brings to a more active compound. In the present work, we describe the effects of these fullerenes on primary cultures of human monocytes and macrophages, two kinds of immune cells representing the first line of defence in the immune response to foreign materials. These compounds are not recognized by circulating monocytes while they get into macrophages. The evaluation of the pronecrotic or proapoptotic effects, analysed by means of analysis of the purinergic receptor P2X7 activation and of ROS scavenging activity, has allowed us to show that fullerene 2, but not its analogue fullerene 1, displays toxicity, even though at concentrations higher than those shown to be active on neoplastic cells.
A Keyword-based Monolingual Sentence Aligner in Text Simplification

We introduce a method for learning to align sentences in monolingual parallel articles for text simplification. In our approach, word keyness is integrated to prefer aligning essential words in sentences. The method involves estimating word keyness based on TF*IDF and semantic PageRank, and word nodes’ parts-of-speech and degrees of reference. At run-time, the keyword analyses are used as word weights in sentence similarity measure. And a global dynamic programming goes through sentence similarities further weighted by aligned content-word ratios and positions of aligned words to determine the optimal candidates of parallel sentences. We present a prototype sentence aligner, KEA, that applies the method to monolingual parallel articles. Evaluation shows that KEA pays more attention to key words during sentence aligning and outperforms the current state-of-the-art in alignment accuracy and f-measure. Our pilot study also indicates that language learners benefit from our sentence-aligned parallel articles in reading comprehension test.
Exploring Concepts of Leadership and Leadership Development Within an International Development Through Sport Context

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders’, and for that reason, it is considered important by researchers and practitioners alike to understand how to develop effective leadership skills and characteristics. The purpose of this research was to explore concepts of leadership including leadership development (LD) within an international development through sport context. The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada’s (CGC) International Development through Sport (IDS) administration team created a program called the Capacity Support Program (CSP). The CSP is an internship program offered to recent university graduates to assist in various initiatives intended on building sporting capacity within partnering Commonwealth countries. Participants also known as Capacity Support Officer’s (CSO’s) were immersed within an international environment with a host sport organization (e.g., Barbados National Olympic Committee) for approximately fourteen-months. In this study, interviews were conducted with IDS administrators to clarify and provide further detailed information about the program. In addition, archival material (e.g., pre-departure training manual, website articles, DVDs), interviews with CSO’s, and a debrief focus group session with the CSO’s which discussed their experiences and the various concepts of leadership and LD within an international development through sport context was conducted. Data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. A grounded theory approach, specifically the inductive coding technique was utilized throughout the content analysis procedure. Findings showed that concepts of leadership and LD were 1) a fundamental component of the program and 2) linked to various existing literature on leadership theories (e.g., authentic leadership). Further, findings demonstrated the program design and training were significant components of LD and that the cross-cultural context accelerated LD. These findings and others will culminate in a discussion regarding future studies of leadership and LD. Running head: CONCEPTS OF LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT 4 Table of
Generation of non-Rayleigh speckle distributions using marked regularity models

Fully developed speckle patterns observed in coherent imagery are characterized by a Rayleigh-distributed envelope amplitude. Non-Rayleigh distributions are observed in many cases, such as when the number of scatterers in a resolution cell is small or scatterers are organized with some periodicity. Distributions resulting from the assumption of random scatterer phase (random walk models) have been used to describe the speckle amplitude in these cases, leading to K, Rician, and homodyned-K amplitude distributions. An alternative is to incorporate nonrandom phase implicitly by adopting models that directly describe the spatial placement of point scatterers. We examine the consequences of assuming that scattering is described in one dimension by a stationary renewal process in which the arrival times are the locations of ideal point scatterers, the interscatterer distances are drawn from a gamma distribution, and the scatterer amplitudes are allowed to be correlated in space. This model has been called the marked regularity model because variations of the model parameters can generate spatial distributions ranging from clustered to random to nearly periodic. We will demonstrate that all of the non-Rayleigh distributions generated by the previous random phase models can also be generated by the marked regularity model, and we show under what conditions the different distributions will result. We also demonstrate that the regularity model is inherently capable of describing certain sparse scattering conditions. Therefore, the model can represent many cases and provide an intuitively pleasing description of the spatial placement of the scatterers.
Strangers Intrusion Detection - Detecting Spammers and Fake Proles in Social Networks Based on Topology Anomalies

Today's social networks are plagued by numeroustypes of malicious proles which can range from so-cialbots to sexual predators. We present a novelmethod for the detection of these malicious prolesby using the social network's own topological fea-tures only. Reliance on these features alone ensuresthat the proposed method is generic enough to beapplied to a range of social networks. The algorithmhas been evaluated on several social networks andwas found to be eective in detecting various typesof malicious proles. We believe this method is avaluable step in the increasing battle against socialnetwork spammers, socialbots, and sexual predictors.
Visualization of newly synthesized neuronal RNA in vitro and in vivo using click-chemistry

ABSTRACT The neuronal transcriptome changes dynamically to adapt to stimuli from the extracellular and intracellular environment. In this study, we adapted for the first time a click chemistry technique to label the newly synthesized RNA in cultured hippocampal neurons and intact larval zebrafish brain. Ethynyl uridine (EU) was incorporated into neuronal RNA in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Newly synthesized RNA granules observed throughout the dendrites were colocalized with mRNA and rRNA markers. In zebrafish larvae, the application of EU to the swim water resulted in uptake and labeling throughout the brain. Using a GABA receptor antagonist, PTZ (pentylenetetrazol), to elevate neuronal activity, we demonstrate that newly transcribed RNA signal increased in specific regions involved in neurogenesis.
Anticoagulation Management and Monitoring during Pediatric Extracorporeal Life Support: A Review of Current Issues

Anticoagulation is an imperfect science and is even more complicated in neonates and young children. The addition of the extracorporeal life support (ECLS) foreign circuit adds an additional layer of complexity. Anticoagulation goals during ECLS are to maintain a clot-free circuit and a hemostatically balanced patient. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is the default gold standard anticoagulant as no large studies have been performed on any other anticoagulants. This review will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods to monitor UFH anticoagulation, discuss alternative anticoagulants, and examine bleeding and thrombotic complications during ECLS.
Modern Control Solutions for Mechatronic Servosystems . Comparative Case Studies

The paper presents a comparison between several modern control solutions for mechatronic systems. A synthesis of the structures included in the modern based-design solutions is presented. They deal with model predictive control, fuzzy control, adaptive control and combination between different strategies and control structures. Digital simulation results are based on step and rectangular modifications of the reference input.
EPSILON ERIDANI'S PLANETARY DEBRIS DISK: STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS BASED ON SPITZER AND CALTECH SUBMILLIMETER OBSERVATORY OBSERVATIONS

Spitzer and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory images and spectrophotometry of ϵ Eridani at wavelengths from 3.5 to 350 μm reveal new details of its bright debris disk. The 350 μm map confirms the presence of a ring at r = 11″–28″(35–90 AU), observed previously at longer sub-mm wavelengths. The Spitzer mid-IR and far-IR images do not show the ring, but rather a featureless disk extending from within a few arcsec of the star across the ring to r∼ 34″ (110 AU). The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the debris system implies a complex structure. A model constrained by the surface brightness profiles and the SED indicates that the sub-mm ring emission is primarily from large (a∼ 135 μm) grains, with smaller (a∼ 15 μm) grains also present in and beyond the ring. The Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph and Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer SED-mode spectrophotometry data clearly show the presence of spatially compact excess emission at λ ≳ 15 μm that requires the presence of two additional narrow belts of dust within the sub-mm ring's central void. The innermost belt at r∼ 3 AU is composed of silicate dust. A simple dynamical model suggests that dust produced collisionally by a population of about 11 M⊕ of planetesimals in the sub-mm ring could be the source of the emission from both in and beyond the sub-mm ring. Maintaining the inner belts and the inner edge to the sub-mm ring may require the presence of three planets in this system including the candidate radial velocity object.