Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recommandation et analyse de sentiments dans un espace latent textuel

Recommender systems were developed to cherry-pick interesting content in an always growing environment to help users discover new products or information that they might like. Traditional collaborative filtering methods mainly focus on the ratings to establish user profiles, ignoring the joint review text. Our work does the opposite. We use the written comments as the primary source of information and propose, in addition to rating forecast, to predict review text. Our approch also enables us to elegantly tackle the cold-start problem. Using state-of-the-art text embedding technique, we build a latent review space where all the components of a review is mapped. The created vectors are used to predict both rating and review text. MOTS-CLÉS : Recommandation, Analyse de sentiments, Apprentissage de représentations textuelles
An anchored dynamic time-warping for alignment and comparison of swallowing acoustic signals

Properties of signals captured by contact accelerometers assist the evaluation of human organs involved in the swallowing process. Here we present a novel method to account the alignment between two different swallowing signals based on two steps: first, a scaled cross-correlation determines an anchor point of maximum similarity between the signals, dividing both signals in two parts; next, dynamic time warping aligns the left and right parts of both signals. Additional filtering procedures are used smooth the swallowing signals due to their low SNR. The results show that this technique can be used to assess similarities between liquid and solid boluses of a subject.
Electrolytic Capacitor-Less Single-Power-Conversion On-Board Charger With High Efficiency

This paper presents an electrolytic capacitor-less single-power-conversion on-board charger with high efficiency. The proposed on-board charger is composed of a step-up ac-dc converter which includes an active-clamp circuit and a series-resonant circuit. The active-clamp circuit provides a zero-voltage switching of switches and recycles the energy stored in the leakage inductance of the transformer. Also, this circuit clamps the surge voltage of switches. The series-resonant circuit reduces reverse-recovery problem of output diodes by providing a zero-current switching. Especially, the control algorithm is developed to achieve high power factor under the universal input voltage without the help of the any auxiliary circuit. Thus, due to these characteristics, the proposed charger can achieve high power efficiency and high power factor. In addition, the structure of single-power-conversion is very beneficial to the on-board charger that is installed in the vehicle. To confirm the theoretical analysis and validity of the proposed on-board charger, a 2-kW prototype is implemented under the universal input voltage.
Model-based Test-Case Generation for Testing Robustness of Vision Components of Robotic Systems

This extended abstract outlines a model-based approach for generating test data to assess the robustness of computer vision (CV) solutions with respect to a given task or application. The outlined approach enables the automatic generation of test data with a measurable coverage of optical situations both typical as well as critical for a given application. In addition, expected results are generated, all with almost no manual effort.
Stacking species distribution models and adjusting bias by linking them to macroecological models

Aim Species distribution models (SDMs) are common tools in biogeography and conservation ecology. It has been repeatedly claimed that aggregated (stacked) SDMs (S-SDMs) will overestimate species richness. One recently suggested solution to this problem is to use macroecological models of species richness to constrain S-SDMs. Here, we examine current practice in the development of S-SDMs to identify methodological problems, provide tools to overcome these issues, and quantify the performance of correctly stacked S-SDMs alongside macroecological models. Locations Barents Sea, Europe and Dutch Wadden Sea. Methods We present formal mathematical arguments demonstrating how S-SDMs should and should not be stacked. We then compare the performance of macroecological models and correctly stacked S-SDMs on the same data to determine if the former can be used to constrain the latter. Next, we develop a maximum-likelihood approach to adjusting S-SDMs and discuss how it could potentially be used in combination with macroecological models. Finally, we use this tool to quantify how S-SDMs deviate from observed richness in four very different case studies. Results We demonstrate that stacking methods based on thresholding site-level occurrence probabilities will almost always be biased, and that these biases will tend toward systematic overprediction of richness. Next, we show that correctly stacked S-SDMs perform very similarly to macroecological models in that they both have a tendency to overpredict richness in species-poor sites and underpredict it in species-rich sites. Main conclusions Our results suggest that the perception that S-SDMs consistently overpredict richness is driven largely by incorrect stacking methods. With these biases removed, S-SDMs perform similarly to macroecological models, suggesting that combining the two model classes will not offer much improvement. However, if situations where coupling S-SDMs and macroecological models would be beneficial are subsequently identified, the tools we develop would facilitate such a synthesis.
Ensembl 2011

The Ensembl project (http://www.ensembl.org) seeks to enable genomic science by providing high quality, integrated annotation on chordate and selected eukaryotic genomes within a consistent and accessible infrastructure. All supported species include comprehensive, evidence-based gene annotations and a selected set of genomes includes additional data focused on variation, comparative, evolutionary, functional and regulatory annotation. The most advanced resources are provided for key species including human, mouse, rat and zebrafish reflecting the popularity and importance of these species in biomedical research. As of Ensembl release 59 (August 2010), 56 species are supported of which 5 have been added in the past year. Since our previous report, we have substantially improved the presentation and integration of both data of disease relevance and the regulatory state of different cell types.
An expanded protein–protein interaction network in Bacillus subtilis reveals a group of hubs: Exploration by an integrative approach

We have generated a protein–protein interaction network in Bacillus subtilis focused on several essential cellular processes such as cell division, cell responses to various stresses, the bacterial cytoskeleton, DNA replication and chromosome maintenance by careful application of the yeast two‐hybrid approach. This network, composed of 793 interactions linking 287 proteins with an average connectivity of five interactions per protein, represents a valuable resource for future functional analyses. A striking feature of the network is a group of highly connected hubs (GoH) linking many different cellular processes. Most of the proteins of the GoH have unknown functions and are associated to the membrane. By the integration of available knowledge, in particular of transcriptome data sets, the GoH was decomposed into subgroups of party hubs corresponding to protein complexes or regulatory pathways expressed under different conditions. At a global level, the GoH might function as a very robust group of date hubs having partially redundant functions to integrate information from the different cellular pathways. Our analyses also provide a rational way to study the highly redundant functions of the GoH by a genetic approach.
Use of sputum eosinophil counts to guide management in children with severe asthma

Background Previous studies in adults with asthma incorporating the control of sputum eosinophils into management strategies have shown significant reductions in exacerbations. A study was undertaken to investigate whether this strategy would be successful in children with severe asthma. Methods 55 children (7–17 years) with severe asthma were randomised to either a conventional symptom-based management strategy or to an inflammation-based strategy (principally sputum eosinophils). Children were seen 3-monthly over a 1-year period. Results The annual rate of total and major exacerbations (courses of oral corticosteroids) was non-significantly lower in the inflammatory management group compared with the symptom management group (3.6 vs 4.8, incident rate ratio (IRR) 0.75, 95% CI 0.54 to 1.04, p=0.082; and 1.9 vs 2.7 IRR 0.73, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.28, p=0.274 for total and major exacerbations, respectively). Significantly fewer subjects in the inflammatory management group experienced an exacerbation within 28 days of a study visit. There were small non-significant differences in measures of asthma control (symptom-free days and short-acting β agonist use) favouring the inflammatory management group. There was no significant difference in the inhaled corticosteroid dose prescribed over the course of the study. Conclusion Incorporating the control of sputum eosinophils into the management algorithm did not significantly reduce overall exacerbations or improve asthma control. Exacerbations were reduced in the short term, suggesting that more frequent measurements would be needed for a clinically useful effect and that controlling inflammation may have a role to play in subgroups of children with severe asthma.
The Construct Validation of Learning Organization and Its Influence upon Firm Performance in Mainland China.

This paper examines the applicability of the learning organization concept and its influence upon firm performance in mainland China. Based on the theoretical framework proposed by Watkins and Marsick, four dimensions of the learning organization instead of seven dimensions were identified. A balanced scorecard-based performance evaluation questionnaire was developed. Regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between learning organization and firm performance. The results indicate that learning organization has positive influence on firm performance.
AID and APOBECs span the gap between innate and adaptive immunity

The activation-induced deaminase (AID)/APOBEC cytidine deaminases participate in a diversity of biological processes from the regulation of protein expression to embryonic development and host defenses. In its classical role, AID mutates germline-encoded sequences of B cell receptors, a key aspect of adaptive immunity, and APOBEC1, mutates apoprotein B pre-mRNA, yielding two isoforms important for cellular function and plasma lipid metabolism. Investigations over the last ten years have uncovered a role of the APOBEC superfamily in intrinsic immunity against viruses and innate immunity against viral infection by deamination and mutation of viral genomes. Further, discovery in the area of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection revealed that the HIV viral infectivity factor protein interacts with APOBEC3G, targeting it for proteosomal degradation, overriding its antiviral function. More recently, our and others’ work have uncovered that the AID and APOBEC cytidine deaminase family members have an even more direct link between activity against viral infection and induction and shaping of adaptive immunity than previously thought, including that of antigen processing for cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity and natural killer cell activation. Newly ascribed functions of these cytodine deaminases will be discussed, including their newly identified roles in adaptive immunity, epigenetic regulation, and cell differentiation. Herein this review we discuss AID and APOBEC cytodine deaminases as a link between innate and adaptive immunity uncovered by recent studies.
Publicly verifiable conjunctive keyword search in outsourced databases

Recent technological developments in cloud computing and the ensuing commercial appeal have encouraged companies and individuals to outsource their storage and computations to powerful cloud servers. However, the challenge when outsourcing data and computation is to ensure that the cloud servers comply with their advertised policies. In this paper, we focus in particular on the scenario where a data owner wishes to (i) outsource its public database to a cloud server; (ii) enable anyone to submit multi-keyword search queries to the outsourced database; and (iii) ensure that anyone can verify the correctness of the server's responses. To meet these requirements, we propose a solution that builds upon the well-established techniques of Cuckoo hashing, polynomial-based accumulators and Merkle trees. The key idea is to (i) build an efficient index for the keywords in the database using Cuckoo hashing; (ii) authenticate the resulting index using polynomial-based accumulators and Merkle tree; (iii) and finally, use the root of the Merkle tree to verify the correctness of the server's responses. Thus, the proposed solution yields efficient search and verification and incurs a constant storage at the data owner. Furthermore, we show that it is sound under the strong bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption and the security of Merkle trees.
Title of Document : THE EFFECTS OF WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ON A COMMERCIAL FISHERY : EVIDENCE FROMTHEMARYLAND BLUE CRAB FISHERY

Title of Document: THE EFFECTS OF WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ON A COMMERCIAL FISHERY: EVIDENCE FROMTHEMARYLAND BLUE CRAB FISHERY Sarah Ball, Ph.D., 2014 Directed By: Associate Professor Doug Lipton, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Developing and implementing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) is a costly and controversial process. However, there are many potential benefits, such as improvements to commercial fisheries. A two-stage model is developed to estimate the benefits of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL on the Maryland blue crab fishery. In the first stage, a bio-economic model links water quality to stock and harvest and various hypotheses on this link are tested. In the second stage, a model of fisherman behavior links the effects of changes in water quality on stock and harvest to fisherman behavior, such as fishing, location, and effort decisions. A number of simulations are then run to predict the effects of the TMDL on the Maryland blue crab fishery. The simulations predict that the TMDL is likely to have a small, if not insignificant, effect on the fishery. This result is in part explained by the fact that the current level of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay is suitable for the blue crabs. THE EFFECTS OF WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ON A COMMERCIAL FISHERY: EVIDENCE FROM THE MARYLAND BLUE CRAB FISHERY
Performance Evaluation of 5 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s Mobile Optical Wireless Systems Employing Beam Angle and Power Adaptation with Diversity Receivers

Over the last two decades, indoor optical wireless (OW) systems have operated typically at 30 Mbit/s to 155 Mbit/s. Here, we propose and evaluate for the first time a mobile OW system that operates at 5 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s. The improvements in data rates and channel bandwidth are achieved through the introduction of three approaches: angle diversity, beam angle and beam power adaptation. We propose a mobile OW system that employs beam angle and beam power adaptation in a line strip multibeam spot diffusing system configuration in conjunction with an angle diversity receiver (APA-LSMS) to mitigate the degradation due to ambient light noise, multipath dispersion and mobility. The performance of our proposed system was investigated through channel and noise modelling. Our results show that the proposed APA-LSMS at a bit rate of 30 Mbit/s achieves about 45 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain over a power adaptive line strip multibeam system (PA-LSMS) and offers 60 dB SNR gain over a conventional diffuse system (CDS) at a 6 m horizontal separation between the transmitter and the receiver. The SNR is independent of the transmitter location and when our methods (angle diversity, beam angle and beam power adaptations) are implemented, the SNR can be maximized at the receiver for every transmitter location. The results show an increase in channel bandwidth from 36 MHz (CDS) to approximately 7.2 GHz in our proposed system (APA-LSMS). These improvements enhance our system and enable it to operate at higher data rates of 5 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s.
Semi-supervised Learning based on Bayesian Networks and Optimization for Interactive Image Retrieval

In this paper, we present a novel interactive image retrieval technique using semi-supervised learning. Recently, Guan and Qiu (8, 9) have shown that by constructing a Bayesian Network where the nodes represent the (continuous) class membership scores and arcs represent the dependence relations of the data points, the (semi-supervised) classification problem can be formulated as a quadratic optimization problem; and by using the labeled data as linear constraints, the optimization problem yields a large, sparse system of linear equations which can be solved very efficiently using standard methods. In this work, we show that this semi-supervised learning method can be naturally adopted as a computational tool to incorporate users feedbacks for interactive image retrieval. We present experimental results to show the effectiveness of our new interactive image retrieval method. We also show that semi- supervised learning can have advantages over supervised and unsupervised learning in image retrieval applications.
Cell Signaling Experiments Driven by Optical Manipulation

Cell signaling involves complex transduction mechanisms in which information released by nearby cells or extracellular cues are transmitted to the cell, regulating fundamental cellular activities. Understanding such mechanisms requires cell stimulation with precise control of low numbers of active molecules at high spatial and temporal resolution under physiological conditions. Optical manipulation techniques, such as optical tweezing, mechanical stress probing or nano-ablation, allow handling of probes and sub-cellular elements with nanometric and millisecond resolution. PicoNewton forces, such as those involved in cell motility or intracellular activity, can be measured with femtoNewton sensitivity while controlling the biochemical environment. Recent technical achievements in optical manipulation have new potentials, such as exploring the actions of individual molecules within living cells. Here, we review the progress in optical manipulation techniques for single-cell experiments, with a focus on force probing, cell mechanical stimulation and the local delivery of active molecules using optically manipulated micro-vectors and laser dissection.
Effect of steroids on the outcome of penicillin treatment in pneumococcal sepsis in splenectomized rats.

Increased morbidity in septic infections following splenectomy is a well-known phenomenon; despite antibiotic treatment the mortality rate associated with such infections is about 50%. Combined steroid-penicillin treatment of experimental pneumococcal sepsis was investigated in splenectomized Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to intravenous challenge with 200 colony-forming units (CFU) of pneumococci. Dexamethasone alone had no therapeutic effect. Benzylpenicillin alone was effective when given "early," i.e. 18 and 42 hours after challenge (0 of 10 animals killed), but not when given "late," i.e at 24 and 48 hours (10 of 14 killed). By contrast, even with "late" administration the combined treatment with dexamethasone and benzylpenicillin was effective against lethal pneumococcal sepsis (1 of 14 killed).
Diffractive Scintillation of the Pulsar PSR B1259–63

PSR B1259-63 is in a highly eccentric 3.4 yr orbit around the Be star SS 2883. The system is located in the direction of the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm at a distance of ~1.5 kpc. We have made scintillation observations of the pulsar far from periastron at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz, determining the diffractive bandwidth, Δνd, and timescale, Δtd, at both frequencies. We find no dependence on orbital phase until within 30 days of periastron. The data indicate that the scintillation is caused not by the circumstellar environment but by an H II region within the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm located at least three-quarters of the way to the pulsar. Close to periastron, when the line of sight to the pulsar intersects the disk of the Be star, the electron densities within the disk are sufficient to overcome the "lever-arm effect" and produce a reduction in the scintillation bandwidth by 6 orders of magnitude.
A computer-architecture approach to thermal management in computer systems: opportunities and challenges

Cooling costs for notebook, desktop, and server computer systems are rising exponentially as power densities for high-performance chips continue to double every three years. Research has led to a range of advances in modeling and design of thermal packaging and circuit boards. Yet a major front that has been absent is thermal design in the computer architecture domain, where processor utilization, the interleaving of different computation processes, and the flow of instructions through the CPU are controlled. The architecture domain presents a rich opportunity for thermal management that complements other advances by controlling temperature at runtime in response to the dynamic behavior of the computer's current workload. This paper describes a compact modeling algorithm that is appropriate for this domain, presents some architecture techniques for runtime thermal management, and describes some interesting problems that remain to be solved.
Semaphorin 4C: A Novel Component of B-Cell Polarization in Th2-Driven Immune Responses

Background Semaphorins are important molecules in embryonic development and multiple semaphorins have been identified as having key roles in immune regulation. To date, there is little known about Semaphorin 4C (Sema4C) in immune biology. We report for the first time that Sema4C is inducible in human and murine B-cells and may be important for normal B-cell development. Methods Human tonsillar B-cells were studied following activation via anti-CD40 antibodies in the presence or absence of representative Th1, Th2, and regulatory cytokines. Murine B-cells from WT and Sema4C−/− mice were similarly stimulated. B-cell phenotyping in WT and Sema4C mutant mice was performed by flow cytometry and lymphoid architecture was studied by immunohistochemistry. Sema4C expression and synapse formation were analyzed by confocal microscopy. Results Gene array studies performed on human tonsillar B-cells stimulated to produce IgE revealed that Sema4C was among the top genes expressed at 24 h, and the only semaphorin to be increased under Th2 conditions. Validation studies demonstrated that human and murine B-cells expressed Sema4C under similar conditions. Sema4C−/− mice had impaired maturation of B-cell follicles in spleens and associated decreases in follicular and marginal zone B-cells as well as impaired IgG and IgA production. In keeping with a potential role in maturation of B-cells, Sema4C was expressed predominantly on CD27+ human B-cells. Within 72 h of B-cell activation, Sema4C was localized to one pole in a synapse-like structure, in association with F-actin, B-cell receptor, and Plexin-B2. Cell polarization was impaired in Sema4C−/− mice. Conclusion We have identified a novel immune semaphorin induced in human and murine B-cells under Th2 conditions. Sema4C appears to be a marker for human memory B-cells. It may be important for B-cell polarization and for the formation of normal splenic follicles.