Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring EMG Gesture Recognition-Interactive Armband for Audio Playback Control

This paper investigates the potential of using an electromyographic gesture recognition armband as an everyday companion for operating mobile devices in awareness-requiring contexts and suggests the fields, in which further developments are advisable. The Myo armband from Thalmic Labs is a fully functional motion controller, based on gesture recognition through EMG muscle sensing. The device has been applied for audio control, and the usability and relevance of the gestural interaction have been examined. Participants were asked to operate on a recording while cycling, and a reference group performed similar task in leisure context. The gathered answers suggest decent potential of gestural interaction manner for environments requiring high visual attention, eg. driving or cycling. However, the current state of the solution acts in too sensitive way, as processing numerous misinterpreted gestures highly decreases the system's usability. Moreover, gestures employed are perceived as too apparent and intrusive for social interactions.
Submitting to God’s will: Attitudes and beliefs of Moroccan Muslim women regarding mourning and remembrance

Abstract This study aimed to elicit the attitudes and beliefs of middle-aged and elderly Moroccan Muslim women regarding mourning and remembrance, to identify whether differences are observable between middle-aged and elderly participants, to explore the role of religion and to document how the actual attitudes of our participants relate to normative Islamic literature. Interviews were conducted with middle-aged and elderly Moroccan women living in Belgium (n = 30) and with experts in the field (n = 15). This study reveals that the religious beliefs have a great impact on the views of Muslim women. We found striking similarities between our participants’ views and normative Islamic literature.
Challenges in Causal Inference from Personal Monitoring Devices

Personal Monitoring Devices (PMDs) collect immense amount of data about health and wellness of hundreds of millions of people. One of the obstacles of the prevailing data analytics approaches to PMDs’ data is limited value of correlation-based conclusions in a health context. Causal inference seems a natural solution, but general causal inference methodologies are difficult to apply to PMDs data due to size and complexity of observational data. Some methods, such as randomized trials, are largely infeasible in PMDs’ context due to lack of control over the investigated population. In this paper, we overview existing approaches to causal inference including recent works that attempt to take advantage of time series data to automatically derive causality using extended differencein-deference or Granger methods. We then outline challenges and opportunities for causal inference in the health context. Finally, we propose a following challenge: can we establish a new standard of evidence and a study design process that: (1) allows for drawing causal conclusions from large observational datasets and (2) can suggest interventions to enforce causal links discovered in the data.
Discrete-Time System Optimal Dynamic Traffic Assignment (SO-DTA) with Partial Control for Physical Queuing Networks

We consider the System Optimal Dynamic Traffic Assignment (SO-DTA) problem with Partial Control for general networks with physical queuing. Our goal is to optimally control any subset of the networks agents to minimize the total congestion of all agents in the network. We adopt a flow dynamics model that is a Godunov discretization of the Lighthill–Williams–Richards partial differential equation with a triangular flux function and a corresponding multicommodity junction solver. The partial control formulation generalizes the SO-DTA problem to consider cases where only a fraction of the total flow can be controlled, as may arise in the context of certain incentive schemes. This leads to a nonconvex multicommodity optimization problem. We define a multicommodity junction model that only requires full Lagrangian paths for the controllable agents, and aggregate turn ratios for the noncontrollable (selfish) agents. We show how the resulting finite horizon nonlinear optimal control problem can be efficiently so.
TCAD analysis and modeling for NBTI mechanism in FinFET transistors

Aging is an important concern in long term reliability of semiconductor devices. In this regard, Bias Temperature Instability (BTI) is considered the major aging mechanism in nanometer regime, particularly in FinFET devices. Therefore, a well understanding of BTI mechanism in FinFET technology is of high interest. In this paper, a three-dimensional TCAD analysis about the impact of negative BTI (NBTI) FinFET technology is presented. In addition, a new NBTI degradation model is proposed for FinFET devices that can be incorporated in Spice which allow to consider aging of a circuit in a design phase. The three-dimensional TCAD analysis is performed using Synopsys Sentaurus tool. Results from the proposed model agree with Sentaurus degradation results.
A Model-Driven Approach to Microservice Software Architecture Establishment

In this positional paper we propose a modeldriven approach which addresses challenges related to modeling, development and deployment of software applications that follow the microservice architecture (MSA) design principles. We argue in favor of a model-driven tool which can be used to resolve challenges from the MSA establishment domain by providing a domain-specific language for MSA modeling and code generators for producing: (i) program and configuration code for MSA implementation; and (ii) program procedures for MSA building, packaging and installation. We give a brief description of two approaches to software application development which emerged in the last decade: the monolithic architecture approach and the MSA approach. We focus on challenges related to MSA establishment and argue that our model-driven approach could be suitable for their resolution. We also propose a plan of research activities aimed at improving our approach and which will lead to the final implementation of a model-driven tool to support such an approach
Liver Transplantation for Hepatitis B Virus-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Hong Kong

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Curative resection is frequently limited in Hong Kong by hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis, and liver transplantation is the treatment of choice. Liver transplantation has been shown to produce superior oncological benefits, when compared to hepatectomy for HCC. New developments in the context of patient selection criteria, modification of organ allocation, bridging therapy, salvage liver transplantation and pharmaceutical breakthrough have improved the survival of HCC patients. In this article, we will share our experience in transplanting hepatitis B virus-related HCC patients in Hong Kong and discuss the recent progress in several areas of liver transplantation.
Towards a Language to Support Value Cocreation: An Extension to the ArchiMate Modeling Framework

Value cocreation is gaining momentum as organizations' underlying business logic and encompasses tools and techniques for discovering new valuable and necessary artefacts to support inter-organizational and network-centric business activities. To cocreate value, organizations must talk to each other using a clear and easy to use language. In the course of the ValCoLa (Value Cocreation Language) proj ect, we aim at elaborating such language. To that end, in previous work, we developed a value cocreation metamodel based on three dimensions: the nature of the value, the object concerned by the value and the method to cocreate value. In this paper, we first extend ArchiMate to the domain of value cocreation to provide our metamodel with a dedicated modeling language. Second, we illustrate the language with a case study from the financial sector.
Using linked data in purposive social networks

The Web has provided a platform for people to collaborate by using collective intelligence. Messaging boards, Q&A forums are some examples where people broadcast their issues and other people provide solutions. Such communities are defined as a Purposive Social Network (PSN) in this thesis. PSN is a community where people with similar interest and varied expertise come together, use collective intelligence to solve common problems in the community and build tools for common purpose. Usually, Q&A forums are closed or semi-open. The data are controlled by the websites. Difficulties in the search and discovery of information is an issue. People searching for answers or experts in a website can only see results from its own network, while losing a whole community of experts in other websites. Another issue in Q&A forums is not getting any response from the community. There is a long tail of questions that get no answer.The thesis introduces the Suman system that utilises Semantic Web (SW) and Linked Data technologies to solve above challenges. SW technologies are used to structure the community data so it can be decentralized and used across platforms. Linked Data helps to find related information about linked resources. The Suman system uses available tools to solve name entity disambiguation problem and add semantics to the PSN data. It uses a novel combination of semantic keyword search with traditional text search techniques to find similar questions with answers for unanswered questions to expand the query term with added semantics and uses crowd sourced data to rank the results. Furthermore, the Suman system also recommends experts who can answer those questions. This helps to narrow down the long tail of unanswered questions in such communities.The Suman system is designed using the Design Science methodology and evaluated by users in two experiments. The results were statistically analysed to show that the keywords generated by the Suman system were rated higher than the original keywords from the websites. It also showed that the participants agreed with the algorithm rating for answers provided by the Suman system. StackOverflow and Reddit are used as an example of PSN and to build an application as a proof of concept of the Suman system.
Two Faces of the Framework for Analysis and Prediction, Part 2 - Research

Continuing Two Faces of the Framework for Analysis and Prediction, Part 1 - Education, this article overviews the successful applications of the Framework for Analysis and Prediction (FAP) – a Java-based tool dedicated to time-series analysis – in research, highlighting the influence applications had on subsequent development and enhancements of the FAP software. Research applications include applications in data mining (development of a new time-series representation and various interactions between time-series distance measures and classification) and multidisciplinary research (in psychology, medicine, emotion recognition and agent-based distributed computing). DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.itc. 47.3. 18747
UPDis: A user-assisted projection technique for distance information

Multidimensional projection techniques have become essential analytical tools. Typically, they map data from a high-dimensional space into a low-dimensional visual space, preserving distance or neighborhood structures on the produced layout. Despite the advances, with faster and highly precise techniques, existing methods still carry deficiencies that impair their use as exploratory tools. An example is the mismatching that can occur between what the user considers similar/dissimilar and what is conveyed by the visual representation. Recently, a class of projection techniques aims at addressing this limitation, allowing users to control the projection process by changing the distance relationships using small data samples. Among such methods, Local Affine Multidimensional Projection has proved to be the state-of-the-art regarding the effectiveness of user intervention. Although Local Affine Multidimensional Projection has attained a relative success, it is limited to certain application domains. Since it relies on feature vector representations with data instances described by vectors embedded into a Euclidean space, scenarios that offer only distance information or a distance function cannot be handled. In this article, we present a novel multidimensional projection technique, called User-assisted Projection Technique for Distance Information, which takes advantage of the solid mathematical framework provided by Local Affine Multidimensional Projection, adapting it to scenarios where only distance information or a distance function is available. The results show that User-assisted Projection Technique for Distance Information is as fast, accurate, robust, and flexible as the existing state-of-the-art techniques, enabling the application of the refined user control provided by Local Affine Multidimensional Projection on domains not previously covered. Its versatility is illustrated in an application that involves the organization of book collections that employs an external source of information for the recommendation of new readings.
Hemin reduces inflammation associated with TNBS-induced colitis

Purpose Hemin is a heme-oxygenase inducer, which can confer anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, and antiapoptotic effects. These properties are beneficial therapeutical effects to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a worldwide health problem characterized by chronic inflammation of intestinal epithelium, which promotes intestinal and extraintestinal symptomatology. Current treatment only induces and maintains the patient in remission and results in many side effects. The research of other pharmacologic approaches is crucial to the treatment of IBD. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of hemin in the 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis model. Materials and methods Male CD-1 mice with TNBS-induced colitis were treated with a daily dose of hemin 5 mg/kg body weight/day and 10 mg/kg body weight/day intraperitoneal, during 4 days. The evaluated parameters were fecal hemoglobin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), myeloperoxidase, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-10, histopathologic analysis, urea, creatinine, and alanine aminotransferase. Results The hemin-treated mice presented a decrease in fecal hemoglobin, ALP, and proinflammatory cytokine concentrations compared to the TNBS group. Histopathology analysis confirmed the decrease in lesion extension produced by hemin. Conclusion These findings suggest that hemin treatment reduces hemorrhagic focus, intestinal damage, tissue inflammation, and lesion extension associated with experimental colitis.
Putting trajectories to work: translating a HCI framework into design practice

One major challenge for the academic Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research community is the adoption of its findings and theoretical output by the interaction design practitioners whose work they are meant to support. To address this “research-practice gap”, this thesis takes the example of trajectories, a HCI conceptual framework derived from studies of mixed-reality performances spanning complex spaces, timeframes, participant roles, and interface ecologies. Trajectories’ authors have called for their work to be used to inform the design of a broader variety of experiences. This thesis explores what is required to fulfil this ambition, with a specific focus on using the framework to improve the experience of live events, and on professional design practitioners as the users of the framework. This exploration follows multiple approaches, led both by researchers and practitioners. This thesis starts by reviewing past uses of the trajectories framework – including for design purposes – and by discussing work that has previously tried to bridge the research-practice gap. In a first series of studies, the thesis identifies live events – such as music festivals and running races – as a rich setting where trajectories may be used both to study existing experiences and to design new ones. This leads to a series of design guidelines grounded both in knowledge about the setting and in trajectories. The thesis then discusses multiple approaches through which HCI researchers and practitioners at a large media company have joined forces to try to use trajectories in industrial design and production processes. Finally, the last strand of work returns to live events, with a two-year long Research through Design study in which trajectories have been used to improve the experience of a local music festival and to develop a mobile app to support it. This last study provides first-hand insight into the integration of theoretical concerns into design. This thesis provides three major classes of contributions. First, extensions to the original trajectories framework, which include refined definitions for the set of concepts that the framework comprises, as well as considerations for open-ended experiences where control is shared between stakeholders and participants. Secondly, a model describing the use of trajectories throughout design and production processes offers a blueprint for practitioners willing to use the framework. Finally, a discussion on the different ways trajectories have been translated into practice leads to proposing a model for locating translations of HCI knowledge with regards to the gap between academic research and design practice, and the gap between theoretical knowledge and design artefacts.
Safety and efficacy of venoplasty in MS

Objective To determine the safety and efficacy of balloon vs sham venoplasty of narrowing of the extracranial jugular and azygos veins in multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods Patients with relapsing or progressive MS were screened using clinical and ultrasound criteria. After confirmation of >50% narrowing by venography, participants were randomized 1:1 to receive balloon or sham venoplasty of all stenoses and were followed for 48 weeks. Participants and research staff were blinded to intervention allocation. The primary safety outcome was the number of adverse events (AEs) during 48 weeks. The primary efficacy outcome was the change from baseline to week 48 in the patient-reported outcome MS Quality of Life–54 (MSQOL-54) questionnaire. Standardized clinical and MRI outcomes were also evaluated. Results One hundred four participants were randomized (55 sham; 49 venoplasty) and 103 completed 48 weeks of follow-up. Twenty-three sham and 21 venoplasty participants reported at least 1 AE; one sham (2%) and 5 (10%) venoplasty participants had a serious AE. The mean improvement in MSQOL-54 physical score was +1.3 (sham) and +1.4 (venoplasty) (p = 0.95); MSQOL-54 mental score was +1.2 (sham) and −0.8 (venoplasty) (p = 0.55). Conclusions Our data do not support the continued use of venoplasty of extracranial jugular and/or azygous venous narrowing to improve patient-reported outcomes, chronic MS symptoms, or the disease course of MS. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01864941. Classification of evidence This study provides Class I evidence that for patients with MS, balloon venoplasty of extracranial jugular and azygous veins is not beneficial in improving patient-reported, standardized clinical, or MRI outcomes.
Automatic Extraction of Synonymous Collocation Pairs from a Text Corpus

Automatic extraction of synonymous collocation pairs from text corpora is a challenging task of NLP. In order to search collocations of similar meaning in English texts, we use logical-algebraic equations. These equations combine grammatical and semantic characteristics of words of substantive, attributive and verbal collocations types. With Stanford POS tagger and Stanford Universal Dependencies parser, we identify the grammatical characteristics of words. We exploit WordNet synsets to pick synonymous words of collocations. The potential synonymous word combinations found are checked for compliance with grammatical and semantic characteristics of the proposed logical-linguistic equations. Our dataset includes more than half a million Wikipedia articles from a few portals. The experiment shows that the more frequent synonymous collocations occur in texts, the more related topics of the texts might be. The precision of synonymous collocations search in our experiment has achieved the results close to other studies like ours.
MALMM: A multi-array architecture for large-scale matrix multiplication on FPGA

: Large-scale ﬂoating-point matrix multiplication is widely used in many scientiﬁc and engineering applications. Most existing works focus on designing a linear array architecture for accelerating matrix multiplication on FPGAs. This paper towards the extension of this architecture by proposing a scalable and highly conﬁgurable multi-array architecture. In addition, we present a work-stealing scheme to ensure the equality in the workload partition among multiple linear arrays. Furthermore, an analytical model is developed to determine the optimal parameters for matrix multiplication acceleration. Experiments on real-life convolutional neural networks (CNNs) show that we can obtain the optimal extension of the linear array architecture.
Selective magnetic nanographene oxide solid-phase extraction with high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection for the determination of zearalenone in corn samples.

A magnetic nanographene oxide sorbent as a selective sorbent for the magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection was developed and proved to be a robust method for zearalenone determination in corn samples. Optimum extraction of zearalenone (20 mg magnetic nanographene oxide sorbent, extraction for 15 min, desorption time of 15 min using 1 mL of 0.5% formic acid in methanol) resulted in low limits of detection (05 mg/L) and quantitation (0.13 mg/L) and good linearity range of 0.13-1.25 mg/L with the correlation coefficient of 0.9957. Acceptable recoveries (79.3-80.6%) with relative standard deviations below 4% and satisfactory intra- and interday precisions (2-7.4%) were achieved. Additionally, the proposed method has been proved to be good in several aspects: easily prepared sorbent with high affinity to zearalenone, convenient and fast procedure, and high extraction efficiency.
Towards the Formal Development of Software Based Systems: Access Control System as a Case Study

Our daily life is increasingly becoming more and more dependent on software as they are being extensively used to control safety and mission-critical systems. This has lead to very stringent verification requirements for ensuring that the software performs as intended. However, the testing based techniques cannot provide a rigorous verification due to limited computational and memory constraints and traditional formal verification techniques, like model checking and theorem proving, are not too straightforward to work with in the industrial setting. In this paper, as a first step to overcome these limitations, we describe a hybrid property based testing and model checking based technique for verifying both models and implementation of access control systems.Our approach addresses the model checking of critical properties of access control systems and aims at improving their reliability by using property based testing to analyze the corresponding software code. For illustration purposes, a simple example of an access control system is used. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.itc. 47.3. 20330