Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards a Multi-Feature Enabled Approach for Optimized Expert Seeking

With the enormous growth of data, retrieving information from the Web became more desirable and even more challenging because of the Big Data issues (e.g. noise, corruption, bad quality.etc.). Expert seeking, defined as returning a ranked list of expert researchers given a topic, has been a real concern in the last 15 years. This kind of task comes in handy when building scientific committees, requiring to identify the scholars’ experience to assign them the most suitable roles in addition to other factors as well. Due to the fact the Web is drowning with plenty of data, this opens up the opportunity to collect different kinds of expertise evidence. In this paper, we propose an expert seeking approach with specifying the most desirable features (i.e. criteria on which researcher’s evaluation is done) along with their estimation techniques. We utilized some machine learning techniques in our system and we aim at verifying the effectiveness of incorporating influential features that go beyond publications.
Edward GAWLIK Cracow University of Technology, Cracow, Poland THE ANALYSIS OF METHODS FOR COMPUTER AIDED PROCESS PLANNING

Process planning can be defined as the function which establishes the sequence of the manufacturing processes to be used in order to convert a part from an initial to a final form, where the process sequence incorporates process description, the parameters for the process and possibly equipment and/or machine tool selection. The planned process should be optimum, that is production based on this process, final part should be realized with a specified time and the lowest production cost. All this leads to the need for computerized systems that will allow the process planning function to be performed either totally or partially by a computer, providing the user with optimum process plans in a quick consistent fashion. Input data information for computer aided process planning system will be formalized part description (half-finished product description and finished part description) and production size. Whereas output data information is a formalized description of planned process. First of all this description should contain: − general information about: part name, part class, drawing of part and its number (code symbol), − technological process structure including its elements (technological operations, set-ups, positions, cuts), − information for every operation: operation name (string description), operation number (code symbol), production department name (code symbol), work (machining) station name and type (code symbol of work station), part drawing before and after carrying of operation, specification of part fixtures, specification of tool fixtures, kinds and sequence of technological cuts, technical standard operationtime, control program, − information for every technological cut: word description of cut, its number, kind and type of tool and its characteristic (code symbol), machining parameters for example: speed of cutting – v, rotational speed – n, feed – p), main time of cut (machine time). Components taken into consideration in computer aided process planning are shown on Fig. 1.
Impact of Different Wavelets for Discrete and Shift Invariant Wavelet Transforms on Partial Discharge Signal Denoising

In this paper, the impact of two wavelet decomposition algorithms discrete wavelet transform and shift invariant wavelet transform using four different wavelets namely haar, db8, bior4.4 and sym4 and choice of different decomposition levels 4, 5 and 6 on denoising of one dimensional data has been presented. The data used is synthetic Partial Discharge Signal pulses immersed in white noise and discrete spectral interferences. Simulation results of denoising for each case are presented. All the simulations are done in MATLAB.
GRANT NUMBER DAMD17-95-1-5017 TITLE: Role of Tumor Collagenase Stimulating Factor in Breast Cancer Invasion and Metastasis

Tumor cell-derived collagenase stimulatory factor, renamed extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN), is a Mr ~58,000 glycoprotein which is located on the outer surface of human tumor cells and which interacts with fibroblasts to stimulate expression of several matrix metalloproteinases in the fibroblasts. In this study, we have used several approaches to isolate a complementary DNA encoding EMMPRIN. Several peptide sequences obtained from the isolated MT 58,000 glycoprotein are found in the translated complementary DNA clone, verifying its identity. Computer database searches indicate that EMMPRIN is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and that the deduced amino acid sequence of EMMPRIN is identical to that recently reported for human basigin and M6 antigen, molecules of previously undetermined biological function.
Modern Anesthesia for Total Joint Arthroplasty

FNB: Femoral Nerve Block; TKA: Total Knee Arthroplasty; PCA: Patient Controlled Analgesia; SNB: Sciatic Nerve Block; ACB: Adductor Canal Block; THA: Total Hip Arthroplasty; LPB: Lumbar Plexus Block; LP: Lumbar Plexus; cLPB: Continuous Lumbar Plexus Block; cFNB: Continuous Femoral Nerve Block; PECA: Continuous Epidural Anesthesia; FIB: Fascia Iliaca Block; NSAID: Non-Steroidal AntiInflammatory; COX-2: Cyclo-oxygenase2; NMDA: N-Methyl-D-aspartic Acid or NMethyl-D-aspartate; PMDI: Periarticular Multimodal Drug Injection; VAS: Visual Analog Scale; TJA: Total Joint Arthroplasty
The Young and the Restless: Population Age Structure and Civil War

Three months after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the New York Times asked, Is the Devil in the Demographics? (Sciolino, 2001). The article examined the vulnerability of large cohorts of unemployed youth to extremist ideology and political recruitment, and speculated about the hazards created by future youth cohorts in the Middle East. In the post-9/11 era, however, there has been very little academic research on the relationship between youthful age structure and warfare (three notable exceptions: Urdal, 2002; Hammel & Smith, 2002; Cincotta et al., 2003). Literature on civil war and insurgency has instead highlighted the role of other causal factors such as the presence of valuable resources, the degree of ethnic fractionalization, and type of political regime, while downplaying the importance of population age structure (see, e.g., Collier & Hoeffler, 2001; Fearon & Laitin, 2003; Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2002). While these factors likely play an important role in the onset of civil war, the importance of youthful age structure - particularly in insurgency-based civil wars - should not be ignored. The relationship between large youth cohorts and civil war appears to have held throughout history. For example, Herbert Moller (1968) suggests that wars in pre-modern and present-day Europe, including the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, corresponded with surges in the proportion of young men in the population. Yale historian Paul Kennedy (1993) argues that revolutions occur more often in countries with large populations of "energetic, frustrated, young men. " Even after controlling for the fact that more youthful countries are less developed and have more vulnerable political regimes, my research finds that a large difference in the number of young adults compared to the number of older adults - "relative cohort size" - can help predict civil war, particularly insurgent-based civil wars.
High-resolution inversion of methane emissions in the Southeast US using SEAC 4 RS aircraft observations of atmospheric methane: anthropogenic and wetland sources

Abstract. We use observations of boundary layer methane from the SEAC 4 RS aircraft campaign over the Southeast US in August–September 2013 to estimate methane emissions in that region through an inverse analysis with up to 0.25 ∘ × 0.3125 ∘ ( 25×25 km2 ) resolution and with full error characterization. The Southeast US is a major source region for methane including large contributions from oil and gas production and wetlands. Our inversion uses state-of-the-art emission inventories as prior estimates, including a gridded version of the anthropogenic EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the mean of the WetCHARTs ensemble for wetlands. Inversion results are independently verified by comparison with surface ( NOAA∕ESRL ) and column (TCCON) methane observations. Our posterior estimates for the Southeast US are 12.8±0.9 Tg a−1 for anthropogenic sources (no significant change from the gridded EPA inventory) and 9.4±0.8 Tg a−1 for wetlands (27 % decrease from the mean in the WetCHARTs ensemble). The largest source of error in the WetCHARTs wetlands ensemble is the land cover map specification of wetland areal extent. Our results support the accuracy of the EPA anthropogenic inventory on a regional scale but there are significant local discrepancies for oil and gas production fields, suggesting that emission factors are more variable than assumed in the EPA inventory.
Adaption Model for Building Agile Pronunciation Dictionaries Using Phonemic Distance Measurements

 Abstract — Where human beings can easily learn and adopt pronunciation variations, machines need training before put into use. Also humans keep minimum vocabulary and their pronunciation variations are stored in front-end of their memory for ready reference, while machines keep the entire pronunciation dictionary for ready reference. Supervised methods are used for preparation of pronunciation dictionaries which take large amounts of manual effort, cost, time and are not suitable for real time use. This paper presents an unsupervised adaptation model for building agile and dynamic pronunciation dictionaries online. These methods mimic human approach in learning the new pronunciations in real time. A new algorithm for measuring sound distances called Dynamic Phone Warping is presented and tested. Performance of the system is measured using an adaptation model and the precision metrics is found to be better than 86 percent.
Application of Wavelet and Wiener Filtering Algorithm in Image De-Noising

Image is often easily polluted by noise in the process of image processing, so image de-noising is an important step in the field of image processing. Based on the wavelet threshold de-noising algorithm, an improved image de-noising algorithm based on wavelet and Wiener filter is proposed in this paper, which can effectively reduce the Gaussian white noise. Firstly we use wavelet soft threshold to reduce noise, then use Wiener filter to process the image and get the valuation of the image. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm on image de-noising not only can effectively suppress Gaussian white noise, but also can well retain the details of image edges.
Response of the ice cap Hardangerjøkulen in southern Norway to the 20th and 21st century climates

Glaciers respond to mass balance changes by ad- justing their surface elevation and area. These properties in their turn affect the local and area-averaged mass bal- ance. To incorporate this interdependence in the response of glaciers to climate change, models should include an in- teractive scheme coupling mass balance and ice dynamics. In this study, a spatially distributed mass balance model, com- prising surface energy balance calculations, was coupled to a vertically integrated ice-flow model based on the shallow ice approximation. The coupled model was applied to the ice cap Hardangerjokulen in southern Norway. The avail- able glacio-meteorological records, mass balance and glacier length change measurements were utilized for model calibra- tion and validation. Forced with meteorological data from nearby synoptic weather stations, the coupled model real- istically simulated the observed mass balance and glacier length changes during the 20th century. The mean climate for the period 1961-1990, computed from local meteorolog- ical data, was used as a basis to prescribe climate projec- tions for the 21st century at Hardangerjokulen. For a linear temperature increase of 3 C from 1961-1990 to 2071-2100, the modelled net mass balance soon becomes negative at all altitudes and Hardangerjokulen disappears around the year 2100. The projected changes in the other meteorological variables could at most partly compensate for the effect of the projected warming.
ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVIT IES OF DIFFERENT EXTRACTS OF SOME FRESH AND MARINE ALGAE

The in v it ro antimicrobial act ivity of algal extracts belonging to two species of microalgae; Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina p latensis and two species of seaweeds; Sargassum vulgare and Sargassum wight ii were tested against methici ll in-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicil l in-sensit ive S. aureus (MSSA) clinical isolates. In this study, microt iter plate reader assay method was used to elucidate the effects. The ext racts were prepared in four different solvents, out of which methanol extracts showed better and promising results. The results also confirmed the potential use of algal extracts as a source of antimicrobial compounds.
Empirical Methodology for Crowdsourcing Ground Truth

The process of gathering ground truth data through human annotation is a major bottleneck in the use of information extraction methods for populating the Semantic Web. Crowdsourcing-based approaches are gaining popularity in the attempt to solve the issues related to volume of data and lack of annotators. Typically these practices use inter-annotator agreement as a measure of quality. However, in many domains, such as event detection, there is ambiguity in the data, as well as a multitude of perspectives of the information examples. We present an empirically derived methodology for efficiently gathering of ground truth data in a diverse set of use cases covering a variety of domains and annotation tasks. Central to our approach is the use of CrowdTruth metrics that capture inter-annotator disagreement. We show that measuring disagreement is essential for acquiring a high quality ground truth. We achieve this by comparing the quality of the data aggregated with CrowdTruth metrics with majority vote, over a set of diverse crowdsourcing tasks: Medical Relation Extraction, Twitter Event Identification, News Event Extraction and Sound Interpretation. We also show that an increased number of crowd workers leads to growth and stabilization in the quality of annotations, going against the usual practice of employing a small number of annotators.
Scalable Meta-Learning for Bayesian Optimization using Ranking-Weighted Gaussian Process Ensembles

Bayesian optimization has become a standard technique for hyperparameter optimization of machine learning algorithms. We consider the setting where previous optimization runs are available, and we wish to use their results to warm-start a new optimization run. We develop a new ensemble model for Bayesian optimization that can incorporate the results of past optimization runs, while avoiding the poor scaling that comes with putting all results into a single Gaussian process model. Our experiments show that the ensemble can substantially reduce optimization time compared to standard Gaussian process models and improves over the current state-of-the-art model for warm-starting Bayesian optimization.
Effects of Feeding Frequency on Nutrient Digestibility and Feeding Behavior in the Turkmen Horse

In this experiment, sixteen Turkmen horses with average weights of 430±46 kg and age 7±3 years were used. Four feeding frequencies of 2, 4, 6, and 8 meals per day were used for a period of 28 days. Data were statistically analyzed based on a completely randomized design, and the results showed that increased feeding frequency led to more stable serum glucose levels throughout the day and an increase in the digestibility of nutrients (P< 0.05). However, ether extract digestibility was not influenced by feeding frequency. Means of chewing and swallowing (per kg DM) of alfalfa were not influenced by feeding frequency. Also, the chewing and swallowing rates of concentrate for the treatment of 2 meals per day increased (P< 0.05). By increasing the feeding frequency, alfalfa intake decreased, but duration of forage intake increased in the treatment of 8 meals per day (P< 0.05). In contrast, by increasing the feeding frequency, concentrate intake was increased, but duration of concentrate intake was decreased in the treatment of 8 meals per day (P< 0.05). In conclusion, feeding 2 times per day more often resulted in lower digestibility of different nutrients and less steady-state level of serum glucose than other feeding frequencies.
Very Small Embryonic/Epiblast-Like Stem Cells (VSELs) Residing in Adult Tissues and Their Role in Tissue Rejuvenation and Regeneration

Embryonic development and later rejuvenation of adult tissues are regulated by a population of stem cells (SCs) that, by undergoing self-renewal, maintain their own pool and, by giving rise to differentiated progenitors, replace cells used up during life (Ratajczak et al., 2007). Thus, SCs are guardians of tissue/organ integrity and regulate the life span of an adult organism. The most important SCs, from a regenerative potential point of view, are pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). According to their definition, such cells must meet certain in vitro and in vivo criteria. PSCs must: i) give rise to cells from all three germ layers; ii) complete blastocyst development; and iii) form teratomas after inoculation into experimental animals. The SC compartment shows a high degree of hierarchy (Hayashi & Surani, 2009). In embryonic development, the most primitive stem cells are the fertilized oocyte (zygote) and the first blastomers in the morula. These cells are called totipotent, possessing the ability to give rise to both embryo and placenta. The developing morula gives rise to the blastocyst, where PSCs are found in the inner cell mass (ICM). These cells may give rise to all three germ layers of the developing embryo; however, they have lost the ability to differentiate into placenta. The PSCs at this stage can be expanded ex vivo as immortalized embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines (Evans & Kaufman, 1981). After implantation of the blastocyst, PSCs from the blastocyst ICM give rise to pluripotent epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) that will form the entire embryo proper (Brons et al., 2007; Tesar et al., 2007). During the gastrulation process, cell lineage determination programs are initiated and EpiSCs respond to the signals from surrounding extra-embryonic tissues, which leads to their differentiation into several types of tissue-committed stem cells (TCSCs) (Ratajczak et al., 2007). TCSCs are monopotent (unipotent), which means they are restricted in their differentiation potential to cells for one tissue only (e.g., epidermis, intestinal epithelium, liver, skeletal muscles, or lympho-hematopoietic). TCSCs terminate expression of pluripotent genes and, at the same time, turn on lineage-specific molecular programs. The first population of SCs, which at around embryonic day 7.25 (E7.25) become specified in the proximal epiblast, are primordial germ cells (PGCs), and alkaline phosphatase (AP)-
Modeling of Power Amplifier Distortion in MIMO Transmitters

Facing an always growing need for higher data rate, telecommunications operators cannot rely on a bandwidth increase any more as the frequency spectrum in the UHF band is nowadays crowded. Therefore new technologies need to be developed to boost the data rate. Among those, multiple inputs multiple outputs systems (MIMO) provide both a significant rise in bit rate and a better reliability for the link. Nevertheless it is based on many antennas transmitting at the same frequency. The effect of crosstalk between antennas is prevented by ferrite isolators which introduce losses and do not fit in typical transmitter design (mostly MMIC). This thesis focuses on modeling and analysing the signal distortion due to crosstalk at the output of the power amplifier and of the MIMO transmitter in absence of isolators. First, a static behavioural model and a dynamic model -both with dual inputs- have been developed to model the PA under conditions of crosstalk, and have been extracted for a 6W PA from CREE thanks to an active load pull measurement system. The latter model guarantees a NMSE of -32.6 dB and a ACEPR of -43dB for a WCDMA signal at 2.14 GHz. Secondly, antenna arrays have been designed based on 2 microstrip patch antennas, providing different coupling between the antennas: high (-14dB), medium (-20.9dB) and low S12 (-28.4dB); the goal being to use the arrays for simulations and measurements. Third, simulations of a complete MIMO transmitter were performed for a WCDMA signal at 2.12GHz and using the S-parameters of the aforementioned antenna arrays. Separating the distortion due to crosstalk from the classic non linearities of the PA, the adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) is -47.3dB in case of high coupling (S12 = -14dB) and -54.3dB in case of medium coupling (S12 = -20.9dB). These values can be seen as the best achievable ACLR for a given coupling. Finally, measurements have been performed with the same antenna arrays using a vector switched generalised memory polynomial as digital pre-distorter. The results confirm the simulations observations: the measured ACLR for the strongest coupling is -46.4dB for the WCDMA signal at 2.12GHz. Therefore the ACLR tends to increase linearly in dB with the coupling and can thus reach the -45dB limit set by 3GPP standards for a coupling around -12.4dB. The influence of crosstalk on the PA distortion is thus significant and hardly negligible in the design of MIMO transmitters for wireless communication applications.
The Unintended Benefits of Empowering Boards in Conglomerates: The Case Study of AFK Sistema

This paper investigates the role of boards of directors of conglomerate subsidiaries in emerging markets. The paper based on a case study of AFK Sistema—a large diversified Russian business group including subsidiaries in 15 sectors. We show that creating corporate governance institutions at the subsidiary level can have unexpected advantages for the group as a whole and can be used to improve the quality of decision-making in the group. Sistema implemented corporate governance at this level to attract capital and to satisfy the demands of the minority shareholders, but over time started to use the already established institutions of the corporate governance as a tool of corporate management.
The Impact of Inflammation on Pancreatic ß-Cell Metabolism, Function and Failure in T1DM and T2DM: Commonalities and Differences

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronically progressive autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1% of the population in the developed world. This adverse immune response is induced and promoted by the interaction of both genetic and environmental factors. In contrast, in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin-resistance coupled with reduced insulin output appears to be the major cause of hyperglycaemia (affecting approximately 6% of the population). Although the aetiology of diabetes may differ from T1DM to T2DM, a common feature associated with both types is the failure of pancreatic β-cells in the islets of Langerhans, thus causing a reduction in insulin secretion, cell mass and ultimately apoptotic death. However, the impact and time-course of pancreatic β-cell death, which may appear very different in T1 and T2DM, may be related through common molecular mechanisms.
Multilayer spatial multiplexing in next-generation WiMAX

We propose in this paper as a possible candidate for next-generation WiMAX a multilayer spatial multiplexing scheme, which is flexible and conceptually simple. Every layer is a QPSK symbol stream, weighted by a coefficient, and superimposed on the other layers. A method to optimize the coefficients is described in details. At the receiver, an iterative (turbo-like) structure gives very good performance at an affordable complexity, as it is shown by simulation results, in a realistic and WiMAX-complying scenario.