Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Rules-based system for model composition

Model composition is one of the challenges of software systems modeling. As models are usually created independently, they present many types of heterogeneity (syntactic, semantic, local structural and global structural). These heterogeneities cause conflicts when composing models, and may introduce problems and inconsistencies in the resulting model. Indeed, when composing models, to consider that two elements are different when they are equivalent will introduce redundancy. Worst, considering two elements as equivalent when they are different will result in information lost. The purpose of this work is to present an approach of model composition for dealing with conflicts. Our hybrid approach integrates thus all aspects: semantic, syntactic, local structural and global structural in order to detect the right equivalences and right differences. We use ontologies to treat the semantic aspect of the model comparison. We propose a rule-based system called Co-Models. These rules are proposed formally. Finally, our approach is implemented and validated through a use case from banking domain.
The Effect of Immigrant Selection and the IT Bust on the Entry Earnings of Immigrants

Immigrant selection rules were altered in the early 1990s, resulting in a dramatic increase in the share of entering immigrants with a university degree and in the skilled economic class. These changes were very successfully implemented following significant deterioration in entry earnings during the 1980s. This paper asks whether these change in immigrant selection contributed positively to immigrant entry earnings during the 1990s. Moving to the 2000s, the paper asks whether, after almost two decades of deterioration, the entry earnings of immigrants improved early in the decade, and if not, why not. We find that through the 1990s, altering immigrant characteristics did little to improve earnings at the bottom of the earnings distribution, and hence poverty rates among entering immigrants. A rapidly increasing share of immigrants with university degrees and in the skilled class found themselves at the bottom of the earnings distribution. They were unable to convert their education and â€œskilled classâ€ designation to higher earnings. This inability may be related to language, credentialism, education quality, or supply issues, as discussed in the paper. However, the changing charcateristics did increase earnings among immigrants at the middle and top of the earnings distribution. We also find that from 2000 to 2004 the entry earnings of immigrants renewed their slide, but for reasons that differed from the standard explanations of the earlier decline. Following a significant increase in the supply of entering immigrants intending to work in IT and engineering during the late 1990s and early 2000s, these immigrants were faced with the IT downturn. The result was declining entry earnings, concentrated largely among these workers.
Blind separation of secondary radar signals using time-frequency analysis

In Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) systems, it is more difficult to locate and recognise aircrafts in the neighbourhood of civil airports since aerial traffic becomes greater. Here, we propose to apply a recent Blind Source Separation (BSS) algorithm based on Time-Frequency Analysis, in order to separate messages sent by different aircrafts and falling in the same radar beam in reception. The above source separation method involves joint-diagonalization of a set of smoothed version of spatial Wigner-Ville distributions. The technique makes use of the difference in the t - f signatures of the nonstationary sources to be separated. Consequently, as the SSR sources emit different messages at different frequencies, the above method is fitted to this new application. We applied the technique in simulation to separate SSR replies. Results are provided at the end of the paper.
Including the Excluded - Can ICTs Empower Poor Communities? Towards an Alternative Evaluation Framework Based on the Capability Approach

Under which conditions can information and communications technologies (ICTs) empower poor communities? This paper investigates this question, focusing on the role of information and communications technologies in promoting indigenous people’s development in Latin America. First, the paper analyzes key factors under which information and knowledge can be instrumental and substantive for the empowerment of marginalized groups. Hereby, we argue that improved access to information and ICT skills, similar to the enhancement of a person’s writing and reading skills, can enhance poor peoples’ capabilities to make strategic life choices and to achieve the lifestyle they value. Furthermore, the paper develops an alternative evaluation framework for ICT interventions based on Sen’s capability approach. This framework places, in contrast to the current discourse around the “digital divide”, the human development of the poor and not technology at the center of the analysis. The paper concludes that there does not exist a direct and causal relationship between ICTs and empowerment, but that in fact this relationship is being shaped by a dynamic, multi-dimensional interrelationship between technology and the social context.
Speech recognition of broadcast news for the European Portuguese language

This paper describes our work on the development of a large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system applied to a broadcast news task for the European Portuguese language in the scope of the ALERT project. We start by presenting the baseline recogniser AUDIMUS, which was originally developed with a corpus of read newspaper text. This is a hybrid system that uses a combination of phone probabilities generated by several MLPs trained on distinct feature sets. The paper details the modifications introduced in this system, namely in the development of a new language model, the vocabulary and pronunciation lexicon and the training on new data from the ALERT BN corpus currently available. The system trained with this BN corpus achieved 18.4% WER when tested with the F0 focus condition (studio, planed, native, clean), and 35.2% when tested in all focus conditions.
To be corrupt or not to be corrupt

Purpose – The purpose of this paper, which is based on author’s study, is to shed light on the behavioral elements of corruption in particular the decision-making process undertaken by potential offenders to construct a solid basis for effective corruption eradication strategy in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines corruption cases in Indonesia in the past two years which have been investigated by the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission as well as relevant literature on corruption to gain a better understanding of corruption offenders’ behavior. Findings – The author establishes that by looking at the behavioral side of corruption we may gain more understanding on potential offenders’ way of thinking as a reference in dealing with corruption. The discussions in this paper suggest that when potential offenders are exposed to pressure/motivation, opportunity and rationalization to commit corruption, they will (consciously or subconsciously) assess all the perceived benefits.
Disclosure biases in proxy performance graphs: The influence of performance and compensation committee composition

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether proxy statement performance graph disclosures are influenced by the firm's governance structure and management concerns about relative performance. Design/methodology/approach – Logistic regression is used to test whether the level of performance graph disclosure decreases with lower relative performance and higher insider director membership on the compensation committee of the board. Also, Z and t-statistics test whether bias in the selected peer group benchmark is related to insider membership on the committee. Findings – The empirical results suggest that reporting discretion was exercised for management's benefit. The amount of explicit disclosure on cumulative returns in the performance graph decreases as relative performance declines and decreases when insider directors serve on the compensation committee. Moreover, the presence of insider directors on the compensation committee is associated with a biased choice of peer group benchmark return. Research limitations/implications – The sample for the study consists of 141 large firms. Future research could examine a larger group of firms that vary in size or other disclosures. Practical implications – These findings support recent actions taken to improve corporate governance. Further public policy steps could be taken. For example, the SEC could require firms to include an explanation for appointing insiders to the compensation committee. Originality/value – The results are consistent with managers using discretion over information disclosures and suggest that compensation committees with insider members play a less active role in providing information that is helpful to shareholders.
Modulation of Craving Related Brain Responses Using Real-Time fMRI in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder

Literature One prominent symptom in addiction disorders is the strong desire to consume a particular substance or to display a certain behaviour (craving). Especially the strong association between craving and the probability of relapse emphasises the importance of craving in the therapeutic process. Neuroimaging studies have shown that craving is associated with increased responses, predominantly in fronto-striatal areas. Aim and Methods The aim of the present study is the modification of craving-related neuronal responses in patients with alcohol addiction using fMRI real-time neurofeedback. For that purpose, patients with alcohol use disorder and healthy controls participated once in neurofeedback training; during the sessions neuronal activity within an individualized cortical region of interest (ROI) (anterior cingulate cortex, insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) was evaluated. In addition, variations regarding the connectivity between brain regions were assessed in the resting state. Results and Discussion The results showed a significant reduction of neuronal activity in patients at the end of the training compared to the beginning, especially in the anterior cingulate cortex, the insula, the inferior temporal gyrus and the medial frontal gyrus. Furthermore, the results show that patients were able to regulate their neuronal activities in the ROI, whereas healthy subjects achieved no significant reduction. However, there was a wide variability regarding the effects of the training within the group of patients. After the neurofeedback-sessions, individual craving was slightly reduced compared to baseline. The results demonstrate that it seems feasible for patients with alcohol dependency to reduce their neuronal activity using rtfMRI neurofeedback. In addition, there is some evidence that craving can be influenced with the help of this technique. Future Prospects In future, real-time fMRI might be a complementary neurophysiological-based strategy for the psychotherapy of patients with psychiatric or psychosomatic diseases. For that purpose, the stability of this effect and the generalizability needs to be assessed.
A Novel Approach to Detect Spam Worms Propagation with Monitoring the Footprinting

One of the key security threats on the Internet are the compromised machines that can be used to launch various security attacks such as spamming and spreading malware, accessing useful information and DDoS. Attackers for spamming activity are volunteer by large number of compromised machines. Our main focus is on detection of the compromised machines in a network that may be or are involved in the spamming activities; these machines are commonly known as spam zombies. Activities such as port scan, DB scan and so on are treated as malicious activity within the network. So to overcome that we develop one of the most effective spam zombie detection system within the network based on the behavior of other systems as if performing the above activities are treated as zombies machines. If any system within the network try's to gather some information about any other system then this is treated as a malicious activity and should be not allowed to do so. SYN packets are used in order to initiate communication within the network so as to establish connection. If any system try's to flood the network with these packets we can make an assumption that the system is trying to gather the information about other system. This is what called footprinting. So we will try to detect any system involved in footprinting and report to the administrator.
Flower classification: Training augmentation using manifold images

We investigate the classification problem of visually similar objects, like flowers. We propose to substitute the lower number of original training images with their large number of counterparts, artificially generated by manifold mapping. Since, the inter-class similarity is very high in visually similar object classification problems; we try to imitate the test images in the low dimensional space with this large number of manifold images. Until now, we have compared our scheme with other methods only for the bag-of-words color features on Oxford 17 class flower dataset. For this single feature, with very low resolution (64×64) manifold images, we almost reach the same accuracy as that obtained with original resolution images (both row and column have dimensions more than 500) in the state-of-the-art literatures.
Noise in the Sea and Its Impacts on Marine Organisms

With the growing utilization and exploration of the ocean, anthropogenic noise increases significantly and gives rise to a new kind of pollution: noise pollution. In this review, the source and the characteristics of noise in the sea, the significance of sound to marine organisms, and the impacts of noise on marine organisms are summarized. In general, the studies about the impact of noise on marine organisms are mainly on adult fish and mammals, which account for more than 50% and 20% of all the cases reported. Studies showed that anthropogenic noise can cause auditory masking, leading to cochlear damage, changes in individual and social behavior, altered metabolisms, hampered population recruitment, and can subsequently affect the health and service functions of marine ecosystems. However, since different sampling methodologies and unstandarized measurements were used and the effects of noise on marine organisms are dependent on the characteristics of the species and noise investigated, it is difficult to compare the reported results. Moreover, the scarcity of studies carried out with other species and with larval or juvenile individuals severely constrains the present understanding of noise pollution. In addition, further studies are needed to reveal in detail the causes for the detected impacts.
I NTERGENERATIONAL L ABOR S UPPLY

This paper investigates whether the work behavior of children is strongly related to that of their parents. The motivation for studying this question is as an attempt to explain the wide variation of the annual hours of work of individuals often observed by researchers. Since much of this variation is attributed to individual tastes for work, much of which are thought to be attributable to family socialization, analysis of intergenerational correlations of labor supply behavior will provide insights into the source of individual tastes for work. This research uses intergenerational data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine intergenerational associations in work behavior. Overall, positive associations were found in the work behavior of fathers and sons. The intergenerational correlation in annual hours of work was found to be . 09, almost all attributable to correlations in average weekly hours. In the analysis of motherdaughter pairs, few positive correlations in work behavior were found, although this result is most likely caused by an overrepresentation of working daughters in this sample. Overall, the intergenerational associations in labor supply behavior found in this paper were not as large as might have been supposed if the majority of one’s tastes for work were derived from one’s socialization within the family unit.
Pattern of Pathogens and Their Sensitivity Isolated from Surgical Site Infections at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

Background In low income countries, surgical site infections (SSIs) are costly and impose a heavy and potentially preventable burden on both patients and healthcare providers. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of SSI, pathogens associated with SSI, the antibiogram of the causative pathogens and specific risk factors associated with SSI at the hospital. Methods Two hundred and sixty-eight respondents admitted for general surgical procedures (other than neurological and cardiothoracic surgeries) at the Aga Khan University Hospital were eligible to take part in the study. Post-surgery patients were observed for symptoms of infection. Follow ups were done through the consulting clinics, breast clinic and casualty dressing clinic by a team of surgeons. In cases of infection, pus swabs were collected for culture. Results SSI incidence rate was 7.0%, pathogens isolated from SSI included gram negative enteric bacilli and S. aureus which was the most prevalent bacterial isolate. Only one isolate of MRSA was found and all staphylococci were susceptible to Vancomycin. Preoperative stay ≥ 2 days and wound class were the risk factors associated with SSI. Conclusion The SSI incidence rates (7.0%) observed in this study were relatively lower than the ones documented in other studies in Kenya. S. aureus is the most prevalent pathogen associated with SSI. Similar to findings from other studies done in the region; prolonged hospital stay and dirty wounds were the risks associated with postsurgical sepsis at the hospital.
Magnetic Field Evolution in Neutron Star Crusts Due to the Hall Effect and Ohmic Decay

We present calculations of magnetic field evolution by the Hall effect and ohmic decay in the crust of neutron stars (NSs). In accreting NSs, ohmic decay is always the dominant effect because of the large resistivity. In isolated NSs with relatively pure crusts, the Hall effect dominates ohmic decay after a time tswitch ≃ 104 yr B, where B12 is the magnetic field strength in units of 1012 G. We compute the evolution of an initial field distribution by ohmic decay and give approximate analytic formulae for both the surface and interior fields as a function of time. Because of the strong dependence of tswitch on B12, early ohmic decay can alter the currents down to the base of the crust for B ~ 1011 G, neutron drip for B ~ 1012 G, and near the top of the crust for B ≳ 1013 G. We then discuss magnetic field evolution by the Hall effect. Several examples are given to illustrate how an initial field configuration evolves. Hall-wave eigenfunctions are computed, including the effect of the large density change across the crust. We estimate the response of the crust to the magnetic stresses induced by Hall waves and give a detailed discussion of the boundary conditions at the solid-liquid interface. Finally, we discuss the implications for the Hall cascade proposed by Goldreich & Reisenegger.
Channel characterization for underwater broadband PLC sensor networks

For the tasks of navigation and obstacle detection, underwater and surface vehicles mostly rely on sonar, which uses a number of spatially distributed acoustic sensors. In this paper we explore the characteristics of linear bus structures, which is the natural choice for such an underwater sensor network, combining both power and data transmission capabilities, using only two wires. The measurement and modelling results of cables and a bus structure under changing pressure conditions are introduced. These results are essential for the development of a new broadband power line communication (PLC) system.
New Insulin Glargine 300 Units/mL Versus Glargine 100 Units/mL in People With Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized, Phase 3a, Open-Label Clinical Trial (EDITION 4)

OBJECTIVE Insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes still provides suboptimal outcomes. Insulin glargine 300 units/mL (Gla-300), with a flatter pharmacodynamic profile compared with insulin glargine 100 units/mL (Gla-100), is an approach to this problem. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS People with type 1 diabetes, using a mealtime and basal insulin regimen, were randomized open-label to Gla-300 or Gla-100 and to morning or evening injection, continuing the mealtime analog, and followed for 6 months. RESULTS Participants (n = 549) were a mean age of 47 years and had a mean duration of diabetes of 21 years and BMI of 27.6 kg/m2. The change in HbA1c (primary end point; baseline 8.1%) was equivalent in the two treatment groups (difference, 0.04% [95% CI −0.10 to 0.19]) (0.4 mmol/mol [−1.1 to 2.1]), and Gla-300 was thus noninferior. Similar results with wider 95% CIs were found for morning and evening injection times and for prebreakfast self-measured plasma glucose (SMPG) overall. Results were also similar for Gla-300 when morning and evening injection time was compared, including overlapping 8-point SMPG profiles. Hypoglycemia did not differ, except for the first 8 weeks of the study, when nocturnal confirmed or severe hypoglycemia was lower with Gla-300 (rate ratio 0.69 [95% CI 0.53–0.91]). Hypoglycemia with Gla-300 did not differ by time of injection. The basal insulin dose was somewhat higher at 6 months for Gla-300. The adverse event profile did not differ and was independent of the Gla-300 time of injection. Weight gain was lower with Gla-300. CONCLUSIONS In long-duration type 1 diabetes, Gla-300 provides similar glucose control to Gla-100, with a lower risk of hypoglycemia after transfer from other insulins, independent of time of injection, and less weight gain.
Metformin Suppresses Colorectal Aberrant Crypt Foci in a Short-term Clinical Trial

The biguanide metformin is widely used for treating diabetes mellitus. We previously showed the chemopreventive effect of metformin in two rodent models of colorectal carcinogenesis. However, besides epidemiologic studies, little is known about the effects of metformin on human colorectal carcinogenesis. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the chemopreventive effect of metformin on rectal aberrant crypt foci (ACF), which are an endoscopic surrogate marker of colorectal cancer. We prospectively randomized 26 nondiabetic patients with ACF to treatment with metformin (250 mg/d, n = 12) or no treatment (control, n = 14); 23 patients were evaluable for end point analyses (9 metformin and 14 control); the two groups were similar in ACF number and other baseline clinical characteristics. Magnifying colonoscopy determined the number of rectal ACF in each patient at baseline and after 1 month in a blinded fashion (as were all laboratory end point analyses). We also examined proliferative activity in colonic epithelium (via proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index) and apoptotic activity (via terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling). At 1 month, the metformin group had a significant decrease in the mean number of ACF per patient (8.78 ± 6.45 before treatment versus 5.11 ± 4.99 at 1 month, P = 0.007), whereas the mean ACF number did not change significantly in the control group (7.23 ± 6.65 versus 7.56 ± 6.75, P = 0.609). The proliferating cell nuclear antigen index was significantly decreased and the apoptotic cell index remained unaltered in normal rectal epithelium in metformin patients. This first reported trial of metformin for inhibiting colorectal carcinogenesis in humans provides preliminary evidence that metformin suppresses colonic epithelial proliferation and rectal ACF formation in humans, suggesting its promise for the chemoprevention of colorectal cancer. Cancer Prev Res; 3(9); 1077–83. ©2010 AACR.