Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Provably correct theories of action

We investigate logical formalization of the effects of actions in the situation calculus. We propose a formal criterion against which to evaluate theories of deterministic actions. We show how the criterion provides us a formal foundation upon which to tackle the frame problem, as well as its variant in the context of concurrent actions. Our main technical contributions are in formulating a wide class of monotonic causal theories that satisfy the criterion, and showing that each such theory can be reformulated succinctly in circumscription.
Stem Cells and the Origin and Propagation of Brain Tumors

In recent years there has been a flood of interest in the relationship between brain tumors and stem cells. Some investigators have focused on the sensitivity of normal stem cells to transformation, others have described phenotypic or functional similarities between tumor cells and stem cells, and still others have suggested that tumors contain a subpopulation of ``cancer stem cells'' that is crucial for tumor maintenance or propagation. Although all these concepts are interesting and provide insight into the origins and properties of brain tumors, the use of similar terms to describe them has led to confusion. The goal of this review is to sort out some of that confusion and highlight what we know and what we have yet to learn.
Exercise-Induced Neuropeptide Y and Ob Receptor Activation in Cerebellum

Recent research has shown that extended neural activation such as that imposed by behavioral exercise can lead to angiogenesis, the birth of new blood vessels, in the adult mammalian brain. Recent theories suggest that the creation of new blood vessels permits more glucose to be sent to active neurons thus providing more energy for the maintenance and survival of the cell (Thompson, Sikorski, Bulinski, & Swain, 1999). An interesting finding shows that two neuromodulators, Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and leptin, primarily found in the hypothalamus and responsible for the regulation of food consumption and obesity, are also present in other regions of the brain, specifically the cerebellum. Their role in the cerebellum is presently unclear. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect that exercise has on Neuropeptide Y and leptin (Ob) receptor activation in the cerebellum.
DeViouS: a distributed environment for vision tasks

We present a system for the integration of computer vision tasks in a distributed environment. This system, called DeViouS, is based on the client/server model and runs in a heterogeneous environment of Unix workstations. It takes advantage of the free cycles in modern workstation environments to distribute and speed up the execution of vision tasks. Two primary goals of DeViouS are to provide a practical distributed system and a research environment for vision computing. DeViouS is based on a modular design that allows experimentation in various aspects of algorithm design, scheduling and network programming. It can make use of any existing computer vision package with very minor changes to DeViouS. DeViouS has been tested in an environment of SUN and Digital workstations and has shown substantial improvements in speed over sequential computing with negligible overhead. <<ETX>>
Optimize Testing Process after Generating the Behavioral Representation of System

The generation of test cases is the most challenging part of software testing phase for the software tester. Test cases are such that as it unable the detection of errors. To determine how much software testing is enough is a difficult job. Testing is advisable to identify the risk against the cost of additional testing effort. To assign priorities to test cases will guarantee that the main tests have been done. The main objective of software testing is to identify defects and correcting those defects improves Software Quality. This paper represents a noble approach to automatic generation of test cases. In this approach, UML sequence diagram is the source to generate the test cases by convert it to sequence diagram graph to further generate the test paths. Then the test paths are prioritizing by using the Genetic Algorithm along with Tabu Search Algorithm.
Fisher information decision directed discrete optimisation

Finite alphabet optimisation problems occur in many fields of engineering, including wireless communications and blind source separation. An optimal solution through exhaustive search is often computationally intractable, so sub-optimal solutions are employed. One popular approach is simply to round each element of the unconstrained solution to the nearest member of the known alphabet. The paper presents a novel approach which has better error performance than rounding but with only a moderate increase in complexity. The method uses Fisher information to determine the order in which optimisation is carried out. The inverse of the Fisher information matrix indicates which element of the estimate is, on average, most likely to have the smallest error. Thus the first element to be optimised is the one most likely to be correct. This then improves the likelihood of subsequent elements being correct. The method is developed and an example is included of its application to the discrete blind source separation problem.
Dynamic heart rate monitors algorithm for reflection green light wearable device

The paper proposed dynamic direct heart rate algorithms in wearable device. Green light LED to direct heart rate is very popular in recent years which used analogy signal feedback to microcontroller calculation. However, the different person physical signals are independent that including body fat, physical color, blood concentrations and oxygen concentration to influence observer data. Moreover, the body shock influence reflection feedback signal. This paper proposed automatic initial detect process and dynamic direct heart rate filter algorithms to process feedback analogy error noise. We presented a low cost solution for Texas Instruments AFE4403 heart rate oximeters with MSP430G2553 microcontroller to monitors body heart rate in wearable device. MSP430G2553 only have 512 byte RAM and 8k flash memory, so that the digital process calculation is an important topic. Finally, the experimental results show the dynamic algorithm has satisfactory performance.
Crowdsourcing Queue Estimations in Situ

We present the development and evaluation of a situated crowdsourcing mechanism that estimates queue length in real time. The system relies on public interactive kiosks to collect human estimations about their queue waiting time. The system has been designed as a standalone tool that can be retrospectively embedded in a variety of locations without interfacing with billing or customer systems. An initial study was conducted in order to determine whether people who just joined the queue would differ in their estimates from people who were at the front of the queue. We then present our system's evaluation in four different restaurants over 19 weekdays. Our analysis shows how our system is perceived by users, and we develop 2 ways to optimise the waiting time estimation: by correcting the estimations based on the position of the input mechanism, and by changing the sliding window considered inputs to provide better prediction. Our analysis shows that approximately 7% of restaurant customers provided estimations, but even so our system can provide predictions with up to 2 minute mean absolute error.
Perception of client-centered practice in occupational therapists and their clients.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to comparatively analyze the perceptions of clients and occupational therapists regarding their involvement in the process of client-centered practice. METHOD Participants (11 occupational therapists, 30 clients) in adult/geriatric health care facilities were each engaged in a semistructured interview to determine their perceptions of client-centered practice, specifically in the goal-setting process. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the item data. In addition, one-way analysis of variance was computed to identify the differences of opinions in clients and occupational therapists on the process of client-centered practice in four facilities: long-term-care or rehabilitation, hospital outpatient, hospital inpatient, and nursing homes. RESULTS The occupational therapists in this study indicated use of the principles of client-centered practice in their delivery of occupational therapy services. Their clients, however, displayed mixed perceptions about their role as active participants in client-centered practice and all responded in the negative when asked if they were aware of the approach. Perceptual differences existed between the occupational therapists and their clients in relation to the use of client-centered practice, because their responses to similar questions varied. Last, type of facility significantly influenced clients' knowledge of certain aspects of their treatment processes in the following four areas: (a) treatment goal selection, (b) encouragement provided in setting clients' goals, (c) clients' perception of the importance in the goal-setting process, and (d) education of clients about their participatory role in the goal-setting process. CONCLUSION Results suggest that a perceptual gap exists between occupational therapists and their clients in relation to their stated use of and participation in client-centered practice. In light of the results, development of a systematic strategy by occupational therapists to elicit the roles that their clients desire to play in the therapeutic process may be an effective intervention to ensure that occupational therapists and their clients are able to fulfill their roles in client-centered practice.
Surgical Stabilization Improves Survival of Spinal Fractures Related to Ankylosing Spondylitis

Study Design. National registry cohort study. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of surgical stabilization on survival of spinal fractures related to ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Summary of Background Data. Spinal fractures related to AS are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Multiple studies suggest a beneficial effect of surgical stabilization in these patients. Methods. In the Swedish patient registry, all patients treated in an inpatient facility are registered with diagnosis and treatment codes. The Swedish mortality registry collects date and cause of death for all fatalities. Registry extracts of all patients with AS and spinal fractures including date of death and treatment were prepared and analyzed for epidemiological purposes. Results. Seventeen thousand two hundred ninety-seven individual patients with AS were admitted to treatment facilities in Sweden between 1987 and 2011. Nine hundred ninety patients with AS (age 66 ± 14 years) had 1131 spinal fractures, of which 534 affected cervical, 352 thoracic, and 245 lumbar vertebrae. Thirteen percent had multiple levels of injuries during the observed period. Surgically treated patients had a greater survival than those treated nonsurgically [hazard ratio (HR) 0.79, P = 0.029]. Spinal cord injury was the major factor contributing to mortality in this cohort (HR 1.55, P < 0.001). The proportion of surgically treated spinal fractures increased linearly during the last decades (r = 0.92, P < 0.001) and was 64% throughout the observed years. Conclusions. Spinal cord injury threatened the survival of patients with spinal fractures related to AS. Even though surgical treatment is associated with a considerable complication rate, it improved the survival of spinal fractures related to AS. Level of Evidence: 3
Bled Econference Eintegration in Action Orchestration in Ict-enabled Business Networks: a Case in the Repairs Industry

Although business network orchestration has been widely studied in the literature, this paper calls for more research to understand the management and use of the ICT that supports the relationships of business networks. The aim of the paper is to explore existing and new functions attributed to orchestrators in ICT-enabled business networks, as well as examine the effects of orchestrators' actions and decisions on the network of relationships and the performance. We illustrate these functions with a case study in the repairs and emergency services industry. This paper proposes that business network orchestrators must act as integrators in order to leverage the benefits from using ICT to support the business network relationships and processes.
Intuitive Authentication in Multi-Modal Devices A new approach in multi-modal biometrics

This paper presents a new approach to combine several biometrics in a multimodal device. The proposed approach does not use typical fusion strategies but is based on the multi-dimensional cost probability densities of the originals and forgers, which can be measured or calculated from the intrinsic cost or score distribution of the single biometrics, and uses different decision strategies within this distribution. The performance of the proposed combination method is shown to be superior to that of the single biometric subsystems. The main advantage of this method is the selectable degree of security or comfort. This means that the false acceptance rate (FAR) or the false rejection rate (FRR) of the overall system can be set according to the desired requirements of the respective authentication scenario. Furthermore the approach enables the combination and integration of all biometric systems which provide the cost distribution of originals and forgers even if they come from different suppliers.
Who Gets Prompt Access to Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapy? A Prospective Community-Based Study in Children from Rural Kilosa, Tanzania

Background Effective and timely case management remains one of the fundamental pillars for control of malaria. Tanzania introduced artemisinin-combination therapy [ACT] for uncomplicated malaria; however, the policy change is challenged by limited availability of ACTs due to high cost. This study aimed to determine factors influencing prompt access to ACTs among febrile children in rural Kilosa, Tanzania. Methods and Findings In a community-based study, 1,235 randomly selected children under five were followed up weekly for six months, in 2008. Using a structured questionnaire, children's caretakers were asked about the child's febrile history in the last seven days, and treatment actions including timing, medicines used and source of care. Caretakers' knowledge about malaria and socioeconomic and demographic data were also obtained. About half of followed-up children had at least one episode of fever. Less than half (44.8%) of febrile children were taken to government facilities. Almost one-third (37.6%; 95% CI 33.1–42.1) of febrile children had prompt access to ACT. Care-seeking from a government facility was the overriding factor, increasing the likelihood of prompt access to an ACT 18 times (OR 17.7; 95% CI 10.55–29.54; adjusted OR 16.9; 95% CI 10.06–28.28). Caretakers from the better-off household (3rd–5th quintiles) were more likely to seek care from government facilities (OR 3.66; 95% CI 2.56–5.24; adjusted OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.18–2.76). The majority of antimalarials accessed by the poor were ineffective [86.0%; 295/343], however, they paid more for them (median Tsh 500) compared to the better-offs (median Tsh 0). Conclusions Prompt access to ACT among febrile children was unacceptably low, due mainly to limited availability of subsidised ACT at the location where most caretakers sought care. There is urgent need to accelerate implementation of strategies that will ensure availability of ACT at an affordable price in remote rural areas, where the burden of malaria is highest.
Device-Enhanced Password Protocols with Optimal Online-Offline Protection

We introduce a setting that we call Device-Enhanced PAKE (DE-PAKE), where PAKE (password-authenticated key exchange) protocols are strengthened against online and offline attacks through the use of an auxiliary device that aids the user in the authentication process. We build such schemes and show that their security, properly formalized, achieves maximal-attainable resistance to online and offline attacks in both PKI and PKI-free settings. In particular, an online attacker must guess the user's password and also corrupt the user's auxiliary device to authenticate, while an attacker who corrupts the server cannot learn the users' passwords via an offline dictionary attack. Notably, our solutions do not require secure channels, and nothing (in an information-theoretic sense) is learned about the password by the device (or a malicious software running on the device) or over the device-client channel, even without any external protection of this channel. An attacker taking over the device still requires a full online attack to impersonate the user. Importantly, our DE-PAKE scheme can be deployed at the user end without the need to modify the server and without the server having to be aware that the user is using a DE-PAKE scheme. In particular, the schemes can work with standard servers running the usual password-over-TLS authentication. We use these protocols to implement a practical DE-PAKE system and we evaluate its performance. To improve usability the implemented system utilizes automated and user-transparent data channel between the mobile device and the client, falling back to localized communication if the device looses primary connectivity.
Development and experiment of a kneed biped walking robot based on parametric excitation principle

Parametric excitation walking is one of methods to realize dynamic walking on a level ground. This method has first applied to a biped robot with telescopic legs and later to a robot with actuated knee joints. In parametric excitation walking, mechanical energy is increased by periodic up-and-down motion of the center of mass. While parametric excitation walking with telescopic legs has verified by an experimental robot, that with actuated knees has not yet as far as we know. The purpose of this paper is to present demonstration experiment of parametric excitation walking with a kneed biped robot. To do this, we develop an experimental kneed biped robot having four parallel legs with semicircular feet. In the experiment, the robot achieves walking on a level ground more than 15 steps. We also measure the movements of the robot during walking by a 3D motion capture and compare with simulation results.
A new design of a tunable WLAN-band pass filter using a combination of varactor device, RF-choke and Hairpin-defected ground structure

A novel compact electrical tunable microstrip band pass filter, realized by coupling two Hairpin-DGS resonators, is proposed. The tunability is achieved by embedding varactor diodes to the Hairpin-DGS resonators. The measured relative tuning range of the band pass filter is 23.5% with a fractional bandwidth of 8%. The measured insertion loss is 3.6 dB to 2.1 dB within the tuning range. The simulated and measured results show good agreement and validate the proposed approach.
A boundary layer origin for dwarf nova oscillations

Dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs) have been observed in a number of cataclysmic variables. I propose that these oscillations could be produced by a non-axisymmetric bulge at the transition between the optically thick disc and the optically thin boundary layer region. This would naturally explain the observed oscillation periods and the dependence of the oscillation amplitude on photon energy. The transition radius moves inward and outward with changing mass accretion rate, which explains the correlation between period and flux, and the time-scale for period variations. The underlying cause of the non-axisymmetry that produces the oscillations is not known, so it is not possible to predict the oscillation amplitude from first principles.
VTS residual noise compensation

The VTS approach for noise reduction is based on a statistical for mulation. It provides the expected value of the clean speech given the noisy observations and statistical models for the clean speech and the additive noise. The compensated signal is only an approximation of the clean one and retains a residual mismatch. The main objective of this work is to characterize this residual noise and to propose techniques to reduce its unwanted effects. Two different approaches to this problem are presented in this paper. The first one is based on linear filtering the time sequences of compensated acoustic parameters; for this purpose we use LDA-based RASTA-like FIR filters. The second approach is based on canceling the distortion introduced into the probability distribution of acoustic parameters and uses the well-known technique of histogram equalization. Results reported on AURORA database show that the proposed methods increase the recognition performance.
HFSP: Size-based scheduling for Hadoop

Size-based scheduling with aging has, for long, been recognized as an effective approach to guarantee fairness and near-optimal system response times. We present HFSP, a scheduler introducing this technique to a real, multi-server, complex and widely used system such as Hadoop. Size-based scheduling requires a priori job size information, which is not available in Hadoop: HFSP builds such knowledge by estimating it on-line during job execution. Our experiments, which are based on realistic workloads generated via a standard benchmarking suite, pinpoint at a significant decrease in system response times with respect to the widely used Hadoop Fair scheduler, and show that HFSP is largely tolerant to job size estimation errors.
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS USING SPATIALLY ARRANGED MICROELECTRODE PROBES EMBEDDED INTO 3-D NEURONAL CULTURES

This paper presents spatially arranged microelectrode probes to allow electrophysiological recordings inside 3–D neuronal cultures. Out–of–plane microelectrode probes standing on a substrate have gradation in height. Wire– bonding–based probe technology [1] makes it possible to provide the flexible probes. We would understand the dependent alteration of cellular activities caused by the construction process of 3–D artificial neuronal networks, because the developed probes can directly and spatially record cellular activities inside 3–D cell cultures. This paper demonstrates electrophysiological activities inside 3–D neuronal cultures could be successfully recorded using the embedded probes.
Human Potential for Tetrachromacy by

N color palette—the changing sky, autumn leaves, the tinted irises of beloved eyes—has allured human interest since time immemorial. Scientific advances over the past twenty years have led to a far better understanding of the relevance and physiological basis of color experience than ever before. Recent research in molecular genetics, color perception and cognitive psychology is clarifying the underpinnings of human color sensations, how color experience has evolved, and along which perceptual paths we might be headed as a species of color-experiencing individuals. Together, such advances suggest that extensions of color perception theory are needed to account for retinal photopigment diversity unanticipated by accepted models of color vision trichromacy.