Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co-ordination Support for Managing Progress of Distributed Agile Projects

Progress in agile development is determined by the amount of 'working software' produced. Source code versioning, unit testing, continuous integration and acceptance testing (AT) are technical factors that affect the maturity of the software artefects produced. Therefore, development progress is subject to change due to impact of these technical factors (e.g. modifying source code artefects may affect completed user stories). In co-located agile projects, face-to-face interaction is used to share information about changes that may affect development progress. However, in distributed projects, team members find it harder to maintain an awareness of these changes, which affects their understanding of the development progress. This causes them to rely on less accurate progress information and contributes in producing low quality code and unnecessary rework and delays. In this paper, we propose a holistic approach that supports management of the development progress in geographically distributed agile projects by identifying and co-ordinating the impact of the technical factors on progress, which will provide distributed agile teams with improved awareness of the actual progress of the software.
On-Chip Single-to-Balanced Multicoupled Line Bandpass Filters With Good Selectivity

In this work, on-chip single-to-balanced bandpass filters with good selectivity are proposed. The functions of bandpass filter and balun are integrated using a simple multicoupled line structure along with capacitive loadings. The use of inductor is avoided such that the proposed single-to-balanced bandpass filters can achieve very compact size when implemented on chip. They can be designed with the desired bandpass response and reference impedances through the proposed equivalent-circuit models and design equations. In addition, by introducing two cross-coupled capacitors, one tunable transmission zero can be achieved in either the lower or upper stopband to improve the selectivity. Specifically, two third-order single-to-balanced bandpass filter designs in commercial pHEMT process on 4-mil GaAs substrate with different transmission zero locations are presented. The circuit size is less than 1.02 mm × 0.86 mm for a center frequency of 5.5 GHz and a bandwidth of about 18.18%. The corresponding electrical size is only 0. 054λg×0. 045λg at the center frequency. Good selectivity and balanced performance are demonstrated.
Partitional Clustering Techniques for Multi-Spectral Image Segmentation

Analyzing unknown data sets such as multispectral images often requires unsupervised techniques. Data clustering is a well known and widely used approach in such cases. Multi-spectral image segmentation requires pixel classification according to a similarity criterion. For this particular data, partitional clustering seems to be more appropriate. Classical K-means algorithm has important drawbacks with regard to the number and the shape of clusters. Probability density function based methods overcome these drawbacks and are investigated in this paper. Two main steps in data clustering are dimension reduction and data representation. Methods like PCA and ICA often perform dimension reduction step. To achieve a complete and more reliable representation of the data, a magnitude-shape representation is described, it takes into account both the magnitude and shape similarities between pixels vectors. The bases of PCA and magnitude-shape representation are explored to highlight the main differences and the advantages of our method over PCA. Experimental results confirm that this method is a reliable alternative to classical linear projection methods for dimension reduction.
Keyphrase extraction for Islamic Knowledge ontology

This paper describes ongoing work on the evaluation methods for extraction keyword and keyphrase candidate in order to develop an ontology for Islamic Knowledge. Keyphrases provide semantic metadata that summarize, characterize documents and topic search. The task of automatic keyword and keyphrase extraction and also known as a collocation extraction is to select keywords or keyphrases from within the text of a given document. Automatic keywords or keyphrase extraction makes it feasible to generate keywords or keyphrases for the huge number of documents that do not have manually assigned them. This paper also describes an algorithm for extracting keyphrases from Islamic Knowledge text as a concept and attribute candidate. It identifies candidate keywords and keyphrases using lexico-syntactic method and statistical method.
The Comparison of Executive Functions with the Attachment Styles in Students with and without ODD

Background and Objectives: One of the causes , concerns about mental health and impact on the growth and performance of children is the increased prevalence of behavioral disorders in children. Therefore, the present study aims to compare executive functions in terms of organization- programming and selective attentionprocessing speed with the attachment styles in students with and without ODD. Material and Methods: The study is of causal- comparative nature. The statistical population includes all elementary school third to sixth grader male students with and without the ODD city of Karaj in the academic year 2015-16. 40 students having the disorder were chosen by convenience method and 40 ones without the disorder were chosen by cluster method. The participants completed the Andre Ray test, d2, attachment scale in children of middle and CSI 4 test. Data analysis was carried out by a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and independent T. Results: It was revealed that organizing- planning in children with the disorder in the process of drawing of the fiure (t (78) = 4.2, P 0.05). Conclusion: Executive functions in children with oppositional defint disorder are signifiantly lower than normal children and also, insecure attachment included consequences such as oppositional behavior, poor education and lack of proper relations with others in these children. Therefore, it is proposed that therapists of the children with the disorder consider some exercises to reinforce and improve the mother- child relation as well as executive functions of these people in order to improve their social and educational functions.
Enabling Efficient Intra-Warp Communication for Fourier Transforms in a Many-Core Architecture

Shuffle, a new mechanism in NVIDIA GPUs that allows for direct register-to-register data exchange within a warp, aims to reduce the shared memory footprint for data communication. Despite vendor claims on its efficacy, the mechanism is poorly understood with few works demonstrating performance improvement. Therefore, we seek to characterize the behavior of shuffle and provide insight into optimizing applications with intra-warp communication. We evaluated the efficacy of the shuffle mechanism in the context of matrix transpose as part of the communication stage in a 1D FFT code. Our study indicates that refactoring algorithms to fit the shuffle paradigm requires careful co-design between software and hardware. In particular, algorithmic decisions should avoid CUDA local memory allocation and usage at all costs. Overall, our optimized shuffle version accelerates matrix transpose by up to 44% with an overall application speedup of 1.17-fold for a 256-point FFT.
Combining NLP and statistical techniques for lexical acquisition

The growing availability of large on-line corpora encourages the study of word behaviour directly from accessible raw texts. However the methods by which lexical knowledge should be extracted from plain texts are still matter of debate and experimentation. In this paper it is presented an integrated tool for lexical acquisition from corpora, ARIOSTO, based on a hybrid methodology that combines typical NLP techniques, such as (shallow) syntax and semantic markers, with numerical processing.
Evo-devo of non-bilaterian animals

The non-bilaterian animals comprise organisms in the phyla Porifera, Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Placozoa. These early-diverging phyla are pivotal to understanding the evolution of bilaterian animals. After the exponential increase in research in evolutionary development (evo-devo) in the last two decades, these organisms are again in the spotlight of evolutionary biology. In this work, I briefly review some aspects of the developmental biology of nonbilaterians that contribute to understanding the evolution of development and of the metazoans. The evolution of the developmental genetic toolkit, embryonic polarization, the origin of gastrulation and mesodermal cells, and the origin of neural cells are discussed. The possibility that germline and stem cell lineages have the same origin is also examined. Although a considerable number of non-bilaterian species are already being investigated, the use of species belonging to different branches of non-bilaterian lineages and functional experimentation with gene manipulation in the majority of the non-bilaterian lineages will be necessary for further progress in this field.
STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons' potentially inappropriate Prescriptions): application to acutely ill elderly patients and comparison with Beers' criteria.

INTRODUCTION STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons' potentially inappropriate Prescriptions) is a new, systems-defined medicine review tool. We compared the performance of STOPP to that of established Beers' criteria in detecting potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs) and related adverse drug events (ADEs) in older patients presenting for hospital admission. METHODS we prospectively studied 715 consecutive acute admissions to a university teaching hospital. Diagnoses, reason for admission and concurrent medications were recorded. STOPP and Beers' criteria were applied. PIMs with clear causal connection or contribution to the principal reason for admission were determined. RESULTS median patient age (interquartile range) was 77 (72-82) years. Median number of prescription medicines was 6 (range 0-21). STOPP identified 336 PIMs affecting 247 patients (35%), of whom one-third (n = 82) presented with an associated ADE. Beers' criteria identified 226 PIMs affecting 177 patients (25%), of whom 43 presented with an associated ADE. STOPP-related PIMs contributed to 11.5% of all admissions. Beers' criteria-related PIMs contributed to significantly fewer admissions (6%). CONCLUSION STOPP criteria identified a significantly higher proportion of patients requiring hospitalisation as a result of PIM-related adverse events than Beers' criteria. This finding has significant implications for hospital geriatric practice.
Exercise capacity and body composition as predictors of mortality among men with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the relation of fitness to mortality among men with diabetes, adjusted for BMI and within levels of BMI. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this observational cohort study, we calculated all-cause death rates in men with diabetes across quartiles of fitness and BMI categories. Study participants were 2,196 men with diabetes (average age 49.3 years, SD 9.5) who underwent a medical examination, including a maximal exercise test, during 1970 to 1995, with mortality follow-up to 31 December 1996. RESULTS We identified 275 deaths during 32,161 person-years of observation. Risk of all-cause mortality was inversely related to fitness. For example, in the fully adjusted model, the risk of mortality was 4.5 (2.6-7.6), 2.8 (1.6-4.7), and 1.6 (0.93-2.76) for the first, second, and third fitness quartiles, respectively, with the fourth quartile (highest fitness level) as the referent (P for trend <0.0001). There was no significant trend across BMI categories for mortality after adjustment for fitness. Similar results were found when the fitness-mortality relation was examined within levels of body composition. In normal-weight men with diabetes, the relative risks of mortality were 6.6 (2.8-15.0), 3.2 (1.4-7.0), and 2.2 (1.1-4.6) for the first, second, and third quartiles of fitness, respectively, as compared with the fourth quartile (P for trend <0.0001). We found similar results in the overweight and obese weight categories. CONCLUSIONS There was a steep inverse gradient between fitness and mortality in this cohort of men with documented diabetes, and this association was independent of BMI.
Applying standardisation tools in social work practice from the perspectives of social workers, managers, and politicians: a Swedish case study

ABSTRACT This article reports findings from a case study of the practical application of a standardisation tool in everyday social work practice. The example tool used herein is the Swedish version of the UK-based Integrated Children’s System, which in Sweden is known as Children’s Needs in Focus (Barns Behov i Centrum; BBIC). The study analyses group and individual interviews with social workers, managers and politicians using concepts from implementation research and the micro-sociological concept of accounts. The findings demonstrate how participants describe and explain their deviations from the BBIC manual and from the more informal intentions of the tool. Such deviations are conditioned by the fact that professionals often employ their own discretion in their work, which is necessarily inherent in human service occupations such as social work. Although the BBIC was initially well received, the professionals describe how that reception eventually turned to scepticism and a more critical stance toward the manual. This can be attributed to both absence of significant necessary implementation conditions and key organisational factors as well as a lack of compatibility between the tool’s construction and users’ needs and expectations. This article also discusses the general socio-technical and organisational implications of these findings.
COMP-Angiopoietin-1 Recovers Molecular Biomarkers of Neuropathy and Improves Vascularisation in Sciatic Nerve of ob/ob Mice

Background Leptin-deficient ob/ob mice are a model of type 2 diabetes induced peripheral neuropathy. Ob/ob mice exhibit obesity, insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia, and alterations of peripheral nerve fibres and endoneural microvessels. Here we test the hypothesis that cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP)-Ang-1, a soluble and stabile form of Ang-1 which promotes angiogenesis and nerve growth, improves regeneration of nerve fibres and endoneural microvessels in ob/ob mice. Methods and Findings COMP-Ang-1 (100 ng/ml) or NaCl were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected into male (N = 184), 3-month old, ob/ob or ob/+ mice for 7 and 21 days. We measured expression of Nf68, GAP43, Cx32, Cx26, Cx43, and TNFα in sciatic nerves using Western blot analysis. To investigate the inflammation in sciatic nerves, numbers of macrophages and T-cells were counted after immunofluorescence staining. In ultrathin section, number of myelinated/non-mylinated nerve fibers, g-ratio, the thickness of Schwann cell basal lamina and microvessel endothelium were investigated. Endoneural microvessels were reconstructed with intracardial FITC injection. Treatment with COMP-Ang-1 over 21 days significantly reduced fasting blood glucose and plasma cholesterol concentrations compared to saline treated ob/ob mice. In addition, COMP-Ang-1 treatment: 1) up-regulated expression of Nf68 and GAP43; 2) improved expression of gap junction proteins including connexin 32 and 26; 3) suppressed the expression of TNFα and Cx43 and 4) led to decreased macrophage and T-cell infiltration in sciatic nerve of ob/ob mice. The significant changes of sciatic nerve ultrastructure were not observed after 21-day long COMP-Ang-1 treatment. COMP-Ang-1 treated ob/ob mice displayed regeneration of small-diameter endoneural microvessels. Effects of COMP-Ang-1 corresponded to increased phosphorylation of Akt and p38 MAPK upon Tie-2 receptor. Conclusions COMP-Ang-1 recovers molecular biomarkers of neuropathy, promotes angiogenesis and suppresses inflammation in sciatic nerves of ob/ob mice suggesting COMP-Ang-1 as novel treatment option to improve morphologic and protein expression changes associated with diabetic neuropathy.
Rainfall Variability, Carbon Cycling, and Plant Species Diversity in a Mesic Grassland

Ecosystem responses to increased variability in rainfall, a prediction of general circulation models, were assessed in native grassland by reducing storm frequency and increasing rainfall quantity per storm during a 4-year experiment. More extreme rainfall patterns, without concurrent changes in total rainfall quantity, increased temporal variability in soil moisture and plant species diversity. However, carbon cycling processes such as soil CO2 flux, CO2 uptake by the dominant grasses, and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) were reduced, and ANPP was more responsive to soil moisture variability than to mean soil water content. Our results show that projected increases in rainfall variability can rapidly alter key carbon cycling processes and plant community composition, independent of changes in total precipitation.
Expression of a Dominant Negative CELF Protein In Vivo Leads to Altered Muscle Organization, Fiber Size, and Subtype

Background CUG-BP and ETR-3-like factor (CELF) proteins regulate tissue- and developmental stage-specific alternative splicing in striated muscle. We previously demonstrated that heart muscle-specific expression of a nuclear dominant negative CELF protein in transgenic mice (MHC-CELFΔ) effectively disrupts endogenous CELF activity in the heart in vivo, resulting in impaired cardiac function. In this study, transgenic mice that express the dominant negative protein under a skeletal muscle-specific promoter (Myo-CELFΔ) were generated to investigate the role of CELF-mediated alternative splicing programs in normal skeletal muscle. Methodology/Principal Findings Myo-CELFΔ mice exhibit modest changes in CELF-mediated alternative splicing in skeletal muscle, accompanied by a reduction of endomysial and perimysial spaces, an increase in fiber size variability, and an increase in slow twitch muscle fibers. Weight gain and mean body weight, total number of muscle fibers, and overall muscle strength were not affected. Conclusions/Significance Although these findings demonstrate that CELF activity contributes to the normal alternative splicing of a subset of muscle transcripts in vivo, the mildness of the effects in Myo-CELFΔ muscles compared to those in MHC-CELFΔ hearts suggests CELF activity may be less determinative for alternative splicing in skeletal muscle than in heart muscle. Nonetheless, even these small changes in CELF-mediated splicing regulation were sufficient to alter muscle organization and muscle fiber properties affected in myotonic dystrophy. This lends further evidence to the hypothesis that dysregulation of CELF-mediated alternative splicing programs may be responsible for the disruption of these properties during muscle pathogenesis.
Cobalt and nickel in the Peru upwelling region: A major flux of labile cobalt utilized as a micronutrient

The geochemistry of cobalt in the Peru upwelling region is dominated by its importance as a micronutrient. A large and previously undocumented flux of labile cobalt behaved as a micronutrient with correlations with major nutrients (nitrate, phosphate; r2 = 0.90, 0.96) until depleted to ≤50 pM of strongly complexed cobalt. Co:P utilization ratios were an order of magnitude higher than in the North Pacific, comparable to utilization rates of zinc in other oceanic regions. Cobalt speciation measurements showed that available cobalt decreased over 4 orders of magnitude in this region, with shifts in phytoplankton assemblages occurring at transitions between labile and nonlabile cobalt. Only small changes in total dissolved nickel were observed, and nickel was present in a labile chemical form throughout the region. In the Peru upwelling region, cobalt uptake was highest at the surface and decreased with depth, suggesting phytoplankton uptake was a more important removal mechanism than co‐oxidation with microbial manganese oxidation. These findings show the importance of cobalt as a micronutrient and that cobalt scarcity and speciation may be important in influencing phytoplankton species composition in this economically important environment.
Surface Reconstruction and Recognition

In this paper we propose a novel 3D face recognition system. Furthermore we propose and discuss the development of a 3D reconstruction system designed specifically for the purpose of face recognition. The reconstruction subsystem utilises a capture rig comprising of six cameras to obtain two independent stereo pairs of the subject face during a structured light projection with the remaining two cameras obtaining texture data under normal lighting conditions. Whilst the most common approaches to 3D reconstruction use least square comparison of image intensity values, our system achieves dense point matching using Gabor Wavelets as the primary correspondence measure. The matching process is aided by Voronoi segmentation of the input images using strong confidence correlations as Voronoi seeds. Additional matches are then propagated outwards from the initial seed matches to produce a dense point cloud and surface model. Within the recognition subsystem models are first registered to a generic head model, and then an ICP variant is applied between the recognition subject and each model in the comparison database, using the average point-to-plane error as the recognition metric. Our system takes full advantage of the additional information obtained from the shape and structure of the face, thus combating some of the inherent weaknesses of traditional 2D methods such as pose and illumination variations. This novel reconstruction / recognition process shows 98.2% accuracy on databases containing in excess of 175 meshes.
Exploration of unstructured narrative crime reports: an unsupervised neural network and point pattern analysis approach

Crime intelligence analysis and criminal investigations are increasingly making use of geospatial methodologies to improve tactical and strategic decision-making. However, the full potential of geospatial technologies is yet to be exploited. In particular, geospatial technology currently applied by law enforcement is somewhat limited in handling the increasing volume of police recorded and relatively unstructured narrative crime reports, such as observations and interviews of eyewitnesses, the general public, or other relevant persons. The main objective of this research is to promote text mining, particularly the self-organizing map algorithm and its visualization capabilities, in combination with point pattern analysis, to explore the value of otherwise hidden information in a geographical context and to gain further insight into the complex behavior of the geography of crime. This methodological approach is applied to a high-profile and still unsolved homicide series in the city of Jennings, Louisiana. In a collaborative effort with the Jennings Police Task Force, the analysis is based upon a range of information sources, including email correspondence, transcribed face-to-face interviews, and phone calls that have been stored as “Information Packages” in the Orion database, which is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Close to 200 individual information packages related to Necole Guillory, the eighth and last victim whose dead and dumped body was discovered in August 2009, are analyzed and resulted in new geographic patterns and relationships previously unknown to the Task Force.
Design of integral sliding-mode controller with finite-time convergence for omni-directional mobile robots

In this paper, a finite-time convergent integral sliding-mode controller (FTC-ISMC) is proposed for trajectory control of an omni-directional mobile robot (ODMR). This control scheme combines the techniques of terminal attractor approach and integral sliding-mode control which can drive the error states and error rate states to zero in finite time. All the simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method.