Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A high level visual notation for understanding and designing collaborative, adaptive behaviour in multiagent systems

The authors explain how to use a high level, visual notation called use case maps (UCMs) to bring together the "what" and "how" of multi-agent systems for understanding and design. "What" refers to descriptions of what agents do, descriptions that are declarative from a detailed software design perspective (e.g., BDI models). "How" refers to descriptions of how the software does it expressed with software design notations. Two important properties of agent systems that make them difficult to understand and design are multi-agent collaborative behaviour and adaption by system self modification. BDI-style descriptions of what must be done to achieve these properties do not give a direct view of the properties, but leave them to emerge. Conventional software design descriptions swamp us with unnecessary and undesirable derail relative to both system properties and BDI-style models. UCMs were invented to raise the level of abstraction of software design in precisely the way required to overcome these problems. UCMs are particularly suitable for multi-agent systems because they bring together the "what" and "how" of collaborative behaviour and system self modification in a coherent way, in a single high level visual notation. A companion HICSS'98 paper titled "Applying Use Case Maps to Multi-agent Systems: A Feature Interaction Example" illustrates the approach.
Who cares who's talking? The influence of talker gender on how listeners hear speech

representations, the talker information can also be used to disambiguate between phonemes (fitting the definition of a cue) in addition to traditional cues like VOT. This theory is supported by a number of lines of research. First, as described, contextual information is remembered after processing (Lively et al., 1993; Ryalls & Pisoni, 1997), and when shadowing speech, subjects gradually reflect details of the talker they are hearing (Goldinger, 1998). Second, recent fMRI research showed that talker-related parameters and speech information are encoded in similar regions of left STG, suggesting that talker information might be encoded along with phonetic information (Bonte, Hausfeld, Scharke, Valente, & Formisano, 2014; Formisano et al., 2008; von Kriegstein et al., 2010). Third, research using eye-tracking in the visual world paradigm has shown that talker information can be used as a cue during word recognition (Creel, Aslin, & Tanenhaus, 2008). In this experiment, consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words were paired based on their onset phonemes (e.g. sheep and sheet). The pairs were split into two groups. In one group of words, the two paired words were always spoken by the same talker (both female) while in the other group, paired words were spoken by different talkers (one male, one female). In this group, talker was a cue for lexical identity. In each trial,
Analysis and optimization of static power considering transition dependency of leakage current in VLSI circuits

We show that leakage current in VLSI circuits is not only a function of the current state (input combination) of a combinational circuit but also is dependent on the state history (previous input combinations). As an example application of the transition-dependent leakage model, we extend a known technique for calculating and applying the minimum leakage input vector to a combinational circuit in the standby mode to one which calculates and applies a pair of input vectors to initialize the circuit to the minimum leakage configuration.
HADRONIC MODELS FOR THE EXTRA SPECTRAL COMPONENT IN THE SHORT GRB 090510

A short gamma-ray burst GRB 090510 detected by Fermi shows an extra spectral component between 10 MeV and 30 GeV, an addition to a more usual low-energy (<10 MeV) Band component. In general, such an extra component could originate from accelerated protons. In particular, inverse Compton emission from secondary electron-positron pairs and proton synchrotron emission are competitive models for reproducing the hard spectrum of the extra component in GRB 090510. Here, using Monte Carlo simulations, we test the hadronic scenarios against the observed properties. To reproduce the extra component around GeV with these models, the proton injection isotropic-equivalent luminosity is required to be larger than 1055 erg s−1. Such large proton luminosities are a challenge for the hadronic models.
Using the IBM Watson cognitive system in educational contexts

In the current paper we describe how Watson Experience Manager (WEM), an industrial Question Answering (QA) tool developed by IBM, has been used in an educational context at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). During the postgraduate course on Data Science, three student teams experimented with WEM's QA capabilities on three different topics, namely, Nutrition, Autism and New York sightseeing. We present WEM, the workflow followed by the teams together with qualitative and quantitative experimental evaluations.
Rescue of the albino phenotype by introducing a functional tyrosinase minigene into Kunming albino mice.

AIM To use the tyrosinase minigene as a visual marker to perform microinjection training and improve the techniques related with transgene to greatly elevate the efficiency of gene transfer. METHODS A mouse tyrosinase minigene, i.e., TyBS, in which the 2.25-kb authentic genomic 5' non-coding flanking sequence of mouse tyrosinase was fused to a mouse tyrosinase cDNA, was introduced into the fertilized eggs of outbred Kunming albino mice. RESULTS Of the 11 animals that developed from the injected eggs, two mice (P1 and #8) exhibited pigmented hair (P1) and eyes (P1 and #8), as confirmed by PCR analysis for the tyrosinase minigene integrated into the genome. When founder P1 was bred to Kunming male mouse, six progeny out of 11 offspring inherited the transgene and the pigmented-eye phenotype. CONCLUSION Taken together, these results suggest that this minigene encodes the active tyrosinase protein and that its 5' flanking region contains the sequences regulating the expression of mouse tyrosinase gene as expected. We have rescued the albino phenotype by introduction and expression of a functional tyrosinase minigene in the Kunming albino mouse and the transgene can be passed to subsequent generation. These findings also indicate that TyBS can be a useful visual marker gene in the co-transgenic experiments.
Potential of Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM639 in Protecting against Aluminum Toxicity Mediated by Intestinal Barrier Function and Oxidative Stress

Aluminum (Al) is a ubiquitous metal that can seriously harm the health of animals and humans. In our previous study, we demonstrated that Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM639 can decrease Al burden in the tissues of mice by inhibiting intestinal Al absorption. The main aim of the present research was to investigate whether the protection by the strain is also associated with enhancement of the intestinal barrier, alleviation of oxidative stress and modulation of the inflammatory response. In an in vitro cell model, two protection modes (intervention and therapy) were examined and the results indicated that L. plantarum CCFM639 alleviated Al-induced cytotoxicity. In a mouse model, L. plantarum CCFM639 treatment was found to significantly alleviate oxidative stress in the intestinal tract, regulate the function of the intestinal mucosal immune system, restore the integrity of tight junction proteins and maintain intestinal permeability. These results suggest that in addition to Al sequestration, L. plantarum CCFM639 can also inhibit Al absorption by protecting the intestinal barrier, alleviating Al-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Therefore, L. plantarum CCFM639 has the potential to be a dietary supplement ingredient that provides protection against Al-induced gut injury.
Lattice-based FHE as secure as PKE

We show that (leveled) fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) can be based on the hardness of O(n1.5+ε)-approximation for lattice problems (such as GapSVP) under quantum reductions for any ε 〉 0 (or O(n2+ε)-approximation under classical reductions). This matches the best known hardness for "regular" (non-homomorphic) lattice based public-key encryption up to the ε factor. A number of previous methods had hit a roadblock at quasipolynomial approximation. (As usual, a circular security assumption can be used to achieve a non-leveled FHE scheme.) Our approach consists of three main ideas: Noise-bounded sequential evaluation of high fan-in operations; Circuit sequentialization using Barrington's Theorem; and finally, successive dimension-modulus reduction.
Combination of Active Components Enhances the Efficacy of Prunella in Prevention and Treatment of Lung Cancer

The efficacy of Prunella extracts in the prevention and treatment of lung cancer has been attributed to different components. In this study, an "active components combination model" hypothesis was proposed to explain the anti-tumor activity of Prunella. The efficacy of Prunella extracts from different regions was compared in vitro and in vivo, and the TNF-α activity in serum of tumor-bearing mice was also evaluated. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze the extracts and identify 26 common peaks. Prunella samples from different regions were classified by the cluster analysis method; both P. vulgaris L. from Bozhou and P. asiatica Nakai from Nanjing, which had the highest activities, were further divided into different classes. Six peaks from the HPLC analysis were very similar, and were identified as caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, rutin, quercetin, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid. The total ratio of these compounds in Prunella from Bozhou and Nanjing were 1.0:14.7:3.9:1.0:4.4:1.4 and 1.0:14.8:4.0:0.8:5.6:1.8, respectively. Total triterpenes and total phenols in Prunella were separated by macroporous resin purification for activity studies. The results showed that total triterpenes and total phenols had anti-lung cancer activity and their combination significantly enhanced the activity. In addition, the combination also significantly increased the TNF-α content compared to total triterpenes or total phenols. The results indicated that the efficacy of Prunella against lung cancer was attributable to multiple components acting at an optimal ratio.
Estonian-English Statistical Machine Translation: the First Results

This paper describes the experiments that apply phrase-based statistical machine translation to Estonian. The work has two main aims: the first one is to define the main problems in the output of EstonianEnglish statistical machine translation and set a baseline for further experiments with this language pair. The second is to compare the two available corpora of translated legislation texts and test them for compatibility. The experiment results show that statistical machine translation works well with that kind of text. The corpora appear to be compatible, and their combining ‐ beneficial.
CONTROL OF PWA SYSTEMS USING A STABLE RECEDING HORIZON METHOD

Abstract In this paper we derive stabilization conditions for the class of piecewise affine (PWA) systems using the linear matrix inequality (LMI) framework. We take into account the piecewise structure of the system and therefore the matrix inequalities that we solve are less conservative. Using the upper bound of the infinite-horizon quadratic cost as a terminal cost and constructing also a convex terminal set we show that the receding horizon control stabilizes the PWA system. We derive also an algorithm for enlarging the terminal set based on a backward procedure; therefore, the prediction horizon can be chosen shorter, removing some computations off-line.
The use of different laboratory methods in diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection; a comparative study

Background: Helicobacter pylori are well recognized as a major cause of gastrointestinal illnesses and gastric cancers. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess different methods for detection of H. pylori in the oral cavity (saliva and dental plaque) and in gastric biopsy among patients with gastric affection, as well as, detection of H. pylori antigen in stool, moreover, to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility testing of the isolated strains. Methods: Specimens were obtained from Endoscopy Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni Suef University Hospital, Egypt. Thirty patients were subjected to detailed history and different sampling; gastric biopsy, oral and stool samples. The oral and gastric samples were processed and cultured. Thereafter, microscopic examination and rapid urease tests (RUTs) were conducted. H. pylori antigen detection was carried out in the stool samples, as well as, susceptibility testing to several antibiotics for all isolates identified. Results: The selected patients had a mean age of 36.23 + 6.317 years. They included 17 males (56.7%) and 13 females (43.3%). 90% of the cases were found positive by culture of the gastric biopsies, while, 96.7% were positive in oral cultures. 92.5% of the gastric samples showed positive results by microscopic examination, however, RUTs were positive in 63.3% of the gastric samples and in 73.3% of the oral samples, meanwhile, 66.7% of patients were found positive by testing their stool for H. pylori antigens. The prevalence of resistance among gastric and oral isolates to Amoxycillin, Amoxycillin/Clavulinic acid, Ampicillin/Sulbactam, Clarithromycin , Tetracycillin and Metronidazole were; (3.7 and 17.2 %), (11.1 and 24.1 %), (11.1 and 20.7 %), (11.1 and 24.1 %), (25.9 and 37.9 %) and (96.3 and 100 %) respectively. Conclusion: There is an evidenced association between gastric affection and oral H. pylori recognition that, even exceeds stool detection of H. pylori antigen. Moreover, continuous evaluation of antibiotic susceptibility should be carried out and clinicians should be aware about it to select the appropriate empiric regimen for H. pylori eradication. [Nermin H. Ibrahim , Azza Abdulazim Gomaa, Mohamed Ahmed Abu-Sief, Tamer M. Hifnawy and Mervat Abd El-Baseer Tohamy The use of different laboratory methods in diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection; a comparative study Life Sci J 2012; 9(4):249-259]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 36
Trends in CD4 count at presentation to care and treatment initiation in sub-Saharan Africa, 2002-2013: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Both population- and individual-level benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are contingent on early diagnosis and initiation of therapy. We estimated trends in disease status at presentation to care and at ART initiation in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS We searched PubMed for studies published January 2002-December 2013 that reported CD4 cell count at presentation or ART initiation among adults in sub-Saharan Africa. We abstracted study sample size, year(s), and mean CD4 count. A random-effects meta-regression model was used to obtain pooled estimates during each year of the observation period. RESULTS We identified 56 articles reporting CD4 count at presentation (N = 295 455) and 71 articles reporting CD4 count at ART initiation (N = 549 702). The mean estimated CD4 count in 2002 was 251 cells/µL at presentation and 152 cells/µL at ART initiation. During 2002-2013, neither CD4 count at presentation (β = 5.8 cells/year; 95% confidence interval [CI], -10.7 to 22.4 cells/year), nor CD4 count at ART initiation (β = -1.1 cells/year; 95% CI, -8.4 to 6.2 cells/year) increased significantly. Excluding studies of opportunistic infections or prevention of mother-to-child transmission did not alter our findings. Among studies conducted in South Africa (N = 14), CD4 count at presentation increased by 39.9 cells/year (95% CI, 9.2-70.2 cells/year; P = .02), but CD4 count at ART initiation did not change. CONCLUSIONS CD4 counts at presentation to care and at ART initiation in sub-Saharan Africa have not increased over the past decade. Barriers to presentation, diagnosis, and linkage to HIV care remain major challenges that require attention to optimize population-level benefits of ART.
On the Performance of Heterogeneous Web Proxy Caching Hierarchies

This paper uses trace-driven simulations to evaluate the performance of three different cache management techniques for multi-level Web caching hierarchies. I n particular, the experiments consider heterogeneous cache replacement policies, size-based partitioning, and shari ngbased partitioning across the levels of a two-level caching hierarchy. Three different synthetic Web proxy workloads are used in the study, reflecting complete overlap, partial over lap, and no overlap in the workloads seen by the child-level proxies. The simulation results demonstrate that heteroge neous replacement policies and size-based partitioning ea ch offer modest improvements in caching performance, while sharing-based partitioning does not. The sensitivity of the results to the degree of workload overlap is also studied.
Towards a library of composable models to estimate the performance of security solutions

Complex distributed dependable systems, such as web-based applications that contain sensitive data and are exposed to many users, have to meet different, and sometimes conflicting, non functional requirements, such as security and performance requirements. A typical example of this trade-off is the performance degradation introduced in a system by the raising of security solutions. Several proposals have been made to estimate the performance of security methodologies, but they are often grounded to existing standards such as IPsec and SSL. In this paper we tackle the problem from a model-based viewpoint: we introduce basic performance models for security mechanisms, which can be considered as building bricks to compose in order to model security services. To this goal, we introduce rules that drive the composition. Security service models can then be integrated with functional models of critical applications to estimate the performance of the adopted security solutions. We represent models as Generalized Stochastic Petri Nets (GSPNs). This is a first step towards a Security Library containing composable performance models of security mechanisms and services and representing an instrument to support designers in decisions related to the security vs performance trade-off. We show how to use our models on an example of banking system.
Improvement on corpus-based word similarity using vector space models

This paper presents a new approach for finding semantically similar words from large text collection using window based context methods. Previous studies on this problem mainly concentrate on finding new methods which are new combination of distance-weight measurement methods or new context methods. The main difference of our approach is that we focus on reprocessing of existing methods' outputs to update the representation of related word vectors, which are used for measuring semantic distance between words, to further improve the results. This new approach can be easily applied to many of the existing word similarity methods using the vector space model for representing contexts. We claim that our method improves the performance of some of the existing similarity measuring methods.
Fever of Unknown Origin in a Patient with Confirmed West Nile Virus Meningoencephalitis

West Nile Virus (WNV), an RNA arbovirus and member of the Japanese encephalitis virus antigenic complex, causes a wide range of clinical symptoms, from asymptomatic to encephalitis and meningitis. Nearly all human infections of WNV are due to mosquito bites with birds being the primary amplifying hosts. Advanced age is the most important risk factor for neurological disease leading most often to poor prognosis in those afflicted. We report a case of WNV meningoencephalitis in a 93-year-old Caucasian male who presented with fever of unknown origin (FUO) and nuchal rigidity that rapidly decompensated within 24 h to a persistent altered mental state during inpatient stay. The patient's ELISA antibody titers confirmed pathogenesis of disease by WNV; he given supportive measures and advanced to an excellent recovery. In regard to the approach of FUO, it is important to remain impartial yet insightful to all elements when determining pathogenesis in atypical presentation.
Failure-Driven Reminding for Incremental Learning

Much of adult learning is gradual, almost imperceptible. Our model for this knowledge-based, incremental learning is to augment normal story comprehension processing with a failure tracking mechanism. When a comprehension rule fails, the failure and its correction are stored in an exception episode attached to the failing rule. The rule is otherwise unchanged. Subsequent failures of that rule trigger the retrieval of these exception episodes (failure-driven reminding). Rule modification occurs when classes can be found for the known exceptions. The ALFRED program is a preliminary implementation that classifies and remembers failures of "everyday knowledge" in the domain of political economics.
Medicine in the Popular Press: The Influence of the Media on Perceptions of Disease

In an age of increasing globalization and discussion of the possibility of global pandemics, increasing rates of reporting of these events may influence public perception of risk. The present studies investigate the impact of high levels of media reporting on the perceptions of disease. Undergraduate psychology and medical students were asked to rate the severity, future prevalence and disease status of both frequently reported diseases (e.g. avian flu) and infrequently reported diseases (e.g. yellow fever). Participants considered diseases that occur frequently in the media to be more serious, and have higher disease status than those that infrequently occur in the media, even when the low media frequency conditions were considered objectively ‘worse’ by a separate group of participants. Estimates of severity also positively correlated with popular print media frequency in both student populations. However, we also see that the concurrent presentation of objective information about the diseases can mitigate this effect. It is clear from these data that the media can bias our perceptions of disease.
The use of liquid crystal thermography and particle image velocimetry in the exploration of heat transfer measurements

Generation of vortices enhances heat transfer by swirl, flow destabilization and development of viscous layers. They may increase heat transfer by several hundred percent. Prior to the use of vortices to influence heat transfer it must be known how different vortices are generated and controlled, and how they interact with the base flow and temperature field. To select the most appropriate vortex generators (VG) for a given task it is necessary to know the heat transfer and flow losses associated with the generation of a specific vortex system. The aim of the paper is to asses the state of art and to encourage exploration of heat transfer control by vortices. Flow visualization and heat transfer experiments were conducted using an open low-speed wind tunnel equipped with Liquid Crystals Thermography (LCT) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). In this work we consider five types of transverse vortex generators (TVGs) which where brought to required temperatures by the hot film method. Heat transfer measurements were carried out by LCT.