Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Setswana Tokenisation and Computational Verb Morphology: Facing the Challenge of a Disjunctive Orthography

Setswana, a Bantu language in the Sotho group, is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa. The language is characterised by a disjunctive orthography, mainly affecting the important word category of verbs. In particular, verbal prefixal morphemes are usually written disjunctively, while suffixal morphemes follow a conjunctive writing style. Therefore, Setswana tokenisation cannot be based solely on whitespace, as is the case in many alphabetic, segmented languages, including the conjunctively written Nguni group of South African Bantu languages. This paper shows how a combination of two tokeniser transducers and a finite-state (rule-based) morphological analyser may be combined to effectively solve the Setswana tokenisation problem. The approach has the important advantage of bringing the processing of Setswana beyond the morphological analysis level in line with what is appropriate for the Nguni languages. This means that the challenge of the disjunctive orthography is met at the tokenisation/morphological analysis level and does not in principle propagate to subsequent levels of analysis such as POS tagging and shallow parsing, etc. Indeed, the approach ensures that an aspect such as orthography does not obfuscate sound linguistics and, ultimately, proper semantic analysis, which remains the ultimate aim of linguistic analysis and therefore also computational linguistic analysis.
Motion Expression by Elemental Separation of Haptic Information

This study aims to reveal the concealed features of human motions. For this purpose, a method of elemental separation (ES method) of human motions is proposed. First, human motions are extracted as haptic information through a bilateral control system. Then, by using the proposed method, the haptic information is divided into basic elements: 1) transformation matrices; 2) hybrid angles; 3) pure position commands; and 4) pure force commands. The proposed method is validated through simulations as well as experiments with robotic and human operators. The obtained results clearly reveal the features of human motions, although it is difficult to recognize the differences from the original responses. Nonetheless, this study provides a motion expression that should contribute toward a greater understanding of human skill.
A Unified Approach to Automatic Testing of Architectural Constraints

Architectural decisions are often encoded in the form of constraints and guidelines. Non-functional requirements can be ensured by checking the conformance of the implementation against this kind of invariant. Conformance checking is often a costly and error-prone process that involves the use of multiple tools, differing in effectiveness, complexity and scope of applicability. To reduce the overall effort entailed by this activity, we propose a novel approach that supports verification of human-readable declarative rules through the use of adapted off-the-shelf tools. Our approach consists of a rule specification DSL, called Dicto, and a tool coordination framework, called Probo. The approach has been implemented in a soon to be evaluated prototype.
Decision support system using flexible query and reliability assessment - application to biodegradable and biosourced packaging design

In decision tasks, imprecision and uncertainty can arise from many sources such as data uncertainty, data reliability, or the necessity to use intermediate (non-fully reliable) models. User preferences may also be included into the decision process, making it even more complex. This is particularly true for processes involving biological materials. Soft computing methods have the potential to be the kingpin of specialized software that can be integrated in decision support systems intended to solve the mentioned issues. This work presents three such methods and their implementation: (i)-simulation module with uncertain inputs and interval analysis, (ii)-reliability module allowing to rank candidates according to expert criteria, and (iii)-bipolar flexible querying module, that makes the difference between constraints and wishes in a data base query. A decision support system architecture is proposed and illustrated on a case study, dealing with biodegradable and biosourced packaging design.
Glutathione Precursor N-Acetyl-Cysteine Modulates EEG Synchronization in Schizophrenia Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Glutathione (GSH) dysregulation at the gene, protein, and functional levels has been observed in schizophrenia patients. Together with disease-like anomalies in GSH deficit experimental models, it suggests that such redox dysregulation can play a critical role in altering neural connectivity and synchronization, and thus possibly causing schizophrenia symptoms. To determine whether increased GSH levels would modulate EEG synchronization, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, was administered to patients in a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol for 60 days, followed by placebo for another 60 days (or vice versa). We analyzed whole-head topography of the multivariate phase synchronization (MPS) for 128-channel resting-state EEGs that were recorded at the onset, at the point of crossover, and at the end of the protocol. In this proof of concept study, the treatment with NAC significantly increased MPS compared to placebo over the left parieto-temporal, the right temporal, and the bilateral prefrontal regions. These changes were robust both at the group and at the individual level. Although MPS increase was observed in the absence of clinical improvement at a group level, it correlated with individual change estimated by Liddle's disorganization scale. Therefore, significant changes in EEG synchronization induced by NAC administration may precede clinically detectable improvement, highlighting its possible utility as a biomarker of treatment efficacy. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01506765
Inferring connectivity model from meter measurements in distribution networks

We present a novel analytics approach to infer the underlying interconnection between various metered entities in a radial distribution network. Our approach uses a time series of power measurements collected from different meters in the distribution grid and infers the underlying network between these meters. The collected measurements are used to set up a system of linear equations based upon the principle of conservation of energy. The equations are analyzed to estimate a tree network that optimally fits the time series of meter measurements. We study experimentally the number of measurements needed to infer the true underlying connectivity with the help of both synthetic and real smart meter measurements in the noiseless setting.
Seamless Integration of Network Management Tools in a Multi-Domain Environment

Ensuring high-quality service for end-users, over multiple interconnected networks, is central to the aims and approach of SEEREN2, the next generation of the SouthEastern European segment of the pan-European Research and Education Network (GEANT2). Management teams can greatly benefit from the exploitation of reliable and consistent performance monitoring data from multiple networks, as it can be provided from an advanced, comprehensive, user-friendly, efficient and multi-user framework. Such an integrated solution has been deployed on SEEREN2 for network monitoring, reporting and troubleshooting, with the NetIIS toolset at its core. This paper provides a short overview of the existing state-of-the-art solutions, introduces the fundamental concepts of the NetIIS toolset, and describes the design, implementation and functionality of the overall framework while highlighting the procedures followed to make efficient use of the software.
A comparison of two methods for the topical clustering of social media posts

While traditional search engines can often provide useful knowledge, some information that is more temporal and contextual can be found more easily or exclusively on social media. However, the number of posts on many social media platforms is too large to manage without a method for clustering posts into distinct topics. In this paper, we compare two approaches for the topical clustering of Twitter posts to discover various subjects that users are talking about. The first approach is GeoContext, our tool for clustering a social media stream into topics that uses a unique approach for calculating the similarity between posts. We compare GeoContext against Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a commonly used topic modeling algorithm. LDA has been used as a basis in several different approaches for clustering social media posts.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on the efficacy and tolerability of sertraline in Iranian veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

Background Unlike civilian post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the efficacy of sertraline for the treatment of combat-related PTSD has not yet been proven. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of sertraline against combat-related PTSD in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Method Seventy Iranian veterans of the Iran–Iraq war who met the DSM-IV criteria for diagnosis of PTSD were randomized to receive either flexibly dosed sertraline (50–200 mg/day) (n=35, completers=32) or placebo (n=35, completers=30) for 10 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated by the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) and the Clinical Global Impression scale – Severity (CGI-S) and Improvement (CGI-I) ratings. Responder criteria were defined as a ⩾30% reduction in the IES-R total score plus a CGI-I rating of ‘much’ or ‘very much’ improved. Results On both intention-to-treat (ITT) and per protocol (completer) methods of analysis, the mean reductions in the IES-R total and subscale (re-experiencing/intrusion, avoidance/numbing and hyperarousal) scores (p<0.001) and also in the CGI-S score (p<0.01) were significantly greater in the sertraline group than in the placebo group. For the CGI-I, the mean endpoint score was significantly lower in the sertraline group than in the placebo group (p⩽0.001). The number of responders in the sertraline group was significantly higher than in the placebo group (44% v. 3%, p⩽0.001). Sertraline was well tolerated, with a 6% discontinuation rate as a result of adverse reactions. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that sertraline can be an effective, safe and tolerable treatment for combat-related PTSD in Iranian veterans.
Faster s-metric calculation by considering dominated hypervolume as klee's measure problem

The dominated hypervolume (or S-metric) is a commonly accepted quality measure for comparing approximations of Pareto fronts generated by multi-objective optimizers. Since optimizers exist, namely evolutionary algorithms, that use the S-metric internally several times per iteration, a faster determination of the S-metric value is of essential importance. This paper describes how to consider the S-metric as a special case of a more general geometrical problem called Klee’s measure problem (KMP). For KMP an algorithm exists with run time O(n logn + n log n), for n points of d ≥ 3 dimensions. This complex algorithm is adapted to the special case of calculating the S-metric. Conceptual simplifications of the implementation are concerned that save on a factor of O(logn) and establish an upper bound of O(n logn + n) for the S-metric calculation, improving the previously known bound of O(n).
Worth their watts? - an empirical study of datacenter servers

The management of power consumption in datacenters has become an important problem. This needs a systematic evaluation of the as-is scenario to identify potential areas for improvement and quantify the impact of any strategy. We present a measurement study of a production datacenter from a joint perspective of power and performance at the individual server level. Our observations help correlate power consumption of production servers with their activity, and identify easily implementable improvements. We find that production servers are underutilized from an activity perspective; are overrated from a power perspective; execute temporally similar workloads over a granularity of weeks; do not idle efficiently; and have power consumptions that are well tracked by their CPU utilizations. Our measurements suggest the following steps for improvement: staggering periodic activities on servers; enabling deeper sleep states; and provisioning based on measurement.
The Palantir Grid Meta-Information System

Grids allow large scale resource-sharing across different administrative domains. Those diverse resources are likely to join or quit the grid at any moment or possibly to break down. Grid monitoring tools have to adapt supporting access information to these heterogeneous and not reliable environments. There is a wide rage of types of resources to be monitored, with different nature, characteristics and so on. For instance grid users want to monitor from which is the state of the jobs that submit till how many processors has a given resources of a given centre. These issues make the task of monitoring complex to treat, and it is difficult to provide a generals ways for accessing to all this information. In this work we propose a set of functionalities that a grid information system should provide. We describe the Palantir meta-information system that has been designed for uniform the access to different monitoring and information systems and that implements all the discussed functionalities. This meta-information system tries to abstract the resource information that underlies on the local systems, and homogenize the access to all this. We present the architecture of Palantir and its main characteristics
Experimental validation of the hardware implementation of a novel true random binary sequence generator for keystream applications

In this paper the experimental validation of a novel, modified double scroll chaotic attractor circuit, employed as a true random binary generator (TRBG) for cryptographic applications is presented. The double scroll attractor is modeled on Chua's circuit for nonlinear operation leading to chaotic behavior. The output from the chaotic circuit which is a partially correlated binary sequence is scrambled with a cascaded series of lengthened pseudo random binary sequence generators (PRBSG) to eliminate binary digit inter dependency for decorrelation purposes. This approach results in a successful modified generator as a true random binary source for key stream generation. The modified chaotic circuit was first modeled in PSpice software to gauge its potential as an AES cryptographic module via statistical testing. The stochastic attributes of the modified generator, obtained through PSpice modelling and simulation and its post hardware implementation, using the PRBSG de-correlator were successfully tested by the well known NIST and Diehard Test Suites for statistical validation. A physical TRBG has been constructed on the basis of the proposed PRBSG modification with all statistical tests successfully passed confirming theoretical expectations which admits to its adequacy for deployment an AES module.
Analytical error and interference in immunoassay: minimizing risk

Although generally robust, immunoassays remain vulnerable to occasional analytical errors that may have serious implications for patient care. Sporadic errors that occur as a result of properties of the specimen are particularly difficult to detect. They may be due to the presence of cross-reacting substances, antianalyte antibodies or antireagent antibodies, all of which may lead to erroneously high or low results. Low results may be observed for tumour markers due to high-dose hooking in the presence of very high analyte concentrations. Erroneous results can occur unexpectedly with any specimen and there is no practical means of identifying specimens likely to cause problems in immunoassays. The possibility of interference should always be considered when results do not appear to be in accord with the clinical picture. Errors can occur in even the best-managed laboratories and their early investigation is always desirable. If there is any doubt whatsoever about a result, clinical staff should be encouraged to contact the laboratory. Investigations for possible interference that can be undertaken in most laboratories include testing for linearity on dilution, recovery experiments, treatment with heterophilic blocking tubes and confirmation using a different method. It may be desirable to consult specialist laboratories if more complex studies are necessary. Informing clinical and laboratory staff of the ever-present possibility of unexpected interference, ensuring brief clinical details are available to laboratory staff, and above all facilitating excellent communication between laboratory and clinical staff are key to minimizing the risk of clinical mismanagement due to unsuspected interference.
Quantitative demonstration of spontaneous metastasis by MCF-7 human breast cancer cells cotransfected with fibroblast growth factor 4 and LacZ.

We recently established transfectants of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells with fibroblast growth factor 4 (fgf-4) that showed rapid growth and spontaneous metastasis in ovariectomized and tamoxifen-treated nude mice. To establish a spontaneous metastatic model of human breast cancer cells in nude mice with a sensitive marker for detection of micrometastasis, the transfection of fgf-4 was combined with transfection of the bacterial lacZ gene encoding beta-galactosidase. MKL-4 cells, a lacZ transfectant of an fgf-4-transfected cell line, showed the same level of fgf-4 expression as parental cells and expressed a high level of beta-galactosidase activity. When MKL-4 cells were injected s.c. into female nude mice, rapidly growing tumors developed. Whole organ staining for beta-galactosidase activity was able to detect even small numbers of metastatic tumor cells. Micrometastases in lymph nodes, lung, and brain were detected 3 weeks after the tumor cell injections, the first time point tested. Within 12 weeks, metastases were observed in lymph nodes, lung, brain, kidney, perirenal fatty tissues, liver, spleen, retroperitoneum, heart, and gallbladder. The frequency of metastasis and number of foci were correlated with the volume of the primary tumors. The distribution of metastatic sites was similar to that in breast cancer patients. MKL-4 cells may be a useful model for studying the malignant progression of hormone-dependent breast cancer, antimetastatic drugs, or early events in metastasis.
An efficient method for the detection of ringing artifacts and de-ringing in JPEG image

JPEG standard is commonly used for the still image compression. However, the DCT-based coding of JPEG is one of the lossy compression tools and introduces most artifacts in the decompressed image such as blocking and ringing artifacts. In this paper, our proposed method focuses on how to efficiently detect the blocks which cause ringing artifacts. Moreover, these ringing blocks will be further filtered and the texture region will be able to preserve as well as the smooth region. Simulation results show that our proposed method can outperform the related algorithms in subjectively and objectively. By comparing JPEG compressed image, the decompressed image using our algorithm can achieve the better PSNR as well as the visual performance, especially at the lower quality coding (the higher compression rate).
Abiraterone and increased survival in metastatic prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND Biosynthesis of extragonadal androgen may contribute to the progression of castration-resistant prostate cancer. We evaluated whether abiraterone acetate, an inhibitor of androgen biosynthesis, prolongs overall survival among patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have received chemotherapy. METHODS We randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, 1195 patients who had previously received docetaxel to receive 5 mg of prednisone twice daily with either 1000 mg of abiraterone acetate (797 patients) or placebo (398 patients). The primary end point was overall survival. The secondary end points included time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression (elevation in the PSA level according to prespecified criteria), progression-free survival according to radiologic findings based on prespecified criteria, and the PSA response rate. RESULTS After a median follow-up of 12.8 months, overall survival was longer in the abiraterone acetate-prednisone group than in the placebo-prednisone group (14.8 months vs. 10.9 months; hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.54 to 0.77; P<0.001). Data were unblinded at the interim analysis, since these results exceeded the preplanned criteria for study termination. All secondary end points, including time to PSA progression (10.2 vs. 6.6 months; P<0.001), progression-free survival (5.6 months vs. 3.6 months; P<0.001), and PSA response rate (29% vs. 6%, P<0.001), favored the treatment group. Mineralocorticoid-related adverse events, including fluid retention, hypertension, and hypokalemia, were more frequently reported in the abiraterone acetate-prednisone group than in the placebo-prednisone group. CONCLUSIONS The inhibition of androgen biosynthesis by abiraterone acetate prolonged overall survival among patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who previously received chemotherapy. (Funded by Cougar Biotechnology; COU-AA-301 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00638690.).
The effects of thermal residual stresses and interfacial properties on the transverse behaviors of fiber composites with different microstructures

Abstract This study presents a new micromechanical model to investigate the effects of thermal residual stresses and interfacial properties on the transverse behaviors of SiC/Ti composites with different microstructures. In this model, the fiber-matrix interface is modeled by the bilinear cohesive zone model. The interface model is introduced into the generalized method of cells, which has the advantage of computational accuracy and efficiency. At the same time, the generalized method of cells is extended to consider thermal residual stresses within the fiber and matrix phases. Thermal residual stresses are found to have a significant influence on the transverse behaviors of the composites. Compared with the perfect interface, the transverse behaviors of the composites with weak interface bonding are much lower. Moreover, with the increase of fiber fraction, the stiffness of the composites increases before debonding occurs while the saturation stress decreases. The predicted results using the circular fiber model and considering thermal residual stresses are more consistent with the experimental values compared with the results using the square or elliptical fiber model. When the stress concentration factor is considered and the interface is weakly bonding, the strength predictions are much better than the results using the perfect bonding.
Design of Simplified Maximum-Likelihood Receivers for Multiuser CPM Systems

A class of simplified maximum-likelihood receivers designed for continuous phase modulation based multiuser systems is proposed. The presented receiver is built upon a front end employing mismatched filters and a maximum-likelihood detector defined in a low-dimensional signal space. The performance of the proposed receivers is analyzed and compared to some existing receivers. Some schemes are designed to implement the proposed receivers and to reveal the roles of different system parameters. Analysis and numerical results show that the proposed receivers can approach the optimum multiuser receivers with significantly (even exponentially in some cases) reduced complexity and marginal performance degradation.