Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
WORST-CASE INPUT-OUTPUT IDENTIFICATION

We consider worst-case l 1 identication of causal linear shift-invariant systems from time series. Many results are given on general aspects of identi-cation algorithm performance, existence of optimal algorithms, robust convergence , and input (experiment) design. The identication methodology studied here is compatible with the modelling requirements of modern robust control design. Notation R; R + the reals, and the nonnegative reals, respectively. Z + the set of positive integers. R n the set of all n-tuples of real numbers. l 1 the normed space of sequences x = fx k 2 Rg k0 with the norm kxk 1 = sup k0 jx k j < 1. l 1 the normed space of sequences x = fx k 2 Rg k0 with the norm kxk 1 = P k0 jx k j < 1. We shall use the notation l 1 also for bounded sequence spaces for which the integer-valued indexing set can be put into one-to-one correspondence with the set of natural numbers f0g [ Z + .
A Balancing Act: Fusing Spatial Privacy and Spatial Metadata for Responsible Participatory Geo-Governance

Public policy is undergoing significant change. Governments are now visibly proactive in facilitating public access to government information resources. Popular media channels such as YouTube, Twitter, flickr and Facebook are being used to engage with citizens. Among these initiatives spatial information plays an important enabler to support policy development across various facets of government operations. Governments are increasingly turning to electronic maps as vehicles for interaction with citizens in this new participatory governance model. Various governments across the globe have erected geo-portals to publish descriptions (geographic metadata: accuracy, timeliness, completeness, etc.) of their geographic information where citizens can search, locate and access the information they need. On the other hand, the availability of spatial data poses certain risks. Spatial technologies permit the synthesis and analysis of information for isolated pieces of data in a spatial repository, when drawn together, give a very detailed picture of a specific location and the people associated with that location. This poses threats to the ideals of democracies and rights of individuals, freedom, security, privacy, and open and free access to government. As we move toward international networked environments, there is an increasing need to reconcile competing social, economic, and political interests in geospatial data especially in an international arena. This paper highlights the opportunities and risks of spatial metadata and spatial privacy in the context of e-Governance. It further explores the fusion of spatial privacy and spatial metadata at a policy level to be the key to participatory governance in GIS. Finally, these fused aspects are engaged to reconceptualise a responsible geo-governance model capable of sustaining legal protection as well as empowering citizens in governance.
Word spotting in historical documents

We present new methods to retrieve words in historical handwritten documents. With the assumption that the words can be seen as images, we used the word spotting idea and search for the words in the documents using image retrieval techniques. Specifically, we proposed two methods, one based on the histogram of gradient orientations and one based on the correlation coefficient. We also proposed a new method by combining these two methods. In the experiments the data set consisting of George Washingtonpsilas handwritings is used.
Bayesian estimation of simultaneous musical notes based on frequency domain modelling

The paper proposes a Bayesian method for polyphonic music description. The method first divides an input audio signal into a series of sections called snapshots, and then estimates parameters such as fundamental frequencies and amplitudes of the notes contained in each snapshot. The parameter estimation process is based on a frequency domain modelling and Gibbs sampling. Experimental results obtained from audio signals of test note patterns are encouraging; the accuracy is better than 80% for the estimation of fundamental frequencies in terms of semitones and instrument names when the number of simultaneous notes is two.
Facial Expression Recognition using Local Gabor Binary Pattern(LGBP) and Principle Component Analysis (PCA)

Facial Expression Recognition is one of the active research area in the field of Human Machine Interaction (HMI) because of its several applications such as human emotion analysis, stress level and lie detection. In this paper, an algorithm for facial expression recognition has been proposed which integrate the Local Binary Patterns (LBP), Gabor filter and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The proposed technique has been applied on JAFFE database. The comparative analysis on the basis of average recognition rate has been performed for each individual and integrated approach. The results shows highest recognition rate while combining LGBP and PCA, which is 87.5. The results indicate that when we integrate LBP, Gabor filter and PCA, then it provides high recognition rate.
Strategic planning tools for European negotiators to defend their national interests in the Council of the European Union. EIPA Working Paper 2013/W/02

Summary. Negotiating in the Council of the European Union poses some challenges that are common to most international negotiations but there are other dimensions that are a lot more specific. In order to understand better the specific nature of negotiations on a European level and to develop some practical guidelines for European negotiators, it is important to situate European negotiations in the more general context of the theory on international relations and to remember that European negotiations are governed by the general principles which characterise the negotiation theory. This working document has three objectives; after having reminded ourselves of the fundamental principles that govern European negotiations, it aims to provide a general foundation, which in turn will be useful for preparing most negotiations within the Council. A series of practical recommendations will then be made in order to contribute to the strategic thinking of the negotiator responsible for defending the interests of his or her Member State within the Council.
DataScalar Architectures and the SPSD Execution Model

The increasing power of commodity microprocessors is forcing system designers to provide more complex and expensive memory hierarchies. A potentially cheaper and better-performing alternative in the long run is to integrate the processor and main memory on the same die or module. In this paper, we propose an architecture (DATASCALAR) and an execution model (SPSD) that permit efficient execution of uniprocessor programs across multiple integrated processor/memory modules. We then describe four features of this proposal that permit improved performance: ESP gains, memory prefetching, result communication, and hybrid parallel execution. Finally, we present examples and measurements, which give evidence that each feature will improve performance on future systems that have very expensive off-chip communication.
Variable Suites of Non-effector Genes Are Co-regulated in the Type III Secretion Virulence Regulon across the Pseudomonas syringae Phylogeny

Pseudomonas syringae is a phylogenetically diverse species of Gram-negative bacterial plant pathogens responsible for crop diseases around the world. The HrpL sigma factor drives expression of the major P. syringae virulence regulon. HrpL controls expression of the genes encoding the structural and functional components of the type III secretion system (T3SS) and the type three secreted effector proteins (T3E) that are collectively essential for virulence. HrpL also regulates expression of an under-explored suite of non-type III effector genes (non-T3E), including toxin production systems and operons not previously associated with virulence. We implemented and refined genome-wide transcriptional analysis methods using cDNA-derived high-throughput sequencing (RNA-seq) data to characterize the HrpL regulon from six isolates of P. syringae spanning the diversity of the species. Our transcriptomes, mapped onto both complete and draft genomes, significantly extend earlier studies. We confirmed HrpL-regulation for a majority of previously defined T3E genes in these six strains. We identified two new T3E families from P. syringae pv. oryzae 1_6, a strain within the relatively underexplored phylogenetic Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) group IV. The HrpL regulons varied among strains in gene number and content across both their T3E and non-T3E gene suites. Strains within MLST group II consistently express the lowest number of HrpL-regulated genes. We identified events leading to recruitment into, and loss from, the HrpL regulon. These included gene gain and loss, and loss of HrpL regulation caused by group-specific cis element mutations in otherwise conserved genes. Novel non-T3E HrpL-regulated genes include an operon that we show is required for full virulence of P. syringae pv. phaseolicola 1448A on French bean. We highlight the power of integrating genomic, transcriptomic, and phylogenetic information to drive concise functional experimentation and to derive better insight into the evolution of virulence across an evolutionarily diverse pathogen species.
URBAN CHALLENGES TO FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY: A REVIEW OF FOOD SECURITY, HEALTH, AND CAREGIVING IN THE CITIES

No developing country can afford to ignore the shift in the locus of poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition from rural to urban areas it is now experiencing. This review of recent literature explores the urban face of food and nutrition security in a more comprehensive, integrated way than most previous efforts. The review is organized around a conceptual framework that identifies food insecurity, inadequate caring behaviors, and poor health as the primary causes of malnutrition. It discusses current knowledge in eight areas that require the special attention of policymakers, development practitioners, and program administrators who wish to improve urban food and nutrition security: • the sources and cost of food; • incomes and employment; • urban agriculture; • urban diets; • child caregiving practices; • childhood mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition; • health and environment; and • social assistance programs, or safety nets. The review also reports on the magnitude of rural-urban and intra-urban health differences in mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition. In conclusion, the review indicates which policy issues and knowledge gaps remain for future research to address.
A Platform for Building New Human-Computer Interface Systems that Support Online Automatic Recognition of Audio-Gestural Commands

We introduce a new framework to build human-computer interfaces that provide online automatic audio-gestural command recognition. The overall system allows the construction of a multimodal interface that recognizes user input expressed naturally as audio commands and manual gestures, captured by sensors such as Kinect. It includes a component for acquiring multimodal user data which is used as input to a module responsible for training audio-gestural models. These models are employed by the automatic recognition component, which supports online recognition of audio-visual modalities. The overall framework is exemplified by a working system use case. This demonstrates the potential of the overall software platform, which can be employed to build other new human-computer interaction systems. Moreover, users may populate libraries of models and/or data, that can be shared in the network. In this way users may reuse or extend existing systems.
ANote on the Expressive Power of Probabilistic Context Free Grammars

We examine the expressive power of probabilistic context free grammars (PCFGs), with a special focus on the use of probabilities as a mechanism for reducing ambiguity by filtering out unwanted parses. Probabilities in PCFGs induce an ordering relation among the set of trees that yield a given input sentence. PCFG parsers return the trees bearing the maximum probability for a given sentence, discarding all other possible trees. This mechanism is naturally viewed as a way of defining a new class of tree languages. We formalize the tree language thus defined, study its expressive power, and show that the latter is beyond context freeness. While the increased expressive power offered by PCFGs helps to reduce ambiguity, we show that, in general, it cannot be decided whether a PCFG removes all ambiguities.
Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Fluvastatin on IL-8 Production Induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus fumigatus Antigens in Cystic Fibrosis

Background Early in life, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are infected with microorganisms including bacteria and fungi, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus fumigatus. Since recent research has identified the anti-inflammatory properties of statins (besides their lipid-lowering effects), we investigated the effect of fluvastatin on the production of the potent neutrophil chemoattractant chemokine, IL-8, in whole blood from CF patients, stimulated by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (LPS) and Aspergillus fumigatus (AFA) antigens. Results Whole blood from adult patients with CF and from healthy volunteers was collected at the Rennes University Hospital (France). Blood was pretreated for 1 h with fluvastatin (0–300 µM) and incubated for 24 h with LPS (10 µg/mL) and/or AFA (diluted 1/200). IL-8 protein levels, quantified by ELISA, were increased in a concentration-dependent manner when cells were stimulated by LPS or AFA. Fluvastatin strongly decreased the levels of IL-8, in a concentration-dependent manner, in whole blood from CF patients. However, its inhibitory effect was decreased or absent in whole blood from healthy subjects. Furthermore, the inhibition induced by fluvastatin in CF whole blood was reversed in the presence of intermediates within the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, mevalonate, farnesyl pyprophosphate or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate that activate small GTPases by isoprenylation. Conclusions For the first time, the inhibitory effects of fluvastatin on CF systemic inflammation may reveal the important therapeutic potential of statins in pathological conditions associated with the over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines as observed during the manifestation of CF. The anti-inflammatory effect could be related to the modulation of the prenylation of signalling proteins.
UV effects on photosynthesis, growth and acclimation of an estuarine diatom and cryptomonad

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a significant stressor in aquatic environments and can inhibit primary productivity of phytoplankton. The effects of UV depend on many factors, including phytoplankton community composition and acclimation status. Using spectrally resolved biological weighting functions (BWFs), we determined sensitivity of photosynthesis and acclimation to UV in a common estuarine diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana (Hustedt) Hasle et Heimdal, and cryptomonad, Cryptomonas sp. Cryptomonas sp. grown under high PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) (250 µmol quanta m -2 s -1 ) was significantly more sensitive to photoinhibition in the UV-B part of the spectrum (280 to 320 nm) than T. pseudonana under high PAR. Growth under low irradiance (25 µmol quanta m -2 s -1 ) increased sensitivity of T. pseudonana. After a week-long exposure to moderate UV radiation, sensitivity of Cryptomonas sp. declined, while sensitivity of T. pseudonana did not change. Growth rates and chlorophyll a-specific absorption decreased in both species. Based on the BWFs obtained in this study, we predict 11 to 26% UV inhibition of depth-integrated primary production by these species under summer conditions in a shallow, turbid temperate estuary.
Sending linear functions of correlated gaussian sources over a MAC in the presence of known interference at the transmitter

In this work, we consider the problem of communicating linear functions of correlated Gaussian sources over a two-user additive Gaussian noise multiple access channel (MAC) in the presence of known interference at the transmitter. The goal is to estimate a linear combination of two sources at the receiver with minimum average mean squared error (MSE) distortion. Here, a lattice-based coding scheme is presented and its achievable distortion is analyzed. In addition, two lower bounds on the achievable distortion are derived. The proposed lattice coding scheme can cancel channel interference completely.
Molecular Genetics of Alcohol Dependence and Related Endophenotypes

Alcohol dependence is a worldwide public health problem, and involves both environmental and genetic vulnerability factors. The heritability of alcohol dependence is rather high, ranging between 50% and 60%, although alcohol dependence is a polygenic, complex disorder. Genome-wide scans on large cohorts of multiplex families, including the collaborative study on genetics of alcoholism (COGA), emphasized the role of many chromosome regions and some candidate genes. The genes encoding the alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, or those involved in brain reward pathways, have been involved. Since dopamine is the main neurotransmitter in the reward circuit, genes involved in the dopaminergic pathway represent candidates of interest. Furthermore, gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter mediates the acute actions of alcohol and is involved in withdrawal symptomatology. Numerous studies showed an association between variants within GABA receptors genes and the risk of alcohol dependence. In accordance with the complexity of the “alcohol dependence” phenotype, another field of research, related to the concept of endophenotypes, received more recent attention. The role of vulnerability genes in alcohol dependence is therefore re-assessed focusing on different phenotypes and endophenotypes. The latter include brain oscillations, EEG alpha and beta variants and alpha power, and amplitude of P300 amplitude elicited from a visual oddball task. Recent enhancement on global characterizations of the genome by high-throughput approach for genotyping of polymorphisms and studies of transcriptomics and proteomics in alcohol dependence is also reviewed.
XYZ: a scalable, partially centralized lookup service for large-scale peer-to-peer systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are characterized by direct access between peer computers, rather than through a centralized server. File sharing is the dominant P2P application on the Internet, allowing users to easily contribute, search and obtain content. P2P systems can be categorized by the degrees of centralization. For fully centralized systems, the lookup service will not be available when the central directory server is down. For purely decentralized and unstructured systems, since there is no information about which nodes are likely to have the relevant files, searching essentially amounts to random search. This makes the lookup service unscalable and unpredictable. The objective of this paper is to design a partially centralized, scalable and self-organizing lookup service (XYZ) for wide area P2P systems. A clustering method is used to create the system backbone by connecting the cluster heads together and a color clustering method is adopted to create color overlays and minimize the searching space. Simulations and analysis are also provided. Extensions are proposed to achieve better performance
The use of the electrical simulator SPICE for behavioral simulation of artificial neural networks

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are an alternative solution to traditional architectures for massive computation in an increasing number of applications. Behavioral simulation of these computing paradigms requires the use of specific CAD tools to verify the correctness of structures and algorithms before starting the subsequent phases of design and implementation by means of digital, analog or mixed integrated circuits. This paper presents an approach to behavioral simulation which is independent from the technological solution used to implement the ANN. The proposal is based upon the use of the well-known electrical simulator SPICE. The mapping of the ANN entities onto electrical components is described and experimental results are discussed. <<ETX>>
Eating alone, together: new forms of commensality

Eating with others, or commensality, is an enjoyable activity that serves many important social functions; however, many individuals eat meals alone due to life circumstances, meaning that they miss out on these social benefits. We developed and deployed a simple technology probe providing social awareness around mealtimes to explore how social systems might help alleviate the loneliness of solitary dining. Our findings suggest that these systems can convey a sense of connectedness around a meal; further, our analysis revealed three themes relevant to systems of this type: that contextually-located peripheral awareness engenders connectedness; that such tools can foster a feeling of shared social presence, and that they can be a catalyst for other forms of communication around the meal. These findings suggest that "remote commensality" is not only possible, but that it may take on forms entirely different to that which we are accustomed.
Emotion in the evacuation process: formal model and simulation

Recently the key role of emotions in decision-making process has been highlighted. In this article, we focus on fear-related emotions and their positive impact on the survival capabilities of human beings in case of crisis situation. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the impact of emotion on agents in the evacuation process; we only focus here on emotions and not on the evacuation process itself. We formalize the influence of three factors (decay, environment, contagion) on agents emotion and explore the influence of each of them. The emotion intensity of agents will be tested in case of moving or without moving. We will make some experiments to estimate the impact of three coefficients of decay, environment, contagion on the emotion intensity of groups such as max, min, mean and standard deviation value. The entire theoretical model has been implemented in the GAMA simulation platform.
Molecular Mechanism of Dietary Restriction in Neuroprevention and Neurogenesis: Involvement of Neurotrophic Factors

Dietary restriction (DR) is the most efficacious intervention for retarding the deleterious effects of aging. DR increases longevity, decreases the occurrence and severity of age-related diseases, and retards the physiological decline associated with aging. The beneficial effects of DR have been mostly studied in non-neuronal tissues. However, several studies have showed that DR attenuate neuronal loss after several different insults including exposure to kainate, ischemia, and MPTR Moreover, administration of the non-metabolizable glucose analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) could mimic the neuroprotective effect of DR in rodent, presumably by limiting glucose availability at the cellular level. Based on the studies of chemically induced D.R. , it has been proposed that the mechanism whereby DR and 2DG protect neurons is largely mediated by stress response proteins such as HSP70 and GRP78 which are increased in neurons of rats and mice fed a DR regimen. In addition, D.R. , as mild metabolic stress, could lead to the increased activity in neuronal circuits and thus induce expression of neurotrophic factors. Interestingly, such increased neuronal activities also enhance neurogenesis in the brains of adult rodents. In this review, we focus on what is known regarding molecular mechanisms of the protective role of DR in neurodegenerative diseases and aging process. Also, we propose that DR is a mild cellular stress that stimulates production of neurotrophic factors, which are major regulators of neuronal survival, as well as neurogenesis in adult brain.