Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reverse Inheritance : An Approach for Modeling Adaptation and Evolution of Applications

In order to facilitate adaptation, evolution, and software re-engineering of application which are written with an object-oriented language, we propose an approach bases on a reverse inheritance relationship. We study the modeling of this relationship, the benefits and limits of this approach, and the ways and means to apply it. We propose an example of a Java syntax extension to illustrate our proposition. MOTS-CLES : heritage inverse, langages a objets, adaptation, evolution, restructuration
Pattern discrimination in a hawkmoth: innate preferences, learning performance and ecology

Spatial patterns are important cues for flower detection and recognition by nectar–feeding insects. Pattern vision has been studied in much detail in bees and flies but rarely in butterflies and moths. In this paper, I present a first proof of pattern–learning abilities in a moth, and discuss reasons for the limitations to their pattern learning. The diurnal hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum spontaneously prefers patterned to uniformly coloured stimuli but can be trained to choose the uniform stimulus. By contrast, experience does not override the innate preferences for radial over tangential patterns, and for tangential over striped patterns. These results do not reflect bad visual discrimination but rather a lack of learning ability and motivation to abolish innate preferences. I propose that radial and tangential flower patterns are good predictors of nectar reward, a condition under which learning is unlikely to evolve. These patterns serve not only as cues for flower detection but also as guides to the reward. Hovering pollinators strongly depend on these guides and should therefore: (i) have rigid pattern preferences; and (ii) not be motivated to abolish these preferences as easily as their innate preferences for colours.
Time Course Analysis of Motor Excitability in a Response Inhibition Task According to the Level of Hyperactivity and Impulsivity in Children with ADHD

Short interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) of motor cortex, measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in a passive (resting) condition, has been suggested as a neurophysiological marker of hyperactivity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of this study was to determine motor excitability in a go/nogo task at stages of response preparation, activation and suppression in children with ADHD, depending on the level of hyperactivity and impulsivity. Motor evoked potentials were recorded in 29 typically developing children and 43 children with ADHD (subdivided in two groups with higher and lower levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity; H/I-high and H/I-low). In the H/I-high group, SICI was markedly reduced in the resting condition and during response preparation. Though these children were able to increase SICI when inhibiting a response, SICI was still reduced compared to typically developing children. Interestingly, SICI at rest and during response activation were comparable, which may be associated with their hypermotoric behaviour. In the H/I-low group, response activation was accompanied by a pronounced decrease of SICI, indicating reduced motor control in the context of a fast motor response. In summary, different excitability patterns were obtained for the three groups allowing a better understanding of dysfunctional response activation and inhibition processes within the motor cortex in children with ADHD.
Obstacle detection for start-inhibit and low speed driving

The work described in this paper has been developed in the framework of the integrated project APALACI-PReVENT, a research activity funded by the European Commission to contribute to road safety by developing and demonstrating preventive safety technologies and applications. The goal of the system presented in this work is the development of a vision system for detecting potential obstacles in front of a slowly moving or still vehicle. When the vehicle is still, a background subtraction approach is used assuming that the background keeps stationary for a limited amount of time; thus, a reference background is computed and used to detect changes into the scene. A different approach is used when the vehicle is moving. The system, by means of inertial sensors, can detect ego-motion and correct background information accordingly. A temporal stereo match technique, able to detect obstacles in moving situations, completes the system. According to experimental results, the proposed algorithm can be useful in different automotive applications, requiring real-time segmentation without assumptions on background motion.
How to Achieve Customer Participation and Involvement in IP Television

In recent years, customers have been taking an ever-increasing role in configuring their purchase experience. The present study analyzes customer behavior in Internet Protocol television (IPTV) as a new distribution channel, focusing on the purchase of a new service called news-on-demand packages. We consider that interactivity and personalization, inherent to IPTV, improve user participation and intentions to continue participating, as well as user involvement in the new service. Results verify the importance of interactivity and personalization, as well as highlighting their interaction effect on involvement and intentions to participate. We find that personalization is more important for user participation and interactivity more important for involvement.
La inteligencia emocional durante las prácticas clínicas de alumnos de enfermería. Un enfoque desde la antropología educativa aplicada a las prácticas clínicas

Las emociones y sentimientos durante las practicas clinicas de los estudiantes de enfermeria estan integrados en el curriculum oculto. Objetivos: contribuir a la concienciacion de las emociones y sentimientos que convergen en el proceso de construccion del conocimiento durante las practicas clinicas. Metodo: Se utilizo la escala TMMS-24 para valorar la inteligencia emocional y una entrevista abierta. Se han implementado con 40 alumnos. Se muestran resultados positivos respecto a la percepcion, regulacion y comprension emocional. Conclusiones: La escala TMMS-24 resulta pertinente para valorar la Inteligencia Emocional, pero es aconsejable emplear estudios cualitativos para profundizar en un fenomeno tan complejo.
Performance analysis of grid & texture based feature vector for dynamic signature recognition

Online signature recognition is one of the important behavioral biometric trait. This signature has information of x, y, z variations, pressure, azimuth of pen tip, pen tip altitude. This makes online handwritten signature based biometric system more accurate than the static ones. In this paper new set of features are proposed for online or dynamic signature recognition. These features were originally proposed for static systems and in this research they are modified for the dynamic signature based system. Grid & texture features based feature vector and their extraction mechanism is proposed here. The results indicate that the online system give better accuracy and convergence as compared to the static system.
Mechanical Spectroscopy on Volcanic Glasses

Mechanical relaxation behaviour of various natural volcanic glasses have been investigated in the temperature range RT −1000 ◦ C using special low frequency flexure (f≈0.63Hz) pendulum experiments. The rheological properties complex Young’s modulus M ⋆ (ω, τ) and internal friction Q −1 (ω, τ) have been studied from a pure elastic solid at room temperature to pure viscous melt at log(η[P as]) = 8. The Young’s modulus at room temperature MRT = (70 ± 10)GPa is nearly constant. There is a positive correlation with the water content and a weak negative correlation with the cooling rate. Several relaxation processes are assumed to act: the primary α-relaxation (viscoelastic process, Ea = (344.554)kJ/mol) above the glass transition temperature Tg = (935.1105)K and secondary anelastic β ′ , β and γ-relaxation processes below Tg. The dynamic glass transition, i.e. the viscoelastic α-transition, can be characterized with hierarchically coupled relaxation processes which lead to an equivalent distribution of relaxation times nearly independent of the fragility for all examined glasses. The observed secondary relaxation processes can be explained with different mechanisms: (γ, β) cooperative movement of alkali ions in the vitreous state. (β ′ ) cooperative movement of alkaline earth ions and non bridging oxygen’s near the glass transition range. Here the influence of water must be taken into account as well as alteration effects due to structural α-relaxation. With a simple fractional Maxwell model with asymmetrical relaxation time distribution, H(τ), phenomenological the mechanical relaxation behaviour, is described. This establish a basis of realistic concepts for modelling of volcanic or magmatic processes.
Pade approximations of solitary wave solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation

Pade approximants are used to find approximate vortex solutions of any wind- ing number in the context of Gross-Pitaevskii equation for a uniform condensate and condensates with axisymmetric trapping potentials. Rational function and generalised rational function approximations of axisymmetric solitary waves of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation are obtained in two and three dimensions. These approximations are used to establish a new mechanism of vortex nucleation as a result of solitary wave interactions.
Genetic interactions between the hedgehog co-receptors Gas1 and Boc regulate cell proliferation during murine palatogenesis

Abnormal regulation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling has been described in a variety of human cancers and developmental anomalies, which highlights the essential role of this signaling molecule in cell cycle regulation and embryonic development. Gas1 and Boc are membrane co-receptors for Shh, which demonstrate overlapping domains of expression in the early face. This study aims to investigate potential interactions between these co-receptors during formation of the secondary palate. Mice with targeted mutation in Gas1 and Boc were used to generate Gas1; Boc compound mutants. The expression of key Hedgehog signaling family members was examined in detail during palatogenesis via radioactive in situ hybridization. Morphometric analysis involved computational quantification of BrdU-labeling and cell packing; whilst TUNEL staining was used to assay cell death. Ablation of Boc in a Gas1 mutant background leads to reduced Shh activity in the palatal shelves and an increase in the penetrance and severity of cleft palate, associated with failed elevation, increased proliferation and reduced cell death. Our findings suggest a dual requirement for Boc and Gas1 during early development of the palate, mediating cell cycle regulation during growth and subsequent fusion of the palatal shelves.
Quality of life measurement in children and adolescents: issues, instruments, and applications.

There is increasing interest in measuring quality of life (QL) in children and adolescents, but this interest has developed without careful attention given numerous important issues. Consequently, there is much diversity and confusion in this measurement area. We discuss at a conceptual level herein how to construe and define QL, approach its measurement, and the implications of for whom this is done. Methodological issues pertaining to validation, proxy report, and child development are also discussed. Guidelines for selecting QL measures are provided and a set of generic QL measures is recommended for further consideration. Finally, applications of the QL concept in the policy, service and care, and science areas are delineated.
Career-technical students in baccalaureate programs: Predictors of the intent to persist and satisfaction with educational pathways

This research explores the intersections of descriptive attributes, expectations, and influences (independent variables) and the degree to which they predict the intent to persist and satisfaction (dependent variables) of students enrolled in career-technical programs at four-year institutions. Little research exists for this population, and nothing based on the theoretical frameworks of Bean and Metzner (1985) and Lent, Brown and Hackett (1994). Expecting a significant relationship among several factors contributing to the intent to persist for careertechnical students in degree programs, this research explores predictors for persistence in this population. This research revealed that there are simpler relationships among the variables explored in this study and that no one model can explain the variations that exist for both native and transfer students. The study has implications that include tailoring conversations for students, including more measures around academic self-efficacy in federal policy measures of accountability, and exploring the nature of academic self-efficacy in transfer student populations.
Critical Soft Skills to Achieve Success in the Workplace

Critical Soft Skills to Achieve Success in the Workplace by Gloria Amparo Meeks MA, Webster University, 2008 BS, Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, 1992 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University August 2017
Social network analysis of TV drama characters via deep concept hierarchies

TV drama is a kind of big data, containing enormous knowledge of modern human society. As the character-centered stories unfold, diverse knowledge, such as economics, politics and the culture, is displayed. However, unless we have efficient dynamic multi-modal data processing and picture processing methods, we cannot analyze drama data effectively. Here, we adopt the recently proposed deep concept hierarchies (DCH) and convolutional-recursive neural network (C-RNN) models to analyze the social network between the drama characters. DCH uses multi hierarchies structure to translate the vision-language concepts of drama characters into diversified abstract concepts, and utilizes Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to improve the retrieval efficiency of organizing conceptual spaces. Adopting approximately 4400-minute data of TV drama - Friends, we process face recognition on the characters by using convolutional-recursive deep learning model. Then we establish the social network between the characters by deep concept hierarchies model and analyze their affinity and the change of social network while the stories unfold.
Transfer Learning : Current Status , Trends and Challenges

Transfer Learning (TL) has gained significant interest in the Machine Learning (ML) community. Aiming to overcome standard ML learning models assumption that data distributions are the same independently of its origins, a wide variety of works have emerged to tackle this issue. Nowadays, with data available on large amounts and from different applications, and where labeling is a cumbersome task, it is counter productive to have intelligent systems for each specific real-world problem: DVD and home appliances rating, Amazon and medical reports analysis or histology imaging. In this paper we will review current work on TL, open issues and challenges that have not been addressed yet. We conclude this work with a set of remarks and guidelines for future TL methodologies.
Characterization of the Active Microbiotas Associated with Honey Bees Reveals Healthier and Broader Communities when Colonies are Genetically Diverse

Recent losses of honey bee colonies have led to increased interest in the microbial communities that are associated with these important pollinators. A critical function that bacteria perform for their honey bee hosts, but one that is poorly understood, is the transformation of worker-collected pollen into bee bread, a nutritious food product that can be stored for long periods in colonies. We used 16S rRNA pyrosequencing to comprehensively characterize in genetically diverse and genetically uniform colonies the active bacterial communities that are found on honey bees, in their digestive tracts, and in bee bread. This method provided insights that have not been revealed by past studies into the content and benefits of honey bee-associated microbial communities. Colony microbiotas differed substantially between sampling environments and were dominated by several anaerobic bacterial genera never before associated with honey bees, but renowned for their use by humans to ferment food. Colonies with genetically diverse populations of workers, a result of the highly promiscuous mating behavior of queens, benefited from greater microbial diversity, reduced pathogen loads, and increased abundance of putatively helpful bacteria, particularly species from the potentially probiotic genus Bifidobacterium. Across all colonies, Bifidobacterium activity was negatively correlated with the activity of genera that include pathogenic microbes; this relationship suggests a possible target for understanding whether microbes provide protective benefits to honey bees. Within-colony diversity shapes microbiotas associated with honey bees in ways that may have important repercussions for colony function and health. Our findings illuminate the importance of honey bee-bacteria symbioses and examine their intersection with nutrition, pathogen load, and genetic diversity, factors that are considered key to understanding honey bee decline.
Statistical gate delay model for Multiple Input Switching

In this paper, we propose a calculation method of gate delay for SSTA (Statistical Static Timing Analysis) considering MIS (Multiple Input Switching). Most SSTA approaches assume a single input switching model and ignore the effect of MIS on gate delay. MIS occurs when multiple inputs of a gate switch nearly simultaneously. Thus, ignoring MIS causes error in MAX operation in SSTA. We propose a statistical gate delay model considering MIS. We verify the proposed method by SPICE based Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results show that the proposed method improves the error due to ignoring MIS.
Monetary Policy, Macroprudential Policy and Banking Stability: Evidence from the Euro Area

We analyze the impact on lending standards of short-term interest rates and macroprudential policy before the 2008 crisis, and of the provision of central bank liquidity during the crisis. Exploiting the euro area institutional setting for monetary and prudential policy and using the Bank Lending Survey, we show that in the period prior to the crisis, in an environment of low monetary policy interest rates, bank lending conditions unrelated to borrowers' risk were softened. During the same period, we also provide some suggestive evidence of excessive risktaking for mortgages loans. At the same time, we show that the impact of low monetary policy rates on the softening of standards may be reduced by more stringent prudential policies on either bank capital or loan-to-value ratios. After the start of the 2008 crisis, we find that low monetary rates helped to soften lending conditions that were tightened because of bank capital and liquidity constraints, especially for business loans. Importantly, this softening effect is stronger for banks that borrow more long-term liquidity from the Eurosystem. Therefore, the results suggest that monetary policy rates and central bank provision of long-term liquidity complement each other in working against a possible credit crunch for firms. JEL Classification: E51, E52, E58, G01, G21, G28
Operationalizing Ecosystem-Based Adaptation: Harnessing Ecosystem Services to Buffer Communities against Climate Change

Ecosystem-based approaches for climate change adaptation are promoted at international, national, and local levels by both scholars and practitioners. However, local planning practices that support these approaches are scattered, and measures are neither systematically implemented nor comprehensively reviewed. Against this background, this paper advances the operationalization of ecosystem-based adaptation by improving our knowledge of how ecosystem-based approaches can be considered in local planning (operational governance level). We review current research on ecosystem services in urban areas and examine four Swedish coastal municipalities to identify the key characteristics of both implemented and planned measures that support ecosystem-based adaptation. The results show that many of the measures that have been implemented focus on biodiversity rather than climate change adaptation, which is an important factor in only around half of all measures. Furthermore, existing measures are limited in their focus regarding the ecological structures and the ecosystem services they support, and the hazards and risk factors they address. We conclude that a more comprehensive approach to sustainable ecosystem-based adaptation planning and its systematic mainstreaming is required. Our framework for the analysis of ecosystem-based adaptation measures proved to be useful in identifying how ecosystem-related matters are addressed in current practice and strategic planning, and in providing knowledge on how ecosystem-based adaptation can further be considered in urban planning practice. Such a systematic analysis framework can reveal the ecological structures, related ecosystem services, and risk-reducing approaches that are missing and why. This informs the discussion about why specific measures are not considered and provides pathways for alternate measures/designs, related operations, and policy processes at different scales that can foster sustainable adaptation and transformation in municipal governance and planning.
Uncertainty in a Borderline: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Using a theoretical and experimental approach, this paper investigates the role of borderline uncertainty between success and failure in determining the input of effort by university students. By conducting a randomized experiment in an actual economics course in a Japanese university, we demonstrate that rank information feedback improves the performance of students with only average scores in the midterm examination, but harms the performance of high achieving students. We also construct a theoretical model of an uncertain borderline to interpret the experimental results. Our contribution is to demonstrate that the rank information can relate to the recognition of the borderline. In this case, the rank information feedback acting as an incentive scheme should vary for different types of students as a way to improve their motivation to learn.
Leveraging Defect Prediction Metrics in Software Program Management

Software reliability assurance is a challenging task. The accuracy of predicting the defects in the software is based on many factors such as the estimated size of the software, estimated defect density and software complexity. Numerous software metrics and statistical models have been developed to address this but there are limitations of these models to different software development projects. For successful completion of software projects, the program managers need relevant metrics to help in planning, monitoring and controlling functions. While Software program managers rely upon Plan Vs Actual metrics for project management attributes of Schedule, effort and cost, but often do not track these metrics with respect to quality(defects). This paper discusses the experience of using defect prediction model across software development projects and how the defect metrics (Predicted Vs Actual) help program managers in planning resources and schedule, stakeholder expectation management, risk mitigation and project control.