Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Test-Driven Development: An Industrial Case Study

Test-driven development is a novel software development practice and part of the Extreme Programming paradigm. It is based on the principle that tests should be designed and written for a module iteratively, while the code of the module is devised. This is the opposite of what is usual in current software development methods in which testing is often an afterthought, rather than a primary driving factor of design. Once applied systematically and continuously, test-driven development is supposed to incorporate requirements changes easier, lead to superior technical solutions in software, result in better and cleaner code, and motivate all stakeholders. We present a development project carried out in a company in which we put those claims to a test. We found that, indeed, some of the claims are valid, but we can also report difficulties with applying the test-driven development approach. Preprint accepted for publication in proceedings of ENASE 2009, 4th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering, 9 - 10 May 2009, Milan, Italy.
The Balance between Protein Synthesis and Degradation in Chloroplasts Determines Leaf Variegation in Arabidopsis yellow variegated Mutants[W]

An Arabidopsis thaliana leaf-variegated mutant yellow variegated2 (var2) results from loss of FtsH2, a major component of the chloroplast FtsH complex. FtsH is an ATP-dependent metalloprotease in thylakoid membranes and degrades several chloroplastic proteins. To understand the role of proteolysis by FtsH and mechanisms leading to leaf variegation, we characterized the second-site recessive mutation fu-gaeri1 (fug1) that suppressed leaf variegation of var2. Map-based cloning and subsequent characterization of the FUG1 locus demonstrated that it encodes a protein homologous to prokaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (cpIF2) located in chloroplasts. We show evidence that cpIF2 indeed functions in chloroplast protein synthesis in vivo. Suppression of leaf variegation by fug1 is observed not only in var2 but also in var1 (lacking FtsH5) and var1 var2. Thus, suppression of leaf variegation caused by loss of FtsHs is most likely attributed to reduced protein synthesis in chloroplasts. This hypothesis was further supported by the observation that another viable mutation in chloroplast translation elongation factor G also suppresses leaf variegation in var2. We propose that the balance between protein synthesis and degradation is one of the determining factors leading to the variegated phenotype in Arabidopsis leaves.
The Effectiveness of L2 Pronunciation Instruction: A Narrative Review

Research on the efficacy of second language (L2) pronunciation instruction has produced mixed results, despite reports of significant improvement in many studies. Possible explanations for divergent outcomes include learner individual differences, goals and foci of instruction, type and duration of instructional input, and assessment procedures. After identifying key concepts, we survey 75 L2 pronunciation studies, particularly their methods and results. Despite a move towards emphasizing speech intelligibility and comprehensibility, most research surveyed promoted native-like pronunciation as the target. Although most studies entailed classroom instruction, many featured Computer Assisted Pronunciation Teaching (CAPT). Segmentals were studied more often than suprasegmentals. The amount of instruction required to effect change was related to researchers’ goals; interventions focusing on a single feature were generally shorter than those addressing more issues. Reading-aloud tasks were the most common form of assessment; very few studies measured spontaneous speech. The attribution of improvement as a result of instruction was compromised in some instances by lack of a control group. We summarize our findings, highlight limitations of current research, and offer suggestions for future directions.
Effects of Crisis-Triggered Demographic Depletion on Organizational Change: The Case of Israeli Kibbutzim

This study postulates that, in addition to economic triggers and organizational age, demographic depletion is an equally significant catalyst of change during crisis. The study analyzes 23 changes measured annually over a six-year span in 53 Israeli kibbutzim. Employing longitudinal econometric analyses, demographic depletion was found to be significant in estimating change intensity, followed by return on sales and organizational age.
The ESPN Effect: How Slam Dunks Affect Individualism and Optimism for Athletic Success

The authors examined the effects of individualistic media images on children’s levels of optimism toward their future basketball careers. Three hundred sixty-five participants watched highlights featuring either Black or White players performing an easy (passing) or difficult skill (slam dunking). Results indicated that participants placed a higher value on slam dunks when they watched them in a highlight tape. In addition, we found the same interaction on 3 dependent variables, such that those who viewed a same-race model performing passes felt more optimistic about playing both college and professional basketball and higher levels of positive arousal. Given Western society’s individualistic culture, the authors suggest that increased exposure to media images that promote unselfishness and teamwork would be beneficial for young athletes.
Estimation of Angular Velocity and Acceleration from Shaft-Encoder Measurements

This paper suggests a Kalman-filter approach to the estimation of angular velocity and acceleration from (quantized) shaft-encoder measurements. Finite-difference estimates deteriorate as sampling rates are increased. For small sampling periods, we show that the filtering problem is the dual of the cheap control problem, and we jus tify the use of all-integrator models. We investigate Kalman filtering with constant sampling rate, and also with measurements triggered by encoder pulses. Simulation and experimental results are given.
THESE HOUSE-NEGROES STILL THINK WE'RE CURSED

This essay is an intensely personal account of a teaching experience in Utah. It argues that being African American, progressive and Mormon poses unique challenges in the Mormon-dominated institutions of higher education in Utah. Little known outside ‘Mormondom’, the LDS Church forbade blacks from holding the priesthood until 1978, based on the belief, which persists today, that black skin represents the manifestation of a ‘divine curse’ placed on black people. The author spends a lot of time in the classroom directly confronting this sort of overtly racist discourse. His article shares anecdotes about confronting religiously based racism, and explores, in particular, the resistance of African-American Mormon students to counter-hegemonic discourses.
Bacillithiol: a key protective thiol in Staphylococcus aureus

Bacillithiol is a low-molecular-weight thiol analogous to glutathione and is found in several Firmicutes, including Staphylococcus aureus. Since its discovery in 2009, bacillithiol has been a topic of interest because it has been found to contribute to resistance during oxidative stress and detoxification of electrophiles, such as the antibiotic fosfomycin, in S. aureus. The rapid increase in resistance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to available therapeutic agents is a great health concern, and many research efforts are focused on identifying new drugs and targets to combat this organism. This review describes the discovery of bacillithiol, studies that have elucidated the physiological roles of this molecule in S. aureus and other Bacilli, and the contribution of bacillithiol to S. aureus fitness during pathogenesis. Additionally, the bacillithiol biosynthesis pathway is evaluated as a novel drug target that can be utilized in combination with existing therapies to treat S. aureus infections.
Effect of Nourishing “Yin” Removing “Fire” Chinese Herbal Mixture on Hypothalamic Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Expression during Onset of Puberty in Female Rats

Aim. The present study aims to investigate the effects of nourishing “Yin” removing “Fire” (NYRF) Chinese herbal mixture on puberty onset and hypothalamic mTOR expression in female rats. Materials and Methods. Forty female 20-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into Chinese herbal mixture (CHM) and normal saline (NS) groups. Rats in CHM and NS were treated with NYRF mixture and normal saline, respectively, from d22. Rats in each group were sacrificed on d28, d31, and d34. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol (E2) levels were analyzed by ELISA. Hypothalamic mTOR mRNA expression levels were determined by RT-PCR and hypothalamic p-mTOR protein levels were assayed by western blot. Results. The vaginal opening time in CHM group was significantly delayed (P < 0.05). On d31, in comparison with NS group, the coefficients of uteri and ovaries, levels of serum LH and E2, and the expression levels of hypothalamic mTOR mRNA and p-mTOR protein were significantly lower in CHM group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. The mechanism by which the nourishing “Yin” removing “Fire” Chinese herbal mixture delays puberty onset may be associated with the inhibition of the hypothalamic mTOR signaling.
Gamifying Green Surveying and Situating Green Gamification and Persuasive Technology for Environmental Sustainability

This is an (early) draft chapter for the forthcoming book The Gameful World. This draft clocks in at a rather verbose 22,000 words while the final version is around 13,000. Please order the published version at gamefulworld.org or Amazon.com (link). Note: I originally wrote this chapter in January 2013 though the book was not published until January 2015. The pagination, article double spacing, figure and table placement are for draft purposes and will be handled by the publisher for the final print version.
Delivery of time-critical messages using a multiple copy approach

Reliable and timely delivery of messages between processing nodes is essential in distributed real-time systems. Failure to deliver a message within its deadline usually forces the system to undertake a recovery action, which introduces some cost (or overhead) to the system. This recovery cost can be very high, especially when the recovery action fails due to lack of time or resources. Proposed in this paper is a scheme to minimize the expected cost incurred as a result of messages failing to meet their deadlines. The scheme is intended for distributed real-time systems, especially with a point-to-point interconnection topology. The goal of minimizing the expected cost is achieved by sending multiple copies of a message through disjoint routes and thus increasing the probability of successful message delivery within the deadline. However, as the number of copies increases, the message traffic on the network increases, thereby increasing the delivery time for each of the copies. There is therefore a tradeoff between the number of copies of each message and the expected cost incurred as a result of messages missing their deadlines. The number of copies of each message to be sent is determined by optimizing this tradeoff. Simulation results for a hexagonal mesh and a hypercube topology indicate that the expected cost can be lowered substantially by the proposed scheme.
The Human Myotrophin Variant Attenuates MicroRNA-Let-7 Binding Ability but Not Risk of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Human Essential Hypertension

Myotrophin, known as a myocardial hypertrophy-inducing factor, is responsible for the initiation of cardiac hypertrophy that transits to heart failure. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that down-regulate posttranscriptional expression of target molecules. We investigated the role of variants of the microRNA-binding site in myotrophin in affecting its expression and any association with cardiac hypertrophy. Bioinformatics demonstrated that variant rs17168525 was identified to be located in the let-7/miR-98-binding site of myotrophin. We further experimentally test to effects of the identified variant on myotrophin translation using luciferase reporter assay and Western blotting. We found that the C allele of rs17168525 suppressed myotrophin translation by facilitating let-7c binding, but not the T allele. Let-7c overexpression caused a significant decrease in the level of myotrophin protein. Next, we investigated the association of the variant with cardiac hypertrophy in 1614 hypertensive patients, including 552 with left ventricular hypertrophy and 1062 without left ventricular hypertrophy, as well as 591 healthy control subjects from a Han Chinese population. No significant association between the variant rs17168525 and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients in a Han Chinese population (P>0.05). In conclusion, our experimental results provide evidence that the T allele of rs17168525 in the 3′-UTR of myotrophin might influence the level of myotrophin protein by interfering with let-7/miR-98 binding.
Not All Imagery Is Created Equal: The Role of Imagery in the Comprehension of Main Ideas in Exposition.

Recent work suggests that main idea comprehension can be facilitated by the development and use of mental imagery, but the use of an "imagery strategy" has not been shown to assist comprehension in all situations. The range of research results on imagery and comprehension may be attributable to a failure to make a distinction between the types of imagery that subjects report while reading. It may be the case that unwarranted or non-constrained imagery inhibits rather than facilitates comprehension. The study reported in this paper is designed to test this assertion by examining the relationship between reported imagery and the comprehension of main ideas in exposition. Thirty-three students in grades 2 through 5 read 9 expository passages adapted from science and social science texts at three points during the school year: fall, winter, and spring. Subjects answered main-idea and guided-imagery probes after reading the passages. Protocols were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results indica.
Pulse Project : User-Interest-based News Prediction

Pulse is a news recommendation app available on both iPhones and android phones. Predicting news of users' interest according to their reading history has always been a hot topic. In this project, we used tf-idf vector and Logistic Regression to predict news of users' interest on Pulse. The feed of news has been proved to be a key factor for predicting news. Special Measures have been taken to handle unbalanced training data. We use word stemming and other techniques to reduce the dimension of tf-idf vector. We also compared Logistic Regression with Support Vector Machine. Moreover, instead of treating each user independently, we also tried unsupervised learning methods such as K-Means on users.
A Novel Metric for Detection of Jellyfish Reorder Attack on Ad Hoc Network

Ad Hoc networks are susceptible to many attacks due to its unique characteristics such as open network architecture, stringent resource constraints, shared wireless medium and highly dynamic topology. The attacks can be of different types out of which denial of service is one of the most difficult attacks to detect and defend. Jellyfish is a new denial of service attack that exploits the end to end congestion control mechanism of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) which has a very devastating effect on the throughput. The architecture for detection of such attack should be both distributed and cooperative to suit the needs of wireless ad- hoc networks that is every node in the wireless ad-hoc network should participate in the intrusion detection. We intend to develop an algorithm that detects the jellyfish attack at a single node and that can be effectively deployed at all other nodes in the ad hoc network. We propose the novel metric that detects the Jellyfish reorder attack based on the Reorder Density which is a basis for developing a metric. The comparison table shows the effectiveness of novel metric, it also helps protocol designers to develop the counter strategies for the attack.
Development of UB Hand 3: Early Results

The first part of this paper describes the development of a humanoid robot hand based on an endoskeleton made of rigid links connected with elastic hinges, actuated by sheath routed tendons and covered by continuous compliant pulps. The project is called UB Hand 3 (University of Bologna Hand, 3rd version) and aims to reduce the mechanical complexity of robotic end effectors yet maintaining full anthropomorphic aspect and a good level of dexterity. In the second part this paper focuses on the early experiences of the UB Hand 3 in performing manipulation tasks.
ICTNET at Web Track 2012 Diversity Task

In this paper, we report our experiments at Diversity task, Web Track 2012. In this year, we attempt to use query expansion and topic model such as LDA [5] to get subtopics. And an model based on xQuAD [10] was used to re-rank the ad-hoc search results
Estimación de un índice de calidad ambiental urbano, a partir de imágenes de satélite

RESUMEN La implementacion de politicas publicas, para resolver problemas ambientales urbanos, requiere de informacion que en la mayoria de las ciudades no existe. Por tanto, se propone un modelo para obtener un indice de calidad ambiental (ICA) urbano, a partir de imagenes satelitales. De una imagen Landsat ETM+ de Cali, Colombia se obtuvieron cinco indicadores ambientales: temperatura de superficie (TS), y los indices de vegetacion normalizado (NDVI), de humedad en las hojas (LWCI), de suelos normalizado (NSI) y de vegetacion ajustado al suelo (SAVI), con los que se estimo el ICA a nivel de barrio, usando analisis multivariado. Principalmente se obtuvo una alta correlacion entre los indicadores; que los mayores valores del ICA ocurren en barrios con menor area construida y viceversa, y diferencias estadisticas significativas del ICA, segun el uso del suelo. Los barrios fue ron agrupados segun el indice, destacando aquellos que demandan intervencion prioritaria por las entidades de planificacion. Palabras clave: Sensores remotos, calidad ambiental, estudios urbanos, Cali.
Curriculum Development and Sustainable Development: practices, institutions and literacies

In many countries government policy on both is to some degree entwined. Some organisations and individual practitioners are explicitly concerned with both. Both are subject to fundamental intellectual challenge at a conceptual level. Practitioners in each field have been influenced by a number of similar ideas relating to uncertainty and change. Such practitioners continue to grapple, from their different perspectives, with the problem of whether thought and appropriate action should properly be based on technical or practical considerations.
Mind the Gap in the Middle: A Call to Study Midlife

Although the study of midlife has increased somewhat over the last decade, middle-aged adults are often omitted from research on adult development and aging. Possible reasons for the lack of attention to middle age are considered and recommendations for ways to increase research on midlife are suggested to generate new knowledge and to dispel the myths. Findings related to the happiness curve and the midlife crisis are discussed in the context of addressing misconceptions. A model of midlife as a pivotal period in the life course at the intersection of growth and decline is presented. Closing the research gap in the middle of the life course will help to further our understanding of this understudied age period. The findings can inform interventions to promote well-being among the middle-aged with concomitant benefits for the welfare of those younger and older who depend on them.
Wdr68 Mediates Dorsal and Ventral Patterning Events for Craniofacial Development

Birth defects are among the leading causes of infant mortality and contribute substantially to illness and long-term disability. Defects in Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling are associated with cleft lip/palate. Many craniofacial syndromes are caused by defects in signaling pathways that pattern the cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) along the dorsal-ventral axis. For example, auriculocondylar syndrome is caused by impaired Endothelin-1 (Edn1) signaling, and Alagille syndrome is caused by defects in Jagged-Notch signaling. The BMP, Edn1, and Jag1b pathways intersect because BMP signaling is required for ventral edn1 expression that, in turn, restricts jag1b to dorsal CNCC territory. In zebrafish, the scaffolding protein Wdr68 is required for edn1 expression and subsequent formation of the ventral Meckel’s cartilage as well as the dorsal Palatoquadrate. Here we report that wdr68 activity is required between the 17-somites and prim-5 stages, that edn1 functions downstream of wdr68, and that wdr68 activity restricts jag1b, hey1, and grem2 expression from ventral CNCC territory. Expression of dlx1a and dlx2a was also severely reduced in anterior dorsal and ventral 1st arch CNCC territory in wdr68 mutants. We also found that the BMP agonist isoliquiritigenin (ISL) can partially rescue lower jaw formation and edn1 expression in wdr68 mutants. However, we found no significant defects in BMP reporter induction or pSmad1/5 accumulation in wdr68 mutant cells or zebrafish. The Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway is also known to be important for craniofacial development and can interfere with BMP signaling. Here we further report that TGF-β interference with BMP signaling was greater in wdr68 mutant cells relative to control cells. To determine whether interference might also act in vivo, we treated wdr68 mutant zebrafish embryos with the TGF-β signaling inhibitor SB431542 and found partial rescue of edn1 expression and craniofacial development. While ISL treatment failed, SB431542 partially rescued dlx2a expression in wdr68 mutants. Together these findings reveal an indirect role for Wdr68 in the BMP-Edn1-Jag1b signaling hierarchy and dorso-anterior expression of dlx1a/2a.
Increased Spinal Dynorphin Levels and Phospho-Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases 1 and 2 and c-Fos Immunoreactivity after Surgery under Remifentanil Anesthesia in Mice

In humans, remifentanil anesthesia enhances nociceptive sensitization in the postoperative period. We hypothesized that activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and the expression of c-Fos, prodynorphin (mRNA), and dynorphin in the spinal cord could participate in the molecular mechanisms underlying postoperative opioid-induced sensitization. In a mouse model of incisional pain, we evaluated thermal (Hargreaves test) and mechanical (von Frey) hyperalgesia during the first 21 postoperative days. Moreover, prodynorphin (mRNA, real-time polymerase chain reaction), dynorphin (enzymatic immunoassay), c-Fos expression, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation (both by immunohistochemistry) in the lumbar spinal cord were assessed. Surgery performed under remifentanil anesthesia induced a maximal decrease in nociceptive thresholds between 4 h and 2 days postoperatively (p < 0.001) that lasted 10 to 14 days compared with noninjured animals. In the same experimental conditions, a significant increase in prodynorphin mRNA expression (at 2 and 4 days) followed by a sustained increase of dynorphin (days 2 to 10) in the spinal cord was observed. We also identified an early expression of c-Fos immunoreactivity in the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (peak at 4 h; p < 0.001), together with a partial activation of ERK1/2 (4 h; p < 0.001). These findings suggest that activated ERK1/2 could induce c-Fos expression and trigger the transcription of prodynorphin in the spinal cord. This in turn would result in long-lasting increased levels of dynorphin that, in our model, could participate in the persistence of pain but not in the manifestation of first pain.