Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Model of Concurrency in Object-Oriented Databases

The most commonly used model for concurrency control in traditional database systems represents transactions as streams of partially ordered operations that are scheduled for execution by a central or distributed transaction manager. The various scheduling strategies are proved correct by using the serializability theory. This theory, in its classical form, operates successfully on systems with at (non-nested) transactions but is unable to represent conveniently complex (nested) computations, inherent to the object-oriented paradigm. This report presents a more general model for transaction management which permits nested computations and a technique for proving the correctness of the schedules designed by the concurrency control mechanism. All objects in the database are assumed to have their own concurrency control mechanisms that schedule the operations local to the objects according to the order devised by the central transaction manager. The classical serializability theory is extended with an abstract model for computations allowing for arbitrary operations and nondeterministic programs.
Performance evaluation of MC-CDMA over hybrid satellite/underwater acoustic channel

Underwater communication is one of the most researched fields in literature. Low-powered underwater devices such as diving sensors, Unmanned or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, (UUVs) or (AUVs), surface buoys etc. are incapable of carrying data to longer distances. Hence, hybrid satellite/underwater communication system is proposed in literature, to support wide overseas coverage for ubiquitous availability of data. In this paper, the performance analysis of full load & overload Multicarrier (MC)-CDMA transmission scheme over hybrid Satellite/Underwater Acoustic (UWA) channel is presented. For full load case Walsh-Hadamard (WH) & Carrier Interferometry (CI) spread codes are employed, and for overload case Pseudo Orthogonal (PO)-CI code set in addition to CI codes are used. The analytic expressions for the code cross-correlation terms, and hence the Multiple Access Interference (MAI) terms are derived for overloaded MC-CDMA system, and compared with its fully loaded counterpart. Later it is shown that, the BER performance of overloaded system over UWA channel illustrates worse performance than over narrowband satellite channel due to higher code cross-correlation and large delay spread. Finally, from the simulation results, the BER performance of PO-CI spread (overloaded) MC-CDMA is observed to be slightly degraded than CI spread (full-load) MC-CDMA. Thus, a tradeoff is established between the achievable system capacity and the error performance. Hence for the increased network capacity or better error performance, PO-CI/MC-CDMA or CI/MC-CDMA respectively, stems out to be the suitable candidates, for hybrid satellite/underwater acoustic communications.
Bimodal gender recognition from face and fingerprint

This paper focuses on multimodal gender recognition. To achieve a robust and discriminative performance for gender recognition, visual observations from both face and corresponding fingerprints are fused to serve for the task. The bag-of-words model is employed to structure the image representation. We propose a novel supervised method to construct the visual words, by which the redundant feature dimensions are discarded and the important dimensions for gender classification are highlighted. The dimension rearrangement is achieved by aligning the feature dimensions to a common normal vector of the hyperplane between categories. The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model is extended to incorporate discriminative clues for supervised classification. We build the novel Discriminative LDA (D-LDA) model by maximizing the inter-class margins, which can significantly enhance the discriminative power of the whole model. Experiments on a large face and fingerprint database demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed new feature and model. Complementary advantages benefited from face-fingerprint fusion to a robust gender recognition framework also get validated.
Towards Smart Proof Search for Isabelle

Despite the recent progress in automatic theorem provers, proof engineers are still suffering from the lack of powerful proof automation. In this position paper we first report our proof strategy language based on a meta-tool approach. Then, we propose an AI-based approach to drastically improve proof automation for Isabelle, while identifying three major challenges we plan to address for this objective.
Downscaling SMOS-Derived Soil Moisture Using MODIS Visible/Infrared Data

A downscaling approach to improve the spatial resolution of Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture estimates with the use of higher resolution visible/infrared (VIS/IR) satellite data is presented. The algorithm is based on the so-called “universal triangle” concept that relates VIS/IR parameters, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Land Surface Temperature (Ts), to the soil moisture status. It combines the accuracy of SMOS observations with the high spatial resolution of VIS/IR satellite data into accurate soil moisture estimates at high spatial resolution. In preparation for the SMOS launch, the algorithm was tested using observations of the UPC Airborne RadIomEter at L-band (ARIEL) over the Soil Moisture Measurement Network of the University of Salamanca (REMEDHUS) in Zamora (Spain), and LANDSAT imagery. Results showed fairly good agreement with ground-based soil moisture measurements and illustrated the strength of the link between VIS/IR satellite data and soil moisture status. Following the SMOS launch, a downscaling strategy for the estimation of soil moisture at high resolution from SMOS using MODIS VIS/IR data has been developed. The method has been applied to some of the first SMOS images acquired during the commissioning phase and is validated against in situ soil moisture data from the OZnet soil moisture monitoring network, in South-Eastern Australia. Results show that the soil moisture variability is effectively captured at 10 and 1 km spatial scales without a significant degradation of the root mean square error.
Pioglitazone Treatment Increases Survival and Prevents Body Weight Loss in Tumor–Bearing Animals: Possible Anti-Cachectic Effect

Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by profound involuntary weight loss, fat depletion, skeletal muscle wasting, and asthenia; all symptoms are not entirely attributable to inadequate nutritional intake. Adipose tissue and skeletal muscle loss during cancer cachexia development has been described systematically. The former was proposed to precede and be more rapid than the latter, which presents a means for the early detection of cachexia in cancer patients. Recently, pioglitazone (PGZ) was proposed to exhibit anti-cancer properties, including a reduction in insulin resistance and adipose tissue loss; nevertheless, few studies have evaluated its effect on survival. For greater insight into a potential anti-cachectic effect due to PGZ, 8-week-old male Wistar rats were subcutaneously inoculated with 1 mL (2×107) of Walker 256 tumor cells. The animals were randomly assigned to two experimental groups: TC (tumor + saline-control) and TP5 (tumor + PGZ/5 mg). Body weight, food ingestion and tumor growth were measured at baseline and after removal of tumor on days 7, 14 and 26. Samples from different visceral adipose tissue (AT) depots were collected on days 7 and 14 and stored at -80o C (5 to 7 animals per day/group). The PGZ treatment showed an increase in the survival average of 27.3% (P< 0.01) when compared to TC. It was also associated with enhanced body mass preservation (40.7 and 56.3%, p< 0.01) on day 14 and 26 compared with the TC group. The treatment also reduced the final tumor mass (53.4%, p<0.05) and anorexia compared with the TC group during late-stage cachexia. The retroperitoneal AT (RPAT) mass was preserved on day 7 compared with the TC group during the same experimental period. Such effect also demonstrates inverse relationship with tumor growth, on day 14. Gene expression of PPAR-γ, adiponectin, LPL and C/EBP-α from cachectic rats was upregulated after PGZ. Glucose uptake from adipocyte cells (RPAT) was entirely re-established due to PGZ treatment. Taken together, the results demonstrate beneficial effects of PGZ treatment at both the early and final stages of cachexia.
Microgenetic process of subjective contour perception in “noise-containing” inducing patterns

To investigate the processing of subjective contour perception in the second stage of "two-stage theory" ("solution-finding"-"solution-testing' theory) by Rock and Anson (1979), the microgenetic process in the perception of subjective contour was analyzed. Three stimulus patterns were used; one of them was a standard "Kanizsa triangle" pattern, and the remaining two contained noise figures to disturb the perception of subjective contour, These patterns were tachistoscopically exposed for 30-400 ms, and six subjects rated the clarity of subjective contour on 480 trials. It was found that the rated clarity of subjective contour in all patterns increased monotonically as a function of exposure duration, showing no sign of the second-stage processing. Moreover, the analysis of individual data suggested that the noise was processed at the first stage ("solution-finding" stage), not at the second stage ("solution-testing" stage) as assumed in the "two-stage theory. " It was concluded that the two stages of processing in the theory by Rock and Anson (1979) should be joined together to produce the "single-stage theory. "
Phenotypic and Functional Alterations in Circulating Memory CD8 T Cells with Time after Primary Infection

Memory CD8 T cells confer increased protection to immune hosts upon secondary viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections. The level of protection provided depends on the numbers, quality (functional ability), and location of memory CD8 T cells present at the time of infection. While primary memory CD8 T cells can be maintained for the life of the host, the full extent of phenotypic and functional changes that occur over time after initial antigen encounter remains poorly characterized. Here we show that critical properties of circulating primary memory CD8 T cells, including location, phenotype, cytokine production, maintenance, secondary proliferation, secondary memory generation potential, and mitochondrial function change with time after infection. Interestingly, phenotypic and functional alterations in the memory population are not due solely to shifts in the ratio of effector (CD62Llo) and central memory (CD62Lhi) cells, but also occur within defined CD62Lhi memory CD8 T cell subsets. CD62Lhi memory cells retain the ability to efficiently produce cytokines with time after infection. However, while it is was not formally tested whether changes in CD62Lhi memory CD8 T cells over time occur in a cell intrinsic manner or are due to selective death and/or survival, the gene expression profiles of CD62Lhi memory CD8 T cells change, phenotypic heterogeneity decreases, and mitochondrial function and proliferative capacity in either a lymphopenic environment or in response to antigen re-encounter increase with time. Importantly, and in accordance with their enhanced proliferative and metabolic capabilities, protection provided against chronic LCMV clone-13 infection increases over time for both circulating memory CD8 T cell populations and for CD62Lhi memory cells. Taken together, the data in this study reveal that memory CD8 T cells continue to change with time after infection and suggest that the outcome of vaccination strategies designed to elicit protective memory CD8 T cells using single or prime-boost immunizations depends upon the timing between antigen encounters.
A charge‐scaling implementation of the variational electrostatic projection method

Two new charge‐scaling methods for efficient modeling of the solvated macromolecular environment in hybrid QM/MM calculations of biological reactions are presented. The methods are extensions of the variational electrostatic projection (VEP) method, and allows a subset of atomic charges in the external environment to be adjusted to mimic, in the active dynamical region, the electrostatic potential and field due to the large surrounding macromolecule and solvent. The method has the advantages that it offers improved accuracy, does not require the use of a three‐dimensional grid or auxiliary set of fitting points, and requires only minor molecular simulation code modifications. The VEP−cs and VEP‐RVM+cs methods are able to attain very high accuracy (relative force errors of 10−7 or better with appropriate choice of control parameters), and take advantage of a recently introduced set of high‐order discretization schemes and Gaussian exponents for boundary element solvation and VEP methods. The methods developed here serve as potentially powerful tools in the arsenal of computational techniques used in multiscale computational modeling problems. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 27: 103–115, 2006
Efficient distributed recovery using message logging

Absfrucf: Various distributed algorithms am presented, that allow nodes in a distributed system to recover from crash failures efficiently. The algorithms are independent of the application programs running on the nodes. The algorithms log messages and checkpoint states of the processes to stable storage at each node. Both logging of messages and checkpointing of process states can be done asynchronously with the execution of the application. Upon restarting after a failure, a node initiates a procedure in which the nodes use the logs and checkpoints on stable storage to roll back to earlier local states, such that the resulting global state is maximal and consistent. The first algorithm requires adding extra information of size O(n) to each application message (where n is the number of nodes); for each failure, O(n2) messages are exchanged, but no node rolls back more than once. The second algorithm only requires extra information of size O(1) on each application message, but requires O(n3) messages per failure. Both the above algorithms require that each process should be able to send messages to each of the other processes. We also present algorithms for recovery on networks, in which each process only communicates with its neighbors. Finally, we show how to decompose large networks into smaller networks so that each of the smaller network can use a different recovery procedure.
Dannelsesbegrebets rolle som regulativ ide i teoretisk pædagogik – Dannelsesbegrebet og den pædagogiske forskning

In this paper, it will be argued that the concept of ‘Bildung’ has a twofold role in pedagogical research. On the one hand, it holds a position for conceptual analysis and discussions of how a pedagogical relation is established between an individual and the world. In this sense, it belongs to theoretical pedagogics. Humboldt concepts of receptivity and self-determination (Selbstatigkeit) and Klafki’s theory of categorial pedagogy are central contributions to this discussion. On the other hand, the concept of Bildung has a role as a regulative idea due to the ideas and imaginations of various forms of humanity it contains. In this sense, it fulﬁlls an ethical dimension since it is regulative for the pedagogical relationship between individual and world.
Wage Compensation and Mobility Patterns Within Unionized Firms: The Role of Internal Labor Markets

The authors would like to thank the participants of workshops at the University of Pittsburgh and the Sloan School at MIT for their comments on earlier versions of this paper. The authors particularly appreciate the assistance and input of the management and union persons at the firm analyzed in this study. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the research assistance of James Haley. Finally, we thank Shirley Hall and Nancy Latham who typed the manuscript. This research is part of a project studying a unionized Canadian industrial firm, supported in part by a grant from the
Named entity recognition using conditional random fields with non-local relational constraints

We begin by introducing the Computer Science branch of Natural Language Processing, then narrowing the attention on its subbranch of Information Extraction and particularly on Named Entity Recognition, discussing briefly its main methodological approaches. It follows an introduction to state-of-the-art Conditional Random Fields under the form of linear chains. Subsequently, the idea of constrained inference as a way to model long-distance relationships in a text is presented, based on an Integer Linear Programming representation of the problem. Adding such relationships to the problem as automatically inferred logical formulas, translatable into linear conditions, we propose to solve the resulting more complex problem with the aid of Lagrangian relaxation, of which some technical details are explained. Lastly, we give some experimental results.
Design considerations of a voltage-fed full bridge DC-DC converter with high voltage gain for fuel cell applications

Fuel cells in the kW range have a high output current and low output voltage. To connect them to the mains, a DC-DC converter with a high voltage gain and an inverter are needed. In this paper an investigation of the voltage-fed full bridge dc-dc converter with high voltage gain is presented. A detailed analysis of the different operating modes, the semiconductors' current and voltage stress, the switching losses and the transformer stress is given. The influence of diverse parameters like winding ratio, leakage inductance and output inductance on the operating behaviour, hence voltage gain and efficiency is stated out. The analytical results are compared with measurements taken from a 1.2 kW prototype. Finally, design criteria for the dc-dc converter are given to realise a high voltage gain and high efficiency.
Tetraarsenic Hexoxide Induces Beclin-1-Induced Autophagic Cell Death as well as Caspase-Dependent Apoptosis in U937 Human Leukemic Cells

Tetraarsenic hexaoxide (As4O6) has been used in Korean folk remedy for the treatment of cancer since the late 1980s, and arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is currently used as a chemotherapeutic agent. However, evidence suggests that As4O6-induced cell death pathway was different from that of As2O3. Besides, the anticancer effects and mechanisms of As4O6 are not fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the anticancer activities of As4O6 on apoptosis and autophagy in U937 human leukemic cells. The growth of U937 cells was inhibited by As4O6 treatment in a dose- and a time-dependent manner, and IC50 for As4O6 was less than 2 μM. As4O6 induced caspase-dependent apoptosis and Beclin-1-induced autophagy, both of which were significantly attenuated by Bcl-2 augmentation and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) treatment. This study suggests that As4O6 should induce Beclin-1-induced autophagic cell death as well as caspase-dependent apoptosis and that it might be a promising agent for the treatment of leukemia.
Multiple Independent Discovery & Creativity in Science

Many scientists have told me how disappointing it is to have their research anticipated by other independent investigators. To have your ideas preempted in print just as you are about to publish is especially frustrating. A few studies suggest [hat anticipated research is an occupational hazard for the nraj”ori[rv of active researchers. Indeed, some investigators report being anticipated several times in their careers. Building on general trends of anticipation within various fields he first observed in 1965,1 University of Wisconsin sociologist Warren Hagstrom surveyed 1,718 US academic research scientists in 1974.2 Of these, 46.2qo believed they were anticipated once or twice, and 16.4V0 more thought they were anticipated three or more times. In 1971, Jerry Gaston, Southern Illinois University sociologist, surveyed 203 British high energy physicists. J He found that 38V0 believed their results had been anticipated once, and another 26%’omore than once. These figures agree rather well with the simple theoretical models of multiple discovery that will be discussed in this essay. Anticipation or preemption of research results is a subset of a wider phenomenon referred to by historians and sociologists as “multiple independent discovery. ” Robert K. Merton, Columbia University sociologist of science, defines what he calls “multiples” as instances in which similar discoveries are made by scientists working independently of each other.d Merton says, NOVt? MWr 5, ‘IYMI
Instant Messaging for Creating Interactive and Collaborative m-Learning Environments.

'Instant Messaging' (IM) and 'Presence,' which is essentially the ability of being able to detect if other users are logged in on the network and send them messages in real time, has become one of the most popular applications of the Internet, causing people to want to stay connected to the Internet for inordinate amounts of time, a phenomena that also fosters a sense of "online community," that perhaps no other application has done previously (Alvestrand, 2002). This research looks at the use of mobile devices to send instant messages that can carry much more information than the short message service (SMS) messages, but would be free to use, notwithstanding the price of getting online. We present a prototype IM system that can be used as a viable means of communicating and learning in higher education establishments. There is some evidence to show that learning using mobile devices reduces the formality of the learning experience, and helps engage reluctant learners and raise their self-confidence. In order for the learning process to be successful in online distance learning, unlike in the traditional face-to-face learning, attention must be paid to developing the participants' sense of community within their particular group. Instant messaging – or IM – is a natural medium for online community building and asynchronous/ synchronous peer discussions.
Training research-minded social workers: experience from Estonia*

ABSTRACT Social work education in its modern sense started to develop after Estonia regained independence from the collapsing Soviet Union. The aim of this article is to introduce good practices of teaching research-mindedness, this being one of the main principles in teaching social workers-to-be in the University of Tartu in Estonia. We have been inspired by the academic tradition of university teaching in general, the new international definition of social work and, not least, the realisation of social workers in practice of not being able to apply academic knowledge to everyday social work practices. This article revisits the term research-mindedness and examines how it has been integrated into the university level teaching process. Our purpose is to discuss the methods students of bachelor’s and master’s programmes can learn to ‘translate’ social issues into research questions, critically appraise the findings and ‘translate’ them back as new research evidence for social work practice.
g-stalt: a chirocentric, spatiotemporal, and telekinetic gestural interface

In this paper we present g-stalt, a gestural interface for interacting with video. g-stalt is built upon the g-speak spatial operating environment (SOE) from Oblong Industries. The version of g-stalt presented here is realized as a three-dimensional graphical space filled with over 60 cartoons. These cartoons can be viewed and rearranged along with their metadata using a specialized gesture set. g-stalt is designed to be chirocentric, spatiotemporal, and telekinetic.