Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic flux transport on active cool stars and starspot lifetimes

Context. Many rapidly rotating cool stars show signatures of large magnetic regions at all latitudes. Mid-latitude starspots and magnetic regions have characteristic lifetimes of 1 month or less, as indicated by observations using (Zeeman-) Doppler imaging techniques. Aims. We aim to estimate the lifetimes of bipolar magnetic regions and starspots on the surfaces of cool stars. We consider different possible configurations for starspots and compare their flux variations and lifetimes based on a magnetic flux transport model. Methods. We carry out numerical simulations of the surface evolution of bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) and magnetic spots on stars, which have radii and surface rotational shears of AB Doradus, the Sun, and the HR 1099 primary. The surface flux transport model is based on the magnetic induction equation for radial fields under the effects of surface differential rotation, meridional flow, and turbulent diffusion due to convective flow patterns. We calculate the flux evolution and the lifetimes of BMRs and unipolar starspots, varying the emergence latitude, surface shear rate, and tilt angle. Results. For BMRs comparable to the largest observed on the Sun, we find that varying the surface flows and the tilt angle modifies the lifetimes over a range of one month. For very large BMRs (area ~10% of the stellar surface) the assumption of a tilt angle increasing with latitude leads to a significant increase of lifetime, as compared to the case without tilt. Such regions can evolve to polar spots that live more than a year. Adopting the observed weak latitudinal shear and the radius of the active subgiant component of HR 1099, we find longer BMR lifetimes as compared to the more strongly sheared AB Dor case. Random emergence of six additional tilted bipoles in an activity belt at $60^\circ$ latitude enhanced the lifetimes of polar caps up to 7 years. We have also compared the evolution and lifetime of monolithic starspots with those of conglomerates of smaller spots of similar total area. We find similar decay patterns and lifetimes for both configurations.
Pre-Rake performance for pulse based UWB system in a standardized UWB short-range channel

The pre-Rake scheme for pulse based ultrawideband (UWB) communications system is proposed in a standardized UWB channel model from IEEE 802.15 SG3a, which is based on an extensive set of indoor short-range channel measurements in this paper. The pre-Rake scheme is shown to contribute to the low-power, cost-effective UWB system designing as well as Rake combining gain. Instead of building a Rake receiver at the receiving side (e.g. portable unit), the transmitter (e.g. access point) can pre-diversity the UWB signal before transmission in the forward link estimating the channel impulse response from the reverse link. While the pre-Raked signal is convolved with the estimated channel impulse response, the function of Rake combining at the receiver is automatically performed. Monte-Carlo simulations are carried out to compare the pre-Rake with Rake results and show that pre-Rake scheme is as good as Rake combining. Then the mobile or portable unit with a conventional receiver can still achieve the diversity gain of Rake combining.
An initial acquisition method for channel synchronization on In-home power line communications

In this paper, we propose an initial acuisition method for channel synchronization on in-home broadband power line communication (PLC). It has been considered that the time fluctuation in the transfer function has been smaller than that in the noise on the in-home broadband PLC. However, we have observed that the extensively and rapidly time fluctuation across the whole frequency band appears in the in-home PLC at the half of power cycle intervals while connecting some switching power supply devices. Such largely and quickly time fluctuation makes the extensive degradation in performance of in-home PLC devices. Therefore, we should estimate the timing of time fluctuation and synchronize the in-home PLC systems with the estimated time fluctuation. We evaluate the performance of the proposed initial acquisition method under impulsive noise environments and investigate its feasibility for the real in-home PLC.
Validating Instruments in MIS Research 1

Calls for new directions in MIS research bring with them a call for renewed methodological . rigor. This article offers an operating paradigm for renewal along dimensions previously unstressed. The basic contention is that confirmatory empirical findings will be strengthened when instrument validation precedes both internal and statistical conclusion validity and that, in many situations, MIS researchers need to validate their research instruments. This contention is supported by a survey of instrumentation as reported in sample IS journals over the last several years. A demonstration exercise of instrument validation follows as an illustration of some of the basic principles of validation. The validated instrument was designed to gather data on the impact’of computer security administration on the incidence of computer abuse in the U.S.A. This work was carded out under the auspices of International DPMA (Data Processing Management.Association). It was supported by grants from IBM, IRMIS (Institute for Research on the Management of Information Systems, Indiana University Graduate School of Business) and the Ball Corporation Foundation. An earlier version of this article appeared as "Instrument Validation in the MIS Research Process," Proceedings of the Annual Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, F. Bergeron (ed.), Whistler, B.C., June 1986, pp. 103-118. Keywordsi MIS research methodology, empirical measurement, theory construction and development, content validity, reliability, construct validity, internal validity ACM Categories: H.0, J.0
Risk factors for tuberculosis in contact investigations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Contact investigations around tuberculosis patients enable early detection of infection and disease, and prevention of secondary tuberculosis cases. We aim to identify risk factors for M. tuberculosis transmission to contacts of tuberculosis patients, based on unique data from routine contact investigations by the Public Health Service in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, collected between 2001 and 2006. Through logistic regression analysis, we determined the effect of various risk factors on the chance of finding a latent tuberculosis (TB) infection or overt tuberculosis case among contacts. A total of 1165 index patients with active tuberculosis were registered and at least one contact was investigated in 731, resulting in 21,540 contacts overall. Altogether, the contact investigations led to 91 cases of active tuberculosis. Of the 12,698 contacts eligible for screening by tuberculin skin test, 1091 (9%) were diagnosed with latent tuberculosis infections. Risk factors were old age of the contact, old age of the index patient, and the relationship to the index. A larger fraction of infected close contacts was strongly associated with infections among more distant contacts. Our findings emphasize the importance of including these personal and interpersonal risk factors in decision making in contact investigations.
Pulse Position Coding for Information Capacity Promotion in Electromagnetic Nanonetworks

With the development of nanotechnology, Wireless Nano Sensor Networks (WNSN) have been envisioned for many unique applications. In order to optimize the data transmission in nanonetworks, the information rate of individual nanonode should be manipulated to maximize the network capacity. In this paper, information capacity is formulated as a function of the parameters of transmission distance and spreading factor in data transmission. The information interference is also presented and regulated by proposing a novel Pulse Position Coding (PPC) for nanonetworks. According to the experimental results, the achievable information capacity is improved significantly with the proposed coding mechanism, and the most appropriate values of spreading factor and transmission distance for nanonetworks are recommended. Moreover, low interference power is also achieved with PPC mechanism.
Harnessing Wikipedia for smart tags clustering

The quality of the current tagging services can be greatly improved if the service is able to cluster tags by their meaning. Tag clouds clustered by higher level topics enable the users to explore their tag space, which is especially needed when tag clouds become large. We demonstrate TagCluster a tool for automated tag clustering that harnesses knowledge from Wikipedia about semantic relatedness between tags and names of categories to achieve smart clustering. Our approach shows much better quality of clusters compared to the existing techniques that rely on tag co-occurrence analysis in the tagging service.
Passive wireless smart-skin sensor using RFID-based folded patch antennas

Folded patch antennas were investigated for the development of low-cost and wireless smart-skin sensors that monitor the strain in metallic structures. When the patch antenna is under strain/deformation, its resonance frequency varies accordingly. The variation can be easily interrogated and recorded by a wireless reader. The patch antenna adopts a specially chosen substrate material with low dielectric attenuation, as well as an inexpensive off-the-shelf radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip for signal modulation. Since the RFID chip harvests electromagnetic power from the interrogation signal emitted by the reader, the patch antenna itself does not require other (internal) power sources and, thus, serves as a battery-less (passive) and wireless strain sensor. In this preliminary investigation, a prototype folded patch antenna has been designed and manufactured. Tensile testing results show strong linearity between the interrogated resonance frequency and the strain experienced by the antenna. Through experiments, the strain sensing resolution is demonstrated to be under 50 μϵ, and the wireless interrogation distance is shown to be over a few feet for this preliminary prototype.
From Monocytes to M1/M2 Macrophages: Phenotypical vs. Functional Differentiation

Studies on monocyte and macrophage biology and differentiation have revealed the pleiotropic activities of these cells. Macrophages are tissue sentinels that maintain tissue integrity by eliminating/repairing damaged cells and matrices. In this M2-like mode, they can also promote tumor growth. Conversely, M1-like macrophages are key effector cells for the elimination of pathogens, virally infected, and cancer cells. Macrophage differentiation from monocytes occurs in the tissue in concomitance with the acquisition of a functional phenotype that depends on microenvironmental signals, thereby accounting for the many and apparently opposed macrophage functions. Many questions arise. When monocytes differentiate into macrophages in a tissue (concomitantly adopting a specific functional program, M1 or M2), do they all die during the inflammatory reaction, or do some of them survive? Do those that survive become quiescent tissue macrophages, able to react as naïve cells to a new challenge? Or, do monocyte-derived tissue macrophages conserve a “memory” of their past inflammatory activation? This review will address some of these important questions under the general framework of the role of monocytes and macrophages in the initiation, development, resolution, and chronicization of inflammation.
Estimation of the number of wideband sources in an acoustic wave field using eigen-beam processing for circular apertures

This paper addresses the problem of determining the number of wideband sources in an acoustic wave field. By using eigen-beam processing based on circular apertures, this method takes the physics of wave propagation into account. The eigen-beam method decomposes the sound field into eigen-solutions of the acoustic wave equation. This idea is in contrast to existing techniques that are mainly based on examining the eigenvalues of the covariance matrix estimated from measurements of an array of sensors. It is shown that by re-synthesizing these eigen-solutions, a method can be derived that is capable of adaptively estimating the number of acoustic sources in real acoustic environments.
Efficient Multicast Authentication Batch Signature

Multicast (1) is defined as sending data from a single sender to a group of receivers. While multicasting the data, it should be provided with security services. Generally, security services are classified into five areas namely data integrity, data origin, authentication (2), non-repudiation and confidentiality. This project work supports the first three security services, which are implemented using a cryptographic technique called batch signature (3). Designing a batch signature protocol is quite difficult and hence certain issues have to be considered, which include efficiency, packet loss, computation latency and communication overhead. In internet, normally congestion is sure to happen at certain period which results in packet loss (4) have to be reduced. For applications like online streaming, video conferencing and online games, the quality of services is low to the end users. Therefore, MABS protocol should provide a certain level of packet loss recovery. In this paper, we have proposed two schemes namely, basic scheme and enhanced scheme. The basic scheme normally supports three algorithms namely batch RSA algorithm (5), batch BLS algorithm (6) and our batch DSA algorithm (7, 8), in which these algorithms mainly involves to address efficiency and packet loss problems in network environment (9). Enhanced scheme combines basic scheme and merkle tree generation (10) (packet filtering technique) which completely eliminates the forged packets in order to overcome the DOS (Denial of Service) attack. Hence, our comparison study predicts that MABS-E is less efficient than MABS-B due to DOS defense. In our new approach, mod-inversion operation is one of the most important factors which influence the computation time of digital signature and verification, thus improvements to this point has been proposed by implementing new approach called PDSA.
A Class of Rigid Coxeter Groups

A Coxeter group W is said to be rigid if, given any two Coxeter systems (W, S) and (W, S′), there is an automorphism ρ: W → W such that ρ(S) = S′. The class of Coxeter systems (W, S) for which the Coxeter graph ΓS is complete and has only odd edge labels is considered. (Such a system is said to be of type Kn.) It is shown that if W has a type Kn system, then any other system for W is also type Kn. Moreover, the multiset of edge labels on ΓS and ΓS′ agree. In particular, if all but one of the edge labels of ΓS are identical, then W is rigid.
Addictive disorders such as brain diseases: Analysis of the evidence and practical implications

In the last decades, neuroscientific research has supported the fact that addictions are diseases of the brain such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. The punitive approach to manage addictions has not yielded satisfactory results, therefore the basic and clinical research provides growing evidence that addiction could be better considered and treated as an acquired brain disease which constitute the brain disease model of addictions. With the development of this model, significant progress has been achieved in the implementation of prevention and more effective treatment strategies and also better informed public health policies. However, the concept of addiction as a brain disease is still being questioned. This article presents arguments to consider substance use disorder as a disease caused by alterations in the structure and functioning of specific areas of the brain, as well as to visualize the clinical implications and the public policies 1 Grupo Neurociencias UDES, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Santander. Bucaramanga(Colombia). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2288-1027 Correspondencia: Dirección: Campus Universitario Lagos del Cacique, calle 70 n° 55-210. Bucaramanga,
Using Developers Contributions on Software Vocabularies to Identify Experts

Developers choose identifiers to name entities during software coding. While these names are lexically restricted by the language, they reflect the understanding of the developer on the requirements that the entity is devoted for. In this paper, we analyze the use of such vocabularies to identify experts on code entities. For a real software development, e-Pol (Management Information System for Federal Police of Brazil), we observed around 30% of its code entities has more than 0.3 of similarity with at least one developer vocabulary. We propose an approach to catch this potential expertise that vocabularies carries on. Also, we built an oracle of source code entities per developer that allowed us to assess our approach accuracy compared with two others ones: based on commit and based on percentage of modified Lines of Codes. One advantage of our approach is to disregard changes in formatting or indentation of source code as acts of expertise acquisition. We achieve an accuracy ranging from 0.16 to 0.32 depending on the assumed period of developers' contributions and the top-k experts we are interested on. These results confirm similarity between vocabularies might be explored to point out code experts. Moreover, for orphaned entities, expertise approach based on vocabularies can recommend among current team members one whose vocabulary is closest to the entity.
Bayesian Analysis of Multidimensional Item Response Theory Models: A Discussion and Illustration of Three Response Style Models

ABSTRACT Interest in Bayesian analysis of item response theory (IRT) models has grown tremendously due to the appeal of the paradigm among psychometricians, advantages of these methods when analyzing complex models, and availability of general-purpose software. Possible models include models which reflect multidimensionality due to designed test structure, construct-irrelevant variance, and mixed item formats. Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, models can be estimated and evaluated for model-fit. In addition to discussing Bayesian analysis, analyses of three IRT models designed to account for extreme response style are illustrated: IRTree, multidimensional nominal response model (MNRM), and modified generalized partial credit model (MPCM). While results indicated there may be little impact of model choice on substantive trait estimates for the data set studied herein, model-fit results favored the MNRM and MPCM over the IRTree Model.
Knowledge Discovery in Neuroblastoma-related Biological Data

In this paper, we provide initial Data Mining results on four sets of genetic data, collected in the context of the new European Embryonal Tumour Pipeline project. These data sets provide different views on the genetic processes involved in the genesis and development of a specific type of tumour, known as neuroblastoma. Although the project involves other types of tumours as well, with potentially similar underlying causal processes, neuroblastoma is currently the only disease for which sufficient data has been collected to analyse. We provide results on this data using systems developed at two Data Mining groups in Europe, with the aim of introducing the different Data Mining challenges involved, and outlining the approach we intend to apply throughout the project. Our descriptions focus on the analysis of individual data sets, stemming from separate analysis platforms (e.g. Affymetrix microarrays). Additionally, we provide some pointers for doing cross-platform analysis in the future.
Applications of Neural-Based Agents in Computer Game Design

Most agents in computer games are designed using classical symbolic artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. The AI techniques include production rules for very large branching and conditional statements, as well as search techniques, including branch-and-bound, heuristic search, and A* (Russel & Norvig, 2003). Planning techniques, such as STRIPS (Stanford Research Institute Problem Solver) (Fikes & Nilsson, 1971) and hierarchical task network (HTN) (Erol, 1996) planning are common. Also, situational case-based reasoning, finite-state machines, classical expert systems, Bayesian networks, and other forms of logic, including predicate calculus and its derivatives, such as description logics (Baader et al., 2003), form the foundation of many game agents that leverage AI techniques. The game agents are typically created with
Using the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue to find counterparts for IBIS/ISGRI survey sources

The IBIS/ISGRI first year galactic plane survey has produced a catalogue containing 123 hard X-ray sources visible down to a flux limit of a few milliCrabs. The point source location accuracy of typically 1-3 arcmin has allowed the counterparts for 95 of these sources to be found at other wavelengths. In order to identify the remaining 28 objects, we have cross-correlated the ISGRI catalogue with the ROSAT All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalogue. In this way, for ISGRI sources which have a counterpart in soft X-rays, we can use the, much smaller, ROSAT error box to search for identifications. As expected, we find a strong correlation between the two catalogues and calculate that there are 75 associations with the number expected by chance to be almost zero. Of these 75 sources, ten are in the list of unidentified objects. Using the ROSAT error boxes we provide tentative associations for 8 of these.
Reproductive Resilience to Food Shortage in a Small Heterothermic Primate

The massive energetic costs entailed by reproduction in most mammalian females may increase the vulnerability of reproductive success to food shortage. Unexpected events of unfavorable climatic conditions are expected to rise in frequency and intensity as climate changes. The extent to which physiological flexibility allows organisms to maintain reproductive output constant despite energetic bottlenecks has been poorly investigated. In mammals, reproductive resilience is predicted to be maximal during early stages of reproduction, due to the moderate energetic costs of ovulation and gestation relative to lactation. We experimentally tested the consequences of chronic-moderate and short-acute food shortages on the reproductive output of a small seasonally breeding primate, the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) under thermo-neutral conditions. These two food treatments were respectively designed to simulate the energetic constraints imposed by a lean year (40% caloric restriction over eight months) or by a sudden, severe climatic event occurring shortly before reproduction (80% caloric restriction over a month). Grey mouse lemurs evolved under the harsh, unpredictable climate of the dry forest of Madagascar and should thus display great potential for physiological adjustments to energetic bottlenecks. We assessed the resilience of the early stages of reproduction (mating success, fertility, and gestation) to these contrasted food treatments, and on the later stages (lactation and offspring growth) in response to the chronic food shortage only. Food deprived mouse lemurs managed to maintain constant most reproductive parameters, including oestrus timing, estrogenization level at oestrus, mating success, litter size, and litter mass as well as their overall number of surviving offspring at weaning. However, offspring growth was delayed in food restricted mothers. These results suggest that heterothermic, fattening-prone mammals display important reproductive resilience to energetic bottlenecks. More generally, species living in variable and unpredictable habitats may have evolved a flexible reproductive physiology that helps buffer environmental fluctuations.