Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What's the problem?: studies on identifying usability problems in user tests

During the process of developing products difficulties in use (usability problems) are hard to predict. This especially holds for interactive products with embedded software. In user tests conducted during the design process analysts try to foresee which problems people will run into when using a product. Once they have identified and understood the problems, product developers may attempt to redesign the product so that the risk of users encountering usability problems will be minimized. Extracting usability problems from observed user behavior in a consistent manner has proven to be very difficult. Not only is it difficult for analysts to analyze all observations in the same way (this is called within-analyst consistency) but different analysts also tend to uncover different usability problems (across-analyst consistency). Within-consistency can be at stake when analysts become tired, less attentive or distracted during the analysis. Across-analyst consistency may also concern issues like differences in analysts' beliefs, values or preferences. In this thesis the focus is at consistency in identifying usability problems in user tests. The DEVAN (DEtailed Video ANalysis) procedure was developed to make such analyses documentable and inspectable. Next, DEVAN and its simplified variant SlimDEVAN were used in an academic setting and in a setting of professional usability labs. The aim was to determine to what extent (Slim)DEVAN exposes possible sources of inconsistency and manages to reduce inconsistencies caused by fatigue, lack of vigilance and distraction. In addition, DEVAN was applied to a comparative study in which the effect of using prototypes (instead of functioning products) in user tests is studied in detail. The thesis demonstrates how user test data analyses suffer from persistent inconsistencies. The use of (Slim)DEVAN allowed for detecting causes of persistent inconsistencies. In the comparative study the use of DEVAN revealed effects of using prototypes in user tests. For reducing less persistent inconsistencies advanced (automated) observation tools and more precise problem criteria are proposed. We suggest that further research should focus on consequences of inconsistencies in actual product development contexts. Eventually this will lead to more insight into the quality aspects of user tests, which in turn may lead to a decrease in the number of users muttering: "What's the problem? Why does this thing not do what I want it to do? "
Interacting Factors Driving a Major Loss of Large Trees with Cavities in a Forest Ecosystem

Large trees with cavities provide critical ecological functions in forests worldwide, including vital nesting and denning resources for many species. However, many ecosystems are experiencing increasingly rapid loss of large trees or a failure to recruit new large trees or both. We quantify this problem in a globally iconic ecosystem in southeastern Australia – forests dominated by the world's tallest angiosperms, Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans). Tree, stand and landscape-level factors influencing the death and collapse of large living cavity trees and the decay and collapse of dead trees with cavities are documented using a suite of long-term datasets gathered between 1983 and 2011. The historical rate of tree mortality on unburned sites between 1997 and 2011 was >14% with a mortality spike in the driest period (2006–2009). Following a major wildfire in 2009, 79% of large living trees with cavities died and 57–100% of large dead trees were destroyed on burned sites. Repeated measurements between 1997 and 2011 revealed no recruitment of any new large trees with cavities on any of our unburned or burned sites. Transition probability matrices of large trees with cavities through increasingly decayed condition states projects a severe shortage of large trees with cavities by 2039 that will continue until at least 2067. This large cavity tree crisis in Mountain Ash forests is a product of: (1) the prolonged time required (>120 years) for initiation of cavities; and (2) repeated past wildfires and widespread logging operations. These latter factors have resulted in all landscapes being dominated by stands ≤72 years and just 1.16% of forest being unburned and unlogged. We discuss how the features that make Mountain Ash forests vulnerable to a decline in large tree abundance are shared with many forest types worldwide.
How visual perceptual grouping influences foot placement

Everybody would agree that vision guides locomotion; but how does vision influence choice when there are different solutions for possible foot placement? We addressed this question by investigating the impact of perceptual grouping on foot placement in humans. Participants performed a stepping stone task in which pathways consisted of target stones in a spatially regular path of foot falls and visual distractor stones in their proximity. Target and distractor stones differed in shape and colour so that each subset of stones could be easily grouped perceptually. In half of the trials, one target stone swapped shape and colour with a distractor in its close proximity. We show that in these ‘swapped’ conditions, participants chose the perceptually groupable, instead of the spatially regular, stepping location in over 40% of trials, even if the distance between perceptually groupable steps was substantially larger than normal step width/length. This reveals that the existence of a pathway that could be traversed without spatial disruption to periodic stepping is not sufficient to guarantee participants will select it and suggests competition between different types of visual input when choosing foot placement. We propose that a bias in foot placement choice in favour of visual grouping exists as, in nature, sudden changes in visual characteristics of the ground increase the uncertainty for stability.
Distributed Hierarchical Control Plane of Software Defined Networking

Single controller implementation of SDN has many problems related to single points of failure, computational complexity growth, reliability and scalability. To solve these problems, multi-controller implementation of Software Defined Network has been introduced. Multiple controller implementation of the SDN control plane for large networks environment solves the scalability and reliability issues introduced by the centralized controller of the SDN. However, there are still open research topics related to controllers placement. Work has been done in placement of controllers and making solution to earlier problem like single point of failure and computational complexity growth. Distributed hierarchical control plane architecture of SDN using multiple controllers of large-scale networks is presented. Simulation result shows that hierarchical architecture solved many problems those were arising earlier in single controller architecture. Distributed hierarchical architecture does not have single point failure problems. Proposed architecture effectively reduces the computational complexity growth of SDN control plane from super-linear to linear.
Supporting Online Material Materials and Methods Som Text Fig. S1 Table S1 References Dynamics of Replication-independent Histone Turnover in Budding Yeast

with the 4-OH end available for interaction with both E114 and C1 of the donor sugar. This position of lipid II is comparable to that of subsites +1 and +2 of the substrate in lL (15), with the prereaction GT 51 substrates similar to the postreaction lysozyme products. We propose that E114 is a Brønsted base and acts to directly abstract a proton from the 4-OH group of the lipid II acceptor. The de-protonated form of E114 may be stabilized by the adjacent R249 residue, strictly conserved as part of motif V. The proton abstraction step probably occurs concomitantly with the electrophilic migration of the donor C1 toward the acceptor 4-OH group (Fig. 4, A and B). In the moenomy-cin complex, the conserved E171 residue lies closer to the glyceric acid moiety than the phosphate-sugar linkage (the b phosphate in our substrate model), which in combination with pH activity profiles of the E. coli PBP1b enzyme (16) casts some doubt on whether E171 proton-ates the sugar-phosphate linkage to assist catal-ysis. Furthermore, mutants of this residue in E. coli PBP1b retain some residual activity, whereas those of our predicted Brønsted base, E114, do not (9). If E171 does not act to proton-ate the substrate, then we propose that it helps to coordinate the pyrophosphate group of the donor, either directly or via a divalent metal cation. The variable pH optima and divalent cation requirements of the GT 51 family of enzymes (17–19) may result from varying local environments of the E171 residue. The S N 2-like reaction occurs between donor and acceptor, causing inversion at the donor C1 anomeric carbon and formation of the b1,4-linked product. The lipid-pyrophosphate leaving group of the donor is then free to diffuse away and be recycled in lipid II synthesis. We propose that translocation of the newly formed product to the donor site is assisted by a higher affinity for the pyrophosphate moiety in the donor site than in the acceptor site, with the conserved positively charged K155, K163, R167, and K168 residues located near the donor pyrophosphate region of the active site (Fig. 4C). This model is again reminiscent of the lysozyme active site, where the +1 and +2 subsites that match the modeled GT 51 acceptor sugars possess the lowest substrate affinity of all the subsites. These two structures now provide a basis for addressing further questions about the mechanism of this important …
Novel control of a PV solar system as STATCOM (PV-STATCOM) for preventing instability of induction motor load

This paper presents a new control of PV solar system as a STATCOM, termed PV-STATCOM, for faster post-fault voltage recovery, thereby avoiding the voltage instability of a neighboring critical induction motor load. Distributed Generators (DGs), such as PV solar systems, are typically required to disconnect upon detection of fault according to the current grid code of DG interconnection. Although, the preferred industry trend is to allow them to remain connected with Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT) capabilities. In this paper, a case study is presented where an induction motor close to a PV solar system becomes unstable due to slow post fault voltage recovery. A fast fault detection control strategy is utilized in the PV solar system to disconnect the PV solar panels and convert the PV solar system inverter into a STATCOM, thereby providing rapid reactive power support to stabilize the voltage. This novel control strategy of utilizing the PV solar farm temporarily as a STATCOM after the fault prevents a critical induction motor from becoming unstable.
Does European Unemployment Prop Up American Wages? National Labor Markets and Global Trade

The author considers trade between a flexible-wage America and a rigid-wage Europe. In a benchmark case, a move from autarky to free trade doubles European unemployment. American wages rise to the European level. Entry of the unskilled 'South' to world markets raises European unemployment. Europe's commitment to the high wage wholly insulates America from the shock. Immigration to America raises American income, but lowers European income dollar for dollar, while European unemployment rises. Absent South-North migration of the unskilled from 1970-90, Europe could have maintained the same wage with from one-eighth to one-fourth less unemployment. Copyright 1998 by American Economic Association.
CXCL12 (SDF-1)/CXCR4 Pathway in Cancer

Chemokines, small proinflammatory chemoattractant cytokines that bind to specific G-protein-coupled seven-span transmembrane receptors, are major regulators of cell trafficking and adhesion. The chemokine CXCL12 [stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)] binds primarily to CXC receptor 4 (CXCR4; CD184). The binding of CXCL12 to CXCR4 induces intracellular signaling through several divergent pathways initiating signals related to chemotaxis, cell survival and/or proliferation, increase in intracellular calcium, and gene transcription. CXCR4 is expressed on multiple cell types including lymphocytes, hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial and epithelial cells, and cancer cells. The CXCL12/CXCR4 axis is involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis, and survival. This pathway is a target for therapeutics that can block the CXCL12/CXCR4 interaction or inhibit downstream intracellular signaling. Clin Cancer Res; 16(11); 2927–31. ©2010 AACR.
An overview of wavelet transform concepts and applications

The continuous wavelet transform utilizing a complex Morlet analyzing wavelet has a close connection to the Fourier transform and is a powerful analysis tool for decomposing broadband wavefield data. A wide range of seismic wavelet applications have been reported over the last three decades, and the free Seismic Unix processing system now contains a code (succwt) based on the work reported here.
Analysis of simulation-driven numerical performance modeling techniques for application to analog circuit optimization

There is promise of efficiency gains in simulator-in-the-loop analog circuit optimization if one uses numerical performance modeling on simulation data to relate design parameters to performance values. However, the choice of modeling approach can impact performance. We analyze and compare these approaches: polynomials, posynomials, genetic programming, feedforward neural networks, boosted feedforward neural networks, multivariate adaptive regression splines, support vector machines, and kriging. Experiments are conducted on a dataset used previously for posynomial modeling, showing the strengths and weaknesses of the different methods in the context of circuit optimization.
A "Future-Proof" Postgraduate Software Engineering Programme: Maintainability Issues

Abstract We report on the development of a softwareengineering programme for Masters students. Maintainabilityof educational programmes is critical: there is a large initialinvestment in developing quality programmes and we mustensure that these programmes are future proof. Conse-quently, we followed a traditional software engineering life-cycle process to develop a programme that would meet thecurrent needs of industry, whilst also being easy to maintainwith respect to future changes in industrial requirements. Weshow how the programme has gone through a number ofrenement steps  where we have iterated through the lifecycle of requirements engineering (with client industries),high-level design (establishment of a foundational educationalarchitecture), implementation (by lecturers), testing (throughestablishment of evaluation and feedback mechanisms) andmaintenance (throw updates to curriculum and course content). To conclude, we propose treating educational programmes assoftware, and demonstrate advantages in applying softwareengineering techniques for development and maintenance.Keywords -Teaching, Education, Curriculum, Software Engi-neering
Non-commutative dynamics of spinning D0 branes

Rotational dynamics is known to polarize D0 branes into higher dimensional fuzzy Dp-branes: the tension forces between D0 branes provide the centripetal acceleration, and a puffed up spinning configuration stabilizes. In this work, we consider a rotating cylindrical formation of finite height, wrapping a compact cycle of the background space along the axis of rotation. We find a myriad of interesting results: an intriguing relation between the angular speed, the geometry of the cylinder, and the scale of noncommutativity; instabilities for small radii in relation to the height of the cylinder reminiscent of the Gregory-LaFlamme instability; and a critical radius corresponding to the case where the area of the cylinder is proportional to the number of D0 branes reminiscent of Matrix black holes. The instabilities appear to lead to the lateral collapse of the cylinder into possibly a slinky configuration, akin to the Matrix string; or perhaps a Matrix black ring. 1 Duane Loh@hmc.edu Address after September 2004: Cornell University 2 Kit Rodolfa@hmc.edu Address after September 2004: Cambridge University 3 sahakian@hmc.edu
Blood culture contamination in hospitalized pediatric patients: a single institution experience

Purpose Blood culture is the most important tool for detecting bacteremia in children with fever. However, blood culture contamination rates range from 0.6% to 6.0% in adults; rates for young children have been considered higher than these, although data are limited, especially in Korea. This study determined the contamination rate and risk factors in pediatric patients visiting the emergency room (ER) or being admitted to the ward. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of blood cultures obtained from children who visited Yonsei Severance Hospital, Korea between 2006 and 2010. Positive blood cultures were labeled as true bacteremia or contamination according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network definitions for laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection, after exclusion of cultures drawn from preexisting central lines only. Results Among 40,542 blood cultures, 610 were positive, of which 479 were contaminations and 131 were true bacteremia (overall contamination rate, 1.18%). The contamination rate in the ER was significantly higher than in the ward (1.32% vs. 0.66%, P<0.001). The rate was higher in younger children (2.07%, 0.94%, and 0.61% in children aged <1 year, 1-6 years, and >6 years, respectively). Conclusion Overall, contamination rates were higher in younger children than in older children, given the difficulty of performing blood sampling in younger children. The contamination rates from the ER were higher than those from the ward, not accounted for only by overcrowding and lack of experience among personnel collecting samples. Further study to investigate other factors affecting contamination should be required.
Modularity : a natural choice for improving generalization

One of the principal motivations for constructing artificia l modular neural networks comes from biological neural systems, where modularity can be observed at different levels of organization. Starting from some theoretical results that roughly state that modular architectures generalize better than their monolithic counterparts, we test through simulations this assertion on three problems: the parity function and other two "real world" problems as face expression recognition and diabetes diagnosis. We also analyze how the size of the networks influences the generalization ability. From the results we extract some general recommendations on how to build and train modular architectures. Key-Words: Artificial neural networks, generalization performance, modularity, back propagation, parity function, face expression recognition, medical diagnosis.
Cardiac troponin assay classification by both clinical and analytical performance characteristics: a study on outcome prediction.

BACKGROUND Cardiac troponin assays have been classified according to whether they measure the 99th percentile concentration of a healthy reference population with imprecision (expressed as CV) of ≤10%, between 10% and 20%, or >20%. Assays in these categories have been deemed "guideline acceptable," "clinically usable," or "not acceptable," respectively. We compared four widely used "clinically usable" cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assays with an assay designated "not acceptable" for accuracy in predicting the clinical outcome of death. METHODS Blood was collected from 259 men and 249 women, mean (SD) age 68.8 (17.8) and 70.2 (17.8) years, respectively, admitted to the emergency department for suspected myocardial infarction. We measured cTnI by the Access, Architect, i-Stat, Stratus CS, and VIDAS assays. Deaths in this population were recorded over a 31-month period. RESULTS We found VIDAS cTnI assay measurement CVs of 10% and 20% at concentrations of 0.04 and 0.02 μg/L, respectively. Comparing at the 10% CV cutoff concentration, VIDAS cTnI was less sensitive than the Access and Architect assays (P < 0.001) but more sensitive than i-Stat (P < 0.001) and Stratus CS (P < 0.001) in identifying patients with poor outcomes. At the 20% CV cutoff, the VIDAS assay was equivalent to the other assays in identifying patients with poor outcomes. CONCLUSIONS For outcome prediction, the VIDAS cTnI assay was clinically equivalent or superior to other cTnI assays judged to be acceptable from a pure analytical standpoint. Thus, comparison of cardiac troponin assays should consider not only analytical performance, but also clinical performance characteristics.
Energy efficient change detection over a MAC using physical layer fusion

We propose a simple and energy efficient distributed change detection scheme for sensor networks based on Page's parametric CUSUM algorithm. The sensor observations are IID over time and across the sensors conditioned on the change variable. Each sensor runs CUSUM and transmits only when the CUSUM is above some threshold. The transmissions from the sensors are fused at the physical layer. The channel is modeled as a multiple access channel (MAC) corrupted with IID noise. The fusion center which is the global decision maker, performs another CUSUM to detect the change. We provide the analysis and simulation results for our scheme and compare the performance with an existing scheme which ensures energy efficiency via optimal power selection.
Longevity is moderately heritable in a sample of Danish twins born 1870-1880.

The heritability of human longevity was investigated in a sample of 218 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) and 382 pairs of like-sex dizygotic (DZ) Danish twin pairs born 1870-1880. Twin similarity for age at death was significant for MZ twins but nonsignificant for DZ twins. The heritability (h2) of life span estimated from the best-fitting biometrical model was statistically significant but moderate in magnitude (h2 = .333 +/- .058). Heritability of longevity did not vary by gender, and the pattern of twin resemblance was more consistent with nonadditive as compared to additive genetic effects. In addition, evidence for a genetic association between premature and senescent deaths was observed. Although environmental factors accounted for a majority of the variance in life span, the relevant environmental factors appeared to be those that create differences rather than similarities among reared-together relatives. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for understanding the inheritance and evolution of human life span.
AGT1, Encoding an α-Glucoside Transporter Involved in Uptake and Intracellular Accumulation of Trehalose inSaccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT The trehalose content in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be significantly manipulated by including trehalose at an appropriate level in the growth medium. Its uptake is largely dependent on the expression of AGT1, which encodes an α-glucoside transporter. The trehalose found in a tps1 mutant of trehalose synthase may therefore largely reflect its uptake from the enriched medium that was employed.