Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modifying adoption research for mobile Internet service adoption: cross-disciplinary interactions

One often meets the argument that the adoption of mobile Internet services is difficult to understand due to a lack of relevant research. However, much research has already been conducted on the adoption of basic mobile and traditional Internet services that are likely to converge into the services provided by the mobile Internet. In this article, we try to categorize four research directions relevant in understanding mobile Internet service adoption. We argue that because mobile Internet services are new, a lack of studies directly investigating the adoption these services is to be expected. However, we also argue that existing research directions provide valuable points of departure for further investigating and understanding the adoption of mobile Internet services. In particular, we suggest a cross disciplinary integration of the findings of four different research directions may improve our understanding of the basic mechanisms of individuals' adoption of mobile Internet services. In this article, we exemplify such an integration by suggesting how traditional adoption models in information systems research, such as the technology acceptance model or the theory of planned behavior, may be modified and extended when applied to study the adoption of mobile Internet services.
Analizor semantic stocastic pentru sisteme automate de dialog vocal om-calculator

Departamentul de Calculatoare Facultatea de Automatică şi Calculatoare Universitatea “Politehnica” din Timişoara danbo@ear.utt. ro Rezumat Sistemele automate de dialog vocal om-calculator constitu ie un pas important pe drumul spre realizarea unor interfeţ e perfect adaptate stilului de comunicare uman, iar un rol fun damental ı̂n aceste sisteme ı̂l joacă analiza semantică a limb jului natural. În acest articol, după o scurtă introducere ı̂n domeniul s istemelor de dialog, este prezentat un analizor semantic stocastic proiectat ı̂n vederea includerii ı̂n asemenea si steme. Sunt evaluate principalele altenative de proiectar , după care sunt descrise metodele şi algoritmii utilizaţi ı̂n const ruc i̧a analizorului. În ı̂ncheiere sunt prezentate rezultatele obţinute până ı̂n prezent ı̂n construcţia şi evaluarea analizor ului proiectat.
Verifying the Correctness of Wide-Area Internet Routing

Several studies have shown that wide-area Internet routing is fragile, with failures occurring for a variety of reasons. Routing fragility is largely due to the flexible and powerful ways in which BGP can be configured to perform various tasks, which range from implementing the policies of commercial relationships to configuring backup paths. Configuring routers in an AS is like writing a distributed program, and BGP’s flexible configuration and today’s relatively low-level configuration languages make the process error-prone. The primary method used by operators to determine whether their complex configurations are correct is to try them out in operation. We believe that there is a need for a systematic approach to verifying router configurations before they are deployed. This paper develops a static analysis framework for configuration checking, and uses it in the design of rcc, a “router configuration checker”. rcc takes as input a set of router configurations and flags anomalies and errors, based on a set of well-defined correctness conditions. We have used rcc to check BGP configurations from 9 operational networks, testing nearly 700 real-world router configurations in the process. Every network we analyzed had configuration errors, some of which were potentially serious and had previously gone unnoticed. Our analysis framework and results also suggest ways in which BGP and configuration languages should be improved. rcc has also been downloaded by 30 network operators to date.
Applying geometric source separation for improved pitch extraction in human-robot interaction

We present a system for robust pitch extraction in noisy and echoic environments consisting of a multi-channel signal enhancement, a pitch extraction algorithm inspired by the processing in the mammalian auditory system and a pitch tracking based on a Bayesian ﬁlter. For the multi-channel signal enhancement we deploy an 8 channel Geometric Source Separation (GSS). During pitch extraction we ﬁrst apply a Gamma-tone ﬁlter bank and then calculate a histogram of zero crossing distances based on the band-pass signals. While calculating the histogram spurious side peaks at harmonics and sub-harmonics of the true fundamental frequency are inhibited. The grid based Bayesian tracker operating on the resulting histogram comprises a Bayesian ﬁltering in a forward step and Bayesian smoothing in a backward step on a 100ms time window. We evaluate the system in a realistic human-robot interaction scenario with several male and female speakers. The evaluation is based on the degradation of the pitch tracking results obtained from the signals recorded on the robot to those of a simultaneously recorded clean headset signal. Hereby, we also include the comparison to two well established pitch extraction frameworks, i.e. get f0 included in the WaveSurfer Toolkit and Praat. Overall the results demonstrate that pitch tracking with small errors is possible in all cases tested and that the proposed system performs better than the two benchmark algorithms.
Subunit and amino acid interactions in the Escherichia coli mannitol permease: a functional complementation study of coexpressed mutant permease proteins

Mannitol-specific enzyme II, or mannitol permease, of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent carbohydrate phosphotransferase system of Escherichia coli carries out the transport and phosphorylation of D-mannitol and is most active as a dimer in the membrane. We recently reported the importance of a glutamate residue at position 257 in the binding and transport of mannitol by this protein (C. Saraceni-Richards and G. R. Jacobson, J. Bacteriol. 179:1135-1142, 1997). Replacing Glu-257 with alanine (E257A) or glutamine (E257Q) eliminated detectable mannitol binding and transport by the permease. In contrast, an E257D mutant protein was able to bind and phosphorylate mannitol in a manner similar to that of the wild-type protein but was severely defective in mannitol uptake. In this study, we have coexpressed proteins containing mutations at position 257 with other inactive permeases containing mutations in each of the three domains of this protein. Activities of any active heterodimers resulting from this coexpression were measured. The results show that various inactive mutant permease proteins can complement proteins containing mutations at position 257. In addition, we show that both Glu at position 257 and His at position 195, both of which are in the membrane-bound C domain of the protein, must be on the same subunit of a permease dimer in order for efficient mannitol phosphorylation and uptake to occur. The results also suggest that mannitol bound to the opposite subunit within a permease heterodimer can be phosphorylated by the subunit containing the E257A mutation (which cannot bind mannitol) and support a model in which there are separate binding sites on each subunit within a permease dimer. Finally, we provide evidence from these studies that high-affinity mannitol binding is necessary for efficient transport by mannitol permease.
A microfluidic system for controlling reaction networks in time.

Millisecond mixing and transport with no dispersion are achieved by unsteady flows induced in droplets of about 60 pL that travel through winding microfluidic channels (top). Fluorescence can be used to monitor mixing (bottom) or measure reaction rates. In principle, arbitrarily complex reaction networks can be created by combining and splitting streams of such droplets.
Covariation Is a Poor Measure of Molecular Coevolution

Recent developments in the analysis of amino acid covariation are leading to breakthroughs in protein structure prediction, protein design, and prediction of the interactome. It is assumed that observed patterns of covariation are caused by molecular coevolution, where substitutions at one site affect the evolutionary forces acting at neighboring sites. Our theoretical and empirical results cast doubt on this assumption. We demonstrate that the strongest coevolutionary signal is a decrease in evolutionary rate and that unfeasibly long times are required to produce coordinated substitutions. We find that covarying substitutions are mostly found on different branches of the phylogenetic tree, indicating that they are independent events that may or may not be attributable to coevolution. These observations undermine the hypothesis that molecular coevolution is the primary cause of the covariation signal. In contrast, we find that the pairs of residues with the strongest covariation signal tend to have low evolutionary rates, and that it is this low rate that gives rise to the covariation signal. Slowly evolving residue pairs are disproportionately located in the protein’s core, which explains covariation methods’ ability to detect pairs of residues that are close in three dimensions. These observations lead us to propose the “coevolution paradox”: The strength of coevolution required to cause coordinated changes means the evolutionary rate is so low that such changes are highly unlikely to occur. As modern covariation methods may lead to breakthroughs in structural genomics, it is critical to recognize their biases and limitations.
Fast Duplex One-Step RT-PCR for Rapid Differential Diagnosis of West Nile and 1 Japanese Encephalitis Viruses

21 The aim of this study was to develop a highly sensitive and specific one-step duplex 22 RT-PCR assay for the simultaneous and differential detection of West Nile (WNV) and 23 Japanese encephalitis (JEV) viruses. Bioinformatics analysis of published sequences of 24 WNV and JEV revealed conserved regions not targeted by previously reported primers. 25 A total of thirteen primers were designed based on these regions to detect all of the 26 WNV and JEV lineages, and to discriminate between the two viruses by the generation 27 of 482 and 241 base pair cDNA products, respectively. The results indicate that single28 tube duplex PCR using these primers is a useful technique for the detection and 29 differentiation of WNV and JEV in plasma or brain tissue. The novel duplex RT-PCR 30 described in this study enables the early diagnosis of these two encephalitic flaviviruses. 31 In addition, this technique may be useful as part of a testing regimen for human patients, 32 horses, and other susceptible animal species as it is rapid (less than 3.5 h from RNA 33 extraction), sensitive and specific, and may enable differential diagnosis of clinical 34 samples. 35
Sex differences in transgenerational alterations of growth and metabolism in progeny (F2) of female offspring (F1) of rats fed a low protein diet during pregnancy and lactation

Compelling epidemiological and experimental evidence indicates that a suboptimal environment during fetal and neonatal development in both humans and animals may programme offspring susceptibility to later development of several chronic diseases including obesity and diabetes in which altered carbohydrate metabolism plays a central role. One of the most interesting and significant features of developmental programming is the evidence from several studies that the adverse consequences of altered intrauterine environments can be passed transgenerationally from mother (F0) to daughter (F1) to second generation offspring (F2). We determined whether when F0 female rats are exposed to protein restriction during pregnancy and/or lactation their F1 female pups deliver F2 offspring with in vivo evidence of altered glucose and insulin metabolism. We fed F0 virgin Wistar rats a normal control 20% casein diet (C) or a protein restricted isocaloric diet (R) containing 10% casein during pregnancy. F1 female R pups weighed less than C at birth. After delivery, mothers received C or R diet during lactation to provide four F1 offspring groups CC (first letter pregnancy diet and second lactation diet), RR, CR and RC. All F1 female offspring were fed ad libitum with C diet after weaning and during their first pregnancy and lactation. As they grew female offspring (F1) of RR and CR mothers exhibited low body weight and food intake with increased sensitivity to insulin during a glucose tolerance test at 110 days of postnatal life. Male F2 CR offspring showed evidence of insulin resistance. In contrast RC F2 females showed evidence of insulin resistance. Sex differences were also observed in F2 offspring in resting glucose and insulin and insulin: glucose ratios. These sex differences also showed differences specific to stage of development time window. We conclude that maternal protein restriction adversely affects glucose and insulin metabolism of male and female F2 offspring in a manner specific to sex and developmental time window during their mother's (the F1) fetal and neonatal development.
Correlation of clinical features and findings on cranial magnetic resonance imaging with urinary myelin basic protein‐like material in patients with multiple sclerosis

Immunoreactive material that appears to be a peptide encompassing all or a portion of residues 80 to 89 of myelin basic protein is present in normal unconcentrated urine and is increased in certain patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Compared with normal controls, urines collected randomly from 158 MS patients or in a clinical research unit from 8 patients with MS had higher mean values of urinary MBP‐like material (MBPLM). The level of MBPLM in urine showed no direct relationship to MBPLM in cerebrospinal fluid and did not correlate with clinical relapses of disease. In the other neurological disease control group (26 patients), some patients with other inflammatory diseases, but not stroke or early phase Guillain‐Barré syndrome, also showed elevations. Among the subtypes of MS, those with secondary chronic progressive disease had the highest values. Urinary MBPLM showed no definite correlation with or effect of treatment with glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants except that a lower level of urinary MBPLM showed a weak relationship with improvement following treatment with methylprednisolone/prednisone. In a serial study of 8 patients with unenhanced cranial magnetic resonance imaging and 20 patients with gadolinium‐enhanced cranial magnetic resonance imaging, urinary MBPLM did not show a direct correlation with new or enhancing lesions. Urinary MBPLM does not parallel acute myelin damage but appears to reflect an ongoing process, possibly linked to attempted efforts at remyelination.
Changing incidence of detected streptococcal bacteraemia in North Yorkshire, England.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Streptococcal bacteraemia remains a major and challenging clinical problem throughout the world. The epidemiology of these infections appears to be changing. In the present study we analysed the data collected over a period of 20 yr (1978-1999) to throw light on this. METHODS Laboratory records of all patients yielding clinically significant, non-pneumococcal, nonenterococcal streptococcal bacteraemia were reviewed for the decades 1978-1988 and 1990-1999 in the two districts (combined population 260,000). RESULTS From a total of 3134 patients with detected bacteraemia 338 (10.8%) yielded streptococci. The organisms comprised: in the beta-haemolytic group (n=169), GAS (32%), GBS (34%), GCS (5%), GGS (28%), GRS (1%); in the non-haemolytic/Streptococcus milleri group (n=160): S. milleri (21%), S. bovis (10%), S. sanguis (30%), S.mitis (10%), S. oralis (8%) and other 'viridans' streptococci (20%); nine isolates were of anaerobic streptococci. There was a steady increase in the number of blood cultures submitted for investigation during the period and streptococcal isolations of all species rose in proportion (approximately x 2.5) in the second decade compared with the first. Complementary data on the occurrence of necrotising fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome in these districts suggested a real increase in the occurrence of serious forms of GAS infection. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION An increase in the level of detected streptococcal bacteraemia was seen in this part of England over 20 yr, involving a wide variety of different streptococcal species. This represented both improved ascertainment of infection and an increase in the burden of disease in the population.
The Impact of Edentulism on Oral and General Health

An adequate dentition is of importance for well-being and life quality. Despite advances in preventive dentistry, edentulism is still a major public health problem worldwide. In this narrative review, we provide a perspective on the pathways that link oral to general health. A better understanding of disease indicators is necessary for establishing a solid strategy through an organized oral health care system to prevent and treat this morbid chronic condition.
Analysts' Weighting of Private and Public Information

Using both a linear regression method and a probability-based method, we find that on average, analysts place larger than efficient weights on (i.e., they overweight) their private information when they forecast corporate earnings. We also find that analysts overweight more when issuing forecasts more favorable than the consensus, and overweight less, and may even underweight, private information when issuing forecasts less favorable than the consensus. Further, the deviation from efficient weighting increases when the benefits from doing so are high or when the costs of doing so are low. These results suggest that analysts' incentives play a larger role in misweighting than their behavioral biases. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
Protecting web applications via Unicode extension

Protecting web applications against security attacks, such as command injection, is an issue that has been attracting increasing attention as such attacks are becoming more prevalent. Taint tracking is an approach that achieves protection while offering significant maintenance benefits when implemented at the language library level. This allows the transparent re-engineering of legacy web applications without the need to modify their source code. Such an approach can be implemented at either the string or the character level.
Success and failure in the operational recruitment process : contrasting the outcomes of search

"Following microeconomic theory, every vacancy should be filled by appropriate manpower after a certain time. However, from an empirical point of view it is evident that vacancies remain unfilled as establishments cancel their search for a suitable applicant. The German Job Vacancy Survey (JVS) is a representative survey of job offers for the entire German economy and provides information about the search and matching processes for both the establishments' most recent hires and for failures in the recruitment processes. The analysis is based on a binary explanatory variable, resulting from the interaction of individual successful and unsuccessful search processes (cancellation probability). Our results show that with increasing recruitment duration, the number of search cancellations becomes more likely. Moreover, the results indicate that the probability of a search cancellation is strongly linked to the characteristics that an applicant must provide and to the way the search is organised. " (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
An Enterprise 2.0 project management approach to facilitate participation, transparency, and communication

The use of current interactive and collaborative Web 2.0 concepts and technologies has great potential for flexible, loosely-coupled integration and ad-hoc information exchange within and between organizations. However, stakeholders’ readiness, willingness and ability to participate need to be continuously factored in. The successful implementation of common strategies, systems and processes in the course of Enterprise 2.0 projects is crucial. To increase the probability of success and to enhance the intensity of cooperation and trust in such projects, the constructs of transparency, communication and participation need to be addressed through an integrated project methodology. To bridge the gap between existing scientific models and requirements for Enterprise 2.0 projects, this paper proposes and describes a project methodology to support the main objectives for Enterprise 2.0 implementations. Selected results from two pilot projects within Austrian companies are presented and matched with critical success factors, which are derived from the literature. These provide elaborative insights into key characteristics of certain Enterprise 2.0 tools and project management for Enterprise 2.0 projects.
The topography of the vascular systems in the periodontal and peri-implant tissues in the dog.

The present investigation reports an animal experiment the objective of which was to study the vascular topography of the periodontium and the peri-implant soft and hard tissues in the beagle dog. 2 beagle dogs were used. The right mandibular premolars were extracted and healing allowed for 3 months. 2 titanium fixtures a.m. Brånemark were installed in the right premolar region. Abutment connection was performed 3 months later. The contra-lateral mandibular sites were used as tooth harboring control units. A 4-month period of meticulous plaque control was initiated. A clinical and radiographical examination was performed towards the end of this period and revealed that the gingiva and peri-implant mucosa were clinically healthy and that the bone tissue at teeth and implants had a normal height. The carotid arteries were perfused with a mixture of carbon and calf serum. 2 bucco-lingual sections, about 100-150 microns thick, and one mesio-distal section comprising the junctional epithelium and underlying connective tissue were sampled. The sections were treated, cleared and examined in a microscope. The results of the present investigation demonstrated that the vasculature of the gingiva and the supracrestal connective tissue at teeth is derived from two sources, namely the supraperiosteal vessels lateral of the alveolar process and the vessels of the periodontal ligament. The blood vessels of the peri-implant mucosa were found to be terminal branches of larger vessels originating from the periosteum of the bone of the implant site. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Process mismatch analysis based on reduced-order models

This paper describes a methodology based on reduced-order models to investigate the effects of process mismatch in analog circuits in the presence of reliability degradation. Neural network-based reduced-order models for the DC drain current, Ids, of 65 nm n- and p-channel transistors have been generated in terms of six process parameters, temperature, and device age. The models identify the contribution of process parameters to the mismatch of n- and p-channel transistors as they age. Hot carrier injection (HCI) is considered as the main reliability degradation for n-channel devices and negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) is considered for p-channel devices. It is demonstrated that the variations of the effective channel length and intrinsic threshold voltage are major contributors to device mismatch in the absence of aging. Finally, a beta multiplier current reference is analyzed using the developed models for the impact of process mismatch with and without the aging effects. It is shown that in a cascode current mirror the variability of the reference current can be reduced by ensuring that the same rail transistors experience similar variations.