Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inventory and order admission control in manufacturing systems with two customer classes and setup times

In this paper we examine a Markovian singlestage manufacturing system, with setup times producing a single item to satisfy demand of two different customer classes. We investigate numerically the structure of the optimal inventory and order admission control policy. Due to the complexity of the optimal policy a simple heuristic policy is proposed. Numerical results show that the proposed policy can be a very good approximation of the optimal policy.
Towards Incorporating Intent Inference into the Game of Go

Computer programs for the game of Go play only at the level of an advanced beginning player. The standard approach to constructing a program based on brute force game-tree search does not work well because of the game tree size and, more significantly, the difficulty in constructing fast, accurate heuristic evaluation functions. In this paper, we consider the use of intent inference in a Go program. In particular, we discuss how models of an opponent’s long-term playing style and short-term intentions can direct the exploration of candidate moves and influence the evaluation of game positions. We propose a probabilistic approach to user modeling and intent inference, and we note key issues relevant to the implementation of an intent inference agent.
A chirality‐based metrics for free‐energy calculations in biomolecular systems

In this work, we exploit the chirality index introduced in (Pietropaolo et al., Proteins 2008, 70, 667) as an effective descriptor of the secondary structure of proteins to explore their complex free‐energy landscape. We use the chirality index as an alternative metrics in the path collective variables (PCVs) framework and we show in the prototypical case of the C‐terminal domain of immunoglobulin binding protein GB1 that relevant configurations can be efficiently sampled in combination with well‐tempered metadynamics. While the projections of the configurations found onto a variety of different descriptors are fully consistent with previously reported calculations, this approach provides a unifying perspective of the folding mechanism which was not possible using metadynamics with the previous formulation of PCVs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011
Enrollment generators, clustering and chromatic numbers

In this abstract, we study the timetable conflict graphs produced by an artificial generator of student enrolments. We find correlations of the chromatic number of such graphs with their density and clustering coefficient. The work gives evidence that the clustering coefficient is a useful measure of a graph. Our motivations for this work were initial arose during studies of space planning. A task with large financial implications for Universities is the planning and management of teaching space. There is evidence that teaching space is currently poorly utilised (HEFCE 1999), and we are developing methods with the aim of improving this situation (Beyrouthy et al 2006, 2007c,b). However, significant barriers in such development are (i) the lack of realistic data instances, and (ii) the lack of good understanding of the nature of the timetabling problems that arise in practice, and for which the space provisions need to be targetted. For good space planning, we believe it is advantageous to be able to simulate many future scenarios, but this cannot be done well without the ability to create realistic scenarios, tailored to a particular institution. Such creation inevitably requires a good understanding of the structure of problems that arise, as well as a good ability to solve them close to optimality. A lot of work in the timetabling community has been directed at the solvers. In this project we are also studying the structures of the problems themselves. We reported some initial studies in Beyrouthy et al (2007a) of timetabling conflict graphs: vertices represent events, and edges correspond to conflicts between events preventing them taking place at the same time. We introduced their study from the perspective of the clustering coefficient, c, of the graphs. The clustering coefficient has achieved significant usage in the study of networks (Watts and Strogatz 1998). Roughly speaking, it measures the probability that for any node in the graph, any two of its neighbours are also neighbours of each other. Specifically, the clustering coefficient, ci of a node, i (of degree at least two) is the density of induced subgraph given by the set of nodes that are adjacent to i. That is, ci is the probability that
The Colours of Diversity: Women Educators Turning the Gaze onto Australian Universities

xiii Chapter 1 – Introduction 1 Background to the Study 5 Exploring the Language of Difference 8 Women Educators of Colour 9 Race/Ethnicity 10 Globalisation and Education 12 Study Aims . 20 Research Questions 21 Women in Academia 22 Gender Equity in Higher Education 25 Constructions of Culture in the University 35 Introducing the Women 38 The Significance of the Study 40 A Time, a Place, Another Context 42 Positionality 44 An Overview of Ontology and Epistemology 46 Establishing Common Ground 50 Conclusion 56
Catégorisations, insertions sociales et performances cognitives : approche expérimentale

Un examen des principaux travaux lies aux effets dits de "facilitation sociale" (Zajonc, 1965) et de "social loating" (Latane, Williams et Harkins, 1979) montre que les systemes d'explication censes rendre compte de l'influence exercee par la presence d'autrui sur les performances individuelles sont fondes sur une "conception extrinseque" des rapports qu'entretient necessairement le social, avec le fonctionnement humain. Cette conception, qui revient a attribuer au social, et, en l'occurrence, a la presence d'autrui, le seul statut de source externe de variation est discutee, cela, en reference a des travaux recents (Monteil, 1988, 1991) qui attestent, en effet, le poids des insertions sociales anterieures, et, du meme coup, le poids de l'histoire sociale individuelle, sur la gestion cognitive des conditions sociales actuelles d'apprentissage. Ces travaux, qui permettent d'envisager une participation du social a l'elaboration des mecanismes et processus cognitifs eux-memes, invitent, notamment, a expliquer quels peuvent etre les effets de mobilisation experimentale des categorisations et appartenances sociales sur les performances cognitives individuelles. Les resultats des 4 recherches realisees a cette fin correspondent, pour l'esentiel, aux attentes ; ils invitent a prendre en compte les categorisations et appartenance du sujet ainsi que leurs conditions d'activation ou de mobilisation pour rendre compte de l'influence exercee par autrui sur les performances individuelles. Ils resistent, comme ceux obtenus plus tot par Monteil (1988, 1991), aux systemes d'explication en vigueur dans les cadres de la facilitation et du social loafing. Ces resultats permettent, enfin, d'envisager les productions cognitives individuelles comme reglees, en partie, par l'activation ou la mobilisation, dans les insertions sociales specifiques, de valeurs et de normes internalisees par les sujets au fil de leur histoire. Ce travail atteste, ainsi, la legitimite d'une orientation socio-cognitive de recherche visant a articuler dynamiques sociales et dynamiques cognitives
Emerging spatial patterns in Antarctic prokaryotes

Recent advances in knowledge of patterns of biogeography in terrestrial eukaryotic organisms have led to a fundamental paradigm shift in understanding of the controls and history of life on land in Antarctica, and its interactions over the long term with the glaciological and geological processes that have shaped the continent. However, while it has long been recognized that the terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica are dominated by microbes and their processes, knowledge of microbial diversity and distributions has lagged far behind that of the macroscopic eukaryote organisms. Increasing human contact with and activity in the continent is leading to risks of biological contamination and change in a region whose isolation has protected it for millions of years at least; these risks may be particularly acute for microbial communities which have, as yet, received scant recognition and attention. Even a matter apparently as straightforward as Protected Area designation in Antarctica requires robust biodiversity data which, in most parts of the continent, remain almost completely unavailable. A range of important contributing factors mean that it is now timely to reconsider the state of knowledge of Antarctic terrestrial prokaryotes. Rapid advances in molecular biological approaches are increasingly demonstrating that bacterial diversity in Antarctica may be far greater than previously thought, and that there is overlap in the environmental controls affecting both Antarctic prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities. Bacterial dispersal mechanisms and colonization patterns remain largely unaddressed, although evidence for regional evolutionary differentiation is rapidly accruing and, with this, there is increasing appreciation of patterns in regional bacterial biogeography in this large part of the globe. In this review, we set out to describe the state of knowledge of Antarctic prokaryote diversity patterns, drawing analogy with those of eukaryote groups where appropriate. Based on our synthesis, it is clear that spatial patterns of Antarctic prokaryotes can be unique at local scales, while the limited evidence available to date supports the group exhibiting overall regional biogeographical patterns similar to the eukaryotes. We further consider the applicability of the concept of “functional redundancy” for the Antarctic microbial community and highlight the requirements for proper consideration of their important and distinctive roles in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems.
El consumo tecnológico de los jóvenes…Un desafío para los docentes

El tema del consumo tecnologico de los jovenes de esta epoca es un desafio para los docentes, pues estos son los que pueden lograr que se transforme la mente de los estudiantes en funcion del bien comun de la sociedad. Por ello, el objetivo de este articulo es hacer un analisis teorico que permita a los educadores reflexionar sobre la responsabilidad educativa que tienen ante los jovenes consumidores de tecnologia sin una finalidad pedagogica. Existe la urgente necesidad de que el docente este actualizado en el campo tecnologico, porque el mundo virtual cumple un importante papel en la vida cotidiana de los ninos y jovenes. Por eso el docente debe hacer concienciacion de las maneras en que se usa ese medio de comunicacion, a fin de ponerlo al servicio del conocimiento. El punto de partida del presente trabajo es el establecimiento por parte de la UNESCO de los estandares de competencia en Tecnologias de la Informacion y Comunicacion (TIC) para los docentes, por ser este profesional el mas idoneo para transmitir a los estudiantes las nociones y las capacidades para acceder a la masa informativa que suministra el Internet.
The role of learning goals in the design of ILEs: Some issues to consider

Part of the motivation behind the evolution of learning environments is the idea of providing students with individualized instructional strategies that allow them to learn as much as possible. It has been suggested that the goals an individual holds create a framework or orientation from which they react and respond to events. There is a large evidence-based literature which supports the notion of mastery and performance approaches to learning and which identifies distinct behavioural patterns associated with each. However, it remains unclear how these orientations manifest themselves within the individual: an important question to address when applying goal theory to the development of a goal-sensitive learner model. This paper exposes some of these issues by describing two empirical studies. They approach the subject from different perspectives, one from the implementation of an affective computing system and the other a classroom-based study, have both encountered the same empirical and theoretical problems: the dispositional/situational aspect and the dimensionality of goal orientation.
Low penetrance in the long-QT syndrome: clinical impact.

BACKGROUND It is still currently held that most patients affected by the long-QT syndrome (LQTS) show QT interval prolongation or clinical symptoms. This is reflected by the assumption in linkage studies of a penetrance of 90%. We had previously suggested that a larger-than-anticipated number of LQTS patients might be affected without showing clinical signs. We have now exploited the availability of molecular diagnosis to test this hypothesis. METHODS AND RESULTS We identified 9 families with "sporadic" cases of LQTS, ie, families in which, besides the proband, none of the family members had clinical signs of the disease. Mutation screening by conventional single-strand conformational polymorphism and sequencing was performed on DNA of probands and family members to identify mutation carriers. Of 46 family members considered on clinical grounds to be nonaffected, 15 (33%) were found instead to be gene carriers. Penetrance was found to be 25%. In these families, conventional clinical diagnostic criteria had a sensitivity of only 38% in correctly identifying carriers of the genetic defect. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that in some families, LQTS may appear with a very low penetrance, a finding with multiple clinical implications. The family members considered to be normal and found to be silent gene carriers are unexpectedly at risk of generating affected offspring and also of developing torsade de pointes if exposed to either cardiac or noncardiac drugs that block potassium channels. It is no longer acceptable to exclude LQTS among family members of definitely affected patients on purely clinical grounds. Conversely, it now appears appropriate to perform molecular screening in all family members of genotyped patients.
Lattice Reduction

Lattice reduction is a powerful concept for solving diverse problems involving point lattices. Signal processing applications where lattice reduction has been successfully used include global positioning system (GPS), frequency estimation, color space estimation in JPEG pictures, and particularly data detection and precoding in wireless communication systems. In this article, we first provide some background on point lattices and then give a tutorial-style introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of lattice reduction. We describe the most important lattice reduction algorithms and comment on their performance and computational complexity. Finally, we discuss the application of lattice reduction in wireless communications and statistical signal processing. Throughout the article, we point out open problems and interesting questions for future research.
THE RELEVANCE OF LEARNING APPLIED ENGLISH FOR ACADEMICS TO FOSTER PROFESSIONALISM

Academics who are not competent in communication skills, particularly language skills, will develop less compared to those who are. Communication skills in general and language skills in particular will foster professionalism since professionals will spend less time doing and more time managing as experience grows. Professionalism grows from qualities that can be learned and developed as well as information learned and acquired. Negotiating skills will enable them to win deals more readily. Moreover, internet based realms of communications are mostly English speaking creations, which vary in terms of level of formality and choice of words. In this paper the writer shares her experience in materials preparations and a classroomcentered research done on a group of academics of non-English majors who came to ITS Language Centre to improve their English language competence for career development and further studies.
Nonparametric Regression in Environmental StatisticsJean

This article provides an introduction to the major types of nonparametric regression techniques, including kernel, spline and orthogonal projection methods. Practical aspects of the methods and their applicability in environmental statistics are emphasized through examples and discussion. Topics covered include bandwidth selection, non-parametric regression in multiple dimensions, and methods for handling data exhibiting correlated errors. Extensions to generalized regression models and semiparametric regression are also discussed.
Ad-hoc Constructs for Non Functional Aspects

Aspect-oriented programming [1] (AOP) tries to provide linguistic mechanisms to factor out design concerns, which can be defined, understood, and evolved separately from the functional core of the application. A first approach to AOP can be the definition of a general-purpose AspectOriented Language (AOL) with full visibility of the internal details of its associated functional module. In our previous work [2, 3] we analysed AspectJ [4] – an AOP following this approach – and came to the conclusion that it violates objectoriented principles of protection and encapsulation, thus hindering reuse. Another approach, followed by Hyper/J [5], is based on the idea of partitioning a software system in small atomic units, that can be aggregated according to different dimensions of concern. We found that the number of connections among units increases the overall intricacy of the system, again hindering comprehension and evolution. We claim that such limitations are intrinsic to all general solutions to the problem and we suggest to predefine the set of aspects an AOL should deal with, providing ad-hoc AOLs (one for each aspect) with constructs supporting limited visibility of certain features of the functional module to which the different aspects apply. In our Malaj (Multi Aspect LAnguage for Java) we define an AOL specific for synchronisation and one specific for distribution and mobility.
Improvement on learning-based super-resolution by adopting residual information and patch reliability

Learning-based super-resolution algorithms synthesize high-resolution details by using training data. However, since an input image does not belong to a training image set, there is a limitation in recovering its high-frequency details. In our approach, we build and utilize residual training data to complement missing details. We first estimate a pair of mid-and high-frequency images of each training image by using ordinary training data. We then build residual training data by obtaining the residual mid-and high-frequency images that denote the difference between the estimation and original. Thereby, we can synthesize high-resolution details better by using both ordinary and residual training data sets. In addition, in order to use training data more efficiently, we adaptively select low-resolution patches in an input image. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can synthesize higher-resolution images compared to the existing algorithms.
Engagement in Collaborative Construction Tasks with Max.

In Virtual Reality environments, real humans can meet virtual humans to collaborate on tasks. The agent Max is such a virtual human. In construction tasks, he is standing face-to-face to a human partner as a co-situated companion. To maintain a social conversation, Max has to perceive the user’s engagement and to solicit the user’s engagement, he needs to demonstrate engagement himself. This paper presents ongoing work on the development of a model that describes interacting levels of engagement. We present how the agent’s perceptive, cognitive, and expressive capabilities interact on these levels ranging from observing the human partner, to taking her goals, mental state or emotions into account when making decisions on how to interact and intervene.
Genetic Transformation and Hybridization

Characterization of directly transformed weedy Brassica rapa and introgressed B. rapa with Bt cry1Ac and gfp genes Abstract Crop to weed transgene flow, which could result in more competitive weed populations, is an agricultural biosafety concern. Crop Brassica napus to weedy Brassica rapa hybridization has been extensively characterized to better understand the transgene flow and its consequences. In this study, weedy accessions of B. rapa were transformed with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cry1Ac-and green fluorescence protein (gfp)-coding transgenes using Agrobacterium to assess ecological performance of the wild biotype relative to introgressed hybrids in which the transgenic parent was the crop. Regenerated transgenic B. rapa events were characterized by progeny analysis, Bt protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Southern blot analysis, and GFP expression assay. GFP expression level and Bt protein concentration were significantly different between independent transgenic B. rapa events. Similar reproductive productivity was observed in comparison between transgenic B. rapa events and B. rapa · B. napus introgressed hybrids in greenhouse and field experiments. In the greenhouse, Bt transgenic plants experienced significantly less herbivory damage from the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). No differences were found in the field experiment under ambient, low, herbivore pressure. Directly transformed transgenic B. rapa plants should be a helpful experimental control to better understand crop genetic load in introgressed transgenic weeds.
Epigenetic reprogramming of cancer cells via targeted DNA methylation

An obstacle in the treatment of human diseases such as cancer is the inability to selectively and effectively target historically undruggable targets such as transcription factors. Here, we employ a novel technology using artificial transcription factors (ATFs) to epigenetically target gene expression in cancer cells. We show that site-specific DNA methylation and long-term stable repression of the tumor suppressor Maspin and the oncogene SOX2 can be achieved in breast cancer cells via zinc-finger ATFs targeting DNA methyltransferase 3a (DNMT3a) to the promoters of these genes. Using this approach, we show Maspin and SOX2 downregulation is more significant as compared with transient knockdown, which is also accompanied by stable phenotypic reprogramming of the cancer cell. These findings indicate that multimodular Zinc Finger Proteins linked to epigenetic editing domains can be used as novel cell resources to selectively and heritably alter gene expression patterns to stably reprogram cell fate.