Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching OO concepts-a new approach

In recent years, students have become less active, resulting in lower attendance in lectures and practical sessions. In addition to this, the number of students enlisting in our programmes has decreased. Moreover the passing rates for initial courses have dropped severely. This generates problems because the students failing first year courses cannot move on to higher level courses. Not only can this be devastating for individual students, but it can also affect the variety of higher level courses. In an attempt to prevent these problems we focused on the introductory programming courses (CS1) in order to enhance the opportunities for the students to become successful. One action taken was a research project initiated to radically change the way object-oriented programming is taught in CS1. Another action was to introduce the supplemental instruction programme (SI). SI helps students master content while they develop and integrate learning and study strategies. This paper will give a short introduction to these actions. Results are presented along with a discussion concerning the problems in teaching object-oriented concepts and problem solving.
The problem of fitting of the zero-range model of the tectonic plate under a localized boundary stress

We suggest a method of fitting of the zero-range model of the tectonic plate under the boundary stress based on comparison of the theoretical formulae for the corresponding eigenfunctions/eigenvalues with the results of instrumental measurements of frequency and the shape and the shape of the relevant seismo-gravitational modes in the remoted zone. Comparison of the data of the instrumental measurements of the variation of frequency of seismo-gravitational oscillations with results of theoretical analysis of the fitted model permits to localize the stressed zone on the boundary of the tectonic plate and estimate the risk of a powerful earthquake at this zone. Key-words Thin plate, Zero-range potential, Operator extension 1 Dynamics of the system of tectonic plates and the motivation of the zero-range model. The lithosphere of Earth consists of 13 tectonic plates which jigsaw fit each other, contacting at some boundary zones. The plates are isolated from underlying solid structures within the Earth mantle by the liquid layer of astenosphere which is formed, due to high pressure and temperature, in the interval of depth between 100 200 km. Fig. 1 below 1 shows a complex Fig.1 is borrowed from the book of S. Aplonov, [3], and is included in our text on the permission of the Publishing House of the St. Petersburg University.
Virtual Water - the Water, Food, and Trade Nexus. Useful Concept or Misleading Metaphor?

The purpose of this contribution is first, to respond to the request for clarification of the term virtual water by Stephen Merrett. Second, it provides a narrative for those who might not be aware of the origin and development of the concept. Third, the discussion will draw attention to the problems encountered in gaining entry for the idea into those water policy discourses where the it was most relevant. The concept has been in currency for almost a decade. The use of the term increased rapidly after 199 5 and by the millennium tire idea had become central to many dialogues relating to water security preliminary to the Kyoto World Water Forum in March 2003. Merrett s (2003) challenge that the water community should give attention to the language used by its diverse professionals and scientists is timely. Inter-disciplinarity is always difficult. In the water sector such difficulties have been magnified not just by the perversity of its tribal dynamics but especially because the political stakes are high. This account and response will not meet the standards of philosophical analysis set by Merrett. It is written in the spirit of having a further impact on an important on-going discourse. And in the hope that the ideas reach water po/icymakers. Others might want to comment on whether they think virtual water is a scientifically respectable term or perhaps that it is just a potentially misleading, though
Senti.ue: Tweet Overall Sentiment Classification Approach for SemEval-2014 Task 9

This document describes the senti.ue system and how it was used for participation in SemEval-2014 Task 9 challenge. Our system is an evolution of our prior work, also used in last year’s edition of Sentiment Analysis in Twitter. This system maintains a supervised machine learning approach to classify the tweet overall sentiment, but with a change in the used features and the algorithm. We use a restricted set of 47 features in subtask B and 31 features in subtask A. In the constrained mode, and for the five data sources, senti.ue achieved a score between 78,72 and 84,05 in subtask A, and a score between 55,31 and 71,39 in subtask B. For the unconstrained mode, our score was slightly below, except for one case in subtask A.
A study on estimating implanted devices using image information and ranging system using UWB radio

Wireless communication devices in the field of medical implant, such as cardiac pacemakers, capsule endoscopes and micro or nano size of implant robots, have been studied and developed to improve healthcare systems. Especially it is very important to know the range and position of each device. Because it is useful and important for accurate sensing and controlling a capsule endoscope, micro or nano size of robot for a drug delivery system and a remote medical treatment system. We adopt the time-based approach of position estimation using ultra wideband (UWB) signals. Position estimation methods using the propagation velocity inside human body have been proposed [1]. However, the estimate position is mistaken when propagation velocity is not correctly calculated. In this paper, we proposed a system to estimate the position of medical implant device using slice photographs taken by CT or MRI systems as a map in addition to the estimation of propagation velocity. The compensation becomes possible by image information when the estimated position is an area where the device doesn't exist (ex: capsule endoscopes excluding the digestive system) and is calculated. This is similar to a car navigation system. We compared our proposed method to the method of estimation using only propagation velocity and showd the utility.
А lgorithms for scheduling of resource-constrained jobs

The paper presents two heuristic algorithms for scheduling resource constrained jobs in an environment, consisting of identical connected computers. The first algorithm uses sorted list of jobs and is applicable to the particular case when the number of jobs is not greater than the number of available computers. For the general case of the problem with arbitrary number of jobs and computers a genetic algorithm is proposed. The experimental results present comparison of solutions, obtained by the algorithms, performed on test data sets with the exact solutions, produced by a classical branch and bound algorithm.
Reliable Assessors of Infant Cranial Asymmetry in Child Health Care

Introduction: Acquired cranial asymmetry is prevalent in infants today and largely attributed to the supine sleep position recommended for infant safety. There is a risk of permanent cranial asymmetry, so prevention and early detection are important. A prevention project was initiated in Sweden, and an intervention was planned. The aim of this study was to evaluate reliability of assessors judging infant cranial asymmetry in order to evaluate if they could be considered reliable interchangeable assessors in the planned intervention. Materials and Methodology: Five assessors were taught how to assess infant cranial asymmetry using illustrated severity assessments. They were intra-rater and inter-rater reliability tested by taking a photograph test-retest and an infant test. Agreement matrices were devised to illustrate assessor agreement based on both type and degree of cranial asymmetry. Agreement based on degree of asymmetry was analyzed by calculating AC2 using quadratic weights. Results were adjusted to arrive at the perceived genuine agreement and interpreted according to Landis and Koch’s strength of agreement intervals. Results: In the photograph test, mean percentage of perfect intra-rater agreement was 73. Adjusted mean intra-rater AC2 was 0.69 [0.63; 0.76], and adjusted inter-rater AC2s were 0.72 [0.64; 0.81] and 0.71 [0.63; 0.79]. In the infant test, the adjusted inter-rater AC2 was 0.73 [0.60; 0.87]. Results indicate substantial strength of assessor agreement. Conclusion: Assessors were reliable and interchangeable. In a larger clinical context, results indicate that educating child health care nurses to assess infant cranial asymmetry can be used for early detection.
Abundances and Correlations of Structures beyond Galaxy Clusters

We investigated the structures on scales beyond the typical clusters of galaxies. These structures are crucial to understanding the cosmic gravitational clustering in the previrialized stage, or quasi-linear regime. Based on the multiresolution analysis of the discrete wavelet transformation, we obtained statistically available ensembles of rcl clusters, i.e., the structures on scale rcl, in the range of 1 ≤ rcl ≤ 24 h-1 Mpc for both N-body simulation and the IRAS 1.2 Jy galaxy survey samples. When the mass-to-light ratio (M/L) on scales larger than that of the clusters asymptotically reaches a constant, we found that the abundances and correlations of these IRAS rcl clusters were basically consistent with the predictions of the flat low-density CDM model (LCDM) and the open CDM model (OCDM), except that the model-predicted abundance of rcl = 24 h-1 Mpc clusters seems to be higher than that predicted by the IRAS data. The standard CDM (SCDM) gives too much power and provides correlations that are too weak on all the scales. For a given rcl, the amplitude of the two-point correlation function of rcl clusters increases with their richness. However, for a given richness (defined by the mean separation of neighboring objects), the clustering strengths of both the simulation and observation samples decline with rcl when rcl is larger than 3-4 h-1 Mpc. Therefore, the "universal" increase of the correlation amplitude with the scale of objects from galaxies, groups, to poor, rich clusters is broken down for structures of rcl > 3-4 h-1 Mpc. Superclusters should not be members of the "universal" increase family.
Identification of Cisplatin-Regulated Metabolic Pathways in Pluripotent Stem Cells

The chemotherapeutic compound, cisplatin causes various kinds of DNA lesions but also triggers other pertubations, such as ER and oxidative stress. We and others have shown that treatment of pluripotent stem cells with cisplatin causes a plethora of transcriptional and post-translational alterations that, to a major extent, point to DNA damage response (DDR) signaling. The orchestrated DDR signaling network is important to arrest the cell cycle and repair the lesions or, in case of damage beyond repair, eliminate affected cells. Failure to properly balance the various aspects of the DDR in stem cells contributes to ageing and cancer. Here, we performed metabolic profiling by mass spectrometry of embryonic stem (ES) cells treated for different time periods with cisplatin. We then integrated metabolomics with transcriptomics analyses and connected cisplatin-regulated metabolites with regulated metabolic enzymes to identify enriched metabolic pathways. These included nucleotide metabolism, urea cycle and arginine and proline metabolism. Silencing of identified proline metabolic and catabolic enzymes indicated that altered proline metabolism serves as an adaptive, rather than a toxic response. A group of enriched metabolic pathways clustered around the metabolite S-adenosylmethionine, which is a hub for methylation and transsulfuration reactions and polyamine metabolism. Enzymes and metabolites with pro- or anti-oxidant functions were also enriched but enhanced levels of reactive oxygen species were not measured in cisplatin-treated ES cells. Lastly, a number of the differentially regulated metabolic enzymes were identified as target genes of the transcription factor p53, pointing to p53-mediated alterations in metabolism in response to genotoxic stress. Altogether, our findings reveal interconnecting metabolic pathways that are responsive to cisplatin and may serve as signaling modules in the DDR in pluripotent stem cells.
Convergence of Sectoral Productivity in Turkish Provinces: A Markov Chains Model

this study examines the role that sectors play in aggregate convergence of provincial labor productivity across the 67 provinces of turkey during the 1975-1990 period. a markov chain model is applied to characterize the long-run tendencies of productivity both at the aggregate and sectoral levels. in order to determine the likely sources of aggregate fluctuations, sectoral time-invariant distributions are compared with the aggregate distribution, and those sectors that exhibit similar distribution patterns as that of the aggregate distribution are characterized as dominant sectors. evidence strongly suggests that the aggregate time-invariant distribution is determined mainly by the agricultural, industrial and transportation sectors. specifically, the pattern of polarization of productivity levels in these three sectors is very similar to the pattern prevailing at the aggregate level. the results suggest that, in the long run, two convergence clubs are likely to emerge - one for the agricultural and another for the highly industrialized provinces. an exception is the service sector, which exhibits global convergence.
Rapidly prototyping DSP extensions using CoDeL: the DWT using lifting

In this report, we present CoDeL, a rapid hardware prototyping language, to implement a DSP module which performs the biorthogonal one-dimensional discrete wavelet transform using the lifting technique. Specifically, we implement the wavelet transform using the Le Gall integer-to-integer 5/3 filter bank. Using CoDeL, we show how this wavelet transform can be implemented with just a few lines of code
Content-Aware Dark Image Enhancement Through Channel Division

The current contrast enhancement algorithms occasionally result in artifacts, overenhancement, and unnatural effects in the processed images. These drawbacks increase for images taken under poor illumination conditions. In this paper, we propose a content-aware algorithm that enhances dark images, sharpens edges, reveals details in textured regions, and preserves the smoothness of flat regions. The algorithm produces an ad hoc transformation for each image, adapting the mapping functions to each image's characteristics to produce the maximum enhancement. We analyze the contrast of the image in the boundary and textured regions, and group the information with common characteristics. These groups model the relations within the image, from which we extract the transformation functions. The results are then adaptively mixed, by considering the human vision system characteristics, to boost the details in the image. Results show that the algorithm can automatically process a wide range of images—e.g., mixed shadow and bright areas, outdoor and indoor lighting, and face images—without introducing artifacts, which is an improvement over many existing methods.
The Generalized Stirling and Bell Numbers Revisited

The generalized Stirling numbers Ss;h(n,k) introduced recently by the authors are shown to be a special case of the three parameter family of generalized Stirling numbers S(n,k;�,�,r) considered by Hsu and Shiue. From this relation, several properties of Ss;h(n,k) and the associated Bell numbers Bs;h(n) and Bell polynomials Bs;h|n(x) are derived. The particular case s = 2 and h = −1 corresponding to the meromorphic Weyl algebra is treated explicitly and its connection to Bessel numbers and Bessel
Ranking Based Clustering for Social Event Detection

The problem of clustering a large document collection is not only challenged by the number of documents and the number of dimensions, but it is also affected by the number and sizes of the clusters. Traditional clustering methods fail to scale when they need to generate a large number of clusters. Furthermore, when the clusters size in the solution is heterogeneous, i.e. some of the clusters are large in size, the similarity measures tend to degrade. A ranking based clustering method is proposed to deal with these issues in the context of the Social Event Detection task. Ranking scores are used to select a small number of most relevant clusters in order to compare and place a document. Additionally,instead of conventional cluster centroids, cluster patches are proposed to represent clusters, that are hubs-like set of documents. Text, temporal, spatial and visual content information collected from the social event images is utilized in calculating similarity. Results show that these strategies allow us to have a balance between performance and accuracy of the clustering solution gained by the clustering method.
Molecular mechanism(s) of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their potent oestrogenicity in diverse cells and tissues that express oestrogen receptors

Endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are natural or synthetic compounds present in the environment which can interfere with hormone synthesis and normal physiological functions of male and female reproductive organs. Most EDCs tend to bind to steroid hormone receptors including the oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and androgen receptor (AR). As EDCs disrupt the actions of endogenous hormones, they may induce abnormal reproduction, stimulation of cancer growth, dysfunction of neuronal and immune system. Although EDCs represent a significant public health concern, there are no standard methods to determine effect of EDCs on human beings. The mechanisms underlying adverse actions of EDC exposure are not clearly understood. In this review, we highlighted the toxicology of EDCs and its effect on human health, including reproductive development in males and females as shown in in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, this review brings attention to the toxicity of EDCs via interaction of genomic and non‐genomic signalling pathways through hormone receptors.
Species Discovery versus Species Identification in DNA Barcoding Efforts: Response to Rubinoff

Rubinoff’s (2006) essay in Conservation Biology raises some important issues relevant to the DNA barcoding initiative. Some of these issues are valid, others have been discussed recently in the DNA barcoding literature (Blaxter & Floyd 2003; Sperling 2003; Hebert et al. 2004; Moritz & Cicero 2004; Ebach & Holdrege 2005), and still others can be addressed by looking at DNA barcoding in a different light (DeSalle et al. 2005). Because papers in the DNA barcoding literature suggest that conservation biology is one of the major fields that will benefit from DNA barcoding, Rubinoff correctly argues that examining the validity of this claim is necessary.
What Property Tax Limitations Do to Local Finances: A Meta-Analysis

Since California voters approved a state constitutional amendment to limit property taxes in 1978, most states in the United States have adopted legal limits on the annual increase of the property tax levy. Prior studies of the fiscal impact of property tax limitation on local government come to mixed conclusions. This study summarizes the literature with meta-regression analyses of the effect of property tax limitation on per capita property tax revenues, non-property-tax revenues, and total local revenues and expenditures. Aggregating estimates across studies provides better evidence that local governments are unable to circumvent limitations on property tax increases. Property tax limitations reduce property tax revenues. They may lead to compensatory increases in other taxes, but on average such increases do not fully make up for the foregone property tax revenue, and the net impact of a property tax limitation is therefore substantial fiscal constraint in the local public sector. By reducing the taxation of wealth and the spending on locally provided public services, property tax limitation may have a variety of perverse consequences for social life.
Analyzing the Role of Semantic Web in Social Networking Sites

Over the years, a lot of research has been done on the concept of Semantic Web, which is focused on making data machine understandable while neglecting personal information and human relationships. The Semantic vision of the Web, which is a more conscious effort on behalf of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make the Web friendly to machines as much as it is friendly to human. This paper is consisting of two set of studies, my primary study is concern with Semantic Web Technology to aggregate the electronic data sets that collects about the social networks and in my secondary study is all about role of social networks within the architecture of semantic web. This paper correlates these two studies to bring more effective modern social networking websites with the help of semantic web tools and technologies. KeywordsElectronic data; Human Relationship; Personal Information; Semantic Web; Semantic Web Technology; Social Networks; World Wide Web Consortium(W3C).
Identification of Retinopathy of Prematurity Related miRNAs in Hyperoxia-Induced Neonatal Rats by Deep Sequencing

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains a major problem for many preterm infants. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level and have been studied in many diseases. To understand the roles of miRNAs in ROP model rats, we constructed two small RNA libraries from the plasma of hyperoxia-induced rats and normal controls. Sequencing data revealed that 44 down-regulated microRNAs and 22 up-regulated microRNAs from the hyperoxia-induced rats were identified by deep sequencing technology. Some of the differentially expressed miRNAs were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). A total of 594 target genes of the differentially expressed microRNAs were identified using a bioinformatics approach. Functional annotation analysis indicated that a number of pathways might be involved in angiogenesis, cell proliferation and cell differentiation, which might be involved in the genesis and development of ROP. The elevated expression level of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein in the hyperoxia-induced neonatal rats was also confirmed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This study provides some insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie ROP development, thereby aiding the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
Sweep Distortion Removal from THz Images via Blind Demodulation

Heavy sweep distortion induced by alignments and inter-reflections of layers of a sample is a major burden in recovering 2D and 3D information in time resolved spectral imaging. This problem cannot be addressed by conventional denoising and signal processing techniques as it heavily depends on the physics of the acquisition. Here we propose and implement an algorithmic framework based on low-rank matrix recovery and alternating minimization that exploits the forward model for THz acquisition. The method allows recovering the original signal in spite of the presence of temporal-spatial distortions. We address a blind-demodulation problem, where based on several observations of the sample texture modulated by an undesired sweep pattern, the two classes of signals are separated. The performance of the method is examined in both synthetic and experimental data, and the successful reconstructions are demonstrated. The proposed general scheme can be implemented to advance inspection and imaging applications in THz and other time-resolved sensing modalities.