Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expertise drift and query expansion in expert search

Pseudo-relevance feedback, or query expansion, has been shown to improve retrieval performance in the adhoc retrieval task. In such a scenario, a few top-ranked documents are assumed to be relevant, and these are then used to expand and refine the initial user query, such that it retrieves a higher quality ranking of documents. However, there has been little work in applying query expansion in the expert search task. In this setting, query expansion is applied by assuming a few top-ranked candidates have relevant expertise, and using these to expand the query. Nevertheless, retrieval is not improved as expected using such an approach. We show that the success of the application of query expansion is hindered by the presence of topic drift within the profiles of experts that the system considers. In this work, we demonstrate how topic drift occurs in the expert profiles, and moreover, we propose three measures to predict the amount of drift occurring in an expert's profile. Finally, we suggest and evaluate ways of enhancing query expansion in expert search using our new insights. Our results show that, once topic drift has been anticipated, query expansion can be successfully applied in a general manner in the expert search task.
Task oriented software understanding

The main factors that affect software understanding are the complexity of the problem solved by the program, the program text, the user's mental ability and experience and the task being performed. The paper describes a planning approach solution to the software understanding problem that focuses on the user's task and expertise. First, user questions about software artifacts have been studied and the most commonly asked questions are identified. These questions are organized into a question model and procedures for answering them are developed. Then, the patterns in user questions while performing certain tasks have been studied and these patterns are used to build generic task models. The explanation system uses these task models in several ways. The task model, along with a user model, is used to generate explanations tailored to the user's task and expertise. In addition, the task model allows the system to provide explicit task support in its interface.
The Role of Positive Emotion and Contributions of Positive Psychology in Depression Treatment: Systematic Review

The present study aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature by checking the impact of positive emotion in the treatment of depression and on the use of strategies of positive psychology which involves positive emotion to treat and reduce symptoms of depression. For this purpose, we conducted searches in databases ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO and PubMed and found a total of 3400 studies. After inclusion application and exclusion criteria, 28 articles remained, presented and discussed in this study. The studies have important relations between humor and positive emotion as well as a significant improvement in signs and symptoms of depression using differents strategies of positive psychology. Another relevant aspect is the preventative character of the proposed interventions by positive psychology by the fact that increase well-being and produce elements such as resilience and coping resources that reduce the recurrent relapses in the treatment of depression. The strategies of positive psychology, such as increasing positive emotions, develop personal strengths: seeking direction, meaning and engagement for the day-to-day life of the patients, appear as potentially tools for the prophylaxis and treatment of depression, helping to reduce signs and symptoms as well as for prevention of relapses.
An ML estimation based robust Chinese remainder theorem for reals

In this paper, we consider the CRT problem for real numbers with noisy remainders that follow wrapped Gaussian distributions. We propose the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation based CRT when the remainder noises may not necessarily have the same variances. The proposed algorithm only needs to search for the solution among L elements, where L is the number of remainders. We compare the performances of the newly proposed algorithm and the existing algorithm in term of numerical simulations. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm not only has a better performance when the remainders have different error levels/variances, but also has a much lower computational complexity.
Understanding and Mitigating Packet Corruption in Data Center Networks

We take a comprehensive look at packet corruption in data center networks, which leads to packet losses and application performance degradation. By studying 350K links across 15 production data centers, we find that the extent of corruption losses is significant and that its characteristics differ markedly from congestion losses. Corruption impacts fewer links than congestion, but imposes a heavier loss rate; and unlike congestion, corruption rate on a link is stable over time and is not correlated with its utilization. Based on these observations, we developed CorrOpt, a system to mitigate corruption. To minimize corruption losses, it intelligently selects which corrupting links can be safely disabled, while ensuring that each top-of-rack switch has a minimum number of paths to reach other switches. CorrOpt also recommends specific actions (e.g., replace cables, clean connectors) to repair disabled links, based on our analysis of common symptoms of different root causes of corruption. Our recommendation engine has been deployed in over seventy data centers of a large cloud provider. Our analysis shows that, compared to current state of the art, CorrOpt can reduce corruption losses by three to six orders of magnitude and improve repair accuracy by 60%.
Multi-scale Curve Detection on Surfaces

This paper extends to surfaces the multi-scale approach of edge detection on images. The common practice for detecting curves on surfaces requires the user to first select the scale of the features, apply an appropriate smoothing, and detect the edges on the smoothed surface. This approach suffers from two drawbacks. First, it relies on a hidden assumption that all the features on the surface are of the same scale. Second, manual user intervention is required. In this paper, we propose a general framework for automatically detecting the optimal scale for each point on the surface. We smooth the surface at each point according to this optimal scale and run the curve detection algorithm on the resulting surface. Our multi-scale algorithm solves the two disadvantages of the single-scale approach mentioned above. We demonstrate how to realize our approach on two commonly-used special cases: ridges & valleys and relief edges. In each case, the optimal scale is found in accordance with the mathematical definition of the curve.
Net energy of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass

Perennial herbaceous plants such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) are being evaluated as cellulosic bioenergy crops. Two major concerns have been the net energy efficiency and economic feasibility of switchgrass and similar crops. All previous energy analyses have been based on data from research plots (<5 m2) and estimated inputs. We managed switchgrass as a biomass energy crop in field trials of 3–9 ha (1 ha = 10,000 m2) on marginal cropland on 10 farms across a wide precipitation and temperature gradient in the midcontinental U.S. to determine net energy and economic costs based on known farm inputs and harvested yields. In this report, we summarize the agricultural energy input costs, biomass yield, estimated ethanol output, greenhouse gas emissions, and net energy results. Annual biomass yields of established fields averaged 5.2 -11.1 Mg·ha−1 with a resulting average estimated net energy yield (NEY) of 60 GJ·ha−1·y−1. Switchgrass produced 540% more renewable than nonrenewable energy consumed. Switchgrass monocultures managed for high yield produced 93% more biomass yield and an equivalent estimated NEY than previous estimates from human-made prairies that received low agricultural inputs. Estimated average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cellulosic ethanol derived from switchgrass were 94% lower than estimated GHG from gasoline. This is a baseline study that represents the genetic material and agronomic technology available for switchgrass production in 2000 and 2001, when the fields were planted. Improved genetics and agronomics may further enhance energy sustainability and biofuel yield of switchgrass.
Lift force improvements for the micromechanical flying insect

This paper presents some recent improvements in the fabrication and control of the micromechanical flying insect (MFI), a centimeter sized aerial vehicle currently being developed at the University of California, Berkeley. We report a lift of 506 /spl mu/N from a single wing, which is sufficient for a 100 mg machine to lift itself off the ground. This lift matches very well with predictions based on quasi steady state models. We present some recent improvements in thorax fabrication leading to the development of a light weight platform (/spl sim/ 100 mg), which generates 400 /spl mu/N of lift with a single wing. We also present a new sensor mechanism, which makes it possible to sense the motion of the actuators without having to add anything to the structure itself.
All-dielectric metasurface lens based on multimode fiber

A compact all-dielectric metasurface lens based on a conventional multimode fiber is proposed and demonstrated. Here, an aperiodic array of rectangular dielectric nanoresonators deposited on the end face of a multimode fiber was used to construct an all-dielectric metasurface lens. By varying the widths of rectangular resonators full 2π phase control was realized. The dielectric resonators were used as phase shift elements to achieve the required phase accumulation through propagation over a subwavelength distance and modulate the phase distribution of the emitted light from the multimode fiber in near-infrared communication band. The proposed all-dielectric metasurface lens exhibits miniaturization and excellent performance, which is key to realize optical trapping, holographic display, and beam shaping. The presented design of all-dielectric metasurface lens can be widely applicable to any high-index semiconductor or insulator and can be applied at any desired wavelength.
Molecular Basis of Insulin-stimulated GLUT4 Vesicle Trafficking

Among all the diverse actions of insulin, one of the most critical and intensively studied is its regulation of glucose homeostasis. In the postabsorptive state, insulin action in muscle and adipose tissue results in increased glucose uptake from the circulation, thereby maintaining plasma euglycemia and preventing hyperglycemia (1–3). Defects in this pathway result in insulin resistance, a condition in which excessive concentrations of insulin are required to reduce blood glucose levels and often precede the development of frank Type II diabetes (3, 4). Although it has been appreciated for almost two decades that this major action of insulin results from a redistribution of glucose transporter proteins from intracellular storage sites to the plasma membrane (5, 6), the cellular mechanisms responsible for these trafficking events and the defects associated with insulin resistance have remained largely enigmatic.
Association of changes in fitness and body composition with cancer mortality in men.

INTRODUCTION Both baseline cardiorespiratory fitness and adiposity predict the risk of cancer mortality. However, the effects of changes in these two factors over time have not been evaluated thoroughly. The aim of this study was to examine the independent and joint associations of changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition on cancer mortality. METHODS The cohort consisted of 13,930 men (initially cancer-free) with two or more medical examinations from 1974 to 2002. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by a maximal treadmill exercise test, and body composition was expressed by body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat. Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition between the baseline and the last examination were classified into loss, stable, and gain groups. RESULTS There were 386 deaths from cancer during an average of 12.5 yr of follow-up. After adjusting for possible confounders and BMI, change hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of cancer mortality were 0.74 (0.57-0.96) for stable fitness and 0.74 (0.56-0.98) for fitness gain. Inverse dose-response relationships were observed between changes in maximal METs and cancer mortality (P for linear trend = 0.05). Neither BMI change nor percent body fat change was associated with cancer mortality after adjusting for possible confounders and maximal METs change. In the joint analyses, men who became less fit had a higher risk of cancer mortality (P for linear trend = 0.03) compared with those who became more fit, regardless of BMI change levels. CONCLUSIONS Being unfit or losing cardiorespiratory fitness over time was found to predict cancer mortality in men. Improving or maintaining adequate levels of cardiorespiratory fitness appears to be important for decreasing cancer mortality in men.
Ankle and hip strategies for balance recovery of a biped subjected to an impact

SUMMARY A humanoid robot should be able to keep balance even in the presence of disturbing forces. Studies of human body reaction patterns to sudden external forces (impacts) are useful for developing balance control strategies. In this paper, we show how to implement two such reaction patterns, called ankle and hip strategy, using a small humanoid robot. Simple dynamical models in the sagittal plane are employed. The decision for invoking one of the reaction patterns is based on acceleration data measured during the impact. The experiments confirm that the robot is able to react swiftly, similar to a human.
Inhibition of DEPDC1A, a Bad Prognostic Marker in Multiple Myeloma, Delays Growth and Induces Mature Plasma Cell Markers in Malignant Plasma Cells

High throughput DNA microarray has made it possible to outline genes whose expression in malignant plasma cells is associated with short overall survival of patients with Multiple Myeloma (MM). A further step is to elucidate the mechanisms encoded by these genes yielding to drug resistance and/or patients’ short survival. We focus here on the biological role of the DEP (for Disheveled, EGL-10, Pleckstrin) domain contained protein 1A (DEPDC1A), a poorly known protein encoded by DEPDC1A gene, whose high expression in malignant plasma cells is associated with short survival of patients. Using conditional lentiviral vector delivery of DEPDC1A shRNA, we report that DEPDC1A knockdown delayed the growth of human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs), with a block in G2 phase of the cell cycle, p53 phosphorylation and stabilization, and p21Cip1 accumulation. DEPDC1A knockdown also resulted in increased expression of mature plasma cell markers, including CXCR4, IL6-R and CD38. Thus DEPDC1A could contribute to the plasmablast features of MMCs found in some patients with adverse prognosis, blocking the differentiation of malignant plasma cells and promoting cell cycle.
How do developers blog?: an exploratory study

We report on an exploratory study, which aims at understanding how software developers use social media compared to conventional development infrastructures. We analyzed the blogging and the committing behavior of 1,100 developers in four large open source communities. We observed that these communities intensively use blogs with one new entry about every 8 hours. A blog entry includes 14 times more words than a commit message. When analyzing the content of the blogs, we found that most popular topics represent high-level concepts such as functional requirements and domain concepts. Source code related topics are covered in less than 15% of the posts. Our results also show that developers are more likely to blog after corrective engineering and management activities than after forward engineering and re-engineering activities. Our findings call for a hypothesis-driven research to further understand the role of social media in software engineering and integrate it into development processes and tools.
15 Predictive Control with Local Visual Data

Last half century depicted an enormous progress in robotics. However, this field is still in its infancy as compared with the human behaviour. Therefore, the ability of a robot is limited in its movement, understanding complex sensorial inputs or performing higher level reasoning. Important clues to enable further progress to be made are the integration of several different fields of knowledge, such as computing, communications and control sciences, with the aim of enabling robots to use higher level reasoning and decision tools with a strong theory base (Murray et al., 2003). The research work presented here integrates control science and robot vision knowledge in a computer science environment. Nowadays, the local visual perception research, applied to autonomous mobile robots, has succeeded in some important objectives, such as feasible obstacle detection and structure knowledge (Campbell, et al., 2004). In this context, the allowed navigation control signals should achieve the obstacle avoidance as well as the final desired coordinates. Scientific community has developed several studies in this field. Based on the dynamic window approach with available robot speeds, the reactive avoidance collisions, safety stop and goal can be achieved using the dynamic constraints of WMR (Fox, et al., 1997). In other works, it is presented the methodologies for the exact motion planning and control, based on the artificial potential fields where the complete information about the free space and goal are encoded (Rimon and Koditschek, 1992). Some approaches on mobile robots propose the use of potential fields, which satisfy the stability in a Lyapunov sense, in a short prediction horizon (Ögren & Leonard, 2005). The main contribution of this paper is the use of the visual information as a dynamic window where the collision avoidance and safety stop can be planned. Thus, local visual data and local attraction of artificial potential fields are used in order to achieve the Lyapunov stability. This work relates the on-robot visual perception and odometer system information with the nonlinear mobile robot control system, consisting in a differential driven robot with a free rotating wheel. It is developed an easily portable methodology to plan the goal achievement by using the visual data as an available source of positions. The dynamic interactions of the robotic system arise from the knowledge of a set of experimental robot models that allow the development of model predictive control strategies based on the mobile robot platform PRIM available in the Laboratory of Robotics and Computer Vision. Moreover, the local visual information is used as an occupancy grid that allows planning feasible trajectories towards the desired objective. The knowledge of the objective allows the optimal solution of the local desired coordinates based on the acquired images. O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w . ite ch on lin e. co m
Use of information technologies when designing multilayered plates and covers with filler of various types

Calculation of multilayered plates and covers does not consider anisotropic properties of a construction. Calculation comes down to uniform isotropic covers and definition of one of intense and deformation conditions of constructions. The existing techniques consider work of multilayered designs by means of various coefficients. The article describes the optimized algorithm of operations when designing multilayered plates and covers with filler of various types on the basis of the conducted researches. It is dealt with a development engineering algorithm of calculation of multi-layer constructions of walls. Software is created which allows one to carry out assessment of intense and deformation conditions of constructions of walls.
Effects of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure on Human Pregnancy and Postpartum

During the early months of pregnancy, cocaine exposure may increase the risk of miscarriage. Later in pregnancy, cocaine use can cause placental abruption. Placental abruption can lead to severe bleeding, preterm birth, and fetal death. Women who use cocaine throughout their pregnancy have the risk of an increased chance of premature labor and birth defect. In addition babies may also have a smaller head and have their growth hindered. Babies who are exposed to cocaine later in pregnancy may be born dependent and suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, sleeplessness, muscle spasms, and feeding difficulties. The effects of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) have been examined in infants and young children across multiple developmental domains (e.g., growth, intelligence, language, motor, attention, and neurophysiology). Studies revealed that in most domains, the neurobiological effects of PCE play a subtle role, with effects no greater than other known teratogens or environmental factors. Associations between PCE and negative developmental outcomes were typically attenuated when models included conditions that commonly co-occur with PCE (eg. tobacco or alcohol exposure, malnutrition, poor quality of care). Some investigations suggest that learning difficulties may result as the child gets older. Defects of the genitals, kidneys, and brain are also possible. The aim of this review is to provide information regarding the prenatal exposure and the associated impact on placental function and pregnancy outcomes.
Three-systems theory of human visual motion perception: review and update.

Lu and Sperling [Vision Res. 35, 2697 (1995)] proposed that human visual motion perception is served by three separate motion systems: a first-order system that responds to moving luminance patterns, a second-order system that responds to moving modulations of feature types-stimuli in which the expected luminance is the same everywhere but an area of higher contrast or of flicker moves, and a third-order system that computes the motion of marked locations in a "salience map," that is, a neural representation of visual space in which the locations of important visual features ("figure") are marked and "ground" is unmarked. Subsequently, there have been some strongly confirmatory reports: different gain-control mechanisms for first- and second-order motion, selective impairment of first- versus second- and/or third-order motion by different brain injuries, and the classification of new third-order motions, e.g., isoluminant chromatic motion. Various procedures have successfully discriminated between second- and third-order motion (when first-order motion is excluded): dual tasks, second-order reversed phi, motion competition, and selective adaptation. Meanwhile, eight apparent contradictions to the three-systems theory have been proposed. A review and reanalysis here of the new evidence, pro and con, resolves the challenges and yields a more clearly defined and significantly strengthened theory.