Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of low alcohol verbal descriptors on perceived strength: An experimental study

Objectives Low alcohol labels are a set of labels that carry descriptors such as ‘low’ or ‘lighter’ to denote alcohol content in beverages. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers in lower strength alcohol products. However, there is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of strength. The present research examines consumers’ perceptions of strength (% ABV) and appeal of alcohol products using low or high alcohol verbal descriptors. Design A within‐subjects experimental study in which participants rated the strength and appeal of 18 terms denoting low (nine terms), high (eight terms) and regular (one term) strengths for either (1) wine or (2) beer according to drinking preference. Methods Thousand six hundred adults (796 wine and 804 beer drinkers) sampled from a nationally representative UK panel. Results Low, Lower, Light, Lighter, and Reduced formed a cluster and were rated as denoting lower strength products than Regular, but higher strength than the cluster with intensifiers consisting of Extra Low, Super Low, Extra Light, and Super Light. Similar clustering in perceived strength was observed amongst the high verbal descriptors. Regular was the most appealing strength descriptor, with the low and high verbal descriptors using intensifiers rated least appealing. Conclusions The perceived strength and appeal of alcohol products diminished the more the verbal descriptors implied a deviation from Regular. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of policy implications for lower strength alcohol labelling and associated public health outcomes. Statement of contribution What is already known about this subject? Current UK and EU legislation limits the number of low strength verbal descriptors and the associated alcohol by volume (ABV) to 1.2% ABV and lower. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers to extend the range of lower strength alcohol products above the current cap of 1.2% ABV set out in national legislation. There is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of alcohol product strength (both low and high). What does this study add? Verbal descriptors of lower strength wine and beer form two clusters and effectively communicate reduced alcohol content. Low, Lower, Light, Lighter, and Reduced were considered lower in strength than Regular (average % ABV). Descriptors using intensifiers (Extra Low, Super Low, Extra Light, and Super Light) were considered lowest in strength. Similar clustering in perceived strength was observed amongst the high verbal descriptors. The appeal of alcohol products reduced the more the verbal descriptors implied a deviation from Regular.
Group Recommendation with Automatic Identification of Users Communities

Recommender systems usually propose items to single users. However, in some domains like Mobile IPTV or Satellite Systems it might be impossible to generate a program schedule for each user, because of bandwidth limitations. A few approaches were proposed to generate group recommendations. However, these approaches take into account that groups of users already exist and no recommender system is able to detect intrinsic users communities. This paper describes an algorithm that detects groups of users whose preferences are similar and predicts recommendations for such groups. Groups of different granularities are generated through a modularity-based Community Detection algorithm, making it possible for a content provider to explore the trade off between the level of personalization of the recommendations and the number of channels. Experimental results show that the quality of group recommendations increases linearly with the number of groups created.
A Walk in Facebook: Uniform Sampling of Users in Online Social Networks

Our goal in this paper is to develop a practical framework for obtaining a uniform sample of users in an online social network (OSN) by crawling its social graph. Such a sample allows to estimate any user property and some topological properties as well. To this end, first, we consider and compare several candidate crawling techniques. Two approaches that can produce approximately uniform samples are the Metropolis-Hasting random walk (MHRW) and a re-weighted random walk (RWRW). Both have pros and cons, which we demonstrate through a comparison to each other as well as to the "ground truth. " In contrast, using Breadth-First-Search (BFS) or an unadjusted Random Walk (RW) leads to substantially biased results. Second, and in addition to offline performance assessment, we introduce online formal convergence diagnostics to assess sample quality during the data collection process. We show how these diagnostics can be used to effectively determine when a random walk sample is of adequate size and quality. Third, as a case study, we apply the above methods to Facebook and we collect the first, to the best of our knowledge, representative sample of Facebook users. We make it publicly available and employ it to characterize several key properties of Facebook.
Annotating URLs with Query Terms: What Factors Predict Reliable Annotations?

A number of recent studies have investigated the relation between URLs and associated query terms from search engine log les. In [5], the query terms associated with the domain of a URL were used as features for a URL classication task. The idea is that query terms that lead to successful classication of a URL are reliable semantic descriptors of the URL content. We follow up on this work by investigating which properties of a URL and its associated query terms predict the classication success. We construct a number of URL and query properties as predictors and proceed to analyze these in-depth. We conclude that the classication success | and thus the reliability of the query terms as URL descriptors | cannot easily be predicted from properties of the URL and the queries.
Reliability Computations for Planar Networks

The two-terminal reliability problem for an undirected network involves calculating the probability that two distinguished sites are connected by a path of working edges. This problem is known to be NP-hard, even for the special case of planar systems. We present efficient data structures and algorithms for manipulating planar networks and for generating both paths an cutsets in such networks. A pseudopolynomial algorithm is then implemented, based on these generation procedures, to calculate two-terminal reliability for planar networks; that is, the algorithm's time complexity is polynomially bounded in the number of paths (or the number of cutsets). Computational experience with this implementation is also presented, showing that it provides a substantial improvement over previous implementations of the pseudopolynomial algorithm. INFORMS Journal on Computing , ISSN 1091-9856, was published as ORSA Journal on Computing from 1989 to 1995 under ISSN 0899-1499.
Understanding Plant Invasions: a Global Scale Meta-analysis

Ordonez A. (2011) Understanding plant invasions: A global scale meta-analysis. PhD Thesis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Community and Conservation Ecology Group. Nijenborgh 7 9747AG Groningen. A.Ordonez. Gloria@rug.nl The globalisation of human activities has resulted in the intentional and un-intentional movement of species to areas beyond their natural range; ultimately causing biotic homogenisation and irreversible changes to ecosystems. This dissertation addresses the invasiveness and invasibility question by exploring global patters of trait similarity between co-occurring alien and native plants. To do this, two questions were asked: Can trait similarity between aliens and natives explain aliens success? ; and, are the observed similarity patterns a product of evolution? Aliens were found to display higher leaf traits, lower canopy height and smaller seeds. The magnitude of trait differences between co-occurring aliens and natives remained the same along climatic edaphic and human disturbance gradients. These differences showed a strong dependence to the phylogenetic relation between aliens and the native community; with phylogenetically close co-occurring alien and native plants being more phenotypically similar than expected by chance. These differences in traits were the result of aliens conserving their traits once introduced to a new area; something we suggest emerges from core ecological, evolutionary physiological and genetic constraints. The work presented here is a contribution to the long lasting quest for understanding the causes and mechanisms behind the success of invasive species. Lastly, It is shown how species, community and evolutionary patterns must be accounted together to determine invasion risk.
Immunity, neuroglia and neuroinflammation in autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder of early onset that is highly variable in its clinical presentation. Although the causes of autism in most patients remain unknown, several lines of research support the view that both genetic and environmental factors influence the development of abnormal cortical circuitry that underlies autistic cognitive processes and behaviors. The role of the immune system in the development of autism is controversial. Several studies showing peripheral immune abnormalities support immune hypotheses, however until recently there have been no immune findings in the CNS. We recently demonstrated the presence of neuroglial and innate neuroimmune system activation in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with autism, findings that support the view that neuroimmune abnormalities occur in the brain of autistic patients and may contribute to the diversity of the autistic phenotypes. The role of neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation are still uncertain but could be critical in maintaining, if not also in initiating, some of the CNS abnormalities present in autism. A better understanding of the role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of autism may have important clinical and therapeutic implications.
Evolutionary dynamics and tissue specificity of human long noncoding RNAs in six mammals

Long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) play diverse regulatory roles in human development and disease, but little is known about their evolutionary history and constraint. Here, we characterize human lincRNA expression patterns in nine tissues across six mammalian species and multiple individuals. Of the 1898 human lincRNAs expressed in these tissues, we find orthologous transcripts for 80% in chimpanzee, 63% in rhesus, 39% in cow, 38% in mouse, and 35% in rat. Mammalian-expressed lincRNAs show remarkably strong conservation of tissue specificity, suggesting that it is selectively maintained. In contrast, abundant splice-site turnover suggests that exact splice sites are not critical. Relative to evolutionarily young lincRNAs, mammalian-expressed lincRNAs show higher primary sequence conservation in their promoters and exons, increased proximity to protein-coding genes enriched for tissue-specific functions, fewer repeat elements, and more frequent single-exon transcripts. Remarkably, we find that ∼20% of human lincRNAs are not expressed beyond chimpanzee and are undetectable even in rhesus. These hominid-specific lincRNAs are more tissue specific, enriched for testis, and faster evolving within the human lineage.
Master's Project - Solar Farming in Vermont - What's the Harvest?

Solar farming (land-use conversion from agriculture to solar electricity generation) is a relatively new concept, and the “harvest” is multi-dimensional in nature. At a minimum, those dimensions include economic, environmental and public policy benefits. An operational research project to investigate those net benefits was undertaken on a 15-acre farm in Proctor, Vermont. Land was converted from agriculture (hay cultivation and livestock grazing) to generation of solar electricity. A community scale solar installation (1/3 acre, 66 kilowatt AC) and a commercial scale solar installation (5 acres, 500 kilowatt AC) were established. Net economic and environmental impacts were measured, and the relative effectiveness of public policies promoting development of solar electricity were estimated. The net after-tax financial return on cash equity of the community scale solar project was calculated to be 21% for the investor over a 25-year period (less than 1% average annual rate of return), while the financial return for the commercial scale solar project was 145% over a similar 25-year period (5.8% average annual rate of return). Economies of scale and researcher mistakes developing the small-scale array explain most of the difference in results. The net environmental impact of both solar projects was positive, driven primarily by avoided carbon emissions made possible by the substitution of solar-generated electricity for electricity from fossil fuels. The avoided carbon emissions from both solar projects are about 11 times greater than the combined (i) loss of carbon sequestration/absorption from tree clearing required for those projects, and (ii) carbon emissions from solar panel manufacture, transportation and installation. Public policies promoting solar electricity development are a major factor in generating positive economic returns; in fact, they appear more generous than necessary to stimulate investment given the recent cost declines for solar electricity generation. However, some subsidization of solar electricity generation is both needed and justified until at least 2020, when the financial costs of producing solar electricity on a per kilowatt-hour basis are expected to reach near parity with the costs of fossilfuel generated electricity. Public subsidization is further justified given the large social global benefits of avoiding carbon emissions and mitigating climate change.
The influence of maternal nutrition on ovine foetal growth

In recent years considerable information on ovine foetal growth has emanated from both medical research, in which the sheep has been used as a convenient experimental animal, and agricultural research, in which the main interest has been in improving the efficiency of the sheep as a meat and wool producer (Alexander, 1974). In the present paper an attempt is made to draw together some of the main findings, in particular those relating to the effects on foetal growth of underand over-nutrition at different stages of gestation. In reviewing the results of experiments made in early and mid pregnancy, nutritional treatments are described as either ‘high‘ or ‘low’, since in many early reports this is the only description of the treatments. In an attempt at more accurate definition, where possible body-weight changes are included in the present review.
d-Alanylation of Lipoteichoic Acid Contributes to the Virulence of Streptococcus suis

ABSTRACT We generated by allelic replacement a ΔdltA mutant of a virulent Streptococcus suis serotype 2 field strain and evaluated the contribution of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) d-alanylation to the virulence traits of this swine pathogen and zoonotic agent. The absence of LTA d-alanylation resulted in increased susceptibility to the action of cationic antimicrobial peptides. In addition, and in contrast to the wild-type strain, the ΔdltA mutant was efficiently killed by porcine neutrophils and showed diminished adherence to and invasion of porcine brain microvascular endothelial cells. Finally, the ΔdltA mutant was attenuated in both the CD1 mouse and porcine models of infection, probably reflecting a decreased ability to escape immune clearance mechanisms and an impaired capacity to move across host barriers. The results of this study suggest that LTA d-alanylation is an important factor in S. suis virulence.
Theoretical Use of Cache Memory as a Cryptanalytic Side-Channel

We expand on the idea, proposed by Kelsey et al. [? ], of cache memory being used as a side-channel which leaks information during the run of a cryptographic algorithm. By using this side-channel, an attacker may be able to reveal or narrow the possible values of secret information held on the target device. We describe an attack which encrypts 2 chosen plaintexts on the target processor in order to collect cache profiles and then performs around 2 computational steps to recover the key. As well as describing and simulating the theoretical attack, we discuss how hardware and algorithmic alterations can be used to defend against such techniques.
Pregnancy is predictable: a large-scale prospective external validation of the prediction of spontaneous pregnancy in subfertile couples.

BACKGROUND Prediction models for spontaneous pregnancy may be useful tools to select subfertile couples that have good fertility prospects and should therefore be counselled for expectant management. We assessed the accuracy of a recently published prediction model for spontaneous pregnancy in a large prospective validation study. METHODS In 38 centres, we studied a consecutive cohort of subfertile couples, referred for an infertility work-up. Patients had a regular menstrual cycle, patent tubes and a total motile sperm count (TMC) >3 x 10(6). After the infertility work-up had been completed, we used a prediction model to calculate the chance of a spontaneous ongoing pregnancy (www.freya.nl/probability.php). The primary end-point was time until the occurrence of a spontaneous ongoing pregnancy within 1 year. The performance of the pregnancy prediction model was assessed with calibration, which is the comparison of predicted and observed ongoing pregnancy rates for groups of patients and discrimination. RESULTS We included 3021 couples of whom 543 (18%) had a spontaneous ongoing pregnancy, 57 (2%) a non-successful pregnancy, 1316 (44%) started treatment, 825 (27%) neither started treatment nor became pregnant and 280 (9%) were lost to follow-up. Calibration of the prediction model was almost perfect. In the 977 couples (32%) with a calculated probability between 30 and 40%, the observed cumulative pregnancy rate at 12 months was 30%, and in 611 couples (20%) with a probability of >or=40%, this was 46%. The discriminative capacity was similar to the one in which the model was developed (c-statistic 0.59). CONCLUSIONS As the chance of a spontaneous ongoing pregnancy among subfertile couples can be accurately calculated, this prediction model can be used as an essential tool for clinical decision-making and in counselling patients. The use of the prediction model may help to prevent unnecessary treatment.
On theoretical and practical considerations of path selection for delay fault testing

In current industrial practice, critical path selection is an indispensable step for AC delay test and timing validation. Traditionally, this step relies on the construction of a set of worse-case paths based upon discrete timing models. The assumption of discrete timing models can be invalidated by delay effects in the deep submicron domain, where timing defects and process variation are statistical in nature. In this paper, we study the problem of optimizing critical path selection, under both fixed delay and statistical delay assumptions. With a novel problem formulation and new theoretical results, we prove that the problem in both cases are computationally intractable. We then discuss practical heuristics and their theoretical performance bounds, and demonstrate that among all heuristics under consideration, only one is theoretically feasible. Finally, we provide consistent experimental results based upon defect-injected simulation using an efficient statistical timing analysis framework.
Influence of DNA sequence identity on efficiency of targeted gene replacement

We have developed a system for analyzing recombination between a DNA fragment released in the nucleus from a single-copy plasmid and a genomic target in order to determine the influence of DNA sequence mismatches on the frequency of gene replacement in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mismatching was shown to be a potent barrier to efficient gene replacement, but its effect was considerably ameliorated by the presence of DNA sequences that are identical to the genomic target at one end of a chimeric DNA fragment. Disruption of the mismatch repair gene MSH2 greatly reduces but does not eliminate the barrier to recombination between mismatched DNA fragment and genomic target sequences, indicating that the inhibition of gene replacement with mismatched sequences is at least partially under the control of mismatch repair. We also found that mismatched sequences inhibited recombination between a DNA fragment and the genome only when they were close to the edge of the fragment. Together these data indicate that while mismatches can destabilize the relationship between a DNA fragment and a genomic target sequence, they will only do so if they are likely to be in the heteroduplex formed between the recombining molecules.
A Discrete Model to Study Reaction-Diffusion-Mechanics Systems

This article introduces a discrete reaction-diffusion-mechanics (dRDM) model to study the effects of deformation on reaction-diffusion (RD) processes. The dRDM framework employs a FitzHugh-Nagumo type RD model coupled to a mass-lattice model, that undergoes finite deformations. The dRDM model describes a material whose elastic properties are described by a generalized Hooke's law for finite deformations (Seth material). Numerically, the dRDM approach combines a finite difference approach for the RD equations with a Verlet integration scheme for the equations of the mass-lattice system. Using this framework results were reproduced on self-organized pacemaking activity that have been previously found with a continuous RD mechanics model. Mechanisms that determine the period of pacemakers and its dependency on the medium size are identified. Finally it is shown how the drift direction of pacemakers in RDM systems is related to the spatial distribution of deformation and curvature effects.
Security requirements for MANETs used in emergency and rescue operations

Ad hoc networks for first responders in emergency situations have some unique characteristics that differ from general ad hoc networks, since it is desirable to restrict who can participate in the network without relying on a predeployed infrastructure. In this paper we present security requirements elicited for a first responder mobile ad hoc network in the OASIS project. The requirements have been identified in a structured manner, based on identification of objectives, assets and threats towards these assets.
Anaesthetic Considerations for Patients with Severe Aortic Stenosis

Valvular heart disease has significant effect on the outcome of practically any kind of surgical procedure involving general or regional anaesthesia. The most frequently encountered cardiac valve lesions produce pressure overload (mitral stenosis, aortic stenosis) or volume load (mitral regurgitation, aortic regurgitation) on the left atrium or left ventricle. Anaesthetic management during the perioperative period is based on the likely effects of drug induced changes in cardiac rhythm, heart rate, preload, afterload, myocardial contractility, systemic blood pressure, systemic vascular resistance and pulmonary vascular resistance relative to the pathophysiology of the heart disease. [1]
Building a Cross-document Event-Event Relation Corpus

We propose a new task of extracting event-event relations across documents. We present our efforts at designing an annotation schema and building a corpus for this task. Our schema includes ﬁve main types of relations: Inheritance, Expansion, Contingency, Comparison and Tem-porality, along with 21 subtypes. We also lay out the main challenges based on detailed inter-annotator disagreement and error analysis. We hope these resources can serve as a benchmark to encourage research on this new problem.