Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ProvenanceMatrix: A Visualization Tool for Multi-taxonomy Alignments

Visualizing and analyzing the relationships between taxonomic entities represented in multiple input classiﬁcations is both challenging and required due to recurrent new discoveries and inferences of taxa and their phylogenetic relationships. Despite the availability of numerous visualization techniques, the large size of hierarchical classiﬁcations and complex relations between taxonomic entities generated during a multi-taxonomy alignment process requires new visualizations. This paper introduces ProvenanceMatrix , a novel tool allowing end users (taxonomists, ecologists, phylogeneticists) to explore and comprehend the outcomes of taxonomic alignments. We illustrate the use of Provenance-Matrix through examples using taxonomic classiﬁcations of various sizes, from a few to hundreds of taxonomic entities and hundreds of thousands of relationships.
Policy Motivation and Party Differences in a Dynamic Spatial Model of Party Competition

We present a model of party competition that produces more realistic patterns of results than those often emphasized in the literature. Reversing Downs (1957), we assume that parties win elections in order to formulate policies, rather than formulate policies in order to win elections. Voters are modeled first as having perfect information about candidate positions, and then under conditions of uncertainty. In simulation experiments we show that policy motivation and voter uncertainty can bring about persistent and predictable party differences in sequential majority rule elections. As the degree of voter certainty decreases, parties diverge towards their optima, whereas increases in voter certainty draw parties towards cycles in which party positions vary, but predictable issue stances are maintained on the average.
(Radical) Constructivism – What Difference Does It Make?

(Radical) Constructivism and (Critical) Realism occupy different positions in the realm of epistemology. The differences are considered so grave, that extensive discus- sions hardly ever take place. Critique is most often limited to standard phrases or simple devaluations stemming from ignorance. Everybody claims that his own opinions are presented misleadingly and erroneously, or even that he never held the opinions accused of, such as denying reality here or naive realist views there. The main objection of the Realist is that the Constructivist cannot do without realist presuppositions. (Niklas Luhmann presents constructivism explicitly as a realist episte- mology). The Constructivist is in reality a Realist - at least when he tries to put his head through a wall he will have to admit it. 1 The Constructivist criticizes above all the realist assumption of an, at least to some extent, cognizable reality. Our conceptions and descriptions of reality can only be compared to other conceptions and descriptions and not with reality itself. The correctness, let alone the truth, of world views cannot be stated. A world beyond our senses and concepts is not cognizable. We all construct our own world - but interdependently and in concordance with others. In his critique the Constructivist univer- salizes his own principles towards presuppo- sitions valid for realists just the same. He cannot allow that the Realist perceives and recognizes the world "in fact" and therefore is a Realist in his own right. When the world is 100% the world of my experiences and my living, when knowledge is no more than an internal construction of the human subject, then this holds equally well for the Realist, whether he wants to acknowledge it or not: The Realist is in reality a Constructivist . Thus realism becomes a special case of constructivism, which tries to absolutize its own construction of reality by setting it equal with an independent reality. The dif- ference between realism and constructivism is reduced from an epistemological distinc- tion to merely a difference in (epistemolog- ical) attitude. But the idea that we all are Constructivists, whether we admit it or not, is based on certain biological, psychological or cultural presuppositions; and hence the Constructivist has to face the same objec- tion of absolutization he raises against the Realist. In their mutual critique, constructivism and realism presuppose each other their own respective positions. The Constructivist has his reality presupposed "realistically" by the Realist and the Realist gets reality constituted in a constructivist manner by the Construc- tivist. Both hold that the practice of science sup- ports their respective side. The Realists say that scientists ultimately pro- ceed in a realist manner and Constructivists claim that science is construc- tivist. Realist interpretations of the practice of science are as convincing as are construc- tivist interpretations. Whether scientists see themselves as Real-
Comparative Analysis of Speckle Noise Reduction Techniques and Their Affect on Image Edge Localization

Noise removal is an essential element of image processing. Depending on the noise types, the noisy image can be generally modeled as one of the two models: additive model and multiplicative model. Speckle is a form of multiplicative noise which is more difficult to suppress than additive noise. Non linear partial differential equations (PDE) and wavelets which are local in nature are the emerging techniques for speckle reduction. This paper compares and analyzes the behavior of these two techniques. Through experimental results both qualitative and quantitative it is shown that orthogonal undecimated wavelet transform gives much improved results than non linear PDE method and the traditional techniques.
Introducció de l'ensenyament en línia en Humanitats: estudis de cas sobre l'acceptació d'activitats en línia per part del professorat de llengües clàssiques

L'objectiu d'aquest article es mostrar les percepcions del professorat de llengues classiques (grec antic i llati) amb relacio a les activitats en linia fetes durant els cursos. L'estudi es va fer a tres paisos: Grecia (a tres universitats importants), Espanya (a la Universitat de Barcelona) i els Estats Units (a la Universitat de California a Berkeley) amb la participacio de trenta-tres professors. Segons el nivell d'us i d'acceptacio de les TIC i a partir de la classificacio de G. Moore, vam separar els docents participants en tres grups: els conservadors , el corrent principal i els adoptadors primerencs . El fet que el grup mes petit sigui el tercer mostra clarament que hi ha una necessitat de preparacio i formacio dels professors abans d'introduir projectes innovadors a l'aula. Com que el punt d'inici de l'aplicacio d'innovacio a l'aula es el professorat, els responsables dels projectes d'innovacio s'haurien de centrar a ajudar-los a conscienciar-se dels canvis en els metodes d'ensenyament i a incloure la seva opinio durant el disseny dels esmentats projectes.
Selection criteria for hypothesis driven lexical adaptation

Adapting the vocabulary of a speech recognizer to the utterance to be recognized has proven to be successful both in reducing high out-of-vocabulary as well as word error rates. This applies especially to languages that have a rapid vocabulary growth due to a large number of inflections and composita. This paper presents various adaptation methods within the hypothesis driven lexical adaptation (HDLA) framework which allow speech recognition on a virtually unlimited vocabulary. Selection criteria for the adaptation process are either based on morphological knowledge or distance measures at phoneme or grapheme level. Different methods are introduced for determining distances between phoneme pairs and for creating the large fallback lexicon the adapted vocabulary is chosen from. HDLA reduces the out-of-vocabulary-rate by 55% for Serbo-Croatian, 35% for German and 27% for Turkish. The reduced out-of-vocabulary rate also decreases the word error rate by an absolute 4.1% to 25.4% on Serbo-Croatian broadcast news data.
Web Log Data Cleaning For Enhancing Mining Process

There is a rapid development of World Wide Web in its volume of traffic and the size and complexity of web sites. Web servers accumulate data about user’s interactions in log files whenever requests for resources are received. Because of the tremendous usage, the log files are growing at a faster rate and the size is becoming huge. The complexity of tasks such as web site design, web server design has increased along with this growth. Web usage mining is application of mining techniques in logs. Log data is usually noisy and ambiguous and preprocessing is an important process for efficient mining process. In the preprocessing, the data cleaning process includes removal of records of graphics, videos and the format information, the records with the failed HTTP status code and robots cleaning. This paper enhances cleaning to remove irrelevant records from log file and experiments the effect of cleaning from path completion stage. The experimental results show the performance of the proposed methodology and comparatively it gives the good results.
Managerial concerns in knowledge management

Knowledge differs markedly from information and data. At rock bottom, knowledge is socially constructed in discourse communities. Because knowledge is not synonymous with information, IT cannot deliver knowledge management. Since there will always be uncodified or uncodifiable knowledge content and contexts – given the social nature of knowledge – several barriers to the creation and utilization of knowledge exist. The task of knowledge management is to identify such barriers and to overcome them.
Night-time symptoms: a forgotten dimension of COPD

Sleep quality is often poor in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but these night-time symptoms are frequently unnoticed by physicians and/or not reported by patients themselves. Therefore, the prevalence and clinical impact of sleep disturbances and night-time symptoms in COPD is not well understood and has not been a clinical focus to date. To address this gap, an expert panel meeting was convened in Barcelona, Spain, in March 2011 to discuss the aetiology, evolution, burden, long-term clinical consequences and optimal management of night-time symptoms in COPD. The term “night-time symptoms” in COPD has not been distinctly defined in an objective sense but epidemiological data suggests that the prevalence of nocturnal symptoms and symptomatic sleep disturbance may exceed 75% in patients with COPD. The panel concluded that night-time symptoms in COPD are prevalent and bothersome; that their cause(s) are multiple and include demographic factors, such as age and obesity, pharmacotherapy, disease-specific symptoms and the presence of comorbid sleep disorders, and other medical conditions; and that potential long-term consequences can include lung function changes, increased exacerbation frequency, emergence or worsening of cardiovascular disease, cognitive effects, depression, impaired quality of life and increased mortality. To date, few interventional studies have investigated them, but emerging data suggest that bronchodilator therapy can improve them if deployed appropriately. In summary, night-time symptoms in COPD warrant further clinical investigation with validated tools.
Detection of low-contrast objects with a focusing transmitarray

A Focusing Transmitarray is a quasi-periodic planar lens that is able to focus the energy of a feed at a spot in the Near Field of the lens. In this work, this kind of lens has been used for detection under low contrast conditions. The use of this lens allows non-contact measurements, therefore increasing the sensitivity of a detection system. The resolution of the lens has been experimentally studied by measuring the separation between two metal strips (high contrast) and between two plastic strips on a foam layer (low contrast). This measurement set-up has been used to detect small objects on a metal plate. This screen reflects all the incident radiation hiding the presence of any small object. Using a focusing lens and a proper, but simple, calibration it is possible to find the object without any ambiguity.
Ten Years of Talking About Machines

Ethnography of technical work is susceptible of many readings. The author responds, suggesting that learning, narratives, and community all derive from the work and cannot be considered without it. Similarly, the relationship of the work to its parent organization is examined in terms of enactment, control, managerial discourse, technique, the socialization of technology, and the question of caring for society.
FAMILY COMMUNICATION PATTERNS AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

The relationship of family communication patterns to indicators of political development between children in fourth and fifth grades and adolescents in eleventh and twelfth grades is compared. Parents' and children's levels of political knowledge, political interest, frequency of political discussion, and exposure to political information in the mass media were measured. Results suggest that the nature of parent-child communication and effects of that interaction depend not only on messages stressed by the parent but also on the child's own cognitive abilities and goals.
A Novel Cluster-head Selection Algorithm Based on Hybrid Genetic Optimization for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) represent a new dimension in the field of network research. The cluster algorithm can significantly reduce the energy consumption of wireless sensor networks and prolong the network lifetime. This paper uses neuron to describe the WSN node and constructs neural network model for WSN. The neural network model includes three aspects: WSN node neuron model, WSN node control model and WSN node connection model. Through learning the framework of cluster algorithm for wireless sensor networks, this paper presents a weighted average of cluster-head selection algorithm based on an improved Genetic Optimization which makes the node weights directly related to the decision-making predictions. The Algorithm consists of two stages: single-parent evolution and population evolution. The initial population is formed in the stage of single-parent evolution by using gene pool, then the algorithm continues to the next further evolution process, finally the best solution will be generated and saved in the population. The simulation results illustrate that the new algorithm has the high convergence speed and good global searching capacity. It is to effectively balance the network energy consumption, improve the network life-cycle, ensure the communication quality and provide a certain theoretical foundation for the applications of the neural networks.
Seasonal and life-stage variation in the reproductive ecology of a marine apex predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, at a protected female-dominated site

Advancing our knowledge of the reproductive biology and mating systems of free- ranging sharks is inherently challenging. The large size and mobility of the specimens are just a few of the problems that make such studies complicated, and in some respects, impractical. The tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier is a large, roving, apex predator found in many oceans throughout the world. Although their nomadic nature is primarily linked to large-scale migrations, these sharks can also display site fidelity. One site where this is known to occur is at Tiger Beach, Bahamas. Unique to the waters of this area is the consistent sighting of large females. While the sex-specific use of the area remains unknown, the shallow, warm environment could represent a critical habitat for reproductive events. To investigate the reproductive biology of tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, 65 individuals were opportunistically sampled between 2011 and 2014. Reproductive status of captured females (n = 59) was assessed with ultrasonography and by measuring circulat- ing sex steroid hormones (progesterone, testosterone and estradiol). Our results indicate that Tiger Beach is a high-use site for female tiger sharks of mixed life stages. The results also suggest that Tiger Beach may function as a refuge habitat, allowing females to reach maturity free from male mating harassment, as well as functioning as a gestation ground where gravid females can benefit from year-round calm warm waters, which may reduce the gestation period and accelerate embryo development.
Motivational Mechanisms Underlying the Approach Bias to Cigarettes

Approach Avoidance tasks measure approach bias, a behavioral tendency to be faster at approaching rather than avoiding drug cues. Approach bias has been measured in a number of different drug-using populations and there is evidence to suggest that approach bias measurements correlate with drug use. Little is known, however, about the motivational mechanisms underlying the approach bias. In the current study we assessed whether the approach bias to cigarettes was immediately sensitive to changes in the incentive value of smoking. We examined the change from baseline in a participant group, after half the group had been given the opportunity to smoke. Specifically, we examined whether the approach bias has the characteristics of a cue-elicited behavior or is flexibly modulated by current desire. Results showed that while the baseline approach-bias score in deprived cigarette smokers correlated with craving, smoking a cigarette led to reduced craving but an increased approach bias score. We discuss a possible account of these findings in terms of an ideomotor outcome-response priming mechanism.
Sex Differences in the Clinical Presentation, Resource Use, and 3-Month Outcome of Acute Stroke in Europe: Data From a Multicenter Multinational Hospital-Based Registry

Background and Purpose— The information on the existence of sex differences in management of stroke patients is scarce. We evaluated whether sex differences may influence clinical presentation, resource use, and outcome of stroke in a European multicenter study. Methods— In a European Concerted Action involving 7 countries, 4499 patients hospitalized for first-in-a-lifetime stroke were evaluated for demographics, risk factors, clinical presentation, resource use, and 3-month survival, disability (Barthel Index), and handicap (Rankin Scale). Results— Overall, 2239 patients were males and 2260 females. Compared with males, female patients were significantly older (mean age 74.5±12.5 versus 69.2±12.1 years), more frequently institutionalized before stroke, and with a worse prestroke Rankin score (all values P <0.001). History of hypertension (P =0.007) and atrial fibrillation (P <0.001) were significantly more frequent in female stroke patients, as were coma (P <0.001), paralysis (P <0.001), aphasia (P =0.001), swallowing problems (P =0.005), and urinary incontinence (P <0.001) in the acute phase. Brain imaging, Doppler examination, echocardiogram, and angiography were significantly less frequently performed in female than male patients (all values P <0.001). The frequency of carotid surgery was also significantly lower in female patients (P <0.001). At the 3-month follow-up, after controlling for all baseline and clinical variables, female sex was a significant predictor of disability (odds ratio [OR], 1.41; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.81) and handicap (OR, 1.46; 95% CI 1.14 to 1.86). No significant gender effect was observed on 3-month survival. Conclusions— Sex-specific differences existed in a large European study of hospital admissions for acute stroke. Both medical and sociodemographic factors may significantly influence stroke outcome. Knowledge of these determinants may positively impact quality of care.
Counting Crowd with Fully Convolutional Networks

Crowd counting is useful and widely applied invideo surveillance. It remains a challenge task for thecharacteristics of crowd, such as severe occlusions, sceneperspective distortions and so on. The existing state-of-the-artmethods are spatial information ignored or spatial scalereduced. To solve these problems, we proposed a novel FullyConvolutional Networks (FCN) model, which is end-to-endlearned on image patches by regressing crowd densitydistribution. Our crowd FCN model can output highprecessioncrowd density map and the crowd quantity can beintegrated by the map. Besides, to handle the problem of sceneperspective distortions, we proposed an unbiased densityground truth generation method. The experiment resultsdemonstrate that our crowd counting method achieved the bestaccuracy on the WorldExpo10 crowd dataset compared withother state-of-the-art methods.
Load Network Design Technique for Class F and Inverse Class F PAs

Highly efficient operation of the power amplifier can generally be obtained by applying bi-harmonic or polyharmonic modes, when an additional single-resonant or multi-resonant circuit tuned to the odd or even harmonics of the fundamental frequency is added into the load network. An infinite number of odd-harmonic resonators results in an idealized Class F mode with a square voltage waveform and a half-sinusoidal current waveform at the device output terminal, while an infinite number of even-harmonic resonators results in an idealized inverse Class F mode with a half-sinusoidal voltage waveform and a square current waveform at the device output terminal [1, 2]. In conventional Class F or inverse Class F power amplifiers analyzed in frequency domain, the fundamental and harmonic load-network impedances are optimized by short-circuit termination and open-circuit peaking to control the voltage and current waveforms at the device output to obtain maximum efficiency. They are equal respectively to
Mood-Congruent Memory and Natural Mood: New Evidence

The mood-congruent memory effect states that happy people will better remember happy than sad materials, whereas sad people will better remember sad than happy materials (or remember such material equally). Clinical studies and those employing experimentally induced moods find evidence formood-congruent memory, but results from both types of studies can be explained by nonmood influences. Mood-congruent memory has not yet been found in normal people in everyday moods. The authors find evidence for the effect among normal individuals in three studies (N = 614). This supports prior experimental and clinical findings-and means that mood and memory constantly covary in everyday experience.
Extended Abstract : Towards Context-Aware Wireless Spectrum Agility

Spectrum agility (SA) is a novel way of improving spectrum utilization efficiency and making greater bandwidth available to network applications. Despite its advantages, the fundamental operations (e.g., periodic spectrum sensing) involved in realizing SA can also adversely affect application performance. We propose Context-Aware Spectrum Agility (CASA), which uses application hints together with the current channel condition to adapt key SA parameters. Our preliminary evaluation shows that CASA improves throughput by 35%, and is also more effective in meeting application demands than conventional SA.
Sports Teams and Their Communities: Examining the Influence of External Group Identities on Team Identity

Group identity theory suggests that fans of sports teams see themselves as members of an organization, not just consumers of a product. To foster greater loyalty toward a sports team, managers should concentrate on strengthening fans’ team identity. One way to accomplish this goal is to recognize that a team identity is more than an association with a collection of athletes and coaches or an association with other fans. A team identity can also be symbolic of other types of group identities. Two main types of external group identities are demographic categories and membership organizations. Identifying the external group identities that a sports team is believed to represent and then aligning more closely with key external group identities provides managers with an opportunity to strengthen fans’ team identity and, consequently, their loyalty to a team.