Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Spreadsheet Generation from Conceptual Models

The flexibility and ease-of-use of spreadsheets allow users with little CS background to build computational solutions to solve their problems. However, inexperienced users may build erroneous spreadsheets. Modeling is commonly used in software development to allow users to visualize, communicate, and validate different aspects of a system before starting its construction. This work proposes a Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) approach that automatically generates spreadsheets from conceptual models aiming to reduce the number of errors introduced by users while using spreadsheets. Initially, we designed and executed an empirical study to identify the most common errors users commit when developing spreadsheets. The results of this study have shown that even users who classify themselves as experienced spreadsheet developers commit a large number of errors while developing a spreadsheet. Also, it has shown that formula-related errors are the most common errors introduced by users (55%). A second study involved humans using a spreadsheet generated by our approach and showed initial evidence that the approach can build spreadsheets that avoid the introduction of several types of errors often present in spreadsheets manually created by users. In this sense, we observed 98% correct answers to 234 questions involving spreadsheet manipulation.
Identifikasi Obyek Bergerak Berbasis Segmentasi Warna RGB

Penelitian ini menerapkan metode segmentasi warna berbasis komponen RGB untuk mengidentifikasi obyek bergerak. Metode kuantisasi berbasis multi-thresholding yang diterapkan di tiap komponen RGB digunakan untuk memisahkan pola obyek dalam citra. Teknik adjustment digunakan untuk mengatur contrast dan brightness dari citra yang sudah terkuantisasi. Segmentasi warna RGB dilakukan dengan memperkurangkan antar komponen R, G dan B. Terdapat 6 (enam) kemungkinan segmentasi warna yaitu segmentasi R-G, RB, G-R, G-B, B-R dan B-G. Dari hasil percobaan yang dilakukan, diperoleh segmentasi terbaik untuk mendeteksi obyek bergerak adalah segmentasi R-B untuk dominan frame warna red , segmentasi G-B untuk dominan frame warna green , dan segmentasi B-R untuk dominan frame warna blue .
Abdominal Cocoon: A Rare Entity

Background: Abdominal cocoon is a rare disease where small intestine is enclosed in a membrane and commonly presents with features of bowel obstruction. Case Reports: We present two cases: one 28 years old male presented with abdominal pain and was diagnosed as abdominal cocoon at laparotomy; and another 81 years old female, a case of sigmoid cancer, was diagnosed at laparotomy as abdominal cocoon. In both cases membrane enclosing small intestine was excised. Histopathology of membrane was reported as fibro-collagenous tissue. Discussion: Abdominal cocoon is a rare entity, and its etiology is poorly understood. In most of cases preoperative diagnosis is not made with certainty despite of advancement in imaging. So, most of cases are diagnosed at laparotomy. Excision of membrane is the definitive treatment of abdominal cocoon. Conclusion: A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosing abdominal cocoon.
Coordination Disambiguation without Any Similarities

The use of similarities has been one of the main approaches to resolve the ambiguities of coordinate structures. In this paper, we present an alternative method for coordination disambiguation, which does not use similarities. Our hypothesis is that coordinate structures are supported by surrounding dependency relations, and that such dependency relations rather yield similarity between conjuncts, which humans feel. Based on this hypothesis, we built a Japanese fully-lexicalized generative parser that includes coordination disambiguation. Experimental results on web sentences indicated the effectiveness of our approach, and endorsed our hypothesis.
Media sharing based on colocation prediction in urban transport

People living in urban areas spend a considerable amount of time on public transport, for example, commuting to/from work. During these periods, opportunities for inter-personal networking present themselves, as many members of the public now carry electronic devices equipped with Bluetooth or other wireless technology. Using these devices, individuals can share content (e.g., music, news and video clips) with fellow travellers that are on the same train or bus. Transferring media content takes time; in order to maximise the chances of successful downloads, users should identify neighbours that possess desirable content and who will travel with them for long-enough periods. In this paper, we propose a user-centric prediction scheme that collects historical colocation information to determine the best content sources. The scheme works on the assumption that people have a high degree of regularity in their movements. We first validate this assumption on a real dataset, that consists of traces of people moving in a large city's mass transit system. We then demonstrate experimentally on these traces that our prediction scheme significantly improves communication efficiency, when compared to a memory(history)-less source selection scheme.
Direct determination of polyamines in human serum by radioimmunoassay.

Antipolyamine antibodies were produced following immunization of New Zealand white rabbits with thyroglobulin spermine conjugate, using multiple-site injection and macrophage-harvesting techniques. The antispermine antibody in a radioimmunoassay system cross-reacted with spermidine (22%), putrescine (1%), diaminopropane (6%), and cadaverine (0.16%). No reaction with L-lysine, ornithine, or histamine was noted. Using this antibody, the radioimmunoassay for direct determination of serum polyamines was developed. A sensitivity of 200 pg was achieved on human serum samples. This radioimmunoassay would appear to be a useful tool for the detection and monitoring of a variety of pathophysiological states associated with abnormal polyamine metabolism, i.e., cancer.
Generating range fixes for software configuration

To prevent ill-formed configurations, highly configurable software often allows defining constraints over the available options. As these constraints can be complex, fixing a configuration that violates one or more constraints can be challenging. Although several fix-generation approaches exist, their applicability is limited because (1) they typically generate only one fix, failing to cover the solution that the user wants; and (2) they do not fully support non-Boolean constraints, which contain arithmetic, inequality, and string operators. This paper proposes a novel concept, range fix, for software configuration. A range fix specifies the options to change and the ranges of values for these options. We also design an algorithm that automatically generates range fixes for a violated constraint. We have evaluated our approach with three different strategies for handling constraint interactions, on data from five open source projects. Our evaluation shows that, even with the most complex strategy, our approach generates complete fix lists that are mostly short and concise, in a fraction of a second.
Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system

Symbolic gestures, such as pantomimes that signify actions (e.g., threading a needle) or emblems that facilitate social transactions (e.g., finger to lips indicating “be quiet”), play an important role in human communication. They are autonomous, can fully take the place of words, and function as complete utterances in their own right. The relationship between these gestures and spoken language remains unclear. We used functional MRI to investigate whether these two forms of communication are processed by the same system in the human brain. Responses to symbolic gestures, to their spoken glosses (expressing the gestures' meaning in English), and to visually and acoustically matched control stimuli were compared in a randomized block design. General Linear Models (GLM) contrasts identified shared and unique activations and functional connectivity analyses delineated regional interactions associated with each condition. Results support a model in which bilateral modality-specific areas in superior and inferior temporal cortices extract salient features from vocal-auditory and gestural-visual stimuli respectively. However, both classes of stimuli activate a common, left-lateralized network of inferior frontal and posterior temporal regions in which symbolic gestures and spoken words may be mapped onto common, corresponding conceptual representations. We suggest that these anterior and posterior perisylvian areas, identified since the mid-19th century as the core of the brain's language system, are not in fact committed to language processing, but may function as a modality-independent semiotic system that plays a broader role in human communication, linking meaning with symbols whether these are words, gestures, images, sounds, or objects.
Are we using enough listeners? no! - an empirically-supported critique of interspeech 2014 TTS evaluations

Tallying the numbers of listeners that took part in subjective evaluations of synthetic speech at Interspeech 2014 showed that in more than 60% of papers conclusions are based on listening tests with less than 20 listeners. Our analysis of Blizzard 2013 data shows that for a MOS test measuring naturalness a stable level of significance is only reached when more than 30 listeners are used. In this paper, we set out a list of guidelines, i.e., a checklist for carrying out meaningful subjective evaluations. We further illustrate the importance of sentence coverage and number of listeners by presenting changes to rank order and number of significant pairs by re-analysing data from the Blizzard Challenge 2013.
Retinal ganglion cell terminals change their projection sites during larval development of Rana pipiens

Interconnecting neuronal populations in the vertebrate CNS are typically not well matched in their overall topographic patterns of histogenesis and differentiation during development. One striking example of this mismatch is the retinotectal system of the frog, where the retina grows in concentric annuli, while the optic tectum, a major retinal target, adds new neurons at only the caudo-medial border. The retinal ganglion cell (RGC) terminals nevertheless form an organized map in the tectum during the period when the two structures are undergoing such disparate modes of growth. This led Gaze et al. (Gaze, R. M., M. J. Keating, and S. H. Chung (1974) Proc. R. Soc. Lond. (Biol.) 185: 301–330) to propose that the terminals must shift caudally during development. In the present study, we have directly tested the hypothesis of “shifting connections” by selectively labeling an identified population of RGC terminals, those at the optic nerve head (ONH), and determining their tectal projection site relative to a particular group of [3H]thymidine-labeled tectal neurons. With this double-label technique, we have found that RGC terminals from cells at the ONH move from a position rostral to the [3H]thymidine-labeled tectal cells to a position caudal to these same cells during the latter half of larval development. This represents a movement of approximately 1.4 mm across the tectal surface between stages T&K XII and T&K XXV. In addition, we have used electron microscopy and electrophysiology to demonstrate that the RGC terminals make functional synaptic connections during this period. This indicates that RGC terminals continually change the tectal neurons with which they form functional synapses during the development of the retinotectal system. We propose that such moving, but highly ordered connections can best be explained by a two stage mechanism for map formation, in which graded selective adhesions between cells in appropriate regions of retina and tectum provide the overall gross retinotopy of the projection, while competitive interactions between RGC terminals are responsible for the refinement of the precision in this system.
Learning Translation Rules for a Bidirectional English-Filipino Machine Translator

Filipino is a changing language that poses several challenges. Our goal is to develop a bidirectional English-Filipino Machine Translation (MT) system using a hybrid approach to learn rules from examples. The first phase was an English to Filipino MT system that required several language resources. The problem lies on its dependency over the annotated grammar which is currently unavailable for Filipino, which makes reverse translation impossible. Phase 2 addresses this limitation by using information taken from English and Filipino POS Taggers. The seed rules are generated by aligning the POS tags from English and Filipino examples, including their constraints. To perform compositionality, the system deduces the constituent labels by using the longest adjacent POS tags found in both the English and Filipino rule. The system groups together similar rules and generalizes it to encompass a wider range of unseen examples.
The Time Variable in Data Fusion: A Change Detection Perspective

This paper presents an overview on the image fusion concept in the context of multitemporal remote sensing image processing. In the remote sensing literature, multitemporal image analysis mainly deals with the detection of changes and land-cover transitions. Thus the paper presents and analyses the most relevant literature contributions on these topics. From the perspective of change detection and detection of land-cover transitions, multitemporal image analysis techniques can be divided into two main groups: those based on the fusion of the multitemporal information at feature level, and those based on the fusion of the multitemporal information at decision level. The former mainly exploit multitemporal image comparison techniques, which aim at highlighting the presence/absence of changes by generating change indices. These indices are then analyzed by unsupervised algorithms for extracting the change information. The latter rely mainly on classification and include both supervised and semi/partially-supervised/unsupervised methods. The paper focuses the attention on both standard (and largely used) methods and techniques proposed in the recent literature. The analysis is conducted by considering images acquired by optical and SAR systems at medium, high and very high spatial resolution.
Reasoning about Topics : towards a formal theory

It is suggested that one way of understanding contexts is to view them as sets of topics. Accordingly, a description of a given context would be a set of sentences about the set of topics concerned. The paper presents a model-theoretic and axiomatic characterisation of a logic for sentences of the type: " sentence ’p’ is about topic t’, and then discusses some features of that logic. The model-theory makes particular use of the three valued semantics of Bochvar. Finally, some remarks are made about application domains in which it would be useful to have a logic for reasoning about topics.
Multilocus DNA Sequence Comparisons Rapidly Identify Pathogenic Molds

ABSTRACT The increasing incidence of opportunistic fungal infections necessitates rapid and accurate identification of the associated fungi to facilitate optimal patient treatment. Traditional phenotype-based identification methods utilized in clinical laboratories rely on the production and recognition of reproductive structures, making identification difficult or impossible when these structures are not observed. We hypothesized that DNA sequence analysis of multiple loci is useful for rapidly identifying medically important molds. Our study included the analysis of the D1/D2 hypervariable region of the 28S ribosomal gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions 1 and 2 of the rRNA operon. Two hundred one strains, including 143 clinical isolates and 58 reference and type strains, representing 43 recognized species and one possible new species, were examined. We generated a phenotypically validated database of 118 diagnostic alleles. DNA length polymorphisms detected among ITS1 and ITS2 PCR products can differentiate 20 of 33 species of molds tested, and ITS DNA sequence analysis permits identification of all species tested. For 42 of 44 species tested, conspecific strains displayed >99% sequence identity at ITS1 and ITS2; sequevars were detected in two species. For all 44 species, identifications by genotypic and traditional phenotypic methods were 100% concordant. Because dendrograms based on ITS sequence analysis are similar in topology to 28S-based trees, we conclude that ITS sequences provide phylogenetically valid information and can be utilized to identify clinically important molds. Additionally, this phenotypically validated database of ITS sequences will be useful for identifying new species of pathogenic molds.
Fractal boundaries of complex networks

We introduce the concept of the boundary of a complex network as the set of nodes at distance larger than the mean distance from a given node in the network. We study the statistical properties of the boundary nodes seen from a given node of complex networks. We find that for both Erdős-Rényi and scale-free model networks, as well as for several real networks, the boundaries have fractal properties. In particular, the number of boundaries nodes B follows a power law probability density function which scales as B-2. The clusters formed by the boundary nodes seen from a given node are fractals with a fractal dimension df≈2. We present analytical and numerical evidences supporting these results for a broad class of networks.
Identification of Novel SHOX Target Genes in the Developing Limb Using a Transgenic Mouse Model

Deficiency of the human short stature homeobox-containing gene (SHOX) has been identified in several disorders characterized by reduced height and skeletal anomalies such as Turner syndrome, Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis and Langer mesomelic dysplasia as well as isolated short stature. SHOX acts as a transcription factor during limb development and is expressed in chondrocytes of the growth plates. Although highly conserved in vertebrates, rodents lack a SHOX orthologue. This offers the unique opportunity to analyze the effects of human SHOX expression in transgenic mice. We have generated a mouse expressing the human SHOXa cDNA under the control of a murine Col2a1 promoter and enhancer (Tg(Col2a1-SHOX)). SHOX and marker gene expression as well as skeletal phenotypes were characterized in two transgenic lines. No significant skeletal anomalies were found in transgenic compared to wildtype mice. Quantitative and in situ hybridization analyses revealed that Tg(Col2a1-SHOX), however, affected extracellular matrix gene expression during early limb development, suggesting a role for SHOX in growth plate assembly and extracellular matrix composition during long bone development. For instance, we could show that the connective tissue growth factor gene Ctgf, a gene involved in chondrogenic and angiogenic differentiation, is transcriptionally regulated by SHOX in transgenic mice. This finding was confirmed in human NHDF and U2OS cells and chicken micromass culture, demonstrating the value of the SHOX-transgenic mouse for the characterization of SHOX-dependent genes and pathways in early limb development.
Design of a DC/DC buck converter for ultra-low power applications in 65nm CMOS Process

Switching mode DC/DC converters are critical building blocks in portable devices and hence their power efficiency, accuracy and cost are a major issue. The primary focus of this thesis is to address these critical issues.This thesis focuses on the different methods of feedback control loop which are employed in the switching mode DC/DC converters such as voltage mode control and current mode control. It also discusses about the structure of buck converter and tries to find an efficient solution for stepping-down the DC voltage level in ultra-low power applications. Based on this analysis, a 20 MHz voltage mode DC/DC buck converter with an on-chip compensated error amplifier in 65 nm CMOS process is designed and implemented.The power efficiency has been improved by sizing the power switches to have a low parasitic output and gate capacitances to reduce the capacitive and gate-drive losses. Also the error amplifier biasing current is chosen a small value (12.5 μA) to reduce the power dissipations in the control loop of the system. The maximum 84% power efficiency is achieved at 1.1 V to 500 mV conversion, above 81% efficiency can be achieved at load current from 0.5 mA to 1.26 mA. Due to wide bandwidth error amplifier and proper compensation network the fast transient response with settling time around 45 μs is achieved.
Interaction of vascular smooth muscle cells with collagen-impregnated embolization coils studied with a novel quantitative in vitro model.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Modifications of aneurysm occlusion devices and other biologically active molecules may reduce the risk of recanalization by promoting vascular cell migration, adhesion, and proliferation. Our purpose was to apply in vitro methods in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) interactions with collagen-impregnated microcoils. METHODS The adhesion of rat aortic VSMCs to collagen fiber bundles (CFBs), nitinol coils, and collagen-impregnated nitinol coils (CINCs) was examined by using an assay consisting of monopulse exposure to increasing concentrations of rat aortic VSMCs. Exposed devices were washed and examined by using confocal fluorescence microscopy. Adhesion coefficients, which quantitatively express the cell-binding quality of a surface, were determined by using a mathematical model for cell-device interactions. RESULTS VSMCs, attached to devices, spread out and extended cytoplasmic projections over the contact surface. Cell distribution was random on CFBs and within interloop troughs on nitinol coils. On collagen-impregnated coils, VSMCs were selectively concentrated on the collagen between coil loops. The average adhesion coefficient was 25.0 for CFBs, 8.5 for CINCs (250-microm pitch), and 6.5 for nitinol coils. Adhesion coefficient differences for the three devices were significant (P =.044). CONCLUSION The monopulse exposure assay is a simple and reproducible in vitro test that provides qualitative information about the morphology and topography of cell-device contacts and permits quantitative measurement of the intrinsic cell-binding quality of the test device. VSMCs exposed to collagen-impregnated microcoils selectively attach to collagen. Collagen enhances the rate of VSMC adhesion to embolic devices, and the degree of enhancement correlates with the surface area constituted by collagen.
Synthetic Lethality of the bfr and mbfA Genes Reveals a Functional Relationship between Iron Storage and Iron Export in Managing Stress Responses in Bradyrhizobium japonicum

An mbfA mutant of Bradyrhizobium japonicum defective in iron export is sensitive to short term exposure to high levels iron or H2O2. Here, we found that the mbfA strain grown in elevated iron media (100 μM) became resistant to those treatments, suggesting a stress response adaptation. The bfr gene encodes the iron storage protein bacterioferritin, and its expression is derepressed by iron. An mbfA bfr double mutant showed a loss of stress adaptation, and had a severe growth phenotype in high iron media. Moreover, a bfrup allele in which bfr is constitutively derepressed conferred stress tolerance on an mbfA mutant without elevating the iron content in the growth media. The intracellular iron content of the mbfA bfr double mutant was substantially higher than that found in the wild type, even when grown in relatively low iron media (5 μM). Under that condition, iron-responsive gene expression was aberrant in the mbfA bfr strain. Moreover, the double mutant was sensitive to the iron-activated antibiotic streptonigrin. We conclude that MbfA and Bfr work in concert to manage iron and oxidative stresses. In addition, the need for iron detoxification is not limited to extreme environments, but is also required for normal cellular function.