Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Study of Software Metrics Selection Using Support Vector Machine

The objective of feature selection is to identify irrelevant and redundant features, which can then be discarded from the analysis. Reducing the number of metrics (features) in a data set can lead to faster software quality model training and improved classifier performance. In this study we focus on feature ranking using linear Support Vector Machines (SVM) which is implemented in WEKA. The contribution of this study is to provide an extensive empirical evaluation of SVM rankers built from imbalanced data. Should the features be removed at each iteration? What should the recommended value be for the tolerance parameter? We address these and other related issues in this work.
The Feat of Packaging Eight Unique Genome Segments

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) harbor a segmented RNA genome that is organized into eight distinct viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complexes. Although a segmented genome may be a major advantage to adapt to new host environments, it comes at the cost of a highly sophisticated genome packaging mechanism. Newly synthesized vRNPs conquer the cellular endosomal recycling machinery to access the viral budding site at the plasma membrane. Genome packaging sequences unique to each RNA genome segment are thought to be key determinants ensuring the assembly and incorporation of eight distinct vRNPs into progeny viral particles. Recent studies using advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques suggest the formation of vRNP sub-bundles (comprising less than eight vRNPs) during their transport on recycling endosomes. The formation of such sub-bundles might be required for efficient packaging of a bundle of eight different genomes segments at the budding site, further highlighting the complexity of IAV genome packaging.
From IBS to DBS

Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of organic disease. We present 2 cases where diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome occurred in association with earlier intestinal infection or antibiotic treatment. Both were successfully treated with instillation of an anaerobic cultivated human intestinal microbiota. Thereafter, they were symptom free for at least 12 months. We now introduce the term dysbiotic bowel syndrome covering cases where a disturbed intestinal microbiota is assumed to be present. We recommend that restoration of the dysbiotic gut microbiota should be first-line treatment in these conditions.
A Rapid Texture Synthesis Algorithm Based on Clustering Preprocessing

Summary This paper presents a novel technique using clustering preprocessing for the challenging problem in the field of computer graphics, which is to speed up texture synthesis without losing of synthesis quality and adding of method complexity. An algorithm of rapid texture synthesis based on clustering preprocessing is designed to speed up both of pixels-based and patch-based local region-growing methods maintain original level of texture quality or gaining better. Experiments show that efficiency of pixelbased texture synthesis method with respect to stochastic texture sample increases by 80 percent with better synthesis quality, and efficiency of patch-based texture synthesis method with respect to structured texture sample increases by 70 percent. Due to avoiding the step of blending the overlap pixels needed by patch-based texture synthesis the synthesis quality is more steady than original results.
The Right to Information - the Right to Records The Relationship between Record Keeping, Access to Information, and Government Accountability

1 The author is a records and archives consultant based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, who has worked around the world in the development of accountable record-keeping systems and the education of records and archives professionals. This paper is an outgrowth of the author’s recent work with the International Records Management Trust and the World Bank on issues of accountabilit y, transparency, and record keeping in the public sector. Readers interested in more information about this project, on Evidence-based Governance in the Electronic Age, are directed to the IRMT website at www.irmt. org/evidence. The author is grateful to the International Records Management Trust, and particularly to her colleague Andrew Griffin, for assistance during the research for this paper.
Using Hybrid Algorithms Based on GMDH-Type Neural Networks for Solving Economic Problems

This survey deals with up-to-date results in the field of hybrid algorithms development of GMDH-type Neural Networks (GMDH-NN) and other methods of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which are successfully used for solving complex economic problems. Such hybrid algorithms are now only in its early stage of active research. General characteristics and main weaknesses of GMDH-NN are firstly presented. The paper further gives brief information on some AI paradigms such as Swarm Intelligence and Evolutionary Computation. Then known hybridization cases of GMDH-NN and certain methods of these paradigms (Genetic Algorithms, Differential Evolution, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Genetic Programming) are considered eliminating a number of the networks shortcomings. In the future it is worth to study the most promising ways of GMDH-NN hybridization with other methods of AI in order to increase their efficiency and extend applications.
Time-frequency derivation of periodic wide band probing signals

An analysis of a discrete time-frequency distribution yields a new periodic wide band probing signal for use in unknown system identification. The derivation is based on the mathematical properties of the discrete Wigner distribution. Like the continuous distribution, the discrete version also satisfies the covariance property, meaning transformations in the time-frequency plane are equivalent to transformations in the time domain. By utilizing this property, the linearly swept frequency measurement is extended to discrete, periodic signals. The resulting probing signal possesses favorable characteristics such as a short illumination time requirement and good resistance to noise. The performance of the proposed probing method is compared with m-sequence methods and chirp signal methods.
Integrating Sustainability into Transport Professor

Introduction There are two ways of embarking on a discussion of sustainability in transport. One is primarily concerned with defining sustainability (usually through a discussion of climate change) and then detailing the seriously unsustainable trends we are currently experiencing and finishing with a flourish about how we could change trajectory and solve the problem through some serious policy changes. This route is well rehearsed in the transport policy literature and has had no impact whatsoever on changing trends. The other approach is to exploit the very large scenario literature, backcasting methodology and “visioning” tools that exist and paint a picture of what things could be like and how we would get there. In this paper I will explore this second approach and define sustainability and its links with transport through a vision of a future that is not very far away. This future will be presented as a picture of transport in the UK in 2030. This possible future, I will argue, has to be rooted in sustainability and this in turn requires a strongly practical integration of sustainability into the transport sector.
Induced Fit or Conformational Selection? The Role of the Semi-closed State in the Maltose Binding Protein

A full characterization of the thermodynamic forces underlying ligand-associated conformational changes in proteins is essential for understanding and manipulating diverse biological processes, including transport, signaling, and enzymatic activity. Recent experiments on the maltose binding protein (MBP) have provided valuable data about the different conformational states implicated in the ligand recognition process; however, a complete picture of the accessible pathways and the associated changes in free energy remains elusive. Here we describe results from advanced accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) simulations, coupled with adaptively biased force (ABF) and thermodynamic integration (TI) free energy methods. The combination of approaches allows us to track the ligand recognition process on the microsecond time scale and provides a detailed characterization of the protein’s dynamic and the relative energy of stable states. We find that an induced-fit (IF) mechanism is most likely and that a mechanism involving both a conformational selection (CS) step and an IF step is also possible. The complete recognition process is best viewed as a “Pac Man” type action where the ligand is initially localized to one domain and naturally occurring hinge-bending vibrations in the protein are able to assist the recognition process by increasing the chances of a favorable encounter with side chains on the other domain, leading to a population shift. This interpretation is consistent with experiments and provides new insight into the complex recognition mechanism. The methods employed here are able to describe IF and CS effects and provide formally rigorous means of computing free energy changes. As such, they are superior to conventional MD and flexible docking alone and hold great promise for future development and applications to drug discovery.
Crosslinguistic perspectives on the development of prosodic words.

Researchers have long known that children’s early word productions differ from those of adults, both in the segments and syllables produced (e.g., dog > [dɑ]; banana > [ n nə). Some have proposed that these early segmental /syllabic truncations are due to early perceptual or articulatory limitations (e.g., Echols, 1992; MacNeilage, 1980). Others have proposed that children’s early words are phonologically “unmarked,” becoming more marked over time (Demuth, 1995; Gnanadesikan, 2004). However, results from recent crosslinguistic research suggest that children’s early word productions are sensitive to language-specific phonologies, showing earlier acquisition of high frequency syllable and prosodic word structures (e.g., Levelt, Schiller, & Levelt, 2000; Roark & Demuth, 2000). This indicates that children’s early prosodic words show more systematic language-specific differences in shape than perceptual, articulatory and markedness proposals would predict. To the extent that these findings are robust, we should then be able to make predictions regarding the timing and course of prosodic word development across languages. The first goal of this special volume is to explore these issues more fully by bringing together recent research on the acquisition of prosodic words (PWs) from a number of languages with different distributions of prosodic structures. The papers in this volume therefore include contributions from the less studied Catalan (Prieto), European Portuguese (Vigario, Freitas & Frota) and Japanese (Ota), as well as the better-known Spanish (Lleo) and English (Demuth, Culbertson & Alter). In most cases newly collected longitudinal corpora, including data from several children between the ages of 1 – 2 years, now makes it possible to provide a more systematic, quantitative study of PW development. A second goal of this volume was to test some of the frequency-based predictions, providing a theoretical framework for further investigation of children’s developing phonologies. For example, frequency and markedness constraints often co-occur, facilitating the early acquisition of high-frequency, unmarked structures (e.g., core CV syllables, trochaic feet). Occasionally, however, the “unmarked” structure is not the most frequent, raising questions regarding the course of acquisition under such conditions (e.g., Stites, Demuth, & Kirk, 2004; Zamuner, Gerken, & Hammond, 2005). The existence of these new longitudinal acquisition corpora, many of which include extensive samples of early child-directed speech, now make it possible to LANGUAGE AND SPEECH, 2006, 49 (2), 129 –135
Aspects épidémiologiques de l'hypertension artérielle aux Antilles-Guyane

Les caracteristiques epidemiologiques de l'Hypertension Arterielle (HTA) aux Antilles, encore tres mal connues, sont presentees dans ce travail qui repose sur l'analyse d'une cohorte de 6000 travailleurs salaries des Antilles-Guyane, d'un echantillon de 2400 sujets vivant en situation de recarite en Guadeloupe, et d'une cohorte de 30 000 travailleurs salaries de la France Metropolitaine. La ression arterielle (PA) a ete mesuree lors de deux visites successives, et l'HTA a ete definie par la prise d'un traitement medicamenteux et/ou la constatation de chiffres de PA >140/90 mm Hg aux deux visites. Les travaux realises retrouvent : 1. une prevalence de l'HTA de 19% chez les hommes et femmes salaries des Antilles-Guyane 2. un ecart marque entre hommes et femmes pour la connaissance, le traitement, et le controle de l'HTA. 3. l'absence de difference majeure dans la prevalence et le controle de l'HTA chez les hommes entre salaries des Antilles-Guyane et salaries de la Metropole. 4. une meilleure connaissance, et un meilleur controle therapeutique de l'HTA parmi les femmes salariees des Antilles-Guyane, comparees a celles de Metropole 5. une plus grande agressivite therapeutique aux Antilles-Guyane, compare a la Metropole 6. une prevalence accrue et un plus mauvais controle de l'HTA chez les sujets vivant en situation de precarite 7. une plus grande frequence de l'obesite et de la sedentarite chez ces derniers 8. une association entre le manque de confiance dans son propre futur chez les sujets en situation de precarite, et la prevalence de l'HTA En conclusion, contrairement aux donnees habituelles de la litterature, on ne retrouve pas aux Antilles-Guyane de severite accrue de l'HTA, quand on l'analyse par rapport a une populations comparable. D'autre part, la population precaire presente une plus grande severite de l'HTA dont le determinisme fait probablement intervenir des facteurs psychosociaux complexes.
Leishmania major-Specific B Cells Are Necessary for Th2 Cell Development and Susceptibility to L. major LV39 in BALB/c Mice1

B lymphocytes are considered to play a minimal role in host defense against Leishmania major. In this study, the contribution of B cells to susceptibility to infection with different strains of L. major was investigated in BALB/c mice lacking mature B cells due to the disruption of the IgM transmembrane domain (μMT). Whereas BALB/c μMT remained susceptible to infection with L. major IR173 and IR75, they were partially resistant to infection with L. major LV39. Adoptive transfer of naive B cells into BALB/c μMT mice before infection restored susceptibility to infection with L. major LV39, demonstrating a role for B cells in susceptibility to infection with this parasite. In contrast, adoptive transfer of B cells that express an IgM/IgD specific for hen egg lysozyme (HEL), an irrelevant Ag, did not restore disease progression in BALB/c μMT mice infected with L. major LV39. This finding was likely due to the inability of HEL Tg B cells to internalize and present Leishmania Ags to specific T cells. Furthermore, specific Ig did not contribute to disease progression as assessed by transfer of immune serum in BALB/c μMT mice. These data suggest that direct Ag presentation by specific B cells and not Ig effector functions is involved in susceptibility of BALB/c mice to infection with L. major LV39.
Guidelines on the investigation and management of antiphospholipid syndrome

This guidance updates and replaces the previous guideline on the investigation and management of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) published in 2000 (Greaves et al, 2000), though where there have not been changes we refer back to them when appropriate. The guidance is updated with reference to relevant publications since 2000. Publications known to the writing group were supplemented with additional papers identified by searching PubMed for publications in the last 11 years using the key words: lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin, antiphospholipid, b2–glycoprotein I, antiprothrombin and limits (clinical trial, randomized control trial, meta-analysis, humans, core clinical journals, English language). The writing group produced the draft guideline, which was subsequently revised by consensus by members of the Haemostasis and Thrombosis Task Force of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology. The guideline was then reviewed by a sounding board of approximately 50 UK haematologists, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH) Committee and comments incorporated where appropriate. The ‘GRADE’ system was used to quote levels and grades of evidence, details of which can be found at http://www.bcshguidelines. com/BCSH_PROCESS/EVIDENCE_LEVELS_AND_GRADES_OF_RECOMMEN DATION/43_GRADE. html. The objective of this guideline is to provide healthcare professionals with clear guidance on the diagnosis and management of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome though individual patient circumstances may dictate an alternative approach.
Multilevel Buck/Boost-Type DC–DC Converter for High-Power and High-Voltage Application

This paper presents a new nonisolated buck/boost-type multilevel dc-dc converter suitable for high-power and medium/high-voltage application. The main features of the proposed topology are as follows: low voltage across the semiconductors, low switching losses, and reduced volume of the output filter. The theoretical analysis is carried out for a five-level bidirectional structure of the proposed converter, operating in Buck mode. The proposed topology presents some capacitors, and their voltage must be balanced for proper operation of the converter. Thus, a capacitor voltage balancing active control using a feedforward technique is proposed and analyzed in detail. In order to validate the theoretical analysis, a prototype with 10 kW output power capability, 1.3 kV to 800 V input-to-output voltage, and 20 kHz of switching frequency was built and experimented. The results attest the advantages of the new dc-dc topology, as well as the new capacitor voltage control technique.
Simulation Research on the MPPT of the PV Cells Based on Fuzzy Control

His paper establishes simulation model of the photovoltaic cells based on MATLAB/SIMULINK, and analyzes the output characteristics of photovoltaic cells under different light intensity and ambient temperature. It realizes the MPPT control with variable step size incremental conductance method of photovoltaic cells by fuzzy control. Simulation results show that using fuzzy control algorithm of variable step size incremental conductance method can be stabilized at the maximum power point. When the environmental parameters change suddenly, it can be much quicker to find the new maximum power point and has a good tracking performance.
Leap: a "personal information environment" for software engineers

The Leap toolkit is designed to provide Lightweight, Empirical, Anti-measurement dysfunction, and Portable approaches to software developer improvement. Using Leap, software engineers gather and analyze personal data concerning time, size, defects, patterns, and checklists. They create and maintain definitions describing their software development procedures, work products, and project attributes, including document types, defect types, severities, phases, and size definitions. Leap also supports asynchronous software review and facilitates integration of this group-based data with individually collected data. The Leap toolkit provides a "reference model" for a personal information environment to support skill acquisition and improvement for software engineers.
Adaptive robust control for nonlinear system with input backlash or backlash-like hysteresis

An adaptive robust control (ARC) algorithm is developed for a class of uncertain dynamic nonlinear system with unknown input backlash or backlash-like hysteresis, parametric uncertainties and uncertain disturbances. Due to the non-smooth dynamic nonlinear nature of backlash, existing robust adaptive control methods mainly focus on using approximate inversion of backlash by on-line parameter adaptation. But experimental results show that a linear controller alone can perform better than a controller including the selected backlash inverter with a correctly estimated or overestimated backlash gap. Unlike many existing control schemes, the backlash inverse is not constructed in this paper. A new linearly parameterized model for backlash is presented. The backlash nonlinearity is linearly parameterized globally with bounded model error as backlash-like hysteresis. The adaptive robust control law is designed to ensure that all closed-loop signals are bounded and achieve the tracking within the desired precision. Simulations results illustrate the performance of the proposed ARC.
Inequality in School Readiness and Autism among 6-Year-Old Children across Iranian Provinces: National Health Assessment Survey Results

Objective To assess the national inequality of school readiness and autism among 6-year-old Iranian children before school entry using a national health assessment survey. Methods In a cross-sectional nationwide survey, all Iranian children entering public and private elementary schools were asked to participate in a mandatory national screening program in Iran in 2009 in two levels of screening and diagnostic levels. Findings The study population consisted of 955388 children (48.5% girls and 76.1% urban residents). Of the whole children, 3.1% of the 6-year-old children had impaired vision. In addition, 1.2, 1.8, 1.4, 7.6, 0.08, 10, 10.9, 56.7, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.6 percent had color blindness, hearing impaired, speech disorder, school readiness, autism, height to age retardation, body mass index extremes, decayed teeth, disease with special needs, spinal disorders, and hypertension, respectively. The distribution of these disorders was unequally distributed across provinces. Conclusion Our results confirmed that there is an inequality in distribution of school readiness and autism in 6-year-old children across Iranian provinces. The observed burden of these distributions among young children needs a comprehensive national policy with evidence-based province programs to identify the reason for different inequality among provinces.
Free-hand sketch grouping for video retrieval

We present an algorithm for extracting object descriptions from free-hand sketches of remembered scenes, drawn as video retrieval queries. Our sketches depict scene content, as well as indicators of motion. We report an exploratory study investigating how people sketch to depict recalled events. We incorporate several observations from this study into the design of a novel sketch parsing algorithm. We draw upon a temporal HMM classifier to recognise common pictograms, and graph-cut to identify more general objects.
Structured Documents: Signatures and Deception

Much of the information exchanged between agents over a network is encapsulated in XML documents. An XML document has a tree structure, and the meaning of the document can be understood in terms of a set of label-value pairs. The content of a document is often secured through digital signatures applied to different sections, while the document is passed between several agents. In this paper, we illustrate that this process is insecure in the sense that a malicious agent can deceive an honest agent to hold beliefs that are untrue. We provide a formal framework for analyzing the security of structured documents, based on the implicit epistemic impact that a signed document will have on a recipient. This kind of analysis can provide significant insight into deception and fraud detection.