Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relevant Sources of Information Are Not Necessarily Popular Ones

The constant growth of the Web in recent years has made more difficult the discovery of new sources of information on a given topic. This is a prominent problem for Experts in Intelligence Analysis (EIA) who are faced to the search of pages on specific and sensitive topics. Because of their lack of popularity or because they are poorly indexed due to their sensitive content, these pages are hard-to-find with traditional search engines. In this article, we describe a new Web source discovery system called DOWSER (Discovery Of Web Sources Evaluating Relevance). The goal of this system is to provide users with new sources of information related to their needs without considering the popularity of a page unlike classic Information Retrieval tools. The expected result is a balance between relevance and originality, in the sense that the wanted pages are not necessary popular. DOWSER is based on a user profile to focus its exploration of the Web in order to collect and index only related Web documents. As requests can be insufficient to express sensitive and specific needs, the user's information needs are specified using user's interests represented by DBPedia resources [1] and keywords, both extracted from Web pages provided by the user. A series of experiments provides an empirical evaluation of DOWSER.
Gradual activation of the response regulator DegU controls serial expression of genes for flagellum formation and biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis

In natural environments, bacteria fluctuate between growth as motile cells and growth as sessile, biofilm‐forming cells. However, what controls the transition between these two‐growth modes in Bacillus subtilis is not well understood yet. The degU mutation prevents both flagellum formation and biofilm formation, suggesting that one of the transition mechanisms may underlie regulation of the DegU activity. The expression profiles of DegU‐regulated genes differed; flagellar genes and several unknown genes were expressed during the exponential phase, whereas other genes were induced in the stationary phase. The degS mutation did not affect transcription of the flgB‐sigD operon, but reduced transcription of σD‐dependent flagellar genes, degU and other DegU‐regulated genes. In addition, the degQ mutation did not affect transcription of flagellar genes but reduce transcription of other DegU‐regulated genes. Purified DegQ protein stimulated phosphotransfer from phospho‐DegS to DegU in vitro. Moreover, DegU binds the promoter region of flgB with a high affinity, whereas DegU binds to the promoter regions of other DegU‐regulated genes with a low affinity and in a DegS‐dependent manner. Taken together, we propose that a gradual increase in DegU and phospho‐DegU levels induces a transition from growth as motile cells to growth as sessile, biofilm‐forming cells.
Are government intentions for the inclusion of innovation and small and medium enterprises participation in public procurement being delivered or ignored? An Irish case study

It is imperative that public procurement opportunities are made equally accessible to all size businesses to ensure a fair and level competitive playing field. “Innovation,” as the creative process of exploiting new ideas, has become widely recognized as playing a central role in the economic recovery of Europe and so too are the small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) who are considered as major promoters of innovation and innovative solutions. At a national level, the implementation of European Union (EU) policies on SMEs and innovation inclusion in public procurement, while of paramount importance to Irish policy-makers to ensure alignment and compliance, seems, however, to have a significant lack of monitoring and reporting mechanisms. It is found that a lack of commitment and drive from the top, a lack of robust measurements and monitoring mechanisms combined with contrasting political agendas, and a very risk averse culture have collectively added to government intentions being ignored in many instances.
Association of Psychological Disorders With 30-Day Readmission Rates in Patients With COPD.

BACKGROUND There is a growing understanding of the prevalence and impact of psychological disorders on COPD. However, the role of these disorders in early readmission is unclear. METHODS We analyzed data from 5% fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with COPD (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code, 491.xx, 492.xx, 493.xx, and 496.xx) between 2001 and 2011 who were hospitalized with a primary discharge diagnosis of COPD or a primary discharge diagnosis of respiratory failure (518.xx and 799.1) with secondary diagnosis of COPD. We hypothesized that such psychological disorders as depression, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse are independently associated with an increased risk of 30-day readmission in patients hospitalized for COPD. RESULTS Between 2001 and 2011, 135,498 hospitalizations occurred for COPD in 80,088 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. Of these, 30,218 (22.30%) patients had one or more psychological disorders. In multivariate analyses, odds of 30-day readmission were higher in patients with COPD who had depression (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.29-1.39), anxiety (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.37-1.50), psychosis (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.10-1.27), alcohol abuse (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.15-1.47), and drug abuse (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.11-1.50) compared with those who did not have these disorders. These psychological disorders increased amount of variation in 30-day readmission attributed to patient characteristics by 37%. CONCLUSIONS Psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse are independently associated with higher all-cause 30-day readmission rates for Medicare beneficiaries with COPD.
Resisting the costs of ‘development’: local environmental activism in Ireland

Abstract Irish environmentalism has frequently been described as characterised by ‘localism’ and compared with similar patterns in Southern Europe. Used thus, localism carries a negative connotation, suggesting that such activism does not reflect pure or genuine environmental commitment. Irish environmental activism is indeed predominantly local but these ‘defences of place’ may be far more socially and politically significant than is generally recognised. The concept of place constructed and advanced by local activists combines concerns about perceived threats and risks arising from specific projects with claims, both implicit and sometimes explicit, regarding human well-being and the quality of the natural environment. Thus, ‘place’ can act as a holistic concept encompassing notions of the good life. In this way, local-level activism can be linked to emerging political conflicts over the direction and character of modern society and gobalisation.
The Influence of Psychological State and Motivation on Brain–Computer Interface Performance in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – a Longitudinal Study

The current study investigated the effects of psychological well-being measured as quality of life (QoL), depression, current mood and motivation on brain–computer interface (BCI) performance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Six participants with most advanced ALS were trained either for a block of 20 sessions with a BCI based on sensorimotor rhythms (SMR) or a block of 10 sessions with a BCI based on event-related potentials, or both. Questionnaires assessed QoL and severity of depressive symptoms before each training block and mood and motivation before each training session. The SMR-BCI required more training than the P300-BCI. The information transfer rate was higher with the P300-BCI (3.25 bits/min) than with the SMR-BCI (1.16 bits/min). Mood and motivation were related to the number of BCI sessions. Motivational factors, specifically challenge and mastery confidence, were positively related to BCI performance (controlled for the number of sessions) in tow participants, while incompetence fear was negatively related with performance in one participant. BCI performance was not related to motivational factors in three other participants nor to mood in any of the six participants. We conclude that motivational factors may be related to BCI performance in individual subjects and suggest that motivational factors and well-being should be assessed in standard BCI protocols. We also recommend using P300-based BCI as first choice in severely paralyzed patients who present with a P300 evoked potential.
Linked Raters' Judgments: Combating Problems of Statistical Conclusion Validity

The traditional procedure for obtaining judged rat ings, to ascertain if treatment-related change has oc curred, involves the randomization of the materials to be rated. An alternative approach (linked judgments) is investigated as a potential solution to certain instru mentation-related threats to statistical conclusion valid ity of the incumbent rating procedure. Data from a weight reduction study are presented which suggest that linked raters' judgments provide both a more powerful and a more valid index of treatment effec tiveness than the traditional procedure.
A resistance-based approach to consensus algorithm performance analysis

We study the well known linear consensus algorithm by means of a LQ-type performance cost. We want to understand how the communication topology influences this algorithm. In order to do this, we recall the analogy between Markov Chains and electrical resistive networks. By exploiting this analogy, we are able to rewrite the performance cost as the average effective resistance on a suitable network. We use this result to show that if the communication graph fulfills some local properties, then its behavior can be approximated with that of a suitable grid, over which the behavior of the cost is known.
Parameterized Weighted Containment

Partially specified systems and specifications are used in formal methods such as stepwise design and query checking. Existing methods consider a setting in which systems and their correctness are Boolean. In recent years, there has been growing interest and need for quantitative formal methods, where systems may be weighted and specifications may be multivalued. Weighted automata, which map input words to a numerical value, play a key role in quantitative reasoning. Technically, every transition in a weighted automaton A has a cost, and the value A assigns to a finite word w is the sum of the costs on the transitions traversed along the most expensive accepting run of A on w. We study parameterized weighted containment: given three weighted automata A, B, and C, with B being partial, the goal is to find an assignment to the missing costs in B so that we end up with B′ for which B′≤ C, where ≤ is the weighted counterpart of containment. We also consider a one-sided version of the problem, where only A or only C is given in addition to B, and the goal is to find a minimal assignment with which A≤ B′ or, respectively, a maximal one with which B′ ≤ C. We argue that both problems are useful in stepwise design of weighted systems as well as approximated minimization of weighted automata. We show that when the automata are deterministic, we can solve the problems in polynomial time. Our solution is based on the observation that the set of legal assignments to k missing costs forms a k-dimensional polytope. The technical challenge is to find an assignment in polynomial time even though the polytope is defined by means of exponentially many inequalities. We do so by developing a divide-and-conquer algorithm based on a separation oracle for polytopes. For nondeterministic automata, the weighted setting is much more complex, and in fact even nonparameterized containment is undecidable. We are able to show positive results for variants of the problems, where containment is replaced by simulation.
The Design and Analysis of Non-Uniform DownSized Differential Distributed Amplifier s

In this paper the design and analysis of a novel non-uniform fully differential distributed amplifier is presented. The gainbandwidth product of the proposed amplifier designed in a 0. 18μm standard CMOS process reaches a record level of 34.76 GHz. Proved by both the analytical models and the HSPICE simulations, down-sizing the device and inductor sizes of each stage with respect to the preceding stage in a distributed amplifier will result in a better gain-bandwidth product. A comprehensive analytical study is carried out to predict the behavior of the amplifier. HSPICE simulations verify the superior performance of the proposed non-uniform distributed amplifier compared to its conventional counterpart in terms of a better gain-bandwidth product and a flat frequency response.
Single-View and Multiview Depth Fusion

Dense and accurate 3-D mapping from a monocular sequence is a key technology for several applications and still an open research area. This letter leverages recent results on single-view convolutional network (CNN)-based depth estimation and fuses them with multiview depth estimation. Both approaches present complementary strengths. Multiview depth is highly accurate but only in high-texture areas and high-parallax cases. Single-view depth captures the local structure of midlevel regions, including texture-less areas, but the estimated depth lacks global coherence. The single and multiview fusion we propose is challenging in several aspects. First, both depths are related by a deformation that depends on the image content. Second, the selection of multiview points of high accuracy might be difficult for low-parallax configurations. We present contributions for both problems. Our results in the public datasets of NYUv2 and TUM shows that our algorithm outperforms the individual single and multiview approaches. A video showing the key aspects of mapping in our single and multiview depth proposal is available at https://youtu.be/ipc5HukTb4k.
Diurnal Rhythms Result in Significant Changes in the Cellular Protein Complement in the Cyanobacterium Cyanothece 51142

Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142 is a diazotrophic cyanobacterium notable for its ability to perform oxygenic photosynthesis and dinitrogen fixation in the same single cell. Previous transcriptional analysis revealed that the existence of these incompatible cellular processes largely depends on tightly synchronized expression programs involving ∼30% of genes in the genome. To expand upon current knowledge, we have utilized sensitive proteomic approaches to examine the impact of diurnal rhythms on the protein complement in Cyanothece 51142. We found that 250 proteins accounting for ∼5% of the predicted ORFs from the Cyanothece 51142 genome and 20% of proteins detected under alternating light/dark conditions exhibited periodic oscillations in their abundances. Our results suggest that altered enzyme activities at different phases during the diurnal cycle can be attributed to changes in the abundance of related proteins and key compounds. The integration of global proteomics and transcriptomic data further revealed that post-transcriptional events are important for temporal regulation of processes such as photosynthesis in Cyanothece 51142. This analysis is the first comprehensive report on global quantitative proteomics in a unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterium and uncovers novel findings about diurnal rhythms.
The Pleasure of Food, and the Spiritual: Eat, Pray, Love and Babette's Feast

Summary This article explores the significance of the enjoyment of food in relation to spirituality, as (re)presented in two texts -Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love (2007) and the cinematic version of Karen Blixen's novel Babette's Feast (1987). It is argued that the pleasure derived from food occupies a crucial position in both texts, firstly in its own “hedonistic” right, but secondly also as far asit functions allegorically (Babette's Feast), or temporally (Eat, Pray, Love) regarding the (re)presentation of spiritually significant experience. That is, the enjoyment of food is (re)presented as a means of repeating (and perhaps anticipating) spiritually meaningful culinary experience (Babette's Feast). In Eat, Pray, Love, the spiritual awakening of the protagonist, in the “dark night of her soul”, is succeeded by a kind of “carnival”, followed by something resembling the Lent of the Christian tradition. Hence, her journey through space and time takes her from sensuous (though celibate) pleasure in food (Eat) to spiritual sacrifice (Pray) and eventually romantic love (Love). The narrative logic of this sequence, it is argued, consists in sensuous, culinary enjoyment preparing her for the meaning of sacrifice through spiritual commitment. These two phases of her journey, or existential quest, become intertwined (their complex interlacement being constituted by a kind of interpenetration of pleasure and sacrifice through commitment).
The Effects of Organizational Learning Culture, Perceived Job Complexity, and Proactive Personality on Organizational Commitment and Intrinsic Motivation

This article investigated the effect of personal characteristics (proactive personality) and contextual characteristics (organizational learning culture and job complexity) on employees' intrinsic motivation and organizational commitment. Employees exhibited the highest organizational commitment when they perceived higher learning culture and higher job complexity. Employees were more intrinsically motivated when they showed higher proactive personality and perceived higher job complexity. The perception of their job complexity partially mediated the relationship between organizational learning culture and organizational commitment and the relationship between proactive personality and intrinsic motivation. Overall, organizational learning culture, proactive personality, and perceived job complexity accounted for 44% and 54% of the variances in organizational commitment and intrinsic motivation, respectively. In addition, proactive personality moderated the relationship between organizational learning culture and organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research are discussed.
Quantitative x-ray radiography using grating interferometry: a feasibility study

X-ray grating interferometry is a promising tool for medical imaging because of its capability of providing additional and complementary information to conventional absorption-based methods. This technology can simultaneously measure absorption, differential phase and small-angle scattering signals from the sample, significantly improving the diagnostic content. In this work, we present a method which uses the image (dubbed the R image) obtained by taking the ratio of the absorption and small-angle scattering signals to gain quantitative insight from a radiographic x-ray projection. We demonstrate that with the help of the R image we can successfully distinguish among different (light-Z) plastic materials, which are usually used to mimic soft tissues. Two potential applications in medical imaging, such as quantitative x-ray radiography and volumetric breast density estimation, are demonstrated.
A New Dedicated Pilot Allocation Scheme in Multiuser MIMO OFDM with Vector Perturbation

Multiuser MIMO vector perturbation precoding facilitates multiple representations of the transmit symbols in order to improve transmit power normalization. When reference symbols (pilots) are considered, they must remain unperturbed. For conventional dedicated pilot schemes, where reference and data symbols are separated, the pilot vector is effectively linearly precoded, which degrades the performance. In this paper we propose a new pilot allocation scheme for OFDM systems, where reference and data symbols use the same time/frequency resource and are therefore precoded together to enable this we also present a means for enforcing a zero perturbation restriction upon the perturbation vector for the reference symbols. We support our findings by simulation results for zero-forcing precoding. It is shown that the linearly precoded conventional pilots severely degrade diversity of the system, which can be overcome by our proposed method.
From brain formation to plasticity: Insights on Otx2 homeoprotein

The shaping of neuronal circuits is essential during postnatal brain development. A window of neuronal remodeling by sensory experience typically occurs during a unique time in early life. The many types of behavior and perception, like human language, birdsong, hearing and vision are refined by experience during these distinct ‘critical periods’. The onset of critical periods for vision is delayed in animals that remain in complete darkness from birth. It is then predicted that a ‘messenger’ within the visual pathway signals the amount of sensory experience that has occurred. Our recent results indicate that Otx2 homeoprotein, an essential morphogen for embryonic head formation, is reused later in life as this ‘messenger’ for critical period plasticity. The homeoprotein is stimulated by visual experience to propagate into the visual cortex, where it is internalized by GABAergic interneurons, especially Parvalbumin‐positive cells (PV‐cells). Otx2 promotes the maturation of PV‐cells, consequently activating critical period onset in the visual cortex. Here, we discuss recent data that are beginning to illuminate the physiological function of non‐cell autonomous homeoproteins, as well as the restriction of their transfer to PV‐cells in vivo.
Parent Ratings Using the Chinese Version of the Parent Gifted Rating Scales–School Form Reliability and Validity for Chinese Students

This study examined the reliability and validity of the scores of a Chinese-translated version of the Gifted Rating Scales–School Form (GRS-S) using parents as raters and explored the effects of gender and grade on the ratings. A total of 222 parents participated in the study and rated their child independently using the Chinese version of the Parent GRS-S (CVPGRS-S). Results indicate high reliability for parent rating scores and statistically significant correlations between CVPGRS-S scale scores and students' classroom academic achievement scores. The effect sizes of the relationships were moderate. Results revealed no statistically significant grade effect on any of the six CVPGRS-S scales; small but statistically significant differences in favor of females on the six CVPGRS-S scales were found. However, the effect size was small. Research results suggest that the Chinese-translated parent version of the GRS-S holds promise for use with Chinese parents.
Comments on “Re-Examination of the Fakability of the Gordon Personal Inventory and Profile: A Reply to Schwab”

This comment shows that Braun and Farrell's (1974) reply to Schwab (1970) was deficient because it inappropriately generalized from an independent samples design to a repeated-measures design. It further corrects several erroneous interpretations made by Braun and Farrell of the Schwab study. Finally, it suggests some new directions for test-faking research.