Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heuristics for type error discovery and recovery (revised)

Type error messages that are reported for incorrect functional programs can be difficult to understand. The reason for this is that most type inference algorithms proceed in a mechanical, syntax-directed way, and are unaware of inference techniques used by experts to explain type inconsistencies. We formulate type inference as a constraint problem, and analyze the collected constraints to improve the error messages (and, as a result, programming efficiency). A special data structure, the type graph, is used to detect global properties of a program, and furthermore enables us to uniformly describe a large collection of heuristics which embed expert knowledge in explaining type errors. Some of these also suggest corrections to the programmer. Our work has been fully implemented and is used in practical situations, showing that it scales up well.
A 2.6-µW sub-threshold mixed-signal ECG SoC

This paper describes a 0.13-µm CMOS sub-threshold (sub-VT) mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC) that acquires and processes an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal for wireless ECG monitoring. The SoC uses a sub-threshold digital microcontroller (μC) for adaptive control of the sub-VT biased analog components and for processing the ECG data. The μC operates from 0.24 V to 1.2 V and consumes as little as 1.51 pJ per instruction. The SoC consumes only 2.6 µW while providing either heart rate or ECG data.
Optical Correction Reduces Simulator Sickness in a Driving Environment

Objective: We propose and test a method to reduce simulator sickness. Background: Prolonged work in driving simulators often leads to nausea and other symptoms summarized as simulator sickness. Visual/vestibular mismatches are a frequently addressed cause; we investigate another possibility, mismatch between actual distance to a screen and depicted distances in the simulator’s graphics. Method: Drivers negotiated a figure-8 course in a photorealistic simulator. They reported discomfort and vection every 10 minutes up to 40 min. A correction group wore optometric test frames with +1.75 diopter lenses and prisms to converge parallel lines of sight on a screen 56 cm from the driver’s eyes, preserving the normal accommodative convergence–to–accommodation (AC/A) ratio. A control group wore neutral lenses in the same test frames. In other experiments head tilt simulated vestibular experience on curves. Results: The optical correction significantly reduced simulator sickness measured on a 10-point discomfort scale, where 1 is no problem and 10 is about to vomit. Vection ratings were similar for correction and control groups. Some drivers failed to complete the course because of high discomfort ratings, crashes, or other causes. Head tilt in the direction opposite each curve while wearing the correction did not affect discomfort, while tilt in the same direction as each curve made simulator sickness worse. Conclusion: Optical corrections can significantly reduce simulator sickness, though they do not eliminate it. Head tilt while driving is not recommended. Application: Simple optical corrections in spectacle frames, easily purchased at any optical facility, should be used in screen-based driving simulators. Strength of the correction depends on distance from the driver to the screen.
Post-9/11 Terrorism Threats, News Coverage, and Public Perceptions in the United States

Terrorists, policy-makers, and terrorism scholars have long assumed that the mere threat of terrorist strikes affects societies that have experienced actual acts of terrorism. For this reason, most definitions of terrorism include the threat of violent political acts against civilians. But so far research has neither validated this conventional wisdom nor demonstrated how actual and mass-mediated threat messages by terrorists and terror alerts and threat assessments by government officials affect the public in targeted states. This paper fills the gap providing evidence that who conveys such messages matters and that mass-mediated threat messages by al Qaeda leaders and announced alerts and threat assessments by U.S. administration officials had a significant impact on the American public’s threat perceptions in the post-9/11 years.
Diagnosing psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disabilities: issues and achievements

Purpose – Diagnosing psychiatric disorders (PD) in adults with Intellectual Disability (ID) presents several issues and need specific skills and tools. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of the current status of art through a systematic mapping of the literature. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed the international literature on the basis of the following questions: what are the issues in the psychiatric diagnostic process for adults with ID? What methods and procedures have been used for psychiatric assessment in ID? To date, is it possible to identify some most effective procedures? Findings – The analysis of the literature indicates that main issues of the psychiatric diagnostic process in adults with ID are the following: identification of psychiatric symptoms, behavioural equivalents, diagnostic criteria, setting, source of information, screening, and diagnostic tools. The evidence base is only emerging and although many relevant achievements have been reac.
Progressive language disorder associated with frontal lobe degeneration

Abstract We report a patient KC who presented with a profound disorder of propositional language in association with progressive frontal lobe degeneration. The salient clinical feature was her marked difficulty in responding to open-ended questions, contrasting with the relative preservation of performance on more closed, structured language tasks. Experimental investigations of her language skills revealed significant temporal organizational difficulties. She could generate sentences in sentence completion tasks, although there were errors in thematic role assignment and temporal ordering. She had profound difficulty rearranging written words to form a sentence, despite producing the sentence orally. She was unable to conjoin sentences with an appropriate conjunction. The nature of her language disorder is discussed with reference to traditional categories of aphasia. The case is important in drawing attention to the role of the frontal lobes in language functioning and the potential contribution of proc.
A Paradigm-Based Finite State Morphological Analyzer for Marathi

A morphological analyzer forms the foundation for many NLP applications of Indian Languages. In this paper, we propose and evaluate the morphological analyzer for Marathi, an inflectional language. The morphological analyzer exploits the efficiency and flexibility offered by finite state machines in modeling the morphotactics while using the well devised system of paradigms to handle the stem alternations intelligently by exploiting the regularity in inflectional forms. We plug the morphological analyzer with statistical pos tagger and chunker to see its impact on their performance so as to confirm its usability as a foundation for NLP applications.
Law, order and conflicts of interest in massively multiplayer online games

In huge online games where great numbers of players can be connected at the same time, social interaction is complex and conflicts become part of everyday life. There is a set of rules and norms in the game for what is allowed and what is prohibited and these are partly set up by the game publisher and partly evolve among the players themselves over time. This paper describes and exemplifies a number of often-contested behaviors around which most in-game conflicts in the massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) Everquest revolve. Using these examples as a starting point, the paper presents a conceptual framework for analyzing conflicts and allegiance in MMOGs.
Peripheral Vasculitis, Intermediate Uveitis and Interferon Use in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. A 40-year-old female patient with a 12-year history of MS was admitted to our clinic with blurred vision and floaters in her right eye for about 1 month. Here, we share the findings and the management of intermediate uveitis and retinal periphlebitis in an MS case being treated with interferon beta-1a for 7 years.
A tale of two toxicities: malformed selenoproteins and oxidative stress both contribute to selenium stress in plants.

BACKGROUND Despite selenium's toxicity in plants at higher levels, crops supply most of the essential dietary selenium in humans. In plants, inorganic selenium can be assimilated into selenocysteine, which can replace cysteine in proteins. Selenium toxicity in plants has been attributed to the formation of non-specific selenoproteins. However, this paradigm can be challenged now that there is increasingly abundant evidence suggesting that selenium-induced oxidative stress also contributes to toxicity in plants. SCOPE This Botanical Briefing summarizes the evidence indicating that selenium toxicity in plants is attributable to both the accumulation of non-specific selenoproteins and selenium-induced oxidative stress. Evidence is also presented to substantiate the claim that inadvertent selenocysteine replacement probably impairs or misfolds proteins, which supports the malformed selenoprotein hypothesis. The possible physiological ramifications of selenoproteins and selenium-induced oxidative stress are discussed. CONCLUSIONS Malformed selenoproteins and oxidative stress are two distinct types of stress that drive selenium toxicity in plants and could impact cellular processes in plants that have yet to be thoroughly explored. Although challenging, deciphering whether the extent of selenium toxicity in plants is imparted by selenoproteins or oxidative stress could be helpful in the development of crops with fortified levels of selenium.
Adaptive equalization for DS-CDMA multi-user communication system using Laguerre filters

In this paper proposes an adaptive equalizer using Laguerre transversal filter and a RLS algorithm for adaptation in DS-CDMA mobile communication systems. The Laguerre structure is compromise between the FIR and IIR structures, since the Laguerre structure is always stable. We also analyze the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of the proposed equalizer and the conventional equalizer. The simulation results show that the performances of the proposed equalizer are better than the conventional equalizer, such as fast convergence and lower BER than the conventional adaptive equalizer for every Eb / N0 value.
Clarithromycin-Susceptible and -ResistantHelicobacter pylori Isolates with Identical Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-PCR Genotypes Cultured from Single Gastric Biopsy Specimens Prior to Antibiotic Therapy

ABSTRACT Of the Helicobacter pylori populations from 976 patients, six contained clarithromycin-resistant as well as -susceptible colonies. In each heterogeneous H. pyloripopulation, resistant H. pylori colonies harbored identical 23S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) mutations associated with clarithromycin resistance, while the susceptible H. pylori colonies all had wild-type 23S rDNA. The resistant and susceptible colonies of each of the heterogeneous H. pylori populations had identical randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR genotypes. In conclusion, evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility can be misinterpreted if only a single colony from the primary H. pylori population is used to test for clarithromycin susceptibility.
Small multicopy, non-integrative shuttle vectors based on the plasmid pRN1 for Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and Sulfolobus solfataricus, model organisms of the (cren-)archaea

The extreme thermoacidophiles of the genus Sulfolobus are among the best-studied archaea but have lacked small, reliable plasmid vectors, which have proven extremely useful for manipulating and analyzing genes in other microorganisms. Here we report the successful construction of a series of Sulfolobus–Escherichia coli shuttle vectors based on the small multicopy plasmid pRN1 from Sulfolobus islandicus. Selection in suitable uracil auxotrophs is provided through inclusion of pyrEF genes in the plasmid. The shuttle vectors do not integrate into the genome and do not rearrange. The plasmids allow functional overexpression of genes, as could be demonstrated for the β-glycosidase (lacS) gene of S. solfataricus. In addition, we demonstrate that this β-glycosidase gene could function as selectable marker in S. solfataricus. The shuttle plasmids differ in their interruption sites within pRN1 and allowed us to delineate functionally important regions of pRN1. The orf56/orf904 operon appears to be essential for pRN1 replication, in contrast interruption of the highly conserved orf80/plrA gene is tolerated. The new vector system promises to facilitate genetic studies of Sulfolobus and to have biotechnological uses, such as the overexpression or optimization of thermophilic enzymes that are not readily performed in mesophilic hosts.
Learning from users' querying experience on intranets

Query recommendation is becoming a common feature of web search engines especially those for Intranets where the context is more restrictive. This is because of its utility for supporting users to find relevant information in less time by using the most suitable query terms. Selection of queries for recommendation is typically done by mining web documents or search logs of previous users. We propose the integration of these approaches by combining two models namely the concept hierarchy, typically built from an Intranet's documents, and the query flow graph, typically built from search logs. However, we build our concept hierarchy model from terms extracted from a subset (training set) of search logs since these are more representative of the user view of the domain than any concepts extracted from the collection. We then continually adapt the model by incorporating query refinements from another subset (test set) of the user search logs. This process implies learning from or reusing previous users' querying experience to recommend queries for a new but similar user query. The adaptation weights are extracted from a query flow graph built with the same logs. We evaluated our hybrid model using documents crawled from the Intranet of an academic institution and its search logs. The hybrid model was then compared to a concept hierarchy model and query flow graph built from the same collection and search logs respectively. We also tested various strategies for combining information in the search logs with respect to the frequency of clicked documents after query refinement. Our hybrid model significantly outperformed the concept hierarchy model and query flow graph when tested over two different periods of the academic year. We intend to further validate our experiments with documents and search logs from another institution and devise better strategies for selecting queries for recommendation from the hybrid model.
The research of vehicles' rear-view mirror contours' visual pattern based on machine vision

In the process of dealing with traffic accidents, the contour of the car body parts is very important to the information of the vehicle body. By using image processing techniques and methods, this paper proposed a new type recognition system of rear-view mirror outline. We also designed the way of active and passive vision measurement in the image acquisition phase; discussed the way of using the Harsdorff distance of the fragments and the standard parts' profile curve for image matching; and designed a database to achieve the query and comparison of fragments and standard parts.
Routine OGTT: A Robust Model Including Incretin Effect for Precise Identification of Insulin Sensitivity and Secretion in a Single Individual

In order to provide a method for precise identification of insulin sensitivity from clinical Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) observations, a relatively simple mathematical model (Simple Interdependent glucose/insulin MOdel SIMO) for the OGTT, which coherently incorporates commonly accepted physiological assumptions (incretin effect and saturating glucose-driven insulin secretion) has been developed. OGTT data from 78 patients in five different glucose tolerance groups were analyzed: normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), IFG+IGT, and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). A comparison with the 2011 Salinari (COntinuos GI tract MOdel, COMO) and the 2002 Dalla Man (Dalla Man MOdel, DMMO) models was made with particular attention to insulin sensitivity indices ISCOMO, ISDMMO and kxgi (the insulin sensitivity index for SIMO). ANOVA on kxgi values across groups resulted significant overall (P<0.001), and post-hoc comparisons highlighted the presence of three different groups: NGT (8.62×10−5±9.36×10−5 min−1pM−1), IFG (5.30×10−5±5.18×10−5) and combined IGT, IFG+IGT and T2DM (2.09×10−5±1.95×10−5, 2.38×10−5±2.28×10−5 and 2.38×10−5±2.09×10−5 respectively). No significance was obtained when comparing ISCOMO or ISDMMO across groups. Moreover, kxgi presented the lowest sample average coefficient of variation over the five groups (25.43%), with average CVs for ISCOMO and ISDMMO of 70.32% and 57.75% respectively; kxgi also presented the strongest correlations with all considered empirical measures of insulin sensitivity. While COMO and DMMO appear over-parameterized for fitting single-subject clinical OGTT data, SIMO provides a robust, precise, physiologically plausible estimate of insulin sensitivity, with which habitual empirical insulin sensitivity indices correlate well. The kxgi index, reflecting insulin secretion dependency on glycemia, also significantly differentiates clinically diverse subject groups. The SIMO model may therefore be of value for the quantification of glucose homeostasis from clinical OGTT data.
Vasoactive Role for Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptors in Human Radial Artery

Angotensin II type 2 receptors are believed to counter the effects of the angiotensin type 1 receptors and there is no data relating to the co-localisation of either receptor in human diseased arteries. We sought to determine whether AT2R counter the effects of AT1R and immunolocalise both receptors to cells in human diseased arteries. Human radial arteries (RA, n=11) were placed in organ bath chambers and preincubated with the AT2R antagonist PD123319 for twenty minutes before an angiotensin II dose response curve. Immunohistochemistry was performed to identify receptors and pathology was quantified by image analysis software. We observed both receptors in human arteries. Angiogenic blood vessels within occluded arteries expressed both receptors. PD123319 impaired angiotensin II mediated vasoconstriction by 20% (n=5, p<0.05), however in other arteries, PD123319 exacerbated angiotensin II-mediated vasoconstriction by 60% (n=6, p<0.01), respectively. We conclude that inhibition of AT2R can enhance or reduce angiotensin II-mediated vasoconstriction. These data indicate that the role of AT2R in human diseased arteries is divergent although the AT2R-mediated vasorelaxation prevails.
"The Road Less Traveled": Professional Communities in Secondary Schools

During the last 4 decades, numerous reform efforts have been proposed to improve schools. Two reforms, decentralization and teacher collaboration, seemed to coalesce by the 1990s to pave the way toward a new understanding of leading and learning in schools. In retrospect, the decentralization movement and the literature on teacher collaboration appear to have been significant precursors to an emerging concept called professional community. This article explores key aspects of professional community, discusses potential benefits, and examines difficulties that principals and teachers may face as they try to shift from familiar norms and relationships to the establishment of professional communities in schools. The shift may require principals and teachers to confront longstanding traditions and may involve profound changes in attitudes and practices. The article draws on the literature, as well as illustrations from an empirical study in Maltese secondary schools, to suggest several ways in which the principal and other school members might facilitate the establishment of professional learning communities.
Reliability and validity of the American Hospital Association's national longitudinal survey of health information technology adoption.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the internal consistency, construct validity, and criterion validity of a battery of items measuring information technology (IT) adoption, included in the American Hospital Association (AHA) IT Supplement Survey. METHODS We analyzed the 2012 release of the AHA IT Supplement Survey. We performed reliability analysis using Cronbach's α and part-whole correlations, construct validity analysis using principal component analysis (PCA), and criterion validity analysis by assessing the items' sensitivity and specificity of predicting attestation to Medicare Meaningful Use (MU). RESULTS Twenty-eight items of the 31-item instrument and five of six functionality subcategories defined by the AHA all produced reliable scales (α's between 0.833 and 0.958). PCA mostly confirmed the AHA's categorization of functionalities; however, some items loaded only weakly onto the factor most associated with their survey category, and one category loaded onto two separate factors. The battery of items was a valid predictor of attestation to MU, producing a sensitivity of 0.82 and a specificity of 0.72. DISCUSSION The battery of items performed well on most indices of reliability and validity. However, they lack some components of ideal survey design, leaving open the possibility that respondents are not responding independently to each item in the survey. Despite measuring only a portion of the objectives required for attestation to MU, the items are a moderately sensitive and specific predictor of attestation. CONCLUSIONS The analyzed instrument exhibits satisfactory reliability and validity.
Relative Thresholds : Case Study to Incorporate Metrics in the Detection of Bad Smells

To detect flaws, bad smells, etc, we often use quantitative methods: metrics or measures. It is common in practice to use thresholds to set the correctness of the measures. Most of the current tools use generic values. Nevertheless, there is a certain concern about the effects of threshold applications on obtained values. Current research is working on case studies of thresholds for several products and different versions. However, product domain and size could also affect the results, so we deal with the question of using generic vs. relative thresholds, looking at what effects this could have in bad smell detection.
Bifurcations from Synchrony in Homogeneous Networks: Linear Theory

A regular network is a network with one kind of node and one kind of coupling. We show that a codimension one bifurcation from a synchronous equilibrium in a regular network is at linear level isomorphic to a generalized eigenspace of the adjacency matrix of the network, at least when the dimension of the internal dynamics of each node is greater than 1. We also introduce the notion of a product network—a network where the nodes of one network are replaced by copies of another network. We show that generically the center subspace of a bifurcation in product networks is the tensor product of eigenspaces of the adjacency matrices of the two networks.