Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Année académique 2008-2009 Working paper 09 / 10 A theoretical survey of user interface description languages : Preliminary results

A user interface description language (UIDL) consists of a specification language that describes various aspects of a user interface under development. A comparative review of some selected user interface description languages is produced in order to analyze how they support the various stages of user interface development life cycle and development goals, such as support for multi-platform, deviceindependence, modality independence, and content delivery. There has been a long history and tradition to attempt capturing the essence of user interfaces at various levels of abstraction for different purposes, including those of development. The recent return of this effort today gains more attraction, along with the dissemination of XML markup languages, and gives birth to many proposals for various user interface description languages. Consequently, an in-depth analysis of the salient features that make these languages different from each other is desired in order to identify when and where they are appropriate for a specific purpose. The review is conducted based on a systematic analysis grid and some user interfaces implemented with these languages. Keywords-component; User interfaces, User Interface Description Language, Extensible Markup Language, User Interface extensible Markup Language.
Index for Measuring the Quality of Complementary Feeding Practices in Rural India

This community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken to develop a complementary feeding index (CFI) to assess the adequacy of complementary feeding (CF) practices and determine its association with growth of infants, aged 6–12 months, in rural Indian population. The study was conducted in six villages of Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh, India. A structured interview schedule was used for eliciting information from 151 mothers of infants, aged 6–12 months, on CF practices. Data on CF practices were scored using the CFI developed. Measurements of weight and length were taken. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were done using the SPSS software (version 13). The results revealed that the CF practices were suboptimal in the sample. The mean±standard deviation (SD) CFI scores ranged from a low value of 7.09±3.21 in 6–8 months old infants to a comparatively-higher value of 9.69±2.94 in 9–12 months old infants. Using the CFI it could be identified that infants (n=151) had poor dietary diversity, with only 31% and 18% of the infants reportedly being fed the recommended number of food-groups during 6–8 and 9–12 months respectively. The food-frequency scores of the CFI showed that cereals and diluted animal milk were the major food-groups fed to the infants in this setting. Analysis of nutritional status revealed that 24.5% of the infants were stunted (length-for-age [LAZ] <-2SD), 25% were underweight (weight-for-age [WAZ] <-2SD), and 17% were wasted (weight-for-age [WLZ] <-2SD). Significant associations (p<0.05) were observed between the meal-frequency and the dietary diversity of the CFs of infants aged 6–8 months and 9–12 months and the WAZ and LAZ indices of their nutritional status. On multivariate analysis of factors affecting the LAZ, WAZ and WLZ scores, the CFI was significantly associated (p<0.05) with LAZ whereas maternal education and breastfeeding frequency were significantly (p<0.01) associated with WAZ and WLZ. Per-capita income, parity, and birth-order were the significant (p<0.05) determinants of the CFI. The CFI developed is an exploratory attempt to summarize and quantify the key CF practices into a composite index, which would reflect the CF practices holistically. This index can be used as an easy tool by programme planners for identifying, targeting, and monitoring the deficient CF practices and also advocating the importance of the CF at policy level.
Wolbachia-Based Population Control Strategy Targeting Culex quinquefasciatus Mosquitoes Proves Efficient under Semi-Field Conditions

In mosquitoes, the maternally inherited bacterial Wolbachia induce a form of embryonic lethality called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). This property can be used to reduce the density of mosquito field populations through inundative releases of incompatible males in order to sterilize females (Incompatible Insect Technique, or IIT, strategy). We have previously constructed the LR[wPip(Is)] line representing a good candidate for controlling field populations of the Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito in the islands of the south-western Indian Ocean. The main purpose of the present study was to fill the gap between laboratory experiments and field implementation, i.e. assessing mating competitiveness of these incompatible males under semi-field conditions. In a first set of experiments, we analyzed crossing relationships between LR[wPip(Is)] males and La Réunion field females collected as larvae in 19 distinct localities throughout the island. This investigation revealed total embryonic mortality, confirming the strong sterilizing capacity of LR[wPip(Is)] males. Subsequently, mating competitiveness of LR[wPip(Is)] males was assessed under semi-field conditions in the presence of field males and females from La Réunion. Confrontations were carried out in April and December using different ratios of LR[wPip(Is)] to field males. The results indicated that the LR[wPip(Is)] males successfully compete with field males in mating with field females, displaying even higher competitiveness than field males in April. Our results support the implementation of small-scale field tests in order to assess the feasibility of IIT against Cx. quinquefasciatus in the islands of southwestern Indian Ocean where this mosquito species is a proven competent vector for human pathogens.
The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review

While it has been suggested that loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is an effective practice for promoting positive emotions, the empirical evidence in the literature remains unclear. Here, we provide a systematic review of 24 empirical studies (N = 1759) on LKM with self-reported positive emotions. The effect of LKM on positive emotions was estimated with meta-analysis, and the influence of variations across LKM interventions was further explored with subgroup analysis and meta-regression. The meta-analysis showed that (1) medium effect sizes for LKM interventions on daily positive emotions in both wait-list controlled RCTs and non-RCT studies; and (2) small to large effect sizes for the on-going practice of LKM on immediate positive emotions across different comparisons. Further analysis showed that (1) interventions focused on loving-kindness had medium effect size, but interventions focused on compassion showed small effect sizes; (2) the length of interventions and the time spent on meditation did not influence the effect sizes, but the studies without didactic components in interventions had small effect sizes. A few individual studies reported that the nature of positive emotions and individual differences also influenced the results. In sum, LKM practice and interventions are effective in enhancing positive emotions, but more studies are needed to identify the active components of the interventions, to compare different psychological operations, and to explore the applicability in clinical populations.
Logarithmic profile mapping and Retinex edge preserving for restoration of low illumination images

Contents carried in an image are valuable information sources for many scientific and engineering applications. However, if the image is captured under low illumination conditions a large portion of the image appears dark and this heavily degrades the image quality. In order to solve this problem, a restoration algorithm is developed here that transforms the low input brightness to a higher value using a logarithmic mapping function. The mapping is further refined by a linear weighting with the input to reduce the un-necessary amplification at regions with high brightness. Moreover, fine details in the image are preserved by applying the Retinex principle to extract and then re-insert object edges. Results from experiments using low and normal illumination images have shown satisfactory performances with regard to the improvement in information contents and the mitigation of viewing artifacts.
Design of a Fuzzy Model Based Sliding Mode Control for Nonlinear Systems

We proposed the indirect adaptive fuzzy model based sliding mode controller to control a nonaffine nonlinear systems. Takagi- Sugano fuzzy system is used to represent the nonaffine nonlinear system and then inverted to design the controller at each sampling time. Also sliding mode component is employed to eliminate the effects of disturbances, while a fuzzy model component e quipped with an adaptation mechanism reduces modeling uncertainties by approximating model uncertainties. The proposed controller and adaptive laws guarantee that the closed- loop system is stable in the sense of Lyapunov and the output tracks a desired trajectory asymptotically.
Effect of Subpath Protection in optical WDM Mesh Networks

Networking makes communication ease. But failure of any network element due to the node/nodes or the link/links or any other factor can cause a huge problem resulting in data loss. As such, many protection and restoration techniques have been developed. In our research, we worked with Optical Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) Mesh Networks, assuming a hypothetical network of a larger area (Bangladesh). We have applied Shared-Path Protection and Subpath Protection schemes for a single link failure for a given set of lightpaths. Then, comparison of both the simulation results of the above mentioned protection schemes, showed that subpath protection gives much reduced fault-recovery time than that of shared-path protection. Same is concluded for survivability and scalability of our hypothetical network.
Relative Hypodense Vertebral Artery Sign on Computerized Tomography in Atherosclerotic Near Occlusion

A 52-year-old white male presented with an acute onset of slurred speech along with hypoesthesia in the entire left arm. The acute computed tomography (CT) showed relative hypodensity in the intracranial segment of left vertebral artery (VA) that was not present in historical images, pointing to the possible lack of flow. The site of occlusion was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that showed susceptibility effect in the affected artery. By means of historical native CT comparison the site of VA thrombosis was correctly predicted. Local atherosclerotic thrombosis of the VA could be relatively hypodense on native CT and still have positive susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) sign.
Propofol-induced apoptosis of neurones and oligodendrocytes in fetal and neonatal rhesus macaque brain.

BACKGROUND Exposure of the fetal or neonatal non-human primate (NHP) brain to isoflurane or ketamine for 5 h causes widespread apoptotic degeneration of neurones, and exposure to isoflurane also causes apoptotic degeneration of oligodendrocytes (OLs). The present study explored the apoptogenic potential of propofol in the fetal and neonatal NHP brain. METHOD Fetal rhesus macaques at gestational age 120 days were exposed in utero, or postnatal day 6 rhesus neonates were exposed directly for 5 h to propofol anaesthesia (n=4 fetuses; and n=4 neonates) or to no anaesthesia (n=4 fetuses; n=5 neonates), and the brains were systematically evaluated 3 h later for evidence of apoptotic degeneration of neurones or glia. RESULTS Exposure of fetal or neonatal NHP brain to propofol caused a significant increase in apoptosis of neurones, and of OLs at a stage when OLs were just beginning to myelinate axons. Apoptotic degeneration affected similar brain regions but to a lesser extent than we previously described after isoflurane. The number of OLs affected by propofol was approximately equal to the number of neurones affected at both developmental ages. In the fetus, neuroapoptosis affected particularly subcortical and caudal regions, while in the neonate injury involved neocortical regions in a distinct laminar pattern and caudal brain regions were less affected. CONCLUSIONS Propofol anaesthesia for 5 h caused death of neurones and OLs in both the fetal and neonatal NHP brain. OLs become vulnerable to the apoptogenic action of propofol when they are beginning to achieve myelination competence.
Characterization of Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys (MSMA) oriented to periodic actuation

This paper presents a study of Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy (MSMA) performances oriented to the design of a hydraulic pump. Its main properties, high strain and force under small response time requirement, have been recently improved via acoustic assistance by means of piezoelectric actuation. This research encloses a novel study in MSMA actuation technology regarding force and power mechanical exchanges and power consumption. The aim of this paper is to discuss the convenience of using MSMA technology in driving autonomous hydraulic robot power units.
Sense Proximity versus Sense Relations

It has been widely assumed that sense distinctions in WordNet are often too ne-grained for applications such as Machine Translation, Information Retrieval, Text Classication, Document clustering, Question Answering, etc. This has led to a number of studies in sense clustering, i.e., collapsing sense distinctions in WordNet that can be ignored for most practical applications [1,5,6]. At the UNED NLP group, we have also conducted a few experiments in sense clustering with the goal of improving WordNet for Information Retrieval and related applications [4,3,2]. Our experiments led us to the conclusion that annotating WordNet with a typology of polysemy relations is more helpful than forming sense clusters based on a notion of sense proximity. The reason is that sense proximity depends on the application, and in many cases can be derived from the type of relation between two senses. In the case of metaphors, senses often belong to different semantic elds, and therefore a metaphor can be a relevant distinction for Information Retrieval or Question & Answer systems. For Machine Translation applications, however, the metaphoric sense extensions might be kept across languages, and therefore the distinction might not be necessary to achieve a proper translation. In the panel presentation, we will summarize the experiments that led us to hold this position: n In [2] we compared two clustering criteria: the rst criterion, meant for Information Retrieval applications, consists of grouping senses that tend to co-occur in Semcor documents. The second criterion, inspired by [7], groups senses that tend to receive the same translation in several target languages via the EuroWordNet Interlingual Index (parallel polysemy). The overlapping of both criteria was between 55% and 60%, which reveals a correlation between both criteria but leaves doubts about the usefulness of the clusters. However, a classication of the sense groupings according to the type of polysemy relation claries the data: all homonym and metaphor pairs satisfying the parallel polysemy criterion did not satisfy the co-occurrence criterion; all generalization/specialization pairs did satisfy the co-occurrence criterion; nally , metonymy pairs were evenly distributed between valid and invalid co-occurrence clusters. Further inspection revealed that the type of metonymic relation could be used to predict sense clusters for Information Retrieval. n In [3] we applied Resnik & Yarowsky measure to evaluate the Senseval-2 WordNet subset for sense granularity. We found that the average proximity was similar to the Senseval-1 sense inventory (Hector), questioning the idea that WordNet sense distinctions are ner than in other resources built by lexicographers. We also found that Resnik & Yarowsky proximity measure provides valuable information, but should
Multiwavelength Observations of Galactic Winds: Near and Far

This paper provides a critical discussion of the observational evidence for winds in our own Galaxy, in nearby star-forming and active galaxies, and in the high-redshift universe. The implications of galactic winds on the formation and evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium are briefly discussed. A number of observational challenges are mentioned to inspire future research directions.
Enhancing Mobile Learning Activities by the Use of Mobile Virtual Devices -- Some Design and Implementation Issues

The use of multiple mobile devices is increasing in mobile learning, bringing a need for collaboration and resource sharing among participating pupils. This paper presents an approach that addresses information and resource sharing for mobile devices in indoors and outdoors settings. Our solution consists of aggregated mobile devices, forming organizations. These Mobile Virtual Devices (MVDs) provide a new mechanism that facilitates design of mobile learning activities offering a virtual complex device that combines the features of several mobile devices.
The influences of host plant and genetic resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis on trade‐offs between offspring number and growth rate in cabbage loopers, Trichoplusia ni

Abstract. 1. Variation in progeny size and quality is common among insects and this variation can strongly influence individual fitness. Larger progeny typically survive better and develop faster under adverse conditions and may have higher fecundity. Due to resource limitations, however, trade‐offs may arise between having fewer large offspring or more smaller ones.
Nutrient effects on consumer demand: a panel data approach / доклад на 25 конференции IAAE, Reshaping Agriculture’s Contribution to Society, International Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa, 16-23 August 2003

The objective of this paper is to analyse the Spanish demand for food taking into account the consumer.s concern about the relationship between food diet and health. This concern is forcing food demand analysts to assume that consumer utility is a function of nutrients instead of simply the food products themselves. A CBS demand model has been considered to model the new demand function obtained, which is estimated with a complete panel data set. Ten broad categories, nine nutrients and the most relevant socio-economic variables have been considered. Finally, after an apropriate model selection strategy, expenditure, price and nutrient elasticities, as well as main sociodemographic effects, have been calculated.
Growth and Offshoring∗

This paper investigates the relationship between growth and offshoring in a small economy. The movement of jobs abroad is of concern for many economies. I show, that growth is enhanced by offshoring in an economy that does offshore. Further, offshoring is seen as a potential for countries that receive offshoring. Therefore analysing a small economy that receives the offshoring I show that there are adverse effect under some circumstance.
Employee Need Satisfaction and Positive Workplace Outcomes: The Role of Corporate Volunteering

Corporate volunteering (CV) is a fast-growing trend in voluntary action. As an increasing number of not-for-profit organizations receive help from corporations in the form of CV, it is important to build a “business case” for this important collaboration and to better understand why employees volunteer through their workplace. Borrowing from the existing literature and self-determination theory (SDT), we examine how satisfaction of psychological needs through CV affects job satisfaction and affective commitment. Drawing on a survey of 4,127 employees, volunteers show significantly higher rates of job satisfaction and affective commitment compared with non-volunteers. Among employees who participate in CV, relatedness and competence need satisfaction through CV positively affect job satisfaction and affective commitment. The results of this study contribute to the body of knowledge on CV and SDT and provide practical implications for companies and not-for-profit organizations.
A hierarchical Markovian model for multiscale region-based classification of vector-valued images

We propose a new classification method for vector-valued images, based on: 1) a causal Markovian model, defined on the hierarchy of a multiscale region adjacency tree (MRAT), and 2) a set of nonparametric dissimilarity measures that express the data likelihoods. The image classification is treated as a hierarchical labeling of the MRAT, using a finite set of interpretation labels (e.g., land cover classes). This is accomplished via a noniterative estimation of the modes of posterior marginals (MPM), inspired from existing approaches for Bayesian inference on the quadtree. The paper describes the main principles of our method and illustrates classification results on a set of artificial and remote sensing images, together with qualitative and quantitative comparisons with a variety of pixel-based techniques that follow the Bayesian-Markovian framework either on hierarchical structures or the original image lattice.
Deep emotion recognition using prosodic and spectral feature extraction and classification based on cross validation and bootstrap

Despite the existence of a robust model to identify basic emotions, the ability to classify a large group of emotions with reliability is yet to be developed. Hence, objective of this paper is to develop an efficient technique to identify emotions with an accuracy comparable to humans. The array of emotions addressed in this paper go far beyond what are present on the circumflex diagram. Due to the nature of correlation and ambiguity present in emotions, both prosodic and spectral features of speech are considered during the feature extraction. Feature selection algorithms are applied to work on a subset of relevant features. Owing to the low dimensionality of the feature space, several cross validation methods are employed in combination with different classifiers and their performances are compared. In addition to cross validation, the bootstrap error estimate is also calculated and a combination of both is used as an overall estimate of the classification accuracy of the model.
On the Direct Indecomposability of Infinite Irreducible Coxeter Groups and the Isomorphism Problem of Coxeter Groups

In this article, we prove that any irreducible Coxeter group of infinite order, which is possibly of infinite rank, is directly indecomposable as an abstract group. The key ingredient of the proof is that we can determine, for an irreducible Coxeter group W, the centralizers in W of the normal subgroups of W that are generated by involu-tions. As a consequence, the problem of deciding whether two general Coxeter groups are isomorphic is reduced to the case of irreducible ones. We also describe the automorphism group of a general Coxeter group in terms of those of its irreducible components.
The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Auditor Judgment

This study seeks to identify emotional intelligence (EI) as a key factor in dealing with emotions and pressures in an audit context. In this paper, we focus on how EI may influence the relation between job pressures (i.e., time budget pressure and client pressure) and auditors' judgment. Specifically, we investigate the moderating effect of EI on auditors' third&#8208;person assessments of an auditor's actions when subject to internal and external pressures. The results suggest that the moderating influence of EI can effectively reduce auditors' tendency to engage in dysfunctional behavior and improve audit quality. Further, moderation analysis suggests that EI is a significant mechanism that moderates the effects of different types of pressure on auditors' judgments.