Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conjunctive Point Predicate-based Semantic Caching for Wrappers in Web Databases

A semantic caching scheme suitable for web database environments is proposed. In our scheme, tasks for query translation/capability mapping (named as query naturalization) between wrappers and web sources and tasks for semantic caching are seamlessly integrated, resulting in easier query optimization. A semantic cache consists of three components: 1) semantic view , a description of the contents in the cache using sub-expressions of the previous queries, 2) semantic index , an index for the tuple IDs that satisfy the semantic view, and 3) physical storage, a storage containing the tuples (or objects) that are shared by all semantic views in the cache. Types of matching between the native query and cache query are discussed. Algorithms for nding the optimal match of the input query in semantic cache and for cache replacement are presented. The proposed techniques are being implemented in a cooperative web database (CoWeb) prototype at UCLA.
A Survey of Agent Platforms

From computer games to human societies, many natural and artificial phenomena can be represented as multi-agent systems. Over time, these systems have been proven a really powerful tool for modelling and understanding phenomena in fields, such as economics and trading, health care, urban planning and social sciences. However, although, intelligent agents have been around for years, their actual implementation is still in its early stages. Since the late nineties many agent platforms have been developed. Some of them have already been abandoned whereas others continue releasing new versions. On the other hand, the agent-oriented research community is still providing more and more new platforms. This vast amount of platform options leads to a high degree of heterogeneity. Hence, a common problem is how people interested in using multi-agent systems should choose which platform to use in order to benefit from agent technology. This decision was usually left to word of mouth, past experiences or platform publicity, lately however people depend on solid survey articles. To date, in most cases multi-agent system surveys describe only the basic characteristics of a few representatives without even providing any classification of the systems themselves. This article presents a comparative up-to-date review of the most promising existing agent platforms that can be used. It is based on universal comparison and evaluation criteria, proposing classifications for helping readers to understand which agent platforms broadly exhibit similar properties and in which situations which choices should be made.
Ambiguities and image quality in staggered SAR

Staggered SAR is an innovative synthetic aperture radar (SAR) concept, where the pulse repetition interval (PRI) is continuously varied. This, together with digital beamforming (DBF) in elevation, allows high-resolution imaging of a wide continuous swath without the need for a long antenna with multiple azimuth apertures. As an additional benefit, the energy of range and azimuth ambiguities is spread over large areas: Ambiguities therefore appear in the image as a noise-like disturbance rather than localized artifacts. An analytical expression for the range-ambiguity-to-signal ratio (RASR) in staggered SAR is provided and a novel method for the estimation of the azimuth ambiguity-to-signal ratio (AASR) is proposed. A C-band design example based on a planar antenna is shown as well. The impact of staggered SAR operation on image quality is further assessed using highly oversampled F-SAR airborne data.
Band-Gap Engineering Based on Ti@ZnO Nanocolloids: Tunable Optical Properties

One of the largest application areas of sol-gel chemistry is thin-film preparation. Using this approach, we started to synthesize M@ZnO colloidal solutions for the preparation of functional thin films. ZnO is a wide band-gap (3.37 eV) semiconductor with large exciton binding energy. In the bulk or in nanosized form, it could be used in a wide range of applications such as UV light emitters, spin functional devices, gas sensors, transparent electronics or surface acoustic wave devices. Since recently, the preparation of innovative functional M@ZnO materials by doping or functionalizing nanocolloids constitutes a new challenge. Using high concentrations of the different Ti@ZnO nanocolloids, we were able to prepare various functional colloidal solutions with tunable emission and thin films, such as red-luminescent Eu3+@ZnTiO3 or versatile ZnTiON colored nanomaterials.
A Bi-phase Model of Folding Origami Interactively with Gap Representation

We have developed an Origami system in which we can fold a sheet of paper freely. In mathematical model, two held sides of paper can be overlapped flatly. However, in real paper, the sides often make a gap between them because of physical restrictions. In this paper, we formalize “folding” in Origami and discuss how to make such “gap” in 3D Origami simulation system to make it more realistic. We apply a biphase model, which consists of two models. One of them is mathematical model for managing folding, and the other is graphical gap-model for representing Origami with gaps. We show Origami figures made by the two models and discuss the effect of the method we applied and some problems to be solved.
Ethylene Regulates Root Growth through Effects on Auxin Biosynthesis and Transport-Dependent Auxin Distribution[W]

In plants, each developmental process integrates a network of signaling events that are regulated by different phytohormones, and interactions among hormonal pathways are essential to modulate their effect. Continuous growth of roots results from the postembryonic activity of cells within the root meristem that is controlled by the coordinated action of several phytohormones, including auxin and ethylene. Although their interaction has been studied intensively, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this interplay are unknown. We show that the effect of ethylene on root growth is largely mediated by the regulation of the auxin biosynthesis and transport-dependent local auxin distribution. Ethylene stimulates auxin biosynthesis and basipetal auxin transport toward the elongation zone, where it activates a local auxin response leading to inhibition of cell elongation. Consistently, in mutants affected in auxin perception or basipetal auxin transport, ethylene cannot activate the auxin response nor regulate the root growth. In addition, ethylene modulates the transcription of several components of the auxin transport machinery. Thus, ethylene achieves a local activation of the auxin signaling pathway and regulates root growth by both stimulating the auxin biosynthesis and by modulating the auxin transport machinery.
Inhibition of Y-box binding protein-1 slows the growth of glioblastoma multiforme and sensitizes to temozolomide independent O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive type of brain tumor where <3% of newly diagnosed cases in the patients will survive >5 years. In adults, GBM is the most common type of brain tumor. It is rarer in children, where it constitutes ∼15% of all brain tumors diagnosed. These tumors are often invasive, making surgical resection difficult. Further, they can be refractory to current therapies such as temozolomide. The current dogma is that temozolomide resistance rests on the expression of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) because it cleaves methylated DNA adducts formed by the drug. Our laboratory recently reported that another drug resistance gene known as the Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) is highly expressed in primary GBM but not in normal brain tissues based on the evaluation of primary tumors. We therefore questioned whether GBM depend on YB-1 for growth and/or response to temozolomide. Herein, we report that YB-1 inhibition reduced tumor cell invasion and growth in monolayer as well as in soft agar. Moreover, blocking this protein ultimately delayed tumor onset in mice. Importantly, inhibiting YB-1 enhanced temozolomide sensitivity in a manner that was independent of MGMT in models of adult and pediatric GBM. In conclusion, inhibiting YB-1 may be a novel way to improve the treatment of GBM. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12):3276–84]
Longevity® Constrained Cup: An Operative Technical Tip for Prevention of Metallic Ring Disassembly

Constrained liners are a salvage procedure for treating or preventing recurrent dislocations. The Longevity® constrained liner (Zimmer) has a special design with cut-outs on its circumference for avoiding impingement in certain areas and a metallic constraining ring that has to be impacted. The ring impaction may be technical demanding. We recommend preassembly with the head component prior to seating into the acetabular cup, thus avoiding the soft tissue or cement interference and malposition due to bad angle of incidence of impaction force.
2 Articulatory Features 2 . 1 Types of Articulatory Representations

The document gives a description of the work carried out at the 2011 Summer Workshop at CSLP at Johns Hopkins University. This work focuses on nding alternative parameterizations of speech, moving away from more convention spectral representations such as Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coe cients to more speech production related techniques. Speci cally we investigated two speci c areas. Articulatory Features, where the speech signal is represented by multistreams of features that represent phonological features based on IPA-type features, such as place of articulation and/or vowel height, frontness etc. The second area was investigating the Lilljenkranz-Fant model where we automatically derive glottal excitation features and formants from databases of natural speech. As existing statistical parametric speech synthesis techniques already produce fully understandable speech from well-recorded databases, we speci cally wished to investigate these two models in an environment that was more demanding than simple read speech. Thus we applied our modeling techniques to databases of varying emotion and personality. Evaluation of speech synthesis is a research eld in itself, in that human judgements of quality of synthetic speech are expensive to run and give somewhat subtle results. In this project we have utilized two evaluation techniques, one quite novel, and the other still in very much at an experimental stage. The rst novel technique for objectively evaluating emotional and personality speech synthesis is to utilized the work on emotion-ID, using such classi ers to score synthetic output. The second subjectivemeasure is to use Amazon Mechanical Turk to score the synthesized utterances. This work has successfully developed novel parameterizations of speech that can produce synthesis of a quality at least equal to existing statistical speech synthesis techniques and shown the e ectiveness of using automatic evaluation techniques for wider styles of speech (emotion and personality) than has been done before.
Lymphotoxin alpha gene in Crohn's disease patients: absence of implication in the response to infliximab in a large cohort study

A haplotype in the lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) gene has been associated with a lack of response to infliximab in a small cohort of Crohn's disease (CD) patients. The present study aimed to confirm the implication of this haplotype in the response to infliximab in a larger cohort of Caucasian patients. The response to the first infusion with infliximab was evaluated in 214 Caucasian patients with either luminal (n=150) or fistulising (n=64) CD. Clinical response was based on the decrease in CD Activity Index (luminal) or on the evolution in the fistula discharge (fistulising). Biological response was assessed in 139 patients who had elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) before treatment and for whom CRP values were also available after treatment. A positive biological response was defined as a decrease in CRP of at least 25%. The patients were genotyped for six polymorphisms in the LTA gene. A positive clinical response was present in 65.4% of the patients and a positive biological response was observed in 80.6% of the patients. No association was found with any of the studied polymorphisms, nor with the previously published LTA haplotype and the response to infliximab. We could not confirm an association between the LTA locus and clinical or biological response to infliximab in a large cohort of CD patients.
Erythromycin in the treatment of pertussis: a study of bacteriologic and clinical effects

In an open randomized study 17 patients with a positive culture for Bordetella pertussis were treated for 10 days with erythromycin (50 mg/ kg/day divided in 2 doses). The bacterium could not be isolated during therapy and in only one patient was it isolated 5 days after cessation of treatment. In comparison B. pertussis was isolated 10 and 15 days after diagnosis from 10 and 4 patients, respectively, of a group of 21 untreated controls. The treated group developed significantly fewer whoops than did the control group, even though most of the individuals had reached the paroxysmal stage at diagnosis. The dose of erythromycin (ethylsuccinate and stear-ate preparations) gave serum concentrations about 100 times larger than the minimal inhibitory concentration of isolated bacteria and was well-tolerated. Thus adequate erythromycin treatment eliminates B. pertussis from the nasopharynx and reduces symptoms in patients having a history of pertussis of less than 14 days. Adequate dosage and length of treatment might be crucial for these results.
Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: From Social Stimuli Processing to Social Engagement

Social cognition consists of several skills which allow us to interact with other humans. These skills include social stimuli processing, drawing inferences about others’ mental states, and engaging in social interactions. In recent years, there has been growing evidence of social cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia. Apparently, these impairments are separable from general neurocognitive impairments, such as attention, memory, and executive functioning. Moreover, social cognition seems to be a main determinant of functional outcome and could be used as a guide to elaborate new pharmacological and psychological treatments. However, most of these studies focus on individual mechanisms and observational perspectives; only few of them study schizophrenic patients during interactive situations. We first review evidences of social cognitive impairments both in social stimuli processing and in mental state attribution. We focus on the relationship between these functions and both general cognitive impairments and functional outcome. We next review recent game theory approaches to the study of how social engagement occurs in schizophrenic patients. The advantage of using game theory is that game-oriented tasks can assess social decision making in an interactive everyday situation model. Finally, we review proposed theoretical models used to explain social alterations and their underlying biological mechanisms. Based on interactive studies, we propose a framework which takes into account the dynamic nature of social processes. Thus, understanding social skills as a result of dynamical systems could facilitate the development of both basic research and clinical applications oriented to psychiatric populations.
E-commerce Research with Bass Product Diffusion Model

This paper applied the Bass product diffusion model to study the accumulative number of a selected electronic product online shopping in the area of electronic commerce. Used the statistic data, estimated the parameters of the model, predicted the accumulative number of online shopping in the coming years, and also examined the factors of the growth of online consumers and tested the fit of goodness of the model.
Hemolytic activity in the periodontopathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis: kinetics of enzyme release and localization

Porphyromonas gingivalis W50, W83, A7A1-28, and ATCC 33277 were investigated for their abilities to lyse sheep, human, and rabbit erythrocytes. All of the P. gingivalis strains studied produced an active hemolytic activity during growth, with maximum activity occurring in late-exponential-early-stationary growth phase. The enzyme was cell bound and associated with the outer membrane. Fractionation of P. gingivalis W50 localized the putative hemolysin almost exclusively in the outer membrane fraction, with significant hemolytic activity concentrated in the outer membrane vesicles. Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions significantly increased the expression of hemolytic activity. Hemolytic activity was inhibited by proteinase K, trypsin, the proteinase inhibitors Na-P-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone and benzamidine, the metabolic inhibitor M-chlorophenyl-hydrazone, and iodoacetate. KCN and sodium azide (NaN3) only partially inhibited P. gingivalis hemolytic activity, while antiserum to whole cells of each of the P. gingivalis strains had a significant inhibitory effect on hemolytic activity. The P. gingivalis W50 hemolysin was inhibited by cysteine, dithiothreitol, and glutathione at concentrations of at least 10 mM; at low concentrations (i.e., 2 mM), dithiothreitol did not completely inhibit hemolytic activity. Heating to temperatures above 55 degrees C resulted in an almost complete inhibition of hemolytic activity. The effect of heme limitation (i.e., iron) on hemolysin production indicated that either limitation or starvation for heme resulted in significantly increased hemolysin production compared with that of P. gingivalis grown in the presence of excess heme.
A Study on a Sequenced Directed Diffusion Algorithm for Sensor Networks

Advances in wireless networking, micro-fabrication and integration, and embedded microprocessors have enabled a new generation of massive-scale sensor networks. Because each sensor node is limited in size and capacity, it is very important to design a new simple and energy efficient protocol. Among conventional sensor networks' routing protocols, the directed diffusion scheme is widely known because of its simplicity. This scheme, however, has a defect in that sending interest and exploratory data messages while setting connection paths consumes much energy because of its flooding scheme. Therefore, this paper proposes a new sensor network routing protocol, called sequenced directed diffusion with a threshold control, which compromises the conventional DD scheme's defect and offers an energy efficient routing idea. With a computer simulation, its performance is evaluated and compared to the conventional DD scheme. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme offers energy efficiency while routing packets, and resolves ill-balanced energy consumption among sensor nodes.
Opening Study on the Development of a New Biosensor for Metal Toxicity Based on Pseudomonas fluorescens Pyoverdine

To date, different kinds of biosensing elements have been used effectively for environmental monitoring. Microbial cells seem to be well-suited for this task: they are cheap, adaptable to variable field conditions and give a measurable response to a broad number of chemicals. Among different pollutants, heavy metals are still a major problem for the environment. A reasonable starting point for the selection of a biorecognition element to develop a biosensor for metals could be that of a microorganism that exhibits good mechanisms to cope with metals. Pseudomonads are characterized by the secretion of siderophores (e.g., pyoverdine), low-molecular weight compounds that chelate Fe3+ during iron starvation. Pyoverdine is easily detected by colorimetric assay, and it is suitable for simple online measurements. In this work, in order to evaluate pyoverdine as a biorecognition element for metal detection, the influence of metal ions (Fe3+, Cu2+, Zn2+), but also of temperature, pH and nutrients, on microbial growth and pyoverdine regulation has been studied in P. fluorescens. Each of these variables has been shown to influence the synthesis of siderophore: for instance, the lower the temperature, the higher the production of pyoverdine. Moreover, the concentration of pyoverdine produced in the presence of metals has been compared with the maximum allowable concentrations indicated in international regulations (e.g., 98/83/EC), and a correlation that could be useful to build a colorimetric biosensor has been observed.
Cure kinetics of epoxy resin used for advanced composites

The cure kinetics of an epoxy resin used for the preparation of advanced polymeric composite structures was studied by isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A series of isothermal DSC runs provided information about the kinetics of cure over a wide temperature range. According to the heat evolution behavior during the curing process, several influencing factors of isothermal curing reactions were evaluated. The results showed that the isothermal kinetic reaction of this epoxy resin followed an autocatalytic kinetic mechanism. In the latter reaction stage, the curing reaction became controlled mainly by diffusion. Cure rate was then modeled using a modified Kamal autocatalytic model that accounts for the shift from a chemically controlled reaction to a diffusion-controlled reaction. The model parameters were determined by a nonlinear multiple regression method. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry
An almost Linear I/O Algorithm for Skyline Query

Skyline query processing has recently received a lot of attention in database community. Even though there existed several algorithms in the field of skyline query, none of them has linear I/O complexity. In this paper, the existed algorithms have been summarized, and a new kind of external memory skyline query algorithm has been presented. Moreover, the reliability of algorithm has been validated from experiments and theory, the I/O complexity and the inner memory complexity of the algorithm is both almost linear.
Conditional Random Fields versus Hidden Markov Models for activity recognition in temporal sensor data

Conditional Random Fields are a discriminative probabilistic model which recently gained popularity in applications that require modeling nonindependent observation sequences. In this work, we present the basic advantages of this model over generative models and argue about its suitability in the domain of activity recognition from sensor networks. We present experimental results on a realworld dataset that support this argumentation.