Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Run-time Monitoring ofDistributed

In this paper we present a method to perform run-time monitoring of distributed applications built on top of a distributed object oriented processing environment. For this, we instrument the code at the compilation time in order to send notiications to an Observer when relevant events occur in the system; the instrumentation is done in an automated manner, requiring a minimum of programmer interactions. One advantage of our run-time monitoring approach is that it does not hinder the development process already adopted. In our proposal, the choice of the information to select for observation is made simple by the deenition of events which are generic and useful for all distributed applications; the user does not need to specify them. We apply our run-time monitoring method to a telecommunication service implemented on top of the distributed processing environment CORBA Orbix TM from IONA.
World Kidney Day 2011: protect your kidneys, save your heart

INTRoDuCTIoN To WoRLD KIDNEY DAY 2011. March 10, 2011 will mark the celebration of the 6th World Kidney Day (WKD), an annual event jointly sponsored by the International Society of Nephrology and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations. Since its inception in 2006, WKD has grown dramatically to become the most widely celebrated event associated with kidney disease in the world and the most successful effort to raise awareness among both the general public and government health officials about the dangers of kidney disease, especially chronic kidney disease (CKD). In 2011, WKD will call attention to the large, and often unappreciated, role played by kidney dysfunction in increasing premature cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide (1). Can a focus on early detection and prevention of kidney disease really improve long term cardiovascular health? In this editorial, we hope to convey the message that increased attention to the kidneys can indeed improve long-term health outcomes by reducing both kidney and cardiovascular disease and should therefore be a central component of any global health strategy intended to reduce the enormous and growing burden of chronic NCDs.
The inhibition of xanthine oxidase by flavonoids and related compounds.

Investigations of the inhibition of the activity of xanthine oxidase in vitro have yielded a number of substances which have been reported to exert marked inhibitory actions at low concentrations. Among these are p-aminophenol in its oxidized form (l), pyrogallol (a), bromoacetophenone (3)) 6-pteridylaldehyde (4)) and 6-hydroxymethylpterin (5). An examination of the structures of these compounds reveals that they have as a common characteristic the possession of hydroxyl or carbonyl groups. These groups, at least in the case of the pteridines, appear to be necessary for the inhibitory action. It has been reported, for example, that blocking the aldehyde group in 6-pteridylaldehyde (4) causes a loss of inhibitory action. These facts suggested that compounds of the flavonoid type, which are rich in hydroxyl groups and are known to form quinonoid compounds in biological systems (6), might prove to be effective as inhibitors of xanthine oxidase.
THE REGULATION OF CEREBRAL CIRCULATION

The normal function of the central nervous system requires a constant milieu for its nerve cells which are extremely dependent upon a delicate regulation of their ionic environment and upon a constant and high supply of oxygen and nutrients. The milieu of the central nervous system is to a great extent determined by the cerebral circulation which by a number of mechanisms is kept fairly constant in spite of substantial alterations of the blood flow within other sectors of the systemic circulation. The homeostasis of the milieu of the brain, including its circulation, is ultimately an expression of the global importance of this organ which, according to BAYLISS, is so great that the cerebral circulation “is regulated by the rest of the body. ”
Crystallographic and morphological aspects of AlN precipitation in high Al, TRIP steels

The dendritic AlN associated with poor ductility on straightening during continuous casting is believed to always crystallise out in the hcp structure. The present paper shows that AlN precipitation can also be present as an fcc phase. Because AlN precipitation is sluggish and needs suitable nucleants like MnS to aid its precipitation, the crystal structure of AlN is dependent on the order in which the austenite and MnS precipitate out during solidification. When austenite forms first, as with the 1%Al transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel, MnS nucleants are not available and AlN is forced to precipitate at the austenite grain boundaries as fcc so encouraging intergranular failure. With the 1.5%Al TRIP steel, on solidification, MnS is present in abundance, giving rise to the conventional hcp AlN.
Components for integrated poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic systems

This review describes the design and fabrication of microfluidic systems in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). PDMS is a soft polymer with attractive physical and chemical properties: elasticity, optical transparency, flexible surface chemistry, low permeability to water, and low electrical conductivity. Soft lithography makes fabrication of microfluidic systems in PDMS particularly easy. Integration of components, and interfacing of devices with the user, is also convenient and simpler in PDMS than in systems made in hard materials. Fabrication of both single and multilayer microfluidic systems is straightforward in PDMS. Several components are described in detail: a passive chaotic mixer, pneumatically actuated switches and valves, a magnetic filter, functional membranes, and optical components.
Lenticular lens array based on liquid crystal with a polarization-dependent focusing effect for 2D–3D image applications

Demonstrated herein is a liquid-crystal-(LC)-based lenticular lens array with a polarization-dependent focusing effect, fabricated through a simple imprinting process. The input polarization dependence of the proposed LC lenticular lens array arises mainly from the index matching scheme between the polymer lenticular lens and the LC on it. For the input polarization perpendicular to the LC director, the focal length of the lenticular lens is about 3.1 mm. The focusing and non-focusing properties depending on the input polarization are useful for realizing autostereoscopic 2D/3D convertible displays combined with polarization selection elements.
23-Year-Old with Recurrent Diabetic Ketoacidosis : A Case of Catamenial Hyperglycemia

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a medical emergency with somatic and psychological implications in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). Menstrual cycle-related glycemic change is rarely described as a precipitant of diabetic ketoacidosis. We present a case of a 23-year-old female with a history of DM1, on her second day of menstruation, who presents with diabetic ketoacidosis. In absence of other precipitating factors, examination of the time pattern of her recurrent diabetic ketoacidosis was consistent with catamenial diabetic ketoacidosis. To date, the reports of catamenial diabetic ketoacidosis are few and without consistent results. Moreover, most of the reports investigated only women with tight glycemic control. Systematic studies of catamenial hyperglycemia suggest variation in hyperglycemic patterns among individuals and even inconsistent glycemic variability patterns with consecutive cycles, making the management of catamenial hyperglycemia challenging. This case illustrates recurrent adverse outcomes (including diabetic ketoacidosis) due to complexities in DM1 management influenced by catamenial hyperglycemia. The complexity of diabetes management suggests the need of closed-loop glucose control systems that self-adjust basal insulin patterns to respond to the glucose management needs throughout menstrual cycles, which may ultimately prevent the risk for catamenial diabetic ketoacidosis, improve overall glycemic control, and reduce psychological burden of DM1.
Large-Scale Crowdsourced Study for Tone-Mapped HDR Pictures

Measuring digital picture quality, as perceived by human observers, is increasingly important in many applications in which humans are the ultimate consumers of visual information. Standard dynamic range (SDR) images provide 8 b/color/pixel. High dynamic range (HDR) images, usually created from multiple exposures of the same scene, can provide 16 or 32 b/color/pixel, but need to be tonemapped to SDR for display on standard monitors. Multiexposure fusion (MEF) techniques bypass HDR creation by fusing an exposure stack directly to SDR images to achieve aesthetically pleasing luminance and color distributions. Many HDR and MEF databases have a relatively small number of images and human opinion scores, obtained under stringently controlled conditions, thereby limiting realistic viewing. Moreover, many of these databases are intended to compare tone-mapping algorithms, rather than being specialized for developing and comparing image quality assessment models. To overcome these challenges, we conducted a massively crowdsourced online subjective study. The primary contributions described in this paper are: 1) the new ESPL-LIVE HDR Image Database that we created containing diverse images obtained by tone-mapping operators and MEF algorithms, with and without post-processing; 2) a large-scale subjective study that we conducted using a crowdsourced platform to gather more than 300 000 opinion scores on 1811 images from over 5000 unique observers; and 3) a detailed study of the correlation performance of the state-of-the-art no-reference image quality assessment algorithms against human opinion scores of these images. The database is available at http://signal.ece. utexas.edu/%7Edebarati/HDRDatabase.zip.
MADAD: A Readability Annotation Tool for Arabic Text

This paper introduces MADAD, a general-purpose annotation tool for Arabic text with focus on readability annotation. This tool will help in overcoming the problem of lack of Arabic readability training data by providing an online environment to collect readability assessments on various kinds of corpora. Also the tool supports a broad range of annotation tasks for various linguistic and semantic phenomena by allowing users to create their customized annotation schemes. MADAD is a web-based tool, accessible through any web browser; the main features that distinguish MADAD are its flexibility, portability, customizability and its bilingual interface (Arabic/English).
Afferent vagal nerve stimulation resets baroreflex neural arc and inhibits sympathetic nerve activity

It has been established that vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) benefits patients and/or animals with heart failure. However, the impact of VNS on sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) remains unknown. In this study, we investigated how vagal afferent stimulation (AVNS) impacts baroreflex control of SNA. In 12 anesthetized Sprague–Dawley rats, we controlled the pressure in isolated bilateral carotid sinuses (CSP), and measured splanchnic SNA and arterial pressure (AP). Under a constant CSP, increasing the voltage of AVNS dose dependently decreased SNA and AP. The averaged maximal inhibition of SNA was ‐28.0 ± 10.3%. To evaluate the dynamic impacts of AVNS on SNA, we performed random AVNS using binary white noise sequences, and identified the transfer function from AVNS to SNA and that from SNA to AP. We also identified transfer functions of the native baroreflex from CSP to SNA (neural arc) and from SNA to AP (peripheral arc). The transfer function from AVNS to SNA strikingly resembled the baroreflex neural arc and the transfer functions of SNA to AP were indistinguishable whether we perturbed ANVS or CSP, indicating that they likely share common central and peripheral neural mechanisms. To examine the impact of AVNS on baroreflex, we changed CSP stepwise and measured SNA and AP responses with or without AVNS. AVNS resets the sigmoidal neural arc downward, but did not affect the linear peripheral arc. In conclusion, AVNS resets the baroreflex neural arc and induces sympathoinhibition in the same manner as the control of SNA and AP by the native baroreflex.
Modeling the High‐Frequency FX Market: An Agent‐Based Approach

The development of computational intelligence‐based strategies for electronic markets has been the focus of intense research. To be able to design efficient and effective automated trading strategies, one first needs to understand the workings of the market, the strategies that traders use, and their interactions as well as the patterns emerging as a result of these interactions. In this article, we develop an agent‐based model of the foreign exchange (FX) market, which is the market for the buying and selling of currencies. Our agent‐based model of the FX market comprises heterogeneous trading agents that employ a strategy that identifies and responds to periodic patterns in the price time series. We use the agent‐based model of the FX market to undertake a systematic exploration of its constituent elements and their impact on the stylized facts (statistical patterns) of transactions data. This enables us to identify a set of sufficient conditions that result in the emergence of the stylized facts similarly to the real market data, and formulate a model that closely approximates the stylized facts. We use a unique high‐frequency data set of historical transactions data that enables us to run multiple simulation runs and validate our approach and draw comparisons and conclusions for each market setting.
The evaluation of urban quality and vitality of the Istanbul historical peninsula-Eminönü district

Historical urban centres are negatively affected and have lost their attractiveness and charm due to the changes of life styles and preferences within time. Recently, the importance of the central areas of urban settlements has been recognised, and the search for the components of a healthy city centre in order to recover such areas as vital parts of the city has become a priority. In this context, the concepts of vitality and viability have become the focus of the subject in relation with revitalisation. A two-staged research was conducted to determine the degree of urban vitality in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, which represents most of the transformations and problems. In order to examine the changes in urban vitality over time, the data gathered in 1985-1988 and 2002-2004 were evaluated by creating a specific benchmark index. By taking the general characteristics of Eminönü into consideration, the number of dwellings, population, business areas and the m2 unit prices of the land were used as urban vitality performance indicators. For a more sound explanation of the urban vitality change in selected neighbourhoods of Eminönü a public survey has been executed and evaluated by factor analysis. According to the urban vitality assessment of Eminönü District, it has been seen that there is a value increase in Cankurtaran, Küçükayasofya, Mimar Hayrettin, Muhsine Hatun and Nişanca and a negative change on the other quarters. Depending on the findings of urban vitality assessment and survey results, necessary strategic approaches developed in addition to a model in relation with city centers revitalization process.
Publisher-subscriber: An agent system for notification of versions in OODBs

In object-oriented databases, the conceptual structure may not be constant and may vary due to variety of reasons like correcting mistakes, adding/removing features, updating database, etc. Class versioning is one the evolution strategy that addresses the above issues. However, class versioning may be yields some unexpected results to the database clients. The easiest method is to just set a cache to expire periodically depending on the types of data. This solution is approximation and tends to either refresh too often so that the data is unnecessarily sent over the network or not often enough so that the data becomes stale. Query notification is the solution to avoid frequent access to the database and hence proposed to design agent system for monitoring class versioning. Agent Technology has generated lots of excitement in recent years because of its promise as a new paradigm for conceptualizing, designing and implementing software systems. Software agents coordinate the application that run on databases and allows performing the sequence of events like flushing cache, database operations, monitoring, etc. This agent system consists of a publisher agent, subscriber agents and a database update agent. These agents monitor the database for any change that would change data the data in the query or its structure. When it detects such a change, the publisher agent generates a change notification message and subscriber agent subscribes the notification message. To implement this system, a database application was developed with two versions and applied the database change notifications. To promote more reusability and scalability, a publisher-subscriber pattern was integrated with this application.
Medical therapy and subthalamic deep brain stimulation in advanced Parkinson's disease: a different long-term outcome?

Objectives Few clinical trials reported the comparative short-term efficacy of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) versus medical therapy in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the comparative efficacy, safety and the potential disease-modifying effect of these treatments have not been investigated over a longer follow-up period. Methods In this study, we organised a ‘retrospective control group’ to compare medical and surgical therapies over a long-term period. We assessed a group of PD patients suitable for STN-DBS but successively treated with medical therapies for reasons not related to PD, and a group of similar consecutive STN-DBS patients. We thus obtained two groups comparable at baseline, which were re-evaluated after an average follow-up of 6 years (range 4–11). Results Patients treated with STN-DBS showed a long-lasting superior clinical efficacy on motor fluctuations, with a significant reduction in the average percentage of the waking day spent in ‘OFF’ and in the duration and disability of dyskinesia. Moreover, operated patients showed a better outcome in the activities of daily living in ‘Medication-OFF’ condition. On the other hand, a similar progression of motor score and cognitive/behavioural alterations was observed between the two groups, apart from phonemic verbal fluency, which significantly worsened in STN-DBS patients. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first long-term comparison between medical and surgical therapies; a superior efficacy of STN-DBS was observed on motor disability, while no significant differences were observed in the progression of motor symptoms and, apart from phonemic verbal fluency, of neuropsychological alterations.
Photonic crystals and plasmonic structures recorded by multi-exposure of holographic patterns

Different technologies can be used for fabrication of photonic crystals such as: self-assembly of colloidal particles, ebeam lithography (EB), interference lithography (IL) and focused ion beam (FIB). Among them, the holographic lithography (HL) is the only technique that is able to fabricate both two-dimensional and three-dimensional photonic crystals, as well as plasmonic structures, in large areas. In this paper we demonstrate the use of the multi-exposure of two-beam interference patterns, with rotation of the sample around different axis, for fabrication of large areas 2D and 3 D photonic crystals and plasmonic structures. Using this technique, we achieved aspect ratios of about 4 in 2D photoresist templates recorded in 1 cm2 glass substrates. In order to generate the 2D photonic band gap layers and plasmonic structures, we combine the use the high aspect ratio photoresist templates with shadow evaporation of appropriated materials, with a further lift-off of the photoresist. The optical properties of the recorded structures, both photonic and plasmonic, were measured to demonstrate the applicability of the technique.
Data cleaning techniques for software engineering data sets

Data quality is an important issue which has been addressed and recognised in research communities such as data warehousing, data mining and information systems. It has been agreed that poor data quality will impact the quality of results of analyses and that it will therefore impact on decisions made on the basis of these results. Empirical software engineering has neglected the issue of data quality to some extent. This fact poses the question of how researchers in empirical software engineering can trust their results without addressing the quality of the analysed data. One widely accepted definition for data quality describes it as ‘fitness for purpose’, and the issue of poor data quality can be addressed by either introducing preventative measures or by applying means to cope with data quality issues. The research presented in this thesis addresses the latter with the special focus on noise handling. Three noise handling techniques, which utilise decision trees, are proposed for application to software engineering data sets. Each technique represents a noise handling approach: robust filtering, where training and test sets are the same; predictive filtering, where training and test sets are different; and filtering and polish, where noisy instances are corrected. The techniques were first evaluated in two different investigations by applying them to a large real world software engineering data set. In the first investigation the techniques’ ability to improve predictive accuracy in differing noise levels was tested. All three techniques improved predictive accuracy in comparison to the do-nothing approach. The filtering and polish was the most successful technique in improving predictive accuracy. The second investigation utilising the large real world software engineering data set tested the techniques’ ability to identify instances with implausible values. These instances were flagged for the purpose of evaluation before applying the three techniques. Robust filtering and predictive filtering decreased the number of instances with implausible values, but substantially decreased the size of the data set too. The filtering and polish technique actually increased the number of implausible values, but it did not reduce the size of the data set. Since the data set contained historical software project data, it was not possible to know
Coupling Knowledge-Based and Data-Driven Systems for Named Entity Recognition

Within Information Extraction tasks, Named Entity Recognition has received much attention over latest decades. From symbolic / knowledge-based to data-driven / machine-learning systems, many approaches have been experimented. Our work may be viewed as an attempt to bridge the gap from the data-driven perspective back to the knowledge-based one. We use a knowledge-based system, based on manually implemented transducers, that reaches satisfactory performances. It has the undisputable advantage of being modular. However, such a hand-crafted system requires substantial efforts to cope with dedicated tasks. In this context, we implemented a pattern extractor that extracts symbolic knowledge, using hierarchical sequential pattern mining over annotated corpora. To assess the accuracy of mined patterns, we designed a module that recognizes Named Entities in texts by determining their most probable boundaries. Instead of considering Named Entity Recognition as a labeling task, it relies on complex context-aware features provided by lower-level systems and considers the tagging task as a markovian process. Using thos systems, coupling knowledge-based system with extracted patterns is straightforward and leads to a competitive hybrid NE-tagger. We report experiments using this system and compare it to other hybridization strategies along with a baseline CRF model.