Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selezione basata sulla struttura dell ’ istanza in un Algorithm Portfolio Instance structure-based Portfolio Selection

Many large scale combinatorial problems have a complex structure that prevents a single algorithm and a single technology to outperform all the others on all instances. Therefore algorithms portfolios can be defined embedding more that one approach to the same problem. How do we choose among algorithms when all instances share the same problem structure? This paper is a first attempt to answer this question by using a machine learning technique, namely decision trees, for selecting the best approach given the instance to be solved. We will show that structural instance features provide a clear indication on the best approach to be used. We have extensively tested our conjecture on a case study: the Bid Evaluation Problem in com-binatorial auctions, a well known e-commerce application. We will show that, for the problem considered, the computed decision tree identifies the best approach for the 90% of the instances by using a small set of instance features. We believe this result can be extended to a large variety of combinatorial problems.
Image classification using pairwise local observations based Naive Bayes classifier

We present an image classification method which consists of salient region (SR) detection, local feature extraction, and pairwise local observations based Naive Bayes classifier (NBPLO). Different from previous image classification algorithms, we propose a scale, translation, and rotation invariant image classification algorithm. Based on the discriminative pairwise local observations, we develop the structure object model based Naive Bayes classifier for image classification. We do the experiments using Scene-15 and Caltech-101 database and compare the experiment results of bag-of-features (BoF) and SPM algorithms.
Hibernating Myocardium: Chronically Adapted to Ischemia but Vulnerable to Sudden Death

Abstract— The inability to reproduce spontaneous ventricular fibrillation in an animal model of chronic coronary artery disease has limited advances in understanding mechanisms of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Swine with hibernating myocardium arising from a chronic left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) occlusion have a high rate of SCD that parallels the poor clinical survival of medically treated patients with hibernating myocardium. Kaplan-Meier analysis (n = 426) demonstrated a cumulative mortality of 49% after 5 months that was almost entirely attributable to spontaneous SCD. Using implantable loop recorders, ventricular fibrillation was documented as the arrhythmic mechanism of death in all animals (n = 10) and was usually preceded by ventricular tachycardia (n = 8). Physiological studies before SCD (n = 7) demonstrated total LAD occlusion and collateral-dependent myocardium (n = 5), excluding acute occlusion as a major trigger of arrhythmia. The physiological substrate of hibernating myocardium was present before SCD, with reductions in LAD perfusion (SCD 0.79±0.13 versus 0.80±0.08 mL/min per g) and wall thickening (SCD 28±3% versus 22±3%) that were similar to survivors (n = 14). Triphenyltetrazolium chloride infarcts among animals with SCD were infrequent (4 of 32) and small, averaging 4.6% of LV mass. Histology (n = 4) showed postmortem changes but no acute inflammation nor contraction band necrosis. These data support the notion that hibernating myocardium is a pathophysiological substrate at high risk of SCD. This is independent of changes in functional stenosis severity, acute myocardial necrosis, or fibrotic scar. Thus, regional adaptations that promote myocyte survival in the setting of chronic repetitive ischemia result in a substrate with enhanced vulnerability to lethal arrhythmias and SCD.
p62/p56 are cortical granule proteins that contribute to formation of the cortical granule envelope and play a role in mammalian preimplantation development

The purpose of this study was to identify specific cortical granule protein(s) that form the cortical granule envelope and examine their role(s) in fertilization and preimplantation development. The polyclonal antibody A‐BL2 was used to show that the cortical granules of mice, rats, hamsters, cows, and pigs contain a pair of proteins designated p62/p56. These proteins are released from hamster cortical granules at fertilization and contribute to formation of the cortical granule envelope, an extracellular matrix present in the perivitelline space of fertilized mammalian oocytes. P62/p56 were present in the cortical granule envelope throughout preimplantation development and were found in blastomere cortices of 4‐cell to blastocyst stage embryos. Hamster oocytes fertilized in vivo in the presence of A‐BL2 were all monospermic, suggesting that p62/p56 do not function in blocking polyspermy. Likewise treatment of morula to blastocyst stage hamster embryos with A‐BL2 had no effect on the implantation of blastocysts. However, cleavage divisions were inhibited in vivo in a dose‐dependent manner when fertilized oocytes or 2‐cell embryos were treated with A‐BL2. Inhibition of cell division was more pronounced in 2‐cell embryos than in fertilized oocytes. This study identifies p62/p56 as cortical granule proteins that contribute to the formation of the cortical granule envelope and further supports the idea that after their release at fertilization, p62/p56 function in regulating preimplantation development at the level of oocyte and blastomere cleavage. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 59:78–89, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hydrodynamic instabilities in astrophysics and in laboratory high-energy–density systems

High-energy–density systems and astrophysical systems both involve hydrodynamic effects, including sources of pressure, shock waves, rarefactions and plasma flows. In the evolution of such systems, hydrodynamic instabilities naturally evolve. As a result, a fundamental understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities is necessary to understand their behaviour. This paper discusses the validity of a hydrodynamic description in both cases, and, from the common perspective of the basic mechanisms at work, discusses the instabilities that appear in astrophysics and at high energy density. The high-energy–density research facilities of today, built to pursue inertial fusion, can accelerate small but macroscopic amounts of material to velocities above 100 km s−1, can heat such material to temperatures above 100 eV and can produce pressures far above a million atmospheres (1012 dyn cm−2 or 0.1 TPa). In addition to enabling inertial fusion research, this enables these facilities to do experiments under the conditions that address basic physics issues including issues from astrophysics. One can devise experiments aimed directly at important processes such as the Rayleigh Taylor instability at an ablating surface or at an embedded interface that is accelerating, the Richtmeyer Meshkov evolution of shocked interfaces and the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability of shear flows. The paper includes examples of such phenomena from the laboratory and from astrophysics.
The Origins of Minimal Spanning Tree Algorithms – Bor̊uvka and Jarńık

In this paper we discuss the early history of Minimum Spanning Tree problem and its solution. The MST problem is a corner stone of combinatorial optimization and its history is rich. It has been described in detail in several places, for example, one can mention [22] which gives a general overview of the history of combinatorial optimization; historically exhaustive paper [9]; another historical paper which contains the first commented translation of the original papers of Bor̊uvka into English [19]; the paper [13] which deals with early papers by Jarńık; and papers [18] and particularly [16], which cover the later rich development from contemporary perspective. Here we complement this by concentraiting on the very early beginning of this development before 1930. It is accepted by now that two papers [1], [2] by Bor̊uvka in 1926 and Jarńık [11] in 1930 are the first papers providing a solution to Minimum Spanning Tree problem. We document this together with remarks illustrating the milieu of this discovery and personalities of both authors (and Bor̊uvka in particular).
Designers ' Role Orientations in User-and System-Centered Design Phases

The differences between userand system-centered design practice have been discussed broadly in the literature for a long period. The value of user-centredness has even been taken for granted occasionally, though there is clear evidence implying that broader participation of users should be evaluated relative to the situation in hand. In this paper, both userand system-centered conducting of a design is studied with respect to how to behave in different roles. The core idea is that userand system-centredness are needed in different phases of a design. The main problem is the proper role orientation in user-centered design. Change agentry models are used as a framework. As a result of this study, a proper role orientation in both system-centered and, especially, user-centered design is
A Bayesian mean field game approach to supply demand analysis of the smart grid

We explore a game theoretic framework for multiple energy producers competing in energy market. Each producer, referred to as a player, optimizes its own objective function given the demand utility. The equilibrium strategy of each player depends on the production cost, referred to as type, of the other players. We show that as the number of players increases, the mean of the types is sufficient for finding the equilibrium. For finite number of players, we design a mean field distributed learning algorithm that converges to equilibrium. We discuss extensions of our model to include several realistic aspects of the energy market.
On applying spatial constraints in fuzzy image clustering using a fuzzy rule-based system

A novel approach for enhancing the results of fuzzy clustering by imposing spatial constraints for solving image segmentation problems is presented. We have developed a Sugeno (185) type rule-based system with three inputs and 11 rules that interacts with the clustering results obtained by the well-known fuzzy c-means (FCM) and/or possibilistic c-means (PCM) algorithms. It provides good image segmentations in terms of region smoothness and elimination of the effects of noise. The results of the proposed rule-based neighborhood enhancement (RB-NE) system are compared to well-known segmentation algorithms using stochastic field modeling. They are found to be of comparable quality, while being of lower computational complexity.
TABULATING DEMAND ELASTICITIES FOR URBAN TRAVEL FORECASTING

This paper presents a compendium of demand elasticities in a tabulated form in order to facilitate urban travel forecasting. A number of elasticity estimates have been reported for a variety of cities over the past decade, but the scenarios or base conditions differ from one site to another. In order to systematically tabulate these disparate estimates, demand elasticities were pooled into four cells according to urban size (large versus medium) and urban structure (core-concentrated versus multinucleated). Such a classification has been verified to stratify cities into groups sharing common socioeconomic and travel patterns. Demand elasticities can be divided into two categories: empirical elasticities and calibrated elasticities. The former were measured in the field before and after notable incidents such as a fare increase in the transit system, while the latter were derived from demand models. The elasticities can be further identified as either aggregate or disaggregate depending on whether they are calculated from demand models. The elasticities can be further identified as either aggregate or disaggregate depending on whether they are calculated from areawide or subarea data. All these result in a collection of elasticities that have rather different values. This paper tries to explain some of these differences to gain insights into the general characteristics of elasticides for urban areas of different sizes and structures. The elasticity tabulation and the general properties of the elasticities provide both practitioners and researchers with factual information for estimating urban travel demand simply and systematically. /Authors/
Pointing Task Evaluation of Leap Motion Controller in 3D Virtual Environment

Performing tasks in virtual environments are to increasing extent becoming normal practice; such is possible due to the developments in graphic rendering systems and interaction techniques. Application areas from entertainment to medical industry benefit from gestural 3D interaction. With this in mind, we set out a study aiming to research the relevance of using determined 6DoF input devices in interacting with three-dimensional models in graphical interfaces. In this paper we present an evaluation of 3D pointing tasks using Leap Motion sensor to support 3D object manipulation. Three controlled experiments were performed in the study, exposing test subjects to pointing task evaluations and object deformation, measuring the time taken to perform mesh extrusion and object translation. Qualitative data was gathered using the System Usability Scale questionnaire. The data show a strong correlation between input device and performance time suggesting a dominance of the Leap Motion gestural interface over mouse interaction concerning single target three-dimensional pointing tasks. Multi-target tasks were performed better with mouse interaction due to issues of 3D input system accuracy. Performance time regarding shape deformation task demonstrated that mouse interaction outperformed 3D Input device.
SECURE ANONYMOUS PHYSICAL DELIVERY

Privacy in Electronic Commerce transactions is the subject of ever increasing research. However, many challenges remain to be overcome. For example, let us consider a customer, Sir Bob, who buys anonymously a product over the Internet. Since he must receive delivery, how could his anonymity be maintained? When dealing with digital products, several solutions have already been proposed. But if Sir Bob has bought a physical product, it might seem that he must give an address for delivery. This would obviously threaten his right to privacy. Until now, the privacy of physical product delivery has not been considered seriously in the context of e-commerce. Instead, the conventional wisdom is that nothing can be done to solve this problem. In this paper, we introduce Anonymous Delivery Centres as the final step to complete our general Blind Electronic Commerce paradigm, which we had initiated in previous work. These centres enable Sir Bob to obtain the physical product he has bought online while keeping his identity confidential.
Individual Transferable Grounds in a Community Managed Artisanal Fishery

Current schemes to manage high exclusion-cost resources often contemplate two basic approaches: (i) privatization of the resource (e.g., allocation of individual transferable quotas), and (ii) government intervention through regulation of size and composition of the catch using a variety of policy instruments affecting fishing effort (Pearse, 1980; Anderson, 1986, 1992). A third approach in the literature is the community-based management of marine resources (Smith and Berkes, 1991; McCay and Acheson, 1987). Berkes (1989) argues that traditional communitybased systems are underestimated in their potential role in resource management. For some fisheries, however, combinations of these three approaches may prove most effective for management. To explore this proposition, I apply the contextstructure-performance paradigm of the neoinstitutional school of economics (Schmid, 1987; Wilson and Lent, 1992) to explain the behaviour of the collectively-managed spiny lobster fishery of Punta Allen, Mexico. The human interdependencies that exist in the use of a high exclusion-cost good like lobsters, together with the presence of high transactions costs (contractual, information and enforcement costs), seem to have motivated this coastal community to adopt institutions uch as collective voluntary organizations and informal privatization of fishing grounds to sustain resource rent over time.
Case-based Reasoning: an Overview 1

Case-based reasoning is the technique of solving new problems by adapting solutions that were used to solve old problems. This reliance on previous experiences (or cases) is a hallmark of case-based reasoning. Each case can contain a great deal of information including a description of the situation that was encountered, ways in which the situation diiered from similar situations, and how the system reacted to the situation. In this report we trace the development of the case-based reasoning (CBR) paradigm and discuss in more detail the advantages of CBR as a problem-solving methodology. We then describe the general CBR algorithm and some of the fundamental issues that must be dealt with in any CBR system. Next, we present a survey of CBR systems that have been built to perform various tasks along with pointers for further reading. Finally, we conclude with a short discussion of the implications of CBR as a cognitive model and some pointers on how to go about building a CBR system.
A Secure Steganographic Algorithm Based on Cellular Automata Using Fibonacci Representation

This study proposes a steganographic technique based on Cellular Automata using Fibonacci representation. The pixel's color component is decomposed into Fibonacci domain to extend more available bit-planes which can be used in data-hiding. In order to increase the robustness of hidden data against modification attacks, the secret bits are embedded into a higher LSB layer. Nevertheless, the embedding secret bit in the higher LSB layer causes more distortion to cover-image. An adaptive adjustment was applied to minimize the distortion of the cover - image. The security of hidden message is enhanced by employing the Game of life, a cellular automaton, to generate the used key stream for encryption and image pixel selection. By employing the adaptive adjustment, every pixel in the image can be used in the embedding process. Therefore, the capacity of the embedding secret message is the same as classical LSB algorithm. Experimental results show that the existence of hidden message cannot be figured out by the visual or statistically attack and the robustness of hidden data in the stego-image is enhanced.
Practical consideration on the identification of the kinematic parameters of the Stäubli TX 90 robot

This paper describes a robust identification method of the kinematic parameters of robot manipulators, with minimal instrumentation, in order to demonstrate its validity in practical cases of use and especially in industrial environments. It is an autonomous, closed-loop and planar self calibration method. It is characterized by its efficiency, low cost and generic technique. It relies on the use of simple physical restraints applied to the effector. Practical ways to implement this method were carried out in EDF R&D laboratories on the Stäubli TX90 robot, a 6-axis industrial manipulator robot robot, in order demonstrate its convergence and effectiveness. The only data needed are the values of the joint positions of the robot, whose endpoints should reach 4 faces of a calibrated block. The reason for which this method is chosen is based primarily on the ease of its implementation, its speed and its accuracy. This study focuses on the identifiable parameters, the observability of the parameters, and the values of the kinematic parameters errors.
TRAP: Using Targeted ads to unveil Google personal profiles

In the last decade, the advertisement market spread significantly in the web and mobile app system. Its effectiveness is also due thanks to the possibility to target the advertisement on the specific interests of the actual user, other than on the content of the website hosting the advertisement. In this scenario, became of great value services that collect and hence can provide information about the browsing user, like Facebook and Google. In this paper, we show how to maliciously exploit the Google Targeted Advertising system to infer personal information in Google user profiles. In particular, the attack we consider is external from Google and relies on combining data from Google AdWords with other data collected from a website of the Google Display Network. We validate the effectiveness of our proposed attack, also discussing possible application scenarios. The result of our research shows a significant practical privacy issue behind such type of targeted advertising service, and call for further investigation and the design of more privacy-aware solutions, possibly without impeding the current business model involved in online advertisement.
T-Cell Expression Cloning of Porphyromonas gingivalis Genes Coding for T Helper-Biased Immune Responses during Infection

ABSTRACT Exposure of the mouse oral cavity to Porphyromonas gingivalis results in the development of gingivitis and periapical bone loss, which apparently are associated with a Th1 response to bacterial antigens. We have used this infection model in conjunction with direct T-cell expression cloning to identify bacterial antigens that induce a preferential or biased T helper response during the infectious process. A P. gingivalis-specific CD4 T-cell line derived from mice at 3 weeks postchallenge was used to directly screen a P. gingivalis genomic expression library. This screen resulted in the identification of five genes coding for previously identified proteins and three other putative protein antigens. One of the identified proteins, P. gingivalis thiol peroxidase, was studied in detail because this molecule belongs to a protein family that is apparently involved in microbial pathogenesis. Infection of mice with P. gingivalis, either via the subcutaneous route or after exposure of the animal's oral cavity to viable bacteria, resulted in the induction of a strong thiol peroxidase-specific immune response characterized by the production of high titers of specific serum immunoglobulin G2a antibody and the production of gamma interferon by antigen-stimulated lymphoid cells, a typical Th1-biased response. Thus, the use of a proven T-cell expression cloning approach and a mouse model of periodontal disease resulted in the identification and characterization of P. gingivalis proteins that might be involved in pathogenesis.
A structural glaciological analysis of the 2002 Larsen B ice-shelf collapse

Abstract This study provides a detailed structural glaciological analysis of changes in surface structures on the Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula prior to its collapse in February–March 2002. Mapped features include the ice-shelf front, rifts, crevasses, longitudinal linear surface structures and meltwater features. We define domains on the ice shelf related to glacier source areas and demonstrate that, prior to collapse, the central Larsen B ice shelf consisted of four sutured flow units fed by Crane, Jorum, Punchbowl and Hektoria/Green/Evans glaciers. Between these flow units were ‘suture zones’ of thinner ice where the feeder glaciers merged. Prior to collapse, large open-rift systems were present offshore of Foyn Point and Cape Disappointment. These rifts became more pronounced in the years preceding break-up, and ice blocks in the rifts rotated because of the strong lateral shear in this zone. Velocity mapping of the suture zones indicates that the major rifts were not present more than about 20 years ago. We suggest that the ice shelf was preconditioned to collapse by partial rupturing of the sutures between flow units. This, we believe, was the result of ice-shelf front retreat during 1998–2000, reducing the lateral resistive stress on the upstream parts of the shelf and glacier flow units, ice-shelf thinning and pre-shelf-break-up glacier acceleration.