Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
User model-based metrics for offline query suggestion evaluation

Query suggestion or auto-completion mechanisms are widely used by search engines and are increasingly attracting interest from the research community. However, the lack of commonly accepted evaluation methodology and metrics means that it is not possible to compare results and approaches from the literature. Moreover, often the metrics used to evaluate query suggestions tend to be an adaptation from other domains without a proper justification. Hence, it is not necessarily clear if the improvements reported in the literature would result in an actual improvement in the users' experience. Inspired by the cascade user models and state-of-the-art evaluation metrics in the web search domain, we address the query suggestion evaluation, by first studying the users behaviour from a search engine's query log and thereby deriving a new family of user models describing the users interaction with a query suggestion mechanism. Next, assuming a query log-based evaluation approach, we propose two new metrics to evaluate query suggestions, pSaved and eSaved. Both metrics are parameterised by a user model. pSaved is defined as the probability of using the query suggestions while submitting a query. eSaved equates to the expected relative amount of effort (keypresses) a user can avoid due to the deployed query suggestion mechanism. Finally, we experiment with both metrics using four user model instantiations as well as metrics previously used in the literature on a dataset of 6.1M sessions. Our results demonstrate that pSaved and eSaved show the best alignment with the users satisfaction amongst the considered metrics.
Managing Violence in Schools: A Whole-School Approach to Best Practice

1. Introduction 2. Understanding school violence 3. Working with the whole-school community 4. Preparing for change 5. Conducting a needs analysis 6. Children helping children through peer support 7. Emotional literacy in schools 8. Restorative practice 9. The Support Group Method 10. Whole-school community checklist: promoting a safe school environment
Economic Motives and Migration : The Canada-US Experience

After tax wages differ considerably across countries, providing strong economic incentives for individuals to migrate. Increasing political integration and regional trade agreements facilitate international labor mobility, making these economic motives more important relative to the costs of migration. We undertake an empirical analysis using economic incentives to explain the migration of college-educated Canadian workers to the United States in the 1980’s. We develop an overlapping generations model of migration with heterogenous agents. We calibrate the model to match the total flow of young, collegeeducated Canadian workers to the US from 1980 to 1990. The model delivers a rich set of predictions regarding the migration choices of agents differentiated by income and age. We use the calibrated model to answer policy questions related to migration, such as the effects of Canada harmonizing her tax code to the US tax code. We find that tax harmonization can reduce the migration of college-educated Canadians by 42%. However, the decline in migration among the top quintile of workers is only 33 %. We have greatly benefited from the comments of Tim Kehoe, Ed Prescott, Pete Klenow, Tom Holmes, Kim Ruhl and participants in the Applied Macro Workshop, University of Minnesota.
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology Responsiveness of Bovine Cumulus-oocyte-complexes (coc) to Porcine and Recombinant Human Fsh, and the Effect of Coc Quality on Gonadotropin Receptor and Cx43 Marker Gene Mrnas during Maturation in Vitro

Substantially less development to the blastocyst stage occurs in vitro than in vivo and this may be due to deficiencies in oocyte competence. Although a large proportion of bovine oocytes undergo spontaneous nuclear maturation, less is known about requirements for proper cytoplasmic maturation. Commonly, supraphysiological concentrations of FSH and LH are added to maturation media to improve cumulus expansion, fertilization and embryonic development. Therefore, various concentrations of porcine FSH (pFSH) and recombinant human FSH (rhFSH) were investigated for their effect on bovine cumulus expansion in vitro. Expression of FSHr, LHr and Cx43 mRNAs was determined in cumulus-oocyte complexes to determine whether they would be useful markers of oocyte competence. In serum-free media, only 1000 ng/ml pFSH induced marked cumulus expansion, but the effect of 100 ng/ml pFSH was amplified in the presence of 10% serum. In contrast, cumulus expansion occurred with 1 ng/ml rhFSH in the absence of serum. FSHr mRNA was highest at 0–6 h of maturation, then abundance decreased. Similarly, Cx43 mRNA expression was highest from 0–6 h but decreased by 24 h of maturation. However, the relative abundance of LHr mRNA did not change from 6–24 h of maturation. Decreased levels of FSHr, LHr and Cx43 mRNAs were detected in COCs of poorer quality. In conclusion, expansion of bovine cumulus occurred at low doses of rhFSH in serum-free media. In summary, FSHr, LHr and Cx43 mRNA abundance reflects COC quality and FSHr and Cx43 mRNA expression changes during in vitro maturation; these genes may be useful markers of oocyte developmental competence.
ANZUS free trade agreements: results from a global model

Trade Policy Reforms and Development, comprises 11 essays offering new contributions on the following topics: globalisation and political economy of trade; trade, labour standards and economic crisis; the changing role of the WTO; competition policy and the WTO; choice of formulas for market access negotiations; regionalism and bilateralism in ASEAN; ANZUS free trade agreement; new criteria for optimum currency areas; trade policy and poverty in Asia; impact of agricultural trade reforms on poverty; and recent behaviour of US imports.
Comparative Study of Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or Major Depressive Disorder

Objective Heart rate variability (HRV) changes as a function of psychiatric illness. This study aimed to evaluate HRV among patients with various psychiatric disorders. Methods The present study recruited patients with schizophrenia (n=35), bipolar disorder (n=41), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n=34), or major depressive disorder (n=34) as well as healthy controls (n=27). The time-domain analysis (the standard deviation of all RR intervals [SDNN] and the square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal sinus intervals [RMSSD]), the frequency-domain analysis (very low frequency, low frequency [LF], high frequency [HF], and total power [TP]), and a non-linear complexity measure the approximate entropy were computed. Results SDNN and HF were significantly reduced in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. SDNN, RMSSD, TP, LF, and HF were significantly reduced in bipolar patients compared with healthy controls. HF was significantly reduced in PTSD patients compared with healthy controls. Conclusion Our findings indicate that HRV is not sufficiently powerful to discriminate among various psychiatric illnesses. However, our results suggest that HRV, particularly HF, could be used as a tool for discriminating between psychiatric patients and healthy controls.
Experimental Validation of An Intelligent Detection and Response Strategy for Complex Infrastructure Attacks and False Positives Using Firewalls

The current intrusion detection systems (IDS) which attempt to identify suspicious network traffic have major limitations. The high percentage of alerts generated by such systems, the level of false positives is one of the major problems. We present intelligent strategies for reduction of false positives and infrastructure protection using a novel approach using adaptive responses from multiple firewalls and VPNs (virtual private networks) rule sets in a novel "network quarantine channels" (NQC), using firewall architectures. The focus of this paper is on firewall rule sets which operate within the NQC to respond to suspicious hosts and then deny access to critical segments of the network infrastructure. The firewall rule sets provide effective intelligent responses by granting access to the normal packets and denying malicious traffic access to the network, after the identity of the connections are verified through the statistical analysis in the NQC. These effective strategies reduce false positives and increases detection capability of the IDS
Tier Association Probability and Spectrum Partitioning for Maximum Rate Coverage in Multi-Tier Heterogeneous Networks

For a wireless multi-tier heterogeneous network with orthogonal spectrum allocation across tiers, we optimize the association probability and the fraction of spectrum allocated to each tier so as to maximize rate coverage. In practice, the association probability can be controlled using a biased received signal power. The optimization problem is non-convex and we are forced to explore locally optimal solutions. We make two contributions in this paper: first, we show that there exists a relation between the first derivatives of the objective function with respect to each of the optimization variables. This can be used to simplify numerical solutions to the optimization problem. Second, we explore the optimality of the intuitive solution that the fraction of spectrum allocated to each tier should be equal to the tier association probability. We show that, in this case, a closed-form solution exists. Importantly, our numerical results show that there is essentially zero performance loss. The results also illustrate the significant gains possible by jointly optimizing the user association and the resource allocation.
Democracy in Retreat: The Revolt of the Middle Class and the Worldwide Decline of Representative Government

Since the end of the Cold War, the assumption among most political theorists has been that as nations develop economically, they will also become more democratic-especially if a vibrant middle class takes root. This assumption underlies the expansion of the European Union and much of American foreign policy, bolstered by such examples as South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and even to some extent Russia. Where democratization has failed or retreated, aberrant conditions take the blame: Islamism, authoritarian Chinese influence, or perhaps the rise of local autocrats. But what if the failures of democracy are not exceptions? In this thought-provoking study of democratization, Joshua Kurlantzick proposes that the spate of retreating democracies, one after another over the past two decades, is not just a series of exceptions. Instead, it reflects a new and disturbing trend: democracy in worldwide decline. The author investigates the state of democracy in a variety of countries, why the middle class has turned against democracy in some cases, and whether the decline in global democratization is reversible.
Carcinoembryonic Antigen Family Receptor Recognition by Gonococcal Opa Proteins Requires Distinct Combinations of Hypervariable Opa Protein Domains

ABSTRACT Neisserial Opa proteins function as a family of adhesins that bind heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) or carcinoembryonic antigen family (CEACAM) receptors on human host cells. In order to define the CEACAM binding domain on Opa proteins, we tested the binding properties of a series of gonococcal (strain MS11) recombinants producing mutant and chimeric Opa proteins with alterations in one or more of the four surface-exposed loops. Mutagenesis demonstrated that the semivariable domain, present in the first loop, was completely dispensable for CEACAM binding. In contrast, the two hypervariable (HV) regions present in the second and third loops were essential for binding; deletion of either domain resulted in loss of receptor recognition. Deletion of the fourth loop resulted in a severe decrease in Opa expression at the cell surface and could therefore not be tested for CEACAM binding. Chimeric Opa variants, containing combinations of HV regions derived from different CEACAM binding Opa proteins, lost most of their receptor binding activity. Some chimeric variants gained HSPG binding activity. Together, our results indicate that full recognition of CEACAM receptors by Opa proteins requires a highly coordinate interplay between both HV regions. Furthermore, shuffling of HV regions may result in novel HSPG receptor binding activity.
A refined M2 tide from Geosat altimetry

More than 4 , 0 , 0 global Geosat altimeter observations, taken mostly in 1986-87, have been analyzed for the M, tide at overlapping points in the satellite's exact repeat mission (ERM). The results are compatible with the Schwiderski (1983) tide model at a level of 5.5 cm (rms discrepancy). The principal features of that model (amphidromes and highs) are unchanged. The altimeter solutions use independent time series for more than 1,900 4" by 4" areas of the deep oceans. They have been calibrated through nine roughly equal and independent subset analyses employing different arcs of the ERM coonfiguration. Results show that 1,652 of the full set M, solutions have calibrated errors of less than 5 cm. Fairly good agreement exists between the 4" altimeter solutions and the few (point) tide gage results reported by Schwiderski. INTRODUCITON With the launch of the U.S. Navy's GEOdetic SATellite (Geosat) in 1985 and initiation of its exact repeat mission (ERM) in late 1986, long-term monitoring of ocean dynamics from precise altimetry has come of age (eg., Cheney er d. 1989). This report contains a refined analysis (see also Wagner 1990) determining the Single largest component of ocean dynamics from this altimetry, namely the M, ocean tide. The emphasis in this study is the deep ocean tide over the whole globe. Currently, the best information available on this dominant (semidiumal) lunar tide is a combination of theory and scattered tide gage records with a claimed accuracy of better than 5 cm at all deep ocean points (Schwiderski 1983). Considering that the M2 marine tide has a power of the order of 30 an, rms (somewhat less in deep oceans), this seems a modest claim in spite of the well known discrepancies between tidal models in the past. [See Schwiderski (1980) for a thorough review. ] Nevertheless, precise satellite altimetry should eventually establish a new standard. For example, with Geosat, Psecond averages of altimetric heights have a precision of about 10 un. More than 30,OOO,OOO such observations have been taken since the satellite was launched in 1985 (e.g., Cheney er uf. 1987, 1988; Doyle er ul. 1989). Indeed such altimetry from Seasat in the summer of 1978 has already proven to be compatible with the best of the tidal theory models for M, [e. &, Brown (1983) in one location, and Mazzega (1985) globally, but only at long wavelengths]. However, use of limited Seasat data has not permitted a completely independent and global test over a wide spectrum, which is now possible with long-term ERM altimetry from Geosat. In a preliminary, brief study with ERM altimetry (Wagner 1990), I showed that such an independent evaluation of this tide at many deep ocean points was possible even without using all the (1-second) Geophysical Data Records (GDRs) in this mission. In a complementary analysis of Geosat ERM altimetry, Cartwright and Ray (1990) used methods similar to those here but they were not aimed specifically at M,. While resolving a broad spectrum of tides they also did not utilize the difference data as a continuous time series and thus sacrificed some of its power. Here I follow the ideas of
WW1 and WW2 on a Specialist E-forum. Applying Corpus Tools to the Study of Evaluative Language

The 70th anniversary of WW2 generated a new discussions about Poles’ attitudes to the country’s important historical events. The general aim of my present study is to investigate how contemporary Poles’ attitudes to the two world wars are expressed in electronic discourse, using the example of a specialist Internet forum. The research data comes from an active Polish forum devoted to the history of the two world wars: Your Forum About the World Wars retrieved from www.dws. org. pl. The quantitative-qualitative analysis of the compiled corpus is conducted by means of the UAM Corpus Tool, a multiple-level environment for annotation and analysis of text corpora (htt p://www.wagsoft.com/CorpusTool/).
Using both HSV color and texture features to classify archaeological fragments

Normally, the artifacts are found in a fractured state and mixed randomly and the process of manual classification may requires a great deal of time and tedious work. Therefore, classifying these fragments is a challenging task, especially if the archaeological object consists of thousands of fragments. Hence, it is important to come up with a solution for the classification of the archaeological fragments accurately into groups and reassembling each group to original form by using computer techniques. In this study we interested to find the solve to this problem depending on color and texture features, to accomplish that the algorithm begins by partition the image into six sub-blocks. Furthermore, extract HSV color space feature from each block, then this feature represent into a cumulative histogram, as a result we obtain six vectors for each image. Regard to extract the texture feature for each sub-block it will be used the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) that include Energy, Contrast, Correlation and Homogeneity. At the final stage, based on k-Nearest Neighbors algorithm (KNN) classifies the color and texture features, this method able to classify the fragments with a high accuracy. The algorithm was tested on several images of pottery fragments and yield results with accuracy as high as 86.51% of original grouped cases correctly classified.
Paternal and maternal ages at conception and risk of bipolar affective disorder in their offspring

Background A consistent association between paternal age and their offspring's risk of schizophrenia has been observed, with no independent association with maternal age. The relationship of paternal and maternal ages with risk of bipolar affective disorders (BPAD) in the offspring is less clear. The present study aimed at testing the hypothesis that paternal age is associated with their offspring's risk of BPAD, whereas maternal age is not. Method This population-based cohort study was conducted with individuals born in Sweden during 1973–1980 and still resident there at age 16 years. Outcome was first hospital admission with a diagnosis of BPAD. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox's proportional hazard regression. Results After adjustment for all potential confounding variables except maternal age, the HR for risk of BPAD for each 10-year increase in paternal age was 1.28 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–1.48], but this fell to 1.20 (95% CI 0.97–1.48) after adjusting for maternal age. A similar result was found for maternal age and risk of BPAD [HR 1.30 (95% CI 1.08–1.56) before adjustment for paternal age, HR 1.12 (95% CI 0.86–1.45) after adjustment]. The HR associated with having either parent aged 30 years or over was 1.26 (95% CI 1.01–1.57) and it was 1.45 (95% CI 1.16–1.81) if both parents were >30 years. Conclusions Unlike schizophrenia, the risk of BPAD seems to be associated with both paternal and maternal ages.
The Effect of Tempol Administration on the Aortic Contractile Responses in Rat Preeclampsia Model

It is reported that reactive oxygen species production has a critical role in the manifestations and complications of preeclampsia. In the present study, the effect of tempol on the response changes of aortic rings of preeclamptic rats has been studied. Preeclamptic rats (induced by L-NAME) were treated with three different oral doses of tempol (20, 60 and 180 mg/kg/day) from the Day 10 of gestation. Systolic blood pressure, plasma malondialdehyde and 8-isoprostane and the vascular effects of phenylephrine, calcium, acetylcholine and diazoxide were the studied parameters. L-NAME administration resulted in hypertension, proteinuria, increased oxidative stress markers, increased vascular sensitivity to phenylephrine and decreased sensitivity to acetylcholine in pregnant rats. No significant changes in response to calcium and diazoxide were observed. Tempol at doses of 20 and 60 mg/kg/day significantly reversed these changes but at a high dose (180 mg/kg/day), it had no significant effect and in some cases intensified the effect. These results revealed that in the experimental preeclampsia, the sensitivity of rat aorta to alpha- adrenergic receptor agonists was increased and its endothelium-dependent relaxation was decreased. Tempol at lower used doses reduced the blood pressure and oxidative stress and restored the normal responsiveness of vascular tissue in preeclamptic rats.
Hepatoprotective Effect and Synergism of Bisdemethoycurcumin against MCD Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Mice

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome, has become one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease over the last decade in developed countries. NAFLD includes a spectrum of pathological hepatic changes, such as steatosis, steatohepatitis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) is polyphenolic compounds with a diarylheptanoid skeleton, curcumin close analogues, which is derived from the Curcumae Longae Rhizoma. While the rich bioavailability research of curcumin, BDMC is the poor studies. We investigated whether BDMC has the hepatoprotective effect and combinatory preventive effect with silymarin on methionine choline deficient (MCD)-diet-induced NAFLD in C57BL/6J mice. C57BL/6J mice were divided into five groups of normal (normal diet without any treatment), MCD diet (MCD diet only), MCD + silymarin (SIL) 100 mg/kg group, MCD + BDMC 100 mg/kg group, MCD + SIL 50 mg/kg + BDMC 50 mg/kg group. Body weight, liver weight, liver function tests, histological changes were assessed and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses were conducted after 4 weeks. Mice lost body weight on the MCD-diet, but BDMC did not lose less than the MCD-diet group. Liver weights decreased from BDMC, but they increased significantly in the MCD-diet groups. All liver function test values decreased from the MCD-diet, whereas those from the BDMC increased significantly. The MCD- diet induced severe hepatic fatty accumulation, but the fatty change was reduced in the BDMC. The BDMC showed an inhibitory effect on liver lipogenesis by reducing associated gene expression caused by the MCD-diet. In all experiments, the combinations of BDMC with SIL had a synergistic effect against MCD-diet models. In conclusion, our findings indicate that BDMC has a potential suppressive effect on NAFLD. Therefore, our data suggest that BDMC may act as a novel and potent therapeutic agent against NAFLD.