Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mission Impossible ? Capturing rich yet natural user behaviour on the Web across locations and devices

It is often desirous to obtain a full picture of users’ web behaviours and activities across a variety of browsing environments. This is challenging due to the wide variety of “normal” environments possible; differences in location, device, web browser, and settings fluctuate both across participants and for each participant. Web data collection tools are required that are able to capture a broad range of data elements and work within multiple environments. This paper reflects on the data collection process undertaken as we investigated how people perceive the privacy of visited pages if others are able to later see traces of that activity. We wanted to capture the majority of participants’ web browsing and we did not want our logging of this information to affect their normal browsing environment or patterns. Our data collection choice, a browser helper object, resulted in a minimal impact on the participants’ web environment, but limited the types of contextual data we could collect and restricted the population we could study. This paper also includes a discussion of ongoing data analysis challenges and a visualization tool, VOLTS.
Atypical Fixation Preference with Anisometropia

Purpose. To describe a child with hyperopia and anisometropia who manifests strabismus and amblyopia in the much less hyperopic eye. Case Report. A 6-year-old child presented with a history of strabismus and refractive error since infancy, which has been treated with glasses and patching. The present examination revealed 3 D of hyperopic anisometropia, intermittent exotropia, and amblyopia. The strabismus and amblyopia occur in the less hyperopic eye. Ocular health assessment including optical coherence tomography was normal. After patching therapy, the vision improved in the amblyopic eye. Conclusion. Amblyopia and strabismus need not always occur in the more ametropic eye when accompanied by anisometropia.
Stochastic contracts for cyber-physical system design under probabilistic requirements

We develop an assume-guarantee contract framework for the design of cyber-physical systems, modeled as closed-loop control systems, under probabilistic requirements. We use a variant of signal temporal logic, namely, Stochastic Signal Temporal Logic (StSTL) to specify system behaviors as well as contract assumptions and guarantees, thus enabling automatic reasoning about requirements of stochastic systems. Given a stochastic linear system representation and a set of requirements captured by bounded StSTL contracts, we propose algorithms that can check contract compatibility, consistency, and refinement, and generate a controller to guarantee that a contract is satisfied, following a stochastic model predictive control approach. Our algorithms leverage encodings of the verification and control synthesis tasks into mixed integer optimization problems, and conservative approximations of probabilistic constraints that produce both sound and tractable problem formulations. We illustrate the effectiveness of our approach on a few examples, including the design of embedded controllers for aircraft power distribution networks.
Short-Term Outcomes After Symptomatic Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion

Background and Purpose— Previous studies concerning internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion have focused on long-term prognosis. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate short-term outcomes of patients with symptomatic ICA occlusion. Methods— We used data from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network on consecutive patients presenting to 11 stroke centers in Ontario. We included patients with noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack within the anterior circulation. The resulting cohort was divided into 4 groups based on vascular imaging of the ipsilateral extracranial ICA: occlusion, severe stenosis, moderate stenosis, and mild/no stenosis. Logistic regression modeling was used to evaluate the association between the degree of stenosis/occlusion of the symptomatic ICA and a series of short-term outcome measures. Results— Of the 4144 patients who met study criteria, 283 patients had a symptomatic ICA occlusion. Compared with patients with ICA occlusion, patients with all other degrees of stenosis had a lower risk of in-hospital death, neurological worsening, and poor functional outcome. Particularly, severe stenosis was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital death (adjusted OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.79), neurological worsening (adjusted OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.78), and poor functional outcome (adjusted OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.94) compared with the ICA occlusion group. Conclusions— The results of our study showed that patients with symptomatic ICA occlusion are at a high risk of adverse outcomes that is as severe, if not worse, than any other degree of ICA stenosis in the short term. Thus, more aggressive management may be warranted for patients with acute, symptomatic ICA occlusion.
Sensory Coding by Cerebellar Mossy Fibres through Inhibition-Driven Phase Resetting and Synchronisation

Temporal coding of spike-times using oscillatory mechanisms allied to spike-time dependent plasticity could represent a powerful mechanism for neuronal communication. However, it is unclear how temporal coding is constructed at the single neuronal level. Here we investigate a novel class of highly regular, metronome-like neurones in the rat brainstem which form a major source of cerebellar afferents. Stimulation of sensory inputs evoked brief periods of inhibition that interrupted the regular firing of these cells leading to phase-shifted spike-time advancements and delays. Alongside phase-shifting, metronome cells also behaved as band-pass filters during rhythmic sensory stimulation, with maximal spike-stimulus synchronisation at frequencies close to the idiosyncratic firing frequency of each neurone. Phase-shifting and band-pass filtering serve to temporally align ensembles of metronome cells, leading to sustained volleys of near-coincident spike-times, thereby transmitting synchronised sensory information to downstream targets in the cerebellar cortex.
Versatile high-fidelity photovoltaic module emulation system

Photovoltaic (PV) cells are promising endurable renewable power sources that do not include mechanical components, which are subject to wear and tear. However, actual development of a solar-powered system requires elaborated design processes to find the best setup including location determination and development of a maximum power point tracking method, which requires numerous on-site experiments. This paper introduces a versatile PV module emulation system, which can cover a range of different PV modules and environmental conditions. We provide an accurate parameter characterization methodology with nonlinear curve fitting to minimize the model discrepancy over the entire operating range. The proposed PV module emulation system includes a pilot PV cell, temperature sensors, an accelerometer, and a magnetic sensor, and provides features for the PV module characterization and emulation modes. Experimental results show significant improvement in the emulation accuracy, which comes from the advanced PV module characterization method as well as high-precision hardware and control.
Strategic Design of Robust Global Supply Chains under Uncertainty

We will present a model for the strategic design of the global supply chain of an individual company. The model presented is a multi-period, two-stage stochastic, multi-country, multi-product, multi-echelon formulation based on forecasted exchange rates and with bill of materials (BOM) flow conservation. The objective is maximization of the expected value of the time-discounted world-wide after-tax net cash flows NPV(NCF). The uncertainty of the data is explicitly considered through the inclusion of scenarios in the deterministic equivalent problem (DEP). However, the problem size of the DEP is so large that convergence of standard Benders decomposition requires an excessive amount of computer time. We have implemented several acceleration techniques for Benders decomposition. The following observations are based on the statistical analysis of the required computing times for an industrial case study. 1) Acceleration techniques significantly decrease the computation times. 2) Strengthening of the dual variables contributes the most, while a primal heuristic contributes the least. 3) The largest reductions in computer time are achieved when all acceleration techniques are used in concert. We are continuing the numerical experiment to further differentiate the effectiveness of the acceleration techniques.
Knowledge discovery for friction stir welding via data driven approaches

For a comprehensive understanding towards friction stir welding (FSW) which would lead to a unified approach that embodies materials other than aluminium, such as titanium and steel, it is crucial to identify the intricate correlations between the controllable process conditions, the observable internal process variables, and the characterisations of the post-weld materials. In Part 1 of this paper, multiple correlation analyses techniques have been developed to detect new and previously unknown correlations between the internal process variables and weld quality of aluminium alloy AA 5083. Furthermore, a new exploitable weld quality indicator has, for the first time, been successfully extracted, which can provide an accurate and reliable indication of the as welded defects. All results relating to this work have been validated using real data obtained from a series of welding trials that utilised a new revolutionary sensory platform called ARTEMIS developed by TWI Ltd, the original inventors of the FSW process.
Towards a Formalization of Mental Model Reasoning for Syllogistic Fragments

In this study, Johnson-Laird and his colleagues’ mental model reasoning is formally analyzed as a non-sentential reasoning. Based on the recent developments in implementations of mental model theory, we formulate a mental model reasoning for syllogistic fragments in a way satisfying the requirement of formal specification such as mental model definition.
Online consumer information encountering experience for planned purchase and unplanned purchase

This paper proposes an integrated model of traditional consumer buying decision process and Information Encountering (IE) model to study online consumer actual consumption. This study uses Poisson Regression to analyze the relationships between three major factors (consumer, product, and situation) and four types of possible online consumption results (planned purchase without IE experience, planned purchase with IE experience, planned purchase accompanied with unplanned purchase, and unplanned purchase only). Additionally, this study also studies the pattern of product information needs in IE episode of unplanned purchase by Confirmatory Factor Analysis.
Space vector model of a three-phase to five-phase AC/AC converter

Multi-phase motor drives becoming popular in some niche application areas such as ship propulsion, `more electric aircraft' electric and hybrid electric vehicle. The rise in popularity is attributed to fact that they are robust, less noisy, reduced volume and lower per-phase power handling by the feeding converters. Adjustable speed drives invariably need power electronic converter for their supply. The most common choice is a AC/DC/AC converter. However, direct AC/AC converter is attractive option due to single stage conversion characteristics. Direct AC/AC converter or more popularly called a matrix converter has received attention recently for multiphase motor drives. Due to complexity of the power switching circuit proper modelling of matrix converter is important in devising appropriate control algorithm. This paper develops complete model of a three to five-phase matrix converter based on space vector approach. Both direct and indirect types of matrix converter model is presented. Simulation results are provided to validate the model.
Characterizing the Topology of Probabilistic Biological Networks

Biological interactions are often uncertain events, that may or may not take place with some probability. This uncertainty leads to a massive number of alternative interaction topologies for each such network. The existing studies analyze the degree distribution of biological networks by assuming that all the given interactions take place under all circumstances. This strong and often incorrect assumption can lead to misleading results. In this paper, we address this problem and develop a sound mathematical basis to characterize networks in the presence of uncertain interactions. Using our mathematical representation, we develop a method that can accurately describe the degree distribution of such networks. We also take one more step and extend our method to accurately compute the joint-degree distributions of node pairs connected by edges. The number of possible network topologies grows exponentially with the number of uncertain interactions. However, the mathematical model we develop allows us to compute these degree distributions in polynomial time in the number of interactions. Our method works quickly even for entire protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. It also helps us find an adequate mathematical model using MLE. We perform a comparative study of node-degree and joint-degree distributions in two types of biological networks: the classical deterministic networks and the more flexible probabilistic networks. Our results confirm that power-law and log-normal models best describe degree distributions for both probabilistic and deterministic networks. Moreover, the inverse correlation of degrees of neighboring nodes shows that, in probabilistic networks, nodes with large number of interactions prefer to interact with those with small number of interactions more frequently than expected. We also show that probabilistic networks are more robust for node-degree distribution computation than the deterministic ones. Availability: all the data sets used, the software implemented and the alignments found in this paper are available at >http://bioinformatics.cise. ufl.edu/projects/probNet/.
GNMT Expression Increases Hepatic Folate Contents and Folate-Dependent Methionine Synthase-Mediated Homocysteine Remethylation

Glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) is a major hepatic enzyme that converts S-adenosylmethionine to S-adenosylhomocys-teine while generating sarcosine from glycine, hence it can regulate mediating methyl group availability in mammalian cells. GNMT is also a major hepatic folate binding protein that binds to, and, subsequently, may be inhibited by 5-methyltetrafolate. GNMT is commonly diminished in human hepatoma; yet its role in cellular folate metabolism, in tumorigenesis and antifolate therapies, is not understood completely. In the present study, we investigated the impacts of GNMT expression on cell growth, folate status, methylfolate-dependent reactions and antifolate cytotoxicity. GNMT-diminished hepatoma cell lines transfected with GNMT were cultured under folate abundance or restriction. Folate-dependent homocysteine remethylation fluxes were investigated using stable isotopic tracers and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Folate status was compared between wild-type (WT), GNMT transgenic (GNMTtg) and GNMT knockout (GNMTko) mice. In the cell model, GNMT expression increased folate concentration, induced folate-dependent homocysteine remethylation, and reduced antifolate methotrexate cytotoxicity. In the mouse models, GNMTtg had increased hepatic folate significantly, whereas GNMTko had reduced folate. Liver folate levels correlated well with GNMT expressions (r = 0.53, P = 0.002); and methionine synthase expression was reduced significantly in GNMTko, demonstrating impaired methylfolate-dependent metabolism by GNMT deletion. In conclusion, we demonstrated novel findings that restoring GNMT assists methylfolate-dependent reactions and ameliorates the consequences of folate depletion. GNMT expression in vivo improves folate retention and bioavailability in the liver. Studies on how GNMT expression impacts the distribution of different folate cofactors and the regulation of specific folate dependent reactions are underway.
Hesr2 Knockout Mice Develop Aortic Valve Disease With Advancing Age

Objective—Acquired heart diseases, such as valve disease, are major causes of human morbidity and mortality. However, the pathological mechanisms underlying these diseases are largely unknown. Our aim is to identify the role of the hairy and enhancer of split-related (Hesr)-2 gene in the adult heart. Methods and Results—Echocardiography detected heart dysfunctions indicative of aortic valve anomalies, stenosis, and regurgitation, in ≈59% of >12-month-old Hesr2 knockout survivor mice. Morphological and histological analyses revealed thickened semilunar valves with increased fibrotic areas, indicating that sclerotic degeneration of valves is the main cause of aortic valve disease. The expression of osteogenic genes, such as Osteopontin and Sclerostin, were upregulated in the mutants, and the overexpression of Sclerostin in endothelial cells resulted in thickened semilunar valves with increased fibrotic areas, similar to that seen in the Hesr2 knockout mice, suggesting that Hesr2 can regulate osteogenic gene expression in valves. Reduced left ventricular function, which may be caused by increased ventricular interstitial fibrosis, and enlarged myocardial cell size without ventricular wall thickening were found in both aortic valve stenosis/regurgitation-positive (33%) and aortic valve stenosis/regurgitation-negative (38%) subpopulations in 12-month-old survivor mice. Dilated left ventricular internal dimensions were specifically detected in the aortic valve stenosis/regurgitation-positive subpopulation, thus suggesting that the degeneration of cardiomyocytes is influenced by irregular hemodynamics. Conclusion—These data revealed that survivor mice lacking the Hesr2 gene exhibit fibrosis in the aortic valve and ventricle in adulthood, thus suggesting that Hesr2 plays an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the aortic valve and ventricle.
Inflamm‐aging: An Evolutionary Perspective on Immunosenescence

Abstract: In this paper we extend the “network theory of aging,” and we argue that a global reduction in the capacity to cope with a variety of stressors and a concomitant progressive increase in proinflammatory status are major characteristics of the aging process. This phenomenon, which we will refer to as “inflamm‐aging,” is provoked by a continuous antigenic load and stress. On the basis of evolutionary studies, we also argue that the immune and the stress responses are equivalent and that antigens are nothing other than particular types of stressors. We also propose to return macrophage to its rightful place as central actor not only in the inflammatory response and immunity, but also in the stress response. The rate of reaching the threshold of proinflammatory status over which diseases/disabilities ensue and the individual capacity to cope with and adapt to stressors are assumed to be complex traits with a genetic component. Finally, we argue that the persistence of inflammatory stimuli over time represents the biologic background (first hit) favoring the susceptibility to age‐related diseases/disabilities. A second hit (absence of robust gene variants and/or presence of frail gene variants) is likely necessary to develop overt organ‐specific age‐related diseases having an inflammatory pathogenesis, such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes. Following this perspective, several paradoxes of healthy centenarians (increase of plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines, acute phase proteins, and coagulation factors) are illustrated and explained. In conclusion, the beneficial effects of inflammation devoted to the neutralization of dangerous/harmful agents early in life and in adulthood become detrimental late in life in a period largely not foreseen by evolution, according to the antagonistic pleiotropy theory of aging.
There Be Dragons

Our security gateway to the Internet research att com provides only a limited set of services Most of the standard servers have been replaced by a variety of trap programs that look for attacks Using these we have detected a wide variety of pokes ranging from simple doorknob twisting to determined assaults The attacks range from simple attempts to log in as guest to forged NFS packets We believe that many other sites are being probed but are unaware of it the standard network daemons do not provide administrators with either appropriate controls and lters or with the logging necessary to detect attacks
Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability

Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this paper, we calculated the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculated the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We found that the optimal number of units could maximize this array's energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.
Making the most of the self-quotient image in face recognition

The self-quotient image is a biologically inspired representation which has been proposed as an illumination invariant feature for automatic face recognition. Owing to the lack of strong domain specific assumptions underlying this representation, it can be readily extracted from raw images irrespective of the persons's pose, facial expression etc. What makes the self-quotient image additionally attractive is that it can be computed quickly and in a closed form using simple low-level image operations. However, it is generally accepted that the self-quotient is insufficiently robust to large illumination changes which is why it is mainly used in applications in which low precision is an acceptable compromise for high recall (e.g. retrieval systems). Yet, in this paper we demonstrate that the performance of this representation in challenging illuminations has been greatly underestimated. We show that its error rate can be reduced by over an order of magnitude, without any changes to the representation itself. Rather, we focus on the manner in which the dissimilarity between two self-quotient images is computed. By modelling the dominant sources of noise affecting the representation, we propose and evaluate a series of different dissimilarity measures, the best of which reduces the initial error rate of 63.0% down to only 5.7% on the notoriously challenging YaleB data set.