Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallel Optimization for Data-intensive Service Composition Parallel Optimization for Data-intensive Service Composition

The age of Big Data has inspired the appearance and application of data-intensive Web service. In most cases, multiple data-intensive services are assembled into a service composition to meet complicated requirements. As the number of Data-intensive Web services on the Internet is increasing rapidly and dramatically, traditional central service composition approaches have come to a performance bottleneck. This paper proposes a method for automatic data-intensive service composition, which can be executed in parallel. Firstly, the problem of automatic of State Space Search and Planning Graph. Then, a heuristic algorithm is proposed to compose data-intensive Web service automatically. After that, more details are given to present the parallel optimization for the composition algorithm. A series of experiments show that the proposed parallel optimization method improves the efficiency of automatic Web service composition to a great extent.
Capital Structure Decision: The Use of Preference Shares and Convertible Debt in the UK

This aim of this study is to test whether existing capital structure theories relating to the use of straight debt and equity explain the use, in the UK, of preference shares as equity securities and convertible debt as debt securities. The study provides an empirical examination of the influence of non-debt tax shield, size, volatility of earnings, growth, asset structure and profitability. A second aim of the study is to examine to what extent firms in the UK may be using preference shares for their debt attributes and convertible debt for their equity attributes. The sample comprises 331 firms for the period 1992 ? 1997. The sample includes firms who use preference shares and convertible debt as well as a similar number of firms who do not use these instruments. Evidence obtained so far provides strong support for the suggestion that tax shields on debt play a minor, rather than major role, in the financing decision as the use of preference shares were found to have significant negative relationships with non-debt tax shields. Asset structure is also found to have an unexpected relationship with preference shares. These findings support the idea that firms may consider the agency, characteristics of preference shares as being more advantageous, when looking at what type of security to issue. Firms use less risky securities, other than straight equity, in order to reduce the agency conflicts of debt. Convertible debt is also found to have a counter-intuitive relationship with non-debt tax shields. Further evidence for convertible debt supports a recent study by Munro (1996) that convertible debt issuers tended to be large and intangible intensive. The evidence obtained for both preference shares and convertible debt does not rationalise the use of these instruments according to traditional capital structure theories. The study provides scope for further research to support the idea that firms use these hybrid securities for reasons other than those explored by traditional capital structure theories. Key words: Capital Structure Theories Preference Shares Convertible Debt
OPNET Performance Comparisons between SAODV&AODV

There are many routing protocols proposed for Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET) [1]. However most of these protocols are analysed by two standard techniques: simulation and security analysis. There has been a lack of work on the analysis and performance of secure routing protocols in real network test- bed. In this paper, a quantitative set of results for the performance comparison between Adaptive On-demand Distance Vector (AODV)[2] and Secure-AODV (SAODV) [3] A comparison is made with results obtained via simulation techniques using OPNET simulation tool [4]. The workload included TCP traffic. Results show that SAODV performance is effective in preventing routing messages tampering and data dropping attacks.
Low Throughput Networks for the IoT: Lessons learned from industrial implementations

The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) is getting closer to reality every day, with standards and protocols tailored to specific applications. Although some technologies follow a `make once, fit all' approach, others are designed for specific applications such as smart-metering where the devices are often stationary with low jitter and throughput requirements. ETSI is already working towards a new standard for such applications, having specified a Specification Group to study what they call Low Throughput Networks (LTN) and propose a communications standard. In the meantime industrial solutions have entered the market such as, among others, Sigfox's and OnRamp Wireless technologies and LoRaWAN. Although this may lead to fragmentation of the IoT, they are worth examining to gain insights from their innovations and approaches to solving problems that are common in IoT technologies, and more specifically, security, energy management and resource constrains. This paper examines the wireless technologies of LoRaWan, Sigfox and OnRamp Wireless, the emerging leaders in IoT smart metering applications. These have so far not been studied in any peer-reviewed paper. Furthermore we discuss the suitability of Low Throughput Networks for certain applications and how the above technologies would work in such scenarios.
Authenticated Encryption Modes of Block Ciphers , Their Security and Implementation Properties

In this thesis, four authenticated encryption modes of operation are presented, namely, GCM mode, CCM* mode, OCB mode and CWC mode. These modes can provide confidentiality and authenticity simultaneously. The GCM mode and CCM* mode are in detail introduced. And it shows the comparison of the four modes from different aspects: properties, security, and performance in hardware implementation and software implementation.
Professional Learning through Teacher-Researcher Collaborations

In a recent Mathematics Teacher article, Fonger and her colleagues explain why teachers should engage in research studies: Researchers working alone lack the information needed to effectively address problems of practice that matter most-problems that are highly contextual and based on teachers' day-to-day experience. (2017, p. 462)
Data Consistency in Intermittently Connected Distributed Systems

Mobile computing introduces a new form of distributed computation in which communication is most often intermittent, low-bandwidth, or expensive, thus providing only weak connectivity. We present a replication scheme tailored for such environments. Bounded inconsistency is defined by allowing controlled deviation among copies located at weakly connected sites. A dual database interface is proposed that in addition to read and write operations with the usual semantics supports weak read and write operations. In contrast to the usual read and write operations that read consistent values and perform permanent updates, weak operations access only local and potentially inconsistent copies and perform updates that are only conditionally committed. Exploiting weak operations supports disconnected operation since mobile clients can employ them to continue to operate even while disconnected. The extended database interface coupled with bounded inconsistency offers a flexible mechanism for adapting replica consistency to the networking conditions by appropriately balancing the use of weak and normal operations. Adjusting the degree of divergence among copies provides additional support for adaptivity. We present transaction-oriented correctness criteria for the proposed schemes, introduce corresponding serializability-based methods, and outline protocols for their implementation. Then, some practical examples of their applicability are provided. The performance of the scheme is evaluated for a range of networking conditions and varying percentages of weak transactions by using an analytical model developed for this purpose.
Toward a Seasonally Ice-Covered Arctic Ocean: Scenarios from the IPCC AR4 Model Simulations

Abstract The sea ice simulations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) models for the climate of the twentieth century and for global warming scenarios have been synthesized. A large number of model simulations realistically captured the climatological annual mean, seasonal cycle, and temporal trends of sea ice area over the Northern Hemisphere during 1979–99, although there is considerable scatter among the models. In particular, multimodel ensemble means show promising estimates very close to observations for the late twentieth century. Model projections for the twenty-first century demonstrate the largest sea ice area decreases generally in the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A1B and A2 scenarios compared with the B1 scenario, indicating large multimodel ensemble mean reductions of −3.54 ± 1.66 × 105 km2 decade−1 in A1B, −4.08 ± 1.33 × 105 km2 decade−1 in A2, and −2.22 ± 1.11 × 105 km2 decade−1 in B1. The corresponding percentage reductions are.
Comparative Analysis of mRNA Isoform Expression in Cardiac Hypertrophy and Development Reveals Multiple Post-Transcriptional Regulatory Modules

Cardiac hypertrophy is enlargement of the heart in response to physiological or pathological stimuli, chiefly involving growth of myocytes in size rather than in number. Previous studies have shown that the expression pattern of a group of genes in hypertrophied heart induced by pressure overload resembles that at the embryonic stage of heart development, a phenomenon known as activation of the “fetal gene program”. Here, using a genome-wide approach we systematically defined genes and pathways regulated in short- and long-term cardiac hypertrophy conditions using mice with transverse aortic constriction (TAC), and compared them with those regulated at different stages of embryonic and postnatal development. In addition, exon-level analysis revealed widespread mRNA isoform changes during cardiac hypertrophy resulting from alternative usage of terminal or internal exons, some of which are also developmentally regulated and may be attributable to decreased expression of Fox-1 protein in cardiac hypertrophy. Genes with functions in certain pathways, such as cell adhesion and cell morphology, are more likely to be regulated by alternative splicing. Moreover, we found 3′UTRs of mRNAs were generally shortened through alternative cleavage and polyadenylation in hypertrophy, and microRNA target genes were generally de-repressed, suggesting coordinated mechanisms to increase mRNA stability and protein production during hypertrophy. Taken together, our results comprehensively delineated gene and mRNA isoform regulation events in cardiac hypertrophy and revealed their relations to those in development, and suggested that modulation of mRNA isoform expression plays an importance role in heart remodeling under pressure overload.
Socially Exchanging Privacy for Pleasure: hedonic Use of Computer-Mediated Social Networks

Despite legitimate privacy concerns regarding their use, hundreds of millions of people still visit Facebook and other social network sites each day. This study proposes that the enjoyment derived from social interaction as mediated by social network sites provides incentive for individuals to ignore privacy concerns and act contrary to their best interests. This study draws from social exchange theory, which states that individuals engage in mutually beneficial social interactions. We propose that the enjoyment received from this social exchange is sufficient to override many privacy concerns. This reduction in privacy concerns decreases the likelihood of engaging in privacy protective response behavior, and may explain continued use of CMSN in the presence of legitimate user concerns over privacy.
Analysis of Second-Order Modes of Linear Discrete-Time Systems under Bounded-Real Transformations

This paper discusses the behavior of the second-order modes (Hankel singular values) of linear discrete-time systems under bounded-real transformations, where the transformations are given by arbitrary transfer functions with magnitude bounded by unity. Our main result reveals that the values of the second-order modes are decreased under any of the above-mentioned transformations. This result is the generalization of the theory of Mullis and Roberts, who proved that the second-order modes are invariant under any allpass transformation, i.e. any lossless bounded-real transformation. We derive our main result by describing the controllability/observability Gramians of transformed systems with the help of the discrete-time bounded-real lemma.
Validation of the Korean-Version of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia (CAINS)

The Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) was developed to overcome the limitations of existing instruments and reflect the current view of negative symptoms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (K-CAINS). Inpatients (n = 49) and outpatients (n = 70) with schizophrenia were recruited from three institutions. The confirmative factor analysis, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were assessed. The study group consisted of 71 males (59.7%) and 48 females (40.3%). Their mean age was 42.15 years (SD = 12.2). The K-CAINS was confirmed to be divided into two subscales of 9 items related to "motivation/pleasure" and 4 items related to "expression" in concordance with the original version of the CAINS. The results showed that the K-CAINS had a good inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.84-0.94), test-retest reliability (r = 0.90, P < 0.001). Convergent validity was proven by demonstrating a significant correlation with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative subscale, and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Discriminant validity was proven by the lack of a significant correlation with the PANSS positive subscale, the Korean version of the Beck depression inventory (BDI), the Korean version of the Calgary depression scale for schizophrenia (K-CDSS), and the Modified Simpson Angus scale (MSAS). The K-CAINS could be a reliable and valid tool to assess the negative symptoms of Korean schizophrenia patients.
Physical Activity Counteracts Tumor Cell Growth in Colon Carcinoma C26-Injected Muscles: An Interim Report

Skeletal muscle tissue is a rare site of tumor metastasis but is the main target of the degenerative processes occurring in cancer-associated cachexia syndrome. Beneficial effects of physical activity in counteracting cancer-related muscle wasting have been described in the last decades. Recently it has been shown that, in tumor xeno-transplanted mouse models, physical activity is able to directly affect tumor growth by modulating inflammatory responses in the tumor mass microenvironment. Here, we investigated the effect of physical activity on tumor cell growth in colon carcinoma C26 cells injected tibialis anterior muscles of BALB/c mice. Histological analyses revealed that 4 days of voluntary wheel running significantly counteracts tumor cell growth in C26-injected muscles compared to the non-injected sedentary controls. Since striated skeletal muscle tissue is the site of voluntary contraction, our results confirm that physical activity can also directly counteract tumor cell growth in a metabolically active tissue that is usually not a target for metastasis.
Asynchronous multirobot exploration under recurrent connectivity constraints

In multirobot exploration under centralized control, communication plays an important role in constraining the team exploration strategy. Recurrent connectivity is a way to define communication constraints for which robots must connect to a base station only when making new observations. This paper studies effective multirobot exploration strategies under recurrent connectivity by considering a centralized and asynchronous planning framework. We formalize the problem of selecting the optimal set of locations robots should reach, provide an exact formulation to solve it, and devise an approximation algorithm to obtain efficient solutions with a bounded loss of optimality. Experiments in simulation and on real robots evaluate our approach in a number of settings.
Tracking Political Elections on Social Media: Applications and Experience

In recent times, social media has become a popular medium for many election campaigns. It not only allows candidates to reach out to a large section of the electorate, it is also a potent medium for people to express their opinion on the proposed policies and promises of candidates. Analyzing social media data is challenging as the text can be noisy, sparse and even multilingual. In addition, the information may not be completely trustworthy, particularly in the presence of propaganda, promotions and rumors. In this paper we describe our work for analyzing election campaigns using social media data. Using data from the 2012 US presidential elections and the 2013 Philippines General elections, we provide detailed experiments on our methods that use granger causality to identify topics that were most "causal" for public opinion and which in turn, give an interpretable insight into "elections topics" that were most important. Our system was deployed by the largest media organization in the Philippines during the 2013 General elections and using our work, the media house able to identify and report news stories much faster than competitors and reported higher TRP ratings during the election.
Residential Mobility and Public Policy in OECD Countries

Residential mobility is closely tied to the functioning of housing markets and has important implications for labour mobility and the efficient allocation of resources across the economy. This paper analyses patterns of residential mobility across OECD countries and the role of housing policies in enhancing or hampering residential mobility. Based on cross-sectional household data for 25countries, the results suggest that differences in residential mobility across countries are partially related to differences in public policies. After controlling for household and country- specific characteristics, residential mobility is higher in countries with lower transaction costs, more responsive housing supply, lower rent controls and tenant protection. Residential mobility tends also to be higher in environments with greater access to credit, suggesting that financial deregulation – by lowering borrowing costs and facilitating access to mortgage finance – facilitates mobility. This cross- country evidence is supported by city and state-level evidence for the United States. JEL classification: R23, R31, R21, R38, H20. Keywords: Housing markets, residential mobility, transaction costs, rental market regulations
Validation of the Polish version of Diabetes Quality of Life – Brief Clinical Inventory (DQL-BCI) among patients with type 2 diabetes

Introduction The aim of the study was to develop a Polish version of the Diabetes Quality of Life Brief Clinical Inventory (DQL-BCI) and to perform validating evaluation of selected psychometric aspects. Material and methods The translation process was performed in accordance with generally accepted international principles of translation and cultural adaptation of measurement tools. Two hundred and seventy-four subjects with type 2 diabetes completed the Polish version of DQL-BCI, the generic EQ-5D questionnaire and the diabetes-specific DSC-R. The examination provides information about the reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and the construct validity of the studied tool (the relationship between the DQL-BCI score and EQ-5D and DSC-R scales, as well as selected clinical patient characteristics). Results Cronbach's α (internal consistency) for the translated version of DQL-BCI was 0.76. Test-retest Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.96. Spearman's coefficient correlation between DQL-BCI score and EQ-5D index and EQ-VAS were 0.6 (p = 0.0000001) and 0.61 (p = 0.0000001) respectively. The correlation between scores of the examined tool and DSC-R total score was –0.6 (p = 0.0000001). Quality of life was lower among patients with microvascular as well as macrovascular complications and with occurring hypoglycemic episodes. Conclusions The result of this study is the Polish scale used to test the quality of life of patients with diabetes, which includes the range of problems faced by patients while maintaining a patient-friendly form. High reliability of the scale and good construct validity qualify the Polish version of DQL-BCI as a reliable tool in both research and individual diagnostics.
Pathway Analysis of MicroRNA Expression Profile during Murine Osteoclastogenesis

To design novel therapeutics against bone loss, understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating osteoclastogenesis is critical. Osteoclast formation and function are tightly regulated by transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. This stringent regulation is crucial to prevent excessive or insufficient bone resorption and to maintain bone homeostasis. microRNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators that repress expression of target mRNAs controlling osteoclast proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Disruption of miRNA-mediated regulation alters osteoclast formation and bone resorption. Prior studies profiled miRNA expression in murine osteoclast precursors treated with RANKL for 24 hours. However, a more complete miRNA signature, encompassing early, mid and late stages of osteoclastogenesis, is wanting. An Agilent microarray platform was used to analyze expression of mature miRNAs in an enriched population of murine bone marrow osteoclast precursors (depleted of B220+ and CD3+ cells) undergoing 1, 3, or 5 days of RANKL-driven differentiation. Expression of 93 miRNAs, changed by >2 fold during early, mid, and late stages of osteoclastogenesis, were identified and sorted into 7 clusters. We validated the function and expression of miR-365, miR-451, and miR-99b, which were found in distinct clusters. Inhibition of miR-365 increased osteoclast number but decreased osteoclast size, while miR-99b inhibition decreased both osteoclast number and size. In contrast, overexpression of miR-451 had no effect. Computational analyses predicted mTOR, PI3 kinase/AKT, cell-matrix interactions, actin cytoskeleton organization, focal adhesion, and axon guidance pathways to be top targets of several miRNA clusters. This suggests that many miRNA clusters differentially expressed during osteoclastogenesis converge on some key functional pathways. Overall, our study is unique in that we identified miRNAs differentially expressed during early, mid, and late osteoclastogenesis in a population of primary mouse bone marrow cells enriched for osteoclast progenitors. This novel data set contributes to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating the complex process of osteoclast differentiation.
Robust sparse image denoising

In this paper, we propose a novel method for denoising images corrupted by the mixture of the additive white Gaussian noise and the heavy tailed noise. The proposed method is based on robust statistical approach, i.e. application of M-estimators in the combination with ℓ1 sparse regularization technique. Thus, we perform the denoising by numerical solving of the convex optimization problem. Additionally, the developed method performs denoising adaptively in order to preserve the image details, by adjusting regularization coefficients according to the local variance. The proposed de-noising scheme produces excellent results, both objectively (in terms of PSNR and MSSIM) and subjectively and outperforms state-of-the-art filters for denoising heavy tailed noise in images.