Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time Weight Content-Based Extensions of Temporal Graphs for Personalized Recommendation

Recommender systems are an answer to information overload on the web. They filter and present to customer, a small subset of items that he is most likely to be interested in. Since user's interests may change over time, accurately capturing these dynamics is important, though challenging. The Session-based Temporal Graph (STG) has been proposed by Xiang et al. to provide temporal recommendations by combining long-and short-term preferences. Later, Yu et al. have introduced an extension called Topic-STG, which takes into account topics extracted from tweets' textual information. Recently, we pushed the idea further and proposed Content-based STG. However, in all these frameworks, the importance of links does not depend on their arrival time, which is a strong limitation: at any given time, purchases made last week should have a greater influence than purchases made a year ago. In this paper, we address this problem by proposing Time Weight Content-based STG, in which we assign a time-decreasing weight to edges. Using Time-Averaged Hit Ratio, we show that this approach outperforms all previous ones in real-world situations.
Contributions to Content Placement, Load-balancing and Caching: System Design and Security

Distributed systems invaded our daily lives offering a large set of services and applications such as social networks, chats, video consumption etc. Despite the large diversity of services offered, the underlying systems have many things in common. They must handle a large set of computing and storage nodes and must decide where to place the data and how to balance the load between the nodes. Therefore, these systems implement some placement and load-balancing policies. Data caches are used to further optimize access to data. The caching policy - a specific instance of the placement policy - decides which items to keep in cache and which ones to evict. Even small scale and dedicated architectures such as hard disk drives or CPUs employ the above policies and mechanisms. This document presents several contributions to content placement, load-balancing and caching policies. We consider two different aspects: (i) the system design, i.e. the design and evaluation of such policies for different architectures and (ii) the security, i.e. understanding how to exploit the caches, either for an attack or to build security applications. We start by presenting several contributions around the system design of such policies for Video-on-Demand services. We first consider a system where the video content is pro-actively placed on home gateways managed by an operator. During content consumption the gateways fetch the content from other home gateways. In contrast, the second system we study exclusively exploits the cloud. It serves targeted videos and must decide which content to cache instead of recomputing it at each user request. The pay-per use model of the cloud requires new and specific attention when designing the caching policies. We then consider security applications and attacks of caches. We build a trusted time stamping service using the caches of the publicly available Domain Name Service. We also design and demonstrate attacks on the caches of modern CPUs, allowing us to pass information from one process (or virtual machine) to another despite the isolation. Finally, we conclude with an outlook and some future work in the domain of caching and load-balancing.
Association of inflammation, dyslipidemia, obesity and physical activity status in children

The aim of this study was to verify the association between inflammatory biomarkers, dyslipidemia, obesity and physical activity status in 10-years old children. Ninety-four children participated in this study and were classified into eutrophic (n=36), overweight (n=34) or obese (n=24) according to their body mass index (BMI). The genic expression of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and chemokine C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL-2) mRNA; the serum concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and triglycerides; BMI, percentage of body fat (% BF) and waist circumference; and the number of steps per day were determined. The expression of IL-6, TNF-α and CCL-2 were associated (p 0.05) between pro-inflammatory biomarkers and number of steps per day was found.
Model predictive control for tracking randomly varying references

This paper proposes a model predictive control scheme for tracking a-priori unknown references varying in a wide range and analyses its performance. It is usual to assume that the reference eventually converges to a constant in which case convergence to zero of the tracking error can be established. In this note we remove this simplifying assumption and characterise the set to which the tracking error converges and the associated region of convergence.
Querregelung eines Versuchsfahrzeugs entlang vorgegebener Bahnen

Um die im Verlauf der Fahrzeugentwicklung benotigten Fahrdynamikversuche reproduzierbar und objektiv auswertbar durchzufuhren, wurde ein modellbasiertes Folgeregelsystem zur Durchfuhrung von aggressiven Testszenarien entwickelt und in zwei Versuchsfahrzeugen mit einer echtzeitfahigen Hardware implementiert. Mit der Folgeregelung wird der Fahrzeugschwerpunkt mittels einer elektrischen Lenkmaschine einer Sollbahn nachgefuhrt. Die Sollbahnvorgabe ist so gestaltet, dass sowohl synthetisch vorgegebene Manover als auch gemessene Bahnen verwendet werden konnen. Die Messung der Fahrzeugkoordinaten erfolgt uber ein satellitengestutztes inertiales Koppelnavigationssystem. Die entwickelte Querregelung basiert auf einer Zwei-Freiheitsgrad-Struktur mit einer modellbasierten nichtlinearen Vorsteuerung und einer stabilisierenden linearen Regelung. Die entworfene Querregelung wurde in Simulationen und Fahrversuchen fur verschiedene Testszenarien erprobt. In course of the development of a passenger car reproducible driving tests are necessary, in order to characterize the vehicle dynamics objectively. Therefore, a path-following control to realize aggressive test scenarios has been developed and implemented in two test vehicles on a realtime platform. It guides the vehicle even under high lateral accelerations on a test track along predefined paths. The path-planning is either realized synthetically or based on the measurement of a driven path. The lateral regulation is realized by the use of a satellite-based inertial navigation system, a data recording system and a servo steering machine. The model-based path-following control has a two-degree of freedom structure with a model-based nonlinear feedforward and a stabilizing linear feedback control. The developed lateral control has been examined in simulations with a validated detailled vehicle model and tested experimentally in various test scenarios.
The Problem Solving and Subject Matter Approaches To Teaching Vocational Agriculture: Effects On Student Achievement And Retention

Throughou t t he h i s to ry o f ag r i cu l tu ra l educa t ion , t he p rob lem so lv ing approach has been recommended by ag r i cu l tu ra l t eacher educa to rs as the p r imary s t ra tegy fo r teach ing . Severa l au tho rs o f ag r i cu l tu ra l edu c a t i o n t e x t s c i t e t h e p r o b l e m s o l v i n g a p p r o a c h a s t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e app roach fo r t each ing voca t i ona l ag r i cu l t u re (Binkley 8 T u l l o c h , 1 9 8 1 ; Crunki lton & Krebs , 1982; Newcomb, McCracken & Warmbrod, 1986; Ph ipps , 1980).
Synchronisation in 6Tisch networks

Recently, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have gained popularity with the introduction of new application areas. Especially, with the inclusion of small devices to the Internet, new terms such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE) are being introduced to the research community. Furthermore, IPv6 protocol can finally be utilised with the wide spread adoption of WSNs. IETF(Internet Engineering Task Force) have recently developed new standards to enable IPv6 based communications over WSNs. An example standardisation activity is the routing protocol developed for the IEEE 802.15. 4e time slotted channel access MAC called 6Tisch( IPv6 routing over time slotted channel access). This paper describes the components of IETF 6Tisch protocol. In addition, a mechanism is proposed to establish network wide synchronisation of the wireless nodes. This will enable the nodes in the network to execute a common network-wide communication schedule which is essential for 6Tisch protocol. The synchronisation mechanism is implemented in Contiki OS and its performance is analysed using the Cooja emulator for several different network topologies.
Long-Range Surface Plasmon With Graphene for Enhancing the Sensitivity and Detection Accuracy of Biosensor

A novel long-range surface plasmon with graphene is proposed to enhance the sensitivity and detection accuracy (DA) of the biosensor. Compared with the conventional long-range surface plasmon resonance (LRSPR) structure with Au, the coating of the metal surface with graphene is employed to increase the biomolecules adsorption, prevent oxidation, and enhance the sensitivity and DA. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the sensitivity has a nearly tenfold improvement with a huge increasing DA in the proposed LRSPR biosensor compared with the SPR biosensor. Finally, we discuss the influence of the refractive index of sensing medium on the LRSPR biosensor and find that the sensitivity is changing with the refractive index of the sensing medium and that an optimal sensitivity can be obtained at a suitable refractive index. We believe that this scheme could find potential applications in chemical examination, medical diagnosis, and biological detection.
IRTA: An Improved Threshold Algorithm for Reverse Top-k Queries

Reverse top-k queries are recently proposed to help producers (or manufacturers) predict the popularity of a particular product. They can also help them design effective marketing strategies to advertise their products to a target audience. This paper designs an innovative algorithm, termed IRTA (Improved Reverse top-k Threshold Algorithm), to answer reverse top-k queries efficiently. Compared with the state-of-the-art RTA algorithm, it further reduces the number of expensive top-k queries. Besides, it utilizes the dominance and reverse-dominance relationships between the query product and the other products to cut down the cost of each top-k query. Comprehensive theoretical analyses and experimental studies show that IRTA is a more effective algorithm than RTA.
Rising thyroglobulin tumour marker during pregnancy in a thyroid cancer patient: no cause for alarm?

inhibit mTOR are therefore a rational choice to trial in these tumours. Preliminary results of the use of everolimus in our patient with MTC have shown it to be well tolerated: disease that was previously progressive initially stabilized, and the rate of rise of the calcitonin level was reduced. Further observation will be required to demonstrate whether a durable response of tumour burden and biochemical parameters can be achieved, although one caveat is the choice of assessable tumour markers in these patients. The early trials of vandetanib suggest that the reduction in calcitonin levels seen in treated patients did not always correlate with radiological responses. It seems that RET expression may be necessary for ligand-induced calcitonin gene expression, and therefore it may be that carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) will prove to be a more reliable marker in patients using tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This hypothesis may also prove applicable to patients being treated with mTOR inhibitors. The promising results here for the use of everolimus in MTC would suggest that more rigorous assessment in the form of a clinical trial would be helpful.
An undecidability result for relation algebras

The elementary calculus of binary relations as developed by Tarski in [5] may be thought of as a certain part of the first-order predicate calculus. Though less expressive, its theory (i.e. the set of its valid sentences) was shown to be undecidable by Tarski in [6]. Translated into algebraic logic this means that the equational theory of the class of relation algebras is undecidable. Similarly it can be proved that the same holds for the (sub-) class of proper relation algebras. The idea in Tarski's proof is to describe a pairing function by which any quantifier prefix may be contracted. In this note we apply a different method to treat the case of finite structures. We prove the Theorem. The equational theory of the class of finite proper relation algebras is undecidable. This result was announced in [4]. The main tool is representing the graph of primitive recursive functions via the cardinalities in finite simple models of equations.
Comparison of Web 2.0 Technology Acceptance Level based on Cultural Differences

In order to inform educators in higher education on the integration of Web 2.0 applications for engaging and effective learning experiences, this survey study compared the use and acceptance of Web 2.0 applications between American and Korean college students through the lens of cultural differences. Undergraduate students were recruited to participate in this study in the U. S. and the South of Korea, producing 183 usable responses. Targeting six Web 2.0 applications (blogs, instant messenger, online social communities/Facebook, online video sharing/YouTube, online video & audio conference/Skype, and social virtual communities/Second Life) the survey investigated five categories of technology acceptance based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Significant differences on utilization level and the anxiety level for using them were found in numerous Web 2.0 applications. Korean students responded that most Web 2.0 applications are apprehensive for them to use when compared to their counterparts in the U.S. The study further discussed the observed differences based on cultural theories and their implications on Web 2.0 learning technology integration.
The significance of cicatricial conjunctivitis in Wegener's granulomatosis.

1. Greinacher A, Warkentin TE. Recognition, treatment, and prevention of heparin induced thrombocytopenia: review and update. Thromb Res 2006; 118: 165–176 2. Refludan [package insert]. Wayne, NJ: Berlex Laboratories, 2002 3. Dager WE, White RH. Use of lepirudin in patients with heparininduced thrombocytopenia and renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Ann Pharmacother 2001; 35: 885–890 4. Fischer KG, van de Loo A, Bohler J. Recombinant hirudin (lepirudin) as anticoagulant in intensive care patients treated with continuous hemodialysis. Kidney Int Suppl 1999; 72: S46–S50 5. Chuang P, Parikh C, Reilly RF. A case review: anticoagulation in hemodialysis patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Am J Nephrol 2001; 21: 226–231 6. Haase M, Bellomo R, Rocktaeschel J et al. Use of fondaparinux (ARIXTRA) in a dialysis patient with symptomatic heparininduced thrombocytopaenia type II. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2005; 20: 444–446
Indirect slot cooling for high-power-density machines with concentrated winding

Electric machines with concentrated winding and single tooth design provide a cost effective way to use flat wires. Hereby high filling factors can be achieved, but due to geometric constraints and the influence of current displacements there remains unused space inside the slot. This space can be used for water cooling channels. As a result of the small thermal resistance between winding and cooling fluid this leads to an outstanding cooling performance. Compared to round wires efficiency is improved in wide parts of the operating area. The absence of the cooling jacket leads to comparable production costs but an even more compact machine design. Technological aspects are discussed and a particular high-power-density interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM) with water jacket cooling and round wires is compared to a flat wire wound, slot cooled motor by the use of FEM and CFD simulations and measurements on single tooth specimen.
Polynomial based fixed-structure controller for decomposable systems

This paper deals with control of decomposable systems using polynomial theory and linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The synthesized controller has fixed structure and is independent from the order of plant and the weighing functions. The design procedure is based on positive polynomial matrices and considers H∞ optimization. The controller is computed by formulating and solving the resultant synthesis LMIs. To demonstrate the efficacy of approach, the technique is illustrated with simulation example of multi agent system (MAS), in which number of agents can be chosen arbitrarily.
Control flow reconstruction from PowerPC binaries

This thesis describes the issues faced when reconstructing control flow graphs (CFG) from PowerPC binaries. It explains the challenges posed by computed jumps that are sometimes only known at program runtime and how the techniques of static analyses handle these. The language constructs in the C programming language that lead to computed jumps are analyzed and this knowledge is used to reconstruct the control flow even for computed jumps. The steps that need to be performed to reconstruct switches and procedure calls are presented in detail, along with the static analyses to perform the task. Furthermore the problems and limitations of the approaches are stated and further analyses and improvements are proposed.
The Quality of Life and Mortality Risk of Elderly People in Rural China

The number of elderly in China’s population is projected to grow well beyond the capacity of the nation’s social security system. Meanwhile, family care is being challenged by a decline in fertility and an increase in migration from rural to urban areas. This article examines the short-term, mid-term, and long-term effects of family support on elderly well-being in rural China, using 4-wave panel data on 1456 persons aged 60 and older in the Chaohu region of China. Findings showed that compared with living alone, being coresident with others lowered the mortality risk of several chronic diseases, but being coresident with adult children increased the mortality risk of cardiovascular diseases, though it was associated with a higher quality of life in the short and middle terms. Children’s educational attainment and financial support increased the quality of life except for an increased risk of new incidence of cardiovascular disease in the middle term.
Aurora kinase A inhibitors: promising agents in antitumoral therapy

Introduction: Aurora proteins are serine/threonine kinases with critical functions during mitosis. Aurora A, one of the members of this family, participates in crucial processes including mitotic entry, DNA damage checkpoint recovery and centrosome and spindle maturation. Aurora A is frequently overexpressed in human cancers and, when inhibited, impairs cell proliferation. Areas covered: Here, we review the preclinical studies that support the use of Aurora A inhibitors in antitumoral strategies. We also discuss past or current clinical trials using Aurora A inhibitors in multiple tumor types. We pay special attention to Alisertib, a potent and selective Aurora A inhibitor currently in Phase III. Expert opinion: The potential of Aurora A inhibitors in the treatment of cancer depends on many factors, mainly related with the molecular status of tumor cells. Yet, we still need to find proper biomarkers to select those patients that better react to Aurora A inhibitors. Furthermore, their effect could significantly improve when used in combination with other drugs. Although some clinical trials are already testing the cooperative effect of different antitumoral drugs, additional preclinical studies are necessary to establish the best combinations. Here, we discuss some possibilities that could be explored in future studies.
Clinical outcome of 50 progressive multiple sclerosis patients treated with cellular therapy in iraq.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Multiple Sclerosis is a disease characterized by multifocal areas of demyelination in the brain and spinal cord, with associated inflammatory cell infiltrates, reactive gliosis, and axonal degeneration. It typically presents in young adults with episodic neurologic dysfunction, our aim is to find new simple method to treat multiple sclerosis by hematopoietic stem cells derived from peripheral blood. METHODS AND RESULTS 50 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis worsening despite pharmacological treatment were treated by means of several intrathecal injections of peripheral blood cells harvested by aphaeresis after G-CSF(granulocyte colony stimulating factor) treatment. 24 patients (48% ) had a reduction of EDSS score. 8 patients had a relapse, but it was milder than usual and more easily controlled by cortisone. CONCLUSIONS Since mesenchymal cells increase in the peripheral blood after G-CSF stimulation, a peripheral blood harvest seems easier and cheaper than mesenchymal cells cultivation prior to the injection. It seems a reasonable treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis.
Arterial pressure in animal models of fetal programming: hypertensive or hyperresponsive?

I t is generally accepted that insults in utero can dramatically alter the structure, physiology and/or metabolism of various organs of the fetus and that these changes predispose individuals to cardiovascular, metabolic and endocrine disease in adult life, a process referred to as developmental programming [1–3]. With respect to cardiovascular risks arising from fetal programming, arterial pressure is a common primary outcome measure for both clinical and experimental studies. Maternal undernutrition is a major problem in several regions of the globe with significant implications for offspring health, and thus is a common clinical and experimental focus of fetal programming studies [4]. Clinically, low birth weight is used as a marker of maternal malnutrition and these studies have found an inverse association between birth weight and arterial pressures [5]. However, the impact of this association is modest (2mmHg/kg birth weight [6]) and not without controversy [7]. Part of the controversy likely arises due to the dependence on birth weight as a measure of maternal undernutrition. Birth weight is impacted on by numerous factors (placental, genetic, etc) in addition to maternal nutrition and, importantly, animal studies have shown that programming can occur in the absence of low birth weight. This dependence on birth weight in examining the impact of maternal undernutrition can be averted in animal studies whereby maternal diet can be restricted generally (lower caloric intake) or specifically (e.g. low protein diet) and the timing and magnitude of undernutrition can be predetermined and controlled. Further, the use of a wide range of species can strengthen the biological significance of maternal undernutrition on the programming of adult hypertension. However, the arterial pressure findings in experimental models of maternal undernutrition have also been in dispute.