Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tuning Methods in Statistical Machine Translation

In a Statistical Machine Translation system many models, called features, complement each other in producing natural language translations. In how far we should rely on a certain feature is governed by parameters, or weights. Learning these weights is the sub field of SMT, called parameter tuning, that is addressed in this thesis. Three existing methods for learning such parameters are compared. We recast MERT, MIRA and Downhill Simplex in a uniform framework, to allow for easy and consistent comparison. Based on our findings and forthcoming opportunities for improvements, we introduce two new methods. A straightforward sampling approach, Local Unimodal Sampling (LUS), that uniformly samples from a decreasing area around a constantly updated peak in weightvector space. And a ranking based approach, implementing SVM-Rank, that focusses on giving, besides the best translations, also its runner-ups a high score. We empirically compare our own methods to existing methods and find that LUS slightly, but significantly, outperforms the state-of-the-art MERT method in a realistic setting with 14 features. We claim that this progress, the simplicity of the radically different approach of the method obtaining this progress and the clear overview of existing work are contributions to the field. Our SVM-Rank showed no improvement over the-state-of-the-art within our experimental setup.
Role of poly (A) tail as an identity element for mRNA nuclear export

Different RNA species are rigorously discriminated and exported by distinct export factors, but this discrimination mechanism remains largely unknown. We previously showed, by RNA microinjection experiments, that intronless mRNAs are discriminated from U snRNAs based on their difference in RNA length. However, it was unclear how they are discriminated in the natural situation in which their nascent transcripts emerge progressively during transcription. We hypothesized that transcription from the corresponding promoters is important for this discrimination. Here we show that contrary to our hypothesis, the discrimination process was not significantly influenced by whether transcription occurred from an mRNA- versus a U snRNA-type promoter. Rather, the features of transcribed RNAs determined the RNA identity, consistent with our previous results of RNA microinjection. Moreover, we found that the poly (A) tail can function as an identity element for mRNA export. The presence of a poly (A) tail of an appropriate length committed otherwise short Pol II transcripts to the mRNA export pathway in a dominant manner, indicating that the poly (A) tail either contributes to increasing the RNA length or functions as a platform to recruit mRNA export factors. Our results reveal a novel function of the poly (A) tail in mRNA export.
Alexithymia and Acne Vulgaris: A Case Control Study

Objective To assess relationship between alexithymia and acne vulgaris in young people. Methods A hundred and eleven subjects between 15 and 25 years of age referred to out-patient clinic of dermatology with acne and 78 subjects applied to family physician for complaints other than acne were included in patient and control groups of the study, respectively. A questionnaire to determine demographic characteristics, an acne classification to determine severity of acne and Toronto Alexithymic Scale (TAS) to assess alexithymia were used. Results The mean scores of TAS were 52.7±10.8 and 51.7±10.7 in patient and control groups, respectively. Alexitymia was determined in 23.4% of the subjects in acne group and in 24.4% of control group. No significant differences were found between groups in terms of alexithymia, intermediate alexitymia and three-factors of TAS. Conclusion Alexithymia does not appear to be related to acne vulgaris.
Estimating themissing species bias in plant trait measurements

Aim Do plant trait databases represent a biased sample of species, and if so, can that bias be corrected? Ecologists are increasingly collecting and analysing data on plant functional traits, and contributing them to large plant trait databases. Many applications of such databases involve merging trait measurements with other data such as species distributions in vegetation plots; a process that invariably produces matrices with incomplete trait and species data. Typically, missing data are simply ignored and it is assumed that the missing species are missing at random. Methods Here, we argue that this assumption is unlikely to be valid and propose an approach for estimating the strength of the bias regarding which species are represented in trait databases. The method leverages the fact that, within a given database, some species have many measurements of a trait and others have few (high vs low measurement intensity). In the absence of bias, there should be no relationship between measurement intensity and trait values. We demonstrate the method using five traits that are part of the TRY database, a global archive of plant traits. Our method also leads naturally to a correction for this bias, which we validate and apply to two examples. Results Specific leaf area and seed mass were strongly positively biased (frequently measured species had higher trait values than rarely measured species), leaf nitrogen per unit mass and maximum height were moderately negatively biased, and maximum photosynthetic capacity per unit leaf area was weakly negatively biased. The bias-correction method yielded greatly improved estimates in the validation tests for the two most biased traits. Further, in our two applications, ecological interpretations were shown to be sensitive to uncorrected bias in the data. Conclusions Species inclusion in trait databases appears to be strongly biased in some cases, and failure to correct this can lead to incorrect conclusions.
From metaphysics to psychophysics and statistics

by Borg (see, e.g., Borg 1978; also Borg et al. 1987). Invariant relations have been found between heart rate, blood lactate and ratings (R) of perceived (P) exertion (E) according to the "RPEscale" (probably one of the most commonly used psychophysical methods, with several hundred studies performed in the last few years and approximately one million people exposed to it every year), and the "CR-scale' (category scale with ratio properties, Borg 1982). For interpersonal comparisons a "rating scale" may be superior to a "ratio scale"! Guilford (1936) provides a good review of rating scales (with an example from descriptions of weather in 1805 reported by Titchener). He did not make the same mistake as Stevens and most psychophysicists, including Fechner notable exceptions are Parducci (1984), Heller and the Wiirzburg group (see, e.g., Heller 1990), Borg (1962), and a few others. Guilford understood the importance of "descriptive terms" and "landmarks. " He concludes that the rating methods "have overshadowed the applications of all the other evaluative methods based upon personal judgements" (p. 263). But he also points out how "indispensable" these methods are to theoretical psychology. I definitely agree with him, but would also like to stress the importance of using the best properties of the ratio scaling methods for general, relative intensity evaluations, together with the best properties of the category-rating methods for level determinations and interindividual comparisons. This use of "meaningless" numbers with "meaningful" linguistic terms will improve the possibilities of understanding human communication and the problems of intersubjectivity.
Genetic Variations in COMT and DRD2 Modulate Attentional Bias for Affective Facial Expressions

Studies have revealed that catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and dopaminegic receptor2 (DRD2) modulate human attention bias for palatable food or tobacco. However, the existing evidence about the modulations of COMT and DRD2 on attentional bias for facial expressions was still limited. In the study, 650 college students were genotyped with regard to COMT Val158Met and DRD2 TaqI A polymorphisms, and the attentional bias for facial expressions was assessed using the spatial cueing task. The results indicated that COMT Val158Met underpinned the individual difference in attentional bias for negative emotional expressions (P = 0.03) and the Met carriers showed more engagement bias for negative expressions than the Val/Val homozygote. On the contrary, DRD2 TaqIA underpinned the individual difference in attentional bias for positive expressions (P = 0.003) and individuals with TT genotype showed much more engagement bias for positive expressions than the individuals with CC genotype. Moreover, the two genes exerted significant interactions on the engagements for negative and positive expressions (P = 0.046, P = 0.005). These findings suggest that the individual differences in the attentional bias for emotional expressions are partially underpinned by the genetic polymorphisms in COMT and DRD2.
On Measuring the Similarity of Network Hosts: Pitfalls, New Metrics, and Empirical Analyses

As the scope and scale of network data grows, security practitioners and network operators are increasingly turning to automated data analysis methods to extract meaningful information. Underpinning these methods are distance metrics that represent the similarity between two values or objects. In this paper, we argue that many of the obvious distance metrics used to measure behavioral similarity among network hosts fail to capture the semantic meaning imbued by network protocols. Furthermore, they also tend to ignore long-term temporal structure of the objects being measured. To explore the role of these semantic and temporal characteristics, we develop a new behavioral distance metric for network hosts and compare its performance to a metric that ignores such information. Specifically, we propose semantically meaningful metrics for common data types found within network data, show how these metrics can be combined to treat network data as a unified metric space, and describe a temporal sequencing algorithm that captures long-term causal relationships. In doing so, we bring to light several challenges inherent in defining behavioral metrics for network data, and put forth a new way of approaching network data analysis problems. Our proposed metric is empirically evaluated on a dataset of over 30 million network flows, with results that underscore the utility of a holistic approach to network data analysis.
ANALYSIS OF EFL STUDENTS’ CITATION PRACTICES AND PROBLEMS IN ACADEMIC WRITING

Abstract: Citing sources correctly is vital in academic writing including research proposals. Despite its significance, students seem to perform it poorly due to lack of knowledge and awareness of its role in their writing. As the result, they are often accused of committing plagiarism. One of the ways to prevent students from committing plagiarism is by providing them with sufficient knowledge and skills related to proper citations. This study is a preliminary effort to identify student citation practices within the English Education department of a state university in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Employing qualitative content analysis, the researcher examined samples of students’ proposals to describe the ways in which citations were written and the common problems that occurred. The findings suggest that students mostly cited as non-integral/non-reporting. The study also reveals that students’ most common mistakes in the citation are found in language and content. The study concludes with the need to provide students with clear guidelines for citation and strong remarks on plagiarism.
Pushing the Limits of Sparse Support Recovery Using Correlation Information

A new framework for the problem of sparse support recovery is proposed, which exploits statistical information about the unknown sparse signal in the form of its correlation. A key contribution of this paper is to show that if existing algorithms can recover sparse support of size s, then using such correlation information, the guaranteed size of recoverable support can be increased to O(s2), although the sparse signal itself may not be recoverable. This is proved to be possible by (a) formulating the sparse support recovery problem in terms of the covariance matrix of the measurements, and (b) designing a suitable measurement/sampling matrix which inherently exploits the correlation priors. The so-called Khatri-Rao product of the measurement matrix is shown to play an important role in deciding the level of recoverable sparsity. A systematic analysis of the proposed framework is also presented for the cases when the covariance matrix is only approximately known, by estimating it from finite number of measurements, obtained from the Multiple Measurement Vector (MMV) model. In this case, the use of LASSO on the estimated covariance matrix is proposed for recovering the support. However, the recovery may not be exact and hence a probabilistic guarantee is developed both for sources with arbitrary distribution as well as for Gaussian sources. In the latter case, it is shown that such recovery can happen with overwhelming probability as the number of available measurement vectors increases.
Auditory magnetic responses of healthy newborns

We recorded magnetic brain activity from healthy human newborns when they heard frequency changes in an otherwise repetitive sound stream. We were able to record the magnetic counterpart of the mismatch negativity (MMN) previously described only with electric recordings in infants. The results show that these recordings are possible, although still challenging due to the small head size and head movements. The modelling of the neural sources underlying the recorded responses suggests cortical sources in the temporal lobes.
Outcomes of partial nephrectomy in patients who meet percutaneous ablation criteria

Introduction Treatment options for small renal masses include partial nephrectomy (PN), ablation and active surveillance. We sought to compare patients who met the criteria for percutaneous ablation but underwent robotic PN to the rest of our robotic PN cohort. This was done in order to detect any safety concerns and to define any risk factors that might contraindicate the use of robotic PN, an oncologically superior procedure, in patients who qualify for ablation. Material and methods Our departmental renal mass registry was queried for patients who underwent robotic PN but also met criteria for percutaneous ablation. These were compared to the rest of the robotic PN cohort. Demographics, perioperative characteristics and recurrence data were compared. Results Overall, 321 robotic PNs were identified. Of these, 26 (8.1%) met ablation criteria. Among patient characteristics, age and BMI were similar in both groups. Among operative characteristics, estimated blood loss (EBL) and operative time were similar. Warm ischemia time was significantly less for patients who met ablation criteria (14 vs. 17 minutes, p = 0.002). Mean tumor size was smaller for patients who met ablation criteria (2.3 vs. 2.7 cm, p = 0.012). Among postoperative characteristics, complications were similar overall and when present, stratified by Clavien grade. Conclusions Robotic PN is a safe, effective treatment option for small renal masses, even in patients who meet ablation criteria. There were no recurrences in our cohort and the majority of complications were Clavien grade 1.
Synergistic effect of adriamycin and ricin on L1210 leukemic cells in mice.

The effect of Adriamycin and ricin, singly and together, on the survival of L1210 leukemic cells in mice has been assessed by spleen colony and end-point dilution assays. Adriamycin, as well as ricin, had a stronger effect on leukemic than on normal bone marrow cells. Rapidly proliferating normal cells were as sensitive to Adriamycin as were the leukemic bone marrow cells. In contrast, the preferential effect of ricin was not proliferation dependent. Combinations of Adriamycin and ricin gave a less than ad ditive toxicity, as measured by the survival of nonleukemic mice. In mice with systemic leukemia, combinations of Adria mycin and ricin exhibited a synergistic effect on the life span of the animals, corresponding to a reduction in the leukemic cell burden by 1 to 2 logs. In the bone marrow, the synergism amounted to a reduction in the fraction of surviving leukemic cells by up to 5 logs, whereas in liver, spleen, and brain the synergism was several orders of magnitude lower. The combi nations showed no increased effect on resting normal bone marrow cells, and only an additive effect on rapidly proliferating normal cells. In mice inoculated with leukemic cells intracerebrally, i.v. administration of either Adriamycin or ricin did not affect the survival, whereas the combination definitely increased the life span of the animals. In experiments on L1210 cells in culture, only a moderate synergistic effect was found, of a magnitude similar to that found for the liver and spleen of leukemic animals treated in vivo. Similar results were obtained when leukemic bone marrow was exposed in vitro and the effect on the leukemic cells was assayed in vivo. The results indicate that the observed synergistic effect of Adriamycin and ricin is due to some special property of the leukemic cells and cannot be accounted for by their rapid rate of proliferation. Conceivably, the presence of one agent facili tates the entry of the other one into the cells. The activity of the combination in intracerebral leukemia may involve an effect on the blood-brain barrier. The particular high potentiation ob served in the bone marrow remains unexplained.
Production , Manufacturing and Logistics An optimal batch size for integrated production – inventory policy in a supply chain

This study presents a new integrated production–inventory policy under a finite planning horizon and a linear trend in demand. We assume that the vendor makes a single product and supplies it to a buyer with a non-periodic and just-in-time (JIT) replenishment policy in a supply chain environment. The objective is to minimize the joint total costs incurred by the vendor and the buyer. In this study, first, we develop a mathematical model and prove that it has the optimal solution. Then, we describe an explicit solution procedure for obtaining the optimal solution. Finally, we provide two numerical examples to illustrate both increasing and decreasing demands in our proposed model, and we show that the performance of the integrated consideration is better than the performance of any independent decision from either the buyer or the vendor. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A framework for reviewing teacher professional development programmes in information technology

Abstract There are very few credible frameworks for evaluation of teacher education programmes. The authors advocate the application of a paradigm originally designed for educational software assessment as a framework for reviewing teacher professional development. The framework is based on a situated view of cognition and this ensures an authentic approach. Five commonly observed foci for teacher professional development are considered in terms of the paradigm, leading to consideration of the comprehensiveness of professional development programmes. The analysis is illustrated by discussion of the professional development programme in place in a school. The analysis strongly suggests that a school-focused approach is appropriate for teacher professional development in the information technology area.
Beta Interferon Production Is Regulated by p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Macrophages via both MSK1/2- and Tristetraprolin-Dependent Pathways

ABSTRACT Autocrine or paracrine signaling by beta interferon (IFN-β) is essential for many of the responses of macrophages to pathogen-associated molecular patterns. This feedback loop contributes to pathological responses to infectious agents and is therefore tightly regulated. We demonstrate here that macrophage expression of IFN-β is negatively regulated by mitogen- and stress-activated kinases 1 and 2 (MSK1/2). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of IFN-β was elevated in both MSK1/2 knockout mice and macrophages. Although MSK1 and -2 promote the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10, it did not strongly contribute to the ability of MSKs to regulate IFN-β expression. Instead, MSK1 and -2 inhibit IFN-β expression via the induction of dual-specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1), which dephosphorylates and inactivates the mitogen-activated protein kinases p38 and Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK). Prolonged LPS-induced activation of p38 and JNK, phosphorylation of downstream transcription factors, and overexpression of IFN-β mRNA and protein were similar in MSK1/2 and DUSP1 knockout macrophages. Two distinct mechanisms were implicated in the overexpression of IFN-β: first, JNK-mediated activation of c-jun, which binds to the IFN-β promoter, and second, p38-mediated inactivation of the mRNA-destabilizing factor tristetraprolin, which we show is able to target the IFN-β mRNA.
Essays on the relative price of tradables and the composition of trade

This dissertation consists of two chapters. The first chapter addresses the role of trade barriers in explaining differences in the relative prices of tradables across countries. The second chapter assesses the quantitative importance of changes in comparative advantage in explaining the changes in the compositions of exports and output in South Korea during its growth miracle. In the first chapter I quantitatively address the role of trade barriers in explaining the cross-country distribution of the price of nontradables relative to tradables. Relative prices of nontradables are higher in rich countries than in poor countries. The standard explanation for this is due to Balassa (1964) and Samuelson (1964), where, in each country, the relative price of nontradables is equal to the inverse of relative productivity, and relative productivity is higher in poor countries. I construct a multi-country model of trade in which countries face asymmetric trade barriers. There are many tradable goods and trade barriers determine the cross-country pattern of specialization across tradable goods. The realized pattern of specialization determines measured productivity in the tradables sector, which determines relative prices. Existing trade barriers account for half of the difference in relative prices between rich and poor countries. In the second chapter, I explore how the evolution of comparative advantage can explain the changes in the compositions of exports and output that occurred in South Korea during its growth miracle. From 1960 to 1995 manufacture’s share
Fiscal Union Consensus Design under the Risk of Autarky

Inspired by the current debate over the future of the monetary union in Europe, this paper provides a simple model for the determination of the conditions of survival of the common good, which requires the creation of an effective fiscal union. We highlight the importance of institutional design and varying decision weights for the enlargement of the space for consensus. Our model deepens the discussion of economic risk and political risk in fiscal federalism, and highlights the related roles of country heterogeneity and institutional design in enlarging the scope for cross country fiscal agreements.