Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid BDI-POMDP Framework for Multiagent Teaming

Many current large-scale multiagent team implementations can be characterized as following the "belief-desire-intention" (BDI) paradigm, with explicit representation of team plans. Despite their promise, current BDI team approaches lack tools for quantitative performance analysis under uncertainty. Distributed partially observable Markov decision problems (POMDPs) are well suited for such analysis, but the complexity of finding optimal policies in such models is highly intractable. The key contribution of this article is a hybrid BDI-POMDP approach, where BDI team plans are exploited to improve POMDP tractability and POMDP analysis improves BDI team plan performance. Concretely, we focus on role allocation, a fundamental problem in BDI teams: which agents to allocate to the different roles in the team. The article provides three key contributions. First, we describe a role allocation technique that takes into account future uncertainties in the domain; prior work in multiagent role allocation has failed to address such uncertainties. To that end, we introduce RMTDP (Role-based Markov Team Decision Problem), a new distributed POMDP model for analysis of role allocations. Our technique gains in tractability by significantly curtailing RMTDP policy search; in particular, BDI team plans provide incomplete RMTDP policies, and the RMTDP policy search fills the gaps in such incomplete policies by searching for the best role allocation. Our second key contribution is a novel decomposition technique to further improve RMTDP policy search efficiency. Even though limited to searching role allocations, there are still combinatorially many role allocations, and evaluating each in RMTDP to identify the best is extremely difficult. Our decomposition technique exploits the structure in the BDI team plans to significantly prune the search space of role allocations. Our third key contribution is a significantly faster policy evaluation algorithm suited for our BDI-POMDP hybrid approach. Finally, we also present experimental results from two domains: mission rehearsal simulation and RoboCupRescue disaster rescue simulation.
The α-Helical Structure of Prodomains Promotes Translocation of Intrinsically Disordered Neuropeptide Hormones into the Endoplasmic Reticulum*

Background: Intrinsically disordered neuropeptide hormones are synthesized as larger precursors with an α-helical prodomain. Results: The prodomain promotes productive import of the hormone domain into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by its propensity to adopt an α-helical structure. Conclusion: Impaired ER import of intrinsically disordered proteins can be restored by α-helical prodomains. Significance: Secondary structure of the nascent chain can regulate translocation into the ER. Different neuropeptide hormones, which are either too small to adopt a stable conformation or are predicted to be intrinsically disordered, are synthesized as larger precursors containing a prodomain in addition to an N-terminal signal peptide. We analyzed the biogenesis of three unstructured neuropeptide hormones and observed that translocation of these precursors into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is critically dependent on the presence of the prodomain. The hormone domains could be deleted from the precursors without interfering with ER import and secretion, whereas constructs lacking the prodomain remained in the cytosol. Domain-swapping experiments revealed that the activity of the prodomains to promote productive ER import resides in their ability to adopt an α-helical structure. Removal of the prodomain from the precursor did not interfere with co-translational targeting of the nascent chain to the Sec61 translocon but with its subsequent productive translocation into the ER lumen. Our study reveals a novel function of prodomains to enable import of small or intrinsically disordered secretory proteins into the ER based on their ability to adopt an α-helical conformation.
Nosocomial Pneumonia After Acute Stroke: Implications for Neurological Intensive Care Medicine

Background and Purpose— Pneumonia has been estimated to occur in about one third of patients after acute stroke. Only limited data are available on stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) in specialized neurological intensive care units (NICUs). Methods— We enrolled 124 patients with acute stroke who were treated at our university hospital NICU in a prospective observational study. Incidence rates and risk factors of SAP and long-term clinical outcome were determined. Results— SAP incidence was 21% with a spectrum of pathogens, which is comparable to previously published data on general ICU patients. Mechanical ventilation, multiple location, and vertebrobasilar stroke, as well as dysphagia and abnormal chest x-ray findings, were identified as risk factors for the disease. SAP patients showed higher mortality rates than nondiseased subjects (acute, 26.9% versus 8.2%; long-term, 35.3% versus 14.3%) and a significantly poorer long-term clinical outcome (Barthel Index, 50.5±42.4 versus 81.5±27.8; Rankin Scale, 3.5±1.7 versus 2.2±1.6). Conclusions— Our data underline the considerable epidemiological and prognostic impact of SAP for the treatment of acute stroke patients in a specialized NICU setting. They demonstrate that the occurrence of SAP deteriorates clinical outcome in these patients. Our results allow us to identify high-risk stroke patients at time of NICU admission in whom the use of preventive treatment strategies is most promising.
Trichomonas vaginalis Incidence Associated with Hormonal Contraceptive Use and HIV Infection among Women in Rakai, Uganda

Background. Data on the incidence of Trichomonas vaginalis and use of hormonal contraception (HC) are limited. Methods. 2,374 sexually active women aged 15–49 years from cohort surveys in Rakai, Uganda, were included. Incidence of T. vaginalis was estimated per 100 person years (py) and association between HC (DMPA, Norplant, and oral contraceptives) and T. vaginalis infection was assessed by incidence rate ratios (IRR), using Poisson regression models. Results. At baseline, 34.9% had used HC in the last 12 months, 12.8% HIV+, 39.7% with high BV-scores (7–10), and 3.1% syphilis positive. The 12-month incidence of T. vaginalis was 2.4/100 py; CI (1.90, 3.25). When stratified by type of HC used, compared to women who did not use HC or condoms, incidence of T. vaginalis was significantly higher among users of Norplant (adj.IRR = 3.01, CI: 1.07–8.49) and significantly lower among DMPA users (adj.IRR = 0.55, CI: 0.30, 0.98) and women who discontinued HC use at follow-up (adj.IRR = 0.30, CI: 0.09, 0.99). HIV infection was associated with an increase in incidence of T. vaginalis (adj.IRR = 2.34, CI: 1.44, 3.78). Conclusions. Use of Norplant and being HIV+ significantly increased the risk of T. vaginalis, while use of DMPA and discontinuation of overall HC use were associated with a decreased incidence of T. vaginalis.
Approximating the Single-Sink Link-Installation Problem in Network Design

We initiate the algorithmic study of an important but NP-hard problem that arises commonly in network design. The input consists of the following: An undirected graph with one sink node and multiple source nodes, a specified length for each edge, and a specified demand, demv, for each source node v. A small set of cable types, where each cable type is specified by its capacity and its cost per unit length. The cost per unit capacity per unit length of a high-capacity cable may be significantly less than that of a low-capacity cable, reflecting an economy of scale; i.e., the payoff for buying at bulk may be very high. The goal is to design a minimum-cost network that can (simultaneously) route all the demands at the sources to the sink by installing zero or more copies of each cable type on each edge of the graph. An additional restriction is that the demand of each source must follow a single path. The problem is to find a route from each source node to the sink and to assign capacity to each edge of the network such that the total costs of cables installed are minimized. We call this problem the single-sink link-installation problem. For the general problem, we introduce a new "moat-type" lower bound on the optimal value and we prove a useful structural property of near-optimal solutions: For every instance of our problem, there is a near-optimal solution whose graph is acyclic (with a cost no more than twice the optimal cost). We present efficient approximation algorithms for key special cases of the problem that arise in practice. For points in the Euclidean plane, we give an approximation algorithm with performance guarantee O(log (D/u1)), where D is the total demand and u1 is the smallest cable capacity. When the metric is arbitrary, we consider the case where the network to be designed is restricted to be two level; i.e., every source-sink path has at most two edges. For this problem, we present an algorithm with performance guarantee O(log n), where n is the number of nodes in the input graph, and also show that this performance guarantee is nearly best possible.
Complex Daubechies wavelet based affine invariant representation for object recognition

An algorithm based on the dyadic wavelet transform and complex Daubechies wavelets to recognise a planar object undergoing a general affine transformation is presented. The affine transformation most appropriately represents shape distortions arising from observing an object by a camera under arbitrary orientations. The proposed algorithm includes two steps: constructing the representation and the matching process. Experimental results show that the representation is robust and combined with the matching algorithm, it efficiently classifies unknown objects. <<ETX>>
Structured targets and the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect

The Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect is the suppression of Bethe-Heitler radiation caused by multiple scattering in the target medium. In this paper, the quantum treatment given earlier for finite but homogeneous targets is extended to structured targets. It is shown that radiators composed of separated plates or of a medium with a varying radiation length can exhibit coherence maxima and minima in their photon spectra. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Multitemporal SAR interferograms simulator

Many are the examples of SAR and differential SAR interferometry application as well for ground elevation measurements as for surface deformation monitoring. A large number of interferometric techniques use instead of a single interferogram a database of multitemporal interferograms covering the same region. This paper, propose a new multitemporal interferogram simulator. The originality of this simulator is that it takes into account geometrical and temporal decorrelation noise. The generated data set of multitemporal interferograms may be very useful in validation or performances measurements of ground monitoring techniques
Modelling artificial sea salt emission in large eddy simulations

We study the dispersion of sea salt particles from artificially injected sea spray at a cloud-resolving scale. Understanding of how different aerosol processes affect particle dispersion is crucial when designing emission sources for marine cloud brightening. Compared with previous studies, we include for the first time an explicit treatment of aerosol water, which takes into account condensation, evaporation and their effect on ambient temperature. This enables us to capture the negative buoyancy caused by water evaporation from aerosols. Additionally, we use a higher model resolution to capture aerosol loss through coagulation near the source point. We find that, with a seawater flux of 15 kg s−1, the cooling due to evaporation can be as much as 1.4 K, causing a delay in particle dispersion of 10–20 min. This delay enhances particle scavenging by a factor of 1.14 compared with simulations without aerosol water. We further show that both cooling and particle dispersion depend on the model resolution, with a maximum particle scavenging efficiency of 20% within 5 h after emission at maximum resolution of 50 m. Based on these results, we suggest further regional high-resolution studies which model several injection periods over several weeks.
AN EFFICIENT SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS BASED METHOD FOR CALCULATING LOAD MARGINS TO VOLTAGE COLLAPSE

In this paper an efficient method for calculat- ing load margins to voltage collapse is proposed. The method consists of computing gradual load increases based on sensitiv- ity analysis. It is well suited for large systems, since heuristics are added to the basic algorithm in order to explore their partic- ular characteristics. Those heuristics result in significant com- putational time savings. Also a special power flow method with step size optimization is used when either (a) systems become ill-conditioned (near collapsing) or (b) no real solution is found after some load increase. In case no real solution is found, the results provided by the special power flow can be used in order to define control actions (load shedding) to pull the system back into the feasible operating region. Simulations have shown that the method is very efficient, accurate and robust.
A comparative evaluation of skeletal, dental, and soft tissue changes with skeletal anchored and conventional facemask protraction therapy

Objective: To cephalometrically evaluate and compare the skeletal, dentoalveolar, and soft tissue changes after maxillary protraction with skeletally anchored and conventional facemask. Methods: The data for the study were collected from the pre- and post-treatment records of patients of maxillary retrusion treated with skeletally anchored and conventional facemask therapy. Twenty subjects were included in the study and were categorized into two groups, namely skeletal anchored maxillary protraction (SAMP) group with the mean age of 10.10 ± 1.1 years and conventional facemask maxillary protraction (CFMP) group with the mean age of 9.90 ± 1.1 years. Pre and post-treatment lateral cephalograms were assessed. Results: The data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The mean duration of treatment in SAMP group and CFMP group was 5.8 months and 10 months, respectively. The mean forward displacement of the maxilla (vertical point A) was 3.40 ± 1.07 mm in SAMP group and 2.80 ± 0.79 mm in CFMP group. The mandible showed downward and backward rotation in both the groups with more rotation in CFMP group. A significant increase in maxillary incisor inclination was seen in CFMP group as compared to SAMP group. A significant decrease was found in mandibular incisor inclination in both the treatment groups. The soft tissue changes corresponded to underlying skeletal tissue. C onclusions: SAMP is proven to be a better treatment modality as compared to CFMP for achieving true skeletal changes and minimal dental changes in cases with developing skeletal Class III with maxillary retrusion.
An Extended XQDD Representation for Multiple-Valued Quantum Logic

X-decomposition Quantum Decision Diagram (XQDD) can represent a quantum operation and perform matrix operations. It can be used to verify quantum and reversible circuits even if the reversible circuits have different number of garbage qubits. It is efficient in terms of space and time. In this paper, we extend the original XQDD to multiple-valued quantum logic. The extended XQDD can represent a multiple-valued quantum operation and perform matrix operations. It can be used to check the equivalence of two multiple-valued quantum or reversible circuits which are synthesized by different approaches. In this paper, we show that the space in multiple-valued XQDD is less than other representations and it is much better than multiple-valued QuIDD and very close to QMDD in terms of time.
A survey of techniques for human segmentation from static images

A survey of techniques for human segmentation from static images Ms.Ashwini T. Magar, Prof.J.V.Shinde Late G.N. Sapkal College of Engineering, Computer Engineering Department, Nashik, University of Pune, India. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: Segmenting human from a given input image or a video is receiving increasing attention from computer vision researchers. This interest is motivated by a several applications, like athletic performance analysis, surveillance, album making, man–machine interfaces, content-based image storage and retrieval. This paper review different techniques involved in segmenting human from photo images. These techniques are classified with respect different approaches of segmenting human i.e. Exemplar based, Part based and some other methods which are using different approaches like shape priors (CRF, MRF), ACF of segmenting human from photo images. In Exemplar based approach exemplar pool is created first and then test images are matched with the exemplars or models. Whereas in part based approach human body can be recovered by assembling set of candidate parts. Both of this approach is having some drawback so some other methods are developed for human segmentation. Performances are analyzed in the light of methods presented in the survey. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Emotional Intelligence and Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate claims that emotional intelligence is significantly related to transformational and other leadership behaviors. Results (based on 62 independent samples) indicated a validity estimate of . 59 when ratings of both emotional intelligence and leadership behaviors were provided by the same source (self, subordinates, peers, or superiors). However, when ratings of the constructs were derived from different sources, the validity estimate was . 12. Lower validity estimates were found for transactional and laissez-faire leadership behaviors. Separate analyses were performed for each measure of emotional intelligence. Trait measures of emotional intelligence tended to show higher validities than ability-based measures of emotional intelligence. Agreement across ratings sources for the same construct was low for both transformational leadership (.14) and emotional intelligence (.16).
Composition and Predicted Metabolic Capacity of Upper and Lower Airway Microbiota of Healthy Dogs in Relation to the Fecal Microbiota

The upper and lower airways of healthy humans are reported to harbor stable and consistent bacterial populations, and the composition of these communities is altered in individuals affected with several respiratory diseases. Data regarding the presence of airway microbiota in other animals are scant and a better understanding of the composition and metabolic function of such bacterial populations is essential for the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic modalities for use in both veterinary and human medicine. Based on targeted next-generation sequencing of feces and samples collected at multiple levels of the airways from 16 healthy female dogs, we demonstrate that canine airways harbor a topographically continuous microbiota with increasing relative abundance of proteobacterial species from the upper to lower airways. The lung-associated microbiota, as assessed via bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), was the most consistent between dogs and was dominated by three distinct taxa, two of which were resolved to the species level and one to the level of family. The gene content of the nasal, oropharyngeal, and lung-associated microbiota, predicted using the Phylogenetic Investigations into Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) software, provided information regarding the glyoxylate and citrate cycle metabolic pathways utilized by these bacterial populations to colonize such nutrient-poor, low-throughput environments. These data generated in healthy subjects provide context for future analysis of diseased canine airways. Moreover, as dogs have similar respiratory anatomy, physiology, and immune systems as humans, are exposed to many of the same environmental stimuli, and spontaneously develop similar respiratory diseases, these data support the use of dogs as a model species for prospective studies of the airway microbiota, with findings translatable to the human condition.
Accelerating EM: An Empirical Study

Many applications require that we learn the parameters of a model from data. EM (Expectation-Maximization) is a method for learning the parameters of probabilistic models with missing or hidden data. There are instances in which this method is slow to converge. Therefore, several accelerations have been proposed to improve the method. None of the proposed acceleration methods are theoretically dominant and experimental comparisons are lacking. In this paper, we present the different proposed accelerations and compare them experimentally. From the results of the experiments, we argue that some acceleration of EM is always possible, but that which acceleration is superior depends on properties of the problem.
Adaptive force/velocity control for multi-robot cooperative manipulation under uncertain kinematic parameters

Multi-robot cooperative manipulation of a common object requires precise kinematic coordination of the attached end effectors in order to avoid excessive forces on the object and the manipulators. A manipulation task is considered successful if the desired object motion and forces are tracked accurately. In this paper we present a systematic analysis on the effect of uncertain kinematic parameters on the tracking behavior in a planar manipulation task. An adaptive control scheme is proposed, which achieves the desired control goal asymptotically. The presented scheme employs the current force/motion data of the attached end effectors without relying on a common reference frame. The algorithm is applicable to common manipulator types with wrist-mounted force/torque sensors and implementable in real-time. The performance of the proposed control scheme is evaluated experimentally with two 7DoF manipulators who cooperatively manipulate an object of uncertain length.
ROC Graphs: Notes and Practical Considerations for Researchers

Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) graphs are a useful technique for organizing classifiers and visualizing their performance. ROC graphs are commonly used in medical decision making, and in recent years have been increasingly adopted in the machine learning and data mining research communities. Although ROC graphs are apparently simple, there are some common misconceptions and pitfalls when using them in practice. This article serves both as a tutorial introduction to ROC graphs and as a practical guide for using them in research.