Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk-Averse Multi-Armed Bandit Problems Under Mean-Variance Measure

The multi-armed bandit (MAB) problems have been studied mainly under the measure of expected total reward accrued over a horizon of length T . In this paper, we address the issue of risk in MAB problems and develop parallel results under the measure of mean-variance, a commonly adopted risk measure in economics and mathematical finance. We show that the model-specific regret and the model-independent regret in terms of the mean-variance of the reward process are lower bounded by Ω(logT) and Ω(T2/3), respectively. We then show that variations of the UCB policy and the DSEE policy developed for the classic risk-neutral MAB achieve these lower bounds.
Predicting the volume of comments on online news stories

On-line news agents provide commenting facilities for readers to express their views with regard to news stories. The number of user supplied comments on a news article may be indicative of its importance or impact. We report on exploratory work that predicts the comment volume of news articles prior to publication using five feature sets. We address the prediction task as a two stage classification task: a binary classification identifies articles with the potential to receive comments, and a second binary classification receives the output from the first step to label articles "low" or "high" comment volume. The results show solid performance for the former task, while performance degrades for the latter.
BUBR1 recruits PP2A via the B56 family of targeting subunits to promote chromosome congression

Summary BUBR1 is a mitotic phosphoprotein essential for the maintenance of chromosome stability by promoting chromosome congression and proper kinetochore–microtubule (K-fiber) attachment, but the underlying mechanism(s) has remained elusive. Here we identify BUBR1 as a binding partner of the B56 family of Protein Phosphatase 2A regulatory subunits. The interaction between BUBR1 and the B56 family is required for chromosome congression, since point mutations in BUBR1 that block B56 binding abolish chromosome congression. The BUBR1:B56-PP2A complex opposes Aurora B kinase activity, since loss of the complex can be reverted by inhibiting Aurora B. Importantly, we show that the failure of BUBR1 to recruit B56-PP2A also contributes to the chromosome congression defects found in cells derived from patients with the Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy (MVA) syndrome. Together, we propose that B56-PP2A is a key mediator of BUBR1's role in chromosome congression and functions by antagonizing Aurora B activity at the kinetochore for establishing stable kinetochore–microtubule attachment at the metaphase plate.
Near-Online Multi-target Tracking with Aggregated Local Flow Descriptor

In this paper, we tackle two key aspects of multiple target tracking problem: 1) designing an accurate affinity measure to associate detections and 2) implementing an efficient and accurate (near) online multiple target tracking algorithm. As for the first contribution, we introduce a novel Aggregated Local Flow Descriptor (ALFD) that encodes the relative motion pattern between a pair of temporally distant detections using long term interest point trajectories (IPTs). Leveraging on the IPTs, the ALFD provides a robust affinity measure for estimating the likelihood of matching detections regardless of the application scenarios. As for another contribution, we present a Near-Online Multi-target Tracking (NOMT) algorithm. The tracking problem is formulated as a data-association between targets and detections in a temporal window, that is performed repeatedly at every frame. While being efficient, NOMT achieves robustness via integrating multiple cues including ALFD metric, target dynamics, appearance similarity, and long term trajectory regularization into the model. Our ablative analysis verifies the superiority of the ALFD metric over the other conventional affinity metrics. We run a comprehensive experimental evaluation on two challenging tracking datasets, KITTI [16] and MOT [2] datasets. The NOMT method combined with ALFD metric achieves the best accuracy in both datasets with significant margins (about 10% higher MOTA) over the state-of-the-art.
Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation Improves Patellofemoral Cartilage Treatment Outcomes

Many patients with patellofemoral pain have multiple knee disorders, such as chondral defects, malalignment, and ligament insufficiency. I reviewed a treatment approach that included autologous chondrocyte implantation and biomechanical altering procedures to reduce impairment and symptoms in patients with patellofemoral lesions and biomechanical disorders. Thirty-eight patients (39 knees; mean age, 31.2 years) had large isolated (trochlear, 4.3 cm2; patellar, 5.4 cm2) or bipolar (mean total surface area, 8.8 cm2) patellofemoral lesions. The minimum followup was 0.5 years (median, 3.1 years; range, 0.5-5.1 years). I observed a median improvement for the following patient and physician scores: modified Cincinnati Knee Rating System scores (3 points each), Lysholm score (31 points), and visual analog scale scores for resting (2 points) and maximum pain (3 points). At a mean followup of 1.2 years in the 22 patients (23 knees) undergoing second-look arthroscopy, autologous chondrocyte implantation repair tissue scored a median of 11 of 12 points using the International Cartilage Repair Society cartilage repair assessment. Twenty-five patients had 32 sub-sequent surgeries, including 14 to remove hardware from a prior osteotomy. Autologous chondrocyte implantation failed in three patients. Despite the high rate of reoperation, the data suggest combined treatment of autologous chondrocyte implantation and biomechanical altering procedures may be a reasonable option for selected patients with coexisting patellofemoral lesions and mechanical disorders.Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Incidence of cancer after kidney transplant: results from the North Italy transplant program

Background. Patients undergoing kidney transplantation demonstrate a higher risk of developing cancer as the result of immunosuppressive treatment and concurrent infections. Methods. The incidence of cancer in a cohort of patients who underwent kidney transplantation between 1990 and 2000, and who survived the acute phase (10 days), was analyzed as part of the North Italy Transplant program. Results. A total of 3,521 patients underwent transplantation during a 10-year period in 10 of 13 participating centers; the length of follow-up after kidney transplant was 67.7±36.0 months. During the follow-up, 172 patients developed cancer (39 with Kaposi sarcoma, 38 with lymphoproliferative diseases, and 95 with carcinomas [17 kidney, 11 non-basal cell carcinoma of the skin, 10 colorectal, 8 breast, 7 gastric, 7 lung, 6 bladder, and 3 mesothelioma]). The average time to cancer development after transplant was 40.1±33.4 months (range 0–134 months). Twenty-four patients developed cancer within 6 months from the transplant (10 with carcinomas, 7 with Kaposi sarcoma, and 7 with lymphoproliferative diseases). Three patients demonstrated a second primary cancer. The average cancer incidence was 4.9%. The incidence of cancer was 0.01 per year. Independent determinants of cancer development were age, gender, and immunosuppressive protocol including induction. Ten-year mortality was significantly higher in patients with cancer (33.1%) than among patients without cancer (5.3%). The relative risk of death in subjects with cancer was 5.5 (confidence interval 4.1–7.4). Conclusions. These preliminary data underline the importance of long-term surveillance of transplant recipients, choice of immunosuppressive treatment, and careful donor selection.
Linking Nitrous Oxide Flux During Spring Thaw to Nitrate Denitrification in the Soil Profile

The importance of spring thaw nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes to the total N 2 O emission budget in cold climates has been recognized recently. Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain the burst in N 2 O fluxes due to soil freezing and thawing: enhanced microbial activity due to increased nutrient availability at spring thaw, and release of N 2 O trapped at depth during winter. The objective of this study was to determine whether increased surface N 2 O fluxes were due to physical release at spring thaw of N 2 O accumulated all winter at depth in the soil profile, or whether fluxes were due to rapid N 2 O production in the surface layer during the thaw process. Micrometeorological flux measurements and a chamber method applied to in situ soil columns receiving 15 N tracer were used in Ontario, Canada during winters of 2003 and 2004. Labeled K 15 NO 3 fertilizer (60% excess 15 N) at the rate of 100 kg N ha -1 was applied to two layers, that is, surface layer 0 to 5 cm (SL) and deep layer 12 to 17 cm (DL) in nondisturbed soil columns placed in the field during the winter. The burst in N 2 O fluxes from the soil surface measured by both methods occurred within the same period of soil thawing. Denitrification was the main mechanism responsible for N 2 O production, and conditions conducive to N 2 O and N 2 production occurred both in the SL and DL during thawing. Despite high 15 N 2 O concentrations at depth, the burst in N 2 O fluxes from DL soil columns were 1.5 to 5 times lower than that from SL soil columns as more N 2 O from DL was converted to N 2 before diffusing out of the soil profile. Comparison of N 2 O fluxes originating from SL and DL soil columns indicates that the source of N 2 O burst at spring thaw is mostly 'newly' produced N 2 O in the surface layer, and not the release of N 2 O trapped in the unfrozen soil beneath the frozen layers.
Aquifer Test Analysis in Fractured Rocks with Linear Flow Pattern

A major vertical fracture in a permeable rock mass may act as an extended well and can provide water through pumping cither directly from the fracture itself or if the fracture width is not enough to install pumps, from an abstraction well drilled in the fracture. In such a case the ground-water flow is not radial but linear toward the fracture and the flow lines are perpendicular to the fracture axis. A mathematical description of ground-water flow toward vertical fractures is presented. The cases considered are: (1) an infinitesimally small fracture width corresponding to a planar source or sink, and (2) a finite width fracture in which the effects of ground-water storage in the fracture are taken into account. The necessary type curves are presented for the main and observation wells. It is observed that the type curve in the linear flow pattern case is extremely different from the radial flow solution especially for long times. In addition, recovery type curves are also given. The application of the method is presented for some available data in the literature.
Current Clinical Evidence on Rapid Deployment Aortic Valve Replacement

Aortic stenosis is the most common valvular heart disease in the Western world. It is caused primarily by age-related degeneration and progressive calcification typically detected in patients 65 years and older. In patients presenting with symptoms of heart failure, the average survival rate is only 2 years without appropriate treatment. Approximately one half of all patients die within the first 2 to 3 years of symptom onset. In addition, the age of the patients presenting for aortic valve replacement (AVR) is increased along with the demographic changes. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) database shows that the number of patients older than 80 years has increased from 12% to 24% during the past 20 years. At the same time, the percentage of candidates requiring AVR as well as concomitant coronary bypass surgery has increased from 5% to 25%. Surgical AVR continues to be the criterion standard for treatment of aortic stenosis, improving survival and quality of life. Recent advances in prosthetic valve technology, such as transcatheter AVR, have expanded the indication for AVR to the extreme high-risk population, and the most recent surgical innovation, rapid deployment AVR, provides an additional tool to the surgeons’ armamentarium.
Improving query translation for cross-language information retrieval using statistical models

Dictionaries have often been used for query translation in cross-language information retrieval (CLIR). However, we are faced with the problem of translation ambiguity, i.e. multiple translations are stored in a dictionary for a word. In addition, a word-by-word query translation is not precise enough. In this paper, we explore several methods to improve the previous dictionary-based query translation. First, as many as possible, noun phrases are recognized and translated as a whole by using statistical models and phrase translation patterns. Second, the best word translations are selected based on the cohesion of the translation words. Our experimental results on TREC English-Chinese CLIR collection show that these techniques result in significant improvements over the simple dictionary approaches, and achieve even better performance than a high-quality machine translation system.
Graptolites from the Lower–Middle Ordovician St. George and Table Head groups, western Newfoundland, and their correlation with trilobite, brachiopod, and conodont zones

Faunal assemblages of the autochthonous, shelf carbonate sequences belonging to the St. George and Table Head groups are dominated by shelly macrofossils and conodonts. Rare, usually monotypic graptolitic horizons enable correlation with the allochthonous Cow Head Group, which was deposited on the middle to lower slope, and the shelly, conodont, and graptolitic zonal schemes elsewhere in North America.The Catoche Formation of the St. George Group is of Ibexian (Canadian) age and yields graptolites indicative of the Tetragraptus approximatus and Tetragraptus akzharensis zones (early Arenig). The basal Aguathuna Formation belongs to the Pendeograptus fruticosus Zone, whereas higher parts span the Ibexian–Whiterock boundary. Graptolites suggest that the Table Head Group entirely postdates the Cow Head Group. This is supported by a Whiterock (early Llanvirn) trilobite, conodont, and brachiopod fauna.
Archean continental assembly in the southeastern Superior Province of Canada

Between 1988 and 1993, seismic reflection and refraction surveys were acquired across the medium‐ to high‐grade Opatica plutonic gneiss belt, the low‐grade Abitibi greenstone belt, and the Pontiac metasedimentary belt, all of which form part of the late Archean Superior Province. Shallowly north dipping reflections define a structural style consistent with the northward underthrusting and accretion over about 30 Ma of various exotic terranes against a backstop provided by the Opatica belt. This rapid southward growth of the Archean protocraton was driven by at least one north dipping subduction zone as revealed by north dipping reflections that extend to 65‐km depth in the upper mantle below the Opatica belt. In contrast to the mainly orthogneissic Opatica and Pontiac belts, the midcrust of the Abitibi belt comprises metasedimentary and igneous rocks, plus imbricated units of unknown affinity. Relict midcrustal accretionary complexes of substantial size, whieh are indicative of primary suture zones, are interpreted near the northern and southern limits of the Abitibi belt. An interpreted basal decollement and significantly older ages in the north suggest that the upper crustal greenstone rocks are allochthonous. Evidence of large‐scale extension appears to be confined to the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Abitibi, which developed into a half graben as the original suture zone was reactivated in extension. Unusually high seismic P wave velocities, 7.5–8.2 kms−1, are present in the lower 8 km of the Abitibi crust, and they correlate well with a downward reduction in seismic reflectivity attributable to late modification of the deepest part of the crust. Crustal xenolith studies suggest that this process may be linked to early Proterozoic magmatism.
Vortices in Hydraulics

Eleventh Hunter Rouse Lecture recounts the writer's 40 years of theoretical and experimental researches concerning the inception, development, and damaging action of vortices. It was found that a vertical vortex is normally formed in an unstable environment, in the presence of a diverging or converging flat jet that subsequently feeds it by momentum transfer. A tentative explanation of the intermittency of swirls at intakes was obtained proving the theoretical viability of vortices whose intensity varies more or less periodically along their axes. The inspection of intermittent vortices that develop spontaneously behind a weir or under a sluice gate led to the establishment of a universal Strouhal law, able to predict the frequency of the oscillations that can be excited within a restrained fluid body by a free current flowing along it, and, as a consequence, the frequency of vortex shedding and the structural vibrations that this phenomenon may induce. Applications that define the causes of revetment dam.
P2K-2 Sensitivity Considerations in Localized Mass Detection Based on Thin-Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators

Sensitivity and responsivity analysis is performed on a localized-mass sensor based on thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR), intended for bio-molecular applications. Three kinds of experiments have been carried-out, in order to test the influence of the contact area and electrode-location of the loading mass. Beginning from a first experiment in which the loading mass is a FIB-deposited squared-shaped composite of C/Pt/Ga as small as 1.5 times 1.5 mum2, through several experiments in which area and mass is changed, responsivities running from 10-19 g/Hz are achieved
Quantization of the reduced phase space of two-dimensional dilaton gravity.

We study some two-dimensional dilaton gravity models using the formal theory of partial differential equations. This allows us to prove that the reduced phase space is two dimensional without an explicit construction. By using a convenient (static) gauge we reduce the theory to coupled ordinary differential equations and we are able to derive for some potentials of interest closed-form solutions. We use an effective (particle) Lagrangian for the reduced field equations in order to quantize the system in a finite-dimensional setting leading to an exact partial differential Wheeler-DeWitt equation instead of a functional one. A WKB approximation for some quantum states is computed and compared with the classical Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The effect of minimally coupled matter is examined.
Spatial variation of the crustal stress field along the Ryukyu-Taiwan-Luzon convergent boundary

[1] We applied an improved stress inversion method to a comprehensive data set of earthquake focal mechanisms to depict the pattern of crustal stress along the western convergent boundary of the Philippine Sea plate. Our results indicate that the crustal stress along the Ryukyu fore arc is segmented with boundaries at or near the places of seamount subduction, including the Tokara channel. An extensional stress regime is observed along the entire Ryukyu back arc, implying that back-arc rifting may have extended northward to Kyushu. A triangular area near the southernmost terminus of the Ryukyu arc is characterized by a unique stress signature. The eastern boundary of this Ryukyu-Taiwan Stress Transition coincides with the 123°E meridian where the Gagua ridge intercepts the Ryukyu trench; whereas its western boundary agrees remarkably well with the border between the postcollision and waning-collision domains in northern Taiwan. The Taiwan collision zone is dominated by compression that rotates locally according to the structural configuration of the Lukang Magnetization High (LMH), suggesting that the LMH may be critical in controlling the local stress distribution. The stress signature of the Luzon arc–Taiwan collision reaches as far south as 19.5°N. The tectonic stress along the Manila trench–Luzon fore arc is dominated by a complex regime of extension that cannot be explained by simple plate bending or in-slab membrane stress. Since this extensional regime is observed only south of ∼22°N, it probably marks the northern limit of the contemporary boundary between the subduction along the Manila trench and the collision in Taiwan.
Aggression and Anxiety: Social Context and Neurobiological Links

Psychopathologies such as anxiety- and depression-related disorders are often characterized by impaired social behaviours including excessive aggression and violence. Excessive aggression and violence likely develop as a consequence of generally disturbed emotional regulation, such as abnormally high or low levels of anxiety. This suggests an overlap between brain circuitries and neurochemical systems regulating aggression and anxiety. In this review, we will discuss different forms of male aggression, rodent models of excessive aggression, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying male aggression in the context of anxiety. We will summarize our attempts to establish an animal model of high and abnormal aggression using rats selected for high (HAB) vs. low (LAB) anxiety-related behaviour. Briefly, male LAB rats and, to a lesser extent, male HAB rats show high and abnormal forms of aggression compared with non-selected (NAB) rats, making them a suitable animal model for studying excessive aggression in the context of extremes in innate anxiety. In addition, we will discuss differences in the activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, brain arginine vasopressin, and the serotonin systems, among others, which contribute to the distinct behavioural phenotypes related to aggression and anxiety. Further investigation of the neurobiological systems in animals with distinct anxiety phenotypes might provide valuable information about the link between excessive aggression and disturbed emotional regulation, which is essential for understanding the social and emotional deficits that are characteristic of many human psychiatric disorders.