Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast algorithms for finding randomized strategies in game trees

Interactions among agents can be conveniently described by game trees. In order to analyze a game, it is important to derive optimal (or equilibrium) strategies for the different players. The standard approach to finding such strategies in games with imperfect information is, in general, computationally intractable. The approach is to generate the normal form of the game (the matrix containing the payoff for each strategy combination), and then solve a linear program (LP) or a linear complementarity problem (LCP). The size of the normal form, however, is typically exponential in the size of the game tree, thus making this method impractical in all but the simplest cases. This paper describes a new representation of strategies which results in a practical linear formulation of the problem of two-player games with perfect recall (i.e., games where players never forget anything, which is a standard assumption). Standard LP or LCP solvers can then be applied to find optimal randomized strategies. The resulting algorithms are, in general, exponentially better than the standard ones, both in terms of time and in terms of space. ∗Computer Science Division, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; and IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, CA 95120 †IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, CA 95120; and School of Mathematical Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. ‡Informatik 5, University of the Federal Armed Forces at Munich, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany. Research supported in part by ONR Contract N00014-91-C-0026, by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFSC) under Contract F49620-91-C-0080, and by the Volkswagen Foundation. Some of the work was performed while the first author was at Stanford University. The United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes. In: Proceedings of the 26th ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing, 1994, 750–759
Frangipani: a scalable distributed file system

The ideal distributed file system would provide all its users with coherent, shared access to the same set of files, yet would be arbitrarily scalable to provide more storage space and higher performance to a growing user community. It would be highly available in spite of component failures. It would require minimal human administration, and administration would not become more complex as more components were added. Frangipani is a new file system that approximates this ideal, yet was relatively easy to build because of its two-layer structure. The lower layer is Petal (described in an earlier paper), a distributed storage service that provides incrementally scalable, highly available, automatically managed virtual disks. In the upper layer, multiple machines run the same Frangipani file system code on top of a shared Petal virtual disk, using a distributed lock service to ensure coherence. Frangipani is meant to run in a cluster of machines that are under a common administration and can communicate securely. Thus the machines trust one another and the shared virtual disk approach is practical. Of course, a Frangipani file system can be exported to untrusted machines using ordinary network file access protocols. We have implemented Frangipani on a collection of Alphas running DIGITAL Unix 4.0. Initial measurements indicate that Frangipani has excellent single-server performance and scales well as servers are added.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Gene Are Associated with Essential Hypertension and Increased ACE Enzyme Levels in Mexican Individuals

Aim To explore the role of the ACE gene polymorphisms in the risk of essential hypertension in Mexican Mestizo individuals and evaluate the correlation between these polymorphisms and the serum ACE levels. Methods Nine ACE gene polymorphisms were genotyped by 5′ exonuclease TaqMan genotyping assays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 239 hypertensive and 371 non- hypertensive Mexican individuals. Haplotypes were constructed after linkage disequilibrium analysis. ACE serum levels were determined in selected individuals according to different haplotypes. Results Under a dominant model, rs4291 rs4335, rs4344, rs4353, rs4362, and rs4363 polymorphisms were associated with an increased risk of hypertension after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, triglycerides, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Five polymorphisms (rs4335, rs4344, rs4353, rs4362 and rs4363) were in strong linkage disequilibrium and were included in four haplotypes: H1 (AAGCA), H2 (GGATG), H3 (AGATG), and H4 (AGACA). Haplotype H1 was associated with decreased risk of hypertension, while haplotype H2 was associated with an increased risk of hypertension (OR = 0.77, P = 0.023 and OR = 1.41, P = 0.004 respectively). According to the codominant model, the H2/H2 and H1/H2 haplotype combinations were significantly associated with risk of hypertension after adjusted by age, gender, BMI, triglycerides, alcohol consumption, and smoking (OR = 2.0; P = 0.002 and OR = 2.09; P = 0.011, respectively). Significant elevations in serum ACE concentrations were found in individuals with the H2 haplotype (H2/H2 and H2/H1) as compared to H1/H1 individuals (P = 0.0048). Conclusion The results suggest that single nucleotide polymorphisms and the “GGATG” haplotype of the ACE gene are associated with the development of hypertension and with increased ACE enzyme levels.
Automatic methods for hiding latency in high bandwidth networks (extended abstract)

In this paper we describe methods for mitigating the degradation in performance caused by high latencies in parallel and distributed networks. Our approach is similar in spirit to the “complementary slackness” technique for latency hiding but has the advantage that the slackness does not need to be provided by the programmer and that large slowdowns are not needed in order to hide the latency. For example, given any algorithm that runs in T steps on an n-node ring with unit link delays, we show how to run the algorithm in O(T) steps on any n-node bounded-degree connected network with average link delay 0(1 ). This is a significant improvement over prior approaches to latency hiding, which require slowdowns proportional to the maximum link delay (which can be quite large in comparison to the average delay). In the case when the network has average link delay L&, our simulation runs in O(&Z’) steps using n/G processors, thereby preserving efficiency. We also show how to simulate an n x n array with unit link delays using slowdown O(df& log513 n) Q ‘2/3 log-sla n)-nodearray with average link on an (n dave delay d~ve. We anticipate that our results wilf be of interest in the context of parallel and distributed computing on networks of workstations (N OWS). NOWS typically *Department of Mathematics and Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT. Supported by NSF contract 9302476-CCR and ARPA contract NOO014-95-1-1246. Email: andrews@ math. mit.edu. i Department of Mathematics and Laboratory for COmputer Sc]ence, MIT. Supported by ARMY grant DAAH0495-1-0607 and ARPA contract NOO014-95-1-1246. Email: ftl@math.mit.edu. $Department of Computer Science, Wellesley College. SUPported by NSF contract 9504421-CCR and ARPA contract NOO014-95-1-1246. Email: pmetaxas@)wellesley. edu. ~Department of Mathematics and Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT. Supported by an NSF graduate fellowship and ARPA contract NOO014-95-1-1246. Emad: ylz@math.mit.edu. Permission to make digital/hard copies of all or part of Uda material for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or conunemial advantage, the copyright notice, the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copyright is by perrniaaion of rhe ACM, Inc. To copy othe~is% to republish, to post on servers or to redbdbutc to lists, requires apecdic permission andlor fee. ~TO-C’96, Philadelphia PA,USA Q 1996 ACM ()-89791.785-5/96/()5. $3.50 have the luxury of very high bandwidth finks but suffer from latency problems caused by long wires or delays in accessing the network. Our work suggests an approach for overcoming such problems in a waY that can be made transparent to the programmer (e.g., by making the network appear to function as if it were comprised of low-latency links).
Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defect in a Patient with Cor Triatriatum Sinister and Atrial Septal Defect

Cor triatriatum sinister is a rare congenital heart disease and rarely found in adults. The authors describe an asymptomatic 20-year old man presenting with heart murmur by check up. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram demonstrate atrial septal defect (ASD) secundum 26 mm and cor triatriatum sinister with 20 mm of fenestration. Transcatheter closure of ASD using Occlutech FigullaR device was successfully performed without complications. Echocardiogram post procedure demonstrate good position of device without obstruction of blood flow, no residual shunt and residual 12 mm of fenestration of cor triatriatum.
Influence of Cutting Parameters in Face Milling Semi-Solid AA 2024 Using a Carbide Tool Affecting the Surface Roughness and Tool Wear

The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of the main factors on the surface roughness in aluminum semi-solid 2024 face milling. This study was conducted using a computer numerical controlled milling machine having 63 mm diameter fine type carbide tool with a twin cutting edge. The variable factors investigated were speed, feed rate and depth of cut being not over 1 mm. For this experiment, the factorial designs were applied. The results revealed that the factors that significantly affect the surface roughness were the speed and feed rate; while the depth of cut did not affect the result. An increase in the speed and a decrease in the feed rate tended to reduce the surface roughness. Besides, the results obtained from this research could be employed to generate the linear equation of R a = 0.205 - 0.000022 Speed + 0.000031 Feed rate. Lastly, the flank and crater wears were observed at a tool life of 1,450 min.
Allele-Specific Expression of Angiotensinogen in Human Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue

The angiotensinogen gene is genetically linked with hypertension, but the mechanistic basis for association of sequence variants in the promoter and coding region of the gene remains unclear. An E-box at position −20 has been hypothesized to control the level of angiotensinogen expression, but its mechanistic importance for angiotensinogen expression in human tissues is uncertain. We developed an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction–based assay to distinguish between angiotensinogen mRNA derived from variants at the −20 position (rs5050) in the angiotensinogen promoter in adipose tissues obtained during surgery. The assay takes advantage of linkage disequilibrium between the rs5050 (located in the promoter) and rs4762 (located in the coding region) single nucleotide polymorphisms. This strategy allowed us to assess the level of allele-specific expression in A-20C heterozygous subjects comparing the relative proportion of each allele with the total, thus eliminating the problem of variability in the level of total angiotensinogen mRNA among subjects. We show that angiotensinogen mRNA derived from the −20C allele is expressed significantly higher than that derived from the −20A allele in subcutaneous adipose tissue, and increased expression correlates with enriched chromatin binding of upstream stimulatory factor-2 to the −20C E-box compared with −20A. This may be depot selective because we were unable to detect these differences in omental adipose. This provides the first data directly comparing expression of angiotensinogen mRNA and differential transcription factor binding derived from 2 variant alleles in human tissue where the ratio of expression of one allele to another can be accurately determined
Role of microRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma: a clinical perspective

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly tumors, and current treatments for the disease are often ineffective. The discovery of the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in hepatocarcinogenesis represents an important area of investigation for the development of their clinical applications. These molecules may act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors by directly or indirectly controlling the expression of key proteins involved in cancer-associated pathways. On the clinical side, because of their tumor-specific expression and stability in tissues and in the circulation, miRNAs have been proposed as novel diagnostic tools for classification and prognostic stratification of HCC. In recent years, the therapeutic potential of miRNAs has been demonstrated in various preclinical studies. Anti-miRNA oligonucleotides and miRNA mimics have been found to have antitumor activity. Moreover, by exploiting tumor-specific expression of miRNA, efforts have been aimed at improving targeting of tumor cells by replicative oncolytic viruses while sparing normal cells. These areas are expected to be explored further in the upcoming years to assess the clinical value of miRNA-based approaches in HCC and cancer in general.
Highly Parallel Translation of DNA Sequences into Small Molecules

A large body of in vitro evolution work establishes the utility of biopolymer libraries comprising 1010 to 1015 distinct molecules for the discovery of nanomolar-affinity ligands to proteins. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] Small-molecule libraries of comparable complexity will likely provide nanomolar-affinity small-molecule ligands. [6], [7] Unlike biopolymers, small molecules can offer the advantages of cell permeability, low immunogenicity, metabolic stability, rapid diffusion and inexpensive mass production. It is thought that such desirable in vivo behavior is correlated with the physical properties of small molecules, specifically a limited number of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, a defined range of hydrophobicity, and most importantly, molecular weights less than 500 Daltons. [8] Creating a collection of 1010 to 1015 small molecules that meet these criteria requires the use of hundreds to thousands of diversity elements per step in a combinatorial synthesis of three to five steps. With this goal in mind, we have reported a set of mesofluidic devices that enable DNA-programmed combinatorial chemistry in a highly parallel 384-well plate format. Here, we demonstrate that these devices can translate DNA genes encoding 384 diversity elements per coding position into corresponding small-molecule gene products. This robust and efficient procedure yields small molecule-DNA conjugates suitable for in vitro evolution experiments.
Whither the attenuated psychosis syndrome?

After 4 years of debate, a decision has been made. The attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS) will not be a coded diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Formerly known as the psychosis risk syndrome, the proposed diagnosis was based on criteria developed in the mid-1990s that were informed by a comprehensive review of retrospective studies on the prodromal phase of nonaffective psychosis.1 These criteria aimed to identify prospectively people in the prodrome of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders and have been variously titled “ultra high risk (UHR),” “clinical high risk (CHR),” “at risk mental state (ARMS),” and the “prodromal stage,” and included a group with attenuated (subthreshold) positive psychotic symptoms.2 The criteria are associated with rates of onset of psychotic disorder substantially higher than in the general population3 and other clinical populations.4 A recent meta-analysis reported the rate of onset of a psychotic disorder to be 36% after 3 years.5 About 73% of those developing a psychotic disorder fulfill criteria for schizophrenia spectrum psychoses.6 It should be noted that these data are from treated samples consisting of patients referred to specialist clinical services.
Understanding Fiscal Space

With new initiatives to provide low income countries with external assistance in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), donors and NGOs are seeking to understand whether "fiscal space" can be provided in the context of IMF-supported programs to support these initiatives. This paper defines the concept of fiscal space and its link to fiscal sustainability, describes alternative ways in which fiscal space can be created, and notes how the IMF can support appropriate efforts to create fiscal space. The paper underscores that the issues that arise in creating fiscal space are not novel, but have always confronted governments in judging whether there is scope for additional expenditure.
In Situ Probing of Oxygen-Containing Groups on Acid-treated Carbon Nanofibers using Aromatic Molecules

Development of chemical nanotechnology to control the structure of materials on a nanosize scale is necessary in order to obtain certain physical and chemical properties of the nanomaterials. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) (Oberlin et al., 1976; Endo, 1988; Endo et al., 2001) are very large multi-walled carbon nanotubes and are technologically easier and economically more favorable to produce than individual single- or double-walled carbon nanotubes (Iijima, 1991; Iijima & Ichihashi, 1993). The CNFs are valuable materials for electronic, mechanical, and optical devices because of their unique structural and quantum characteristics that are similar to small-sized carbon nanotubes (Oberlin et al., 1976; Endo, 1988; Endo et al., 2001; Endo et al., 2002; Yang et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2005; Tan et al., 2006). For practical use, such carbon nanomaterials need to be well dispersed throughout other raw materials. An example of this is the incorporation of carbon nanomaterials into plastics or ceramics, which provide practical materials with well-defined shape and increased strength. Composites of matrices with dispersed carbon nanotubes have been prepared by the polymerization of a polyimide under sonification (Park et al., 2002) and by the sol−gel reaction of a system containing a relatively large amount of N,N’-dimethylformamide as the starting material (Hongbinget al., 2004). However, carbon nanomaterials have a high specific surface area and easily aggregate. Surface functionalization of the carbon nanomaterials is an effective method to disperse them throughout various media for producing new functional materials, which utilize their unique characteristics (Zhu et al., 2003; Gao et al., 2005; Singh et al., 2005). In order to functionalize these carbon nanomaterials one must treat their surface with acids or other chemicals. Treatment of the carbon nanomaterials with nitric acid and sulfuric acid leads to the oxidation of their surface that forms oxidized groups such as −COOH and −C=O within the graphene sheet (Liu et al., 1998; Hamon et al., 2001; Hamon et al., 2002). Generally, the surface functional groups of the modified CNFs are characterized by IR or Raman spectroscopy. It is, however, difficult to obtain quantitative information of the chemical species existing in a monolayer or only a few layers of the oxidized surface of the CNFs using these analyses. We have previously shown that observing the fluorescence spectra of 1-naphthol (1-NP) is a useful probe on a molecular level for studying the physicochemical properties of the
The Usefulness of Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring in Cervical Spine Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis of 200 Consecutive Patients

The usefulness of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM), including somatosensory-evoked potential (SSEP) and transcranial electrical motor-evoked potentials (TcMEPs) in cervical spine surgery still needs to be evaluated. We retrospectively reviewed 200 cervical spine surgery patients from 2008 to 2009 to determine the role of IONM in cervical spine surgery. Total intravenous anesthesia was used for all patients. IONM alerts were defined as a 50% decrease in amplitude, a 10% increase in latency, or a unilateral change for SSEP and an increase in stimulation threshold of more than 100 V for TcMEP. Three patients had SSEP alerts that were related to arm malposition (2 patients) and hypotension (1 patient). Five patients had TcMEP alerts: 4 alerts were caused by hypotension and 1 by bone graft compression of the spinal cord. All alerts were resolved when causative reasons were corrected. There was no postoperative iatrogenic neurological injury. The sensitivities of SSEP and TcMEP alerts for detecting impending neurological injury were 37.5% and 62.5%, respectively. The sensitivity of both SSEP and TcMEP used in combination was 100%. No false-positive and false-negative alerts were identified in either SSEP or TcMEP (100% specificity). The total intravenous anesthesia technique optimizes the detection of SSEP and TcMEP and therefore improves the sensitivity and specificity of IONM. SSEP is sensitive in detecting alerts in possible malposition-induced ischemia or brachial plexus nerve injury. TcMEP specifically detects hypotension-induced spinal functional compromises. Combination use of TcMEP and SSEP enhances the early detection of impeding neurological damage during cervical spine surgery.
RelB Nuclear Translocation Mediated by C-Terminal Activator Regions of Epstein-Barr Virus-Encoded Latent Membrane Protein 1 and Its Effect on Antigen-Presenting Function in B Cells

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is uniquely able to up-regulate the expression of the peptide transporters (referred to as TAP-1 and TAP-2) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I in Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines. This up-regulation is often accompanied by a restoration of antigen-presenting function as measured by the ability of these cells to present endogenously expressed viral antigen to cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Here we show that the expression of LMP1 resulted in up-regulation and nuclear translocation of RelB that were coincident with increased expression of MHC class I in BL cells. Deletion of the C-terminal activator regions (CTARs) of LMP1 significantly impaired the abilities of LMP1 to translocate RelB into the nucleus and to up-regulate the expression of antigen-processing genes. Further analysis with single-point mutations within the CTARs confirmed that the residues critical for NF-κB activation directly contribute to antigen-processing function regulation in BL cells. This LMP1-mediated effect was blocked following expression of either dominant negative IκBα S32/36A, an NF-κB inhibitor, or antisense RelB. These observations indicate that upregulation of antigen-presenting function in B cells mediated by LMP1 is signaled through the NF-κB subunit RelB. The data provide a mechanism by which LMP1 modulates immunogenicity of Epstein-Barr virus-infected normal and malignant cells.