Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The search engine manipulation effect (SEME) and its possible impact on the outcomes of elections

Significance We present evidence from five experiments in two countries suggesting the power and robustness of the search engine manipulation effect (SEME). Specifically, we show that (i) biased search rankings can shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20% or more, (ii) the shift can be much higher in some demographic groups, and (iii) such rankings can be masked so that people show no awareness of the manipulation. Knowing the proportion of undecided voters in a population who have Internet access, along with the proportion of those voters who can be influenced using SEME, allows one to calculate the win margin below which SEME might be able to determine an election outcome. Internet search rankings have a significant impact on consumer choices, mainly because users trust and choose higher-ranked results more than lower-ranked results. Given the apparent power of search rankings, we asked whether they could be manipulated to alter the preferences of undecided voters in democratic elections. Here we report the results of five relevant double-blind, randomized controlled experiments, using a total of 4,556 undecided voters representing diverse demographic characteristics of the voting populations of the United States and India. The fifth experiment is especially notable in that it was conducted with eligible voters throughout India in the midst of India’s 2014 Lok Sabha elections just before the final votes were cast. The results of these experiments demonstrate that (i) biased search rankings can shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20% or more, (ii) the shift can be much higher in some demographic groups, and (iii) search ranking bias can be masked so that people show no awareness of the manipulation. We call this type of influence, which might be applicable to a variety of attitudes and beliefs, the search engine manipulation effect. Given that many elections are won by small margins, our results suggest that a search engine company has the power to influence the results of a substantial number of elections with impunity. The impact of such manipulations would be especially large in countries dominated by a single search engine company.
Non-Asymptotic Confidence Regions for the Least-Squares Estimate

Abstract We propose a new finite sample system identification method, called Sign-Perturbed Sums (SPS), to estimate the parameters of dynamical systems under mild statistical assumptions. The proposed method constructs non-asymptotic confidence regions that include the least-squares (LS) estimate and are guaranteed to contain the true parameters with a user-chosen exact probability. Our method builds on ideas imported from the “Leave-out Sign-dominant Correlation Regions” (LSCR) approach, but, unlike LSCR, also guarantees the inclusion of the LS estimate and provides confidence regions for multiple parameters with exact probabilities. This paper presents the SPS method for FIR and ARX systems together with its main theoretical properties, as well as demonstrates the approach through simple examples and experiments.
c-Src and mitosis.

The transforming potential and by inference the physiological function of the proto-oncoprotein pp60c-src closely correlate with the level of its protein tyrosine kinase activity. We have investigated the cell cycle-dependent regulation of this activity using mouse fibroblasts overexpressing chicken or mouse pp60c-src as a model system. During mitosis pp60c-src becomes phosphorylated at specific serine and threonine residues by p34cdc2. At the same time its tyrosine kinase activity, assayed in vitro, is increased approximately twofold and accessibility of its SH2 domain for binding relevant phosphotyrosine-containing ligands increases by about 15-fold. A kinase-defective mutant of pp60c-src exhibits a substantial (50-70%) decrease in phosphorylation at Tyr527 during mitosis. Phosphorylation of this residue negatively regulates kinase activity. Indirect evidence indicates a lesser decrease in wild-type pp60c-src Tyr527 phosphorylation during mitosis. Coordinate mutation of the mitosis-specific phosphorylation (MSP) sites in kinase-defective pp60c-src greatly reduces, though does not abolish, its mitosis-specific tyrosine dephosphorylation. Similarly, coordinate mutation of the three MSP sites in chicken pp60c-src or the corresponding two sites in mouse pp60c-src does not completely block mitotic stimulation of kinase activity. Thus, additional events beyond p34cdc2-mediated phosphorylation are involved in cell-cycle dependent regulation of pp60c-src activity. This is also suggested by the stimulation of pp60c-src kinase activity and decrease in phosphorylation of Tyr527 observed following treatment of fibroblasts with okadaic acid, a potent inhibitor of types 1 and 2A serine/threonine phosphatases. The potential role of cell cycle-dependent regulation of phosphatases and kinases acting on the regulatory tyrosine residue of pp60c-src is discussed.
Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes, ionizing radiation exposure and risk of breast cancer in U.S. Radiologic technologists

High‐dose ionizing radiation exposure to the breast and rare autosomal dominant genes have been linked with increased breast cancer risk, but the role of low‐to‐moderate doses from protracted radiation exposure in breast cancer risk and its potential modification by polymorphisms in DNA repair genes has not been previously investigated among large numbers of radiation‐exposed women with detailed exposure data. Using carefully reconstructed estimates of cumulative breast doses from occupational and personal diagnostic ionizing radiation, we investigated the potential modification of radiation‐related breast cancer risk by 55 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms in 17 genes involved in base excision or DNA double‐strand break repair among 859 cases and 1083 controls from the United States Radiologic Technologists (USRT) cohort. In multivariable analyses, WRN V114I (rs2230009) significantly modified the association between cumulative occupational breast dose and risk of breast cancer (adjusted for personal diagnostic exposure) (p = 0.04) and BRCA1 D652N (rs4986850), PRKDC IVS15 + 6C > T (rs1231202), PRKDC IVS34 + 39T > C (rs8178097) and PRKDC IVS31 − 634C > A (rs10109984) significantly altered the personal diagnostic radiation exposure‐response relationship (adjusted for occupational dose) (p ≤ 0.05). None of the remaining 50 SNPs significantly modified breast cancer radiation dose‐response relationships. The USRT genetic study provided a unique opportunity to examine the joint effects of common genetic variation and ionizing radiation exposure on breast cancer risk using detailed occupational and personal diagnostic exposure data. The suggestive evidence found for modification of radiation‐related breast cancer risk for 5 of the 55 SNPs evaluated requires confirmation in larger studies of women with quantified radiation breast doses in the low‐to‐moderate range. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Systems pharmacology of the nerve growth factor pathway: use of a systems biology model for the identification of key drug targets using sensitivity analysis and the integration of physiology and pharmacology

The nerve growth factor (NGF) pathway is of great interest as a potential source of drug targets, for example in the management of certain types of pain. However, selecting targets from this pathway either by intuition or by non-contextual measures is likely to be challenging. An alternative approach is to construct a mathematical model of the system and via sensitivity analysis rank order the targets in the known pathway, with respect to an endpoint such as the diphosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase concentration in the nucleus. Using the published literature, a model was created and, via sensitivity analysis, it was concluded that, after NGF itself, tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) was one of the most sensitive druggable targets. This initial model was subsequently used to develop a further model incorporating physiological and pharmacological parameters. This allowed the exploration of the characteristics required for a successful hypothetical TrkA inhibitor. Using these systems models, we were able to identify candidates for the optimal drug targets in the known pathway. These conclusions were consistent with clinical and human genetic data. We also found that incorporating appropriate physiological context was essential to drawing accurate conclusions about important parameters such as the drug dose required to give pathway inhibition. Furthermore, the importance of the concentration of key reactants such as TrkA kinase means that appropriate contextual data are required before clear conclusions can be drawn. Such models could be of great utility in selecting optimal targets and in the clinical evaluation of novel drugs.
2 Histopathological Diagnosis of Non-Alcoholic and Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Fatty liver is a common ‘liver disease’ often free of symptoms or complaints but might even lead to severe stages. It is characterized by lipid deposition in hepatocytes both, for alcoholic as well as and non-alcoholic fatty liver. An additional inflammatory reaction results in alcoholic (ASH) or non-alcoholic (NASH) steatohepatitis. Steatohepatitis is characterized by both, inflammatory infiltrates of mixed cells in the small liver lobules as well as liver cell injury in terms of ballooning. NASH resembles alcoholic liver disease, but occurs in people who consume little or no alcohol. Many people with NASH don’t feel sick and are not aware of their liver problem. Nevertheless, NASH can get severe and can result in cirrhosis with permanent tissue damage. It has long been known that the typical manifestations of alcoholic liver damage (including cirrhosis of the liver) can also be found in patients who consume no alcohol. For such persons the incorrect diagnosis of ‘alcohol-related liver disease’ on the basis of just histopathological findings can have grave social, legal, and insurance implications. The term ‘non-alcoholic steatohepatitis’ (NASH) was established by Ludwig et al. in 1980. The terminology was later expanded (Bacon et al., 1994). Patients were described who manifested the typical histomorphological pattern of alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH), but without or with only moderate alcohol consumption (Ludwig et al., 1997). Diagnosis by means of biopsy is the gold standard for differentiation between reversible steatosis and progressive steatohepatitis. There are numerous publications on this topic with the aim of developing uniform standards for biopsy diagnosis or identifying reliable noninvasive or only slightly invasive alternatives to biopsy, particularly driven by the increasing prominence of alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The term non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) is not restricted to adults but also used to describe the same condition in children and adolescents (Baumann, 2005). Accordingly, the term nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is used in the paediatric age group for the more aggressive form of hepatocellular degeneration accompanied by fibrosis (Rashid & Roberts, 2000; Roberts, 2002). People at increased risk of developing a fatty liver, as well possess an increased risk of developing chemotherapy-associated steatohepatitis (CASH). Diagnostic procedures in patients with suspected fatty liver disease should be standardized and generally accepted. The goal of this chapter is thus to delineate the current concepts of aetiology, diagnostic as well as differential diagnostic of patients with fatty liver disease
Supersymmetry and the brane-world

We discuss the motivation for the brane-world construction and supersymmetry issues. We introduce a concept of bulk and brane supersymmetry within the framework of five-dimensional supergravity which allows one to formulate the rules for supersymmetry in singular spaces. The original fine-tuning of the Randall-Sundrum brane-world which provides the flatness of the brane is shown to follow from bulk and brane supersymmetry on an {S1/2} orbifold. We comment on possible stringy origin of the brane-world related to D8-branes and O8-planes, which can be viewed as a pair of positive and negative tension domain walls in 10 dimensions.
Time development of a current-free double-layer

The time development of a supersonic (∼2.3cs) argon ion beam generated by a current-free double-layer (DL) is obtained by pulsing a “helicon” discharge (13.56 MHz) and measuring the total ion current and the ion beam current during the first few milliseconds using a retarding field energy analyzer. The ion beam current is detected during the plasma breakdown phase (60–250 μs) and is stable thereafter (⩾250 μs). Temporal measurements of the floating potential upstream and downstream of the DL show evidence of wall charging in the plasma source during the first 250 μs of the discharge which appear to be related to the appearance of the double-layer. A comparison between the DL case and a somewhat higher pressure “non DL” case suggests that the double-layer is formed at ∼100 μs.
Multiple variants of the archaeal DNA rudivirus SIRV1 in a single host and a novel mechanism of genomic variation

The DNA rudivirus SIRV1 of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus shows exceptional properties. Viral isolates invariably contain a population of variants with different but closely related genomes. Upon propagation in a given host strain, one or more genomes dominate in the viral population. However, upon passage into a new host strain the viral population undergoes changes and other dominant variants are selected. Sequencing and analysis of the variant genomes revealed that major differences occur in gene order, gene size and gene content at localized genomic sites. A previously unknown mechanism of genomic rearrangement involving putative 12 bp archaeal introns appears to facilitate alteration of the variant genomes. Inter‐genomic recombination between the different variants also occurs. The variant genomes exhibit signature tetranucleotide sequences near their putative sites for replication initiation.
Evaluating the Benefit of Hearing Aids in Solving the Cocktail Party Problem

The benefit of wearing hearing aids in multitalker, reverberant listening environments was evaluated in a study of speech-on-speech masking with two groups of listeners with hearing loss (younger/older). Listeners selectively attended a known spatial location in two room conditions (low/high reverberation) and identified target speech in the presence of two competing talkers that were either colocated or symmetrically spatially separated from the target. The amount of spatial release from masking (SRM) with bilateral aids was similar to that when listening unaided at or near an equivalent sensation level and was negatively correlated with the amount of hearing loss. When using a single aid, SRM was reduced and was related to the level of the stimulus in the unaided ear. Increased reverberation also reduced SRM in all listening conditions. Results suggest a complex interaction between hearing loss, hearing aid use, reverberation, and performance in auditory selective attention tasks.
Time delay estimation of signals with uncertain spectra

The performance of generalized correlation (GC) methods for time-delay estimation when a priori knowledge of the received source spectrum is limited is improved. The treatment is restricted to finite-time observation of a single low-pass source, where the uncertainty in its autospectrum is characterized by a single unknown parameter. The constrained processor (CP) selects an optimum postcorrelator filter from a finite set of alternatives that are designed to span the expected range of source spectra. An approach proposed previously for this situation is the LMS adaptive filtering method for time delay estimation (LMSTDE). For purposes of comparison, both the theoretical and simulation performance of the LMSTDE method are examined. Simulation experiments indicate that LMSTDE offers performance comparable to conventional GC methods without a priori knowledge of the source spectrum. The CP in the same setting, however, can yield significantly lower variance time delay estimates than either the LMSTDE or conventional GC methods, with performance approaching the Cramer-Rao lower bound. >
Real-Time Fluorescent Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Study of Polo-Like Kinase-1 in Pterygia

This study was designed to examine the expression of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) mRNA in 16 pterygia and 13 normal conjunctival tissue specimens using real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was used as the housekeeping gene. The difference in threshold cycle value (ΔC t) was derived for PLK1 and GAPDH for each sample assayed, and the difference between the paired samples (ΔΔC t) was calculated. The mean ± SD ΔC t of PLK1 mRNA was 9.56 ± 1.30 in pterygia compared with 10.71 ± 1.39 in normal conjunctiva. The expression of PLK1 mRNA in pterygium was 2.08 - 2.36 times that in normal conjunctiva; this difference was statistically significant. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR analysis appears to be effective and sensitive when determining the level of PLK1 mRNA expression. Using this method, it was demonstrated that PLK1 mRNA is over-expressed in pterygia, indicating a probable role for PLK1 in their development.
Increasing detection rate of proximal serrated polyps in a large hospital of China over a 10-year period

The epidemiology of proximal serrated polyps (PSPs) and right colon cancer (RCCs) in the Chinese population is seldom reported. We conducted a retrospective review of a large database of colonoscopy for clinical indications during the 10-year period between 2005 and 2014. A total of 22318 colonoscopies were included. 2.7% had RCCs and 7.7% had left colorectal cancers (LCRCs). RCCs had younger age (55.9 years) and higher proportion of poorly differentiated cancer (20.8%), compared with that of LCRCs (58.9 years and 10.4%, respectively, both P<0.001). The proportion of RCCs in all CRCs showed a decrease trend during the 10-year period. The overall PSP detection rate was 4.7%. The PSP detection rate rose from 2.5% to 5.1% (P<0.05) during the 10-year period. After review of serrated polyps, 10.3% of PSPs were re-classified as sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs). The overall detection rate of SSA was 0.6%. The proportion of SSA in PSPs in last five-year (11.9%, 2010-2014) was significantly higher than that in the first five-year (7.8%, 2005-2009, P<0.05). The epidemiological and histological characteristics of RCCs in the Chinese patients were different from those of Western population. The use of new endoscopic techniques may have contributed to the increased detection rate of PSPs. Another important reason might be attributed to increased endoscopist and pathologist awareness of the appearance and significance of PSPs.
Identification of Parameterized Gray-Box State-Space Systems: From a Black-Box Linear Time-Invariant Representation to a Structured One

While determining the order as well as the matrices of a black-box linear state-space model is now an easy problem to solve, it is well-known that the estimated (fully parameterized) state-space matrices are unique modulo a non-singular similarity transformation matrix. This could have serious consequences if the system being identified is a real physical system. Indeed, if the true model contains physical parameters, then the identified system could no longer have the physical parameters in a form that can be extracted easily. By assuming that the system has been identified consistently in a fully parameterized form, the question addressed in this paper then is how to recover the physical parameters from this initially estimated black-box form. Two solutions to solve such a parameterization problem are more precisely introduced. First, a solution based on a null-space-based reformulation of a set of equations arising from the aforementioned similarity transformation problem is considered. Second, an algorithm dedicated to nonsmooth optimization is presented to transform the initial fully parameterized model into the structured state-space parameterization of the system to be identified. A specific constraint on the similarity transformation between both system representations is added to avoid singularity. By assuming that the physical state-space form is identifiable and the initial fully parameterized model is consistent, it is proved that the global solutions of these two optimization problems are unique. The proposed algorithms are presented, along with an example of a physical system.
Diffusion Weighted Imaging Findings in the Acute Lateral Medullary Infarction

Background and Purpose Negative findings on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) does not exclude the possibility of brainstem infarction, particularly in the acute stage of medullary lesion. Our aim was to investigate the false-negative rate of DWI in patients with acute lateral medullary infarction. Methods We applied DWI to 26 patients with a clinical diagnosis of lateral medullary infarction within 72 h of the onset. We assessed relationships between initial DWI findings and time-to-MRI (the time between onset of symptoms and initial DWI), number of clinical symptoms and signs, and final lesion volume. Results There were 8 cases (31%) of false negatives in the initial DWI results. The occurrence of false-negative DWI findings decreased significantly as the time-to-MRI increased (P=0.014). However, the false-negative rate was not significantly correlated with the number of clinical symptoms and signs or the final lesion volume. Conclusions The diagnosis of lateral medullary infarction should not be ruled out on the basis of early negative DWI. To confirm the lesion, follow-up DWI or further MRI should be performed in cases with early negative DWI results
Interpolation of depth-3 arithmetic circuits with two multiplication gates

In this paper we consider the problem of constructing a small arithmetic circuit for a polynomial for which we have oracle access. Our focus is on n-variate polynomials, over a finite field F, that have depth-3 arithmetic circuits (with an addition gate at the top) with two multiplication gates of degree at most d. We obtain the following results: 1. Multilinear case: When the circuit is multilinear (multiplication gates compute multilinear polynomials) we give an algorithm that outputs, with probability 1 − o(1), all the depth-3 circuits with two multiplication gates computing the polynomial. The running time of the algorithm is poly(n, |F|). 2. General case: When the circuit is not multilinear we give a quasi-polynomial (in n, d, |F|) time algorithm that outputs, with probability 1 − o(1), a succinct representation of the polynomial. In particular, if the depth-3 circuit for the polynomial is not of small depth-3 rank (namely, after removing the g.c.d. of the two multiplication gates, the remaining linear functions span a not too small linear space) then we output the depth-3 circuit itself. In case that the rank is small we output a depth-3 circuit with a quasi-polynomial number of multiplication gates. Prior to our work there have been several interpolation algorithms for restricted models. However, all the techniques used there completely fail when dealing with depth-3 circuits with even just two multiplication gates. Our proof technique is new and relies on the factorization algorithm for multivariate black-box polynomials, on lower bounds on the length of linear locally decodable codes with 2 queries, and on a theorem regarding the structure of identically zero depth-3 circuits with four multiplication gates. ∗Preliminary version appeared in [Shp07]. †Faculty of Computer Science, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel. Email: shpilka@cs.technion. ac.il. This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant number 439/06).