Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute Information Costs, Networks and Intermediation in International Trade Would like to Thank the Esrc for Their Financial Support And

This paper is motivated by the observation that intermediaries play an important role in international trade. The matching role of intermediaries is examined in a pairwise matching model with two-sided information asymmetry, where intermediaries develop contacts. Intermediation expands the set of matching technologies available to traders, while convexity in network-building costs with respect to network size gives rise to both direct and indirect trade in equilibrium. The trade pattern depends on the relative responsiveness of the direct and indirect matching technologies to information costs, which for some parameter values generates a non-monotonic relationship between information frictions and trade. Duranton and LSE seminar participants, as well as numerous conference participants, for their invaluable comments. All errors are mine. The views in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System.
Crystallization history of the 1984 Mauna Loa lava flow

During a 3-week eruption in 1984, Mauna Loa produced vent lavas that increased in crystallinity from <1 to 30%, and 27-km-long flows that increased in crystallinity as they moved downstream. We examined the crystallization history of these lavas using crystal size distribution (CSD) analysis to study the rates of crystallization, viscosity increase, and latent heating. Typical average growth and nucleation rates were 5×10−9 cm s−1 and 5 cm−3 s−1 for microphenocrysts (20- to 500-μm size crystals nucleated in the rift zone) and 5×10−8 cm s−1 and 5 × 104 cm−3 s−1 for microlites (1- to 20-μm size crystals nucleated in the channel). These crystallization rates are high compared with those found in other CSD studies of igneous rocks, probably due to highly nonequilibrium conditions brought on by rapid degassing in the rift zone and cooling in the lava channel. Growth and nucleation rates decreased with time at the vent and with distance downstream. The maximum downstream total crystallinity measured is 39% (25% microlites, 14% microphenocrysts) in a quenched sample 14 km from the vent. Growth and nucleation rates cannot be calculated for postemplacement samples, but they place upper limits of 53–58% on the amount of crystallization in the channel 9–20 km from the vent. Crystallization could have been mostly responsible for the 105-fold downstream increase in apparent viscosity, although degassing and increasing incorporation of solid lava fragments also contributed. Another effect of crystallization on the lava flow was the sizeable latent heating (0.01 J g−1 s−1 over the first half of the flow length, if the crystallinity of downstream quench samples is representative of the hot fluid core), which may have been counteracted by entrainment of cooler material. Measurements of crystallization are shown to be crucial in the study of lava flow emplacement dynamics.
MicroRNA-31 Activates the RAS Pathway and Functions as an Oncogenic MicroRNA in Human Colorectal Cancer by Repressing RAS p21 GTPase Activating Protein 1 (RASA1)*

Background: MicroRNAs are important for colorectal cancer signal transduction. Results: miR-31 stimulates colorectal cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenesis by directly targeting RASA1. Conclusion: miR-31 activates the RAS pathway and functions as an oncogenic microRNA in human colorectal cancer. Significance: Learning how miRNAs participate in tumor signaling is crucial for understanding tumor signal transduction and cancer therapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play a vital role in colorectal cancer. We found a widespread disruption in miRNA expression during colorectal tumorigenesis using microarray and quantitative RT-PCR analysis; of the 161 miRNAs altered in colorectal cancer compared with normal adjacent tissue samples, miR-31 was the most significantly dysregulated. We identified candidate targets of miR-31 using bioinformatics approaches and validated RAS p21 GTPase activating protein 1 (RASA1) as a direct target. First, we found an inverse correlation between miR-31 and RASA1 protein levels in vivo. Second, in vitro evidence demonstrated that RASA1 expression was significantly decreased by treatment with pre-miR-31-LV, whereas anti-miR-31-LV treatment increased RASA1 protein levels. Third, a luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-31 directly recognizes a specific location within the 3′-untranslated region of RASA1 transcripts. Furthermore, the biological consequences of miR-31 targeting RASA1 were examined by the cell proliferation assay in vitro and by the immunodeficient mouse xenograft tumor model in vivo. Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time that miR-31 plays a significant role in activating the RAS signaling pathway through the inhibition of RASA1 translation, thereby improving colorectal cancer cell growth and stimulating tumorigenesis.
Risk Factors and Outcomes for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteremia in the NICU

OBJECTIVES: To assess the risk factors antibiotic therapy and outcomes of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) bacteremia in NICU patients. METHODS: Episodes of MDR GNB bacteremia were compared with a non-MDR GNB bacteremia group in an 8-year cohort study. RESULTS: Of 1106 bacteremias, 393 (35.5%) were caused by GNB. Seventy (18.6%) were caused by an MDR strain. The most frequent mechanism of resistance was extended-spectrum β-lactamase production (67.1%), mainly by Klebsiella pneumoniae (59.6%). Previous antibiotic exposure to third-generation cephalosporin (odds ratio [OR]: 5.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.37–15.08; P < .001) and carbapenem (OR: 3.60; 95% CI: 1.26–10.29; P = .017) and underlying renal disease (OR: 7.08; 95% CI: 1.74–28.83; P = .006) were identified as independent risk factors for MDR GNB acquisition. Patients with MDR GNB bacteremia more likely received inadequate initial antibiotic therapy (72.9% vs 7.8%; P < .001) had higher rates of infectious complication (21.4% vs 10.5%; P = .011) and overall case fatality +rate (28.6% vs 10.5%; P < .001). Independent risk factors for overall mortality were presence of infectious complications after bacteremia (OR: 3.16; 95% CI: 1.41–7.08; P = .005) and underlying secondary pulmonary hypertension with or without cor pulmonale (OR: 6.19; 95% CI: 1.88–20.31; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: MDR GNB accounted for 18.6% of all neonatal GNB bacteremia in the NICU, especially in those with previous broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and underlying renal disease. The most frequent mechanism of resistance was extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production. Neonates with MDR GNB were more likely to develop infectious complications, which were independently associated with a higher overall case-fatality rate.
HIFI-AV: An Audio-visual Corpus for Spoken Language Human-Machine Dialogue Research in Spanish

In this paper, we describe a new multi-purpose audio-visual database on the context of speech interfaces for controlling household electronic devices. The database comprises speech and video recordings of 19 speakers interacting with a HIFI audio box by means of a spoken dialogue system. Dialogue management is based on Bayesian Networks and the system is provided with contextual information handling strategies. Each speaker was requested to fulfil different sets of specific goals following predefined scenarios, according to both different complexity levels and degrees of freedom or initiative allowed to the user. Due to a careful design and its size, the recorded database allows comprehensive studies on speech recognition, speech understanding, dialogue modeling and management, microphone array based speech processing, and both speech and video-based acoustic source localisation. The database has been labelled for quality and efficiency studies on dialogue performance. The whole database has been validated through both objective and subjective tests.
Integrating Faces and Soft-biometrics for Newborn Recognition

The problem of mixing, swapping and abduction is a very serious and challenging issue throughout the world. Traditional methods of biometric and non biometric techniques have their own limitations and fail to provide required level of security for newborn. A multimodal biometric system integrates information from multiple biometric sources to compensate for the limitations in performance of each individual biometric system. We propose an optimal framework for combining the matching scores from face and soft-biometrics to recognize newborn. The integration of face and soft-biometric traits results in an improvement of approximately �. �% over the face biometric system on a database of 210 newborn.
The graphs for which the maximum multiplicity of an eigenvalue is two

Characterized are all simple undirected graphs G such that any real symmetric matrix that has graph G has no eigenvalues of multiplicity more than 2. All such graphs are partial 2-trees (and this follows from a result for rather general fields), but only certain partial 2-trees guarantee maximum multiplicity 2. Among partial linear 2-trees, they are only those whose vertices can be covered by two ‘parallel’ induced paths. The remaining graphs that guarantee maximum multiplicity 2 are composed of certain identified families of ‘exceptional’ partial 2-trees that are not linear.
Europium Anomaly in Plagioclase Feldspar: Experimental Results and Semiquantitative Model

The partition of europium between plagioclase feldspar and magmatic liquid is considered in terms of the distribution coefficients for divalent and trivalent europium. A model equation is derived giving the europium anomaly in plagioclase as a function of temperature and oxygen fugacity. The model explains europium anomalies in plagioclase synthesized under controlled laboratory conditions as well as the variations of the anomaly observed in natural terrestrial and extraterrestrial igneous rocks.
The thermal stability of bulk nanocrystalline steels

Nanocrystalline bainite, commonly known as “superbainite”, is a novel class of steel that utilises careful alloy design to reduce the bainite transformation temperature to below 300°C. This results in grains that are tens of nanometres in width, which make steel strong and tough. The structure can be produced in large volumes without the need for rapid cooling or severe deformation. The presence of austenite in nanocrystalline bainite is largely responsible for the toughness. Unfortunately, the austenite is metastable and previous work has shown that it decomposes into cementite and ferrite upon heating. This decomposition makes the material weak and brittle. The present work aims to develop new alloys that form nanocrystalline bainite, but which are able to survive heating. Previous work has shown that cementite precipitation is the first stage in the decomposition process and so the first alloys developed aimed to suppress cementite precipitation. This resulted in a noticeable improvement in thermal stability, although the austenite does eventually decompose at higher temperatures. Subsequent work led to an alloy which was designed not to resist cementite precipitation, but to tolerate it without the associated loss of austenite. This was achieved by the addition of large quantities of nickel to stabilise the austenite even if its carbon content is depleted. This alloy is able to survive exposure to elevated temperatures with the majority of austenite being retained. The thermal stability of the alloys was assessed using time-resolved synchrotron i X-ray diffractometry at both the Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) and Diamond Light Source. The high-quality data that were collected allowed the symmetry of the ferrite lattice to be investigated and it was found that the lattice was best-described using a body-centred tetragonal crystal structure. This is the first evidence of its kind. Mechanical properties were investigated in the as-transformed condition at ambient temperature and at a temperature representative of aeronautic applications. The alloys developed in this project have comparable strength, toughness and fatigue performance to existing nanocrystalline bainitic steels. Mechanical properties were also measured after heating at 480°C for 8 d and this was found to reduce strength and toughness, consistent with the measured loss of austenite.
Mixtures of eigenfeatures for real-time structure from texture

We describe a face modeling system which estimates complete facial structure and texture from a real-time video stream. The system begins with a face trading algorithm which detects and stabilizes live facial images into a canonical 3D pose. The resulting canonical texture is then processed by a statistical model to filter imperfections and estimate unknown components such as missing pixels and underlying 3D structure. This statistical model is a soft mixture of eigenfeature selectors which span the 3D deformations and texture changes across a training set of laser scanned faces. An iterative algorithm is introduced for determining the dimensional partitioning of the eigenfeatures to maximize their generalization capability over a cross-validation set of data. The model's abilities to filter and estimate absent facial components are then demonstrated over incomplete 3D data. This ultimately allows the model to span known and regress unknown facial information front stabilized natural video sequences generated by a face tracking algorithm. The resulting continuous and dynamic estimation of the model's parameters over a video sequence generates a compact temporal description of the 3D deformations and texture changes of the face.
A theory of auctions and competitive bidding

Abstract : In Section 2, we review some important results of the received auction theory, introduce a new general auction model, and summarize the results of our analysis. Section 3 contains a formal statement of our model, and develops the properties of affiliated random variables. The various theorems are presented in Sections 4-8. In Section 9, we offer our views on the current state of auction theory. Following Section 9 is a technical appendix dealing with affiliated random variables.
Nanoengineered Functional Structures for Photonic and Microfluidic Applications

xviii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Thesis outline . 5 Chapter 2: Size-selective Confinement of Nanoparticles in Nanovoid Patterns by Exploiting Ionic Entropy . 8 2.
The GALEX VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey Measurement of the Evolution of the 1500 Å Luminosity Function

We present the first measurement of the galaxy luminosity function (LF) at 1500 Å in the range 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 1.2 based on Galaxy Evolution Explorer VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey observations (~1000 spectroscopic redshifts for galaxies with NUV ≤ 24.5) and at higher z using existing data sets. Our main results are summarized as follows: (1) Luminosity evolution is observed with ΔM* ~ -2.0 mag between z = 0 and z = 1 and ΔM* ~ -1.0 mag between z = 1 and z = 3. This confirms that the star formation activity was significantly higher in the past. (2) The LF slopes vary in the range -1.2 ≥ α ≥ -1.65, with a marginally significant hint of increase at higher z. (3) We split the sample in three rest-frame (B - I) intervals, providing an approximate spectral type classification: Sb-Sd, Sd-Irr, and unobscured starbursts. We find that the bluest class evolves less strongly in luminosity than the two other classes. On the other hand, their number density increases sharply with z (~15% in the local universe to ~55% at z ~ 1), while that of the reddest classes decreases.
Energy-efficient context-aware user association for outdoor small cell heterogeneous networks

To meet the ever-increasing traffic demands, future cellular networks are about to include a plethora of small cells (SCs), with user equipments (UEs) being able of communicating via multiple bands. Given that SCs are expected to be eventually as close as 50 m apart, some of them will not have a direct connection to the core network, and thus will forward their traffic to the neighboring SCs until they reach it. In such architectures, the user association problem becomes challenging with backhaul (BH) energy consumption playing a key role. Thus, in this paper, we study the user association problem aiming at maximizing the network energy efficiency. The problem is formulated as an optimization problem, which is NP-hard. Therefore, we propose a cognitive heuristic algorithm that exploits context-aware information (i.e., UE measurements and requirements, the HetNet architecture knowledge and the available spectrum resources of each base station (BS)) to associate the UEs in an energy-efficient way, while considering both the access and the BH energy consumption. We evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm under two study-case scenarios and we prove that it achieves significantly higher energy efficiency than the reference algorithms, while maintaining high spectral efficiency.
Elevated Aerobic Fitness Sustained Throughout the Adult Lifespan Is Associated With Improved Cerebral Hemodynamics

Background and Purpose— Age-related impairments in cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reactivity to carbon dioxide (CVRCO2) are established risk factors for stroke that respond favorably to aerobic training. The present study examined to what extent cerebral hemodynamics are improved when training is sustained throughout the adult lifespan. Methods— Eighty-one healthy males were prospectively assigned to 1 of 4 groups based on their age (young, ⩽30 years versus old, ≥60 years) and lifetime physical activity levels (trained, ≥150 minutes recreational aerobic activity/week versus sedentary, no activity). Middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCAv, transcranial Doppler ultrasound), mean arterial pressure (MAP, finger photoplethysmography), and end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PETCO2, capnography) were recorded during normocapnia and 3 mins of iso-oxic hypercapnea (5% CO2). Cerebrovascular resistance/conductance indices (CVRi/CVCi) were calculated as MAP/MCAv and MCAv/MAP, respectively, and CVRCO2 as the percentage increase in MCAv from baseline per millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) increase in PETCO2. Maximal oxygen consumption ( O2MAX, online respiratory gas analysis) was determined during cycling ergometry. Results— By design, older participants were active for longer (49±5 versus 6±4 years, P<0.05). Physical activity attenuated the age-related declines in O2MAX, MCAv, CVCi, and CVRCO2 and increase in CVRi (P<0.05 versus sedentary). Linear relationships were observed between O2MAX and both MCAv and CVRCO2 (r=0.58–0.77, P<0.05). Conclusions— These findings highlight the importance of maintaining aerobic fitness throughout the lifespan given its capacity to improve cerebral hemodynamics in later-life.
Complex Human Activity Recognition Using Smartphone and Wrist-Worn Motion Sensors

The position of on-body motion sensors plays an important role in human activity recognition. Most often, mobile phone sensors at the trouser pocket or an equivalent position are used for this purpose. However, this position is not suitable for recognizing activities that involve hand gestures, such as smoking, eating, drinking coffee and giving a talk. To recognize such activities, wrist-worn motion sensors are used. However, these two positions are mainly used in isolation. To use richer context information, we evaluate three motion sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope and linear acceleration sensor) at both wrist and pocket positions. Using three classifiers, we show that the combination of these two positions outperforms the wrist position alone, mainly at smaller segmentation windows. Another problem is that less-repetitive activities, such as smoking, eating, giving a talk and drinking coffee, cannot be recognized easily at smaller segmentation windows unlike repetitive activities, like walking, jogging and biking. For this purpose, we evaluate the effect of seven window sizes (2–30 s) on thirteen activities and show how increasing window size affects these various activities in different ways. We also propose various optimizations to further improve the recognition of these activities. For reproducibility, we make our dataset publicly available.
Interactions between Human NK Cells and Macrophages in Response to Salmonella Infection1

NK cells play a key role in host resistance to a range of pathogenic microorganisms, particularly during the initial stages of infection. NK cell interactions with cells infected with viruses and parasites have been studied extensively, but human bacterial infections have not been given the same attention. We studied crosstalk between human NK cells and macrophages infected with intracellular Salmonella. These macrophages activated NK cells, resulting in secretion of IFN-γ and degranulation. Reciprocally, NK cell activation led to a dramatic reduction in numbers of intramacrophagic live bacteria. We identified three elements in the interaction of NK cells with infected macrophages. First, communication between NK cells and infected macrophages was contact-dependent. The second requirement was IL-2- and/or IL-15-dependent priming of NK cells to produce IFN-γ. The third was activation of NK cells by IL-12 and IL-18, which were secreted by the Salmonella-infected macrophages. Adhesion molecules and IL-12Rβ2 were enriched in the contact zone between NK cells and macrophages, consistent with contact- and IL-12/IL-18-dependent NK activation. Our results suggest that, in humans, bacterial clearance is consistent with a model invoking a “ménage à trois” involving NK cells, IL-2/IL-15-secreting cells, and infected macrophages.
(m,n)-Relaying as an Alternative to Base Station Cooperation for Cellular OFDMA Networks

Among the techniques proposed to reduce interference in cellular ODFMA networks, base station cooperation (BSC) is currently the technique known to achieve the highest network throughputs. Its deployment however is vastly expensive and cheaper alternatives are expected to play an important role in future wireless access standards. This contribution introduces relay-augmented networks based on the novel paradigm of (m,n)-relaying and shows how, by reaching performances close to those achievable by employing BSC, these qualify as an especially interesting option among the aforementioned alternatives.
Topology Design of Undersea Cables Considering Survivability Under Major Disasters

Unpredictable natural disasters and human interventions could pose significant threats to the undersea cables of modern telecommunication networks. In this paper, we consider the network topology of the undersea cables and propose a rectangular network to prevent all the cable links from being damaged simultaneously. An optimization problem on the plane is formulated to minimize the total cost under the survivability constraints. The spherical geometry of the earth's surface complicate the problem, however, this paper provides guidance to the real world problem, and a methodology for discussing it.
Effect of the Geometry of the Left Ventricle on the Calculation of Ejection Fraction

We used a cylindrical model for the left ventricle contracting both radially and longitudinally to show how the ejection fraction is related to different variables that describe the ventricular geometry. The relations during ventricular contraction between wall thickening, midwall radius shortening and longitudinal shortening are used to derive precise formulas for the calculation of ventricular blood flow velocity and ejection fraction. Validation of the model is given by results from the literature and by a study of 40 patients. The formulas derived can be used to validate angiographic measurements or to assess more precisely blood flow velocity and ejection fraction from the M-mode echocardiogram. Ejection fraction is determined not only by the extent of myocardial shortening, but also by the relationship of ventricular wall thickness to ventricular cavity size.