Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Heuristic A*

The performance of heuristic search-based planners depends heavily on the quality of the heuristic function used to focus the search. These algorithms work fast and generate high-quality solutions, even for high-dimensional problems, as long as they are given a well-designed heuristic function. On the other hand, their performance can degrade considerably if there are large heuristic depression regions, i.e. regions in the search space where heuristic values do not correlate well with the actual cost-to-goal values. Consequently, the research in developing an efficient planner for a specific domain becomes the design of a good heuristic function. However, for many domains, it is hard to design a single heuristic function that captures all of the complexities of the problem. Furthermore, it is hard to ensure that heuristics are admissible (provide lower bounds on the cost-to-goal) and consistent, which is necessary for A* like searches to provide guarantees on completeness and bounds on sub-optimality. In this paper, we develop a novel heuristic search, called Multi-Heuristic A* (MHA*), that takes in multiple, arbitrarily inadmissible heuristic functions in addition to a single consistent heuristic, and uses all of them simultaneously to search in a way that preserves guarantees on completeness and bounds on sub-optimality. This enables the search to combine very effectively the guiding powers of different heuristic functions and simplifies dramatically the process of designing heuristic functions by a user because these functions no longer need to be admissible or consistent. We support these claims with experimental analysis on several domains ranging from inherently continuous domains such as full-body manipulation and navigation to inherently discrete domains such as the sliding tile puzzle.
Physical Interaction between the Mitogen-responsive Serum Response Factor and Myogenic Basic-Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins (*)

Terminal differentiation of muscle cells results in opposite effects on gene promoters: muscle-specific promoters, which are repressed during active proliferation of myoblasts, are turned on, whereas at least some proliferation-associated promoters, such as c-fos, which are active during cell division, are turned off. MyoD and myogenin, transcription factors from the basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family, are involved in both processes, up-regulating muscle genes and down-regulating c-fos. On the other hand, the serum response factor (SRF) is involved in the activation of muscle-specific genes, such as c-fos, as well as in the up-regulation of a subset of genes that are responsive to mitogens. Upon terminal differentiation, the activity of these various transcription factors could be modulated by the formation of distinct protein-protein complexes. Here, we have investigated the hypothesis that the function of SRF and/or MyoD and myogenin could be modulated by a physical association between these transcription factors. We show that myogenin from differentiating myoblasts specifically binds to SRF. In vitro analysis, using the glutathione S-transferase pull-down assay, indicates that SRF-myogenin interactions occur only with myogenin-E12 heterodimers and not with isolated myogenin. A physical interaction between myogenin, E12, and SRF could also be demonstrated in vivo using a triple-hybrid approach in yeast. Glutathione S-transferase pull-down analysis of various mutants of the proteins demonstrated that the bHLH domain of myogenin and that of E12 were necessary and sufficient for the interaction to be observed. Specific binding to SRF was also seen with MyoD. In contrast, Id, a natural inhibitor of myogenic bHLH proteins, did not bind SRF in any of the situations tested. These data suggest that SRF, on one hand, and myogenic bHLH, on the other, could modulate each other's activity through the formation of a heterotrimeric complex.
Survey on hearing aid use and satisfaction in Switzerland and their determinants

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of the Swiss hearing aid dispensing system, and to determine factors contributing to successful hearing aid provision. A national cross sectional survey was performed using a postal questionnaire with 8707 adult hearing aid owners (response rate 62%). To correct results for a potential non-response bias, 193 randomly selected non-respondents were contacted by telephone. Data on hearing loss and type of hearing aid were provided by the hearing aid dispensing practice. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify determinants of non-regular use and dissatisfaction. Eighty-five percent used their device(s) regularly, 12% only occasionally and 3% never. Eighty percent were satisfied with their aids. Non-regular use of hearing aids was significantly associated with age, gender, regional language, total duration of use, type of amplification, hearing aid category, hearing loss, and dissatisfaction with and difficulties in managing the aid. Dissatisfaction was associated with regional language, total duration of use, difficulties in managing the aid, and non-regular use. It was concluded that rates of regular hearing aid use and satisfaction are high in Switzerland.
Metabolic profiles of human brain tumors using quantitative in vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Proton spectroscopy can noninvasively provide useful information on brain tumor type and grade. Short‐ (30 ms) and long‐ (136 ms) echo time (TE) 1H spectra were acquired from normal white matter (NWM), meningiomas, grade II astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas, glioblastomas, and metastases. Very low myo‐Inositol ([mI]) and creatine ([Cr]) were characteristic of meningiomas, and high [mI] characteristic of grade II astrocytomas. Tumor choline ([Cho]) was greater than NWM and increased with grade for grade II and anaplastic astrocytomas, but was highly variable for glioblastomas. Higher [Cho] and [Cr] correlated with low lipid and lactate (P < 0.05), indicating a dilution of metabolite concentrations due to necrosis in high‐grade tumors. Metabolite peak area ratios showed no correlation with lipids and mI/Cho (at TE = 30 ms), and Cr/Cho (at TE = 136 ms) best correlated with tumor grade. The quantified lipid, macromolecule, and lactate levels increased with grade of tumor, consistent with progression from hypoxia to necrosis. Quantification of lipids and macromolecules at short TE provided a good marker for tumor grade, and a scatter plot of the sum of alanine, lactate, and δ1. 3 lipid signals vs. mI/Cho provided a simple way to separate most tumors by type and grade. Magn Reson Med 49:223–232, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fire history at the eastern Great Plains margin, Missouri River Loess Hills

The purpose of this paper is to provide quantitative fire history information for a geographically unique region, the Loess Hills of northwest Missouri. We sampled 33 bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.), chinkapin oak (Q. muehlenbergii Engelm.), and black oak (Q. velutina Lam.) trees from the Brickyard Hill Conservation Area in northwest Missouri. The period of tree-ring record ranged in calendar years from 1671 to 2004 and fire-scar dates (n = 97) ranged from 1672 to 1980. Fire intervals for individual trees ranged from 1 to 87 years. The mean fire interval was 6.6 years for the pre-Euro-American settlement period (1672-1820), and 5.2 years for the entire record (1672-1980). A period of more frequent fire (mean fire interval = 1.6 for 1825 to 1850) coincided with Euro-American settlement of the area. The average percentage of trees scarred at the site was 16.8%, or about 1 in 7 trees sampled per fire. No significant relationship between fire years and drought conditions was found; however, events prior to 1820 may have been associated with wet to dry mode transitions.
On Deploying Wireless Sensors to Achieve Both Coverage and Connectivity

It is well-known that placing disks in the triangular lattice pattern is optimal for achieving full coverage on a plane. With the emergence of wireless sensor networks, however, it is now no longer enough to consider coverage alone when deploying a wireless sensor network; connectivity must also be con-sidered. While moderate loss in coverage can be tolerated by applications of wireless sensor networks, loss in connectivity can be fatal. Moreover, since sensors are subject to unanticipated failures after deployment, it is not enough to have a wireless sensor network just connected, it should be k-connected (for k > 1 ). In this paper, we propose an optimal deployment pattern to achieve both full coverage and 2-connectivity, and prove its optimality for all values of rc/rs, where rc is the communication radius, and rs is the sensing radius. We also prove the optimality of a previously proposed deployment pattern for achieving both full coverage and 1-connectivity, when rc/rs < √3 . Finally, we compare the efficiency of some popular regular deployment patterns such as the square grid and triangular lattice, in terms of the number of sensors needed to provide coverage and connectivity.
Approximate Dynamic Programming for Communication-Constrained Sensor Network Management

Resource management in distributed sensor networks is a challenging problem. This can be attributed to the fundamental tradeoff between the value of information contained in a distributed set of measurements versus the energy costs of acquiring measurements, fusing them into the conditional probability density function (pdf) and transmitting the updated conditional pdf. Communications is commonly the highest contributor among these costs, typically by orders of magnitude. Failure to consider this tradeoff can significantly reduce the operational lifetime of a sensor network. While a variety of methods have been proposed that treat a subset of these issues, the approaches are indirect and usually consider at most a single time step. In the context of object tracking with a distributed sensor network, we propose an approximate dynamic programming approach that integrates the value of information and the cost of transmitting data over a rolling time horizon. We formulate this tradeoff as a dynamic program and use an approximation based on a linearization of the sensor model about a nominal trajectory to simultaneously find a tractable solution to the leader node selection problem and the sensor subset selection problem. Simulation results demonstrate that the resulting algorithm can provide similar estimation performance to that of the common most informative sensor selection method for a fraction of the communication cost.
An international telecytologic quiz on urinary cytology reveals educational deficits and absence of a commonly used classification system.

Urinary cytology is limited by high interobserver variability in the evaluation of cells with little atypia. We set up an online quiz on urinary cytology and tested the performance of 246 international participants. The quiz consisted of still images of 42 urinary specimens with equivocal morphologic features and 10 control cases with an unequivocal cytologic diagnosis. The nature of the cells on the 292 quiz images had been verified by multitarget fluorescence in situ hybridization in addition to the information obtained by cystoscopy, clinical follow up, and/or histologic examination. The original quiz cases and the percentage of answers given by the participants can be viewed at: http://kathrin.unibas. ch/urinzyto/. High-grade cancers were diagnosed correctly in 76.0% and low-grade cancers in only 33.9%. Remarkably, 54.5% of all participants misclassified decoy cells as malignant. This study shows that large-scale international online quizzes may be used to find educational deficits in cytopathology.
Population dynamics and the colour of environmental noise

The effect of red, white and blue environmental noise on discrete–time population dynamics is analysed. The coloured noise is superimposed on Moran–Ricker and Maynard Smith dynamics, the resulting power spectra are then examined. Time series dominated by short– and long–term fluctuations are said to be blue and red, respectively. In the stable range of the Moran–Ricker dynamics, environmental noise of any colour will make population dynamics red or blue depending on the intrinsic growth rate. Thus, telling apart the colour of the noise from the colour of the population dynamics may not be possible. Population dynamics subjected to red and blue environmental noise show, respectively, more red or blue power spectra than those subjected to white noise. The sensitivity to differences in the noise colours decreases with increasing complexity and ultimately disappears in the chaotic range of the population dynamics. These findings are duplicated with the Maynard Smith model for high growth rates when the strength of density dependence changes. However, for low growth rates the power spectra of the population dynamics with noise are red in stable, periodic and aperiodic ranges irrespective of the noise colour. Since chaotic population fluctuations may show blue spectra in the deterministic case, this implies that blue deterministic chaos may become red under any colour of the noise.
Observed effects of “distributional learning” may not relate to the number of peaks. A test of “dispersion” as a confounding factor

Distributional learning of speech sounds is learning from simply being exposed to frequency distributions of speech sounds in one’s surroundings. In laboratory settings, the mechanism has been reported to be discernible already after a few minutes of exposure, in both infants and adults. These “effects of distributional training” have traditionally been attributed to the difference in the number of peaks between the experimental distribution (two peaks) and the control distribution (one or zero peaks). However, none of the earlier studies fully excluded a possibly confounding effect of the dispersion in the distributions. Additionally, some studies with a non-speech control condition did not control for a possible difference between processing speech and non-speech. The current study presents an experiment that corrects both imperfections. Spanish listeners were exposed to either a bimodal distribution encompassing the Dutch contrast /ɑ/∼/a/ or a unimodal distribution with the same dispersion. Before and after training, their accuracy of categorization of [ɑ]- and [a]-tokens was measured. A traditionally calculated p-value showed no significant difference in categorization improvement between bimodally and unimodally trained participants. Because of this null result, a Bayesian method was used to assess the odds in favor of the null hypothesis. Four different Bayes factors, each calculated on a different belief in the truth value of previously found effect sizes, indicated the absence of a difference between bimodally and unimodally trained participants. The implication is that “effects of distributional training” observed in the lab are not induced by the number of peaks in the distributions.
Assessment of Brain Monoaminergic Signaling Through Mathematical Modeling of Skin Conductance Response

The majority of mental disorders (schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, mood and anxiety disorders) have become treatable for the last several decades mostly due to development of the agents which modulate function of the brain dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and serotonergic system. The art of pharmacological healing in psychiatry consists actually in a great part in choice of the monoaminergic agent (i.e. antipsychotic or antidepressant) or their combinations which will modify the brainstem monoaminergic systems in an appropriate way. In other words, a daily problem in psychiatric practice could be realized as the task of estimation of the actual “neurochemical status” of the patient mostly in respect to the three brainstem monoamines. In clinical setting the task is still accomplished relying on the clinical picture and identifying the dominant symptoms that the patient manifests (e.g. Nutt, 2008; Nutt et al., 2007).
A POMDP Framework for Coordinated Guidance of Autonomous UAVs for Multitarget Tracking

This paper discusses the application of the theory of partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) to the design of guidance algorithms for controlling the motion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with onboard sensors to improve tracking of multiple ground targets. While POMDP problems are intractable to solve exactly, principled approximation methods can be devised based on the theory that characterizes optimal solutions. A new approximation method called nominal belief-state optimization (NBO), combined with other application-specific approximations and techniques within the POMDP framework, produces a practical design that coordinates the UAVs to achieve good long-term mean-squared-error tracking performance in the presence of occlusions and dynamic constraints. The flexibility of the design is demonstrated by extending the objective to reduce the probability of a track swap in ambiguous situations.
Poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites : water barrier properties and electrospinning

The PhD thesis investigated poly(lactic acid) nanocomposite in terms of water barrier properties and electrospinning. The thesis addresses two different but related topics. The first topic is improvement of the water vapour barrier properties of PLA films. The effect of montmorillonite clay and its alignment on water vapour permeability and the effect of crystallinity (introduced by annealing) on nanoclay alignment and barrier properties were investigated (Chapter 4). PLA nanocomposites containing 0 to 5 wt. % montmorillonite layered silicate were prepared. Both amorphous and semi-crystalline PLA nanocomposite films were obtained by compression moulding. Thermal properties of the samples were measured by DSC. The nanoclay dispersion was measured using TEM and WAXD. Water vapour transmission rates through the films were measured at 38℃ and at a relative humidity of 90%. A new tortuous path model was developed to quantify the effect of crystallinity, nanoclay concentration and nanoclay alignment on water vapour permeability and showed a good fit with the experimental data from the annealed PLA nanocomposites. [Continues. ]
ALMA IMAGING OF HCN, CS, AND DUST IN ARP 220 AND NGC 6240

We report ALMA Band 7 (350 GHz) imaging at 0. ″4–0. ″6 resolution and Band 9 (696 GHz) at ∼0. ″25 resolution of the luminous IR galaxies Arp 220 and NGC 6240. The long wavelength dust continuum is used to estimate interstellar medium masses for Arp 220 east and west and NGC 6240 of 1.9, 4.2, and 1.6 × 109 M☉within radii of 69, 65, and 190 pc. The HCN emission was modeled to derive the emissivity distribution as a function of radius and the kinematics of each nuclear disk, yielding dynamical masses consistent with the masses and sizes derived from the dust emission. In Arp 220, the major dust and gas concentrations are at radii less than 50 pc in both counter-rotating nuclear disks. The thickness of the disks in Arp 220 estimated from the velocity dispersion and rotation velocities are 10–20 pc and the mean gas densities are cm−3 at R <50 pc. We develop an analytic treatment for the molecular excitation (including photon trapping), yielding volume densities for both the HCN and CS emission with nH2 ∼ 2 × 105 cm−3. The agreement of the mean density from the total mass and size with that required for excitation suggests that the volume is essentially filled with dense gas, i.e., it is not cloudy or like swiss cheese.
7-ketocholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol decreased doxorubicin sensitivity in breast cancer cells: estrogenic activity and mTOR pathway

Hypercholesterolemia is one of the risk factors for poor outcome in breast cancer therapy. To elucidate the influence of the main circulating oxysterols, cholesterol oxidation products, on the cell-killing effect of doxorubicin, cells were exposed to oxysterols at a subtoxic concentration. When cells were exposed to oxysterols in fetal bovine serum-supplemented medium, 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC), but not 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-HC), decreased the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in MCF-7 (high estrogen receptor (ER)α/ERβ ratio) cells and the decreased cytotoxicity was restored by the P-glycoprotein inhibitor verapamil. 7-KC stimulated the efflux function of P-glycoprotein and reduced intracellular doxorubicin accumulation in MCF-7 but not in ERα(-) MDA-MB-231 and the resistant MCF-7/ADR cells. In MCF-7 cells, 7-KC increased the mRNA and protein levels of P-glycoprotein. The 7-KC-suppressed doxorubicin accumulation was restored by the fluvestrant and ERα knockdown. In a yeast reporter assay, the ERα activation by 7-KC was more potent than 27-HC. 7-KC, but not 27-HC, stimulated the expression of an ER target, Trefoil factor 1 in MCF-7 cells. When charcoal-stripped fetal bovine serum was used, both 7-KC and 27-HC induced Trefoil factor 1 expression and reduced doxorubicin accumulation in MCF-7 cells. 7-KC-reduced doxorubicin accumulation could be reversed by inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Akt, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). These findings demonstrate that 7-KC decreases the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin through the up-regulation of P-glycoprotein in an ERα- and mTOR-dependent pathway. The 7-KC- and 27-HC-elicited estrogenic effects are crucial in the P-glycoprotein induction in breast cancer cells.
Domperidone for Treatment of Low Milk Supply in Breast Pump–Dependent Mothers of Hospitalized Premature Infants

Mothers of hospitalized premature infants who choose to provide breast milk are at increased risk of an inadequate breast milk supply. When nonpharmacologic interventions to increase milk supply fail, clinicians are faced with limited options. There is no current evidence to support the use of herbal galactogogues in this population and a black box warning for metoclopramide for potential serious side effects. Thus, domperidone was the only known, effective option for treatment of low milk supply in this population. With a thorough review of the literature on domperidone and coordination with the obstetrical, neonatal, lactation, and pharmacology teams, a domperidone treatment protocol for mothers of hospitalized premature infants with insufficient milk supply was developed at our institution and is presented in this article. A comprehensive understanding of domperidone for use as a galactogogue with a standard treatment protocol will facilitate safer prescribing practices and minimize potential adverse reactions in mothers and their hospitalized premature infants.
Semen Clusterin Is a Novel DC-SIGN Ligand

The C-type lectin receptor dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3–grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) is an important player in the recognition of pathogens by dendritic cells. A plethora of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi are recognized by DC-SIGN through both mannose and fucose-containing glycans expressed on the pathogen surface. In this study, we identified semen clusterin as a novel DC-SIGN ligand. Semen clusterin, but not serum clusterin, expresses an extreme abundance of fucose-containing blood-type Ags such as Lex and Ley, which are both excellent DC-SIGN ligands. These motifs enable semen clusterin to bind DC-SIGN with very high affinity (Kd 76 nM) and abrogate the binding of HIV-1 to DC-SIGN. Depletion of clusterin from semen samples, however, did not completely prevent the ability of semen to inhibit the capture of HIV-1 by DC-SIGN, supporting that besides clusterin, semen contains other DC-SIGN ligands. Further studies are needed to characterize these ligands and define their contribution to the DC-SIGN–blocking activity mediated by semen. Clusterin is an enigmatic protein involved in a variety of physiologic and pathologic processes including inflammation, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Our results uncover an unexpected heterogeneity in the glycosylation pattern of clusterin and suggest that the expression of high concentrations of fucose-containing glycans enables semen clusterin to display a unique set of biological functions that might affect the early course of sexually transmitted infectious diseases.