Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AdaBoost on low-rank PSD matrices for metric learning

The problem of learning a proper distance or similarity metric arises in many applications such as content-based image retrieval. In this work, we propose a boosting algorithm, MetricBoost, to learn the distance metric that preserves the proximity relationships among object triplets: object i is more similar to object j than to object k. Metric-Boost constructs a positive semi-definite (PSD) matrix that parameterizes the distance metric by combining rank-one PSD matrices. Different options of weak models and combination coefficients are derived. Unlike existing proximity preserving metric learning which is generally not scalable, MetricBoost employs a bipartite strategy to dramatically reduce computation cost by decomposing proximity relationships over triplets into pair-wise constraints. Met-ricBoost outperforms the state-of-the-art on two real-world medical problems: 1. identifying and quantifying diffuse lung diseases; 2. colorectal polyp matching between different views, as well as on other benchmark datasets.
The Impact of Insufficient Effort Responding Detection Methods on Substantive Responses: Results from an Experiment Testing Parameter Invariance

Researchers using survey methods can choose among a variety of methods aimed at detecting insufficient effort responding among the participants in their studies. Some of these methods entail modifying the survey questionnaire by adding bogus items, instructed-response items, or instructed manipulation checks. While these methods have been found effective in detecting insufficient effort responding, it remains unclear whether their presence in a questionnaire can affect responses to items of substantive research interest. We conducted an experiment investigating this potential impact in a sample (N 5 1,092) of working adults. Adopting an invariance testing approach, we assessed whether employing bogus items, instructed-response items, or instructed manipulation checks, with or without warning study participants, respectively, would lead to non-invariant estimates of parameters for substantive variables. Results suggest that, while most parameter estimates were invariant to the use of insufficient effort responding detection methods, the reliability of measurements may be adversely impacted, posing a threat to construct validity and statistical conclusion validity. However, reliability might be maintained when participants are warned at the beginning of the questionnaire. Results also suggest that bogus items may have some advantages over other methods in terms of parameter invariance. We discuss the implications of our findings.
The interaction of MYC with the trithorax protein ASH2L promotes gene transcription by regulating H3K27 modification

The appropriate expression of the roughly 30,000 human genes requires multiple layers of control. The oncoprotein MYC, a transcriptional regulator, contributes to many of the identified control mechanisms, including the regulation of chromatin, RNA polymerases, and RNA processing. Moreover, MYC recruits core histone-modifying enzymes to DNA. We identified an additional transcriptional cofactor complex that interacts with MYC and that is important for gene transcription. We found that the trithorax protein ASH2L and MYC interact directly in vitro and co-localize in cells and on chromatin. ASH2L is a core subunit of KMT2 methyltransferase complexes that target histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4), a mark associated with open chromatin. Indeed, MYC associates with H3K4 methyltransferase activity, dependent on the presence of ASH2L. MYC does not regulate this methyltransferase activity but stimulates demethylation and subsequently acetylation of H3K27. KMT2 complexes have been reported to associate with histone H3K27-specific demethylases, while CBP/p300, which interact with MYC, acetylate H3K27. Finally WDR5, another core subunit of KMT2 complexes, also binds directly to MYC and in genome-wide analyses MYC and WDR5 are associated with transcribed promoters. Thus, our findings suggest that MYC and ASH2L–KMT2 complexes cooperate in gene transcription by controlling H3K27 modifications and thereby regulate bivalent chromatin.
The Mass Distribution in the Nearby Universe

We present a new reconstruction of the mass density and the peculiar velocity fields in the nearby universe using recent measurements of Tully-Fisher distances for a sample of late spirals. We find significant differences between our reconstructed fields and those obtained in earlier work: overdensities tend to be more compact while underdense regions, consisting of individual voids, are more abundant. Our results suggest that voids observed in redshift surveys of galaxies represent real voids in the underlying matter distribution. While we detect a bulk velocity of ~300 km s-1, within a top-hat window 6000 km s-1 in radius, the flow is less coherent than previously claimed, exhibiting a bifurcation toward the Perseus-Pisces and the Great Attractor complexes. This is the first time that this feature is seen from peculiar velocity measurements. The observed velocity field resembles, more closely than any previous reconstruction, the velocity field predicted from self-consistent reconstructions based on all-sky redshift surveys. This better match is likely to affect estimates of the parameter β = Ω0. 6/b and its uncertainty based on velocity-velocity comparisons.
‘I want (to be) an active grandmother’ – activity as a new normative framework of subjective meanings and expectations associated with the grandmother role

ABSTRACT The article analyses the norms of grandmothering in relation to cultural representations of active ageing. Based on interviews that were carried out with 20 mothers and 20 grandmothers of children under the age of ten, the article focuses on the way in which the current emphasis on activity influences ideas about how the roles of grandparent should be performed and how women relate to their own ageing. The analysis shows that being active represented a significant framework of the mothers’ notions and expectations associated with care provided by grandmothers, of grandmothers’ talk about their own grandparental role and how both generations of women interpret their own memories of their own grandmothers. Both the mothers and the grandmothers noted how the family role of grandmothers had changed compared to past generations of grandmothers. This change was framed by the idea of having an active lifestyle and this idea formed an important framework for the mothers’ expectations about what their role as grandmothers might be like in the future. This paper critically analyses those representations of the grandmother role and point out the emergence of new forms of conflicts and challenges, and the sense of ambivalence about traditional roles that result from the close association made between being active and the representation of grandmothering.
327-MHz Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations of one candidate and three Galactic supernova remnants

Results from the 327-MHz Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of four fields [three fields containing Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) (G001.4-0.1, G003.8+0.3 and G356.3-1.5) and one field containing a candidate SNR (G004.2+0.0)] are reported in this paper. These fields were selected from the 843-MHz survey conducted by Gray using the Molonglo Synthesis Telescope. All three SNRs are detected in the GMRT images. A significant amount of thermal emission is seen at the location of the candidate SNR, and the GMRT image shows a discrete source of emission which is consistent with it being a flat-spectrum thermal source. An incomplete arc of emission with a compact central source detected in one of the fields is coincident with the extended OH(1720MHz) emission reported earlier. Possible implications of this morphology and correlation with the OH(1720 MHz) emission are also discussed.
Percolation Galaxy Groups and Clusters in the SDSS Redshift Survey: Identification, Catalogs, and the Multiplicity Function

We identify galaxy groups and clusters in volume-limited samples of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) redshift survey, using a redshift-space friends-of-friends algorithm. We optimize the friends-of-friends linking lengths to recover galaxy systems that occupy the same dark matter halos, using a set of mock catalogs created by populating halos of N-body simulations with galaxies. Extensive tests with these mock catalogs show that no combination of perpendicular and line-of-sight linking lengths is able to yield groups and clusters that simultaneously recover the true halo multiplicity function, projected size distribution, and velocity dispersion. We adopt a linking length combination that yields, for galaxy groups with 10 or more members: a group multiplicity function that is unbiased with respect to the true halo multiplicity function; an unbiased median relation between the multiplicities of groups and their associated halos; a spurious group fraction of less than ~1%; a halo completeness of more than ~97%; the correct projected size distribution as a function of multiplicity; and a velocity dispersion distribution that is ~20% too low at all multiplicities. These results hold over a range of mock catalogs that use different input recipes of populating halos with galaxies. We apply our group-finding algorithm to the SDSS data and obtain three group and cluster catalogs for three volume-limited samples that cover 3495.1 deg2 on the sky, go out to redshifts of 0.1, 0.068, and 0.045, and contain 57,138, 37,820, and 18,895 galaxies, respectively. We correct for incompleteness caused by fiber collisions and survey edges and obtain measurements of the group multiplicity function, with errors calculated from realistic mock catalogs. These multiplicity function measurements provide a key constraint on the relation between galaxy populations and dark matter halos.
A Possible Mathematical Structure for Physics

The relationship between mathematics and physics has long been an area of interest and speculation. Subscribing to the recent definition by Tegmark, we present a mathematical structure involving the only division rings - the real, $\mathbb{R}$, the complex, $\mathbb{C}$, and the quaternion, $\mathbb{H}$ - known to meet the requirements of a mathematical description of our universe. The known forces and particle structure, in terms of families and color, can be associated with natural relationships within that structure. A "toy" scientific theory - based on the proposed mathematical structure - is presented to illustrate its applicability. It is shown how parity and time reversal invariance are broken. Two relevant predictions come from the formalism. First, there are no gravity waves and second, matter comes in three varieties, one of which is "dark" in the sense that it is oblivious to electromagnetic interactions.
On Correlation and Default Clustering in Credit Markets

We establish Markovian models in the Heath, Jarrow, and Morton (1992) paradigm that permit an exponential affine representation of riskless and risky bond prices while offering significant flexibility in the choice of volatility structures. Estimating models in our family is typically no more difficult than in the workhorse affine family. Besides diffusive and jump-induced default correlations, defaults can impact the credit spreads of surviving firms, allowing for a greater clustering of defaults. Numerical implementations highlight the importance of incorporating interest rate--credit spread correlations, credit spread impact factors, and the full credit spread curve when building a unified framework for pricing credit derivatives. The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org. , Oxford University Press.
Identification of Lung Cancer Based on Shape and Color

The analysis of sputum color images can be used to detect the lung cancer in its early stages. However, the analysis of sputum is time consuming and requires highly trained personnel to avoid high errors. Image processing techniques provide a good tool for improving the manual screening of sputum samples. In this paper two basic techniques have been applied: a region detection technique and a feature extraction technique with the aim to achieve a high specificity rate and reduce the time consumed to analyze such sputum samples. These techniques are based on determining the shape of the nuclei inside the sputum cells. After that we extract some features from the nuclei shape to build our diagnostic rule. The final results will be used for a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system for early detection of lung cancer.
Optimal Transit Price Negotiation: The Distributed Learning Perspective

We present a distributed learning algorithm for optimizing transit prices in the inter-domain routing framework. We present a combined game theoretical and distributed algorithmic analysis, where the notion of Nash equilibrium with the first approach meets the notion of stability in the second. We show that providers can learn how to strategically set their prices according to a Nash equilibrium; even when assuming incomplete information. We validate our theoretical model by simulations confirming the expected outcome. Moreover, we observe that some unilateral deviations from the proposed rule do not seem to affect the dynamic of the system.
Genome-wide identification and comparative analysis of coiled-coil proteins

The α -helical coiled-coil is a protein structure motif well suited for computational prediction. To study the occurrence of coiled-coil proteins throughout different kingdoms, we have computationally identified and clustered long coiled-coil proteins from 23 fully-sequenced genomes. Our results indicate that long coiled-coil proteins occur with higher frequency in eukaryotes than prokaryotes, with kingdom-specific families observed in plants and animals. We have established searchable protein databases containing prediction data for Arabidopsis , rice and Chlamydomonas coiled-coil proteins to facilitate further studies.
Spinning Fast Iterative Data Flows

Parallel dataflow systems are a central part of most analytic pipelines for big data. The iterative nature of many analysis and machine learning algorithms, however, is still a challenge for current systems. While certain types of bulk iterative algorithms are supported by novel dataflow frameworks, these systems cannot exploit computational dependencies present in many algorithms, such as graph algorithms. As a result, these algorithms are inefficiently executed and have led to specialized systems based on other paradigms, such as message passing or shared memory. We propose a method to integrate incremental iterations, a form of workset iterations, with parallel dataflows. After showing how to integrate bulk iterations into a dataflow system and its optimizer, we present an extension to the programming model for incremental iterations. The extension alleviates for the lack of mutable state in dataflows and allows for exploiting the sparse computational dependencies inherent in many iterative algorithms. The evaluation of a prototypical implementation shows that those aspects lead to up to two orders of magnitude speedup in algorithm runtime, when exploited. In our experiments, the improved dataflow system is highly competitive with specialized systems while maintaining a transparent and unified dataflow abstraction.
The effects of television and Internet food advertising on parents and children

Abstract Objective The current study examined the impact of television and Internet food advertising on Australian parents and children. Design Parents and their children aged 8 to 14 years were exposed to a television advertisement, an Internet advertisement or a control picture for four commonly advertised energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Setting Online web panel survey, Australia. Subjects Parents (n 1302) and their children aged 8 to 14 years (n 1302). Results After a single exposure to each advertisement, parent respondents in the two exposure conditions evaluated the products more favourably, had a greater desire to consume the products and thought the product could be consumed more frequently than those in the control condition. Similar trends were observed among children, although the differences were statistically significant only for the frequency of food consumption in the Internet advertisement condition and the evaluation of one product. Conclusions The results have implications for assumptions of adults’ immunity to advertising. This is of particular importance in efforts to address child obesity and the reliance on parents to mediate the effects of food advertising.
Little engines of proof

Summary form only given. The automated construction of mathematical proof is a basic activity in computing. Since the dawn of the field of automated reasoning, there have been two divergent schools of thought. One school, best represented by Alan Robinson's resolution method, is based on simple uniform proof search procedures guided by heuristics. The other school, pioneered by Hao Wang, argues for problem-specific combinations of decision and semi-decision procedures. While the former school has been dominant in the past, the latter approach has greater promise. In recent years, several high quality inference engines have been developed, including propositional satisfiability solvers, ground decision procedures for equality and arithmetic, quantifier elimination procedures for integers and reals, and abstraction methods for finitely approximating problems over infinite domains. We describe some of these "little engines of proof" and a few of the ways in which they can be combined. We focus in particular on the combination ground decision procedures and their use in automated verification. We conclude by arguing for a modem reinterpretation and reappraisal of Hao Wang's hitherto neglected ideas on inferential analysis.
Estimating School Effects with a State Testing Program Using Transition Matrices

ABSTRACT For the past decade, the accountability model associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasized proficiency on end of year tests; with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the emphasis on proficiency within statewide testing programs, though now integrated with other measures of student learning, nevertheless remains a primary metric for reporting achievement. We examine transition over categories across two years for three cohorts of middle school students as one means for evaluating change. We document school effects for seven models by analyzing relations among them and comparing them to the actual change in movement across categories. We report moderate to high correlations across the transition models though they differed vastly in the (a) assumptions behind them, and (b) ranking of schools with actual transitions. The findings, therefore, need to be considered in the context of assumptions embodied in each transition model to adequately understand their worth in reporting school effects.
Removal of Closed Timelike Curves in Kerr-Newman Spacetime

A simple yet systematic new algorithm to investigate the global structure of Kerr-Newman spacetime is suggested. Namely, the global structures of � = const. timelike submanifolds of Kerr-Newman metric are studied by introducing a new time coordinate slightly different from the usual Boyer-Lindquist time coordinate. In addition, it is demonstrated that the possible causality violation thus far regarded to occur near the ring singularity via the development of closed timelike curves there is not really an unavoidable pathology which has plagued Kerr-Newman solution but simply a gauge (coordinate) artifact as it disappears upon transforming from Boyer-Lindquist to the new time coordinate. This last point appears to lend support to the fact that, indeed, the Kerr-Newman spacetime is a legitimate solution to represent the interior as well as the exterior regions of a rotating, charged black hole spacetime.
Death Before Dishonor

Predicated on the notion that people’s survival depends greatly on participation in cooperative society, and that reputation damage may preclude such participation, four studies with diverse methods tested the hypothesis that people would make substantial sacrifices to protect their reputations. A “big data” study found that maintaining a moral reputation is one of people’s most important values. In making hypothetical choices, high percentages of “normal” people reported preferring jail time, amputation of limbs, and death to various forms of reputation damage (i.e., becoming known as a criminal, Nazi, or child molester). Two lab studies found that 30% of people fully submerged their hands in a pile of disgusting live worms, and 63% endured physical pain to prevent dissemination of information suggesting that they were racist. We discuss the implications of reputation protection for theories about altruism and motivation.
Fixation of neutral alleles in spatially structured populations via genetic Drift: Describing the spatial structure of faster-than-panmictic configurations

This paper considers spatially-structured populations described as a network, and examines the properties of these networks in terms of their affect on fixation of neutral alleles due solely to genetic drift. Individuals are modelled as two allele, one locus haploid, diploid and tetraploid structures. The time to fixation for a variety of network configurations is discovered through simulation. The concept of hyperfixation is introduced, which refers to when time to fixation for a network of n nodes occurs more rapidly than the corresponding panmictic n node structure. A hyperfixation index, h, is developed that attempts to characterise a spatial arrangement such that when h < 1 hyperfixation will occur. Issues regarding fixation with ploidy independence, and possible improvements to the described hyperfixation index are discussed.
The diameter of opportunistic mobile networks

Portable devices have more data storage and increasing communication capabilities everyday. In addition to classic infrastructure based communication, these devices can exploit human mobility and opportunistic contacts to communicate. We analyze the characteristics of such opportunistic forwarding paths. We establish that opportunistic mobile networks in general are characterized by a small diameter, a destination device is reachable using only a small number of relays under tight delay constraint. This property is first demonstrated analytically on a family of mobile networks which follow a random graph process. We then establish a similar result empirically with four data sets capturing human mobility, using a new methodology to efficiently compute all the paths that impact the diameter of an opportunistic mobile networks. We complete our analysis of network diameter by studying the impact of intensity of contact rate and contact duration. This work is, to our knowledge, the first validation that the so called "small world" phenomenon applies very generally to opportunistic networking between mobile nodes.