Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Options through Human Interaction

Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning solves problems by decomposing them into a set of sub-tasks or options. In this paper we develop a method of soliciting options from everyday people. We show how humans design actions that naturally decompose the problem, making them compatible with the options framework. We instantiate our approach in the Taxi domain and Pac-Man and show that the human-derived options outperform automated methods of option extraction both in terms of optimality and computation time. Our experiments show that human-options are generalizable across the state space of the problem. Further analysis shows that some decompositions given by people often do not have a clear termination state. As such, we discuss the potential use of Modular Reinforcement Learning to approach the problem.
The Evolution of Privacy Norms: Mapping 35 Years of Technology-Related Privacy Discourse, 1980-2014

Today, information disclosure decisions are characterized by their growing ubiquity and complexity. Endowed with limited cognitive resources, individuals therefore rely ever more on heuristic rather than deliberate decision-making. This paper argues that collective privacy norms serve as such a heuristic that guides individuals in their disclosure decisions and gradually replaces the individual privacy calculus. It is hence crucial to shed light on the evolution, efficiency, and behavioral implications of privacy norms as they unfold over time. To gain insights into the interplay of privacy norms and technological innovation, we explore 35 years of technology-related privacy discourse in The New York Times. When unpacking the dynamics of privacy norms and their salience for disclosure decision-making in such a way, privacy norms emerge as fragile social constructions that are increasingly vulnerable to collective myopia and purposive manipulation.
Open secure infrastructure to control user access to multimedia content

This work would start by describing OpenSDRM an open-source framework developed for the IST project MOSES. , OpenSDRM is used to control the multimedia content consumption in conjunction with the new IPMPX MPEG-4 proposed standard. This architecture, composed by several building blocks, protects the content flow from creation to final user consumption on a specific device. This work devotes a special attention to the security aspects of the OpenSDRM processes and functions, describing its communication protocols and message exchanges as well as it introduces the security details about the user's digital wallet.
Effect of isothermal holding temperature on retained austenite fraction in medium- carbon Nb/Ti-microalloyed TRIP steel

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to determine the effect of the isothermal holding temperature in a bainitic transformation range on a fraction of retained austenite for a new-developed medium-carbon TRIP steel containing Nb and Ti microadditions. Design/methodology/approach: The thermo-mechanical processing was carried out by a multi-stage compression test using the Gleeble thermomechanical simulator. The steel was subjected to 5 variants of processing with an isothermal bainitic transformation temperature in a range from 250 to 450°C. Identification of structural constituents was done using microscopic observations and X-ray diffraction. To determine the fraction of retained austenite the Rietveld method was applied. Findings: It is possible to obtain a high fraction of retained austenite characterized by the high thermodynamic stability in a C-Mn-Si-Al steel containing 0.43% C. The maximal fraction of austenitic phase equal above 20% was obtained for the wide temperature range of isothermal holding from 350 to 450°C. The maximal carbon content in the retained austenite equal 1.84 wt. % is present for the temperature range from 350 to 400°C. Below 350°C due to relatively low carbon diffusivity and high Msγ temperature, a part of austenite transforms to marteniste. Above 400°C there is still a high fraction of retained austenite but it contains a lower C content. Practical implications: The obtained austenite volume fraction and carbon content in a γ phase determined as a function of isothermal holding temperature can be useful in optimization of thermo-mechanical processing conditions for medium-C TRIP steels. Originality/value: The research was performed on a new-developed medium-carbon Si-Al steel microalloyed with Nb and Ti. There is a lack of data on microstructure and stability of retained austenite in such advanced group of high-strength TRIP steels.
Functional Characterization of Enzymes Forming Volatile Esters from Strawberry and Banana[w]

Volatile esters are flavor components of the majority of fruits. The last step in their biosynthesis is catalyzed by alcohol acyltransferases (AATs), which link alcohols to acyl moieties. Full-length cDNAs putatively encoding AATs were isolated from fruit of wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and banana (Musa sapientum) and compared to the previously isolated SAAT gene from the cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa). The potential role of these enzymes in fruit flavor formation was assessed. To this end, recombinant enzymes were produced in Escherichia coli, and their activities were analyzed for a variety of alcohol and acyl-CoA substrates. When the results of these activity assays were compared to a phylogenetic analysis of the various members of the acyltransferase family, it was clear that substrate preference could not be predicted on the basis of sequence similarity. In addition, the substrate preference of recombinant enzymes was not necessarily reflected in the representation of esters in the corresponding fruit volatile profiles. This suggests that the specific profile of a given fruit species is to a significant extent determined by the supply of precursors. To study the in planta activity of an alcohol acyltransferase and to assess the potential for metabolic engineering of ester production, we generated transgenic petunia (Petunia hybrida) plants overexpressing the SAAT gene. While the expression of SAAT and the activity of the corresponding enzyme were readily detected in transgenic plants, the volatile profile was found to be unaltered. Feeding of isoamyl alcohol to explants of transgenic lines resulted in the emission of the corresponding acetyl ester. This confirmed that the availability of alcohol substrates is an important parameter to consider when engineering volatile ester formation in plants.
A hard look at hard laddering

Purpose – This paper aims to outline the fundamental assumptions regarding the laddering methodology (Reynolds and Gutman), examine how some “hard” laddering approaches meet or violate these assumptions, provide a review and comparison of a series of studies using “soft” and “hard” laddering approaches to examine the hierarchical structure of means‐end theory, and assess if the discrepant conclusions from this series of studies may be attributed to violations of the fundamental assumptions of the laddering methodology.Design/methodology/approach – A series of published empirical works using “hard” and “soft” laddering approaches, which aim to examine the hierarchical structure of means‐end theory (Gutman), are reviewed and compared to integrate research findings and to examine discrepancies. Discrepant conclusions, which appear to be attributable to violations of the assumptions underlying the laddering methodology, are explored through a reanalysis and reclassification of the content codes.Findings – The.
Collaborative creativity

Human creativity represents an enigma to the research community: It is all but impossible to describe the process in unequivocal terms, yet there is a strong desire to promote and encourage this uniquely human activity. Within the realm of human-computer interaction, the challenge is to understand in what ways technology can enhance the creative process. In the past, research on creativity focused on the individual and the individual's internal cognitive processes. As a result, there exists a legacy of guidelines and frameworks for building computer-based tools that encourage and promote individual creativity. However, recent research has begun to paint a more complicated picture of creativity that highlights the importance of social interactions , mentoring, and collaboration in creative work [1, 4, 6, 8]. The importance of analyzing creativity in this more holistic sense is readily apparent when one considers that most creative pursuits in industry involve interdisciplinary teams working together to develop a product that cannot be created by a single individual alone. The question for HCI research becomes then: What tools, methodologies, and practices can support creativity of individuals in interdisciplinary teams? There are a number of important differences in driving forces behind individual and collaborative creativity. By understanding factors that influence collaborative creativity we can devise ways to promote and enhance it and build a foundation for development of computer-based tools that augment the creative process. This article presents a view on interdisci-plinary creative collaboration inspired by two separate sources. One is a practitioner's experience of creative collaboration in a music and sound design company. Another is based on a long-standing research program observing the collaboration of artists and technologists during the COSTART artist-in-residency studies at Loughborough University, U.K. [4]. The two creative environments discussed here serve as catalysts for bringing together collaborators with various backgrounds, skill sets, and experience levels. Despite the differences in goals between the two environments , both seek to develop teams that can uniquely solve a problem through their collective efforts, and both environments have done so with relative success. It is therefore instructive to analyze the commonalities between these two environments—one a commercial enterprise, the other a research institu-tion—to better understand how to encourage collabo-rative creativity in other situations. In both environments, we have observed collaborators engage in a process consisting roughly of three main activities: creative conceptualization, realization (or implementation), and evaluation. Within these three activities, partners in collaboration tend to …
Single Step Extractions of Metals in Coal Fly Ash

There is an increasing use of coal and subsequently large amounts of fly ash is generated in the thermal power plants in India and elsewhere in the world. Hence it becomes increasingly important to be able to assess the environmental risks involved in the management and disposal of fly ash materials. The fly ashes contain toxic metals that can be released into the environment through the coal combustion processes and through the leaching during disposal/ wet storage/ reuse of fly ash. The evaluation of the optimum time for leaching of the toxic metals and metalloids present in the three fly ashes was determined using the single step extraction procedure. The optimum time of 4 hours agitation was determined for the water soluble step as well as that for ion exchangeable step while the optimum time was 24 hours agitation in the acid soluble and reducible steps.
Inconsolable Infant Crying and Maternal Postpartum Depressive Symptoms

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the extent to which maternal report of inconsolable infant crying, rather than colic (defined by Wessel’s criteria of daily duration of fussing and crying >3 hours), is associated with maternal postpartum depressive symptoms. METHODS: Participants were 587 mothers who were recruited shortly before or after delivery and followed longitudinally. At 5 to 6 weeks postpartum, mothers recorded the duration and mode (fussing, crying, or inconsolable crying) of their infant’s distress by using the Baby’s Day Diary. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered at enrollment and at 8 weeks postpartum. Using regression models that included baseline EPDS scores and multiple confounders, we examined associations of colic and inconsolable crying with later maternal EPDS scores at 8 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: Sixty mothers (10%) met the EPDS threshold for “possible depression” (score ≥9) at 8 weeks postpartum. For mothers reporting >20 minutes of inconsolable crying per day, the adjusted odds ratio for an EPDS score ≥9 was 4.0 (95% confidence interval: 2.0–8.1), whereas the adjusted odds ratio for possible depression in mothers whose infants had colic was 2.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.1–3.7). These associations persisted after adjusting for baseline depression symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal report of inconsolable infant crying may have a stronger association with postpartum depressive symptoms than infant colic. Asking a mother about her ability to soothe her infant may be more relevant for potential intervention than questions about crying and fussing duration alone.
Characterization of the strain rate dependent behavior of nanocrystalline gold films

The strain rate dependence of freestanding, nanocrystalline gold films was evaluated by a microtensile technique with applied strain rates on the order of 10^−4 to 10^−6 s^−1. Film thickness ranged from 0.25 to 1.00 μm with corresponding grain sizes of 40 to 100 nm. The plastic properties were found to be particularly sensitive to strain rate, film thickness, and grain size, while the elastic property remained relatively unchanged. The thinner films exhibited significant strain rate sensitivity, while the thicker film exhibited only marginal changes. Hall–Petch boundary hardening was observed and dominated plastic flow at larger strain rates, while diffusion-controlled deformation mechanisms appeared to be activated with increasing influence as strain rate decreased. Analysis of dislocation-based and grain-boundary diffusion-related creep suggested that the films were likely experiencing power-law creep as the dominant deformation mechanism in this grain size regime at lower strain rates.
Dental Health Education for the Visually Impaired Child

HE VISUALLY handicapped patient presents a very different challenge to the dental team from that of the normal sighted. The problems that face a blind child in just everyday existence are far different from those a sighted child will encounter. In the field of dental health care, the blind patient has virtually no information on preventive instructional techniques relevant to the problems associated with visual loss’. A blind child should be equipped, through expert instructions, with the skills that lead to efficient healthy living. Proficiency in tooth-brushing techniques, and other oral hygiene procedures, are part of this healthy living. If trained properly by encouragement and reinforcement, the child finds gratification in self-achievement. Proficiency in basic tasks means that the child no longer needs to wait on the whim or time of a sighted adult. Because blind children cannot learn by visual imitation they cannot correct an obvious incorrect tooth-brushing technique. They must observe and imitate by carefully following instructions and acting out these instructions by touch. Blind people are usdd to following verbal instructions closely and it has been shown that, by this method, proficiency in oral hygiene techniques is easily mastered2. Studies have shown that oral hygiene is significantly worse in a blind population than in an equivalent sighted one3,4 and, therefore, it can be said that the dental health
The nature of self-esteem and its relationship to anxiety and depression in adult acquired brain injury

ABSTRACT Acquired brain injury (ABI) has a negative impact on self-esteem, which is in turn associated with mood disorders, maladaptive coping and reduced community participation. The aim of the current research was to explore self-esteem as a multi-dimensional construct and identify which factors are associated with symptoms of anxiety or depression. Eighty adults with ABI aged 17–56 years completed the Robson Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), of whom 65 also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; 57.5% of the sample had clinically low self-esteem. The RSES had good internal consistency (α = .89), and factor analysis identified four factors, which differed from those found previously in other populations. Multiple regression analysis revealed anxiety was differentially predicted by “Self-Worth” and “Self-Efficacy”, R2 = . 44, F(4, 58) = 9, p < . 001, and depression by “Self-Regard”, R2 = . 38, F(4, 58) = 9, p < . 001. A fourth factor, “Confidence”, did not predict depression or anxiety. In conclusion, the RSES is a reliable measure of self-esteem after ABI. Self-esteem after ABI is multidimensional and differs in structure from self-esteem in the general population. A multidimensional model of self-esteem may be helpful in development of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural accounts of adjustment.
A 5.28-Gb/s LDPC Decoder With Time-Domain Signal Processing for IEEE 802.15.3c Applications

This paper presents a high-throughput, energy-efficient, and scalable low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoder with time-domain (TD) signal processing. The proposed arbiter-based minimum value finder is able to support practical long codes. The latency for determining the first two minimum values required in the check node unit is significantly reduced through TD processing. A layered ${Q}$ -based decoding architecture together with the associated scheduling is proposed in order to reduce the amount of memory used for check node storage. Multimode operations are supported by leveraging the structure of the base matrices and the proposed scalable minimum finder architecture. As a proof of concept, a TD-based multimode LDPC decoder for high-speed IEEE 802.15. 3c is designed and fabricated in a 90-nm CMOS process. The LDPC decoder integrates 495k logic gates in 2.25 mm2 and achieves a throughput of 5.28 Gb/s at 157 MHz from a 1.05 V supply voltage. The power and normalized energy dissipation are 182 mW and 34.47 pJ/b, respectively. The proposed LDPC decoder is more hardware and energy efficient than previous digital counterparts and is able to support long codes for practical applications, which is still infeasible for the state-of-the-art TD-based LDPC decoders.
A Mechanistic Model of Early FcεRI Signaling: Lipid Rafts and the Question of Protection from Dephosphorylation

We present a model of the early events in mast cell signaling mediated by FcεRI where the plasma membrane is composed of many small ordered lipid domains (rafts), surrounded by a non-order region of lipids consisting of the remaining plasma membrane. The model treats the rafts as transient structures that constantly form and breakup, but that maintain a fixed average number per cell. The rafts have a high propensity for harboring Lyn kinase, aggregated, but not unaggregated receptors, and the linker for the activation of T cells (LAT). Phosphatase activity in the rafts is substantially reduced compared to the nonraft region. We use the model to analyze published experiments on the rat basophilic leukemia (RBL)-2H3 cell line that seem to contradict the notion that rafts offer protection. In these experiments IgE was cross-linked with a multivalent antigen and then excess monovalent hapten was added to break-up cross-links. The dephosphorylation of the unaggregated receptor (nonraft associated) and of LAT (raft associated) were then monitored in time and found to decay at similar rates, leading to the conclusion that rafts offer no protection from dephosphorylation. In the model, because the rafts are transient, a protein that is protected while in a raft will be subject to dephosphorylation when the raft breaks up and the protein finds itself in the nonraft region of the membrane. We show that the model is consistent with the receptor and LAT dephosphorylation experiments while still allowing rafts to enhance signaling by providing substantial protection from phosphatases.
Metabolism, excretion, and pharmacokinetics of duloxetine in healthy human subjects.

Duloxetine is a potent and balanced dual inhibitor of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake being investigated for the treatment of depression and urinary incontinence. The disposition of duloxetine was studied in four healthy human subjects after a single 20.2-mg (100.6 microCi) oral dose of [14C]duloxetine in an enteric-coated tablet. The mean total recovery of radioactivity (+/- S.E.M.) after 312 h was 90.5% (+/-0.4%) with 72.0% (+/-1.1%) excreted in the urine. Duloxetine was extensively metabolized to numerous metabolites primarily excreted into the urine in the conjugated form. The major biotransformation pathways for duloxetine involved oxidation of the naphthyl ring at either the 4-, 5-, or 6-positions followed by further oxidation, methylation, and/or conjugation. The major metabolites found in plasma were glucuronide conjugates of the following: 4-hydroxy duloxetine (M6), 6-hydroxy-5-methoxy duloxetine (M10), 4, 6-dihydroxy duloxetine (M9), and a sulfate conjugate of 5-hydroxy-6-methoxy duloxetine (M7). The major metabolites found in plasma were also found in the urine, but the urine contained many additional metabolites. In addition to duloxetine, 4-hydroxy duloxetine (M14) and an unidentified polar metabolite were observed in feces. Following [14C]duloxetine administration, Cmax was reached at a median of 6 h for both duloxetine and total radioactivity. Duloxetine accounted for less than 3% of the circulating radioactivity based on mean area under the curve values. The elimination half-life of total radioactivity (120 h) was substantially longer than that of duloxetine (10.3 h).
Light Field Compression With Disparity-Guided Sparse Coding Based on Structural Key Views

Recent imaging technologies are rapidly evolving for sampling richer and more immersive representations of the 3D world. One of the emerging technologies is light field (LF) cameras based on micro-lens arrays. To record the directional information of the light rays, a much larger storage space and transmission bandwidth are required by an LF image as compared with a conventional 2D image of similar spatial dimension. Hence, the compression of LF data becomes a vital part of its application. In this paper, we propose an LF codec with disparity guided Sparse Coding over a learned perspective-shifted LF dictionary based on selected Structural Key Views (SC-SKV). The sparse coding is based on a limited number of optimally selected SKVs; yet the entire LF can be recovered from the coding coefficients. By keeping the approximation identical between encoder and decoder, only the residuals of the non-key views, disparity map, and the SKVs need to be compressed into the bit stream. An optimized SKV selection method is proposed such that most LF spatial information can be preserved. To achieve optimum dictionary efficiency, the LF is divided into several coding regions, over which the reconstruction works individually. Experiments and comparisons have been carried out over benchmark LF data set, which show that the proposed SC-SKV codec produces convincing compression results in terms of both rate-distortion performance and visual quality compared with Joint Exploration Model: with 37.9% BD-rate reduction and 1.17-dB BD-PSNR improvement achieved on average, especially with up to 6-dB improvement for low bit rate scenarios.