Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incremental quantitative verification for Markov decision processes

Quantitative verification techniques provide an effective means of computing performance and reliability properties for a wide range of systems. However, the computation required can be expensive, particularly if it has to be performed multiple times, for example to determine optimal system parameters. We present efficient incremental techniques for quantitative verification of Markov decision processes, which are able to re-use results from previous verification runs, based on a decomposition of the model into its strongly connected components (SCCs). We also show how this SCC-based approach can be further optimised to improve verification speed and how it can be combined with symbolic data structures to offer better scalability. We illustrate the effectiveness of the approach on a selection of large case studies.
Cite4Me: A Semantic Search and Retrieval Web Application for Scientific Publications

Cite4Me is a Web application that leverages Semantic Web technologies to provide a new perspective on search and retrieval of bibliographical data. The Web application presented in this work focuses on: (i) semantic recommendation of papers; (ii) novel semantic search & retrieval of papers; (iii) data interlinking of bibliographical data with related data sources from LOD; (iv) innovative user interface design; and (v) sentiment analysis of extracted paper citations. Finally, as this work also targets some educational aspects, our application provides an in-depth analysis of the data that guides a user on his research field.
Credit Risk and Market Risk : Analyzing US Credit Spreads

We attempt to disentangle US credit spreads’ evolution into a part resulting from market risk influence and a part resulting from default risk influence. We consider two kinds of data, namely credit spreads (versus Treasury yields) as a proxy of credit risk and S&P 500 stock index as a proxy of market/systematic risk. Such data allow for achieving a sensitivity study of credit risk to systematic risk relative to sector, credit rating and maturity risk levels. First, we extract the common unobserved component of credit risk (i.e., common latent factor) from observed credit spread data in the light of three risk dimensions, namely credit rating, maturity and industry. We exhibit then the sensitivity of credit risk to market risk according to three different risk levels, namely the three risk dimensions previously mentioned. Second, we investigate the link prevailing between the common latent factor and S&P 500 stock index along with those three risk dimensions. We exhibit therefore the link prevailing between the systematic component of credit spreads (i.e., credit risk) and S&P 500 index as a proxy of market risk factor. We find that employing S&P 500 stock index as a proxy of the systematic risk component in US credit spreads generates a valuation bias while assessing credit risk.
The number of additive triples in subsets of abelian groups

Abstract A set of elements of a finite abelian group is called sum-free if it contains no Schur triple, i.e., no triple of elements x, y, z with x + y = z. The study of how large the largest sum-free subset of a given abelian group is had started more than thirty years before it was finally resolved by Green and Ruzsa a decade ago. We address the following more general question. Suppose that a set A of elements of an abelian group G has cardinality a. How many Schur triples must A contain? Moreover, which sets of a elements of G have the smallest number of Schur triples? In this paper, we answer these questions for various groups G and ranges of a.
Stimulation of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Decreases the Responsiveness of Central Amygdala Output Neurons

In extinction of auditory fear conditioning, rats learn that a tone no longer predicts the occurrence of a footshock. Recent lesion and unit recording studies suggest that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays an essential role in the inhibition of conditioned fear following extinction. mPFC has robust projections to the amygdala, a structure that is known to mediate the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear. Fear conditioning potentiates the tone responses of neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), which excite neurons in the central nucleus (Ce) of the amygdala. In turn, the Ce projects to the brainstem and hypothalamic areas that mediate fear responses. The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that the mPFC inhibits conditioned fear via feedforward inhibition of Ce output neurons. Recording extracellularly from physiologically identified brainstem-projecting Ce neurons, we tested the effect of mPFC prestimulation on Ce responsiveness to synaptic input. In support of our hypothesis, mPFC prestimulation dramatically reduced the responsiveness of Ce output neurons to inputs from the insular cortex and BLA. Thus, our findings support the idea that mPFC gates impulse transmission from the BLA to Ce, perhaps through GABAergic intercalated cells, thereby gating the expression of conditioned fear.
Is Subsidizing Inefficient Bidders Actually Costly?

A widespread practice, particularly in public-sector procurement and dispersal, is to subsidize a class of competitors believed to be at an economic disadvantage. Arguments for such policies vary, but they typically assume that benefits of subsidization must be large enough to outweigh a presumed economic cost of the subsidy. When disadvantaged competitors compete in auctions, the subsidy serves to make them more competitive rivals. Other bidders rationally respond by bidding more aggressively. We consider a model of procurement auctions and show that a policy of subsidizing inefficient competitors can lower expected project cost and also enhance economic efficiency. Some subsidy is generally better than no subsidy for a wide range of parameters.
Relative validity of 3 accelerometer models for estimating energy expenditure during light activity.

BACKGROUND With physical inactivity inextricably linked to the increasing prevalence of obesity, there is a need for validated methods that measure free-living energy expenditure (EE) within sedentary environments. While accelerometers enable these measurements, few studies have compared device accuracy in such settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative validity of the Actigraph, RT3 and SenseWear Armband (SWA). METHODS Twenty-three (11 male, 12 female) participants (age: 25.3 ± 6.3 yr; BMI: 22.6 ± 2.7) wore 3 accelerometers at designated sites during a 4-hour stay in the Whole Room Calorimeter (WRC). Participants performed 2 10-minute bouts of light-intensity exercise (stepping and stationary cycling) and engaged in unstructured sedentary activities. EE estimated by accelerometers was compared with WRC EE derived from measurements of gaseous exchange. RESULTS The Actigraph and SWA both accurately estimated EE during the stepping exercise. EE estimated by the RT3 during stepping was significantly lower than the WRC value (31.2% ± 15.6%, P < .001). All accelerometers underestimated cycling and unstructured activity EE over the trial period (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The Actigraph and SWA are both valid tools for quantifying EE during light-intensity stepping. These results provide further valuable information on how accelerometer devices may be appropriately used.
Potentiation of rifampicin, rifampicin analogs, and tetracycline against animal cells by amphotericin B and polymyxin B.

Summary The membrane-active antibiotics amphotericin B and polymyxin B enhanced the action of rifampicin, rifampicin analogs, and tetracycline against macromolecular synthesis and growth of mouse L-cells, human HeLa cells, and KB cells in tissue culture. The specificities of the second agents were maintained in that rifampicin inhibited RNA synthesis and tetracycline inhibited protein synthesis.
Expression Profile of Intravitreous Cytokines, Chemokines and Growth Factors in Patients with Fuchs Heterochromic Iridocyclitis

Purpose: To report the postoperative courses of 2 patients with Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis (FHI) and the concentrations of various cytokines, chemokines and growth factors in vitreous fluid samples to obtain insights into pathobiochemical aspects. Subjects: The patients were a 27- and a 47-year-old woman. Phacoemulsification and aspiration, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and pars plana vitrectomy were performed to treat their cataracts and vitreous opacities. During their early postoperative periods, inflammatory cells precipitated on the IOL and intraocular pressure was increased in both patients. Methods: At the time of surgery, undiluted vitreous fluid specimens were collected. The concentrations of multiple cytokines, chemokines and growth factors were measured by a bead array immunodetection system. Results: The levels of interleukin-1ra, -5, -6, -8, -10 and -13, interferon-inducible 10-kDa protein, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1β, and regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) were significantly elevated in vitreous fluid in both patients. Conclusion: Although the postoperative course was generally favorable in patients with FHI, steroid instillation was necessary for a few months postoperatively, as precipitates easily formed on the IOL surface and elevated intraocular pressure. The profiles of intravitreal concentrations of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors may characterize postoperative inflammatory reactions.
Tobacco Use, Insulin Resistance, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Introduction Tobacco use is associated with insulin resistance and incident diabetes. Given the racial/ethnic differences in smoking patterns and incident type 2 diabetes our objective was to evaluate the association between tobacco use and insulin resistance (IR) as well as incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in a contemporary multiethnic cohort. Methods and Results We studied 5,931 Multi- Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants who at baseline were free of type 2 diabetes (fasting glucose ≥7.0 mmol/l (126 mg/dl) and/or use of insulin or oral hypoglycemic medications) categorized by self-reported tobacco status and reclassified by urinary cotinine (available in 58% of participants) as never, current or former tobacco users. The association between tobacco use, IR (fasting plasma glucose, insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)) and incident diabetes over 10 years was evaluated using multivariable linear regression and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively. Mean age of the participants was 62 (±10) years, 46% were male, 41% Caucasian, 12% Chinese, 26% African American and 21% Hispanic/Latino. IR biomarkers did not significantly differ between current, former, and never cigarette users (P >0.10) but showed limited unadjusted differences for users of cigar, pipe and smokeless tobacco (All P <0.05). Fully adjusted models showed no association between dose or intensity of tobacco exposure and any index of IR. When stratified into participants that quit smoking vs. those who continued smoking during the 10-year study there was no difference in serum glucose levels or frequency of diabetes. In fully adjusted models, there was no significant difference in diabetes risk between former or current cigarette smokers compared to never smokers [HR (95% CI) 1.02 (0.77,1.37) and 0.81 (0.52,1.26) respectively]. Conclusion In a contemporary multi-ethnic cohort, there was no independent association between tobacco use and IR or incident type 2 diabetes. The role smoking plays in causing diabetes may be more complicated than originally thought and warrants more in-depth large contemporary multi-ethnic studies.
Making Strategy Work : Sense and Sensibility of Results-Oriented Pay Systems

Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto. fi Author Kiisa Hulkko-Nyman Name of the doctoral dissertation Making Strategy Work: Sense and Sensibility of Results-Oriented Pay Systems Publisher School of Science Unit Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 76/2016 Field of research Work Psychology Manuscript submitted 17 November 2015 Date of the defence 21 May 2016 Permission to publish granted (date) 12 April 2016 Language English Monograph Article dissertation Essay dissertation
Analysis of Fingerprint Image for Gender Classification or Identification: Using Wavelet Transform and Singular Value Decomposition

Fingerprint evidence is undoubtedly the most reliable and acceptable evidence till date in the court of law. Fingerprints are obtained at the site of crime and in many old monuments and in excavated things. Estimating the gender of fingerprints is an emerging field and many methods using the fingerprint physical features like the ridge count and the ridge thickness have been used so far. Due to the immense potential of fingerprints as an effective method of identification an attempt has been made in the present work to analyze their correlation with gender of an individual using discrete wavelet transform(DWT) and singular value decomposition (SVD). The classification as per gender is achieved by extracting the energy computed from all the sub-bands of DWT combined with the spatial features of non-zero singular values obtained from the SVD of fingerprint images. K nearest neighbor (KNN) used as a classifier [1]. Our aim is to use this method with the internal database of 1000 finger prints in which 500 samples will be male fingerprints and 500 samples will be female fingerprints. We will analyze the results which are expected as follows: 1. Finger-wise gender classification for the left hand little fingers of female persons - 82.60% for the left hand index finger of male persons - 82.90%. Gender classification for any other finger of male persons tested is attained as 80.40% and 76.84% for female persons respectively.
Change in disability after hospitalization or restricted activity in older persons.

CONTEXT Disability among older persons is a complex and highly dynamic process, with high rates of recovery and frequent transitions between states of disability. The role of intervening illnesses and injuries (ie, events) on these transitions is uncertain. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship between intervening events and transitions among states of no disability, mild disability, severe disability, and death and to determine the association of physical frailty with these transitions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort study conducted in greater New Haven, Connecticut, from March 1998 to December 2008 of 754 community-living persons aged 70 years or older who were nondisabled at baseline in 4 essential activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, walking, and transferring. Telephone interviews were completed monthly for more than 10 years to assess disability and ascertain exposure to intervening events, which included illnesses and injuries leading to either hospitalization or restricted activity. Physical frailty (defined as gait speed >10 seconds on the rapid gait test) was assessed every 18 months through 108 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Transitions between no disability, mild disability, and severe disability and 3 transitions from each of these states to death, evaluated each month. RESULTS Hospitalization was strongly associated with 8 of the 9 possible transitions, with increased multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) as high as 168 (95% confidence interval [CI], 118-239) for the transition from no disability to severe disability and decreased HRs as low as 0.41 (95% CI, 0.30-0.54) for the transition from mild disability to no disability. Restricted activity also increased the likelihood of transitioning from no disability to both mild and severe disability (HR, 2.59; 95% CI, 2.23-3.02; and HR, 8.03; 95% CI, 5.28-12.21), respectively, and from mild disability to severe disability (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.14-1.84), but was not associated with recovery from mild or severe disability. For all 9 transitions, the presence of physical frailty accentuated the associations of the intervening events. For example, the absolute risk of transitioning from no disability to mild disability within 1 month after hospitalization for frail individuals was 34.9% (95% CI, 34.5%-35.3%) vs 4.9% (95% CI, 4.7%-5.1%) for nonfrail individuals. Among the possible reasons for hospitalization, fall-related injury conferred the highest likelihood of developing new or worsening disability. CONCLUSIONS Among older persons, particularly those who were physically frail, intervening illnesses and injuries greatly increased the likelihood of developing new or worsening disability. Only the most potent events, ie, those leading to hospitalization, reduced the likelihood of recovery from disability.
A Frequency Glitch in an Accreting Pulsar

Frequency glitches have been observed so far only in radio pulsars and anomalous X-ray pulsars. Here we present evidence of a glitch in a neutron star accreting from a Be companion. The transient KS 1947+300 reappeared in 2000 October as a moderately strong X-ray source that exhibited 18.7 s pulsations, leading to an identification with the BATSE source GRO J1948+32, last detected in 1994. We have analyzed Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations taken during the 2000-2001 outburst, as well as additional observations taken during a smaller outburst in 2002 July. Orbital Doppler shifts are apparent in the temporal variation of the pulse frequency. A joint fit of the RXTE data together with BATSE measurements from an outburst in 1994 yields the orbital period Porb = 40.415 ± 0.010 days, the projected orbital radius aX sin i = 137 ± 3 lt-s, and the eccentricity e = 0.033 ± 0.013. This degree of eccentricity is unexpectedly low for such a wide orbit. Pulse timing results also show that the intrinsic pulse frequency increased from 53.30 to 53.47 mHz at a rate approximately proportional to the X-ray flux. This is about the degree of spin-up expected from the accretion torques that must be present when the X-ray luminosity reaches ~1038 ergs s-1. On one occasion during the 2000-2001 outburst, the pulse frequency increased by ~1.8 × 10-6 Hz in ≲10 hr over and above the mean trend seen around that time, without any indication of a correspondingly large increase in X-ray flux. The fractional change in frequency of 3.7 × 10-5 during this event is significantly larger than the values observed in the glitches in radio pulsars and anomalous X-ray pulsars. We discuss other similarities and differences between these events.
Hypomethylation of the Treg-Specific Demethylated Region in FOXP3 Is a Hallmark of the Regulatory T-cell Subtype in Adult T-cell Leukemia

A subtype of adult T-cell leukemia cells can be distinguished based on the hypomethylated state of their FOXP3 gene. These cells have Treg properties, and the patients have a poor prognosis. Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive T-cell malignancy caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1. Because of its immunosuppressive property and resistance to treatment, patients with ATL have poor prognoses. ATL cells possess the regulatory T cell (Treg) phenotype, such as CD4 and CD25, and usually express forkhead box P3 (FOXP3). However, the mechanisms of FOXP3 expression and its association with Treg-like characteristics in ATL remain unclear. Selective demethylation of the Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR) in the FOXP3 gene leads to stable FOXP3 expression and defines natural Tregs. Here, we focus on the functional and clinical relationship between the epigenetic pattern of the TSDR and ATL. Analysis of DNA methylation in specimens from 26 patients with ATL showed that 15 patients (58%) hypomethylated the TSDR. The FOXP3+ cells were mainly observed in the TSDR-hypomethylated cases. The TSDR-hypomethylated ATL cells exerted more suppressive function than the TSDR-methylated ATL cells. Thus, the epigenetic analysis of the FOXP3 gene identified a distinct subtype with Treg properties in heterogeneous ATL. Furthermore, we observed that the hypomethylation of TSDR was associated with poor outcomes in ATL. These results suggest that the DNA methylation status of the TSDR is an important hallmark to define this heterogeneous disease and to predict ATL patient prognosis. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(2); 136–45. ©2015 AACR.
THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ECONOMIC, CULTURAL FACTORS, AND THE NETWORK READINESS OF AFRICAN NATIONS: A TEN-COUNTRY DATA ANALYSIS

This paper examines the relationships between cultural and economic factors, on the one hand, and the network readiness of African countries, on the other. For illustration purposes, data from ten (10) countries on the continent was used for analysis. The data came from reputable secondary sources, including the World Bank. A conceptual framework was developed, and relevant hypotheses tested. Correlation analysis and a series of multiple regressions were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the dimensions of culture related to individualism and masculinity and national economic wealth were positively related to network readiness. Further, the study's results indicated that economic wealth of a nation was a better predictor of its ability to participate in and benefit from information and communication technologies (ICT) use for socio-economic development than cultural values and orientations. The study's implication for policy making and research are discussed.
Diagnosing inborn errors of lipid metabolism with proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND Many severe diseases are caused by defects in lipid metabolism. As a result, patients often accumulate unusual lipids in their blood and tissues, and proper identification of these lipids is essential for correct diagnosis. In this study, we investigated the potential use of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy to simultaneously identify and quantify (un)usual lipids present in the blood of patients with different inborn errors of lipid metabolism. METHODS We extracted blood plasma or serum lipids in chloroform-methanol (2:1 by volume). After addition of the nonvolatile chemical shift and concentration reference compound octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, we performed 1H-NMR measurements on a 500-MHz spectrometer. Assignments were based on the literature, computer simulations, and reference spectra of relevant authentic standards. RESULTS Spectra of normal plasma samples allowed the identification of 9 lipid species. We found good correlation between conventional methods and 1H-NMR for cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. We also investigated 4 inborn errors of lipid metabolism (3 in sterol metabolism and 1 in fatty acid metabolism). NMR analysis led to a correct diagnosis for all 4 diseases, whereas the concentration of the diagnostic metabolite could be determined for 3. CONCLUSIONS 1H-NMR spectroscopy of blood plasma or serum lipid extracts can be used to accurately identify and quantify lipids. The method can also identify unusual lipids in the blood of patients with inborn errors of lipid metabolism. This technique may therefore be applicable in clinical diagnosis and follow-up.