Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constructive Preference Elicitation over Hybrid Combinatorial Spaces

Peference elicitation is the task of suggesting a highly preferred configuration to a decision maker. The preferences are typically learned by querying the user for choice feedback over pairs or sets of objects. In its constructive variant, new objects are synthesized "from scratch" by maximizing an estimate of the user utility over a combinatorial (possibly infinite) space of candidates. In the constructive setting, most existing elicitation techniques fail because they rely on exhaustive enumeration of the candidates. A previous solution explicitly designed for constructive tasks comes with no formal performance guarantees, and can be very expensive in (or unapplicable to) problems with non-Boolean attributes. We propose the Choice Perceptron, a Perceptron-like algorithm for learning user preferences from set-wise choice feedback over constructive domains and hybrid Boolean-numeric feature spaces. We provide a theoretical analysis on the attained regret that holds for a large class of query selection strategies, and devise a heuristic strategy that aims at optimizing the regret in practice. Finally, we demonstrate its effectiveness by empirical evaluation against existing competitors on constructive scenarios of increasing complexity.
Not All Larvae Stay Close to Home: Insights into Marine Population Connectivity with a Focus on the Brown Surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigrofuscus)

Recent reports of localized larval recruitment in predominately small-range fishes are countered by studies that show high genetic connectivity across large oceanic distances. This discrepancy may result from the different timescales over which genetic and demographic processes operate or rather may indicate regular long-distance dispersal in some species. Here, we contribute an analysis of mtDNA cytochrome b diversity in the widely distributed Brown Surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigrofuscus; N = 560), which revealed significant genetic structure only at the extremes of the range (ΦCT = 0.452; P < .001). Collections from Hawaii to the Eastern Indian Ocean comprise one large, undifferentiated population. This pattern of limited genetic subdivision across reefs of the central Indo-Pacific has been observed in a number of large-range reef fishes. Conversely, small-range fishes are often deeply structured over the same area. These findings demonstrate population connectivity differences among species at biogeographic and evolutionary timescales, which likely translates into differences in dispersal ability at ecological and demographic timescales. While interspecific differences in population connectivity complicate the design of management strategies, the integration of multiscale connectivity patterns into marine resource planning will help ensure long-term ecosystem stability by preserving functionally diverse communities.
Hypertension in dialysed children: the prevalence and therapeutic approach in Poland--a nationwide survey.

BACKGROUND The aim of this nationwide analysis was to assess the incidence and current treatment profile of arterial hypertension in children undergoing chronic haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis and attitudes of paediatric nephrologists towards the choice of antihypertensive drugs in their patients. METHODS The study group consisted of 134 children (89 males, 45 females, mean age 10.7+/-5 years) from all 13 paediatric dialysis centres in Poland. The data were gathered through a questionnaire for each patient dialysed in November 2004. RESULTS The overall incidence of hypertension in the study group was 55% (74 of 134 patients; 47 males, 27 females). The incidence rate was similar in boys and girls (53 vs 60%) and in those on haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (56 vs 54%). Chronic glomerulonephritis as an underlying renal disease was significantly more frequent in the hypertensive than in the normotensive subjects (37 vs 10%, P = 0.004). Residual urine output was higher in normotensives (41 vs 10 ml/kg body weight; P < 0.001). Among those treated with antihypertensives: 32% were treated by monotherapy, 36% received two drugs, 22% received three drugs, while 7% received > or = 4 drugs. The therapy was effective in only 57% of subjects. We observed no differences in biochemical and clinical parameters between those who responded to the therapy and those who failed to do so. Calcium channel blockers constituted the most frequently administered class of drugs [73% of children; in 43 out of 48 (90%) combined with other drugs, but in 11 out of 24 (46%) as a monotherapy]. In monotherapy, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium channel blockers were administered most frequently. CONCLUSION We conclude that the incidence of hypertension in dialysis children in Poland is high (55%). The effectiveness of antihypertensive treatment is rather low (58%) and the choice of drugs is limited.
MR-Based Assessment of Bone Marrow Fat in Osteoporosis, Diabetes, and Obesity

Bone consists of the mineralized component (i.e., cortex and trabeculae) and the non-mineralized component (i.e., bone marrow). Most of the routine clinical bone imaging uses X-ray-based techniques and focuses on the mineralized component. However, bone marrow adiposity has been also shown to have a strong linkage with bone health. Specifically, multiple previous studies have demonstrated a negative association between bone marrow fat fraction (BMFF) and bone mineral density. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are ideal imaging techniques for non-invasively investigating the properties of bone marrow fat. In the present work, we first review the most important MRI and MRS methods for assessing properties of bone marrow fat, including methodologies for measuring BMFF and bone marrow fatty acid composition parameters. Previous MRI and MRS studies measuring BMFF and fat unsaturation in the context of osteoporosis are then reviewed. Finally, previous studies investigating the relationship between bone marrow fat, other fat depots, and bone health in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes are presented. In summary, MRI and MRS are powerful non-invasive techniques for measuring properties of bone marrow fat in osteoporosis, obesity, and type 2 diabetes and can assist in future studies investigating the pathophysiology of bone changes in the above clinical scenarios.
'The Active Chorus': The Great Strike of 1917 in Victoria

Of the 97,000 workers who struck during the Great Strike of 1917 nearly 13 percent were Victorian. The lack of attention that historians have paid to the Great Strike has been particularly alarming with regard to these Victorian strikers. The aim of this article is to begin to redress this balance, as part of the project of reshaping our understanding of what was, arguably, the greatest period of working-class radicalisation in Australian history. It does so from a perspective inspired by E.P. Thompson's concept of 'history from below'. This involves more than simply giving voice to those previously hidden from history; it demonstrates the role of the working class as an agent of history.
Inequalities on Time Scales: A Survey

The study of dynamic equations on time scales, which goes back to its founder Stefan Hilger (1988), is an area of mathematics which is currently receiving considerable attention. Although the basic aim of this is to unify the study of differential and difference equations, it also extends these classical cases to cases “in between”. In this paper we present time scales versions of the inequalities: Holder, Cauchy-Schwarz, Minkowski, Jensen, Gronwall, Bernoulli, Bihari, Opial, Wirtinger, and Lyapunov. 1. Unifying Continuous and Discrete Analysis In 1988, Stefan Hilger [13] introduced the calculus on time scales which unifies continuous and discrete analysis. A time scale is a closed subset of the real numbers. We denote a time scale by the symbol T . For functions y defined on T , we introduce a so-called delta derivative y∆ . This delta derivative is equal to y (the usual derivative) if T = R is the set of all real numbers, and it is equal to ∆y (the usual forward difference) if T = Z is the set of all integers. Then we study dynamic equations f (t; y; y∆; y∆ 2 ; : : : ; y∆ n ) = 0; which may involve higher order derivatives as indicated. Along with such dynamic equations we consider initial values and boundary conditions. We remark that these dynamic equations are differential equations when T = R and difference equations when T = Z . Other kinds of equations are covered by them as well, such as q difference equations, where T = q := fqkj k 2 Zg[ f0g for some q > 1 and difference equations with constant step size, where T = hZ := fhkj k 2 Zg for some h > 0: Particularly useful for the discretization purpose are time scales of the form T = ftkj k 2 Zg where tk 2 R; tk < tk+1 for all k 2 Z: Mathematics subject classification (2000): 34A40, 39A13.
Learning and incentive‐Compatible Mechanisms for Public Goods Provision: An Experimental Study

This is the first systematic experimental study of the comparative performance of two incentive‐compatible mechanisms for public goods provision: the basic quadratic mechanism by Groves and Ledyard and the paired‐difference mechanism by Walker. Our experiments demonstrate that the performance of the basic quadratic mechanism under a high punishment parameter is far better than that of the same mechanism under a low punishment parameter, which, in turn, is better than that of the paired‐difference mechanism. We estimate three individual behavioral models: an exponentialized relative payoff sum model outperforms the generalized fictitious play model. We also provide a sufficient condition for convergence under the basic quadratic mechanism.
Constitutive nuclear localization of activated caspase 3 in subpopulations of the astroglial family of cells

In a study examining for apoptosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), we observed the constitutive presence of activated caspase 3 in Bergmann glia. We then examined stroke‐prone SHR as well as the normotensive strains Wistar, Wistar Kyoto, and Sprague‐Dawley. In all these strains, we found that Bergmann glia expressed activated caspase 3 in nuclei. Furthermore, subpopulations of astrocytes in the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex, in the hippocampus, and spinal cord gray matter, particularly in the dorsal part of the dorsal horns, expressed nuclear activated caspase 3. This distribution corresponds to the distribution of astrocytes that express the glutamate transporter GLAST. We conclude that Bergmann glia and a subpopulation of astrocytes throughout the CNS express activated caspase 3 in nuclei to fulfill a yet‐to‐be defined non‐apoptotic function. GLIA. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The trachoma status and blindness rates of selected areas of Papua New Guinea in 1979-80.

A survey of 4 selected areas of Papua New Guinea was made during 1979-80 to establish the prevalence of trachoma and its complications, and blindness rates and causes, in those areas. Trachoma was found to be endemic in all the areas studied, but was of mild intensity and rarely caused visual deficit. It is suggested that the most practical step towards reducing the prevalence of trachoma in P.N. G. , in the future, is not by a mass treatment campaign, but by basic education in simple hygiene. An overall blindness rate of 0.50% was found in this survey, indicating that blindness is not a big problem in P.N. G. today. However there is still a need for improved Primary Eye Health Care, the training of national ophthalmologists, and provision for one institution for the training of the blind in P.N. G.
What's the Matter with Tie-Breaking? Improving Efficiency in School Choice

In several school choice districts in the United States, the student proposing deferred acceptance algorithm is applied after indifferences in priority orders are broken in some exogenous way. Although such a tie-breaking procedure preserves stability, it adversely affects the welfare of the students since it introduces artificial stability constraints. Our main finding is a polynomial-time algorithm for the computation of a student-optimal stable matching when priorities are weak. The idea behind our construction relies on a new notion which we call a stable improvement cycle. We also investigate the strategic properties of the student-optimal stable mechanism.
How well do we understand boundary practices? empirical evidence from a practice of business analysts

While there is a growing literature in boundary spanning, there is very little research that (a) examines boundary practices (b) empirically locates boundaries in experiences and expectations of actors involved in boundary interactions and (c) provides actionable advice to practitioners in boundary roles. This paper attempts to address such concerns by investigating the boundary practice of business analysts (BAs) that connects users and IT staff. We report findings from an interpretive case study of a group of business analysts working in a large company that provides mail and parcel services. For boundary practice, our findings include: (a) boundary practice introduces new boundaries (b) „boundary practitioners‟ face challenges not only in spanning boundaries between practices they connect but also in negotiating boundaries that they introduce. For BAs, we note that (a) having business and technical knowledge is not the most important requirement to meet expectation of users and IT staff (b) they would better meet expectations by focusing on analytical abilities and enabling users to better understand their requirements (c) they are expected to play an increasing role throughout the project lifecycle and (d) they are expected to increase their solution orientation.
Maternal and other factors in the etiology of infantile colic. Report of a prospective study of 146 infants.

Significant colic developed in 23% of 146 normal newborns. Its incidence was unrelated to family economic class, maternal age, birth order, sex, weight gain, type of feeding, or family history of allergic or gastrointestinal disorder. Superior maternal intelligence and advanced maternal education seemed associated with a higher than average incidence of colic, possibly because of better maternal reporting or lower maternal tolerance. The occurrence of colic showed no relationship to maternal emotional factors, whether estimated clinically or measured by a standardized psychological test. Most mothers of infants with colic were stable, cheerful, and feminine. This evidence, and other evidence when critically reviewed, does not support the frequently stated view that colic results from an unfavorable emotional climate created by an inexperienced, anxious, hostile, or unmotherly mother. By so advising parents, physicians may relieve them of unwarranted self-blame and anxiety.
Seismic data interpretation using the Hough transform and principal component analysis

In this work two novel image processing techniques are applied to detect and delineate complex salt bodies from seismic exploration profiles: Hough transform and principal component analysis (PCA). It is well recognized by the geophysical community that the lack of resolution and poor structural identification in seismic data recorded at sub-salt plays represent severe technical and economical problems. Under such circumstances, seismic interpretation based only on the human-eye is inaccurate. Additionally, petroleum field development decisions and production planning depend on good-quality seismic images that generally are not feasible in salt tectonics areas. In spite of this, morphological erosion, region growing and, especially, a generalization of the Hough transform (closely related to the Radon transform) are applied to build parabolic shapes that are useful in the idealization and recognition of salt domes from 2D seismic profiles. In a similar way, PCA is also used to identify shapes associated with complex salt bodies in seismic profiles extracted from 3D seismic data. To show the validity of the new set of seismic results, comparisons between both image processing techniques are exhibited. It is remarkable that the main contribution of this work is oriented in providing the seismic interpreters with new semi-automatic computational tools. The novel image processing approaches presented here may be helpful in the identification of diapirs and other complex geological features from seismic images. Conceivably, in the near future, a new branch of seismic attributes could be recognized by geoscientists and engineers based on the encouraging results reported here.
Peer victimisation and its relation to class relational climate and class moral disengagement among school children

The aim of the present study was to examine whether class climate and class moral disengagement each contribute to explain different levels of victimisation among classes. Eight-hundred-and-ninety-nine children from 43 Swedish elementary school classes participated in the current study. Class moral disengagement, class relational climate and peer victimisation were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. In order to account for the clustered nature of the data with students nested within school classes, a multilevel regression model was analysed. Consistent with our hypotheses, and after controlling for age, gender and ethnic background at the individual level and class size and the proportion of boys at the class level, both class relational climate and class moral disengagement uniquely contributed to explaining the between-class variance in victimisation. Thus, the findings suggested that victimisation is less likely to occur in classes characterised by a positive, warm, fair and supportive relational pattern between children and between teachers and children, and by lower levels of class moral disengagement.
The Effect of Practice on Visual Change Detection in Computer Displays

People are sometimes unable to detect changes in their field of view, especially when the change coincides with a distraction. This failure to detect visual changes is known as change blindness. Our research on change blindness is motivated by the increasing use of complex digital displays in both military and industrial process control systems. We are interested in the extent to which important changes in displayed information might be missed, and methods to decrease vulnerability to change blindness. The present study examined whether practice detecting specific changes would lead to better change detection performance in general. Participants practiced detecting specific visual changes, such as an icon changing from blue to red, using the flicker paradigm with feedback given after each trial. Practice did lead to improved detection performance for the practiced changes (i.e. the blue to red changes). As performance improved, reaction time declined as well. To assess the generality of this effect, following practice, participants were given a transfer test in which changes that had not occurred during practice were scheduled (e.g., green to yellow changes or icon shape changes). Performance on these novel changes was significantly worse than for the practiced changes and there was no significant difference between the within-category changes (such as green to yellow instead of blue to red), and the between-category novel changes (the shape changes). These results therefore suggest that the improvements observed were specific to the changes practiced. On the other hand, the possibility exists that the procedure used actually taught participants to ignore the features that changed in transfer. During practice, these features were presented, but never changed. If participants learned to ignore these features during practice, that would work to oppose any generalization of heightened visual attention. This and other factors that may have affected performance are discussed.
Multisensor Feature Fusion for Bearing Fault Diagnosis Using Sparse Autoencoder and Deep Belief Network

To assess health conditions of rotating machinery efficiently, multiple accelerometers are mounted on different locations to acquire a variety of possible faults signals. The statistical features are extracted from these signals to identify the running status of a machine. However, the acquired vibration signals are different due to sensor’s arrangement and environmental interference, which may lead to different diagnostic results. In order to improve the fault diagnosis reliability, a new multisensor data fusion technique is proposed. First, time-domain and frequency-domain features are extracted from the different sensor signals, and then these features are input into multiple two-layer sparse autoencoder (SAE) neural networks for feature fusion. Finally, fused feature vectors can be regarded as the machine health indicators, and be used to train deep belief network (DBN) for further classification. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed SAE-DBN scheme, the bearing fault experiments were conducted on a bearing test platform, and the vibration data sets under different running speeds were collected for algorithm validation. For comparison, different feature fusion methods were also applied to multisensor fusion in the experiments. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed approach can effectively identify the machine running conditions and significantly outperform other fusion methods.
Individual Operator Compliance with a Decision-Support System

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between five individual factors and compliance with advice from a decision-support system. Rates of compliance were also compared for two different types of computer advice: specific and nonspecific. Results suggest that there is no significant difference in compliance rates between the two types of advice. However four of the individual factors (gender, trust in the advice, previous task performance, and self-confidence in the task) were significantly related to compliance with the nonspecific advice, while one factor (trust in the advice) was significantly related to compliance with the specific advice.