Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ggRandomForests: Exploring Random Forest Survival

Random forest (Leo Breiman 2001a) (RF) is a non-parametric statistical method requiring no distributional assumptions on covariate relation to the response. RF is a robust, nonlinear technique that optimizes predictive accuracy by fitting an ensemble of trees to stabilize model estimates. Random survival forests (RSF) (Ishwaran and Kogalur 2007; Ishwaran et al. 2008) are an extension of Breimans RF techniques allowing efficient nonparametric analysis of time to event data. The randomForestSRC package (Ishwaran and Kogalur 2014) is a unified treatment of Breimans random forest for survival, regression and classification problems. Predictive accuracy makes RF an attractive alternative to parametric models, though complexity and interpretability of the forest hinder wider application of the method. We introduce the ggRandomForests package, tools for visually understand random forest models grown in R (R Core Team 2014) with the randomForestSRC package. The ggRandomForests package is structured to extract intermediate data objects from randomForestSRC objects and generate figures using the ggplot2 (Wickham 2009) graphics package. This document is structured as a tutorial for building random forest for survival with the randomForestSRC package and using the ggRandomForests package for investigating how the forest is constructed. We analyse the Primary Biliary Cirrhosis of the liver data from a clinical trial at the Mayo Clinic (Fleming and Harrington 1991). Our aim is to demonstrate the strength of using Random Forest methods for both prediction and information retrieval, specifically in time to event data settings.
MeT: workload aware elasticity for NoSQL

NoSQL databases manage the bulk of data produced by modern Web applications such as social networks. This stems from their ability to partition and spread data to all available nodes, allowing NoSQL systems to scale. Unfortunately, current solutions' scale out is oblivious to the underlying data access patterns, resulting in both highly skewed load across nodes and suboptimal node configurations. In this paper, we first show that judicious placement of HBase partitions taking into account data access patterns can improve overall throughput by 35%. Next, we go beyond current state of the art elastic systems limited to uninformed replica addition and removal by: i) reconfiguring existing replicas according to access patterns and ii) adding replicas specifically configured to the expected access pattern. MeT is a prototype for a Cloud-enabled framework that can be used alone or in conjunction with OpenStack for the automatic and heterogeneous reconfiguration of a HBase deployment. Our evaluation, conducted using the YCSB workload generator and a TPC-C workload, shows that MeT is able to i) autonomously achieve the performance of a manual configured cluster and ii) quickly reconfigure the cluster according to unpredicted workload changes.
The Contributions of Different Groups of Individuals to Employees’ Creativity

This article provides a current review of the research on the social factors for creativity and explores the relevance of sets of other individuals, both inside and outside the boundaries of the organization, that have the potential to influence creative performance. In addition, the author discusses two alternative ways in which these individuals might have an impact on creativity. First, others may encourage a person’s creativity by providing support and assistance for his or her new ideas. Second, they may stimulate creativity by presenting new information and knowledge to the employee, which in turn trigger novel ideas and alternative solutions. Implications of these relationships for human resource development (HRD) practice are discussed.
Latent herpesvirus infections of neurons in guinea pigs and humans.

Latent herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection of the trigeminal ganglion of guinea pigs and latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection of the trigeminal ganglion of humans were studied by in situ nucleic acid hybridization. Guinea pig trigeminal ganglia were removed during the period of viral latency (four to five weeks after corneal inoculation of HSV), and human ganglia were removed at autopsy. Radiolabeled HSV and VZV DNAs were used to probe ganglion tissue sections for viral-specified RNA. Hybridization detected only over neurons was present in 46 percent of ganglia from 22 latently infected guinea pigs and from 33 percent of ganglia from 10 human subjects. These results support the conclusion that some viral transcription occurred during HSV and VZV latency. ImagesFIG. 1FIG. 2FIG. 3FIG. 4FIG. 5FIG. 6
Pressured into a Preference to Leave? A Study on the “Specific” Deterrent Effects and Perceived Legitimacy of Immigration Detention

Immigration detention is formally not a punishment, but governments do use it to deter illegal residence. This study examines whether and how immigration detention affects detainees’ decision-making processes regarding departure, thereby possibly resulting in de facto “specific deterrence. ” Semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted in the Netherlands with 81 immigration detainees, and their case files were examined. Evidence is found for a limited, selective deterrence effect at the level of detainee's attitudes: most respondents considered immigration detention a painful and distressing experience, but only a minority—mostly labor migrants without family ties in the Netherlands—developed a preference to return to their country of citizenship in hopes of ending their exposure, including repeated exposure, to the detention. In line with defiance theory, we find that eventual deterrent effects mostly occurred among detainees who also attributed some measure of legitimacy to their detention. Among some detainees, the detention experience resulted in a preference to migrate to a neighboring European country.
MAP Kinase-Mediated Negative Regulation of Symbiotic Nodule Formation in Medicago truncatula

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades play critical roles in various cellular events in plants, including stress responses, innate immunity, hormone signaling, and cell specificity. MAPK-mediated stress signaling is also known to negatively regulate nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interactions, but the molecular mechanism of the MAPK signaling cascades underlying the symbiotic nodule development remains largely unknown. We show that the MtMKK5-MtMPK3/6 signaling module negatively regulates the early symbiotic nodule formation, probably upstream of ERN1 (ERF Required for Nodulation 1) and NSP1 (Nod factor Signaling Pathway 1) in Medicago truncatula. The overexpression of MtMKK5 stimulated stress and defense signaling pathways but also reduced nodule formation in M. truncatula roots. Conversely, a MAPK specific inhibitor, U0126, enhanced nodule formation and the expression of an early nodulation marker gene, MtNIN. We found that MtMKK5 directly activates MtMPK3/6 by phosphorylating the TEY motif within the activation loop and that the MtMPK3/6 proteins physically interact with the early nodulation-related transcription factors ERN1 and NSP1. These data suggest that the stress signaling-mediated MtMKK5/MtMPK3/6 module suppresses symbiotic nodule development via the action of early nodulation transcription factors.
Mediating role of meaningful work between resources and work engagement in Bangladesh’s private banks

Abstract Engaged employees are considered as the most desired assets for the organization. Although significant contributions have been observed in the engagement literature, a holistic approach is yet to be untouched in terms of developing relationship between various resources, work engagement and psychological mechanism such as meaningful work. The purpose of this study is to explore the mediating role of meaningful work between resources and work engagement in private banks in Bangladesh. This study followed the quantitative methodological approach and based on Bakker and Demerouti’s (2007) Job demand-resources model. A survey questionnaire was prepared and used to collect data. 440 respondents participated in this study, who is currently working in private banks in Bangladesh. Multiple regression analysis along with Sobel test was performed to analyze the data. The findings confirmed that the relationships between organizational, job, personal resources and work engagement were partially mediated through meaningful work. It has been observed that all determinates had a significant influence on work engagement. For practical implications, the organization can align various resources to uplift the engagement level of the employees. Since meaningful work was found to be a significant predictor, managers can develop jobs where employees can relate their purpose to their work. This study recommends that future research can apply this model to different contexts as well as to different groups of respondents.
Adaptive eLearning based on individual learning styles - Performance and emotional factors

Adaptive eLearning systems are able to adjust to a user’s learning needs, usually by user modeling or tracking progress. Such learner-adaptive behavior has rapidly become a hot topic for eLearning. This contribution presents original research on using differences in individual learning styles. Factors related to performance, motivation, satisfaction, and previous knowledge were targeted and used to assess the effectiveness of the approach.
Multilevel Deconstruction of the In Vivo Behavior of Looped DNA-Protein Complexes

Protein-DNA complexes with loops play a fundamental role in a wide variety of cellular processes, ranging from the regulation of DNA transcription to telomere maintenance. As ubiquitous as they are, their precise in vivo properties and their integration into the cellular function still remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a multilevel approach that efficiently connects in both directions molecular properties with cell physiology and use it to characterize the molecular properties of the looped DNA-lac repressor complex while functioning in vivo. The properties we uncover include the presence of two representative conformations of the complex, the stabilization of one conformation by DNA architectural proteins, and precise values of the underlying twisting elastic constants and bending free energies. Incorporation of all this molecular information into gene-regulation models reveals an unprecedented versatility of looped DNA-protein complexes at shaping the properties of gene expression.
Word-Based Alignment, Phrase-Based Translation: What’s the Link?

State-of-the-art statistical machine translation is based on alignments between phrases – sequences of words in the source and target sentences. The learning step in these systems often relies on alignments between words. It is often assumed that the quality of this word alignment is critical for translation. However, recent results suggest that the relationship between alignment quality and translation quality is weaker than previously thought. We investigate this question directly, comparing the impact of high-quality alignments with a carefully constructed set of degraded alignments. In order to tease apart various interactions, we report experiments investigating the impact of alignments on different aspects of the system. Our results confirm a weak correlation, but they also illustrate that more data and better feature engineering may be more beneficial than better alignment.
Geospatial modelling techniques for rapid assessment of phytodiversity at landscape level in western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh

The mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh is known for its vast natural wealth, including forests, alpine meadows, rivers and valleys endowed with a rich array of life forms. However, this biodiversity hot spot is under great peril owing to human-induce d dis-tu rbance factors. The findings on spatial representa-tion of the habitat at a scale which can be used for conse rvation planning and rehabilitation are lacking. In this study IRS -1D, LISS -III sensor data have been used to assess the vegetation coupling with RS and GIS tec h niques in the state. This communication pre -sents an approach for rapid assessment of biodiversity at land scape level using satellite remote sensing, phy -tosoc iological data and knowledge base in geospatial model. The geospatial analyses at the landscape level reveal that most of the fertile valleys of the region are occ u pied by the human activities and possess very low bio -richness. Inverse relationship has been observed with disturbance at landscape level vis-a-vis phyto-diversity or richness of the vegetation type/habitat. T
Comparison of the KF and particle filter based out-of-sequence measurement filtering algorithms

Current out-ofsequence measurement (OOSW filtering algorithms belong to two distinct classes, Kalman filter (U) or extended KF (EKF) based and particle filter (PF) based. This paper compares the performances of the multiple-lag I@ and PF based OOSMJiltering algorithms for a number of scenarios with linear dynamic and measurement models with additive Gaussian noisesjrst. The KF with in-sequence measurements represents an optimal estimator. Therefore, for this case, we compare the performances of the OOSMjltering algorithms relative to the KF with in-sequence measurements. Numerical results show that the KF OOSMaIgorithm used in this study is optimal. Next, we evaluate the multiple-lag KF/EU and PF based 0OSMf;rtering algorithms using realistic Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) sensor measurements. We use estimation accuracy and statistical consistency for comparison.
Daytime napping and mortality, with a special reference to cardiovascular disease: the JACC study.

BACKGROUND Daytime napping is associated with elevated risk of all-cause mortality in the elderly. However, the association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is inconsistent. METHODS From 1988 to 1990, a total of 67 129 Japanese non-workers or daytime workers (27 755 men and 39 374 women) aged 40-79 years, without a history of stroke, heart disease or cancer, completed a lifestyle questionnaire. They were followed for mortality until the end of 2003. RESULTS During the 879 244 person-year follow-up, 9643 deaths (2852 from CVD, 3643 from cancer, 2392 from other internal causes, 738 from external causes and 18 from unspecified causes) were observed. After adjustment for possible confounders, subjects with a daytime napping habit had elevated hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality from all causes [HR 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.24, P < 0.001], CVD (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.22-1.42, P < 0.001), non-cardiovascular/non-cancer internal diseases (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.16-1.37, P < 0.001) and external causes (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.10-1.50, P = 0.001), but not for cancer death (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.96-1.10, P = 0.400). The risk of CVD mortality associated with daytime napping was diminished among overweight subjects, but pronounced in those with weight loss after age 20 years, with non-regular employment, with lower education level and with a follow-up period <5 years. CONCLUSIONS Daytime napping is associated with elevated risk of CVD mortality as well as non-cardiovascular/non-cancer and external deaths. Daytime napping may elevate risk of CVD death through some biological effects but, to a larger extent, some comorbid disorders causing weight loss or associated with non-regular employment and low education level could explain this association.
PARALLEL EVOLUTION OF LOCAL ADAPTATION AND REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION IN THE FACE OF GENE FLOW

Parallel evolution of similar phenotypes provides strong evidence for the operation of natural selection. Where these phenotypes contribute to reproductive isolation, they further support a role for divergent, habitat‐associated selection in speciation. However, the observation of pairs of divergent ecotypes currently occupying contrasting habitats in distinct geographical regions is not sufficient to infer parallel origins. Here we show striking parallel phenotypic divergence between populations of the rocky‐shore gastropod, Littorina saxatilis, occupying contrasting habitats exposed to either wave action or crab predation. This divergence is associated with barriers to gene exchange but, nevertheless, genetic variation is more strongly structured by geography than by ecotype. Using approximate Bayesian analysis of sequence data and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers, we show that the ecotypes are likely to have arisen in the face of continuous gene flow and that the demographic separation of ecotypes has occurred in parallel at both regional and local scales. Parameter estimates suggest a long delay between colonization of a locality and ecotype formation, perhaps because the postglacial spread of crab populations was slower than the spread of snails. Adaptive differentiation may not be fully genetically independent despite being demographically parallel. These results provide new insight into a major model of ecologically driven speciation.
Reservoir-based techniques for speech recognition

A solution for the slow convergence of most learning rules for Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) has been proposed under the terms Liquid State Machines (LSM) and Echo State Networks (ESN). These methods use a RNN as a reservoir that is not trained. For this article we build upon previous work, where we used reservoir-based techniques to solve the task of isolated digit recognition. We present a straightforward improvement of our previous LSM-based implementation that results in an outperformance of a state-of-the-art Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based recognizer. Also, we apply the Echo State approach to the problem, which allows us to investigate the impact of several interconnection parameters on the performance of our speech recognizer.
Use of aspects for testing software applications

Software testing is a process which is used to examine the correctness and quality of a computer software. Software testing is important to point out the defects and errors that are made during software development and to ensure that the developed software works fine in the real environment with different operating systems, devices, browsers and concurrent users. Making reliable software applications is becoming increasingly important and thus software testing is indispensable. One of the main challenges in software testing is that there are many quality concerns that cut across different modules in the software and thus testing requires modifying the source code of various modules. In this paper, we propose the use of Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) for the purpose of creeping inside the program's modules without modifying their source code and test components where we suspect bugs. Aspects in AOP can capture one or more execution points in the program using pointcuts and further advices can be written to insert relevant code at such execution points for the purpose of testing. We examine the suitability of using aspects for writing testing codes and perform various types of software testing.
Incidence of childhood pneumonia: facility-based surveillance estimate compared to measured incidence in a South African birth cohort study

Background Pneumonia is the leading cause of childhood mortality and a major contributor to childhood morbidity, but accurate measurement of pneumonia incidence is challenging. We compared pneumonia incidence using a facility-based surveillance system to estimates from a cohort study conducted contemporaneously in the same community in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods A surveillance system was developed in six public sector primary care clinics and in a regional referral hospital, to detect childhood pneumonia cases. Nurses recorded all children presenting to facilities who met WHO case definitions of pneumonia, and hospital records were reviewed. Estimates of pneumonia incidence and severity were compared with incidence rates based on active surveillance in the Drakenstein Child Health Study. Results From June 2012 until September 2013, the surveillance system detected 306 pneumonia episodes in children under 1 year of age, an incidence of 0.20 episodes/child-year (e/cy) (95% CI 0.17 to 0.22 e/cy). The incidence in the cohort study from the same period was 0.27 e/cy (95% CI 0.23 to 0.32 e/cy). Pneumonia incidence in the surveillance system was almost 30% lower than in the birth cohort; incidence rate ratio 0.72 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.89). In the surveillance system, 18% were severe pneumonia cases, compared to 23% in the birth cohort, rate ratio 0.81 (95% CI 0.55 to 1.18). Conclusions In this setting, facility-based pneumonia surveillance detected fewer cases of pneumonia, and fewer severe cases, compared to the corresponding cohort study. Facility pneumonia surveillance using data collected by local healthcare workers provides a useful estimate of the epidemiology of childhood pneumonia but may underestimate incidence and severity.
Image feature extraction for application of biometric identification of iris - a morphological approach

We present a new approach based on morphological operators for application of biometric identification of individuals by segmentation and analysis of the iris. Algorithms based on morphological operators are developed to segment the iris region from the eye image and also to highlight chosen iris patterns. The extracted features are used to represent and characterize the iris. In order to properly extract the desired patterns, an algorithm is proposed to produce skeletons with unique paths among end-points and nodes. The representation obtained by the morphological processing is stored for identification purposes. To illustrate the efficiency of the morphological approach, some results are presented. The proposed system was derived to present low complexity implementation and low storage requirements.
Cooperative Tx/Rx caching in interference channels: A storage-latency tradeoff study

This paper studies the storage-latency tradeoff in the 3 × 3 wireless interference network with caches equipped at all transmitters and receivers. The tradeoff is characterized by the so-called fractional delivery time (FDT) at given normalized transmitter and receiver cache sizes. We first propose a generic cooperative transmitter/receiver caching strategy with adjustable file splitting ratios. Based on this caching strategy, we then design the delivery phase carefully to turn the considered interference channel opportunistically into broadcast channel, multicast channel, X channel, or a hybrid form of these channels. After that, we obtain an achievable upper bound of the minimum FDT by solving a linear programming problem of the file splitting ratios. The achievable FDT is a convex and piece-wise linear decreasing function of the cache sizes. Receiver local caching gain, coded multicasting gain, and transmitter cooperation gain (interference alignment and interference neutralization) are leveraged in different cache size regions.
A polarization entangled photon-pair source based on a type-II PPLN waveguide emitting at a telecom wavelength

We report the realization of a fiber-coupled polarization entangled photon-pair source at 1310 nm based on a birefringent titanium in-diffused waveguide integrated into periodically poled lithium niobate. By making use of a dedicated and high-performance setup, we characterized the quantum properties of the pairs by measuring two-photon interference in both Hong–Ou–Mandel and standard Bell inequality configurations. For the two sets of measurements we obtained interference net visibilities reaching nearly 100%, which represent important and competitive results compared to those for the similar waveguide-based configurations already reported. These results prove the relevance of our approach as an enabling technology for long-distance quantum communication.