Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost-Sensitive Learning with Neural Networks

In the usual setting of Machine Learning, classifiers are typically evaluated by estimating their error rate (or equi valently, the classification accuracy) on the test data. However, this mak es sense only if all errors have equal (uniform) costs. When the costs of er- rors differ between each other, the classifiers should be eva luated by comparing the total costs of the errors. Classifiers are typically designed to minimize the number of errors (incorrect classifications) made. When misclassification c osts vary between classes, this approach is not suitable. In this case the total misclassification cost should be minimized. In Machine Learning, only little work for dealing with non- uniform misclassification costs has been done. This paper pr esents a few different approaches for cost-sensitive modifications of the back- propagation learning algorithm for multilayered feedforw ard neural networks . The described approaches are thoroughly tested and eval- uated on several standard benchmark domains.
Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Nutritional Intake are not Associated with Ultrasound-defined Increased Carotid Intima Media Thickness in Individuals Without a History of Cardiovascular Events

Background: Carotid ultrasound appears to be useful in the assessment of cardiovascular risk. In this study, we have assessed the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in a group of individuals without a history of cardiovascular events. Methods: A sample of 431subjects (189 [43.9%] males and 242 [56.1%] females) was obtained from an urban population using a stratified-cluster method in Mashhad stroke and heart atherosclerosis disorder study. None of the subjects had a history of the cardiovascular event. Carotid artery duplex ultrasound was used to determine the CIMT in all subjects, and to identify those with an abnormal value (CIMT [+]; i.e., CIMT ≥ 0.8 mm). Dietary intake of participants was assessed using a questionnaire for 24-h dietary recall. The relationship between anthropometric, biochemical and dietary data and CIMT were assessed. Results: The mean age of subjects was 48.7 ± 8.0 years. Of the 431 patients, 118 (27.4%) were found to be CIMT (+). Of the cardiovascular parameters assessed, only age (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval (CI)], 1.11 [0.56-4.34]; P < 0.01) and male gender (OR [95% CI], 1.14 [0.63-2.23]; P < 0.05) were significant independent predictors of ultrasound defined CIMT. Crude and total energy adjusted intake were not associated with the presence of CIMT (+). Conclusions: It appears that within a relatively young Iranian population of individuals without a history of cardiovascular event, the presence of CIMT (+) defined by duplex ultrasound cut-off value of ≥0.8 mm, did not associate with several modifiable cardiovascular risk factors or measures of dietary intake.
A Preliminary Investigation of Compressed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (cMBSR) with Pediatric Medical Social Workers

Mindfulness practices, including mindfulness meditation, show promise for decreasing stress among health care providers. The standard course of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) requires a participant commitment to eight weeks of instruction comprised of one two-and-a-half hour per week class, a single day retreat, and 45 minutes of practice for six of seven days each week. Studies of abbreviated MBSR typically investigate the “dosing” of instruction and practice required to demonstrate stress reduction effects. This exploratory study investigates the effectiveness of a two-day compressed MBSR course (cMBSR) on pediatric health care social workers. Using t-tests, researchers measured the effect of cMBSR on a) positive and negative experiences in pediatric social work, b) perceived stress, c) mindfulness, and d) caring self-efficacy (as a component of patientand family-centered care). Results included significant differences between the pre and post intervention outcome variables on the ProQOL Secondary Traumatic Stress subscale, the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale, and the Caring Effectiveness Scale. Findings partially supported the effect of the cMBSR intervention and found adequate evidence for the feasibility of a more rigorous study of cMBSR.
Artificial facilitation: Promoting collective reasoning within asynchronous discussions

ABSTRACT Online forums have become prominent in deliberative research as venues for infusing democracies with additional participatory elements. However, forums are criticized as being unsuitable for high-quality discussions as they predominantly induce self-expressive talk with little prospect for deliberative virtues. Drawing on the “argumentative theory of reasoning,” we hypothesize that an artificial facilitator (AF) ameliorates deliberative virtues by spurring interactions among the users and promoting knowledge gain. In a randomized field experiment, we show that the AF indeed enhances interaction, but only partially increases knowledge gain. Psychological variables mediate whether participants learn more in a facilitated online forum.
Virulence Patterns in a Murine Sepsis Model of ST131 Escherichia coli Clinical Isolates Belonging to Serotypes O25b:H4 and O16:H5 Are Associated to Specific Virotypes

Escherichia coli sequence type (ST)131 is an emerging disseminated public health threat implicated in multidrug-resistant extraintestinal infections worldwide. Although the majority of ST131 isolates belong to O25b:H4 serotype, new variants with different serotypes, STs using the discriminative multilocus sequence typing scheme of Pasteur Institute, and virulence-gene profiles (virotypes) have been reported with unknown implications on the pattern of spread, persistence and virulence. The aim of the present study was to compare virulence in a mouse subcutaneous sepsis model of representative ST131 clinical isolates belonging to 2 serotypes (O25b:H4, O16:H5) and nine virotypes and subtypes (A, B, C, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and E). Fourteen out of the 23 ST131 isolates tested (61%) killed 90 to 100% of mice challenged, and 18 of 23 (78%) at least 50%. Interestingly, different virulence patterns in association with virotypes were observed, from highly rapid lethality (death in less than 24 h) to low final lethality (death at 7 days) but with presence of an acute inflammation. This is the first study to assess virulence of ST131 isolates belonging to serotype O16:H5, which exhibited virotype C. In spite of their low virulence-gene score, O16:H5 isolates did not show significant differences in final lethality compared with highly virulent O25b:H4 isolates of virotypes A, B and C, but killed mice less rapidly. Significant differences were found, however, between virotypes A, B, C (final lethality ≥80% of mice challenged) and virotypes D, E. Particularly unexpected was the low lethality of the newly assigned virotype E taking into account that it exhibited high virulence-gene score, and the same clonotype H30 as highly virulent O25b:H4 isolates of virotypes A, B and C. In vivo virulence diversity reported in this study would reflect the genetic variability within ST131 clonal group evidenced by molecular typing.
Progression of Plasmodium berghei through Anopheles stephensi Is Density-Dependent

It is well documented that the density of Plasmodium in its vertebrate host modulates the physiological response induced; this in turn regulates parasite survival and transmission. It is less clear that parasite density in the mosquito regulates survival and transmission of this important pathogen. Numerous studies have described conversion rates of Plasmodium from one life stage to the next within the mosquito, yet few have considered that these rates might vary with parasite density. Here we establish infections with defined numbers of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei to examine how parasite density at each stage of development (gametocytes; ookinetes; oocysts and sporozoites) influences development to the ensuing stage in Anopheles stephensi, and thus the delivery of infectious sporozoites to the vertebrate host. We show that every developmental transition exhibits strong density dependence, with numbers of the ensuing stages saturating at high density. We further show that when fed ookinetes at very low densities, oocyst development is facilitated by increasing ookinete number (i.e., the efficiency of ookinete–oocyst transformation follows a sigmoid relationship). We discuss how observations on this model system generate important hypotheses for the understanding of malaria biology, and how these might guide the rational analysis of interventions against the transmission of the malaria parasites of humans by their diverse vector species.
Anomalous Dimensions from a Spinning D5-Brane

We consider the anomalous dimension of a certain twist two operator in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. At strong coupling and large-N it is captured by the classical dynamics of a spinning D5-brane. The present calculation generalizes the result of Gubser, Klebanov and Polyakov (hep-th/0204051): in order to calculate the anomalous dimension of a bound state of k coincident strings, the spinning closed string is replaced by a spinning D5 brane that wraps an S4 inside the S5 part of the AdS5 times S5 metric.
Dementia Increases Severe Sepsis and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract Dementia increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. However, information on the potential effects of dementia on the risks of acute organ dysfunction, severe sepsis and in-hospital mortality, specifically among inpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is limited. The observational analytic study was inpatient claims during the period from 2000 to 2010 for 1 million people who were randomly selected from all of the beneficiaries of the Taiwan National Health Insurance in 2000. In total, 1406 patients with COPD and dementia were admitted during the study period. Hospitalized patients with COPD and free from a history of dementia were randomly selected and served as control subjects (n = 5334). The patient groups were matched according to age (±3 years), gender, and the year of admission, with a control/dementia ratio of 4. Only the first-time hospitalization data for each subject was analyzed. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of outcome measures (acute organ dysfunction, severe sepsis, and mortality), controlling for confounding factors (age, sex, comorbidity, infection site, hospital level, and length of stay). In COPD patients with dementia, the incidence rate of severe sepsis and hospital mortality was 17.1% and 4.8%, respectively, which were higher than the controls (10.6% and 2.3%). After controlling for potential confounding factors, dementia was found to significantly increase the odds of severe sepsis and hospital mortality with an adjusted OR (OR) of 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10–1.72) and 1.69 (95% CI 1.18–2.43), respectively. Dementia was also significantly associated with an increased OR of acute respiratory dysfunction (adjusted OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.09–1.77). In hospitalized COPD patients, the presence of dementia may increase the risks of acute respiratory dysfunction, severe sepsis, and hospital mortality, which warrants the attention of health care professionals.
Petroleum Concessions with Extendible Options: Investment Timing and Value Using Mean Reversion and Jump Processes for Oil Prices

The owner of a petroleum exploration concession in Brazil has an investment option until the expiration date fixed by the governmental agency, which can be extended by additional cost. The value of these rights and the optimal investment timing are calculated by solving a stochastic optimal control problem of an American call option with extendible maturities. The uncertainty of the oil prices is modeled as a mix diffusion-jump process. Normal information arrival generates continuous mean-reverting process for oil prices, whereas a random abnormal information generates a discrete jump of random size. Comparisons are performed with the popular geometric Brownian process and also the quantification and analysis of alternative timing policies for the petroleum sector. O detentor da concessao de exploracao de petroleo no Brasil tem uma opcao de investimento ate uma data de expiracao fixada pela agencia governamental, a qual pode estender mediante um custo adicional. O valor desses direitos e a politica otima de investimento sao calculados resolvendo um problema de controle otimo estocastico de uma opcao americana de compra com maturidades estendiveis. A incerteza do preco do oleo e modelada como um processo de difusao misto (reversao a media + saltos). Informacoes normais geram um processo continuo de reversao a media para o preco do oleo, porem choques aleatorios produzem saltos discretos e estocasticos. Comparacoes com o tradicional movimento geometrico browniano sao realizadas bem como quantificacoes e analises de politicas alternativas otimas para o setor de petroleo.
Cortical mechanisms of pretense observation

Pretend play emerges in children the world over around 18 months and continues into adolescence and even adulthood. Observing and engaging in pretense are thought to rely on similar neural mechanisms, but little is known about them. Here we examined neural activation patterns associated with observing pretense acts, including high-likelihood, low-likelihood, and imaginary substitute objects, as compared with activation patterns when observing parallel real acts. The association between fantasy predisposition and cortical representations of pretense was also explored. Supporting prior research that used more limited types of pretense, observed pretense acts, when contrasted with real acts, elicited activity in regions associated with mentalizing. A novel contribution here is that substitute object pretense (high- and low-likelihood) elicited significantly more activity than imaginary (pantomime) acts not only in theory of mind regions but also in the superior parietal lobule, a region thought to aid in the prediction and error-monitoring of motor actions. Finally, when high-likelihood pretense acts were contrasted with real acts, participants with elevated fantasy predispositions evidenced significantly different activation patterns than their more reality-prone peers. Future research will explore the intersection of fantasy predisposition and experience with the neural representation of pretense.
Exploring the Online Shopping- The Role of Prior Experience

Our study empirically examined the role of prior online shopping experience within a proposed model which is integrated perceived uncertainty, trust, and two key variables (perceived ease-of-use, and perceived usefulness) as depicted in the technology acceptance model (TAM) to understand the difference between low- and high-experienced online shoppers. The study found that the importance of trust in an e-vendor vis-a-vis the TAM constructs has consistent effects for all experienced online shoppers. However, results indicate that perceived uncertainty affects trust in an e-vendor but only in the low-experience online shoppers. The data also show that the low- and high-experienced online shoppers have some divergence in the source of perceived uncertainty which is classified into relationship uncertainty and environmental uncertainty. The study result may be useful for managers of e-vendors to understand the effect on determinants of repurchase intention and the concerns of perceived uncertainty for the different experienced online shoppers, especially when they are making decisions to extend their businesses.
Independence in Administrative Adjudications: When and Why Agency Judges Are Subject to Deference and Influence

Are administrative adjudicators subject to external influence and pressures? We present the results from a nationwide survey of agency adjudicators, focusing on immigration judges (IJs) and administrative law judges (ALJs) in the Social Security Administration (SSA). ALJs follow decisional procedures spelled out in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and are given substantial legal protections from agency pressures. IJs do not follow APA procedures, nor do they receive its protections. We find IJs give significantly greater deference to the positions of the public, their agency, Congress, and the president, and report more favorable attitudes toward interest groups in adjudications.
Quantum Boltzmann equation of composite fermions interacting with a gauge field.

We derive the quantum Boltzmann equation (QBE) of composite fermions at/near the $\nu = 1/2$ state using the non-equilibrium Green's function technique. The lowest order perturbative correction to the self-energy due to the strong gauge field fluctuations suggests that there is no well defined Landau-quasi-particle. Therefore, we cannot assume the existence of the Landau-quasi-particles {\it a priori} in the derivation of the QBE. Using an alternative formulation, we derive the QBE for the generalized Fermi surface displacement which corresponds to the local variation of the chemical potential in momentum space. {}From this QBE, one can understand in a unified fashion the Fermi-liquid behaviors of the density-density and the current-current correlation functions at $\nu = 1/2$ (in the long wave length and the low frequency limits) and the singular behavior of the energy gap obtained from the finite temperature activation behavior of the compressibility near $\nu = 1/2$. Implications of these results to the recent experiments are also discussed.
Chaotic Activity in a Mathematical Model of the Vagally Driven Sinoatrial Node

Phase-locking behavior and irregular dynamics were studied in a mathematical model of the sinus node driven with repetitive vagal input. The central region of the sinus node was simulated as a 15 × 15 array of resistively coupled pacemakers with each cell randomly assigned one of 10 intrinsic cycle lengths (range 290-390 msec). Coupling of the pacemakers resulted in their mutual entrainment to a common frequency and the emergence of a dominant pacemaker region. Repetitive acetylcholine (ACh; vagal) pulses were applied to a randomly selected 60% of the cells. Over a wide range of stimulus intensities and basic cycle lengths, such perturbations resulted in a large variety of stimulus/response patterns, including phase locking (1; 1,3:2, 2:1, etc.) and irregular (i.e., chaotic) dynamics. At a low ACh concentration (1 fiM), the patterns followed the typical Farey sequence of phase-locked behavior. At a higher concentration (5 ftM), period doubling and aperiodic patterns were found. When a single pacemaker cell was perturbed with repetitive ACh pulses, qualitatively similar results were obtained. In both types of simulation, chaotic behavior was investigated using phase-plane (orbital) plots, Poincart mapping, and return mapping. Period-doubling bifurcations (2:2, 4 4, and 8;8) were found temporally and spatially within the array. Under certain conditions of stimulation, the attractor in the return map during chaotic activity of the single cell resembled the Lorenz tent map. However, when electrical coupling between cells was allowed, the interactions with neighboring cells exhibiting chaotic dynamics resulted in characteristic alterations of the attractor geometry. Our results suggest that irregular dynamics obeying the rules derived from other chaotic systems are present during vagal stimulation of the sinus node. In addition, application of the same analytical tools to the analysis of simulation of reflex vagal control of sinus rate suggests that chaotic dynamics can be obtained in the physiologically relevant case of the baroreceptor reflex loop. These results may provide insight into the mechanisms of dynamic vagal control of heart rate and may help to provide insights into clinically relevant disturbances of cardiac rate and rhythm.
Choral singing and the acquisition of educational values

The main objective of this study was to observe the extent to which the practice of collective singing in children’s and youth choirs offers a way of teaching values. The main working tool used was a questionnaire that was completed by the choir conductors and singers of the different choirs surveyed. The purpose of the questionnaire was to assess if choral singing can be a space for working on and developing values, and if these values lead to improvements in the overall education of the person. On the one hand, choir conductors considered respect to be the most important value for a choral group and friendship the most valuable aspect for singers. This view was not shared by the singers, who considered friendship to be less important. On the other hand, they agreed on the influence of respect and communication and that spontaneity is undervalued.
Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation

ABSTRACT Mediation of X’s effect on Y through a mediator M is moderated if the indirect effect of X depends on a fourth variable. Hayes [(2015). An index and test of linear moderated mediation. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 50, 1–22. doi:10.1080/00273171.2014. 962683] introduced an approach to testing a moderated mediation hypothesis based on an index of moderated mediation. Here, I extend this approach to models with more than one moderator. I describe how to test if X’s indirect effect on Y is moderated by one variable when a second moderator is held constant (partial moderated mediation), conditioned on (conditional moderated mediation), or dependent on a second moderator (moderated moderated mediation). Examples are provided, as is a discussion of the visualization of indirect effects and an illustration of implementation in the PROCESS macro for SPSS and SAS.
Identifying the user typology for adaptive e-learning systems

Adaptive e-learning systems are the newest paradigm in modern learning approaches. One of the key factors in such systems is the correct and continuous identification of the user learning style, such as to provide the most appropriate content presentation to each individual user. This paper presents a new possibility for identifying the initial user typology, based on static features, in an adaptive e-learning system previously designed by our team. We propose the employment of a clustering method to determine the different groups of learning typologies, corresponding to the theoretical learning styles present in literature. The evaluation results suggest that clustering provides a better correspondence between the individuals and the learning styles than a previous classification performed with Bayesian networks. Moreover, the discrepancies observed in the results can be eliminated by careful design of the psychological test which measures the initial user static features.
Spin foam model from canonical quantization

We suggest a modification of the Barrett-Crane spin foam model of four-dimensional Lorentzian general relativity motivated by the canonical quantization. The starting point is Lorentz covariant loop quantum gravity. Its kinematical Hilbert space is found as a space of the so-called projected spin networks. These spin networks are identified with the boundary states of a spin foam model and provide a generalization of the unique Barrett-Crane intertwiner. We propose a way to modify the Barrett-Crane quantization procedure to arrive at this generalization: the B field (bivectors) should be promoted not to generators of the gauge algebra, but to their certain projection. The modification is also justified by the canonical analysis of the Plebanski formulation. Finally, we compare our construction with other proposals to modify the Barrett-Crane model.