Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Episodic Exploration for Deep Deterministic Policies: An Application to StarCraft Micromanagement Tasks

We consider scenarios from the real-time strategy game StarCraft as new benchmarks for reinforcement learning algorithms. We propose micromanagement tasks, which present the problem of the short-term, low-level control of army members during a battle. From a reinforcement learning point of view, these scenarios are challenging because the state-action space is very large, and because there is no obvious feature representation for the state-action evaluation function. We describe our approach to tackle the micromanagement scenarios with deep neural network controllers from raw state features given by the game engine. In addition, we present a heuristic reinforcement learning algorithm which combines direct exploration in the policy space and backpropagation. This algorithm allows for the collection of traces for learning using deterministic policies, which appears much more efficient than, for example, {\epsilon}-greedy exploration. Experiments show that with this algorithm, we successfully learn non-trivial strategies for scenarios with armies of up to 15 agents, where both Q-learning and REINFORCE struggle.
Bayesian Networks and Influence Diagrams

Bayesian networks are graphical probabilistic models consisting of variables and cause-e ect relations between them. First Bayesian networks are de ned and a couple of examples are given. It is illustrated how Bayesian networks are used for various task like calculating updated probabilities for variables given evidens, calculating probabilities for speci c con gurations of variables, calculating con gurations of maximal probability and analysis for con icting evidens. In uence diagrams are Bayesian networks argumented with special variables for actions. They are used for calculating optimal strategies for sequences of actions. It is nally shown how the problem of deciding between various information sources can be solved in situations with only one set of action options. These and other issues are treated more deeply in Jensen (1996).
Feel-good touch: finding the most pleasant tactile feedback for a mobile touch screen button

Earlier research has shown the benefits of tactile feedback for touch screen widgets in all metrics: performance, usability and user experience. In our current research the goal was to go deeper in understanding the characteristics of a tactile click for virtual buttons. More specifically we wanted to find a tactile click which is the most pleasant to use with a finger. We used two actuator solutions in a small mobile touch screen: piezo actuators or a standard vibration motor. We conducted three experiments: The first and second experiments aimed to find the most pleasant tactile feedback done with the piezo actuators or a vibration motor, respectively, and the third one combined and compared the results from the first two experiments. The results from the first two experiments showed significant differences for the perceived pleasantness of the tactile clicks, and we used these most pleasant clicks in the comparison experiment in addition to the condition with no tactile feedback. Our findings confirmed results from earlier studies showing that tactile feedback is superior to a nontactile condition when virtual buttons are used with the finger regardless of the technology behind the tactile feedback. Another finding suggests that the users perceived the feedback done with piezo actuators slightly more pleasant than the vibration motor based feedback, although not statistically significantly. These results indicate that it is possible to modify the characteristics of the virtual button tactile clicks towards the most pleasant ones, and on the other hand this knowledge can help designers to create better touch screen virtual buttons and keyboards.
Galaxies on FIRE (Feedback In Realistic Environments): stellar feedback explains cosmologically inefficient star formation

We present a series of high-resolution cosmological simulations of galaxy formation to z = 0, spanning halo masses ∼10^8–10^(13) M⊙, and stellar masses ∼10^4–10^(11) M⊙. Our simulations include fully explicit treatment of the multiphase interstellar medium and stellar feedback. The stellar feedback inputs (energy, momentum, mass, and metal fluxes) are taken directly from stellar population models. These sources of feedback, with zero adjusted parameters, reproduce the observed relation between stellar and halo mass up to M_(halo) ∼ 10^(12) M⊙. We predict weak redshift evolution in the M*–M_(halo) relation, consistent with current constraints to z > 6. We find that the M*–M_(halo) relation is insensitive to numerical details, but is sensitive to feedback physics. Simulations with only supernova feedback fail to reproduce observed stellar masses, particularly in dwarf and high-redshift galaxies: radiative feedback (photoheating and radiation pressure) is necessary to destroy giant molecular clouds and enable efficient coupling of later supernovae to the gas. Star formation rates (SFRs) agree well with the observed Kennicutt relation at all redshifts. The galaxy-averaged Kennicutt relation is very different from the numerically imposed law for converting gas into stars, and is determined by self-regulation via stellar feedback. Feedback reduces SFRs and produces reservoirs of gas that lead to rising late-time star formation histories, significantly different from halo accretion histories. Feedback also produces large short-time-scale variability in galactic SFRs, especially in dwarfs. These properties are not captured by common ‘sub-grid’ wind models.
The Value of Women's Indigenous Knowledge in Food Processing and Preservation for Achieving Household Food Security in Rural Sudan

Availability of food supply and access are crucial to achieve household food security. Using of indigenous knowledge in solving food shortage remains a powerful means of sustaining household food security. In rural Sudan women are often responsible for food processing and storage, collecting of water and firewood and for generating incomes for subsistence. The objective of this article is to shed light on women ability to manage available resources by using indigenous knowledge to secure food supplies for their household in rural Sudan. The paper argues that women have more roles and responsibilities in achieving household food security especially among the rural communities of Sudan, since it is woman who is responsible for food processing and preserving to increase its availability. Processing of vegetables, fruits, and milk, in times of abundance for times of scarcity using indigenous techniques such as drying or fermentation is exclusively the women's task in rural Sudan. Traditional/indigenous foods provide inexpensive, safe, nutritious foods throughout the whole year. These indigenous foods contribute to diversify the diet of rural people in normal times and are crucial to their survival during times of food shortage. Thus, these indigenous foods become basis of the survival of the rural community. Trial and error experiments contribute to develop many indigenous techniques and practices for processing and preserving foods at rural community level. Indigenous methods and solutions applied by women to sustain household food supplies are culturally acceptable, economically practicable, and more appropriate for the local environment and conditions than modern techniques and solutions suggested by scientific experts. The article gives a brief description of some indigenous foods from various rural areas of Sudan. Rural women have an important role to play in using and preserving this valuable indigenous knowledge. These local-level experts manage to achieve sustainable food security at household levels, with practical, efficient and economic solutions. Thus, one effective means to achieve household food security in rural Sudan is by learning from the women’s indigenous knowledge and inherent capabilities. The value of women’s indigenous knowledge needs to be better recognized and supported within policy.
Impact of Teacher Demographic, Knowledge, and Instructional Variables on Children's Language Development

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a set of teacher demographic, knowledge, and instructional variables is related to preschool children’s literacy development. Specifically, the study investigated how these teacher variables impact children’s language development scores on the four subscales of the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, Second Edition (PLAI2) and the four subscales of the Test of Language Development – Primary, Fourth Edition (TOLD-P:4). There were two major research questions in the study: (a) Will the predictor set of CLASS emotional support, CLASS classroom organization, CLASS instructional support, level of education, years teaching pre-kindergarten, and answers on a teacher knowledge questionnaire (TKQ) correlate with the TOLD-P:4 language assessment subscales of relational vocabulary, syntactic understanding, sentence imitation, and morphological completion? (b) Will the predictor set of CLASS emotional support, CLASS classroom organization, CLASS instructional support, level of education, years teaching pre-kindergarten, and answers on a TKQ correlate with the PLAI2 language assessment subscales of matching, selective analysis, reordering, and reasoning? Results indicated no noteworthy correlations between the predictor variable set and the subtests of the TOLD-P:4; hence, the
STUDIES ON ACIDIC NUCLEAR PROTEINS OF THE WALKER TUMOR AND LIVER.

One hour after the injection of 5 µc. of l-lysine-U-C14 into each of a group of normal rats bearing the Walker 256 carcinosarcoma, isolated nuclei were prepared from liver and tumor. The nuclei were fractionated by extraction with 0.14 m NaCl, 0.10 m Tris buffer, 2.0 m NaCl, and 0.05 n NaOH, in that order. The initial 2.0 m NaCl fraction was fractionated into histones, acid-insoluble proteins, and phenol-insoluble proteins. Most of the fractions were characterized by their amino acid composition, NH2-terminal amino acid composition, nucleic acid content, and specific activity. Although the amino acid analyses of most of the fractions were remarkably similar in the higher concentrations of glutamic and aspartic acids than the basic amino acids, the glutamic acid content of a number of fractions of liver was higher than that of the tumor, and individual fractions differed in their content of glycine, leucine, lysine, serine, and valine. The major NH2-terminal amino acids were found to be serine, alanine, glycine, lysine, and aspartic acid in the nonhistone fractions. The over-all distribution of nuclear proteins was similar for isolated nuclei of liver and Walker tumor, with the exception of the Tris, alkali-soluble, and histone fractions, which were greater in amount in the tumor. In liver, the specific activities (counts/min/mg) of the acidic nuclear protein fractions, other than those of the nuclear sap, were highest, and the specific activity of the histone fraction was the lowest. In the Walker tumor, the specific activity of the histones was greater than that of the acidic proteins. In both the liver nuclei and those of the Walker tumor, 75 per cent of the total lysine incorporated into nuclear proteins was incorporated into deoxyribonucleoproteins. Of this, two-thirds was found in the acidic proteins in the liver and one-third was found in the histones; in the tumor, two-thirds of the lysine incorporated into the nuclear proteins was found in the histones, and only one-third was found in the acidic nuclear proteins.
Investment in Alternative Energy Technologies under Physical and Policy Uncertainty

Policymakers have often backed alternative energy technologies, e.g., nuclear power, due to their relatively low operating costs and emissions. However, they have also been quick to respond to public perceptions about the safety of such plants by suspending construction or even decommissioning existing facilities. We address public concerns about physical plant risks along with stochastic market prices for energy by modelling investment in and decommissioning of alternative energy technologies.
Conditional scheduling for embedded systems using genetic list scheduling

One important part of a hardware/software (HW/SW) codesign system is the scheduler, which is needed in order to determine if a given HW/SW partitioning is suitable for a given application. In this paper, we employ a dataflow model for scheduling a computation including conditional branches on a loosely coupled heterogeneous multiprocessor system. The goal is to minimize the worst-case makespan while satisfying constraints implied by data dependencies and exclusive resource usage. We present a formal model which allows multiple schedule optimizations and a new efficient heuristic approach based on genetic algorithms and list scheduling.
GUIDELINES FOR COLLECTION OF HUMAN MILK SAMPLES FOR MONITORING AND RESEARCH OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS

This article addresses sample collection protocols for monitoring and research of environmental chemicals in human milk. The process of milk synthesis and secretion and variations in contents of constituents that may impact measurement of environmental chemicals are presented. Possible sources of variation include parity, stage of lactation, method of sampling, maternal nutritional status, and dietary intake. General principles regarding how and when to collect milk samples are provided. For any previously unstudied environmental chemical in milk, all sources of variance must be assessed before a meaningful sampling protocol can be devised.
The Differential Impacts of Federally Assisted Housing Programs on Nearby Property Values: A Philadelphia Case Study

Abstract Prior research has found negative impacts of public housing on neighborhood quality. Few studies have examined the impact of public and other assisted housing programs on real estate prices, particularly differential impact by program type. In this study, federally assisted housing units by program type are aggregated by 1/8‐ or 1/4‐mile radii around individual property sales and regressed on sales prices from 1989 through 1991, controlling for area demographic, housing, and amenity variables. Results show that public housing developments exert a modest negative impact on property values. Scattered‐site public housing and units rented with Section 8 certificates and vouchers have slight negative impacts. Federal Housing Administration—assisted units, public housing homeownership program units, and Section 8 New Construction and Rehabilitation units have modest positive impacts. Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit sites have a slight negative effect. Results suggest that homeownership programs and new c.
Inside the juror: Models of juror decision making

Series preface Editor's preface Acknowledgments Part I. Models of Juror Decision Making: 1. Introduction Reid Hastie 2. Some steps between attitudes and verdicts Phoebe C. Ellsworth 3. The influence of outcome information and attitudes on juror decision making in search and seizure cases Jonathan D. Casper and Kennette M. Benedict 4. Algebraic models of juror decision processes Reid Hastie 5. Stochastic models of juror decision making Norbert Kerr 6. Formal and empirical research on cascaded inference in jurisprudence David A. Schum and Anne W. Martin 7. Argument structuring and evidence evaluation David A. Schum 8. The story model for juror decision making Nancy Pennington and Reid Hastie Part II. Commentaries: 9. Notes on the sampling of stimulus cases and the measurement of responses in research on juror decision making Robyn M. Davies 10. Sausages and the law: juror decisions in the much larger justice system Joseph B. Kadane 11. A rational game theory framework for the analysis of legal and criminal decision making Ehud Kalai 12. Why do jury research? Richard O. Lempert 13. Two conceptions of the juror Lola Lopes 14. A mathematician comments on models of juror decision making Sandy Zabell Index of names Index of subjects.
Investigating the Effect of Cold Soak Duration on Phenolic Extraction during Cabernet Sauvignon Fermentation

The impact of increasing cold soak (CS) duration (0, 1, 4, 7, and 10 days at 10 °C) on the extraction of phenolic compounds during the CS period and primary fermentation as well as the final composition of Cabernet Sauvignon wine was investigated. The results showed that CS duration had no effect on hydroxycinnamate and flavonol extractions. Greater amounts of gallic acid, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, and total tannins were extracted with increasing CS duration, with differences maintained during bottle aging. Anthocyanin extraction and color density increased with longer periods of CS; however, by the end of primary fermentation, as well as three months’ bottle aging, there were no significant differences due to CS duration. The wines made with seven and 10 days of CS had higher seed tannin contributions and total tannin compared to the non-CS wine, which could potentially result in increased astringency.
Magnifi cation endoscopy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma : a review of the intrapapillary capillary loop classifi cation

Recent developments in image-enhancement technology have enabled clear visualization of the microvascular structure of the esophageal mucosa. In particular, intrapapillary capillary loops (IPCLs ) are observed as brown loops on magnifi cation endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (NBI). IPCLs demonstrate characteristic morphological changes according to the structural irregularity of esophageal epithelium and cancer infi ltration, summarized in the IPCL classifi cation. In this review, the process from the fi rst endoscopic description of IPCLs to the eventual development of the IPCL classifi cation is described and discussed, particularly focusing on early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.
Subliminal cues bias perception of facial affect in patients with social phobia: evidence for enhanced unconscious threat processing

Socially anxious individuals have been shown to exhibit altered processing of facial affect, especially expressions signaling threat. Enhanced unaware processing has been suggested an important mechanism which may give rise to anxious conscious cognition and behavior. This study investigated whether individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are perceptually more vulnerable to the biasing effects of subliminal threat cues compared to healthy controls. In a perceptual judgment task, 23 SAD and 23 matched control participants were asked to rate the affective valence of parametrically manipulated affective expressions ranging from neutral to angry. Each trial was preceded by subliminal presentation of an angry/neutral cue. The SAD group tended to rate target faces as “angry” when the preceding subliminal stimulus was angry vs. neutral, while healthy participants were not biased by the subliminal stimulus presentation. The perceptual bias in SAD was also associated with higher reaction time latencies in the subliminal angry cue condition. The results provide further support for enhanced unconscious threat processing in SAD individuals. The implications for etiology, maintenance, and treatment of SAD are discussed.
Career Planning Implications for Learning Disabled High School Students Using the MBTI and SDS-E.

students. It encompasses many aspects of dimensions are the Myers-Briggs Type In vocational planning for disabled students dicator (MBTI) and the Self-Directed that ease the transition from school to Search (SDS). Some investigators have postschool environments. The Office of used the MBTI (Metts, 1979) and SDS Special Education and Rehabilitative Ser(Cummings & Maddux, 1987a) as single vices of the United States Department of instruments with LD students and found Education popularized and promoted results that differentiated LD students both the concept and the term during the from other students; however, no inves 1980s. The term developed as a response tigator has used them in combination. If to the realization that youth with disthere are differences, the two should be abilities continue to have difficulty coping examined together as has been the case with the world of work (Ehrsten & Izzo, with other populations. 1988) , , , The current project was designed to Although the concept of transition ap. , c „ . ,. r, . \ answer the following questions: plies to all handicapped young people, it has generated considerable interest among parents of learning disabled (LD) students ^ ^ students in high school have because of the broad range of career opa particular kind of personality con tions potentially available to their children figuration as measured by the MBTI? (Humes, 1986). The same parents of the 2. Do LD students in high school have learning disabled that fought previously particular vocational interests as for more effective school placements are measured by the SDS? now concerned with post-high-school 3Is there a relationship between MBTI placements. The questions that these and SDS scores among LD high parents ask is: "Is there life after high school students? school? " This legitimate concern is based on evidence from earlier studies that show
Convergence Analysis of the Variance in Gaussian Belief Propagation

It is known that Gaussian belief propagation (BP) is a low-complexity algorithm for (approximately) computing the marginal distribution of a high dimensional Gaussian distribution. However, in loopy factor graph, it is important to determine whether Gaussian BP converges. In general, the convergence conditions for Gaussian BP variances and means are not necessarily the same, and this paper focuses on the convergence condition of Gaussian BP variances. In particular, by describing the message-passing process of Gaussian BP as a set of updating functions, the necessary and sufficient convergence conditions of Gaussian BP variances are derived under both synchronous and asynchronous schedulings, with the converged variances proved to be independent of the initialization as long as it is chosen from the proposed set. The necessary and sufficient convergence condition is further expressed in the form of a semi-definite programming (SDP) optimization problem, thus can be verified more efficiently compared to the existing convergence condition based on computation tree. The relationship between the proposed convergence condition and the existing one based on computation tree is also established analytically. Numerical examples are presented to corroborate the established theories.
Impact of Unplanned Excision on Prognosis of Patients with Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Unplanned excision of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) outside comprehensive tumor management centers necessitates the need for wide reexcision to achieve adequate margins. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 135 patients with STS operated at our hospital with the goal of examining outcomes, in terms of local recurrence (LR) and metastasis rate (MR), of reexcision following unplanned excision of STS and comparing results with those of first-time planned surgery. Eighty-four patients had their first-time surgery and 51 patients had come to us following unplanned excision at prereferral hospital. Mean age of all patients was 41.8 ± 21.9 years. The LR and MR was 14.3% and 8.3%, respectively, in patients undergoing first resection, whereas it was 21.4% and 13.7%, respectively, in patients undergoing revision surgery. Average duration from previous unplanned excision was 8 months. Twelve patients were referred immediately after excised specimen revealed STS, while 39 patients presented after evident local recurrence. Wide reexcision was attempted in 48 patients while three patients need amputation. Adjuvant radiotherapy was administered in all patients undergoing limb-sparing surgery. Ten patients needed adjuvant chemotherapy. We conclude that wide reexcision of STS has poorer outcomes compared to planned excision. Therefore, patients with soft tissue masses should be managed by multidisciplinary oncology team at specialized cancer centers.