Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction‐Based Structured Variable Selection through the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves

Summary In many clinical settings, a commonly encountered problem is to assess accuracy of a screening test for early detection of a disease. In these applications, predictive performance of the test is of interest. Variable selection may be useful in designing a medical test. An example is a research study conducted to design a new screening test by selecting variables from an existing screener with a hierarchical structure among variables: there are several root questions followed by their stem questions. The stem questions will only be asked after a subject has answered the root question. It is therefore unreasonable to select a model that only contains stem variables but not its root variable. In this work, we propose methods to perform variable selection with structured variables when predictive accuracy of a diagnostic test is the main concern of the analysis. We take a linear combination of individual variables to form a combined test. We then maximize a direct summary measure of the predictive performance of the test, the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC of an ROC), subject to a penalty function to control for overfitting. Since maximizing empirical AUC of the ROC of a combined test is a complicated nonconvex problem ( Pepe, Cai, and Longton, 2006 , Biometrics62, 221–229), we explore the connection between the empirical AUC and a support vector machine (SVM). We cast the problem of maximizing predictive performance of a combined test as a penalized SVM problem and apply a reparametrization to impose the hierarchical structure among variables. We also describe a penalized logistic regression variable selection procedure for structured variables and compare it with the ROC‐based approaches. We use simulation studies based on real data to examine performance of the proposed methods. Finally we apply developed methods to design a structured screener to be used in primary care clinics to refer potentially psychotic patients for further specialty diagnostics and treatment.
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated with Executive Control in Late-Middle-Aged Adults: An Event-Related (De) Synchronization (ERD/ERS) Study

The present study sought to determine whether cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cognitive function in late-middle-aged adults from event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) perspectives. Late-middle-aged adults were categorized into either the high-fitness group or the low-fitness group based on their estimated cardiorespiratory fitness values. The participants completed the Stroop Test, which is comprised of incongruent and neutral conditions, while the brain activities were recoded. The alpha ERD and ERS values based on the equation proposed by Pfurtscheller (1977) were further calculated. The results revealed that the adults with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness demonstrated superior Stroop performance, regardless of Stroop congruency. While these high-fitness adults had less positive upper alpha ERD values in the later epoch window compared to their lower-fitness counterparts, they had greater lower alpha ERD values in the early epoch window. Additionally, in the late epoch window, the high-fitness adults showed less positive lower alpha ERD values on neutral, but not incongruent condition, relative to their low-fitness counterparts. These findings suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness of the late-middle-aged adults is positively associated with cognitive functioning, especially the cognitive processes related to the inhibition of task-irrelevant information and those processes required the devotion of greater amounts of attentional resources to a given task.
Efficacy of combined axitinib with dacarbazine in a B16F1 melanoma xenograft model

In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and intestinal side effects of the selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors, axitinib and/or dacarbazine (DTIC), in a B16F1 melanoma xenograft model. C57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously inoculated with B16F1 melanoma cells. The study was randomized into four groups receiving either 0.5% carboxyl methylcellulose, DTIC, axitinib or a combination of DTIC and axitinib. When the experimental period was complete, the tumor tissues from each mouse were excised, photographed and weighed. The tumor and intestinal tissues were harvested with 4% paraformaldehyde, and paraffin-embedded sections were prepared for hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemical staining (with antibody specific to proliferating cell nuclear antibody) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assays. The expression of the VEGF and matrix metalloproteinase 9 genes was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. No significant benefit to treatment with a combination of axitinib and DTIC, as opposed to axitinib alone, was observed; however, the combined treatment did not enhance the level of enteritis compared with that observed in the axitinb group. In addition, axitinib, as a single agent, demonstrated an improved treatment efficacy compared with DTIC. Therefore, axitinib represents a potential novel, efficient and safe anticancer agent, suggesting a possible use for this schedule in treating melanomas that are less sensitive to DTIC.
Effect of Seed Priming on Early Development of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth

Striga hermonthica is an obligate, root parasite, that limits cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa. Successful control depends on eliminating its seed reserves in soil, thereby preventing parasitism. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of salinity on germination traits and seedling growth of sorghum (cultivar Wad Ahmed) and S. hermonthica. The experiments were conducted in a factorial arrangement on the basis of completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 replications. In the first experiment, sorghum height, leaf area, and shoot and root dry weights were examined. The results displayed that, with increasing salinity level, leaf area and dry biomass were increased, while the height was decreased. In the second experiment, Striga germination and haustorium initiation percentages were examined. Among all salts, C2H4O2·NH3 inhibited Striga germination (0–15%) during conditioning or (0–25%) at germination compared to the control (75%). However, salt MgSO4·7H2O improved germination during conditioning up to 70%, while during germination CH3COONa·3H2O recorded 65% germination. Regarding haustoria initiation, results showed that C2H4O2·NH3 at all concentrations inhibits haustorium formation by 100%, while CH3COONa·3H2O at 10 µM improved haustorium formation up to 64% but still below the control (70%). Osmotic potential may significantly affect germination and radicle elongation of the parasitic weed.
LIFE IS MUSIC

Following Blending Theory, this chapter analyses a novel metaphor LIFE IS MUSIC which formed a leitmotif of Daniel Barenboim’s BBC Reith Lectures of 2006. The main focus is on the means and techniques employed by Barenboim, and his use of “verbo-musical” metaphors in particular. Because it goes beyond verbo-pictorial modes of representation, the proposed study of verbo-musical metaphors in a dynamically evolving discourse constitutes a new contribution not only to studies of multimodal metaphor in actual language use, but also to debates on conceptual nature of metaphor, “(metaphorical) thinking for speaking”, and language and cognition.
On the predictability of program behavior using different input data sets

Smaller input data sets such as the test and the train input sets are commonly used in simulation to estimate the impact of architecture/micro-architecture features on the performance of SPEC benchmarks. They are also used for profile feedback compiler optimizations. In this paper, we examine the reliability of reduced input sets for performance simulation and profile feedback optimizations. We study the high level metrics such as IPC and procedure level profiles as well as lower level measurements such as execution paths exercised by various input sets on the SPEC2000int benchmark. Our study indicates that the test input sets are not suitable to be used for simulation because they do not have an execution profile similar to the reference input runs. The train data set is better than the test data sets at maintaining similar profiles to the reference input set. However, the observed execution paths leading to cache misses are very different between using the smaller input sets and the reference input sets. For current profile based optimizations, the differences in quality of profiles may not have a significant impact on performance, as tested on the Itanium processor with an Intel compiler. However, we believe the impact of profile quality will be greater for more aggressive profile guided optimizations, such as cache prefetching.
The Lysosomal Sialic Acid Transporter Sialin Is Required for Normal CNS Myelination

Salla disease and infantile sialic acid storage disease are autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorders caused by mutations in the gene encoding sialin, a membrane protein that transports free sialic acid out of the lysosome after it is cleaved from sialoglycoconjugates undergoing degradation. Accumulation of sialic acid in lysosomes defines these disorders, and the clinical phenotype is characterized by neurodevelopmental defects, including severe CNS hypomyelination. In this study, we used a sialin-deficient mouse to address how loss of sialin leads to the defect in myelination. Behavioral analysis of the sialin−/− mouse demonstrates poor coordination, seizures, and premature death. Analysis by histology, electron microscopy, and Western blotting reveals a decrease in myelination of the CNS but normal neuronal cytoarchitecture and normal myelination of the PNS. To investigate potential mechanisms underlying CNS hypomyelination, we studied myelination and oligodendrocyte development in optic nerves. We found reduced numbers of myelinated axons in optic nerves from sialin−/− mice, but the myelin that was present appeared grossly normal. Migration and density of oligodendrocyte precursor cells were normal; however, a marked decrease in the number of postmitotic oligodendrocytes and an associated increase in the number of apoptotic cells during the later stages of myelinogenesis were observed. These findings suggest that a defect in maturation of cells in the oligodendrocyte lineage leads to increased apoptosis and underlies the myelination defect associated with sialin loss.
Street-Level Bureaucrats as Individual Policymakers: The Relationship between Attitudes and Coping Behavior toward Vulnerable Children and Youth

ABSTRACT Lipsky (1980) pointed out that street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) are important policymakers due to the discretion they exercise and argued from a structural perspective that these workers manifest relatively similar coping behaviors owing to their shared working conditions, characterized by chronically limited resources and non-voluntary clients. Using data from a national survey of municipal child welfare caseworkers in Denmark, we further develop Lipsky's theory from an agency perspective by focusing on variation in coping among SLBs and examining the extent to which such variation is explained by SLBs’ attitudes towards the target group, the objectives and content of their jobs, and their perceptions of the capacity of their institutions. We find that SLBs’ aversion to and tolerance of the client group, their perceptions of institutional capacity in terms of municipal resources and local political inefficacy, and their conceptual modification of job contents are all related to their use of coping.
Cheating in networked computer games: a review

The increasing popularity of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) -- games involving thousands of players participating simultaneously in a single virtual world - has highlighted the scalability bottlenecks present in centralised Client/Server (C/S) architectures. Researchers are proposing Peer-to-Peer (P2P) architectures as a scalable alternative to C/S; however, P2P is more vulnerable to cheating as it decentralises the game state and logic to un-trusted peer machines, rather than using trusted centralised servers. Cheating is a major concern for online games, as a minority of cheaters can potentially ruin the game for all players. In this paper we present a review and classification of known cheats, and provide real-world examples where possible. Further, we discuss counter measures used by C/S architectures to prevent cheating. Finally, we discuss several P2P architectures designed to prevent cheating, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
A Dynamic TCP-Aware Call Admission Control Scheme for Generic Next Generation Packet-Switched Wireless Networks

Traditional call admission control (CAC) schemes only consider call-level performance and are mainly designed for circuit-switched wireless network. Since future wireless communications will become packet-switched systems, the packet-level features could be explored to improve the system performance. This is especially true when the TCP-type of elastic applications are running over such packet-switched wireless networks, as the elasticity of TCP applications has more tolerance toward the throughput/delay variation than non-elastic traffic does. In order to efficiently utilize the system resource from an admission control perspective, we propose a TCP-aware CAC scheme to regulate the packet-level dynamics of TCP flows. We analyze the system performance under realistic scenarios in which (i) the call holding time for non-elastic traffic like voice is independent of system states and (ii) the call holding time for TCP type of traffic depends on the system state, i.e., on the TCP flow's transmission rate. Extensive simulations are presented under different scenarios to show that the proposed scheme can effectively improve the system performance in terms of call blocking probability, call-level throughput (call/min) and link utilization, in accordance with our theoretical results.
Social Interaction and Collaboration among Oncology Nurses

Collaboration is a complex process influenced by organizational, professional, interpersonal, and personal factors. Research has demonstrated that collaboration may also be influenced by social factors. Nurses spend much of their time working in collaborative teams, yet little is known about how they socially interact in practice. This qualitative case study explored nurse perceptions of social interaction in relation to collaboration. Data were collected using telephone interviews and documentary reviews from fourteen oncology nurses employed at one cancer center in Canada. Thematic analysis revealed two themes: knowing you is trusting you and formal and informal opportunities. Nurses reported that social interaction meant getting to know someone personally as well as professionally. Social interaction was enacted inside of work during breaks/meals and outside of work at planned events. Social interaction was facilitated by having a long-term current and/or previous professional and personal relationship. The barriers to social interaction included a lack of time to get to know each other, workload issues, and poor interpersonal skills. Findings suggest that social interaction is an important factor in the collaborative relationship among oncology nurses. Nurse leaders need to promote social interaction opportunities and facilitate educational sessions to improve social and interpersonal skills.
A rat model of neurobehavioral sensitization to toluene

Some individuals report that, following either a single high-level or repeated lower-level exposures to chemicals (initiation), subsequent exposure to very low concentrations of chemicals (triggering) produces a variety of adverse effects, including disruption of cognitive processes. Our objective was to model this two-step process in a laboratory animal. Two groups of 16 rats, eight male and eight female, received whole-body inhalation exposure to toluene, either at 80 ppm for 6 h/day for 4 weeks (Repeat group) or to 1600 ppm for 6 h/day on one day only (Acute group). Two other groups (Trigger group and Clean group) of 16 were sham-exposed. After 17 days without toluene exposure, the Acute, Repeat and Trigger groups began a series of daily toluene `trigger' exposures (10 ppm for 1 h) followed immediately by testing on an operant repeated-acquisitions task requiring learning within and across sessions. The Clean group was sham-exposed prior to operant testing. Trigger or sham exposures and operant testing continued 5 days/week for 17 sessions. Analysis of variance revealed a variety of statistically significant (P<0.05) differences between treatment groups. Furthermore, the patterns of differences between groups differed (P<0.05) for female and male rats. For example, male rats of the Trigger group made the most responses, and female rats of the Repeat group responded most slowly. The observation of important changes in the operant behavior of female and male rats previously exposed to toluene, at relatively low concentrations (80 or 1600 ppm) and then later re-exposed at very low concentrations (10 ppm), is consistent with the experiences of humans reporting cognitive difficulties following acute or chronic exposures to chemicals.
Spherical functions on spherical varieties

Let ${\bf X}={\bf H}\backslash{\bf G}$ be a homogeneous spherical variety for a split reductive group ${\bf G}$ over the integers $\frak o$ of a $p$-adic field $k$, and $K={\bf G}(\frak o)$ a hyperspecial maximal compact subgroup of $G={\bf G}(k)$. We compute eigenfunctions (``spherical functions'') on $X={\bf X}(k)$ under the action of the unramified (or spherical) Hecke algebra of $G$, generalizing many classical results of ``Casselman-Shalika'' type. Under some additional assumptions on ${\bf X}$ we also prove a variant of the formula which involves a certain quotient of $L$-values, and we present several applications such as: (1) a statement on ``good test vectors'' in the multiplicity-free case (namely, that an $H$-invariant functional on an irreducible unramified representation $\pi$ is non-zero on $\pi^K$), (2) the unramified Plancherel formula for $X$, including a formula for the ``Tamagawa measure'' of ${\bf X}(\frak o)$, and (3) a computation of the most continuous part of ${\bf H}$-period integrals of principal Eisenstein series.
Optimal Altitude, Overlap, and Weather Conditions for Computer Vision UAV Estimates of Forest Structure

Abstract: Ecological remote sensing is being transformed by three-dimensional (3D), multispectral measurements of forest canopies by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and computer vision structure from motion (SFM) algorithms. Yet applications of this technology have out-paced understanding of the relationship between collection method and data quality. Here, UAV-SFM remote sensing was used to produce 3D multispectral point clouds of Temperate Deciduous forests at different levels of UAV altitude, image overlap, weather, and image processing. Error in canopy height estimates was explained by the alignment of the canopy height model to the digital terrain model (R 2 = 0.81) due to differences in lighting and image overlap. Accounting for this, no significant differences were observed in height error at different levels of lighting, altitude, and side overlap. Overall, accurate estimates of canopy height compared to field measurements (R 2 = 0.86, RMSE = 3.6 m) and LIDAR (R
Facial recognition using new LBP representations

In this paper, we propose a facial recognition based on the LBP operator. We divide the face into non-overlapped regions. After that, we classify a training set using each region at a time under different configurations of the LBP operator. Regarding to the best recognition rate, we consider a weight and specific LBP configuration to the regions. To represent the face image, we extract LBP histograms with the specific configuration (radius and neighbors) and concatenate them into feature histogram. We propose a multi-resolution approach, to gather local and global information and improve the recognition rate. To evaluate our proposed approach, we considered the FERET data set, which includes different facial expressions, lighting, and aging of the subjects. In addition, weighted Chi-2 is considered as a dissimilarity measure. The experimental results show a considerable improvement against the original idea.
The changing carbon cycle at Mauna Loa Observatory

The amplitude of the CO2 seasonal cycle at the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) increased from the early 1970s to the early 1990s but decreased thereafter despite continued warming over northern continents. Because of its location relative to the large-scale atmospheric circulation, the MLO receives mainly Eurasian air masses in the northern hemisphere (NH) winter but relatively more North American air masses in NH summer. Consistent with this seasonal footprint, our findings indicate that the MLO amplitude registers North American net carbon uptake during the warm season and Eurasian net carbon release as well as anomalies in atmospheric circulation during the cold season. From the early 1970s to the early 1990s, our analysis was consistent with that of Keeling et al. [Keeling CD, Chin JFS, Whorf TP (1996) Nature 382:146–149], suggesting that the increase in the MLO CO2 amplitude is dominated by enhanced photosynthetic drawdown in North America and enhanced respiration in Eurasia. In contrast, the recent decline in the CO2 amplitude is attributed to reductions in carbon sequestration over North America associated with severe droughts from 1998 to 2003 and changes in atmospheric circulation leading to decreased influence of Eurasian air masses. With the return of rains to the U.S. in 2004, both the normalized difference vegetation index and the MLO amplitude sharply increased, suggesting a return of the North American carbon sink to more normal levels. These findings indicate that atmospheric CO2 measurements at remote sites can continue to play an important role in documenting changes in land carbon flux, including those related to widespread drought, which may continue to worsen as a result of global warming.
Oscillator Strengths and Predissociation Rates for Rydberg Transitions in 12C16O, 13C16O, and 13C18O Involving the E 1Π, B 1Σ+, and W 1Π States

One of the processes controlling the interstellar CO abundance and the ratio of its isotopologues is photodissociation. Accurate oscillator strengths and predissociation rates for Rydberg transitions are needed for modeling this process. We present results on absorption from the E 1Π-X 1Σ+ (1-0) and B 1Σ+-X 1Σ+ (6-0) bands at 1051 and 1002 Å, respectively, and the vibrational progression W 1Π-X 1Σ+ (v′-0) bands with v′ = 0-3 at 972, 956, 941, and 925 Å, respectively. The corresponding spectra were acquired at the high resolution (R ≈ 30,000) SU5 beam line at the Super ACO Synchrotron in Orsay, France. Spectra were obtained for the 12C16O, 13C 16O, and 13C18O isotopologues. These represent the most complete set of measurements available. Comparison is made with earlier results, both empirical and theoretical. While earlier determinations of oscillator strengths based on absorption from synchrotron radiation tend to be somewhat smaller than ours, the suite of measurements from a variety of techniques agree for the most part, considering the mutual uncertainties. For the bands studied here, their relative weakness, or their significant line widths arising from predissociation, minimizes potential problems from large optical depths at line center in absorption measurements. Predissociating line widths could generally be extracted from the spectra thanks to the profile simulations used in the analysis. In many cases, these simulations allowed us to consider e and f parity levels separately and to determine the dependence of the width on rotational quantum number, J. Our results are consistent with earlier determinations, especially the widths inferred from laser experiments.