Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bound on the probability of HMM misclassification

In this paper we consider the problem of classifying a sequence of observations among two known hidden Markov models (HMMs). We use a classifier that minimizes the probability of error (i.e., the probability of misclassification), and we are interested in assessing its performance by computing the a priori probability of error (before any observations are made). This probability (that the classifier makes an incorrect decision) can be obtained, as a function of the length of the sequence of observations, by summing up the probability of misclassification over all possible observation sequences, weighted by their corresponding probabilities. In an effort to avoid the high complexity associated with the computation of the exact probability of error, we establish an upper bound on the probability of error, and we find the necessary and sufficient conditions for this bound to tend to zero exponentially with the number of observation steps. We focus on classification among two HMMs that have the same language, which is the most difficult case to characterize; our approach can easily be applied to classification among any two arbitrary HMMs. The bound we obtain can also be used to approximate the dissimilarity between the two given HMMs.
Transitive Avoidance Games

Positional games are a well-studied class of combinatorial games. In their usual form, two players take turns to play moves in a set ('the board'), and certain subsets are designated as 'winning': the first person to occupy such a set wins the game. For these games, it is well known that (with correct play) the game cannot be a second-player win. In the avoidance (or mis e re) form, the first person to occupy such a set loses the game. Here it would be natural to expect that the game cannot be a first-player win, at least if the game is transitive, meaning that all points of the board look the same. Our main result is that, contrary to this expectation, there are transitive games that are first-player wins, for all board sizes which are not prime or a power of 2. Further, we show that such games can have additional properties such as stronger transitivity conditions, fast winning times, and 'small' winning sets.
Recycled teacher memories and upcycled teacher memories: categorising pre-service teachers’ recollections of past teachers

ABSTRACT The ‘learner biography’ is commonly used in teacher education to assist in the unpacking of schooling experiences. Although past teachers are often central in these memories, the educational benefit of these recollections for the student teacher’s development is often dependent on how these experiences are recalled as they form the basis of further analysis and interrogation. Through an analysis of written learner diaries by pre-service teachers in Spain, this study aimed to explore how past teachers were recalled from a psychological, cognitive perspective. The study found that teachers were presented in a polarised manner as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. However, more significantly, analysis of the student teachers’ descriptions indicate that some recollections were framed through subsequent theoretical perspectives acquired as part of their teacher education programme while others were not. A theoretical model to understand pre-service teachers’ memories of teachers is outlined and its implications for teacher education are discussed.
Radiation Patterns Of Compressional And Shear Transducers At The Surface Of An Elastic Half Space

This study investigates the radiation patterns of an elastic wave field generated by circular plane compressional and shear transducers at the surface of an elastic half‐space. These patterns are obtained from the integral representation of the elastic wave field using the method of steepest descent. It is shown that these patterns contain both effects of the elastic half‐space and the amplitude modulation due to the finite dimension of the transducer source. Examples are given to show the behavior of the radiation patterns at low, medium, and high frequencies. These patterns have been verified by a laboratory experiment performed using circular compressional and shear transducers. Therefore, for a circular transducer (compressional or shear) of a given operating frequency, the transducer radiation directivity can be conveniently analyzed using the results of this study.
Introduction: management of sharks and their relatives (Elasmobranchii)

Sharks and their relatives, the rays (subclass Elasmobranchii) are a group of about 1,100 species of mostly marine fishes (Compagno, 2001). Most sharks and rays that have been studied have slow growth, late maturity and very low fecundity compared to bony fishes (Camhi et al., 1998). These attributes result in very low intrinsic rates of increase (Smith et al., 1998) and very low resilience to fishing mortality (Hoenig and Gruber, 1990). Thus, most shark and ray populations can withstand only modest levels of fishing without depletion and stock collapse (Camhi et al. decline more rapidly and are not able rebound as quickly as other fishes to population reductions (Sminkey and Musick, 1995; 1996). Consequently, management must be implemented at the inception of shark fisheries (Musick, 1999). However, this has not been the case for the vast majority of shark fisheries that have developed around the world (Bonfil, 1994). Rather, the overwhelming pattern has been one of no management, rapid stock decline and collapse, with decades to recovery if recovery occurs at all (Ander-Successful sustainable fisheries for sharks are possible, particularly for smaller species that mature early and have a relatively large number of young. The fishery for gummy sharks (Mustelus antarcticus) in Australia stands as a good example. Success in this fishery has come through knowledge of the biology of the species and active management measures (mostly through regulation of mesh size in the gillnet fishery) (Walker, 1998; Stevens, 1999). Even sharks with very low intrinsic rates of increase may be harvested sustainably if sufficient information exists on their demography and an effective management strategy can be enforced. Simpfendorfer (1999) reported on the sustainable dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) fishery in Western Australia, which is focused on a limited catch (500-700 mt/ yr) of young-of-the-year fish, with protection of all other age classes. Although many sharks and rays have been of lower economic value in fisheries, the economic impact of stock collapse may be similar to more productive species because the population recovery time and economic loss last much longer (Musick, 1999). Well-documented cases of collapsed shark fisheries are the porbeagle (Lamna nasus)
Randomized double blind placebo-controlled trial of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3856 in irritable bowel syndrome: improvement in abdominal pain and bloating in those with predominant constipation

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and/or discomfort. Probiotics have been reported to benefit IBS symptoms but the level of benefit remains quite unclear. Objective This study was designed to assess the benefit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae I-3856 on IBS symptoms. Methods A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial has been performed in 379 subjects with diagnosed IBS. Subjects were randomly supplemented with the probiotics (1000 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks. Questionnaires (gastrointestinal symptoms, stools, wellbeing, and quality of life) were completed. Primary endpoint was percentage of responders defined as having a 50% decrease in the weekly average “intestinal pain/discomfort score” for at least 4 out of the last 8 weeks of the study. Results There was no overall benefit of S. cerevisiae I-3856 on IBS symptoms and wellbeing in the study population. Moreover, S. cerevisiae I-3856 was not statistically significant predictor of the responder status of the subjects (p > 0.05). Planned subgroup analyses showed significant effect in the IBS-C subjects: improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms was significantly higher in active group, compared to placebo, on abdominal pain/discomfort and bloating throughout the study and at the end of the supplementation. Conclusions In this study, S. cerevisiae I-3856 at the dose of 1000 mg per day does not improve intestinal pain and discomfort in general IBS patients. However, it seems to have an effect in the subgroup with constipation which needs further studies to confirm (NCT01613456 in ClinicalTrials.gov registry).
An Epiallele at cly1 Affects the Expression of Floret Closing (Cleistogamy) in Barley

The swelling of the lodicule is responsible for floret opening in many grass species, allowing for pollen dispersal and cross-pollination. In barley, the closed floret habit (cleistogamy) is under the control of cly1, a gene that operates by inhibiting the development of the lodicule. In non-cleistogamous cultivars, cly1 mRNA is degraded by miR172-directed cleavage, allowing the lodicules to swell; however, in cultivars carrying the recessive allele cly1.b, a single-nucleotide substitution destroys the miR172 target site preventing mRNA cleavage. Barley cv. SV235 is cleistogamous; its cly1 coding sequence is identical to that of cly1.b, but its lodicules do develop, although insufficiently to produce a non-cleistogamous flower. In this cultivar, the downregulation of cly1 is unrelated to miR172-directed mRNA degradation, but rather is caused by an epiallele that represses transcription. Allelic relationships between known cly1 alleles were explored by the quantification of lodicule vascularization and an assessment of the response of the spike to the supply of exogenous auxin. The SV235 phenotype can be manipulated by a pre-anthesis application of 2,4-d, a feature that could be of interest in the context of hybrid barley grain production based on cleistogamy.
Uptake and phosphorylation of cytosine arabinoside by normal and leukemic human blood cells in vitro.

Uptake and subsequent phosphorylation of cytosine arabinoside by normal and leukemic human leukocytes, and by normal platelets and erythrocytes, were measured in vitro . A very rapid uptake of the drug was found, even at 10°C. A cell/medium distribution ratio of 1 was achieved over a wide range of external drug concentrations. Capacity for drug phosphorylation, which varied widely among the different cell types, was highest in mature lymphocytes and some mycloblasts and lymphoblasts, lower in granulocytes, erythrocytes and platelets, and lowest in circulating lymphoblasts and myeloblasts from patients with leukemias resistant to cytosine arabinoside.
Crucial Role of Membrane Potential in Heat Stress-Induced Overproduction of Reactive Oxygen Species in Avian Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria

Heat stress is an environmental factor that causes oxidative stress. We found previously that acute heat stress stimulates the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the skeletal muscle mitochondria of birds, and that this was accompanied by an increase of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) due to increased substrate oxidation by the electron transport chain. We also showed that avian uncoupling protein (avUCP) expression is decreased by the heat exposure. The present study clarifies whether ΔΨ is a major determinant of the overproduction of ROS due to acute heat stress, and if the decrease in avUCP expression is responsible for the elevation in ΔΨ. Control (24°C) and acute heat-stressed (34°C for 12 h) birds exhibited increased succinate-driven mitochondrial ROS production as indicated by an elevation of ΔΨ, with this increase being significantly higher in the heat-stressed group compared with the control group. In glutamate/malate-energized mitochondria, no difference in the ROS production between the groups was observed, though the mitochondrial ΔΨ was significantly higher in the heat-stressed groups compared with the control group. Furthermore, mitochondria energized with either succinate/glutamate or succinate/malate showed increased ROS production and ΔΨ in the heat-stressed group compared with mitochondria from the control group. These results suggest that succinate oxidation could play an important role in the heat stress-induced overproduction of mitochondrial ROS in skeletal muscle. In agreement with the notion of a decrease in avUCP expression in response to heat stress, proton leak, which was likely mediated by UCP (that part which is GDP-inhibited and arachidonic acid-sensitive), was reduced in the heat-exposed group. We suggest that the acute heat stress-induced overproduction of mitochondrial ROS may depend on ΔΨ, which may in turn result not only from increased substrate oxidation but also from a decrease in the mitochondrial avUCP content.
Generalizing Detached Self-Reference and the Semantics of Generic One

In this paper I will give an analysis of what I call 'generalizing detached self-reference' within a general account of reference to the first person. With generalizing detached self-reference an agent attributes properties to a range of individuals by putting himself into their shoes, or simulating them. I will show that generalizing detached self-reference plays an important role in the semantics of natural language, in particular in the English generic one and in what syntacticians call arbitrary PRO.
Spectral energy distributions of type 2 quasi-stellar objects: obscured star formation at high redshifts

We present new mid-infrared and submillimetre observations for a sample of eight high-redshift type 2 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) located in the Chandra Deep Field-South. The sources are X-ray absorbed with luminosities in excess of 10 44 erg s ―1 . Two of the targets have robust detections, S/N > 4, while further three targets are marginally detected with S/N ≥ 2.5. All sources are detected in multiple mid-infrared bands with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The multiwavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the type 2 QSOs are compared to those of two local ultraluminous galaxies (Arp220 and IR22491) in order to assess contributions from a star-forming component in various parts of the SED. We suggest that their submm emission is possibly due to a starburst while a large fraction of the mid-infrared energy is likely to originate in the obscured central quasar. Using the mid-infrared and submm observations, we derive infrared luminosities which are found to be in excess of L > 10 12 L ⊙ . The submm (850 μm) to X-ray (2 keV) spectral indices (α SX ) span a wide range. About half of the type 2 QSOs have values typical for a Compton-thick active galactic nuclei with only 1 per cent of the nuclear emission seen through scattering, and the remaining with values typical of submm-bright galaxies. Combining the available observational evidence, we outline a possible scenario for the early stages of evolution of these sources.
Tyrell: A RFID simulation platform

Attacks in RFID systems are known to be expressed in output data. As these systems become more widespread, research into detecting attacks in the output data which is produced when RFID components interact will become more important. However, the problem limiting practical research developments in this area has been the availability of output data containing attacks. As the output data is contextualized by the application environment which produced it, detecting attacks requires knowledge of the environment to construct relevant plausibility checks. To overcome this problem we introduce a software based RFID simulation platform called Tyrell. The end-user instantiates the values of a real system and attacks into the simulation platform. The interaction between the simulated components leads to the production of output data containing attacks. The improvement is that output data can now be produced containing attacks in a repeatable way.
Convection heat and mass transfer in a hydromagnetic Carreau fluid past a vertical porous plate in presence of thermal radiation and thermal diffusion

Original scientific paper UDC: 532.546:536.25:537.84 DOI: 10.2298/TSCI101026060O The paper presents the numerical investigation of the convection heat and mass transfer in a hydromagnetic Carreau fluid past a vertical porous plate in presence of thermal radiation and thermal diffusion. The non-linear partial differential equations governing the flow are transformed in ordinary differential equations using the usual similarity method and the resulting similarity equations are solved numerically using Runge-Kutta shooting method. The results are presented as velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles for different values of parameters entering in the problem. The effects of suction, magnetic field, thermal radiation, and thermal diffusion on the skin friction, rate of heat transfer and mass transfer are presented numerically in tabular form.
The Benefits and Risks of Telling and Listening to Stories of Difficulty Over Time: Experimentally Testing the Expressive Writing Paradigm in the Context of Interpersonal Communication Between Friends

The overarching goal of the current study was to determine the impact of talking interpersonally over time on emerging adults’ individual and relational health. Using an expressive writing study design (see Frattaroli, 2006), we assessed the degree to which psychological health improved over time for college students who told and listened to stories about friends’ current difficulties in comparison with tellers in control conditions. We also investigated the effects on tellers’ and listeners’ perceptions of each other’s communication competence, communicated perspective-taking, and the degree to which each threatened the other’s face during the interaction over time to better understand the interpersonal communication complexities associated with talking about difficulty over time. After completing prestudy questionnaires, 49 friend pairs engaged in three interpersonal interactions over the course of 1 week wherein one talked about and one listened to a story of difficulty (treatment) or daily events (control). All participants completed a poststudy questionnaire 3 weeks later. Tellers’ negative affect decreased over time for participants exposed to the treatment group, although life satisfaction increased and positive affect decreased across time for participants regardless of condition. Perceptions of friends’ communication abilities decreased significantly over time for tellers. The current study contributes to the literature on expressive writing and social support by shedding light on the interpersonal implications of talking about difficulty, the often-overlooked effects of disclosure on listeners, and the health effects of talking about problems on college students’ health.
Harmony of the Froissart Theorem in Fundamental Dynamics of Particles and Nuclei

It has been shown that the great ancient Pythagorean ideas have found themselves in the latest researches in high energy elementary particles and nuclear physics. In this respect we concern and discuss the mathematical, physical and geometrical aspects of the famous Froissart theorem and in this way one establishes a link of this theorem to the mathematics and ideas elaborated in the Pythagorean school. A harmony of the Froissart theorem in fundamental dynamics of particles and nuclei has been displayed. We argue that a harmony of the Froissart theorem allow us to hear the new notes of {\it ``the music of the spheres"} just in the Pythagoreans sense.
Gratitude reflection : its effect on levels of gratitude, happiness and materialism among third level students

3 Introduction. 4 Methodology. 14 Participants. 14 Design. 14 Materials. 15 Apparatus. 17 Procedure. 17 Results. 20 Discussion. 25 References. 35 Appendix. 38 A – Cover sheet. 39 B – Questionnaires in the booklet. 40 C – Debrief sheet. 45 D – Word search. 46
Effects of unemployment on wages: differences between types of reemployment and types of occupation

In this article, we examine the effects of unemployment on reentry wages in Germany. Based on the theories of signaling effects, human capital, and occupational segmentation, we discuss the heterogeneity of reemployment wages among different types of reemployment and among different occupations. The empirical analysis is based on the German social security records of the Linked Employer–Employee Data from IAB (LIAB). Our results indicate that the wage effects of unemployment vary considerably across occupations. First, occupations characterized by higher rates of participation in further education showed stronger negative effects of unemployment on reentry wages. This finding indicates that occupations that involve less technological change are associated with a slower depreciation of specific human capital. Second, the lost wages after unemployment are higher in occupations with a typically higher rate of unemployment, indicating that an oversupply of employees leads to lower bargaining power on the part of workers. Third, the negative effect of unemployment is reduced if employees are reemployed by a former employer within one year of dismissal. This finding reflects the fact that employers already know the productivity of former employees and can thus retain company-specific human capital.
Is Bigger Better? Customer Base Expansion through Word‐of‐Mouth Reputation

A model of gradual reputation formation through a process of continuous investment in product quality is developed. We assume that the ability to produce high‐quality products requires continuous investment and that as a consequence of informational frictions, such as search costs, information about firms’ past performance diffuses only gradually in the market. This leads to a dual process of growth of a firm’s customer base and an increase in the firm’s investment in quality. The model predicts, therefore, that the longer its tenure as a high‐quality producer, the more a firm invests in quality. We relate this finding to empirical work on online commerce as well as on traditional industries.
An Examination of Oxidative Passivated Surfaces on 19th Century Colt Revolver Barrels

Acknowledgements Thank you so much to my readers, Professor Tyler Moersch at Harvey Mudd College and Professor Anna Wenzel at Keck Science Department, for believing in me and this project. My deepest appreciation goes to Richard Moll, Chief Conservator at the Autry National Center, who provided me with the inspiration for this thesis, and who was instrumental in arranging the artifact loan for the gun barrels. Thank you also to Sarah Signorovitch, Stephanie Kowalick, Nick Macierz, and the rest of the Autry staff for entrusting me with these objects. of the Pomona Physics, Chemistry, and Geology departments. Without your help and access to your very expensive instruments this thesis would not have been possible. To Professor Mary MacNaughton, Kirk Delman, and the rest of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery staff, I would like to express my gratitude for your generosity throughout the past four years. Finally, a heartfelt thank you to my friends and family for your unflagging support and all the laughs.
Test matter in a spacetime with nonmetricity

Examples in which spacetime might become non-Riemannian appear above Planck energies in string theory or, in the very early Universe, in the inflationary model. The simplest such geometry is metric-affine geometry, in which nonmetricity appears as a field strength, side by side with curvature and torsion. In matter, the shear and dilation currents couple to nonmetricity, and they are its sources. After reviewing the equations of motion and the Noether identities, we study two recent vacuum solutions of the metric-affine gauge theory of gravity. We then use the values of the nonmetricity in these solutions to study the motion of the appropriate test matter. As a Regge-trajectory-like hadronic excitation band, the test matter is endowed with shear degrees of freedom and described by a world spinor.