Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The suitability of steam exploded Vitis vinifera and alkaline lignin for the manufacture of fiberboard

The main objective of this study was to explore the suitability of Vitis vinifera as a raw material and alkaline lignin as a natural binder for fiberboard manufacturing. In the first step, Vitis vinifera was steam- exploded through a thermo-mechanical vapor process in a batch reactor, and the obtained pulp was dried, ground, and pressed to produce the boards. The effects of pretreatment factors and pressing conditions on the chemical composition of the fibers and the physico-mechanical properties of binderless fiberboards were evaluated, and the conditions that optimize these properties were found. A response surface method based on a central composite design and multiple-response optimization was used. The variables studied and their respective variation ranges were: pretreatment temperature (Tr: 190-210ºC), pretreatment time (tr: 5-10 min), pressing temperature (Tp: 190-210ºC), pressing pressure (Pp: 8-16MPa), and pressing time (tp: 3-7min). The results of the optimization step show that binderless fiberboards have good water resistance and weaker mechanical properties. In the second step, fiberboards based on alkaline lignin and Vitis vinifera pulp produced at the optimal conditions determined for binderless fiberboards were prepared and their physico-mechanical properties were tested. Our results show that the addition of about 15% alkaline lignin leads to the production of fiberboards that fully meet the requirements of the relevant standard specifications.
Multiobjective design of operators that detect points of interest in images

In this paper, a multiobjective (MO) learning approach to image feature extraction is described, where Pareto-optimal interest point (IP) detectors are synthesized using genetic programming (GP). IPs are image pixels that are unique, robust to changes during image acquisition, and convey highly descriptive information. Detecting such features is ubiquitous to many vision applications, e.g. object recognition, image indexing, stereo vision, and content based image retrieval. In this work, candidate IP operators are automatically synthesized by the GP process using simple image operations and arithmetic functions. Three experimental optimization criteria are considered: 1) the repeatability rate; 2) the amount of global separability between IPs; and 3) the information content captured by the set of detected IPs. The MO-GP search considers Pareto dominance relations between candidate operators, a perspective that has not been contemplated in previous research devoted to this problem. The experimental results suggest that IP detection is an illposed problem for which a single globally optimum solution does not exist. We conclude that the evolved operators outperform and dominate, in the Pareto sense, all previously man-made designs.
Learning Points and Routes to Recommend Trajectories

The problem of recommending tours to travellers is an important and broadly studied area. Suggested solutions include various approaches of points-of-interest (POI) recommendation and route planning. We consider the task of recommending a sequence of POIs, that simultaneously uses information about POIs and routes. Our approach unifies the treatment of various sources of information by representing them as features in machine learning algorithms, enabling us to learn from past behaviour. Information about POIs are used to learn a POI ranking model that accounts for the start and end points of tours. Data about previous trajectories are used for learning transition patterns between POIs that enable us to recommend probable routes. In addition, a probabilistic model is proposed to combine the results of POI ranking and the POI to POI transitions. We propose a new F1 score on pairs of POIs that capture the order of visits. Empirical results show that our approach improves on recent methods, and demonstrate that combining points and routes enables better trajectory recommendations.
Developing people in organizations: working (on) identity

In recent years there has been significant growth in research that has considered the relationship between worker identity and learning at work. A key part of this relates to discussions of the ‘newness’ of various types of work manifested in discourses such as post‐capitalism, post‐bureaucracy and the new work order. On this basis, it is argued that a ‘new worker’ for ‘new times’ is emerging. In this paper we address how such discourses of new work and new workers relate to what is played out in sites of practice. In so doing we problematize ‘newness’ by considering contemporary work practice and worker identity not as radical breaks with the past but rather as temporalized continuities that, whilst changing, have embedded in them the traces of the ‘old’. To exemplify our argument, we focus particularly on reconfiguration of training practices in organizations. We explore how such practices are embedded in different, ambivalent, and at times competing, organizational learning discourses each proposing how people should ‘be’. To do so we examine the particularities of practice observed in a qualitative study in a large Australian manufacturing firm. The paper concludes with a discussion of how, rather than ushering in the wholesale adoption of new forms of identity, contemporary work practices can be understood as situations of conflict and plurality in which identity is held in the balance.
Association of Genetic Polymorphisms of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 with Bleeding Following Warfarin: A Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION Various factors have been shown to increase the risk of bleeding with warfarin. This study aimed to assess the association of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 with the development of bleeding following warfarin. STUDY METHODS A case control study was initiated after obtaining institutional ethics committee clearance and written informed consent from patients. Cases were defined as those who bled within three months of warfarin initiation and controls as those who did not have any episode of bleeding within three months. Genotyping for CYP2C9 (*1, *2, *3) and VKORC1 1639 (GG, GA and AA) was performed by PCRRFLP. Chi square test was used to find out the association and trend of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotypes with odds ratio (95% CI) for strength of association. A binary logistic regression model was developed associating age, body weight, sex, CYP2C9 and VKORC1 status with risk of bleeding. RESULTS A total of 100 controls and 38 cases were studied from Oct 2009 to July 2011. A significant association (P < 0.0001) and trend (P = 0.027) of mutant alleles of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 were noted with bleeding with odds ratios of 7.8 [3.4, 17.9] and 2.7 [1.3, 5.7] respectively. Weekly dose requirement was significantly lower with the presence of *3 allele relative to *1 in CYP2C9 (P < 0.001). The regression model showed an accuracy of 80% and could explain 35.3% of the variability. CONCLUSION A significant association between CYP2C9 (*1,*2,*3) genotype and VKORC1 (1639 G>A) haplotype status has been found with increased bleeding tendency to warfarin. This may help to individualize therapy.
Data-Efficient Off-Policy Policy Evaluation for Reinforcement Learning

In this paper we present a new way of predicting the performance of a reinforcement learning policy given historical data that may have been generated by a different policy. The ability to evaluate a policy from historical data is important for applications where the deployment of a bad policy can be dangerous or costly. We show empirically that our algorithm produces estimates that often have orders of magnitude lower mean squared error than existing methods---it makes more efficient use of the available data. Our new estimator is based on two advances: an extension of the doubly robust estimator (Jiang and Li, 2015), and a new way to mix between model based estimates and importance sampling based estimates.
Achieving budget-optimality with adaptive schemes in crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing platforms provide marketplaces where task requesters can pay to get labels on their data. Such markets have emerged recently as popular venues for collecting annotations that are crucial in training machine learning models in various applications. However, as jobs are tedious and payments are low, errors are common in such crowdsourced labels. A common strategy to overcome such noise in the answers is to add redundancy by getting multiple answers for each task and aggregating them using some methods such as majority voting. For such a system, there is a fundamental question of interest: how can we maximize the accuracy given a fixed budget on how many responses we can collect on the crowdsourcing system. We characterize this fundamental trade-off between the budget (how many answers the requester can collect in total) and the accuracy in the estimated labels. In particular, we ask whether adaptive task assignment schemes lead to a more efficient trade-off between the accuracy and the budget. Adaptive schemes, where tasks are assigned adaptively based on the data collected thus far, are widely used in practical crowdsourcing systems to efficiently use a given fixed budget. However, existing theoretical analyses of crowdsourcing systems suggest that the gain of adaptive task assignments is minimal. To bridge this gap, we investigate this question under a strictly more general probabilistic model, which has been recently introduced to model practical crowdsourced annotations. Under this generalized Dawid-Skene model, we characterize the fundamental trade-off between budget and accuracy. We introduce a novel adaptive scheme that matches this fundamental limit. We further quantify the fundamental gap between adaptive and non-adaptive schemes, by comparing the trade-off with the one for non-adaptive schemes. Our analyses confirm that the gap is significant.
If You Try You Can Make It: Role of a Regional Centre in Developing Social Development Curricula for Social Work Education

The paper outlines the findings of the evaluation of an international project on social work and social development curricula, which was implemented by the Regional Social Development Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, with a network of social work educators across the Asia-Pacific region. By looking at processes and outcomes of the project, the network members have offered positive feedback and constructive suggestions. Based on this analysis the paper underscores the role of network centres dedicated to enhancing social work intervention with a social development perspective and argues in favour of developing regional centres with committed staff. Such centres have great potential to facilitate communication between social work schools, educators and practitioners, perhaps by acting as a central agent, for the development of social work schools and the profession in the region.
A photograph as a therapeutic experience

In this paper I will study the psychotherapeutic significance of the photograph. The role of photographs in psychotherapy is functional: the actual therapy is based on the professional skills of the psychotherapist, acquired within his/her specific frame of reference. The background for the observation of the theoretical basis of phototherapy is the classification of the methods of phototherapy into three categories: looking at biographical photographs, taking new photographs, and looking at both symbolic and associative photographs. This classification is the one used in Finland, and it is closely related to the semiotician Roland Barthes’ thoughts on the special nature of photographs. He has made himself the measure of photographic ‘knowledge’. I have tried to find some basic views concerning human mind and psychotherapy and to find the points where watching is important and why it is useful and efficient to watch and use photos in psychotherapy. The most recent brain studies using functional imaging techniques have given many inspiring insights into this question of the importance of visual sense and watching. I believe that both internal and external pictures give richness to therapy process and also to the development of phototherapy.
Delay‐ and energy‐aware load balancing in ultra‐dense heterogeneous 5G networks

In the context of ultra‐dense heterogeneous networks in 5G, we focus on the load balancing problem of elastic traffic in a single macrocell that is supported by a number of small cells. Each small cell is modeled by a single‐class processor sharing queue, whereas the macrocell is modelled by a multiclass processor sharing queue. We assume that the macrocell is always consuming energy, while a small cell can be switched off when it is idle with the setup delay penalty. As the main contribution, aimed at minimizing the weighted sum of the mean delay and the mean power consumption in the system, we develop static and dynamic load balancing policies that take into account the setup delay. All the obtained results are analytically founded. The performance of the static policy is evaluated using the achieved analytical expressions, which include the static optimal probabilities achieved before, whereas for the dynamic policy we need to perform simulations using previously obtained numerical results from the first policy iteration procedure. As concluded, numerical results indicate that the dynamic policy outperforms the static policy under realistic settings.
Mitochondrial thioltransferase (glutaredoxin 2) has GSH‐dependent and thioredoxin reductase‐dependent peroxidase activities in vitro and in lens epithelial cells

Thioltransferase (or Grx) belongs to the oxidoreductase family and is known to regulate redox homeostasis in cells. Mitochondrial Grx2 is a recent discovery, but its function is largely unknown. In this study we investigate Grx2 function by examining its potential peroxidase activity using lens epithelial cells (LEC). cDNA for human and mouse Grx2 was cloned into pET21d(+) vector and used to produce respective recombinant Grx2 for kinetic studies. cDNA for human Grx2 was transfected into human LEC and used for in vivo studies. Both human and mouse Grx2 showed glutathione (GSH)‐dependent and thioredoxin reductase (TR)‐dependent peroxidase activity. The catalytic efficiency of human and mouse Grx2 was lower than that of glutathione peroxidases (2.5 and 0.8×104 s−1M−1, respectively), but comparable with TR‐dependent peroxiredoxins (16.5 and 2.7×104 s−1M−1, respectively). TR‐dependent peroxidase activity increased 2‐fold in the transfected cells and was completely abolished by addition of anti‐Grx2 antibody (Ab). Flow cytometry (FACS) analysis and confocal microscopy revealed that cells preloaded with pure Grx2 detoxified peroxides more efficiently. Grx2 over‐expression protected cells against H2O2‐mediated disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential. These results suggest that Grx2 has a novel function as a peroxidase, accepting electrons both from GSH and TR. This unique property may play a role in protecting the mitochondria from oxidative damage. —Fernando, M. R. , Lechner, J. M. , Löfgren, S. , Gladyshev, V. N. , Lou, M. F. Mitochondrial thioltransferase (glutaredoxin 2) has GSH‐dependent and thioredoxin reductase‐dependent peroxidase activities in vitro and in lens epithelial cells. FASEB J. 20, E2240–E2248 (2006)
Why block length and delay behave differently if feedback is present

For output-symmetric DMCs at even moderately high rates, fixed-block-length communication systems show no improvements in their error exponents with feedback. In this paper, we study systems with fixed end-to-end delay and show that feedback generally provides dramatic gains in the error exponents. A new upper bound (the uncertainty-focusing bound) is given on the probability of symbol error in a fixed-delay communication system with feedback. This bound turns out to have a similar form to Viterbi's bound used for the block error probability of convolutional codes as a function of the fixed constraint length. The uncertainty-focusing bound is shown to be asymptotically achievable with noiseless feedback for erasure channels as well as any output-symmetric DMC that has strictly positive zero-error capacity. Furthermore, it can be achieved in a delay-universal (anytime) fashion even if the feedback itself is delayed by a small amount. Finally, it is shown that for end-to-end delay, it is generally possible at high rates to beat the sphere-packing bound for general DMCs -- thereby providing a counterexample to a conjecture of Pinsker.
Collaborative Network Formation in Spatial Oligopolies

Recently, it has been shown that networks with an arbitrary degree sequence may be a stable solution to a network formation game. Further, in recent years there has been a rise in the number of firms participating in collaborative efforts. In this paper, we show conditions under which a graph with an arbitrary degree sequence is admitted as a stable firm collaboration graph.
On the duality of data-intensive file system design: Reconciling HDFS and PVFS

Data-intensive applications fall into two computing styles: Internet services (cloud computing) or high-performance computing (UPC). In both categories, the underlying file system is a key component for scalable application performance. In this paper, we explore the similarities and differences between PVFS, a parallel file system used in UPC at large scale, and HDFS, the primary storage system used in cloud computing with Hadoop. We integrate PVFS into Hadoop and compare its performance to HDFS using a set of data-intensive computing benchmarks. We study how HDFS-specific optimizations can be matched using PVFS and how consistency, durability, and persistence tradeoffs made by these file systems affect application performance. We show how to embed multiple replicas into a PVFS file, including a mapping with a complete copy local to the writing client, to emulate HDFS's file layout policies. We also highlight implementation issues with HDFS's dependence on disk bandwidth and benefits from pipelined replication.
Are Trends in Specialization Across Arrests Explained by Changes in Specialization Occurring with Age?

The current work uses a sample of serious offenders (N = 2,086) to test the extent to which variation in specialization with age accounts for trends in specialization across arrests. Analyses show that controls for age do not have a large influence on trends across arrest in drug offense specialization or trends across arrest in miscellaneous offense specialization. In contrast, results show that controls for age do influence trends in specialization across arrests for violent offenses and for property offenses. For both of these offense types, trends in specialization across arrests prior to controls for age were positive, while trends in specialization across arrests after controls for age were negative. Results show that many of the trends in specialization across arrests found in the earlier literature are likely influenced by changes in specialization occurring with age.
Motives for nonmedical use of prescription opioids among high school seniors in the United States: self-treatment and beyond.

OBJECTIVES To assess motives for nonmedical use of prescription opioids among US high school seniors and examine associations between motives for nonmedical use and other substance use behaviors. DESIGN Nationally representative samples of US high school seniors (modal age 18 years) were surveyed during the spring of their senior year via self-administered questionnaires. SETTING Data were collected in public and private high schools. PARTICIPANTS The sample consisted of 5 cohorts (2002-2006) of 12 441 high school seniors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reports of motives for nonmedical use of prescription opioids and substance use behaviors. RESULTS More than 1 in every 10 high school seniors reported nonmedical use of prescription opioids and 45% of past-year nonmedical users reported "to relieve physical pain" as an important motivation. The odds of heavy drinking and other drug use were lower among nonmedical users of prescription opioids motivated only by pain relief compared with nonmedical users who reported pain relief and other motives and those who reported non-pain relief motives only. The odds of medical use of prescription opioids were lower among nonmedical users who reported only non-pain relief motives compared with other types of nonmedical users. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate motives should be considered when working with adolescents who report nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Future efforts are needed to identify adolescents who may need appropriate pain management and those at increased risk for prescription opioid abuse.
Interleukin-18 Inhibits Hepatitis B Virus Replication in the Livers of Transgenic Mice

ABSTRACT Interleukin-18 (IL-18) produced by activated antigen-presenting cells stimulates natural killer (NK) cells, natural killer T (NKT) cells, and T cells to secrete gamma interferon (IFN-γ). In this study, injection of a single 10-μg dose of recombinant murine IL-18 rapidly, reversibly, and noncytopathically inhibited hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in the livers of HBV transgenic mice. Furthermore, HBV replication was inhibited by as little as 1 μg of IL-18 injected repetitively, and also by a single 0.1-μg dose of IL-18 injected together with 1 ng of IL-12, neither of which inhibited HBV replication individually, demonstrating synergy between these cytokines in this system. The antiviral effect of IL-18 was mediated by its ability to activate resident intrahepatic NK cells and NKT cells to produce IFN-γ and by its ability to induce IFN-α/β production in the liver. These results suggest that IL-18 has the potential to contribute to the control of HBV replication during self-limited infection and that it may have therapeutic value for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis.
Diaries, checklists, evaluations, and contrast effects in measurement of behavior.

Two studies addressed three research questions. (a) Are behavioral diaries or checklists susceptible to between-ratee contrast effects? The studies found that both diaries and checklists are susceptible to between-ratee contrast effects. (b) Can diaries or checklists help reduce between-ratee contrast effects on corresponding performance evaluations? Study 1 illustrated that diaries not only may be ineffective at reducing contrast effects on corresponding ratings but also may actually strengthen those effects. In Study 2, although checklists compared favorably with diaries in their impact on contrast effects on corresponding evaluations, checklists did not eliminate the contrast effect on evaluations. (c) What are the directional influences of context behavior when contrast effects are observed? Significant contrast effects were consistent with the traditional conception of this effect: upward in a poor context and downward in a good context
Creatine Kinase Revisited

Creatine kinase (CK) is the single most important biochemical test in the evaluation of patients with myopathies. In health, serum CK concentration is higher in men, blacks, muscular individuals, and athletes. Idiopathic hyperCKemia is an entity restricted to asymptomatic patients with a negative family history for a neuromuscular disease acid normal neurological, electrodtagnostic. and histologic examinations. Serum CK concentration in myopathy correlates with seventy of illness, course of disease, available muscle mass, and myofiber necrosis. CK may be elevated in neurogenic disorders, particularly in Kennedy's disease and type III spinal muscular atrophy.