Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TagProp: Discriminative metric learning in nearest neighbor models for image auto-annotation

Image auto-annotation is an important open problem in computer vision. For this task we propose TagProp, a discriminatively trained nearest neighbor model. Tags of test images are predicted using a weighted nearest-neighbor model to exploit labeled training images. Neighbor weights are based on neighbor rank or distance. TagProp allows the integration of metric learning by directly maximizing the log-likelihood of the tag predictions in the training set. In this manner, we can optimally combine a collection of image similarity metrics that cover different aspects of image content, such as local shape descriptors, or global color histograms. We also introduce a word specific sigmoidal modulation of the weighted neighbor tag predictions to boost the recall of rare words. We investigate the performance of different variants of our model and compare to existing work. We present experimental results for three challenging data sets. On all three, TagProp makes a marked improvement as compared to the current state-of-the-art.
Effect of postweaning diet on ovarian development and fertility in replacement beef heifers.

Programs for developing replacement heifers are designed for heifers to calve at 2 yr of age and to extend their stayability in the herd and minimize feed cost. The experimental objective was to determine whether developing prepubertal heifers on less dietary energy and to a BW of 55% rather than 65% of mature BW at 14 mo of age would compromise ovarian development and reduce fertility. In a 3-yr study, 8-mo-old Angus (n = 60/yr) and composite MARC II (n = 60/yr) heifers were assigned equally by age, BW, and breed to receive either a low (LG) or high (HG) BW gain diet fed to achieve an ADG of either 0.45 or 0.8 kg/d from 8 to 15 mo of age, including the first 21 d of breeding, and then transferred to pasture. At 14 mo, heifers were housed with fertile bulls for 47 d. Estrus was monitored for 21 d. Within 12 h after detection of estrus, ovarian length and height, preovulatory follicle diam. , and antral follicle count (AFC) were measured by transrectal ultrasonography. Corpus luteum (CL) volume and plasma progesterone concentration were measured 5 to 15 d after estrus. Data were analyzed by ANOVA with treatment, breed, and year and their 2-way interactions as independent variables. At breeding, HG heifers were heavier than LG heifers (419.9 vs. 361.8 ± 7.5 kg; P < 0.01); ADG for the treatment period was 0.79 vs. 0.47 ± 0.04 kg/d (P < 0.01), respectively. In 2010 and 2011, 97.2% of heifers were cyclic by 21 d of breeding. Size of the ovary, preovulatory follicle, CL, and AFC did not differ between HG and LG, but preovulatory follicle diam. and ovarian length were greater (P ≤ 0.05) for MARC II vs. Angus heifers. Progesterone concentrations were less for LG vs. HG heifers (P ≤ 0.02), whereas CL volume was not affected by treatment or breed but was correlated positively with preovulatory follicle size (P < 0.01). Total AFC ranged from 5 to 49 and was correlated positively with ovarian volume but was not associated with fertility. A greater proportion of HG vs. LG heifers conceived within the first 21 d of the breeding period (64.4% vs. 49.2% ± 3.8%, respectively; P < 0.01), but overall pregnancy rate was not affected by treatment (83.0% vs. 77.7% ± 3.1%, respectively; P > 0.10). Pregnancy rate was 10% less (P < 0.01) for Angus vs. MARC II heifers. Developing beef heifers at a lesser ADG to a lighter BW (55% vs. 64% of mature BW) at breeding did not influence postweaning ovarian development or AFC or compromise pregnancy rate during the 47-d breeding period.
Bridging the Divide: The role of perceived control in mediating reasoning and activism

One-hundred-and-two students, either actively or not actively involved in the pro-choice or pro-life movements, completed the Defining Issues Test (DIT) and Spheres of Control (SOC) measure. Participants also rated their degree of involvement in on-campus activities. Abortion activists more frequently endorsed principled and anti-establishment moral issues, and scored higher on sociopolitical control than did non-activists. SOC and DIT scores served to discriminate abortion activists from non-activists--more so for women than for men. Self-reported ratings of activism moderated self-reported assessments of control for abortion activists, such that more involved students rated themselves as feeling greater sociopolitical and interpersonal control than less involved students. Results are discussed in terms of the possible relationship between reasoning, control and behaviour.
Fingolimod Phosphate Attenuates Oligomeric Amyloid β–Induced Neurotoxicity via Increased Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in Neurons

The neurodegenerative processes that underlie Alzheimer's disease are mediated, in part, by soluble oligomeric amyloid β, a neurotoxic protein that inhibits hippocampal long-term potentiation, disrupts synaptic plasticity, and induces the production of reactive oxygen species. Here we show that the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor (S1PR) agonist fingolimod phosphate (FTY720-P)-a new oral drug for multiple sclerosis-protects neurons against oligomeric amyloid β-induced neurotoxicity. We confirmed that primary mouse cortical neurons express all of the S1P receptor subtypes and FTY720-P directly affects the neurons. Treatment with FTY720-P enhanced the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in neurons. Moreover, blocking BDNF-TrkB signaling with a BDNF scavenger, TrkB inhibitor, or ERK1/2 inhibitor almost completely ablated these neuroprotective effects. These results suggested that the neuroprotective effects of FTY720-P are mediated by upregulated neuronal BDNF levels. Therefore, FTY720-P may be a promising therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Continuous Time Survival in Latent Variable Models

We describe a general multivariate, multilevel framework for continuous time survival analysis that includes joint modeling of survival time variables and continuous and categorical observed and latent variables. The proposed framework is implemented in the Mplus software package. The survival time variables are modeled with nonparametric or parametric proportional hazard distributions and include right censoring. The proposed modeling framework includes finite mixtures of Cox regression models with and without class-specific baseline hazards, multilevel Cox regression models, and multilevel frailty models. We illustrate the framework with several simulation studies. Comparison is made with discrete time survival models. We also investigate the effect of ties on the proposed estimation method. Simulation studies are conducted to compare the methods implemented in Mplus with those implemented in SAS.
DevoFlow: scaling flow management for high-performance networks

OpenFlow is a great concept, but its original design imposes excessive overheads. It can simplify network and traffic management in enterprise and data center environments, because it enables flow-level control over Ethernet switching and provides global visibility of the flows in the network. However, such fine-grained control and visibility comes with costs: the switch-implementation costs of involving the switch's control-plane too often and the distributed-system costs of involving the OpenFlow controller too frequently, both on flow setups and especially for statistics-gathering. In this paper, we analyze these overheads, and show that OpenFlow's current design cannot meet the needs of high-performance networks. We design and evaluate DevoFlow, a modification of the OpenFlow model which gently breaks the coupling between control and global visibility, in a way that maintains a useful amount of visibility without imposing unnecessary costs. We evaluate DevoFlow through simulations, and find that it can load-balance data center traffic as well as fine-grained solutions, without as much overhead: DevoFlow uses 10--53 times fewer flow table entries at an average switch, and uses 10--42 times fewer control messages.
Academic Expectations Stress Inventory

This article describes the development and initial validation of obtained scores from the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI), which measures expectations as a source of academic stress in middle and high school Asian students. In the first study, exploratory factor analysis results from 721 adolescents suggested a nine-item scale with two factors—Expectations of Parents/Teachers (five items) and Expectations of Self (four items). The data also revealed initial evidence of the reliability of AESI’s scores. Initial estimates of convergent validity for AESI’s scores were also reported. In the second study, data from 387 adolescents were subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis that provided support for the factor structure derived from the first study. In the third study, data from 144 adolescents yielded evidence of AESI scores’ test-retest reliability. Additional evidence of AESI’s internal consistency estimates as well as convergent and discriminant validity for AESI’s scores were also provided.
Set-theoretic duality: A fundamental feature of combinatorial optimisation

The duality between conflicts and diagnoses in the field of diagnosis, or between plans and landmarks in the field of planning, or between unsatisfiable cores and minimal co-satisfiable sets in SAT or CSP solving, has been known for many years. Recent work in these communities (Davies and Bacchus, CP 2011, Bonet and Helmert, ECAI 2010, Haslum et al., ICAPS 2012, Stern et al., AAAI 2012) has brought it to the fore as a topic of current interest. The present paper lays out the set-theoretic basis of the concept, and introduces a generic implementation of an algorithm based on it. This algorithm provides a method for converting decision procedures into optimisation ones across a wide range of applications without the need to rewrite the decision procedure implementations. Initial experimental validation shows good performance on a number of benchmark problems from AI planning.
Unomathotholo or i-radio? Factors predicting the use of English loanwords among L1 isiXhosa–L2 English bilinguals

This study examines the use of English loanwords in L1 isiXhosa–L2 English bilinguals living in Cape Town, South Africa. The specific aim of the study is to investigate which individual background factors may increase or reduce the presence of English loanwords in a L1 isiXhosa speaker's repertoire. Data on English loanword use and individual background were collected through a picture naming task and a background questionnaire, respectively. Results showed that those speakers who frequently used English for interactive purposes were more prone to using English loanwords when naming pictures in isiXhosa. Moreover, it was documented that those who arrived at an early age in Cape Town (from the isiXhosa-dominant Eastern Cape Province) were also less prone to using isiXhosa words in the naming task. Marginal, negative effects were found for non-interactive isiXhosa use (i.e. radio, books, etc.) and attitudes towards English, such that those speakers with high indices on these variables used more often English loanwords. A marginal, positive effect of the presence of isiXhosa in primary and secondary school on the use of isiXhosa words was also found.
The Enduring Effects of Education on Verbal Skills.

While there is abundant evidence to indicate that students make significant gains in verbal skills within school, surprisingly little is known about cognitive outcomes once individuals are separated from educational institutions. This paper develops a working causal model of the enduring effects of education which extends and elaborates Hyman, Wright and Reed's (1975) analysis. Unlike previous studies, the model developed here includes the estimated effects of intelligence measures. The data necessarily consist of a correlation matrix combined from several difference sources, primarily cross-sectional, which confound age with cohort differences. The results indicate that previous studies have seriously overestimated the enduring effects of education.
Long-term outcome of meniscal degeneration in the kneePoor association between MRI and symptoms in 45 patients followed more than 4 years

Knee joint-related symptoms are frequent and the use of MRI as a diagnostic tool is common. About 25% of MRIs show meniscal degeneration (MD). As the natural history of MD has not been well described, we studied the long-term outcome of 50 MDs. 45 patients were initially evaluated by a MRI, and clinical examination and later by another MRI. After 5 years, 38 of the MDs were unchanged, 8 had progressed and 4 regressed. Progression of MD was associated with age over 40 years, trauma during the follow-up period and/or other knee lesions, such as osteoarthrosis and ligament rupture. The clinical findings were consistent with MDs only in 8 cases.
ITEP-TH-52 / 02 A Calculation of the plane wave string Hamiltonian from N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory

Berenstein, Maldacena, and Nastase have proposed, as a limit of the strong form of the AdS/CFT correspondence, that string theory in a particular plane wave background is dual to a certain subset of operators in the N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Even though this is a priori a strong/weak coupling duality, the matrix elements of the string theory Hamiltonian, when expressed in gauge theory variables, are analytic in the ’t Hooft coupling constant. This allows one to conjecture that, like the masses of excited string states, these can be recovered using perturbation theory in Yang-Mills theory. In this paper we identify the difference between the generator of scale transformations and a particular U(1) R-symmetry generator as the operator dual to the string theory Hamiltonian for nonvanishing string coupling. We compute its matrix elements and find that they agree with the string theory prediction provided that the state-operator map is modified for nonvanishing string coupling. We construct this map explicitly and calculate the anomalous dimensions of the new operators. We identify the component arising from the modification of the state-operator map with the contribution of the string theory contact terms to the masses of string states. On leave from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, 117259, Bol. Cheremushkinskaya, 25, Moscow, Russia.
Fine structures in hearing thresholds and distortion product otoacoustic emissions

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are weak sounds that can be recorded in the external ear. They are generated by the active amplification of the outer hair cells, and by many, are considered to reflect the status of the most vulnerable part of the hearing better than ordinary behavioral thresholds. Distortion product OAEs (DPOAES) are generated in response to a two-tone external stimulus with frequencies f1 and f2. One of the strongest DPOAEs is the component at 2f1 f2. This component is elicited on the basilar membrane in the overlap region between f1 and f2, close to the f2 place (depending on frequency ratio and levels of the two-tone stimulus). The 2f1 f2 component travels along the basilar membrane and excites activity at the 2f1 f2 place, which yields a second component with the same frequency. The resulting sound that can be recorded in the external ear canal is the superposition of these two components. The result is characterized by a distinct fine structure pattern, and generally does not directly reflect the status of the hearing at one point on the basilar membrane. The behavioral threshold, on the other hand, is more directly related to given points along the basilar membrane, but reflects the combined status of outer and inner hair cells. Thus the combination of DPOAE measurements and hearing thresholds has the potential to provide better basis for hearing diagnosis. In the present study, both DPOAE measurements and hearing thresholds are determined with a fine frequency resolution. The results confirmed that fine structures can be found in both sets of measurements for the group of 12 otologically normal subjects. The DPOAE fine structure is more pronounced than the threshold fine structure, but the width of the two types of fine structure ripples are comparable.
The Cost-Effectiveness of Criminal Justice Diversion Programs for People with Serious Mental Illness Co-Occurring with Substance Abuse

Many cities, counties, and states have criminal justice diversion or jail diversion programs, in which those committing low-level offenses and who have mental illness or substance abuse are diverted from the criminal justice system into treatment. However, there is little existing evidence on the cost and cost-effectiveness of such programs. This article presents the first such estimates for four sites. Estimates of the impact of diversion on both costs and effectiveness varied across the sites. This variation likely reflects heterogeneity in the structure and implementation of the programs across the sites. Directions for future research are suggested.
Role of Isoprenylation in Simvastatin-Induced Inhibition of Ovarian Theca-Interstitial Growth in the Rat1

Statins are competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, a rate-limiting step of the mevalonate pathway. The pleiotropic effects of statins may be due to inhibition of cholesterol synthesis, as well as decreased availability of several biologically important intermediate components of the mevalonate pathway, including two substrates for isoprenylation (farnesyl pyrophosphate [FPP] and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate [GGPP]). Recently, we demonstrated statin-induced inhibition of ovarian theca-interstitial cell proliferation in vitro, as well as reduction of testosterone levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study evaluates the relative contribution of inhibition of isoprenylation and/or cholesterol availability to the modulation of theca-interstitial proliferation. Rat theca-interstitial cells were cultured in chemically defined media with or without simvastatin, FPP, GGPP, squalene, and/or two membrane-permeable forms of cholesterol (25-hydroxycholesterol and 22-hydroxycholesterol). Simvastatin inhibited DNA synthesis and the count of viable cells. The effects of simvastatin were partly abrogated by FPP and GGPP but not by squalene or cholesterol. Inhibition of farnesyl transferase and geranylgeranyl transferase reduced cell proliferation. The present findings indicate that simvastatin inhibits proliferation of theca-interstitial cells, at least in part, by reduction of isoprenylation. These observations provide likely mechanisms explaining clinically observed improvement of ovarian hyperandrogenism in women with PCOS.
Principal Recruitment in a Reform Environment: Effects of School Achievement and School Level on Applicant Attraction to the Job

Applicant pools for principal vacancies are shrinking nationwide. Increased job demands, including greater accountability on the part of principals for student achievement, are making the job less attractive at a time when many principals from the baby boom generation are retiring. Furthermore, there is little empirical knowledge about factors that affect principal recruitment. This study took place in a state undergoing systemic school reform. Randomly selected assistant principals (n = 189) role-played as job applicants and rated high school principal jobs varied by school student achievement classification (meets goal, progressing, in need of assistance), school location (inner city, suburban, rural), and participant current work assignment (elementary, middle school, high school). The most significant finding, detected by a three-way analysis of variance, was that 64% of the variance in job ratings was accounted for by school achievement, with low performing schools being greatly disadvantaged in recruiting principals. Implications for recruitment practice and research are discussed.
Robust Detection of Environmental Sounds in Binaural Auditory Scenes

In realistic acoustic scenes, the detection of particular types of environmental sounds is often impeded by the simultaneous presence of multiple sound sources. In this work, we use simulations to systematically investigate the impact of superimposed distractor sources on sound type classification in a binaural robotic system and suggest techniques for increasing the robustness under such conditions. First, we demonstrate that by superimposing target sounds with strongly varying general environmental sounds during training, sound type classifiers are less affected by the presence of a distractor source. Moreover, we show that generalization performance of such models depends on how similar the angular source configuration and the signal-to-noise ratio are to the conditions under which the models were trained. Based on these results, we demonstrate how robust models can be obtained by including a variety of different conditions in the training data, a procedure called multi-conditional training. We evaluate this technique training both with ambient sources as well as with point sources with varying angular configurations, and show that this is an effective approach to produce models with close-to-optimal performance under a wide range of conditions. Moreover, we investigate the impact of head orientation and find that it has a significant influence on classification performance.
Evaluation of Skilled Trades Performance Predictors

IN a previous study by the author, (Ronan, 1963), four performance factors for skilled tradesmen were established. This study relates 43 predictors of personal history, aptitudes, personality, and interest to each of the factors. Briefly, the criterion measures used in establishing factor scores for this study were: 1. Shop Rating-periodic rating by foremen of performance during apprenticeship; 2. School Rating-rating by two instructors of related school work during apprenticeship; 3. Mathematics Grade-grade received in related course during apprenticeship; 4. Absence Index-number of absences from work per year; 5. Injury Index-number of visits to Company hospital per year; 6. Lost Time Accidents-whether or not an employee had had a lost time accident; 7. Grievances-whether or not an employee had ever submitted a
Death threat, parental loss, and interpersonal style: A personal construct investigation

Abstract Twenty people who had experienced the death of a parent between the ages of 12 and 18 were compared to 22 people whose parents had not divorced, separated, or died using two measures of death threat, one based upon an Interpersonal Repertory Grid (IRG) and the second being the provided form of the Threat Index (TIp) as well as a measure of interpersonal style, the Fundamental Interpersonal Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B). The death-loss group had significantly higher scores on the Wanted-Inclusion scale of the FIRO-B as compared to the control. Thus, they tended to exhibit a strong interpersonal style marked by a desire to be included and noticed. For the Wanted-Affection scale of the FIRO-B, death-loss group males scored higher than control group males, but death-loss group females scored lower on the same scale than female control group members. Further, the death-loss group had lower death threat scores, as measured by the IRG, than the control group. Last, no evidence was found for the role of .