Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Private Convex Empirical Risk Minimization and High-dimensional Regression

We consider differentially private algorithms for convex empirical risk minimization (ERM). Differential privacy (Dwork et al., 2006b) is a recently introduced notion of privacy which guarantees that an algorithm’s output does not depend on the data of any individual in the dataset. This is crucial in fields that handle sensitive data, such as genomics, collaborative filtering, and economics. Our motivation is the design of private algorithms for sparse learning problems, in which one aims to find solutions (e.g., regression parameters) with few non-zero coefficients. To this end: (a) We significantly extend the analysis of the “objective perturbation” algorithm of Chaudhuri et al. (2011) for convex ERM problems. We show that their method can be modified to use less noise (be more accurate), and to apply to problems with hard constraints and non-differentiable regularizers. We also give a tighter, data-dependent analysis of the additional error introduced by their method. A key tool in our analysis is a new nontrivial limit theorem for differential privacy which is of independent interest: if a sequence of differentially private algorithms converges, in a weak sense, then the limit algorithm is also differentially private. In particular, our methods give the best known algorithms for differentially private linear regression. These methods work in settings where the number of parametersp is less than the number of samplesn. (b) We give the first two private algorithms for sparse regression problems in high-dimensional settings, where p is much larger than n. We analyze their performance for linear regression: under standard assumptions on the data, our algorithms have vanishing empirical risk for n = poly(s; logp) when there exists a good regression vector with s nonzero coefficients. Our algorithms demonstrate that randomized algorithms for sparse regression problems can be both stable and accurate ‐ a combination which is impossible for deterministic algorithms.
Role of connective tissue growth factor in the pathogenesis of conjunctival scarring in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid.

PURPOSE Conjunctival fibrosis due to excessive accumulation of collagens is an important histologic feature in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP). Studies have suggested a role of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 in conjunctival fibrosis in patients with OCP. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is an important downstream mediator of TGF-beta1-induced collagen synthesis. CTGF usually acts synergistically with TGF-beta1 during the process of fibrosis in various organs. Hence, studying the mechanism by which CTGF influences TGF-beta1-induced synthesis of collagen in conjunctiva of patients with OCP would provide insight into the mechanism of conjunctival fibrosis in patients with OCP. METHODS Biopsy specimens from conjunctiva of 10 patients with OCP and 5 normal subjects, were studied, with immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR, for the expression of CTGF and interstitial type I collagen. Using fibroblasts cultured from conjunctival biopsies we determined the effects of TGF-beta1 on the induction of CTGF and type I collagen by immunostaining, and quantitative real-time PCR. The effects of blocking the bioactivity of TGF-beta1 on the expression of CTGF and type I collagen were determined in TGF-beta1-stimulated fibroblasts, before and after treatment with type II receptor neutralizing antibody. RESULTS An increased stromal accumulation of interstitial type I collagen with an increased expression of CTGF was observed in biopsy sections of patients with OCP, compared with the control. By quantitative real-time PCR, a 3.2-fold increase in the expression of CTGF was detected in conjunctival tissues obtained from patients with OCP, compared with control conjunctiva. Fibroblasts isolated from conjunctiva of patients with OCP expressed 4.4-fold more CTGF, compared with control conjunctival fibroblasts, by real-time PCR. When these cultured fibroblasts were immunostained, an increased expression of CTGF was detected in fibroblasts isolated from patients with OCP, compared with control. Furthermore, when conjunctival fibroblasts were treated with TGF-beta1, an approximately ninefold increase in the expression of CTGF and an approximately threefold increase in the expression of type I collagen were detected by real-time PCR, compared with unstimulated fibroblasts. Finally, when antibody to TGF-beta type II receptor was added before TGF-beta1 treatment of these fibroblasts, the expression of type I collagen and CTGF was significantly reduced. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, an increased expression of CTGF was recorded in conjunctiva of patients with OCP. TGF-beta1 can induce production of CTGF and type I collagen by fibroblasts obtained from conjunctiva in OCP. This induction of CTGF by TGF-beta1 can be blocked by antibody to TGF-beta type II receptors. The findings lead to the conclusion that CTGF is one of the molecules involved in the pathogenesis of conjunctival fibrosis in patients with OCP.
Learning with Laptops: Information Technology and the Transformation of an MBA Program

Laptop computers and wireless networks are becoming part of the landscape of many MBA programs, finding their way into the innermost sanctum of academia: the classroom. The consequences of introducing information technologies in the educational environment, however, are far from clear. Through the lens of Bourdieu’s theory of practice, we explore how a mandatory laptop program was woven into the institutional fabric of an MBA program and the means by which information technologies altered student practices. We attend to how IT was implicated in a struggle between the students and the faculty for control of classroom use of laptops and networks. In revealing the variety of interests at stake and the different logic deployed by students and faculty in this confrontation, we hope to open a space for the mutual recognition of opposing viewpoints and for the possibility of joint ownership of the problem.
Intergenerational consequences of fetal programming by in utero exposure to glucocorticoids in rats.

Epidemiological studies linking low birth weight and subsequent cardiometabolic disease have given rise to the hypothesis that events in fetal life permanently program subsequent cardiovascular risk. The effects of fetal programming may not be limited to the first-generation offspring. We have explored intergenerational effects in the dexamethasone-programmed rat, a model in which fetal exposure to excess glucocorticoid results in low birth weight with subsequent adult hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia underpinned by increased activity of the key hepatic gluconeogenic enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK). We found that the male offspring of female rats that had been exposed prenatally to dexamethasone, but were not manipulated in their own pregnancy, also had reduced birth weight (5.66 +/- 0.06 vs. 6.12 +/- 0.06 g, P < 0.001), glucose intolerance, and elevated hepatic PEPCK activity (5.7 +/- 0.6 vs. 3.3 +/- 0.2 nmol.min(-1). mg protein(-1), P < 0.001). These effects resolved in a third generation. Similar intergenerational programming was observed in offspring of male rats exposed prenatally to dexamethasone mated with control females. The persistence of such programming effects through several generations, transmitted by either maternal or paternal lines, indicates the potential importance of epigenetic factors in the intergenerational inheritance of the "programming phenotype" and provides a basis for the inherited association between low birth weight and cardiovascular risk factors.
Next-Generation DIGITAL FORENSICS

igital forensics investigators are experiencing an increase in both the number and complexity of cases that require their attention. The number of cases is rising for a variety of reasons, including better awareness of the capabilities of digital forensics techniques at all levels of law enforcement and in the private sector. The complexity of cases is growing because forensic targets with hundreds of gigabytes or terabytes of storage are becoming common and cases routinely involve more than a single computer. Furthermore, longer queues of larger and more complicated cases don’t relax the need for quick turnaround, especially in time-sensitive cases involving potential loss of life or property. This leaves digital forensics investigators in need of tools that are significantly better, both in richness of features and in speed. Providing practitioners with these tools will require a critical look at current offerings and significant levels of innovation on the part of researchers. This article discusses some shortcomings of the current generation of digital Next-Generation DIGITAL FORENSICS
Reliable background suppression for complex scenes

This paper describes a system for motion detection based on background suppression,specifically conceived for working in complex scenes with vacillating background,camouflage, illumination changing, etc. The system contains proper techniques for background bootstrapping, shadow removal, ghost suppression and selective updating of the background model. The results on the challenging videos provided in VSSN '06 Open Source Algorithm Competition dataset demonstrate that the proposed system outperforms the widely-used mixture-of-Gaussians approach.
LSTD with Random Projections

We consider the problem of reinforcement learning in high-dimensional spaces when the number of features is bigger than the number of samples. In particular, we study the least-squares temporal difference (LSTD) learning algorithm when a space of low dimension is generated with a random projection from a high-dimensional space. We provide a thorough theoretical analysis of the LSTD with random projections and derive performance bounds for the resulting algorithm. We also show how the error of LSTD with random projections is propagated through the iterations of a policy iteration algorithm and provide a performance bound for the resulting least-squares policy iteration (LSPI) algorithm.
The density ratio dependence of self-similar Rayleigh–Taylor mixing

Previous research on self-similar mixing caused by Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability is summarized and a recent series of high resolution large eddy simulations is described. Mesh sizes of approximately 2000 ×1000 × 1000 are used to investigate the properties of high Reynolds number self-similar RT mixing at a range of density ratios from 1.5 : 1 to 20 : 1. In some cases, mixing evolves from ‘small random perturbations’. In other cases, random long wavelength perturbations (k−3 spectrum) are added to give self-similar mixing at an enhanced rate, more typical of that observed in experiments. The properties of the turbulent mixing zone (volume fraction distributions, turbulence kinetic energy, molecular mixing parameter, etc.) are related to the RT growth rate parameter, α. Comparisons are made with experimental data on the internal structure and the asymmetry of the mixing zone (spike distance/bubble distance). The main purpose of this series of simulations is to provide data for calibration of engineering models (e.g. Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes models). It is argued that the influence of initial conditions is likely to be significant in most applications and the implications of this for engineering modelling are discussed.
Two Octaves Supercontinuum Generation in Lead-Bismuth Glass Based Photonic Crystal Fiber

In this paper we report a two octave spanning supercontinuum generation in a bandwidth of 700–3000 nm in a single-mode photonic crystal fiber made of lead-bismuth-gallate glass. To our knowledge this is the broadest supercontinuum reported in heavy metal oxide glass based fibers. The fiber was fabricated using an in-house synthesized glass with optimized nonlinear, rheological and transmission properties in the range of 500–4800 nm. The photonic cladding consists of 8 rings of air holes. The fiber has a zero dispersion wavelength (ZDW) at 1460 nm. Its dispersion is determined mainly by the first ring of holes in the cladding with a relative hole size of 0.73. Relative hole size of the remaining seven rings is 0.54, which allows single mode performance of the fiber in the infrared range and reduces attenuation of the fundamental mode. The fiber is pumped into anomalous dispersion with 150 fs pulses at 1540 nm. Observed spectrum of 700–3000 nm was generated in 2 cm of fiber with pulse energy below 4 nJ. A flatness of 5 dB was observed in 950–2500 nm range.
Do Housing Prices Reflect Environmental Health Risks? Evidence from More than 1600 Toxic Plant Openings and Closings

A ubiquitous and largely unquestioned assumption in studies of housing markets is that there is perfect information about local amenities. This paper measures the housing market and health impacts of 1,600 openings and closings of industrial plants that emit toxic pollutants. We find that housing values within one mile decrease by 1.5 percent when plants open, and increase by 1.5 percent when plants close. This implies an aggregate loss in housing values per plant of about $1.5 million. While the housing value impacts are concentrated within 1/2 mile, we find statistically significant infant health impacts up to one mile away.
Illustrative Stream Surfaces

Stream surfaces are an intuitive approach to represent 3D vector fields. In many cases, however, they are challenging objects to visualize and to understand, due to a high degree of self-occlusion. Despite the need for adequate rendering methods, little work has been done so far in this important research area. In this paper, we present an illustrative rendering strategy for stream surfaces. In our approach, we apply various rendering techniques, which are inspired by the traditional flow illustrations drawn by Dallmann and Abraham & Shaw in the early 1980s. Among these techniques are contour lines and halftoning to show the overall surface shape. Flow direction as well as singularities on the stream surface are depicted by illustrative surface streamlines. ;To go beyond reproducing static text book images, we provide several interaction features, such as movable cuts and slabs allowing an interactive exploration of the flow and insights into subjacent structures, e.g., the inner windings of vortex breakdown bubbles. These methods take only the parameterized stream surface as input, require no further preprocessing, and can be freely combined by the user. We explain the design, GPU-implementation, and combination of the different illustrative rendering and interaction methods and demonstrate the potential of our approach by applying it to stream surfaces from various flow simulations.
Information-Driven Dynamic Sensor Collaboration for Tracking Applications

This article overviews the information-driven approach to sensor collaboration in ad hoc sensor networks. The main idea is for a network to determine participants in a "sensor collaboration" by dynamically optimizing the information utility of data for a given cost of communication and computation. A definition of information utility is introduced, and several approximate measures of the information utility are developed for reasons of computational tractability. We illustrate the use of this approach using examples drawn from tracking applications.
Self-Reinforcement: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

How behavior is viewed determines which facets of human functioning are studied most thoroughly and which are ignored or disavowed. Conceptions thus delimit research and are, in turn, shaped by findings from paradigms embodying that particular view. Theorists who exclude self-regulatory functions from their concept of human poten tialities restrict the scope of their research to external influences on behavior. Detailed analysis of behavior as a function of external consequences provides confirmatory evidence that behavior is indeed subject to external control. However, limiting the scope of scientific inquiry not only yields redundant results but, by disregarding other signifi cant determinants and processes, it can reinforce a truncated image of human nature. From the perspective of social learning theory (Bandura, 1976), people are seen as capable of exercising some control over their own behavior. Among the various self regulatory phenomena that have been investigated within this framework, self reinforcement occupies a prominent position. In this process, individuals regulate their behavior by making self-reward conditional upon matching self-prescribed standards of performance. Acknowledgement of self-regulatory processes has added a new dimen sion to experimental analyses of reinforcement. Results of such studies have provided the impetus for extending the range of reinforcement practices in programs designed to effect personal change. Interest was shifted from managing behavior through imposition of contingencies to developing skills in self-regulation. In the latter approach, control is vested to a large extent in the hands of individuals themselves: They set their own goals, they monitor and evaluate their own performances, and they serve as their own reinforc ing agents (Goldfried and Merbaum, 1973; Mahoney and Thoresen, 1974). The present paper discusses some major substantive issues in the conceptualization of self reinforcement.
Self-Regulation of Star Formation in Low-Metallicity Clouds

We investigate the process of self-regulated star formation via the photodissociation of hydrogen molecules in low-metallicity clouds. We evaluate the scale of the influence region for a massive star in low-metallicity gas clouds whose temperatures are between 102 and 104 K. A single O star can photodissociate H2 in the whole of the host cloud. If the metallicity is less than about 10-2.5 of the solar metallicity, the depletion of coolants in the host cloud is very serious, so that the cloud cannot cool in a free-fall time, and subsequent star formation is almost quenched. On the other hand, if the metallicity is greater than about 10-1.5 of the solar metallicity, star formation regulation via photodissociation is not efficient. The typical metallicity when this transition occurs is ~10-2 of the solar metallicity. This indicates that stars do not form efficiently before the metallicity becomes larger than about 10-2 of the solar metallicity, and we consider that this value is the lower limit of the metallicity of luminous objects such as galaxies.
Public Information Arrival and Investor Reaction During a Period of Institutional Change: An Episode of Early Years of a Newly Independent Central Bank

Employing unique data derived directly from the Reuters electronic brokerage platform for currency trading, this paper investigates the reaction of investors to central bank announcements on the foreign exchange market in Poland in the years 2000–2003. Our sample period captures a time during which the National Bank of Poland (NBP) gained independence and it was transforming institutionally and switching to a new monetary policy regime; namely inflation targeting. Evidence indicates that central bank communication helped reduce foreign exchange market uncertainty, measured by the conditional variance of foreign exchange returns, and increased trading volume. The findings suggest that in newly emerging economies with major institutional changes, investors may react significantly to central bank communication, and central banks can hence play an important role in market development during an institutional change. Our results also have broader implications for the applicability of micro-structure models in newly emerging economies.
CUE ENHANCEMENT OF LITHIUM-CHLORIDE-INDUCED MUTTON/SHEEP AVERSIONS IN COYOTES

In an enclosure-type study, I investigated the use of odor, auditory, and visual cues to enhance lithium-chloride (LiCl)induced prey aversion in coyotes (Canis latrans). Eight adult, male, wild-caught coyotes that killed 2 adult sheep during successive daily, 1 -hr trials were assigned to LiCland sodium-chloride (NaCl)-bait groups. The 4 LiCl-bait coyotes were sequentially presented with leg-of-sheep and whole-sheep carcasses injected with a 33% LiCl water solution (4.5 ml/kg) 1 -hr daily until bait shy. The 4 NaCl coyotes were exposed to baits and carcasses injected with 25% NaCl/water solution (4.5 ml/kg) for matched trials. Additionally, 2 coyotes within each LiCl and NaCl group were presented with baits/carcasses sprayed with cologne and fitted with a red collar and attached bell, and 2 "reference coyotes" within each LiCl and NaCl group were offered similar baits/ carcasses without these stimuli. Following onset of bait aversion, coyotes were again paired for 1 hr daily with a live sheep that had either the "stimuli" or "no stimuli" affixed until 2 sheep were killed. Coyotes required 7 to 23 1-hr exposures to LiCl meats to cease ingestion (develop bait shyness). Coyotes presented both LiCl-baits/carcasses and subsequent live sheep affixed with stimuli showed greater suppression of predation, but this effect was of limited duration (<9 pairings with sheep). Pages 92-95 in R.E. Masters and J.G. Huggins, eds. Twelfth Great Plains Wildl. Damage Control Workshop Proc, Published by Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Okla.
Fast-scale adaptive changes of directional tuning in fly tangential cells are explained by a static nonlinearity

SUMMARY The response of vertebrate motion-sensitive neurons to a directional stimulus is affected by the direction of the stimulus that immediately preceded it. These nonlinear effects are also observed for orientation tuning and are typically interpreted as fast-scale adaptive changes. We verified that similar effects are observed for spiking tangential cells in the fly lobula plate. We also investigated the spatial selectivity of these effects by presenting multiple patches at different positions within the receptive field, and found that the effects are strictly local. We modelled the data using elementary operators (linear filters and threshold nonlinearities). A satisfactory account of the results is obtained when an early static nonlinearity acts on the outputs of multiple front-end filters that are subsequently pooled in a spatially restricted manner by the tangential cell. In line with recent studies, these findings emphasize the importance of testing simple nonlinear models before attempting more elaborate interpretations of fast-scale adaptive phenomena in single neurons. We discuss a potential neural implementation of the model based on medullar projections to the lobula plate.
Implementation Specific Verification of Divide and Square Root Instructions

Floating point operations such as divide and square root are typically implemented in microcode rather than dedicated logic. Bugs in these operations missed by generic black-box verification tools, were analyzed. This led to the conclusion that the corner cases, in addition to being implementation dependent, could not be characterized in terms of special input or output values in a straightforward manner.However, many of those cases can be easily generalized for many known implementations. The typical implementation uses a known iterative approximation algorithm, such as the Newton-Raphson method, to calculate the desired result; thus, it is sufficient to produce the corner cases associated with the specific algorithm.We investigated the following problem: given an iterative algorithm to compute a binary floating point operation, the iteration number, and an interval, find random inputs for the operation that, after the requested iteration, yield a relative error within the specified interval. This paper describes a method to solve this problem. This method was implemented in a floating-point test generator and is currently being used to verify the floating-point units of several processors.