Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bandit algorithms for searching large spaces

Bandit games consist of single-state environments in which an agent must sequentially choose actions to take, for which rewards are given. The objective being to maximise the cumulated reward, the agent naturally seeks to build a model of the relationship between actions and rewards. The agent must both choose uncertain actions in order to improve its model (exploration), and actions that are believed to yield high rewards according to the model (exploitation). The choice of an action to take is called a play of an arm of the bandit, and the total number of plays may or may not be known in advance. Algorithms designed to handle the exploration-exploitation dilemma were initially motivated by problems with rather small numbers of actions. But the ideas they were based on have been extended to cases where the number of actions to choose from is much larger than the maximum possible number of plays. Several problems fall into this setting, such as information retrieval with relevance feedback, where the system must learn what a user is looking for while serving relevant documents often enough, but also global optimisation, where the search for an optimum is done by selecting where to acquire potentially expensive samples of a target function. All have in common the search of large spaces. In this thesis, we focus on an algorithm based on the Gaussian Processes probabilistic model, often used in Bayesian optimisation, and the Upper Confidence Bound action-selection heuristic that is popular in bandit algorithms. In addition to demonstrating the advantages of the GP-UCB algorithm on an image retrieval problem, we show how it can be adapted in order to search tree-structured spaces. We provide an efficient implementation, theoretical guarantees on the algorithm's performance, and empirical evidence that it handles large branching factors better than previous bandit-based algorithms, on synthetic trees.
Revisiting Widowhood in Later Life: Changes in Patterns and Profiles, Advances in Research and Understanding*

RÉSUMÉ Cette analyse examine les façons dont l’expérience du veuvage dans la vieillesse ainsi que la nature de la recherche sur le veuvage ont changé depuis la publication du livre Le Veuvage en fin de vie en 1991. Les modèles de la baisse du veuvage sont examinés, à la fois dans sa durée et de son incidence retardée dans la vie. La recherche sur le veuvage a connu des avancées conceptuelles au-delà de la compréhension de la perte de rôle. La perspective du cours de la vie, ainsi que les concepts de narratifs multiples et de résilience ont aussi contribué à ce domaine. De nouvelles méthodes, y compris des méthodologies prospectives et longitudinales portant sur de larges ensembles de données, ainsi que des études qualitatives détaillées, ont fait avancer notre compréhension de la complexité et des variances du veuvage. Celles-ci incluent des variantes telles que le genre, la diversité ethnoculturelle et la combinaison de facteurs tels que l’aisance matérielle, la santé et la classe sociale. L’article examine aussi l’influence de l’affiliation au marché du travail, de la politique sociale et de la nature changeante du mariage sur le façonnement du veuvage plus tard au cours de la vie. ABSTRACT This analysis reviews the ways in which both the experience of widowhood in old age and the nature of research on widowhood have changed since the publication of the book Widowhood in Later Life in 1991. Patterns of decline in widowhood in both its duration and incidence in later life are examined. Widowhood research has advanced conceptually by moving beyond understanding widowhood solely in terms of role loss. Life course perspectives, and concepts of multiple narratives and of resilience, have also contributed to the field. New methodologies, including prospective and longitudinal designs involving larger data sets, and more in-depth qualitative studies, have advanced our understanding of complexities and variations in widowhood. These include issues of gender and ethnocultural diversity, as well as the intersection of wealth, health, and class. This article also examines how patterns of labour force affiliation, social policy, and the changing nature of marriage shape widowhood in later life.
Investigation of some features for preliminary detection of coronary artery disease using electronic stethoscope

Recent research shows that the diastolic part of cardiac cycle contains very weak murmurs caused by turbulent flow in the coronary artery diseases. This paper deals with the use of electronic stethoscope for the preliminary detection of coronary artery diseases (CAD). 3M Littmann 3200 model is used for recording of cardiac sounds of CAD and non CAD category. Cardiac sounds were analyzed in both time and frequency domain. Six features including two time domain and four frequency domain were extracted from each sound. Out of these features two frequency domain features namely spectral centroid and spectral roll off were identified as the potential features for discriminating CAD and non CAD sounds.
Habitat constraints and the generation of diversity in freshwater macroinvertebrates.

Freshwater aquatic invertebrates occupy a range of habitats, which can broadly be classifi ed into running or standing waters. The contrasting habitat permanence over geological timescales of these two habitat types imposes different constraints on their invertebrate populations. Species in more ephemeral lentic water bodies are forced to disperse when the habitat disappears, and are thus predicted to have higher dispersal abilities and interpopulation gene fl ow, resulting in larger, more dynamic geographical ranges and slower evolutionary turnover. In the more stable lotic habitats, species are predicted to have lower dispersal abilities, with higher persistence of local populations and reduced interpopulation gene fl ow. This should result in smaller range sizes and a higher evolutionary turnover. Latitudinal diversity gradients of lentic and lotic species may also be expected to differ, as lotic species will be more dependent on historical factors and distance to glacial refugia, whereas lentic species will be closer to an equilibrium with current ecological and geographical conditions. Some of these predicted patterns have been demonstrated for a range of aquatic invertebrates across different geographical areas, although the underlying evolutionary and physiological mechanisms are still poorly understood.
International Evidence on the Equity Premium Puzzle and Time Discounting

We examine time discounting factors in an international survey. Our analysis reveals a significant relationship between time discount factors and historical equity premiums across 27 countries. This result implies that higher historical equity risk premiums are observed in countries where survey participants tend to be more short-term oriented. This finding is consistent with the explanation of the equity premium puzzle provided by myopic loss aversion.
The Influence of the Tax Wedge on Unemployment in OECD Countries in Comparison with Croatia

The tax wedge is the difference between the employer’s labour costs and the net takehome pay of the employee. An increase in the tax wedge leads to an increase in the companies’ labour costs and thus indirectly influences the level of unemployment. This article will try to answer these questions: Does the tax wedge affect the unemployment rate, how high is the tax wedge in Croatia in comparison with OECD countries, how does the tax wedge affect the unemployment rate in Croatia and would reducing the tax wedge be a solution to reduce unemployment? This article will show that Croatia is a country with a high tax wedge, which has negative affects on employment, and is partly “responsible” for the high unemployment. Thus, in dealing with unemployment problems, Croatia should work on its reduction.
Depression of gelsolin levels and detection of gelsolin-actin complexes in plasma of patients with acute lung injury.

Actin is the major protein of muscle and nonmuscle cells and is one of the most abundant body proteins. Physiologic or pathologic cell death may therefore result in the liberation of large amounts of this fibrous protein into the extravascular space. The potential for long actin filaments to increase plasma viscosity and change the rheology of the microvasculature are potentially obviated by the presence of 2 recently recognized plasma actin-binding proteins, vitamin-D-binding protein, and plasma gelsolin. As part of our initial evaluation of this newly recognized physiologic system in humans, we measured levels of gelsolin in plasma samples from patients with extensive lung injury. Gelsolin levels were depressed in 25 of 25 patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a disease characterized by massive cellular injury, as determined by either of 2 functional assays for gelsolin. Mean total gelsolin concentration of 20 patients with ARDS was 89.2 +/- 33 micrograms/ml (normal levels, approximately 240 micrograms/ml; p less than 0.001) and the mean free gelsolin concentration 69.6 +/- 29 micrograms/ml (normal levels, approximately 240 micrograms/ml; p less than 0.001). Gelsolin concentrations of 6 patients with bacterial pneumonias were also depressed, but to a lesser degree (mean total level, 117 +/- 21 micrograms/ml). Direct demonstration of the presence of actin in these plasmas (but not in normal plasmas) was performed by precipitating actin directly with DNase-Sepharose beads, or indirectly with antigelsolin-Sepharose beads, as confirmed with immunoblotting. Actin was found in 18 of 19 patients using DNase beads and in 7 of 19 using antigelsolin beads. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Homelessness and Mental Illness

In Great Britain 1–2 million people may be homeless. Most homeless people are men, but about 10–25% are women, of whom about half are accompanied by children. Significant mental illness is present in 30–50% of the homeless: functional psychoses predominate; acute distress and personality dysfunction are also prevalent. Co-morbidity of mental illness and substance abuse occurs in 20%, and physical morbidity rates exceed those of domiciled populations. The homeless mentally ill also have many social needs. Pathways to homelessness are complex; deinstitutionalisation may be only one possible cause of the increase in the number of homeless people. There is much recent research estimating the extent of mental illness and the characteristics of selected subgroups of accessible homeless people. The evaluation of potential service solutions has received less attention. This review outlines the research, highlights current views on the definition and classification of homeless populations, and offers some guidelines on avenues which need to be explored.
Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, and Betaine Concentrations in Isolated Vacuoles from Salt-Grown Atriplex gmelini Leaves.

Vacuoles were isolated via protoplasts from the leaves of a halophyte Atriplex gmelini C.A. Mey. , grown in culture solution supplemented with 250 millimolar NaCl. Lysis of the protoplasts was induced by lowering the medium osmolarity (1.2 to 1.0 molar sorbitol) and adding a detergent, a synthesized cholate derivative, 3-([3-cholamidopropyl] dimethylammonio)-1-propanesulfonate at a concentration of 0.5 millimolar and the resulting vacuoles were purified by successive dilution and floatation. Isolated vacuoles contained almost the same concentration of sodium (569 millimolar) and chloride (260 millimolar) as recorded in protoplasts (582 and 254 millimolar, respectively), suggesting that the vacuoles are the major sequestration site of NaCl in leaves of halophytes. Betaine concentration in the protoplasts was about 16 millimolar, while that in vacuoles was only about 0.24 millimolar, indicating that betaine is accumulated in the cytoplasm as a compatible solute.
Occupational stress and strain in the Royal Navy 2007.

BACKGROUND Previous surveys of psychological strain in the Naval Service (NS) have shown higher than expected levels of strain when compared to the general population. AIM To repeat the survey last carried out in 2004 and to obtain further information on the nature of the occupational stressors associated with strain. METHODS General Health Questionnaire-12 strain rates and job/life stressors were measured using a Work and Well-Being Questionnaire. Models of strain were developed for male and female personnel in the Royal Navy (RN) and males in the Royal Marines (RM). RESULTS The response rate was 57%. The psychological strain rate was 31.5% overall. Personnel suffering from strain tended to be 'overcommitted' to work, had low levels of commitment to the NS and had suffered stressful life events (SLEs) in the previous 12 months. Strain rates declined with age and rank in males, but not in females. Strain was significantly positively correlated with levels of overcommitment, effort-reward imbalance (ERI), role conflict, work-family conflict, organizational commitment and exposure to SLEs. Models of strain in the males and females in the RN and in the RM accounted for between 37 and 44% of the variance in strain. CONCLUSIONS The survey provides evidence for both the demand control and ERI models-components of these models contribute independently to strain. High levels of commitment to the organization were associated with lower strain and exposure to SLEs to higher strain.
Predictive Value of Upper Lip Bite Test And Ratio of Height to Thyromental Distance Compared to Other Airway Assessment Tests for Difficult Laryngoscopy

Unanticipated difficult tracheal intubation remains a primary concern of Anaesthesiologists. The aim of the present study was to compare Upper lip bite test (ULBT) with other four predictors (Modified Mallampati test MMT, Thyromental distance TMD ,Ratio of height to Thyromental distance RHTMD, Interincisor distance IID) for predicting difficulty in intubation. 500 American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status grade I and II (18-60 yrs of age group) adult patients scheduled to receive general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation were included.Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive, accuracy and kappa coefficient was calculated for each predictive test. Difficult intubation was occurred in 26.7% of all patients studied. There was no significant difference in assessing easy and difficulty intubation preoperatively and during the intubation. Out of 60 patients, 44 patients had easy intubation and 16 patients had difficult intubation When compared with Upper lip bite test , Modified Mallampati test was the best predictor in predicting difficulty in intubation. It had high sensitivity, better specificity, PPV and Accuracy. Kappa coefficient is 0.13 which had fair agreement with laryngoscopic view in predicting difficulty in intubation when compared to other predictive tests. We conclude that no single airway predictor is sufficient for predicting difficult intubation. A different combination of two or more airway predictors have to be analyzed to arrive at near ideal airway prediction model.
Use of anti-retrovirals in pediatric HIV infection.

slowly. The mean value in the first year is in the range of 185,000 copies/mL. [4] A very high RNA level (>299,000 copies/mL) in the first year of life has been correlated with disease progression and death. [5] However, contrary to what is seen in adults, RNA levels have demonstrated sufficient overlap between children who go on to develop disease progression and death and those who do not progress as rapidly. Thus, the predictive value of RNA levels in the first year of life remains modest. [4,5] However, at any given level of viral load, untreated infants younger than a year-old, who have been diagnosed with HIV, are at a higher risk of disease progression and death. The predictive value is relatively improved in older children. [4-6]  Immunological markers in children: In healthy, uninfected infants and children, the CD4 values have been known to be much higher than in uninfected adults. These values gradually decline with age to reach adult values by 4-6 years of age. [7] The percentage of CD4+ cells a parameter that tends to show less age-related variability than CD4 counts lends itself to more consistent monitoring. Age-based definitions for immune suppression have been formulated to provide guidance for the monitoring of disease progression in infants and children. The predictive value of the CD4+ cell percentage for disease progression varies with age. For any given CD4+ cell percentage, a child younger than one year old has a much greater risk of disease progression compared to an older child. In all ages however, a CD4+ cell percentage <15% poses a greater risk of disease progression and death. [8] Overall, the ability to predict disease progression and death increases when both the CD4+ cell % and viral INTRODUCTION
Space-Frequency Decision Feedback Equalizer

We consider the detection of multiple cochannel single-carrier spatially multiplexed data streams. To this end, we propose a hybrid time-frequency-domain decision feedback equalizer, which performs parallel detection of the data streams. A practical parameter estimation algorithm for these receivers is developed, which estimates the MIMO channel in parallel as a set of effective channel vectors. To avoid interference cancellation, we develop a two-stage frequency-domain (FD) forward section that implements linear cochannel interference (CCI) suppression in cascade with equalization utilizing estimated channel-state information. The resulting receiver architecture outperforms interference-cancellation-based equalizers in the presence of channel estimation errors. Furthermore, all transmitted data streams achieve equal diversity gains.
Feel good, do good? Disentangling reciprocity from unconditional prosociality

Direct and generalised reciprocity can establish evolutionarily stable levels of cooperation among unrelated individuals, with animals reciprocating help based on whether they have been helped by a social partner before. It has been argued that the actual cooperative act by a social partner may be of minor importance for seemingly reciprocal cooperation and that a mere positive experience might suffice to enhance helpful behaviour towards a conspecific (‘feel good, do good’). However, this effect could easily be exploited by defectors free-riding on an individual's enhanced propensity to cooperate after an unspecific positive experience, without investing in reciprocity themselves. Here, we use female Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) to test if a positive experience that was not provided by a helping partner increases the propensity to subsequently help a social partner. We manipulated the experience of test subjects by providing them with treats, either in the presence or absence of a conspecific. Thereafter, we assessed whether they produce treats and if so, how many, for an unfamiliar social partner compared to a situation in which they had not received treats before. As the treats the test subject received had not been provided by a social partner even if the partner was present, we predicted that the rats should not be more cooperative after they had received treats than if they had not. Indeed, the helping behaviour of rats was apparently not influenced by prior experience made either in a social or non-social context. Rats have been shown previously to perform both direct and generalised reciprocity in the same variant of the iterated prisoner's dilemma game. Our results suggest that this behaviour cannot be explained by an unspecific positive experience. The decision to help a social partner seems to be contingent on previously receiving help from a social partner (reciprocity), not on any positive experience (unconditional prosociality).
Using the PRECEDE Planning Approach to Develop a Physical Activity Intervention for African American Men Who Visit Barbershops

African American (AA) men have a higher prevalence of many chronic disease risk behaviors compared to Caucasian men, including physical inactivity. Innovative ways to reach AA men with interventions to increase physical activity (PA) and decrease other key risk factors are needed to reduce health disparities in this population. The barbershop is a natural but underutilized setting for reaching AA men. In the Fitness in the Shop (FITShop) study, shop owners, barbers, and customers were recruited from four local barbershops to complete structured interviews and customer focus groups. We assessed knowledge, perceived barriers, and interests/concerns about PA, as well as explored how to best intervene in the barbershop. Barbers and customers endorsed the idea of receiving health and PA information in the barbershop. These formative research results generated information and strategies for developing a multilevel barbershop-based health intervention to promote PA in the barbershop. This article describes the formative research results and how PRECEDE was used to develop a culturally and contextually appropriate, multilevel barbershop-based intervention designed to promote PA and to reduce chronic disease disparities among AA men.
Assessment of the Potential Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Interactions between Erythromycin and Argatroban

Argatroban, a direct thrombin inhibitor, is metabolized in vitro by CYP3A4/5 and therefore may be susceptible to clinically relevant CYP3A drug interactions. The effect of erythromycin, a potent CYP3A4/5 inhibitor, on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of argatroban was evaluated in 14 healthy male volunteers in an open‐label, crossover study with a 5‐day washout between regimens. Argatroban 1 μg/kg/min was infused alone for 5 hours (regimen A) and again on day 6 of a 7‐day oral regimen of 500 mg erythromycin four times daily (regimen B). Serial blood samples for the determination of activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and argatroban concentrations were collected for up to 48 hours following infusion. Mean values for argatroban area under the concentration‐time curves (AUC0 — inf), maximum concentration (Cmax), and half‐life (t1/2) were similar between regimens. Mean aPTT values were not affected significantly by the concomitant administration of argatroban and erythromycin compared to argatroban alone. No serious adverse events or bleeding episodes occurred during the study. These results suggest that oxidative metabolism by CYP3A4/5 is unlikely to be an important in vivo elimination pathway for argatroban. Therefore, coadministration of CYP3A4/5 inhibitors should not require a modification in the dosage of argatroban.
Hepatitis E virus open reading frame 3 protein interacts with porcine liver‐specific plasminogen and α2‐antiplasmin

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a hepatotropic virus that causes acute and, occasionally, chronic viral hepatitis. At least four recognized genotypes of mammalian HEV have been identified. Genotypes 3 and 4 are zoonotic in humans and pigs are the major host. The 7.2 kb genome of HEV contains three open reading frames: ORF1, ORF2, and ORF3. ORF1 encodes a nonstructural protein and the ORF2 protein is the main capsid protein but the precise functions of ORF3 protein remain obscure. To explore the role of ORF3 in the porcine host, the genotype 4 ORF3 protein was used for yeast two‐hybrid screening to find cellular binding partners encoded by a pig liver cDNA library, two porcine liver specific proteins, plasminogen and α2‐antiplasmin were identified. Their interactions with the ORF3 protein were validated by chemiluminescent Co‐Immunoprecipitation assay and by Western blotting in Co‐IP and His pull‐down assay. The biological significance of these interactions and their possible role in the HEV infection are discussed. J. Med. Virol. 86:487–495, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.