Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimistic Optimization for Statistical Model Checking with Regret Bounds

We explore application of multi-armed bandit algorithms to statistical model checking (SMC) of Markov chains initialized to a set of states. We observe that model checking problems requiring maximization of probabilities of sets of execution over all choices of the initial states, can be formulated as a multi-armed bandit problem, for appropriate costs and rewards. Therefore, the problem can be solved using multi-fidelity hierarchical optimistic optimization (MFHOO). Bandit algorithms, and MFHOO in particular, give (regret) bounds on the sample efficiency which rely on the smoothness and the near-optimality dimension of the objective function, and are a new addition to the existing types of bounds in the SMC literature. We present a new SMC tool---HooVer---built on these principles and our experiments suggest that: Compared with exact probabilistic model checking tools like Storm, HooVer scales better; compared with the statistical model checking tool PlasmaLab, HooVer can require much less data to achieve comparable results.
Deepening Hidden Representations from Pre-trained Language Models for Natural Language Understanding

Transformer-based pre-trained language models have proven to be effective for learning contextualized language representation. However, current approaches only take advantage of the output of the encoder's final layer when fine-tuning the downstream tasks. We argue that only taking single layer's output restricts the power of pre-trained representation. Thus we deepen the representation learned by the model by fusing the hidden representation in terms of an explicit HIdden Representation Extractor (HIRE), which automatically absorbs the complementary representation with respect to the output from the final layer. Utilizing RoBERTa as the backbone encoder, our proposed improvement over the pre-trained models is shown effective on multiple natural language understanding tasks and help our model rival with the state-of-the-art models on the GLUE benchmark.
Temporal Feedback Convolutional Recurrent Neural Networks for Keyword Spotting

While end-to-end learning has become a trend in deep learning, the model architecture is often designed to incorporate domain knowledge. We propose a novel convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) architecture with temporal feedback connections, inspired by the feedback pathways from the brain to ears in the human auditory system. The proposed architecture uses a hidden state of the RNN module at the previous time to control the sensitivity of channel-wise feature activations in the CNN blocks at the current time, which is analogous to the mechanism of the outer hair-cell. We apply the proposed model to keyword spotting where the speech commands have sequential nature. We show the proposed model consistently outperforms the compared model without temporal feedback for different input/output settings in the CRNN framework. We also investigate the details of the performance improvement by conducting a failure analysis of the keyword spotting task and a visualization of the channel-wise feature scaling in each CNN block.
Pay Satisfaction of Software Professionals in India

This study explores pay satisfaction-related issues of software professionals in India, specifically assessing the impact of different dimensions of pay satisfaction on intent to leave. Since satisfaction with pay is an emotional/affective reaction and is likely to be influenced by personal and environmental factors, the study explores some social psychological processes like leader-member exchange, justice, and voice that are likely to impact pay satisfaction of these professionals. Using a sample of 306 software professionals drawn from various organizations, the study tests the various hypotheses. Three broad trends emerge from the data: First, process dimensions of pay satisfaction are better predictors of the professionals' intention to leave the organization. Second, distributive justice predicts both the amount and process dimensions of pay satisfaction whereas procedural justice predicts only the process dimensions. Finally, the hypothesis that LMX leads to voice which leads to procedural justice which in turn leads to satisfaction with the process dimensions of pay satisfaction found support from the data and the strength of relationships was stronger for structure and administration dimension as compared to raises dimension of pay satisfaction. The findings suggest that though pay levels are important, the HR Department needs to make additional efforts towards the processes through which pay and raises are determined as these processes might provide the crucial advantage for retaining software professionals in an environment where salary levels are competitive. Additionally, since both the pay-related processes and procedural justice are important, these processes need to be both effective and fair. Though fairness in appraisal and pay- related processes can be built through various HR systems like participation (voice), the results show that these processes will be effective only if they are implemented well by the immediate leader. The results have implications for leadership development and training on appraisal and pay-related processes. Unless the leaders are trained appropriately and made aware of the social psychological processes that go on in a team, the design of systems by the HR Department may not be effective. Since distributive justice is an important predictor of pay satisfaction, comparison with relevant others plays an important role in pay satisfaction. The HR Departments in these organizations needs to identify pay levels that compete in the market. Indians are shown to have a familial identity and value the opinions of their kith and kin; hence, acknowledging and incorporating the inputs of social comparison person (family and friend) might provide more useful insights into how these professionals perceive distributive justice.
Management of morning glory ( Ipomea hederifolia , Ipomea nil , and Merremia aegyptia ) with herbicides in raw sugarcane during dry seasons 1

The present research was carried out in a raw ratoon cane area located in Bocaina, SP, with cultivar RB85-5156, planted with a space of 1.4 m between the rows, on a sandy soil, with the objective of studying management alternatives with herbicides applied in the pre-emergence period during the dry season, adopting the randomized blocs design with four replications. In order to apply the herbicides, a CO2 pressurized backpack sprayer was used, with a constant pressure of 200 kgf. and a reservoir with capacity for 2 L of solution, connected to a bar equipped with 6 spray nozzles model DG110.02, with a space of 0.5 m among each, providing an application rate of 200 L ha. The evaluations of weed control and phytotoxicity of the herbicides in the crops of sugarcane were done at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAA. The data went through a variance analysis by the F test and the means were compared by the Tukey test at a 5% probability level. Herbicides diuron + hexazinone + sulfometuron-methyl, amicarbazone, amicarbazone + isoxaflutole, sulfentrazone, imazapic, and tebuthiuron + isoxaflutole can be considered alternatives to the efficient control of different species of morning glory (Ipomoea hederifolia, Ipomoea quamoclit and Merremia aegyptia) when applied to raw sugarcane during the dry season on sandy clay soils (medium texture). Regarding selectivity of the sugarcane crop, there were no significant phytotoxicity symptoms observed on the herbicides when applied in total pre-emergence until 120 DAA.
Elevated Serum Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in a Woman With Osteosarcoma

Human chorionic gonadotropin is a glycoprotein hormone normally synthesized by placental syncytiotrophoblast cells. It also is secreted by gestational trophoblastic tumors, gonadal tumors, and even various nongonadal tumors, including bone and soft tissue sarcomas, as a paraneoplastic syndrome. The literature contains one case report of beta human chorionic gonadotropin production from a primary bone sarcoma occurring in a male patient. We report a woman of childbearing age who presented with a distal femur lytic lesion, clinical symptoms suggestive of pregnancy, and elevated serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin. Although the clinical diagnosis of a sarcoma was never in doubt, we present this case to emphasize a need to exclude pregnancy in women of childbearing age to avoid delay in biopsy and subsequent management. Positive immunohistochemical staining of the biopsy specimen established the tumor cells as the source of beta human chorionic gonadotropin. Introduction The paraneoplastic production of hormones plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of associated tumors. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a glycoprotein synthesized in normal pregnant women 4 to 7 days after implantation until term by the syncytiotrophoblast cells of the placenta [7]. The hCG molecule is made up of two distinct subunits. The alpha subunit is not a specific marker for hCG because it is common to glycoprotein hormones, including thyroid-stimulating hormone, folliclestimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone [6, 13, 14]. The beta subunit (bhCG) confers biologic activity and has 80% homology with luteinizing hormone; an additional 24amino acid carboxyterminal peptide differentiates the two molecules and makes the beta subunit a reliable marker for hCG [6, 14]. As a paraneoplastic syndrome, bhCG is secreted by gestational trophoblastic tumors, gonadal tumors, and nongonadal tumors as well [1, 4–6, 11, 12]. The literature contains three reported cases with documented bhCG expression in osteosarcoma cells [5, 6, 13]. In addition, two reports describe the detection of bhCG in the serum of patients with osteosarcoma [2, 3]. One case of bhCG production from a pelvic chondrosarcoma has been reported in a male [8]. We report a case of osteosarcoma of the femur in a woman of childbearing age associated with elevated serum bhCG and symptoms suggestive of pregnancy, which led to a delay in operative biopsy.
ST Mediterranean Summit of WPSA Advances and Challenges in Poultry Science Book of Proceedings

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of fermented barley with Lactobacillus spp. and barley supplemented with enzyme on performances of broilers. Two hundred forty one day old Ross broilers were assigned to four groups, with 5 replicate and 12 birds per each replicate. Experimental diets were: Control diet based on corn-soybean meal (T1)and three other diets containing: 35% barley without any enzyme or fermentation (T2)' supplemented with enzyme (T3) and fermented with lactobacillus spp. (T4)' Feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion were measured weekly. Blood lipid parameters (total cholesterol and triglycerides) were measured at days 21 and 42. Feed intake was decreased by diet containing barley with no treatment compared to control diet (p<O.05). Diet containing barley with no treatment had adverse effects on performance and blood lipid parameters of broilers. However, these effects were not significant. Enzyme supplementation resulted in increase in feed intake, bodyweight, weight gain compared to diet with no supplementation (p<O.05). Feed conversion and parts yields were not affected by experimental diets. However, these parameters were numerically improved by enzyme supplementation and lactic acid fermentation. The results of this experiment indicated that enzyme supplementation had positive effects on nutritive value of barley in broilers diet.
Autoregressive moving average model for analyzing edge localized mode time series on Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment (ASDEX) Upgrade tokamak

An approach to analysis of time series of edge localized modes (ELMs) is proposed. It is based on the use of the autoregressive moving average model, which decomposes time series into deterministic and noise components. Despite the inclusion of nonlinearity in the model, the resulting deterministic equations for the ELM time series measured on Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment Upgrade tokamak turn out to be linear. This contrasts with the findings on JAERI tokamak (JT-60U) and tokamak a configuration variable that ELMs exhibit features of chaotic dynamics, namely, the presence of unstable periodic orbits. This methodology for distinguishing chaotic behavior is examined, and found to be susceptible to misinterpretation.
The impact of feedback and the hot halo on the rates of gas accretion on to galaxies

We investigate the physics that drives the gas accretion rates on to galaxies at the centres of dark matter haloes using the EAGLE suite of hydrodynamical cosmological simulations. We find that at redshifts z ≤ 2, the accretion rate on to the galaxy increases with halo mass in the halo mass range 1010–1011.7 M⊙, flattens between the halo masses 1011.7 and 1012.7 M⊙, and increases again for higher mass haloes. However, the galaxy gas accretion does not flatten at intermediate halo masses when active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback is switched off. To better understand these trends, we develop a physically motivated semi-analytic model of galaxy gas accretion. We show that the flattening is produced by the rate of gas cooling from the hot halo. The ratio of the cooling radius and the virial radius does not decrease continuously with increasing halo mass as generally thought. While it decreases up to ∼1013 M⊙ haloes, it increases for higher halo masses, causing an upturn in the galaxy gas accretion rate. This may indicate that in high-mass haloes, AGN feedback is not sufficiently efficient. When there is no AGN feedback, the density of the hot halo is higher, the ratio of the cooling and virial radii does not decrease as much, and the cooling rate is higher. Changes in the efficiency of stellar feedback can also increase or decrease the accretion rates on to galaxies. The trends can plausibly be explained by the re-accretion of gas ejected by progenitor galaxies and by the suppression of black hole growth, and hence AGN feedback, by stellar feedback.
Characterizing the high-velocity stars of RAVE: the discovery of a metal-rich halo star born in the Galactic disc

We aim to characterize high-velocity (HiVel) stars in the solar vicinity both chemically and kinematically using the fourth data release of the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE). We used a sample of 57 HiVel stars with Galactic rest-frame velocities larger than 275 km s(-1). With 6D position and velocity information, we integrated the orbits of the HiVel stars and found that, on average, they reach out to 13 kpc from the Galactic plane and have relatively eccentric orbits consistent with the Galactic halo. Using the stellar parameters and [alpha/Fe] estimates from RAVE, we found the metallicity distribution of the HiVel stars peak at [M/H] = -1.2 dex and is chemically consistent with the inner halo. There are a few notable exceptions that include a hypervelocity star candidate, an extremely HiVel bound halo star, and one star that is kinematically consistent with the halo but chemically consistent with the disc. High-resolution spectra were obtained for the metal-rich HiVel star candidate and the second highest velocity star in the sample. Using these high-resolution data, we report the discovery of a metal-rich halo star that has likely been dynamically ejected into the halo from the Galactic thick disc. This discovery could aid in explaining the assembly of the most metal-rich component of the Galactic halo.
Tropical cyclone effects on rapid runoff responses: quantifying with new continuous-time transfer function models

The South Creek Experimental Catchment (Queensland, Australia) was the first forest hydrological study established within cyclone-affected areas of the humid tropics to address runoff processes or surface–groundwater interactions. From the outset it was believed that the very flashy nature of the responses within this area of Queensland was at least partly attributed to rainfall characteristics associated with tropical cyclones. This study quantifies the impact on the dynamic response characteristics of very flashy streamflow responses to rainfall from a sequence of tropical cyclones relative to those associated with local convective events. To achieve this we have applied state-of-the-art time-series modelling methods to South Creek data and to that from a basin not directly affected by tropical cyclones but where the soils and slopes are comparable. For both datasets our analyses best captured the rainfall–runoff responses with second-order continuous-time transfer functions where 60% of the streamflow was associated with a fast pathway. While the recession time constant (TC) of this fast pathway was 75 minutes for the basin with rainstorms produced by local convective events (namely the Baru Experimental Catchment in Malaysian Borneo), the TC was only 21 minutes at South Creek. With an identical model structure and an identical value describing the rainfall–runoff nonlinearity, this shows quantitatively that for a unit rainfall input (sampled on a sub-hourly basis), the basin affected by tropical cyclones produced flashier stream responses in comparison to that only affected by localised tropical thunderstorms.
Understanding the non-linear clustering of high-redshift galaxies.

We incorporate the non-linear clustering of dark matter haloes, as modelled by Jose et al. into the halo model to better understand the clustering of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) in the redshift range z = 3–5. We find that, with this change, the predicted LBG clustering increases significantly on quasi-linear scales (0.1 ≤ r / h−1 Mpc ≤ 10) compared to that in the linear halo bias model. This, in turn, results in an increase in the clustering of LBGs by an order of magnitude on angular scales 5 ≤ θ ≤ 100 arcsec. Remarkably, the predictions of our new model on the whole remove the systematic discrepancy between the linear halo bias predictions and the observations. The correlation length and large-scale galaxy bias of LBGs are found to be significantly higher in the non-linear halo bias model than in the linear halo bias model. The resulting two-point correlation function retains an approximate power-law form in contrast with that computed using the linear halo bias theory. We also find that the non-linear clustering of LBGs increases with increasing luminosity and redshift. Our work emphasizes the importance of using non-linear halo bias in order to model the clustering of high-z galaxies to probe the physics of galaxy formation and extract cosmological parameters reliably.
ong-Term Impact of Routinely Detected arly and Late Incomplete Stent Apposition

esults There were 96 cases of early ISA in 26 (7.2%) BMS patients, 35 (9.7%) TAXUS Express paients (p 0.28 vs. BMS), and 35 (7.3%) TAXUS Liberté patients (p 0.21 vs. TAXUS Express, and 1.00 vs. BMS). Major adverse cardiovascular events were similar at 9 months in patients with arly ISA versus control subjects with no ISA for BMS (3.8% vs. 15.2%, p 0.13) and for TAXUS 11.6% vs. 8.8%, p 0.45). There was no impact of early ISA on stent thrombosis. At 9-month ollow-up, there were 36 cases of late-acquired ISA in 7 (2.7%) BMS patients, 17 (3.1%) patients with AXUS slow-release (TAXUS Express or TAXUS Liberté), and 12 (15.4%) patients receiving TAXUS oderate-release. Over 2 ensuing years, major adverse cardiovascular events were similar in paients with late-acquired ISA versus control subjects with no ISA for BMS (14.3% vs. 7.9%, p 0.54), AXUS (overall, 8.3% vs. 8.1% p 0.87), or TAXUS slow-release formulation (0% vs. 7.9%, p 0.28). here was no impact of late-acquired ISA on stent thrombosis.
Mapping the Kinematically Decoupled Core in NGC 1407 with MUSE

Studies of the kinematics of NGC 1407 have revealed complex kinematical structure, consisting of the outer galaxy, an embedded disc within a radius of $\sim60$ arcsec, and a kinematically decoupled core (KDC) with a radius of less than 30arcsec. However, the size of the KDC and the amplitude of the kinematic misalignment it induces have not yet been determined. In this paper, we explore the properties of the KDC using observations from the MUSE Integral Field Spectrograph to map out the kinematics in the central arcminute of NGC 1407. Velocity and kinemetry maps of the galaxy reveal a twist of $\sim$148 degree in the central $10$ arcseconds of the galaxy, and the higher-order moments of the kinematics reveal that within the same region, this slowly-rotating galaxy displays no net rotation. Analysis of the stellar populations across the galaxy found no evidence of younger stellar populations in the region of the KDC, instead finding uniform age and super-solar $\alpha$-enhancement across the galaxy, and a smoothly decreasing metallicity gradient with radius. We therefore conclude that NGC 1407 contains a triaxial, kiloparsec-scale KDC with distinct kinematics relative to the rest of the galaxy, and which is likely to have formed through either a major merger or a series of minor mergers early in the lifetime of the galaxy. With a radius of $\sim$5 arcseconds or $\sim0.6$ kpc, NGC 1407 contains the smallest KDC mapped by MUSE to date in terms of both its physical and angular size.
Anti – CTLA-4 in Prostate Cancer : When and Whom to Treat ?

Advanced prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. In the era of cancer immunotherapy, it was the first malignancy to demonstrate improved survival with a cancerspecific vaccine, thus proving that prostate cancer is an immune-responsive disease. However, the success with immune checkpoint therapies in metastatic prostate cancer has been limited to date with only a subset of patients experiencing clinical benefit. The relative lack of response could be attributed to patient selection based on clinical attributes and the tumor microenvironment. Here, we review the current data on immune checkpoint therapies in prostate cancer and propose future directions.
Outcome of Second Transplantation Using Umbilical Cord Blood for Graft Failure 1 after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia 2 3 Short title : Second UCBT for graft failure in patients with aplastic anemia

Please cite this article as: Yasushi Onishi, Takehiko Mori, Shinichi Kako, Hideo Koh, Naoyuki Uchida, Tadakazu Kondo, Takeshi Kobayashi, Hiromasa Yabe, Toshihiro Miyamoto, Koji Kato, Ritsuro Suzuki, Shinji Nakao, Hirohito Yamazaki, on behalf of the adult aplastic anemia working group of the Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, Outcome of Second Transplantation Using Umbilical Cord Blood for Graft Failure after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia, Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (2017), http://dx.doi. org/doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt. 2017.08. 020.
Effects of Competition on Members' Identification with Their Students.

Noah E. Friedkin and Michael J. Simpson This paper examines the identifications of members of subunits when they evaluate policies specifying the amount of resources to be allocated to different subunits in their organization. We studied conditions affecting members' identification with their subunit, using a sample of 185 school principals. With the coalition model of organizations as our starting point, we expected a relatively high baseline probability of identification with the subunit. It was hypothesized that identification with the subunit would be countervailed by conditions that diminished subunits' competition for resources. The three conditions proposed were members' perceptions of (1) the availability of resources, (2) the existence of organization-level planning, and (3) the frequency of controversy about resource allocations. We found that members' identification with the subunit was weakened when they perceived that (1) the amount of resources available to subunits was increasing, (2) a plan or operating procedure governed the allocation of resources to subunits, or (3) controversy over resource allocations to subunits had been frequent.e