Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anticipating Safety Issues in E2E Conversational AI: Framework and Tooling

Over the last several years, end-to-end neural conversational agents have vastly improved in their ability to carry a chit-chat conversation with humans. However, these models are often trained on large datasets from the internet, and as a result, may learn undesirable behaviors from this data, such as toxic or otherwise harmful language. Researchers must thus wrestle with the issue of how and when to release these models. In this paper, we survey the problem landscape for safety for end-to-end conversational AI and discuss recent and related work. We highlight tensions between values, potential positive impact and potential harms, and provide a framework for making decisions about whether and how to release these models, following the tenets of value-sensitive design. We additionally provide a suite of tools to enable researchers to make better-informed decisions about training and releasing end-to-end conversational AI models.
Model Selection for Generic Contextual Bandits

We consider the problem of model selection for the general stochastic contextual bandits under the realizability assumption. We propose a successive refinement based algorithm called Adaptive Contextual Bandit (ACB), that works in phases and successively eliminates model classes that are too simple to fit the given instance. We prove that this algorithm is adaptive, i.e., the regret rate order-wise matches that of any provable contextual bandit algorithm, that needs the knowledge of the true model class. The price of not knowing the correct model class turns out to be only an additive term contributing to the second order term in the regret bound. This cost possess the intuitive property that it becomes smaller as the model class becomes easier to identify, and vice-versa. We also show that a much simpler explore-then-commit (ETC) style algorithm also obtains similar regret bound, despite not knowing the true model class. However, the cost of model selection is higher in ETC as opposed to in ACB, as expected. Furthermore, for the special case of linear contextual bandits, we propose specialized algorithms that obtain sharper guarantees compared to the generic setup.
Qubits are not observers -- a no-go theorem

The relational approach to quantum states asserts that the physical description of quantum systems is always relative to something or someone. In relational quantum mechanics (RQM) it is relative to other quantum systems, in the (neo-)Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory to measurement contexts, and in QBism to the beliefs of the agents. In contrast to the other two interpretations, in RQM any interaction between two quantum systems counts as a ”measurement”, and the terms ”observer” and ”observed system” apply to arbitrary systems. We show, in the form of a no-go theorem, that in RQM the physical description of a system relative to an observer cannot represent knowledge about the observer in the conventional sense of this term. The problem lies in the ambiguity in the choice of the basis with respect to which the relative states are to be defined in RQM. In interpretations of quantum theory where observations play a fundamental role, the problem does not arise because the experimental context defines a preferred basis.
A Pila--Wilkie theorem for Hensel minimal curves

Recently, a new axiomatic framework for tameness in henselian valued fields was developed by Cluckers, Halupczok, Rideau-Kikuchi and Vermeulen and termed Hensel minimality. In this article we develop Diophantine applications of Hensel minimality. We prove a Pila--Wilkie type theorem for transcendental curves definable in Hensel minimal structures. In order to do so, we introduce a new notion of point counting in this context related to dimension counting over the residue field. We examine multiple classes of examples, showcasing the need for this new dimension counting and prove that our bounds are optimal.
Population Synthesis of Black Hole Binaries with Compact Star Companions

We perform a systematic study of merging black hole (BH) binaries with compact star (CS) companions, including black hole–white dwarf (BH–WD), black hole–neutron star (BH–NS), and black hole–black hole (BH–BH) systems. Previous studies have shown that mass transfer stability and common envelope evolution can significantly affect the formation of merging BH–CS binaries through isolated binary evolution. With detailed binary evolution simulations, we obtain easy-to-use criteria for the occurrence of the common envelope phase in mass-transferring BH binaries with a nondegenerate donor, and incorporate the criteria into population synthesis calculations. To explore the impact of a possible mass gap between NSs and BHs on the properties of merging BH–CS binary population, we adopt different supernova mechanisms involving the rapid, delayed, and stochastic prescriptions to deal with the compact remnant masses and the natal kicks. Our calculations show that there are ∼105–106 BH–CS binaries in the Milky Way, among which dozens are observable by future space-based gravitational wave detectors. We estimate that the local merger rate density of all BH–CS systems is ∼60–200 Gpc−3 yr−1. While there are no low-mass BHs formed via rapid supernovae, both delayed and stochastic prescriptions predict that ∼100%/∼70%/∼30% of merging BH–WD/BH–NS/BH–BH binaries are likely to have BH components within the mass gap.
Perfect Sampling for (Atomic) Lovász Local Lemma

We give a Markov chain based perfect sampler for uniform sampling solutions of constraint satisfaction problems (CSP). Under some mild Lov\'asz local lemma conditions where each constraint of the CSP has a small number of forbidden local configurations, our algorithm is accurate and efficient: it outputs a perfect uniform random solution and its expected running time is quasilinear in the number of variables. Prior to our work, perfect samplers are only shown to exist for CSPs under much more restrictive conditions (Guo, Jerrum, and Liu, JACM'19). Our algorithm has two components: 1. A simple perfect sampling algorithm using bounding chains (Huber, STOC'98; Haggstrom and Nelander, Scandinavian Journal of Statistics'99). This sampler is efficient if each variable domain is small. 2. A simple but powerful state tensorization trick to reduce large domains to smaller ones. This trick is a generalization of state compression (Feng, He, and Yin, STOC'21). The crux of our analysis is a simple information percolation argument which allows us to achieve bounds even beyond current best approximate samplers (Jain, Pham, and Vuong, ArXiv'21). Previous related works either use intricate algorithms or need sophisticated analysis or even both. Thus we view the simplicity of both our algorithm and analysis as a strength of our work.
Estabilidad físicoquímica durante el almacenamiento refrigerado de filetes de bagre dorado (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) ahumados y empacados con y sin vacío Physical and chemical stability of vacuum-packaged smoked fillets of golden catfish (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) during refrigerated storag

The objective was to evaluate the physical and chemical stability during refrigerated storage of golden catfish (Brachyplastoma rosseauxii) smoked packaged filets with or without vacuum trough several variables from seven to 28 days. The raw material was taken from the docks located in Barrancas town in the delta region of the Orinoco River. The catfish were selected according to size, surface color characteristics of freshness and body weight and immediately eviscerated in situ, washed with cold water and covered with ice in its ventral side before being placed in ice coolers. Filets were exposed to three smoking times (60, 90 and 120 min). The smoked filets were packaged with and without vacuum and then stored at 2 ± 1 °C. Filets were then evaluated for physicochemical variables (Total volatile bases nitrogen, tiobarbituric acid number, Aw, pH, moisture and fat content) every 7 days during 28 days of storage. There were significant differences (P<0.05) among treatments for the evaluated parameters. According to the results the smoked filets showing the best stability in refrigerated storage were those smoked during 120 min and vacuum packaged.
The Test of Electric Vehicle with Electronic Differential System in Different Road Conditions Highlights

The harmful gases emitted by vehicles using oil-based fuels have been widely discussed in recent years. For this reason, in vehicle technology, a tendency has started to use vehicles with lower greenhouse gas effect engine types. Electric motor vehicles are more complex in terms of control when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. However, it offers a much more comfortable use for essential needs such as cleaning, maintenance and repair. There are many studies in the literature on mathematical simulations of electronic differential system (EDS) and laboratory scale EDS trials for electric vehicles. In this study, the mathematical model of EDS for an electric vehicle, is simulated. Unlike previous studies, the mathematical model of EDS was embedded on a microprocessor and used to control a prototype electric vehicle. Real road tests were carried out with the prototype electric vehicle. Simulation and road tests were carried out under 3 different road conditions (dry, wet and slippery) and 3 different steering angles (5, 15, ve 25). In order to interpret the results, current and speed data of the right and left wheels on the prototype vehicle were taken in real time. The results confirm that the vehicle does not spin when turning in different road conditions.
A three-year randomized clinical trial evaluating direct posterior composite restorations placed with three self-etch adhesives

Abstract Aim To compare the clinical performance of composite restorations placed with a universal adhesive, one-step and two-step self-etch adhesives in class I and II posterior cavities. Materials and methods In this in vivo study, 46 volunteers presenting with at least three carious lesions were included. Each participant received the three restorative systems: universal adhesive/nanofilled composite (Scotchbond Universal/Filtek Z350 XT: SBU/FZXT), one-step self-etch adhesive/microhybrid composite (G-aenial bond/G-aenial Posterior: GB/GP) and the two-step self-etch adhesive/nanohybrid composite (OptiBond XTR/Herculite Ultra: OBX/HU). The adhesives were all placed in self-etch mode. In total, 138 restorations were evaluated at baseline and at 6,12 and 36 months using the modified United States Public Health Service criteria. Data were analysed using Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney U, Friedman and Wilcoxon non-parametric tests (p < .05). Ninety-one restorations were evaluated at 36 months. Results Seven restorations, three SBU/FZXT, three GB/GP and one OBX/HU failed during this study. The reasons for failure were marginal fracture and secondary caries. SBU/FZXT restorations showed significant marginal deterioration in all parameters. Overall success rates were: 93.5% (SBU/FZXT), 96.6% (GB/GP) and 96.8% (OBX/HU). Conclusions After three years, the three restorative systems have comparable clinical effectiveness and success rates, except for the marginal integrity, that was suboptimal for both the SBU/FZXT and GB/GP restorations in comparison to the OBX/HU restorations.
A Baybayin word recognition system

Baybayin is a pre-Hispanic Philippine writing system used in Luzon island. With the effort in reintroducing the script, in 2018, the Committee on Basic Education and Culture of the Philippine Congress approved House Bill 1022 or the ”National Writing System Act,” which declares the Baybayin script as the Philippines’ national writing system. Since then, Baybayin OCR has become a field of research interest. Numerous works have proposed different techniques in recognizing Baybayin scripts. However, all those studies anchored on the classification and recognition at the character level. In this work, we propose an algorithm that provides the Latin transliteration of a Baybayin word in an image. The proposed system relies on a Baybayin character classifier generated using the Support Vector Machine (SVM). The method involves isolation of each Baybayin character, then classifying each character according to its equivalent syllable in Latin script, and finally concatenate each result to form the transliterated word. The system was tested using a novel dataset of Baybayin word images and achieved a competitive 97.9% recognition accuracy. Based on our review of the literature, this is the first work that recognizes Baybayin scripts at the word level. The proposed system can be used in automated transliterations of Baybayin texts transcribed in old books, tattoos, signage, graphic designs, and documents, among others.
Antioxidant Barrier and Oxidative Damage to Proteins, Lipids, and DNA/RNA in Adrenal Tumor Patients

This study is the first to assess redox balance, glutathione metabolism, and oxidative damage to RNA/DNA, proteins, and lipids in the plasma/serum and urine of patients with adrenal masses. The study included 70 patients with adrenal tumors divided into three subgroups: incidentaloma (n = 30), pheochromocytoma (n = 20), and Cushing's/Conn's adenoma (n = 20), as well as 60 healthy controls. Blood and urine samples were collected before elective endoscopic adrenalectomy. Antioxidant defense capacity was significantly decreased (serum/plasma: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH), uric acid (UA); urine: SOD, GSH, UA) in patients with adrenal masses. The oxidative damage to proteins (advanced glycation end products (AGE), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP)) and lipids (lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) was higher in the plasma and urine of these patients. Plasma MDA and DNA/RNA oxidation products, with high sensitivity and specificity, can help to diagnose pheochromocytoma. This biomarker differentiates patients with pheochromocytoma from Cushing's/Conn's adenoma as well as from heathy controls. Plasma RNA/DNA oxidation was also positively correlated with urine metanephrine. Oxidative stress can play a crucial role in adrenal tumors. However, further studies are required to clarify the role of redox signaling in adrenal masses.
Deep sequence modelling for predicting COVID-19 mRNA vaccine degradation

The worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic made dramatic and rapid progress in the year 2020 and requires urgent global effort to accelerate the development of a vaccine to stop the daily infections and deaths. Several types of vaccine have been designed to teach the immune system how to fight off certain kinds of pathogens. mRNA vaccines are the most important candidate vaccines because of their capacity for rapid development, high potency, safe administration and potential for low-cost manufacture. mRNA vaccine acts by training the body to recognize and response to the proteins produced by disease-causing organisms such as viruses or bacteria. This type of vaccine is the fastest candidate to treat COVID-19 but it currently facing several limitations. In particular, it is a challenge to design stable mRNA molecules because of the inefficient in vivo delivery of mRNA, its tendency for spontaneous degradation and low protein expression levels. This work designed and implemented a sequence deep model based on bidirectional GRU and LSTM models applied on the Stanford COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dataset to predict the mRNA sequences responsible for degradation by predicting five reactivity values for every position in the sequence. Four of these values determine the likelihood of degradation with/without magnesium at high pH (pH 10) and high temperature (50 degrees Celsius) and the fifth reactivity value is used to determine the likely secondary structure of the RNA sample. The model relies on two types of features, namely numerical and categorical features, where the categorical features are extracted from the mRNA sequences, structure and predicted loop. These features are represented and encoded by numbers, and then, the features are extracted using embedding layer learning. There are five numerical features depending on the likelihood for each pair of nucleotides in the RNA. The model gives promising results because it predicts the five reactivity values with a validation mean columnwise root mean square error (MCRMSE) of 0.125 using LSTM model with augmentation and the codon encoding method. Codon encoding outperforms Base encoding in MCRMSE validation error using the LSTM model meanwhile Base encoding outperforms codon encoding due to less over-fitting and the difference between the training and validation loss error is 0.008.
Oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer: Current management

Background: In the past decade, major developments have improved the survival of patients with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). About 20% - 50% of patients with NSCLC present with oligometastases at diagnosis. For this group of patients, it seems that an increase in survival would justify aggressive local therapies. The development of minimally invasive surgery and advanced radiotherapy techniques like stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) makes local control possible for selected patients with metastatic NSCLC. The advantage of SBRT over surgery is that it is a non-invasive technique, with minimum side effects, and is more suitable for fragile and elderly patients, non-candidates for surgery, or patients who refuse surgery. Aim: The purpose of this review is to summarize the latest scientific evidence on the management of oligometastatic NSCLC, focusing on the role of radiotherapy. Relevance for Patients: The initial treatment recommended for patients with oligometastatic NSCLC is systemic therapy. Patients should be considered for radical treatment to both the primary tumor and oligometastases. Aggressive local therapy comprises surgery and/or definitive radiotherapy such as SRS or SBRT, and may be preceded or followed by systemic treatment. Recent clinical evidence from Phase II trials reports benefits in terms of PFS in patients with good performance status and long disease-free periods, with good response to systemic therapy, especially in EGFR wild-type tumors. Phase I and II trials have shown that radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy can improve tumor response rate and possibly overall survival. The recommendation is also to include OM patients in ongoing clinical trials.
Stereological Study of Changes of GABA-Immunoreactive Neurons in Spinal Dorsal Horn of SNI Rats

Objective To observe the changes in the mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and the proportion of GABA-immunoreactive neurons in spinal dorsal horn (SDH) of the spared nerve injury (SNI) rat model. Methods Thirty-six healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operated group (group D, n = 18) and an SNI group (group S, n = 18). The left sciatic nerve trunk and three branches were exposed, two of which, known as tibial and the peroneal nerve, were ligated and cut off. The sural nerve was preserved to build the SNI model in group S. The left sciatic nerve trunk and three branches were only exposed in group D. MWT tests were performed on the medial and lateral sides of the rats' left hindpaw 1 day before surgery and at 7th, 14th, and 28th day after surgery. Results In group S, compared with the baseline measured 1 day before surgery, MWT on the medial and lateral sides of the rats' left hindpaw decreased significantly on the 7th, 14th, and 28th days after surgery (P < 0.05), while in group D, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Compared with right SDH, there were not statistically significant reductions in the proportions of GABAergic neurons of left SDH on 7th and 28th day after SNI (P > 0.05); however, the proportion of GABAergic neurons in left SDH significantly decreased, compared with that in right side on 14th day after SNI (P < 0.05). On the same way, the proportions of GABAergic neurons on 7th, 14th, and 28th day after surgery were not statistically different (P > 0.05) in group D. Conclusion The SNI model could reduce the proportion of GABA-immunoreactive neurons in the rat's spinal dorsal horn on the nerve-injured side, and this change was lasting, which might be related to the transformation of the GABA-immunoreactive neurons.
Clinical Profile and Short-Term Outcomes of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Admitted to a Teaching Hospital in Ethiopia: A Prospective Study

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in hospitalized patients and a marker for poor patient outcomes. It is associated with a high risk of mortality and other short- and long-term adverse outcomes. We aim to assess the clinical profile and short-term outcomes of acute kidney injury in adult patients admitted to the medical ward. Methods A hospital-based prospective observational study was conducted from October 2019 to January 2020. All adult patients diagnosed as AKI using kidney disease improving global outcomes (KIDGO) criteria were included in the study and prospectively followed to document the short-term outcomes. Outcomes and their predictors were determined using multivariate logistic regression. P-value less than 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Results A total of 160 patients were included in the study. Out of this, 96 (60%) were males, 118 (74%) had community-acquired AKI, and 51 (32%) had stage 3 AKI. Common causes of AKI were hypovolemia 62 (39%) and sepsis 35 (22%). Hypertension 69 (43%) and heart failure 50 (31%) were common underlying comorbidities. Fifty-six (35%) patients developed systemic complications, 98 (61.2%) had persistent AKI, 136 (85%) had prolonged length of hospital stay, and 18 (11%) were readmitted to the hospital. The presence of AKI-related complication (AOR=2.7, 95% CI: 1.14–6.58, p=0.024), and duration of AKI (AOR=9.7, 95% CI: 2.56–36.98, p=0.001) were factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay. Preexisting CKD (AOR=3.6, 95% CI: 1.02–13.14, p=0.035) and stage 3 AKI (AOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.6–3.57, p=0.04) were factors associated with 30-day hospital readmission. Conclusion Hypovolemia and infections were the primary causes of AKI. Complications, prolonged length of hospital stay, persistent AKI, and rehospitalization were poor short-term outcomes of AKI. Early diagnosis and timely management of AKI particularly in high-risk hospitalized patients, and post-AKI care including management of comorbidities for AKI survivors should improve these poor short-term outcomes.
Intensity-Modified Recreational Volleyball Training Improves Health Markers and Physical Fitness in 25–55-Year-Old Men

The present study is aimed at determining the effects of intensity-modified recreational volleyball training on health markers and physical fitness in healthy middle-aged men. Thirty-four healthy untrained men aged 25–55 years were randomized to either a modified recreational volleyball group (MRV, n = 17) or a recreational volleyball group (RV, n = 17). Both groups performed volleyball training twice a week over 12 weeks, with participants in MRV playing a modified game with higher intensity due to shorter breaks between rallies. The small to moderate improvements of both groups were observed in SBP (MRV gav = −0.50 [-0.67, -0.33] vs. RV gav = −0.37 [-0.55, -0.20]) to a similar extent (p = 0.12). However, only the MRV significantly improved (p < 0.001) the mean body weight (gav = −0.35 [-0.52, -0.18]) and BMI (gav = −0.39 [-0.56, -0.22]) to a moderate extent and the YYIR1 performance (gav = 2.45 [2.22, 2.69]) to a large extent. Even though both groups significantly improved the rest HR, the mean change of rest HR was significantly greater in MRV as compared to the RV (p < 0.001, ŋp2 = 0.47). The study revealed that an intensity-modified type of recreational volleyball, involving shorter breaks between rallies, improves cardiorespiratory fitness and health markers for men aged 25–55 years.