Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gradient conjugate priors and deep neural networks

The paper deals with learning the probability distribution of the observed data by artificial neural networks. We suggest a so-called gradient conjugate prior (GCP) update appropriate for neural networks, which is a modification of the classical Bayesian update for conjugate priors. We establish a connection between the gradient conjugate prior update and the maximization of the log-likelihood of the predictive distribution. Unlike for the Bayesian neural networks, we do not impose a prior on the weights of the neural networks, but rather assume that the ground truth distribution is normal with unknown mean and variance and learn by neural networks the parameters of a prior (normal-gamma distribution) for these unknown mean and variance. The update of the parameters is done, using the gradient that, at each step, directs towards minimizing the Kullback--Leibler divergence from the prior to the posterior distribution (both being normal-gamma). We obtain a corresponding dynamical system for the prior's parameters and analyze its properties. In particular, we study the limiting behavior of all the prior's parameters and show how it differs from the case of the classical full Bayesian update. The results are validated on synthetic and real world data sets.
AES BIOFLUX Advances in Environmental Sciences-International Journal of the Bioflux Society Characterization of seawater quality in stressed coastal zone of Iligan Bay

A small portion of the coastal zone along Iligan bay stretching from barangay Dalipuga to Kiwalan, was under stress brought about by rapid development of industries and growth of population. Seawater quality in this area was examined using 12 physico-chemical and biological variables. The prime object of the study was to characterize the seawater quality in the stressed coastal zone by specifically sorting and identifying most important variables that capture and could best describe the current seawater quality condition. The multivariate statistical approach was used to help discover the structure of variables needed for characterization. Principal Component Analysis effectively reduced the 12 variables into 3 component factors namely: PC 1 which is related to abundance of microbial contaminants has an eigenvalue of 2.54, hence declared as significantly different from the other variables; PC 2 pertains to phosphate loading with eigenvalue of 1.94 and PC 3 which is related to physical factors with eigenvalue of 1.16. Scatter plot produced from PCA revealed that the entire study area was generally uniform in characteristics. Based on PC 1, the seawater quality of the stressed coastal zone was characterized generally as poor, and therefore not safe for recreational and fishing activities.
Understanding the Effects of Government Spending on Consumption

Recent evidence on the effect of government spending shocks on consumption cannot be easily reconciled with existing optimizing business cycle models. We extend the standard New Keynesian model to allow for the presence of rule-of-thumb (non-Ricardian) consumers. We show how the interaction of the latter with sticky prices and deficit financing can account for the existing evidence on the e¤ects of government spending.
Uncovering the Distribution of Option Implied Risk Aversion

This paper explores the dynamics of risk aversion of a representative agent with an iso-elastic utility function. In contrast to most of the existing literature, we estimate the coefficient of relative risk aversion from option prices. To do this, we transform the risk-neutral density function obtained from a cross-section of option prices to an objective distribution function that reflects individuals’ risk aversion through a CRRA utility function. The dynamics of the relative risk-aversion coefficient are obtained by repeating the same estimation procedure over rolling windows. This procedure uncovers strong variation in risk aversion over time. We also propose a simulation procedure to construct confidence intervals for the risk-aversion coefficient in each period. We assess the robustness of these confidence intervals under different assumptions on the data generating process of stock prices. The results imply a strong influence of volatility on the variation of risk aversion. In an empirical application, we compare the forecasting performance of our approach based on our risk-aversion estimates against the method proposed in [1]. Overall, we find that our simulation based approach obtains better forecasting results than bootstrap methods.
Decreased serum level of NgF in alcohol-dependent patients with declined executive function

: The role of neurotrophic factors has been highlighted as a cause of decline in the cognitive function of alcohol-dependent patients. It is known that nerve-growth factor (NGF), one of the neurotrophins, is related to the growth and differentiation of nerve cells, as well as to a decline in cognitive function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between decreased NGF levels and cognitive decline in alcohol-dependent patients. The serum concentration of NGF was measured in 38 patients with chronic alcohol dependence, and several neuropsychological tests were also performed for cognitive function assessment. The results indicated a significant correlation between serum NGF level and the trail-making test part B, which evaluates executive function, but did not show a significant correlation with other cognitive function tests. An increased serum level of NGF was associated with a decreased completion time in the trail-making test B, and this finding indicates that a high serum level of NGF is related to greater executive function. This finding may imply a protective role of NGF in preventing neuron damage among patients with alcohol dependence. Larger controlled studies will be necessary in the future to investigate this issue further.
Application of alternative digital rock physics methods in a real case study: a challenge between clean and cemented samples

High‐resolution three‐dimensional images are used in digital rock physics to numerically compute rock physical properties such as permeability and elastic moduli. These images are not widely available, and their preparation is both expensive and time consuming. All of these issues highlight the importance of alternative digital rock physics methods that are based on two‐dimensional images and use different approaches to compute effective properties of three‐dimensional samples. In addition, the scale of study in both standard and alternative digital rock physics is very small, which applications of its results are questionable at wells or reservoir scale. The aim of this study is to use two‐dimensional images and alternative digital rock physics techniques for computing seismic wave velocity and permeability, which are compared with well and laboratory data. For this purpose, data from one well in a reservoir located in the southwestern part of Iran are used. First, two clean (carbonate) and two cemented (limy sandstone) samples were collected from well cores at different depths. Then, two‐dimensional images by scanning electron microscope and conventional microscope were captured. In the next step, two alternative digital rock physics methods, namely, empirical relations and conditional reconstruction, have been employed to compute P‐wave velocity and permeability of a three‐dimensional medium. Results showed that, in clean (mono‐mineral) samples, velocity values were reasonably close to well data. However, permeability values are underestimated compared with laboratory data because laboratory data were obtained at ambient pressure, whereas alternative digital rock physics results are more representative of reservoir pressure conditions. Nevertheless, permeability–porosity trends are valid for both samples. In the case of cemented samples, a two‐scale procedure, along with a method for two‐scale computation and grain‐cement segmentation, is presented and developed. Results showed that P‐wave velocity is overestimated probably due to random sampling in this method. However, velocity–porosity trends are in agreement with well data. Moreover, permeability results obtained for cemented samples were also similar to those obtained for the clean samples.
Orbital stability of standing waves for
 fractional Hartree equation with unbounded
 potentials

We prove the existence of the set of ground states in a suitable energy space $\Sigma^s=\{u: \int_{\mathbb{R}^N} \bar{u}(-\Delta+m^2)^s u+V |u|^2<\infty\}$, $s\in (0,\frac{N}{2})$ for the mass-subcritical nonlinear fractional Hartree equation with unbounded potentials. As a consequence we obtain, as a priori result, the orbital stability of the set of standing waves. The main ingredient is the observation that $\Sigma^s$ is compactly embedded in $L^2$. This enables us to apply the concentration compactness argument in the works of Cazenave-Lions and Zhang, namely, relative compactness for any minimizing sequence in the energy space.
Consumer Attitudes to Organic Foods. A Spanish Case Study

The purpose of the present study is to determine the various factors that influence attitudes towards the purchase of organic food. The methodology consisted in a survey of 463 consumers in the Castilla-La Mancha Region who purchased food items for their homes. A multivariate data analysis was carried out by means of Structural Equation Models (SEM), computed with the maximum likelihood method. Attitudes toward the purchase of organic foods are directly related to consumer lifestyle and are influenced by consumers’ attitude towards the environment as well. In this sense, lifestyle and environmental attitudes have a positive influence on the purchase of organic food.
Trophic Status of a Shallow Lake (North of Iran) Based on the Water Quality and the Phytoplankton Community

This study was carried out on Carlson Trophic State Index (TSI) for assessing trophic status in a shallow wetland (Marzanabad) that located in southwest (SW) of Babol city in north of Iran. The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of phytoplankton community and also environmental variables were determined and compared with the TSI in order to describe the water quality status. In three stations, the water samples were collected in Sept. 2006 through Aug. 2007; except January. In this research, 97 taxa from 6 algal classes such as Bacillariphyta, Chlorophyta, Chrysophyta, Cyanophyta, Dinophyta and Euglenophyta were identified. This wetland water was opened indirectly to Haraz River for 6 months, so phytoplankton composition was different during the year. During the isolation from Haraz overlapping with warm months, the phytoplankton community was dominated by species as Nitzschia spp, Binuclearia tatrana, Euglena spp and specially Oscillatoria spp, respectively. But in late Autumn to early spring species as Dinobryon divergense and Gymnodinium paradoxum were dominated and coinciding with the minimum Shannon-Weaver diversity index that recorded in winter. The Palmer organic pollution index revealed high organic pollution in whole of the year. TSI data and some other criteria indicated that the area has high trophic level.
Progression of Situation Calculus Action Theories with Incomplete Information

In this paper, we propose a new progression mechanism for a restricted form of incomplete knowledge formulated as a basic action theory in the situation calculus. Specifically, we focus on functional fluents and deal directly with the possible values these fluents may have and how these values are affected by both physical and sensing actions. The method we propose is logically complete and can be calculated efficiently using database techniques under certain reasonable assumptions.
A defi ned network of fast-spiking interneurons in orbitofrontal cortex : responses to behavioral contingencies and ketamine administration

correlations with response latency, no overall correlation of OFC and response latency has been seen (Feierstein et al., 2006). Indeed, in addition to prominent correlation with expected outcomes, OFC neurons, like other cortical neurons, show a highly diverse set of behavioral correlates (Feierstein et al., 2006). Cortical microcircuits are composed of distinct cell types with diverse intrinsic and synaptic properties (Somogyi et al., 1998; Markram et al., 2004; Ascoli et al., 2008). Seminal studies by Goldman-Rakic and colleagues dissected the functional organization of primate dorsal lateral PFC in terms of cell types (Constantinidis et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2004). This work supports the notion that the fi ring properties of prefrontal neurons may be attributed to their underlying role in the function of the local microcircuit, with the apparent diversity of responses refl ecting the INTRODUCTION Ketamine is an NMDA antagonist with potent psychoactive properties (Berman et al., 2000; Zarate et al., 2006). Ketamine’s effects may be mediated in part through the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a region of prefrontal cortex (PFC) crucial to motivational aspects of goal-directed behavior and affective decisionmaking (Hollerman et al., 2000; Schoenbaum and Roesch, 2005). Electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that the activity of single OFC neurons is correlated with the predicted outcomes of behavioral decisions (Schoenbaum et al., 1998; Tremblay and Schultz, 1999, 2000; PadoaSchioppa and Assad, 2006). OFC lesions also disrupt the expression of differences in latency of response for differences in the value of expected outcomes (Lauwereyns et al., 2002; Schoenbaum et al., 2003). However, although individual OFC neurons show fi ring rate A defi ned network of fast-spiking interneurons in orbitofrontal cortex: responses to behavioral contingencies and ketamine administration
Brain Connectivity in Pathological and Pharmacological Coma

Recent studies in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) tend to support the view that awareness is not related to activity in a single brain region but to thalamo-cortical connectivity in the frontoparietal network. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown preserved albeit disconnected low-level cortical activation in response to external stimulation in patients in a “vegetative state” or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome. While activation of these “primary” sensory cortices does not necessarily reflect conscious awareness, activation in higher-order associative cortices in minimally conscious state patients seems to herald some residual perceptual awareness. PET studies have identified a metabolic dysfunction in a widespread frontoparietal “global neuronal workspace” in DOC patients including the midline default mode network (“intrinsic” system) and the lateral frontoparietal cortices or “extrinsic system. ” Recent studies have investigated the relation of awareness to the functional connectivity within intrinsic and extrinsic networks, and with the thalami in both pathological and pharmacological coma. In brain damaged patients, connectivity in all default network areas was found to be non-linearly correlated with the degree of clinical consciousness impairment, ranging from healthy controls and locked-in syndrome to minimally conscious, vegetative, coma, and brain dead patients. Anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness was also shown to correlate with a global decrease in cortico-cortical and thalamo-cortical connectivity in both intrinsic and extrinsic networks, but not in auditory, or visual networks. In anesthesia, unconsciousness was also associated with a loss of cross-modal interactions between networks. These results suggest that conscious awareness critically depends on the functional integrity of thalamo-cortical and cortico-cortical frontoparietal connectivity within and between “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” brain networks.
Entropy generation analysis for the cavitating head-drop characteristic of a centrifugal pump

Cavitation is a challenging flow abnormality that leads to undesirable effects on the hydraulic behaviour of centrifugal pumps. This study analyses the cavitating flow at a normal flow rate using the shear stress transport k-ω turbulence model and the Zwart cavitation model to capture the cavitation development and spatial distribution of vapour structures within the pump. A general description of the pump head-drop phenomenon was analysed through the study of local and global flow fields. The relationship between vapour distribution and entropy generation fields was mainly investigated through the local flow analysis method. Results show that the tendency of total entropy generation rate within the impeller coincides with the pump head-drop curve. The entropy generation rate changes slightly at the early stage of the cavitation development whereas rapidly increases when the cavitation has fully developed. Cavitation development enhances the hydraulic losses and flow unsteadiness in the impeller. These hydraulic losses are located substantially at the interface of the cavity, especially at the rear portion of the cavity region.
THE MAYAK WORKER DOSIMETRY SYSTEM (MWDS-2013) FOR INTERNALLY DEPOSITED PLUTONIUM: AN OVERVIEW.

The Mayak Worker Dosimetry System (MWDS-2013) is a system for interpreting measurement data from Mayak workers from both internal and external sources. This paper is concerned with the calculation of annual organ doses for Mayak workers exposed to plutonium aerosols, where the measurement data consists mainly of activity of plutonium in urine samples. The system utilises the latest biokinetic and dosimetric models, and unlike its predecessors, takes explicit account of uncertainties in both the measurement data and model parameters. The aim of this paper is to describe the complete MWDS-2013 system (including model parameter values and their uncertainties) and the methodology used (including all the relevant equations) and the assumptions made. Where necessary, Supplementary papers which justify speci ﬁ c assumptions are cited. The calculation of organ doses from measurements of activity in urine (and occasionally from autopsy samples for Mayak workers) involves four distinct steps. The value air measurements. The lognormal distribution variable median M GSD of six based on one derived Puncher (16) from an analysis of historical personal air sampler data relat-ing to plutonium and uranium concentrations in for- mer workplaces of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. That paper also includes a sensitivity ana- lysis on M to lung dose; it was found a 10-fold change in M gave a 2-fold change in lung dose, indicating that dose estimates are not overly sensitive to the choice of the value of M. This is also likely to be A full description of the re-analysis of the beagle dog data is given in this special edition (27) . The analysis was performed using two different representations of particle transport from deep lungs: one based on a dog model similar to the ICRP Publication 66 model, and one based on the MWDS-2013 model. The results yielded best estimates of 0.2% and 0.8% for f b , respect-ively. For the model based on the ICRP Publication 66 structure, the model could not be explained without the presence of a bound state. For the model based on the MWDS-2013 structure, the model could be made to ﬁ t the data, but only by reducing particle transport rates to an implausible level. Taken together, the results give very strong evidence to support the presence of a bound fraction.
Mechanisms of immunomodulation caused by chemotherapy ( chemo ) alone , and synergy seen when combined with oncolytic virus

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Online Power Control for Block i.i.d. Energy Harvesting Channels

We study the problem of online power control for energy harvesting communication nodes with random energy arrivals and a finite battery. We assume a block i.i. d. stochastic model for the energy arrivals, in which the energy arrivals are constant for a fixed duration <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, but are independent across different blocks, drawn from an arbitrary distribution. This model serves as a simple approximation to a random process with coherence time <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. We propose a simple online power control policy, and prove that its performance gap to the optimal throughput is bounded by a constant which is independent of the parameters of the problem. This also yields a simple formula for the approximately optimal long-term average throughput, which sheds some light on the qualitative behavior of the throughput and how it depends on the coherence time of the energy arrival process. Our results show that, perhaps counter-intuitively, for a fixed mean energy arrival rate the approximate throughput decreases with increasing coherence time <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of the energy arrival process. In particular, the battery size needed to approach the AWGN capacity of the channel increases linearly with the coherence time of the process. Finally, we show that our results can provide an approximation to the information-theoretic capacity of the same channel.
CORE Scholar CORE Scholar

A general systems approach is taken to studying the emergent properties of the human perception/action system. Two task domains, the control of locomotion and the recognition of objects, are used to study human performance. The locomotion task involves the control of altitude. Experiments are described that will manipulate the type of texture, the speed of forward motion
Prevalence and natural history of ALK positive non-small-cell lung cancer and the clinical impact of targeted therapy with ALK inhibitors

: Improved understanding of molecular drivers of carcinogenesis has led to significant progress in the management of lung cancer. Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with anaplastic lymphoma kinase ( ALK ) gene rearrangements constitute about 4%–5% of all NSCLC patients. ALK + NSCLC cells respond well to small molecule ALK inhibitors such as crizotinib; however, resistance invariably develops after several months of treatment. There are now several newer ALK inhibitors, with the next generation of agents targeting resistance mutations. In this review, we will discuss the prevalence and clinical characteristics of ALK + lung cancer, current treatment options, and future directions in the management of this subset of NSCLC patients. Clinical Epidemiology is an international, peer-reviewed, open access, online journal focusing on disease and drug epidemiology, identification of risk factors and screening procedures to develop optimal pre- ventative initiatives and programs. Specific topics include: diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, screening, prevention, risk factor modification, systematic reviews, risk & safety of medical interventions, epidemiol- ogy & biostatistical methods, and evaluation of guidelines, translational medicine, health policies & economic evaluations. The manuscript management system is completely online and includes a very quick and fair peer-review system, which is all easy to use.
Convergence Theorems for Modified Inertial Viscosity Splitting Methods in Banach Spaces

In this article, we study a modified viscosity splitting method combined with inertial extrapolation for accretive operators in Banach spaces and then establish a strong convergence theorem for such iterations under some suitable assumptions on the sequences of parameters. As an application, we extend our main results to solve the convex minimization problem. Moreover, the numerical experiments are presented to support the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.