Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data Driven Recommendations for Display Advertising

Advertisers running display advertising campaigns often request actionable recommendations for booking the most effective new ad campaigns and improving the performance of ongoing campaigns. Typically, the recommendations desired by advertisers fall into two broad categories: improved performance in terms of metrics like CTR, CPC, and CPA; and increased reach, which is the number of unique users exposed to the campaign. Account managers provide recommendations to advertisers based on their personal intuition of the advertisers’ needs. This approach is not scalable and recommendations are often not consistent across account managers and advertisers. We developed a data-driven approach that leverages historical ad campaign information and granular user data coupled with the advertiser’s current campaign objectives to make eective recommendations. This paper presents the following key results: 1. A novel application of the PLSI algorithm for eectively identifying neighbors of ad campaigns. 2. Application of large-scale collaborative filtering methods for making recommendations to optimize ad campaigns.
Option price intervals based on bellman dynamic programming principle

The assumption of constant underlying's volatility in Black-Scholes formula cannot be satisfied in financiap market. In this paper, we get the option price intervals assuming the stock volatility lies within a given interval. First we transform this financial problem to a stochastic optimal control problem, then obtain options' maximum and minimum price models through dynamic programming principle. We solve the nonlinear PDE model and narrow the price interval through optimal static hedging. We conclude this paper by giving its applications in U.S.A option market, get the MCD options intervals, comparing with Black-scholes, and find a way to identify arbitrage opportunity in option markets.
Identifying the Genome-Wide Sequence Variations and Developing New Molecular Markers for Genetics Research by Re-Sequencing a Landrace Cultivar of Foxtail Millet

Foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ) is a drought-resistant, barren-tolerant grain crop and forage. Currently, it has become a new model plant for cereal crops and biofuel grasses. Although two reference genome sequences were released recently, comparative genomics research on foxtail millet is still in its infancy. Using the Solexa sequencing technology, we performed genome re-sequencing on one important foxtail millet Landrace, Shi-Li-Xiang (SLX). Compared with the two reference genome sequences, the following genetic variation patterns were identified: 762,082 SNPs, 26,802 insertion/deletion polymorphisms of 1 to 5 bp in length (indels), and 10,109 structural variations (SVs) between SLX and Yugu1 genomes; 915,434 SNPs, 28,546 indels and 12,968 SVs between SLX and Zhang gu genomes. Furthermore, based on the Yugu1 genome annotation, we found out that ~ 40% SNPs resided in genes containing NB-ARC domain, protein kinase or leucine-rich repeats, which had higher non-synonymous to synonymous SNPs ratios than average, suggesting that the diversification of plant disease resistance proteins might be caused by pathogen pressure. In addition, out of the polymorphisms identified between SLX and Yugu1, 465 SNPs and 146 SVs were validated with more than 90% accuracy, which could be used as DNA markers for whole-genome genotyping and marker-assisted breeding. Here, we also represented an example of fine mapping and identifying a waxy locus in SLX using these newly developed DNA markers. This work provided important information that will allow a deeper understanding of the foxtail millet genome and will be helpful for dissecting the genetic basis of important traits in foxtail millet.
An active disturbance rejection controller for marine dynamic positioning system based on biogeography-based optimization

The complex interference from ocean environment and the complicated ship shape and structure result in the model uncertainties of dynamic positioning system (DPS). Due to the inaccuracy and coupling of model, it is difficult to adjust it well for common method. This paper introduces the active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) to control the ship moving and positioning with DPS because of its independence from accurate model and easy to decouple. In this study, the biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is employed to optimize the parameters of ADRC which are not easy to adjust artificially. Finally, the presented method is verified effectively by computer simulations.
Surface/interface Energy Effect on ElectromechanicalResponses Around a Nanosized Elliptical Inclusion underFar-field Loading at an Arbitrary Angle

Electro-elastic surface/interface around nano-sized piezoelectric inclusions shows great effect on the response of piezoelectric nano-structures. In this paper, a theoretical model is proposed to examine the surface/interface effect on the electromechanical responses around a nano-sized elliptical piezoelectric inclusion embedded in an infinite piezoelectric matrix under far-field loading with an arbitrary angle, and the effect of loading angle is considered Combining the conformal mapping technique and electro-elastic surface/interface theory, a closed form solution of this problem is obtained and the interactive effect between the surface/interface and the aspect ratio of the elliptical inclusion is examined.
Dispersal of Mycobacterium tuberculosis via the Canadian fur trade

Patterns of gene flow can have marked effects on the evolution of populations. To better understand the migration dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, we studied genetic data from European M. tuberculosis lineages currently circulating in Aboriginal and French Canadian communities. A single M. tuberculosis lineage, characterized by the DS6Quebec genomic deletion, is at highest frequency among Aboriginal populations in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta; this bacterial lineage is also dominant among tuberculosis (TB) cases in French Canadians resident in Quebec. Substantial contact between these human populations is limited to a specific historical era (1710–1870), during which individuals from these populations met to barter furs. Statistical analyses of extant M. tuberculosis minisatellite data are consistent with Quebec as a source population for M. tuberculosis gene flow into Aboriginal populations during the fur trade era. Historical and genetic analyses suggest that tiny M. tuberculosis populations persisted for ∼100 y among indigenous populations and subsequently expanded in the late 19th century after environmental changes favoring the pathogen. Our study suggests that spread of TB can occur by two asynchronous processes: (i) dispersal of M. tuberculosis by minimal numbers of human migrants, during which small pathogen populations are sustained by ongoing migration and slow disease dynamics, and (ii) expansion of the M. tuberculosis population facilitated by shifts in host ecology. If generalizable, these migration dynamics can help explain the low DNA sequence diversity observed among isolates of M. tuberculosis and the difficulties in global elimination of tuberculosis, as small, widely dispersed pathogen populations are difficult both to detect and to eradicate.
Light does not degrade the constitutively expressed BMAL1 protein in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus

Biological rhythms in mammals are driven by a central circadian clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). At the molecular level the biological clock is based on the rhythmic expression of clock genes. Two basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH)/PAS‐containing transcription factors, CLOCK and BMAL1 (MOP3), provide the basic drive to the system by activating transcription of negative regulators through E box enhancer elements. A critical feature of circadian timing is the ability of the clockwork to be entrained to the environmental light/dark cycle. The light‐resetting mechanism of the mammalian circadian clock is poorly understood. Light‐induced phase shifts are correlated with the induction of the clock genes mPer1 and mPer2 and a subsequent increase in mPER1 protein levels. It has previously been suggested that rapid degradation of BMAL1 protein in the rat SCN is part of the resetting mechanism of the central pacemaker. Our study shows that BMAL1 and CLOCK proteins are continuously expressed at high levels in the mouse SCN, supporting the hypothesis that rhythmic negative feedback plays the major role in rhythm generation in the mammalian pacemaker. Using both immunocytochemistry and immunoblot analysis, our studies demonstrate that BMAL1 protein in the mouse SCN is not affected by a phase‐resetting light pulse. These results indicate that rapid degradation of BMAL1 protein is not a consistent feature of resetting mechanisms in rodents.
Segmentation of Greek Text by Dynamic Programming

We introduce a dynamic programming algorithm to perform linear segmentation of concatenated texts by global minimization of a segmentation cost function which consists of: (a) within-segment word similarity (expressed in terms of the generalized density of the text dotplot) and (b) prior information regarding segment length. Our algorithm is evaluated on two Greek text collections and proves that it outperforms several other algorithms because it performs global optimization of a global cost function.
Human septin isoforms and the GDP-GTP cycle

Abstract Septins form oligomeric complexes consisting of septins from different subgroups, which form filaments that are involved in a number of biological processes. They are GTP-binding proteins that contain all the necessary elements to perform the general GDP-to-GTP conformational switch. It is however unclear whether or not such a switch is important for the dynamics of septin filaments. Here we investigate the complex GTPase reaction of members of each of the four human septin groups, which is dominated by the stability of dimer formation via the nucleotide binding or so-called G-interface. The results also show that the actual hydrolysis reaction is very similar for three septin groups in the monomeric state while the Sept6 has no GTPase activity. Sept7, the only member of the Sept7 subgroup, forms a very tight G-interface dimer in the GDP-bound state. Here we show that the stability of the interface is dramatically decreased by exchanging GDP with a nucleoside triphosphate, which is believed to influence filament formation and dynamics via Sept7.
A 128-Channel 6 mW Wireless Neural Recording IC With Spike Feature Extraction and UWB Transmitter

This paper reports a 128-channel neural recording integrated circuit (IC) with on-the-fly spike feature extraction and wireless telemetry. The chip consists of eight 16-channel front-end recording blocks, spike detection and feature extraction digital signal processor (DSP), ultra wideband (UWB) transmitter, and on-chip bias generators. Each recording channel has amplifiers with programmable gain and bandwidth to accommodate different types of biological signals. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) shared by 16 amplifiers through time-multiplexing results in a balanced trade-off between the power consumption and chip area. A nonlinear energy operator (NEO) based spike detector is implemented for identifying spikes, which are further processed by a digital frequency-shaping filter. The computationally efficient spike detection and feature extraction algorithms attribute to an auspicious DSP implementation on-chip. UWB telemetry is designed to wirelessly transfer raw data from 128 recording channels at a data rate of 90 Mbit/s. The chip is realized in 0.35 mum complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process with an area of 8.8 times 7.2 mm2 and consumes 6 mW by employing a sequential turn-on architecture that selectively powers off idle analog circuit blocks. The chip has been tested for electrical specifications and verified in an ex vivo biological environment.
Galanin is an autocrine myelin and oligodendrocyte trophic signal induced by leukemia inhibitory factor

In order to further investigate the molecular mechanisms that regulate oligodendrocyte (OC) survival, we utilized microarrays to characterize changes in OC gene expression after exposure to the cytokines neurotrophin3, insulin, or leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) in vitro. We identified and validated the induction and secretion of the neuropeptide galanin in OCs, specifically in response to LIF. We next established that galanin is an OC survival factor and showed that autocrine or paracrine galanin secretion mediates LIF‐induced OC survival in vitro. We also revealed that galanin is up‐regulated in OCs in the cuprizone model of central demyelination, and that oligodendroglial galanin expression is significantly regulated by endogenous LIF in this context. We also showed that knock‐out of galanin reduces OC survival and exacerbates callosal demyelination in the cuprizone model. These findings suggest a potential role for the use of galanin agonists in the treatment of human demyelinating diseases. GLIA 2015;63:1005–1020
CXCR4/SDF‐1 system modulates development of GnRH‐1 neurons and the olfactory system

Stromal cell‐derived factor 1 (SDF‐1) and its receptor CXCR4 influence neuronal migration and have been identified in nasal regions. Gonadotropin releasing hormone‐1 (GnRH‐1) neurons migrate from nasal regions into the developing forebrain, where postnatally they control reproduction. This study examined the role of SDF‐1/CXCR4 in development of the GnRH‐1/olfactory systems. Migrating GnRH‐1 neurons were CXCR4 immunopositive as were the fibers along which they migrate. SDF‐1 transcripts were detected in olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ, while SDF‐1 immunoreactivity highlighted the GnRH‐1 migratory pathway. CXCR4‐deficient mice showed a decrease in GnRH‐1 cells at the nasal forebrain junction and in brain, but the overall migratory pathway remained intact, no ectopic GnRH‐1 cells were detected and olfactory axons reached the olfactory bulb. To further characterize the influence of SDF‐1/CXCR4 in the GnRH‐1 system, nasal explants were used. CXCR4 expression in vitro was similar to that in vivo. SDF‐1 was detected in a dorsal midline cell cluster as well as in migrating GnRH‐1 cells. Treatment of explants with bicyclam AMD3100, a CXCR4 antagonist, attenuated GnRH‐1 neuronal migration and sensory axon outgrowth. Moreover, the number of GnRH‐1 neurons in the explant periphery was reduced. The effects were blocked by coincubation with SDF‐1. Removal of midline SDF‐1 cells did not alter directional outgrowth of olfactory axons. These results indicate that SDF‐1/CXCR4 signaling in not necessary for olfactory axon guidance but rather influences sensory axon extension and GnRH‐1 neuronal migration, and maintains GnRH‐1 neuronal expression as the cells move away from nasal pit regions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 2008
Documenting the natural history of patients with resected stage II adenocarcinoma of the colon after random assignment to adjuvant treatment with edrecolomab or observation: results from CALGB 9581.

PURPOSE We conducted a randomized trial comparing adjuvant treatment with edrecolomab versus observation in patients with resected, low-risk, stage II colon cancer. This study also prospectively studied patient- and tumor-specific markers of treatment outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS After surgical resection, patients with stage II colon cancer were randomly assigned to either five infusions of edrecolomab at 28-day intervals or observation without adjuvant therapy. RESULTS Final accrual included 1,738 patients; 865 patients received edrecolomab, and 873 patients were observed without adjuvant treatment. Median follow-up time was 7.9 years. There were no significant outcome differences between study arms (overall survival [OS], P = .71; disease-free survival, P = .64). The combined 5-year all-cause OS was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.84 to 0.88), and the combined 5-year disease-specific OS was 0.93 (95% CI, 0.91 to 0.94). The relationships between demographic and histopathologic factors and survival differed for all-cause and disease-specific survival outcomes, but no combined prognostic factor model was found to adequately classify patients at higher risk of recurrence or death as a result of colon cancer. CONCLUSION Edrecolomab did not prolong survival. Consequently, this large study with a long duration of follow-up provided unique data concerning the natural history of resected stage II colon cancer. Prognostic factors identified in previous retrospective and pooled analyses were associated with survival outcomes in this stage II patient cohort. Results from ongoing molecular marker studies may enhance our ability to determine the risk profile of these patients.
Failure of rabbit neutrophils to secrete endogenous pyrogen when stimulated with staphylococci

Cells obtained from acute peritoneal exudates in rabbits were separated into neutrophil and mononuclear populations by centrifugation on colloidal silica gradients. When these populations were separately incubated in tissue culture medium in the presence of opsonized Staphylococcus epidermidis, endogenous pyrogen was secreted only by the adherent cells of the mononuclear population. Pyrogen production by neutrophils could not have amounted to as much as 1% of the pyrogen produced by macrophages. When mononuclear cells were added back to purified neutrophils, no pyrogen was produced that could not be accounted for by the number of macrophages added. Rabbit blood cells were similarly fractionated on colloidal silica gradients. Again, endogenous pyrogen was made only by the adherent mononuclear population. The neutrophils isolated on these gradients appeared to be morphologically normal and were 85% viable as judged by dye exclusion. They showed normal random motility. Both blood and exudate neutrophils responded chemotactically to N-formyl Met-Leu-Phe, and blood neutrophils responded chemotactically to zymosan-activated serum. Both kinds of neutrophils phagocytosed zymosan particles and both killed opsonized S. epidermidis in a roller tube system. Both blood and exudate neutrophils showed normal superoxide production when stimulated with opsonized zymosan particles. This evidence suggests that macrophages are the only source of endogenous pyrogens, and that pyrogens secreted by cell populations that are rich in neutrophils are to be attributed to the monocytes or macrophages that they contain.
Two-Stage Approach to Item Recommendation from User Sessions

We present our solution to the 2015 RecSys Challenge [1]. This challenge was based on a large scale dataset of over 9.2 million user-item click sessions from an online e-commerce retailer. The goal was to use this data to predict which items (if any) were bought in the 2.3 million test sessions. Our solution to this problem was two-staged, we first predicted if a given session contained a buy event and then predicted which items were bought. Both stages were fully automated and used classifiers trained on large sets of extracted features. The prediction rules were further optimized to the target objective using a greedy procedure developed specifically for this problem. Our best submission, which was a blend of several different models, achieved a score of 60,265 and placed 4'th out of 567 teams. All approaches presented in this work are general and can be applied to any problem of this type.
Concurrency abstractions for programming languages using optimistic protocols

Welc, Adam. Ph.D., Purdue University, May, 2006. Concurrency Abstractions for Programming Languages Using Optimistic Protocols. Major Professors: Antony Hosking and Suresh Jagannathan. Concurrency control in modern programming languages is typically managed using mechanisms based on mutual exclusion, such as mutexes or monitors. All such mechanisms share similar properties that make construction of scalable and robust applications a non-trivial task. Implementation of user-defined protocols synchronizing concurrent shared data accesses requires programmers to make careful use of mutual-exclusion locks in order to avoid safety-related problems, such as deadlock or priority inversion. On the other hand, providing a required level of safety may lead to oversynchronization and, as a result, negatively affect the level of achievable concurrency. Transactions are a concurrency control mechanism developed in the context of database systems. Transactions offer a higher level of abstraction than mutual exclusion which simplifies implementation of synchronization protocols. Additionally, in order to increase concurrency, transactions relax restrictions on the interleavings allowed between concurrent data access operations, without compromising safety. This dissertation presents a new approach to managing concurrency in programming languages, drawing its inspiration from optimistic transactions. This alternative way of looking at concurrency management issues is an attempt to improve the current state-ofthe-art both in terms of performance and with respect to software engineering benefits. Three different approaches are presented here: revocable monitors are an attempt to improve traditional mutual exclusion, safe futures propose a new way of thinking about concurrency in a context of imperative programming languages and, finally, transactional
Stability Boundary and Design Criteria for Haptic Rendering of Virtual Walls

Abstract This paper is about haptic simulations of virtual walls, which are represented by a discrete PD-control. A normalized discrete-time transfer function is used to derive the fundamental stability boundaries for this problem. Hereby, the case of direct action and the more often case of an one sampling step delayed action are addressed. Inside the stable region the set of all parameters was determined that result in real system poles. Furthermore, three different design criteria are compared to find optimum control parameters for the virtual wall. Finally, important conclusions for haptic simulations are derived.
Phase space planning and robust control for data-driven locomotion behaviors

We utilize here regression tools to plan dynamic locomotion in the Phase Space of the robot's center of mass behavior and state feedback controllers to accomplish the desired plans. In real robotic systems, simplified locomotion models and disturbances in the control processes result in deviations from the actual closed loop dynamics with respect to the desired locomotion trajectories. To tackle these challenges, we propose here the use of two control strategies: (1) support vector regression to approximate complex nonlinear center of mass dynamics and plan the feet contact transitions, and (2) sliding mode control to track feet trajectories given the contact timing and location plans. First, support vector regression is utilized to learn a data set obtained through numerical simulation, providing an analytical approximation of the center of mass behavior. To approximate Phase Plane curves, which are characterized by vertical tangents and loop or cyclic behaviors, we use implicit functions for regression as opposed to explicit methods. Based on the proposed regression approximations of the dynamics, we develop contact transition plans and apply robust controllers to converge to the desired feet trajectories. In particular, state feedback controllers might be more convenient than time based controllers in terms of robustness to disturbances. Overall, our methods are capable of learning complex center of mass trajectories and might benefit from the use of robust control techniques. Various case studies are analyzed to validate the effectiveness of the methods including single and multi step planning in a numerical simulation, and swing leg trajectory control on our Hume bipedal robot.