Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipschitz Functions on Expanders are Typically Flat

This work studies the typical behaviour of random integer-valued Lipschitz functions on expander graphs with sufficiently good expansion. We consider two families of functions: M-Lipschitz functions (functions which change by at most M along edges) and integer-homomorphisms (functions which change by exactly 1 along edges). We prove that such functions typically exhibit very small fluctuations. For instance, we show that a uniformly chosen M-Lipschitz function takes only M+1 values on most of the graph, with a double exponential decay for the probability of taking other values.
Multimodal stereo correspondence based on phase congruency and edge histogram descriptor

With rapid development in the infrared industry and the availability of relatively cheaper infrared cameras, the simultaneous utilization of visible and infrared data and thus solving the correspondence problem between those images attracts more attention. In this context, we investigate the feasibility of matching features extracted from a multispectral stereo setup using a novel descriptor based on the combination of frequency domain analysis namely “the phase congruency” and spatial information on the shape of the neighboring region around keypoints. A set of stable features are extracted using a bank of Log-Gabor filters at different orientations and frequencies. Features descriptors are computed from the coefficients of the Log-Gabor filters obtained in the previous step and histograms of edge orientations. Matching is based on the cosine similarity function. Experimental results show the performance of this approach to the multimodal correspondence challenge in comparison with other methods cited in the literature.
Long‐term follow‐up in optimally treated and stable heart failure patients: primary care vs. heart failure clinic. Results of the COACH‐2 study

It has been suggested that home‐based heart failure (HF) management in primary care may be an alternative to clinic‐based management in HF patients. However, little is known about adherence to HF guidelines and adherence to the medication regimen in these home‐based programmes. The aim of the current study was to determine whether long‐term follow‐up and treatment in primary care is equally effective as follow‐up at a specialized HF clinic in terms of guideline adherence and patient adherence, in HF patients initially managed and up‐titrated to optimal treatment at a specialized HF clinic.
FACTORS CONTROLLING THE REASSEMBLY OF THE MICROVILLOUS BORDER OF THE SMALL INTESTINE OF THE SALAMANDER

Hydrostatic pressure, when applied to segments of the small intestine of the salamander, causes a tremendous reduction in number of microvilli and a loss of the terminal web. The intestinal epithelium strips off from its deeper layers at the level of the basement membrane. When the pressure is released and this epithelial sheet is allowed to recover, the microvilli and its terminal web reappear. Stages in the reformation of microvilli are described. In the earliest stages, foci of dense material seem to associate with the cytoplasmic surface of the apical plasma membrane. From this material, filaments appear and their regrowth is correlated with the extension of the microvilli. We suggest that the dense material nucleates the assembly of the filaments which, in turn, appear instrumental in the redevelopment of microvilli. This concept is supported by the existing literature. Further, since neither the microvilli nor the terminal web reappear on any surface but the apical surface, even though the apical and basal surfaces are bathed with the same medium, we suggest that information in the membrane itself or directly associated with the membrane dictates the distribution of the dense material which leads to the formation of the microvilli and ultimately to the polarity of the cell.
Response to Stephen T. Casper and Steve Fuller

Stephen T. Casper and Steve Fuller’s commentaries on my paper “Completing Circle of the Social Sciences? William Beveridge and Social Biology at the London School of Economics during the 1930s” raises important questions about the historical entanglement of the political left, welfarism, biology, and social science. In this response, I clarify questions about my analysis of events at the London School of Economics in the early twentieth century and identify ways in which they are important in the present. I suggest that there is much to be learned from the school’s failed experiment with social biology, not least when it comes to thinking about the historical contingency of relationships between progressive politics and biology.
Ancient Society and Morgan's Kinship Theory 100 Years After [and Comments and Reply]

The synchronic, antievolutionary approach to kinship has made it impossible to grasp its nature and define it adequately. Understanding of the phenomenon is tobe found in the implications of Morgan's distinction between the classificatory and descriptive systems of kinship. These systems are based respectively on the tribal and family organizations, each giving rise to a different notion of kinship: one as recognition of common identity in a material substance, the other as the relationships established by common descent. These notions are irreconcilable and hence unamentable to a single definition, although one develops dialectically out of the other. In the evolutionary process whereby the family develops within the tribal organization, the family notion of kinship, developing concomitantly, butts against the classificatory system stemming from the tribal organization and modifies it according to the specific conditions of each tribe, giving rise to the great variety of kinship systems observed. As the family asserts itself, it overthrows the classificatory system, replacing it by the descriptive system. The tribal notion of kinship, though surviving in popular imagination, gives way to the modern concept of kinship as consisting of purely genealogical relationships. The present interpretation rejects the postulated primacy of the nuclear family and the implied development of the classificatory system posteriorly to the descriptive, of clan structure posteriorly to the family, of unilineal descent posteriorly to bilateral descent, etc. The insurmountable theoretical difficulties which such developments entail are noted, and historical evidence is produced of the opposite evolutionary trend, which not only accounts for the particularities of the classificatory and descriptive systems, but also sheds light on the origin of the classificatory system and the notion of kinship itself. Lastly, Morgan's inconsistencies respecting the opposition between tribe and family, on which rests his discovery of the distinction between the classificatory and descriptive systems, are accounted for and shown to explain some of his major errors.
Accuracy of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in diagnosis and prognosis in acute kidney injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) appears to be a promising biomarker for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI); however, a wide range in its predictive value has been reported. STUDY DESIGN Meta-analysis of diagnostic test studies using custom-made standardized data sheets sent to each author. SETTING & POPULATION Different clinical settings of AKI. SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases and congress abstracts were searched for studies reporting the value of NGAL to predict AKI. INDEX TESTS Plasma/serum and urine NGAL within 6 hours from the time of insult (if known) or 24-48 hours before the diagnosis of AKI if the time of insult was not known. REFERENCE TESTS The primary outcome was AKI, defined as an increase in serum creatinine level > 50% from baseline within 7 days or contrast-induced nephropathy (creatinine increase > 25% or concentration > 0.5 mg/dL in adults or > 50% increase in children within 48 hours). Other outcomes predicted using NGAL were renal replacement therapy initiation and in-hospital mortality. RESULTS Using a hierarchical bivariate generalized linear model to calculate the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and sample size-weighted area under the curve for the receiver-operating characteristic (AUC-ROC), we analyzed data from 19 studies and 8 countries involving 2,538 patients, of whom 487 (19.2%) developed AKI. Overall, the DOR/AUC-ROC of NGAL to predict AKI was 18.6 (95% CI, 9.0-38.1)/0.815 (95% CI, 0.732-0.892). The DOR/AUC-ROC when standardized platforms were used was 25.5 (95% CI, 8.9-72.8)/0.830 (95% CI, 0.741-0.918) with a cutoff value > 150 ng/mL for AKI compared with 16.7 (95% CI, 7.1-39.7)/0.732 (95% CI, 0.656-0.830) for "research-based" NGAL assays. In cardiac surgery patients, the DOR/AUC-ROC of NGAL was 13.1 (95% CI, 5.7-34.8)/0.775 (95% CI, 0.669-0.867); in critically ill patients, 10.0 (95% CI, 3.0-33.1)/0.728 (95% CI, 0.615-0.834); and after contrast infusion, 92.0 (95% CI, 10.7-794.1)/0.894 (95% CI, 0.826-0.950). The diagnostic accuracy of plasma/serum NGAL (17.9 [95% CI, 6.0-53.7]/0.775 [95% CI, 0.679-0.869]) was similar to that of urine NGAL (18.6 [95% CI, 7.2-48.4]/0.837 [95% CI, 0.762-0.906]). We identified age to be an effective modifier of NGAL value with better predictive ability in children (25.4 [95% CI, 8.9-72.2]/0.930 [95% CI, 0.883-0.968]) compared with adults (10.6 [95% CI, 4.8-23.4]/0.782 [95% CI, 0.689-0.872]). NGAL level was a useful prognostic tool with regard to the prediction of renal replacement therapy initiation (12.9 [95% CI, 4.9-33.9]/0.782 [95% CI, 0.648-0.917]) and in-hospital mortality (8.8 [95% CI, 1.9-40.8]/0.706 [95% CI, 0.530-0.747]). LIMITATIONS Serum creatinine level was used for AKI definition. CONCLUSIONS NGAL level appears to be of diagnostic and prognostic value for AKI.
Structural models used in real-time biosurveillance outbreak detection and outbreak curve isolation from noisy background morbidity levels

OBJECTIVE We discuss the use of structural models for the analysis of biosurveillance related data. METHODS AND RESULTS Using a combination of real and simulated data, we have constructed a data set that represents a plausible time series resulting from surveillance of a large scale bioterrorist anthrax attack in Miami. We discuss the performance of anomaly detection with structural models for these data using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and activity monitoring operating characteristic (AMOC) analysis. In addition, we show that these techniques provide a method for predicting the level of the outbreak valid for approximately 2 weeks, post-alarm. CONCLUSIONS Structural models provide an effective tool for the analysis of biosurveillance data, in particular for time series with noisy, non-stationary background and missing data.
Effect of Bacteriologic Monitoring of Urinary Catheters on Recognition and Treatment of Hospital-Acquired Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract Catheter-associated urinary tract infections remain the most common hospital-acquired infection. Regular bacteriologie monitoring of urine from catheterized patients has been advocated as a measure for reducing the morbidity associated with this infection. To assess the effectiveness of this measure we reviewed the records of 100 catheterized patients hospitalized before implementation of a monitoring program and 200 such patients admitted after a daily monitoring program was operational. We found that culturing urine from catheterized patients was infrequent prior to monitoring but, when done, patients usually were febrile, cultures usually were positive, and patients were treated. Monitoring identified more cases of bacteriuria, but less than half of the patients so identified were treated. Being febrile was associated with receiving antibiotics. Infection rates increased with duration of catheterization; long periods of catheterization typically occurred on the neurosurgical, orthopedic, and medical services. Daily bacteriologie monitoring of all catheterized patients is relatively inefficient and does not predictably lead to therapeutic intervention in infected patients. The cost:benefit ratio of this measure might be decreased by applying it to selected patients chosen on the basis of risk factors, including hospital service assignment (Infect Control 1981; 2(3):227-232. )
Analytical Latency-Throughput Model of Future Power Constrained Multicore Processors

Despite increased core counts that provide signiﬁcant through-put performance gains, single thread performance is still an important metric in today’s processor designs. Due to chip power constraints, architects must carefully allocate power budgets to additional cores or increased single thread performance. To study this tradeoﬀ between diﬀerent performance metrics, we construct an analytical model that computes single thread and throughput performance under a given power budget for both symmetric and asymmetric multicore architectures. We also consider multi-task workloads, where optimal designs might include more than one large core in the heterogeneous architecture. Our analytical model considers the optimal number and complexity of cores in a processor and quantiﬁes the beneﬁts of asymmetric designs when trading latency and throughput. We show that a diverse set of core designs can be optimal in diﬀerent scenarios.
Development of context-adaptive applications on the basis of runtime user interface models

One of the challenges faced by developers of applications for smart environments is the diversity of contexts of use. Applications in smart environments must cope with continuously changing context of use, so the developers need to prepare them for a possibly broad range of situations. Since the developer has no access to all environments, in which her application will be executed, it must be possible to simulate different environments and evaluate the behavior of the application at design time. In our demonstration the designer has the possibility to simulate and modify a runtime context model and observe as her application adapts on the fly. In the underlying runtime architecture applications, defined as sets of models, are adapted automatically on the basis of the information held in the runtime context model. A visual tool enables the user interface developer to access and modify the models at any time and immediately observe the behavior of the application.
Enhanced routing-aware adaptive MAC with traffic differentiation and smoothed contention window in wireless ad-hoc networks

In wireless mobile ad-hoc networks, data packets have to be relayed hop by hop from a given source node to a destination node. This means that some or all of the mobile nodes must accept to forward information for the benefit of other nodes. It has been shown by F. Nait-Abdesselam, et al., (2003) that this ability of forwarding packets leads to a new unfairness problem in wireless ad-hoc networks, where a node which is forwarding other node's packets gets less bandwidth, for its own use, than a node which is not participating to the routing service. The proposed RAMAC scheme by F. Nait-Abdesselam, et al., (2003), has shown all its effectiveness to cope with this unfairness problem. However, an extra bandwidth is sometimes allowed to the routing node's own traffic comparing to other nonrouting node's own traffics, and the routing node's routed traffic gets much less bandwidth. This is explained by the fact that at the upper layer (for instance the IP layer) does not differentiate between the routing and the own traffics, and that the multiplicative factor used to compute the new contention window is too aggressive. In this paper, an enhanced RAMAC scheme is proposed, by taking into account the differentiation on top of the MAC layer, between the and routed traffics within a routing node, and by smoothing the multiplicative factor used to compute the new contention window. The simulation results obtained showed a good improvement of the original RAMAC scheme, leading to better approximate equal bandwidth share among all the mobile nodes in the wireless ad-hoc network.
Yes Brian, at long last, there is pedagogy in England – and in Singapore too. A response to TLRP’s Ten Principles for Effective Pedagogy

James and Pollard appropriately insist that the articulation of general, ‘evidence-informed’ pedagogical principles that can inform teacher judgments and policy-makers rather than detailed instructional prescriptions that tell teachers what to do is the most useful way to improve classroom practice at scale. This is surely right: teaching and learning are deeply contextual and highly contingent. Certainly, our experience in Singapore strongly supports this claim, particularly if backed up by appropriately designed in situ, iterative, authentic and extended professional learning experiences. Moreover, the specific generative principles that James and Pollard identify are substantial and important. However, I am not convinced, given my experience in Singapore and my understanding of research findings more generally, that the principles they isolate are either adequately specified or jointly sufficient to optimise improving the quality of teaching and learning in British schools. But certainly what James and Pollard, and the TLRP team more generally, have achieved makes a unique and significant contribution to that effort and to the broader international movement to design and deliver educational research that is rigorous, relevant and useful.
Strong Federations: An Interoperable Blockchain Solution to Centralized Third Party Risks

Bitcoin, the first peer-to-peer electronic cash system, opened the door to permissionless, private, and trustless transactions. Attempts to repurpose Bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology have run up against fundamental limitations to privacy, faithful execution, and transaction finality. We introduce \emph{Strong Federations}: publicly verifiable, Byzantine-robust transaction networks that facilitate movement of any asset between disparate markets, without requiring third-party trust. \emph{Strong Federations} enable commercial privacy, with support for transactions where asset types and amounts are opaque, while remaining publicly verifiable. As in Bitcoin, execution fidelity is cryptographically enforced; however, \emph{Strong Federations} significantly lower capital requirements for market participants by reducing transaction latency and improving interoperability. To show how this innovative solution can be applied today, we describe \emph{\liquid}: the first implementation of \emph{Strong Federations} deployed in a Financial Market.
Triple Stigma of Forensic Psychiatric Patients: Mental Illness, Race, and Criminal History

Stigma involves negative beliefs and devaluations of people in socially identified groups, which some people internalize. Research has increasingly explored mental illness self-stigma, when people with mental illness believe society's negative beliefs are true of them (e.g., they are hopeless due to mental illness). Self-stigma predicts poorer functional and treatment outcomes. Forensic psychiatric patients experience multiple stigmas, yet no research has explored how stigmas due to mental illness, race, and criminal history influence each other. This review discusses relevant stigma research, which suggests that self-stigma in forensic psychiatric populations likely interferes with rehabilitation and avoiding re-arrest. Forensic psychiatric stigma is particularly relevant given increasing social attention on violence, incarceration, mental illness, and race. Conclusions discuss targets for future research.
Approximate separable 3D anisotropic Gauss filter

Anisotropie Gaussian filters are useful for adaptive smoothing and feature extraction. In our application, micro-tomographic images of fibers were smoothed by anisotropic Gaussians. In this case, this is more natural than using their isotropic counterparts. But filtering in large 3D data is very time consuming. We extend the work of Geusebroek et al. on fast Gauss filtering to three dimensions [(J-M Geusebroek et al., 2003), (G.Z. Yang et al., 1996)]. We propose an approximate separable filtering scheme which consists of three ID convolutions. Initial experiments suggest that this filter can outperform an FFT based implementation when the kernel size is small compared to the size of the 3D images.
Periodic textures in wide baseline stereo

This study addresses the problem of finding correspondences for wide baseline stereo. Texture has traditionally been utilised as a single-image cue for 3D shape reconstruction (shape-from-texture); at the same time, its role in multiview scene reconstruction has been very limited. In stereo image matching, repetitive patterns are usually considered as disturbing factor since they tend to produce multiple peaks of correlation, which results in matching ambiguity. We argue that presence and proper analysis of distinct, compact periodic texture areas can facilitate wide baseline matching by providing periodic distinguished regions (PDRs) that efficiently constrain the search for correspondences. We demonstrate how PDRs can be used to find a few initial correspondences in a wide baseline stereo pair and to establish precise correspondences for building the epipolar geometry. Experimental results for various wide baseline stereo pairs are shown.
A Compressibility-Based Clustering Algorithm for Hierarchical Compressive Data Gathering

Data gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is one of the major sources for power consumption. Compression is often employed to reduce the number of packet transmissions required for data gathering. However, conventional data compression techniques can introduce heavy in-node computation, and thus, the use of compressive sensing (CS) for WSN data gathering has recently attracted growing attention. Among existing CS-based data gathering approaches, hierarchical compressive data gathering (HCDG) methods currently offer the most transmission-efficient architectures. When employing HCDG, clustering algorithms can affect the number of data transmissions. Most existing HCDG works use the random clustering (RC) method as a clustering algorithm, which can produce significant number of transmissions in some cases. In this paper, we present a compressibility-based clustering algorithm (CBCA) for HCDG. In CBCA, the network topology is first converted into a logical chain, similar to the idea proposed in PEGASIS [1], and then the spatial correlation of the cluster nodes’ readings are employed for CS. We show that CBCA requires significantly less data transmission than the RC method with a little recovery accuracy loss. We also identify optimal parameters of CBCA via mathematical analysis and validate them by simulation. Finally, we used water level data collected from a real-world flood inundation monitoring system to drive our simulation experiments and showed the effectiveness of CBCA.
The effect of leadership on values‐based management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of organization leaders, particularly top managers, in building support for and developing behaviors that are consistent with values‐based management, by providing an empirical assessment of the effect of an organization's senior leadership on the values‐based management process.Design/methodology/approach – As part of a program of organization development, a values‐based management approach was implemented in a large manufacturing organization. As part of the process, a system of measuring and evaluating values‐based behaviors was developed. The senior leaders of two groups of the organization were assessed in terms of their values behaviors, and their direct reports were likewise evaluated by the organization using a 360° process.Findings – The results indicated that the leader's values behaviors were significantly related to the values behaviors of subordinates. Subordinates of leaders who strongly demonstrated values‐based management behaviors.