Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust Feature Encoding with Neighborhood Information for Image Classification

The bag of visual words (BoW) model is one of the most successful model in image classification task. However, the major problem of the BoW model lies in the determination of visual words, which consists of codebook training and feature encoding phases. The traditional K-means and hard-assignment method completely ignore the structure of the local feature space, leading to high loss of information. To alleviate the information loss, we propose to incorporate the neighborhood information of the features into the codebook training and feature encoding process. We firstly propose a model to roughly measure the influence of the distribution of the neighboring features. Then we combine the proposed model with the traditional K-means method in a probability perspective to train the visual codebook. Finally, in the feature encoding phase, both the hard-assignment and soft-assignment method are improved with the proposed neighborhood information term. We investigate our method on two popular datasets: 15-Scenes and Caltech-101. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Development and Initial Validation of the Student Rating of Environmental Stressors Scale

High school students in accelerated curricula face stressors beyond typical adolescent developmental challenges. The Student Rating of Environmental Stressors Scale (StRESS) is a self-report measure of environmental stressors appropriate for students in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. We developed the StRESS in parallel with a new measure of coping designed for this same population. Items were derived from sentiments expressed during focus groups and individual interviews with 177 students, 72 parents, and 47 teachers. Multiple iterations of expert review and item analyses focusing on conceptual clarity and comprehensiveness resulted in 75 items reflecting stressors across domains, including school, home, and peers. High school students in AP or IB (N = 727) completed the 75-item inventory. Exploratory factor analyses and additional item review indicated a five-factor solution with 32 items. Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities ranged from . 67 to . 88. Five additional items representing a composite of Major Life Events also were included. The five factors and Major Life Events composite had test–retest reliabilities greater than . 70. These scores were related to multiple conceptualizations of stress, as well as academic outcomes (GPA and attendance) and mental health (life satisfaction and anxiety), thus supporting the construct validity of the StRESS scores. Further support for the five-factor structure of the StRESS was provided by results of a confirmatory factor analysis (standardized root mean square residual = .051, root mean square error of approximation = .048, comparative fit index = .900) with a separate sample of 2,193 AP and IB students.
Personal anticipated information need

Background. The role of personal information collections is a well known feature of personal information management. The World Wide Web has introduced to such collections ideas such as filing Web pages or noting their existence in 'Bookmarks' and 'Favourites'. Argument. It is suggested that personal information collections are created in anticipation of some future need for that information-personal, anticipated information need, which also underlies the design of formal information systems. Elaboration. Examination of the literature of information needs and information seeking behaviour leads to the formulation of five propositions that elaborate the concept of personal, anticipated information need. These propositions draw upon concepts such as uncertainty, predictability, sensitivity and the valuation of information sources. Conclusion. An individual's understanding of personal, anticipated information need and how this understanding guides the acquisition and management of personal information will determine the effectiveness of that collection.
New Addiction-Recovery Support Institutions: Mobilizing Support Beyond Professional Addiction Treatment and Recovery Mutual Aid

For more than 150 years, support for the personal resolution of severe and persistent alcohol and other drug problems in the United States has been provided through three mechanisms: family, kinship, and informal social networks; peer-based recovery mutual-aid societies; and professionally directed addiction treatment. This article: (1) briefly reviews the history of these traditional recovery supports, (2) describes the recent emergence of new recovery support institutions and a distinctive, all-inclusive culture of recovery, and (3) discusses the implications of these recent developments for the future of addiction treatment and recovery in the United States.
Reactive oxygen species as universal constraints in life-history evolution

Evolutionary theory is firmly grounded on the existence of trade-offs between life-history traits, and recent interest has centred on the physiological mechanisms underlying such trade-offs. Several branches of evolutionary biology, particularly those focusing on ageing, immunological and sexual selection theory, have implicated reactive oxygen species (ROS) as profound evolutionary players. ROS are a highly reactive group of oxygen-containing molecules, generated as common by-products of vital oxidative enzyme complexes. Both animals and plants appear to intentionally harness ROS for use as molecular messengers to fulfil a wide range of essential biological processes. However, at high levels, ROS are known to exert very damaging effects through oxidative stress. For these reasons, ROS have been suggested to be important mediators of the cost of reproduction, and of trade-offs between metabolic rate and lifespan, and between immunity, sexual ornamentation and sperm quality. In this review, we integrate the above suggestions into one life-history framework, and review the evidence in support of the contention that ROS production will constitute a primary and universal constraint in life-history evolution.
Formation analysis and feasibility for high-order linear time-invariant swarm systems with time delays

Formation analysis and feasibility problems for high-order linear time-invariant swarm systems with time-delayed protocols are dealt with. Firstly, formation problems are transformed into consensus problems. Then necessary and sufficient conditions for swarm systems to achieve a given time-varying formation are presented. An explicit expression of the time-varying formation center function is given. It is shown that the moving mode of the formation center can be specified. Furthermore, necessary and sufficient conditions for formation feasibility are proposed. The approach to expand the feasible formation set and an algorithm to design the protocol for swarm systems to achieve formation are provided respectively. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate theoretical results.
HPC Job Mapping over Reconfigurable Wireless Links

Wireless supercomputers and datacenters with 60GHz radio or free-space optics (FSO) have been proposed so that a diverse application workload can be better supported by changing network topologies by swapping the endpoints of wireless links. In this study we proposed the use of such wireless links for the purpose of improving job mapping. We investigated various trade-offs of the number of wireless links, time overhead of wireless link reconfiguration, topology embedding and job sizes. Our simulation results demonstrate that the wired job mapping heavily degrades the system utilization of supercomputers and datacenters under a conventional fixed network topology. By contrast, wireless interconnection networks can have an ideal job mapping by directly reconnecting non-neighboring computing nodes. It improves the system utilization by up to 17.7% for user jobs on a supercomputer and thus can shorten the whole service time especially for dealing with dozens of intensively incoming jobs. Furthermore, we confirmed that either workload or scheduling policy does not impact the fact that the ideal job mapping on wireless supercomputers outperforms that on wired networks in terms of system utilization and whole service time. Finally, our evaluation shows that a constrained and reasonable more use of partial wireless links can achieve shorter queuing length and time.
Designing Quad‐dominant Meshes with Planar Faces

We study the combined problem of approximating a surface by a quad mesh (or quad‐dominant mesh) which on the one hand has planar faces, and which on the other hand is aesthetically pleasing and has evenly spaced vertices. This work is motivated by applications in freeform architecture and leads to a discussion of fields of conjugate directions in surfaces, their singularities and indices, their optimization and their interactive modeling. The actual meshing is performed by means of a level set method which is capable of handling combinatorial singularities, and which can deal with planarity, smoothness, and spacing issues.
Minimal Exploration in Structured Stochastic Bandits

This paper introduces and addresses a wide class of stochastic bandit problems where the function mapping the arm to the corresponding reward exhibits some known structural properties. Most existing structures (e.g. linear, Lipschitz, unimodal, combinatorial, dueling, .) are covered by our framework. We derive an asymptotic instance-specific regret lower bound for these problems, and develop OSSB, an algorithm whose regret matches this fundamental limit. OSSB is not based on the classical principle of "optimism in the face of uncertainty" or on Thompson sampling, and rather aims at matching the minimal exploration rates of sub-optimal arms as characterized in the derivation of the regret lower bound. We illustrate the efficiency of OSSB using numerical experiments in the case of the linear bandit problem and show that OSSB outperforms existing algorithms, including Thompson sampling.
Supervised audio tampering detection using an autoregressive model

Splicing, cutting and insertion are the most common operations imposed on audio files when the adversary intends to modify or fabricate the content. The detection of such kinds of tampering is still challenging in real-world applications. In this paper, a generic approach for the detection of audio tampering is proposed via the analysis of electric network frequency (ENF). Based on the fact that tampering with an audio leads to anomalous variations of the underlying ENF signal, a wavelet-filtered ENF signal is generated to highlight the abnormal ENF variations. An autoregressive (AR) model is then fitted to the detail part of the ENF signal and the resulting AR coefficients are employed to train the classifier under a supervised-learning framework. Experimental results show that our proposed method significantly outperforms the state-of-art methods in the context where moderate or high levels of noise are present. Moreover, robustness against MP3 compression can be achieved.
Using Multi-Layer Perceptrons to predict the presence of jellyfish of the genus Physalia at New Zealand beaches

The apparent increase in number and magnitude of jellyfish blooms in the worlds oceans has lead to concerns over potential disruption and harm to global fishery stocks. Because of the potential harm that jellyfish populations can cause and to avoid impact it would be helpful to model jellyfish populations so that species presence or absence can be predicted. Data on the presence or absence of jellyfish of the genus Physalia was modelled using multi-layer perceptrons (MLP) based on oceanographic data. Results indicated that MLP are capable of predicting the presence or absence of Physalia in two regions in New Zealand and of identifying significant biological variables.
Efficient Finger Vein Localization and Recognition

In order to achieve accurate recognition of human finger vein (FV), this paper addresses the problems of finger vein localization and vein feature extraction. An inherent physical property of human fingers is used to localize the region of interest (ROI) of vein images as well as removing uninformative vein imagery based on the inter-phalangeal joint prior. In addition, vein images are characterized as a series of energy features through steerable filters. Experimental results show the promising performance of the proposed algorithm for human vein identification.
A review of writing to learn in science: Implications for practice and research

The published literature on writing to learn in science was reviewed in order to develop a conceptual framework for readers of this special issue and an agenda for future research. Professional journals, books, ERIC documents, and doctoral dissertations were consulted in this review process. Research on writing to learn has been hindered because studies have not always been well designed or clearly reported, and few have been conducted in authentic classroom environments. Furthermore, the links between writing to learn and conceptual change, and writing to learn and critical thinking have not received sufficient attention. Carefully designed studies, both qualitative and quantitative, are still required to provide data from a variety of perspectives. Because the reported studies at the college level outnumber those at other levels, research is still required to generalize the findings across a variety of science classrooms and to elucidate principles for guiding effective teacher use of writing-to-learn strategies.
Changes in breast cancer detection and mammography recall rates after the introduction of a computer-aided detection system.

BACKGROUND Computer-aided mammography is rapidly gaining clinical acceptance, but few data demonstrate its actual benefit in the clinical environment. We assessed changes in mammography recall and cancer detection rates after the introduction of a computer-aided detection system into a clinical radiology practice in an academic setting. METHODS We used verified practice- and outcome-related databases to compute recall rates and cancer detection rates for 24 Mammography Quality Standards Act-certified academic radiologists in our practice who interpreted 115,571 screening mammograms with (n = 59,139) or without (n = 56,432) the use of a computer-aided detection system. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS For the entire group of 24 radiologists, recall rates were similar for mammograms interpreted without and with computer-aided detection (11.39% versus 11.40%; percent difference = 0.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -11 to 11; P =.96) as were the breast cancer detection rates for mammograms interpreted without and with computer-aided detection (3.49% versus 3.55% per 1000 screening examinations; percent difference = 1.7, 95% CI = -11 to 19; P =.68). For the seven high-volume radiologists (i.e., those who interpreted more than 8000 screening mammograms each over a 3-year period), the recall rates were similar for mammograms interpreted without and with computer-aided detection (11.62% versus 11.05%; percent difference = -4.9, 95% CI = -21 to 4; P =.16), as were the breast cancer detection rates for mammograms interpreted without and with computer-aided detection (3.61% versus 3.49% per 1000 screening examinations; percent difference = -3.2, 95% CI = -15 to 9; P =.54). CONCLUSION The introduction of computer-aided detection into this practice was not associated with statistically significant changes in recall and breast cancer detection rates, both for the entire group of radiologists and for the subset of radiologists who interpreted high volumes of mammograms.
The effect of X-rays and neutrons on lymphocyte death and transformation.

The effects of X-rays and neutrons on human lymphocytes in vitro has been tested. Radiation sensitivity of untransformed lymphocytes was assessed by the appearance of pyknotic cells, and the response of cells after stimulation by phyto-haemagglutinin was tested (a) morphologically and (b) by changes in DNA synthesis, using a labelled thymidine analogue. The data obtained for interphase cells suggest that lymphocytes are a mixed cell population with an insensitive component forming about 20 per cent of the population. The percentage of normal cells observed after both X-ray and neutron irradiation lie on the same dose--effect curve giving an r.b. e. of one. A biphasic response is seen after PHA stimulation with both tests of damage indicating at least two sub-populations of lymphocytes and these give r.b. e. values in the range 1.95 to 2.45. Providing the in vivo response is similar to that in vitro the r.b. e. for damage to circulating lymphocytes will be small and the reduction in white cell count will not therefore be a major factor limiting dose in neutron therapy.
Nonparametric Bayesian Semi-supervised Word Segmentation

This paper presents a novel hybrid generative/discriminative model of word segmentation based on nonparametric Bayesian methods. Unlike ordinary discriminative word segmentation which relies only on labeled data, our semi-supervised model also leverages a huge amounts of unlabeled text to automatically learn new “words”, and further constrains them by using a labeled data to segment non-standard texts such as those found in social networking services. Specifically, our hybrid model combines a discriminative classifier (CRF; Lafferty et al. (2001) and unsupervised word segmentation (NPYLM; Mochihashi et al. (2009)), with a transparent exchange of information between these two model structures within the semi-supervised framework (JESS-CM; Suzuki and Isozaki (2008)). We confirmed that it can appropriately segment non-standard texts like those in Twitter and Weibo and has nearly state-of-the-art accuracy on standard datasets in Japanese, Chinese, and Thai.
Morphological and electrophysiological evidence for electrotonic coupling of rat dorsolateral septal nucleus neurons in vitro

Intracellular injections of Lucifer Yellow were utilized to evaluate the incidence of dye‐coupling among dorsolateral septal nucleus (DLSN) neurons recorded from slice preparations of adult rat septal nuclei. Twenty percent of single injections of Lucifer Yellow resulted in pairs of labeled neurons. These dye‐coupled cells were morphologically heterogeneous and did not exhibit any morphological characteristics that could be used to distinguish them from non dye‐coupled neurons. The spatial separation of cell bodies and close apposition of dendrites within each pair indicated that the dye transfer site(s) were situated at dendrodendritic and/or dendrosomatic rather than somatosomatic junctions. The main axon of some dye‐coupled neurons gave rise to intrinsic axon collaterals prior to exiting the nucleus indicating that these coupled neurons function as projection neurons as well as local circuit interneurons.
Effects of Adoption and Assimilation of Enterprise Systems on Business Performance: A Senior Executive’s Perspective

ABSTRACT Drawing from the institutional theory and resource-based view, we investigated the effects of a firm’s activities and levels of enterprise systems adoption and the effectiveness of the enterprise systems in supporting the firm (enterprise systems assimilation) on business performance. Empirical results suggest that institutional forces and IS resources significantly influence the enterprise systems adoption, which indirectly impacts the enterprise systems assimilation. Further, the enterprise systems adoption significantly influences business performance, and the enterprise systems assimilation mediates the effect of the enterprise systems adoption on business performance.
The Comparability of In Vitro and Ex Vivo Studies on the Percutaneous Permeation of Topical Formulations Containing Ibuprofen

In order to avoid in vivo experiments and to gain information about the suitability of surrogates for skin replacement, Franz-type diffusion cell experiments were conducted by using three ibuprofen-containing formulations (cream, gel and microgel) on bovine split-skin samples and cellophane membranes. Moreover, ex vivo examinations were performed on the isolated perfused bovine udder, to study the comparability of in vitro and ex vivo experimental set-ups. Depending on the formulation, noticeable differences in the permeation of Ibuprofen occurred in vitro (udder skin) and ex vivo (isolated perfused bovine udder), but not in the cellophane membrane. The rates of ibuprofen permeability (cream > gel > microgel) and adsorption into the skin (gel > microgel > cream) varied with the formulation, and were probably caused by differences in the ingredients. Furthermore, different storage conditions and seasonal variation in the collection of the skin samples probably led to differences in the amounts of ibuprofen adsorption apparent in the isolated bovine udder and udder skin. In vitro diffusion experiments should be preferred to experiments on isolated organs with regard to the costs involved, the throughput, and the intensity of labour required, unless metabolism of the drug in the skin, or cell–cell interactions are of particular interest.
LEAKAGE POWER OPTIMIZED SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS FOR USE IN NANOSCALE VLSI SYSTEMS

As the density and operating speed of CMOS VLSI chips increases, leakage power dissipation becomes more and more significant. Therefore it is necessary to reduce the leakage power of portable battery operated devices. This paper proposes three power reduction techniques such as transistor stacking, self-adjustable voltage level circuit and reverse body bias for use in sequential circuits like D flip-flops and shift register. This work analyses the power of three different implementations of D flip-flops using pass transistors, transmission gates and gate diffusion input gates. All the designs are simulated with and without the application of leakage reduction techniques and the readings are presented. Also two bit, four bit and eight bit shift registers are simulated with stack and reverse body bias leakage reduction techniques. The circuits are simulated with MOSFET models of level 54 using HSPICE in 65 nm process technology with a supply voltage of 1 volt. Simulation results show that the proposed pass transistor based D flip-flop circuit has the least leakage power dissipation. In the case of shift registers the combined stack and reverse body bias method gives minimum leakage power of 19.51nW, 32.16nW and 98.34nW for two bit, four bit and eight bit shift registers respectively.
Learning nonparametric kernel matrices from pairwise constraints

Many kernel learning methods have to assume parametric forms for the target kernel functions, which significantly limits the capability of kernels in fitting diverse patterns. Some kernel learning methods assume the target kernel matrix to be a linear combination of parametric kernel matrices. This assumption again importantly limits the flexibility of the target kernel matrices. The key challenge with nonparametric kernel learning arises from the difficulty in linking the nonparametric kernels to the input patterns. In this paper, we resolve this problem by introducing the graph Laplacian of the observed data as a regularizer when optimizing the kernel matrix with respect to the pairwise constraints. We formulate the problem into Semi-Definite Programs (SDP), and propose an efficient algorithm to solve the SDP problem. The extensive evaluation on clustering with pairwise constraints shows that the proposed nonparametric kernel learning method is more effective than other state-of-the-art kernel learning techniques.