Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extrinsic CPT violation in neutrino oscillations in matter

We investigate matter-induced (or extrinsic) CPT violation effects in neutrino oscillations in matter. Especially, we present approximate analytical formulas for the CPT-violating probability differences for three flavor neutrino oscillations in matter with an arbitrary matter density profile. Note that we assume that the CPT invariance theorem holds, which means that the CPT violation effects arise entirely because of the presence of matter. As special cases of matter density profiles, we consider constant and step-function matter density profiles, which are relevant for neutrino oscillation physics in accelerator and reactor long baseline experiments as well as neutrino factories. Finally, the implications of extrinsic CPT violation on neutrino oscillations in matter for several past, present, and future long baseline experiments are estimated.
Storage bins: mobile storage for collaborative tabletop displays

The ability to store resource items anywhere in the workspace and move them around can be critical for coordinating task and group interactions on a table. However, existing casual storage techniques for digital workspaces only provide access to stored items at the periphery of the workspace, potentially compromising collaborative interactions at a digital tabletop display. To facilitate this storage behavior in a digital tabletop workspace, we developed the storage bin mobile storage mechanism, which combines the space-preserving features of existing peripheral storage mechanisms with the capability to relocate stored items in the workspace. A user study explores the utility of storage bins on tabletop display collaboration.
Vocal Tract Normalization Based on Formant Positions

This paper presents our initial results in a new approach to vocal tract normalization (VTN). In experiments based on continuous automatic speech recognition (ASR) the VTN procedure is in general carried out in both training and test phase. In the training phase it is used to obtain speaker independent acoustic models of phones. In the test phase it is used to convert input observations into observations nearer to the ones corresponding to the universal speaker. The approach described in this paper is new, because instead of training a single set of acoustic models for the universal speaker, several sets of acoustic phone models corresponding to speakers with similar vocal tract lengths were created. Instead of using the VTN procedure in the test phase, the recognized sequence estimated as the most likely one among sequences based on different acoustic model sets was identified as the final recognition result. Normiranje vokalnega trakta na podlagi lege formantov V prispevku so predstavljeni začetni rezultati novega pristopa k normiranju vokalnega trakta (NVT). V eksperimentih, ki temeljijo na samodejnem razpoznavanju tekočega govora, se postopek NVT izvaja tako v učni kot v testni fazi. V učni fazi se uporablja za pridobivanje akustičnih modelov fonov, ki niso odvisni od govorca. V testni fazi se uporablja za pretvorbo vhodnih opažanj v opažanja, ki so bližja tistim, ki ustrezajo univerzalnemu govorcu. Pristop, ki je opisan v tem prispevku, je nov: namesto da bi učili posamezno množico akustičnih modelov za univerzalnega govorca, je bilo ustvarjenih več množic akustičnih modelov fonov, ki ustrezajo govorcem s podobno dolžino vokalnega trakta. Namesto uporabe postopka NVT v testni fazi je bil končni rezultat razpoznavanja prepoznano zaporedje, ki je bilo ocenjeno kot najbolj verjetno med zaporedji, temelječimi na različnih množicah
Synthesis of Adaptation Plans for Cloud Infrastructure with Hybrid Cost Models

We present a method and a tool for devising adaptation plans for the deployment of software applications on cloud computing infrastructure comprising a combination of reserved and "pay-as-you-go" resources. Starting from a trace log that represents the expected workload pattern of the application, we exploit queuing theory results to synthesize an adaptation plan that manages the cloud elasticity in a cost-effective way. To this end, the amount of resources to be reserved for a long period is quantified in a first activity of the method. Then, as a second activity, the number and types of pay-as-you-go resources is assessed. The adaptation plan produced for a real web server is shown to be cost effective even when the actual workload differs from that in the trace log by as much as 5 -- 20%.
Glutamate Transport Decreases Mitochondrial pH and Modulates Oxidative Metabolism in Astrocytes

During synaptic activity, the clearance of neuronally released glutamate leads to an intracellular sodium concentration increase in astrocytes that is associated with significant metabolic cost. The proximity of mitochondria at glutamate uptake sites in astrocytes raises the question of the ability of mitochondria to respond to these energy demands. We used dynamic fluorescence imaging to investigate the impact of glutamatergic transmission on mitochondria in intact astrocytes. Neuronal release of glutamate induced an intracellular acidification in astrocytes, via glutamate transporters, that spread over the mitochondrial matrix. The glutamate-induced mitochondrial matrix acidification exceeded cytosolic acidification and abrogated cytosol-to-mitochondrial matrix pH gradient. By decoupling glutamate uptake from cellular acidification, we found that glutamate induced a pH-mediated decrease in mitochondrial metabolism that surpasses the Ca2+-mediated stimulatory effects. These findings suggest a model in which excitatory neurotransmission dynamically regulates astrocyte energy metabolism by limiting the contribution of mitochondria to the metabolic response, thereby increasing the local oxygen availability and preventing excessive mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production.
On the Bartlett spectrum of randomized Hawkes processes

We study the Bartlett spectrum of the randomized Hawkes process and demon- strate that it behaves very differently from the case of a classical Hawkes process. In par- ticular, the Bartlett spectrum could have a singularity near the origin which indicates a long-range dependence property. AMS subject classications : 60G12, 60G55
The Modelling and Verification of PLC Program Based on Interactive Theorem Proving Tool COQ

COQ is an interactive theorem proving tool. The paper abstractly describes the feature of COQ, the architecture and working modes of PLC program with the example of typical PLC. It also introduces the first-order logic syntax and semantics of Intuitionistic Logic. It briefly introduces the main Gallina language syntax elements, the corresponding use methods and main theorem proving tactic on COQ. The work has modeled kernel data type and basic statements and and the denotational semantics of PLC program with Gallina. It has given the correctness proof of PLC program based on theorem proving, i.e. based on semantics function the relationship of configuration between the before codes execution and the after is proved. The main purpose is to prove whether a PLC program satisfies certain nature within a scan period.
Dimethyl fumarate-associated lymphopenia: Risk factors and clinical significance

Background Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a disease-modifying therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), causes lymphopenia in a fraction of patients. The clinical significance of this is unknown. Several cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in lymphopenic fumarate-treated patients have raised concerns about drug safety. Since lymphocytes contribute to MS pathology, lymphopenia may also be a biomarker for response to the drug. Objective The objective of this manuscript is to evaluate risk factors for DMF-induced lymphopenia and drug failure in a real-world population of MS patients. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 221 patients prescribed DMF at a single academic medical center between March 2013 and February 2015. Results Grade 2–3 lymphopenia developed in 17% of the total cohort and did not resolve during DMF treatment. Older age (>55), lower baseline absolute lymphocyte count and recent natalizumab exposure increased the risk of developing moderate to severe lymphopenia while on DMF. Lymphopenia was not predictive of good clinical response or of breakthrough MS activity on DMF. Conclusions Lymphopenia develops in a significant minority of DMF-treated patients, and if grade 2 or worse, is unlikely to resolve while on the drug. Increased vigilance in lymphocyte monitoring and infection awareness is particularly warranted in older patients and those switching from natalizumab.
Impact of Age on Surgical Outcomes after Robot Assisted Laparoscopic Hysterectomies

Objective: To estimate the impact of patient’s age on surgical outcomes in patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy. Methods: A retrospective review of prospectively collected cohort data for a consecutive series of patients undergoing gynecologic robotic surgery. Patient’s age and perioperative variables were collected from the database, charts, and other hospital records of all patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy. Results: 399 patients underwent robotic surgery for gynecologic disease. 370 patients who were under age 70 were compared with 29 patients who were over age 70. When comparing all patients under age 70 with patients over age 70, the mean age was 48.4 and 77 (P 2 (P Table 1). The patients over age 70, when procedures were combined, had a statistically significant lower mean BMI, uterine weight and longer Operating room (OR) time. However, when stratified by the type of procedure performed, there was no difference in surgery times among those under 70 and over 70 years of age. The elderly patients were more likely to have cancer, which was in almost half the elderly patients, and thus necessitate staging. Thus adding the performance of lymph node dissection likely resulted in the increased length of the surgery time that was noted in the combined group (Tables 1,2). There were no operative deaths. Conclusions: Advanced age does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of morbidity, or adverse perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy.
Acquisition of Large Scale Categorial Grammar Lexicons

A system is presented for inducing Categorial Grammar (CG) lexicons for natural language from either unannotated or minimally annotated corpora extracted from the Penn Treebank. A combination of symbolic and stochastic methods have been used to build a computationally e ective and psychologically plausible system, which learns linguistically useful lexicons. There are a variety of parameters in the system, including the corpus annotation used, the knowledge given to the learner and the weight given to the symbolic and stochastic methods. We present results from a set of experiments that investigate these parameters. The results also show that the system performs well even when compared with systems used for simpler problems.
Reachability Indexes for Relational Keyword Search

Due to its considerable ease of use, relational keyword search (R-KWS) has become increasingly popular. Its simplicity, however, comes at the cost of intensive query processing. Specifically, R-KWS explores a vast search space, comprised of all possible combinations of keyword occurrences in any attribute of every table. Existing systems follow two general methodologies for query processing: (i) graph based, which traverses a materialized data graph, and (ii) operator based, which executes relational operator trees on an underlying DBMS. In both cases, computations are largely wasted on graph traversals or operator tree executions that fail to return results. Motivated by this observation, we introduce a comprehensive framework for reachability indexing that eliminates such fruitless operations. We describe a range of indexes that capture various types of join reachability. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed techniques significantly improve performance, often by several orders of magnitude.
Spotting Neural Spike Patterns via Decomposition Into Types

Detecting a specific stochastic pattern embedded in an unknown background noise is a difficult pattern recognition problem. A similar problem appears when trying to detect a multi-neural spike pattern in a single electrical recording, embedded in the complex cortical activity of a behaving animal. The technical difficulty of this detection is due to the lack of a good statistical model for the background activity, which is rapidly changing with the recording conditions and activity of the animal. By employing a “type-based” information theoretic approach we introduce a new method for detecting patterns of non-homogeneous Poisson processes. The main idea is a decomposition of the log-likelihood distribution according to “types” of the empirical counts. This amounts to the assumption that the background activity has equal probability to contain all permutations of the required pattern. We demonstrate the application of this method for detection the “reward” patterns in the Basal-Ganglia of behaving monkeys, yielding some unexpected biological results.
Classification of Meeting Activities

In this paper, an attempt is made to automatically identify the activity a meeting is in. The input used in this identification is the frequency of each possible conversational state, and the frequency with which each speakers speaks. A number of classifiers were created and trained, and they performed very well when it was known in advance when an meeting switched activities. The performance, however, was found lacking when this information was not available.
DNA barcodes identify Central Asian Colias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae)

Abstract A majority of the known Colias species (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Coliadinae) occur in the mountainous regions of Central-Asia, vast areas that are hard to access, rendering the knowledge of many species limited due to the lack of extensive sampling. Two gene regions, the mitochondrial COI ‘barcode’ region and the nuclear ribosomal protein RpS2 gene region were used for exploring the utility of these DNA markers for species identification. A comprehensive sampling of COI barcodes for Central Asian Colias butterflies showed that the barcodes facilitated identification of most of the included species. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on parsimony and Neighbour-Joining recovered most species as monophyletic entities. For the RpS2 gene region species-specific sequences were registered for some of the included Colias spp. Nevertheless, this gene region was not deemed useful as additional molecular ‘barcode’. A parsimony analysis of the combined COI and RpS2 data did not support the current subgeneric classification based on morphological characteristics.
Positive interactions can produce species-rich communities and increase species turnover through time

Aims The process of facilitation, where a species increases the survival, growth, and fitness of another species, is becoming increasingly recognized as a critical factor in shaping the structure of plant communities. This process is particularly important in stressful environments. Yet few studies have attempted to incorporate positive interactions into community ecological theories such as the neutral theory of biodiversity. Here, we use an equalizing trade-off model as a foundation to study the potential impact of facilitation on species richness and community temporal turnover. Methods Based on a spatially explicit birth–death trade-off model, we assume that the occurrence of facilitation is dependent on the presence of interspecific neighbours. We further propose that the realized birth rate for a given individual subject to facilitation is proportional to the number of interspecific neighbours within its neighbourhood. Thus, in our model, the individuals of rare species will benefit more from the existence of heterospecific individuals than common species. Important Findings As the facilitative coefficient increased, the species richness for simulated communities at the dynamically stochastic equilibrium was also increasing. Simulations also demonstrated that facilitation could increase the replacement of species through time: communities with facilitation become more dissimilar (i.e. have smaller Bray–Curtis similarity values) than communities without or with a lower degree of facilitation after the same time interval. Facilitation from interspecific neighbours on rare species increased their population sizes and consequently made them less prone to extinction, thus enhancing species richness. Meanwhile, in a saturated community, with the increase of species richness, mean population size of entire communities decreased, making species more prone to extinction on average, and thus increased the community temporal turnover. Our results suggest that future experimental work on the effect of facilitation on community-level properties should focus not just on species richness but also on other descriptors of community dynamics such as the temporal species turnover.
The Herald’s Portrayal of School Violence in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

This study explores The Herald’s portrayal of school violence in the Eastern Cape Province (ECP), South Africa. The article, therefore, sets out to report on findings from a qualitative content analysis of 28 news articles and one letter to the editor retrieved from the SAMedia database. The findings shed light on the victims and their victimisation, the perpetrators, as well as the space and locality of school violence. The study identifies demands to and dissatisfaction with the education authorities, educators’ behaviour, the conduct and psyche of learners, the learners’ home environment, as well as the socio-economic and cultural factors as reasons for violence in ECP schools. The study highlights the negative consequences of school violence on teaching and learning and the economy. The study underlines the importance of involving educators, parents, police services and the community in addressing the problem. It is concluded that although The Herald’s atypical and stereotypical portrayal of the phenomenon may create the impression that school violence is endemic in the ECP, previous research on the topic shows that ECP schools are relatively safe places. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n16p490
Plk1 Phosphorylation of Orc2 Promotes DNA Replication under Conditions of Stress

ABSTRACT Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) plays pivotal roles in mitosis; however, little is known about its function in S phase. In this study, we show that inhibition of Plk1 impairs DNA replication and results in slow S-phase progression in cultured cancer cells. We have identified origin recognition complex 2 (Orc2), a member of the DNA replication machinery, as a Plk1 substrate and have shown that Plk1 phosphorylates Orc2 at Ser188 in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, Orc2-S188 phosphorylation is enhanced when DNA replication is under challenge induced by ultraviolet, hydroxyurea, gemcitabine, or aphidicolin treatment. Cells expressing the unphosphorylatable mutant (S188A) of Orc2 had defects in DNA synthesis under stress, suggesting that this phosphorylation event is critical to maintain DNA replication under stress. To dissect the mechanism pertinent to this observation, we showed that Orc2-S188 phosphorylation associates with DNA replication origin and that cells expressing Orc2-S188A mutant fail to maintain the functional pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) under DNA replication stress. Furthermore, the intra-S-phase checkpoint is activated in Orc2-S188A-expressing cells to cause delay of S-phase progress. Our study suggests a novel role of Plk1 in facilitating DNA replication under conditions of stress to maintain genomic integrity.
Ant colony based approach for intrusion detection on cluster heads in WSN

Wireless Sensor Networks are widely used in various domains like military, habitat monitoring, medical monitoring for humans, environment monitoring in industries. Some applications of WSN are critical in nature and would have adverse effects as a result of intrusion. In this paper, we propose a four stage ant colony based architecture for identifying intrusion detection in cluster heads of Wireless Sensor Network.
Smart diagnostic algorithms for automated detection of childhood pneumonia in resource-constrained settings

Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children under five, with 1.1 million deaths annually more than the combined burden of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis for this age group; the majority of these deaths occur in resource-constrained settings. Accurate diagnosis of pneumonia relies on expensive human expertise and requires the evaluation of multiple clinical characteristics, measured using advanced diagnostic tools. The shortage of clinical experts and appropriate diagnostic tools in many low and middle income countries impedes timely and accurate diagnosis. We demonstrate that the diagnostic process can be automated using machine learning techniques, processing several clinical measurements that could be obtained with affordable and easy-to-operate point-of-care tools. We evaluated our findings on a dataset of 1093 children, comprising 777 diagnosed with pneumonia and 316 healthy controls, on the basis of 47 clinical characteristics. Seven feature selection techniques were used to identify robust, parsimonious subsets of clinical characteristics, which could be measured reliably and affordably. Standard machine learning techniques, such as support vector machines and random forests, were used to develop a predictive algorithm based on the four jointly most predictive characteristics (temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate and oxygen saturation); this approach led to 96.6% sensitivity, 96.4% specificity, and an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 97.8%. The proposed approach can be easily embedded in a mobile phone application, allowing for point-of-care assessment and identification of children in need of clinical attention by basically trained healthcare workers in resource-constrained settings.
The Pragmatist in Context of a National Science Foundation Supported Grant Program Evaluation: Guidelines and Paradigms

Background: The philosophical underpinnings of evaluation guidelines set forth by a funding agency can sometimes seem inconsistent with that of the intervention. Purpose: Our purpose is to introduce questions pertaining to the contrast between the instructional program’s underlying philosophical beliefs and assumptions and those underlying our evaluation approach. Drawing heavily on Scriven, we discuss these from a pragmatist evaluation stance in light of issues defined by Lincoln and Guba (2000). The discussion is couched in the evaluation of an innovative approach to teaching computer science. Setting: Auburn University, Auburn, AL Intervention: The evaluation is designed to investigate the effects of a studio-based teaching approach in computer science education. The evaluation framework employs a rigorous design that seeks to provide evidence to support or refute some assumed truth about the object (or construct) investigated. The program evaluated is steeped in a constructivist framework which assumes that no universal truth or reality exists, but rather, is constructed by the individual. Research Design: Our evaluation design, to a good extent, reflects a post-positivist, quasi-experimental position. We also include a qualitative component using student interviews. Data Collection and Analysis: Evidence of the effectiveness of the instructional approach for learning is assessed quantitatively using pre- and post-test and pre- and post-survey data group comparisons (mixed design ANOVA). Interviews provide the basis for qualitative theme analysis. Findings: Quantitative results were somewhat weak but consistent in support of the studio-based teaching. Interview data suggest that most students did find working in groups enjoyable and a valuable experience.