Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scenario Generation

Many stochastic programming models may be rewritten into the form min where X is a closed subset of R m , a closed subset of R d , the functions f k map from R m × to the extended real numbers R for k = 0,. , K, and P is a probability distribution on. The set X is used to describe all constraints not depending on P, and the set to contain the support of P. The integrands f k are assumed to be lower semicontinuous jointly in (x, ξ) implying that all integrals in Equation (1) are well defined (although possibly infinite). Classical examples are linear two-stage stochastic programs and optimization models with probabilistic constraints. Linear two-stage models (see Introduction and Basic Properties) appear for K : = 0 and f 0 having the representation f 0 (x, ξ) := =c(ξ), x + inf {{q(ξ), y : W(ξ)y = h(ξ) − T(ξ) x, y ≥ 0} (2) by means of the infimum of a second stage linear program where some of the coefficients are affine functions of the d-dimensional random vector ξ and the variable x is the first stage decision. Models with probabilistic constraints appear, for example, for K = 1, f 0 (x, ξ) = =c, x and f 1 (x, ξ) = p − 1 {ξ ∈:T(ξ)x≥h(ξ)} (ξ), where 1 B denotes the characteristic function of a set B in R d and p ∈ (0, 1) is a probability level (see also Models and Basic Properties). APPROXIMATION Stability results for Equation (1) with respect to approximations Q of the original probability distribution P (see Ref. 1 for a survey) state that infimal values v(P) and v(Q) and solution sets S(P) and S(Q) of the stochastic programs (Eq. 1) with distributions P and Q, respectively, get close if the (uniform) distance of P and Q
Fluorescent Method for Monitoring Cheese Starter Permeabilization and Lysis

ABSTRACT A fluorescence method to monitor lysis of cheese starter bacteria using dual staining with the LIVE/DEAD BacLight bacterial viability kit is described. This kit combines membrane-permeant green fluorescent nucleic acid dye SYTO 9 and membrane-impermeant red fluorescent nucleic acid dye propidium iodide (PI), staining damaged membrane cells fluorescent red and intact cells fluorescent green. For evaluation of the fluorescence method, cells of Lactococcus lactis MG1363 were incubated under different conditions and subsequently labeled with SYTO 9 and PI and analyzed by flow cytometry and epifluorescence microscopy. Lysis was induced by treatment with cell wall-hydrolyzing enzyme mutanolysin. Cheese conditions were mimicked by incubating cells in a buffer with high protein, potassium, and magnesium, which stabilizes the cells. Under nonstabilizing conditions a high concentration of mutanolysin caused complete disruption of the cells. This resulted in a decrease in the total number of cells and release of cytoplasmic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase. In the stabilizing buffer, mutanolysin caused membrane damage as well but the cells disintegrated at a much lower rate. Stabilizing buffer supported permeabilized cells, as indicated by a high number of PI-labeled cells. In addition, permeable cells did not release intracellular aminopeptidase N, but increased enzyme activity was observed with the externally added and nonpermeable peptide substrate lysyl-p-nitroanilide. Finally, with these stains and confocal scanning laser microscopy the permeabilization of starter cells in cheese could be analyzed.
Modality-specific Alpha Modulations Facilitate Long-term Memory Encoding in the Presence of Distracters

It has been proposed that long-term memory encoding is not only dependent on engaging task-relevant regions but also on disengaging task-irrelevant regions. In particular, oscillatory alpha activity has been shown to be involved in shaping the functional architecture of the working brain because it reflects the functional disengagement of specific regions in attention and memory tasks. We here ask if such allocation of resources by alpha oscillations generalizes to long-term memory encoding in a cross-modal setting in which we acquired the ongoing brain activity using magnetoencephalography. Participants were asked to encode pictures while ignoring simultaneously presented words and vice versa. We quantified the brain activity during rehearsal reflecting subsequent memory in the different attention conditions. The key finding was that successful long-term memory encoding is reflected by alpha power decreases in the sensory region of the to-be-attended modality and increases in the sensory region of the to-be-ignored modality to suppress distraction during rehearsal period. Our results corroborate related findings from attention studies by demonstrating that alpha activity is also important for the allocation of resources during long-term memory encoding in the presence of distracters.
String Topology for Stacks

We establish the general machinery of string topology for differentiable stacks. This machinery allows us to treat on an equal footing free loops in stacks and hidden loops. In particular, we give a good notion of a free loop stack, and of a mapping stack $\map(Y,\XX)$, where $Y$ is a compact space and $\XX$ a topological stack, which is functorial both in $\XX$ and $Y$ and behaves well enough with respect to pushouts. We also construct a bivariant (in the sense of Fulton and MacPherson) theory for topological stacks: it gives us a flexible theory of Gysin maps which are automatically compatible with pullback, pushforward and products. Further we prove an excess formula in this context. We introduce oriented stacks, generalizing oriented manifolds, which are stacks on which we can do string topology. We prove that the homology of the free loop stack of an oriented stack and the homology of hidden loops (sometimes called ghost loops) are a Frobenius algebra which are related by a natural morphism of Frobenius algebras. We also prove that the homology of free loop stack has a natural structure of a BV-algebra, which together with the Frobenius structure fits into an homological conformal field theories with closed positive boundaries. Using our general machinery, we construct an intersection pairing for (non necessarily compact) almost complex orbifolds which is in the same relation to the intersection pairing for manifolds as Chen-Ruan orbifold cup-product is to ordinary cup-product of manifolds. We show that the hidden loop product of almost complex is isomorphic to the orbifold intersection pairing twisted by a canonical class. Finally we gave some examples including the case of the classifying stacks $[*/G]$ of a compact Lie group.
Service Design and Product-Service Systems

Product designers have been the main design competence to be employed in product oriented businesses. When it comes to the design of Product-Service Systems, employing product design competences would be a conservative approach. Design theorist Buchanan identifies design orders spanning from graphic, over product and interaction, to systemic design, explaining important differences in perspctives. Contemporary studies on design disciplines show that differences are significant, and it becomes important to know how to select and direct adequate design work. Methods and tools service designers use are typically serviceblueprints, customer journeys, prototypes etc, all focused on processes and value-in-use, where product desigerns focus on form and function. In this paper we show how service designers relate to industrial design in the context of PSS. We review the profile of service designer and compare design disciplines. We conclude that service designers are well suited to deal with PSS design, with their focus on value in use, together with product designers. We also highlight that busineess need to develop competent judgement and design management to get the appropriate design competence.
Nested lattice codes for the state-dependent Gaussian interference channel with a common message

In this paper, we consider the generalized point-to-point Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel with state: The State-Dependent Gaussian Interference Channel (SD-GIC) with a common message in which two senders transmit a common message to two receivers. Transmitter 1 knows only message W1 while transmitter 2 in addition W1 also knows the channel state sequence non-causally. In this paper, we consider the strong interference case where the channel state has unbounded variance. First, we show that a scheme based on Gelfand-Pinsker coding cannot achieve the capacity within a constant gap for channel gains smaller than unity. In contrast, we propose a lattice-based transmission scheme that can achieve the capacity region in the high SNR regime. Our proposed scheme can achieve the capacity region to within 0.5 bit for all values of channel parameters.
Single-cell analyses of regulatory network perturbations using enhancer-targeting TALEs suggest novel roles for PU.1 during haematopoietic specification

Transcription factors (TFs) act within wider regulatory networks to control cell identity and fate. Numerous TFs, including Scl (Tal1) and PU.1 (Spi1), are known regulators of developmental and adult haematopoiesis, but how they act within wider TF networks is still poorly understood. Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are a novel class of genetic tool based on the modular DNA-binding domains of Xanthomonas TAL proteins, which enable DNA sequence-specific targeting and the manipulation of endogenous gene expression. Here, we report TALEs engineered to target the PU.1-14kb and Scl+40kb transcriptional enhancers as efficient new tools to perturb the expression of these key haematopoietic TFs. We confirmed the efficiency of these TALEs at the single-cell level using high-throughput RT-qPCR, which also allowed us to assess the consequences of both PU.1 activation and repression on wider TF networks during developmental haematopoiesis. Combined with comprehensive cellular assays, these experiments uncovered novel roles for PU.1 during early haematopoietic specification. Finally, transgenic mouse studies confirmed that the PU.1-14kb element is active at sites of definitive haematopoiesis in vivo and PU.1 is detectable in haemogenic endothelium and early committing blood cells. We therefore establish TALEs as powerful new tools to study the functionality of transcriptional networks that control developmental processes such as early haematopoiesis.
Phonon tracing for auralization and visualization of sound

We present a new particle tracing approach for the simulation of mid- and high-frequency sound. Inspired by the photorealism obtained by methods like photon mapping, we develop a similar method for the physical simulation of sound within rooms. For given source and listener positions, our method computes a finite-response filter accounting for the different reflections at various surfaces with frequency-dependent absorption coefficients. Convoluting this filter with an anechoic input signal reproduces a realistic aural impression of the simulated room. We do not consider diffraction effects due to low frequencies, since these can be better computed by finite elements. Our method allows the visualization of a wave front propagation using color-coded blobs traversing the paths of individual phonons.
Risk-Aware Secure Supply Chain Master Planning

Supply chain master planning strives for optimally aligned production, warehousing and transportation decisions across a multiple number of partners. Its execution in practice is limited by business partners’ reluctance to share their vital business data. Secure Multi-Party Computation can be used to make such collaborative computations privacy-preserving by applying cryptographic techniques. Thus, computation becomes acceptable in practice but for additional cost of complexity depending on the protection level chosen. Because not all data to be shared induces the same risk and demand for protection, we assess the risk of data elements individually and then apply an appropriate protection. This speeds up the secure computation and enables significant improvements in the supply chain.
Post-9/11 US civil-military relations and control of military strategy during Operation Iraqi Freedom

Current understanding of the post-9/11 US civil-military power relationship is clouded by the existence of various competing propositions as to whether civilian policymakers, military leaders or a combination of both have had the greatest influence in determining military strategy in Iraq. Motivated by the empirical and theoretical deficiencies of the post-9/11 US civil-military relations literature, this thesis traces the evolution of the shifting power relationship between civilian policymakers and military leaders in the formulation and implementation of US military strategy during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and explores the circumstances within which different balances of civil-military power occur. Using the policymaking process as an analytical framework, OIF is deconstructed into a series of decision points from 2001 to 2008 and the relative balance of civil-military power is identified at each according to one of five variations: Civilian Dominance; Shared Dominance Civilian; Shared Dominance; Shared Dominance Military; or Military Dominance. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, the thesis tests and explores the importance of six independent variables in explaining variations in the relative balance of civil-military power: civil-military preference divergence; civilian assertiveness; military assertiveness; civilian unity; military unity; and information advantage. In presenting a comprehensive analysis of civil-military power relations throughout OIF, the thesis offers a more nuanced response to the question of who controls US military strategy and demonstrates which independent variables hold the greatest potential for explaining variations in the relative balance of civil-military power. Analysis of the relationships between the dependent and independent variables reveals associations of varying strengths, thereby both confirming and challenging a number of the assumptions contained within the existing literature. By rooting contemporary research in the broader study of US civil-military relations, the thesis provides empirical clarity to the post-9/11 period as well as offering theoretical insight into the civil-military relationship beyond the limits of OIF.
A novel mutation in the Connexin 46 gene causes autosomal dominant congenital cataract with incomplete penetrance

Congenital or paediatric cataract is a phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous disorder consisting of lens opacities in early life. Thirteen genes have been described for autosomal dominant congenital cataract (ADCC). These include genes for seven members of the crystallin family,1,2 which are responsible for the refractive index and transparency of the lens, two connexin genes3,4 and major intrinsic protein of the lens (MIP)5 which are involved in the transport directly between cells of small metabolites and water, respectively, the cytoskeletal protein beaded filament structural protein-2 (BFSP2),6 and transcription factors paired-like homeodomain transcription factor-3 (PITX3)7 and heat shock factor-4 (HSF4). 8 Five additional loci have been described on chromosomes 1pter-p36.1,9 15q21-q22,10 17p13,11 17q24,12 and 20p12-q12.13 We used a linkage approach to investigate these 13 genes and five loci in a large pedigree from Victoria, Australia, with zonular pulverulent cataract with the aim of identifying the causative mutation. Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committees of the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia. ### Patient ascertainment and collection of genetic material The pedigree crch13 was identified through a database maintained by the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, comprising paediatric cataract patients from south-eastern Australia with any type of lens opacity.14 Written informed consent was obtained from all participating individuals or their guardians. When possible, family members were examined by one or more ophthalmologists (MGW, DAM, JEE, JEC, or IR-E). Due to the rural location of most family members, affection status was determined from medical records when direct examination was not feasible. In many cases pre-operative visual acuity was not available. Buccal mucosal swabs were either collected during examination …
Ethical Implications: End of Life Planning for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities need to engage in end of life planning, however it is essential to determine how their support networks fit into the process. As individuals with Intellectual Disabilities require support to live their daily lives, they too need support when making decisions surrounding medical treatments and end of life planning. The purpose of this study was to identify ethical implications for social workers, when working with Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities when engaging in end of life planning. Seven respondents participated in this study consisting of qualitative interviews. Each of the interviewees responded to similar question lists, written to elicit professional and personal opinions regarding end of life planning for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Respondents were identified through previous professional contacts of this researcher, and through professional contacts of faculty from the University of St. Thomas. The themes identified by this study were the importance of the care team relationship, individual client needs, communication, and discrimination in access to medical care. Each of the findings relate to implications for social work practice.
Human-Robot Physical Interaction with dynamically stable mobile robots

Summary form only given. Developed by Prof. Ralph Hollis in the Microdynamic Systems Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University, Ballbot is a dynamically stable mobile robot moving on a single spherical wheel providing omni-directional motion. Unlike statically stable mobile robots, dynamically stable mobile robots can be tall and skinny with high center of gravity and small base. The ball drive mechanism is a four motor inverse mouse-ball setup. An Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU) and encoders on the motors provide all information needed for full-state feedback. Ballbot has three legs that provide static stability when powered down and is capable of auto-transitioning from the statically stable state to the dynamically stable state and vice versa. It is also capable of yaw rotation about its vertical axis. An absolute encoder provides the relative angle between the IMU and the ball drive unit. We wish to demonstrate Human-Robot Physical Interaction with dynamically stable mobile robots using Ballbot as an example. The balancing controller on Ballbot is extremely robust to disturbances like shoves, kicks and collisions with furniture and wall. Due to its dynamic stability, Ballbot can be moved around with very little effort. Physically directing a heavy statically stable mobile robot can be a difficult task, whereas Ballbot can be moved around with just a single finger. Similarly, while moving, Ballbot can be stopped with very little effort. We have developed some basic behaviors that enable Ballbot to detect human intentions with the physical interaction it has using just the encoder and IMU data. For example, given a soft push, Ballbot tries to stick to its position on the floor, whereas, when given a hard push, it moves away from its current location and station-keeps at a different point on the floor. We also present our initial results in developing a Learn-Repeat behavior in Ballbot, where in during the Learn mode, the user drives Ballbot around and it remembers the path travelled, and during the Repeat mode, Ballbot attempts to repeat the path learnt. We are in the process of adding stereo cameras and laser range finders to the robot, which will help us explore and extend more areas of Human-Robot Interaction.
Split‐Depth Image Generation and Optimization

Split‐depth images use an optical illusion, which can enhance the 3D impression of a 2D animation. In split‐depth images (also often called split‐depth GIFs due to the commonly used file format), static virtual occluders inform of vertical or horizontal bars are added to a video clip, which leads to occlusions that are interpreted by the observer as a depth cue. In this paper, we study different factors that contribute to the illusion and propose a solution to generate split‐depth images for a given RGB + depth image sequence. The presented solution builds upon a motion summarization of the object of interest (OOI) through space and time. It allows us to formulate the bar positioning as an energy‐minimization problem, which we solve efficiently. We take a variety of important features into account, such as the changes of the 3D effect due to changes in the motion topology, occlusion, the proximity of bars or the OOI, and scene saliency. We conducted a number of psycho‐visual experiments to derive an appropriate energy formulation. Our method helps in finding optimal positions for the bars and, thus, improves the 3D perception of the original animation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on a variety of examples. Our study with novice users shows that our approach allows them to quickly create satisfying results even for complex animations.
Structure verification through computer‐assisted spectral assignment of NMR spectra

The validation of a molecular organic structure on the basis of 1D and 2D HSQC, COSY and HMBC NMR spectra is proposed as an alternative to the methods that are mainly based on chemical shift prediction. The CCASA software was written for this purpose. It provides an updated and improved implementation of the preceding computer‐assisted spectral assignment software. CCASA can be downloaded freely from http://www.univ‐reims.fr/LSD/JmnSoft/CASA. Two bioactive natural products, a triterpene and a benzophenone, were selected from literature data as examples. The tentative matching between the structure and the NMR data interpretation of the triterpene unexpectedly leads to the hypothesis of an incorrect structure. The LSD software was used to find an alternative structure that improved the 2D NMR data interpretation and the carbon‐13 chemical shift matching between experimental values and those produced by the nmrshiftdb2 prediction tool. The benzophenone example showed that signal assignment by means of chemical shift prediction can be replaced by elementary user‐supplied chemical shift and multiplicity constraints. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Statistical Decision Making Method: A Case Study on Prepositional Phrase Attachment

Statistical classification methods usually rely on a single best model to make accurate predictions. Such a model aims to maximize accuracy by balancing precision and recall. The Model Switching method as presented in this paper performs with higher predictive accuracy and 100% recall by using a set of decomposable models instead of a single one. The implemented system, MS1, is tested on a case study, predicting Prepositional Phrase Attachment (PPA). The results show that iV is more accurate than other statistical techniques that select single models for classification and competitive with other successful NLP approaches in PPA disambiguation. The Model Switching method may be preferable to other methods because of its generality (i.e., wide range of applicability), and its competitive accuracy in prediction. It may also be used as an analytical tool to investigate the nature of the domain and the characteristics of the data with the help of generated models.