Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coordination of multiple behaviors acquired by a vision-based reinforcement learning

A method is proposed which accomplishes a whole task consisting of plural subtasks by coordinating multiple behaviors acquired by a vision-based reinforcement learning. First, individual behaviors which achieve the corresponding subtasks are independently acquired by Q-learning, a widely used reinforcement learning method. Each learned behavior can be represented by an action-value function in terms of state of the environment and robot action. Next, three kinds of coordinations of multiple behaviors are considered; simple summation of different action-value functions, switching action-value functions according to situations, and learning with previously obtained action-value functions as initial values of a new action-value function. A task of shooting a ball into the goal avoiding collisions with an enemy is examined. The task can be decomposed into a ball shooting subtask and a collision avoiding subtask. These subtasks should be accomplished simultaneously, but they are not independent of each other. <<ETX>>
A Precontract-based Transaction Handing Method in Workflow

Web service composition is used as subprocess in the workflow system. If the workflow can provide high reliability and constituency through transaction process technology, the composition of Web service and workflow will be the main solution to solve problem of e-business. Traditional transaction model lacks support for long-running transaction in application of Web service. From the angel of the tier relation between Web service composition and separated Web service that is part of Web service composition, a transaction model based on precontract and semantics encapsulation is presented to improve the efficiency of Web service-based transaction process.
Insights from Russian second language readability classification: complexity-dependent training requirements, and feature evaluation of multiple categories

I investigate Russian second language readability assessment using a machine-learning approach with a range of lexical, morphological, syntactic, and discourse features. Testing the model with a new collection of Russian L2 readability corpora achieves an F-score of 0.671 and adjacent accuracy 0.919 on a 6-level classification task. Information gain and feature subset evaluation shows that morphological features are collectively the most informative. Learning curves for binary classifiers reveal that fewer training data are needed to distinguish between beginning reading levels than are needed to distinguish between intermediate reading levels.
Genetic population structure of the Greater Bilby Macrotis lagotis, a marsupial in decline

The Greater Bilby has shown a rapid decline in range during this century and now occupies only a small isolated area in south‐western Queensland (QLD) and a larger, but mostly low‐density area in the north‐western deserts of the Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA). We have examined variation in the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and at nine microsatellite loci in order to investigate the extent of current and historical subdivision across the species range, and to provide a preliminary assessment of genetic structuring and mating system on a finer scale within the QLD population. Both mtDNA and microsatellite loci had substantial variation within and among populations, with mtDNA divergence being greater between QLD and NT than between NT and WA. The QLD population had two unique and divergent mtDNA lineages, but there was no evidence for strong phylogeographical structure across the range. The available evidence suggests that the bilby should be considered as a single Evolutionarily Significant Unit consisting of multiple Management Units. Augmentation of the remnant QLD population from the NT does not appear necessary at this stage, at least not on genetic grounds. Finer‐scale analysis of microsatellite variation for two QLD colonies revealed a deficiency of heterozygotes and significantly greater relatedness within than between colonies. However, structuring was observed only for males; relatedness values for females did not depart from those expected under panmixia. Parentage exclusion analysis for one colony allowed the construction of a partial pedigree which indicated strong polygyny, with one male fathering all but one of the eight offspring assigned. The extent to which fine‐scale genetic structuring and differences between sexes is due to sex‐biased dispersal vs. effects of mating system remain to be determined.
School-based assessments in high-stakes examinations in Bhutan: a question of trust? Exploring inconsistencies between external exam scores, school-based assessments, detailed teacher ratings, and student self-ratings

This study explores the validity of school-based assessments when they serve to supplement scores on central tests in high-stakes examinations. The school-based continuous assessment (CA) marks are compared to the marks scored on the central written Bhutan Certificate of Secondary Education (BCSE) examination, to detailed teacher ratings of student competencies, and to student self-ratings. A survey was undertaken in 10 higher secondary schools, involving 26 English teachers and 365 graduates. Though results indicate moderate conformity among measurements within schools, results between schools indicate that schools with high average scores on the BCSE exam tend to score relatively low CA averages and vice versa. Compared to the CA marks for student performance in English listening and speaking skills, the detailed teacher ratings of students on the same skills correlate more strongly with the BCSE exam marks and the student self-ratings.
Development and evaluation of ordinaryleast squares regression models for predictingirrigated and rainfed maize and soybean yields

Understanding the relationships between climatic variables and soil physical and chemical properties with crop yields on large scales is critical for evaluating crop productivity to make better assessments of local and regional food security, policy, land and water resource allocation, and management decisions. In this study, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were developed to predict irrigated and rainfed maize and soybean yields at the county level as a function of explanatory variables [precipitation (P), actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa), organic matter content (OMC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), clay content (CC), and available soil water capacity (ASW)] of the dominant soil type in each of the 93 counties in Nebraska. Models were developed for the statewide average dataset (state models) as well as for the four major climatic zones (zonal models). Spline interpolation was used to spatially interpolate all independent variables across all 93 counties. The results of the OLS state models showed a very good performance for predicting rainfed maize and soybean yields. For rainfed maize, about 73% of the variation in yield (RMSD = 867 kg ha) was explained by ETa alone, and 83% of yield variability (RMSD = 690 kg ha) was explained by the model Yield = f(ETa, P, ASW, CEC, CC). For rainfed soybean, about 69% of the variability (RMSD = 238 kg ha) was explained by ETa alone, and a maximum of 85% (RMSD = 164 kg ha) of the variability was explained by the model Yield = f(ETa, P, ASW, CEC, CC). No additional variation in yield was explained by adding OMC to the rainfed maize and soybean yield models. Less correlation was found between the predicted and observed yields for irrigated maize and soybean than for the rainfed yields for both crops. For irrigated maize and soybean, a maximum of 45% (RMSD = 533 kg ha) and 36% (RMSD = 218 kg ha) of the variability in yield was explained by the models Yield = f(ETa, P, ASW) and Yield = f(ETa, P, ASW, CEC, CC, OMC), respectively. For the rainfed crops, ETa played a major role in predicting yield, whereas P and ASW played a major role in predicting irrigated yields. ETa and P accounted for 96%, 73%, and 67% of the total explained variation in rainfed soybean yield for zones 2 (drier), 3, and 4 (wetter), respectively, whereas soil physical and chemical properties accounted for 4%, 27%, and 33%, respectively. Unlike rainfed conditions, irrigated maize and soybean yield predictions were improved by applying the zonal models rather than the state models.
IPOG: A General Strategy for T-Way Software Testing

Most existing work on t-way testing has focused on 2-way (or pairwise) testing, which aims to detect faults caused by interactions between any two parameters. However, faults can also be caused by interactions involving more than two parameters. In this paper, we generalize an existing strategy, called in-parameter-order (IPO), from pairwise testing to t-way testing. A major challenge of our generalization effort is dealing with the combinatorial growth in the number of combinations of parameter values. We describe a t-way testing tool, called FireEye, and discuss design decisions that are made to enable an efficient implementation of the generalized IPO strategy. We also report several experiments that are designed to evaluate the effectiveness of FireEye
Irony Comprehension in Action: A New Test of Processing for Verbal Irony

There are now a number of theories of irony processing: Modular accounts suggest the literal meaning is usually accessed first and the ironic meaning considered later, whereas interactive accounts suggest the ironic meaning is considered in the earliest moments of processing. We used a visual world paradigm to examine the issue of how ironic meaning is processed from speech. Participants heard literal and ironic statements and, for each statement, judged speaker intent by selecting one of a pair of objects displayed on a tabletop. Results showed equivalent response latencies for literal criticisms and ironic criticisms, suggesting ironic meanings do not necessarily take longer to process than literal meanings. Participants' eye gaze provided no evidence that they considered (looked to) the literal response object first when interpreting ironic remarks. Instead, they showed early consideration of ironic meaning. We interpret our findings to be most consistent with an interactive account of irony processing.
Flat and complex temperate reefs provide similar support for fish: Evidence for a unimodal species-habitat relationship

Structural complexity, a form of habitat heterogeneity, influences the structure and function of ecological communities, generally supporting increased species density, richness, and diversity. Recent research, however, suggests the most complex habitats may not harbor the highest density of individuals and number of species, especially in areas with elevated human influence. Understanding nuances in relationships between habitat heterogeneity and ecological communities is warranted to guide habitat-focused conservation and management efforts. We conducted fish and structural habitat surveys of thirty warm-temperate reefs on the southeastern US continental shelf to quantify how structural complexity influences fish communities. We found that intermediate complexity maximizes fish abundance on natural and artificial reefs, as well as species richness on natural reefs, challenging the current paradigm that abundance and other fish community metrics increase with increasing complexity. Naturally occurring rocky reefs of flat and complex morphologies supported equivalent abundance, biomass, species richness, and community composition of fishes. For flat and complex morphologies of rocky reefs to receive equal consideration as essential fish habitat (EFH), special attention should be given to detecting pavement type rocky reefs because their ephemeral nature makes them difficult to detect with typical seafloor mapping methods. Artificial reefs of intermediate complexity also maximized fish abundance, but human-made structures composed of low-lying concrete and metal ships differed in community types, with less complex, concrete structures supporting lower numbers of fishes classified largely as demersal species and metal ships protruding into the water column harboring higher numbers of fishes, including more pelagic species. Results of this study are essential to the process of evaluating habitat function provided by different types and shapes of reefs on the seafloor so that all EFH across a wide range of habitat complexity may be accurately identified and properly managed.
Sensor ranking: A primitive for efficient content-based sensor search

The increasing penetration of the real world with embedded and globally networked sensors enables the formation of a Web of Things (WoT), where high-level state information derived from sensors is embedded into Web representations of real-world entities (e.g. places, objects). A key service for the WoT is searching for entities which exhibit a certain dynamic state at the time of the query, which is a challenging problem due to the dynamic nature of the sought state information and due to the potentially huge scale of the WoT. In this paper we introduce a primitive called sensor ranking to enable efficient search for sensors that have a certain output state at the time of the query. The key idea is to efficiently compute for each sensor an estimate of the probability that it matches the query and process sensors in the order of decreasing probability, such that effort is first spent on sensors that are very likely to actually match the query. Using real data sets, we show that sensor ranking can significantly improve the efficiency of content-based sensor search.
A Caspase-activated Factor (CAF) Induces Mitochondrial Membrane Depolarization and Cytochrome c Release by a Nonproteolytic Mechanism

It is well established that apoptosis is accompanied by activation of procaspases and by mitochondrial changes, such as decrease in mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) and release of cytochrome c. We analyzed the causal relationship between activated caspases and these mitochondrial phenomena. Purified recombinant caspase-1, -11, -3, -6, -7, and -8 were incubated with mitochondria in the presence or absence of additional cellular components, after which ΔΨm was determined. At lower caspase concentrations, only caspase-8 was able to activate a cytosolic factor, termed caspase-activated factor (CAF), which resulted in decrease in ΔΨm and release of cytochrome c. Both CAF-mediated activities could not be blocked by protease inhibitors, including oligopeptide caspase inhibitors. CAF-induced cytochrome c release, but not decrease of ΔΨm, was blocked in mitochondria from cells overexpressing Bcl-2. CAF is apparently involved in decrease of ΔΨm and release of cytochrome c, whereas Bcl-2 only prevents the latter. Hence, CAF may form the link between death domain receptor–dependent activation of procaspase-8 and the mitochondrial events studied.
Using Markov decision theory to provide a fair challenge in a roll-and-move board game

Board games are often taken as examples to teach decision-making algorithms in artificial intelligence (AI). These algorithms are generally presented with a strong focus on winning the game. Unfortunately, a few important aspects, such as the gaming experience of human players, are often missing from the equation. This paper presents a simple board game we use in an introductory course in AI to initiate students to the gaming experience issue. The Snakes and Ladders game has been modified to provide different levels of challenges for students. The game with such modifications offers theoretical, algorithmic and programming challenges. One of the most complex is the generation of an optimal policy to provide a fair challenge to an opponent. A solution based on Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) is presented. This approach relies on a simple model of the opponent's playing behaviour.
Hepatitis B virus genotype B with G1896A and A1762T/G1764A mutations is associated with hepatitis B related acute‐on‐chronic liver failure

The existence of statistical associations between hepatitis B‐related acute‐on‐chronic liver failure and both hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype and mutations in the basal core promoter (BCP) and precore (PC) regions needs to be confirmed. A total of 322 patients with a chronic HBV infection, including 77 with hepatitis B‐related acute‐on‐chronic liver failure, 109 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 136 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were enrolled. The HBV genotype and the presence of mutations in the BCP/PC regions were determined by direct sequencing, and the frequencies were compared in the three patient groups. Overall, 198/322 (61.5%) were infected with genotype B and 124/322 (38.5%) with genotype C. Genotype B was significantly more frequent in patients with acute‐on‐chronic liver failure than CHB (92.2% vs. 60.3%, P < 0.001). As a contrast, genotype C was more common in patients with HCC than CHB (58.7% vs. 39.7%, P = 0.003). In genotype B patients, the A1762T/G1764A, A1846T, and G1896A mutations were significantly more prevalent in patients with acute‐on‐chronic liver failure than CHB (50.7% vs. 28.0%, P = 0.004; 59.2% vs. 34.1%, P = 0.002; 69.0% vs. 41.5%, P = 0.001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, the risk factors for acute‐on‐chronic liver failure were genotype B, A1762T/G1764A, and G1896A. In conclusion, CHB patients with genotype B, G1896A, and A1762T/G1764A had a higher tendency to develop liver failure than patients with genotype C. Therefore, HBV genotyping and detecting G1896A and A1762T/G1764A mutations might have important clinical implications as predictive risk factors for hepatitis B‐related acute‐on‐chronic liver failure. J. Med. Virol. 83:1544–1550, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fractionated Radiation Exposure of Rat Spinal Cords Leads to Latent Neuro-Inflammation in Brain, Cognitive Deficits, and Alterations in Apurinic Endonuclease 1

Ionizing radiation causes degeneration of myelin, the insulating sheaths of neuronal axons, leading to neurological impairment. As radiation research on the central nervous system has predominantly focused on neurons, with few studies addressing the role of glial cells, we have focused our present research on identifying the latent effects of single/ fractionated -low dose of low/ high energy radiation on the role of base excision repair protein Apurinic Endonuclease-1, in the rat spinal cords oligodendrocyte progenitor cells’ differentiation. Apurinic endonuclease-1 is predominantly upregulated in response to oxidative stress by low- energy radiation, and previous studies show significant induction of Apurinic Endonuclease-1 in neurons and astrocytes. Our studies show for the first time, that fractionation of protons cause latent damage to spinal cord architecture while fractionation of HZE (28Si) induce increase in APE1 with single dose, which then decreased with fractionation. The oligodendrocyte progenitor cells differentiation was skewed with increase in immature oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, which likely cause the observed decrease in white matter, increased neuro-inflammation, together leading to the observed significant cognitive defects.
On English sentence stress and the nature of metrical structure

This essay is concerned with a section of the suprasegmental phonology of English that has traditionally been called ‘sentence stress’: a domain that goes beyond the simple word and its accent, covering prominence relations within lexical compounds and syntactic phrases. Some almost commonplace assumptions are usually made about sentence stress in the phonological literature of English: first, that the distinction between compound stress and phrasal stress leads to a phonological contrast, so that in a compound noun like black board the left-hand constituent is the stronger one whereas in a phrase, black board for example, the right-hand one is. Second, that this prominence differentiation consists of a further contouring of the main stresses of the simple words involved so that word stress serves as input for sentence stress differentiation, as in Gérman tèacher vs.Gèrman téacher. Also frequently observed is a class of exceptions to this second assumption: the thìrteen mén cases, where the primary stress of a word in isolation, thirtéen, gets shifted in certain contexts for rhythmic reasons.
Energy Outlier Detection in Smart Environments

Despite a dramatic growth of power consumption in households, less attention has been paid to monitoring, analyzing and predicting energy usage. In this paper, we propose a framework to mine raw energy data by transforming time series energy data into a symbol sequence, and then extend a suffix tree data structure as an efficient representation to analyze global structural patterns. Then, we use a clustering algorithm to detect energy pattern outliers which are far from their cluster centroids. To validate our approach, we use real power data collected from a smart apartment testbed during two months.
Influence of the Sea Ice Thickness Distribution on Polar Climate in CCSM3

Abstract The sea ice simulation of the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) T42-gx1 and T85-gx1 control simulations is presented and the influence of the parameterized sea ice thickness distribution (ITD) on polar climate conditions is examined. This includes an analysis of the change in mean climate conditions and simulated sea ice feedbacks when an ITD is included. It is found that including a representation of the subgrid-scale ITD results in larger ice growth rates and thicker sea ice. These larger growth rates represent a higher heat loss from the ocean ice column to the atmosphere, resulting in warmer surface conditions. Ocean circulation, most notably in the Southern Hemisphere, is also modified by the ITD because of the influence of enhanced high-latitude ice formation on the ocean buoyancy flux and resulting deep water formation. Changes in atmospheric circulation also result, again most notably in the Southern Hemisphere. There are indications that the ITD also modifies simulated sea.
Making Sense of Microposts (#MSM2013)

Microposts are small fragments of social media content that have been published using a lightweight paradigm (e.g. Tweets, Facebook likes, foursquare check-ins). Microposts have been used for a variety of applications (e.g., sentiment analysis, opinion mining, trend analysis), by gleaning useful information, often using third-party concept extraction tools. There has been very large uptake of such tools in the last few years, along with the creation and adoption of new methods for concept extraction. However, the evaluation of such e orts has been largely consigned to document corpora (e.g. news articles), questioning the suitability of concept extraction tools and methods for Micropost data. This report describes the Making Sense of Microposts Workshop (#MSM2013) Concept Extraction Challenge, hosted in conjunction with the 2013 World Wide Web conference (WWW'13). The Challenge dataset comprised a manually annotated training corpus of Microposts and an unlabelled test corpus. Participants were set the task of engineering a concept extraction system for a de ned set of concepts. Out of a total of 22 complete submissions 13 were accepted for presentation at the workshop; the submissions covered methods ranging from sequence mining algorithms for attribute extraction to part-of-speech tagging for Micropost cleaning and rule-based and discriminative models for token classi cation. In this report we describe the evaluation process and explain the performance of di erent approaches in di erent contexts.