Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemoradioimmunotherapy in Locally Advanced Pancreatic and Biliary Tree Adenocarcinoma: A Multicenter Phase II Study

Objectives: The antitumor activity and toxicity of a multi-step treatment were evaluated in patients with locally advanced, inoperable, or incompletely resected pancreatic (Pa) and biliary tree (Bt) adenocarcinomas (ADKs). Methods: Fifty-four patients, 63% with Pa and 37% with Bt ADK, received 3 courses of cisplatin-gemcitabine induction chemotherapy. Progression-free (PF) patients were given consolidation radiotherapy with concurrent capecitabine. PF patients had, as maintenance immunotherapy (MI), interleukin 2 (1.8 × 106 IU) and 13-cis-retinoic acid (5 mg/kg). Results: Thirty-eight patients, 27 with Pa and 11 with Bt ADKs, PF after cisplatin/gemcitabine, were treated with consolidation radiotherapy with concurrent capecitabine. Fourteen PF patients, 7 with Pa and 7 with Bt ADK, received MI. Median PF and overall survivals (OS) for all 54 patients were 6.8 and 12.1 months, respectively. Patients treated with MI had a median PF survival of 16.2 months, whereas median OS had not been reached yet, after a median follow-up of 27.5 months. Toxicity: Grades 3 and 4 hematological and gastrointestinal in 30% and 37% of patients, respectively; grades 1 and 2 autoimmune reactions in 28% of patients. Conclusions: These results support the efficacy and safety of a multi-step sequential treatment in patients with locally advanced, inoperable or incompletely resected Pa and Bt ADKs.
Disproportionality, Ohana Conferencing, and the Hawai'i Child Welfare System

This study examined factors related to the overrepresentation of Native Hawai'ian and Pacific Islander families in Hawai'i's child welfare system and the role of Ohana conferencing in mitigating negative outcomes once a child is in the system. Findings of this study showed that the child welfare system in Hawai'i seems to respond differentially based to some degree on the ethnicity of the family. Furthermore, Ohana conferencing was found to have potential as an intervention. Future research on this intervention with larger sample sizes is needed.
Lempel-Ziv Factorization May Be Harder Than Computing All Runs

The complexity of computing the Lempel-Ziv factorization and the set of all runs (= maximal repetitions) is studied in the decision tree model of computation over ordered alphabet. It is known that both these problems can be solved by RAM algorithms in $O(n\log\sigma)$ time, where $n$ is the length of the input string and $\sigma$ is the number of distinct letters in it. We prove an $\Omega(n\log\sigma)$ lower bound on the number of comparisons required to construct the Lempel-Ziv factorization and thereby conclude that a popular technique of computation of runs using the Lempel-Ziv factorization cannot achieve an $o(n\log\sigma)$ time bound. In contrast with this, we exhibit an $O(n)$ decision tree algorithm finding all runs in a string. Therefore, in the decision tree model the runs problem is easier than the Lempel-Ziv factorization. Thus we support the conjecture that there is a linear RAM algorithm finding all runs.
Bayesian adaptive matrix factorization with automatic model selection

Low-rank matrix factorization has long been recognized as a fundamental problem in many computer vision applications. Nevertheless, the reliability of existing matrix factorization methods is often hard to guarantee due to challenges brought by such model selection issues as selecting the noise model and determining the model capacity. We address these two issues simultaneously in this paper by proposing a robust non-parametric Bayesian adaptive matrix factorization (AMF) model. AMF proposes a new noise model built on the Dirichlet process Gaussian mixture model (DP-GMM) by taking advantage of its high flexibility on component number selection and capability of fitting a wide range of unknown noise. AMF also imposes an automatic relevance determination (ARD) prior on the low-rank factor matrices so that the rank can be determined automatically without the need for enforcing any hard constraint. An efficient variational method is then devised for model inference. We compare AMF with state-of-the-art matrix factorization methods based on data sets ranging from synthetic data to real-world application data. From the results, AMF consistently achieves better or comparable performance.
Electron microscopy for the evaluation of concrete surfaces modified by gamma radiation. En: Current microscopy contributions to advances in science and technology.

L.I. Avila-Córdoba, G. Martínez-Barrera, F. Ureña-Nuñez and C.E. Barrera-Díaz Centro Conjunto de Investigación en Química Sustentable (CCIQS), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UAEM-UNAM), Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, km 14.5, Unidad El Rosedal, C.P. 50200, Toluca México. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Materiales Avanzados (LIDMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Km.12 de la carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, San Cayetano 50200, México. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Carretera México-Toluca S/N, La Marquesa Ocoyoacac 52750, México.
A Thesaurus Construction Method from Large ScaleWeb Dictionaries

Web-based dictionaries, such as Wikipedia, have become dramatically popular among the Internet users in past several years. The important characteristic of Web-based dictionary is not only the huge amount of articles, but also hyperlinks. Hyperlinks have various information more than just providing transfer function between pages. In this paper, we propose an efficient method to analyze the link structure of Web-based dictionaries to construct an association thesaurus. We have already applied it to Wikipedia, a huge scale Web-based dictionary which has a dense link structure, as a corpus. We developed a search engine for evaluation, then conducted a number of experiments to compare our method with other traditional methods such as cooccurrence analysis.
A distributed MPPT control for a hybrid centralized-distributed TEG power generation system

The hybrid centralized-distributed (HCD) thermoelectric generator (TEG) system can solve the unmatched maximum power point (MPP) between the series-connected TEG modules and achieve the maximum efficiency of power generation system. This paper proposes a distributed maximum power point tracking (MPPT) used in HCD TEG. By controlling the output currents of the TEG modules, the input currents of the centralized units are equal to the minimum current of the TEG modules at MPP and the input currents of the distributed units are equal to the difference between the current of the each TEG module at MPP and the input current of the centralized unit, which can decouple the MPPT control between each module. The system can track the MPP of each module fast, accurately and stably, and let each TEG module operate at its MPP. We set up the experimental system that is a four-module HCD TEG power generation system. The experimental results prove that the distributed MPPT control method is realizable.
Determination of ripeness and grading of tomato using image analysis on Raspberry Pi

Fruits and vegetables market is subject of choice. Thus, it is important for the suppliers to label the quality of goods before dealing out. Some commercially available fruit sorting and grading system have been introduced, but they are almost expensive for small and medium fruit processing industry. Presently, human experts grade the agriculture goods based on its vision based features that cause the inaccuracy, inconsistency and inefficiency on defining the quality of agriculture goods. In this paper, we are inspecting the quality of tomato based on shape, size and degree of ripeness. An edge detection algorithm is used to estimate the shape and size of tomato and color detecting algorithm is used for the ripeness determination. All these algorithms are implemented on Raspberry Pi development board which will become independent and cost effective system. Our system includes Raspberry Pi development board, conveyor belt, motors, Pi camera. All the interfacing of the above devices will be carried out and will make a cost effective embedded system for the determination of shape, size and degree of ripeness of tomato. Same system can be utilized for other fruits and vegetables also.
Minimizing mobility and communication energy in robotic networks: An optimal control approach

This paper concerns the problem of minimizing the sum of motion energy and communication energy in a network of mobile robots. The robotic network is charged with the task of transmitting sensor information from a given object to a remote station, and it has to arrange itself in a serial (tandem) configuration for point-to-point transmission, where each robot acts as a relay node. The problem is formulated in a dynamic setting where the robots move and communicate at the same time, and it is cast in the framework of optimal control. The paper proposes an effective algorithm for solving this problem and demonstrates its efficacy on a simulation example. In order to highlight the salient features of the algorithm the network is assumed to be one-dimensional, and the case of planar movement with obstacles is deferred to future research.
Netnews Bursty Hot Topic Detection Based on Bursty Features

Nowadays, Netnews has become one of the most important channels for people to obtain information. The capacity for people to assimilate such vast amounts of information is limited. How to quickly and completely learn about the news of specific time turns into an urgent need. This paper proposes a method of bursty hot topic detection based on bursty feature. Firstly, determine the bursty features during a given time period based on term frequency, and cluster similar news stories together according to the content similarity and time decaying function to get the potential topic list, and then determine the final bursty hot topics based on bursty features. This method greatly reduces the complexity of the algorithm, improves efficiency, but also ensures the accuracy of bursty hot topic detection.
What is (Comparative) Philosophy?

One of the many questions that have taxed the minds of professional philosophers over the years has concerned the nature and dimensions of the philosophical enterprise itself. Many of the great philosophers have asked the question, ‘What is Philosophy? ’ This is itself a philosophical question, and a difficult one, which causes much excitement and disagreement within the academy and beyond. Given the political, economic, and institutional pressures under which the discipline finds itself today, this question is just as powerful and pertinent as it has ever been. Rather than focussing on the responses to this question that have been most influential in the formation of the modern, professional discipline, such as those by Plato, Hegel, Wittgenstein or Derrida, the challenge that I’d like to discuss in this short note is of a different kind; it is the challenge posed by the existence of a world outside of Europe and America. The publication of Robert Smid’s recent book provides the occasion for this brief consideration. An immediate dilemma for the ‘rest’ of the planet is that, according to professional philosophical conventions, it seems to have existed without philosophy for most of human history. Of course, this is also a rather serious blow to the claims of philosophers that their enterprise is in someway important or even essential to human wellbeing; if most of humanity has done so well without it for most of its existence, then the value of philosophy for our health and happiness seems deeply dubious. Nevertheless, the process of professionalizing philosophy in the academy in the twentieth century has seen an increasingly disciplined focus on the task of making technical advances within or emerging from established traditions with relatively coherent canons of (European and American) texts.1 This appears to
The influence of individualism and uncertainty avoidance on per capita gambling turnover

This exploratory study examined the effect of culture on per capita gross casino and lottery gambling turnover in a country-level analysis. Employing Hofstede's individualism and uncertainty avoidance, this study found that culture could provide some explanations why international gaming jurisdictions differed in their per capita gambling turnover. Individualism was found to be positively correlated with per capita casino gambling turnover, while uncertainty avoidance was negatively correlated with per capita lottery gambling turnover. The results from this study would help businesses and governments to better identify, monitor and anticipate gambling level across regions of diverse culture.
Differences in Perceptual-Motor Measures in Children with Good and Poor Handwriting

The concept that handwriting is primarily a perceptual-motor act is held by various authors (Chapman & Wedell, 1972; Furner, 1969; Sovick, 1975; Ziviani, Hayes, & Chant, 1990). However, the assumption that poor handwriters would perform less well than good handwriters on perceptual-motor tests has not yet been well researched. The purpose of this study was to examine this assumption as well as the relationship of perceptual-motor abilities to the legibility of handwriting. One hundred forty-three Chinese children in grades 3 through 5 served as subjects. Perceptual-motor tests that measured the abilities proposed to be subskills of handwriting were administered along with a handwriting test. Results showed that poor handwriters scored more poorly than good handwriters on most of the perceptual-motor tests. Regression analysis revealed that among the perceptual-motor measures visual-motor integration, as measured by the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, and eye-hand coordination, as measured by the Motor Accuracy Test, contributed most to the legibility of handwriting for the total group of handwriters. However, for poor handwriters, results of a stepwise regression analysis revealed that motor planning, as measured by the Finger Position Imitation Test, contributed the most to the legibility of handwriting. In contrast, for good handwriters, visual perception, as measured by the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills, contributed most to the legibility of handwriting.
Methylprednisolone Protects Oligodendrocytes But Not Neurons after Spinal Cord Injury

Methylprednisolone (MP) is used to treat a variety of neurological disorders involving white matter injury, including multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and spinal cord injury (SCI). Although its mechanism of action has been attributed to anti-inflammatory or antioxidant properties, we examined the possibility that MP may have direct neuroprotective activities. Neurons and oligodendrocytes treated with AMPA or staurosporine died within 24 h after treatment. MP attenuated oligodendrocyte death in a dose-dependent manner; however, neurons were not rescued by the same doses of MP. This protective effect was reversed by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist (11, 17)-11-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-17-hydroxy-17-(1-propynyl)estra-4,9-dien-3-one (RU486) and small interfering RNA directed against GR, suggesting a receptor-dependent mechanism. MP reversed AMPA-induced decreases in the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL, caspase-3 activation, and DNA laddering, suggesting anti-apoptotic activity in oligodendrocytes. To examine whether MP demonstrated this selective protection in vivo, neuronal and oligodendrocyte survival was assessed in rats subjected to spinal cord injury (SCI); groups of rats were treated with or without MP in the presence or absence of RU486. Eight days after SCI, MP significantly increased oligodendrocytes (CC-1-immunoreactive cells) after SCI, but neuronal (neuronal-specific nuclear protein-immunoreactive cells) number remained unchanged; RU486 reversed this protective effect. MP also inhibited SCI-induced decreases in Bcl-xL and caspase-3 activation. Consistent with these findings, the volume of demyelination, assessed by Luxol fast blue staining, was attenuated by MP and reversed by RU486. These results suggest that MP selectively inhibits oligodendrocyte but not neuronal cell death via a receptor-mediated action and may be a mechanism for its limited protective effect after SCI.
Understanding Health Disparities and Inequities Faced by Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

Background There is an increasing interest in the notion of health disparities, inequities and inequalities in Canada and elsewhere. In Canada, individuals with disabilities represent one of six groups identified as particularly vulnerable to health disparities. Method This paper combines the literature related to the concepts of inequity and inequality with the body of knowledge on health disparities faced by individuals with intellectual disabilities. Results The value of distinguishing inequity from inequality, particularly as it relates to the experience of individuals with intellectual disabilities, is highlighted. Conclusions A framework for the study of health inequities based on intellectual impairment is proposed.
Generation of Synthetic Floating-Point benchmark circuits

Synthetic Floating-Point (SFP), a synthetic benchmark generator program for floating-point circuits is presented. SFP consists of two independent modules for characterisation and generation. The characterisation module extracts key dataflow statistics of an arbitrary software program. Generation involves producing randomised circuits with desired statistics which are either the output of the characterisation module or directly generated by the user. Using the basic linear algebra subprograms (BLAS) library, Whetstone benchmark and LINPACK benchmark, it is demonstrated that SFP can be used to generate floating-point benchmarks with different user-specified properties as well as benchmarks that mimic real computational programs.
Diverse Firewall Design

Firewalls are the mainstay of enterprise security and the most widely adopted technology for protecting private networks. An error in a firewall policy either creates security holes that will allow malicious traffic to sneak into a private network or blocks legitimate traffic and disrupts normal business processes, which in turn could lead to irreparable, if not tragic, consequences. It has been observed that most firewall policies on the Internet are poorly designed and have many errors. Therefore, how to design firewall policies correctly is an important issue. In this paper, we propose the method of diverse firewall design, which consists of three phases: a design phase, a comparison phase, and a resolution phase. In the design phase, the same requirement specification of a firewall policy is given to multiple teams who proceed independently to design different versions of the firewall policy. In the comparison phase, the resulting multiple versions are compared with each other to detect all functional discrepancies between them. In the resolution phase, all discrepancies are resolved and a firewall that is agreed upon by all teams is generated.
A trace abstraction approach for host-based anomaly detection

High false alarm rates and execution times are among the key issues in host-based anomaly detection systems. In this paper, we investigate the use of trace abstraction techniques for reducing the execution time of anomaly detectors while keeping the same accuracy. The key idea is to represent system call traces as traces of kernel module interactions and use the resulting abstract traces as input to known anomaly detection techniques, such as STIDE (the Sequence Time-Delay Embedding) and HMM (Hidden Markov Models). We performed experiments on three datasets, namely, the traditional UNM dataset as well as two modern datasets, Firefox and ADFA-LD. The results show that kernel module traces can lead to similar or fewer false alarms and considerably smaller execution times compared to raw system call traces for host-based anomaly detection systems.
Intrinsic Stability of Temporally Shifted Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity

Spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP), a widespread synaptic modification mechanism, is sensitive to correlations between presynaptic spike trains and it generates competition among synapses. However, STDP has an inherent instability because strong synapses are more likely to be strengthened than weak ones, causing them to grow in strength until some biophysical limit is reached. Through simulations and analytic calculations, we show that a small temporal shift in the STDP window that causes synchronous, or nearly synchronous, pre- and postsynaptic action potentials to induce long-term depression can stabilize synaptic strengths. Shifted STDP also stabilizes the postsynaptic firing rate and can implement both Hebbian and anti-Hebbian forms of competitive synaptic plasticity. Interestingly, the overall level of inhibition determines whether plasticity is Hebbian or anti-Hebbian. Even a random symmetric jitter of a few milliseconds in the STDP window can stabilize synaptic strengths while retaining these features. The same results hold for a shifted version of the more recent “triplet” model of STDP. Our results indicate that the detailed shape of the STDP window function near the transition from depression to potentiation is of the utmost importance in determining the consequences of STDP, suggesting that this region warrants further experimental study.
D-Model: A New Perspective for Modeling Radio Signal Propagation in Indoor Environment

There are different approaches towards estimating the signal strength in indoor environment, which includes models such as empirical and deterministic models. Empirical Models are simple but less accurate whereas deterministic models have more accuracy but much more complex. In this paper we have identified some limitations of the most widely used empirical model i.e. 'Wall Attenuation Model' and presented a new empirical model called 'D-Model' to reduce the errors in earlier empirical models. D-model proposed that a single wall do not always attenuate the signal with constant dB loss but it varies with the distance of transmitter as well. D-model considers the wall not as a constant attenuation element but as an increase in the transmitter to receiver distance with a factor called 'D-factor'. We proved that D-model gives much more accurate signal strength estimations as compared to Wall Attenuation Model.
Burnout and inequity among human service professionals: a longitudinal study.

In a composite sample of human service professionals (N = 245), longitudinal relations across 1 year were tested between equity in the professional-recipient relationship and burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment). The 1st research question was whether inequity influenced burnout across time. The 2nd research question was whether longitudinal relations between equity and burnout were curvilinear, as predicted by equity theory. The results confirmed that inequity affects the central component of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion) and that this relation is curvilinear. Feeling more deprived and feeling more advantaged resulted in higher future emotional exhaustion levels. No indication was found for a longitudinal relation between inequity and depersonalization. A synchronous relation was found suggesting that personal accomplishment influences equity.