Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iterated Expectations and Common Priors

A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a common prior for several players is given in terms of the players' present beliefs only. A common prior exists, if for each random variable it is common knowledge that all its iterated expectations converge to the same value; this value is its expectation with respect to the common prior. The proof is based on the presentation of type functions as Markov matrices.
Space complexity of hierarchical heavy hitters in multi-dimensional data streams

Heavy hitters, which are items occurring with frequency above a given threshold, are an important aggregation and summary tool when processing data streams or data warehouses. Hierarchical heavy hitters (HHHs) have been introduced as a natural generalization for hierarchical data domains, including multi-dimensional data. An item x in a hierarchy is called a φ-HHH if its frequency after discounting the frequencies of all its descendant hierarchical heavy hitters exceeds φn, where φ is a user-specified parameter and n is the size of the data set. Recently, single-pass schemes have been proposed for computing φ-HHHs using space roughly O(1/φ log(φn)). The frequency estimates of these algorithms, however, hold only for the total frequencies of items, and not the discounted frequencies; this leads to false positives because the discounted frequency can be significantly smaller than the total frequency. This paper attempts to explain the difficulty of finding hierarchical heavy hitters with better accuracy. We show that a single-pass deterministic scheme that computes φ-HHHs in a d-dimensional hierarchy with any approximation guarantee must use Ω(1/φd+1) space. This bound is tight: in fact, we present a data stream algorithm that can report the φ-HHHs without false positives in O(1/φd+1) space.
Noting Anomalies in Streams of Symbolic Predicates Using A-Distance

The MIDCA cognitive architecture has at its core a process sequence consisting of three phases. They are to note an anomaly, to assess what causes the anomaly, and then to guide a response to the anomaly. Here we present a novel approach to the first phase and discuss implications for the second. Our method detects a shift in streams of symbolic data that signal an anomaly and trigger in-depth understanding of the input. The approach uses a metric called the A-distance, normally used to detect shifts in distributions underlying numeric data. Instead, using a novel plan representation, we apply this metric to streams of changing predicates in various environments. Empirical results show that over a range of circumstances we are able to detect changes in the underlying domain. We suggest that these results apply to metacognitive as well as to cognitive processing.
O Efficient Data Abstraction Using Weighted IB 2 Prototypes

Data reduction techniques improve the efficiency of k-Nearest Neighbour classification on large datasets since they accelerate the classification process and reduce storage requirements for the training data. IB2 is an effective prototype selection data reduction technique. It selects some items from the initial training dataset and uses them as representatives (prototypes). Contrary to many other techniques, IB2 is a very fast, one-pass method that builds its reduced (condensing) set in an incremental manner. New training data can update the condensing set without the need of the “old” removed items. This paper proposes a variation of IB2, that generates new prototypes instead of selecting them. The variation is called AIB2 and attempts to improve the efficiency of IB2 by positioning the prototypes in the center of the data areas they represent. The empirical experimental study conducted in the present work as well as the Wilcoxon signed ranks test show that AIB2 performs better than IB2.
Design of a Resonant Microwave Absorber

The microwave absorbers are extensively applied in many military and civilian applications for stealth, camouflage, radar cross section (RCS) reduction, and improvement purpose of the inroom EM wave environment in anechoic chambers and indoor wireless LAN area. Although the absorbers can be categorized to many types, it is well known that more useful device in those areas is the resonant type microwave absorber such as Salisbury screen [1]. Salisbury screen, which represents one of the simplest planar types of resonant absorbers, consists of a resistive screen located a quarter-wavelength above a conducting surface, separated by a dielectric spacer. Hence, it is thick. Several practical structures for enhancing the main disadvantage of Salisbury screen have been proposed [2]-[3]. The method is to utilize periodic structures such as Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) [4] or EBG (Electromagnetic Bandgap) [5]-[6]. In this paper, we propose new designs of broadband resonant microwave absorber using a periodic structure. The simulated and measured results for the absorber structure are presented to verify the function as a broadband absorber, and based on the examination, more improved absorber structure is also proposed below.
THE ANTI-DE SITTER GOTT UNIVERSE : A ROTATING BTZ WORMHOLE

Recently, it has been shown that a (2 + 1)-dimensional black hole can be created by the collapse of two colliding massless particles in an otherwise empty anti-de Sitter space. Here we generalize this construction to the case of a non-zero impact parameter. The resulting spacetime, which may be regarded as a Gott universe in an anti-de Sitter background, contains closed timelike curves. By treating these as singular we are able to interpret our solution as a rotating black hole, hence providing a link between the Gott universe and the BTZ black hole. When analysing the spacetime we see how the full causal structure of the interior can be almost completely inferred just from considerations of the conformal boundary.
Regenerative Simulation for Queueing Networks with Exponential or Heavier Tail Arrival Distributions

Multiclass open queueing networks find wide applications in communication, computer, and fabrication networks. Steady-state performance measures associated with these networks is often a topic of interset. Conceptually, under mild conditions, a sequence of regeneration times exists in multiclass networks, making them amenable to regenerative simulation for estimating steady-state performance measures. However, typically, identification of such a sequence in these networks is difficult. A well-known exception is when all interarrival times are exponentially distributed, where the instants corresponding to customer arrivals to an empty network constitute a sequence of regeneration times. In this article, we consider networks in which the interarrival times are generally distributed but have exponential or heavier tails. We show that these distributions can be decomposed into a mixture of sums of independent random variables such that at least one of the components is exponentially distributed. This allows an easily implementable embedded sequence of regeneration times in the underlying Markov process. We show that among all such interarrival time decompositions, the one with an exponential component that has the largest mean minimizes the asymptotic variance of the standard deviation estimator. We also show that under mild conditions on the network primitives, the regenerative mean and standard deviation estimators are consistent and satisfy a joint central limit theorem useful for constructing asymptotically valid confidence intervals.
Stressed nanomechanical resonator fabrication utilizing stiction phenomena

A simple fabrication method of stressed nanomechanical resonators utilizing stiction phenomena was proposed. Two parallel beams of 50 μm long, 120 nm wide, and 65 nm thick were fabricated with a wet etching process, and then the beams stuck to each other during drying and formed a stiction resonator. The stiction resonators were under a tensile stress state owing to the deformation of the beams. Vibration characteristics of the stiction resonators were experimentally evaluated with a measurement technique utilizing an electron beam. Higher resonant frequencies and Q-factors were obtained from the stiction resonators of the larger deformation. The evaluation result revealed the presence of the tensile stress in the resonators. The stress state of the stiction resonators was theoretically analyzed. Also, numerical analyses of the stiction resonators with a finite element method were conducted. From the analyses, the tensile stress applied to the stiction resonators was calculated to be up to 300 MPa.
Coding Achieves the Optimal Delay-Throughput Trade-offs in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks: A Hybrid Random Walk Model with Fast Mobiles

—The delay-throughput trade-off of a mobile wireless network under the two-dimensional i.i. d mobility model has been investigated in [14], where we showed that the optimal trade-off can be achieved using rate-less codes. In this paper, we extend the result to a hybrid random walk model with fast mobiles. We ﬁrst prove that the maximum throughput per source-destination (S-D) pair is O ( p D / n ) when S = o ( 1 ) and D = w ( | log S | / S 2 ) , and then propose a joint coding-scheduling scheme to achieve the maximum throughput when S = o ( 1 ) and D is both w ( max { ( log 2 n ) | log S | / S 6 , 3 √ n log n } ) and o ( n / log 2 n ) , where n is the number of mobile nodes and S is the step size of the hybrid random walk.
Functional Activity of Monocytes and Macrophages in HTLV-1 Infected Subjects

The Human T lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) infects predominantly T cells, inducing proliferation and lymphocyte activation. Additionally, HTLV-1 infected subjects are more susceptible to other infections caused by other intracellular agents. Monocytes/macrophages are important cells in the defense against intracellular pathogens. Our aims were to determine the frequency of monocytes subsets, expression of co-stimulatory molecules in these cells and to evaluate microbicidal ability and cytokine and chemokine production by macrophages from HTLV-1 infected subjects. Participants were 23 HTLV-1 carriers (HC), 22 HAM/TSP patients and 22 healthy subjects (HS) not infected with HTLV-1. The frequencies of monocyte subsets and expression of co-stimulatory molecules were determined by flow cytometry. Macrophages were infected with L. braziliensis or stimulated with LPS. Microbicidal activity of macrophages was determined by optic microscopy. Cytokines/chemokines from macrophage supernatants were measured by ELISA. HAM/TSP patients showed an increase frequency of intermediate monocytes, but expression of co-stimulatory molecules was similar between the groups. Macrophages from HTLV-1 infected individuals were infected with L. braziliensis at the same ratio than macrophages from HS, and all the groups had the same ability to kill Leishmania parasites. However, macrophages from HTLV-1 infected subjects produced more CXCL9 and CCL5, and less IL-10 than cells from HS. While there was no correlation between IFN-γ and cytokine/chemokine production by macrophages, there was a correlation between proviral load and TNF and CXCL10. These data showed a dissociation between the inflammatory response and microbicidal ability of macrophages from HTLV-1 infected subjects. While macrophages ability to kill an intracellular pathogen did not differ among HTLV-1 infected subjects, these cells secreted high amount of chemokines even in unstimulated cultures. Moreover the increasing inflammatory activity of macrophages was similar in HAM/TSP patients and HC and it was related to HTLV-1 proviral load rather than the high IFN-γ production observed in these subjects.
Variability, Instabilities, and Eddies in a Snowball Ocean

AbstractOceanic variability and eddy dynamics during snowball Earth events, under a kilometer of ice and driven by a very weak geothermal heat flux, are studied using a high-resolution sector model centered at the equator, where previous studies have shown the ocean circulation to be most prominent. The solution is characterized by an energetic eddy field, equatorward-propagating zonal jets, and a strongly variable equatorial meridional overturning circulation (EMOC), on the order of tens of Sverdrups (Sv; 1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1), restricted to be very close to the equator. The ocean is well mixed vertically by convective mixing, and horizontal mixing rates by currents and eddies are similar to present-day values. There are two main opposite-sign zonal jets near the equator that are not eddy driven, together with multiple secondary eddy-driven jets off the equator. Barotropic stability analyses, the Lorenz energy cycle (LEC), and barotropic-to-baroclinic energy conversion rates together indicate that both baro.
Selective Ablation of Proliferating Microglial Cells Exacerbates Ischemic Injury in the Brain

Here we report in vivo evidence of a neuroprotective role of proliferating microglial cells in cerebral ischemia. Using transgenic mice expressing a mutant thymidine kinase form of herpes simplex virus driven by myeloid-specific CD11b promoter and ganciclovir treatment as a tool, we selectively ablated proliferating (Mac-2 positive) microglia after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. The series of experiments using green fluorescent protein-chimeric mice demonstrated that within the first 72 h after ischemic injury, the Mac-2 marker [unlike Iba1 (ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1)] was preferentially expressed by the resident microglia. Selective ablation of proliferating resident microglia was associated with a marked alteration in the temporal dynamics of proinflammatory cytokine expression, a significant increase in the size of infarction associated with a 2.7-fold increase in the number of apoptotic cells, predominantly neurons, and a 1.8-fold decrease in the levels of IGF-1. A double-immunofluorescence analysis revealed a ∼100% colocalization between IGF-1 positive cells and Mac-2, a marker of activated/proliferating resident microglia. Conversely, stimulation of microglial proliferation after cerebral ischemia by M-CSF (macrophage colony stimulating factor) resulted in a 1.9-fold increase in IGF-1 levels and a significant increase of Mac2+cells. Our findings suggest that a postischemic proliferation of the resident microglial cells may serve as an important modulator of a brain inflammatory response. More importantly, our results revealed a marked neuroprotective potential of proliferating microglia serving as an endogenous pool of neurotrophic molecules such as IGF-1, which may open new therapeutic avenues in the treatment of stroke and other neurological disorders.
INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES INVOLVING ETHICS AND JUSTICE

This article provides an introduction to the more general issues that are taken up within this theme. In particular it introduces issues dealing with fundamental matters of ethics and justice. In the first instance the matter of how ethical claims are to be justified, and related to that, how ethical disputes are to be adjudicated, is discussed. It is suggested that rational objectivity, involving among other things a commitment to looking for reasons and to giving reasons for your beliefs, is crucial. Consideration is then given to several influential views about the content of ethics; that is, the substantive values and principles that provide the content of judgments about what ethics requires. The views discussed are consequentialism, rights, and virtue ethics. While these by no means exhaust the field, they provide a good sample of the kinds of views that have dominated discussion.
A primer on incentive regulation for electric utilities

In contemplating a regulatory approach, the challenge for regulators is to develop a model that provides incentives for utilities to engage in socially desirable behavior. In this primer, we provide guidance on this process by discussing (1) various models of economic regulation, (2) problems implementing these models, and (3) the types of incentives that various models of regulation provide electric utilities. We address five regulatory models in depth. They include cost-of-service regulation in which prudently incurred costs are reflected dollar-for-dollar in rates and four performance-based models: (1) price-cap regulation, in which ceilings are placed on the average price that a utility can charge its customers; (2) revenue-cap regulation, in which a ceiling is placed on revenues; (3) rate-of-return bandwidth regulation, in which a utility`s rates are adjusted if earnings fall outside a {open_quotes}band{close_quotes} around equity returns; and (4) targeted incentives, in which a utility is given incentives to improve specific components of its operations. The primary difference between cost-of-service and performance-based approaches is the latter sever the tie between costs and prices. A sixth, {open_quotes}mixed approach{close_quotes} combines two or more of the five basic ones. In the recent past, a common mixed approach has been to combine targeted incentives with cost-of-service regulation. A common example is utilities that are subject to cost-of-service regulation are given added incentives to increase the efficiency of troubled electric-generating units.
Influence of Cold Chain Supply Logistics on the Safety of Vaccines. A Case of Pharmaceutical Distributors in Nairobi County

Supply of safe vaccines is very important and appropriate procedures, monitoring and logistics systems need to be put in place to ensure safety. The pharmaceutical supply chain have various global regulatory requirements to be met during transport ,storage, packaging and handling environmentally sensitive products like biologicals, vaccines and some medicines. This is to ensure that quality and efficacy of cold chain products is not compromised along the supply chain. Global players have regulations and guidelines that address product integrity and safety during the entire supply chain. It was therefore of importance to identify how Pharmaceutical distributors in Nairobi County have developed their cold chain supply systems and how it is able to maintain cold chain for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals considering the challenges of; Transport systems, storage facilities, packaging, technical capacity, unreliable electricity supply, weak validation systems, probable poor monitoring of cold chain supply systems. The main objective of the study was to establish the influence of supply chain logistics in supply of safe pharmaceutical cold chain products in Pharmaceutical distributor firms in Nairobi County while the specific objectives were to determine how storage conditions in pharmaceutical distributors in Nairobi influences safety of vaccines; to determine the influence of transport systems on the safety of vaccine; to evaluate the influence of Packaging on the safety of vaccines and finally establish the extent to which technical capacity influence safety of Vaccines in pharmaceutical distributors in Nairobi. Descriptive survey design was considered because it is non-experimental and studies the relationship between non-manipulated variables in a natural setting. The study was carried out in five major pharmaceutical firms out of 16 registered cold chain pharmaceutical distributors in Nairobi County. A sample size of 67 participants was selected out of a population of 211 staff from different firms consisting of the automatically included 5 supply chain managers and 62 employees from procurement and stores department. The data was collected by use of self-administered questionnaires to the sampled respondents by a drop and pick method. The questionnaires were coded and data analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS V-17). Correlation analysis was done to determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables whereby it was found that technical capacity and storage conditions have the greatest relationship and influence to the safety of vaccines. The findings were presented through figures, tables, and graphs. Keywords: Cold chain, logistics, Pharmaceuticals, Safety
Example Based Colorization Using Optimization

In this paper, we present an example-based colorization method to colorize a gray image. Besides the gray target image, the user only needs to provide a reference color image which is semantically similar to the gray image. We first segment both the target image and reference image and find correspondences at the segmentation level between these two images. The use of segmentation level can not only speed up the colorization process, but also obtain higher probability to maintain spatial coherence while doing color transfer than using independent pixel directly. Then for corresponding segments we apply pixel-wise chromatic value transfer from reference color image to target image only to the pixels with high confidence. And we use an optimization method [Levin et al. 2004] to propagate those sparse colors to the entire image. The features we use to measure the pixel confidence enable our method work well in both random scene images and images with obvious foreground and background structure. Finally, experimental results and user study on a large set of images demonstrate that our colorization method is competitive with previous state-of-the-art methods. CR Categories: I.3. 3 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism—Display Algorithms I.3. 7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism—Radiosity;
Genome-Wide Hypomethylation in Head and Neck Cancer Is More Pronounced in HPV-Negative Tumors and Is Associated with Genomic Instability

Loss of genome-wide methylation is a common feature of cancer, and the degree of hypomethylation has been correlated with genomic instability. Global methylation of repetitive elements possibly arose as a defense mechanism against parasitic DNA elements, including retrotransposons and viral pathogens. Given the alterations of global methylation in both viral infection and cancer, we examined genome-wide methylation levels in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a cancer causally associated with human papilloma virus (HPV). We assayed global hypomethylation levels in 26 HNSCC samples, compared with their matched normal adjacent tissue, using Pyrosequencing-based methylation assays for LINE repeats. In addition, we examined cell lines derived from a variety of solid tumors for LINE and SINE (Alu) repeats. The degree of LINE and Alu hypomethylation varied among different cancer cell lines. There was only moderate correlation between LINE and Alu methylation levels, with the range of variation in methylation levels being greater for the LINE elements. LINE hypomethylation was more pronounced in HPV-negative than in HPV-positive tumors. Moreover, genomic instability, as measured by genome-wide loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, was greater in HNSCC samples with more pronounced LINE hypomethylation. Global hypomethylation was variable in HNSCC. Its correlation with both HPV status and degree of LOH as a surrogate for genomic instability may reflect alternative oncogenic pathways in HPV-positive versus HPV-negative tumors.