Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Truncating Temporal Differences: On the Efficient Implementation of TD(lambda) for Reinforcement Learning

Temporal difference (TD) methods constitute a class of methods for learning predictions in multi-step prediction problems, parameterized by a recency factor λ. Currently the most important application of these methods is to temporal credit assignment in reinforcement learning. Well known reinforcement learning algorithms, such as AHC or Q-learning, may be viewed as instances of TD learning. This paper examines the issues of the efficient and general implementation of TD(λ) for arbitrary λ, for use with reinforcement learning algorithms optimizing the discounted sum of rewards. The traditional approach, based on eligibility traces, is argued to suffer from both inefficiency and lack of generality. The TTD (Truncated Temporal Differences) procedure is proposed as an alternative, that indeed only approximates TD(λ), but requires very little computation per action and can be used with arbitrary function representation methods. The idea from which it is derived is fairly simple and not new, but probably unexplored so far. Encouraging experimental results are presented, suggesting that using λ > 0 with the TTD procedure allows one to obtain a significant learning speedup at essentially the same cost as usual TD(0) learning.
Bias Correction in Saupe Tensor Estimation

Estimation of the Saupe tensor is central to the determination of molecular structures from residual dipolar couplings (RDC) or chemical shift anisotropies. Assuming a given template structure, the singular value decomposition (SVD) method proposed in Losonczi et al. 1999 has been used traditionally to estimate the Saupe tensor. Despite its simplicity, whenever the template structure has large structural noise, the eigenvalues of the estimated tensor have a magnitude systematically smaller than their actual values. This leads to systematic error when calculating the eigenvalue dependent parameters, magnitude and rhombicity. We propose here a Monte Carlo simulation method to remove such bias. We further demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in the setting when the eigenvalue estimates from multiple template protein fragments are available and their average is used as an improved eigenvalue estimator. For both synthetic and experimental RDC datasets of ubiquitin, when using template fragments corrupted by large noise, the magnitude of our proposed bias-reduced estimator generally reaches at least 90% of the actual value, whereas the magnitude of SVD estimator can be shrunk below 80% of the true value.
Robust Automotive Suspension Design Using Adaptive Response Surface Based Multi-Objective Optimization

Deterministic optimization is used in all fields of engineering, especially in early design processes based on digital prototypes and simulation. A major disadvantage of deterministic optimization is the unknown robustness of the found solution against uncertainties of system parameters. Therefore, the Robust Design Optimization (RDO) concept as combination of Robustness Analysis (RA) and deterministic optimization was developed. In this paper, such an approach is applied to the optimization of a suspension for passenger cars w.r. t. typical driving maneuvers. The suspension behavior has to be robust against uncertainties without defining strict limits or safety margins. The coupled multi-objective RDO procedure will find a Pareto-front w.r. t. mean value and variance of chosen objectives. As a result, a specific compromise regarding system robustness and mean performance may be chosen from this Pareto-set. To overcome the vast amount of CPU-time, required for expensive direct function evaluations, an adaptive response surface method (aRSM) is integrated. The overall process then consists of an inner loop involving a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on response surfaces and an outer loop, where metamodeling is performed on a set of support points. This set is initialized in the first iteration step and updated afterwards by picking promising designs from the Pareto-fronts of the surrogate model, which are then evaluated exactly.
MCP Revisited

MCP (Modified Critical-Path) algorithm [1] schedules Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) with communication costs onto a bounded number of processors. It is one of the six most popular algorithms in this category and performs the best among them [2]. MCP has many implementations during the last decade, while most of them did not implement it efficiently. In this paper, we present the methods to reduce the complexity of MCP. A detailed algorithm of MCP is provided along with a complexity analysis. Variety of the standard MCP implementation is also discussed. This algorithm implementation may be used as a basis for comparison of newly invented algorithms in terms of schedule length, complexity, and running time.
Dehazing image using analytical model and color attenuation prior

Haze removing from a single image is a very difficult problem. Haze is fashioned because of the two essential phenomena which might be attenuation and the air light. Attenuation decrease contrast and air light increase more light inside the region. We use color attenuation prior for dehazing single hazy image. We divide image into small sized patches. Here we discuss atmospheric scattering model, transmission map and patch size also. In this proposed work, we work around two techniques one is fusion based strategies and second is balanced depth map approach. In both techniques, we calculate depth map of hazy image. For calculating the comparison between both techniques we discuss various parameters like Mean square error (MSE), peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM) and computational time which show which technique is best. In last section of work, we discuss our result and discuss its shortcoming and future scope of my research process.
Evolving intelligent vehicle control using multi-objective NEAT

The research in this paper is inspired by a vision of intelligent vehicles that autonomously move along motorways: they join and leave trains of vehicles (platoons), overtake other vehicles, etc. We propose a multi-objective algorithm based on NEAT and SPEA2 that evolves controllers for such intelligent vehicles. The algorithm yields a set of solutions that embody their own prioritisation of various user requirements such as speed, comfort or fuel economy. This contrasts with most current research into such controllers, where the user preferences are summarised in a single number that the controller development process should optimise. Having multiple prioritisations of preferences would, however, allow the user to select desired vehicle behaviour in real time, for instance fast driving if she's in a hurry or economical driving in more relaxed circumstances. Preliminary results of our experiments show that evolved controllers substantially outperform the human behavioural model. We show that it is possible to evolve a set of vehicle controllers that correspond to different prioritisations of user preferences, giving the driver, on the road, the power to decide which preferences to emphasise.
Stability of a coupled body–vortex system

This paper considers the dynamics of a rigid body interacting with point vortices in a perfect fluid. The fluid velocity is obtained using the classical complex variables theory and conformal transformations. The equations of motion of the solid–fluid system are formulated in terms of the solid variables and the position of the point vortices only. These equations are applied to study the dynamic interaction of an elliptic cylinder with vortex pairs because of its relevance to understanding the swimming of fish in an ambient vorticity field. Two families of relative equilibria are found: moving Föppl equilibria; and equilibria along the ellipse's axis of symmetry (the axis perpendicular to the direction of motion). The two families of relative equilibria are similar to those present in the classical problem of flow past a fixed body, but their stability differs significantly from the classical ones.
GigE vision data acquisition for visual servoing using SG/DMA proxying

In many domains such as robotics and industrial automation, a growing number of Control Applications utilize cameras as a sensor. Such Visual Servoing Systems increasingly rely on Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) as a communication backbone and require real-time execution. The implementation on small, low-power embedded platforms suitable for the respective domain is challenging in terms of both computation and communication. Whilst advances in CPU and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology enable the implementation of computationally heavier Image Processing Pipelines, the interface between such platforms and an Ethernet-based communication backbone still requires careful design to achieve fast and deterministic Image Acquisition. Although standardized Ethernet-based camera protocols such as GigE Vision unify camera configuration and data transmission, traditional software-based Image Acquisition is insufficient on small, low-power embedded platforms due to tight throughput and latency constraints and the overhead caused by decoding such multi-layered protocols. In this paper, we propose Scatter-Gather Direct Memory Access (SG/DMA) Proxying as a generic method to seamlessly extend the existing network subsystem of current Systemson- Chip (SoCs) with hardware-based filtering capabilities. Based thereon, we present a novel mixed-hardcore/softcore GigE Vision Framegrabber capable of directly feeding a subsequent in-stream Image Processing Pipeline with sub-microsecond acquisition latency. By rerouting all incoming Ethernet frames to our GigE Vision Bridge using SG/DMA Proxying, we are able to separate image and non-image data with zero CPU and memory intervention and perform Image Acquisition at full line rate of Gigabit Ethernet (i.e., 125 Mpx/s for grayscale video). Our experimental evaluation shows the benefits of our proposed architecture on a Programmable SoC (pSoC) that combines a fixed-function multi-core SoC with configurable FPGA fabric.
HIV-Derived Lentiviral Vectors: Current Progress toward Gene Therapy and DNA Vaccination

Lentiviral vectors are promising gene delivery tools capable of transducing a variety of dividing and non-dividing cells, including pluripotent stem cells which are refractory for transduction by murine retroviruses. Although there is a growing debate on the safety of lentiviral vectors for gene transfer, in particular for those derived from human immunodeficiency viruses, type one (HIV-1) and type two (HIV-2), these vectors are envisioned to possess several advantages. Importantly, they can be utilized not only for transducing specific target cells or for in vivo gene therapy of HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), but also in a pseudotype recombinant form can be used for different target cells including neurological and cancer cells. For HIV-2, the most compelling advantages are: (i) its reduced ability to recombine with resident HIV-1 genome; (ii) its ability to induce in recipients antibodies which can be distinguished from host immune response to HIV-1; (iii) HIV-2 is apparently less pathogenic; and (iv) may downregulate HIV-1 expression. This review will summarize new developments on HIV-1 vectors, while focusing on alternate strategies toward developing HIV-2-based vectors. Iran. Biomed. J. 2: 95-103, 1998
Decrease of Intracellular Chloride Concentration Promotes Endothelial Cell Inflammation by Activating Nuclear Factor-&kgr;B Pathway

Recent evidence suggested that ClC-3 channel/antiporter is involved in regulation of nuclear factor (NF)-&kgr;B activation. However, the mechanism explaining how ClC-3 modulates NF-&kgr;B signaling is not well understood. We hypothesized that ClC-3-dependent alteration of intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl−]i) underlies the effect of ClC-3 on NF-&kgr;B activity in endothelial cells. Here, we found that reduction of [Cl−]i increased tumor necrosis factor-&agr; (TNF&agr;)-induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells (P<0.05; n=6). In Cl− reduced solutions, TNF&agr;-evoked I&kgr;B kinase complex &bgr; and inhibitors of &kgr;B&agr; phosphorylation, inhibitors of &kgr;B&agr; degradation, and NF-&kgr;B nuclear translocation were enhanced. In addition, TNF&agr; and interleukin 1&bgr; could activate an outward rectifying Cl− current in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and mouse aortic endothelial cells. Knockdown or genetic deletion of ClC-3 inhibited or abolished this Cl− conductance. Moreover, Cl− channel blockers, ClC-3 knockdown or knockout remarkably reduced TNF&agr;-induced intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1expression, monocytes to endothelial cell adhesion, and NF-&kgr;B activation (P<0.01; n=6). Furthermore, TNF&agr;-induced vascular inflammation and neutrophil infiltration into the lung and liver were obviously attenuated in ClC-3 knockout mice (P<0.01; n=7). Our results demonstrated that decrease of [Cl−]i induced by ClC-3-dependent Cl− efflux promotes NF-&kgr;B activation and thus potentiates TNF&agr;-induced vascular inflammation, suggesting that inhibition of ClC-3-dependent Cl− current or modification of intracellular Cl− content may be a novel therapeutic approach for inflammatory diseases.
Design of new photodiode standards for use in the MISR in-flight calibrator

The Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) is to be launched in 1998 as part of NASA's Earth Observing System. The 3% (1/spl sigma/) absolute radiometric calibration requirement for this instrument is considered challenging, particularly since it must be maintained through the five-year mission life. To meet this specification MISR will rely on detector-based calibration techniques, which are primarily founded on High Quantum Efficiency (HQE) detector technology. Filtered HQE photodiodes will be used to characterize solar-reflected light from a diffuse calibration target during the mission. In addition, radiation-hard photodiodes, which have an extended lifetime over the HQE detectors, will be utilized as part of the on-board calibrator. To date, flight photodiodes and filters have been fabricated, along with components of the photodiode flight package, and the photodiodes have undergone performance and stability testing. This paper gives a status report on these new in-flight photodiode standards, with primary emphasis on the photodiode performance measurements taken to date. <<ETX>>
Entropy scaling in galaxy clusters: Insights from an XMM-Newton observation of the poor cluster A1983

An XMM-Newton observation of the cool (kT = 2.1 keV) cluster A1983, at z = 0.044, is presented. Gas density and temperature profiles are calculated over the radial range up to 500 h −1 50 kpc, corresponding to ∼0.35 r200. The outer regions of the surface brightness profile are well described with a β-model with β = 0.74, but the central regions require the introduction of a second component. The temperature profile is flat at the exterior with a slight dip towards the centre. The total mass profile, calculated from the temperature and density information assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, is consistent with an NFW profile, but with a low concentration parameter c = 3.75 ± 0.74, which may be due to the cluster not being totally relaxed. Published optical data are used to calculate the M/LB ratio profile and the overall iron mass over luminosity ratio. The M/LB ratio profile shows that, at large scale, light traces mass to a reasonable extent, and the M/LB ratio at 0.35r200 (M/LB = 135 ± 45h50 M� /L� ) is consistent with the trends with mass observed in the optical. The iron mass over luminosity ratio is about two times less than that observed for a cluster at 5 keV. The gas mass fraction rises rapidly in the central regions to level off quickly at ∼200 h −1 50 kpc; the value at 0.35 r200 is ∼8%. The scaling properties of the emission measure profile are consistent with the empirical relation Mgas ∝ T 1.94 ; use of the standard self-similar relation Mgas ∝ T 1.5 results in a scaled profile that is a factor of about two too low as compared to the reference mean profile for hot clusters. Comparison of the entropy profile of this cool cluster with that of the hot cluster A1413 shows that the two profiles are extremely well scaled using the empirically determined relation S ∝ T 0.65 , suggesting that the slope of the S -T relation is shallower than expected in the standard self-similar model. The form of the two entropy profiles is remarkably similar, and there is no sign of a larger isentropic core in the cooler cluster. These data provide powerful agruments against preheating models. In turn, there is now increasing observational support for a trend of fgas with system mass, which may go some way towards explaining the observed scaling behaviour.
Effect of recombinant human gamma interferon on intracellular activities of antibiotics against Listeria monocytogenes in the human macrophage cell line THP-1

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen which enters cells by endocytosis and reaches phagolysosomes from where it escapes and multiplies in the cytosol of untreated cells. Exposure of macrophages to gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) restricts L. monocytogenes to phagosomes and prevents its intracellular multiplication. We have tested whether IFN-gamma also modulates the susceptibility of L. monocytogenes to antibiotics. We selected drugs from three different classes displaying marked properties concerning their cellular accumulation and subcellular distribution, namely, ampicillin (not accumulated by cells but present in cytosol), azithromycin (largely accumulated by cells but mostly restricted to lysosomes), and sparfloxacin (accumulated to a fair extent but detected only in cytosol). We used a continuous line of myelomonocytic cells (THP-1 macrophages), which display specific surface receptors for IFN-gamma, and examined the activity of these antibiotics against L. monocytogenes Hly+ (virulent variant) and L. monocytogenes Hly- (a nonvirulent variant defective in hemolysin production). Untreated THP-1 and phorbol myristate acetate-differentiated THP-1 were permissive for infection and multiplication of intracellular L. monocytogenes Hly+ (virulent variant). All three antibiotics tested were bactericidal against this Listeria strain when added to an extracellular concentration of 10x their MIC. After preexposure of THP-1 to IFN-gamma, L. monocytogenes Hly+ was still phagocytosed but no longer grew intracellularly. The activity of ampicillin became almost undetectable (antagonistic effect), and that of azithromycin was unchanged (additive effect with that of IFN-gamma), whereas that of sparfloxacin was markedly enhanced (synergy). A similar behavior (lack of bacterial growth, associated with a loss of activity of ampicillin, an enhanced activity of sparfloxacin, and unchanged activity of azithromycin) was observed in cells infected with L. monocytogenes Hly-. This modulation of antibiotic activity, which we ascribe to the change of subcellular localization of L. monocytogenes caused by IFN-gamma or by the lack of virulence factor, could result from a change in bacterial responsiveness to antibiotics, a modification of the drug activity, or differences in drug bioavailabilities between cytosol and phagosomes.
Row-shift corrected truncation of paraunitary matrices for PEVD algorithms

In this paper, we show that the paraunitary (PU) matrices that arise from the polynomial eigenvalue decomposition (PEVD) of a parahermitian matrix are not unique. In particular, arbitrary shifts (delays) of polynomials in one row of a PU matrix yield another PU matrix that admits the same PEVD. To keep the order of such a PU matrix as low as possible, we propose a row-shift correction. Using the example of an iterative PEVD algorithm with previously proposed truncation of the PU matrix, we demonstrate that a considerable shortening of the PU order can be accomplished when using row-corrected truncation.
Cost-benefit analysis of supplemented very low-protein diet versus dialysis in elderly CKD 5 patients

Background. Dialysis increases patient life expectancy but is associated with clinically severe and costly complications. Health and economic benefits could derive from postponing dialysis with a supplemented very low-protein diet (sVLPD). Methods. An economic evaluation was conducted to compare benefits and costs of sVLPD versus dialysis in elderly CKD5 patients. Data from 57 patients aged ≥70 years, with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) 5–7 mL/min, previously participating in a clinical trial demonstrating non-inferior mortality and morbidity of starting sVLPD compared to dialysis treatment, were analysed: 30 patients were randomized to dialysis and 27 to sVLPD. A cost–benefit analysis was conducted, in the perspective of the National Health Service (NHS). Direct medical and non-medical benefits and costs occurring in 3.2 mean years of follow-up were quantified: time free from dialysis, cost of dialysis treatment, hospitalization, drugs, laboratory/instrumental tests, medical visits and travel and energy consumption to receive dialysis. Prices/tariffs valid in 2007 were used, with an annual discount rate of 5% applied to benefits and costs occurring after the first year. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify how estimates could vary in different contexts of applications. Results are reported as net benefit, expressed as mean €/patient (patient-year). Results. The opportunity to safely postpone initiation of dialysis of 1 year/patient on average translated into an economic benefit to the NHS, corresponding to 21 180 €/patient in the first, 6500 €/patient in the second and 682 €/patient in the third year of treatment, with a significant net benefit in favour of sVLPD even in a worstcase hypothesis. Conclusion. The initiation of sVLPD in elderly CKD5 subjects is a safe and beneficial strategy for these patients and allows them to gain economic resources that can be allocated to further health care investments.
Augmentation of Antigen Receptor–mediated Responses by Histamine H1 Receptor Signaling

Histamine is considered one of the important mediators of immediate hypersensitivity and inflammation, and acts via G protein–coupled receptors. Here, we report that histamine may affect antigen receptor–mediated immune responses of T and B cells via a signal(s) from histamine H1 receptors (H1Rs). Histamine exhibited enhancing effects on the in vitro proliferative responses of anti-CD3ε– or anti-IgM–stimulated spleen T and B cells, respectively, at the culture condition that the fetal calf serum was dialyzed before culture and c-kit–positive cells were depleted from the spleen cells. In studies of histamine H1R knockout mice, H1R-deficient T cells had low proliferative responses to anti-CD3ε cross-linking or antigen stimulation in vitro. B cells from H1R-deficient mice were also affected, demonstrating low proliferative responses to B cell receptor cross-linking. Antibody production against trinitrophenyl-Ficoll was reduced in H1R-deficient mice. Other aspects of T and B cell function were normal in the H1R knockout mice. H1R-deficient T and B cells showed normal responses upon stimulation with interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, CD40 ligand, CD40 ligand plus IL-4, and lipopolysaccharide. Collectively, these results imply that the signal generated by histamine through H1R augments antigen receptor–mediated immune responses, suggesting cross-talk between G protein–coupled receptors and antigen receptor–mediated signaling.