Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paleoseismic interevent times interpreted for an unsegmented earthquake rupture forecast

Forecasters want to consider an increasingly rich variety of earthquake ruptures. Past occurrence is captured in part by paloeseismic observations, which necessarily see three‐dimensional ruptures only at a point. This has not been a problem before, because forecasts have assumed that faults are segmented, and that repeated ruptures occur uniformly along them. A technique is now required to calculate paleo‐earthquake rates at points that may be affected by multiple recurrence processes, and that is consistent with an all‐possible‐ruptures forecast. Dating uncertainties are addressed by bootstrapping across event time windows, and the resulting distributions are transformed into log space as f(ln(T)) where T is interevent time. This takes advantage of a property of time‐dependent recurrence distributions in which their logarithms are normally distributed. Paleoseismic series necessarily have a finite number of observations such that the true long‐term mean interevent time (μ) is hard to estimate. However the mode (most frequent value) is easier to identify. Since the mode is equal to the mean of a normal distribution, μ can thus be found at the mode (m) of f(ln(T)) as μ = em. The point μ − σ occurs where 32% of a folded (half) normal distribution is found in the interval between ln(T) = 0 and m. The μ + σ value is identified by symmetry, which overcomes the difficulty of absent long intervals in the record. Tests are conducted with complex synthetic interevent distributions, and applications to real data from the Hayward and Garlock faults in California are shown.
Does a high working memory capacity attenuate the negative impact of trait anxiety on attentional control? Evidence from the antisaccade task

According to attentional control theory, high trait anxious individuals experience reduced attentional control as compared to low trait anxious individuals due to the imbalance between goal-directed and stimulus-driven attentional systems. One consequence is that high trait anxious individuals have difficulty resisting distraction, as compared to low trait anxious individuals. A separate line of research on individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) has shown that individuals with higher WMC have better attentional control and thus are better able to resist distraction. The present study investigated the hypothesis that high WMC compensates for high trait anxiety in a task that evaluates the ability to resist distraction, the antisaccade task. Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to measure trait anxiety and the Operation Span and Reading Span tasks to measure WMC. As hypothesised, individuals who were high trait anxious exhibited increased attentional control on the antisaccade task when they had high WMC. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Video over MANETs: The Impact of Obstacles, Node Mobility Speed and Background Traffic on the Perceived Video Quality

In this paper we study the impact of various parameters on the user perceived quality of video transmission over mobile ad hoc (MANET) networks. These parameters include the obstacles coverage area in the MANET deployment area, the nodes' mobility speed and the background traffic. The simulated results have shown that the performance of the perceived video is severely affected as the number of the obstacles grows and the aggregate background traffic increases. Furthermore, the higher the quality of the encoded video (small q-step size), the more sensitive and more frequent the perceived video quality deterioration.
Serial morphometric analysis of sclerotic lesions in primary "focal" segmental glomerulosclerosis.

The possibility of missing the diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) has been primarily attributed to the focal distribution of the sclerotic lesions, but this assumption has not been verified by any serial morphometric analysis of renal biopsy specimens. The aim of this study is to assess the size and the distribution of sclerotic lesions in primary FSGS and to establish the minimum number of glomeruli and sections necessary for the diagnosis. Fourteen biopsies from adult nephrotic patients with primary FSGS were carefully selected from a group of 41 biopsies, to minimize the possibility of finding and misinterpreting nonspecific glomerular scars, and were serially cut to obtain 1485 consecutive 2 microns-thick sections that, after PAS staining, showed 182 glomeruli. Fifty-seven glomeruli were "complete", i.e., they emerged after the first section and disappeared before the last section. The percentage of glomeruli with sclerotic lesions was 31.5% in the starting section, 71.8% after the observation of all serial sections, and 81.7% when only the complete glomeruli were considered. The morphometric analysis on complete glomeruli revealed that the volume of the sclerotic lesions averaged just 12.5% +/- 2.2 SE of the entire glomerular volume, and the statistical analysis revealed that the minimum number of glomeruli needed in the starting section to exclude sclerotic lesions is eight (P < 0.01) or nine (P < 0.001). If fewer glomeruli are seen, it is necessary to cut 2 microns-thick serial sections, but to examine just one of every 11 (P < 0.001), the number of sections to examine being proportional to the number of glomeruli found. In conclusion, this study shows that the distribution of sclerotic lesions in primary FSGS is not focal, but diffuse; however, because of the small size of the sclerotic lesions, the probability of missing the diagnosis is statistically relevant when fewer than eight glomeruli are found in the starting section, unless a serial morphological analysis, even on a reduced number of sections, is made.
Edgeworth Binomial Trees

This paper develops a simple technique for valuing European and American derivatives with underlying asset risk-neutral returns which depart from lognormal in terms of prespecified non-zero skewness and greater-than-three kurtosis. Instead of specifying the entire risk-neutral distribution by the riskless return and volatility (as in the Black-Scholes case), this distribution is specified by its third and fourth central moments as well. An Edgeworth expansion is used to transform a standard binomial density into a unimodal standardized discrete density -- evaluated at equally-spaced points -- with approximately the prespecified skewness and kurtosis. This density is in turn adjusted to have a mean equal to the riskless return (adjusted for the payout return, if any) and to a prespecified volatility. European derivatives are then easily valued by using this risk-neutral density to weight their possible payoffs.
Exploiting spatial diversity in rate adaptive WLANs with relay infrastructure

The throughput capacity of a wireless local area network (WLAN) can be improved synergically by 1) the multi-rate capability of modern WLAN equipments and 2) the spatial diversity provided by its relay infrastructure. In this work, we investigate the effect of multi-path fading and opportunistic utilization of a fixed number of immobile relay nodes on the throughput capacity of a rate adaptive WLAN. We develop an analytical framework that computes the throughput capacity of an IEEE 802.11 WLAN with relay infrastructure in the Rayleigh fading environment. We compare the performance of MAC-layer and network-layer relaying. Our results show that up to 200% performance gain can be achieved by an optimal relay infrastructure over a network with no relay. Furthermore, for a wide range of system parameters, optimally placed relay nodes can significantly increase the network throughput capacity
Overall Brain Size, and Not Encephalization Quotient, Best Predicts Cognitive Ability across Non-Human Primates

For over a century, various neuroanatomical measures have been employed as assays of cognitive ability in comparative studies. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether these measures actually correspond to cognitive ability. A recent meta-analysis of cognitive performance of a broad set of primate species has made it possible to provide a quantitative estimate of general cognitive ability across primates. We find that this estimate is not strongly correlated with neuroanatomical measures that statistically control for a possible effect of body size, such as encephalization quotient or brain size residuals. Instead, absolute brain size measures were the best predictors of primate cognitive ability. Moreover, there was no indication that neocortex-based measures were superior to measures based on the whole brain. The results of previous comparative studies on the evolution of intelligence must be reviewed with this conclusion in mind.
Efficient Jammed Area Mapping in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are vulnerable to different kinds of denial-of-Service attacks. One such common and easy-to-launch attack is physical or link layer jamming, where an adversary emits constant, high-amplitude noises disrupting the communication among nodes. An intelligent solution is to collaboratively map the jammed region and avoiding traffic through the jammed area. Wood propose such a jammed area mapping (J.A.M) protocol. However, the protocol has the problem of broadcast storm inside the jammed area. In this letter, a technique is presented that finds the nodes inside the jammed area without extensive flooding, thus reducing the traffic inside the jammed region substantially, while retaining the basic operation of J.A. M around the boundary. The solution relies on the localization services present in WSN and exploits this prepared knowledge of neighborhood for deducing the entire area from the perimeter. The result is a reliable and low-traffic version of J.A. M protocol. Simulation results show that the overall traffic involved in mapping can be reduced by 20%-25% using this approach.
Asymmetric localization of the adaptor protein Miranda in neuroblasts is achieved by diffusion and sequential interaction of Myosin II and VI

The adaptor protein Miranda plays a pivotal role in the asymmetric cell division of neuroblasts by asymmetrically segregating key differentiation factors. Miranda localization requires Myosin VI and Myosin II. The apical-then-basal localization pattern of Miranda detected in fixed tissue, and the localization defects in embryos lacking Myosin VI, suggest that Miranda is transported to the basal pole as a Myosin VI cargo. However, the mode and temporal sequence of Miranda localization have not been characterized in live embryos. Furthermore, it is unknown whether Miranda and PON, a second adaptor protein required for asymmetric protein localization, are both regulated by Myosin II. By combining immunofluorescence studies with time-lapse confocal microscopy, we show that Miranda protein forms an apical crescent at interphase, but is ubiquitously localized at prophase in a Myosin-II-dependent manner. FRAP analysis revealed that Miranda protein reaches the basal cortex by passive diffusion throughout the cell, rather than by long-range Myosin VI-directed transport. Myosin VI acts downstream of Myosin II in the same pathway to deliver diffusing Miranda to the basal cortex. PON localization occurs mainly along the cortex and requires Myosin II but not Myosin VI, suggesting that distinct mechanisms are employed to localize different adaptor proteins during asymmetric cell division.
Improved Fast ICA Algorithm Using Eighth-Order Newton’s Method

Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a computational method to solve Blind Source Separation (BSS) problem. In this study, an improved Fast ICA based on eighth-order Newton's method is proposed to solve BSS problems. Eight-order Newton's method for finding the solution of nonlinear equations is much faster than ordinary Newton's iterative method. The improved FastICA algorithm is applied to separate sound signals. The simulation results show the method has fewer iterations and faster convergence speed.
The Analysis of Parental Origin of Alleles May Detect Susceptibility Loci for Complex Disorders

The phenomenon of genomic imprinting describes the differential behavior of genes depending on their parental origin, and has been demonstrated in a few rare genetic disorders. In complex diseases, parent-of-origin effects have not been systematically studied, although there may be heuristic value in such an approach. Data from a genome scan performed using 356 affected sibling pair families with type 1 diabetes were examined looking for evidence of excess sharing of either maternal or paternal alleles. At the insulin gene (IDDM2), evidence for excess sharing of alleles transmitted from mothers was detected, which is consistent with transmission disequilibrium results published elsewhere. We also identified additional loci that demonstrate allele sharing predominantly from one parent: IDDM8 shows a paternal origin effect, IDDM10 shows a maternal effect, and a locus on chromosome 16q demonstrates a paternal effect. We have also evaluated these loci for confounding by differences in sex-specific meiotic recombination by performing linkage analysis using sex-specific genetic maps. The analysis of the parental origin of shared alleles from genome scans of complex disorders may provide additional evidence for linkage for known loci, help identify regions containing additional susceptibility loci, and assist the cloning of the genes involved.
Aqueous Biphasic Systems for the Synthesis of Formates by Catalytic CO2 Hydrogenation: Integrated Reaction and Catalyst Separation for CO2‐Scrubbing Solutions

Abstract Aqueous biphasic systems were investigated for the production of formate–amine adducts by metal‐catalyzed CO2 hydrogenation, including typical scrubbing solutions as feedstocks. Different hydrophobic organic solvents and ionic liquids could be employed as the stationary phase for cis‐[Ru(dppm)2Cl2] (dppm=bis‐diphenylphosphinomethane) as prototypical catalyst without any modification or tagging of the complex. The amines were found to partition between the two phases depending on their structure, whereas the formate–amine adducts were nearly quantitatively extracted into the aqueous phase, providing a favorable phase behavior for the envisaged integrated reaction/separation sequence. The solvent pair of methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) and water led to the most practical and productive system and repeated use of the catalyst phase was demonstrated. The highest single batch activity with a TOFav of approximately 35 000 h−1 and an initial TOF of approximately 180 000 h−1 was achieved in the presence of NEt3. Owing to higher stability, the highest productivities were obtained with methyl diethanolamine (Aminosol CST 115) and monoethanolamine (MEA), which are used in commercial scale CO2‐scrubbing processes. Saturated aqueous solutions (CO2 overpressure 5–10 bar) of MEA could be converted into the corresponding formate adducts with average turnover frequencies up to 14×103 h−1 with an overall yield of 70 % based on the amine, corresponding to a total turnover number of 150 000 over eleven recycling experiments. This opens the possibility for integrated approaches to carbon capture and utilization.
Cytotoxic effects of human calprotectin on gastric cancer cell line is attenuated by etoposide

Aim In this paper effect of combinational usage of calprotectin and etoposide on AGS cell line is studied. Background Application of combined toxic agents such as etoposide and cicplatin are commonly used for chemotherapy purposes. As a matter of fact, calprotectin and etoposide were both applied on human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (AGS) as antitumor agents. Both calprotectin and etoposide are topo II inhibitor. Etoposide is a lipophilic agent that can easily transport from membrane while calprotectin active intracellular pathway, probably by membrane surface receptor. Patients and methods Calprotectin was purified from human neutrophil by chromatography methods. The human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line was exposed to different concentrations and combinations of calprotectin and etoposide. MTT assay was applied for evaluation of cytotoxicity assay. Results Viability of AGS cell line was reduced in high dosages of calprotectin and etposide. In fact, overnight incubation of these two agents together has been shown less effective than individual usage. Conclusion The result indicates that, the combination of both calprotectin and etoposide is considerably less cytotoxic on gastric cancer cells (AGS) than applying individually.
An Assay to Detect In Vivo Y Chromosome Loss in Drosophila Wing Disc Cells

Loss of the Y chromosome in Drosophila has no impact on cell viability and therefore allows us to assay the impact of environmental agents and genetic alterations on chromosomal loss. To detect in vivo chromosome loss in cells of the developing Drosophila wing primordia, we first engineered a Y chromosome with an attP docking site. By making use of the ΦC31 integrase system, we site-specifically integrated a genomic transgene encompassing the multiple wing hair (mwh) locus into this attP site, leading to a mwh+Y chromosome. This chromosome fully rescues the mwh mutant phenotype, an excellent recessive wing cell marker mutation. Loss of this mwh+Y chromosome in wing primordial cells then leads to manifestation of the mwh mutant phenotype in mwh-homozygous cells. The forming mwh clones permit us to quantify the effect of agents and genetic alterations by assaying frequency and size of the mwh mosaic spots. To illustrate the use of the mwh+Y loss system, the effects of four known mutagens (X-rays, colchicine, ethyl methanesulfonate, and formaldehyde) and two genetic conditions (loss- and gain-of-function lodestar mutant alleles) are documented. The procedure is simple, sensitive, and inexpensive.
Forgetski Vygotsky

Abstract This paper argues that sociocultural accounts of learning fail to answer the key question about learning—how is it possible? Accordingly, we should adopt an individualist bootstrapping methodology in providing a theory of learning. Such a methodology takes seriously the idea that learning is staged and distinguishes between a non-comprehending engagement with things and a comprehending engagement. It suggests that, in the light of recent work in psychology (Carey) with insights from Wittgenstein, there is rich scope for a bootstrapping account of learning. The paper also argues that sociocultural approaches when pushed, either require some such bootstrapping account, or they collapse into an obscure Ficthean metaphysics in which individual abilities are ‘summoned into being’ by the attitudes of others.
New Challenges For NLP Frameworks Programme

We present a practical problem that involves the analysis of a large dataset of heterogeneous documents obtained by crawling the web for information related to web services. This analysis includes information extraction from natural-language (HTML and PDF) and machine-readable (WSDL) documents using NLP and other techniques, classifying documents as well as services (defined by sets of documents), and exporting the results as RDF for use in the back-end of a portal that uses Web 2.0 and Semantic Web technology. Triples representing manual annotations made on the portal are also exported back to our application to evaluate parts of our analysis and for use as training data for machine learning (ML). This application was implemented in the GATE framework and successfully incorporated into an integrated project, and included a number of components shared with our group’s other projects.
Online Handwriting Mongolia Words Recognition with Recurrent Neural Networks

This paper primarily discussed Online Handwriting Recognition methods for Mongolia words which being often used among the Mongolia people in the North China. Because of the characteristic of the whole body of the Mongolia words, namely connectivity between the characters, thereby the segmentation of Mongolia words is very difficult. We introduced a recurrent neural network to online handwriting Mongolia words recognition. The system consists of an advanced recurrent neural network with an output layer designed for sequence labeling, partially combined with a probabilistic language model. Experimental results show that unconstrained Mongolia words achieve recognition rates about 80%, compared with about 70% using a previous developed HMM-based recognition system.
Development of Thermistor Linearization Circuit based on Modified 555 Timer using LabVIEW

Thermistors have high sensitivity which makes them suitable for various applications, but they exhibit a highly nonlinear resistance-temperature relationship which is exponential in nature. This nonlinearity is an important problem and a lot of research has been dedicated to correct it. In this paper a virtual instrument has been developed based on the modified 555 timer circuit using LabVIEW to obtain a linearized characteristic. The possibility of developing the proposed instrument as a temperature sensor with frequency as output has been investigated through simulation. It has been shown that the linearization of the thermistor characteristic is achieved by selecting the suitable parameters of the thermistor, the frequency determining elements and the control voltage of modified 555 timer circuit without connecting any additional elements. The experimentally obtained characteristics have a good match with the theoretically obtained characteristics through the investigations conducted in this paper. In a specific range of temperature the proposed circuit is characterized by high temperature stability, improved sensitivity and nonlinearity of about ±1% .
Final Report for Darpa Mars 2020

This report summarizes the work conducted at the USC Interaction Lab in the scope of the DARPA MARS 2020 Program project “Acquisition of Autonomous Behaviors by Robotic Assistants”, via the NASA subcontract NAG9-1444 “Skill Learning by Primitives-Based Demonstration & Imitation”. It covers the full period of the project, from August/01/2002 to August/31/2004.
The Transfer of Training: What Really Matters

Although organizations invest billions of dollars in training every year, many trained competencies reportedly fail to transfer to the workplace. Researchers have long examined the transfer problem, uncovering a wealth of information regarding the transfer of training. Inconsistencies remain, however, and organizations may find it difficult to pinpoint exactly which factors are most critical. Using Baldwin and Ford's model of transfer, we identify the factors relating to trainee characteristics (cognitive ability, self-efficacy, motivation, perceived utility of training), training design (behavioral modeling, error management, realistic training environments) and the work environment (transfer climate, support, opportunity to perform, follow-up) that have exhibited the strongest, most consistent relationships with the transfer of training. We describe our reasoning for extracting such variables from the literature and conclude by discussing potential implications for practice and future research.