Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behavior Planning for a Reflexive Agent

The aim of our research is to build a Reflexive Agent, that is able to either manifest an emotion it is feeling or to hide it. If the Agent decides to manifest its emotion, it can establish what verbal or nonverbal signals to employ in its communication and how to combine and synchronize them. In the decision of whether to express an emotion in a given context, a number of factors are considered, such as the Agent's own personality and goals, the Interlocutor's characteristics and the context. In planning how to communicate an emotion, various factors are considered as well: the available modalities (face, gaze, voice etc); the cognitive ease in producing and processing the various signals; the expressiveness of every signal in communicating specific meanings; and, finally, the appropriateness of signals to social situations. 1 Introduction Artificial Agents are not yet endowed with the capacity of 'feeling' emotions, mainly because emotions would imply an involvement of the hardware of a machine and this will be impossible, or at least difficult, still for some years [Picard, 1997]. But let us suppose that we have an agent that is able to feel emotions; what could it do? How could it behave? Would it manifest its emotions to a potential interlocutor or would it ruminate on its own emotion by itself, without showing its feeling? The effects of sharing an emotion, to the person who feels, are described in the psychology literature [Rimé, 1987]: it has been shown, for example, that people who have undergone severe shocks and share their emotions are better adapted, undergo fewer heart and pressure problems and have longer life [Pennebaker, 1989]. Of course, people differ in their proneness to display emotions: some of us are very impulsive and tend to display their emotions whatever the consequences of this display, while others are more reflexive and follow the rule " think it over seven times seven before". In fact, if I show to my boss that I am angry at him, this may make me feel better at the moment but I may risk being fired. In some cases, though, this may also show that I'm not afraid of him, and he might respect or admire me. Now, the decision of whether to display my anger at my boss may be a very cold, calculated and utilitarian one. But we may also decide whether to display our emotion …
Monadic Memoization Mixins

Memoization is a familiar technique for improving the performance of programs: computed answers are saved so that they can be reused later instead of being recomputed. In a pure functional language, memoization of a function is complicated by the need to manage the table of saved answers between calls to the function, including recursive calls within the function itself. A lazy recursive data structure can be used to maintain past answers — although achieving an efficient algorithm can require a complex rewrite of the function into a special form. Memoization can also be defined as a language primitive — but to be useful it would need to support a range of memoization strategies. In this paper we develop a technique for modular memoization within a pure functional language. We define monadic memoization mixinsthat are composed (via inheritance) with an ordinary monadic function to create a memoized version of the function. As a case study, we memoize a recursive-descent parser written using standard parser combinators. A comparison of the performance of different approaches shows that memoization mixins are efficient for a small example.
Speak Loud and Clear: Intergenerational Service-Learning To Ageism and Elderspeak

Speech modification for older adults, commonly referred to as “elderspeak,” is a discriminatory behavior that affects older adults in interactions with family, friends, strangers, healthcare professionals, and long-term care facility staff. The current study investigates the relationship between Intergenerational Service-Learning (ISL) and both ageism and elderspeak. Undergraduate students enrolled in service-learning (SL) projects with older adults (N = 11) or children (N = 20), completed the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA), an Implicit Associations test (IAT), and a communication map task. In the communication map task, students were asked to verbally describe a route on a given map to both a middle-aged adult and also to an older adult. It was hypothesized that students who completed SL with older adults would express less explicit ageism, similar amounts of implicit ageism, and a greater degree of speech modification than students who completed SL with children. While results showed that ISL was not related to ageism or to elderspeak, significant differences were found between the two SL groups (older adults, children) on verbal fluency and on ratings of confidence with the task. Overall, explicit attitudes toward older adults were generally positive, while implicit attitudes towards older adults were generally negative. On the map task, participants spoke more slowly to the perceived older adult than to the perceived middle-aged adults. Finally, the current study established a correlation between scores on the Fraboni Scale of Ageism and on the Implicit Associations Test, an unexpected result. SPEAK LOUD AND CLEAR: AGEISM AND ELDERSPEAK 3 Speak Loud and Clear: Relating Intergenerational Service-Learning to Ageism and Elderspeak Much like racism and sexism, ageism is prevalent in society and its effects are widespread (Nussbaum et al., 2005). Erdman B. Palmore, a prominent researcher on the topic, describes ageism as “the third great ‘ism’ after racism and sexism” (Palmore, 2004). Based on a review of previous research and taking into account the various cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of ageism, researchers offer the following comprehensive definition of
Eigenvoices for HMM-based speech synthesis

This paper describes an eigenvoice technique for an HMM-based speech synthesis system which can synthesize speech with various voice qualities. In the eigenvoice technique, which has successfully been applied to fast speaker adaptation in an HMM based speech recognition, a large number of speaker dependent HMM sets are represented by a few parameters through a dimensionality reduction technique, e.g., PCA. In this paper, we propose an eigenvoice technique for speech synthesis, and apply it to an HMM-based speech synthesis system in which spectrum and F 0 are modeled by HMMs, and synthetic speech generated from HMMs themselves. The generated spectrum and F 0 pattern are shown, and the relation between weights for eigenvoices and voice quality is discussed.
To subscribe, or not to subscribe: Modeling and analysis of service paradigms in cellular markets

Traditionally customers subscribe to specific providers and are served by accessing base stations (BSs) of the network of their provider. Inevitably subscribers with relatively “high” usage pattern and data-rate requirements are subsidized by the ones with lower usage and data-rates. As the wireless technology advances, a diverse set of services will be available. This paper introduces the “flex service” paradigm that allows a customer to dynamically access BSs of different providers based on various criteria, such as profile, network conditions, and offered prices. “Flex users” can select the appropriate provider and BS on a per-session basis. This work considers a diverse customer population with respect to their demand, their preference on data-rate over price, their tolerance on the blocking probabilities of their sessions, and their willingness to pay for certain services. Users can dynamically decide to buy a long-term subscription or become flex users. In this paper, we develop a rich framework for modeling and analysis of such markets in different spatio-temporal scales. We analyze the evolution of markets with the flex service paradigm, focusing on whether it can improve the quality-of-service (QoS), social welfare, flexibility and further enhance the competition among providers. The main contribution of this paper is detailed modeling and indepth performance analysis of such complex markets, in different spatial and temporal scales. It considers the perspective of clients, providers, and regulators. It demonstrates the benefits of markets with the flex service paradigm and compares them with the ones that only offer subscription contracts.
Differential Inhibitory Effects of CysLT1 Receptor Antagonists on P2Y6 Receptor-Mediated Signaling and Ion Transport in Human Bronchial Epithelia

Background Cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) is one of the proinflammatory mediators released by the bronchi during inflammation. CysLTs exert their biological effects via specific G-protein-coupled receptors. CysLT1 receptor antagonists are available for clinical use for the treatment of asthma. Recently, crosstalk between CysLT1 and P2Y6 receptors has been delineated. P2Y receptors are expressed in apical and/or basolateral membranes of virtually all polarized epithelia to control the transport of fluid and electrolytes. Previous research suggests that CysLT1 receptor antagonists inhibit the effects of nucleotides acting at P2Y receptors. However, the detailed molecular mechanism underlying the inhibition remains unresolved. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, western blot analysis confirmed that both CysLT1 and P2Y6 receptors were expressed in the human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE14o-. All three CysLT1 antagonists inhibited the uridine diphosphate (UDP)-evoked ISC, but only montelukast inhibited the UDP-evoked [Ca2+]i increase. In the presence of forskolin or 8-bromoadenosine 3′5′ cyclic monophosphate (8-Br-cAMP), the UDP-induced ISC was potentiated but was reduced by pranlukast and zafirlukast but not montelukast. Pranlukast inhibited the UDP-evoked ISC potentiated by an Epac activator, 8-(4-Chlorophenylthio)-2′-O-methyladenosine-3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (8-CPT-2′-O-Me-cAMP), while montelukast and zafirlukast had no such effect. Pranlukast inhibited the real-time increase in cAMP changes activated by 8-CPT-2′-O-Me-cAMP as monitored by fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging. Zafirlukast inhibited the UDP-induced ISC potentiated by N6- Phenyladenosine- 3′, 5′- cyclic monophosphorothioate, Sp- isomer (Sp-6-Phe-cAMP; a PKA activator) and UDP-activated PKA activity. Conclusions/Significance In summary, our data strongly suggest for the first time that in human airway epithelia, the three specific CysLT1 receptor antagonists exert differential inhibitory effects on P2Y6 receptor-coupled Ca2+ signaling pathways and the potentiating effect on ISC mediated by cAMP and Epac, leading to the modulation of ion transport activities across the epithelia.
Servo Synthesis for an Optical Pick-up Head with Tilt Compensation

Abstract The new DVD optical heads are equipped with tilt control mechanism to compensate for the disk tilt. From the servo point of view, the tilt control shares the same push-pull tracking error (PPTE) signal from the optical head and are compensating the same control goal. In addition, the system exhibits highly nonlinear characteristics due to the change in the lens tilt. This study derives the optical head nonlinear dynamic model based on the Newtonian mechanics. The model indicates that the nonlinear effects mainly arise from the variation in the lens tilt. With reasonable approximations, it is possible to separate these nonlinear factors and lump them into a system variation term. The popular μ synthesis procedure is then used for the controller design.
New solution for BER performance improvement of OFDM AF relay systems

Dual-hop OFDM amplify-and-forward (AF) variable gain (VG) relay systems may improve bit error rate (BER) performance if ordered subcarrier mapping (SCM) is applied at the relay station (R). In previous works we showed that in the region of small and medium values of average signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) on hops best-to-best SCM (BTB SCM) scheme should be applied, while in the region of high values of average SNRs on hops very small BER performance improvement is achieved by implementing best-to-worst SCM (BTW SCM) scheme. In this paper we propose new solution, where in the assumed relay system with BTB SCM the subcarriers having the lowest SNR on each hop are omitted. Analytical and simulation result comparison, for the scenario with DPSK modulation implemented and Rayleigh fading statistics on both hops, have confirmed that the proposed solution achieves the best BER performance for all the SNR values.
Entropy-Based Model for MiRNA Isoform Analysis

MiRNAs have been widely studied due to their important post-transcriptional regulatory roles in gene expression. Many reports have demonstrated the evidence of miRNA isoform products (isomiRs) in high-throughput small RNA sequencing data. However, the biological function involved in these molecules is still not well investigated. Here, we developed a Shannon entropy-based model to estimate isomiR expression profiles of high-throughput small RNA sequencing data extracted from miRBase webserver. By using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test (KS test), we demonstrated that the 5p and 3p miRNAs present more variants than the single arm miRNAs. We also found that the isomiR variant, except the 3’ isomiR variant, is strongly correlated with Minimum Free Energy (MFE) of pre-miRNA, suggesting the intrinsic feature of pre-miRNA should be one of the important factors for the miRNA regulation. The functional enrichment analysis showed that the miRNAs with high variation, particularly the 5’ end variation, are enriched in a set of critical functions, supporting these molecules should not be randomly produced. Our results provide a probabilistic framework for miRNA isoforms analysis, and give functional insights into pre-miRNA processing.
Efficacy of rituximab in an aggressive form of multicentric Castleman disease associated with immune phenomena

Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disorder for which the best therapeutic option is not yet well established. Immune‐related disorders are rare complications of MCD. We report on an MCD case in a 23‐year‐old patient with extensive abdominal involvement and associated immune hemolytic anemia and Raynaud phenomenon. He was negative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human herpesvirus‐8 (HHV‐8). After 8 courses of the anti‐CD20 monoclonal antibody (rituximab), the patient achieved complete remission. Interestingly, Raynaud phenomenon disappeared under treatment and no new hemolytic events occurred. Anti‐CD20 antibody treatment could be an attractive therapeutic approach for MCD, mainly when immune‐related disorders are associated. Am. J. Hematol. 78:302–305, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Proposal for the Genetic Lateral Tuning of Linguistic Fuzzy Systems and Its Interaction With Rule Selection

Linguistic fuzzy modeling allows us to deal with the modeling of systems by building a linguistic model which is clearly interpretable by human beings. However, since the accuracy and the interpretability of the obtained model are contradictory properties, the necessity of improving the accuracy of the linguistic model arises when complex systems are modeled. To solve this problem, one of the research lines in recent years has led to the objective of giving more accuracy to linguistic fuzzy modeling without losing the interpretability to a high level. In this paper, a new postprocessing approach is proposed to perform an evolutionary lateral tuning of membership functions, with the main aim of obtaining linguistic models with higher levels of accuracy while maintaining good interpretability. To do so, we consider a new rule representation scheme base on the linguistic 2-tuples representation model which allows the lateral variation of the involved labels. Furthermore, the cooperation of the lateral tuning together with fuzzy rule reduction mechanisms is studied in this paper, presenting results on different real applications. The obtained results show the good performance of the proposed approach in high-dimensional problems and its ability to cooperate with methods to remove unnecessary rules.
Mutual repression between Pax3 and Pax6 is involved in the positioning of ophthalmic trigeminal placode in avian embryo

Cranial sense organs and a subset of cranial sensory neurons are generated from placodes, thickenings of the ectoderm. Pax3 has been known as a marker for ophthalmic trigeminal placode specification, and also an important regulator of trigeminal placode neuron differentiation. In this study, I show that Pax6 is initially expressed in the preplacodal region at the level of ophthalmic trigeminal placode, and that this expression gradually regresses in a medial‐to‐lateral direction as Pax3 expression expands in the same direction. Misexpression studies revealed that Pax6 represses Pax3 expression indirectly as a transcriptional activator in a cell‐autonomous manner. Pax3‐misexpression represses Pax6 expression in an indirect fashion, suggesting that unknown factor(s) downstream of Pax3 may repress Pax6 expression, and thereby allow an expansion of Pax3‐positive ophthalmic trigeminal placode region. These results indicate that the mutual repression between Pax3 and Pax6 has important roles in the specification and the positioning of the ophthalmic trigeminal placode.
Delusions and metacognition in patients with schizophrenia

Introduction. The aim of the present study was to explore the basis of the strong feeling of conviction and the high resistance to change characteristic of delusions and to test whether patients with schizophrenia suffering from delusions have specific metacognitive impairments when compared to both patients without delusions and healthy controls. Methods. 14 actively delusional patients with schizophrenia, 14 nondelusional patients, and 14 healthy subjects were administered two measures assessing different aspects of metacognition: an emotional metacognitive version of the WCST adapted from Koren et al. (2004) and the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. Results. Relative to both healthy controls and nondelusional patients, delusional participants were specifically impaired on metacognitive measures of free choice improvement and global monitoring. This was correlated with high self-certainty on the BCIS relative to nondelusional patients. Conclusions. Our results suggest that metacognitive impairments play an important role in the maintenance of delusional beliefs. It may therefore be important to adapt remediation strategies to the metacognitive profiles of patients.
When almost all sets are difference dominated

We investigate the relationship between the sizes of the sum and difference sets attached to a subset of {0,1,…,N}, chosen randomly according to a binomial model with parameter p(N), with N−1 = o(p(N)). We show that the random subset is almost surely difference dominated, as N → ∞, for any choice of p(N) tending to zero, thus confirming a conjecture of Martin and O'Bryant. The proofs use recent strong concentration results.
Local Grid Map Based Rough Localization For The Mobile Robot By Using Self-Organization Map

Recently, localization for mobile robot has been studied a lot. Up to now, most localization systems which are reliable and efficient are equipped with expensive sensors such as laser scanner and high performance CPU with fast computing. But, small and cost effective robot such as service robot for home cleaning cannot be equipped with costly sensor and CPU. This paper proposes localization method which can be implemented with low cost sensors and CPU while tracking robot's pose quickly and correctly using self-organizing map
Flagellin is the principal inducer of the antimicrobial peptide S100A7c (psoriasin) in human epidermal keratinocytes exposed to Escherichia coli

Epidermal keratinocytes (KCs) express antimicrobial peptides as a part of the innate immune response. It has recently been shown that the culture supernatant of Escherichia coli induces the expression of S100A7c (psoriasin) in KCs and that S100A7c efficiently kills E. coli. Here we have investigated which of the microbial components triggers the up‐regulation of S100A7c expression. Exposure of human primary KCs to ligands of the human Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) revealed that only the TLR5 ligand flagellin strongly induced the expression of S100A7c mRNA and protein, whereas all other TLR ligands had no significant effect. In contrast to the supernatant from flagellated wild‐type (WT) E. coli, the supernatant of a flagellin‐deficient E. coli strain (ΔFliC) did not induce S100A7c expression. Small interfering RNA‐mediated knockdown of TLR5 expression suppressed the ability of KCs to up‐regulate S100A7c expression in response to both flagellin and WT E. coli supernatant. Taken together, our data demonstrate that bacterial flagellin is essential and sufficient for the induction of S100A7c expression in KCs by E. coli. —Abtin, A. , Eckhart, L. , Mildner, M. , Gruber, F. , Schröder, J‐M. , Tschachler, E. Flagellin is the principal inducer of the antimicrobial peptide S100A7c (psoriasin) in human epidermal keratinocytes exposed to Escherichia coli. FASEB J. 22, 2168–2176 (2008)
Excitation of dorsal root fibers in spinal cord stimulation: a theoretical study

In epidural spinal cord stimulation it is likely not only that dorsal column fibers are activated, but also that dorsal root fibers will be involved as well. In this investigation a volume conductor model of the spinal cord was used and dorsal root fibers were modeled by an electrical network including fiber excitation. The effects of varying some geometric fiber characteristics, as well as the influence of the dorsal cerebrospinal fluid layer and the electrode configuration on the threshold stimulus for their excitation, were assessed. The threshold values were compared with those of dorsal column fibers. The results of this modeling study predict that, besides the well known influence of fiber diameter, the curvature of the dorsal root fibers and the angle between these fibers and the spinal cord axis are a major influence on their threshold values. Because of these effects, threshold stimuli of dorsal root fibers were relatively low as compared to dorsal column fibers. Excitation of the dorsal root fibers occurred near the entry point of the fibers. <<ETX>>
Adaptive manifolds for real-time high-dimensional filtering

We present a technique for performing high-dimensional filtering of images and videos in real time. Our approach produces high-quality results and accelerates filtering by computing the filter's response at a reduced set of sampling points, and using these for interpolation at all N input pixels. We show that for a proper choice of these sampling points, the total cost of the filtering operation is linear both in N and in the dimension d of the space in which the filter operates. As such, ours is the first high-dimensional filter with such a complexity. We present formal derivations for the equations that define our filter, as well as for an algorithm to compute the sampling points. This provides a sound theoretical justification for our method and for its properties. The resulting filter is quite flexible, being capable of producing responses that approximate either standard Gaussian, bilateral, or non-local-means filters. Such flexibility also allows us to demonstrate the first hybrid Euclidean-geodesic filter that runs in a single pass. Our filter is faster and requires less memory than previous approaches, being able to process a 10-Megapixel full-color image at 50 fps on modern GPUs. We illustrate the effectiveness of our approach by performing a variety of tasks ranging from edge-aware color filtering in 5-D, noise reduction (using up to 147 dimensions), single-pass hybrid Euclidean-geodesic filtering, and detail enhancement, among others.