Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning to Rank Using Localized Geometric Mean Metrics

Many learning-to-rank~(LtR) algorithms focus on query-independent model, in which query and document do not lie in the same feature space, and the rankers rely on the feature ensemble about query-document pair instead of the similarity between query instance and documents. However, existing algorithms do not consider local structures in query-document feature space, and are fragile to irrelevant noise features. In this paper, we propose a novel Riemannian metric learning algorithm to capture the local structures and develop a robust LtR algorithm. First, we design a concept called ideal candidate document to introduce metric learning algorithm to query-independent model. Previous metric learning algorithms aiming to find an optimal metric space are only suitable for query-dependent model, in which query instance and documents belong to the same feature space and the similarity is directly computed from the metric space. Then we extend the new and extremely fast global Geometric Mean Metric Learning (GMML) algorithm to develop a localized GMML, namely L-GMML. Based on the combination of local learned metrics, we employ the popular Normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain~(NDCG) scorer and Weighted Approximate Rank Pairwise~(WARP) loss to optimize the ideal candidate document for each query candidate set. Finally, we can quickly evaluate all candidates via the similarity between the ideal candidate document and other candidates. By leveraging the ability of metric learning algorithms to describe the complex structural information, our approach gives us a principled and efficient way to perform LtR tasks. The experiments on real-world datasets demonstrate that our proposed L-GMML algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art metric learning to rank methods and the stylish query-independent LtR algorithms regarding accuracy and computational efficiency.
Next generation protein based Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccines

All currently available Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) vaccines have limitations due to their capsular serotype composition. Both the 23-valent Spn polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) and 7, 10, or 13-valent Spn conjugate vaccines (PCV-7, 10, -13) are serotype-based vaccines and therefore they elicit only serotype-specific immunity. Emergence of replacement Spn strains expressing other serotypes has consistently occurred following introduction of capsular serotype based Spn vaccines. Furthermore, capsular polysaccharide vaccines are less effective in protection against non-bacteremic pneumonia and acute otitis media (AOM) than against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). These shortcomings of capsular polysaccharide-based Spn vaccines have created high interest in development of non-serotype specific protein-based vaccines that could be effective in preventing both IPD and non-IPD infections. This review discusses the progress to date on development of Spn protein vaccine candidates that are highly conserved by all Spn strains, are highly conserved, exhibit maximal antigenicity and minimal reactogenicity to replace or complement the current capsule-based vaccines. Key to development of a protein based Spn vaccine is an understanding of Spn pathogenesis. Based on pathogenesis, a protein-based Spn vaccine should include one or more ingredients that reduce NP colonization below a pathogenic inoculum. Elimination of all Spn colonization may not be achievable or even advisable. The level of expression of a target protein antigen during pathogenesis is another key to the success of protein based vaccines. As with virtually all currently licensed vaccines, production of a serum antibody response in response to protein based vaccines is anticipated to provide protection from Spn infections. A significant advantage that protein vaccine formulations can offer over capsule based vaccination is their potential benefits associated with natural priming and boosting to all strains of Spn. One of the most universal and comprehensive approaches of identifying novel vaccine candidates is the investigation of human sera from different disease stages of natural infections. Antigens that are robustly reactive in preliminary human serum screening constitute a pathogen-specific antigenome. This strategy has identified a number of Spn protein vaccine candidates that are moving forward in human clinical trials.
Formation of a Spiral Galaxy in a Major Merger

We use numerical simulations to examine the structure of merger remnants resulting from collisions of gas-rich spiral galaxies. When the gas fraction of the progenitors is small, the remnants structurally and kinematically resemble elliptical galaxies, in agreement with earlier work. However, if the progenitor disks are gas-dominated, new types of outcomes are possible, where a prominent disk may survive in certain cases. To illustrate this scenario, we analyze an extreme example with progenitor galaxies consisting of dark matter halos, pure gas disks, and no bulges, as might be appropriate for mergers at high redshifts. While rapid star formation triggered by tidal torques during the merger forms a central, rotating bulge in the remnant, not all the gas is consumed in the burst. The remaining gas cools quickly and settles into an extended star-forming disk, yielding an object similar to a spiral galaxy and not an early-type galaxy. This is contrary to the usual view that major mergers invariably destroy disks. The morphological evolution of galaxies can therefore be more complicated than often assumed, and in particular, theoretical constraints based on the fragility of spiral disks need to be reevaluated.
Cost-sensitive Multiclass Classification Risk Bounds

A commonly used approach to multiclass classification is to replace the 0 - 1 loss with a convex surrogate so as to make empirical risk minimization computationally tractable. Previous work has uncovered sufficient and necessary conditions for the consistency of the resulting procedures. In this paper, we strengthen these results by showing how the 0 - 1 excess loss of a predictor can be upper bounded as a function of the excess loss of the predictor measured using the convex surrogate. The bound is developed for the case of cost-sensitive multiclass classification and a convex surrogate loss that goes back to the work of Lee, Lin and Wahba. The bounds are as easy to calculate as in binary classification. Furthermore, we also show that our analysis extends to the analysis of the recently introduced "Simplex Coding" scheme.
Jointly Assimilating MODIS LAI and ET Products Into the SWAP Model for Winter Wheat Yield Estimation

Leaf area index (LAI) and evapotranspiration (ET) are two crucial biophysical variables related to crop growth and grain yield. This study presents a crop model-data assimilation framework to assimilate the 1-km moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI and ET products (MCD15A3 and MOD16A2, respectively) into the soil water atmosphere plant (SWAP) model to assess the potential for estimating winter wheat yield at field and regional scales. Since the 1-km MODIS products generally underestimate LAI or ET values in fragmented agricultural landscapes due to scale effects and intrapixel heterogeneity, we constructed a new cost function by comparing the generalized vector angle between the observed and modeled LAI and ET time series during the growing season. We selected three parameters (irrigation date, irrigation depth, and emergence date) as the reinitialized parameters to be optimized by minimizing the cost function using the shuffled complex evolution method-University of Arizona (SCE-UA) optimization algorithm, and then used the optimized parameters as inputs into the SWAP model for winter wheat yield estimation. We used four data-assimilation schemes to estimate winter wheat yield at field and regional scales. We found that jointly assimilating MODIS LAI and ET data improved accuracy (R2 = 0.43, RMSE = 619 kg · ha-1) than assimilating MODIS LAI data (R2 = 0.28, RMSE = 889 kg · ha-1) or ET data (R2 = 0.36, RMSE = 1561 kg·ha-1) at the county level, which indicates that the proposed estimation method is reliable and applicable at a county scale.
Jaw biomechanics and the evolution of biting performance in theropod dinosaurs

Despite the great diversity in theropod craniomandibular morphology, the presence and distribution of biting function types across Theropoda has rarely been assessed. A novel method of biomechanical profiling using mechanical advantage computed for each biting position along the entirety of the tooth row was applied to 41 extinct theropod taxa. Multivariate ordination on the polynomial coefficients of the profiles reveals the distribution of theropod biting performance in function space. In particular, coelophysoids are found to occupy a unique region of function space, while tetanurans have a wide but continuous function space distribution. Further, the underlying phylogenetic structure and evolution of biting performance were investigated using phylogenetic comparative methods. There is a strong phylogenetic signal in theropod biomechanical profiles, indicating that evolution of biting performance does not depart from Brownian motion evolution. Reconstructions of ancestral function space occupation conform to this pattern, but phylogenetically unexpected major shifts in function space occupation can be observed at the origins of some clades. However, uncertainties surround ancestor estimates in some of these internal nodes, so inferences on the nature of these evolutionary changes must be viewed with caution.
Association between metabolic syndrome and depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults: results from the Whitehall II study

Objective Although it is possible that the association between depression and the metabolic syndrome is a two-way street , the metabolic syndrome “ ” as a predictor of depression has been little investigated. We examined whether the metabolic syndrome is associated with the onset of depressive symptoms in a cohort of middle-aged British civil servants. Research Design and Methods Analyses included 5232 participants (41 61 years) from the Whitehall II prospective cohort study. Depressive symptoms were assessed in – 1991 93 and again 6-years later using the depression subscale from the 30-item General Health Questionnaire. Metabolic syndrome was – assessed in 1991 93, according to National Cholesterol Education Program criteria. –
Rapid Increase in Plasma Membrane Chloride Permeability during Wound Resealing in Starfish Oocytes

Plasma membrane wound repair is an important but poorly understood process. We used femtosecond pulses from a Ti-Sapphire laser to make multiphoton excitation–induced disruptions of the plasma membrane while monitoring the membrane potential and resistance. We observed two types of wounds that depolarized the plasma membrane. At threshold light levels, the membrane potential and resistance returned to prewound values within seconds; these wounds were not easily observed by light microscopy and resealed in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. Higher light intensities create wounds that are easily visible by light microscopy and require extracellular Ca2+ to reseal. Within a few seconds the membrane resistance is ∼100-fold lower, while the membrane potential has depolarized from −80 to −30 mV and is now sensitive to the Cl− concentration but not to that of Na+, K+, or H+. We suggest that the chloride sensitivity of the membrane potential, after wound resealing, is due to the fusion of chloride-permeable intracellular membranes with the plasma membrane.
Disturbance, patchiness, and diversity in streams

Perturbations in ecosystems consist of a sequence of 2 events: the disturbance, marked by the application of the disturbing forces, and the response shown by the biota to the damage inflicted by the disturbance. The disturbance must be effectively characterized, without confounding it with the response, for progress to be made in the study of the disturbance ecology of streams. A disturbance may take the form of a pulse, a press, or a ramp, and the consequent trajectory of the response may be a pulse, a press, or a ramp. Floods and droughts are the major forms of natural disturbance in flowing waters and, although the effects of floods have been relatively well studied, those of droughts have been largely neglected. Floods accentuate downstream and lateral transport links, often with damaging consequences, whereas droughts fragment the continuity of streams. Both floods and droughts destroy and generate habitat patchiness and patchiness of the biota. During recovery, there are changes in the biotic composition and spatial configuration in patches. Resistance and resilience of the biota to disturbance may be facilitated by the use of refugia. The characterization of flood refugia is much more advanced than that of drought refugia. Recovery from floods is marked by the rapid attainment of relatively constant levels of diversity at the local scale of individual patches. At the regional scale of streams and their catchments, several studies have reported negative correlations between diversity and levels of flood disturbance, whereas other studies have reported unimodal diversity–disturbance curves consistent with patterns expected of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Such a unimodal relationship may be generated in several ways that await testing. In flowing waters at the regional scale, disturbance may play a central role in regulating species diversity. A predicted increase in the severity and frequency of disturbances with global climate change requires a comprehensive understanding of the disturbance ecology of running waters.
Chemical Carcinogens Resistance of HeLa Cell Mitochondrial DNA to Mutagenesis by Updated

The mutagenic potentials of ethylmethane sulfonate, . V-nu-tliyl-. V'nitrosoguanidine, and benzo(a)pyrene diol-epoxide in human mitochon dria were determined by cloning and nucleotide sequencing of mitochon dria! (mt) DNA from HeLa cells treated with these mutagens. Mutagen concentrations that reduced cell survival to approximately 0.1% of un treated cultures were used. Mitochondria! DNA was prepared 2 to 3 weeks after mutagen treatment, at which time the treated cell population had regrown to 10 times the starting cell number. In one series of experiments, a portion of the D-loop region of mtDNA from treated or control HeLa cells was cloned into the bacteriophage vector M13mpl9, and the nucleotide sequences of 102 independent clones were determined. Only a single G:C base pair deletion was observed in 1 of 12 clones derived from HeLa cells treated 6 times with ethylmethane sulfonate. From benzo(a)pyrene diol-epoxide-treated HeLa cells, G:C base pair deletions were found in 14 of 63 clones. All 14 of these G:C deletion mutations occurred at the same position in independent clones, however, and thus could be the progeny of a single mutational event. In a second series of experiments, a method for the selection of mtDNA mutants was utilized. Mutations in an **uncloneable" fragment of human mtDNA render the fragment cloneable and thus provide a selection for mutations in this region of human mtDNA. No enhancement in the cloning efficiency of this region of mtDNA was observed after exposure of cells to toxic concentrations of either MNNG or benzo(a)pyrene diol-epoxide. More over, the site and types of nucleotide sequence alterations observed after mutagen treatment were similar to those obtained in the absence of drug treatment. The results of both types of experiments suggest that inulagenesis of human mtDNA is an infrequent event, even after extensive treatment of HeLa cells with potent mutagens that can covalently modify mtDNA.
Neuropathic Pain Activates the Endogenous κ Opioid System in Mouse Spinal Cord and Induces Opioid Receptor Tolerance

Release of endogenous dynorphin opioids within the spinal cord after partial sciatic nerve ligation (pSNL) is known to contribute to the neuropathic pain processes. Using a phosphoselective antibody [κ opioid receptor (KOR-P)] able to detect the serine 369 phosphorylated form of the KOR, we determined possible sites of dynorphin action within the spinal cord after pSNL. KOR-P immunoreactivity (IR) was markedly increased in the L4-L5 spinal dorsal horn of wild-type C57BL/6 mice (7-21 d) after lesion, but not in mice pretreated with the KOR antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (norBNI). In addition, knock-out mice lacking prodynorphin, KOR, or G-protein receptor kinase 3 (GRK3) did not show significant increases in KOR-P IR after pSNL. KOR-P IR was colocalized in both GABAergic neurons and GFAP-positive astrocytes in both ipsilateral and contralateral spinal dorsal horn. Consistent with sustained opioid release, KOR knock-out mice developed significantly increased tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in both the early (first week) and late (third week) interval after lesion. Similarly, mice pretreated with norBNI showed enhanced hyperalgesia and allodynia during the 3 weeks after pSNL. Because sustained activation of opioid receptors might induce tolerance, we measured the antinociceptive effect of the κ agonist U50,488 using radiant heat applied to the ipsilateral hindpaw, and we found that agonist potency was significantly decreased 7 d after pSNL. In contrast, neither prodynorphin nor GRK3 knock-out mice showed U50,488 tolerance after pSNL. These findings suggest that pSNL induced a sustained release of endogenous prodynorphin-derived opioid peptides that activated an anti-nociceptive KOR system in mouse spinal cord. Thus, endogenous dynorphin had both pronociceptive and antinociceptive actions after nerve injury and induced GRK3-mediated opioid tolerance.
The Neuroendocrine Basis of Social Recognition

Studies conducted in the past two years have yielded several new insights about neuroendocrine regulation of social recognition. The social recognition deficits seen in oxytocin knockout mice have now been demonstrated in both males and females, as well as in female estrogen receptor knockout mice. The male vasopressin V1A receptor knockout mouse (but not V1B) has a profound social recognition deficit. Preliminary evidence suggests that female V1B receptor knockout mice could also have social memory deficits. Several lines of evidence have emerged that indicate that neuropeptide regulation is significantly modulated by gonadal and corticosteroid activation.
Throughput and Range Characterization of IEEE 802.11ah

The most essential part of Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure is the wireless communication system that acts as a bridge for the delivery of data and control messages. However, the existing wireless technologies lack the ability to support a huge amount of data exchange from many battery driven devices spread over a wide area. In order to support the IoT paradigm, the IEEE 802.11 standard committee is in process of introducing a new standard, called IEEE 802.11ah. This is one of the most promising and appealing standards, which aims to bridge the gap between traditional mobile networks and the demands of the IoT. In this paper, we first discuss the main PHY and MAC layer amendments proposed for IEEE 802.11ah. Furthermore, we investigate the operability of IEEE 802.11ah as a backhaul link to connect devices over a long range. Additionally, we compare the aforementioned standard with previous notable IEEE 802.11 amendments (i.e. IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac) in terms of throughput (with and without frame aggregation) by utilizing the most robust modulation schemes. The results show an improved performance of IEEE 802.11ah (in terms of power received at long range while experiencing different packet error rates) as compared to previous IEEE 802.11 standards.
The maximum traveling salesman problem with submodular rewards

In this paper we extend the classic problem of finding the maximum weight Hamiltonian cycle in a graph to the case where the reward is a submodular function of the edges. We propose a greedy algorithm and a 2-matching based algorithm, and we show that they have approximation factors of 1/2+k and max {2/3(2+k) , 2/3 (1 - k)} respectively, where k is the curvature of the function. Both algorithms run in time cubic to the number of vertices. We provide simulation results to empirically evaluate the performance of the algorithms.
Chronic BDNF deficiency permanently modifies excitatory synapses in the piriform cortex

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), aside from its classic neurotrophic role in development and survival of neurons, has been shown to be involved in modification and plasticity of central synapses. In mice with BDNF gene deletion (BDNF+/−), deficits in synaptic transmission are often observed but are reversed readily by administration of BDNF, suggesting its acute effect. In support, blockade of BDNF signaling in wild‐type hippocampal slices by TrkB‐IgG closely reproduces synaptic alterations observed in BDNF+/− mice. We demonstrate that in BDNF+/− mice, lateral olfactory tract (LOT) synapses exhibit decreased release probability of glutamate, suggested by increased paired‐pulse facilitation (PPF) of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs), as well as by slower blocking rate of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor‐mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) by MK‐801 in the pyramidal neurons of the piriform cortex. The changes in PPF were not mimicked in wild‐type mice by acute blockade of BDNF signaling by TkrB‐IgG. These data imply that BDNF deficit during development might lead to chronic changes of excitatory transmission in LOT synapses. Modification of the LOT synapses in BDNF+/− mice was associated with altered inhibitory drive onto the mitral cells from the granule and glomerular neurons, which in turn exhibited decreased renewal rate compared to that in wild‐type mice. Taken together, these data suggest that BDNF deficiency can have both acute and more permanent effects on synaptic function, particularly when BDNF signaling is compromised during the early stages of brain development. In the latter case, altered synaptic properties in BDNF+/− mice could be secondary to other complex changes in the brain, e.g., cell survival/proliferation. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Paid Sick Leave and Job Stability

A compelling, but unsubstantiated, argument for paid sick leave legislation is that workers with leave are better able to address own and family member health needs without risking a voluntary or involuntary job separation. This study tests that claim using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and regression models controlling for a large set of worker and job characteristics, as well as with propensity score techniques. Results suggest that paid sick leave decreases the probability of job separation by at least 2.5 percentage points, or 25%. The association is strongest for workers without paid vacation leave and for mothers.
Entropic evolution of lexical richness of homogeneous texts over time: A dynamic complexity perspective

This work concerns the evolving pattern of the lexical richness of the corpus text of China Government Work Report measured by entropy, based on a fundamental assumption that these texts are linguistically homogeneous. The corpus is interpreted and studied as a dynamic system, the components of which maintain spontaneous variations, adjustment, self-organizations, and adaptations to fit into the semantic, discourse and sociolinguistic functions that the text is set to perform. Both the macroscopic structural trend and the microscopic fluctuations of the time series of the interested entropic process are meticulously investigated from the dynamic complexity theoretical perspective. Rigorous nonlinear regression analysis is provided throughout the study for empirical justifications to the theoretical postulations. An overall concave model with modulated fluctuations incorporated is proposed and statistically tested to represent the key quantitative findings. Possible extensions of the current study are discussed.