Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploiting Temporal Term Specificity Into a Probabilistic Ranking Model

Traditional information retrieval systems do not perform well in satisfying temporal users’ information needs. In this paper, we propose a temporal ranking model based on integrating temporal term specificity into a probabilistic ranking model for satisfying query time preferences. Implicit query time preferences are first derived using a temporal query profile, defined as being the distribution of the top k documents along a yearly-based time dimension. Temporal document ranking is based on calculating a temporal document score by combining term frequency and temporal term specificity. Temporal term specificity is derived from a temporal language model built per time partition, which refers to the word usage distribution in the documents annotated by a derived query time. The intuition is that the term usage distribution in documents tagged with specific time/date represents a clue to estimate the temporal relevancy of the document to this time. We conduct a user study on a portion of the New York Times corpus where results demonstrate that our approach outperforms the baseline search.
Spiking and Blocking Events Detection and Analysis in Volleyball Videos

In volleyball matches, spiking is the most effective way to gain points, while blocking is the action to prevent the opponents from getting scores by spiking. In this paper, we propose an intelligent system for automatic spiking events detection and blocking pattern classification in real volleyball videos. First, the entire videos are segmented into clips of rallies by whistle detection. Then, we find the court region based on proper camera calibration, and detect the location of the net for judging the positions of spiking and blocking. Via analyzing the changes of moving pixels along the net, we make a bounding box around the blocking location, so as to classify the blocking patterns into two main categories based on the width of bounding box. Finally, two important tactic patterns, delayed spiking and alternate position spiking, are recognized. With the information of spiking events and blocking locations, we can collect the statistical data and make tactics inference easily. To the best of our knowledge, no previous work is focused on spiking or blocking event detection. The experimental results on the videos recorded by a university volleyball team are promising and demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.
Manipulation of micro-objects using adhesion forces and dynamical effects

Describes a dynamical strategy for releasing micro objects picked-up by means of adhesion forces. While sticking effects are used in order to capture an object by adequately choosing a high surface energy constitutive material for the end-effector, these same effects handicap considerably the release. We propose to take advantage of the inertial effects of both the end-effector and the manipulated object to overbalance adhesion forces and to achieve the release. Simulations show that for this purpose, accelerations as high as 10/sup 5/ m/s/sup 2/ are needed. Successful manipulation of a 40 /spl mu/m radius glass sphere is experimented.
Unique Dielectric Properties Distinguish Stem Cells and Their Differentiated Progeny

The relatively new field of stem cell biology is hampered by a lack of sufficient means to accurately determine the phenotype of cells. Cell‐type‐specific markers, such as cell surface proteins used for flow cytometry or fluorescence‐activated cell sorting, are limited and often recognize multiple members of a stem cell lineage. We sought to develop a complementary approach that would be less dependent on the identification of particular markers for the subpopulations of cells and would instead measure their overall character. We tested whether a microfluidic system using dielectrophoresis (DEP), which induces a frequency‐dependent dipole in cells, would be useful for characterizing stem cells and their differentiated progeny. We found that populations of mouse neural stem/precursor cells (NSPCs), differentiated neurons, and differentiated astrocytes had different dielectric properties revealed by DEP. By isolating NSPCs from developmental ages at which they are more likely to generate neurons, or astrocytes, we were able to show that a shift in dielectric property reflecting their fate bias precedes detectable marker expression in these cells and identifies specific progenitor populations. In addition, experimental data and mathematical modeling suggest that DEP curve parameters can indicate cell heterogeneity in mixed cultures. These findings provide evidence for a whole cell property that reflects stem cell fate bias and establish DEP as a tool with unique capabilities for interrogating, characterizing, and sorting stem cells.
Seasonality of Influenza A(H3N2) Virus: A Hong Kong Perspective (1997–2006)

Background The underlying basis for the seasonality of influenza A viruses is still uncertain. Phylogenetic studies investigated this phenomenon but have lacked sequences from more subtropical and tropical regions, particularly from Southeast Asia. Methodology/Principal Findings 281 complete hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) sequences were obtained from influenza A(H3N2) viruses, collected over 10 years (1997–2006) from Hong Kong. These dated sequences were analyzed with influenza A(H3N2) vaccine strain sequences (Syd/5/97, Mos/10/99, Fuj/411/02, Cal/7/04) and 315 other publicly available dated sequences from elsewhere, worldwide. In addition, the NA sequence alignment was inspected for the presence of any naturally occurring, known, neuraminidase inhibitor (NAI) resistance-associated amino acid mutations (R292K and E119V). Before 2001, the Hong Kong HA and NA sequences clustered more closely with the older vaccine sequences (Syd/5/97, Mos/10/99) than did sequences from elsewhere. After 2001, this trend reversed with significant clusters containing HA and NA sequences from different locations, isolated at different times, suggesting that viral migration may account for much of the influenza A(H3N2) seasonality during this 10-year period. However, at least one example from Hong Kong was found suggesting that in some years, influenza A(H3N2) viruses may persist in the same location, perhaps continuing to circulate, sub-clinically, at low levels between seasons, to re-emerge in the influenza season the following year, relatively unchanged. None of these Hong Kong influenza A(H3N2) NA sequences contained any of the known NAI-resistance associated mutations. Conclusions/Significance The seasonality of influenza A(H3N2) may be largely due to global migration, with similar viruses appearing in different countries at different times. However, occasionally, some viruses may remain within a single location and continue to circulate within that population, to re-emerge during the next influenza season, with relatively little genetic change. Naturally occurring NAI resistance mutations were absent or, at least, very rare in this population.
Complications and Morbidities of Mini-open Anterior Retroperitoneal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion in 179 Patients

Study Design A retrospective study including 179 patients who underwent oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) at one institution. Purpose To report the complications associated with a minimally invasive technique of a retroperitoneal anterolateral approach to the lumbar spine. Overview of Literature Different approaches to the lumbar spine have been proposed, but they are associated with an increased risk of complications and a longer operation. Methods A total of 179 patients with previous posterior instrumented fusion undergoing OLIF were included. The technique is described in terms of: the number of levels fused, operative time and blood loss. Persurgical and postsurgical complications were noted. Results Patients were age 54.1 ± 10.6 with a BMI of 24.8 ± 4.1 kg/m2. The procedure was performed in the lumbar spine at L1-L2 in 4, L2-L3 in 54, L3-L4 in 120, L4-L5 in 134, and L5-S1 in 6 patients. It was done at 1 level in 56, 2 levels in 107, and 3 levels in 16 patients. Surgery time and blood loss were, respectively, 32.5 ± 13.2 minutes and 57 ± 131 ml per level fused. There were 19 patients with a single complication and one with two complications, including two patients with postoperative radiculopathy after L3-5 OLIF. There was no abdominal weakness or herniation. Conclusions Minimally invasive OLIF can be performed easily and safely in the lumbar spine from L2 to L5, and at L1-2 for selected cases. Up to 3 levels can be addressed through a 'sliding window'. It is associated with minimal blood loss and short operations, and with decreased risk of abdominal wall weakness or herniation.
THE EFFECTS OF DIRECTED PATROL AND SELF‐INITIATED ENFORCEMENT ON FIREARM VIOLENCE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY OF HOT SPOT POLICING

Targeted policing has proven effective in reducing serious crime in areas where it is highly concentrated, but the enforcement mechanisms responsible for the success of so-called hot spots strategies remain poorly understood. This study evaluates the effects of a 9-month randomized controlled hot spots field experiment on firearm assaults and robberies in St. Louis, Missouri. Thirty-two firearm violence hot spots were randomly allocated to two treatment conditions and a control condition. Directed patrols were increased in both treatment conditions, whereas the experimental protocol limited other enforcement activity in one of the treatment conditions and increased it in the other. The results from difference-in-difference regression analyses indicate that the intervention substantially reduced the incidence of nondomestic firearm assaults, with no evident crime displacement to surrounding areas, to times when the intervention was not active, or to nonfirearm assaults. By contrast, we find no effects of the intervention on firearm robberies. Less definitive results suggest that the certainty of arrests and occupied vehicle checks account for the treatment effects on nondomestic firearm assaults. Language: en
Grating lobe mitigation based on extended coherence factor in sparse MIMO UWB array

Many multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) ultra-wideband (UWB) array systems are restricted to a limited array with limited antenna elements and thus suffer from the azimuth grating lobes. To combat the azimuth grating lobes, in this paper, firstly a simple analysis about the grating lobes in the sparse MIMO UWB array is performed. Then, an extended coherence factor (ECF) method taking advantage of the frequency point flexibility of the stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) signals is proposed. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out and validate the proposed method.
The analysis of minimum inhibitory concentration ( MIC ) data for anti-microbial agents from complex experiments

Anti-microbial resistance is often measured in a highly mechanized fashion where samples of anti-microbial agents in a dilution series (e.g. at 2, 4, 8, 16 μg/mL) are inoculated with bacteria. The resulting minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is the smallest concentration in the series that inhibited growth of the bacteria. The MIC value is interval censored and the actual MIC is between the reported value and the next lowest concentration in the series (e.g., a MIC of 8 μg/mL implies the actual MIC is between 4 and 8 ml/L). In some cases, the MIC data are collected in a complex design that includes both fixed effects (e.g., age of the animal or husbandry practice) and random effects (e.g. farm where animal is raised). The combination of censoring and random effects make likelihood methods intractable. This paper will demonstrate how to analyze this type of data using Bayesian methodology. An example where the mean MIC is compared between two different diets in poultry operations is presented.
Cellular and humoral immune responses to viral antigens create barriers to lung-directed gene therapy with recombinant adenoviruses

Recombinant adenoviruses are an attractive vehicle for gene therapy to the lung in the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF). First-generation viruses deleted of E1a and E1b transduce genes into airway epithelial cells in vivo; however, expression of the transgene is transient and associated with substantial inflammatory responses, and gene transfer is significantly reduced following a second administration of the virus. In this study, we have used mice deficient in immunological effector functions in combination with adoptive and passive transfer techniques to define antigen-specific cellular and humoral immune responses that underlie these important limitations. Our studies indicate that major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes are activated in response to newly synthesized antigens, leading to destruction of virus infected cells and loss of transgene expression. Major histocompatibility complex class II-associated presentation of exogenous viral antigens activates CD4+ T-helper (TH) cells of the TH1 subset and, to a lesser extent, of the TH2 subset. CD4+ cell-mediated responses are insufficient in the absence of cytotoxic T cells to completely eliminate transgene containing cells; however, they contribute to the formation of neutralizing antibodies in the airway which block subsequent adenovirus-mediated gene transfer. Definition of immunological barriers to gene therapy of cystic fibrosis should facilitate the design of rational strategies to overcome them.
Resolved Multiple Viscoelasticity Control for a Humanoid

This study presents a resolved viscoelasticity control (RVC) method to handle multiple viscoelasticity in a humanoid system. A previous study proposed an RVC by explicitly considering structure-variability and demonstrated biped walking motions on an uneven terrain and a slope. In this study, the RVC is extended to multiple viscoelasticity, namely viscoelasticity on multiple feature points and multiple values in single viscoelasticity. The resolved multiple viscoelasticity control can improve both tracking performance and stability. The results indicate that resolving center of gravity (COG) and swing foot viscoelasticity improves the walking performance and that switching multiple values of the COG viscoelasticity improves the balancing performance. The proposed method is validated by using forward dynamics simulations.
THREATENED EGOTISM OR CONFIRMED INADEQUACY? HOW CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL STATUS INFLUENCE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR TOWARD PEERS

In this study, sociometric interviews were conducted to determine children’s actual and perceived social status as well as reputation for aggressive behavior in 4th grade classrooms. From this larger sample, 94 children representing a wide range of both actual and perceived social status scores were identified and recruited to participate in an experimental paradigm designed to measure aggressive behavior in response to positive or negative feedback from a peer. The difference between actual and perceived social preference scores was operationalized as “egotism” (children with negative scores overestimated their status), and the Harter Self–Perception Scale was used to assess self–esteem. Consistent with prior literature, we found a positive association between egotism and generalized aggressive reputation in the classroom. In contrast to previous findings in the adult literature, however, we found that children with an overly pessimistic perception of their status (as apposed to an overly inflated view of self), behaved most aggressively in response to negative feedback from a peer in a controlled laboratory paradigm. Global self–esteem, on the other hand, was positively associated with retaliatory behavior in the negative feedback condition. Potential clinical implications of these results are discussed.
Factors Influencing Entering Teacher Candidates’ Preferences for Instructional Activities: A glimpse into their orientations towards teaching

The present study was designed to identify and characterize the major factors that influence entering science teacher candidates’ preferences for different types of instructional activities, and to analyze what these factors suggest about teacher candidates’ orientations towards science teaching. The study involved prospective teachers enrolled in the introductory science teaching course in an undergraduate science teacher preparation program. Our analysis was based on data collected using a teaching and learning beliefs questionnaire, together with structured interviews. Our results indicate that entering science teacher candidates have strong preferences for a few activity types. The most influential factors driving entering science teacher candidates’ selections were the potential of the instructional activities to motivate students, be relevant to students’ personal lives, result in transfer of skills to non‐science situations, actively involve students in goal‐directed learning, and implement curriculum that represents what students need to know. This set of influencing factors suggests that entering science teacher candidates’ orientations towards teaching are likely driven by one or more of these three central teaching goals: (1) motivating students, (2) developing science process skills, and (3) engaging students in structured science activities. These goals, and the associated beliefs about students, teaching, and learning, can be expected to favor the development or enactment of three major orientations towards teaching in this population of future science teachers: “motivating students,” “process,” and “activity‐driven. ”
Staying or returning: Pre‐migration influences on the migration process of German migrants to New Zealand

Changes in migrants' backgrounds and societies sending and receiving migrants might increase adaptation issues and reduce retention. To enhance migrants' well-being/health and their likelihood of staying it is necessary to gain an understanding of psychological and social factors that contribute to resilience and adaptation. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that investigated the experiences, interpretations and actions of German migrant couples to New Zealand throughout the whole migration process to identify these factors. In depth, episodic interviews were conducted with four couples who decided to stay in New Zealand and four couples who decided to return to Germany. Interview data were complemented with participant observation. This paper provides insights into how the pre-migration experiences, interpretations and actions of German migrants to New Zealand influenced their establishment, their interpretations and actions and consequently adaptation, well-being/health and the decision whether to stay in New Zealand or to return to Germany. The findings illuminate the influence of psychological and social factors on migration experiences, interpretations and actions throughout the migration process. The paper offers some solutions for addressing the identified barriers to successful migration and integration into host societies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reversible Synthesis of Symmetric Functions with a Simple Regular Structure and Easy Testability

In this article, we introduce a novel method of synthesizing symmetric Boolean functions with reversible logic gates. In contrast to earlier approaches, the proposed technique deploys a simple, regular, and cascaded structure consisting of an array of Peres and CNOT gates, which results in significant reduction with respect to the quantum cost. However, the number of circuit inputs may increase slightly when such cascades are used. In order to reduce their number, we next propose a postsynthesis optimization phase that allows judicious reuse of circuit lines. In addition to offering a cost-effective synthesis methodology, the proposed reversible logic structure supports elegant testability properties. With respect to all single or partial missing gate faults (SMGFs and PMGFs), or repeated gate faults (RGFs) in such an n-input circuit module, we show that it admits a universal test set of constant cardinality (=3) for any value of n. Thus, considering both the cost and testability issues, this approach provides a superior option for synthesizing symmetric functions compared to existing designs.
Detecting infeasible branches based on code patterns

Infeasible branches are program branches that can never be exercised regardless of the inputs of the program. Detecting infeasible branches is important to many software engineering tasks such as test case generation and test coverage measurement. Applying full-scale symbolic evaluation to infeasible branch detection could be very costly, especially for a large software system. In this work, we propose a code pattern based method for detecting infeasible branches. We first introduce two general patterns that can characterize the source code containing infeasible branches. We then develop a tool, called Pattern-based method for Infeasible branch Detection (PIND), to detect infeasible branches based on the discovered code patterns. PIND only performs symbolic evaluation for the branches that exhibit the identified code patterns, therefore significantly reduce the number of symbolic evaluations required. We evaluate PIND from two aspects: accuracy and efficiency. The experimental results show that PIND can effectively and efficiently detect infeasible branches in real-world Java and Android programs. We also explore the application of PIND in measuring test case coverage,
Ectopic Expression of Multiple Microbial Rhodopsins Restores ON and OFF Light Responses in Retinas with Photoreceptor Degeneration

By expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in inner retinal neurons, previous studies have demonstrated restoration of ON responses in the retina after the death of rod and cone photoreceptors. In this study, we report that the expression of halorhodopsin (HaloR), a light-driven chloride pump, can effectively restore OFF responses in inner retinal neurons of mice with retinal degeneration. We show that HaloR-expressing retinal ganglion cells respond to light with rapid hyperpolarization and suppression of spike activity. After termination of the light stimulus, their membrane potential exhibits a rapid rebound overshoot with robust sustained or transient spike firing. Furthermore, we show that coexpression of ChR2/HaloR in retinal ganglion cells can produce ON, OFF, and even ON–OFF responses, depending on the wavelength of the light stimulus. Our results suggest that the expression of multiple microbial rhodopsins such as ChR2 and HaloR is a possible strategy to restore both ON and OFF light responses in the retina after the death of rod and cone photoreceptors.