Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Approximation Algorithms for Integrated Distribution Network Design Problems

In this paper, we study approximation algorithms for two supply chain network design problems, namely, the warehouse-retailer network design problem WRND and the stochastic transportation-inventory network design problem STIND. These two problems generalize the classical uncapacitated facility location problem by incorporating, respectively, the warehouse-retailer echelon inventory cost and the warehouse cycle inventory together with the safety stock costs. The WRND and the STIND were initially studied, respectively, by Teo and Shu Teo CP, Shu J 2004 Warehouse-retailer network design problem. Oper. Res. 523:396--408 and Shu et al. Shu J, Teo CP, Shen ZJM 2005 Stochastic transportation-inventory network design problem. Oper. Res. 531:48--60, where they are formulated as set-covering problems, and column-generation algorithms were used to solve their linear programming relaxations. Both problems can be regarded as special cases of the so-called facility location with submodular facility costs proposed by Svitkina and Tardos Svitkina Z, Tardos E 2010 Facility location with hierarchical facility costs. ACM Trans. Algorithms 62, Article No. 37, for which only a logarithmic-factor approximation algorithm is known. Our main contribution is to obtain efficient constant-factor approximation algorithms for the WRND and the STIND, which are capable of solving large-scale instances of these problems efficiently.
Recent developments in temporal information extraction

The growing interest in practical NLP applications such as text summarization and question-answering places increasing demands on the processing of temporal information in natural languages. To support this, several new capabilities have emerged. These include the ability to tag events and time expressions, to temporally anchor and order events, and to build models of the temporal structure of discourse. This paper describes some of the techniques and the further challenges that arise.
Use of denaturing-gradient gel electrophoresis to study chromium-induced point mutations in human cells.

A large number of hprt-mutants were obtained by treating human lymphoblast cells (TK6) with 5 microM K2Cr2O7 for 5 hr and selecting by growth in 6-thioguanine. A combination of high fidelity polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) allowed us to measure mutant frequencies as a function of DNA sequence. Chromium(VI) induced four hotspots in a 104 bp domain of hprt exon 3. Substitutions at G:C base pairs were the predominant mutations. One of the chromium-induced hotspots was located at the same position as previously determined hydrogen peroxide and benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide hotspots. ImagesFigure 1.
BAX and BAK proteins are required for cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory drugs to cause apoptosis

In previous reports, we have shown in SH-SY5 cells that olomoucine and roscovitine, two inhibitory drugs of cyclin-dependent kinases, caused apoptosis independent of the extrinsic pathway. In this experimental paradigm, apoptosis was refractory to the protective effects of either Bcl-2 or Bcl-XL overexpression. We are now reporting that the failure of Bcl-XL to prevent dell death was consistent with no effect on the kinetics of caspase activation and cytochrome c release. To further characterize this issue, we have discarded a direct effect of either olomoucine or roscovitine on mitochondrial permeability transition. Moreover, we have evidence that an intrinsic pathway took place in SH-SY5Y cells by showing the mitochondrial translocation of a GFP-Bax construct on transfection and treatment with cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory drugs. Finally, we tested the effect of olomoucine and roscovitine on wild-type, bax−/−, bak−/−, and double bax−/−bak−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF). In wild-type MEFs, both drugs induced cell death by apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In bax−/−, bak−/−, and, particularly, double bax−/−bak−/− MEFs, we observed the inhibition of apoptosis. In conclusion, olomoucine and roscovitine caused apoptosis through an intrinsic pathway, with Bax and Bak proteins being involved. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(12):3800–6]
Multi-scale gesture recognition from time-varying contours

A novel method is introduced to recognize and estimate the scale of time-varying human gestures. It exploits the changes in contours along spatiotemporal directions. Each contour is first parameterized as a 2D function of radius vs. cumulative contour length, and a 3D surface is composed from a sequence of such functions. In a two-phase recognition process, dynamic time warping is employed to rule out significantly different gesture models, and then mutual information (MI) is applied for matching the remaining models. The system has been tested on 8 gestures performed by 5 subjects with varied time scales. The two-phase process is compared against exhaustively testing three similarity measures based upon MI, correlation, and nonparametric kernel density estimation. Experimental results demonstrate that the exhaustive application of MI is the most robust with a recognition rate of 90.6%, however, the two-phase approach is much more computationally efficient with a comparable recognition rate of 90.0%.
Exploiting the enzymatic recognition of an unnatural base pair to develop a universal genetic analysis system.

BACKGROUND With the invention of the DNA chip, genome-wide analysis is now a reality. Unfortunately, solid-phase detection systems such as the DNA chip suffer from a narrow range in quantification and sensitivity. Today the best methodology for sensitive, wide dynamic range quantification and genotyping of nucleic acids is real-time PCR. However, multiplexed real-time PCR technologies require complicated and costly design and manufacturing of separate detection probes for each new target. METHODS We developed a novel real-time PCR technology that uses universal energy transfer probes constructed from An Expanded Genetic Information System (AEGIS) for both quantification and genotyping analyses. RESULTS RNA quantification by reverse transcription-PCR was linear over four orders of magnitude for the simultaneous analysis of beta-actin messenger RNA and 18S ribosomal RNA. A single trial validation study of 176 previously genotyped clinical specimens was performed by endpoint analysis for factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210A mutation detection. There was concordance for 173 samples between the genotyping results from Invader tests and the AEGIS universal energy transfer probe system for both factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A. Two prothrombin and one factor V sample gave indeterminate results (no calls). CONCLUSION The AEGIS universal probe system allows for rapid development of PCR assays for nucleic acid quantification and genotyping.
Diversity-Combining and Error-Correction Coding for FFH/MFSK Systems over Rayleigh Fading Channels under Multitone Jamming

The combined application of diversity and error-correction coding for combating multitone jamming (MTJ) in fast frequency-hopping/M-ary frequency-shift-keying (FFH/MFSK) systems over Rayleigh fading channels is investigated. A log-likelihood-combining metric which requires only easy-to-obtain system parameters for its computation is proposed. In addition, four soft-decision coding schemes which employ the proposed diversity-combining metric as decoding metric are considered. An upper bound on the bit error rate of the proposed metric is derived. Simulation results show that the proposed metric outperforms robust metrics. Moreover, the improvement is most substantial for low signal-to-jamming ratio (SJR). Performances of convolutional codes and turbo codes together with either bit-interleaving or symbol-interleaving are examined. Upper bounds are derived for the bit error rates of the convolutional coding schemes, and simulations are performed for all coding schemes. The results show that significant performance improvement can be achieved in difficult transmission conditions by changing the interleaving method from bit-interleaving to symbol-interleaving, but without changing the code. In particular, the symbol-interleaved turbo coding scheme is the best among the four for maintaining system performance at an acceptable level for most situations.
PI Controller Based Shunt Active Power Filter with Cascaded Multilevel Inverter

Instantaneous active and reactive power (p-q) control strategy is used for extracting the three- phase reference currents for shunt active filters;However, in the proposed approach only calculation of real power losses are considered for extracting the three-phase reference currents for shunt active filters, evaluating their performance using a three phase, five level cascaded multilevel VSI based active filter with PI Controller in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The Real Power Theory control strategy is able to yield an adequate solution when source voltages are distorted and/or unbalanced sinusoidal. Extensive simulations are carried out with PI controller for Real Power Theory control strategy under transient and steady state conditions and adequate results are presented with different nonlinear loads.
Factor Analysis Based Speaker Normalisation for Continuous Emotion Prediction

Speaker variability has been shown to be a significant confounding factor in speech based emotion classification systems and a number of speaker normalisation techniques have been proposed. However, speaker normalisation in systems that predict continuous multidimensional descriptions of emotion such as arousal and valence has not been explored. This paper investigates the effect of speaker variability in such speech based continuous emotion prediction systems and proposes a factor analysis based speaker normalisation technique. The proposed technique operates directly on the feature space and decomposes it into speaker and emotion specific sub-spaces. The proposed technique is validated on both the USC CreativeIT database and the SEMAINE database and leads to improvements of 8.2% and 11.0% (in terms of correlation coefficient) on the two databases respectively when predicting arousal.
A new neuro-fuzzy-fractal approach for adaptive model-based control of non-linear dynamic systems: the case of controlling aircraft dynamics

Describes a general method for adaptive model-based control of non-linear dynamic systems using neural networks, fuzzy logic and fractal theory. The new neuro-fuzzy-fractal method combines soft computing (SC) techniques with the concept of the fractal dimension for the domain of non-linear dynamic system control. The new method for adaptive model-based control has been implemented as a computer program to show that our neuro-fuzzy-fractal approach is a good alternative for controlling non-linear dynamic systems. We illustrate our methodology with the case of controlling aircraft dynamic systems. For this case, we use mathematical models for the simulation of aircraft dynamics during flight. The goal of constructing these models is to capture the dynamics of the aircraft, so as to have a way of controlling this dynamics to avoid dangerous behavior of the system.
Modeling microparticles' path in DEP-FFF microfludic devices

This article documents the development of a dynamic model for predicting the trajectory of microparticles in a DEP-FFF microfluidic device. The electrode configuration is such that the top and bottom surfaces support multiple finite sized electrodes in the range of few micrometers. The electric potential inside the microchannel takes the form of Laplace equation while the equations of motion are based on Newton's second law. The forces considered include that due to inertia, drag, gravity, buoyancy and dielectrophoresis. All governing equations are solved using finite difference method with a spatial step size of 0.5 μm and temporal step size of 10-4s. In addition, a parametric study is carried out in order to understand the individual influence of operating and geometric parameters on the path of microparticles. The parameters considered include microparticle radius, actuation voltage, volumetric flow rate and microchannel height. It is found that all parameters influence the transient trajectory of microparticles while only a few parameters influence the final levitation height of microparticles.
3D vs. 2D channel models: Spatial correlation and channel capacity comparison and analysis

Results of recent measurement campaigns demonstrate a significant increase in the degrees of freedom introduced by the elevation domain, and consequently, a large capacity gap as predicted by 3D and 2D MIMO channel models. To gain further insight into the effects of the elevation domain on MIMO system performance, we derive new spatial correlation (SC) expressions for 3D and 2D channel models, given rectangular arrays of cross-polarized antennas. The main result relates 3D SC to the 2D counterpart, allowing us to quantify the effects of the elevation domain on SC. Furthermore, our result allows us to derive the following three simple relationships between 2D and 3D correlations. We show that for a small elevation angle spread, the difference between 2D and 3D SCs grows quadratically in both vertical separation and angle spread. For the case of small vertical spacings, we derive a bound on the above correlation gap. Furthermore, we show that the elevation effects on correlation can be accurately decoupled, allowing us to express the 3D SC matrix as a Hadamard product of a 2D SC matrix and an elevation component. Collectively, our results demonstrate the need for accurate channel modeling when evaluating the performance of 3D MIMO systems.
Broadband detector array concept for 3D holographic imaging at THz frequencies

A field coupled detector is presented including planar antenna design as well as the video amplifier topology. The compact antenna design is suitable for application in dense antenna arrays. Particularly an array concept is shown that suits for holographic imaging at frequencies beyond 200 GHz. For this purpose a broadband planar antenna is designed for frequencies from 230 GHz to 325 GHz, allowing for high depth resolution in an imaging system. Optimization methods utilized to improve the antenna perfomance are discussed. The presented transimpedance amplifier design offers a low noise figure and a protection for the diode, as it regulates the diode voltage to zero. An optimal diode impedance for this amplifier topology is derived. Simulation and measurement results are presented.
What Durkheimian thought shares with pragmatism: How the two can work together for the greater relevance of sociological practice

Durkheimian thought and pragmatism are often considered inconsistent with each other. Nevertheless, beyond their most obvious differences, they share some fundamental postulates – like immanentism, pluralism, and relative indeterminacy. Realizing these common points seems particularly crucial in the current situation of the social sciences. Firstly, it allows us to overcome the structural-functionalist and structuralist versions of Durkheim’s work that prevent the understanding that at its core is his theory of practice. Secondly, it forces us to distance ourselves from the aspects of pragmatism that are most hostile to sociological thought (that is, that are the most oriented towards individualism). Finally, and above all, it provides social scientists with the means to escape their difficulties in assessing their own practices, and it aids in defining their political role in society. Indeed, taking into account what pragmatism shares with the Durkheimian tradition leads to a better understanding that what the social sciences are founded on, both historically and in terms of scientific practice, is a political undertaking of emancipation. Such an undertaking aims to implement an approach involving the ideas of truth and historical progress in human thinking that is neither objectivist nor relativist. In order to describe this undertaking and its limits, this article explores the famous text published by Durkheim and Mauss in 1903 under the title ‘On Some Primitive Forms of Classification’.
Capturing Culture

We know that culture influences people’s behavior. Yet estimating the exact extent of this influence poses a formidable methodological challenge for the social sciences. This is because preferences and beliefs are endogenous, that is, they are shaped by individuals’ own experiences and affected by the same macro-structural conditions that constrain their actions. This study introduces a new method to overcome endogeneity problems in the estimation of cultural effects by using migrant populations. This innovative method uses imputed traits, generated from non-migrating equivalents observed at the country of origin, as instruments for immigrants’ own cultural traits measured at the country of destination. By construction, imputed traits are exogenous to immigrants’ host social environment. The predicted power of imputed traits over observed traits in instrumental-variable estimation captures the non-idiosyncratic component of preferences and beliefs that migrants and non-migrating equivalents share as members of the same national-origin group, that is, their culture. I use this innovative method to estimate the net exogenous impact of traditional values on female labor-force participation in Europe. I find that this impact is much larger than standard regression methods would suggest.
The effects of physical restructuring on the socioeconomic status of neighbourhoods: Selective migration and upgrading

In the last few decades, many governments have implemented urban restructuring programmes with the main goal of combating a variety of socioeconomic problems in deprived neighbourhoods. The main instrument of restructuring has been housing diversification and tenure mixing. The demolition of low-quality (social) housing and the construction of owner-occupied or private rented dwellings was expected to change the population composition of deprived neighbourhoods through the in-migration of middle- and high-income households. Many studies have been critical with regard to the success of such policies in actually upgrading neighbourhoods. Using data from the 31 largest Dutch cities for the 1999 to 2013 period, this study contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of large-scale demolition and new construction on neighbourhood income developments on a low spatial scale. We use propensity score matching to isolate the direct effects of policy by comparing restructured neighbourhoods with a set of control neighbourhoods with low demolition rates, but with similar socioeconomic characteristics. The results indicate that large-scale demolition leads to socioeconomic upgrading of deprived neighbourhoods as a result of attracting and maintaining middle- and high-income households. We find no evidence of spillover effects to nearby neighbourhoods, suggesting that physical restructuring only has very local effects.
CALCIFICATION OF AURICULAR CARTILAGE.

Calcification of the auricular cartilage* has been considered to be an unusual phenomenon.6,7Only 114 cases, which were proved by roentgenographic or biopsy studies, have been found in the literature. † Scherrer 1 examined 800 patients clinically for hardness or immobility of the auricle but did not uncover a single case. The present study was undertaken to attempt to determine the incidence of this lesion and its relationship to systemic disease. Material and Methods A total of 300 patients were examined for nodularity, thickness, or inflexibility of the auricle without regard to diagnosis. Most of the patients, who were examined specifically for this purpose, were in Mount Sinai or West Side Veterans Hospitals. All patients seen for evaluation for admission to the Medical Service from the Out-Patient Clinic of Mount Sinai Hospital were included in the study. All patients with suspicious lesions of the auricular cartilage were examined roentgenographically. The
Vision-aided tracking of a moving ground vehicle with a hybrid UAV

In this work, we present the development of a target tracking and following system using a self-customized hybrid UAV, KH-Lion. KH-Lion is a small and autonomous tail-sitter UAV stabilized and controlled by two vectored propulsion systems. A target tracking system was developed on this platform for autonomous target following on a predetermined moving object on the ground. A customized AprilTag marker was attached on a radio-controlled car, and the target tracking algorithm was verified in actual flight experiment in which the moving car is tracked. Experiments were conducted in the environment of VICON motion tracking system, which provides us with a ground truth to evaluate the performance of the tracking. The system was verified and tested with a moving speed of approximately 0.5 m/s.
The pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxazepine, PBOX-15, enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis by upregulation of DR5 and downregulation of core cell survival proteins in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells

Apoptotic defects are frequently associated with poor outcome in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) hence there is an ongoing demand for novel strategies that counteract apoptotic resistance. The death ligand TRAIL (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) and its selective tumour receptor system has attracted exceptional clinical interest. However, many malignancies including ALL are resistant to TRAIL monotherapy. Tumour resistance can be overcome by drug combination therapy. TRAIL and its agonist antibodies are currently undergoing phase II clinical trials with established chemotherapeutics. Herein, we present promising therapeutic benefits in combining TRAIL with the selective anti-leukaemic agents, the pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxazepines (PBOXs) for the treatment of ALL. PBOX-15 synergistically enhanced apoptosis induced by TRAIL and a DR5-selective TRAIL variant in ALL-derived cells. PBOX-15 enhanced TRAIL-induced apoptosis by dual activation of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. The specific caspase-8 inhibitor, Z-IETD-FMK, identified the extrinsic pathway as the principal mode of apoptosis. We demonstrate that PBOX-15 can enhance TRAIL-induced apoptosis by upregulation of DR5, reduction of cellular mitochondrial potential, activation of the caspase cascade and downregulation of PI3K/Akt, c-FLIP, Mcl-1 and IAP survival pathways. Of note, the PI3K pathway inhibitor LY-294002 significantly enhanced the apoptotic potential of TRAIL and PBOX-15 validating the importance of Akt downregulation in the TRAIL/PBOX-15 synergistic combination. Considering the lack of cytotoxicity to normal cells and ability to downregulate several survival pathways, PBOX-15 may represent an effective agent for use in combination with TRAIL for the treatment of ALL.
Microsoft Cambridge at TREC 14: Enterprise Track

A major focus of much work of the group (as it has been since the City University Okapi work) is the development and refinement of basic ranking algorithms. The workhorse remains the BM25 algorithm; recently [3, 4] we introduced a field-weighted version of this, allowing differential treatment of different fields in the original documents, such as title, anchor text, body text. We have also recently [2] been working on ways of analysing the possible contributions of static (query-independent) evidence, and of incorporating them into the scoring/ranking algorithm. Finally, we have been working on ways of tuning the resulting ranking functions, since each elaboration tends to introduce one or more new free parameters which have to be set through tuning. We used all these techniques successfully in our contribution to the Web track in TREC 2004 [4]. This year’s relatively modest TREC effort is confined to applying essentially the same techniques to rather different data, in the Enterprise Track’s known item (KI) and discussion search (DS) experiments. The main interest is whether we can identify some fields and features that lead to an improvement over a flat-text baseline, and as a side effect to verify that our ranking model can deliver the benefit.