Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The N = 1 ∗ Theories on R 1+2 × S 1 with Twisted Boundary Conditions

We explore the N = 1 ∗ theories compactified on a circle with twisted boundary conditions. The gauge algebra of these theories are the so-called twisted affine Lie algebra. We propose the exact superpotentials by guessing the sum of all monopole-instanton contributions and also by requiring SL(2, Z) modular properties. The latter is inherited from the N = 4 theory, which will be justified in the M theory setting. Interestingly all twisted theories possess full SL(2, Z) invariance, even though none of them are simply-laced. We further notice that these superpotentials are associated with certain integrable models widely known as elliptic Calogero-Moser models. Finally, we argue that the glueball superpotential must be independent of the compactification radius, and thus of the twisting, and confirm this by expanding it in terms of glueball superfield in weak coupling expansion.
Canna edulis Ker By-product: Chemical Composition and Characteristics of the Dietary Fiber

Canna edulis Ker by-product was recycled and utilized after starch extraction. The chemical composition, physical properties and antioxidant activity of the by-product were investigated. The by-product was mainly composed of dietary fiber (54.84% measured by AOAC method), and the insoluble dietary fiber constituted the major fraction. Then, the chemical composition of dietary fiber was tested using modified AOAC and Englyst methods. The results showed that dietary fiber was comprised of cellulose, hemicelluloses (including xyloglucans, arabinoxylans and glucuronoxylans), pectin and lignin. Moreover, the by-product contained relatively high content of phenolic compounds and exhibited a moderate antioxidant activity. In addition, the by-product showed both high water-holding capacity (12.5 mL/g) and oil-holding capacity (14 mL/g), and its suspension exhibited controllable viscosity. Therefore, the by-product from C. edulis is not only a source of dietary fiber but also a functional ingredient for food industry.
The Author-Recipient-Topic Model for Topic and Role Discovery in Social Networks: Experiments with Enron and Academic Email

Previous work in social network analysis (SNA) has modeled the existence of links from one entity to another, but not the language content or topics on those links. We present the Author-Recipient-Topic (ART) model for social network analysis, which learns topic distributions based on the the directionsensitive messages sent between entities. The model builds on Latent Dirichlet Allocation and the Author-Topic (AT) model, adding the key attribute that distribution over topics is conditioned distinctly on both the sender and recipient—steering the discovery of topics according to the relationships between people. We give results on both the Enron email corpus and a researcher’s email archive, providing evidence not only that clearly relevant topics are discovered, but that the ART model better predicts people’s roles.
Ab-initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Molten Ni-Based Superalloys

Variations in composition and temperature of the liquid-phase molar volume (V(c,T)) play a critical role in driving convective instabilities during the casting of single-crystal turbine blades. These instabilities have long been associated with the formation of large highly mis-oriented grains (i.e., freckle defects) that produce significant degradation in materials properties of these critical aerospace components. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations have been performed for elemental, binary and ternary alloys of Ni with Al, W, Re, and Ta, as well as a RENE-N4 multi-component superalloy, to compute equations of state at 1830 and 1750 K. Where comparisons with measurements are available, AIMD-calculated volumes agree to within 0.6-1.8% of experiment. Results are compared with recently published parameterizations of V(c,T) developed using binary experimental data from a narrow range of compositions. Also, structural analysis of the AIMD results based on radial distribution functions augmented with common-neighbor analysis and bond angle distributions reveal a strong tendency for icosahedral short range order for Ni-W and Ni-Re alloys. Finally, a new constant pressure methodology was added to the AIMD package that has allowed the efficient simulation of highly complex alloys, such as an eight component model of a RENE-N4 Ni-based superalloy.
Binderless Composite Electrode Monolith from Carbon Nanotube and Biomass Carbon Activated by H2SO4 and CO2 Gas for Supercapacitor

Binderless composite electrodes in the monolithic form prepared from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and self‐adhesive carbon grains (SACG) from fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunch were studied as an electrode in a supercapacitor. The green monoliths (GMs) were prepared from three different types of precursors, SACG, SACG treated with 0.4 Molar H2SO4 and mixture of SACG and 5% CNTs (by weight) treated with 0.4 Molar H2SO4, respectively. These GMs were carbonized at 600 °C in N2 gas environment and activated by CO2 gas at 800 °C for 1 hour to produce activated carbon monoliths (ACMs). The properties of the ACMs (density, porosity, microstructure, structure and electrical conductivity) were found affected by CNTs addition and acid treatment. The acid treatment did not improve the electrochemical behavior of the ACMs used as electrodes (specific capacitance, specific energy and specific power of the supercapacitor) in the supercapacitor cells but CNTs addition improves the equivalent series resistance of the cell.
Pushing Forward Marginal MAP with Best-First Search

Marginal MAP is known to be a difficult task for graphical models, particularly because the evaluation of each MAP assignment involves a conditional likelihood computation. In order to minimize the number of likelihood evaluations, we focus in this paper on best-first search strategies for exploring the space of partial MAP assignments. We analyze the potential relative benefits of several best-first search algorithms and demonstrate their effectiveness against recent branch and bound schemes through extensive empirical evaluations. Our results show that best-first search improves significantly over existing depth-first approaches, in many cases by several orders of magnitude, especially when guided by relatively weak heuristics.
Experience with revascularization procedures does matter: low volume means worse outcome.

This editorial refers to ‘The relation between volume and outcome of coronary interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis’†, by P.N. Post et al., on page 1985 In the past 30 years, a large number of studies predominantly performed in the USA have investigated the relationship between short-term outcomes and provider volume for a wide variety of medical conditions and procedures, in particular percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.1–3 With the use of adequate statistical methods, Post et al. 4 have performed a meta-analysis of 10 PCI studies, including 1 322 342 patients in 1746 hospitals, and of 10 CABG studies, including 1 754 777 patients in 2391 hospitals. They found that patients undergoing PCI or CABG in high-volume hospitals performing >600 cases per year exhibit significantly lower periprocedural mortality than those treated at lower volume hospitals. This meta-analysis raises several important questions. Does the volume–outcome relationship persist after adjusting for patient case mix? Does the association vary as a function of patient age and predicted risk? To what extent is this association affected by patient clustering at specific centres? How do site variance-related issues affect the association? Is the association between hospital volume and outcome influenced by individual physician volume? What are the potential health policy implications of using hospital volume as a quality indicator? With few exceptions,5,6 studies have indicated that hospitals and surgeons with higher volumes have lower mortality rates for CABG operations.7–10 The relative risk reduction for CABG-related mortality was 9% in the present meta-analysis and was shown to remain valid in the most recent studies. Results from 30 New York State centres noted a significant decrease in operative mortality in high-volume compared with low-volume hospitals, a difference that was maintained after risk adjustment.8 Although this state-wide study was among the most complete analyses based on clinical data, only a small proportion (<3%) had their CABG performed at … *Corresponding author. Tel: +32 4 366 7163, Fax: +32 4 221 31 58, Email: philippe.kolh{at}chu.ulg. ac.be
Quaternion-Based Gesture Recognition Using Wireless Wearable Motion Capture Sensors

This work presents the development and implementation of a unified multi-sensor human motion capture and gesture recognition system that can distinguish between and classify six different gestures. Data was collected from eleven participants using a subset of five wireless motion sensors (inertial measurement units) attached to their arms and upper body from a complete motion capture system. We compare Support Vector Machines and Artificial Neural Networks on the same dataset under two different scenarios and evaluate the results. Our study indicates that near perfect classification accuracies are achievable for small gestures and that the speed of classification is sufficient to allow interactivity. However, such accuracies are more difficult to obtain when a participant does not participate in training, indicating that more work needs to be done in this area to create a system that can be used by the general population.
Managing Power Consumption and Performance of Computing Systems Using Reinforcement Learning

Electrical power management in large-scale IT systems such as commercial data-centers is an application area of rapidly growing interest from both an economic and ecological perspective, with billions of dollars and millions of metric tons of CO2 emissions at stake annually. Businesses want to save power without sacrificing performance. This paper presents a reinforcement learning approach to simultaneous online management of both performance and power consumption. We apply RL in a realistic laboratory testbed using a Blade cluster and dynamically varying HTTP workload running on a commercial web applications middleware platform. We embed a CPU frequency controller in the Blade servers' firmware, and we train policies for this controller using a multi-criteria reward signal depending on both application performance and CPU power consumption. Our testbed scenario posed a number of challenges to successful use of RL, including multiple disparate reward functions, limited decision sampling rates, and pathologies arising when using multiple sensor readings as state variables. We describe innovative practical solutions to these challenges, and demonstrate clear performance improvements over both hand-designed policies as well as obvious "cookbook" RL implementations.
Immunofluorescence localization of the unconventional myosin, Myo2p, and the putative kinesin-related protein, Smy1p, to the same regions of polarized growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Myo2 protein (Myo2p), an unconventional myosin in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been implicated in polarized growth and secretion by studies of the temperature-sensitive myo2-66 mutant. Overexpression of Smy1p, which by sequence is a kinesin-related protein, can partially compensate for defects in the myo2 mutant (Lillie, S. H. and S. S. Brown, 1992. Nature (Lond.). 356:358-361). We have now immunolocalized Smy1p and Myo2p. Both are concentrated in regions of active growth, as caps at incipient bud sites and on small buds, at the mother-bud neck just before cell separation, and in mating cells as caps on shmoo tips and at the fusion bridge of zygotes. Double labeling of cells with either Myo2p or Smy1p antibody plus phalloidin was used to compare the localization of Smy1p and Myo2p to actin, and by extrapolation, to each other. These studies confirmed that Myo2p and Smy1p colocalize, and are concentrated in the same general regions of the cell as actin spots. However, neither colocalizes with actin. We noted a correlation in the behavior of Myo2p, Smy1p, and actin, but not microtubules, under a number of circumstances. In cdc4 and cdc11 mutants, which produce multiple buds, Myo2p and Smy1p caps were found only in the subset of buds that had accumulations of actin. Mutations in actin or secretory genes perturb actin, Smy1p and Myo2p localization. The rearrangements of Myo2p and Smy1p correlate temporally with those of actin spots during the cell cycle, and upon temperature and osmotic shift. In contrast, microtubules are not grossly affected by these perturbations. Although wild-type Myo2p localization does not require Smy1p, Myo2p staining is brighter when SMY1 is overexpressed. The myo2 mutant, when shifted to restrictive temperature, shows a permanent loss in Myo2p localization and actin polarization, both of which can be restored by SMY1 overexpression. However, the lethality of MYO2 deletion is not overcome by SMY1 overexpression. We noted that the myo2 mutant can recover from osmotic shift (unlike actin mutants; Novick, P., and D. Botstein. 1985. Cell. 40:405-416). We have also determined that the myo2-66 allele encodes a Lys instead of a Glu at position 511, which lies at an actin-binding face in the motor domain.
Comparison of multiple-microphone and single-loudspeaker adaptive feedback/echo cancellation systems

Recently, we introduced a frequency domain measure - the power transfer function - to predict the convergence rate, system stability bound and the steady-state behavior across time and frequency of a least mean square based feedback/echo cancellation algorithm in a general multiple-microphone and single-loudspeaker system. In this work, we extend the theoretical analysis to the normalized least mean square and recursive least squares algorithms. Furthermore, we compare and discuss the system behaviors in terms of the power transfer function for all three adaptive algorithms.
Multi-touch authentication on tabletops

The introduction of tabletop interfaces has given rise to the need for the development of secure and usable authentication techniques that are appropriate for the co-located collaborative settings for which they have been designed. Most commonly, user authentication is based on something you know, but this is a particular problem for tabletop interfaces, as they are particularly vulnerable to shoulder surfing given their remit to foster co-located collaboration. In other words, tabletop users would typically authenticate in full view of a number of observers. In this paper, we introduce and evaluate a number of novel tabletop authentication schemes that exploit the features of multi-touch interaction in order to inhibit shoulder surfing. In our pilot work with users, and in our formal user-evaluation, one authentication scheme - Pressure-Grid - stood out, significantly enhancing shoulder surfing resistance when participants used it to enter both PINs and graphical passwords.
Metabolomics Reveals a Role for the Chromatin-Binding Protein HMGN5 in Glutathione Metabolism

High mobility group nucleosome-binding protein 5 (HMGN5) is a chromatin architectural protein that binds specifically to nucleosomes and reduces the compaction of the chromatin fiber. The protein is present in most vertebrate tissues however the physiological function of this protein is unknown. To examine the function of HMGN5 in vivo, mice lacking the nucleosome-binding domain of HMGN5 were generated and characterized. Serological analysis revealed that compared to wild-type littermates (Hmgn5+/Y), mice with a targeted mutation in the HMGN5 gene (Hmgn5tm1/Y), had elevated serum albumin, non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and alanine transaminase, suggesting mild hepatic abnormalities. Metabolomics analysis of liver extracts and urine revealed clear differences in metabolites between Hmgn5tm1/Y and their Hmgn5+/Y littermates. Hmgn5tm1/Y mice had a significant increase in hepatic glutathione levels and decreased urinary concentrations of betaine, phenylacetylglycine, and creatine, all of which are metabolically related to the glutathione precursor glycine. Microarray and qPCR analysis revealed that expression of two genes affecting glutathione metabolism, glutathione peroxidase 6 (Gpx6) and hexokinase 1 (Hk1), was significantly decreased in Hmgn5tm1/Y mouse liver tissue. Analysis of chromatin structure by DNase I digestion revealed alterations in the chromatin structure of these genes in the livers of Hmgn5tm1/Y mice. Thus, functional loss of HMGN5 leads to changes in transcription of Gpx6 and Hk1 that alter glutathione metabolism.
Real-time vision-based camera tracking for augmented reality applications

Augmentedreality deals with the problem of dynamically augmenting or enhancing (images or live video of) the real world with computer generated data (e.g., graphics of virtual objects). This poses two major problems: (a) determining the precise alignment of real and virtual coordinate frames for overlay, and (b) capturingthe 3D environmentincluding camera and object motions. The latter is important for interactive augmented reality applications where users can interact with both real and virtual objects. Here we address the problem of accurately tracking the 3D motion of a monocular camera in a known 3D environment and dynamically estimating the 3D camera location. We utilize fully automated landmark-basedcamera calibration to initialize the motion estimation and employ extended Kalman filter techniques to track landmarksand to estimate the camera location. The implementation of our approach has been proven to be efficient and robust and our system successfully tracks in real-time at approximately 10 Hz.
Rostral and orbital prefrontal cortex dysfunction in the manic state of bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated prefrontal cortex function in the manic state of bipolar disorder. METHOD High-sensitivity [15O]H2O positron emission tomography and a word generation activation paradigm were used to study regional cerebral blood flow in five manic and six euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder and in five healthy individuals. RESULTS Decreased right rostral and orbital prefrontal cortex activation during word generation and decreased orbitofrontal activity during rest were associated with mania. CONCLUSIONS The data support the presence of rostral and orbital prefrontal dysfunction in primary mania. These findings, when seen in the context of the human brain lesion and the behavioral neuroanatomic literatures, may help to explain some of the neurobehavioral abnormalities characteristic of the manic state.
Botulinum Toxin Complex Increases Paracellular Permeability in Intestinal Epithelial Cells via Activation of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

ABSTRACT Clostridium botulinum produces a large toxin complex (L-TC) that increases paracellular permeability in intestinal epithelial cells by a mechanism that remains unclear. Here, we show that mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in this permeability increase. Paracellular permeability was measured by FITC-dextran flux through a monolayer of rat intestinal epithelial IEC-6 cells, and MAPK activation was estimated from western blots. L-TC of C. botulinum serotype D strain 4947 increased paracellular dextran flux and activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in IEC-6 cells. The permeability increase induced by L-TC was abrogated by the p38 inhibitor SB203580. These results indicate that L-TC increases paracellular permeability by activating p38, but not JNK and ERK.
An Experimental Evaluation of Ensemble Methods for Pattern Classification

Ensemble methods are used in many pattern recognition problems to improve the classification accuracy. Thus, in this paper, the key goal is to evaluate the performance of three popular ensemble methods bagging, boosting, and random forest for pattern recognition problems. To evaluate the performance of investigated ensemble methodology, a comparative study is realized by using three datasets taken from UCI machine learning repository. Experimental results suggest the feasibilities of ensemble classification methods, and also derived some valuable conclusions on the performance of ensemble methods for pattern classification.
Effect of NaOH and Si69 treatments on the properties of fly ash/natural rubber composites*

Natural silica in fly ash (FA) particles of 30 and 60 phr were incorporated as reinforcing filler in natural rubber (NR) compounds. Improvements of cure characteristics and mechanical properties of the FA/NR composites were expected by surface treatment of the FA particles, this being carried out using various contents of bis-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) tetrasulfane (Si69), as a chemical silane coupling agent, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. The results suggested that the Si69 coupling agent was a satisfactory property promoter in the FA/NR composites through CS bonding with rubber molecules and siloxane linkages with FA particles. Using NaOH solution did not improve the mechanical properties of the composites. The mechanical properties of the FA/NR composites appeared to increase at low Si69 concentrations of 2.0–4.0 wt%, but decreased at high Si69 loadings of 6.0–8.0 wt%. The decrease in mechanical properties resulted from a reduction of crosslink density and a formation of flexible polysiloxane from the self-condensation reaction of the Si69. The presence of Si69 was observed to interfere with the sulphur crosslink formation. No synergetic effect on the properties of the rubber composites was observed when using a mixture of NaOH and Si69. This article recommends concentrations of 2.0–4.0 wt% Si69 to be introduced into the FA/NR composites to achieve the optimum properties. POLYM. COMPOS. , 27:30–40, 2006. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers
As We May Remix: REFF Book and the Augmented Press Experience

This paper explores augmented reality as a set of technologies and processes to weave hyper medial content into printed publications thus fostering new educational practices. In particular this paper focuses on augmented reality as a bridge to extend traditional hyper mediality to paper-based educational tools, analyzing a book recently released by the Italian publisher Fake Press as a case study. The book addresses the concept of remix as a political and educational practice and is based on an extensive use of QR codes and fiduciary markers that act as triggers to retrieve and show additional content published by both authors and readers through an open CMS (Content Management System). The QR codes and the fiduciary markers work as gates to hyper medial remixes that extend the limits of traditional educational text books.
Robust Relay Selection and Power Allocation for OFDM-Based Cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks

In this paper, we study the robust relay selection and power allocation problems for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based cooperative cognitive radio networks (CRNs) with channel uncertainties. The objective is to maximize the capacity of the cooperative CRN, which is subject to the interference threshold constraints of primary users (PUs) and the total transmit power limitation of secondary user (SU) and relays. We describe all possible channel uncertainties with ellipsoid set and interval set. The robust relay selection and power allocation problems are formulated as semi-infinite programming (SIP) problems, respectively. We convert the SIP problems into their equivalent convex optimization problems with the worst-case approach, which can be solved by the Lagrange dual decomposition method. Simulation results show that the proposed robust relay selection and power allocation algorithm can strictly guarantee the quality of service of PUs under channel uncertainties.