Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reward-Weighted Regression with Sample Reuse for Direct Policy Search in Reinforcement Learning

Abstract Direct policy search is a promising reinforcement learning framework, in particular for controlling continuous, high-dimensional systems. Policy search often requires a large number of samples for obtaining a stable policy update estimator, and this is prohibitive when the sampling cost is expensive. In this letter, we extend an expectation-maximization-based policy search method so that previously collected samples can be efficiently reused. The usefulness of the proposed method, reward-weighted regression with sample reuse (R), is demonstrated through robot learning experiments. (This letter is an extended version of our earlier conference paper: Hachiya, Peters, & Sugiyama, 2009.)
NORMAL-BOUNDARY INTERSECTION: AN ALTERNATE METHOD FOR GENERATING PARETO OPTIMAL POINTS IN MULTICRITERIA OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

This paper proposes an alternate method for finding several Pareto optimal points for a general nonlinear multicriteria optimization problem, aimed at capturing the tradeoff among the various conflicting objectives. It can be rigorously proved that this method is completely independent of the relative scales of the functions and is quite successful in producing an evenly distributed set of points in the Pareto set given an evenly distributed set of `weights'', a property which the popular method of linear combinations lacks. Further, this method can be easily extended in case of more than two objectives while retaining the computational efficiency of continuation-type algorithms, which is an improvement over homotopy techniques for tracing the tradeoff curve.
Airway Obstruction During Mask Ventilation of Very Low Birth Weight Infants During Neonatal Resuscitation

OBJECTIVES. The delivery of adequate but not excessive ventilation remains one of the most common problems encountered during neonatal resuscitation, especially in the very low birth weight infant. Our observations suggest that airway obstruction is a common occurrence after delivery of such infants, and we use colorimetric carbon dioxide detectors during bag-and-mask resuscitation to assist in determining whether the airway was patent. We reviewed our experience to determine the frequency of the occurrence of recognizable airway obstruction during resuscitation of very low birth weight infants. METHODS AND PATIENTS. The previous prospective trial randomly assigned preterm infants <32 weeks' gestation to resuscitation with either room air or 100% oxygen using pulse oximetry. Colorimetric carbon dioxide detectors were used to assist with bag-and-mask ventilation and to confirm intubation. From the video recordings, the number of positive pressure breaths without a color change in the detector until the breaths were associated with an unequivocal color change was counted as obstructed breaths. From the analog tracings, the number of breaths that had a peak pressure plateau of ≥0.2 second and were not associated with a color change was recorded as the number of obstructed breaths. RESULTS. None of the studied infants required cardiopulmonary resuscitation or received epinephrine, and all were judged to have an effective circulation during resuscitation. Six of the 24 infants enrolled in the trial received only continuous positive airway pressure. The remaining 18 infants received a median of 14 obstructed breaths (range: 4–37 breaths) delivered over a mean and median interval of 56.7 and 45.0 seconds, respectively (range: 10.0–220.0 seconds). A subgroup of 11 infants was analyzed using airway-pressure data. The target peak inspiratory pressure was 30 cm H2O. Ten of these 11 infants had obstructed breaths as defined by no change in the PediCap despite reaching the target pressure for ≥0.2 second. CONCLUSION. Airway obstruction occurs in the majority of the very low birth weight infants who receive ventilation with a face mask during resuscitation and the use of a colorimetric detector can facilitate its recognition and management.
Evaluation of Organic Anion-Transporting Polypeptide 1B1 and CYP3A4 Activities in Primary Human Hepatocytes and HepaRG Cells Cultured in a Dynamic Three-Dimensional Bioreactor System

The long-term stability of liver cell functions is a major challenge when studying hepatic drug transport, metabolism, and toxicity in vitro. The aim of the present study was to investigate organic anion-transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 and CYP3A4 activities in fresh primary human hepatocytes and differentiated cryopreserved HepaRG cells when cultured in a three-dimensional (3D) bioreactor system. OATP1B1 activity was determined by loss from media experiments of [3H]estradiol-17β-d-glucuronide and atorvastatin acid (ATA) for up to 7 days in culture. ATA metabolite formation was determined at days 3 to 4 to evaluate CYP3A4 activity. Overall, the results showed that freshly isolated human hepatocytes inoculated in the bioreactor retained OATP1B1 activity for at least 7 days, whereas in HepaRG cells no OATP1B1 activity was observed beyond day 2. The activity data were in agreement with immunohistochemical stainings, which showed that OATP1B1 protein expression was preserved for at least 9 days in fresh human hepatocytes, whereas OATP1B1 was expressed markedly lower in HepaRG cells after 9 days in culture. Fresh human hepatocytes and HepaRG cells exhibited similar CYP3A4 activity in bioreactor culture, and immunohistochemical stainings supported these findings. Activity and mRNA expression of OATP1B1 and CYP3A4 in primary human hepatocytes compared with HepaRG cells in fresh suspensions were in agreement with data obtained in bioreactor culture. In conclusion, freshly isolated human hepatocytes cultured in a 3D bioreactor system preserve both OATP1B1 and CYP3A4 activities, allowing long-term in vitro studies on drug disposition and toxicity.
Infection rates in intensive care units by electrocardiographic lead wire type: disposable vs reusable.

BACKGROUND It is unknown if disposable electrocardiographic lead wires (ECG-LWs) reduce infection rates compared with cleaned, reusable lead wires. PURPOSE To compare infection rates in intensive care unit (ICU) patients receiving disposable versus reusable ECG-LWs. METHODS Matched adult ICUs were randomly assigned to disposable or reusable ECG-LWs. Outcomes were bloodstream infection, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and chest surgical site infections. Patients' characteristics and infections were collected from hospital databases. Event rates were described by using total counts and rates per 100 patient days and were compared between groups by using generalized linear mixed-effect models weighted by patients' ICU length of stay. RESULTS Overall, 4056 patients from 6 ICUs received disposable and 3184 patients from 5 ICUs received reusable ECG-LWs. The characteristics of the 2 groups were similar, except patients receiving disposable ECG-LWs were less likely to be discharged home (P = .03) and had more comorbid conditions (P = .002). Overall infection rates did not differ between ECG-LW groups, between groups in matched ICUs, between groups by infection type, or when only patients with ICU stays longer than 48 hours were considered (2578 cases). In multivariate analyses, infection rates did not differ between all patients in ECG-LW groups or for patients with ICU stays beyond 48 hours (both P = .10). CONCLUSIONS No difference was observed in infection rates of ICU patients receiving disposable versus reusable ECG-LWs.
Critical Pedagogy in Online Environments as Thirdspace: A Narrative Analysis of Voices of Candidates in Educational Preparatory Programs

Faculty members in teacher and administrator preparation programs have unprecedented opportunities to incorporate advanced technologies, including the expansion of online classes and the use of online discussion forums. Within online environments, the concepts of critical pedagogy are more connected to the landscape of digital information, providing opportunities to focus on local regimes of truth with individuals constructing new knowledge forms. Utilizing qualitative narrative analysis to examine the voices of five preservice teachers, five candidates in a beginning principal preparation program, and five doctoral educational administration candidates, this paper translates the sociological construct of Thirdspace (Soja 1996) as applied to critical pedagogy in online environments. Within Thirdspace, preservice teachers and educational leaders transform their thinking about issues that affect their lives as well as their school communities through ongoing discourse and exploration related to their own cultural backgrounds in order to promote social justice in a culturally pluralistic society.
The Politics of Resentment in the Post–Civil Rights Era: Minority Threat, Homicide, and Ideological Voting in Congress1

This study assesses whether racial and ethnic resentments still influence U.S. politics. Tests of hypotheses derived from minority threat theory and minority voting power stipulating quadratic relationships between minority presence and roll call votes for liberal legislation in the House of Representatives are conducted. In addition to these nonlinear associations, the political influence of the most menacing crime the public blames on underclass minorities is assessed as well. Fixed‐effects estimates based on analyses of 1,152 state‐years in the post–civil rights era indicate that the expected \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape $$\textsf{U}$$\end{document} ‐shaped relationships are present between minority population size and roll call votes for liberal legislation. Additional findings suggest that expansions in the murder rates produced decreased support for liberal policies. Statements by Republican campaign officials on how they deliberately used mass resentments against minorities to gain normally Democratic votes provide evidence about the intervening connections between the threat to white dominance posed by larger minority populations and reduced support for liberal legislation.
Reflections on Doing Research Grounded in My Experience of Perinatal Loss: From Auto/biography to Autoethnography

This article, derived from my doctoral dissertation (DAVIDSON 2007) examining the emergence of hospital protocols for perinatal bereavement during the last half of the twentieth century in Canada, focuses on the methodological complexities – the draw, the drain, and the delight of doing qualitative research grounded in my own experience of perinatal loss. With my dissertation now a fait a complete, reflecting back on my research, my use of autoethnography at this point allows a return to a story that has already happened and involves “the construction and reconstruction’ of my personal experiences as narratives’ (AUTREY 2003: 10). Taking this narrative turn, my enquiry here shifts auto/biography to autoethnography as a mode of enquiry.
Exploiting LSTM structure in deep neural networks for speech recognition

The CD-DNN-HMM system has became the state-of-art system for large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) tasks, in which deep neural networks (DNN) plays a key role. However, DNN training suffers from the vanishing gradient problem, limiting training of deep models. In this work, we address this problem by incorporating the successful long-short term memory (LSTM) structure, which has been proposed to help recurrent neural network (RNN) to remember long term dependencies, into DNN. Also, we propose a generalized formulation of the LSTM block, which we name general LSTM(GLSTM). In our experiments, it is shown that our proposed (G)LSTM-DNN scales well with more layers, and achieves 8.2% relative word error rate reduction on the 2000-hour Switchboard data set.
Recent Advances in Polyamine Metabolism and Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Global warming is an alarming problem in agriculture and its effect on yield loss has been estimated to be five per cent for every degree centigrade rise in temperature. Plants exhibit multiple mechanisms like optimizing signaling pathway, involvement of secondary messengers, production of biomolecules specifically in response to stress, modulation of various metabolic networks in accordance with stress, and so forth, in order to overcome abiotic stress factors. Many structural genes and networks of pathway were identified and reported in plant systems for abiotic stress tolerance. One such crucial metabolic pathway that is involved in normal physiological function and also gets modulated during stress to impart tolerance is polyamine metabolic pathway. Besides the role of structural genes, it is also important to know the mechanism by which these structural genes are regulated during stress. Present review highlights polyamine biosynthesis, catabolism, and its role in abiotic stress tolerance with special reference to plant systems. Additionally, a system based approach is discussed as a potential strategy to dissect the existing variation in crop species in unraveling the interacting regulatory components/genetic determinants related to PAs mediated abiotic stress tolerance.
‘. . . And after the break’: Police officers’views of TV crime drama

The police procedural drama is a staple feature of the TV listings. Detective fiction dominates the best sellers’ lists. Despite this, the day-to-day reality of policing is obscured from the vast majority of the public who have little direct contact with the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Skolnick [Skolnick, J. (1966). Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in a Democratic Society. New York: Wiley] argues that the police, as an organization, are one of the most hidden parts of the CJS. Reiner [Reiner, R. (2003). Newburn, T. (ed.), Policing and the Media in Handbook of Policing. Willan: Abingdon. ]notes that the debate about the relationship between the media, policing, and crime has been a key feature of wider societal concerns about crime since the establishment of the modern police force. From a police perspective, Reiner [Reiner, R. (2003). Newburn, T. (ed.), Policing and the Media in Handbook of Policing. Willan: Abingdon. ] notes that TV drama creates a simplistic narrative of crime solving that is almost completely divorced fromthe reality of modern police work. This article will discuss the findings of a pilot study, which sought to explore theattitudes of retired police officers to representations of policing in popular culture with a particular focus on TV dramas.
Motivation in the classroom: Insights into beginning teachers beliefs to teach music and the arts for students aged 9-15 years

In 2005, a National Review of School Music (Centre for Learning, Change and Development, 2005) raised a number of questions in relation to the teaching of music and the arts in schools. Recommendations included increasing the school hours dedicated to the arts, resources available in school and an increase in the duration and nature of pre-service teacher education courses. While the review provided some insight into teacher development, greater exploration of teacher beliefs about music is necessary, especially as they begin teaching careers. According to self-efficacy theory, the beginning years of teaching are crucial to future teaching practice as beliefs are developed and formed (Bandura, 1997). Once this period is over, theory further suggests that beliefs are resistant to change (Bandura, 1997). This paper seeks to explore beginning teacher beliefs about the teaching of music and arts education, by investigating self-reported motivators of beginning generalist teachers from a beliefs perspective.
Ecobehavioral Assessment of Instructional Contexts in Bilingual Special Education Programs for English Language Learners at Risk for Developmental Disabilities

This article presents empirical data using The Ecobehavioral System for the Contextual Recording of Interactional Bilingual Environments to examine the instructional context, teacher behavior, and academic engaged behavior for English language learners at risk for developmental disabilities in general education and bilingual special education programs. Thirty-six English language learners at risk for developmental disabilities were observed for 6 full school days each, for a total of 213 days and 1,491 hours, within 4 elementary-level school settings and 26 different classrooms. The results revealed that (a) the most frequently taught subjects were math (20%), reading (18%), and language arts (16%); (b) English was the most frequently used language of instruction (58%); and (c) students were actively engaged in academic behaviors for slightly less than half of a typical school day (44%).
Self-competence and emotional understanding in high-functioning children with autism

Abstract This study examined the relationships between perceived self-competence, intellectual ability, emotional understanding, and parent report of social adaptation in 18 nonretarded children with autism. Children who perceived themselves as less socially competent demonstrated stronger intellectual capabilities, greater understanding of others' emotional experiences, and were better able to access their own emotional experiences than were those who perceived themselves as more socially competent. According to their parents, children who reported less social competence also displayed more socially adaptive behavior, and expressed more interest and less sadness and fear than did those who reported greater social competence. Discussion focuses on potential effects of this heightened capacity for emotional understanding on self-esteem and implications for intervention with highly intelligent persons with autism.
Building Bridges: Experiential Art Understanding

When building the bridge of experiential art understanding, the focus is set on the key stone of self in the centre of the arch. Art interpretation as a means of understanding and constructing self is based on the view of self as an unilinear collage of the accumulated life experiences each of us possesses. It is a whole consisting of different roles and relations, cultural identity being a crucial part of it. Self-identity is the experience of distinctness, agency, and continuity that is formed through one’s personal life history. In the model of experiential art interpretation, the process of art interpretation is understood as a series of events where the viewer’s past and present experiences are the basis for constructing new knowledge. The dialectics between personal and social knowledge happens through the different, coequal forms of grasping and transformation. Experiential art interpretation combines strategies from the disciplines of art history, aesthetics, and criticism, and connects them to the experientially-based processes of reflective observation, conceptualization, and production. A central concept in experiential art exploration is transfer, which means the ability to apply knowledge and skills learned in one context to other situations. Transfer leads to increased self-consciousness and metacognitive skills. For transfer to happen, learners have to be able to apply processes of artistic inquiry both in understanding other artworks and in making their own artworks. The second level of transfer has to do with the ability to apply the new ideas and attitudes adopted in the interpretation process in real-life situations.
Tracing Attentions

Simultaneous media use has become a prominent part of the contemporary media landscape. While critical media scholars continue to presume that audiences engage media one at a time, industries and advertisers are increasingly examining how viewers split their attentions across multiple screens at once, and how best to integrate these screens into synergized content streams. This article relates industry discourses on simultaneous media to longer-standing interest in audience inattention, specifically the ways that producers are reconceptualizing multitasking from a distracting activity to a potentially interactive one. Examining these discourses provides a foundation from which critical scholars can engage with the multiscreen contexts in which audiences use new media, while critiquing the presumptions of interactivity at the heart of convergence culture.
Expressive avatars in MPEG-4

Man-machine interaction (MMI) systems that utilize multimodal information about users' current emotional state are presently at the forefront of interest of the computer vision and artificial intelligence communities. A lifelike avatar can enhance interactive applications. In this paper, we present the implementation of GretaEngine and synthesized expressions, including intermediate ones, based on MPEG-4 standard and Whissel's emotion representation.
Expanding the risk assessment methodology for work-related health: A technique for incorporating multivariate curvilinear effects

Abstract Although there is conceptual and empirical evidence that supports the existence of possible curvilinear relationships between job characteristics and health outcomes, risk assessments usually rely on linear estimation approaches. However, this approach may not be conducive to good risk management practice. Where curvilinear effects exist, it is possible for there to be too much of a beneficial work characteristic, or too little of one that is harmful. If that is the case then there will be an optimum level for health and well-being. This study explores a new risk estimation technique that can accommodate multivariate curvilinear relationships. The partial derivatives technique can provide stronger predictive utility, incorporate synergistic effects of predictors, and is supported by conceptual work and empirical evidence. To illustrate these ideas, a risk assessment was conducted on a sample of 354 police officers in Greece. Multivariate polynomial regression analyses indicated that a number of job characteristics salient to participants’ experiences were related to outcomes curvilinearly. A risk index (Ri) was derived from a range of values that represent the slopes of all possible lines tangential to the curve that describes the relationship between predictor and outcome. This technique may help to refine and extend current models of risk assessment for work-related health and stimulate new interest in research into risk assessment methodology.