Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single-Classifier Memory-Based Phrase Chunking

In the shared task for CoNLL-2000, words and tags form the basic multi-valued features for predicting a rich phrase segmentation code. While the tag features, containing WSJ part-of-speech tags (Marcus et al., 1993), have about 45 values, the word features have more than 10,000 values. In our study we have looked at how memory-based learning, as implemented in the TiMBL software system (Daelemans et al., 2000), can handle such features. We have limited our search to single classifiers, thereby explicitly ignoring the possibility to build a meta-learning classifier architecture that could be expected to improve accuracy. Given this restriction we have explored the following:1. The generalization accuracy of TiMBL with default settings (multi-valued features, overlap metric, feature weighting). 2. The usage of MVDM (Stanfill and Waltz, 1986; Cost and Salzberg, 1993) (Section 2), which should work well on word value pairs with a medium or high frequency, but may work badly on word value pairs with low frequency.3. The straightforward unpacking of feature values into binary features. On some tasks we have found that splitting multi-valued features into several binary features can enhance performance of the classifier.4. A heuristic search for complex features on the basis of all unpacked feature values, and using these complex features for the classification task.
Spectral flow on the Higgs branch and AdS/CFT duality

We use AdS/CFT duality to study the large Nc limit of the meson spectrum on the Higgs branch of a strongly coupled, = 2 supersymmetric SU(Nc) gauge theory with Nf = 2 fundamental hypermultiplets. In the dual supergravity description, the Higgs branch is described by SU(2) instanton configurations on D7-branes in an AdS background. We compute the spectral flow parameterized by the size of a single instanton. In the large Nc limit, there is a sense in which the flow from zero to infinite instanton size, or Higgs VEV, can be viewed as a closed loop. We show that this flow leads to a non-trivial rearrangement of the spectrum.
The Limitations of a Prospective Study of Memories for Child Sexual Abuse

Prospective studies have been held out as a kind of Holy Grail in research about remembering or forgetting child sexual abuse. They seem to hold the perfect answer to the verification problems that plague retrospective self-reports in the clinical literature. Prospective studies begin with verified cases of abuse. Then they require detective work years later to find the participants in adulthood and clever questioning to assure that any disclosed abuse actually matches the “target case. ” These studies are extremely difficult to construct and carry out. That is undoubtedly why there were only two prospective stud-
The Cambridge Learner Corpus-Error coding and analysis

The present invention envisions a smoker's pipe of simplified construction featuring a pair of mutually telescopic stem members and a removable bowl member likewise telescopically arrangeable on the end extremity of one of said stem members for storage, etc. Each of the stem members and the bowl comprises a hollow cylindrical tube and one of the members has an opening through the wall adjacent one end thereof sized to snugly receive a portion of the bowl. One end of the bowl is shaped to engage the internal wall portion of the one member opposite the through opening. One portion of the shaped end of the bowl is notched to permit smoke to pass therethrough into the mouth of the smoker while blocking the passage of solids.
Periodontal Ligament Stem Cell‐Mediated Treatment for Periodontitis in Miniature Swine

Periodontitis is a periodontal tissue infectious disease and the most common cause for tooth loss in adults. It has been linked to many systemic disorders, such as coronary artery disease, stroke, and diabetes. At present, there is no ideal therapeutic approach to cure periodontitis and achieve optimal periodontal tissue regeneration. In this study, we explored the potential of using autologous periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) to treat periodontal defects in a porcine model of periodontitis. The periodontal lesion was generated in the first molars area of miniature pigs by the surgical removal of bone and subsequent silk ligament suture around the cervical portion of the tooth. Autologous PDLSCs were obtained from extracted teeth of the miniature pigs and then expanded ex vivo to enrich PDLSC numbers. When transplanted into the surgically created periodontal defect areas, PDLSCs were capable of regenerating periodontal tissues, leading to a favorable treatment for periodontitis. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using stem cell‐mediated tissue engineering to treat periodontal diseases.
The importance of visual features in generic vs. specialized object recognition: a computational study

It is debated whether the representation of objects in inferior temporal (IT) cortex is distributed over activities of many neurons or there are restricted islands of neurons responsive to a specific set of objects. There are lines of evidence demonstrating that fusiform face area (FFA-in human) processes information related to specialized object recognition (here we say within category object recognition such as face identification). Physiological studies have also discovered several patches in monkey ventral temporal lobe that are responsible for facial processing. Neuronal recording from these patches shows that neurons are highly selective for face images whereas for other objects we do not see such selectivity in IT. However, it is also well-supported that objects are encoded through distributed patterns of neural activities that are distinctive for each object category. It seems that visual cortex utilize different mechanisms for between category object recognition (e.g., face vs. non-face objects) vs. within category object recognition (e.g., two different faces). In this study, we address this question with computational simulations. We use two biologically inspired object recognition models and define two experiments which address these issues. The models have a hierarchical structure of several processing layers that simply simulate visual processing from V1 to aIT. We show, through computational modeling, that the difference between these two mechanisms of recognition can underlie the visual feature and extraction mechanism. It is argued that in order to perform generic and specialized object recognition, visual cortex must separate the mechanisms involved in within category from between categories object recognition. High recognition performance in within category object recognition can be guaranteed when class-specific features with intermediate size and complexity are extracted. However, generic object recognition requires a distributed universal dictionary of visual features in which the size of features does not have significant difference.
Moxifloxacin versus amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in outpatient acute exacerbations of COPD: MAESTRAL results

Bacterial infections causing acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) frequently require antibacterial treatment. More evidence is needed to guide antibiotic choice. The Moxifloxacin in Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Bronchitis TriaL (MAESTRAL) was a multiregional, randomised, double-blind non-inferiority outpatient study. Patients were aged ≥60 yrs, with an Anthonisen type I exacerbation, a forced expiratory volume in 1 s <60% predicted and two or more exacerbations in the last year. Following stratification by steroid use patients received moxifloxacin 400 mg p.o. q.d. (5 days) or amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 875/125 mg p.o. b.i. d. (7 days). The primary end-point was clinical failure 8 weeks post-therapy in the per protocol population. Moxifloxacin was noninferior to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid at the primary end-point (111 (20.6%) out of 538, versus 114 (22.0%) out of 518, respectively; 95% CI -5.89–3.83%). In patients with confirmed bacterial AECOPD, moxifloxacin led to significantly lower clinical failure rates than amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (in the intent-to-treat with pathogens, 62 (19.0%) out of 327 versus 85 (25.4%) out of 335, respectively; p=0.016). Confirmed bacterial eradication at end of therapy was associated with higher clinical cure rates at 8 weeks post-therapy overall (p=0.0014) and for moxifloxacin (p=0.003). Patients treated with oral corticosteroids had more severe disease and higher failure rates. The MAESTRAL study showed that moxifloxacin was as effective as amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in the treatment of outpatients with AECOPD. Both therapies were well tolerated.
Visibly Pushdown Transducers ⋆

Visibly pushdown automata have been recently introduced by Alur and Madhusudan as a subclass of pushdown automata. This class enjoys nice properties such as closure under all Boolean operations and the decidability of language inclusion. Along the same line, we introduce here visibly pushdown transducers as a subclass of pushdown transducers. We study properties of those transducers and identify subclasses with useful properties like decidability of type checking as well as preservation of regularity of visibly pushdown languages.
Compliant robotic systems on graphs

In this paper, a modular method of modeling compliant robotic systems using graph theory is treated. Graph theoretic analyses ensure a structured way of describing a system and allow a straightforward extension to more complex systems. The graph models of a series elastic actuator, a variable stiffness actuator and a multi degrees of freedom compliant system are derived. These systems are controlled using an optimal control law that is able to find the optimal stiffness setting and distribution to accomplish a certain task. A case study shows a multi degrees of freedom compliant system which is required to resonate at the output and to accomplish a back-and-forth motion. It is shown that a constant optimal stiffness is found in the resonance simulation, and a varying optimal stiffness in case of the back-and-forth task. This indicates that this methodology can assist in finding an optimal stiffness distribution of complex robotic systems for a given task.
Physiological and Chemical Investigations into Microbial Degradation of Synthetic Poly(cis-1,4-isoprene)

ABSTRACT Streptomyces coelicolor 1A and Pseudomonas citronellolis were able to degrade synthetic high-molecular-weight poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) and vulcanized natural rubber. Growth on the polymers was poor but significantly greater than that of the nondegrading strain Streptomyces lividans 1326 (control). Measurement of the molecular weight distribution of the polymer before and after degradation showed a time-dependent increase in low-molecular-weight polymer molecules forS. coelicolor 1A and P. citronellolis, whereas the molecular weight distribution for the control (S. lividans 1326) remained almost constant. Three degradation products were isolated from the culture fluid of S. coelicolor 1A grown on vulcanized rubber and were identified as (6Z)-2,6-dimethyl-10-oxo-undec-6-enoic acid, (5Z)-6-methyl-undec-5-ene-2,9-dione, and (5Z,9Z)-6,10-dimethyl-pentadec-5,9-diene-2,13-dione. An oxidative pathway from poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) to methyl-branched diketones is proposed. It includes (i) oxidation of an aldehyde intermediate to a carboxylic acid, (ii) one cycle of β-oxidation, (iii) oxidation of the conjugated double bond resulting in a β-keto acid, and (iv) decarboxylation.
Influenza Outbreak during Sydney World Youth Day 2008: The Utility of Laboratory Testing and Case Definitions on Mass Gathering Outbreak Containment

Background Influenza causes annual epidemics and often results in extensive outbreaks in closed communities. To minimize transmission, a range of interventions have been suggested. For these to be effective, an accurate and timely diagnosis of influenza is required. This is confirmed by a positive laboratory test result in an individual whose symptoms are consistent with a predefined clinical case definition. However, the utility of these clinical case definitions and laboratory testing in mass gathering outbreaks remains unknown. Methods and Results An influenza outbreak was identified during World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. From the data collected on pilgrims presenting to a single clinic, a Markov model was developed and validated against the actual epidemic curve. Simulations were performed to examine the utility of different clinical case definitions and laboratory testing strategies for containment of influenza outbreaks. Clinical case definitions were found to have the greatest impact on averting further cases with no added benefit when combined with any laboratory test. Although nucleic acid testing (NAT) demonstrated higher utility than indirect immunofluorescence antigen or on-site point-of-care testing, this effect was lost when laboratory NAT turnaround times was included. The main benefit of laboratory confirmation was limited to identification of true influenza cases amenable to interventions such as antiviral therapy. Conclusions Continuous re-evaluation of case definitions and laboratory testing strategies are essential for effective management of influenza outbreaks during mass gatherings.
ROSS: A Design of Read-Oriented STT-MRAM Storage for Energy-Efficient Non-Uniform Cache Architecture

Spin-Transfer Torque Magnetoresistive RAM (STTMRAM) is being intensively explored as a promising on-chip last-level cache (LLC) replacement for SRAM, thanks to its low leakage power and high storage capacity. However, the write penalties imposed by STT-MRAM challenges its incarnation as a successful LLC by deteriorating its performance and energy efficiency. This write performance characteristic unfortunately makes STT-MRAM unable to straightforwardly substitute SRAM in many computing systems. In this paper, we propose a hybrid non-uniform cache architecture (NUCA) by employing STT-MRAM as a read-oriented on-chip storage. The key observation here is that many cache lines in LLC are only touched by read operations without any further write updates. These cache lines, referred to as singular-writes, can be internally migrated from SRAM to STT-MRAM in our hybrid NUCA. Our approach can significantly improve the system performance by avoiding many cache read misses with the larger STT-MRAM cache blocks, while it maintains the cache lines requiring write updates in the SRAM cache. Our evaluation results show that, by utilizing the read-oriented STT-MRAM storage, our hybrid NUCA can better the performance of a conventional SRAM-only NUCA and a dead block aware STTMRAM NUCA by 30% and 60% with 45% and 8% lower energy values, respectively.
An overview of some network modeling, simulation and performance analysis tools

This paper is an overview of more than forty of the leading tools being used in the field of network performance analysis, modeling and simulation. The purpose of this paper is to inform potential users of trends in the industry by providing an overview of some of the capabilities of each tool. With unique knowledge of the tools available and a solid background in mathematical modeling and networking architecture, it is possible to utilize some of these tools to dramatically shorten the time span involved in providing useful network architectural solutions, cost reduction and optimization of network resources.
Web Mining for Unsupervised Classification

Data acquisition is a major concern in text classification. The excessive human efforts required by conventional methods to build up quality training collection might not always be available to research workers. In this paper, we look into possibilities to automatically collect training data by sampling the Web with a set of given class names. The basic idea is to populate appropriate keywords and submit them as queries to search engines for acquiring training data. Two methods are presented in this study: One method is based on sampling the common concepts among the classes
The Role of Technical Visits in Learning and Institutionalizing External Control Practices

This article describes the process of acquiring external knowledge through technical visits and its role in institutionalizing the external control practices of the Brazilian Federal Audit Tribunal. Technical field visits made by the entity from 1998 to 2004 are identified and described. The theoretical framework is based on studies of organizational learning and the institutional approach, with focus on institutional isomorphism. The study takes a qualitative approach, based on data collected in 2006, in two stages. In the first, internal documents related to technical visits were analysed and in the second, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with people involved in those visits. Content analyses was the principal data analysis technique. The main results are that the technical visits, associated with conversion of the knowledge acquired into practice, have affected the institutionalization of the Tribunal’s external control practices, in an isomorphic context.
B-bleaching: Agile Overtraining Avoidance in the WiSARD Weightless Neural Classifier

Weightless neural networks constitute a still not fully explored Machine Learning paradigm, even if its first model, WiSARD, is considered. Bleaching, an improvement on WiSARD’s learning mechanism was recently proposed in order to avoid overtraining. Although presenting very good results in different application domains, the original sequential bleaching and its confidence modulation mechanisms still offer room for improvement. This paper presents a new variation of the bleaching mechanism and compares the three strategies performance on a complex domain, that of multilingual grammatical categorization. Experiments considered both number of iterations and accuracy. Results show that binary bleaching allows for a considerable improvement to number of iterations whilst not introducing loss of accuracy.
Small RNA deep sequencing discriminates subsets of extracellular vesicles released by melanoma cells – Evidence of unique microRNA cargos

Melanoma cells release different types of extracellular vesicles (EVs) into the extracellular milieu that are involved with communication and signaling in the tumor microenvironment. Subsets of EVs include exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies that carry protein and genetic (RNA) cargos. To define the contribution of the RNA cargo of melanoma cell derived EVs we performed small RNA sequencing to identify different small RNAs in the EV subsets. Using validated centrifugation protocols, we separated these EV subsets released by the melanoma cell line MML-1, and performed RNA sequencing with the Ion Torrent platform. Various, but different, non-coding RNAs were detected in the EV subsets, including microRNA, mitochondrial associated tRNA, small nucleolar RNA, small nuclear RNA, Ro associated Y-RNA, vault RNA and Y-RNA. We identified in total 1041 miRNAs in cells and EV subsets. Hierarchical clustering showed enrichment of specific miRNAs in exosomes, including hsa-miR-214-3p, hsa-miR-199a-3p and hsa-miR-155-5p, all being associated with melanoma progression. Comparison of exosomal miRNAs with miRNAs in clinical melanoma samples indicate that multiple miRNAs in exosomes also are expressed specifically in melanoma tissues, but not in benign naevi. This study shows for the first time the presence of distinct small RNAs in subsets of EVs released by melanoma cells, with significant similarities to clinical melanoma tissue, and provides unique insights into the contribution of EV associated extracellular RNA in cancer.
Realizing dynamic and efficient bipedal locomotion on the humanoid robot DURUS

This paper presents the methodology used to achieve efficient and dynamic walking behaviors on the prototype humanoid robotics platform, DURUS. As a means of providing a hardware platform capable of these behaviors, the design of DURUS combines highly efficient electromechanical components with “control in the loop” design of the leg morphology. Utilizing the final design of DURUS, a formal framework for the generation of dynamic walking gaits which maximizes efficiency by exploiting the full body dynamics of the robot, including the interplay between the passive and active elements, is developed. The gaits generated through this methodology form the basis of the control implementation experimentally realized on DURUS; in particular, the trajectories generated through the formal framework yield a feedforward control input which is modulated by feedback in the form of regulators that compensate for discrepancies between the model and physical system. The end result of the unified approach to control-informed mechanical design, formal gait design and regulator-based feedback control implementation is efficient and dynamic locomotion on the humanoid robot DURUS. In particular, DURUS was able to demonstrate dynamic locomotion at the DRC Finals Endurance Test, walking for just under five hours in a single day, traveling 3.9 km with a mean cost of transport of 1.61-the lowest reported cost of transport achieved on a bipedal humanoid robot.
A Qualitative Study to Examine Perceptions and Barriers to Appropriate Gestational Weight Gain among Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children Program

Women of reproductive age are particularly at risk of obesity because of excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight retention, resulting in poor health outcomes for both mothers and infants. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine perceptions and barriers to GWG among low-income women in the WIC program to inform the development of an intervention study. Eleven focus groups were conducted and stratified by ethnicity, and each group included women of varying age, parity, and prepregnancy BMI ranges. Participants reported receiving pressure from spouse and family members to “eat for two” among multiple barriers to appropriate weight gain during pregnancy. Participants were concerned about gaining too much weight but had minimal knowledge of weight gain goals during pregnancy. Receiving regular weight monitoring was reported, but participants had inconsistent discussions about weight gain with healthcare providers. Most were not aware of the IOM guidelines nor the fact that gestational weight gain goals differed by prepregnancy weight status. Results of these focus groups analyses informed the design of a pregnancy weight tracker and accompanying educational handout for use in an intervention study. These findings suggest an important opportunity for GWG education in all settings where pregnant women are seen.
Thompson Sampling in Dynamic Systems for Contextual Bandit Problems

Author(s): Xu, Tianbing; Yu, Yaming; Turner, John; Regan, Amelia | Abstract: We consider the multiarm bandit problems in the timevarying dynamic system for rich structural features. For the nonlinear dynamic model, we propose the approximate inference for the posterior distributions based on Laplace Approximation. For the context bandit problems, Thompson Sampling is adopted based on the underlying posterior distributions of the parameters. More specifically, we introduce the discount decays on the previous samples impact and analyze the different decay rates with the underlying sample dynamics. Consequently, the exploration and exploitation is adaptively tradeoff according to the dynamics in the system.