Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reasoning about uncertainty

In order to deal with uncertainty intelligently, we need to be able to represent it and reason about it. In this book, Joseph Halpern examines formal ways of representing uncertainty and considers various logics for reasoning about it. While the ideas presented are formalized in terms of definitions and theorems, the emphasis is on the philosophy of representing and reasoning about uncertainty. Halpern surveys possible formal systems for representing uncertainty, including probability measures, possibility measures, and plausibility measures; considers the updating of beliefs based on changing information and the relation to Bayes' theorem; and discusses qualitative, quantitative, and plausibilistic Bayesian networks. This second edition has been updated to reflect Halpern's recent research. New material includes a consideration of weighted probability measures and how they can be used in decision making; analyses of the Doomsday argument and the Sleeping Beauty problem; modeling games with imperfect recall using the runs-and-systems approach; a discussion of complexity-theoretic considerations; the application of first-order conditional logic to security. Reasoning about Uncertainty is accessible and relevant to researchers and students in many fields, including computer science, artificial intelligence, economics (particularly game theory), mathematics, philosophy, and statistics.
Phone Synchronous Speech Recognition With CTC Lattices

Connectionist temporal classification (CTC) has recently shown improved performance and efficiency in automatic speech recognition. One popular decoding implementation is to use a CTC model to predict the phone posteriors at each frame and then perform Viterbi beam search on a modified WFST network. This is still within the traditional frame synchronous decoding framework. In this paper, the peaky posterior property of CTC is carefully investigated and it is found that ignoring blank frames will not introduce additional search errors. Based on this phenomenon, a novel phone synchronous decoding framework is proposed by removing tremendous search redundancy due to blank frames, which results in significant search speed up. The framework naturally leads to an extremely compact phone-level acoustic space representation: CTC lattice. With CTC lattice, efficient and effective modular speech recognition approaches, second pass rescoring for large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR), and phone-based keyword spotting (KWS), are also proposed in this paper. Experiments showed that phone synchronous decoding can achieve 3-4 times search speed up without performance degradation compared to frame synchronous decoding. Modular LVCSR with CTC lattice can achieve further WER improvement. KWS with CTC lattice not only achieved significant equal error rate improvement, but also greatly reduced the KWS model size and increased the search speed.
2 . 2 Population Diversity and Selective Pressure of SGA

Based on certain phenomena from the human society and nature, we propose a binary affinity genetic algorithm (aGA) by adopting the following strategies: the population is adaptively updated to avoid stagnation; the newly generated individuals are guaranteed to survive for certain number of generations in order for them to have enough time to develop their good genes; new individuals and the old ones are balanced to take both of their advantages. In order to quantitatively analyze the selective pressure, the concept of selection degree and a simple linear control equation are introduced. We can maintain the diversity of the evolutionary population by controlling the value of the selection degree. The performance of aGA is further enhanced by incorporating local search strategies.
Variational Inference for Large-Scale Models of Discrete Choice

Discrete choice models are commonly used by applied statisticians in numerous fields, such as marketing, economics, finance, and operations research. When agents in discrete choice models are assumed to have differing preferences, exact inference is often intractable. Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques make approximate inference possible, but the computational cost is prohibitive on the large datasets now becoming routinely available. Variational methods provide a deterministic alternative for approximation of the posterior distribution. We derive variational procedures for empirical Bayes and fully Bayesian inference in the mixed multinomial logit model of discrete choice. The algorithms require only that we solve a sequence of unconstrained optimization problems, which are shown to be convex. One version of the procedures relies on a new approximation to the variational objective function, based on the multivariate delta method. Extensive simulations, along with an analysis of real-world data, demonstrate that variational methods achieve accuracy competitive with Markov chain Monte Carlo at a small fraction of the computational cost. Thus, variational methods permit inference on datasets that otherwise cannot be analyzed without possibly adverse simplifications of the underlying discrete choice model. Appendices C through F are available as online supplemental materials.
R-Invariant Dilaton Fixing

It is expected that a unified theory of all interactions (yet to be discovered) will allow description based on effective field theory at low energy. One possible feature of a low-energy effective theory is that its coupling constants should be determined dynamically, since a unified theory may well have no arbitrary parameters to provide ad hoc coupling constants. In fact, superstring theory as a candidate of such a unified theory yields, at least perturbatively, this type of effective field theory, which generally contains, among others, the dilaton field as a modulus to determine the overall coupling strength. In this paper, we consider an R-invariant stabilization of the vacuum expectation value of the dilaton. ∗) An advantage of the R invariance is that the cosmological constant at the stabilization scale is naturally vanishing in the stabilized vacuum,∗∗) in contrast to schemes without R invariance. 4), 5) We provide a few models of dilaton fixing with large or small gauge groups, where the dilaton is stabilized in the vacuum corresponding to weak gauge couplings.
The cost-effectiveness of somatropin treatment for short children born small for gestational age (SGA) and children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in Sweden

Abstract Objective: Reduction in health-related quality of life is common in children born small for gestational age (SGA) or children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Growth hormone treatment with somatropin in these children leads to normalisation of height. The aim of this study was to determine whether somatropin is a cost-effective treatment option for short children born SGA and GHD children in Sweden. Methods: A Markov decision-tree model was used to calculate the relative costs and health benefits associated with somatropin treatment over the lifetime of SGA and GHD children, compared with no treatment. The analysis was undertaken from a Swedish Health Service perspective. As quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) data were not obtained directly in the clinical studies, a degree of uncertainty is related to these results. Sensitivity analyses assessed the degree of uncertainty surrounding central parameters. Results: For short children born SGA, somatropin treatment was associated with an additional 3.29 QALYs at an incremental cost of 792,489 SEK (Swedish Krona), compared with no treatment. For GHD, somatropin treatment resulted in 3.25 additional QALYs at an incremental cost of 391,291 SEK. This equates to an incremental cost per QALY of 240,831 SEK and 120,494 SEK for SGA and GHD, respectively, below a cost-effectiveness threshold of 500,000–600,000 SEK/QALY. Conclusions: Somatropin is a cost-effective treatment strategy in Sweden for children with GHD and SGA. To overcome present study limitations future clinical research should incorporate appropriate quality of life questionnaires.
Interleukin 2 Topical Cream for Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcer: Experiment Protocol

Background It is estimated there are 2.9 million diabetic patients in the United Kingdom, and around 5%-7% of patients have diabetic ulcers. This number will continue to increase globally. Diabetic ulcers are a major economic burden on the healthcare system. More than £650 million is spent on foot ulcers or amputations each year, and up to 100 people a week have a limb amputated due to diabetes. In T1DM, the level of IL-2 is reduced, and hence, wound healing is in a prolonged inflammatory phase. It is not known if IL-2 topical cream can shorten the healing process in T1DM patients. Objective The objective of this study is to understand the pathophysiology in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and investigate possible future treatment based on its clinical features. The hypothesis is that IL-2 cream can speed up wound healing in NOD mice and that this can be demonstrated in a ten-week study. An experiment protocol is designed in a mouse model for others to conduct the experiment. The discussion is purely based on diabetic conditions; lifestyle influences like smoking and drinking are not considered. Methods Skin incisions will be created on 20 nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, and IL-2 topical cream will be applied in a 10-week study to prove the hypothesis. Mice will be randomly and equally divide into two groups with one being the control group. Results T1DM patients have a decreased number of T regulatory (Treg) cells and interleukin 2 (IL-2). These are the keys to the disease progression and delay in wound healing. Diabetic ulcer is a chronic wound and characterized by a prolonged inflammatory phase. Conclusions If the experiment is successful, T1DM patients will have an alternative, noninvasive treatment of foot ulcers. In theory, patients with other autoimmune diseases could also use IL-2 topical cream for treatment.
A new statistical optimization algorithm for gate sizing

In this paper, we approach the gate sizing problem in VLSI circuits in the context of increasing variability of process and circuit parameters as technology scales into the nanometer regime. We present a statistical sizing approach that takes into account randomness in gate delays by formulating a robust linear program that can be solved efficiently. We demonstrate the efficiency and computational tractability of the proposed algorithm on the various ISCAS'85 benchmark circuits. Across the benchmarks, compared to the deterministic approach, the power savings range from 23-30% for the same timing target and the yield level, the average power saving being 28%. The runtime is reasonable, ranging from a few seconds to around 10 mins, and grows linearly.
Analysis of the buckling of carbon nanotube under self-weight: The power series and differential quadrature approaches

ABSTRACT The buckling of carbon nanotube (CNT) under self-weight and resting on elastic foundations is examined in this article. The system is mathematically modeled as nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli beam. Two different numerical schemes are employed to calculate the values of buckling loads, namely power series method (PSM) and differential quadrature method (DQM). Both methods bring out buckling loads which are very close to each other for considered boundary conditions and for chosen values of nonlocal parameter. The spring constant plays an increasing role on the buckling loads for all boundary conditions while the shear constant decreases the buckling loads of cantilevered CNT.
The Operator Psi for the Chromatic Number of a Graph

We investigate hierarchies of semidefinite approximations for the chromatic number $\chi(G)$ of a graph $G$. We introduce an operator $\Psi$ mapping any graph parameter $\beta(G)$, nested between the stability number $\alpha(G)$ and $\chi(\overline G)$, to a new graph parameter $\Psi_\beta(G)$, nested between $\alpha (\overline G)$ and $\chi(G)$; $\Psi_\beta(G)$ is polynomial time computable if $\beta(G)$ is. As an application, there is no polynomial time computable graph parameter nested between the fractional chromatic number $\chi^*(\cdot)$ and $\chi(\cdot)$ unless $\text{P} = \text{NP}$. Moreover, based on the Motzkin-Straus formulation for $\alpha(G)$, we give (quadratically constrained) quadratic and copositive programming formulations for $\chi(G)$. Under some mild assumptions, $n/\beta(G)\le \Psi_\beta(G)$, but, while $n/\beta(G)$ remains below $\chi^*(G)$, $\Psi_\beta(G)$ can reach $\chi(G)$ (e.g., for $\beta(\cdot)=\alpha(\cdot)$). We also define new polynomial time computable lower bounds for $\chi(G)$, improving the classic Lovasz theta number (and its strengthenings obtained by adding nonnegativity and triangle inequalities); experimental results on Hamming graphs, Kneser graphs, and DIMACS benchmark graphs will be given in the follow-up paper [N. Gvozdenovic and M. Laurent, SIAM J. Optim. , 19 (2008), pp. 592-615].
Parallel evaluation of a parallel architecture by means of calibrated emulation

A parallel transputer-based emulator has been developed to evaluate the Data Diffusion Machine (DDM)/spl minus/a highly parallel virtual shared memory architecture. The emulator provides performance results of a hardware implementation of the DDM using a calibrated virtual clock. Unlike the virtual clock of a simulator, the emulator clock is bound to a fixed fraction of real time, so individual processors may time actions independently without the need for a global clock value. Each component of the emulator is artificially slowed down, so that the balance of the speeds of all components reflects the balance of the expected hardware implementation. The calibrated emulator runs an order of magnitude faster than a simulator (the application program is executed directly and there is no overhead for the maintenance of event lists) and, more importantly, the emulator is inherently parallel. This results in a peak emulation speed of 27 MIPS when simulating a machine with 81 leaf nodes on a 121-node transputer system. <<ETX>>
Numerical methods for the simulation of continuum granular flow models

This thesis is devoted to the modeling and numerical methods for the simulation of non-Newtonian flows, and focuses particularly on granular materials flows. This work is applied to molten powders aiming to ensure metal thermal protection from the air in ingot casting process of metallic alloys. These powders are conditionned into bags disposed into the mold, which burn due to high temperatures, and allowing the powder spreading onto the metal surface. Thus, numerical simulation appears as a powerful tool for the process optimization, and especially, for the powder spreading.In this work, a finite element formulation has been proposed for the modeling of granular multiphase flows, by a continuum approach. The associated equations are solved using stabilized numerical schemes, coupled with the Level-Set method to capture and follow the granular profile during the simulation. First, the numerical tools have been implemented for Bingham flows, by using regularization a method. Then, the formulation was extended to dry granular flows, by the use of the mu(I) rheology constitutive model for describing its pressure-dependent behavior. The model has been validated on granular collapses, and a sensitivity analysis to boundary conditions and physical constants has been proposed.Finally, industrial cases of powder chutes ontoboth solid and liquid metla substrates have been conducted, leading to preliminary solutions for the optimization of ingot casting process.
Knowledge-Based Query Processing

Contemporary database query processing systems base their actions principally on "syntactic" considerations, and seek only the most efficacious way of answering a query as originally formulated. An alternative approach seeks to use knowledge of the semantics of the database's application to transform the original query into an alternative form, possibly quite different in its expression, but which is both equivalent to the original (in terms of the set of records from the database that it qualifies) and more efficient to process, given the existing file structures and access methods. The architecture of a system supporting such knowledge-based "semantic" transformations has been developed. It addresses such issues as the kinds of knowledge that should be included in the knowledge base and how it should be expressed, the kinds of transformations that can exploit this knowledge to improve query processing, and the way in which the system as a whole can be organized in the presence of large and intricate knowledge bases and a multiplicity of possible transformation types. This latter structure is based on a multi-processing model, in which each possible transformation is treated as a process, whose priority is assigned by a scheduler embodying a variety of heuristics. The principal contribution of the work is the establishment of a conceptual framework for this type of query optimization and the design of an architecture that can grow with the development of additional transformation techniques.
Deep vein thrombus formation induced by flow reduction in mice is determined by venous side branches.

BACKGROUND Interaction between vascular wall abnormalities, inflammatory leukocytes, platelets, coagulation factors and hemorheology in the pathogenesis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is incompletely understood, requiring well defined animal models of human disease. METHODS AND RESULTS We subjected male C57BL/6 mice to ligation of the inferior vena cava (IVC) as a flow reduction model to induce DVT. Thrombus size and weight were analyzed macroscopically and sonographically by B-mode, pulse wave (pw) Doppler and power Doppler imaging (PDI) using high frequency ultrasound. Thrombus size varied substantially between individual procedures and mice, irrespective of the flow reduction achieved by the ligature. Interestingly, PDI accurately predicted thrombus size in a very robust fashion (r2 = 0.9734, p < 0.0001). Distance of the insertion of side branches from the ligature significantly determines thrombus weight (r2 = 0.5597, p < 0.0001) and length (r2 = 0.5441, p < 0.0001) in the IVC, regardless of the flow measured by pw-Doppler with distances <1.5 mm drastically impairing thrombus formation. Occlusion of side branches prior to ligation of IVC did not increase thrombus size, probably due to patent side branches inaccessible to surgery. CONCLUSION Venous side branches influence thrombus size in experimental DVT and might therefore prevent thrombus formation. This renders vessel anatomy and hemorheology important determinants in mouse models of DVT, which should be controlled for.
Knowledge Management System Building Blocks

: This paper describes three building blocks of a technological Knowledge Management (KM) system that provides all relevant and practical means of supporting KM and thus differentiates itself from existing KM tools in goal and approach, as they usually deal with a limited range only. The three blocks described within this paper are: a virtual information pool, which utilizes Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), a single and central user interface providing ubiquitous access, and mechanisms to enrich the available data, essentially based on Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining techniques.
Avoiding packaging mismatch with flexible packaging

To integrate a software component into a system, it must interact properly with the system's other components. Unfortunately, the decisions about how a component is to interact with other components are typically committed long before the moment of integration and are difficult to change. This paper introduces the flexible packaging method, which allows a component developer to defer some decisions about component interaction until system integration time. The method divides the component's source into two pieces: the ware, which encapsulates the component's functionality; and the packager, which encapsulates the details of interaction. Both the ware and the packager are independently reusable. A ware, as a reusable part, allows a given piece of functionality to be employed in systems in different architectural styles. A packager, as a reusable part, encapsulates conformance to a component standard, like an ActiveX control or an ODBC database accessor. Because the packager's source code is often formulaic, a tool is provided to generate the packager's source from a high-level description of the intended interaction, a description written in the architectural description language UniCon. The method and tools are evaluated with two case studies, an image viewer and a database updater.
Distributed hierarchical optimal routing using aggregation/disaggregation and decomposition/composition techniques

The authors improve the performance of the original iterative aggregation disaggregation gradient projection (IAD-GP) algorithm based on the idea of A/D only. The A/D concept naturally fits the hierarchical structure of the large wide area data networks and one would expect speed-up effects. Furthermore, by adding to the modified IAD-GP iteration decomposition/composition (D/C) steps, the authors propose a new algorithm called HAD (hierarchical A/D and D/C)-GP algorithm. The HAD-GP algorithm achieves significant improvement in convergence speed. This speed-up is demonstrated by numerical implementations comparing the HAD-GP algorithm with the modified IAD-GP and the ordinary GP (ORD-GP) algorithms. <<ETX>>
Clinical impact of the CYP3A5 6986A>G allelic variant on kidney transplantation outcomes.

AIM Meta-analyses and large cohort studies provide confusing results on the association of the CYP3A5 6986A>G allelic variant and adverse outcomes in kidney transplant recipients under tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive regimen. A residual effect of CYP3A5 recipient genotype is unexpected if kidney transplant recipients have similar exposure of tacrolimus. PATIENTS & METHODS We have undertaken a population-based, observational study, to investigate all the consecutive patients who received a kidney transplant at the Necker hospital between 2005 and 2015, who were treated with tacrolimus and for whom the CYP3A5 genotype was available. RESULTS & CONCLUSION We analyzed 577 patients followed for up to 5 years. We found a significant association of CYP3A5 genotypes with tacrolimus daily dose as well as with tacrolimus dose-adjusted concentrations. We however found no association of CYP3A5 genotypes with histology scores on biopsies, measured renal function, biopsy-proven acute rejection episodes and graft survival.
Toward Low‐Voltage and Bendable X‐Ray Direct Detectors Based on Organic Semiconducting Single Crystals

Organic materials have been mainly proposed as ionizing radiation detectors in the indirect conversion approach. The first thin and bendable X-ray direct detectors are realized (directly converting X-photons into an electric signal) based on organic semiconducting single crystals that possess enhanced sensitivity, low operating voltage (≈5 V), and a minimum detectable dose rate of 50 μGy s(-1) .
The Duplicated Deacetylases Sir2 and Hst1 Subfunctionalized by Acquiring Complementary Inactivating Mutations

ABSTRACT Protein families are generated by successive rounds of gene duplication and subsequent diversification. However, the paths by which duplicated genes acquire distinct functions are not well characterized. We focused on a pair of duplicated deacetylases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sir2 and Hst1, that subfunctionalized after duplication. As a proxy for the ancestral, nonduplicated deacetylase, we studied Sir2 from another yeast, Kluyveromyces lactis. We compared the interaction domains of these deacetylases for the Sir transcriptional silencing complex, which acts with ScSir2, and the Sum1 repressor, which acts with ScHst1, and found that these interaction domains have been retained over the course of evolution and can be disrupted by simple amino acid substitutions. Therefore, Sir2 and Hst1 subfunctionalized by acquiring complementary inactivating mutations in these interaction domains.