Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multilevel Evaluation of Multidimensional Integral Transforms with Asymptotically Smooth Kernels

In many practical applications of numerical methods a substantial increase in efficiency can be obtained by using local grid refinement, since the solution is generally smooth in large parts of the domain and large gradients occur only locally. Fast evaluation of integral transforms on such an adaptive grid requires an algorithm that relies on the smoothness of the continuum kernel only, independent of its discrete form. A multilevel algorithm with this property was presented in [A. Brandt and C.H. Venner, SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comput. 19 (1998) pp.468-492] [Bra1998]. Ref. [Bra1998] shows that already on a uniform grid the new algorithm is more efficient than earlier fast evaluation algorithms, and elaborates the application to one-dimensional transforms. The present work analyses the extension and implementation of the algorithm for multidimensional transforms. The analysis conveys that the multidimensional extension is nontrivial, on account of the occurence of nonlocal corrections. However, by virtue of the asymptotic smoothness properties of the continuum kernel, these corrections can again be evaluated fast. By recursion, it is then possible to obtain the optimal work estimates indicated in [Bra1998]. Currently, only uniform grids are considered. Detailed numerical results will be presented for a two dimensional model problem. The results demonstrate that with the new algorithm the evaluation of multidimensional transforms is also more efficient than with previous algorithms.
A Combined Fuzzy Cognitive Map and Decision Trees Model for Medical Decision Making

Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) are an efficient modeling method providing flexibility on the simulated system's design. They consist of nodes-concepts and weighted edges that connect the nodes and represent the cause and effect relationships among them. The performance of FCMs is dependent on the initial weight setting and architecture. This shortcoming can be alleviated and the FCM model can be enhanced if a fuzzy rule base (IF-THEN rules) is available. This research proposes a successful attempt to combine fuzzy cognitive maps with decision tree generators. A combined Decision Tree-Fuzzy Cognitive Map (DT-FCM) model is proposed when different types of input data are available and the behavior of this model is studied. In this research work, we introduce a new hybrid modeling methodology for decision making tasks and we implement the proposed methodology at a medical problem
Towards a neurocognitive theory of mind: how control and reasoning processes contribute to adult mentalizing

A series of neuroimaging experiments were conducted using adult participants to explore the neurocognitive bases of reasoning and control processes in Theory of Mind (ToM). Through careful manipulation of psychologically relevant parameters, these were designed to modulate neural regions considered important for ToM, the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), alongside regions more typically associated with executive function, the ventrolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices (vlPFC / dmPFC respectively). This enabled close inspection of the functional profile of these regions, in the context of mentalizing. The core findings were: 1) TPJ was modulated by the valence of mental states. Thus, TPJ does not simply respond to mental representation; the content of the representation is important. 2) The presence of activation in rostral mPFC was manipulated by varying the mode of reasoning. Context is therefore relevant to how adults approach ToM. 3) A neural dissociation was identified between two accounts of control processes for ToM in vlPFC and dmPFC. Such processes mediate the expression of certain ToM concepts. Together, these findings suggest that a neurocognitive account of ToM should describe a flexible system which adapts to the specific conceptual and contextual demands of the social world at that time.
Spatio-temporal memory streaming

Recent research advocates memory streaming techniques to alleviate the performance bottleneck caused by the high latencies of off-chip memory accesses. Temporal memory streaming replays previously observed miss sequences to eliminate long chains of dependent misses. Spatial memory streaming predicts repetitive data layout patterns within fixed-size memory regions. Because each technique targets a different subset of misses, their effectiveness varies across workloads and each leaves a significant fraction of misses unpredicted. In this paper, we propose Spatio-Temporal Memory Streaming (STeMS) to exploit the synergy between spatial and temporal streaming. We observe that the order of spatial accesses repeats both within and across regions. STeMS records and replays the temporal sequence of region accesses and uses spatial relationships within each region to dynamically reconstruct a predicted total miss order. Using trace-driven and cycle-accurate simulation across a suite of commercial workloads, we demonstrate that with similar implementation complexity as temporal streaming, STeMS achieves equal or higher coverage than spatial or temporal memory streaming alone, and improves performance by 31%, 3%, and 18% over stride, spatial, and temporal prediction, respectively.
Bounded rationality via recursion

Current trends in model construction in the field of agent-based computational economics base behavior of agents on either game theoretic procedures (e.g. belief learning, fictitious play, Bayesian learning) or are inspired by artificial intelligence (e.g. reinforcement learning). Evidence from experiments with human subjects puts the first approach in doubt, whereas the second one imposes significant computational and memory requirements on agents. In this paper, we introduce an efficient computational implementation of n-th order rationality using recursive simulation. An agent is n-th order rational if it determines its best response assuming that other agents are (n-1)-th order rational and zero-order agents behave according to a specified, non-strategic, rule. In recursive simulations, the simulated decision makers use simulation to inform their own decision making (search for best responses). Our goal is to provide agent modelers with an off-the-shelf implementation of n-th order rationality that leads to model-consistent behaviors of agents, without requiring a learning phase. We extend two classic games (Shapley's fictitious play and Colonel Blotto) to illustrate aspects of the n-th order rationality concept as implemented in our framework.
Hierarchical Dirichlet Process Hidden Markov Model for unsupervised bioacoustic analysis

Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are one of the most popular and successful models in statistics and machine learning for modeling sequential data. However, one main issue in HMMs is the one of choosing the number of hidden states. The Hierarchical Dirichlet Process (HDP)-HMM is a Bayesian non-parametric alternative for standard HMMs that offers a principled way to tackle this challenging problem by relying on a Hierarchical Dirichlet Process (HDP) prior. We investigate the HDP-HMM in a challenging problem of unsupervised learning from bioacoustic data by using Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling techniques, namely the Gibbs sampler. We consider a real problem of fully unsupervised humpback whale song decomposition. It consists in simultaneously finding the structure of hidden whale song units, and automatically inferring the unknown number of the hidden units from the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) of bioacoustic signals. The experimental results show the very good performance of the proposed Bayesian non-parametric approach and open new insights for unsupervised analysis of such bioacoustic signals.
TEFM regulates both transcription elongation and RNA processing in mitochondria

Regulation of replication and expression of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is essential for cellular energy conversion via oxidative phosphorylation. The mitochondrial transcription elongation factor (TEFM) has been proposed to regulate the switch between transcription termination for replication primer formation and processive, near genome‐length transcription for mtDNA gene expression. Here, we report that Tefm is essential for mouse embryogenesis and that levels of promoter‐distal mitochondrial transcripts are drastically reduced in conditional Tefm‐knockout hearts. In contrast, the promoter‐proximal transcripts are much increased in Tefm knockout mice, but they mostly terminate before the region where the switch from transcription to replication occurs, and consequently, de novo mtDNA replication is profoundly reduced. Unexpectedly, deep sequencing of RNA from Tefm knockouts revealed accumulation of unprocessed transcripts in addition to defective transcription elongation. Furthermore, a proximity‐labeling (BioID) assay showed that TEFM interacts with multiple RNA processing factors. Our data demonstrate that TEFM acts as a general transcription elongation factor, necessary for both gene transcription and replication primer formation, and loss of TEFM affects RNA processing in mammalian mitochondria.
Sexual inactivity and sexual satisfaction among women living with HIV in Canada in the context of growing social, legal and public health surveillance

Women represent nearly one‐quarter of the 71,300 people living with HIV in Canada. Within a context of widespread HIV‐related stigma and discrimination and on‐going risks to HIV disclosure, little is known about the influence of growing social, legal and public health surveillance of HIV on sexual activity and satisfaction of women living with HIV (WLWH).
Design on a Wall-climbing Robot for Test of Large-Capacity Tank Volume

With regards to the traditional test method of large-capacity tank volume, it’s difficult to tell the position with great inefficiency, danger and so forth, so a wheeled Wall-climbing robot is designed with a four-wheel-drive, permanent magnet embedded in the absorption body and the wall of non-contact. The robot is manipulated by the PC, AT89C51 micro controller being regarded as the core, together with the angle sensor, optical encoder sensors and things like these with other functions under the position control system. Field experiments show that the robot is able to cope with problems that a traditional robot can’t do, such as the difficulties of steering around, damage to the metal tank wall and a false running angle. In such a way, it is bound to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of the test on large-capacity tank volume.
A statistical analysis of the formation of plasmid-free cells in populations of Escherichia coli

By methods analogous to those used in the classical statistical analysis of bacterial mutation, we have analyzed the formation of plasmid-free cells in populations of Escherichia coli harboring pBR322-derived plasmids. Application of fluctuation tests and papilla analysis suggested that there is a high variance in the probability that a plasmid-containing cell will produce a plasmid-free daughter cell. Apparently a subpopulation of plasmid-containing cells gives rise to progeny that produces plasmid-free cells with a high and unpredictable rate. This finding raises the question of whether plasmid maintenance can be adequately described by the conventional mathematical models.
The impact of bias in MoM values on patient risk and screening performance for Down syndrome

First and second trimester screening protocols for Down syndrome rely on marker values being referred to smoothed median values to produce adjusted multiple of the median (MoM) values to standardise for factors such as assay, gestation, maternal weight, smoking status, and so on. Changes in assay components, such as reagent lot, and inappropriate use of published regression equations for smoothed medians have resulted in biases in reported MoM values that in many applications remain uncorrected. This paper investigates the impact of these biases on patient‐specific risk estimates and screening performance, and concludes that a 10% bias for an individual marker can result in an increase of between 1 and 2% in the false positive rate of the programme. A simple formula is also derived that enables the impact of these biases to be determined without the need for simulation, thus making it easier to design effective statistical quality control procedures to monitor the output of screening software algorithms.
Stochastically bounded burstiness for communication networks

We develop a network calculus for processes whose burstiness is stochastically bounded by general decreasing functions. This calculus enables one to prove the stability of feedforward networks and obtain statistical upper bounds on interesting performance measures such as delay, at each buffer in the network. The bounding methodology is useful for a large class of input processes, including important processes exhibiting "subexponentially bounded burstiness" such as fractional Brownian motion. Moreover, it generalizes previous approaches and provides much better bounds for common models of real-time traffic, like Markov modulated processes and other multiple time-scale processes. We expect that this new calculus will be of particular interest in the implementation of services providing statistical guarantees.
Significance Analysis of Spectral Count Data in Label-free Shotgun Proteomics*S

Spectral counting has become a commonly used approach for measuring protein abundance in label-free shotgun proteomics. At the same time, the development of data analysis methods has lagged behind. Currently most studies utilizing spectral counts rely on simple data transforms and posthoc corrections of conventional signal-to-noise ratio statistics. However, these adjustments can neither handle the bias toward high abundance proteins nor deal with the drawbacks due to the limited number of replicates. We present a novel statistical framework (QSpec) for the significance analysis of differential expression with extensions to a variety of experimental design factors and adjustments for protein properties. Using synthetic and real experimental data sets, we show that the proposed method outperforms conventional statistical methods that search for differential expression for individual proteins. We illustrate the flexibility of the model by analyzing a data set with a complicated experimental design involving cellular localization and time course.
Deduplication flash file system with PRAM for non-linear editing

Deduplication is essential for efficient nonlinear editing (NLE), as large amounts of duplicated data are caused by NLE. In this paper, a new deduplication file system is designed for an embedded system based on NAND flash memory. In the suggested file system, to reduce computation overhead, duplication caused by NLE operations is predicted considering causality between I/O operations. Furthermore, an efficient management scheme for the shared data among files is proposed in NAND flash memory, including data indexing and garbage collection. The data indexing has distinctive characteristics in that it releases the page-alignment constraint and allows page sharing. The proposed garbage collection efficiently supports shared data in NAND flash memory. With this file system, it is possible to reduce write operations for redundant data and thus use NAND flash memory space efficiently. As a result, garbage collection overhead can be reduced greatly. Moreover, the file system can be widely applied to existing NLE applications, since it is compatible with existing POSIX system calls.
Strategy of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes C70 for effective degradation of phenol and salicylate

Phenol- and naphthalene-degrading indigenous Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes strain C70 has great potential for the bioremediation of polluted areas. It harbours two chromosomally located catechol meta pathways, one of which is structurally and phylogenetically very similar to the Pseudomonas sp. CF600 dmp operon and the other to the P. stutzeri AN10 nah lower operon. The key enzymes of the catechol meta pathway, catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O) from strain C70, PheB and NahH, have an amino acid identity of 85%. The metabolic and regulatory phenotypes of the wild-type and the mutant strain C70ΔpheB lacking pheB were evaluated. qRT-PCR data showed that in C70, the expression of pheB- and nahH-encoded C23O was induced by phenol and salicylate, respectively. We demonstrate that strain C70 is more effective in the degradation of phenol and salicylate, especially at higher substrate concentrations, when these compounds are present as a mixture; i.e., when both pathways are expressed. Moreover, NahH is able to substitute for the deleted PheB in phenol degradation when salicylate is also present in the growth medium. The appearance of a yellow intermediate 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde was followed by the accumulation of catechol in salicylate-containing growth medium, and lower expression levels and specific activities of the C23O of the sal operon were detected. However, the excretion of the toxic intermediate catechol to the growth medium was avoided when the growth medium was supplemented with phenol, seemingly due to the contribution of the second meta pathway encoded by the phe genes.
THE PAST , PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS IN DIGITAL GAMES

Over the past 20 years, the topic of artificial neural networks has been a vibrant area of AI research, leading to new algorithms that have been used in a variety of disciplines including engineering, finance, artificial perception and control & simulation. Despite this, there has been a limited impact on the commercial games industry. This paper reviews some of the successful uses of neural networks in games and identifies the positive elements of their use, and discusses some of the factors that have deterred their use amongst game developers. Addressing these weaknesses, we outline ideas for future research that may aid game developers in producing more convincing AI, and may supplement or replace more traditional techniques.
Evaluation of a Propolis Water Extract Using a Reliable RP-HPLC Methodology and In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy and Safety Characterisation

Since the beginning of propolis research, several groups have studied its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. However, most of these studies have only employed propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) leading to little knowledge about the biological activities of propolis water extract (PWE). Based on this, in a previous study, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of PWE. In order to better understand the equilibrium between effectiveness and toxicity, which is essential for a new medicine, the characteristics of PWE were analyzed. We developed and validated an RP-HPLC method to chemically characterize PWE and PEE and evaluated the in vitro antioxidant/antimicrobial activity for both extracts and the safety of PWE via determining genotoxic potential using in vitro and in vivo mammalian micronucleus assays. We have concluded that the proposed analytical methodology was reliable, and both extracts showed similar chemical composition. The extracts presented antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, while PWE demonstrated higher antioxidant activity and more efficacious for the most of the microorganisms tested than PEE. Finally, PWE was shown to be safe using micronucleus assays.
Vortex Formation with a Snapping Shrimp Claw

Snapping shrimp use one oversized claw to generate a cavitating high speed water jet for hunting, defence and communication. This work is an experimental investigation about the jet generation. Snapping shrimp (Alpheus-bellulus) were investigated by using an enlarged transparent model reproducing the closure of the snapper claw. Flow inside the model was studied using both High-Speed Particle Image Velocimetry (HS-PIV) and flow visualization. During claw closure a channel-like cavity was formed between the plunger and the socket featuring a nozzle-type contour at the orifice. Closing the mechanism led to the formation of a leading vortex ring with a dimensionless formation number of approximate ΔT*≈4. This indicates that the claw might work at maximum efficiency, i.e. maximum vortex strength was achieved by a minimum of fluid volume ejected. The subsequent vortex cavitation with the formation of an axial reentrant jet is a reasonable explanation for the large penetration depth of the water jet. That snapping shrimp can reach with their claw-induced flow. Within such a cavitation process, an axial reentrant jet is generated in the hollow cylindrical core of the cavitated vortex that pushes the front further downstream and whose length can exceed the initial jet penetration depth by several times.
Global Variation in the Prevalence of Elevated Cholesterol in Outpatients With Established Vascular Disease or 3 Cardiovascular Risk Factors According to National Indices of Economic Development and Health System Performance

Background— Elevated serum cholesterol accounts for a considerable proportion of cardiovascular disease worldwide. An understanding of the relationship between country-level economic and health system factors and elevated cholesterol may provide insight for prioritization of cardiovascular prevention programs. Methods and Results— Using hierarchical models, we examined the relationship between elevated total cholesterol (>200 mg/dL) in 53 570 outpatients from 36 countries, and tertiles of several country-level indices: (1) gross national income, (2) total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product, (3) government expenditure on health as percentage of total expenditure on health, (4) out-of-pocket expenditures as percentage of private expenditure on health, and the World Health Organization indices of (5) Health System Achievement and (6) Performance/Efficiency. Overall, 38% of outpatients had total cholesterol >200 mg/dL (>5.18 mmol/L), and 9.3% of the total variability in elevated cholesterol was at the country level; this proportion was higher for patients with (12.1%) versus without (7.4%) history of hyperlipidemia. Among patients with history of hyperlipidemia, countries in the highest tertile of gross national income or World Health Organization Health System Achievement had lower odds of elevated cholesterol than lower tertiles (P<0.001, for both). Countries in the highest tertile of out-of-pocket health expenditures had higher odds of elevated cholesterol than those in the lowest tertile (P<0.001). No significant associations were found for patients without history of hyperlipidemia. Conclusions— Global variations in the prevalence of elevated cholesterol among patients with history of hyperlipidemia are associated with country-level economic development and health system indices. These results support the need for strengthening efforts toward effective cardiovascular disease prevention and control and may provide insight for health policy setting at the national level.