Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing for Breaks Using Alternating Observations

This paper proposes several new tests for structural change in the multivariate linear regression model. One of the most popular alternatives are Sup-Wald type tests along the lines of Bai, Lumsdaine and Stock (1998), which Bernard,Idoudi, Khalaf and YA©lou (2007) show to have very large size distortions, especially for high dimensional systems. They propose the use of Monte Carlo type tests to control for size in finite samples. In this paper we propose several procedures that find a balance between the two previous approaches. We first estimate the break point using alternating observations, and then use the estimated breakpoint to create a test statistic either with the whole sample or with the observations not used for the breakpoint estimation. For the latter approach, it is then possible to use Monte Carlo methods to control size. In contrast to the Sup-Wald type tests, which have non-standard asymptotic distributions, we show that our tests are asymptotically distributed Chisquare using methods similar to those in Andrews (2004). Additionally, our tests stay asymptotically valid even when the distributional assumption made for the Monte Carlo adjustments is incorrect. We illustrate the new test statistics in the univariate context of discount rates and changes in the interest rates, and also in the multivariate setting of the Capital Asset Pricing Model.
Exploratory fMRI Analysis by Autocorrelation Maximization

A novel and computationally efficient method for exploratory analysis of functional MRI data is presented. The basic idea is to reveal underlying components in the fMRI data that have maximum autocorrelation. The tool for accomplishing this task is Canonical Correlation Analysis. The relation to Principal Component Analysis and Independent Component Analysis is discussed and the performance of the methods is compared using both simulated and real data.
The Totem multiple-ring ordering and topology maintenance protocol

The Totem multiple-ring protocol provides reliable totally ordereddelivery of messages across multiple local-area networks interconnectedby gateways. This consistent message order is maintained in the presenceof network partitioning and remerging, and of processor failure andrecovery. The protocol provides accurate topology change information aspart of the global total order of messages. It addresses the issue ofscalability and achieves a latency that increases logarithmically withsystem size by exploiting process group locality and selectiveforwarding of messages through the gateways. Pseudocode for the protocoland an evaluation of its performance are given. —Authors' Abstract
Three Axes of Ecological Studies Matching Process and Time in Landscape Ecology

The spatiotemporal resolution of observations should match the level of the ecological process under study to yield reliable insights. We present a concept of designing ecological studies that integrates three axes: temporal resolution of the study, spatial resolution of the study, and the resolution of the ecological process addressed. Focusing on the integration of the temporal axis in landscape ecology, we provide two examples from our long-term research on black bears (Ursus americanus) where erroneous selection of temporal resolution yields inaccurate results. In both examples, we incorporate temporal dynamics into spatial phenomena to understand complex systems. We synthesize demographic and behavioral results from our bear research and invoke hierarchy theory to understand the effects of timber harvesting on habitat quality for bears. We propose that the temporal scales at which different vital rates are manifested in a bear population may differ, which may affect the way perturbations (e.g., clear-cuts, roads, etc.) affect habitat quality for bears.
Coping with the Grasping Uncertainties in Force-closure Analysis

Friction uncertainty and contact position uncertainty may have a disastrous effect on the closure properties of grasps. This paper reflects our approach to handling these uncertainties in force-closure analysis. The former uncertainty is measured by the possible reduction rate κ of friction coefficients, while the radius ρ of contact regions is used to quantify the latter uncertainty. The actual contact point may deviate from the desired position but not farther than ρ ρS, the supremum of ρ without loss of force-closure, indicates the grasp tolerance to contact position uncertainty. For investigating the above uncertainties systematically, we propose three new problems in force-closure: whether a grasp with given κ and ρ achieves force-closure, what value ρS equals if κ is given, and how ρS varies versus κ. To facilitate their solutions, we extend the scope of the infinitesimal motion approach from form-closure analysis to force-closure. A necessary and sufficient condition for force-closure is deduced by means of the duality between some convex cones, which play the key role in solving the problems. Finally, efficient algorithms are developed and applied to two illustrative examples.
Pax6 Modulates the Dorsoventral Patterning of the Mammalian Telencephalon

The Pax6 gene encodes a transcription factor with a restricted expression in the ventricular zone of the pallium and subpallium. We tested whether the function of Pax6 is necessary for the correct patterning and morphogenesis of the vertebrate telencephalon. Homozygous embryos of the Pax6/Small eye mutant lack functional PAX6 protein because of a point mutation of the gene. In the mutant Small eyeembryos we detected a ventralization of the molecular patterning of the telencephalon at two borders, the pallium/subpallium and the lateral/medial ganglionic eminence. The results indicate thatPax6 controls the lateral limit of the expression ofNkx2.1, Shh, and Lhx6 in the prechordal neural tube, the telencephalon. This finding is in agreement with previous studies and supports a model for a common genetic mechanism for modulation of the dorsoventral patterning of the prechordal and epichordal CNS. The pattern defects caused by the loss of Pax6 function result in multiple morphological abnormalities in theSmall eye brain: dysgenesis of the piriform, insular, and lateral cortices, the claustrum–endopiriform nucleus, and a failure in the differentiation of a subpopulation of the cortical precursors. Together the results demonstrate that Pax6 has an essential role for the modulation of the dorsoventral patterning of the embryonic telencephalon, influencing thereby the forebrain morphogenesis.
An Efficient Approach of Language Model Applying in ASR Systems

Language model plays a pivotal role in large vocabulary speech recognition systems. Providing more syntactic and semantic information, high-level language models hold stronger ability in guiding the search process and hence optimizing the final result. But on the other hand, complex language models, compared with simple ones, usually introduce proportional computing workload that jeopardizes the system efficiency significantly. In this paper, a new approach of applying high-order language models to decoding process will be proposed, and experimental result in our Gallina system will be provided, which demonstrate that, with high-level language models, the system performance is steadily increased while no much more efficacy is being lost as expense. Keyword: Language model, search, speech recognition.
BRD4 localization to lineage-specific enhancers is associated with a distinct transcription factor repertoire

Proper temporal epigenetic regulation of gene expression is essential for cell fate determination and tissue development. The Bromodomain-containing Protein-4 (BRD4) was previously shown to control the transcription of defined subsets of genes in various cell systems. In this study we examined the role of BRD4 in promoting lineage-specific gene expression and show that BRD4 is essential for osteoblast differentiation. Genome-wide analyses demonstrate that BRD4 is recruited to the transcriptional start site of differentiation-induced genes. Unexpectedly, while promoter-proximal BRD4 occupancy correlated with gene expression, genes which displayed moderate expression and promoter-proximal BRD4 occupancy were most highly regulated and sensitive to BRD4 inhibition. Therefore, we examined distal BRD4 occupancy and uncovered a specific co-localization of BRD4 with the transcription factors C/EBPb, TEAD1, FOSL2 and JUND at putative osteoblast-specific enhancers. These findings reveal the intricacies of lineage specification and provide new insight into the context-dependent functions of BRD4.
Impact of communication appeals on recycling behaviors among undergraduate students

Ning Zhu. MS, Purdue University, August 2016. Impact of Communication Appeals on Recycling Behaviors Among Undergraduate Students. Major Professor: G. Jonathon Day. The present thesis aims to understand factors influencing student recycling behaviors, and to investigate effective communication approaches to increase such behaviors. An online survey was conducted to examine the relationships between student recycling frequency in different contexts, student attitudes toward the environment, barriers to their recycling, perceptions of communication messages, and communication media they think to be effective. Descriptive statistics, ANOVAs, t-test, simple linear regressions, categorical multinomial logistic regression, and a chi-square test were conducted, and the data was collected from a large land-grant university in the Midwestern United States. A total of 537 questionnaires were answered. The main results of the present study are as follows: First, context as well as recycling barriers were factors that influenced student recycling behaviors. Most students who were likely to recycle at home would also recycle on campus, but students recycled more at home than on vacation. The main recycling barriers on campus were attitude barriers and knowledge barriers, while on vacation the main barriers were situational. Second, students thought positive messages were most effective in increasing recycling behavior, while students with less pro-environmental attitudes preferred neutral messages
ThnY Is a Ferredoxin Reductase-like Iron-Sulfur Flavoprotein That Has Evolved to Function as a Regulator of Tetralin Biodegradation Gene Expression*

Previous genetic studies in Sphingomonas macrogolitabida strain TFA have established that expression of genes involved in tetralin biodegradation (thn genes) requires the function of the LysR type activator ThnR and also ThnY. Sequence comparison indicated that ThnY is homologous to bacterial oxygenase-coupled NAD(P)H-dependent ferredoxin reductases. However, ThnY showed substitutions in highly conserved positions of the pyridine nucleotide binding domain of these ferredoxin reductases. ThnY expression is co-regulated with all other genes required for tetralin biodegradation, and presumably thnY is part of the thnCA3A4RY operon. ThnY has been purified, and its biochemical and functional properties were characterized. ThnY was found to be a monomeric orange-brown iron-sulfur flavoprotein (estimated mass of 37,000 Da) containing one non-covalently attached flavin adenine dinucleotide and one plant type ferredoxin 2Fe-2S cluster. It can be efficiently reduced by dithionite, but reduction by pyridine nucleotides was very poor. Consistently, ThnY-dependent reduction of cytochrome c, ferricyanide, or 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol using NAD(P)H as the electron donor was undetectable or very weak. The addition of ThnY to electrophoretic mobility shift assays containing ThnR and a probe bearing two thn divergent promoters resulted in a 3-fold increase in protein-DNA complex formation affinity, which indicates that ThnY directly promotes thn transcription activation by ThnR.
Search and You Will Find. From Stand-Alone Lexicographic Tools to User Driven Task and Problem-oriented Multifunctional Leximats

Regardless of their name (dictionary, glossary, encyclopaedia, or even ‘leximat’, in the case of a new generation of online, semi-automated lexicographic tools), subject-field, purpose, or medium (paper or cyber), lexicographic reference works should be regarded as functional information tools that are solely designed to cater to the information needs of their users in different usage situations and that consequently help them solve specific communication (reading, writing, translation) or knowledge problems (acquiring new knowledge or verifying existing knowledge, learning a language or a subject field). In this article, we briefly outline the evolution of lexicographic reference works from stand-alone to multifunctional lexicographic tools, and we describe the theoretical principles and innovative functionalities of a new task and problem-oriented lexical data
Role of the hepatic ABCA1 transporter in modulating intrahepatic cholesterol and plasma HDL cholesterol concentrations Published, JLR Papers in Press, November 4, 2002. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M200414-JLR200

The current model for reverse cholesterol transport proposes that HDL transports excess cholesterol derived primarily from peripheral cells to the liver for removal. However, recent studies in ABCA1 transgenic mice suggest that the liver itself may be a major source of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). To directly investigate the hepatic contribution to plasma HDL-C levels, we generated an adenovirus (rABCA1-GFP-AdV) that targets expression of mouse ABCA1-GFP in vivo to the liver. Compared with mice injected with control AdV, infusion of rABCA1-GFP-AdV into C57Bl/6 mice resulted in increased expression of mouse ABCA1 mRNA and protein in the liver. ApoA-I-dependent cholesterol efflux was increased 2.6-fold in primary hepatocytes isolated 1 day after rABCA1-GFP-AdV infusion. Hepatic ABCA1 expression in C57Bl/6 mice (n = 15) raised baseline levels of TC, PL, FC, HDL-C, apoE, and apoA-I by 150–300% (P < 0.05 all). ABCA1 expression led to significant compensatory changes in expression of genes that increase hepatic cholesterol, including HMG-CoA reductase (3.5-fold), LDLr (2.1-fold), and LRP (5-fold) in the liver. These combined results demonstrate that ABCA1 plays a key role in hepatic cholesterol efflux, inducing pathways that modulate cholesterol homeostasis in the liver, and establish the liver as a major source of plasma HDL-C.
Generating User Acceptance Test Plans from Test Cases

There are numerous studies on generating test cases from classifications. These test cases consists of related classes from different classifications. On the other hand, a User Acceptance Test Plan (UAT) consist of test plans. Each of these test plans is a scenario of sequence of input together with the corresponding output in association with the concerned processes. A test case can conform with one or more of these scenario. In real life system testing, the number of test plan in UAT is huge. A method which generates test plans from test cases would make the test cases generation study more comprehensive. In this paper, we report our study on the generation of test plans from test cases. Test plans are generated from test cases with reference to the abstract system architecture of the system. Furthermore, our method is implementable, i.e. the test plan generation can be automated. Consequently, the amount of time required to formulate a UAT can be reduced drastically.
Spiking Neuron Networks a Survey Héì Ene Paugam-moisy Spiking Neuron Networks a Survey Héì Ene Paugam-moisy Contents

Spiking Neuron Networks (SNNs) are often referred to as the 3 generation of neural networks. They derive their strength and interest from an accurate modelling of synaptic interactions between neurons, taking into account the time of spike emission. SNNs overcome the computational power of neural networks made of threshold or sigmoidal units. Based on dynamic event-driven processing, they open up new horizons for developping models with an exponential capacity of memorizing and a strong ability to fast adaptation. Today, the main challenge is to discover efficient learning rules that might take advantage of the specific features of SNNs while keeping the nice properties (general-purpose, easy-to-use, available simulators, etc.) of current connectionist models (such as MLP, RBF or SVM). The present survey relates the history of the “spiking neuron” and summarizes the most currenlty in use models of neurons and networks, in Section 1. The computational power of SNNs is addressed in Section 2 and the problem of learning in networks of spiking neurons is tackled in Section 3, with insights into the tracks currently explored for solving it. Section 4 reviews the tricks of implementation and discuss several simulation frameworks. Examples of application domains are proposed in Section 5, mainly in speech processing and computer vision, emphasizing the temporal aspect of pattern recognition by SNNs.
A qualitative study of factors influencing antimicrobial prescribing by non-consultant hospital doctors.

OBJECTIVES To determine the factors that influence non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) in their decision to prescribe antimicrobial agents. METHODS A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews centred on a life grid tracking the medical career of 22 NCHDs employed by a university teaching hospital in the west of Ireland. RESULTS Early in their careers NCHD prescribing is based primarily on the immediate influence of more senior colleagues. Recollection of formalized undergraduate teaching and hospital guidelines are a very minor influence. As their career progressed and they exercise greater autonomy, personal experience becomes the major influence on prescribing decisions. Hospital guidelines are a minor influence. Participants consider that undergraduate teaching needs to be more practical and taught in a way that is easier to apply to on-ward situations and that hospital prescribing guidelines need to be presented in a 'user-friendly' format and adherence to the guidelines needs to be promoted. CONCLUSIONS The key influences on antimicrobial prescribing by NCHDs are informal. New approaches are required to ensure that formal training and hospital guidelines on antimicrobial prescribing are more influential in shaping antimicrobial prescribing practice.
Clitic Doubling in Modern Greek: a Head- Complement Relation

The hypothesis presented in this paper, namely that in clitic doubling constructions the clitic selects for a DP-complement in Syntax, is motivated by the need to explain the thematic problem raised in such constructions: Two elements, the clitic and its double, compete for the same theta-role. It will be argued that, in languages with an overt case affix on nouns, the clitic and its double may start out in a head-complement relation. The clitic may also be coreferential with a phrase in an adjunct position. In this case, though, the relation between the clitic and the double is one of coreference, established outside the module of Syntax.
AN EVALUATION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WELL OF AMERICA: THE CASE OF AFRICAN REFUGEE WOMEN IN LAS VEGAS

This study examines the role and impact of social capital upon the well being of African refugee women residing in Las Vegas. It builds on the researcher’s previous study of Liberian refugee women who resided in the Buduburam ref capital is defined as norms of trust and reciprocity (Putnam, 2000). To date, the scanty literature about African refugees primarily focuses on th experienced. This study illuminates the strategies that African refugee women use to cope with resettlement in the face of this trauma. The study’s objectives are: their social capital, in order to help develop the resources and services they need; and, to explore the differential effects that social capital may have on refugees in different locations.
Culture and the health transition : Understanding sanitation behaviour in rural north India

• Poor sanitation spreads bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections including diarrhoea, polio, cholera, and hookworm. Despite this, 70% of rural Indian households defecate in the open, without a toilet or latrine. Over 60% of the people worldwide who defecate in the open live in India. Bangladesh, which shares a border with India, has a rural open defecation rate of only 5%. • Based on a survey of around 3,200 households, and 100 in-depth interviews, this research finds that having a household latrine is widely seen to damage the purity of the home. Open defecation, on the other hand, is widely seen to promote purity and strength, and is also associated with health and longevity. • A further reason for particularly poor hygiene in Indian public spaces is due to the ongoing renegotiation of caste-based social rules. Most Hindus remain inflexibly opposed to emptying their own latrine pits. As part of a push for greater equality, people from the lowest “untouchable” castes resist emptying latrine pits because this work is widely seen as degrading and reinforcing of their low social status.
The NVI Clustering Evaluation Measure

Clustering is crucial for many NLP tasks and applications. However, evaluating the results of a clustering algorithm is hard. In this paper we focus on the evaluation setting in which a gold standard solution is available. We discuss two existing information theory based measures, V and VI, and show that they are both hard to use when comparing the performance of different algorithms and different datasets. The V measure favors solutions having a large number of clusters, while the range of scores given by VI depends on the size of the dataset. We present a new measure, NVI, which normalizes VI to address the latter problem. We demonstrate the superiority of NVI in a large experiment involving an important NLP application, grammar induction, using real corpus data in English, German and Chinese.
INTERANNUAL TO DECADAL VARIABILITIES IN THE PACIFIC BASIN IN AN OCEAN GENERAL CIRCULATION MODEL

Unlike the El Nino and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) episodes of the 1980s, anomalous equatorial warming events in the 1990S are more frequent, last for shorter periods, and are less intense [e.g., Liu et al. 1995, Ji et al. 1996]. Unusual conditions in the Pacific basin during the first half of 1990s are characterized by a persistently negative Southern Oscillation index (S01) and positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the equate rial central Pacific [e.g., Trenberth and Hoar, 1996]. The pattern of SST anomalies forms a horse-shoe pattern, branching out from the equatorial central Pacific to the west coast<? f North and South America at 20° latitudes [Ji et al. 1996; Kleeman et al., 1996] . The first half decade of the 1990s has experienced three warm episodes: winter 1991/1992, spring 1993, and fall 1994. }lost dynamic or statistical forecast models showed useful forecast skill in predicting the anomalous warming during 1982-1992 period, but failed in the 1993 and 1994 episodes, as reviewed by Ji et al. [1996]. The nature of the prolonged anomalous warming in the first half of 1990s is a matter of debate: either it is a new event induced by current factors (e.g., anthropogenically induced greenhouse warming) as suggested by Trenberth and Hoar [1996], or it is part of the decadal-scale variability [JVang 1995; Latif et al., 1997]. Observations available either do not have sufficient quality or are not long enough in duration to clearly resolve the controversy. In this study, 36 years of surface wind stress and