Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CAPTURE: A New Predictive Anti-Poaching Tool for Wildlife Protection

Wildlife poaching presents a serious extinction threat to many animal species. Agencies ("defenders") focused on protecting such animals need tools that help analyze, model and predict poacher activities, so they can more effectively combat such poaching; such tools could also assist in planning effective defender patrols, building on the previous security games research. To that end, we have built a new predictive anti-poaching tool, CAPTURE (Comprehensive Anti-Poaching tool with Temporal and observation Uncertainty REasoning). CAPTURE provides four main contributions. First, CAPTURE's modeling of poachers provides significant advances over previous models from behavioral game theory and conservation biology. This accounts for:(i) the defender's imperfect detection of poaching signs; (ii) complex temporal dependencies in the poacher's behaviors; (iii) lack of knowledge of numbers of poachers. Second, we provide two new heuristics: parameter separation and target abstraction to reduce the computational complexity in learning the poacher models. Third, we present a new game-theoretic algorithm for computing the defender's optimal patrolling given the complex poacher model. Finally, we present detailed models and analysis of real-world poaching data collected over 12 years in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda to evaluate our new model's prediction accuracy. This paper thus presents the largest dataset of real-world defender-adversary interactions analyzed in the security games literature. CAPTURE will be tested in Uganda in early 2016.
Computational and statistical tradeoffs via convex relaxation

Significance The growth in the size and scope of datasets in science and technology has created a need for foundational perspectives on data analysis that blend computer science and statistics. Specifically, the core challenge with massive datasets is that of guaranteeing improved accuracy of an analysis procedure as data accrue, even in the face of a time budget. We address this problem via a notion of “algorithmic weakening,” whereby as data scale, the procedure backs off to cheaper algorithms, leveraging the growing inferential strength of the data to ensure that a desired level of accuracy is achieved within the computational budget. Modern massive datasets create a fundamental problem at the intersection of the computational and statistical sciences: how to provide guarantees on the quality of statistical inference given bounds on computational resources, such as time or space. Our approach to this problem is to define a notion of “algorithmic weakening,” in which a hierarchy of algorithms is ordered by both computational efficiency and statistical efficiency, allowing the growing strength of the data at scale to be traded off against the need for sophisticated processing. We illustrate this approach in the setting of denoising problems, using convex relaxation as the core inferential tool. Hierarchies of convex relaxations have been widely used in theoretical computer science to yield tractable approximation algorithms to many computationally intractable tasks. In the current paper, we show how to endow such hierarchies with a statistical characterization and thereby obtain concrete tradeoffs relating algorithmic runtime to amount of data.
New chart to evaluate weight faltering

A new chart was designed to aid accurate identification of weight faltering and failure to thrive. It provides guidance on the lower limits of expected weight gain for children, whatever their initial centile position. The chart’s theoretical basis, the process of its construction, and its evaluation are described in this paper. Evaluation was by a self completion questionnaire, where respondents answered questions about a range of standardised growth patterns, plotted on old and new charts. Forty five health visitors, 28 general practitioner principals and registrars, and nine community paediatricians provided 328 chart ratings. These showed that the new format significantly increased the proportion of correctly rated charts (old: 45 (28%); new: 82 (51%)), with the greatest impact in severe cases. This suggests that the new chart improves the precision of judgments made about weight gain in infancy.
Interstellar extinction in the Milky Way galaxy

I review the basic properties of interstellar extinction in the Milky Way galaxy, focusing primarily on the wavelength dependence within the IR through UV spectral region. My primary goal is to review the evidence supporting the idea that Galactic extinction curves can be considered a 1-parameter family characterized by their value of R(V) = A(V)/E(B-V). Based on analysis of new (i.e., 2MASS) and old (i.e., IUE) data for about 100 sightlines, I show that the UV, optical, and IR wavelength regimes do display coherent variations, but with too much intrinsic scatter to be considered truly correlated. A 1-parameter family can be constructed which illustrates these broad trends, but very few individual sightlines are actually well-reproduced by such a family and disagreement with the mean trends is not a sufficient condition for ``peculiarity. '' Only a very small number of extinction sightlines stand out as truly peculiar. It is likely that simple variations in the mean grain size from sightline to sightline are responsible for much of the coherent variability seen in Galactic extinction, and might also explain the ``peculiar'' extinction long-noted in the Magellanic Clouds.
A New infinite class of Sasaki-Einstein manifolds

We show that for every positive curvature Kahler-Einstein manifold in dimension 2n there is a countably infinite class of associated Sasaki-Einstein manifolds X_{2n+3} in dimension 2n+3. When n=1 we recover a recently discovered family of supersymmetric AdS_5 x X_5 solutions of type IIB string theory, while when n=2 we obtain new supersymmetric AdS_4 x X_7 solutions of D=11 supergravity. Both are expected to provide new supergravity duals of superconformal field theories.
Cerebral aneurysm hemodynamics modeling from 3D rotational angiography

Detailed knowledge of the hemodynamics in cerebral aneurysms is valuable not only for understanding their formation and rupture but also for clinical evaluation and treatment. However, important hemodynamic quantities are difficult to measure in vivo. In this paper a patient-specific method for modeling the hemodynamics of cerebral aneurysms from in vivo anatomical images is described, and the flow patterns in various kinds of intracranial aneurysms are presented. These models will be used to explore possible relationships between the blood flow patterns and the location, size and taxonomy of the aneurysms.
Human Langerhans-cell activation triggered in vitro by conditionally expressed MKK6 is counterregulated by the downstream effector RelB.

Environmentally exposed epithelial Langerhans cells (LCs) encounter diverse innate stress signals, which lead to the activation of complex intracellular signaling cascades. Among these, p38 MAPK is consistently phosphorylated. For which aspects of LC activation triggering of p38 signaling is sufficient remains to be elucidated. We show that conditional induction of a dominant active form of MAPK kinase 6 (d.a.MKK6), a direct upstream kinase of p38, in LCs efficiently induces the up-regulation of costimulatory molecules and enhances their T-cell stimulatory capacity. These immediate effects showed no or only a minor requirement for classical NF-kappaB signaling. Concomitant with LC activation, d.a. MKK6 induced the alternative NF-kappaB member RelB, whose nuclear localization marks mature DCs. Specific inhibition of nuclear RelB during d.a. MKK6-induced LC activation further enhanced their maturation state. This observation was validated using the p38 activator anisomycin, thus suggesting a novel LC intrinsic control mechanism regulated by RelB.
Analysis of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of the Diploid Cotton Gossypium raimondii by Comparative Genomics Approaches

Cotton is one of the most important economic crops and the primary source of natural fiber and is an important protein source for animal feed. The complete nuclear and chloroplast (cp) genome sequences of G. raimondii are already available but not mitochondria. Here, we assembled the complete mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequence of G. raimondii into a circular genome of length of 676,078 bp and performed comparative analyses with other higher plants. The genome contains 39 protein-coding genes, 6 rRNA genes, and 25 tRNA genes. We also identified four larger repeats (63.9 kb, 10.6 kb, 9.1 kb, and 2.5 kb) in this mt genome, which may be active in intramolecular recombination in the evolution of cotton. Strikingly, nearly all of the G. raimondii mt genome has been transferred to nucleus on Chr1, and the transfer event must be very recent. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that G. raimondii, as a member of Malvaceae, is much closer to another cotton (G. barbadense) than other rosids, and the clade formed by two Gossypium species is sister to Brassicales. The G. raimondii mt genome may provide a crucial foundation for evolutionary analysis, molecular biology, and cytoplasmic male sterility in cotton and other higher plants.
Time-Frequency Characterization of Cerebral Hemodynamics of Migraine Sufferers as Assessed by NIRS Signals

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive system for the real-time monitoring of the concentration of oxygenated () and reduced (HHb) hemoglobin in the brain cortex. and HHb concentrations vary in response to cerebral autoregulation. Sixty-eight women (14 migraineurs without aura, 49 migraineurs with aura, and 5 controls) performed breath-holding and hyperventilation during NIRS recordings. Signals were processed using the Choi-Williams time-frequency transform in order to measure the power variation of the very-low frequencies (VLF: 20–40 mHz) and of the low frequencies (LF: 40–140 mHz). Results showed that migraineurs without aura present different LF and VLF power levels than controls and migraineurs with aura. The accurate power measurement of the time-frequency analysis allowed for the discrimination of the subjects' hemodynamic patterns. The time-frequency analysis of NIRS signals can be used in clinical practice to assess cerebral hemodynamics.
Cyber-Insurance: Copula Pricing Framework and Implication for Risk Management

In recent years there has been a growing stream of research focusing on cyber-insurance. Risk transference with insurance has been suggested by both practitioners and academics to absorb losses caused by security breaches as well as to supplement the existing set of security tools to manage IT security residual risk after IT security investments are made. In this paper, we investigate pricing of cyber-insurance products using the emerging copula methodology for modeling dependent risks from an actuarial approach which is different to the process approaches of Bohme and Kataria (2006) and Mukhopadhyay et. al. (2006). We discuss a framework for assessing the empirical dollar loss distribution from the empirical distribution of the number of infected computers. We develop a cyber-insurance model and demonstrate the Gumbel copula to price insurance premiums using a numerical example with ICSA data.
Tying up the loose ends in fully LZW-compressed pattern matching

We consider a natural generalization of the classical pattern matching problem: given compressed representations of a pattern p[1.M] and a text t[1.N] of sizes m and n, respectively, does p occur in t? We develop an optimal linear time solution for the case when p and t are compressed using the LZW method. This improves the previously known O((n+m)log(n+m)) time solution of Gasieniec and Rytter, and essentially closes the line of research devoted to tudying LZW-compressed exact pattern matching.
Pharmacokinetics and distribution of a 33P-labeled anti-human immunodeficiency virus oligonucleotide (AR177) after single- and multiple-dose intravenous administration to rats.

AR177 is a 17-mer oligonucleotide that has anti-human immunodeficiency virus activity in vitro. The disposition of internally labeled 33P-AR177 was studied after the tail vein injection of single and multiple doses (0.7 mg/kg) to rats. After a single dose, the terminal half-life of AR177 in the blood and plasma was 367 and 271 hr, respectively, significantly longer than values reported for other oligonucleotides. Analysis of the AR177 tissue distribution showed that the majority of the dose was distributed to the liver (40%), bone marrow (17%) and renal cortex (15%) at 8 hr after single dosing. Analysis of the AR177 concentrations in tissues showed that the highest concentrations were achieved in the renal cortex (15.0 microg-eq/g), liver (7.4 microg-eq/g), bone marrow (3.9 microg-eq/g), mesenteric lymph node (3.0 microg-eq/g) and spleen (2.4 microg-eq/g) at 8 hr after single dosing. The half-life in these tissues was 9.6, 7.7, 36.8, 10.0 and 30.8 days, respectively. Forty-eight hours after the last of seven i.v. doses given every other day, the concentrations in tissues were as follows: renal cortex, 39.9 microg-eq/g; liver, 33.9 microg-eq/g; bone marrow, 12.7 microg-eq/g; spleen, 9.3 microg-eq/g; mesenteric lymph node, 5.1 microg-eq/g. Twenty-one days after administration of the last dose, tissue concentrations were still high, as follows: renal cortex, 18.6 microg-eq/g; liver, 6.2 microg-eq/g; bone marrow, 12.5 microg-eq/g; mesenteric lymph node, 3.9 microg-eq/g; spleen, 8.1 microg-eq/g. There was low urinary and fecal excretion (urinary excretion of 12.8% and fecal excretion of 6.0% of the total dose over 21 days) after a single dose. Gel filtration and anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography and electrophoretic analysis of the radioactivity in tissues indicated that >90% of the radioactivity represented intact AR177 for at least 7 days after drug dosing. These results demonstrate that AR177 has an extended plasma, blood and tissue half-life, is widely distributed and achieves high concentrations in lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues in rats.
Large-Scale Semantic 3D Reconstruction: An Adaptive Multi-resolution Model for Multi-class Volumetric Labeling

We propose an adaptive multi-resolution formulation of semantic 3D reconstruction. Given a set of images of a scene, semantic 3D reconstruction aims to densely reconstruct both the 3D shape of the scene and a segmentation into semantic object classes. Jointly reasoning about shape and class allows one to take into account class-specific shape priors (e.g., building walls should be smooth and vertical, and vice versa smooth, vertical surfaces are likely to be building walls), leading to improved reconstruction results. So far, semantic 3D reconstruction methods have been limited to small scenes and low resolution, because of their large memory footprint and computational cost. To scale them up to large scenes, we propose a hierarchical scheme which refines the reconstruction only in regions that are likely to contain a surface, exploiting the fact that both high spatial resolution and high numerical precision are only required in those regions. Our scheme amounts to solving a sequence of convex optimizations while progressively removing constraints, in such a way that the energy, in each iteration, is the tightest possible approximation of the underlying energy at full resolution. In our experiments the method saves up to 98% memory and 95% computation time, without any loss of accuracy.
High-volume Hemofiltration in the Intensive Care Unit: A Blood Purification Therapy

High-volume hemofiltration is an extracorporeal therapy that has been available in the intensive care unit for more than 10 yr. Recent improvements in technology have made its clinical application easier and safer. However, the definition, indications, and management of this technique are still unclear, and considerable controversy and confusion remain. The aim of this review is to analyze the available data while taking into account the distinction between two very different clinical situations: acute kidney injury requiring renal support, and severe inflammatory states where blood purification has been suggested as an adjuvant therapy. For patients with acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy, the two largest multicenter studies performed to date established that high ultrafiltration flow rates are not necessary. Conversely, much experimental and some clinical evidence suggest that high-volume hemofiltration can be beneficial for the subset of critically ill patients with severe inflammatory states such as septic shock.
Involvement of Escherichia coli DNA Polymerase IV in Tolerance of Cytotoxic Alkylating DNA Lesions in Vivo

Escherichia coli PolIV, a DNA polymerase capable of catalyzing synthesis past replication-blocking DNA lesions, belongs to the most ubiquitous branch of Y-family DNA polymerases. The goal of this study is to identify spontaneous DNA damage that is bypassed specifically and accurately by PolIV in vivo. We increased the amount of spontaneous DNA lesions using mutants deficient for different DNA repair pathways and measured mutation frequency in PolIV-proficient and -deficient backgrounds. We found that PolIV performs an error-free bypass of DNA damage that accumulates in the alkA tag genetic background. This result indicates that PolIV is involved in the error-free bypass of cytotoxic alkylating DNA lesions. When the amount of cytotoxic alkylating DNA lesions is increased by the treatment with chemical alkylating agents, PolIV is required for survival in an alkA tag-proficient genetic background as well. Our study, together with the reported involvement of the mammalian PolIV homolog, Polκ, in similar activity, indicates that Y-family DNA polymerases from the DinB branch can be added to the list of evolutionarily conserved molecular mechanisms that counteract cytotoxic effects of DNA alkylation. This activity is of major biological relevance because alkylating agents are continuously produced endogenously in all living cells and are also present in the environment.
OF THE AFLATOXIN B 1-INDUCED INHIBITION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN CHLORELLA FUSCA ( CHLOROCOCCALES , CHLOROPHYTA }

Treatment with Aflatoxin 8 1 (AFB1) resulted in inhibition of photosynthetic oxygen evolution in Chi orella fosca Shih.et Krauss. Treatments also induced a marked reduction of both chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. Inhibition of photosynthesis was manifested by loss of the variable component of Chlorophyll a (Chi a) fluorescence induction kinetics. Results are discussed in terms of the observed AFB1 -induced ultrastructural disorders at the level ofthe chloroplast thylakoid membrane.
Fully programmable bias current generator with 24 bit resolution per bias

This paper describes an on-chip programmable bias current generator, intended for mixed signal chips requiring a wide ranging set of currents. The individual generators share a master current reference. A serial digital interface to the chip controls the biases by bits loaded into a 24-bit shift register. These bits control the steering of current from a current splitter. The summed current splitter output is actively mirrored to a broadcasted bias voltage. Measurements from an implementation in 0.35mu 4M-2P CMOS show a total range of bias current of over 6 decades (>120 dB) ranging from a few times the off-current up to the master reference current. For currents larger than the minimum, the generator has resolution spanning nearly its full 24 bit range (144dB), e.g. for a master current of 10 muA, any bias current can be varied by as little as 0.5 pA with the caveat that the code is not guaranteed monotonic. Each bias occupies an area of 0.026 mm2 , which is about 65% of the bonding pad that it replaces. Measured variation in generated currents is <10% in strong inversion and about 20-30% in weak inversion
HOXB13 G84E Mutation in Finland: Population-Based Analysis of Prostate, Breast, and Colorectal Cancer Risk

Background: A recently identified germline mutation G84E in HOXB13 was shown to increase the risk of prostate cancer. In a family-based analysis by The International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics (ICPCG), the G84E mutation was most prevalent in families from the Nordic countries of Finland (22.4%) and Sweden (8.2%). Methods: To further investigate the importance of G84E in the Finns, we determined its frequency in more than 4,000 prostate cancer cases and 5,000 controls. In addition, 986 breast cancer and 442 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases were studied. Genotyping was conducted using TaqMan, MassARRAY iPLEX, and sequencing. Statistical analyses were conducted using Fisher exact test, and overall survival was analyzed using Cox modeling. Results: The frequency of the G84E mutation was significantly higher among patients with prostate cancer and highest among patients with a family history of the disease, hereditary prostate cancer [8.4% vs. 1.0% in controls; OR 8.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 4.9–15.7]. The mutation contributed significantly to younger age (≤55 years) at onset and high prostate-specific antigen (PSA; ≥20 ng/mL) at diagnosis. An association with increased prostate cancer risk in patients with prior benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) diagnosis was also revealed. No statistically significant evidence for a contribution in CRC risk was detected, but a suggestive role for the mutation was observed in familial BRCA1/2-negative breast cancer. Conclusions: These findings confirm an increased cancer risk associated with the G84E mutation in the Finnish population, particularly for early-onset prostate cancer and cases with substantially elevated PSA. Impact: This study confirms the overall importance of the HOXB13 G84E mutation in prostate cancer susceptibility. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(3); 452–60. ©2012 AACR.
Development of a Scale for Assessing the Childcare Information Utilisation Skills of Childcare Professionals (SACIUS)

Aim) Childcare professionals who work at childcare centres require the skills to maintain and improve the overall health of the children for whom they care. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for assessing the childcare information utilisation skills (i.e. skills for utilizing information towards the betterment of the child) of childcare professionals, as well as confirm its reliability and validity. Furthermore, we intended this scale to be used in the 'plan-do-check-act' cycle of childcare professionals to maximise each child's ability. (Methods) Item development was conducted through focus group interviews. Validity and reliability were assessed with a sample of 178 childcare professionals throughout Japan. Then, using factor analysis, the predicted 2-factor structure was obtained; the factor pattern was similar to a simple structure, thereby confirming the factorial validity. (Results) The first factor (12 items) consisted of the childcare professionals' skills for assessing information, putting this assessment into practice, evaluating the practice, and then incorporating their evaluation into further practice to increase their knowledge and improve their skills; thus, the factor was called 'advanced information utilisation skills'. The second factor (14 items) consisted of childcare professionals' skills for collecting and understanding basic information; thus, we called it 'basic information utilisation'. The Cronbach's alpha values were consistently high (first factor: α = 0.93; second factor: α = 0.90; whole scale: α = 0.94), thus confirming the internal consistency reliability of the scale. The results of correlational analysis of age, work experience, and Early Childhood Environment Rating confirmed the criterion validity; another correlational analysis with a measure of communicative and critical health literacy confirmed the construct validity. (Conclusion) The final scale consisted of 2 factors and 26 items. With the confirmation of the validity and reliability, we expect that this scale will contribute to improvements in the quality of childcare, as well as lead childcare professionals to acquire improved materials to be used in childcare.