Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The problem of predicting food intake during the period of adaptation to a new food: a model

A model is described which aims to predict intake immediately following a change from one food to another that is higher in bulk content; it deals with the transition from one ‘equilibrium’ intake to another. The system considered is an immature pig fed ad libitum on a single homogeneous food, which is balanced for nutrients and contains no toxins so that the first limiting resource is always energy. It is assumed that an animal has a desired rate of food intake (DFI) which is that needed to meet the energy requirements for protein and lipid deposition and for maintenance. DFI may not be achieved if a bulk constraint to intake exists. Where a bulk constraint operates intake is calculated as constrained food intake (CFI) where CFI=Cwhc/WHC k/ (where WHC is the water-holding capacity of the food (kg wate/g dry food) and Cwhc is the animal's capacity for WHC (unit/g live weight per d)). Where intake is not constrained it is assumed that genetic potential will be achieved. Potential growth rate is described by the Gompertz growth function. Where intake is constrained, growth will be less than the potential. Constrained growth rate is predicted as (d/t)con=(EI−Em)/eg k/ where W is pig weight (kg), EI is energy intake (M/), Em is the energy required for maintenance (M/) and eg is the energy required for unit gain (M/g). The value of eg depends on weight and the fattening characteristics of the pig. Actual growth is predicted to be the lesser of potential and constrained growth. To deal with adaptation it is assumed that the time taken to reach equilibrium depends on the difference in WHC values between the previous and current food and that the capacity to consume food bulk is related to the WHC of the current food. It is proposed that the capacity for WHC on the first day on a new food will be equal to the current capacity for WHC on the last day of the previous food. Thus Cwhc=(FI×WHC)/W /g, where FI is food intake (k/). Thereafter Cwhc will gradually increase over time to a maximum of 0·27 /g. The rate of change in Cwhc is made to be the same for all pigs and all foods. The increase in capacity over time is assumed to be linear at the rate of 0·01 unit/. The model was tested using published data. Qualitatively the predictions of the model were in close agreement with the relevant observed data in at least some cases. It is concluded that the underlying theoretical assumptions of the model are reasonable. However, the model fails to predict initial intake when changed to foods high in wheat-bran content and fails to predict the intake of a non-limiting food where compensatory increases in intake and gain occur. The model could be adapted to overcome the first failure by taking into account the time course of digestive efficiency following a change in food. To deal with the second would require a sufficient understanding of the time course of compensatory growth.
Answering non-monotonic queries in relational data exchange

Relational data exchange deals with translating a relational database instance over some source schema into a relational database instance over some target schema, according to a schema mapping that specifies the relationship between the source data and the target data. Various semantics for answering queries against the target schema exist, each of them suitable for a certain class of queries, and with respect to certain schema mappings. However, for each of these semantics, there are examples that show that it leads to counter-intuitive answers, or that it does not respect logical equivalence of schema mappings. In this article, we study query answering semantics for deductive databases in the context of relational data exchange. Furthermore, we propose a new semantics, called GCWA*-answers semantics, which seems to be well-suited with respect to a number of schema mappings, including schema mappings defined by st-tgds and egds. We show that the GCWA*-answers semantics coincides with the classical certain answers semantics on monotonic queries, and we further explore the data complexity of computing the GCWA*-answers to non-monotonic queries. In particular, we identify a class of schema mappings for which the GCWA*-answers to universal queries can be computed from the core of the universal solutions in polynomial time (data complexity).
A segment-based algorithm of speech enhancement for robust speech recognition

Accurate recognition of speech in noisy environment is still an obstacle for wider application of speech recognition technology. Noise reduction, which is aimed at cleaning the corrupted testing signal to match the ideal training conditions, remain to be an effective approach to improving the accuracy of speech recognition in noisy environment. This paper introduces a new algorithm of noise reduction that combines a tree-based segmentation method with the maximum likelihood estimation to accommodate the nonstationarity of speech while efficiently suppressing the possibly nonstationary noise. Numerical results are obtained from the experiments on an speech recognition system, showing the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in improving the accuracy of Chinese speech recognition.
Biodegradable and biocompatible polymers for tissue engineering application: a review

Abstract Since so many years ago, tissue damages that are caused owing to various reasons attract scientists’ attention to find a practical way to treat. In this regard, many studies were conducted. Nano scientists also suggested some ways and the newest one is called tissue engineering. They use biodegradable polymers in order to replace damaged structures in tissues to make it practical. Biodegradable polymers are dominant scaffolding materials in tissue engineering field. In this review, we explained about biodegradable polymers and their application as scaffolds.
Segmentation of Hemodynamics from Dynamic-Susceptibility-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Brain Images Using Sequential Independent Component Analysis

Dynamic-susceptibility-contrast magnetic resonance imaging, a popular perfusion imaging technique, records signal changes on images caused by the passage of contrast-agent particles in the human brain after a bolus injection of contrast agent. The temporal signal changes on different brain tissues characterize distinct blood supply patterns which are critical for the profound analysis of cerebral hemodynamics. Under the assumption of the spatial independence among these patterns, independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to segment different tissues, i.e., artery, gray matter, white matter, vein and sinus and choroids plexus, so that the spatiotemporal hemodynamics of these tissues were decomposed and analyzed. An arterial input function was modeled using the concentration-time curve of the arterial area for the deconvolution calculation of relative cerebral blood flow. The cerebral hemodynamic parameters, such as relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and relative mean transit time (rMTT), were computed and their averaged ratios between gray matter and white matter were in good agreement with those in the literature.
Everything you always wanted to know about the parameterized complexity of Subgraph Isomorphism (but were afraid to ask)

Given two graphs $H$ and $G$, the Subgraph Isomorphism problem asks if $H$ is isomorphic to a subgraph of $G$. While NP-hard in general, algorithms exist for various parameterized versions of the problem: for example, the problem can be solved (1) in time $2^{O(|V(H)|)}\cdot n^{O(\tw(H))}$ using the color-coding technique of Alon, Yuster, and Zwick; (2) in time $f(|V(H)|,\tw(G))\cdot n$ using Courcelle's Theorem; (3) in time $f(|V(H)|,\genus(G))\cdot n$ using a result on first-order model checking by Frick and Grohe; or (4) in time $f(\maxdeg(H))\cdot n^{O(\tw(G)})$ for connected $H$ using the algorithm of Matou\v{s}ek and Thomas. Already this small sample of results shows that the way an algorithm can depend on the parameters is highly nontrivial and subtle. We develop a framework involving 10 relevant parameters for each of $H$ and $G$ (such as treewidth, pathwidth, genus, maximum degree, number of vertices, number of components, etc.), and ask if an algorithm with running time \[ f_1(p_1,p_2,., p_\ell)\cdot n^{f_2(p_{\ell+1},., p_k)} \] exist, where each of $p_1,. , p_k$ is one of the 10 parameters depending only on $H$ or $G$. We show that {\em all} the questions arising in this framework are answered by a set of 11 maximal positive results (algorithms) and a set of 17 maximal negative results (hardness proofs); some of these results already appear in the literature, while others are new in this paper. On the algorithmic side, our study reveals for example that an unexpected combination of bounded degree, genus, and feedback vertex set number of $G$ gives rise to a highly nontrivial algorithm for Subgraph Isomorphism. On the hardness side, we present W[1]-hardness proofs under extremely restricted conditions, such as when $H$ is a bounded-degree tree of constant pathwidth and $G$ is a planar graph of bounded pathwidth.
Structural Interpretation of the Large Slowdown of Water Dynamics at Stacked Phospholipid Membranes for Decreasing Hydration Level: All-Atom Molecular Dynamics

Hydration water determines the stability and function of phospholipid membranes as well as the interaction of membranes with other molecules. Experiments and simulations have shown that water dynamics slows down dramatically as the hydration decreases, suggesting that the interfacial water that dominates the average dynamics at low hydration is slower than water away from the membrane. Here, based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we provide an interpretation of the slowdown of interfacial water in terms of the structure and dynamics of water–water and water–lipid hydrogen bonds (HBs). We calculate the rotational and translational slowdown of the dynamics of water confined in stacked phospholipid membranes at different levels of hydration, from completely hydrated to poorly hydrated membranes. For all hydrations, we analyze the distribution of HBs and find that water–lipids HBs last longer than water–water HBs and that at low hydration most of the water is in the interior of the membrane. We also show that water–water HBs become more persistent as the hydration is lowered. We attribute this effect (i) to HBs between water molecules that form, in turn, persistent HBs with lipids; (ii) to the hindering of the H-bonding switching between water molecules due to the lower water density at the interface; and (iii) to the higher probability of water–lipid HBs as the hydration decreases. Our interpretation of the large dynamic slowdown in water under dehydration is potentially relevant in understanding membrane biophysics at different hydration levels.
Hyperspectral image classification for mapping agricultural tillage practices

Abstract. An efficient classification framework for mapping agricultural tillage practice using hyperspectral remote sensing imagery is proposed, which has the potential to be implemented practically to provide rapid, accurate, and objective surveying data for precision agricultural management and appraisal from large-scale remote sensing images. It includes a local region filter [i.e., Gaussian low-pass filter (GLF)] to extract spatial-spectral features, a dimensionality reduction process [i.e., local fisher’s discriminate analysis (LFDA)], and the traditional k-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifier, and is denoted as GLF-LFDA-KNN. Compared to our previously used local average filter and adaptive weighted filter, the GLF also considers spatial features in a small neighborhood, but it emphasizes the central pixel itself and is data-independent; therefore, it can achieve the balance between classification accuracy and computational complexity. The KNN classifier has a lower computational complexity compared to the traditional support vector machine (SVM). After classification separability is enhanced by the GLF and LFDA, the less powerful KNN can outperform SVM and the overall computational cost remains lower. The proposed framework can also outperform the SVM with composite kernel (SVM-CK) that uses spatial-spectral features.
Activities of Newer Fluoroquinolones against Streptococcus pneumoniae Clinical Isolates Including Those with Mutations in the gyrA, parC, and parELoci

ABSTRACT Resistance to fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotics inStreptococcus pneumoniae has been attributed primarily to specific mutations in the genes for DNA gyrase (gyrA andgyrB) and topoisomerase IV (parC andparE). Resistance to some FQs can result from a single mutation in one or more of the genes encoding these essential enzymes. A group of 160 clinical isolates of pneumococci was examined in this study, including 36 ofloxacin-resistant isolates (MICs, ≥8 μg/ml) recovered from patients in North America, France, and Belgium. The susceptibilities of all isolates to clinafloxacin, grepafloxacin, levofloxacin, sparfloxacin, and trovafloxacin were examined by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards reference broth microdilution and disk diffusion susceptibility testing methods. Among the ofloxacin-resistant strains, 32 of 36 were also categorized as resistant to levofloxacin, 35 were resistant to sparfloxacin, 29 were resistant to grepafloxacin, and 19 were resistant to trovafloxacin. In vitro susceptibility to clinafloxacin appeared to be least affected by resistance to the other FQs. Eight isolates with high- and low-level resistance to the newer FQs were selected for DNA sequence analysis of the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) ofgyrA, gyrB, parC, andparE. The DNA and the inferred amino acid sequences of the resistant strains were compared with the analogous sequences of reference strain S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619 and FQ-susceptible laboratory strain R6. Reduced susceptibilities to grepafloxacin and sparfloxacin (MICs, 1 to 2 μg/ml) and trovafloxacin (MICs, 0.5 to 1 μg/ml) were associated with either a mutation inparC that led to a single amino acid substitution (Ser-79 to Phe or Tyr) or double mutations that involved the genes for both GyrA (Ser-81 to Phe) and ParE (Asp-435 to Asn). High-level resistance to all of the compounds except clinafloxacin was associated with two or more amino acid substitutions involving both GyrA (Ser-81 to Phe) and ParC (Ser-79 to Phe or Ser-80 to Pro and Asp-83 to Tyr). No mutations were observed in the gyrB sequences of resistant strains. These data indicate that mutations in pneumococcal gyrA,parC, and parE genes all contribute to decreased susceptibility to the newer FQs, and genetic analysis of the QRDR of a single gene, either gyrA or parC, is not predictive of pneumococcal resistance to these agents.
Optimal Tagging with Markov Chain Optimization

Many information systems use tags and keywords to describe and annotate content. These allow for efficient organization and categorization of items, as well as facilitate relevant search queries. As such, the selected set of tags for an item can have a considerable effect on the volume of traffic that eventually reaches an item. In settings where tags are chosen by an item's creator, who in turn is interested in maximizing traffic, a principled approach for choosing tags can prove valuable. In this paper we introduce the problem of optimal tagging, where the task is to choose a subset of tags for a new item such that the probability of a browsing user reaching that item is maximized. We formulate the problem by modeling traffic using a Markov chain, and asking how transitions in this chain should be modified to maximize traffic into a certain state of interest. The resulting optimization problem involves maximizing a certain function over subsets, under a cardinality constraint. We show that the optimization problem is NP-hard, but nonetheless has a simple (1-1/e)-approximation via a simple greedy algorithm. Furthermore, the structure of the problem allows for an efficient implementation of the greedy this http URL demonstrate the effectiveness of our method, we perform experiments on three tagging datasets, and show that the greedy algorithm outperforms other baselines.
Love versus loving criticism: Disentangling conventional and constructive patriotism.

We seek in three studies to better understand constructive patriotism by identifying perceptual and motivational factors that predict it above and beyond conventional patriotism and by examining one of its distinctive consequences (total n = 573). Study 1 (Polish students) shows that constructive patriotism is predicted by the perceived discrepancy between actual and ideal representations of the nation. Study 2 (Polish and Israeli students), which draws on Schwartz's theory of values, shows that constructive patriotism is negatively associated with the pursuit of self-interests. In Study 3 (Israeli adults), we broadened our investigation of constructive patriotism and conventional patriotism by examining the willingness to write examples of what constitutes a contribution to the nation, and analysed the content of these written statements. Individuals who scored higher on constructive patriotism wrote more examples, as well as more distinctive examples, of contributions to the nation. These findings provide the first empirical evidence for predictors and potential consequences of constructive patriotism that go beyond the love of one's nation.
MADSPAM Consortium at the ECML/PKDD Discovery Challenge 2010

ABSTRACT We present here the contribution of the MADSPAM consor-tium to the ECML/PKDD Discovery Challenge 2010. Thesubmitted method is based on both a RankBoost algorithmand on propagation techniques. 1. INTRODUCTION The ECML/PKDD Discovery Challenge 2010 was focusedon Web content quality. It involved three di erent tasks:task 1 was a categorization task (for English sites);task 2 was a quality ranking task (for English sites);task 3 was a multilingual transfer from task 2 for Ger-man and French sites.These tasks involved 10 di erent categories: spam, news,commercial, educational, discussion lists, personal, neutral,biased, trust and quality. These categories where not inde-pendent (for instance spam vs. trust or neutral vs. biased). For each category, the teams had to provide a global order-ing of the sites with highly ranked sites rst. These orderingwere evaluated with NDCG, an information retrieval metricwhich emphasizes the top of lists.The challenge dataset [1] was very rich: it included 85compressed text les providing a wide variety of informa-tion about web sites including training labels, URLs andhyperlinks, several content-based and link-based features,term frequencies and weightings, natural language process-ing features and many others.
Protocols to efficiently support nested NEMO (NEMO+)

The NEMO Basic Support (NEMO BS) protocol provides a technique for enabling entire networks of IPv6 hosts to gain Internet access and remain reachable via constant, unaltered addresses whilst their underlying location in the Internet changes. In addition to individual hosts, this NEMO model also supports entire mobile networks connecting to other mobile networks, resulting in topologies known as Nested NEMO networks. In this paper we explain the inefficiencies that arise if NEMO BS is used to support this type of scenario and introduce our NEMO+ suite of protocols which are designed to optimise performance in Nested NEMO networks. We detail the Tree Discovery (TD), Network In Node Advertisement (NINA) and Reverse Routing Header (RRH) protocols that make up the NEMO+ suite and provide experimental evaluation results from a testbed comprising of our two distinct protocol implementation platforms (Linux and Cisco IOS). In addition we present simulation results based on scenarios of mass deployment of NEMO+ enabled mobile networks in order to determine the feasibility of our approach to efficiently support Nested NEMO networks.
Title: Assessing the Functional Significance of Ecstasy-related Memory Deficits Using a Virtual Paradigm Citation

This paper is made available online in accordance with publisher policies. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item and our policy information available from the repository home page for further information. To see the final version of this paper please visit the publisher's website. Access to the published version may require a subscription. 'Assessing the functional significance of ecstasy-related memory deficits using a virtual paradigm' Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 25 (4) pp. 318-325. 1 Assessing the functional significance of ecstasy-related memory deficits using a virtual paradigm. Running head: functional significance of ecstasy-related impairment. 2 Abstract Rationale/Objectives: Previous research shows that the use of ecstasy results in working memory and executive impairments in some users. The present study sought to assess the functional significance of such deficits using a virtual reality task. Methods: Twenty-three ecstasy-polydrug users and 26 nonusers were recruited. Individuals completed a drug use questionnaire measures of sleep quality and fluid intelligence. Participants also completed a virtual reality executive function task in which they play the role of an office worker for the day completing predefined tasks such as prioritising different activities according to their importance, organising the physical office environment and managing the outgoing mail in accordance with a delivery schedule. Results: MANOVA revealed that ecstasy users performed worse on the virtual reality task overall, and this was due to poorer performance on the planning and selection subscales. Contrary to expectations, ecstasy-polydrug users performed better on the time-based prospective memory subscale. Indices of ecstasy use were correlated with the planning subscale of the virtual task. Conclusions: The present study provides further support for ecstasy/polydrug related deficits in executive functioning. As it is possible that this task is more ecologically valid and relevant to day-today activities of many users, previous research finding null results on executive function tasks may have underestimated the impact of ecstasy-polydrug use on executive functioning.
Reflection without remorse

A series of list appends or monadic binds for many monads performs algorithmically worse when left-associated. Continuation-passing style (CPS) is well-known to cure this severe dependence of performance on the association pattern. The advantage of CPS dwindles or disappears if we have to examine or modify the intermediate result of a series of appends or binds, before continuing the series. Such examination is frequently needed, for example, to control search in non-determinism monads. We present an alternative approach that is just as general as CPS but more robust: it makes series of binds and other such operations efficient regardless of the association pattern-- and also provides efficient access to intermediate results. The key is to represent such a conceptual sequence as an efficient sequence data structure. Efficient sequence data structures from the literature are homogeneous and cannot be applied as they are in a type-safe way to series of monadic binds. We generalize them to type aligned sequences and show how to construct their (assuredly order-preserving) implementations. We demonstrate that our solution solves previously undocumented, severe performance problems in iteratees, LogicT transformers, free monads and extensible effects.