Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regularized Linear Regression: A Precise Analysis of the Estimation Error

Non-smooth regularized convex optimization procedures have emerged as a powerful tool to recover structured signals (sparse, low-rank, etc.) from (possibly compressed) noisy linear measurements. We focus on the problem of linear regression and consider a general class of optimization methods that minimize a loss function measuring the misfit of the model to the observations with an added structured-inducing regularization term. Celebrated instances include the LASSO, GroupLASSO, Least-Absolute Deviations method, etc. We develop a quite general framework for how to determine precise prediction performance guaranties (e.g. mean-square-error) of such methods for the case of Gaussian measurement ensemble. The machinery builds upon Gordon’s Gaussian min-max theorem under additional convexity assumptions that arise in many practical applications. This theorem associates with a primary optimization (PO) problem a simplified auxiliary optimization (AO) problem from which we can tightly infer properties of the original (PO), such as the optimal cost, the norm of the optimal solution, etc. Our theory applies to general loss functions and regularization and provides guidelines on how to optimally tune the regularizer coefficient when certain structural properties (such as sparsity level, rank, etc.) are known.
Stakeholder Engagement and Organizational Performance: A Case of Kenya Power and Lighting Company, Eldoret Branch, Uasin-Gishu County – Kenya

The effects of stakeholder involvement in daily running of organizations remain unclear on their performance leading to the current study. The study specifically investigated employee investment, performance management systems, employee participation in decision, product customization, customer recognition, and customer relationship management on firm performance. Stakeholder theory was the basis of the study with a descriptive research design employed on a target population of 718. Stratified random sampling was used in selecting a sample size of 215 employees and customers. Data was collected using self-administered closed-ended questionnaires and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression models were employed with findings indicating customer recognition (β5=0.441, P Value = 0.000), employee decision making involvement (β3=0.234, P Value = 0.04), customer relationship management (β6=0.2, P Value = 0.000), employee investment (β1=0.145, P Value = 0.05) , performance management system (β2=0.143, P Value = 0.04) and product customization (β4=0.084, P Value = 0.000) all having positive effect on firm performance significant at 0.05. The overall regression result indicated an R2 = 0.762 with an implication that 76.2% of the changes in organizational performance is as a result of stakeholder involvement in decision making process. The research therefore concluded that both the customer and employee involvement strategies contributed significantly to the performance of the organizations with the customer recognition indicating more effect on the performance of the organization. The research recommended that the two stakeholders be an integral part in decision making process for better performance.
MLG 2006: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Mining and Learning with Graphs : in conjunction with ECML/PKDD 2006

Link-based data may be studied formally by means of unordered trees. On a dataset formed by such link-based data, a natural notion of support-based closure can be immediately defined. Abstracting information from subsets of such data requires, first, a formal notion of intersection; second, deeper understanding of the notion of closure; and, third, efficient algorithms for computing intersections on unordered trees. We provide answers to these three questions.
Quantitative Imaging of Cholinergic Interneurons Reveals a Distinctive Spatial Organization and a Functional Gradient across the Mouse Striatum

Information processing in the striatum requires the postsynaptic integration of glutamatergic and dopaminergic signals, which are then relayed to the output nuclei of the basal ganglia to influence behavior. Although cellularly homogeneous in appearance, the striatum contains several rare interneuron populations which tightly modulate striatal function. Of these, cholinergic interneurons (CINs) have been recently shown to play a critical role in the control of reward-related learning; however how the striatal cholinergic network is functionally organized at the mesoscopic level and the way this organization influences striatal function remains poorly understood. Here, we systematically mapped and digitally reconstructed the entire ensemble of CINs in the mouse striatum and quantitatively assessed differences in densities, spatial arrangement and neuropil content across striatal functional territories. This approach demonstrated that the rostral portion of the striatum contained a higher concentration of CINs than the caudal striatum and that the cholinergic content in the core of the ventral striatum was significantly lower than in the rest of the regions. Additionally, statistical comparison of spatial point patterns in the striatal cholinergic ensemble revealed that only a minor portion of CINs (17%) aggregated into cluster and that they were predominantly organized in a random fashion. Furthermore, we used a fluorescence reporter to estimate the activity of over two thousand CINs in naïve mice and found that there was a decreasing gradient of CIN overall function along the dorsomedial-to-ventrolateral axis, which appeared to be independent of their propensity to aggregate within the striatum. Altogether this work suggests that the regulation of striatal function by acetylcholine across the striatum is highly heterogeneous, and that signals originating in external afferent systems may be principally determining the function of CINs in the striatum.
Free-Market Ideology and Environmental Degradation

The effects of support for free-market ideology and environmental apathy were investigated to identify some bases for not believing in global climate change. A survey of community residents' (N= 185) beliefs about global climate change also assessed ecocentrism, anthropocentrism, perceived knowledge about climate change, and self-efficacy. The beliefs that global climate change is not occurring, is mainly not human caused, will also have positive consequences and that weaker intentions to undertake ameliorative actions were significantly associated with greater support for free-market ideology, greater environmental apathy, less ecocentrism, and less self-efficacy. About 40% of the variance in each belief and 56% of the variance in the behavioral intention was explained by these factors. The results suggest that the relation between support for free-market ideology and the beliefs about global climate change is mediated by environmental apathy.
Evaluation of quantile based histogram equalization with filter combination on the Aurora 3 and 4 databases

The recognition performance of automatic speech recognition systems can be improved by reducing the mismatch between training and test data during feature extraction. The approach described in this paper is based on estimating the signal’s cumulative density functions on the filter bank using a small number of quantiles. A two–step transformation is then applied to reduce the difference between these quantiles and the ones estimated on the training data. The first step is a power function transformation applied to each individual filter channel, followed by a linear combination of neighboring filters. On the Aurora 4 16kHz database the average word error rates could be reduced from 60.8% to 37.6% (clean training) and from 38.0% to 31.5% (multi condition training).
The Sound of Temperature: What Information do Pouring Sounds Convey Concerning the Temperature of a Beverage

We report a series of three experiments designed to assess the extent to which people can infer the temperature of water on the basis of the sound that can be heard when it is poured from one vessel into another. Experiment 1 demonstrates that people can tell whether water is hot or cold solely on the basis of the sound that it makes when poured into a receptacle made from one of four different materials (glass, porcelain, paper and plastic). Experiment 2 reveals the existence of an implicit association between the pouring sounds and the notion of a particular temperature (hot or cold). Finally, experiment 3 demonstrates that the perception of temperature can be changed by artificially modifying the sonic properties of the sound that hot and cold water makes when poured into a receptacle. Potential applications for these results in terms of sensory marketing and modernist dining are discussed. Practical Applications The idea that temperature is a multisensory construct could be of particular interest to contexts such as food and drink perception, media (e.g., radio, television and digital environments), electronic drinks dispensers and household appliances, where the apparent temperature of a beverage could potentially be modified in order to create (or modify) particular consumption experiences.
Production of Soluble Human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor VEGF-A165-Heparin Binding Domain in Escherichia coli

We report a method for production of soluble heparin binding domain (HBD) of human vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF-A165. Recombinant VEGF-A165-HBD that contains four disulphide bridges was expressed in specialised E. coli SHuffle cells and its activity has been confirmed through interactions with neuropilin and heparin. The ability to produce significant quantities of a soluble active form of VEGF-A165-HBD will enable further studies addressing the role of VEGF-A in essential processes such as angiogenesis, vasculogenesis and vascular permeability.
3,4‐dimethoxystilbene, a resveratrol derivative with anti‐angiogenic effect, induces both macroautophagy and apoptosis in endothelial cells

Angiogenesis plays an important role in many pathological processes. Identification of novel anti‐angiogenic agents will provide new insights into the mechanisms for angiogenesis as well as potential lead compounds for developing new drugs. In the present study, a series of resveratrol methylated derivatives have been synthesized and screened. We found trans‐3,4‐dimethoxystilbene (3,4‐DMS) with the fullest potential to develop as an anti‐angiogenic agent. In vitro and in vivo analyses suggested that 3,4‐DMS could effectively inhibit endothelial cell proliferation, migration, tube formation, and endogenous neovascularization. Our results showed that 3,4‐DMS exerted its anti‐angiogenic effect likely through induction of endothelial cell apoptosis via a pathway involving p53, Bax, cytochrome c, and caspase proteases. Moreover, 3,4‐DMS also induced macroautophagy in endothelial cells through activation of AMPK and the downstream inhibition of mTOR signaling pathway. Further studies indicated that intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) might bridge the 3,4‐DMS‐induced apoptosis and macroautophagy through modulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in endothelial cells. Combination of 3,4‐DMS with inhibitor of autophagy, such as 3‐methyladenine (3‐MA) and autophagy‐related gene (ATG) 5 small interfering RNA (siRNA), potentiated the pro‐apoptotic and anti‐angiogenic effects of 3,4‐DMS. Our study provides a novel angiogenic inhibitor and a useful tool in exploring the molecular mechanisms for the crosstalk between apoptosis and macroautophagy in endothelial cells. 3,4‐DMS could be served as a potential lead compound for developing a class of new drugs targeting angiogenesis‐related diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 697–707, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
New thin-film power MOSFETs with a buried oxide double step structure

A new silicon-on-insulator (SOI) power MOSFET structure is proposed, in which buried oxide step structure (BOSS) is replaced by a buried oxide double step (BODS). Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate that higher breakdown voltages are obtained resulting from a higher electric-field peak introduced near the BODS, and higher impurity concentration is depleted due to thin-film SOI than that in the conventional SOI and BOSS structure.
gIBIS: a hypertext tool for team design deliberation

This paper introduces an application-specific hypertext system designed to facilitate the capture of early design deliberations, which implements a specific design method called Issue Based Information Systems (IBIS). The hypertext system described here, gIBIS(for graphical IBIS), makes use of color and a high speed relational database server to facilitate building and browsing typed IBIS networks. Further, gIBIS is designed to support the collaborative construction of these networks by any number of cooperating team members spread across a local area network. Early experiments suggest that the gIBIS tool, while still incomplete, forges a good match between graphical interface and design method even in this experimental version.
Transcultural speechmaking principles : mechanisms of linear logic and configural logic

Although scholars differentiate between the rationalities of Western and Eastern rhetorics as "linear" logic and "configural" logic, very little research has investigated configural logic. This study aims to explain the mechanisms of both linear and configural logics, by analyzing American (will also be referred to as Western) rhetoric and Japanese (will also be referred to as Eastern) rhetoric with the Toulmin model and Aristotelian reasoning. Furthermore, this study will present the mutual framework shared by both linear and configural logics, and then suggest transcultural speechmaking principles.
Paracrine glucocorticoid activity produced by mouse thymic epithelial cells

Previous data have suggested that glucocorticoids (GCs) are involved in the differentiation of thymocytes into mature T cells. In this report we demonstrate that the mouse thymic epithelial cells (TEC) express the cytochrome P450 hydroxylases Cyp11A1, Cyp21, and Cyp11B1. These enzymes, in combination with 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3βHSD), convert cholesterol into corticosterone, the major GC in rodents. In addition, when TEC were cocultured with ‘reporter cells’ containing the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and a GR‐dependent reporter gene, a specific induction of reporter gene activity was observed. Induction of reporter gene activity was blocked when the TEC and reporter cells were incubated in the presence of the Cyp11B1 inhibitor metyrapone or the 3βHSD inhibitor trilostane, as well as by the GR antagonist RU486. Coculturing of TEC with thymocytes induced apoptosis in the latter, which was partially blocked by the enzyme inhibitors and RU486. We conclude that TEC secrete a GC hormone activity and suggest a paracrine role for this in thymocyte development. —Pazirandeh, A. , Xue, Y. , Rafter, I. , Sjövall, J., Jondal, M. , Okret, S. Paracrine glucocorticoid activity produced by mouse thymic epithelial cells. FASEB J. 13, 893–901 (1999)
The Effects of pH and Temperature on Electrodeposition of Re-Ir-Ni Coatings from Aqueous Solutions

The Re-Ir system is of great interest for high-temperature applications and extreme environments. Here, Re-Ir-Ni alloy coatings were electroplated from aqueous solutions. The effects of pH and temperature on the faradaic efficiency (FE), chemical composition, surface morphology and crystallographic structure of the coatings were studied. The results show that the pH and temperature of electrolytes have a significant effect on the electrodeposition of Re-Ir-Ni. As the pH was increased from 2.0 to 8.0, the FE, partial current densities for deposition of the three metals, and deposition rate increased. The highest Re-content (82 at%) was obtained at pH = 2.5. At pH = 2.0, the coating consisted of an amorphous phase, and no cracking was observed. When raising the pH to 4.0 and above, crystalline phases (including hydrides) formed, and both columnar crystals and micro-cracks were observed. The bath temperature affected the surface crack density and the size of the grains that form the mesoscopic colonies. At the two lowest temperatures studied herein (50 and 60◦C), no codeposition of Ir was observed. The phase composition of the coating changed from amorphous Re-Ni at 50◦C; to amorphous Re-Ni, hcp-Ni and hexagonal Ni2H at 60◦C; to hcp-Ir0.4Re0. 6, hcp-Ni and hexagonal Ni2H at higher temperatures. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. [DOI: 10.1149/2.0281501jes] All rights reserved.
Cognitive Dysfunction Associated with Elemental Mercury Ingestion and Inhalation: A Case Study

A 63-year-old man with a history of alcohol dependence ingested elemental mercury as a suicide gesture. Serial abdominal X-rays showed gradual but incomplete clearance of mercury from the colon. Routine chest X-ray showed evidence of punctate radiopaque materials in the lower lobe of the right lung. Blood and urine mercury levels both exceeded thresholds considered to be associated with cognitive dysfunction. Elicited cognitive deficits were most prominent in processing speed, flexibility, and response inhibition. Semantic fluency, visuospatial processing, and recall memory for visual and low-context verbal material were also affected. The deficits may have been attributable primarily to alcohol abuse. Elemental mercury is not readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract; however, mercury vapor, which was inhaled inadvertently, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and is neurotoxic. We argue, therefore, that mercury toxicity is more likely than not to have been a factor contributing to the patient's cognitive dysfunction.
The Commutative Property in Comorbid Diagnosis

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition, text revision) assumes an additive model for describing comorbid symptomatology, including the commutativity of disorder descriptions across order of presentation (e.g., A + B = B + A). Given the high prevalence of individuals with comorbid conditions, it is important to investigate if clinicians follow an additive model when conceptualizing disorders. Three studies involving a total of 138 clinicians tested assumptions of commutativity for conceptualizations of three disorders—major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)—by either fixed-choice or free-response descriptions of all possible pairwise comparisons of the disorders. Clinicians demonstrated less-than-perfect commutativity for all disorder combinations, and this finding was replicated across two samples. In addition, MDD and ASPD tended to overshadow the presence of GAD in combinations. These results challenge the additive assumptions of the current diagnostic system and may suggest the order in which diagnoses are conceptualized influences the resulting symptomatology.
Trust Derivation and Transitivity in a Recommendation Trust Model

Recommendation-based trust models have emerged as an important risk management mechanism in E-commerce and online environments. This paper presents a trust model with trust derivation and transitivity based on subjective logic and the theory of collaborative filtering. For dealing with trust derivations, the theory of subjective logic is used to translate similarity taken from Collaborative Filtering(CF) into trust to form the potential trust between the correlated entities. In addition, we intend to describe a notation for specifying topologies of transitive trust, and to discuss ways to set up trust graph. The trust that the first entity should place on the distant one is derived through the trust graph. Finally, by transforming the value back into similarity measure terms, it could then be made appropriate for use in CF schemes. We present the test methods and their results to illustrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the approach.
The J-Curve Hypothesis of Conforming Behavior

Resume En considerant la conformite du comportement humain, les etudiants de la societe se sont interesses generalement a la “norme”, c'est-a-dire, a l'acte fait par la plupart des gens. Cet article appuie sur l'importance d'etudier la distribution entiere y compris les degres de la conformite partielle, ainsi que ceux de la non-conformite. On recommande deux continua de mesure. Le premier est le continuum telique, sur lequel sont projetees les deviations de l'acte modal lesquelles expriment son but a des degres variants. Un exemple est le degre de ralentissement des chauffeurs d'automobile en s'approchant d'un signal rouge d'arret, ou le degre de salutation des membres d'eglise en s'asseyant sur leurs bancs. Le second continuum est empirique, et est base sur des unites objectives et physiques du temps, de l'espace, etc. Tout au contraire du continuum telique, il permet la distribution separee de ces cas de ceux qui “font plus que de conformer. ” Un “champ de comportement conformant” est defini comme une s.
A Note on Environmental Concern in a Developing Country

A survey conducted in Istanbul (1995) provided data on residents' opinions about ideas contained in the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale. The NEP scale was commonly accepted by Istanbul respondents, with the result adding to the evidence that considerable environmental concern exists in developing countries. Although some of the demographic parameters were related to the NEP scale, the patterns in the data did not point to any particular demographic group exhibiting higher environmental concern than others. Spatial perception of the environment and environmental problems, however, was linked to environmental concern. The respondents who identified the environment and related problems with a more spacious geographical frame were more concerned about the environment. Also, environmental knowledge of the respondents correlated positively with their environmental concern; the relation was the most conspicuous for ecological knowledge and nearly negligible for knowledge about local environmental problems.
Application of CLSM and SEM analyses for biofouling study

Marine biofouling behavior was investigated on the solid lithium manganese oxides and the urethane foam exposed in seawater. CLSM was used to study the defacement degree of microorganisms on solid surfaces and foams. Different distribution of fluorescence intensity was observed both the solid and the foam. SEM was also used to analyze the surface characterization of biofouling and the chemical compositions by EDS analysis. The major components of solid, C, Mn and O, were measured for the solid surfaces. While, C and O, were the components observed from the foam. This study indicates that these surfaces of solids which were very reactive toward biofouling to form biofilm can be analyzed by in-vivo technique and electron-probe micro analysis.
Reconstructing the Loss: Hantzacha Commemoration Following the Death of a Spouse in a Terror Attack

One of the ways that family members cope with the deep sense of emptiness and the severance of continuity following the loss of a loved one in a terror attack is through commemoration. This article presents of the findings of a qualitative study that examined the process and products of commemoration by Israeli adults whose spouses were killed in terrorist attacks on the West Bank. The analysis of in-depth interviews revealed four different types of commemoration: tangible-private, tangible-public, intangible-private, and intangible-public. The study describes and analyzes the ways in which spouses of terror victims negotiate between the personal and collective aspects of the loss and bereavement via commemoration within the context of the Jewish-Israeli culture.