Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weight regularisation in particle swarm optimisation neural network training

Applying weight regularisation to gradient-descent based neural network training methods such as backpropagation was shown to improve the generalisation performance of a neural network. However, the existing applications of weight regularisation to particle swarm optimisation are very limited, despite being promising. This paper proposes adding a regularisation penalty term to the objective function of the particle swarm. The impact of different penalty terms on the resulting neural network performance as trained by both backpropagation and particle swarm optimisation is analysed. Swarm behaviour under weight regularisation is studied, showing that weight regularisation results in smaller neural network architectures and more convergent swarms.
Museum promotion and cultural salience: the agenda of the Athenian Acropolis Museum

This case study examines a process of agenda building in the context of cultural organizations. We chose the Acropolis Museum, as a new, emerging cultural organization in the European periphery which engages in public actions, in the form of symbolic initiatives, in order to set a specific cultural agenda for Greek and international media. We scrutinize seven symbolic initiatives publicized by the museum, as attributes that influence media content. We conclude that development of cultural/educational services, advertising and marketing, visitor/customer relations, partnerships, symbolic actions, special events, and supporting services constitute significant cultural attributes, which strategically become a part of the media agenda, thereby contributing toward the building of a museum agenda.
Fitting a Bandlimited Curve to Points in a Plane

We describe an algorithm for the reparametrization of a closed curve defined by a sequence of $m$ points while providing the user a high level of control over the frequency content of the resulting curve. Specifically, the algorithm views the tangential angle of the curve as a function of the arc-length, filters it as such, and adds a small analytic perturbation so that the curve passes through the input data. If the number of nodes in the initial discretization is $n$, the entire scheme has asymptotic complexity $\mathcal{O}(n\log n)$. The resulting curve is analytic and bandlimited. The performance of the scheme is illustrated with several numerical examples.
An embedded hardware-efficient architecture for real-time cascade Support Vector Machine classification

Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are considered as a state-of-the-art classification algorithm yielding high accuracy rates. However, SVMs often require processing a large number of support vectors, making the classification process computationally demanding, especially when considering embedded applications. Cascade SVMs have been proposed in an attempt to speed-up classification times, but improved performance comes at a cost of additional hardware resources. Consequently, in this paper we propose an optimized architecture for cascaded SVM processing, along with a hardware reduction method in order to reduce the overheads from the implementation of additional stages in the cascade, leading to significant resource and power savings for embedded applications. The architecture was implemented on a Virtex 5 FPGA platform and evaluated using face detection as the target application on 640×480 resolution images. Additionally, it was compared against implementations of the same cascade processing architecture but without using the reduction method, and a single parallel SVM classifier. The proposed architecture achieves an average performance of 70 frames-per-second, demonstrating a speed-up of 5× over the single parallel SVM classifier. Furthermore, the hardware reduction method results in the utilization of 43% less hardware resources and a 20% reduction in power, with only 0.7% reduction in classification accuracy.
Filamin actin-binding and titin-binding fulfill distinct functions in Z-disc cohesion

Many proteins contribute to the contractile properties of muscles, most notably myosin thick filaments, which are anchored at the M-line, and actin thin filaments, which are anchored at the Z-discs that border each sarcomere. In humans, mutations in the actin-binding protein Filamin-C result in myopathies, but the underlying molecular function is not well understood. Here we show using Drosophila indirect flight muscle that the filamin ortholog Cheerio in conjunction with the giant elastic protein titin plays a crucial role in keeping thin filaments stably anchored at the Z-disc. We identify the filamin domains required for interaction with the titin ortholog Sallimus, and we demonstrate a genetic interaction of filamin with titin and actin. Filamin mutants disrupting the actin- or the titin-binding domain display distinct phenotypes, with Z-discs breaking up in parallel or perpendicularly to the myofibril, respectively. Thus, Z-discs require filamin to withstand the strong contractile forces acting on them.
Flexible Corpus Annotation with Property Grammars

We present in this paper a syntactic annotation project relying on a linguistic formalism called Property Grammars. This constraint-based formalism allows to encode different levels of syntactic information (the granularity description can be tuned according to the set of constraints to be verified). Moreover, this approach allows to propose a description whatever the form of the input (being it grammatical or not). After a presentation of the formalism and its representation, we describe its use in the annotation of a spoken language corpus.
Morphological Gap-Analysis Using GMA to find the

Gap-analysis is the process of structuring and comparing two different situations or states in order to determine the difference or "gap" that exists between them. Once the "gap" is understood - and possibly also the "distance" between the states measured or otherwise assessed - it may then be possible to identify the steps or processes required to bridge the gap. General Morphological Analysis (GMA) is a non-quantified modelling method that employs a process and a spatial format that makes gap-analyses intrinsic. This article will summa- rise GMA and give examples of how it can be used as a computer based gap-analysis support method. The ex- amples concern 1) an organisational change model, 2) a model for assessing preparedness requirements for res- cue services and 3) a knowledge management tool for identifying the gaps between knowledge bases and knowl- edge requirements.
Human bone marrow megakaryocytes and platelets express PPARγ, and PPARγ agonists blunt platelet release of CD40 ligand and thromboxanes

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor important in lipid metabolism, diabetes, and inflammation. We evaluated whether human platelets and megakaryocytes express PPARγ and whether PPARγ agonists influence platelet release of bioactive mediators. Although PPARγ is mainly considered a nuclear receptor, we show that enucleate platelets highly express PPARγ protein as shown by Western blotting, flow cytometry, and immunocytochemistry. Meg-01 megakaryocyte cells and human bone marrow megakaryocytes also express PPARγ. Platelet and Meg-01 PPARγ bound the PPARγ DNA consensus sequence, and this was enhanced by PPARγ agonists. Platelets are essential not only for clotting, but have an emerging role in inflammation in part due to their release or production of the proinflammatory and proatherogenic mediators CD40 ligand (CD40L) and thromboxanes (TXs). Platelet incubation with a natural PPARγ agonist, 15d-PGJ2, or with a potent synthetic PPARγ ligand, rosiglitazone, prevented thrombin-induced CD40L surface expression and release of CD40L and thromboxane B2 (TXB2). 15d-PGJ2 also inhibited platelet aggregation and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release. Our results show that human platelets express PPARγ and that PPARγ agonists such as the thiazolidinedione class of antidiabetic drugs have a new target cell, the platelet. This may represent a novel mechanism for treatment of inflammation, thrombosis, and vascular disease in high-risk patients.
Variational Properties of Unbounded Order Parameters

Order parameters in physical and biological systems can sometimes become unbounded as the size of an underlying system increases. It is proposed that such a quantity be modeled as a minimizer of the energy functional \[ I_\varepsilon(u) = \dashint \left[ \frac{\varepsilon^2}{2} |\nabla u|^2 - \frac12 \log (1 + |u|^2 )\right]dx, \] where u is constrained by a side condition, and $\varepsilon > 0$ is a parameter that is inversely proportional to the linear size of the system. It is shown that a minimizer of $I_\varepsilon $ exists; the minimum value of $I_\varepsilon $ scales as $\log \varepsilon$; and both the $L^2$ and $H^1$ norms of any minimizer of $I_\varepsilon $ are of the order $O(1/\varepsilon)$, indicating the unboundedness of the order parameter. It is also shown that the renormalized energy functionals \[ J_\varepsilon(v) = I_\varepsilon \left( \frac{v}{ \varepsilon} \right) - \log \varepsilon \] $\Gamma$-converge to the functional \[ J(v) = \dashint \left( \frac12 |\nabla v|^2 - \log |v|\right).
Evaluation of nephrolithiasis in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Nephrolithiasis (LIT) is more prevalent in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) than in the general population. Renal ultrasonography may underdetect renal stones because of difficulties imposed by parenchymal and/or cyst wall calcifications. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS A total of 125 patients with ADPKD underwent ultrasonography and unenhanced computed tomography (CT) scan, routine blood chemistry, and spot and 24-h urine collections. RESULTS CT scan detected calculi in 32 patients, including 20 whose previous ultrasonography revealed no calculi. The percentage of hypocitraturia was high but not statistically different between patients with ADPKD+LIT or ADPKD. Hyperuricosuria and distal renal tubular acidosis were less prevalent but also did not differ between groups, whereas hyperoxaluria was significantly higher in the former. Hypercalciuria was not detected. Renal volume was significantly higher in patients with ADPKD+LIT versus ADPKD, and a stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a renal volume >or=500 ml was a significant predictor of LIT in patients with ADPKD and normal renal function, after adjustments for age and hypertension. CONCLUSIONS CT scan was better than ultrasonography to detect LIT in patients with ADPKD. Larger kidneys from patients with ADPKD were more prone to develop stones, irrespective of the presence of metabolic disturbances.
Pre- and Post-Welfare Reform Media Portrayals of Poverty in the United States: The Continuing Importance of Race and Ethnicity

This article analyzes racial and ethnic patterns in media coverage of poverty in the United States, with a particular focus on depictions of African Americans and Hispanics. A content analysis of photos accompanying poverty-related stories published in Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report from 1992 to 2010 shows that while Hispanics are underrepresented in media portrayals of the poor, African Americans are overrepresented, especially alongside stories on welfare, in times of economic growth and low unemployment, and in coverage unsympathetic to the poor more generally. I conclude that media coverage of poverty is unrepresentative in a manner consistent with stereotypes concerning African Americans and Hispanics, likely contributing to the endurance of such stereotypes and explaining the fact that welfare is as unpopular after welfare reform as it was prior to reform. Related Articles Wagle, Udaya R. 2013. “The Heterogeneity Politics of the Welfare State: Changing Population Heterogeneity and Welfare State Policies in High-Income OECD Countries, 1980-2005. ” Politics & Policy 41 (6): 947-984. http://onlinelibrary.wiley. com/doi/10.1111/polp.12053/abstract Agrawal, Shantanu. 2008. “Immigrant Exclusion from Welfare: An Analysis of the 1996 Welfare Reform Legislative Process. ” Politics & Policy 36 (4): 636-675. http://onlinelibrary.wiley. com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008. 00124.x/abstract Gainous, Jason, Stephen C. Craig, and Michael D. Martinez. 2008. “Social Welfare Attitudes and Ambivalence about the Role of Government. ” Politics & Policy 36 (6): 972-1004. http://onlinelibrary.wiley. com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008. 00147.x/abstract Related Media Pilgrim, David. 2000. “The Coon Caricature. ” http://www.ferris. edu/news/jimcrow/coon/ Clinton, William J. “Statement on Signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,” August 22, 1996. Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency. ucsb.edu/ws/? pid=53219
Moderators and underlying mechanisms of stress-induced eating

The effect of stress on food intake varies across individuals, according to gender, bodyweight and eating style. However, little is known about the relative importance of these variables in stress-induced eating. Similarly, little research has addressed whether the effect of stress on intake differs according to stressor characteristics and food type. Psychological accounts of stress-induced eating have suggested a change in attentional processing of food stimuli when stressed, but this theory has not yet been directly tested. Physiological accounts of stress-induced eating propose that cortisol secretion during the physiological stress response has an appetitive effect, a theory that has received support from the laboratory, but has not been tested in the field. Six studies are presented in the present thesis, investigating the moderators and underlying mechanisms of stress-induced eating. Studies One and Two used questionnaire and diary methodologies to investigate the moderators of stress and snack intake. Study One indicated that increased intake was more prevalent in females and emotional eaters, and that the intake of crunchy foods particularly increased with stress. Study Two further highlighted that stressor type interacted with eating style, where emotional eaters, external eaters and disinhibitors increased intake in response to physical stressors, and high restrained eaters increased snack intake with work stressors. Studies Three, Four and Five investigated whether a change in attentional processes during stress could account for stress-induced intake in high external eaters. Study Three reported that external eaters increased their attention towards snack food words when stressed, while Study Four reported that external eaters attended towards unhealthy food words when stressed, but only at prolonged exposure times. Study Five did not provide further evidence for the theory, as stressed, external eaters did not attend towards food images. Study Six explored whether cortisol reactivity could account for stress-induced eating, comparing the snack intake of high and low cortisol reactors in response to laboratory and field stressors. The intake of high and low cortisol reactors did not differ in the laboratory. However, high reactors, but not low reactors, showed a positive association between hassles and snack intake in the field. The six studies combined to comprehensively investigate the moderators of stress-induced eating, and test two unexplored accounts of stress-induced eating, using both experimental and survey methodologies.
Automatic Image Annotation Based on Multi-Auxiliary Information

This paper introduces an automatic image annotation framework based on multi-auxiliary information which aims at improving the annotation performance. We propose three novel ideas in the framework of annotation: 1) multi-information extraction: besides various visual features, tag co-occurrence, and user interest vector are added to enrich the multi-auxiliary information; 2) initial labeling: based on the traditional term frequency—inverse document frequency model—we utilize the visibility of words and extended tag set to enhance the result of initial labeling and propose a more efficient model, TF-IDF, visibility and extended tag set model; and 3) tag refinement: by considering multi-auxiliary information, including multi-visual content, tag co-occurrence, and user interest similarity, we propose the multi-information all-labels model for tag refinement. The tag refinement process is formalized as an optimization problem by adjusting confidence score set by the initial labeling model. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared with the state-of-the-art methods, our method achieves the best performance on MIR-Flickr data sets, outperforming the second best by 2%.
Robust $H_{\infty}$  Receding Horizon Control for a Class of Coordinated Control Problems Involving Dynamically Decoupled Subsystems

This paper presents a robust receding-horizon-control (RHC)-based scheme for a class of coordinated control problems involving dynamically decoupled subsystems which are required to reach a consensus condition in some optimal way. A general case of constrained subsystems having possibly uncertain time-varying dynamics in addition to external disturbances is considered and a suitable H∞-based near-consensus condition is defined as the target condition to be achieved. The proposed scheme employs computationally efficient subsystem-level RHC policies in the H∞-based minmax-cost framework together with a distributed subgradient-based method to optimize and update the consensus signal and the subsystem control inputs at regular intervals. Furthermore, the proposed framework allows the incorporation of computational delays in the RHC policy formulation so that the desired control performance is always guaranteed. The performance of the proposed control scheme is illustrated with some simulation examples.
Suicide after breast cancer: an international population-based study of 723,810 women.

Few studies have examined long-term suicide risk among breast cancer survivors, and there are no data for women in the United States. We quantified suicide risk through 2002 among 723,810 1-year breast cancer survivors diagnosed between January 1, 1953, and December 31, 2001, and reported to 16 population-based cancer registries in the United States and Scandinavia. Among breast cancer survivors, we calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and excess absolute risks (EARs) compared with the general population, and the probability of suicide. We used Poisson regression likelihood ratio tests to assess heterogeneity in SMRs; all statistical tests were two-sided, with a . 05 cutoff for statistical significance. In total 836 breast cancer patients committed suicide (SMR = 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28 to 1.47; EAR = 4.1 per 100,000 person-years). Although SMRs ranged from 1.25 to 1.53 among registries, with 245 deaths among the sample of US women (SMR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.32 to 1.70), differences among registries were not statistically significant (P for heterogeneity = .19). Risk was elevated throughout follow-up, including for 25 or more years after diagnosis (SMR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.82 to 2.12), and was highest among black women (SMR = 2.88, 95% CI = 1.44 to 5.17) (P for heterogeneity = .06). Risk increased with increasing stage of breast cancer (P for heterogeneity = .08) and remained elevated among women diagnosed between 1990 and 2001 (SMR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.18 to 1.57). The cumulative probability of suicide was 0.20% 30 years after breast cancer diagnosis.
Capacity of the discrete-time non-coherent memoryless MIMO channels at low SNR

The capacity of a discrete-time memoryless Gaussian channel, where the channel state information (CSI) is neither available at the transmitter nor at the receiver, is addressed. A closed form expression of the optimal capacity-achieving input distribution at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is derived, and the exact capacity of a non-coherent Single Input Single Output (SISO) channel is given. The derived relations allow to better understanding the capacity of non-coherent channels at low SNR. Then, we compute the non-coherence penalty and give a more precise characterization of the sub-linear term in SNR. Finally, upper and lower bounds on the capacity of a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel are derived in terms of its counterpart SISO channel capacity. We show that these bounds are sufficient to characterize the MIMO channel capacity at low SNR.
Modelling the Persuadee in Asymmetric Argumentation Dialogues for Persuasion

Computational models of argument could play a valuable role in persuasion technologies for behaviour change (e.g. persuading a user to eat a more healthy diet, or to drink less, or to take more exercise, or to study more conscientiously, etc). For this, the system (the persuader) could present arguments to convince the user (the persuadee). In this paper, we consider asymmetric dialogues where only the system presents arguments, and the system maintains a model of the user to determine the best choice of arguments to present (including counterarguments to key arguments believed to be held by the user). The focus of the paper is on the user model, including how we update it as the dialogue progresses, and how we use it to make optimal choices for dialogue moves.
Campylobacter Immunity and Coinfection following a Large Outbreak in a Farming Community

ABSTRACT An outbreak of campylobacteriosis affected approximately one-half of 165 people attending an annual farmers' dance in Montrose, Scotland, in November 2005. Epidemiological investigations, including a cohort study (n = 164), identified chicken liver paté as the most likely vehicle of infection. Paté preparation involved deliberate undercooking of chicken livers by flash-frying, followed by mechanical homogenization. Typing of 32 Campylobacter strains (isolated from submitted stools) by multilocus sequence typing identified four distinct clades of Campylobacter jejuni. There was good agreement when isolates were typed by Penner serotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and flaA short variable region sequencing but poorer agreement with phage and antibiotic susceptibility testing. At least three attendees were coinfected with two Campylobacter strains each. The outbreak was probably due to several livers contributing Campylobacter strains that survived undercooking and were dispersed throughout the paté. The study highlights improper culinary procedures as a potential human health risk and provides a striking counterexample to the “dominant outbreak strain” view of point source outbreaks of food-borne infections. It also demonstrates that previous exposure to biologically plausible sources of Campylobacter may confer protection against subsequent infection.
Normative Beliefs as a Mediator between Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating

The present study examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and maladaptive behaviors related to disordered eating. Specifically, normative beliefs for these behaviors were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between body dissatisfaction and maladaptive behaviors. Fifty-one college females were surveyed regarding their body dissatisfaction (using the Photographic Figures Rating Scale), normative beliefs about eating, dieting, and other weight-loss strategies (using a newly created measure, the Disordered Eating Normative beliefs Scale, DENS), as well as disordered eating behaviors (using the EAT-26), BMI, and campus organization affiliations. Comparisons between sorority affiliation and athlete status revealed no significant differences of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, or BMI values. The mediational model was not supported; however, normative beliefs (via the DENS) were significant independent predictors of maladaptive behaviors. Limitations and future directions are discussed.