Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sampling algorithms and coresets for ℓp regression

The ℓ<sub><i>p</i></sub> <i>regression problem</i> takes as input a matrix <i>A</i> ∈ ℝ<sup><i>n</i></sup>, a vector <i>b</i> ∈ ℝ<i><sup>n</sup></i>, and a number <i>p</i> ∈ [1, ∞), and it returns as output a number Z and a vector <i>x</i><sub>OPT</sub> ∈ ℝ<sup>d</sup> such that Z = min<sub><i>x</i>∈ℝ<i>d</i></sub> ||<i>Ax</i> - <i>b</i>||<i><sub>p</sub></i> = ||<i>Ax</i><sub>OPT</sub> - <i>b</i>||<i><sub>p</sub></i>. In this paper, we construct coresets and obtain an efficient two-stage sampling-based approximation algorithm for the very overconstrained (<i>n</i> ≫ <i>d</i>) version of this classical problem, for all <i>p</i> ∈ [1, ∞). The first stage of our algorithm non-uniformly samples <i>&rcirc;</i>1 = <i>O</i>(36<i><sup>p</sup></i><i>d</i><sup>max</sup>{<i>p</i>/2+1, <i>p</i>}+1) rows of <i>A</i> and the corresponding elements of <i>b</i>, and then it solves the <i>l<sub>p</sub></i> regression problem on the sample; we prove this is an 8-approximation. The second stage of our algorithm uses the output of the first stage to resample <i>&rcirc;</i>1/ε<sup>2</sup> constraints, and then it solves the <i>l<sub>p</sub></i> regression problem on the new sample; we prove this is a (1 + ε)-approximation. Our algorithm unifies, improves upon, and extends the existing algorithms for special cases of ℓ<sub><i>p</i></sub> regression, namely <i>p</i> = 1,2 [10, 13]. In course of proving our result, we develop two concepts--well-conditioned bases and subspace-preserving sampling--that are of independent interest.
The impact of household leverage on mortgage foreclosures in Norway: : A threat to stability?

Over the period 2006-2011, the number of filed foreclosures among Norwegian households has risen by 60 percent at the national level. In some counties, the number of filed foreclosures has increased with more than 150 percent. Based on a theoretical model for the determinants of foreclosures, this thesis empirically investigates what are the main drivers of filed and actual foreclosures. My resultes, making use of a newly gathered panel data set covering all 19 counties over the past 15 years, suggest that the growth in household debt have been the main factor behind the rapid increase in filed foreclosures the last 5 years. However, the results also indicates that the rise in housing prices have stopped this increase in filed foreclosure from being fully materialized as actual foreclosures. The increase in the number of filed foreclosure may suggests that losses are building up in the household sector. If unemployment or interest rates were to increase or, even more importantly, housing price expectations fall, a larger number of the filed foreclosures could easily be realized, causing a larger number of houses to be foreclosed with subsequent losses for creditors and debtors.
Interpretation of diagnosis problem of system level self-diagnosis

System level self-diagnosis (SLSD) was introduced by Preparata at al. [1] and has been deeply investigated in literature. It aims at diagnosing systems composed by units (optionally named processing elements), with the requirement that they are able to test each other by exchanging information through available links. At this level of diagnosis, each particular test is considered as atomic. It means that the details of a test are abstracted (not considered), and only the result of test is taken into consideration. Each test result is expressed via binary variable. It can take values either 0 or 1. The set of test results is called a syndrome. A syndrome contains information about the states of the system units in coded form. One of the tasks of SLSD is to decode a syndrome by using a diagnosis algorithm. There are four main issues, which form the context of SLSD. The first issue is the system testing assignment that defines the possible set of tests among the system units. System testing assignment is relied (defined) and depended on physical connections among the system units. The second issue is the assumptions underlying the diagnosis algorithms. These assumptions concern the possible faults and the test results, and directly impact the quality of diagnosis (i.e., correctness and completeness). Correctness means that the detected faulty units are indeed faulty units. Completeness means that every faulty unit is identified. The third issue is the organisation of tests performance. It concerns the tasks of test ordering, test repetition, test performing (random or deterministic), etc. The fourth issue relates to the problem of determining the unit(s), which will perform a diagnosis algorithm and/or will provide environment with the information about system state. These issues are tightly bounded. Usually the first and second issues are considered together, and they can be viewed as theoretical ground of SLSD. The third and fourth issues are considered together as well, and they are related to the problem of organization of SLSD.
From Point Cloud to 2 D and 3 D Grids : A Natural Neighbor Interpolation Algorithm using the GPU

With modern LiDAR technology the amount of topographic data, in the form of massive point clouds, has increased dramatically. One of the most fundamental GIS tasks is to construct a grid digital elevation model (DEM) from these point clouds. We present a simple yet very fast natural neighbor interpolation algorithm for constructing a grid DEM from massive point clouds. We use the graphics processing unit (GPU) to significantly speed up the computation. To handle the large data sets and to deal with graphics hardware limitations clever blocking schemes are used to partition the point cloud. This algorithm is about an order of magnitude faster than the much simpler linear interpolation, which produces a much less smooth surface. We also show how to extend our algorithm to higher dimensions, which is useful for constructing 3D grids, such as from spatial-temporal topographic data. We describe different algorithms to attain speed and memory trade-offs.
A Review at the Influence of Founders’ Narcissism on Enterprise Transformation Performance

Narcissists tend to pursue leadership and are often selected as leaders by others. Nowadays, theoretical arguments clearly link narcissism and leadership, but the question whether leader narcissism is good or bad for organizations and their members remains unanswered. Further, what the influence is when the narcissistic leaders are founders of enterprise at the same time? Additionally, China is a traditional east country with high power distance, which make people there have a natural desire and respect for power. And this may magnify the effect of narcissism of founders on the enterprise and facilitate the research. So it is interesting to study the narcissistic leadership in private companies in China. For this paper, we used key words like “Narcissism”, “Founder”, “Narcissistic leadership” to search relevant articles in websites like Web of Science and found more than 100 pieces of articles. After analysis, we summarized the reasons of the birth of narcissistic leadership. And we found that research on the impact of narcissistic leadership on enterprise has turned from pure theoretical argument into case study. However there is no definite conclusion and some scholars take it as positive while others as negative. More and more scholars have called for a dialectical point of view on this topic and studied it in a particular context. In this context, firstly, we gave definition of narcissism and narcissistic leadership and summarized the cause of narcissistic leadership. Secondly, we introduced some methods measuring narcissistic leadership. Then, based on the definition, we introduced relevant research on the positive and negative influence of narcissistic leadership. Finally, we pointed out some possible directions for future research on the basis of the literature.
Signal Processing for Sound Synthesis: Computer-Generated Sounds and Music for All [From the Guest Editors]

Still, music synthesizers and related equipment, such as digital pianos, are popular, and they are continuously cultivated. Old sound synthesis technology does not disappear but is brought back to life with the help of new signal processing: take, for example, virtual analog synthesis, a methodology that emulates the oscillators and filters of analog synthesizers using digital signal processing. A major shift during the last decade has been that many sound synthesis products that have traditionally been hardware electronics have become software. Some traditional problems seem to be waiting for perfect solutions forever. These include parametric natural
Gene Expression Signature Predicting High-Grade Prostate Cancer Responses to Oxaliplatin

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among men. Several prognostic factors allow differentiation of low-grade tumors from high-grade tumors with high metastatic potential. High-grade tumors are currently treated with hormone therapy, to which taxanes are added when the tumors become resistant to castration. Clinical trials with other anticancer agents did not take into account the genetic backgrounds of the tumors, and most trials demonstrated low response rates. Here we used an in silico approach to screen for drug candidates that might be used as alternatives to taxanes, on the basis of a published expression signature involving 86 genes that could distinguish high-grade and low-grade tumors (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:10991–10996, 2006). We explored the National Cancer Institute databases, which include data on the gene expression profiles of 60 human tumor cell lines and the in vitro sensitivities of the cell lines to anticancer drugs, and we identified several genes in the signature for which expression levels were correlated with chemosensitivity. As an example of the validation of this in silico approach, we identified a set of six genes for which expression levels could predict cell sensitivity to oxaliplatin but not cisplatin. This signature was validated in vitro through silencing of the genes in DU145, LNCaP, and C4-2B prostate cancer cells, which was accompanied by changes in oxaliplatin but not cisplatin cytotoxicity. These results demonstrate the relevance of our approach for the identification of both alternative treatments for high-grade prostate cancers and new biomarkers to predict clinical tumor responses.
Distributing Thread-Safety for Reactive Programming In-Progress Paper

Reactive Programming (RP) is a programming paradigm for implementing interactive applications modularly and declaratively. Many interactive applications today are distributed, and thus supporting RP for distributed applications is an interesting research avenue. One of the key benefits of RP is that it avoids “callback hell” through providing consistent update semantics in the form of glitch-free change propagation. Previous research has developed separate solutions for decentralized glitch-free change propagation and thread-safe glitch-free change propagation. This paper aims to combine these works and provide an algorithm for glitch-free change propagation that is both thread-safe and decentralized, and thus suitable for distributed applications.
Ethanol consumption affects stress response and insulin binding in tissues of rats.

OBJECTIVE The mechanisms of harmful effect of excessive chronic ethanol intake on cardiovascular and neuronal systems, metabolic processes and protective effects of low ethanol intake on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disturbances are not yet known. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of short-term and long-term ethanol consumption on food intake, plasma levels of corticosterone (CS), glucose (G) and insulin (INS) in intact rats and in animals exposed to immobilization stress (IMO) or restrain stress (RESTR). The insulin binding to specific membrane receptors in adipocytes, muscle and liver was also determined. METHODS Adult male rats were fed liquid diet without and with ethanol (5% per weight) for 9-12 days (short-term intake) and at the end the animals were exposed to acute IMO stress. The second group of rats was fed solid diet and without or with ethanol in drinking water (6% per volume) for 52 days (long-term ethanol intake). A part of these animals was exposed to repeated restrain stress during 42 days. The groups of pair fed rats with the same food intake as in ethanol diet fed animals were in both experiments. The food intake, plasma glucose, insulin and corticoster-one levelswere determined. Plasma cell membranes were isolated from adipose, liver and skeletal muscle tissues and insulin binding to specific receptors was determined. RESULTS Decreased food consumption was observed after ethanol intake. Increased plasma G and CS were noted in rats fed ethanol diet for a short time. Plasma insulin levels were not affected by ethanol intake. Exposure to IMO stress resulted in increase of plasma G levels in controls and pair fed groups. A higher increase of CS plasma levels after IMO stress was noted in rats with ethanol intake for a short-time, however, no changes of plasma CS were noted after repeated exposure to restrain stress. Plasma levels of insulin were decreased after IMO and restrain stresses, while in rats fed ethanol diet for a short-time insulin decrease was deeper as compared to controls. The binding capacity of insulin receptors in adipose tissue was elevated in rats fed ethanol diet and deep decrease of insulin binding was noted in rats exposed to stress. In liver insulin binding was elevated after short-term ethanol intake and stress exposure resulted in decrease of insulin binding in ethanol fed rats. The binding capacity of insulin receptors in skeletal muscle was not changed in rats fed ethanol diet. CONCLUSIONS The results showed 1. differences in short term and long term ethanol intake on basal glucose, insulin and corticosterone levels, 2. effects of ethanol intake on changes of insulin plasma levels and insulin binding in adipose and liver tissues after exposure to stress, 3. effects of short term ethanol intake on the response of plasma hormones to immobilization stress.
Human Skeletal Allograft Collection — Room for Improvement?

Aim: To assess the efficiency of skeletal allograft collection from patients undergoing primary joint arthroplasty at a District General Orthopaedic Unit. Methods: A two cycle audit was performed. Between cycles procedural changes were implemented to improve the efficiency of allograft collection. The discard rate of donated allograft was also assessed during each cycle. Results: Initially 80 patients were identified. Eight (8/80) did not donate allograft due to medical contraindications. Two (2/80) patients underwent intra-operative autologous born grafting. Allograft was not collected from 22 (22/70) suitable patients. As such only 68.6% of suitable bone was collected by the West of Scotland Blood Transfusion Service (WSBTS). Subsequently 100 patients were studied. Twenty-eight (28/100) patients did not donate allograft due to medical contra-indications. Two (2/100) patients underwent intra-operative autologous bone grafting. Eight (8/70) allografts were discarded as a result of logistical problems. As such 88.9% of suitable allograft was collected. Initially 29% of all allograft donated was rejected due to poor patient selection. This subsequently fell to 9.4%. Conclusion: By auditing the collection process a significant improvement (c2 = 7.17 df = 1 p = 0.001) in the efficiency of allograft collection was achieved. This was complemented by a significant reduction(c2 = 6.09 df= 1 p=0.05) in the proportion of unsuitable allograft donated to the WSBTS.
Maternal Folate Status and the BHMT c.716G>A Polymorphism Affect the Betaine Dimethylglycine Pathway during Pregnancy

The effect of the betaine: homocysteine methyltransferase BHMT c.716G>A (G: guanosine; A: adenosine) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on the BHMT pathway is unknown during pregnancy. We hypothesised that it impairs betaine to dimethylglycine conversion and that folate status modifies its effect. We studied 612 women from the Reus Tarragona Birth Cohort from ≤12 gestational weeks (GW) throughout pregnancy. The frequency of the variant BHMT c.716A allele was 30.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 28.3, 33.5). In participants with normal-high plasma folate status (>13.4 nmol/L), least square geometric mean [95% CI] plasma dimethylglycine (pDMG, µmol/L) was lower in the GA (2.35 [2.23, 2.47]) versus GG (2.58 [2.46, 2.70]) genotype at ≤12 GW (p < 0.05) and in the GA (2.08 [1.97, 2.19]) and AA (1.94 [1.75, 2.16]) versus GG (2.29 [2.18, 2.40]) genotypes at 15 GW (p < 0.05). No differences in pDMG between genotypes were observed in participants with possible folate deficiency (≤13.4 nmol/L) (p for interactions at ≤12 GW: 0.023 and 15 GW: 0.038). PDMG was lower in participants with the AA versus GG genotype at 34 GW (2.01 [1.79, 2.25] versus 2.44 [2.16, 2.76] and at labour, 2.51 [2.39, 2.64] versus 3.00 [2.84, 3.18], (p < 0.01)). Possible deficiency compared to normal-high folate status was associated with higher pDMG in multiple linear regression analysis (β coefficients [SEM] ranging from 0.07 [0.04], p < 0.05 to 0.20 [0.04], p < 0.001 in models from early and mid-late pregnancy) and the AA compared to GG genotype was associated with lower pDMG (β coefficients [SEM] ranging from −0.11 [0.06], p = 0.055 to −0.23 [0.06], p < 0.001). Conclusion: During pregnancy, the BHMT pathway is affected by folate status and by the variant BHMT c.716A allele.
Application of spatial signature analysis to electrical test data: validation study

This paper presents the result of the Spatial Signature Analysis (SSA) ELectrical-test (e-test) validation study that was conducted between February and June,1998. SSA is an automated procedure developed by researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to address the issue of intelligent data reduction while providing feedback on current manufacturing processes. SSA was initially developed to automate the analysis of optical defect data. Optical defects can form groups, or clusters, which may have a distinct shape. These patterns can reveal information about the manufacturing process. Optical defect SSA uses image processing algorithms and a classifier system to interpret and identify these patterns, or 'signatures'. SSA has been extended to analyze and interpret electrical test data. The algorithms used for optical defect SSA have been adapted and applied to e-test binmaps. An image of the binmap is created, and features such as geometric and invariant moments are extracted and presented to a pair-wise, fuzzy, k-NN classifier. The classifier itself was prepared by manually training, which consists of storing example signatures of interest in a library, then executing an automated process which treats the examples as prototype signatures. The training process include a procedure for automatically determining which features are most relevant to each class. The evaluation was performed by installing the SSA software as a batch process at three SEMATECH member company sites. Feedback from member company representatives was incorporated and classifiers were built to automatically assign label sot he binmap signatures. The three sites produced memory devices and microprocessors in a mature process fabrication environment. For all of these products, 5,620 signatures that encompassed approximately 552 wafers were human-classified and analyzed. The performance of the SSA E-test system indicates that the approach was successful in reliably classifying binmap signatures in a manner similar to the human expert.
The Newest “Omics”—Metagenomics and Metabolomics—Enter the Battle against the Neglected Tropical Diseases

The international Human Microbiome Project trumpeted the coming of age of the field of metagenomics, the study of entire communities of microbes and their contributions to health and disease. In parallel, the field of metabolomics emerged as the systematic, nonbiased analysis of all low-molecular-weight small molecules, or metabolites, produced by a system in response to an environmental stimulus. These fields have enabled discoveries pertinent to a number of human conditions — namely, acute gastroenteritis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, liver disease, undernutrition and obesity — and have begun to shed new light on multiple aspects of the neglected tropical diseases.
University of Groningen Source Discrimination in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objectives: The context of memory experiences is referred to as source memory and can be distinguished from the content of episodic item memory. Source memory represents a crucial part of biographic events and elaborate memory experiences. Whereas individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were shown to have inefficient item memory, little is known about the context of memory experiences. Methods: The present study compared 37 adult patients with a diagnosed ADHD with 40 matched healthy participants on a word list paradigm. Memory functions of encoding, retention and source discrimination were assessed. Furthermore, standardized measures of memory and executive control were applied in order to explore a qualitative differentiation of memory components. Results: Adult patients with ADHD showed impaired performance in encoding of new information whereas the retention of encoded items was found to be preserved. The most pronounced impairment of patients with ADHD was observed in source discrimination. Regression models of cognitive functions on memory components supported some qualitative differentiation. Conclusions: Data analysis suggests a differential pattern of memory impairment in adults suffering from ADHD with a particular deficit in source discrimination. Inefficient source discrimination in adults with ADHD can affect daily functioning by limiting biographic awareness and disturbing general cognitive processes. Citation: Fuermaier ABM, Tucha L, Koerts J, Aschenbrenner S, Weisbrod M, et al. (2013) Source Discrimination in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. PLoS ONE 8(5): e65134. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0065134 Editor: Sonia Brucki, University Of São Paulo, Brazil Received February 9, 2013; Accepted April 21, 2013; Published May 31, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Fuermaier et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: The authors have no support or funding to report. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: klaus.lange@ur.de