Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Singletons for Simpletons: Revisiting Windowed Backoff with Chernoff Bounds

Backoff algorithms are used in many distributed systems where multiple devices contend for a shared resource. For the classic balls-into-bins problem, the number of singletons -- those bins with a single ball -- is important to the analysis of several backoff algorithms; however, existing analyses employ advanced probabilistic tools to obtain concentration bounds. Here, we show that standard Chernoff bounds can be used instead, and the simplicity of this approach is illustrated by re-analyzing some well-known backoff algorithms.
Intersection of verbal memory and expressivity on cortical contrast and thickness in first episode psychosis

Abstract Background Longitudinal studies of first episode of psychosis (FEP) patients are critical to understanding the dynamic clinical factors influencing functional outcomes; negative symptoms and verbal memory (VM) deficits are two such factors that remain a therapeutic challenge. This study uses white-gray matter contrast at the inner edge of the cortex, in addition to cortical thickness, to probe changes in microstructure and their relation with negative symptoms and possible intersections with verbal memory. Methods T1-weighted images and clinical data were collected longitudinally for patients (N = 88) over a two-year period. Cognitive data were also collected at baseline. Relationships between baseline VM (immediate/delayed recall) and rate of change in two negative symptom dimensions, amotivation and expressivity, were assessed at the behavioral level, as well as at the level of brain structure. Results VM, particularly immediate recall, was significantly and positively associated with a steeper rate of expressivity symptom decline (r = 0.32, q = 0.012). Significant interaction effects between baseline delayed recall and change in expressivity were uncovered in somatomotor regions bilaterally for both white-gray matter contrast and cortical thickness. Furthermore, interaction effects between immediate recall and change in expressivity on cortical thickness rates were uncovered across higher-order regions of the language processing network. Conclusions This study shows common neural correlates of language-related brain areas underlying expressivity and VM in FEP, suggesting deficits in these domains may be more linked to speech production rather than general cognitive capacity. Together, white-gray matter contrast and cortical thickness may optimally inform clinical investigations aiming to capture peri-cortical microstructural changes.
An Approximation of the Hysteresis Loop by Linear Partial Functions. Econometric Modelling and Estimation / Eine Approximation der Hysteresis-Schleife über lineare Teilfunktionen. Ökonometrische Modellbildung und Schätzung

Summary A linearized model of the (macro) hysteresis loop is derived which shares a closer affinity to the original concept of hysteresis than conventional descriptive techniques by linear difference equations. The original loop is approximated by a rhombus shape path consisting of linear partial functions. Persisting effects are captured by vertical shifts of the linear sections. Additionally, a linear-hysteretic regression model is introduced and exemplarily applied for the analysis of the relation between dollar/Yen exchange rate and the US-imports from Japan. Zusammenfassung In diesem Beitrag wird ein linearisiertes Modell der nicht-linearen (Makro-) Hysteresis-Schleife hergeleitet. Der nicht-lineare Verlauf der Hysteresis-Schleife wird hierbei über einen rautenförmigen Pfad, der aus linearen Teilstücken besteht, approximiert. Folglich hat dieser Ansatz einen stärkeren Bezug zum ursprünglichen Hysteresis-Konzept als die übliche Beschreibung hysteretisch- persistierender Phänomene mittels linearer Differenzengleichungen. Die persistierenden Effekte werden im linearisierten Ansatz über vertikale Verschiebungen der linearen Teilfunktionen erfaßt; ein Wechsel zwischen den linearen Teilstücken der Beziehung tritt mit den lokalen Extremwerten in der Inputentwicklung auf. Weiterhin wird, aufbauend auf das linearisierte Modell, ein linear-hysteretischer Regressionsansatz und ein entsprechender Schätzalgorithmus aufgestellt. Dieser Regressionsansatz kann als bedingter „switching regression”-Ansatz betrachtet werden. Die ökonometrischen Eigenschaften des aufgestellten Regressionsmodells werden schließlich mit Hilfe eines Satzes simulierter „hysteretischer Daten” untersucht und am Beispiel der Wechselkursabhängigkeit der Importe der USA aus Japan empirisch getestet.
THE COST OF ADULT LIVER TRANSPLANTATION IN A REFERRAL CENTER IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL.

BACKGROUND Liver transplantation (LTx) is the primary and definitive treatment of acute or chronic cases of advanced or end-stage liver disease. Few studies have assessed the actual cost of LTx categorized by hospital unit. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cost of LTx categorized by unit specialty within a referral center in southern Brazil. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 109 patients undergoing LTx between April 2013 and December 2014. Data were collected on demographic characteristics, etiology of liver disease, and severity of liver disease according to the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores at the time of LTx. The hospital bill was transformed into cost using the full absorption costing method, and the costs were grouped into five categories: Immediate Pretransplant Kit; Specialized Units; Surgical Unit; Intensive Care Unit; and Inpatient Unit. RESULTS The mean total LTx cost was US$ 17,367. Surgical Unit, Specialized Units, and Intensive Care Unit accounted for 31.9%, 26.4% and 25.3% of the costs, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that total LTx cost was significantly associated with CTP class C (P=0.001) and occurrence of complications (P=0.002). The following complications contributed to significantly increase the total LTx cost: septic shock (P=0.006), massive blood transfusion (P=0.007), and acute renal failure associated with renal replacement therapy (dialysis) (P=0.005). CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated that the total cost of LTx is closely related to liver disease severity scores and the development of complications.
[Validity and reliability of the satisfaction scale for outpatient care users in Peru].

OBJECTIVES. To assess the psychometric properties of a scale to measure the satisfaction of individuals seeking services at outpatient clinics (ESCOMA) in public healthcare centers in Peru. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We carried out a study based on a dataset from Questionnaire 1 of the National Health Users Satisfaction Survey (ENSUSALUD) 2016. ENSUSALUD applied an initial scale of 19 items constructed based on bibliographic review, expert judgment and a pilot study. We first performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in two random subsamples to assess the scale's internal structure. We then developed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using robust maximum likelihood estimation. Lastly, we analyzed measurement invariance and assessed reliability using McDonald's Omega Coefficient (ω). RESULTS : We randomly divided 13,814 observations into two subsamples for the EFA. Based on this analysis, we selected a best-fitting CFA model, which comprised three factors and 18 items. We found acceptable goodness-of-fit indices for the CFA (CFI = 0.945, TLI = 0.937, SRMR = 0.036). The three resulting factors were a) administrative processes, b) infrastructure and c) medical care. We found strong invariance for age, sex, educational level and area of residence, and partial invariance for type of institution. All reliability coefficients indicated adequate fit (0.86<ω<0.92). CONCLUSIONS. The ESCOMA demonstrates validity, reliability, and measurement invariance at different levels of care in a nationally representative Peruvian sample.
A CONTEXTMANAGER FOR MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION IN INTELLIGENT CORNERS A Human-Centric Interaction Approach

This paper presents an Intelligent Corner project using a ContextManager for coupling human action with physical material and digital information. This paper focuses on multi-modal interaction between human and tangible media in a ubiquitous computing environment. A ContextManager is deployed for managing humancentric interaction and mediating computational tasks in an Intelligent Corner. This experimental study integrates tangible user interface and ubiquitous computing for users to experience multimedia presentation in a rich and comprehensive environment.
Generating Urban Form

Modern design of urban forms is venturing towards performative, site-specific architecture that are formed according to the attributes of its urban context. Parametric modelling techniques offer designers the ability to embed generative mechanisms into the design process to allow performance based design. This paper focuses on the development of a synthesis model that generates an Urban Form schema using computational design principles. The design system illustrates a rule-based systematic approach to urban form generation and is a precursor to the automatic exploration of urban forms based on design analytics and evaluation of urban metrics. The role of the architect begins to shift from the designer of objects to the designer of processes with urban planning following a trajectory of data-generated and contextual specific design.
A study of Mobile Ad-hoc Network-Challenges, Characteristics, Applications and Routing

- In wired networks; we have firewalls and secured gateways as protection mechanism for secure communication. In case of wireless Mobile Ad-hoc networks (MANET), the nodes are self-organizing, infrastructure less, dynamic topology and no centralized authority. Each mobile node is free to move independently in any direction and changes its link to other devices frequently. In this paper, we discuss various vulnerabilities, applications, advantages, and routing protocols in MANET.
3 Genetic Diversity , Habitat Fragmentation and Epigenetic Variations

There is an increase in the levels in which tropical rainforest and temperate grasslands have become anthropogenically fragmented in recent years. However, an understanding of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms coupled with conservation biology and biodiversity studies is crucial in explaining habitat fragmentation implications in stable ecosystems (Fahrig, 2003; Henle et al., 2004). The utilization of genetic variability and adaptability can be used as a stepping stone in identifying germplasms that can be used in the search of new ecotypes with novel genes which can be incorporated in crop, fodder and cover tree improvement programs in other similar reclaimable ecological zones. Studies have shown that there is a considerable genetic variability within or between natural populations. This variability provides a genomic flexibility that can be used as a raw material for plant adaptation as pioneer species. There is need to seek for higher genetic variability so as to increase the capacity of an organism to adapt to the ever changing environmental conditions (Ellstrand and Elam, 1993). Low genetic variability has been associated with the inability to cope with abiotic and biotic stresses (Valen, 1965). It is now possible to compare and analyze the pattern and spectrum of genetic variations within or between using molecular genetic tools (Zhang et al., 2009, Madan et al., 2002; Reisch et al., 2005). The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) is one of the most precise, cost effective polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based ecological tool that has been used for molecular analysis of such population genetic diversity analysis (Vos et al., 1995; Bensch, and Akesson, 2005). It has been shown to be comparatively highly informative, reliable and efficient tool in other grass investigations (Fjellheim and Rognli, 2005). Such tools can be used to determine the correlation between the genetic differentiation and geographic distance among different populations. However, the level of genetic differentiation can be affected by more than one ecological factor in a geographical region, especially environmental heterogeneity (Liu et al., 2004). Other factors could be natural mutation, artificial selection, and combined ecological factors which are instrumental in the differentiation into ecotypes (Liu et al., 2002). Therefore, variations in gene expressions which are caused by abiotic and biotic stresses in the environment trigger epigenetic mechanisms like cytosine DNA methylation which have
Exploring the Hydraulic Failure Hypothesis of Esca Leaf Symptom Formation1[OPEN]

Leaf scorch symptom development is associated with the disruption of vessel integrity. Vascular pathogens cause disease in a large spectrum of perennial plants, with leaf scorch being one of the most conspicuous symptoms. Esca in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is a vascular disease with huge negative effects on grape yield and the wine industry. One prominent hypothesis suggests that vascular disease leaf scorch is caused by fungal pathogen-derived elicitors and toxins. Another hypothesis suggests that leaf scorch is caused by hydraulic failure due to air embolism, the pathogen itself, and/or plant-derived tyloses and gels. In this study, we transplanted mature, naturally infected esca symptomatic vines from the field into pots, allowing us to explore xylem integrity in leaves (i.e. leaf midveins and petioles) using synchrotron-based in vivo x-ray microcomputed tomography and light microscopy. Our results demonstrated that symptomatic leaves are not associated with air embolism. In contrast, symptomatic leaves presented significantly more nonfunctional vessels resulting from the presence of nongaseous embolisms (i.e. tyloses and gels) than control leaves, but there was no significant correlation with disease severity. Using quantitative PCR, we determined that two vascular pathogen species associated with esca necrosis in the trunk were not found in leaves where occlusions were observed. Together, these results demonstrate that symptom development is associated with the disruption of vessel integrity and suggest that symptoms are elicited at a distance from the trunk where fungal infections occur. These findings open new perspectives on esca symptom expression where the hydraulic failure and elicitor/toxin hypotheses are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
A Visual Method for Distinguishing Heading Directions and Road Identification

We present a simple and effective approach for visual road identification problem. For distinguishing directions, our method uses SIFT feature to match points and gives the result by counting the number of matched points. For specified road identification problem, our method uses dimension-reduced GIST feature and a SVM classifier to identify different roads. And we showed our method could achieve a high accuracy on test dataset.
Relationships Between Sport Specialization, Sleep, and Subjective Well-Being in Female Adolescent Athletes.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between sport specialization, sleep, and subjective well-being in female youth soccer players. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Community soccer organization. METHODS During a 4-month season, 52 female youth soccer players (aged 13-18 years) reported daily training load (TL) and every morning recorded sleep duration and stress, mood, fatigue, soreness, and sleep quality from -3 (worst) to +3 (best). As all the athletes participate in soccer as their primary sport for over 8 months of the year, players were considered specialized if they participated in soccer exclusively and had previously quit another sport to focus on soccer. Least-square mean values from linear mixed effects models were used to compare TL, subjective well-being, and sleep while adjusting for individual repeated measures. RESULTS Daily TL during the season did not differ between specialized and nonspecialized athletes (412 ± 24 vs 415 ± 19 arbitrary units, P = 0.96, respectively). Despite similar nightly sleep duration (8.10 ± 0.14 vs 8.25 ± 0.11 hours, P = 0.42), specialized athletes were found to have lower (worse) fatigue (1.02 ± 0.14 vs 1.50 ± 0.11, P = 0.010), soreness (0.66 ± 0.18 vs 1.23 ± 0.14, P = 0.013), mood (1.32 ± 0.12 vs 1.72 ± 0.10, P = 0.013), and sleep quality (1.07 ± 0.13 vs 1.42 ± 0.10, P = 0.035) than the nonspecialized group. Although stress was lower (worse) among the specialized athletes, the difference was not statistically significant (0.97 ± 0.16 vs 1.32 ± 0.13, P = 0.092). CONCLUSIONS Among female youth soccer players, sport specialization was associated with impairments in subjective well-being and sleep quality. Additional research is necessary to determine whether this relationship is causal or if factors that influence sport specialization also influence sleep and subjective well-being.
Prognosis of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia presenting in advanced phase is defined mainly by blast count, but also by age, chromosomal aberrations and hemoglobin

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is usually diagnosed in chronic phase, yet there is a small percentage of patients that is diagnosed in accelerated phase or blast crisis. Due to this rarity, little is known about the prognosis of these patients. Our aim was to identify prognostic factors for this cohort. We identified 283 patients in the EUTOS population‐based and out‐study registries that were diagnosed in advanced phase. Nearly all patients were treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Median survival in this heterogeneous cohort was 8.2 years. When comparing patients with more than 30% blasts to those with 20‐29% blasts, the hazard ratio (HR) was 1.32 (95%‐confidence interval (CI): [0.7‐2.6]). Patients with 20‐29% blasts had a significantly higher risk than patients with less than 20% blasts (HR: 2.24, 95%‐CI: [1.2‐4.0], P = .008). We found that the blast count was the most important prognostic factor; however, age, hemoglobin, basophils and other chromosomal aberrations should be considered as well. The ELTS score was able to define two groups (high risk vs non‐high risk) with an HR of 3.01 (95%‐CI: [1.81‐5.00], P < .001). Regarding the contrasting definitions of blast crisis, our data clearly supported the 20% cut‐off over the 30% cut‐off in this cohort. Based on our results, we conclude that a one‐phase rather than a two‐phase categorization of de novo advanced phase CML patients is appropriate.
Sentiment Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks with Multi-Task Training and Distant Supervision

English. In this paper, we propose a classiﬁer for predicting sentiments of Italian Twitter messages. This work builds upon a deep learning approach where we leverage large amounts of weakly labelled data to train a 2-layer convolutional neural network. To train our network we apply a form of multi-task training. Our system participated in the EvalItalia-2016 competition and outperformed all other approaches on the sentiment analysis task. In questo articolo, presentiamo un sistema per la classiﬁcazione di soggettivit`a e polarit`a di tweet in lingua italiana. L’approccio descritto si basa su reti neu-rali. In particolare, utilizziamo un dataset di 300M di tweet per addestrare una convolutional neural network. Il sistema `e stato addestrato e valutato sui dati for-niti dagli organizzatori di Sentipolc, task di sentiment analysis su Twitter organiz-zato nell’ambito di Evalita 2016.
Identification of a Potential Founder Effect of a Novel PDZD7 Variant Involved in Moderate-to-Severe Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Koreans

PDZD7, a PDZ domain-containing scaffold protein, is critical for the organization of Usher syndrome type 2 (USH2) interactome. Recently, biallelic PDZD7 variants have been associated with autosomal-recessive, non-syndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL). Indeed, we identified novel, likely pathogenic PDZD7 variants based on the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics/Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP) guidelines from Korean families manifesting putative moderate-to-severe prelingual ARNSHL; these were c.490C>T (p.Arg164Trp), c.1669delC (p.Arg557Glyfs*13), and c.1526G>A (p.Gly509Glu), with p.Arg164Trp being a predominantly recurring variant. Given the recurring missense variant (p.Arg164Trp) from our cohort, we compared the genotyping data using six short tandem-repeat (STR) markers within or flanking PDZD7 between four probands carrying p.Arg164Trp and 81 normal-hearing controls. We observed an identical haplotype across three out of six STR genotyping markers exclusively shared by two unrelated hearing impaired probands but not by any of the 81 normal-hearing controls, suggesting a potential founder effect. However, STR genotyping, based on six STR markers, revealed various p.Arg164Trp-linked haplotypes shared by all of the affected subjects. In conclusion, PDZD7 can be an important causative gene for moderate to severe ARNSHL in Koreans. Moreover, at least some, if not all, p.Arg164Trp alleles in Koreans could exert a potential founder effect and arise from diverse haplotypes as a mutational hot spot.
Sanitation and diarrhoea in infancy and CRP level at 18 years: the birth-to-twenty plus cohort

Abstract Background: Cardiometabolic disease is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. While low birthweight, childhood stunting and rapid weight gain predict higher adult high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentrations, associations between childhood infections and adulthood CRP are inconsistent. Aim: To assess the associations between sanitation, diarrhoea and a combined score of both from birth to age 2 years and hs-CRP at age 18 years, independently of early life nutrition and adult adiposity. Subjects and methods: This study collected data on sanitation and diarrhoea episodes from birth to 2 years on 756 participants of the Birth-to-Twenty Plus cohort, a birth cohort initiated in South Africa in 1990, and calculated a combined score of both variables. Anthropometry was measured at 2 years and 18 years and hs-CRP at 18 years. Results: Of the participants, 29.5% had no access to indoor flush sanitation and 38.2% experienced ≥1 diarrhoea episode between birth and 2 years. Not having access to indoor flush sanitation and experiencing ≥1 diarrhoea episodes were associated with 1.50 mg/L and 1.52 mg/L higher hs-CRP, respectively. Prevalence of both burdens in infancy was associated with a 2.18 mg/L higher hs-CRP. Conclusion: In this population, poor sanitation and diarrhoea in early life predict elevated CRP in young adulthood, independently of early life nutrition and adiposity.
How accurately can the Google Web Speech API recognize and transcribe Japanese L2 English learners’ oral production?

Tokyo Denki University elamj@mail.dendai. ac.jp The ultimate aim of our research project was to use the Google Web Speech api to automate scoring of elicited imitation (ei) tests. However, in order to achieve this goal, we had to take a number of preparatory steps. We needed to assess how accurate this speech recognition tool is in recognizing native speakers’ production of the test items; we had to assess its accuracy with our Japanese efl learners; and, on the basis of these trials, we needed to evaluate the potential for using the api for our purposes. Through comparing our own assessments of the learners’ pronunciation with the system’s ability to transcribe utterances, we were able to ascertain that the learners’ pronunciation of certain sounds is probably the single biggest reason for a fall in recognition accuracy compared to native speaker input. However, we argue that pronunciation may not be an insurmountable barrier to using this speech recognition system for our efl purposes. By going through this double screening process, we feel we have arrived at a set of items which can be used to assess student’s grammatical ability in an ei test using a custom Google Web Speech system.