Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian modeling of consumer behavior in the presence of anonymous visits

Tailoring content to consumers has become a hallmark of marketing and digital media, particularly as it has become easier to identify customers across usage or purchase occasions. However, across a wide variety of contexts, companies find that customers do not consistently identify themselves, leaving a substantial fraction of anonymous visits. We develop a Bayesian hierarchical model that allows us to probabilistically assign anonymous sessions to users. These probabilistic assignments take into account a customer's demographic information, frequency of visitation, activities taken when visiting, and times of arrival. We present two studies, one with synthetic and one with real data, where we demonstrate improved performance over two popular practices (nearest-neighbor matching and deleting the anonymous visits) due to increased efficiency and reduced bias driven by the non-ignorability of which types of events are more likely to be anonymous. Using our proposed model, we avoid potential bias in understanding the effect of a firm's marketing on its customers, improve inference about the total number of customers in the dataset, and provide more precise targeted marketing to both previously observed and unobserved customers. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Statistics First Advisor Eric T. Bradlow Second Advisor Shane T. Jensen Subject Categories Statistics and Probability This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/1107 BAYESIAN MODELING OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE PRESENCE OF ANONYMOUS VISITS Julie Esther Novak A DISSERTATION in Statistics For the Graduate Group in Managerial Science and Applied Economics Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Supervisor of Dissertation Co-Supervisor of Dissertation Shane T. Jensen Eric T. Bradlow Associate Professor, Statistics Professor of Marketing, Statistics and Education Graduate Group Chairperson Eric T. Bradlow, Professor of Marketing, Statistics, and Education Dissertation Committee Elea McDonnell Feit, Assistant Professor, Marketing, Drexel University Edward George, Professor of Statistics
Splicing forgery detection and the impact of image resolution

With the development of the Internet, and the increase in the online storage space, there has been an explosion in the volume of videos and images circulating online. An important part of the digital forensics' tasks is to scrutinise part of these images to make important decisions. Digital tampering of images can impede reliability of these decisions. Through this paper we attempt to improve the detection rate of splicing forgery. We also examine how well the examined splicing forgery detection algorithm works on low-resolution images. In this paper, the aim is to enhance the accuracy of an existing algorithm. One tailed Wilcoxon signed rank test was utilised to compare the performance of the different algorithms.
Nonadiabatic effects in convection.

We consider the front between conductive and stationary convective states in a one-dimensional system exhibiting a subcritical bifurcation and show that it can be pinned to the underlying roll structure. This effect leads to the appearance of confined convective structures of arbitrary length. The pinning originates with the nonadiabatic effect which we study analytically. The pinning of traveling waves is discussed but the confinement, which for that case was observed experimentally, remains unexplained.
DICAM inhibits osteoclast differentiation through attenuation of the integrin αVβ3 pathway

Dual immunoglobulin (Ig) domain‐containing adhesion molecule (DICAM) is involved in cell–cell adhesion through a heterophilic interaction with αVβ3 integrin, which suggests that DICAM may participate in osteoclast differentiation. DICAM was localized in the plasma membrane of RAW264.7 and THP‐1 cells, and its expression gradually increased during osteoclastogenesis in mouse bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMMs) treated with receptor activator of nuclear factor κ‐B ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (M‐CSF). Forced expression of DICAM in BMMs and RAW264.7 cells blocked the generation of tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)‐positive osteoclasts. Conversely, knockdown of DICAM by small hairpin RNA (shRNA) increased osteoclast formation in RAW264.7 cells. DICAM‐mediated suppression of osteoclast differentiation was in part due to the inhibition of the p38 mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, which was corroborated by a decrease in the expression of c‐Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT)c1. Mechanistically, DICAM directly interacted with integrin β3, which inhibited heterodimerization between integrin αV and β3. Exogenous expression of integrin β3 or high‐dose M‐CSF rescued DICAM‐mediated inhibition of osteoclastogenesis, suggesting crosstalk between the integrin β3 and c‐Fms pathways. Finally, recombinant DICAM ectodomain suppressed the RANKL‐ and M‐CSF–induced osteoclastogenesis of BMMs. Collectively, these results indicate that DICAM acts as a negative regulator of osteoclast differentiation by suppressing the integrin αVβ3 pathway. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
The Impact of Right Subcortical Lesions on Executive Functions and Spatio-Cognitive Abilities: A Case Study

Deep-seated cerebral lesions have been known to cause various cognitive impairments. In order to study the impact of these lesions on cognitive functioning, in particular on executive functions and spatial abilities, an investigation was carried out on a right-handed patient with lesions in the subcortical structures of the right hemisphere. Findings revealed a complex pattern of neuropsychological impairments that included a memory deficit, neglect and anosognosia. In addition, there was a severe executive function syndrome. Finally, observations show impairments in spatial abilities, usually attributed to right parietal damage. There was no obvious language deficit. The pattern of deficits was interpreted as a disconnection syndrome.
Hashtag-Based Sub-Event Discovery Using Mutually Generative LDA in Twitter

Sub-event discovery is an effective method for social event analysis in Twitter. It can discover sub-events from large amount of noisy event-related information in Twitter and semantically represent them. The task is challenging because tweets are short, informal and noisy. To solve this problem, we consider leveraging event-related hashtags that contain many locations, dates and concise sub-event related descriptions to enhance sub-event discovery. To this end, we propose a hashtag-based mutually generative Latent Dirichlet Allocation model(MGe-LDA). In MGe-LDA, hashtags and topics of a tweet are mutually generated by each other. The mutually generative process models the relationship between hashtags and topics of tweets, and highlights the role of hashtags as a semantic representation of the corresponding tweets. Experimental results show that MGe-LDA can significantly outperform state-of-the-art methods for sub-event discovery.
Predictors for the efficacy of naltrexone treatment in alcohol dependence: sweet preference.

AIMS To analyse the possible associations between sweet preference and the efficacy of naltrexone treatment of alcohol dependence. METHODS The preference for different concentrations of sucrose was evaluated in 78 participants diagnosed with alcohol dependence after treatment for 32 weeks with naltrexone or placebo without prior detoxification. RESULTS A significant difference between naltrexone and placebo groups was found in the association between the preference for higher sucrose concentrations and relapses to heavy drinking. Higher sweet preference was significantly related to successful treatment measures in the naltrexone group but not in the placebo group. CONCLUSION Sweet preference has a strong correlation to treatment outcomes with naltrexone, and sweet preference might be used as a predictor for better treatment results in alcoholics. Our study offers one possible new explanation of the clinical observation that naltrexone is not effective for every patient.
A Randomized, Dose-Response Study of Sugammadex Given for the Reversal of Deep Rocuronium- or Vecuronium-Induced Neuromuscular Blockade Under Sevoflurane Anesthesia

BACKGROUND: Sugammadex is the first of a new class of selective muscle relaxant binding drugs developed for the rapid and complete reversal of neuromuscular blockade induced by rocuronium and vecuronium. Many studies have demonstrated a dose-response relationship with sugammadex for reversal of neuromuscular blockade in patients induced and maintained under propofol anesthesia. However, sevoflurane anesthesia, unlike propofol, can prolong the effect of neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBDs) such as rocuronium and vecuronium. METHODS: We designed this randomized, open-label, dose-response trial to explore the dose-response relationship of sugammadex for the reversal of deep neuromuscular blockade induced by rocuronium or vecuronium under propofol-induced and sevoflurane-maintained anesthesia. As a secondary objective, the safety variables of sugammadex were evaluated. After anesthesia induction with propofol, 102 patients aged ≥20 and <65 yr were randomized to receive a single bolus dose of rocuronium 0.9 mg/kg (n = 50) or vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg (n = 52), followed by maintenance doses (rocuronium 0.1-0.2 mg/kg or vecuronium 0.02-0.03 mg/kg) as needed. Neuromuscular blockade was monitored using acceleromyography. After the last dose of NMBD, at 1-2 posttetanic counts, a single bolus dose of sugammadex 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, or 8.0 mg/kg was administered. The primary efficacy variable was time from start of sugammadex administration to recovery of the T4/T1 ratio to 0.9. RESULTS: The per-protocol population consisted of 48 patients in the rocuronium group and 47 in the vecuronium group. A dose-response effect was demonstrated for decreased mean time to recovery of the T4/T1 ratio to 0.9 with increasing sugammadex dose in both NMBD groups (per-protocol population): rocuronium group, 79.8 (sd 33.0) min (sugammadex 0.5 mg/kg) to 1.7 (0.7) min (4.0 mg/kg) and 1.1 (0.3) min (8.0 mg/kg subgroup); vecuronium group, 68.4 (31.9) min (0.5 mg/kg) to 3.3 (3.5) min (4.0 mg/kg), and 1.7 (0.8) min (8.0 mg/kg subgroup). Neuromuscular monitoring showed recurrent neuromuscular blockade in 5 patients, all in the rocuronium group (2 given sugammadex 0.5 mg/kg and 3 given 1.0 mg/kg), but there were no clinical events attributable to recurrent or residual neuromuscular blockade. CONCLUSION: Sugammadex at doses of ≥4 mg/kg provides rapid reversal of deep rocuronium- and vecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade under sevoflurane maintenance anesthesia.
Information Management Capability as a Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage

Information Management Capability (IMC) has proven to be an important resource for companies to obtain value in a changing competitive environment. New digital technologies have imposed some strategic challenges on organizations. Company investments to deal with these changes are constantly increasing. This paper seeks to contribute to management practice in this challenge, focusing efforts based on a proposal to obtain sustained competitive advantage (SCA) through IMC. Drawing on a resource-based view and its extensions (dynamic capabilities and complementarity), we developed a model that specifies the paths that enable IMC - in conjunction with other capabilities of the firm (integration, flexibility, reconfiguration, and agility) - to become a source of SCA. To evaluate this model, a study of multiple cases is being conducted, which will be followed by a test of the hypotheses using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) based on survey data. The preliminary results are presented at the end of this research-in-progress.
Vokinesis: syllabic control points for performative singing synthesis

Performative control of voice is the process of real-time speech synthesis or modification by the means of hands or feet gestures. Vokinesis, a system for real-time rhythm and pitch modification and control of singing is presented. Pitch and vocal effort are controlled by a stylus on a graphic tablet. The concept of Syllabic Control Points (SCP) is introduced for timing and rhythm control. A chain of phonetic syllables have two types of temporal phases : the steady phases, which correspond to the vocalic nuclei, and the transient phases, which correspond to the attacks and/or codas. Thus, syllabic rhythm control methods need transient and steady phases control points, corresponding to the ancient concept of the arsis and thesis is prosodic theory. SCP allow for accurate control of articulation, using hand or feet. In the Tap mode, SCP are triggered by pressing and releasing a control button. In the Fader mode, continuous variation of the SCP sequencing rate is controlled with expression pedals. Vokinesis has been tested successfully in musical performances, using both syllabic rhythm control modes. This system opens new musical possibilities, and can be extended to other types of sounds beyond voice.
Role of Herpes Simplex Virus VP11/12 Tyrosine-Based Motifs in Binding and Activation of the Src Family Kinase Lck and Recruitment of p85, Grb2, and Shc

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that the abundant herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) tegument protein VP11/12, encoded by gene UL46, stimulates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase)/Akt signaling: it binds the Src family kinase (SFK) Lck, is tyrosine phosphorylated, recruits the p85 subunit of PI3-kinase, and is essential for the activation of Akt during HSV-1 infection. The C-terminal region of VP11/12 contains tyrosine-based motifs predicted to bind the SH2 domains of SFKs (YETV and YEEI), p85 (YTHM), and Grb2 (YENV) and the phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain of Shc (NPLY). We inactivated each of these motifs in the context of the intact viral genome and examined effects on binding and activation of Lck and recruitment of p85, Grb2, and Shc. Inactivating the p85, Grb2, or Shc motif reduced (p85) or eliminated (Grb2 and Shc) the interaction with the cognate signaling molecule without greatly affecting the other interactions or activation of Lck. Inactivating either SFK motif had only a minor effect on Lck binding and little or no effect on recruitment of p85, Grb2, or Shc. In contrast, inactivation of both SFK motifs severely reduced Lck binding and activation and tyrosine phosphorylation of VP11/12 and reduced (p85) or eliminated (Grb2 and Shc) binding of other signaling proteins. Overall, these data demonstrate the key redundant roles of the VP11/12 SFK-binding motifs in the recruitment and activation of SFKs and indicate that activated SFKs then lead (directly or indirectly) to phosphorylation of the additional motifs involved in recruiting p85, Grb2, and Shc. Thus, VP11/12 appears to mimic an activated growth factor receptor.
Research on PMD mitigation by using distributed fast polarization scrambling and FEC

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is one of the major obstacles in high-speed (above 100Gbits rate) and long-haul optical communication system. The principle and performance of scrambling is introduced in this paper and the fundamental idea of improving PMD mitigation by using distributed fast polarization scrambling (D-FPS) combined with FEC is proposed, which would be a promising approach for performance improvement in ultra-high-speed optical communication system.
DATA COLLECTION FREQUENCY EFFECT IN THE NATIONAL MEDICAL CARE UTILIZATION AND EXPENDITURE SURVEY

Introduction The National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey (NMCUES) was conducted to meet the needs of government agencies and health professionals for more comprehensive data on the utilization, costs and sources of payment associated with medical care in the United States. A longitudinal survey design was adopted for the household component in order to provide accurate measurements of population characteristics which are sensitive to changes in time. Data collection for the core health care measures was to be applied to the same panel of sample households in five rounds of interviewing, with 1980 as the reference period. Short recall periods of two to three months in duration were generally implemented to minimize reporting errors of omission. A subset of sample participants, referred to as holdovers, ~ere not contacted for a particular wave of the survey and data were gathered at the subsequent round of interviewing for the two time intervals that were spanned. This naturally occurring study treatment provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of data collection frequency on reporting behavior. In this paper, national estimates for a representative set of health care utilization, expenditure and morbidity measures were derived from the sample of holdovers and compared with estimates derived from the respondents with five complete rounds of data collection. The analysis controlled for demographic characteristics that distinguished the two study groups. A more detailed round-specific level of analysis was then conducted to test for a data collection frequency effect, further controlling for length of recall period. The research focuses on the implications of a departure from a panel survey characterized by five waves of data collection. This study replicates the analyses that were conducted to test for a data collection frequency effect in the National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) conducted in 1977 and on which the NMCUES was modeled. The NMCES study findings demonstrate the presence of a data collection frequency effect in a panel design similar to the NMCUES. The study results argue for consideration of four rounds of data collection as an alternative to five, in-survey designs which mirror the NMCES (Cohen and Burt, 1984). The findings identify a survey component that would significantly benefit by a redesign strategy to reduce cost without impairing the quality of survey estimates. Given the similarity in survey design and questionnaire wording between the NMCES and the NMCUES, coincident findings of a data collection frequency effect in the NMCUES would provide support for future survey redesign strategies, which considered a reduction in the number of rounds of data collection.
Fast Recognition of Noisy Digits

We describe a hardware solution to a high-speed optical character recognition (OCR) problem. Noisy 15 10 binary images of machine written digits were processed and applied as input to Intel's Electrically Trainable Analog Neural Network (ETANN). In software simulation, we trained an 80 54 10 feedforward network using a modified version of backprop. We then downloaded the synaptic weights of the trained network to ETANN and tweaked them to account for differences between the simulation and the chip itself. The best recognition error rate was 0.9% in hardware with a 3.7% rejection rate on a 1000-character test set.
A survey of laboratory-confirmed isolates of invasive listeriosis in Israel, 1997–2007

SUMMARY During the 11-year period from 1997 to 2007, 321 isolates of Listeria monocytogenes from sporadic cases of invasive listeriosis were reported to the national reference laboratory in Israel. Of these isolates, 113 (35%) were identified from perinatal cases, and 208 (65%) from non-perinatal cases. The prevalent serovars were 4b, 1/2b, 1/2a and 4c. Serovar 4b was identified in 80·5% of the perinatal isolates (P=0·0162), while the number of 1/2b and 1/2a strains increased in the ⩾60 years old group (P=0·0285). Resistance to tetracycline was found in eight 4b isolates. The seasonal distribution showed that 206 isolates (64·2%) were submitted during the hot season (May–October). The estimated morbidity for the study period was 4·4 per million. The incidence of invasive listeriosis was higher in the perinatal group (5·6/100 000), than in individuals aged ⩾60 years (1·5/100 000).
Somatic sensation.

SOMATIC SENSATION Definition: Sensation from the skin, muscles, bones, tendons and joints. Initiated due to activation of a number of distinct somatic receptors that respond specifically to changes in heat, cold, touch, pressure, limb position, limb movement, or pain. Receptors for visceral sensations (i.e. from internal organs) are of same type as those for somatic sensation. Some organs, e.g. liver have no sensory receptors.
Leigh disease due to SCO2 mutations revealed at extended autopsy

The purpose of this letter is to present the extended autopsy protocol that allowed for recognition of cytochrome oxidase (COX) deficiency post mortem and subsequent identification of SCO2 mutations in an infant who died without established cause. Mitochondrial pathology, including SCO2 deficiency, is a frequent cause of severe disease in neonates and infants. Due to the fast progression and early deaths, a completion of the final diagnosis in living patient is often impossible. The standard autopsy protocol usually does not substantially contribute to the appropriate diagnosis. The SCO2 protein belongs to copper chaperones, which contribute to activation of COX. Classical phenotype of SCO2 deficiency includes neonatal mitochondrial encephalocardiomyopathy and is characteristic for compound heterozygotes of SCO2 gene mutations.1 The later onset of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with expiratory stridor and respiratory failure is observed in g.1541G>A homozygotes.2 ,3 The patient presented at birth with a respiratory insufficiency and progressive neurological involvement. He died at the age of 3 months. Neither muscle biopsy nor a fibroblast culture was performed during the life. The autopsy was made at the regional hospital 37.5 h after death according to our recommendation. The extended autopsy protocol included: (1) biochemical examination of frozen tissue sections taken at standard autopsy and (2) neuropathological examination of the brain.4 The study was approved by the CMHI bioethical committee. The patients’ parents provided written informed consent for the study. Autopsy tissues of the patient were kept in deep-frozen condition. …
Antiferromagnetic and xy ferro-orbital order in insulating SrRuO3 thin films with SrO termination

By means of first-principles calculations we study the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of SrRuO3 surface for the SrO termination. We find that the RuO6 octahedra and the structure of the SrO layers at the surface are strongly modified as well as the Ru–O–Ru bond angles. We find in the thin films a dxy ferro-orbital order. The dxy orbital becomes the lowest in energy as in other quasitwodimensional ruthenates. Such structural rearrangement, together with a band reduction, leads to a modification of the magnetic properties. We compare the Jahn–Teller effect between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases. We show that an insulating G-type antiferromagnetic phase takes place in SrRuO3 thin films, substituting the metallic phase experimentally found in every bulk Sr-ruthenates. The single layer SrRuO3 presents many similarities with the Ca2RuO4 low temperature phase, these similarities disappear with a larger number of layers. A study of the ground state of the as function of the number of layers is presented, the competition between bandwidth and Coulomb repulsion determines the ground state. We propose the disorder as responsible for the exchange bias effect observed.