Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Two-stage Learning Algorithm for Repeated Games

In our society, people engage in a variety of interactions. To analyze such interactions, we consider these interactions as a game and people as agents equipped with reinforcement learning algorithms. Reinforcement learning algorithms are widely studied with a goal of identifying strategies of gaining large payoffs in games; however, existing algorithms learn slowly because they require a large number of interactions. In this work, we constructed an algorithm that both learns quickly and maximizes payoffs in various repeated games. Our proposed algorithm combines two different algorithms that are used in the early and later stages of our algorithm. We conducted experiments in which our proposed agents played ten kinds of games in self-play and with other agents. Results showed that our proposed algorithm learned more quickly than existing algorithms and gained sufficiently large payoffs in nine games.
Satellite altimetry and key observations: What we've learned, and what's possible with new technologies

The advent of high accuracy satellite altimetry in the 1990's brought the first global view of ocean dynamics, which together with a global network of supporting observations brought a revolution in understanding of how the ocean works [1]. At present a constellation of flying satellite missions routinely provides sea level anomaly, sea winds, sea surface temperature (SST), ocean colour, etc. with mesoscale resolution (50km to 100km, 20 to 150 days) on a near global scale. Concurrently, in situ monitoring is carried out by surface drifters, Argo floats, moorings, sea gliders as well as ship-borne CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) and XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph) (to measure profiles of temperature and salinity), and ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) (to measure current velocity profiles). This global observational system allowed observational oceanography to develop into an essentially quantitative science. This became possible because 1) the accuracy and volume of observations exceeded critical values, 2) numerous studies demonstrated good agreement between independent datasets, and critically 3) the data resolution crossed the threshold of revealing much of the mesoscale in two-dimensions, when previously it was only revealed in one-dimension along satellite ground tracks [2] with wide gaps in between. Fortuitously computing power kept pace allowing basin scale numerical ocean models to cross the threshold of revealing the mesoscale around the turn of the century [3]. The mesoscale is characterized by the most energetic motions and strong nonlinear interactions, issuing in a more complex range of phenomena. Below in Sect. 1 we present some highlights of this development. In Sect. 2, we describe future prospects, and Sect. 3 provides a reminder of the importance of maintaining continuity of high-quality observations. We conclude in Sect. 4 with discussion of integrating optimizing the observing system.
BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM DIFFERENT FEEDSTOCKS IN PILOT SCALE SYSTEM

In this study, the preparations of biodiesel from three different feedstocks, including rapeseed oil, high acidified Chinese wood oil and trap grease, were carried out in a pilot scale of 200 t yr(-1) biodiesel production system. The optimum operating conditions for transesterification of rapeseed oil in plug flow reactor were found to be as follows: the catalyst dosage is 1.2 wt%; the retention time is about 17 min; the bed temperature is 65 degrees C; the oil/methanol ratio is 1:6; the content of methyl ester is 96.33% under these conditions. A kind of ion exchange resin, a solid acid catalyst, filled in the fixed bed reactor was used as the esterification catalyst for the pretreating of high acidified oil. The acid value of Chinese wood oil could be reduced from 7 to 0.8 mg KOH.g(-1) after 88 min, the optimum operating conditions were obtained as follow: molar ratio of methanol to oil is about 6:1, the temperature of the fixed bed, 65 degrees C and the retention time, about 88 min. Also a kind of acidified oil, namely trap grease, with the acid value being 114 mg KOH.g(-1) could be equally converted to a good biodiesel product through this system. Generally, the refined biodiesel product generated through this system could meet China #0 Biodiesel Standard, as well as Germany Biodiesel Standard for most indexes. It indicates that the designed process in this system has a good adaptability for different kinds of oil.
230 kV Optical Voltage Transducers Using Multiple Electric Field Sensors

230 kV optical voltage transducers were constructed and tested. These transducers use three electric field sensors whose positions and outputs are selected and combined, respectively, in accordance with the quadrature method to obtain a voltage measurement. They meet IEC 0.2% class specifications and maintain 0.2% class accuracies even in the presence of electric field disturbances caused by local changes in geometry extemal to the transducer. The local changes in geometry used in the testing mimic those that may occur in a substation, e.g., installation or movement of equipment.
Structure of the heterodimer of human NONO and paraspeckle protein component 1 and analysis of its role in subnuclear body formation

Proteins of the Drosophila behavior/human splicing (DBHS) family include mammalian SFPQ (PSF), NONO (p54nrb), PSPC1, and invertebrate NONA and Hrp65. DBHS proteins are predominately nuclear, and are involved in transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene regulatory functions as well as DNA repair. DBHS proteins influence a wide gamut of biological processes, including the regulation of circadian rhythm, carcinogenesis, and progression of cancer. Additionally, mammalian DBHS proteins associate with the architectural long noncoding RNA NEAT1 (Menε/β) to form paraspeckles, subnuclear bodies that alter gene expression via the nuclear retention of RNA. Here we describe the crystal structure of the heterodimer of the multidomain conserved region of the DBHS proteins, PSPC1 and NONO. These proteins form an extensively intertwined dimer, consistent with the observation that the different DBHS proteins are typically copurified from mammalian cells, and suggesting that they act as obligate heterodimers. The PSPC1/NONO heterodimer has a right-handed antiparallel coiled-coil that positions two of four RNA recognition motif domains in an unprecedented arrangement on either side of a 20-Å channel. This configuration is supported by a protein:protein interaction involving the NONA/paraspeckle domain, which is characteristic of the DBHS family. By examining various mutants and truncations in cell culture, we find that DBHS proteins require an additional antiparallel coiled-coil emanating from either end of the dimer for paraspeckle subnuclear body formation. These results suggest that paraspeckles may potentially form through self-association of DBHS dimers into higher-order structures.
Studies on γ‐Aminobutyric Acid Transport in Cobalt Experimental Epilepsy in the Rat

Abstract: Crude brain homogenates and cerebral tissue slices from rats with cobalt metal implanted in right and left cerebral cortices were used to examine high‐ and low‐affinity GABA transport. High‐affinity GABA transport was maximally reduced to 34% of controls 7 days after cobalt implantation, a time that coincides with peak seizure activity in this model. Kinetic analysis of high‐affinity GABA transport, using brain homogenates, revealed a significant change in Vmax 7 days after cobalt implantation. (Vmax= 446.4 ± 26.2 pmol/mg prot./min, cobalt, versus 787.8 ± 67.3, control). An analysis of the low‐affinity system revealed no depression of Km, or Vmax parameters. Administration of valproic acid at a concentration as high as 1 mM in vitro or a dose of 300 mg/kg in vivo had no effect on high‐ or low‐affinity GABA transport. The results obtained from cobalt‐treated rats provide additional evidence for an involvement of GABA in experimental epilepsy.
Tryptophan scanning mutagenesis of the HERG K+ channel: the S4 domain is loosely packed and likely to be lipid exposed

Inherited mutations or drug‐induced block of voltage‐gated ion channels, including the human ether‐à‐go‐go‐related gene (HERG) K+ channel, are significant causes of malignant arrhythmias and sudden death. The fourth transmembrane domain (S4) of these channels contains multiple positive charges that move across the membrane electric field in response to changes in transmembrane voltage. In HERG K+ channels, the movement of the S4 domain across the transmembrane electric field is particularly slow. To examine the basis of the slow movement of the HERG S4 domain and specifically to probe the relationship between the S4 domain with the lipid bilayer and rest of the channel protein, we individually mutated each of the S4 amino acids in HERG (L524–L539) to tryptophan, and characterized the activation and deactivation properties of the mutant channels in Xenopus oocytes, using two‐electrode voltage‐clamp methods. Tryptophan has a large bulky hydrophobic sidechain and so should be tolerated at positions that interact with lipid, but not at positions involved in close protein–protein interactions. Significantly, we found that all S4 tryptophan mutants were functional. These data indicate that the S4 domain is loosely packed within the rest of the voltage sensor domain and is likely to be lipid exposed. Further, we identified residues K525, R528 and K538 as being the most important for slow activation of the channels.
Introduction to the Aggregate Marketing System Simulator

Advertising is becoming more and more complex, and there is a strong demand for measurement tools that are capable of keeping up. In tandem with new measurement problems and solutions, new capabilities for evaluating measurement methodologies are needed. Given the complex marketing environment and the multitude of analytical methods available, simulation can be an essential tool for evaluating and comparing analysis options. This paper describes the Aggregate Marketing System Simulator (AMSS), a simulation tool capable of generating aggregate-level time series data related to marketing measurement (e.g., channel-level marketing spend, website visits, competitor spend, pricing, sales volume). It is flexible enough to model a wide variety of marketing situations that include different mixes of advertising spend, levels of ad effectiveness, types of ad targeting, sales seasonality, competitor activity, and much more. A key feature of AMSS is that it generates ground truth for marketing performance metrics, including return on advertising spend (ROAS) and marginal ROAS (mROAS). The capabilities provided by AMSS create a foundation for evaluating and improving measurement methods, including media mix models (MMMs), campaign optimization (Scott, 2015), and geo experiments (Vaver & Koehler, 2011), across complex modeling scenarios.
Self‐similarity Analysis for Motion Capture Cleaning

Motion capture sequences may contain erroneous data, especially when the motion is complex or performers are interacting closely and occlusions are frequent. Common practice is to have specialists visually detect the abnormalities and fix them manually. In this paper, we present a method to automatically analyze and fix motion capture sequences by using self‐similarity analysis. The premise of this work is that human motion data has a high‐degree of self‐similarity. Therefore, given enough motion data, erroneous motions are distinct when compared to other motions. We utilize motion‐words that consist of short sequences of transformations of groups of joints around a given motion frame. We search for the K‐nearest neighbors (KNN) set of each word using dynamic time warping and use it to detect and fix erroneous motions automatically. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in various examples, and evaluate by comparing to alternative methods and to manual cleaning.
Prevalence and determinants of cognitive impairment in patients with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study in Benin City, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a public health concern and may be complicated by cognitive impairment (CI) contributing significantly to morbidity and poor prognosis. This hospital-based study aimed at determining the prevalence and the determinants of CI among CKD patients in Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 190 CKD patients and a 100 healthy control subjects completed this cross-sectional study. Sociodemographic data and history of common clinical features of CKD were obtained with the use of interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaires. The six-item cognitive impairment test was used for assessment of cognitive function of patients and controls. RESULTS The prevalence of CI in Stages 3, 4, and 5 CKD patients were 24.0%, 41.6%, and 46.2%, respectively with overall prevalence of 35.3% while only 6.0% of controls had CI (P = 0.03). The most potent determinants of CI were low hematocrit (odds ratio [OR] =3.50), low serum bicarbonate levels (OR = 2.20), and high serum urea (OR = 2.11). CONCLUSION CKD is associated with significant CI in Nigerian patients especially with progressive deterioration in renal function. There is a need for regular evaluation of CKD patients for cognitive deficits.
Identification of regions on a 230-kilobase plasmid from enteroinvasive Escherichia coli that are required for entry into HEp-2 cells

Certain strains of Escherichia coli can cause an invasive diarrheal disease in humans which clinically resembles shigellosis. These strains share with Shigella species the ability to enter and replicate within colonic epithelial cells and the ability to bind Congo red dye in vitro when grown at 37 degrees C. Like shigellae, they contain a large plasmid essential for virulence. A 230-kilobase (kb) plasmid from enteroinvasive E. coli was genetically marked with a transposon and mobilized into an E. coli K-12 background. This plasmid conferred upon E. coli K-12 the ability to enter and multiply within cultured epithelial cells, as well as the ability to bind Congo red. Expression of these phenotypes required growth at 37 degrees C. Transposon mutagenesis was used to identify regions on the 230-kb plasmid required for virulence. All transposon insertions which resulted in loss of the ability to enter epithelial cells, as well as the ability to bind Congo red dye, were mapped to a single 25-kb BamHI fragment. Subclones from this 25-kb region were tested for the ability to complement invasion in noninvasive derivatives. A subclone containing about 8 kb of the left end of the 25-kb BamHI fragment was capable of complementing noninvasive mutants with Tn5 insertions in this region and restored to these noninvasive mutants the ability to enter epithelial cells.
Age-Dependent Alterations in the Assembly of Signal Transduction Complexes at the Site of T Cell/APC Interaction1

TCR interaction with peptide-MHC complexes triggers migration of protein kinases, actin-binding proteins, and other accessory molecules to the T cell/APC synapse. We used confocal immunofluorescence methods to show that the adapter protein LAT (linker for activation of T cells) and the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav also move to the APC interface in mouse CD4 T cells conjugated to anti-CD3 hybridoma cells, and in TCR-transgenic CD4 cells conjugated to APC bearing agonist (but not closely related nonagonist) peptides. The proportion of CD4+ T cells able to relocalize LAT or Vav, or to relocate cytoplasmic NT-AT (NF-ATc) from cytoplasm to nucleus, declines about 2-fold in aged mice. The decline in LAT relocalization is accompanied by a similar decline in tyrosine phosphorylation of LAT in CD4 cells stimulated by CD3/CD4 cross-linking. Two-color experiments show that LAT redistribution is strongly associated with relocalization of both NF-ATc and protein kinase C-θ among individual cells. LAT migration to the immunological synapse depends on actin polymerization as well as on activity of Src family kinases, but aging leads to only a small change in the percentage of CD4 cells that redistribute F-actin to the site of APC contact. These results suggest that defects in the ability of T cells from aged donors to move kinase substrates and coupling factors, including LAT and Vav, into the T cell/APC contact region may contribute to the decline with age in NF-ATc-dependent gene expression, and thus to defects in T cell clonal expansion.
Genome Sequence of Rhizobium etli CNPAF512, a Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiont Isolated from Bean Root Nodules in Brazil

ABSTRACT Rhizobium etli is a Gram-negative soil-dwelling alphaproteobacterium that carries out symbiotic biological nitrogen fixation in close association with legume hosts. R. etli strains exhibit high sequence divergence and are geographically structured, with a potentially dramatic influence on the outcome of symbiosis. Here, we present the genome sequence of R. etli CNPAF512, a Brazilian isolate from bean nodules. We anticipate that the availability of genome sequences of R. etli strains from distinctly different areas will provide valuable new insights into the geographic mosaic of the R. etli pangenome and the evolutionary dynamics that shape it.
Throughput enhancement to the cognitive radio networks under the precaution based cooperation of the primary users

This paper proposes a Cognitive Radio system where primary users cooperate with the secondary users by performing the task of data transmission and channel monitoring simultaneously, using the proposed receiver and frame structures. The proposed system works beyond the sensing-throughput tradeoff, overcomes the hidden terminal problem of the secondary users and increases awareness of the primary users against the interferences that can harm their performance, hence facilitates them with the improved quality of service. More specifically, we maximize the Achievable throughput of the cognitive radio system under the average transmit and the interference power as constraints. The proposed system exploits the advantages of the sensing based spectrum sharing scheme, so overcomes the serious problem of the frequent channel-handoff.
Isoelectric focusing nonporous silica reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: a three-dimensional liquid-phase protein separation method as applied to the human erythroleukemia cell-line.

A liquid-phase three-dimensional protein separation method has been developed that is used to separate the cytosolic fraction of a HEL cell lysate via isoelectric focusing (IEF), nonporous silica (NPS) reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOFMS), respectively. Several hundred unique protein molecular weights were observed in a pI range from 4.8 to 8.5 and a mass range from 5 to 85 kDa. Proteins were positively identified by analysis of the pI (+/-0.5 pI units), an intact protein molecular weight (+/-150 ppm), and peptide mass mapping results. Using the molecular weight (MW) and peptide mapping results of identified proteins it was possible to characterize their posttranslational (PTMs) and/or sequence modifications. PTMs were detected on both forms of cytosolic actin, heat shock 90 beta, HINT and alpha-enolase. Sequence modifications or conflicts were observed for beta-and gamma-actin, ATP beta-synthase and heat shock 90 beta. IEF-NPS-RP-HPLC/ESI-TOFMS was used to determine experimental pI, MW and relative hydrophobicity values for each protein detected. This data was used to generate a 2-D pI-MS protein map, where proteins are displayed according to their pI and molecular weight. Protein molecular weight peaks are represented as bands in the 2-D pI-MS image where the gray scale of each band is proportional to the intensity of the protein molecular weight peak. In addition, a third hydrophobicity dimension (%B) was added as the % acetonitrile elution to generate a 3-D pI-MS-%B plot where each protein can be tagged according to three parameters.
Studies on atom transfer radical polymerization of acrylates and styrenes with controlled polymeric block structures

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was applied to homo and block copolymerization of vinyl monomers methacrylates, acrylates, and styrene with iron (FeCl2.4H2O) as the transition metal in most cases. As complexing ligand either a commercially available ligand (triphenyl phosphine) (PPh 3) or synthetic aliphatic amines were used. As initiators, methyl 2-bromopropionate, ethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate, α,αdichloroacetophenone, and poly(ethylene oxide) macroinitiator were employed. Block copolymerization of n-butyl methacrylate-btert-butyl acrylate (BMA-btBA) was performed by two-step ATRP method. The results showed that, for well-defined copolymers, a low conversion macroinitiator (conversion 35%) is preferable to a high conversion one. Four tetradentate nitrogen ligands, viz. dichloro{[N,N’-diphenyl-N,N’-di(quinoline-2methyl)]-1,2-ethylene diamine} ( 1), {[N,N’-dioctyl-N,N’-di(quinoline-2-methyl)]-1,2ethylene diamine} ( 2), {[ N,N’-dibenzyl-N,N’-di(quinoline-2-methyl)]-1,2-ethylene diamine} (3), and (1R,2R)-(-)N,N’-di(quinoline-2-methyl)diiminocyclohexane (4), were synthesised at the University of Helsinki, and used as complexing ligands in ironmediated polymerization of methyl methacrylate. High to moderate conversions (87%, 43%) were obtained in relatively short times (90 min for 1 and 30 min for 2), which indicates an efficient catalyst system. When the bulkiness of the substituents was significantly increased, as in ligand 3, polymerization rate was decreased and control was lost. Ligand 4 was less efficient than the other ligands, probably because the ethylene bridge was replaced by cyclohexane bridge. Poly(ethylene oxide) monochloro macroinitiators and poly(ethylene oxide) telechelic macroinitiators (Cl-PEO-Cl) were prepared from monohydroxy functional and dihydroxy functional poly(ethylene oxide) in the presence of 2-chloro propionyl chloride and applied to the polymerization of styrene (S) or methyl methacrylate (MMA). The polymerization of styrene was carried out in bulk at 140 C and catalysed by copper( І) chloride (CuCl) in the presence of 2,2 ' -bipyridine (bipy) ligand (CuCl/ bipy), but the polymerization of MMA was carried out in the presence of (FeCl 2.4H2O)/ (PPh3) catalytic system. With most of the macroinitiators, the living nature of the polymerizations led to block copolymers with narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn < 1.3). Adjustment of the content of the PEO blocks (>90% by mass) allowed the preparation of water-soluble/water-dispersible block copolymers. Small amounts of the PEO-PS-based block copolymers were applied to modify the paper surface. Chain length of the hydrophilic block and/or the amount of hydrophobic block was found to play an important role in modification of the paper surface. It was also found that water-dispersible triblock copolymer containing 10 wt-% PS makes the paper surface highly hydrophobic (contact angle >115 ο ) and retards water absorption on both light weight coated base paper (LWC) and fine base paper (FP). The effect on oil absorption was less significant.
Linear models and linear mixed effects models in R with linguistic applications

This text is a conceptual introduction to mixed effects modeling with linguistic applications, using the R programming environment. The reader is introduced to linear modeling and assumptions, as well as to mixed effects/multilevel modeling, including a discussion of random intercepts, random slopes and likelihood ratio tests. The example used throughout the text focuses on the phonetic analysis of voice pitch data.