Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Derivation of Memoryless Policies and Finite-State Controllers Using Classical Planners

Finite-state and memoryless controllers are simple action selection mechanisms widely used in domains such as video-games and mobile robotics. Memoryless controllers stand for functions that map observations into actions, while finite-state controllers generalize memoryless ones with a finite amount of memory. In contrast to the policies obtained from MDPs and POMDPs, finite-state controllers have two advantages: they are often extremely compact, involving a small number of controller states or none at all, and they are general, applying to many problems and not just one. A limitation of finite-state controllers is that they must be written by hand. In this work, we address this limitation, and develop a method for deriving finite-state controllers automatically from models. These models represent a class of contingent problems where actions are deterministic and some fluents are observable. The problem of deriving a controller from such models is converted into a conformant planning problem that is solved using classical planners, taking advantage of a complete translation introduced recently. The controllers derived in this way are 'general' in the sense that they do not solve the original problem only, but many variations as well, including changes in the size of the problem or in the uncertainty of the initial situation and action effects. Experiments illustrating the derivation of such controllers are presented.
From Adaptive Systems Design to Autonomous Agent Design

Interest in adaptive systems design has been steadily growing in the SE community, in part due to the ever-increasing complexity of modern software-intensive systems. Inspired by control theory, various types of controllers (e.g., feedback) are beginning to appear in software architectures for many applications. Within those controllers, distinct activities such as monitoring, analysis/diagnosis, planning, and execution are present. Approaches for requirements engineering, software architectures, and the design of such systems are beginning to emerge. In the case of agent-oriented systems, however, their hallmark is the ability to operate in highly dynamic and incompletely specified environments, handle tasks that may not be known a priori, etc. In this position paper, we look into what needs to be included in requirements-driven methods for designing agent-oriented systems, which, while drawing on ideas from control theory and adaptive systems design, would support much more autonomy, flexibility, and dynamism.
The DefH9-iaaM-containing construct efficiently induces parthenocarpy in cucumber

Parthenocarpy (seedless fruits) is a desirable trait that has been achieved in many plant cultivars. We generated parthenocarpic cucumber fruits by introducing the chimeric DefH9-iaaM construct into the cucumber genome using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated protocol. The construct consists of the DefH9 promoter from Antirrhinum majus and the iaaM coding sequence from Pseudomonas syringae. Transgenic plants were obtained from nine independent transformation events: half of these were tetraploid and did not produce seeds following self-pollination, while the remaining half were capable of displaying parthenocarpy in the subsequent reproductive generation. Of the fruits produced by the transgenic lines, 70–90% were parthenocarpic. The segregation of the marker gene in the transgenic T1 progeny indicated single gene inheritance. The seed set in the transgenic lines and their F1 hybrids was lower than in the non-transgenic control plants. Some of the methodological details and the practical significance of the results are discussed.
Curves-Driven Smooth Deformation Field for Multimodal TVUS-MR Image Registration

We propose a new framework to register and fuse TransVaginal Ultrasound (TVUS) and Magnetic Resonance (MR) Images. The proposed method, first establishes optimal correspondences between pairs of curves by fixing the optimal re-parametrization between each pair of corresponding organ boundaries. Then, the deformation field is interpolated using Cubic Hermite Finite Element (CHFE). As a result, our method does not require predetermined point correspondences and the whole deformation is guided by the organ boundaries displacement. Experimental results on real data images show that our method matches the given curves with high precision and construct smooth deformation fields over the whole image domain.
ModulGraph: modularity-based visualization of massive graphs

Large graph visualization has become a dominant problem in multiple big data analytics domains, including media analytics, social network dynamics, resource management in cloud computing environments, air travel, large networks. A practical approach to displaying massive graphs is by partitioning according to well defined domain-dependent attributes. However, graph visualization in the presence of incomplete information is an open challenge in many applications. In order to better visualize and understand patterns in large graphs, local pattern discovery becomes a critical step in deciding the structural components of graph visualization. In this paper, we present a modularity-based graph visualization method, termed as the ModulGraph. The ModulGraph is a hierarchical representation that treats a graph as a set of modules. The main objective of this work is to hierarchically detect graph patterns in order to visualize large graph data and adapt the interconnecting structures to potential interactions between local module streams. Our main contribution is a graph visualization method that can flexibly detect the local patterns or substructures, called modules, in large graphs. The second contribution is a hybrid modularity measure. This measures hierarchically the cohesion of the graph at various levels of details. We aggregate clusters of nodes and edges into several modules for the purpose of reducing the overlap on the display. Graph patterns of modules are processed by the ModulGraph system in order to avoid information loss while a sub-graph is represented as a single node. Our experiments show that this method can support large-scale graph visualization for visual media exploration and analysis.
2 The Importance of Lexicons in Resource-poor POS Tagging 2 . 1 Unsupervised Tagging

We investigate the problem of learning a part-of-speech (POS) lexicon for resource-poor languages. Developing a high-quality lexicon is often the first step towards building a POS tagger, which is in turn the front-end to many NLP systems. We frame the lexicon acquisition problem as a transductive learning problem, and perform comparisons on three transductive algorithms: Transductive SVMs, Spectral Graph Transducers, and a novel Transductive Clustering method. We test on two datasets: dialectal Arabic (a resource-poor language) and Wall Street Journal with artificially limited training data. For dialectal Arabic, we demonstrate that lexicon learning is an important task and leads to significant improvements in tagging accuracy. For Wall Street Journal, we observe that transductive learning does not necessary lead to improvements in lexicon accuracy and present some preliminary analyses of results.
Deep Coral Oases in the South Tyrrhenian Sea

A Mediterranean “roche du large” ecosystem, represented by four rocky shoals, located a few miles apart on a muddy bottom at 70–130 m depth in the gulf of St. Eufemia (Calabria, South Tyrrhenian Sea), was studied by means of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) photo imaging. The shoals host highly diversified coral communities, mainly composed of arborescent colonies of gorgonians (Callogorgia verticillata, Paramuricea clavata, Paramuricea macrospina, Bebryce mollis, Villogorgia bebrycoides, Corallium rubrum, and Leptogorgia sarmentosa), and antipatharians (Antipathella subpinnata, Antipathes dichotoma and Parantipathes larix). The coral colonies reach high densities (up to ca. 17 colonies m−2) and large sizes, such as the over 1.5 m wide antipatharian colonies. We hypothesized that the abundance and composition of the coral assemblages differed significantly among the rocky shoals and with respect to the surrounding soft bottoms. Various environmental variables were tested as possible explanatory factors of the observed differences. Moreover, due to their off-coast localization, we report here that these unique ecosystems are potentially subjected to a strong pressure from the local fishing activities, which were tentatively characterized. The recorded coral β-diversity among the shoals supports the hypothesis that these habitats behave like small oases of hard substrata interspersed in a muddy bottom. Because of their intrinsic beauty and rarity and their biological and ecological value, we stress the need of specific actions aimed at the urgent protection of these oases of biodiversity.
Transitioning to Adulthood for Young Adults with Mental Health Issues

About one in five teen suffers from diagnosable mental health disorders, although it is unknown exactly how many of those problems persist into adulthood. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that for many, the problems identified in adolescence follow them into adulthood. One study, for example, found that about three-fourths of those with a diagnosable mental disorder at age 26 had first been diagnosed in their teens.
Integrated optical isolator and circulator using nonreciprocal phase shifters: a proposal.

In this paper, we propose an integrated optical isolator and circulator using nonreciprocal phase shifters combined with Y-branch couplers or hybrid couplers. They are not used in mode coupling between orthogonally polarized waves, which leads to reduce the fabrication tolerance. We present a design example using the guide structure of YIG film and GGG substrate.
Inhibition of neurogenesis interferes with hippocampus‐dependent memory function

Rats treated with low dose irradiation, to inhibit adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and control rats were administered a nonmatching‐to‐sample (NMTS) task, which measured conditional rule learning and memory for specific events, and a test of fear conditioning in which a discrete CS was paired with an aversive US in a complex environment. Irradiated rats were impaired on the NMTS task when the intervals between sample and test trials were relatively long, and in associating the shock‐induced fear with contextual cues in the fear conditioning task. Irradiated rats were not impaired in learning the basic NMTS rule or in performing that task when the intervals between the sample and test trials were short. Nor were there group differences in conditioning the fear response to the CS in the fear conditioning task. The results, which extend the range of hippocampus‐dependent tasks that can be said to be vulnerable to the effects of neurogenesis suppression, support the hypothesis that new hippocampal cells generated in adulthood participate in a broad range of hippocampal functions. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Internet Draft First Virtual Holdings June , 1995 KidCode : Naming Conventions for Protecting Children on the World Wide Web and Elsewhere on the Internet Without Censorship

A web site or server is said to be KidCode-compliant when it conforms to one of the KidCode naming conventions for all material that might be considered inappropriate for children. A web client or browser is said to be KidCode-compliant when it blocks access to URL’s that are labelled as inappropriate using the KidCode naming conventions, or when it offers an easy optional mechanism permitting adults to block children’s access in that manner.
Leta S. Hollingworth: P. S. 165 & 500: Lessons Learned

I In the early 1920s, as the field of gifted education was establishing itself as a legitimate field of study and practice, Leta Hollingworth sought to understand what best classroom practices would best suit gifted students. Hollingworth built upon the work of Lulu Stedman and other pioneers in the field of gifted education, in combination with her own research, to create a curriculum and qualitatively different schooling experience for gifted students. Her groundbreaking work at P. S. 165 and 500 was chronicled in her numerous published works and provides the initial research base for practices in gifted education. Before the establishment of special classes for gifted students at P. S. 165 and 500 in New York City, other such classes had been introduced at P. S. 15 and 64. However, these classes were on a much smaller scale, and little had been done to document their progress or gather information on the gifted students’ academic, social, or emotional needs (Klein, 2002). P. S. 64’s Opportunity Class offered gifted students “an enriched curriculum . with privileges to meet the needs of children whose capabilities extended to the highest possible degree of attainment” (Specht, 1919, p. 393). Classes at P. S. 15 and 64 were the exception rather than the accepted practice for educating gifted children. Hollingworth noted either the simple lack of regard for the education of the gifted or the outright resentment voiced by others who viewed giftedness as something to be repelled as undemocratic rather than embraced as a form of democracy. Hollingworth, citing Professor Walter Pitkin of Columbia University, observed,
Is the SPINK1 variant p.N34S overrepresented in patients with acute pancreatitis?

Objectives Serine Protease Inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) protects against premature intracellular activation of trypsinogen and development of acute pancreatitis. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of SPINK1 mutations (a) in unselected patients with first-time acute pancreatitis and (b) in the Danish background population (c) in a meta-analysis to combine the results with findings in similar investigations worldwide and (d) to evaluate whether patients with SPINK1 mutations had a more severe clinical course. Methods A total of 75 consecutive patients admitted to a surgical department with first-time acute pancreatitis were prospectively included. In addition, 188 healthy controls were tested for the SPINK1 variants: p.N34S, p.P55S, p.R65Q, p.R67C, and IVS3+2 T>C, in order to calculate the prevalence of SPINK1 mutations in the Danish background population. A meta-analysis was conducted on previous studies on acute pancreatitis and SPINK1 mutations. Results Two patients (2.7%) and two controls (1.1%) were heterozygous for the p.N34S variant. The meta-analysis confirmed that the p.N34S variant is overrepresented in patients with acute pancreatitis compared with the background population (OR=3.16, P<0.001). But this analysis did not clarify whether this was only true for patients with first-time acute pancreatitis or recurrent pancreatitis as the present studies do not provide this information, and those who do not have enough patients to reach levels of statistic significance, even if data are pooled. Conclusion The SPINK1 variant p.N34S is overrepresented in patients with acute pancreatitis, but more studies distinguishing between first-time and recurrent acute pancreatitis have to be done to determine whether this is only true for patients with recurrent acute pancreatitis.
Role of melatonin in embryo fetal development

Melatonin is an indoleamine produced by the pineal gland and secreted in a circadian manner. In the past few decades, research over this topic has been enhanced. Melatonin has many important roles in the human physiology: regulator of the circadian rhythms, sleep inducer, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic. This paper reviews the involvement of melatonin in embryo fetal development. The pineal gland develops completely postpartum, so both the embryo and the fetus are dependent on the maternal melatonin provided transplacentally. Melatonin appears to be involved in the normal outcome of pregnancy beginning with the oocyte quality and finishing with the parturition. Its pregnancy night-time concentrations increase after 24 weeks of gestation, with significantly high levels after 32 weeks. Melatonin receptors are widespread in the embryo and fetus since early stages. There is solid evidence that melatonin is neuroprotective and has a positive effect on the outcome of the compromised pregnancies. In addition, chronodisruption leads to a reproductive dysfunction. Thus, the influence of melatonin on the developing human fetus may not be limited to the entertaining of circadian rhythmicity, but further studies are needed.
Deconfined Quantum Critical Points

The theory of second-order phase transitions is one of the foundations of modern statistical mechanics and condensed-matter theory. A central concept is the observable order parameter, whose nonzero average value characterizes one or more phases. At large distances and long times, fluctuations of the order parameter(s) are described by a continuum field theory, and these dominate the physics near such phase transitions. We show that near second-order quantum phase transitions, subtle quantum interference effects can invalidate this paradigm, and we present a theory of quantum critical points in a variety of experimentally relevant two-dimensional antiferromagnets. The critical points separate phases characterized by conventional “confining” order parameters. Nevertheless, the critical theory contains an emergent gauge field and “deconfined” degrees of freedom associated with fractionalization of the order parameters. We propose that this paradigm for quantum criticality may be the key to resolving a number of experimental puzzles in correlated electron systems and offer a new perspective on the properties of complex materials.
An Empirical Study on Uncertainty Identification in Social Media Context

Uncertainty text detection is important to many social-media-based applications since more and more users utilize social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as information source to produce or derive interpretations based on them. However, existing uncertainty cues are ineffective in social media context because of its specific characteristics. In this paper, we propose a variant of annotation scheme for uncertainty identification and construct the first uncertainty corpus based on tweets. We then conduct experiments on the generated tweets corpus to study the effectiveness of different types of features for uncertainty text identification.
Detection of subpopulations of leucocytes in different subgroups of semen sample qualities

The role of leucocytospermia in male subfertility is a much debated topic despite being a frequent finding. This study aimed to identify the role of leucocytes, leucocyte subpopulations and natural killer cells in male subfertility. Seventy‐sex subfertile men attending a regional andrology unit were recruited into this prospective study and subdivided into groups based on their semen analysis. The different leucocyte subpopulations were identified using immunocytochemical staining. Significant levels of CD3 helper T lymphocytes (P < 0.001) were present in the oligospermic, asthenospermic, oligoasthenospermic and obstructive azoospermic group compared to the normospermic group. Significant levels of B cells (P < 0.05) were present in the asthenospermic, oligoasthenospermic and obstructive azoospermic group. The natural killer cells (CD56) were significantly raised in the oligoasthenospermic and obstructive azoospermic group (P < 0.05). Our study suggests that leucocytospermia impairs sperm function through enhanced T helper cell modulation, increased B cell population which leads to increased levels of antisperm antibody and natural killer cells mediated sperm damage. The site of seminal leucocyte production is not necessarily confined to the vas or the epididymis.
Hypermutability of homonucleotide runs in mismatch repair and DNA polymerase proofreading yeast mutants

Homonucleotide runs in coding sequences are hot spots for frameshift mutations and potential sources of genetic changes leading to cancer in humans having a mismatch repair defect. We examined frameshift mutations in homonucleotide runs of deoxyadenosines ranging from 4 to 14 bases at the same position in the LYS2 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the msh2 mismatch repair mutant, runs of 9 to 14 deoxyadenosines are 1,700-fold to 51,000-fold, respectively, more mutable for single-nucleotide deletions than are runs of 4 deoxyadenosines. These frameshift mutations can account for up to 99% of all forward mutations inactivating the 4-kb LYS2 gene. Based on results with single and double mutations of the POL2 and MSH2 genes, both DNA polymerase epsilon proofreading and mismatch repair are efficient for short runs while only the mismatch repair system prevents frameshift mutations in runs of > or = 8 nucleotides. Therefore, coding sequences containing long homonucleotide runs are likely to be at risk for mutational inactivation in cells lacking mismatch repair capability.
Target Inhibition in Antiangiogenic Therapy A Wide Spectrum of Selectivity and Specificity

Recent studies have revealed a previously unsuspected degree of vascular specialization within the host tissue and a tumor's microenvironment. The "vascular zip code" has been used to describe the unique expression of cell-surface molecules found in each vascular bed. Characterization of tumor blood vessels includes selective overexpression of a heterogenous group of proteins such as proteases, integrins, growth factor receptors, and proteoglycans. The process of angiogenesis consists of a "true cytokine storm," requiring many molecular events and biological steps. Antiangiogenic drugs may target a single critical kinase pathway or may interact with several nonspecific molecular targets via a process termed extended spectrum kinase inhibition. The latter strategy may lead to an absence of selectivity and specificity and may result in enhanced toxicities. In this review, we discuss recent developments in the pathogenesis of commonly observed adverse events and summarize new strategies that may ultimately improve efficacy and limit toxicity.