Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Representation, Approximation and Learning of Submodular Functions Using Low-rank Decision Trees

We study the complexity of approximate representation and learning of submodular functions over the uniform distribution on the Boolean hypercube $\{0,1\}^n$. Our main result is the following structural theorem: any submodular function is $\epsilon$-close in $\ell_2$ to a real-valued decision tree (DT) of depth $O(1/\epsilon^2)$. This immediately implies that any submodular function is $\epsilon$-close to a function of at most $2^{O(1/\epsilon^2)}$ variables and has a spectral $\ell_1$ norm of $2^{O(1/\epsilon^2)}$. It also implies the closest previous result that states that submodular functions can be approximated by polynomials of degree $O(1/\epsilon^2)$ (Cheraghchi et al., 2012). Our result is proved by constructing an approximation of a submodular function by a DT of rank $4/\epsilon^2$ and a proof that any rank-$r$ DT can be $\epsilon$-approximated by a DT of depth $\frac{5}{2}(r+\log(1/\epsilon))$. We show that these structural results can be exploited to give an attribute-efficient PAC learning algorithm for submodular functions running in time $\tilde{O}(n^2) \cdot 2^{O(1/\epsilon^{4})}$. The best previous algorithm for the problem requires $n^{O(1/\epsilon^{2})}$ time and examples (Cheraghchi et al., 2012) but works also in the agnostic setting. In addition, we give improved learning algorithms for a number of related settings. We also prove that our PAC and agnostic learning algorithms are essentially optimal via two lower bounds: (1) an information-theoretic lower bound of $2^{\Omega(1/\epsilon^{2/3})}$ on the complexity of learning monotone submodular functions in any reasonable model; (2) computational lower bound of $n^{\Omega(1/\epsilon^{2/3})}$ based on a reduction to learning of sparse parities with noise, widely-believed to be intractable. These are the first lower bounds for learning of submodular functions over the uniform distribution.
Feasibility of therapy with hypomethylating agents in patients with renal insufficiency.

BACKGROUND To our knowledge, the feasibility of therapy with hypomethylating agents (HAs) in patients with renal insufficiency (RI) has not been examined. PATIENTS AND METHODS We reviewed 41 patients with a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (n = 17), myelodysplastic syndromes (n = 15), and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (n = 9) who had RI and were receiving therapy with azacitidine or decitabine. The median number of administered cycles was 3. Most patients (39; 95%) received a standard dose of the drugs at the initiation of therapy. Nine patients (22%) required treatment interruptions or discontinuation, and 10 patients (24%) required dose reductions. RESULTS The overall response rate was 63%, and 4 patients (10%) achieved a complete response. Twenty patients (51%) experienced grade 3 or 4 myelosuppression-related toxicities. Hospitalization was required in 68% of the patients. Among 12 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 29 mL per minute or less, 6 required dose reductions attributable to myelosuppression (n = 3) or to worsening renal function (n = 3). The overall survival (OS) at 18 months was 12%, and the median OS was 8.6 months. CONCLUSION The use of HA in patients with RI is feasible, but is associated with a higher incidence of toxicity. Dose adjustments and the use of growth factor may be necessary for some patients.
New ZVS Phase Shift Modulated Full-Bridge Converter Topologies With Adaptive Energy Storage for SOFC Application

This paper presents a new family of zero-voltage switching phase-shift-modulated dc-dc converters for a solid oxide fuel cell application. The proposed converters use a new technique of adaptive energy storage to minimize auxiliary circulating currents for all line and load conditions, thereby maximizing efficiency. A thorough analysis of the proposed topology, including the effects of rectifier junction capacitance, is conducted; and a design procedure presented. Experimental results from a 300 W per bridge, 20 V/300 V prototype are presented to validate the analysis. When compared to a widely used reference topology, the proposed topologies exhibit an efficiency improvement of 7% at full-load.
Defining the Role of the MHC in Autoimmunity: A Review and Pooled Analysis

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is one of the most extensively studied regions in the human genome because of the association of variants at this locus with autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory diseases. However, identification of causal variants within the MHC for the majority of these diseases has remained difficult due to the great variability and extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) that exists among alleles throughout this locus, coupled with inadequate study design whereby only a limited subset of about 20 from a total of approximately 250 genes have been studied in small cohorts of predominantly European origin. We have performed a review and pooled analysis of the past 30 years of research on the role of the MHC in six genetically complex disease traits – multiple sclerosis (MS), type 1 diabetes (T1D), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) – in order to consolidate and evaluate the current literature regarding MHC genetics in these common autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. We corroborate established MHC disease associations and identify predisposing variants that previously have not been appreciated. Furthermore, we find a number of interesting commonalities and differences across diseases that implicate both general and disease-specific pathogenetic mechanisms in autoimmunity.
Some Preliminary Results of the Pioneer V Magnetometer Experiment

The purpose of this note is to make a preliminary report of findings provided by the magnetometer carried aboard the Pioneer V space probe. Data have been examined for the first 50 days of operation. These data are still being processed, and the analysis is incomplete. The magnetometer used for this experiment was similar to the search coil carried on Pioneer I [Sonett, Judge, Kelso, and Sims, 1960] and Explorer VI [Sonett, Smith, and Sims, 1960]. The instrument is a two-axis magnetometer measuring the amplitude of the component of the magnetic field that is normal to the spin axis of the vehicle. This component will hence-forth be designated as |B⊥|. Electronic modifications have been made to the amplifier so as to decrease the threshold, which is now 1 microgauss. In addition, the telemetry of Pioneer V is completely digitized.
Chaincode Contour Processing for Handwritten Word Recognition

Contour representations of binary images of handwritten words afford considerable reduction in storage requirements while providing lossless representation. On the other hand, the one-dimensional nature of contours presents interesting challenges for processing images for handwritten word recognition. Our experiments indicate that significant gains are to be realized in both speed and recognition accuracy by using a contour representation in handwriting applications.
Uniform Convergence Rates for Kernel Density Estimation

Kernel density estimation (KDE) is a popular nonparametric density estimation method. We (1) derive ﬁnite-sample high-probability density estimation bounds for multivariate KDE under mild density assumptions which hold uniformly in x ∈ R d and bandwidth matrices. We apply these results to (2) mode, (3) density level set, and (4) class probability estimation and attain optimal rates up to logarithmic factors. We then (5) provide an extension of our results under the manifold hypothesis. Finally, we (6) give uniform convergence results for local intrinsic di-mension estimation.
A comparative theoretical study of dipeptide solvation in water

Molecular dynamics studies have been performed on the zwitterionic form of the dipeptide glycine–alanine in water, with focus on the solvation and electrostatic properties using a range of theoretical methods, from purely classical force fields, through mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations, to fully quantum mechanical Car–Parrinello calculations. The results of these studies show that the solvation pattern is similar for all methods used for most atoms in the dipeptide, but can differ substantially for some groups; namely the carboxy and aminoterminii, and the backbone amid NH group. This might have implications in other theoretical studies of peptides and proteins with charged —NH 3+ and —CO 2− side chains solvated in water. Hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations successfully reproduce the solvation patterns from the fully quantum mechanical simulations (PACS numbers: 87.14.Ee, 87.15.Aa, 87.15.He, 71.15.Pd). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 27:672–684, 2006
Endoglin plays distinct roles in vascular smooth muscle cell recruitment and regulation of arteriovenous identity during angiogenesis

Blood vessel formation is a multi‐step process. Endoglin is a TGFβ coreceptor required for angiogenesis. Endoglin null embryos exhibit a loss of arteriovenous identity and defective vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC) recruitment. Haploinsufficiency of endoglin results in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), characterized by a loss of arteriovenous identity and aberrant vSMC incorporation in fragile vessels. We explored a cell‐autonomous role for endoglin in endothelial and vSMCs during angiogenesis by conditionally activating endoglin expression in wild type or endoglin null embryos using either smooth muscle (SM22αcre) or endothelial cell (Tie2cre) promoters to partially rescue vSMC recruitment to the dorsal aorta. Examination of endoglin null embryos revealed ectopic arterial expression of the venous‐specific marker COUPTFII. Endoglin re‐expression in endothelial cells restored normal COUPTFII expression. These results suggested that endoglin plays distinct and cell‐autonomous roles in vSMC recruitment and arteriovenous specification via COUPTFII in angiogenesis that may contribute to HHT. Developmental Dynamics 238:2479–2493, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Impact of current good manufacturing practices and emission regulations and guidances on the discharge of pharmaceutical chemicals into the environment from manufacturing, use, and disposal.

The current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) and effluent emission (use and disposal) regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and manufacturing effluent discharge and emission regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) require contained manufacture, use, and disposal of pharmaceuticals with the goal of minimizing the release of pharmaceutical chemicals into the environment. However, debate has recently arisen in several scientific forums over whether these regulations adequately protect human and environmental health from the new pharmaceutical drugs introduced each year into the marketplace and the multitude of existing products, each with many distinct biochemical modes of actions. To address this issue, it is important to understand the relevance of current cGMP regulations and emission regulations that have a direct bearing on the releases of pharmaceutical chemicals into the environment during the manufacture, use, and disposal of active pharmaceutical ingredients (drug substances) and drug products. This knowledge may help us assess the quantity of residues that may be released into the environment. Additionally, the information on physical, chemical, and degradation and sorption properties of the pharmaceutical chemicals may help determine the net residue levels that could persist in the environment to evaluate if such residues have any bearing on human and environmental health. The scientific and regulatory aspects of issues related to the manufacture, use, and disposal of pharmaceutical chemicals are discussed in this article, with special emphasis on potential environmental exposure pathways during the life cycle of an active pharmaceutical ingredient or drug product. The mechanisms of degradation (transformation or depletion) and dilution of pharmaceutical residues that may be released into aquatic or terrestrial environmental compartments are described. Such degradation and dilution of pharmaceutical chemicals in the environment may significantly reduce the residues. It is important to evaluate whether such residue levels have any measurable impact on human and/or environmental health.
Exposure to infant siblings during early life and risk of multiple sclerosis.

CONTEXT The "hygiene hypothesis" has implicated sibship as a marker of infection load during early life and suggests that exposure or reexposure to infections can influence the developing immune system. Viral infection has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether exposure to infant siblings in early life is associated with the risk of MS, and to explore the possible mechanism for any apparent protective effect, including altered Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection patterns. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Population-based case-control study in Tasmania, Australia, from 1999 to 2001 based on 136 cases of magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed MS and 272 community controls, matched on sex and year of birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Risk of MS by duration of contact with younger siblings aged less than 2 years in the first 6 years of life. RESULTS Increasing duration of contact with a younger sibling aged less than 2 years in the first 6 years of life was associated with reduced MS risk (adjusted odds ratios [AORs]: <1 infant-year, 1.00 [reference]; 1 to <3 infant-years, 0.57 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.33-0.98]; 3 to <5 infant-years, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.19-0.92]; > or =5 infant-years, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.02-0.88]; test for trend, P = .002). A history of exposure to infant siblings was associated with a reduced IgG response to EBV among controls. Controls with at least 1 infant-year contact had a reduced risk of infectious mononucleosis and a reduced risk of very high composite EBV IgG titers (AOR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.11-0.98) compared with other controls. The inverse association between higher infant contact and MS was independent of EBV IgG titer. CONCLUSION Higher infant sibling exposure in the first 6 years of life was associated with a reduced risk of MS, possibly by altering childhood infection patterns and related immune responses.
Visual Perception during Mirror-Gazing at One's Own Face in Patients with Depression

In normal observers, gazing at one's own face in the mirror for a few minutes, at a low illumination level, produces the apparition of strange faces. Observers see distortions of their own faces, but they often see hallucinations like monsters, archetypical faces, faces of relatives and deceased, and animals. In this research, patients with depression were compared to healthy controls with respect to strange-face apparitions. The experiment was a 7-minute mirror-gazing test (MGT) under low illumination. When the MGT ended, the experimenter assessed patients and controls with a specifically designed questionnaire and interviewed them, asking them to describe strange-face apparitions. Apparitions of strange faces in the mirror were very reduced in depression patients compared to healthy controls. Depression patients compared to healthy controls showed shorter duration of apparitions; minor number of strange faces; lower self-evaluation rating of apparition strength; lower self-evaluation rating of provoked emotion. These decreases in depression may be produced by deficits of facial expression and facial recognition of emotions, which are involved in the relationship between the patient (or the patient's ego) and his face image (or the patient's bodily self) that is reflected in the mirror.
Open Source Reuse in Commercial Firms Using Open Source Components Raises Many Issues, from Requirements Negotiation to Product Selection and Integration. a Recent Study of Projects Using Open Source Revealed Component Selection Criteria, Best Practices, and Other Related Issues

software updates, reasonable quality assurance , responsive bug fixes, and good technical support. Also, having freely available source code addresses two typical concerns with using COTS components: unknown implementation quality and long-term vendor support. Despite the open source drawbacks—prin-cipally, the lack of architectural, design, and behavioral knowledge that comes with custom built software—the use of such components in commercial software development is rising. 1 For example, network security appliances designed to do firewalling, intrusion detection , and other such functions often rely extensively on open source operating systems and utilities. As the " Example Applications " sidebar shows, many other products include open source components as well. Nonetheless, open source components raise a spectrum of issues, from requirements negotiation to product selection and product integration. Researchers have proposed several struc-tured, formal, or semiformal selection procedures 2 that suggest various attributes to consider when choosing an open source component. However, there's no empirical analysis of open source component use or of how commercial developers choose a component. Moreover, researchers have yet to formalize open source software use in commercial software development as an established practice. O pen source software provides organizations with new options for component-based development. As with commercial off-the-shelf software, project developers acquire open source components from a vendor (or a community) and use them " as is " or with minor modifications. Although they have access to the component's source code, developers aren't required to do anything with it. If the component's community is large and active, the adopting organization can expect frequent open source
Multiple Moving Object Detection From UAV Videos Using Trajectories of Matched Regional Adjacency Graphs

Image registration has been long used as a basis for the detection of moving objects. Registration techniques attempt to discover correspondences between consecutive frame pairs based on image appearances under rigid and affine transformations. However, spatial information is often ignored, and different motions from multiple moving objects cannot be efficiently modeled. Moreover, image registration is not well suited to handle occlusion that can result in potential object misses. This paper proposes a novel approach to address these problems. First, segmented video frames from unmanned aerial vehicle captured video sequences are represented using region adjacency graphs of visual appearance and geometric properties. Correspondence matching (for visible and occluded regions) is then performed between graph sequences by using multigraph matching. After matching, region labeling is achieved by a proposed graph coloring algorithm which assigns a background or foreground label to the respective region. The intuition of the algorithm is that background scene and foreground moving objects exhibit different motion characteristics in a sequence, and hence, their spatial distances are expected to be varying with time. Experiments conducted on several DARPA VIVID video sequences as well as self-captured videos show that the proposed method is robust to unknown transformations, with significant improvements in overall precision and recall compared to existing works.
Diagnosis of Embedded Software Using Program Spectra

Automated diagnosis of errors detected during software testing can improve the efficiency of the debugging process, and can thus help to make software more reliable. In this paper we discuss the application of a specific automated debugging technique, namely software fault localization through the analysis of program spectra, in the area of embedded software in high-volume consumer electronics products. We discuss why the technique is particularly well suited for this application domain, and through experiments on an industrial test case we demonstrate that it can lead to highly accurate diagnoses of realistic errors
Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Identifying Avian Influenza A(H7N9) Virus in Clinical Samples

To determine sensitivity of rapid diagnostic tests for detecting influenza A(H7N9) virus, we compared rapid tests with PCR results and tested different types of clinical samples. Usefulness of seasonal influenza rapid tests for A(H7N9) virus infections is limited because of their low sensitivity for detecting virus in upper respiratory tract specimens.
Aerial robot coverage path planning approach with concave obstacles in precision agriculture

In this paper, we present a new approach for maximizing the coverage path planning while minimizing the path length of an aerial robot in agriculture environment with concave obstacles. For resolving this problem, we propose a new cellular decomposition which is based on a generalization of the Boustrophedon variant, using Morse functions, with an extension of the representation of the critical points. This extension leads to a decrease of the number of cells after decomposition. The results show that this new cellular decomposition works well even with several concave obstacles inside the environment. Furthermore, for path planning, the cells are divided again into two classes, leading to have a cell set better suited for use of the traveling salesman problem (TSP) to get complete coverage. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and TSP algorithm are applied to obtain the shortest path. Then, an approach is also proposed to maximize the scanned area on the working area with obstacles. The proposed method can be applied in precision agriculture for monitoring insects and other crop pests. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been verified on Matlab/Simulink.
Automated mechanical characterization of 2D materials using SEM based visual servoing

This paper presents an automated handling approach of two-dimensional nanomaterials using a robotic setup inside a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. Applying image processing of the visual feedback provided by the electron microscope, a fully automated sequence is developed to align a robotic driven force sensor with sub micrometer accuracy and to conduct nanoindentation measurements on a periodically perforated substrate. As an example, this automated sequence is utilized to examine the mechanical properties of a few-layer graphene membrane. The results of the mechanical characterization are compared to Raman spectroscopy data. The paper discusses the advantages and restrictions of this technique and responds to further application scenarios.