Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Machines as a source of consolation: Robot responsiveness increases human approach behavior and desire for companionship

Responsiveness to one's bids for proximity in times of need is a linchpin of human interaction. Thus, the ability to be perceived as responsive has design implications for socially assistive robots. We report on a large-scale experimental laboratory study (n = 102) examining robot responsiveness and its effects on human attitudes and behaviors. In one-on-one sessions, participants disclosed a personal event to a non-humanoid robot. The robot responded either responsively or unresponsively across two modalities: Simple gestures and written text. We replicated previous findings that the robot's responsiveness increased perceptions of its appealing traits. In addition, we found that robot responsiveness increased nonverbal approach behaviors (physical proximity, leaning toward the robot, eye contact, smiling) and participants' willingness to be accompanied by the robot during stressful events. These findings suggest that humans not only utilize responsiveness cues to ascribe social intentions to personal robots, but actually change their behavior towards responsive robots and may want to use such robots as a source of consolation.
Fault Tolerant Planning : Moving Toward Probabilistic Uncertainty Models in Symbolic Non-Deterministic Planning

Symbolic non-deterministic planning represents action effects as sets of possible next states. In this paper, we move toward a more probabilistic uncertainty model by distinguishing between likely primary effects and unlikely secondary effects of actions. We consider the practically important case, where secondary effects are failures, and introduce n-fault tolerant plans that are robust for up to n faults occurring during plan execution. Fault tolerant plans are more restrictive than weak plans, but more relaxed than strong cyclic and strong plans. We show that optimal n-fault tolerant plans can be generated by the usual strong algorithm. However, due to non-local error states, it is often beneficial to decouple the planning for primary and secondary effects. We employ this approach for two specialized algorithms 1-FTP (blind) and 1-GFTP (guided) and demonstrate their advantages experimentally in significant real-world domains.
Scale Saliency: a novel approach to salient feature and scale selection

This paper presents an overview of the Scale Saliency algorithm introduced in (Kadir and Brady, 2001). Scale Saliency is a novel method for measuring the saliency of image regions and selecting optimal scales for their analysis. The model underlying the algorithm deems image regions salient if they are simultaneously unpredictable in some feature-space and over scale. The algorithm possesses a number of attractive properties: invariance to planar rotation, scaling, intensity shifts and translation; robustness to noise, changes in viewpoint, and intensity scalings. Moreover, the approach offers a more general model of feature saliency compared with conventional ones, such as those based on kernel convolution, for example wavelet analysis, since such techniques define saliency and scale only with respect to a particular set of basis morphologies. Finally, we present a generalised version of the original algorithm which is invariant to affine transformations.
Separating Protection and Resource Management in Operating Systems

Traditionally, operating systems have fulfilled the dual roles of enforcing security on computer systems, as well as managing and virtualizing resources for the various applications sharing the machine. However, more recently, there have been some promising proposals in creating systems where hardware, rather than software enforces security and protection. These proposals would require an operating system running on such hardware to manage resources on behalf of applications that do not trust it. Unfortunately, the implementation of such an operating system has not received much attention in the literature and it is not clear if a traditional services of an operating system could be provided on such hardware. This paper discusses the modifications that are necessary to make a modern operating system execute on such hardware. The modifications were modest, the most significant changes were in the areas that perform context switches, signal handling, and virtual memory management.
Generating test data with enhanced context-free grammars

The use of context-free grammars to improve functional testing of very-large-scale integrated circuits is described. It is shown that enhanced context-free grammars are effective tools for generating test data. The discussion covers preliminary considerations, the first tests, generating systematic tests, and testing subroutines. The author's experience using context-free grammars to generate tests for VLSI circuit simulators indicates that they are remarkably effective tools that virtually anyone can use to debug virtually any program. <<ETX>>
Left atrial volume in end-stage renal disease: a prospective cohort study

Background End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a high-risk condition and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the strongest risk factor in this population. Objective and methods Since the prognostic value of left atrial (LA) size in ESRD is still unknown, we performed a prospective cohort study aimed at testing the prognostic value of LA volume in a cohort of 249 ESRD patients. Results Both un-indexed and indexed LA volume (LAV) was significantly higher in dialysis patients than in healthy subjects (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis only left ventricular mass index (LVMI), LV ejection fraction (LVEF), ratio of early (E) to late atrial (A) mitral Doppler peak flow velocity (E/A ratio) and antihypertensive treatment maintained an independent association with LAV. During the follow-up 113 patients died. LAV added significant prognostic power to a multivariate Cox model of all-cause death and the model based on height2.7 provided the best data fit. Notably, this index maintained an independent predictive value for death (P = 0.03) also when LVMI and LVEF were jointly forced into the Cox's model. Neither crude nor body surface area (BSA)-adjusted LAV had an independent association with death when tested in the Cox model including LVMI and LVEF. Conclusions In patients with ESRD, LAV indexed for height2.7 displays prognostic value beyond and above that provided by LV mass and function.
XQuery at your web service

XML messaging is at the heart of Web services, providing the flexibility required for their deployment, composition, and maintenance. Yet, current approaches to Web services development hide the messaging layer behind Java or C# APIs, preventing the application to get direct access to the underlying XML information. To address this problem, we advocate the use of a native XML language, namely XQuery, as an integral part of the Web services development infrastructure. The main contribution of the paper is a binding between WSDL, the Web Services Description Language, and XQuery. The approach enables the use of XQuery for both Web services deployment and composition. We present a simple command-line tool that can be used to automatically deploy a Web service from a given XQuery module, and extend the XQuery language itself with a statement for accessing one or more Web services. The binding provides tight-coupling between WSDL and XQuery, yielding additional benefits, notably: the ability to use WSDL as an interface language for XQuery, and the ability to perform static typing on XQuery programs that include Web service calls. Last but not least, the proposal requires only minimal changes to the existing infrastructure. We report on our experience implementing this approach in the Galax XQuery processor.
A Survey of Challenges in Attribution

The consultant will research, draft, present, and finalize a commissioned paper on the problem of attributing cyber intrusions, both technical (can you determine which machine or machines are generating or controlling the intrusion? ) and nontechnical (can you determine the party that should be held responsible for the intrusion? ). Given that the “attribution problem” is seen as a major barrier to implementing any national policy to deter cyberattacks, this paper would lay out the technical and nontechnical barriers to attributing cyberintrusions, explore plausible aspirations for how these barriers may be overcome or be addressed in the future, and describe how and to what extent even perfect technical attribution would help to support national policy for deterring serious cyberattacks against the United States (that is, cyberattacks with a disabling or a crippling effect on critical societal functions on a national scale (e.g., military mission readiness, air traffic control, financial services, provision of electric power)).
Feature-Preserving Clustering of 2-D Data for Two-Class Problems Using Analytical Formulas: An Automatic and Fast Approach

We propose a new method to perform two-class clustering of 2-D data in a quick and automatic way by preserving certain features of the input data. The method is analytical, deterministic, unsupervised, automatic, and noniterative. The computation time is of order n if the data size is n, and hence much faster than any other method which requires the computation of an n-by-n dissimilarity matrix. Furthermore, the proposed method does not have the trouble of guessing initial values. This new approach is thus more suitable for fast automatic hierarchical clustering or any other fields requiring fast automatic two-class clustering of 2-D data. The method can be extended to cluster data in higher dimensional space. A 3-D example is included. >
Combining Visual Analytics and Content Based Data Retrieval Technology for Efficient Data Analysis

One of the most useful techniques to help visual data analysis systems is interactive filtering (brushing). However, visualization techniques often suffer from overlap of graphical items and multiple attributes complexity, making visual selection inefficient. In these situations, the benefits of data visualization are not fully observable because the graphical items do not pop up as comprehensive patterns. In this work we propose the use of content-based data retrieval technology combined with visual analytics. The idea is to use the similarity query functionalities provided by metric space systems in order to select regions of the data domain according to user-guidance and interests. After that, the data found in such regions feed multiple visualization workspaces so that the user can inspect the correspondent datasets. Our experiments showed that the methodology can break the visual analysis process into smaller problems (views) and that the views hold the expectations of the analyst according to his/her similarity query selection, improving data perception and analytical possibilities. Our contribution introduces a principle that can be used in all sorts of visualization techniques and systems, this principle can be extended with different kinds of integration visualization-metric-space, and with different metrics, expanding the possibilities of visual data analysis in aspects such as semantics and scalability.
Joint maximum likelihood synchronization and channel estimation for uplink OFDMA systems

A joint maximum-likelihood estimator of carrier frequency offset, timing error and channel response for uplink OFDMA systems is presented in this paper. Earlier works have proposed computationally efficient decomposition of the multidimensional optimization implied in this problem into simpler one-dimensional searches. One method that has drawn wide-spread interest is the alternating projection algorithm. In this work, we propose a new method of signal decomposition that is combined with the alternating projection algorithm to arrive at better offset estimates and hence performance with the added advantage of lesser computational complexity as well as subcarrier assignment flexibility in OFDMA. Simulation studies demonstrate the performance advantages of this new hybrid method.
Journal of New Democratic Methods: An Introduction

This paper describes a new breed of academic journals that use statistical machine learning techniques to make them more democratic. In particular, not only can anyone submit an article, but anyone can also become a reviewer. Machine learning is used to decide which reviewers accurately represent the views of the journal's readers and thus deserve to have their opinions carry more weight. The paper concentrates on describing a specific experimental prototype of a democratic journal called the Journal of New Democratic Methods (JNDM). The paper also mentions the wider implications that machine learning and the techniques used in the JNDM may have for representative democracy in general.
Malnutrition in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: Assessment, Prevalence, and Association to Adverse Outcomes

Malnutrition is a frequent finding in pediatric health care settings in the form of undernutrition or excess body weight. Its increasing prevalence and impact on overall health status, which is reflected in the adverse outcomes, renders imperative the application of commonly accepted and evidence-based practices and tools by health care providers. Nutrition risk screening on admission and nutrition status evaluation are key points during clinical management of hospitalized pediatric patients, in order to prevent health deterioration that can lead to serious complications and growth consequences. In addition, anthropometric data based on commonly accepted universal growth standards can give accurate results for nutrition status. Both nutrition risk screening and nutrition status assessment are techniques that should be routinely implemented, based on commonly accepted growth standards and methodology, and linked to clinical outcomes. The aim of the present review was to address the issue of hospital malnutrition in pediatric settings in terms of prevalence, outline nutrition status evaluation and nutrition screening process using different criteria and available tools, and present its relationship with outcome measures. Key teaching points • Malnutrition—underweight or excess body weight—is a frequent imbalance in pediatric settings that affects physical growth and results in undesirable clinical outcomes. • Anthropometry interpretation through growth charts and nutrition screening are cornerstones for the assessment of malnutrition.To date no commonly accepted anthropometric criteria or nutrition screening tools are used in hospitalized pediatric patients. • Commonly accepted nutrition status and screening processes based on the World Health Organization's growth standards can contribute to the overall hospital nutrition care of pediatric patients.
Pacific Salmon Extinctions: Quantifying Lost and Remaining Diversity

Abstract: Widespread population extirpations and the consequent loss of ecological, genetic, and life‐history diversity can lead to extinction of evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) and species. We attempted to systematically enumerate extinct Pacific salmon populations and characterize lost ecological, life history, and genetic diversity types among six species of Pacific salmon (Chinook [Oncorhynchus tshawytscha], sockeye [O. nerka], coho [O. kisutch], chum [O. keta], and pink salmon [O. gorbuscha] and steelhead trout [O. mykiss]) from the western contiguous United States. We estimated that, collectively, 29% of nearly 1400 historical populations of these six species have been lost from the Pacific Northwest and California since Euro‐American contact. Across all species there was a highly significant difference in the proportion of population extinctions between coastal (0.14 extinct) and interior (0.55 extinct) regions. Sockeye salmon (which typically rely on lacustrine habitats for rearing) and stream‐maturing Chinook salmon (which stay in freshwater for many months prior to spawning) had significantly higher proportional population losses than other species and maturation types. Aggregate losses of major ecological, life‐history, and genetic biodiversity components across all species were estimated at 33%, 15%, and 27%, respectively. Collectively, we believe these population extirpations represent a loss of between 16% and 30% of all historical ESUs in the study area. On the other hand, over two‐thirds of historical Pacific salmon populations in this area persist, and considerable diversity remains at all scales. Because over one‐third of the remaining populations belong to threatened or endangered species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, it is apparent that a critical juncture has been reached in efforts to preserve what remains of Pacific salmon diversity. It is also evident that persistence of existing, and evolution of future, diversity will depend on the ability of Pacific salmon to adapt to anthropogenically altered habitats.
A Method of Eliminating Direct Super-Class to Detect Cycle of Concepts

Ontology has gained broad attention within the knowledge engineering community and their related application domain in recent years. Ontology is an explicit formal sharing conceptualization of one domain. Ontology maintenance is one of most important work during ontology’s development lifecycle. Cycle of concepts is one of the most common inconsistency errors in ontology. In this paper, we propose a method of eliminating direct super-class to detect cycle of concepts (EDS2DCC). This method firstly constructs oriented graphs according to the system of concepts in ontology. Secondly, it defines an array to store concepts access states and a table to store current concepts list, then the method determines whether existing cycle of concepts or not based on the length which obtained from periodic oriented graphs. Finally, we demonstrate the validity of the method by applying and analyzing scenarios.
When Is Constrained Clustering Beneficial, and Why?

Several researchers have shown that constraints can improve the results of a variety of clustering algorithms. However, there can be a large variation in this improvement, even for a fixed number of constraints for a given data set. We present the first attempt to provide insight into this phenomenon by characterizing two constraint set properties: informativeness and coherence. We show that these measures can help explain why some constraint sets are more beneficial to clustering algorithms than others. Since they can be computed prior to clustering, these measures can aid in deciding which constraints to use in practice.
Neurologic Emergencies in the Patients With Cancer

Neurologic complications of cancer are common and are frequently life-threatening events. Certain neurologic emergencies occur more frequently in the cancer population, specifically elevated intracranial pressure, epidural cord compression, status epilepticus, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, central nervous system infection, and treatment-associated neurologic dysfunction. These emergencies require early diagnosis and prompt treatment to ensure the best possible outcome and are best managed in the intensive care unit. This article reviews the presentation, pathophysiology, and management of the most common causes of acute neurologic decompensation in the patient with cancer.
Rate of Kidney Function Decline in Older Adults: A Comparison Using Creatinine and Cystatin C

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in elderly persons and to compare estimates based on creatinine and cystatin C. Methods: In the Cardiovascular Health Study, GFR changes in an elderly cohort were estimated from serum creatinine and cystatin C measured at baseline, year 3 and year 7 in 4,380 participants (age 72 ± 5 years at entry). Outcomes were mean eGFR decline, incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) and rapid decline in eGFR (annual loss >3 ml/min/1.73 m2). Results: Mean annual eGFR loss as estimated from creatinine was 0.4 ± 3.6 ml/min/1.73 m2, with 16% of the participants experiencing a rapid decline. Mean eGFR loss as estimated from cystatin C was 1.8 ± 2.6, with 25% of the participants experiencing a rapid decline (p < 0.001 for both). Among participants without baseline CKD, incident CKD was detected at year 7 in 10% (n = 263) using creatinine and 19% (n = 544) using cystatin C (p < 0.001). Increasing age was the strongest predictor of rapid decline; adjusted odds ratios were 1.38 (1.16–1.65), 1.62 (1.31–1.99) and 2.96 (2.28–3.84) for participants aged 70–74, 75–79 and 80+ at baseline, compared with those aged 65–69. Conclusion: In elderly persons, cystatin C estimated substantially larger declines in kidney function than creatinine did. Defining the optimal measurement of kidney function in elderly persons should be a high priority for future research.
Clinicopathological features of serrated adenoma of the colorectum: comparison with traditional adenoma.

AIM: Serrated adenoma is a recently described category of colorectal adenoma. The aim of this study was to determine whether serrated adenomas have clinicopathological findings distinct from "traditional" adenoma. METHODS: Colonoscopy records for 1995-1998 were reviewed, and all traditional adenomas and serrated adenomas identified. Tumour site and endoscopic configuration were compared between the two types of adenoma. In polypectomised lesions, size and grade of dysplasia were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were 3305 traditional adenomas and 43 serrated adenomas. Serrated adenomas were more often found in the rectosigmoid colon than the traditional adenomas (67.5% v 41.2%, p = 0.0008). Polypectomy was more often done for serrated adenomas (27 of 43 lesions, 62.8%) than for traditional adenomas (626 of 3305 lesions, 18.9%, p < 0.0001). Size (mean (SD) maximum dimension, 12 (6) mm v 13 (3) mm) and incidence of high grade dysplasia (14.8% v 13.6%) in endoscopically removed specimens were not different between the two types. CONCLUSIONS: The therapeutic judgement applied to the management of traditional adenoma seems to be appropriate for serrated adenoma.
Bovine heart malic enzyme. I. Isolation and partial purification of a cytoplasmic and a mitochondrial enzyme.

Abstract Homogenates prepared from bovine heart muscle contain two distinct forms of malic enzyme (malate:NADP+ oxidoreductase (decarboxylating), EC 1.1. 1.40), which can be easily separated by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. A partial purification of the two enzymes has been accomplished by means of DEAE-cellulose chromatography, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and chromatography on CM-Sephadex. The isolated fractions migrate at different rates on disc gel electrophoresis and appear to have a similar molecular weight (approximately 200,000) as determined by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and gel filtration. Malic enzyme has also been purified from isolated bovine heart mitochondria, and all the properties of this enzyme correspond to one of the forms isolated from the homogenate. On the basis of these observations, it is concluded that malic enzyme is present in both the cytosol and the mitochondria of bovine heart, a distribution similar to that observed in bovine adrenal cortex but clearly distinct from that of liver.