Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Training Neural Networks Beyond the Euclidean Distance, Multi-Objective Neural Networks using Evolutionary Training

When committed to forecasting or classification tasks Neural Networks (NNs) are typically trained with respect to Euclidean distance minimisation / likelihood maximisation. This is commonly irrespective of any other end user preferences. In a number of situations, most notably time series forecasting, users may have other objectives than solely Euclidean minimisation. Users may, for example, desire model predictions be consistent in their residual error, be accurate in their directional change predictions, or may prefer other error measures than just Euclidean distance. In this paper a methodology is devised for training Multi Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) with competing error objectives using an Evolutionary Strategy (ES). Experimental evidence is presented, using the Santa Fe competition data, which supports the effectiveness of this training methodology. Identical networks are trained with different and competing error measures. Different solutions are achieved, and these solutions are shown in general to reflect the error measure preferences as defined during training. Areas for future research and model extensions are also discussed. Index Terms Neural Networks, Evolutionary Strategies, Multiple Objectives, Time Series Forecasting.
Abnormalities of the Digital Vasculature as Related to Ulceration and Gangrene

Plastic casts were made of digital vessels of 13 extremities amputated for severe atherosclerosis obliterans. Prior to amputation, blood flow averaged 0.02 cc/min/5 cc of digit (normal, 0.5), and digital systolic pressure average 16 mm Hg. There were more occlusions of terminal arteries (<30 &mgr; in diameter) in the first and fifth toes than in the third toes and on the plantar and proximal dorsal surfaces than in the nail bed; this observation suggests relationship to local trauma and shoe pressures. Occlusion was most severe in 30 to 50 &mgr; arteries, decreased with increasing vessel size, and was greater in uninvolved areas of ulcerated toes than in nonulcerated toes. Occluded arteries smaller than the digital artery terminated abruptly; this observation suggests stasis thrombosis; occlusions did not occur preferentially at sites of branchings. In occluded digital arteries, areas of partial occlusion lay adjacent to complete block, reflecting plaque formation. At the rim of an ulcer crater all vessels terminated abruptly which suggests destruction of vasculature secondary to necrosis. The findings suggest the following sequence of events: (1) marked reduction in pressure and flow due to proximal disease, (2) resultant stasis thrombosis accentuated by shoe pressures and local trauma, and (3) death of tissue in ischemic digits leading to further loss of vasculature in the necrotic area.
Experimentation of Humanoid Walking Allowing Immediate Modification of Foot Place Based on Analytical Solution

This paper proposes a method of a real-time gait planning for humanoid robots which can change stride immediately at every step. Based on an analytical solution of an inverted pendulum model, the trajectories of the COG (center of gravity) and the ZMP (zero-moment point) are parameterized by polynomials. Since their coefficients can be efficiently computed with given boundary conditions, this framework can provide a real-time walking pattern generator for humanoid robots. To handle the unexpected result caused by immediate changes of foot placement, we made single support periods as an additional trajectory parameter and the ZMP fluctuation was suppressed by mixing the opposite phase of the ZMP error. The effectiveness of our method is shown by experiments of the humanoid robot HRP-2.
Video Analysis in Indoor Soccer using a Quadcopter

Automatic vision systems are widely used in sports competition to analyze individual and collective performance during the matches. However, the complex implementation based on multiple fixed cameras and the human intervention on the process makes this kind of systems expensive and not suitable for the big majority of the teams. In this paper we propose a low-cost, portable and flexible solution based on the use of Unmanned Air Vehicles to capture images from indoor soccer games. Since these vehicles suffer from vibrations and disturbances, the acquired video is very unstable, presenting a set of unusual problems in this type of applications. We propose a complete video-processing framework, including video stabilization, camera calibration, player detection, and team performance analysis. The results showed that camera calibration was able to correct automatically image-to-world homography; the player detection precision and recall was around 75%; and the high-level data interpretation showed a strong similarity with ground-truth derived results.
American Journal of Epidemiology Original Contribution Sleep Duration and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality among Chinese Adults in Singapore: a Population-based Cohort Study

While some studies have found a positive association between both short and long sleep durations and cardio-vascular disease (CVD), others have found an association only with a long or short sleep duration. In addition, there are limited data from non-Western populations on this topic. The authors examined the association between sleep duration and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality among Chinese adults in Singapore (1993–2006), performing a prospective cohort study among 58,044 participants aged 45 years (55.9% women) without preexisting CVD. The main outcome of interest was CHD mortality (n ¼ 1,416). The authors found both short and long sleep durations to be positively associated with CHD mortality, independent of smoking, alcohol intake, and body mass index. Compared with persons with a sleep duration of 7 hours (referent), the multivariable relative risk of CHD mortality for a sleep duration of 5 hours was 1.57 (95% confidence interval: 1.32, 1.88); for a sleep duration of 9 hours, it was 1.79 (95% confidence interval: 1.48, 2.17). This association persisted in subgroup analyses by sex and body mass index. In a population-based cohort of Chinese adults from Singapore, sleep durations of 5 hours and 9 hours (versus 7 hours) were modestly associated with CHD mortality. These results suggest that sleep duration may be an important marker for CVD. Sleep loss, long-term sleep deprivation, and alterations in sleep duration are common in modern society (1, 2). Nearly one-third of adults report sleeping less than 6 hours per night, leading some people to suggest that we live in a sleep-deprived society (2). Factors responsible for this change may include increases in environmental light, longer workdays/commuting time, an increase in shift work and night work, and the advent of television, radio, and the Internet (3). Experiments have demonstrated that short-term sleep deprivation in healthy subjects results in adverse physio-logic changes, including decreased glucose tolerance and increased insulin resistance, sympathetic tone, and blood pressure (4, 5). Short-term sleep deprivation results in elevations in levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker that is independently related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) (6). In contrast, the long-term cardiovascular consequences of sleep deprivation are less clear. Both long and short usual sleep durations are found to be associated with snoring, metabolic disturbances, abnormalities in lipid profile, and elevated markers of inflammation (7, 8). It is possible that long and short sleep durations may be related to underlying sleep-disordered breathing and obstructive sleep apnea …
LOGICAL RELATIONS AND FEASIBILITY IN HIGHER TYPES

We apply logical relations to define two hierarchies of functionals in all finite types as new candidates for higher type feasibility. The first hierarchy uses logical relations to generalize Cobham’s Limited Recursion on Notation to all finite types. The hierarchy coincides with Cook and Kapron’s Basic feasible Functionals (BFF) up to type level two, but at higher types our hierarchy might be strictly larger than BFF. The second hierarchy is defined by a generalized Kripke logical relation. The new point here is that the starting relations are not defined at base types, i.e. type level 0, but at types of any chosen level k. This requires a new construction of the relation for function types that in general differs from the usual one. The second hierarchy coincides with BFF up to type level k and is probably strictly larger at type level k + 1. We prove that if we work in the model of partial continuous functionals, all elements of our hierarchies are computable (which is not obvious for the second hierarchy). Both our hierarchies are closed under λ-definability. We neither know whether our hierarchies can be effectively generated nor how they are related in
Situation-aware choice of the most accurate positioning system

With the increasing proliferation of powerful mobile devices, the use of location-based services has gained noticeable momentum. However, new challenges arose with the higher user mobility. Especially in the context of location-based services, one of these challenges is the problem of selecting the most suitable positioning technology. This paper gives a brief overview of the three most common techniques used by location-based services today. We introduce various schemes on how to select the most suitable system, based on the system's estimation of the positioning error. The schemes are thoroughly evaluated by using an emulation with real-world data, recorded within and around an office building of the University of Mannheim.
Identification of Minor Secondary Metabolites from the Latex of Croton lechleri (Muell-Arg) and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activity

Dragon’s blood (Sangre de drago), a viscous red sap derived from Croton lechleri Muell-Arg (Euphorbiaceae), is extensively used by indigenous cultures of the Amazonian basin for its wound healing properties. The aim of this study was to identify the minor secondary metabolites and test the antioxidant activity of this sustance. A bio-guided fractionation of the n-hexane, chloroform, n-butanol, and aqueous extracts led to the isolation of 15 compounds: three megastigmanes, four flavan-3-ols, three phenylpropanoids, three lignans, a clerodane, and the alkaloid taspine. In addition to these known molecules, six compounds were isolated and identified for the first time in the latex: blumenol B, blumenol C, 4,5-dihydroblumenol A, erythro-guaiacyl-glyceryl-β-O-4’-dihydroconiferyl ether, 2-[4-(3-hydroxypropyl)-2-methoxyphenoxy]-propane-1,3-diol and floribundic acid glucoside. Combinations of spectroscopic methods (1H-, 13C- NMR and 2D-NMR experiments), ESI-MS, and literature comparisons were used for compound identification. In vitro antioxidant activities were assessed by DPPH, total antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation assays. Flavan-3-ols derivatives (as major phenolic compounds in the latex) exhibited the highest antioxidant activity.
Self-adaptive systems, services, and product lines

Self-adaptive systems, services, and product lines can be seen as different facets of the same problem. Self-adaptation provides the requirements, product lines a conceptual means to frame them, and services a possible technology to implement the resulting systems. This short paper starts presenting an overview of the many solutions proposed for adding self-adaptive capabilities to software systems. It also introduces service-based solutions and software product lines to discuss what self-adaptive systems can borrow from them. The paper proposes then the solutions we have developed so far to contribute to the aforementioned scenario. It touches FLAGS, for eliciting the requirements of these systems, DYNAMO, an example of flexible and dynamic service compositions, and DyBPEL, a means to enact dynamic service-centric product lines. Some final remarks conclude the paper.
ChainDroid: Safe and Flexible Access to Protected Android Resources Based on Call Chain

Smartphone apps are usually unprivileged and need user permission to access protected system resources. Specifically, the existing Android permission system will check whether the calling app has the right permission to invoke sensitive system APIs. Although the inter-application communication in Android gives applications the ability to reuse components from other applications, it also results in a Confused Deputy attack [1] which means a less privileged application can start components in a privileged application. In this paper, we present ChainDroid -- a permission management system combining call chains with access policies to provide safe and flexible access to system APIs. First, when a protected system API is invoked, we construct the call chain which records call relationships among components to prevent unprivileged applications' access. Second, we create an access policy file for each system API. Unlike other access polices providing attributes merely associated with system APIs, the policy in ChainDroid is based on call chains and therefore constraint attributes (e.g., the maximum number of applications in a chain) are put on the call chain for a certain system API. To facilitate the user's operation on ChainDroid, we also create an application for the user to set constraint attributes for the target system API. The results show that ChainDroid prevents the Confused Deputy attack with little impact on system performance.
Steps Towards Interactive Formal Concept Analysis with LatViz

With the increase in Web of Data (WOD) many new challenges regarding exploration, interaction, analysis and discovery have surfaced. One of the basic building blocks of data analysis is classification. Many studies have been conducted concerning Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) and its variants over WOD. But one fundamental question is, after these concept lattices are obtained on top of WOD, how the user can interactively explore and analyze this data through concept lattices. To achieve this goal, we introduce a new tool called LatViz, which implements several algorithms for constructing concept lattices and allows further navigation over lattice structure. LatViz proposes some remarkable improvements over existing tools and introduces various new functionalities such as interaction with expert, visualization of Pattern Structures, AOC posets, concept annotations, filtering concept lattice based on several criteria and finally, an intuitive visualization of implications. This way the user can effectively perform an interactive exploration over a concept lattice which is a basis for a strong user interaction with WOD for data analysis.
Analysis of Resistive Forces Acting on the Bucket of LHD in the Scooping Task

In order to automate the scooping task, it is desirable that the resistive force acting on the bucket be obtained before the scooping is performed. The objective of this study is to derive theoretically the resistive forces acting on the bucket during scooping of piled rock fragments. First, the changes in the shape of the rock pile due to the penetration of it by the bucket are modeled. Based on this model, the resistive forces acting on the bucket are considered theoretically. Finally, it was confirmed that the calculated results obtained using the model agree well with the experimental results.
The Impact of Perceived Internal Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Micro-Perspective Analysis

In the last few years, the trend of research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased, but the question of how employees perceive internal CSR is ignored. The extent of CSR literature has mainly focused on macro concepts rather than micro concepts. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of internal corporate social responsibility on employees’ behavior through their attitude as micro analysis. Therefore, the present study has explored the indirect mechanism of perceived internal corporate social responsibility and organizational citizenship behavior through sequential mediation of perceived organizational support and organizational trust that helps in attaining the desired organizational goals as organizational citizenship behavior
Homoploid Hybrid Speciation in an Extreme Habitat

According to theory, homoploid hybrid speciation, which is hybrid speciation without a change in chromosome number, is facilitated by adaptation to a novel or extreme habitat. Using molecular and ecological data, we found that the alpine-adapted butterflies in the genus Lycaeides are the product of hybrid speciation. The alpine populations possess a mosaic genome derived from both L. melissa and L. idas and are differentiated from and younger than their putative parental species. As predicted, adaptive traits may allow for persistence in the environmentally extreme alpine habitat and reproductively isolate these populations from their parental species.
Systems Genetics of Liver Fibrosis: Identification of Fibrogenic and Expression Quantitative Trait Loci in the BXD Murine Reference Population

The progression of liver fibrosis in response to chronic injury varies considerably among individual patients. The underlying genetics is highly complex due to large numbers of potential genes, environmental factors and cell types involved. Here, we provide the first toxicogenomic analysis of liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in the murine ‘genetic reference panel’ of recombinant inbred BXD lines. Our aim was to define the core of risk genes and gene interaction networks that control fibrosis progression. Liver fibrosis phenotypes and gene expression profiles were determined in 35 BXD lines. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis identified seven genomic loci influencing fibrosis phenotypes (pQTLs) with genome-wide significance on chromosomes 4, 5, 7, 12, and 17. Stepwise refinement was based on expression QTL mapping with stringent selection criteria, reducing the number of 1,351 candidate genes located in the pQTLs to a final list of 11 cis-regulated genes. Our findings demonstrate that the BXD reference population represents a powerful experimental resource for shortlisting the genes within a regulatory network that determine the liver's vulnerability to chronic injury.
Redox Control of Multidrug Resistance and Its Possible Modulation by Antioxidants

Clinical efficacy of anticancer chemotherapies is dramatically hampered by multidrug resistance (MDR) dependent on inherited traits, acquired defence against toxins, and adaptive mechanisms mounting in tumours. There is overwhelming evidence that molecular events leading to MDR are regulated by redox mechanisms. For example, chemotherapeutics which overrun the first obstacle of redox-regulated cellular uptake channels (MDR1, MDR2, and MDR3) induce a concerted action of phase I/II metabolic enzymes with a temporal redox-regulated axis. This results in rapid metabolic transformation and elimination of a toxin. This metabolic axis is tightly interconnected with the inducible Nrf2-linked pathway, a key switch-on mechanism for upregulation of endogenous antioxidant enzymes and detoxifying systems. As a result, chemotherapeutics and cytotoxic by-products of their metabolism (ROS, hydroperoxides, and aldehydes) are inactivated and MDR occurs. On the other hand, tumour cells are capable of mounting an adaptive antioxidant response against ROS produced by chemotherapeutics and host immune cells. The multiple redox-dependent mechanisms involved in MDR prompted suggesting redox-active drugs (antioxidants and prooxidants) or inhibitors of inducible antioxidant defence as a novel approach to diminish MDR. Pitfalls and progress in this direction are discussed.
Education Privatization: Causes, Consequences And Planning Implications

Cooperation Agency (Sida) has provided financial assistance for the publication of this bookle The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has provided financial assistance for the publication of this booklet.i The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has provided financial assistance for the publication of this booklet. The booklets in this series are written primarily for two types of clientele: those engaged in educational planning and administration, in developing as well as developed countries; and others, less specialized, such as senior government officials and policy-makers who seek a more general understanding of educational planning and of how it is related to overall national development. They are intended to be of use either for private study or in formal training programmes. Since this series was launched in 1967 practices and concepts of educational planning have undergone substantial change. Many of the assumptions which underlay earlier attempts to rationalize the process of educational development have been criticized or abandoned. Even if rigid mandatory centralized planning has now clearly proven to be inappropriate, this does not mean that all forms of planning have been dispensed with. On the contrary, the need for collecting data, evaluating the efficiency of existing programmes, undertaking a wide range of studies, exploring the future and fostering broad debate on these bases to guide educational policy and decision-making has become even more acute than before. One cannot make sensible policy choices without assessing the present situation, specifying the goals to be reached, marshalling the means to attain them and monitoring what has been accomplished. Hence planning is also a way to organize learning: by mapping, targeting, acting and correcting. The scope of educational planning has been broadened. In addition to the formal system of education, it is now applied to all other important educational efforts in non-formal settings. Attention to the growth and expansion of education systems is being complemented and sometimes even replaced by a growing concern for the quality of the entire educational process and for the control of its results. Finally, planners and administrators have become more and more aware of the importance of implementation strategies and of the role of different regulatory mechanisms in this respect: the choice of International Institute for Educational Planning www.unesco. org/iiep 6 Fundamentals of educational planning financing methods, the examination and certification procedures or various other regulation and incentive structures. The concern of planners is twofold: to reach a better understanding …
Evaluating the usability of web pages: a case study

An evaluation of the Utrecht University website was carried out with 240 students. New criteria were drawn from the literature and operationalized for the study. These criteria are surveyability and findability. Web pages can be said to satisfy a usability criterion if their efficiency and effectiveness is satisfactory to the user. We operationalized efficiency and effectiveness as surveyability, that is, the users' satisfaction with the legibility and comprehensibility of the pages and findability, the users' ability to find information on the pages or the pages' ease of use, respectively. We conducted a case study in which subjects were observed while they performed a search task on the Internet and then answered questions about findability and surveyability. The surveyability and findability criteria seem to be an effective measure of the usability of web pages and give a reliable indication of the users' judgements of the pages' user-friendliness.