Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iterative list-decoding of Gabidulin codes via Gröbner based interpolation

We show how Gabidulin codes can be list decoded by using an iterative parametrization approach. For a given received word, our decoding algorithm processes its entries one by one, constructing four polynomials at each step. This then yields a parametrization of interpolating solutions for the data so far. From the final result a list of all codewords that are closest to the received word with respect to the rank metric is obtained.
Revisiting uncertainty in graph cut solutions

Graph cuts is a popular algorithm for finding the MAP assignment of many large-scale graphical models that are common in computer vision. While graph cuts is powerful, it does not provide information about the marginal probabilities associated with the solution it finds. To assess uncertainty, we are forced to fall back on less efficient and inexact inference algorithms such as loopy belief propagation, or use less principled surrogate representations of uncertainty such as the min-marginal approach of Kohli & Torr [8]. In this work, we give new justification for using min-marginals to compute the uncertainty in conditional random fields, framing the min-marginal outputs as exact marginals under a specially-chosen generative probabilistic model. We leverage this view to learn properly calibrated marginal probabilities as the result of straightforward maximization of the training likelihood, showing that the necessary subgradients can be computed efficiently using dynamic graph cut operations. We also show how this approach can be extended to compute multi-label marginal distributions, where again dynamic graph cuts enable efficient marginal inference and maximum likelihood learning. We demonstrate empirically that - after proper training - uncertainties based on min-marginals provide better-calibrated probabilities than baselines and that these distributions can be exploited in a decision-theoretic way for improved segmentation in low-level vision.
Intravenous versus Oral Acetaminophen for Pain: Systematic Review of Current Evidence to Support Clinical Decision-Making.

BACKGROUND Intravenous (IV) acetaminophen is increasingly used around the world for pain control for a variety of indications. However, it is unclear whether IV administration offers advantages over oral administration. OBJECTIVE To identify, summarize, and critically evaluate the literature comparing analgesic efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics for IV and oral dosage forms of acetaminophen. DATA SOURCES A literature search of the PubMed, Embase, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts databases was supplemented with keyword searches of Science Direct, Wiley Library Online, and Springer Link databases for the period 1948 to November 2014. The reference lists of identified studies were searched manually. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION Randomized controlled trials comparing IV and oral dosage forms of acetaminophen were included if they assessed an efficacy, safety, or pharmacokinetic outcome. For each study, 2 investigators independently extracted data (study design, population, interventions, follow-up, efficacy outcomes, safety outcomes, pharmacokinetic outcomes, and any other pertinent information) and completed risk-of-bias assessments. DATA SYNTHESIS Six randomized clinical trials were included. Three of the studies reported outcomes pertaining to efficacy, 4 to safety, and 4 to pharmacokinetics. No clinically significant differences in efficacy were found between the 2 dosage forms. Safety outcomes were not reported consistently enough to allow adequate assessment. No evidence was found to suggest that increased bioavailability of the IV formulation enhances efficacy outcomes. For studies reporting clinical outcomes, the results of risk-of-bias assessments were largely unclear. CONCLUSIONS For patients who can take an oral dosage form, no clear indication exists for preferential prescribing of IV acetaminophen. Decision-making must take into account the known adverse effects of each dosage form and other considerations such as convenience and cost. Future studies should assess multiple-dose regimens over longer periods for patients with common pain indications such as cancer, trauma, and surgery.
A new type of MAML2 fusion in mucoepidermoid carcinoma

The present study reports for the first time a CRTC3‐MAML2 fusion gene in a mucoepidermoid carcinoma, as determined by RT‐PCR and sequencing. We screened a total of 67 formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded mucoepidermoid carcinomas for the presence of chimeric genes. In one of these samples, a CRTC3‐MAML2 fusion gene was detected. Thus, this report demonstrates the existence of a fusion of MAML2 with CREB regulated transcriptional coactivator CRTC3 additional to the already known fusion of MAML2 and CRTC1. Both gene fusions seem to result in an identical tumor phenotype and the fusion genes CRTC1‐MAML2 and CRTC3‐MAML2 may play a similar role in the development of mucoepidermoid carcinomas. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Human Electroretinal Responses to Grating Patterns and Defocus Changes by Global Flash Multifocal Electroretinogram

The electrical response of the retina was examined as a function of retinal region, using stimuli of various spatial frequencies in the first experiment. In the second experiment, the regional response of the retina to defocus at high and low spatial frequencies was investigated. Twenty three subjects were recruited for global flash multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) in experiment 1. Black and white gratings (printed on plastic transparent sheets) of four spatial frequencies (SF), 0.24, 1.2, 2.4 and 4.8 cycle per degree were presented in front of the mfERG stimulation. The amplitudes and implicit times of the direct (DC) and induced (IC) components of mfERG responses were pooled into six concentric rings for analysis. There was low amplitude DC at low SF, which increased with increasing SF, and which decreased with increasing eccentricity. The IC was high in amplitude at all SF and reduced in amplitude with increasing eccentricity. Our findings suggested that outer and inner retina had different characteristics in processing spatial details. In experiment 2, Twenty-three young adults were recruited for mfERG measurement. The retinal electrical responses for low (0.24cpd) and high (4.8cpd) SF under fully corrected conditions of short-term negative defocus (-2D) and short term positive defocus (+2D) conditions were measured. There was a sign-dependent response to defocus in the DC response, mainly in peripheral regions. The sign dependent response at low SF was more obvious than that at high SF, and was located more peripherally. The IC response showed no clear trends for either defocus condition. The human retina seems to have a decoding system for optical defocus, which was tuned for low spatial frequency, and was located in the retinal near periphery.
Disruption of Sarcolemmal ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channel Activity Impairs the Cardiac Response to Systolic Overload

Sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP) act as metabolic sensors that facilitate adaptation of the left ventricle to changes in energy requirements. This study examined the mechanism by which KATP dysfunction impairs the left ventricular response to stress using transgenic mouse strains with cardiac-specific disruption of KATP activity (SUR1-tg mice) or Kir6.2 gene deficiency (Kir6.2 KO). Both SUR1-tg and Kir6.2 KO mice had normal left ventricular mass and function under unstressed conditions. Following chronic transverse aortic constriction, both SUR1-tg and Kir6.2 KO mice developed more severe left ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction as compared with their corresponding WT controls. Both SUR1-tg and Kir6.2 KO mice had significantly decreased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator (PGC)-1α and a group of energy metabolism related genes at both protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, disruption of KATP repressed expression and promoter activity of PGC-1α in cultured rat neonatal cardiac myocytes in response to hypoxia, indicating that KATP activity is required to maintain PGC-1α expression under stress conditions. PGC-1α gene deficiency also exacerbated chronic transverse aortic constriction–induced ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction, suggesting that depletion of PGC-1α can worsen systolic overload induced ventricular dysfunction. Both SUR1-tg and Kir6.2 KO mice had decreased FOXO1 after transverse aortic constriction, in agreement with the reports that a decrease of FOXO1 can repress PGC-1α expression. Furthermore, inhibition of KATP caused a decrease of FOXO1 associated with PGC-1α promoter. These data indicate that KATP channels facilitate the cardiac response to stress by regulating PGC-1α and its target genes, at least partially through the FOXO1 pathway.
Participation as a Stimulus of Political Conceptualization

Though the school of participatory democracy claims that political participation affects individuals' conceptualization of politics, few empirical studies have addressed this question. This paper considers Bennett's (1975) argument that participation which involves the conflict of ideas and requires individual initiative and input enhances conceptualization. It is hypothesized that campaign, and national and local problem-solving activities enhance conceptualization but that expressive activities do not. The analysis, which uses data from the 1976 American National Election Study, supports the hypothesis, with the exception of local problem-solving activities. These findings suggest that Bennett's criteria are incomplete, and that characteristics of the participatory experience (e.g., success or failure) may determine the nature of its effect on conceptualization.
Socially optimal pricing of cloud computing resources

The cloud computing paradigm offers easily accessible computing resources of variable size and capabilities. We consider a cloud-computing facility that provides simultaneous service to a heterogeneous, time-varying population of users, each associated with a distinct job. Both the completion time, as well as the user's utility, may depend on the amount of computing resources applied to the job. In this paper, we focus on the objective of maximizing the long-term social surplus, which comprises of the aggregate utility of executed jobs minus load-dependent operating expenses. Our problem formulation relies on basic notions of welfare economics, augmented by relevant queueing aspects. We first analyze the centralized setting, where an omniscient controller may regulate admission and resource allocation to each arriving job based on its individual type. Under appropriate convexity assumptions on the operating costs and individual utilities, we establish existence and uniqueness of the social optimum. We proceed to show that the social optimum may be induced by a single per-unit price, which charges a fixed amount per unit time and resource from all users.
Mid-Infrared Photoacoustic Detection of Glucose in Human Skin: Towards Non-Invasive Diagnostics

Diabetes mellitus is a widespread metabolic disease without cure. Great efforts are being made to develop a non-invasive monitoring of the blood glucose level. Various attempts have been made, including a number of non-optical approaches as well as optical techniques involving visible, near- and mid-infrared light. However, no true breakthrough has been achieved so far, i.e., there is no fully non-invasive monitoring device available. Here we present a new study based on mid-infrared spectroscopy and photoacoustic detection. We employ two setups, one with a fiber-coupled photoacoustic (PA) cell and a tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL), and a second setup with two QCLs at different wavelengths combined with PA detection. In both cases, the PA cells are in direct skin contact. The performance is tested with an oral glucose tolerance test. While the first setup often gives reasonable qualitative agreement with ordinary invasive blood glucose measurements, the dual-wavelength approach yields a considerably improved stability and an uncertainty of only ±30 mg/dL of the blood glucose concentration level at a confidence level of 90%. This result is achieved without advanced data treatment such as principal component analysis involving extended wavelength ranges.
A Dynamical Systems Approach to the Development and Expression of Female Same-Sex Sexuality

Researchers have documented substantial variability in the development and expression of same-sex sexuality, especially among women, posing challenges to traditional linear developmental models. In this article, I argue for a new approach to conceptualizing the development and expression of female same-sex sexuality over the life course, based in dynamical systems theory. Dynamical systems models seek to explain how complex patterns emerge, stabilize, change, and restabilize over time. Although originally developed by mathematicians and physicists to model complex physical phenomena in the natural world, they have increasingly been applied to social-behavioral phenomena, ranging from motor development to cognition to language. I demonstrate the utility of this approach for modeling change over time in female same-sex sexuality, reviewing extant published research and also introducing data collected from an ongoing, 10-year longitudinal study of young nonheterosexual women. I provide evidence that female same-sex sexuality demonstrates the emblematic features of a dynamical system: nonlinear change over time, spontaneous emergence of novel forms, and periodic reorganizations and phase transitions within the overall system. I highlight the specific contribution of a dynamical systems perspective for understanding such phenomena and suggest directions for future study.
Executive Cognitive Functioning Abilities of Male First Time and Return Canadian Federal Inmates

Un des principaux objectifs des programmes judiciaires de réadaptation pour les contrevenants incarcérés est d'éliminer, ou à tout le moins de diminuer, le taux de récidive. Toutefois, ces récidives sont fréquentes, et des études laissent croire que les programmes n'ont réussi à abaisser ce taux que légèrement. En effet, une série d'études suggèrent une diminution de seulement 7 à 14%du taux de récidive. Bien que plusieurs éléments aient été identifiés comme des facteurs pouvant contribuer au comportement criminel, une idée largement répandue suggère que les personnes ayant un trouble du fonctionnement cognitif exécutif pourraient être prédisposées à la criminalité. Pour le moment, le lien entre le fonctionnement exécutif et le comportement antisocial n'a pas fait l'objet d'un examen approfondi. Cependant, il n'est pas encore certain que les troubles du fonctionnement exécutif soient plus importants chez les contrevenants incarcérés à plusieurs reprises. À l'aide d'une méthode transversale, on a évalué le fonctionnement exécutif de 93 détenus dans des prisons fédérales canadiennes, classés selon qu'il s'agissait d'une première offense (n = 56) ou d'une récidive (n = 37). Les données ont confirmé notre hypothè se selon laquelle les récidivistes avaient un type plus marqué et plus envahissant de dysfonctionnement exécutif. Ces résultats suggèrent qu'en misant davantage sur la réduction des troubles de la fonction exécutive des contrevenants, on pourrait contribuer à abaisser le taux de récidive.
Erfahrungen mit einer deutschsprachigen Version der SIB

Zusammenfassung: Die SIB (Severe Impairment Battery) wurde in den USA fur die Untersuchung kognitiver Funktionen bei Schwerdementen entwickelt. Ziel der hier dargestellten Arbeit war die empirische Anwendung und Uberprufung einer deutschsprachigen Version der SIB hinsichtlich Objektivitat, Reliabilitat, Konstrukt-Validitat und weiterer klinisch relevanter Aspekte. Eine Gruppe von 57 hospitalisierten dementen Patienten verschiedener Atiologie (42yw, 15ym; Alter (SD) 83.0 (9.0) Jahre; mittlerer MMSE Score 5.6) wurde untersucht. Ergebnisse: Die SIB zeigte eine hohe Inter-Rater Reliabilitat (0.99) und Interne Konsistenz (0.98). Die benotigte Testzeit lag zwischen 20 und 40 Minuten. Die Korrelation des SIB-Gesamtwertes mit dem MMSE-Score betrug 0.91, doch lieferte die SIB bei 11 von 14 Patienten, die im MMSE Nullwerte erreichten, noch Messergebnisse. Mit den kognitiven Dimensionen der NOSGER fanden sich hoch signifikante Korrelationen. Keine signifikanten Zusammenhange bestanden psychopathologischen Merkmalen,.
Seasonal changes in the relationships between secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone in the ram.

In this study we examined the relationship between GnRH, LH, and testosterone (T) in intact rams during the nonbreeding season, the breeding season, and the transition between breeding and nonbreeding season. Blood was collected from the hypophyseal portal and jugular veins at 10-min intervals for 12 h from 3 groups of rams in May, September, and March. Individual LH pulses in May and September occurred at relatively regular intervals whereas in March, groups of pulses were separated by relatively long intervals without pulses. No significant effect of season on GnRH pulse parameters was found, but there was a significant effect of season on LH (p < 0.04) and T (p < 0.001) pulse amplitude and on mean T concentrations (p < 0.001). LH pulse amplitude was highest in March, and T pulse amplitude was highest in September. Simple indices of pituitary and testicular responsiveness were obtained by calculating the ratios of LH to GnRH and T to LH. The ratio of LH to GnRH pulse amplitude was significantly higher in March than in September (p < 0.01) or May (p < 0.05). The ratio of T to LH pulse amplitude was highest (p < 0.01) in September. Release of LH in response to exogenous GnRH also varied significantly (p < 0.01) with month, being higher in March than in September (p < 0.01) or May (p < 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Simulation Techniques For Deformable Animated Characters

of "Simulation Techniques For Deformable Animated Characters" by Remco K. Chang, Sc. M. , Brown University, April 2000. This thesis surveys three different deformation models for physically based simulation. The ability to model and manipulate deformable objects is essential to many computer graphics applications, especially in modeling and simulation of realistic and complex environments. Approaches for modeling object deformation, however, have been constrained by the limi­ tation of hardware. Although realistic behavior of the deformed objects is most desirable, many methods sacrifice the realism for speed. The three deformation models that we survey are based on individual nodal point anal­ ysis, a reduced degree of freedom model, and an approximate continuum model, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. We examine these deformation models using the same set of parameters, and measure their performance in terms of speed, stability, and robustness. AUTHORIZATION TO LEND AND REPRODUCE THE THESIS As the sole author of this thesis, I authorize Brown University to lend it to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. Date 4/2 ~ f 2-. >tiO author's signatur I further authorize Brown University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. Date q:( 2. >('LuO c.7 aUlhor'~~ This thesis by Remco K. Chang is accepted in its present form by the Department of Computer Science as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Science. 5? ~llo Date4/ZB/UvD , , D . Nancy Pollard, Director Approved by the Graduate Council Date _ Peder J. Estrup Dean of the Graduate School and Research
Epidemiology of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a common health problem in women in reproductive age. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PMS using meta-analysis method. METHODS This meta-analysis systematically reviewed the prevalence of PMS. A search was conducted using keywords Premenstrual Syndrome, PMS, prevalence PMS and symptom of PMS in reliable English articles. The initial search 53 articles were available. After review of full-text articles, 17 articles were selected for analysis. Data were combined using meta-analysis (random effects model). Data were analyzed using STATA software, Version 11.1 RESULTS: Overall, 17 studies met our inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of PMS was 47.8% (95% CI: 32.6-62.9). The lowest and highest prevalence were reported in France 12% (95% CI: 11-13) and Iran 98% (95% CI: 97-100) respectively. However, meta-regression scatter plot showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of PMS during 1996-2011 but correlation between prevalence of PMS and year of study was not significance (p= 0.797). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Considering that different tools have been used in studies and many studies have been designed based on a limited sample, therefore, future research needs to consider the prevalence of PMS in different countries of world.
A software platform for fractionated spacecraft

A fractionated spacecraft is a cluster of independent modules that interact wirelessly to maintain cluster flight and realize the functions usually performed by a monolithic satellite. This spacecraft architecture poses novel software challenges because the hardware platform is inherently distributed, with highly fluctuating connectivity among the modules. It is critical for mission success to support autonomous fault management and to satisfy real-time performance requirements. It is also both critical and challenging to support multiple organizations and users whose diverse software applications have changing demands for computational and communication resources, while operating on different levels and in separate domains of security. The solution proposed in this paper is based on a layered architecture consisting of a novel operating system, a middleware layer, and component-structured applications. The operating system provides primitives for concurrency, synchronization, and secure information flows; it also enforces application separation and resource management policies. The middleware provides higher-level services supporting request/response and publish/subscribe interactions for distributed software. The component model facilitates the creation of software applications from modular and reusable components that are deployed in the distributed system and interact only through well-defined mechanisms. Two cross-cutting aspects - multi-level security and multi-layered fault management - are addressed at all levels of the architecture. The complexity of creating applications and performing system integration is mitigated through the use of a domain-specific model-driven development process that relies on a dedicated modeling language and its accompanying graphical modeling tools, software generators for synthesizing infrastructure code, and the extensive use of model-based analysis for verification and validation.
Portraying science accurately in classrooms : Emphasizing open-mindedness rather than relativism

Constructivist science education typically presents a relativist image of scientific knowledge that is not shared by scientists. Truth and time are defined differently by scientists than by postmodern observers of science; a theoretical definition of truth is often applied to scientific knowledge within science education, whereas a practical definition, supported by evidence, is used within science. Similarly, time is sometimes taken out of context within science education when scientific concepts that have developed slowly and are well accepted by scientists are treated as though they were tentative. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 225–236, 2000.