Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Conditional Lexicographic Preference Trees

We introduce a generalization of lexicographic orders and argue that this generalization constitutes an interesting model class for preference learn- ing in general and ranking in particular. We propose a learning algorithm for inducing a so-called conditional lexicographic preference tree from a given set of training data in the form of pairwise comparisons between objects. Experi- mentally, we validate our algorithm in the setting of multipartite ranking.
A Sub-millimeter, Inductively Powered Neural Stimulator

Wireless neural stimulators are being developed to address problems associated with traditional lead-based implants. However, designing wireless stimulators on the sub-millimeter scale (<1 mm3) is challenging. As device size shrinks, it becomes difficult to deliver sufficient wireless power to operate the device. Here, we present a sub-millimeter, inductively powered neural stimulator consisting only of a coil to receive power, a capacitor to tune the resonant frequency of the receiver, and a diode to rectify the radio-frequency signal to produce neural excitation. By replacing any complex receiver circuitry with a simple rectifier, we have reduced the required voltage levels that are needed to operate the device from 0.5 to 1 V (e.g., for CMOS) to ~0.25–0.5 V. This reduced voltage allows the use of smaller receive antennas for power, resulting in a device volume of 0.3–0.5 mm3. The device was encapsulated in epoxy, and successfully passed accelerated lifetime tests in 80°C saline for 2 weeks. We demonstrate a basic proof-of-concept using stimulation with tens of microamps of current delivered to the sciatic nerve in rat to produce a motor response.
DARK MATTER EQUILIBRIA IN GALAXIES AND GALAXY SYSTEMS

In the dark matter (DM) halos embedding galaxies and galaxy systems the “entropy” K ≡ σ2/ρ2/3 (a quantity that combines the radial velocity dispersion σ with the density ρ) is found from intensive N-body simulations to follow a power-law run K ∝ rα throughout the halos' bulk, with α around 1.25. Taking up from phenomenology just that α≈ const. applies, we cut through the rich analytic contents of the Jeans equation describing the self-gravitating equilibria of the DM; we specifically focus on computing and discussing a set of novel physical solutions that we name α-profiles, marked by the entropy slope α itself, and by the maximal gravitational pull κcrit(α) required for a viable equilibrium to hold. We then use an advanced semianalytic description for the cosmological buildup of halos to constrain the values of α to within the narrow range 1.25–1.29 from galaxies to galaxy systems; these correspond to halos' current masses in the range 1011–1015 M☉. Our range of α applies since the transition time that—both in our semianalytic description and in state-of-the-art numerical simulations—separates two development stages: an early violent collapse that comprises a few major mergers and enforces dynamical mixing, followed by smoother mass addition through slow accretion. In our range of α we provide a close fit for the relation κcrit(α), and discuss a related physical interpretation in terms of incomplete randomization of the infall kinetic energy through dynamical mixing. We also give an accurate analytic representation of the α-profiles with parameters derived from the Jeans equation; this provides straightforward precision fits to recent detailed data from gravitational lensing in and around massive galaxy clusters, and thus replaces the empirical Navarro–Frenk–White formula relieving the related problems of high concentration and old age. We finally stress how our findings and predictions as to α and κcrit contribute to understanding hitherto unsolved issues concerning the fundamental structure of DM halos.
Tag Mediated Society with SCOT Ontology

In this paper we give an overview of the int.ere. st for a social tagging, bookmarking, and sharing service. It is based on the SCOT ontology. The SCOT ontology can represent the structure and semantics for social tagging data and provide methods for sharing and reusing them. We describe how it enables users to participate in a semantic social tagging from functional point of view and show how int.ere. st allows users to save, tag, and search SCOT ontologies. All kinds of user contributions in the system will be exposed as RDF vocabularies that connect them. We believe it is a good starting point to build Semantic Web based society using tagging data.
Spatial clustering of ocular chlamydial infection over time following treatment, among households in a village in Tanzania.

PURPOSE To observe the spatial distribution of households with high loads of ocular chlamydia infection in children, before and after mass treatment with azithromycin to determine whether there exists spatial clustering of households with high loads of infection and the spatial scale of the clustering. METHODS All residents of a village in Tanzania were invited to participate in the study. A global positioning system unit recorded the location of each house. Mass treatment with azithromycin was offered, with participation above 80%. Active trachoma and swab samples of the conjunctiva were assessed at baseline and at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment. A k-function analysis was performed to detect clustering of households with high loads of ocular chlamydia in children younger than 8 years. RESULTS A total of 1055 villagers were examined during the study; of these, 374 (35.4%) were children younger than 8 years. The total number of households was 215, with 182 (84.6%) households having at least one child. K-function analysis showed clustering of households with high loads of ocular chlamydia at distances up to 2 kilometers (km) at baseline; at 6 months, slight clustering existed within 0.5 km. At 12 and 18 months, high load households clustered at distances up to 1.3 km. CONCLUSIONS This analysis suggests that infection spreads between households with children or that nearby households share the same risk factors for infection. Mass treatment has value in lowering infection prevalence within the community, and clustering of households with infection takes up to 1 year to reemerge at the same level as baseline. Re-treatment at yearly intervals may interrupt spread of infection.
Specification of the vertebrate eye by a network of eye field transcription factors

Several eye-field transcription factors (EFTFs) are expressed in the anterior region of the vertebrate neural plate and are essential for eye formation. The Xenopus EFTFs ET, Rx1, Pax6, Six3, Lhx2, tll and Optx2 are expressed in a dynamic, overlapping pattern in the presumptive eye field. Expression of an EFTF cocktail with Otx2 is sufficient to induce ectopic eyes outside the nervous system at high frequency. Using both cocktail subsets and functional (inductive) analysis of individual EFTFs, we have revealed a genetic network regulating vertebrate eye field specification. Our results support a model of progressive tissue specification in which neural induction then Otx2-driven neural patterning primes the anterior neural plate for eye field formation. Next, the EFTFs form a self-regulating feedback network that specifies the vertebrate eye field. We find striking similarities and differences to the network of homologous Drosophila genes that specify the eye imaginal disc, a finding that is consistent with the idea of a partial evolutionary conservation of eye formation.
WH-TOPICALIZATION AT THE SYNTAX-DISCOURSE INTERFACE IN ENGLISH SPEAKERS’ L2 CHINESE GRAMMARS

Although wh-words generally stay in situ in Chinese wh-questions, they can be topicalized. However, the wh-topicalization is determined at the syntax-discourse interface and has to be governed by discourse conditions; only discourse-linked (D-linked) wh-words can be topicalized, but non-D-linked ones cannot. This article reports on an empirical study that investigated English speakers’ second language (L2) acquisition of Chinese wh-topicalization. The results of an acceptability judgment test indicate that advanced English speakers are sensitive to the discourse condition that governs the syntactic derivation of wh-topicalization in Chinese, as they were found to be able to make the distinction in their L2 Chinese by allowing D-linked, but not non-D-linked, wh-elements to topicalize. However, these results also indicate that wh-determiner phrases (DPs) and wh-noun phrases (NPs) differ in their sensitivity to presupposition background information in L2 Chinese wh-topicalization, and it is argued that the availability of the deictic feature in the wh-element involved is a variable affecting the D-linking properties of wh-elements in the development of L2 Chinese wh-topicalization, and this seems more likely to be a representational deficit than a processing problem.
Creating a Simplified Music Mood Classification Ground-Truth Set

A standardized mood classification testbed is neede d for formal cross-algorithm comparison and evaluation. I n this poster, we present a simplification of the pro blems associated with developing a ground-truth set for t he evaluation of mood-based Music Information Retrieval (MIR) systems. Using a dataset derived from Last.fm tags and the USPOP audio collection, we have applied a K-means clustering method to create a simple yet meaningful cluster-based set of high-level mood categories as well as a ground-truth dataset.
CONCEPTUAL SPACES AND CONSCIOUSNESS: INTEGRATING COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE PROCESSES

In the book "Conceptual Spaces: the Geometry of Thought" [2000] Peter Gardenfors proposes a new framework for cognitive science. Complementary to symbolic and subsymbolic [connectionist] descriptions, conceptual spaces are semantic structures — constructed from empirical data — representing the universe of mental states. We argue that Gardenfors' modeling can be used in consciousness research to describe the phenomenal conscious world, its elements and their intrinsic relations. The conceptual space approach affords the construction of a universal state space of human consciousness, where all possible kinds of human conscious states could be mapped. Starting from this approach, we discuss the inclusion of feelings and emotions in conceptual spaces, and their relation to perceptual and cognitive states. Current debate on integration of affect/emotion and perception/cognition allows three possible descriptive alternatives: emotion resulting from basic cognition; cognition resulting from basic emotion, and both as relatively independent functions integrated by brain mechanisms. Finding a solution for this issue is an important step in any attempt of successful modeling of natural or artificial consciousness. After making a brief review of proposals in this area, we summarize the essentials of a new model of consciousness based on neuro-astroglial interactions.
On the Periodic Register Need in Software Pipelining

This article presents several theoretical and fundamental results on register need in periodic schedules, also known as MAXLIVE. Our first contribution is a novel formula for computing the exact number of registers needed by a schedule d loop. This formula has two advantages: its computation can b e done using a polynomial algorithm with O(n lg n) complexity (n is the number of instructions in the loop), and it allows the generalization of a previous result [13]. Second, during so ftware pipelining, we show that the minimal number of registers needed may increase when incrementing the initiation interval (II), contrary to intuition. For the case of zero architectural delays in accessing registers, we provide a sufficient condition for k eeping the minimal number of registers from increasing when incrementing the II . Third, we prove an interesting property that enables to optimally compute the minimal periodic register sufficiency of a loop for all its valid periodic schedules, irrespectiveof II . Fourth and last, we prove that the problem of optimal stage scheduling under register constraints is polynomially sol vable for a subclass of data dependence graphs, while this problem is known to be NP-complete for arbitrary dependence graphs [7]. Our latter result generalizes a previous achievement [ 13] which addressed data dependence trees and forest of trees. I n this study we consider cyclic data dependence graphs withou t taking into account any resource constraints. The aim of our theoretical results on periodic register need is to help cur rent and future software pipeliners achieve significant performance improvements by making better (if not best) use of the availa ble resources.
Testing of Digital Microfluidic Biochips Using Improved Eulerization Techniques and the Chinese Postman Problem

Digital micro fluidic technology is now being extensively used for implementing a lab-on-a-chip. Micro fluidic biochips are often used for safety-critical applications, clinical diagnosis, and for genome analysis. Thus, devising effective and faster testing methodologies to warrant correct operations of these devices after manufacture and during bioassay operations, is very much needed. In this paper, we propose a technique to obtain the route plan of a test droplet for the purpose of structural testing of biochips. The technique is applicable to fully reconfigurable arrays and application specific biochips. We propose an improved eulerization technique to implement the test plan based on a graph model of the chip. The optimal eulerization can be abstracted in terms of the classical Chinese postman problem. The Euler tour can then be identified using a cycle decomposition method, which is easy to implement. This can also be used in phase-based test planning leading to significant savings in testing time. The method provides a unified approach towards unidirectional structural testing and can be easily adapted to design an improved droplet routing procedure for bidirectional functional testing of digital micro fluidic biochips.
Three-dimensional positioning of wireless communication base station

We have studied Chan-Taylor two-dimensional positioning algorithm and propose an innovative Chan-Taylor three-dimensional positioning algorithm. And we apply it to the indoor three-dimensional location problem based on wireless communication base station. According to the actual measurement of the coordinates of the 30 base stations and the value of time of arrival (TOA) between the 1100 mobile phone positions and each base station, a total of 33000 data, we get the three-dimensional coordinates of 1100 mobile phone positions by using Chan-Taylor three-dimensional positioning algorithm. The mobile phone position coordinates are compared with the known real three-dimensional coordinates of mobile phone position. We conclude that Chan-Taylor three dimensional positioning algorithm has high positioning accuracy. The average relative errors of all mobile phone positions in X, Y, Z directions are 0.024, 0.016 and 0.512. The results show that this algorithm can be used to achieve three-dimensional location of mobile phone.
Relationship between depression and body dissatisfaction in women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE Body dissatisfaction and depression have consistently demonstrated a positive association in women. This study sought to determine the independence of this association from bulimic symptomatology among women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. METHOD Participants were 101 women who completed a controlled treatment study of bulimia nervosa and participated in follow-up assessments 10 years later. RESULTS Findings indicated that baseline levels of depression were independent of and superior to bulimic symptoms in prospectively predicting body dissatisfaction at follow-up assessment. DISCUSSION Findings suggest that depression may be a better prognostic indicator of body dissatisfaction than bulimic symptoms in women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. A model in which depression represents a contributing factor for the maintenance of body dissatisfaction is discussed.
The effect of brief interventions on the drinking behaviour of pregnant women in a high‐risk rural South African community: a cluster randomised trial

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of a series of brief interventions (BIs) on anti‐natal alcohol consumption of women from a disadvantaged and high‐risk background attending state health clinics in a rural district, Western Cape Province, South Africa. A pragmatic cluster randomised trial design was followed. All pregnant women, who were less than 20 weeks pregnant and more than 15 years of age, were eligible for the study. The intervention comprised a comprehensive assessment for current and lifetime alcohol use plus information (control group) or comprehensive assessment plus four BI sessions over the pregnancy period (intervention group). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was completed pre‐ and post‐intervention. Although both groups demonstrated declines in AUDIT scores, findings showed a statistically significant difference in the total AUDIT scores between the intervention and control groups post‐intervention (F = 9.54, p = 0.002). The difference was two units (SE = 0.6). The follow‐up rate was 92% (N = 179 of the original 194 eligible women). The impact of BIs is shown to be a powerful tool. Information and an understanding, supportive attitude seem to be crucial agents for behaviour change.
MULTIPLATFORM Testbed: An Integration Platform for Multimodal Dialog Systems

Modern dialog and information systems are increasingly based on distributed component architectures to cope with all kinds of heterogeneity and to enable flexible re-use of existing software components. This contribution presents the MULTIPLATFORM testbed as a powerful framework for the development of integrated multimodal dialog systems. The paper provides a general overview of our approach and explicates its foundations. It describes advanced sample applications that have been realized using the integration platform and compares our approach to related works.
HealthLine: Towards Speech-based Access to Health Information by Semi-literate Users

Community health programs in many developing countries are very similar: most involve semi-trained, semi-educated health workers (often female), who provide health services in their own communities in a large hierarchically managed system across the country. In Pakistan, recent evaluations of the government's flagship community health program have revealed the need for improvement in health workers' knowledge. It is our conjecture that telephone-based adaptive speech interfaces, tailored to the specific information needs of health workers, are a viable alternative to current information access mechanisms such as handbooks and manuals. We will be designing, developing and testing such an interface (“HealthLine”) in the coming year in Pakistan. Interviews with health workers indicate that speech interfaces may potentially be much more useful for health workers than traditional media.
Effect of Drug Loading Method and Drug Physicochemical Properties on the Material and Drug Release Properties of Poly (Ethylene Oxide) Hydrogels for Transdermal Delivery

Novel poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) hydrogel films were synthesized via UV cross-linking with pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate (PETRA) as cross-linking agent. The purpose of this work was to develop a novel hydrogel film suitable for passive transdermal drug delivery via skin application. Hydrogels were loaded with model drugs (lidocaine hydrochloride (LID), diclofenac sodium (DIC) and ibuprofen (IBU)) via post-loading and in situ loading methods. The effect of loading method and drug physicochemical properties on the material and drug release properties of medicated film samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), swelling studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), tensile testing, rheometry, and drug release studies. In situ loaded films showed better drug entrapment within the hydrogel network and also better polymer crystallinity. High drug release was observed from all studied formulations. In situ loaded LID had a plasticizing effect on PEO hydrogel, and films showed excellent mechanical properties and prolonged drug release. The drug release mechanism for the majority of medicated PEO hydrogel formulations was determined as both drug diffusion and polymer chain relaxation, which is highly desirable for controlled release formulations.
Bisphosphonates for the prevention of bone metastases.

Preclinical studies have provided evidence that bisphosphonates have antitumor activity. Bisphosphonates have been shown to induce tumor cell apoptosis in vitro and reduce skeletal tumor burden in tumor xenograft models. Indirect evidence of bisphosphonate antitumor activity has been acquired from studies of clodronate, pamidronate, and zoledronic acid in patients with established bone metastases. Furthermore, clinical studies of daily oral clodronate adjuvant therapy suggest that bisphosphonates can prevent bone metastases, but their effect on overall survival is less certain. Pamidronate and zoledronic acid, potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates, have shown antitumor activity at approximately 10- to 100-fold lower concentrations than clodronate in vitro and may hold promise for the prevention of bone metastases. However, before the clinical application of bisphosphonates for the prevention of bone metastases can be initiated, clinical trials must assess the optimal stage of disease at which to initiate treatment, the duration of therapy, and the optimal dose and schedule to achieve clinically meaningful antitumor effects. Adjuvant studies of zoledronic acid in patients with breast cancer are in development and should further clarify the role of zoledronic acid in the prevention of bone metastases.
Représentations populaires de la méningite épidémique dans un contexte de changement climatique au Nord-Bénin

Une etude socio-anthropologique a ete conduite au Nord-Benin pour analyser les representations sociales de la meningite dans un environnement en mutation. Selon ces representations, la meningite serait une maladie du cou causee par le soleil, le vent, la salete ou relevant parfois de l’inconnu et ciblant surtout les etres innocents comme les enfants. Des potions locales et d’autres produits provenant des grandes villes du pays, du Nigeria, de la Cote-d’Ivoire ou de la Chine, sont exploites dans la prevention et la guerison. Les pratiques magico-religieuses et divinatoires occupent aussi une place importante. Certaines populations pratiquent l’isolement pour limiter la contagion. Le recours a un specialiste ou un centre de sante n’intervient que lorsque les traitements susmentionnes echouent. La vaccination est percue comme une strategie efficace, mais elle est entravee par differents facteurs lies aussi bien aux beneficiaires qu’au personnel de sante. Les femmes jouent un role important dans le suivi des symptomes et le lancement des alertes. Les hommes apparaissent comme les seuls decideurs et se presentent egalement comme des guerisseurs de la maladie. Une politique epidemiologique orientee vers le genre pourrait permettre d’accroitre le controle de la meningite.