Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mallows model for Coxeter groups and buildings

Rank data is comprised of a set of complete and partial rankings which reflect preference or standing (examples of such data can be generated by voters, search engines, market survey responses, etc.). Complete rankings (viewed as bijective maps from a set of n items to n ranks) can be identified with the symmetric group S n , and this identification gives rise to a variety of analytic techniques. One such method is a probabilistic soft clustering technique based on the Mallows probability distribution for the symmetric group. This distribution relies on Kendall’s tau (a distance on S n ) and is normalized by a sum over the entire space of n! rankings. It can be extended to partial rankings (which differ from complete rankings by allowing multi-way ties at varying ranks), theoretically facilitating the extension of this probabilistic method. Unfortunately, the generalization of the Mallows distribution requires the evaluation of even more complex sums, which quickly become prohibitively large. In this thesis, we present a closed form of Mallows distribution for partial rankings which allows us to extend the clustering method to accommodate arbitrary sets of rank data. In addition, our combinatorial proof of this closed form allows Mallows model and its accompanying closed forms to be generalized to several natural extensions of the symmetric group, namely the flag variety of the finite general linear group and all finite Coxeter groups.
Inundated wetland dynamics over boreal regions from remote sensing: the use of Topex‐Poseidon dual‐frequency radar altimeter observations

This study presents a first attempt to estimate the extent and seasonality of northern wetlands using radar altimeter satellite observations. The sensitivity of the Topex‐Poseidon dual‐frequency radar altimeter to detect inundation is investigated and compared with passive and active microwave satellite measurements along with a land surface climatology database. The C band backscatter altimeter signal clearly tracks passive microwave emissivity observations of wetlands and is able to detect small flooded areas. Because of the nadir incidence angle, the radar altimeter also shows more capability to detect wetlands than the C band scatterometer. Monthly flooded areas are calculated by estimating flooded pixel fractional coverage using the altimeter C band backscatter magnitude and a linear mixing model with dual‐frequency altimeter backscatter difference, C–Ku, to account for vegetation effects. Because of the Topex‐Poseidon satellite spatial coverage, the results are given only from 40° N to 66° N. This region nevertheless represents more than 30% of world's inundated surfaces during the summer. A direct validation of the inundated extent is unfortunately impossible on a large scale, due to the scarcity of quantitative observations. As a consequence, the results are evaluated by comparison with other existing estimates. Radar altimetry estimates, comprising natural wetlands and river/lakes, indicate a maximum inundated area of 1.86×106 km2 for July 1993 and 1994 as compared with 1.31×106 km2 from passive microwave technique and ∼2.10×106 km2 from climatology dataset. The wetland seasonal variability derived from the altimeter and passive microwave techniques agrees well. These promising results could soon be applied to the ENVISAT dual‐frequency radar altimeter that will provide a better survey of global inundated surfaces thanks to its much more complete spatial coverage.
Cloning, localization and focus formation at DNA damage sites of canine Ku70

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair machinery, specifically non-homologous DNA-end joining (NHEJ), is crucial for developing next-generation radiotherapies and common chemotherapeutics for human and animal cancers. The localization, protein-protein interactions and post-translational modifications of core NHEJ factors, might play vital roles for regulation of NHEJ activity. The human Ku heterodimer (Ku70/Ku80) is a core NHEJ factor in the NHEJ pathway and is involved in sensing of DSBs. Companion animals, such as canines, have been proposed to be an excellent model for cancer research, including development of chemotherapeutics. However, the post-translational modifications, localization and complex formation of canine Ku70 have not been clarified. Here, we show that canine Ku70 localizes in the nuclei of interphase cells and that it is recruited quickly at laser-microirradiated DSB sites. Structurally, two DNA-PK phosphorylation sites (S6 and S51), an ubiquitination site (K114), two canonical sumoylation consensus motifs, a CDK phosphorylation motif, and a nuclear localization signal (NLS) in the human Ku70 are evolutionarily conserved in canine and mouse species, while the acetylation sites in human Ku70 are partially conserved. Intriguingly, the primary candidate nucleophile (K31) required for 5’dRP/AP lyase activity of human and mouse Ku70 is not conserved in canines, suggesting that canine Ku does not possess this activity. Our findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of Ku-dependent NHEJ in a canine model and form a platform for the development of next-generation common chemotherapeutics for human and animal cancers.
Micro-nano integration via hybrid control of multiscale manipulators

Successful commercialization of Nanosystems based devices largely depends on the development of manufacturing tools and strategies that address micro and nanoscale integration challenges at systems level. The present work brings out some of the challenges involved in accomplishing this, and presents both hardware and software based strategies used to accomplish this integration. Assembly at the nanoscale demands ultra high precision and involves physical effects vastly different from other scales. In addition to this, the lack of techniques to accomplish simultaneous sensing and manipulation, coupled with slow and bulky metrological equipments such as scanning electron microscopes (SEM) or atomic force microscopes (AFM) make conventional robotics obsolete for micro-nano integration. The integration strategy presented in this paper involves using microrobots to overcome these challenges and implements a new type of control scheme applicable to micro/nanorobotics. This novel and scalable hybrid control has been configured keeping in mind the (i) precision requirements, (ii) tolerance budgets, (iii) sensor field and workspace, and (iv) surface effects. This control scheme is designed to optimize assembly yield and the cycle time.
Alleviating Thermal Constraints While Maintaining Performance Via Silicon- Based On-chip Optical Interconnects

The relentless pursuit of Moore’s Law by the semiconductor industry has yielded significant increases in performance, but at the cost of greater power dissipation. As CMOS technology continues to scale, increasing power densities, or “hot spots,” particularly in dense logic structures, may limit frequencies below projected targets in order to avoid circuit malfunction. A solution to this problem is to separate the hot spots by interleaving these units with cooler cache banks. This approach, however, increases the distance among processing functions, which can significantly degrade performance. While effort is made to localize communication as much as possible, global communication cannot be completely avoided, particularly in parallel applications. In this paper, the use of silicon-based on-chip optical interconnects is investigated for minimizing the performance gap created by separating processing functions due to thermal constraints. Models of optical components are presented, and used to connect the common front-end with the distributed back-ends of a large-scale Clustered MultiThreaded (CMT) processor. A significant reduction in thermal constraints (translated into an increase in clock frequency), combined with improved instructions per cycle (IPC), is demonstrated over a conventional all-electrical system. ∗This research was supported by National Science Foundation grant CCR-0304574.
An Investigation of Probabilistic Interpretations of Heuristics in Plan Recognition

Plan recognition is the process of inferring a plausible set of plans that explain an agent’s actions. In this paper, I use a small example to focus on some non-probabilistic heuristics proposed in the literature for preferring one plan over another. I show some of the conditions or constraints on the probability distributions so that the plan that is preferred by the heuristics is also the most probable plan and I look at some of the implications of these conditions. I also show that if the conditions do not hold there exist cases where the results of the heuristics clash with that of probabilities. One of the most interesting results of the analysis is that, given the assumption that the plan library is complete, the heuristics examined can be given a probabilistic interpretation or justification if and only if any two basic plans in the plan library which share a step are equally likely. The usefulness of the analysis is that we can test whether the conditions hold in a particular domain and so gain more insight into whether our choice of heuristic is appropriate to that domain. Further, this work can be seen as providing an alternative justification of the heuristics.
Local Differentiation of Sugar Donor Specificity of Flavonoid Glycosyltransferase in Lamiales[W]

Flavonoids are most commonly conjugated with various sugar moieties by UDP-sugar:glycosyltransferases (UGTs) in a lineage-specific manner. Generally, the phylogenetics and regiospecificity of flavonoid UGTs are correlated, indicating that the regiospecificity of UGT differentiated prior to speciation. By contrast, it is unclear how the sugar donor specificity of UGTs evolved. Here, we report the biochemical, homology-modeled, and phylogenetic characterization of flavonoid 7-O-glucuronosyltransferases (F7GAT), which is responsible for producing specialized metabolites in Lamiales plants. All of the Lamiales F7GATs were found to be members of the UGT88-related cluster and specifically used UDP-glucuronic acid (UDPGA). We identified an Arg residue that is specifically conserved in the PSPG box in the Lamiales F7GATs. Substitution of this Arg with Trp was sufficient to convert the sugar donor specificity of the Lamiales F7GATs from UDPGA to UDP-glucose. Homology modeling of the Lamiales F7GAT suggested that the Arg residue plays a critical role in the specific recognition of anionic carboxylate of the glucuronic acid moiety of UDPGA with its cationic guanidinium moiety. These results support the hypothesis that differentiation of sugar donor specificity of UGTs occurred locally, in specific plant lineages, after establishment of general regiospecificity for the sugar acceptor. Thus, the plasticity of sugar donor specificity explains, in part, the extraordinary structural diversification of phytochemicals.
Exploring Existential Meaning: Optimizing Human Development Across the Life Span

Foreword - James E Birren Introduction - Gary T Reker and Kerry Chamberlain PART ONE: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL ISSUES Philosophical Foundations of Existential Meaning - Gary M Kenyon Meaning as Movement - Hubert J M Hermans The Relativity of the Mind Theoretical Perspective, Dimensions, and Measurement of Existential Meaning - Gary T Reker PART TWO: RESEARCH ON EXISTENTIAL MEANING Structural Components of Personal Meaning in Life and their Relationship with Death Attitudes and Coping Mechanisms in Late Adulthood - Nancy Van Ranst and Alfons Marcoen Dimensions and Discourses of Meaning in Life - Kay O'Connor and Kerry Chamberlain Approaching Meaning from Qualitiative Perspectives An Inquiry into Existential Meaning - Dominique L Debats Theoretical, Clinincal and Phenomenal Perspectives The Personal Meaning System in a Life-Span Perspective - Freya Dittman-Kohli and Gerben J Westerhof The Development of a Culturally Sensitive Measure of Sources of Life Meaning - Edward Prager, Rivka Savaya and Leora Bar-Tur PART THREE: APPLICATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS Finding Meaning in Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer's Disease - Carol J Farran, Karen Lowe Graham and Dimitra Loukissa African American and White Caregivers' Perspectives Making Meaning within the Experience of Life-Threatening Illness - Doris D Coward Religion and Meaning in Late Life - Susan H McFadden Logotherapeutic and 'Depth Psychology' Approaches to Meaning and Psychotherapy - David Guttmann PART FOUR: OVERVIEW AND NEW DIRECTIONS Existential Meaning - Gary T Reker and Kerry Chamberlain Reflections and Directions
A globally consistent reanalysis of hurricane variability and trends

Recently documented trends in the existing records of hurricane intensity and their relationship to increasing sea surface temperatures suggest that hurricane intensity may be increasing due to global warming. However, it is presently being argued that the existing global hurricane records are too inconsistent to accurately measure trends. As a first step in addressing this debate, we constructed a more homogeneous global record of hurricane intensity and found that previously documented trends in some ocean basins are well supported, but in others the existing records contain trends that may be inflated or spurious.
Branched-chain Amino Acids are Beneficial to Maintain Growth Performance and Intestinal Immune-related Function in Weaned Piglets Fed Protein Restricted Diet

As a novel approach for disease control and prevention, nutritional modulation of the intestinal health has been proved. However, It is still unknown whether branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is needed to maintain intestinal immune-related function. The objective of this study was to determine whether BCAA supplementation in protein restricted diet affects growth performance, intestinal barrier function and modulates post-weaning gut disorders. One hundred and eight weaned piglets (7.96±0.26 kg) were randomly fed one of the three diets including a control diet (21% crude protein [CP], CON), a protein restricted diet (17% CP, PR) and a BCAA diet (BCAA supplementation in the PR diet) for 14 d. The growth performance, plasma amino acid concentrations, small intestinal morphology and intestinal immunoglobulins were tested. First, average daily gain (ADG) (p<0.05) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (p<0.05) of weaned pigs in PR group were lower, while gain:feed ratio was lower than the CON group (p<0.05). Compared with PR group, BCAA group improved ADG (p<0.05), ADFI (p<0.05) and feed:gain ratio (p<0.05) of piglets. The growth performance data between CON and BCAA groups was not different (p>0.05). The PR and BCAA treatments had a higher (p<0.05) plasma concentration of methionine and threonine than the CON treatment. The level of some essential and functional amino acids (such as arginine, phenylalanine, histidine, glutamine etc.) in plasma of the PR group was lower (p<0.05) than that of the CON group. Compared with CON group, BCAA supplementation significantly increased BCAA concentrations (p<0.01) and decreased urea concentration (p<0.01) in pig plasma indicating that the efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization was increased. Compared with CON group, the small intestine of piglets fed PR diet showed villous atrophy, increasing of intra-epithelial lymphocytes (IELs) number (p<0.05) and declining of the immunoglobulin concentration, including jejunal immunoglobulin A (IgA) (p = 0.04), secreted IgA (sIgA) (p = 0.03) and immunoglobulin M (p = 0.08), and ileal IgA (p = 0.01) and immunoglobulin G (p = 0.08). The BCAA supplementation increased villous height in the duodenum (p<0.01), reversed the trend of an increasing IELs number. Notably, BCAA supplementation increased levels of jejunal and ileal immunoglobulin mentioned above. In conclusion, BCAA supplementation to protein restricted diet improved intestinal immune defense function by protecting villous morphology and by increasing levels of intestinal immunoglobulins in weaned piglets. Our finding has the important implication that BCAA may be used to reduce the negative effects of a protein restricted diet on growth performance and intestinal immunity in weaned piglets.
Ámbitos de confianza y de la acción cooperativa para la creación de empleo. Una reflexión comparada

El objeto del texto son temas recurrentes en las ciencias sociales como son la accion colectiva, la cooperacion y las transformaciones culturales que se estan produciendo en el capitalismo. Buscando aislar algunos de sus elementos clave e incidiendo en la capacidad de los grupos humanos para generar confianza mutua. Incidiendo en la importancia de los mecanismos de creacion y gestion de la “confianza”, considerandolas habilidades clave para la aplicacion de estrategias cooperativas para la provision de medios de sustento a traves de trabajo retribuido. Se tratan casos donde la confianza para la accion colectiva se sustenta en lazos comunitarios y familiares pre-existentes. Tambien otros donde las alianzas cooperativas se basan en lazos laxos y espurios entre actores que cooperan por afinidad, y donde la confianza se despersonaliza siendo garantizada por el sistema.
Learning to Acquire Information

We consider the problem of diagnosis where a set of simple observations are used to infer a potentially complex hidden hypothesis. Finding the optimal subset of observations is intractable in general, thus we focus on the problem of active diagnosis, where the agent selects the next most-informative observation based on the results of previous observations. We show that under the assumption of uniform observation entropy, one can build an implication model which directly predicts the outcome of the potential next observation conditioned on the results of past observations, and selects the observation with the maximum entropy. This approach enjoys reduced computation complexity by bypassing the complicated hypothesis space, and can be trained on observation data alone, learning how to query without knowledge of the hidden hypothesis.
ANG II and vasopressin stimulate calcium entry in dispersed smooth muscle cells of preglomerular arterioles

Iversen, Bjarne M. , and William J. Arendshorst. ANG II and vasopressin stimulate calcium entry in dispersed smooth muscle cells of preglomerular arterioles. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Renal Physiol. 43): F498–F508, 1998. —Calcium signaling mechanisms were examined in vessel segments and dispersed single smooth muscle cells (SMC) of interlobular arteries and afferent arterioles (,50 μm diameter) from the rat kidney. These resistance vessels were isolated from rat kidneys, using an iron oxide-sieving technique with subsequent collagenase digestion. Individual cells were identified by their characteristic oval appearance and positive staining for smooth muscle-specific a-actin and heavy chain myosin SM-1 and SM-2. Cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca]i) was measured using fura 2 ratiometric fluorescence at 340 and 380 nm wavelength with a microscope-based photometer. Angiotensin II (ANG II) and arginine vasopressin (AVP), at concentrations of 10210–1026 M, produced dose-dependent increases in [Ca]i; maximum increases were 221 6 49 nM for ANG II and 237 6 49 nM for AVP. The temporal response patterns for both agonists were characterized by a squareshaped, immediate step increase in [Ca]i to a near maximum level that was maintained through the recording period of 150–200 s. Responses of individual dispersed SMC and short vessel segments were similar. Losartan antagonized the action of ANG II, indicating mediation by AT1 receptors on preglomerular arteriolar SMC. The V1-selective antagonist [d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)2Tyr(NH2)9]AVP completely inhibited AVPinduced [Ca]i changes. The importance of calcium entry in hormone-induced changes in [Ca]i was demonstrated by the finding that neither ANG II nor AVP elicited a [Ca]i response in media rendered nominally calcium free by addition of ethylene glycol-bis(b-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N8,N8tetraacetic acid. Calcium entry occurred primarily through L-type, voltage-gated calcium channels as the dihydropyridine, nifedipine, completely prevented or reversed [Ca]i changes normally elicited by either hormone. Our results provide new information about the similarity of calcium signaling in single SMC and short segments freshly isolated from renal interlobular arteries and afferent arterioles. The observations indicate that AT1 and V1 receptors are coupled to signal transduction pathways leading to rapid changes in [Ca]i. Calcium mobilization appears to play a minor to nonexistent role under the experimental conditions. The predominant mechanism involves calcium entry through dihydropyridine-sensitive, voltage-gated calcium channels in single SMC from these resistance vessels.
Rural poverty in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: profiles and policies.

The problem of rural poverty in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan remains intractable mainly because it has not been confronted by policies with the biggest impact on the target groups, and because they have relied on "soft" policy options. The agricultural sectors in these countries have not been dynamic enough to sustain the growth process. What is even more disturbing is that agricultural growth has not provided new jobs and incomes to the landless poor. This sorry state of affairs is partly a reflection of the institutional impediments and partly a result of policies that have been contradictory. Industrial growth has not touched many of the rural communities, and the relative abundance of labor in these countries has not been used to advantage in selecting the industries which have the greatest impact on growth in both rural and urban areas. A direct attack on poverty requires that income earning opportunities are provided to the rural poor, by making available assets like land and human capital and through providing productive employment in and out of agriculture. The efforts made so far in the 3 countries do not represent an effective strategy to alleviate rural poverty.
Comparison of Standard Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Versus the Combination of Active Compression-Decompression Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and an Inspiratory Impedance Threshold Device for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Background—Active compression-decompression (ACD) CPR combined with an inspiratory impedance threshold device (ITD) improves vital organ blood flow during cardiac arrest. This study compared survival rates with ACD+ITD CPR versus standard manual CPR (S-CPR). Methods and Results—A prospective, controlled trial was performed in Mainz, Germany, in which a 2-tiered emergency response included early defibrillation. Patients with out-of-hospital arrest of presumed cardiac pathogenesis were sequentially randomized to ACD+ITD CPR or S-CPR by the advanced life support team after intubation. Rescuers learned which method of CPR to use at the start of each work shift. The primary end point was 1-hour survival after a witnessed arrest. With ACD+ITD CPR (n=103), return of spontaneous circulation and 1- and 24-hour survival rates were 55%, 51%, and 37% versus 37%, 32%, and 22% with S-CPR (n=107) (P =0.016, 0.006, and 0.033, respectively). One- and 24-hour survival rates in witnessed arrests were 55% and 41% with ACD+ITD CPR versus 33% and 23% in control subjects (P =0.011 and 0.019), respectively. One- and 24-hour survival rates in patients with a witnessed arrest in ventricular fibrillation were 68% and 58% after ACD+ITD CPR versus 27% and 23% after S-CPR (P =0.002 and 0.009), respectively. Patients randomized ≥10 minutes after the call for help to the ACD+ITD CPR had a 3 times higher 1-hour survival rate than control subjects (P =0.002). Hospital discharge rates were 18% after ACD+ITD CPR versus 13% in control subjects (P =0.41). In witnessed arrests, overall neurological function trended higher with ACD+ITD CPR versus control subjects (P =0.07). Conclusions—Compared with S-CPR, ACD+ITD CPR significantly improved short-term survival rates for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Additional studies are needed to evaluate potential long-term benefits of ACD+ITD CPR.