Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stackelberg scheduling strategies

We study the problem of optimizing the performance of a system shared by selfish, noncooperative users. We consider the concrete setting of scheduling jobs on a set of shared machines with load-dependent latency functions specifying the length of time necessary to complete a job; we measure system performance by the total latency of the system. Assigning jobs according to the selfish interests of individual users (who wish to minimize only the latency that their own jobs experience) typically results in suboptimal system performance. However, in many systems of this type there is a mixture of “selfishly controlled” and “centrally controlled” jobs; as the assignment of centrally controlled jobs will influence the subsequent actions by selfish users, we aspire to contain the degradation in system performance due to selfish behavior by scheduling the centrally controlled jobs in the best possible way. We formulate this goal as an optimization problem via Stackelberg games, games in which one player acts a leader (here, the centralized authority interested in optimizing system performance) and the rest as followers (the selfish users). The problem is then to compute a strategy for the leader (a em Stackelberg strategy) that induces the followers to react in a way that (at least approximately) minimizes the total latency in the system. In this paper, we prove that it is NP-hard to compute the optimal Stackelberg strategy and present simple strategies with provable performance guarantees. More precisely, we give a simple algorithm that computes a strategy inducing a job assignment with total latency no more than a constant times that of the optimal assignment of all of the jobs; in the absence of centrally controlled jobs and a Stackelberg strategy, no result of this type is possible. We also prove stronger performance guarantees in the
Exploring the Utility of the Random Forest Method for Forecasting Ozone Pollution in SYDNEY

This paper explores the utility of an ensemble decision-tree method called random forest, in comparison with the classic classification and regression trees (CART) algorithm, for forecasting ground-level ozone pollution in the Sydney metropolitan region. Statistical forecasting models are developed to provide daily ozone forecasts in November-March for three subregions, i.e., Sydney east, Sydney south-west and Sydney north-west. The random forest models are evaluated in reference to the single decision-tree models developed from the classic CART algorithm. The results show that the random forest models outperform the CART models for forecasting high ozone pollution in Sydney south-west and Sydney north-west, the areas where the highest ozone pollution are observed. The random forest models also show a lift in forecasting skills in Sydney south-west if compared to the existing forecasting practice for the basin as a whole. These results suggest that random forest is a promising method for air quality forecasting in Sydney. This study promotes the application of a statistical ensemble approach to air quality forecasting.
Optimization of Face Recognition Algorithms for Ubiquitous Computing Environment

In this paper, we explore face recognition technology for embedded system. We develop an algorithm suitable for ubiquitous computing environment. The basic requirements include appropriate data format and ratio of feature data to achieve efficiency of algorithm. Our experiment presents a face recognition algorithm for handheld devices based on embedded system. The essential part of proposed system includes; integer representation from floating point calculation and optimization for memory management.
Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs): A Novel Paradigm for GIS

In recent years, an increasing amount of effort has gone into the design of GIS user interfaces. On the one hand, Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) with a high degree of sophistication have replaced line‐driven commands of first‐generation GIS. On the other hand, a number of alternative approaches have been suggested, most notably those based on Virtual Environments (VEs). In this paper we discuss a novel interface for GIS, which springs from recent work carried out in the field of Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs). The philosophy behind TUIs is to allow people to interact with computers via familiar tangible objects, therefore taking advantage of the richness of the tactile world combined with the power of numerical simulations. Two experimental systems, named Illuminating Clay and SandScape, are described here and their applications to GIS are examined. Conclusions suggest that these interfaces might streamline the landscape design process and result in a more effective use of GIS, especially when distributed decision‐making and discussion with non‐experts are involved.
Relationships Linking Amplification Level to Gene Over-Expression in Gliomas

Background Gene amplification is thought to promote over-expression of genes favouring tumour development. Because amplified regions are usually megabase-long, amplification often concerns numerous syntenic or non-syntenic genes, among which only a subset is over-expressed. The rationale for these differences remains poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Finding To address this question, we used quantitative RT-PCR to determine the expression level of a series of co-amplified genes in five xenografted and one fresh human gliomas. These gliomas were chosen because we have previously characterised in detail the genetic content of their amplicons. In all the cases, the amplified sequences lie on extra-chromosomal DNA molecules, as commonly observed in gliomas. We show here that genes transcribed in non-amplified gliomas are over-expressed when amplified, roughly in proportion to their copy number, while non-expressed genes remain inactive. When specific antibodies were available, we also compared protein expression in amplified and non-amplified tumours. We found that protein accumulation barely correlates with the level of mRNA expression in some of these tumours. Conclusions/Significance Here we show that the tissue-specific pattern of gene expression is maintained upon amplification in gliomas. Our study relies on a single type of tumour and a limited number of cases. However, it strongly suggests that, even when amplified, genes that are normally silent in a given cell type play no role in tumour progression. The loose relationships between mRNA level and protein accumulation and/or activity indicate that translational or post-translational events play a key role in fine-tuning the final outcome of amplification in gliomas.
Organizational performance management system: exploring the manufacturing sectors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the various performance management systems utilized by the manufacturing units.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the performance management literature to extract the factors that would help to explain the effect of performance management system on manufacturing units.Findings – This research revealed important issues and practices of performance management in manufacturing sectors.Originality/value – The paper improves understanding of the different approaches utilized to manage and measure performance management system in the manufacturing sector.
Being Pathogenic, Plastic, and Sexual while Living with a Nearly Minimal Bacterial Genome

Mycoplasmas are commonly described as the simplest self-replicating organisms, whose evolution was mainly characterized by genome downsizing with a proposed evolutionary scenario similar to that of obligate intracellular bacteria such as insect endosymbionts. Thus far, analysis of mycoplasma genomes indicates a low level of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) implying that DNA acquisition is strongly limited in these minimal bacteria. In this study, the genome of the ruminant pathogen Mycoplasma agalactiae was sequenced. Comparative genomic data and phylogenetic tree reconstruction revealed that ∼18% of its small genome (877,438 bp) has undergone HGT with the phylogenetically distinct mycoides cluster, which is composed of significant ruminant pathogens. HGT involves genes often found as clusters, several of which encode lipoproteins that usually play an important role in mycoplasma–host interaction. A decayed form of a conjugative element also described in a member of the mycoides cluster was found in the M. agalactiae genome, suggesting that HGT may have occurred by mobilizing a related genetic element. The possibility of HGT events among other mycoplasmas was evaluated with the available sequenced genomes. Our data indicate marginal levels of HGT among Mycoplasma species except for those described above and, to a lesser extent, for those observed in between the two bird pathogens, M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae. This first description of large-scale HGT among mycoplasmas sharing the same ecological niche challenges the generally accepted evolutionary scenario in which gene loss is the main driving force of mycoplasma evolution. The latter clearly differs from that of other bacteria with small genomes, particularly obligate intracellular bacteria that are isolated within host cells. Consequently, mycoplasmas are not only able to subvert complex hosts but presumably have retained sexual competence, a trait that may prevent them from genome stasis and contribute to adaptation to new hosts.
Comparison of compression algorithms' impact on fingerprint and face recognition accuracy

The impact of using different lossy compression algorithms on the matching accuracy of fingerprint and face recognition systems is investigated. In particular, we relate rate-distortion performance as measured in PSNR to the matching scores as obtained by the recognition systems. JPEG2000 and SPIHT are correctly predicted by PSNR to be the most suited compression algorithms to be used in fingerprint and face recognition systems. Fractal compression is identified to be least suited for the use in the investigated recognition systems, although PSNR suggests JPEG to deliver worse recognition results in the case of face imagery. JPEG compression performs surprisingly well at high bitrates in face recognition systems, given the low PSNR performance observed.
OD in the Public Sector: Intervening in Ambiguous Performance Environments

Important differences exist between corporate and public-sector organi zations. This article begins by identifying some of the major external and internal variables in the literature that affect public-sector organiza tions. An integrated contextual framework is developed that is used as an orienting device for an organization development (OD) intervention in a division of a state welfare system. The study describes the tactics of change in an ambiguous performance setting and focuses on some of the internal influence variables that may typically be expected to affect change attempts in public-sector organizations.
Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy

First described by Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas (1879-1934) in 1909, Chagas disease (CD) or American trypanosomiasis is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. This zoonotic infectious disease follows a sylvatic cycle where blood-sucking triatomine insect (known as kissing bug or in Portuguese as “barbeiro”), acquire the parasite by sucking small mammals’ blood and transmit to humans through their feces, left close to the bite site. The parasite, in turn, reaches the human blood stream when the parasite‑laden feces are dispersed at the itching bite wound.
The Multifunctional Roles of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus 50KP Movement Protein

Diverse plant virus families encode movement proteins (MPs) in their genomes. MPs are required for cell-to-cell movement of the virus in host plants and modify plasmodesmata in the cell wall, allowing cell-to-cell movement of virus particles or infectious transcripts. In recent years, much progress has been made in determining cell-to-cell movement functions of MPs from herbaceous plant viruses. On the other hand, only a few studies have examined MPs of viruses infecting woody hosts. Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), the type species of the genus Trichovirus, is graft-transmissible and causes topworking disease, which induces lethal decline in apple trees grown on Maruba kaido (Malus prunifolia var. ringo) rootstocks. ACLSV encodes a MP with a mol. wt of 50 kDa (50KP). In this review, we summarize the multifunctional roles of ACLSV MP which has the following characteristics: 1) it localizes to plasmodesmata in infected and transgenic cells, 2) it can spread from cells that initially produce it into neighboring cells, 3) it enables cell-to-cell trafficking of green fluorescent protein (GFP) when 50KP and GFP are co-expressed in the leaf epidermis, 4) it induces the production of tubular structures protruding from the surface of protoplasts, 5) it has two independently active, single-stranded nucleic acid binding domains, 6) it interferes specifically with the functions of the MP encoded by Grapevine berry inner necrosis virus, and 7) it acts as a suppressor of systemic silencing without interfering with local silencing, probably by inhibiting the movement of silencing signals. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Note on Some Ethnological Differences in Recognition of Simulated Expressions of the Emotions

The achievements of samples of American and Mexican school children in the recognition of pictures of simulated expressions of the emotions were compared. Mexican school children were generally more sensitive to the specificity of these expressions than were the American school children. Some interpretations of the differences and the possible values of the method for ethnological research are suggested.
Face and word recognition in patients with left and right hemispheric lesions: Evidence from reaction times and ERPs

Abstract: We recorded reaction times (RTs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) in patients with unilateral lesions during a memory search task. Participants memorized faces or abstract words, which were then recognized among new ones. The RT deficit found in patients with left brain damage (LBD) for words increased with memory set size, suggesting that their problem relates to memory search. In contrast, the RT deficit found in patients with RBD for faces was apparently related to perceptual encoding, a conclusion also supported by their reduced P100 ERP component. A late slow wave (720-1720 ms) was enhanced in patients, particularly to words in patients with LBD, and to faces in patients with RBD. Thus, the slow wave was largest in the conditions with most pronounced performance deficits, suggesting that it reflects deficit-related resource recruitment.
Homophobia in child custody cases: An experimental study

We examined the effects of litigant sexual orientation, litigant gender, child gender and participant level of homophobia on custody decisions. One hundred and fifty-four Swedish law students in their final years of education responded to vignettes describing the litigants and the general circumstances of a child custody case. Vignettes varied regarding litigant sexual orientation, litigant gender and child gender, and were followed by a question concerning which of the litigants ought to be awarded custody, along with scales aimed at measuring the perceived parenting ability of the litigants. As a separate stage, participants responded to a scale measuring homophobia. The results revealed that there was no influence of litigant sexual orientation, child gender or participant level of homophobia on custody decisions, and that the mean level of homophobia of the participants was low, although it was shown that male participants were more homophobic than female participants. The generalisability of the findings to Swedish practitioners of law was discussed. Among other things the participants were of a different generation than the majority of law professionals in the field today.
Confluence of Self-Esteem Regulation Mechanisms: On Integrating the Self-Zoo

The current literature describes a number of mechanisms by which self-esteem is affected and regulated. Using exemplars from three different families of such mechanisms—cognitive consistency, social comparison, and value expression—the three studies reported here (in addition to others in the literature) indicate that these qualitatively different mechanisms are not independent of one another. The evidence is interpreted as showing the unitary nature of self-esteem regulation and that individuals tend to be satisficers rather than maximizers regarding self-esteem.
A Switchless Multiband Impedance Matching Technique Based on Multiresonant Circuits

In a number of applications, a matching network capable of providing specified impedances at different frequencies is necessary. In this brief, we present a novel technique for switchless multiband impedance matching networks based on multiresonant circuits. To illustrate this, simulation results of dual-band and triband networks are also presented. In addition, a dual-band impedance matching network has been implemented and evaluated. The dual-band impedance matching network presents two specified impedances, one at 433 MHz and the other at 915 MHz with 0.82 and 0.20 dB of insertion losses, respectively.
Adapting in-game agent behavior by observation of players using learning behavior trees

In this paper we describe Learning Behavior Trees , an extension of the popular game AI scripting technique. Behavior Trees provide an effective way for expert designers to describe complex, in-game agent behaviors. Scripted AI captures human intuition about the structure of behavioral decisions, but suffers from brittleness and lack of the natural variation seen in human players. Learning Behavior Trees are designed by a human designer, but then are trained by observation of players performing the same role, to introduce human-like variation to the decision structure. We show that, using this model, a single hand-designed Behavior Tree can cover a wide variety of player behavior variations in a simplified Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
Urinary incontinence in women

Urinary incontinence affects women of all ages. History, physical examination, and certain tests can guide specialists in diagnosing stress urinary incontinence, urgency urinary incontinence, and mixed urinary incontinence. First line management includes lifestyle and behavior modification, as well as pelvic floor strength and bladder training. Drug therapy is helpful in the treatment of urgency incontinence that does not respond to conservative measures. In addition, sacral neuromodulation, intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA injections, and posterior tibial nerve stimulation can be used in select patient populations with drug refractory urgency incontinence. Midurethral synthetic slings, including retropubic and transobturator approaches, are safe and efficacious surgical options for stress urinary incontinence and have replaced more invasive bladder neck slings that use autologous or cadaveric fascia. Despite controversy surrounding vaginal mesh for prolapse, synthetic slings for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence are considered safe and minimally invasive.
Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science Have the Same Problem

Cognitive scientists attempting to explain human intelligence share a puzzle with artificial intelligence researchers aiming to create computers that exhibit humanlevel intelligence: how can a system composed of relatively unintelligent parts (such as neurons or transistors) behave intelligently? I argue that although cognitive science has made significant progress towards many of its goals, that solving the puzzle of intelligence requires special standards and methods in addition to those already employed in cognitive science. To promote such research, I suggest creating a subfield within cognitive science called intelligence science and propose some guidelines for research addressing the intelligence puzzle. The Intelligence Problem Cognitive scientists attempting to fully understand human cognition share a puzzle with artificial intelligence researchers aiming to create computers that exhibit humanlevel intelligence: how can a system composed of relatively unintelligent parts (say, neurons or transistors) behave intelligently?
Direct sensing and signal transduction during bacterial chemotaxis toward aromatic compounds in Comamonas testosteroni

Micro‐organisms sense and chemotactically respond to aromatic compounds. Although the existence of chemoreceptors that bind to aromatic attractants and subsequently trigger chemotaxis have long been speculated, such a chemoreceptor has not been demonstrated. In this report, we demonstrated that the chemoreceptor MCP2901 from Comamonas testosteroni CNB‐1 binds to aromatic compounds and initiates downstream chemotactic signaling in addition to its ability to trigger chemotaxis via citrate binding. The function of gene MCP2901 was investigated by genetic deletion from CNB‐1 and genetic complementation of the methyl‐accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP)‐null mutant CNB‐1Δ20. Results showed that the expression of MCP2901 in the MCP‐null mutant restored chemotaxis toward nine tested aromatic compounds and nine carboxylic acids. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) analyses demonstrated that the ligand‐binding domain of MCP2901 (MCP2901LBD) bound to citrate, and weakly to gentisate and 4‐hydroxybenzoate. Additionally, ITC assays indicated that MCP2901LBD bound strongly to 2,6‐dihydroxybenzoate and 2‐hydroxybenzoate, which are isomers of gentisate and 4‐hydroxybenzoate respectively that are not metabolized by CNB‐1. Agarose‐in‐plug and capillary assays showed that these two molecules serve as chemoattractants for CNB‐1. Through constructing membrane‐like MCP2901‐inserted Nanodiscs and phosphorelay activity assays, we demonstrated that 2,6‐dihydroxybenzoate and 2‐hydroxybenzoate altered kinase activity of CheA. This is the first evidence of an MCP binding to an aromatic molecule and triggering signal transduction for bacterial chemotaxis.
Melarsoprol Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes as Promising Oral Candidates for the Treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, results from infection with the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma brucei (T.b.) gambiense or T.b. rhodesiense and is invariably fatal if untreated. There are 60 million people at risk from the disease throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The infection progresses from the haemolymphatic stage where parasites invade the blood, lymphatics and peripheral organs, to the late encephalitic stage where they enter the central nervous system (CNS) to cause serious neurological disease. The trivalent arsenical drug melarsoprol (Arsobal) is the only currently available treatment for CNS-stage T.b. rhodesiense infection. However, it must be administered intravenously due to the presence of propylene glycol solvent and is associated with numerous adverse reactions. A severe post-treatment reactive encephalopathy occurs in about 10% of treated patients, half of whom die. Thus melarsoprol kills 5% of all patients receiving it. Cyclodextrins have been used to improve the solubility and reduce the toxicity of a wide variety of drugs. We therefore investigated two melarsoprol cyclodextrin inclusion complexes; melarsoprol hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and melarsoprol randomly-methylated-β-cyclodextrin. We found that these compounds retain trypanocidal properties in vitro and cure CNS-stage murine infections when delivered orally, once per day for 7-days, at a dosage of 0.05 mmol/kg. No overt signs of toxicity were detected. Parasite load within the brain was rapidly reduced following treatment onset and magnetic resonance imaging showed restoration of normal blood-brain barrier integrity on completion of chemotherapy. These findings strongly suggest that complexed melarsoprol could be employed as an oral treatment for CNS-stage HAT, delivering considerable improvements over current parenteral chemotherapy.