Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed Kalman Filter with minimum-time covariance computation

This paper considerably improves the well-known Distributed Kalman Filter (DKF) algorithm by Olfati-Saber (2007) by introducing a novel decentralised consensus value computation scheme, using only local observations of sensors. It has been shown that the state estimates obtained in [8] and [9] approaches those of the Central Kalman Filter (CKF) asymptotically. However, the convergence to the CKF can sometimes be too slow. This paper proposes an algorithm that enables every node in a sensor network to compute the global average consensus matrix of measurement noise covariance in minimum time without accessing global information. Compared with the algorithm in [8], our theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the new algorithm can offer improved performance in terms of time taken for the state estimates to converge to that of the CKF.
Application of Maximum Entropy Markov Models on the Protein Secondary Structure Predictions

An application of a new probabilistic modeling framework, Maximum Entropy Markov Model, on the protein secondary structure prediction problem is described [6]. As in previous domains of problem, such as the task of segmenting a body of text, within which MEMM was applied [6], the secondary structure prediction problem requires labeling an observation sequence of alphabets. This paper is an exploratory effort that attempts to establish the feasibility of using the new framework on this longstanding problem. Our initial results produced with a rather simple MEMM model show promise (≈ 58% accuracy) and suggest directions for further improvements.
Genetics of the interval from weaning to estrus in first-litter sows: correlated responses.

The objective of this study was to evaluate relationships between rebreeding performance and growth performance (n = 3,777 gilts) and rebreeding performance and reproductive performance (n = 2,242 sows). Our data were from a selection experiment for shorter intervals from weaning to estrus after the first parity (IWE), involving Dutch Landrace pigs, in which a selection line and a control line without selection were maintained for eight generations. Relationships were evaluated before and after transforming IWE to normal interval (NI; IWE < or = 7 d), prolonged interval (PI; IWE > 7 d), and incidence of a prolonged interval (INC). Heritabilities of NI, PI, and INC were . 18, . 17, and . 27. Within-line phenotypic and genetic trends in growth and reproductive performance were not different from zero and did not diverge as a correlated response to the selection applied. Phenotypic correlations between IWE, NI, or PI and growth or reproductive performance were low and ranged from -. 14 to . 11. Genetic correlations were higher, and, for the majority of traits, the genetic correlations with NI and PI had a different sign. Phenotypic and genetic contrasts between sows with NI and sows with PI different from zero indicated that INC may increase as a correlated response to selection for reproductive performance. Analyses using untransformed IWE or data from populations selected for rebreeding performance may underestimate the correlated response in IWE due to selection on economically important traits.
Study of a prototypical convective boundary layer observed during BLLAST: contributions by large-scale forcings

Abstract. We study the influence of the large-scale atmospheric contribution to the dynamics of the convective boundary layer (CBL) in a situation observed during the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence (BLLAST) field campaign. We employ two modeling approaches, the mixed-layer theory and large-eddy simulation (LES), with a complete data set of surface and upper-air atmospheric observations, to quantify the contributions of the advection of heat and moisture, and subsidence. We find that by only taking surface and entrainment fluxes into account, the boundary-layer height is overestimated by 70%. Constrained by surface and upper-air observations, we infer the large-scale vertical motions and horizontal advection of heat and moisture. Our findings show that subsidence has a clear diurnal pattern. Supported by the presence of a nearby mountain range, this pattern suggests that not only synoptic scales exert their influence on the boundary layer, but also mesoscale circulations. LES results show a satisfactory correspondence of the vertical structure of turbulent variables with observations. We also find that when large-scale advection and subsidence are included in the simulation, the values for turbulent kinetic energy are lower than without these large-scale forcings. We conclude that the prototypical CBL is a valid representation of the boundary-layer dynamics near regions characterized by complex topography and small-scale surface heterogeneity, provided that surface- and large-scale forcings are representative for the local boundary layer.
Hybrid predictive control for constrained visual servoing

Visual servoing provides a smart solution for robot control in unstructured environments. However, exploiting camera images for control imposes additional constraints to the system. Previously image-based predictive controllers were proposed as a remedy for this problem. Nevertheless, these methods suffered from local stability and possible numerical infeasibility. This work presents two hybrid predictive controllers that are globally stable and have minimum computation time. One of the controllers is based on hybrid visual servoing, while the other minimizes the error in both image and Cartesian space simultaneously with selected ratios. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is verified through numerous simulations.
Adenosine diphosphate as a mediator of platelet aggregation in vivo: an editorial view.

some observations were made also on smallarteries forcomparison. Thevenousvessels werecho-sen for quantification in preference to arteries becausethe comparative slowness ofbloodflow madeit easierto develop and control the new methods required.The results showed that the injection of hamsterplatelets, made fluorescent by labeling in vitro withfluorescein isothiocyanate, into thecirculationofotherhamsters makesit possible to quantifythe flowingandsticking ofplatelets in vivo. Theexperiments provideevidence that there is very little tendency for circulat-ing platelets to stick to the walls of small veins andarterioles, evenunderconditions in whichtheadhesionpropensities ofbothplatelets andvesselwallsmightbeexpectedtobeincreasedbypreparativemanipulations.In venules such
Effect of Breastfeeding Duration on Cognitive Development in Infants: 3-Year Follow-up Study

We investigated the association between breastfeeding and cognitive development in infants during their first 3 years. The present study was a part of the Mothers’ and Children’s Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, which was a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. A total of 697 infants were tested at age 12, 24, and 36 months using the Korean version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (K-BSID-II). The use and duration of breastfeeding and formula feeding were measured. The relationship between breastfeeding and the mental development index (MDI) score was analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicated a positive correlation between breastfeeding duration and MDI score. After adjusting for covariates, infants who were breastfed for ≥ 9 months had significantly better cognitive development than those who had not been breastfed. These results suggest that the longer duration of breastfeeding improves cognitive development in infants.
Ideas and perspectives: Carbon leaks from flooded land: do we need to replumb the inland water active pipe?

Abstract. At the global scale, inland waters are a significant source of atmospheric carbon (C), particularly in the tropics. The active pipe concept predicts that C emissions from streams, lakes and rivers are largely fuelled by terrestrial ecosystems. The traditionally recognized C transfer mechanisms from terrestrial to aquatic systems are surface runoff and groundwater drainage. We present here a series of arguments that support the idea that land flooding is an additional significant process that fuels inland waters with C at the global scale. Whether the majority of CO2 emitted by rivers comes from floodable land (approximately 10 % of the continents) or from well-drained land is a fundamental question that impacts our capacity to predict how these C fluxes might change in the future. Using classical concepts in ecology, we propose, as a necessary step forward, an update of the active pipe concept that differentiates floodable land from drained land. Contrarily to well-drained land, many wetlands (in particular riparian and littoral wetlands) combine strong hydrological connectivity with inland waters, high productivity assimilating CO2 from the atmosphere, direct transfer of litter and exudation products to water and waterlogged soils, a generally dominant allocation of ecosystem respiration (ER) below the water surface and a slow gas-exchange rate at the water–air interface. These properties force plants to pump atmospheric C to wetland waters and, when hydrology is favourable, to inland waters as organic C and dissolved CO2. This wetland CO2 pump may contribute disproportionately to CO2 emissions from inland waters, particularly in the tropics where 80 % of the global CO2 emissions to the atmosphere occur. In future studies, more care must be taken in the way that vertical and horizontal C fluxes are conceptualized along watersheds, and 2-D models that adequately account for the hydrological export of all C species are necessary. In flooded ecosystems, significant effort should be dedicated to quantifying the components of primary production and respiration by the submerged and emerged part of the ecosystem community and to using these metabolic rates in coupled hydrological–biogeochemical models. The construction of a global typology of wetlands that includes productivity, gas fluxes and hydrological connectivity with inland waters also appears necessary to adequately integrate continental C fluxes at the global scale.
Improved Residual Vector Quantization for High-dimensional Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search

Quantization methods have been introduced to perform large scale approximate nearest search tasks. Residual Vector Quantization (RVQ) is one of the effective quantization methods. RVQ uses a multi-stage codebook learning scheme to lower the quantization error stage by stage. However, there are two major limitations for RVQ when applied to on high-dimensional approximate nearest neighbor search: 1. The performance gain diminishes quickly with added stages. 2. Encoding a vector with RVQ is actually NP-hard. In this paper, we propose an improved residual vector quantization (IRVQ) method, our IRVQ learns codebook with a hybrid method of subspace clustering and warm-started k-means on each stage to prevent performance gain from dropping, and uses a multi-path encoding scheme to encode a vector with lower distortion. Experimental results on the benchmark datasets show that our method gives substantially improves RVQ and delivers better performance compared to the state-of-the-art.
Structural Pattern Analysis in Telecom Social Networks

social network perspective emphasizes multiple levels of analysis. Differences among Customers are traced to the constraints and opportunities that arise from how they are embedded in networks, the structure and behavior of networks grounded in, and enacted by local interactions among customers. This paper addresses the local connections of customers in which it deals with social behavior of the whole population, as well as for understanding each individual. However this paper explains the structural patterns of Telecom social network in the form of network connection analysis and network distance analysis. A social network connection involves Demographics, density, reachability and connectivity of customers who are embedded in the network. Network distance analysis describes the walks, geodesic distance and flow between the customers. Populations with high density respond differently to challenges from the environment than those with low density, populations with greater diversity in individual densities may be more likely to develop stable social differentiation and stratification.
Developing a Flexible Platform for Crowdsourcing Historical Weather Records

Abstract Climatological data exists in historical documents, such as observatory registers, newspapers, ships’ logs and private diaries. Using present-day technologies, such as open source repositories and code mashups, and high-resolution digital scanning, software applications can be custom-designed to facilitate transcription of data that otherwise exists solely in paper format. We present a citizen science application for transcribing Canadian weather registers from the late 19th Century. The application is designed to engage citizen scientists with the historical record, respond to archival requirements, and fulfill the needs of the modern climate research community. User centered design allows for an iterative process in which end users – transcribers – are part of the entire cycle of system development. Incorporating users early in the process promises more motivated users and more accurate transcriptions of complex, historical scientific data.
Baculovirus Induces an Innate Immune Response and Confers Protection from Lethal Influenza Virus Infection in Mice1

A recombinant baculovirus expressing the hemagglutinin gene of the influenza virus, A/PR/8/34 (H1N1), under the control of the chicken β-actin promoter, was constructed. To determine the induction of protective immunity in vivo, mice were inoculated with the recombinant baculovirus by intramuscular, intradermal, i.p., and intranasal routes and then were challenged with a lethal dose of the influenza virus. Intramuscular or i.p. immunization with the recombinant baculovirus elicited higher titers of antihemagglutinin Ab than intradermal or intranasal administration. However, protection from a lethal challenge of the influenza virus was only achieved by intranasal immunization of the recombinant baculovirus. Surprisingly, sufficient protection from the lethal influenza challenge was also observed in mice inoculated intranasally with a wild-type baculovirus, as evaluated by reductions in the virus titer, inflammatory cytokine production, and pulmonary consolidations. These results indicate that intranasal inoculation with a wild-type baculovirus induces a strong innate immune response, which protects mice from a lethal challenge of influenza virus.
Measuring Social CRM Performance: A Preliminary Measurement Model

Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) deals with the integration of Web 2.0 and Social Media into CRM. Social CRM is a business strategy supported by technology platforms in order to provide mutually beneficial value for both companies and customers. Gartner has identified Social CRM as one of the top innovation-triggered themes in 2013 [1]. In this context, a constraining factor regarding the implementation of Social CRM and the achievement of its objectives is the lack of an appropriate performance measurement model. Little research has been conducted on the relevant perfor-mance factors and Social CRM performance measurement models. To address this gap, the article presents the qualitative part of a two-stage multi-method approach. It comprises findings from a literature review, 15 semi-structured in-terviews and a consolidation procedure. A preliminary Social CRM performance measurement model is developed containing four performance dimensions, 25 classified Social CRM performance factors and corresponding performance measures.
Analysis of airborne SAR data (L-band) for discrimination land use/land cover types in the Brazilian Amazon region

The objective of this paper is to show the potential of multi-polarized mosaic-images from a MAPSAR (L-band) simulation campaign performed in the Amazon region (test site Tapajos) in order to discriminate land use/land cover classes. An Enhanced-Frost filter was used and the thematic discrimination was done by an algorithm for attribute extraction based on Bhattacharya distance. A comparison was made among the radiometric aspects of the SAR mosaic for 10 thematic classes obtained, converting these B-distances to JM distance values. This allowed to define which individual or multiple polarizations are more appropriate for the identification of thematic classes.
Combining machine learning and rule-based approaches in Spanish syntactic generation

Aquesta tesi descriu una gramatica de Generacio que combina regles escrites a ma i tecniques daprenentatge automatic. Aquesta gramatica pertany a un sistema de Traduccio Automatica de qualitat comercial desenvolupat a Microsoft Research. La primera part presenta la gramatica i les principals estrategies linguistiques que aquesta gramatica implementa. Els requeriments de robustesa que reclama lus real del sistema de TA, exigeix del Generador un esforc suplementari que es resol afegint un nivell de pre-generacio, capac de garantir la integritat de lentrada, sense incorporar elements ad-hoc en les regles de la gramatica. A la segona part, explorem lus dels classificadors darbres de decisio (DT) per tal daprendre automaticament una de les operacions que tenen lloc al modul de pre-generacio, en concret la seleccio lexica del verb copulatiu en espanyol (ser o estar). Mostrem que es possible inferir a partir dexemples els contextos per aquest fenomen linguistic no trivial, amb gran precisio. Resumen This thesis describes a Spanish Generation grammar which combines hand-written rules and Machine Learning techniques. This grammar belongs to a full-scale commercial quality Machine Translation system developed at Microsoft Research. The first part presents the grammar and the linguistic strategies it embodies. The need for robustness in real-world situations in the everyday use of the MT system requires from the Generator an extra effort which is resolved by adding a Pre-Generation layer which is able to fix the input to Generation, without contaminating the grammar rules. In the second part we explore the use of Decision Tree classifiers (DT) for automatically learning one of the operations that take place in the Pre-Generation component, namely lexical selection of the Spanish copula (i.e. ser and estar). We show that it is possible to infer from examples the contexts for this non-trivial linguistic phenomenon with high accuracy.
Towards a System for Dynamic Language Resources in LOD

Formalization and representation of the language resources life cycle in a formal language to support the creation, update and application of the language resource instances is made possible via the developments in the area of ontologies and Linked Open Data. In the paper we present some of the basic functionalities of a system to support dynamic language resources.
Purification to apparent homogeneity and partial amino acid sequence of rat liver O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase

O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase (ATase) activity was increased in rat liver from 80 to 320 fmoles/mg total protein 48 h after administration of 2-acetylaminofluorene at 60 mg/kg body weight. This tissue was used as a source of ATase which was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and DNA-cellulose, molecular exclusion and ion exchange chromatography (IEC). IEC purified material showed a major 24 kDa band after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) with silver staining. Fluorography of purified ATase following incubation with [3H]-methylated substrate DNA and PAGE showed a single band at 24 kDa suggesting that, as with bacterial ATases, the protein itself accepts the alkyl group from O6-alkylguanine in substrate DNA during the repair reaction. Further purification of the protein using reverse phase HPLC resulted in a single peak representing approximately 125,000 fold purification. This was subjected to amino-terminal sequencing and it was found that the protein was blocked at the amino-terminal end: it was cleaved using trypsin or cyanogen bromide and the amino acid sequence of several reverse phase HPLC purified fragments was determined.
Microclimatic Performance of a Free-Air Warming and CO2 Enrichment Experiment in Windy Wyoming, USA

In order to plan for global changing climate experiments are being conducted in many countries, but few have monitored the effects of the climate change treatments (warming, elevated CO2) on the experimental plot microclimate. During three years of an eight year study with year-round feedback-controlled infra-red heater warming (1.5/3.0°C day/night) and growing season free-air CO2 enrichment (600 ppm) in the mixed-grass prairie of Wyoming, USA, we monitored soil, leaf, canopy-air, above-canopy-air temperatures and relative humidity of control and treated experimental plots and evaluated ecologically important temperature differentials. Leaves were warmed somewhat less than the target settings (1.1 & 1.5°C day/night) but soil was warmed more creating an average that matched the target settings extremely well both during the day and night plus the summer and winter. The site typically has about 50% bare or litter covered soil, therefore soil heat transfer is more critical than in dense canopy ecosystems. The Wyoming site commonly has strong winds (5 ms-1 average) and significant daily and seasonal temperature fluctuations (as much as 30°C daily) but the warming system was nearly always able to maintain the set temperatures regardless of abiotic variation. The within canopy-air was only slightly warmed and above canopy-air was not warmed by the system, therefore convective warming was minor. Elevated CO2 had no direct effect nor interaction with the warming treatment on microclimate. Relative humidity within the plant canopy was only slightly reduced by warming. Soil water content was reduced by warming but increased by elevated CO2. This study demonstrates the importance of monitoring the microclimate in manipulative field global change experiments so that critical physiological and ecological conclusions can be determined. Highly variable energy demand fluctuations showed that passive IR heater warming systems will not maintain desired warming for much of the time.
Aftermath A.D. 696—Late 7th and Early 8th Century Special Deposits and Elite Main Plaza Burials at Buenavista del Cayo, Western Belize: A Study in Classic Maya “Historical Archaeology”

ABSTRACT Between 1984 and 1989, a number of depositional contexts were excavated at the Classic Maya center/site of Buenavista del Cayo in the upper Belize Valley that appeared to be products of sudden cessations of activity or architectural “terminations” dating to sometime in the late 7th to mid-8th century. Ceramic furnishings also linked at least two elite status burials on the Central Plaza of the site to these deposits. Conjunctive analysis of the deposits, burials, and their contents together with applicable epigraphic history recorded at a nearby major city, Naranjo, suggests that they are the result of and directly reflect successful military action by Naranjo against Buenavista in a.d. 696. An examination of the contexts and epigraphic history concerned; the archaeological grounds for linking the two; and the rich, composite understanding of the deposits and their behavioral, cultural, and historical significance illustrate the rewards and advantages of 21st century Maya archaeology’s new paradigmatic status as true “historical archaeology. ”