Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feature selection based on PSO and decision-theoretic rough set model

In this paper, we propose two new methods for feature selection based on particle swarm optimisation and a probabilistic rough set model called decision-theoretic rough set (DTRS). The first method uses rule degradation and cost properties of DTRS in the fitness function. This method focuses on the quality of the selected feature subset as a whole. The second method extends the first one by adding the individual feature confidence to the fitness function, which measures the quality of each feature in the subset. Three learning algorithms are employed to evaluate the classification performance of the proposed methods. The experiments are run on six commonly used datasets of varying difficulty. The results show that both methods can achieve good feature reduction rates with similar or better classification performance. Both methods can outperform two traditional feature selection methods. The second proposed method outperforms the first one in terms of the feature reduction rates while being able to maintaining similar or better classification rates.
LuCaP Prostate Cancer Patient‐Derived Xenografts Reflect the Molecular Heterogeneity of Advanced Disease and Serve as Models for Evaluating Cancer Therapeutics

Metastatic prostate cancer is a common and lethal disease for which there are no therapies that produce cures or long‐term durable remissions. Clinically relevant preclinical models are needed to increase our understanding of biology of this malignancy and to evaluate new agents that might provide effective treatment. Our objective was to establish and characterize patient‐derived xenografts (PDXs) from advanced prostate cancer (PC) for investigation of biology and evaluation of new treatment modalities.
Distortion analysis of a power heterojunction FET under low quiescent drain current for 3.5 V wide-band CDMA cellular phones

The dependence of adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACPR) of a heterojunction FET (HJFET) on quiescent drain current (I/sub q/) for wide-band CDMA (W-CDMA) cellular phones application is presented. Measured performance demonstrates an ACPR dip phenomenon under a low I/sub q/ condition resulting in a significant improvement on the power added efficiency of the HJFET with the ACPR maintained within the specification. It is found that the W-CDMA ACPR characteristic mainly correlates to the third-order intermodulation (IM/sub 3/) distortion of the HJFET. The ACPR dip arises from a similar characteristic on the IM/sub 3/ distortion under a low I/sub q/ operation.
Indistinct Frame Detection in Colonoscopy Videos

An automated system for analysis of colonoscopy videos is expected to complement the expertise and the experience of a medical professional in: (a) detecting lesions and (b) assessing the quality of a given procedure. Colonoscopy videos contain a significant number of frames which do not carry any clinical information. The presence of such frames would slow down or cause the failure of the processing steps of such an automated system. Furthermore, many existing metrics to measure the quality of the colonoscopy procedures directly involve the number of such indistinct frames present in the videos. We propose a novel algorithm to detect indistinct frames based on the wavelet analysis. The L2 norm of the detail coefficients of the wavelet decomposition of a colonoscopy image is considered as the feature vector of the proposed classification system. The algorithm was tested on a manually labeled, balanced data set. It achieved an accuracy of 99.59% in a leave-two-out cross validation procedure based on Bayesian classification. Furthermore, when applied to full colonoscopy videos, the presented algorithm detected 26.2% of the frames as indistinct, of which 92.3% were correctly classified. The proposed method outperforms the current best performing algorithm both in terms of accuracy and computation time.
Toward a First Nations Cross-Cultural Science and Technology Curriculum.

This article explores First Nations (Native American) science education from a cultural perspective. Science is recognized as a subculture of Western culture. Scientific and Aboriginal ideas about nature are contrasted. Learning science is viewed as culture acquisition that requires First Nations students to cross a cultural border from their everyday world into the subculture of science. The pathway toward the cross-cultural education explored in the ar- ticle is: (1) founded on empirical studies in educational anthropology; (2) directed by the goals of First Nations people themselves; (3) illuminated by a reconceptualization of science teach- ing as cultural transmission; (4) guided by a cross-cultural STS science and technology cur- riculum; and (5) grounded in various types of content knowledge (common sense, technology, and science) for the purpose of practical action such as economic development, environmental responsibility, and cultural survival. Cross-cultural instruction requires teachers to identify cultural border crossings for students and to facilitate those border crossings by playing the role of tour guide, travel agent, or culture broker, while sustaining the validity of students' own culturally constructed ways of knowing. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 81:217 - 238, 1997.
The role of black hole mass in quasar radio activity

We use a homogeneous sample of ∼300, 0.3 ≤ z ≤ 3, radio-loud quasars (QSOs) drawn from the FIRST and 2dF QSO surveys to investigate a possible dependence of radio activity on black hole mass. By analysing composite spectra for the populations of radio-quiet and radio-loud QSOs - chosen to have the same redshift and luminosity distributions - we find with high statistical significance that radio-loud quasars are on average associated with black holes of masses ∼10 8.6 M ○. , about twice as large as those measured for radio-quiet quasars (∼10 8.3 M ○. ). We also find a clear dependence of black hole mass on optical luminosity of the form log(M BH /M ○. ) RL = 8.57(±0.06) - 0.27(±0.06) (M B + 24.5) and log(M BH /M ○. ) RQ = 8.43(±0.05) - 0.32(±0.06) (M B + 24.5), respectively, for the cases of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars. It is intriguing to note that these two trends run roughly parallel to each other, implying that radio-loud quasars are associated to black holes more massive than those producing the radio-quiet case at all sampled luminosities. On the other hand, in the case of radio-loud quasars, we find evidence for only a weak (if any) dependence of the black hole mass on radio power. The above findings seem to support the belief that there exists - at a given optical luminosity - a threshold black hole mass associated with the onset of significant radio activity such as that of radio-loud QSOs; however, once the activity is triggered, there appears to be very little connection between black hole mass and level of radio output.
A Frequent Pattern based Prediction Model for Moving Objects

Abstraction Huge amounts of moving object data have been collected with the advances in wireless communication and positioning technologies. Trajectory patterns extracted from historical trajectories of moving objects can reveal important knowledge about movement behavior for high quality LBS services, especially for location prediction. Existing approaches cannot forecast accurate locations in the distant future since they use motion functions which emphasize the recent movements of objects. In this paper, we propose a new approach which utilizes frequent trajectory patterns to predict location. Using line simplification and clustering, the proposed method simplifies trajectories and clusters them into spatio-temporally meaningful regions. After original trajectories are discretized into the sequences using regions, trajectory patterns from discretized sequences are extracted using a prefix-based projection approach. Then, we construct a tree-structured prediction model using these patterns, which allows an efficient indexing of discovered patterns to find the best match. We experimentally analyze that the proposed method’s efficiency in discovering trajectory patterns, predicting a future location accurately even though the query time is far in the future.
Changes in Plasma Testosterone Levels and Brain AVT Cell Number during the Breeding Season in the Green Treefrog

We exposed groups of adult male green treefrogs, Hyla cinerea, to acoustic stimuli (natural chorus or random tones) for seven consecutive nights at three time points during their natural breeding season (May, July, and September) and assessed seasonal changes in plasma androgen levels and number of arginine vasotocin (AVT) immunoreactive cells in the brain over this time period. We also tested whether social cues altered either androgens or AVT-ir cell number or size at each time point. Finally, we analyzed how these factors related to calling behavior. Data were collected over two breeding seasons. Call rate (calls/h) was assessed during the stimulus time (i.e. ‘evoked calling’) and during the remainder of the day (‘spontaneous calling’). Plasma hormone levels were measured at the end of the acoustic treatment when brains were collected for immunocytochemistry. Circulating androgen levels declined over the breeding season. Males exposed to chorus sounds, however, had higher androgen levels than males exposed to tones. AVT-ir cell number increased across the breeding season in the nucleus accumbens but not the amygdala, anterior preoptic area, or magnocellular preoptic area, and soma size decreased in the nucleus accumbens as cell number increased. Social stimulation had no significant influence on either AVT-ir cell measure. Evoked call rate was higher in males exposed to natural chorus sounds compared to those exposed to random tones, but did not change during the season. In contrast, spontaneous call rate was higher at the beginning of the breeding season compared to the end, and unlike evoked calling was correlated with circulating androgen levels across all treatments and time points. AVT-ir soma size was positively correlated with both evoked and spontaneous calling. These results suggest that social exposure can prolong the elevation of gonadal hormones in the bloodstream, thus mitigating or slowing the seasonal decline of such hormones. In contrast, social exposure does not affect the seasonal pattern of AVT-ir cell number or soma size. The reciprocal relationship between social cues and hormones and the subsequent effect on behavior may provide hidden benefits to animals engaging in social interactions. However, unlike steroid hormone levels, the seasonal change in AVT-ir cell number and size is not counteracted by social stimulation.
Examining the benefits of a hybrid distributed architecture for bandwidth brokers

In this paper the issue of the architectural organization of a bandwidth broker with respect to the distribution of functionalities among separate entities is examined. We discuss the benefits of a distributed versus a centralized architecture and study some of the most important implementations. We also present a novel design proposal that builds on our earlier work on the admission control module of a bandwidth broker and introduces it in the framework of a distributed bandwidth broker architecture. Our conclusions are supported by a series of simulated experiments that we analyze.
Critical heat flux for subcooled flow boiling in microchannel heat sinks

Critical heat flux (CHF) was measured and examined with high-speed video for subcooled flow boiling in micro-channel heat sinks using HFE 7100 as working fluid. High subcooling was achieved by pre-cooling the working fluid using a secondary low-temperature refrigeration system. The high subcooling greatly reduced both bubble departure diameter and void fraction, and precluded flow pattern transitions beyond the bubbly regime. CHF was triggered by vapor blanket formation along the micro-channel walls despite the presence of abundant core liquid, which is consistent with the mechanism of Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB). CHF increased with increasing mass velocity and/or subcooling and decreasing hydraulic diameter for a given total mass flow rate. A pre-mature type of CHF was caused by vapor backflow into the heat sink’s inlet plenum at low mass velocities and small inlet subcoolings, and was associated with significant fluctuations in inlet and outlet pressure, as well as wall temperature. A systematic technique is developed to modify existing CHF correlations to more accurately account for features unique to micro-channel heat sinks, including rectangular cross-section, three-sided heating, and flow interaction between micro-channels. This technique is shown to be successful at correlating micro-channel heat sink data corresponding to different hydraulic diameters, mass velocities and inlet temperatures. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Human Pose Tracking Algorithm Based on Skeleton-Texture Model

In order to achieve good tracking results in single camera environment, the human pose of recognition, based on a skeleton and texture model of video algorithms to identify the body is proposed. Single-camera in the background and complexity of the environment, the target audience can only show 2-D information. The algorithm will be the first skeleton to the human body in accordance with the balance weighted tree modeling approach, combined with the skin texture characteristics of the skeleton structure, texture model. Particle filter used for detection and tracking human body. Experiments show that the skeleton model and texture of video algorithms to identify the body with a high recognition rate and robustness, and can do real-time interaction.
Kinetic analysis of the action of Leiurus scorpion alpha-toxin on ionic currents in myelinated nerve

The effects of a neurotoxin, purified from the venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus, on the ionic currents of toad single myelinated fibers were studied under voltage-clamp conditions. Unlike previous investigations using crude scorpion venom, purified Leiurus toxin II alpha at high concentrations (200-400 nM) did not affect the K currents, nor did it reduce the peak Na current in the early stages of treatment. The activation of the Na channel was unaffected by the toxin, the activation time course remained unchanged, and the peak Na current vs. voltage relationship was not altered. In contrast, Na channel inactivation was considerably slowed and became incomplete. As a result, a steady state Na current was maintained during prolonged depolarizations of several seconds. These steady state Na currents had a different voltage dependence from peak Na currents and appeared to result from the opening of previously inactivated Na channels. The opening kinetics of the steady state current were exponential and had rates approximately 100-fold slower than the normal activation processes described for transitions from the resting state to the open state. In addition, the dependence of the peak Na current on the potential of preceding conditioning pulses was also dramatically altered by toxin treatment; this parameter reached a minimal value near a membrane potential of -50 mV and then increased continuously to a "plateau" value at potentials greater than +50 mV. The amplitude of this plateau was dependent on toxin concentration, reaching a maximum value equal to approximately 50% of the peak current; voltage-dependent reversal of the toxin's action limits the amplitude of the plateauing effect. The measured plateau effect was half-maximum at a toxin concentration of 12 nM, a value quite similar to the concentration producing half of the maximum slowing of Na channel inactivation. The results of Hill plots for these actions suggest that one toxin molecule binds to one Na channel. Thus, the binding of a single toxin molecule probably both produces the steady state currents and slows the Na channel inactivation. We propose that Leiurus toxin inhibits the conversion of the open state to inactivated states in a voltage- dependent manner, and thereby permits a fraction of the total Na permeability to remain at membrane potentials where inactivation is normally complete.
PRETI: partitioned real-time shared cache for mixed-criticality real-time systems

Multithreaded processors, in the context of real-time systems, create the opportunity to mix, on the same hardware platform, the execution of a complex real-time workload and the execution of non-critical applications. But resources sharing, inherent to multithreading, hinders the timing analysis of concurrent tasks. Such analyses are critical to real-time tasks which have timing deadlines that must be met and enforced. In this paper, we present the PRETI, Partitioned REal-TIme shared cache scheme, a flexible, low implementation-overhead, shared cache partitioning scheme. PRETI can preclude inter-task conflicts on shared caches, and their pessimistic impact on timing estimates, by allocating private cache space to real-time tasks. Therefore, uniprocessor, i.e. unithread, worst-case execution time (WCET) estimation techniques can be used. The remaining cache space, not reserved for currently running real-time tasks, is shared by all tasks running on the processor, in particular the non-critical ones, enabling high performances for these tasks. Experiments are presented to show that the PRETI cache scheme allows for easing and guaranteeing the schedulability of a set of real-time tasks with tight timing constraints, and enabling high performance for the non-critical tasks.
Unification Theory of Optimal Life Histories and Linear Demographic Models in Internal Stochasticity

Life history of organisms is exposed to uncertainty generated by internal and external stochasticities. Internal stochasticity is generated by the randomness in each individual life history, such as randomness in food intake, genetic character and size growth rate, whereas external stochasticity is due to the environment. For instance, it is known that the external stochasticity tends to affect population growth rate negatively. It has been shown in a recent theoretical study using path-integral formulation in structured linear demographic models that internal stochasticity can affect population growth rate positively or negatively. However, internal stochasticity has not been the main subject of researches. Taking account of effect of internal stochasticity on the population growth rate, the fittest organism has the optimal control of life history affected by the stochasticity in the habitat. The study of this control is known as the optimal life schedule problems. In order to analyze the optimal control under internal stochasticity, we need to make use of “Stochastic Control Theory” in the optimal life schedule problem. There is, however, no such kind of theory unifying optimal life history and internal stochasticity. This study focuses on an extension of optimal life schedule problems to unify control theory of internal stochasticity into linear demographic models. First, we show the relationship between the general age-states linear demographic models and the stochastic control theory via several mathematical formulations, such as path–integral, integral equation, and transition matrix. Secondly, we apply our theory to a two-resource utilization model for two different breeding systems: semelparity and iteroparity. Finally, we show that the diversity of resources is important for species in a case. Our study shows that this unification theory can address risk hedges of life history in general age-states linear demographic models.
The motivation of self-injurious behavior: a review of some hypotheses.

The literature on self-injurious behavior suggests five major hypotheses concerning the motivation of such behavior: (a) self-injurious behavior is a learned operant, maintained by positive social reinforcement (positive reinforcement hypothesis); (b) self-injurious behavior is a learned operant, maintained by the termination of an aversive stimulus (negative reinforcement hypothesis) ; (c) self-injurious behavior is a means of providing sensory stimulation (self-stimulation hypothesis); (d) self-injurious behavior is the product of aberrant physiological processes (organic hypothesis); and (e) self-injurious behavior is an attempt to establish ego boundaries or to reduce guilt (psycho-dynamic hypotheses). Data bearing on each hypothesis are reviewed and evaluated. Effective treatment may depend on a recognition of the different motivational sources of self-injurious behavior and the developmental relationships existing among these sources. Animal analogue experiments may provide clues to the motivation of self-injurious behavior in cases in which human experimentation is ethically indefensible.
Multiple description image transmission for diversity systems over unreliable communication networks

In this article, the development of an efficient and reliable multiple description coding (MDC) scheme over unreliable communication networks is described. A general framework of multiple description robust communication system with 2- and 4-channel cases is presented with a proposed block-based DC separation approach. The advantage of this system is that, if all the channels work, a high quality reconstruction can be achieved, while a lower but still acceptable quality can be achieved if some of the channels are lost. The peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), mean squared error (MSE), bit rate, entropy and redundancy are also calculated with the proposed method to analyze the reconstruction quality. It is found that the proposed method gives comprehensive improvements over the other recently developed methods.
Input Price Discrimination, Access Pricing, and Bypass

This paper explores several aspects of the vertical relationship between an upstream firm and a number of downstream firms that are Cournot rivals relying on the inputs provided by the upstream firm. We address the following questions: (i) if the upstream firm can charge different prices to different downstream firms, will it charge higher prices to more efficient firms? (ii) if the upstream firm can provide different levels of quality of access to several ex ante identical downstream firms, will it provide a uniform quality of access? The answer to (i) depends on whether downstream firms can self-supply. As for (ii), we show that equals may be treated unequally. Nous examinons le probleme des relations verticales. Quand un fournisseur discrimine, est-ce qu'il impose aux firmes a cout marginal plus bas un prix de l'input plus haut que celui qu'il impose aux firmes a cout marginal plus haut? Nous montrons que cela depend de la capacite des firmes aval a partiellement produire l'input. Nous fournissons aussi une formule de charge d'acces dans le cas ou les firmes aval sont des competiteurs a la Cournot non identiques. Finalement, nous developpons un modele de discrimination par la qualite d'un input, et nous montrons que la firme amont peut trouver profitable de traiter differemment des firmes identiques.
Driver Monitoring Based on Low-Cost 3-D Sensors

A solution for driver monitoring and event detection based on 3-D information from a range camera is presented. The system combines 2-D and 3-D techniques to provide head pose estimation and regions-of-interest identification. Based on the captured cloud of 3-D points from the sensor and analyzing the 2-D projection, the points corresponding to the head are determined and extracted for further analysis. Later, head pose estimation with three degrees of freedom (Euler angles) is estimated based on the iterative closest points algorithm. Finally, relevant regions of the face are identified and used for further analysis, e.g, event detection and behavior analysis. The resulting application is a 3-D driver monitoring system based on low-cost sensors. It represents an interesting tool for human factor research studies, allowing automatic study of specific factors and the detection of special event related to the driver, e.g, driver drowsiness, inattention, or head pose.