Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Design and Implementation of IBAL: A General-Purpose Probabilistic Language

1.1 Introduction In a rational programming language, a program specifes a situation encountered by an agent; evaluating the program amounts to computing what a rational agent would believe or do in the situation. Rational programming combines the advantages of declarative representations with features of programming languages such as modularity, compositionality, and type systems. A system designer need not reinvent the algorithms for deciding what the system should do in each possible situation it encounters. It is sufficient to declaratively describe the situation, and leave the sophisticated inference algorithms to the implementors of the language. One can think of Prolog as a rational programming language, focused on computing the beliefs of an agent that uses logical deduction. In the past few years there has been a shift in AI towards specifications of rational behavior in terms of probability and decision theory. There is therefore a need for a natural, expressive , general-purpose and easy to program language for probabilistic modeling. This chapterpresents IBAL, a probabilistic rational programming language. IBAL, pronounced " eyeball " , stands for Integrated Bayesian Agent Language. As its name suggests, it integrates various aspects of probability-based rational behavior, including probabilistic reasoning, Bayesian parameter estimation and decision-theoretic utility maximization. This chapterwill focus on the probabilistic representation and reasoning capabilities of IBAL, and not discuss the learning and decision making aspects. High-level probabilistic languages have generally fallen into two categories. The first category is rule-based [Poole (1993); Ngo and Haddawy (1996); Kersting and de Raedt (2000)]. In this approach the general idea is to associate logic-programming-like rules with noise factors. A rule describes how one first-order term
Hybrid Speech/non-speech detector applied to Speaker Diarization of Meetings

When performing speaker diarization, it is common practice to use an agglomerative clustering approach where the acoustic data is first split in small segments and then pairs of these segments are merged until a particular stopping point is reached. The diarization performance can be greatly improved by the use of a speech/non-speech detector. The use of a speech/non-speech detector helps the diarization system by preventing non-speech frames from "confusing" both the merging and the stopping processes. Over the years there has been extensive research on speech/non-speech detectors. Often times, speech/non-speech detectors require training data and their accuracy is strongly dependent on setting various thresholds correctly. In this work we present a hybrid speech/non-speech detector for use in our speaker diarization system within the meetings domain. Our proposed speech/non-speech system runs in two stages. The first stage performs an energy-based detection. The second stage performs a model-based decoding using the previous stage's data as a bootstrap for the acoustic models, thus avoiding the need for any outside training data. We show an improvement of 14% and 10% relative on a development and test set
Analysis of Performance in Precise 3 D Curve Input Tasks in Virtual Reality

Predictive models for human performance, such as Fitts’ Law [2] and the Steering Law [1], are useful tools for developers of interactive applications because they help guide us toward effective and efficient interface designs. In this poster, we present a mathematical model in this style that is meant to characterize performance in precise, continuous 3D input tasks, such as making an exact tracing of a 3D curve presented in virtual reality (VR). This continuous, sweeping style of 3D input has important implications for interactive visualizations. We utilize within our group, direct input of curved 3D paths in several visualization contexts, for example, free-form modeling for designing scientific visualizations and creating 3D illustrations [3] and selecting streamlines and regions of interest in interactive 3D fluid flow visualizations. [5] In addition, a current project seeks to utilize haptic-guided input of 3D curved paths for querying 3D datasets and selecting fine detail within dense visualizations of neural fiber tracts in the brain. Increased knowledge of our ability to control precise 3D input is likely lead to improved interaction and more productive user experiences in these interactive visualizations. One of the challenges in working with this style of input is that it can be difficult to control with precision. In a precursor to this work, we developed two new interaction techniques, a two-handed 3D tape drawing interface and a one-handed 3D drag drawing interface. Each significantly improves the precision of continuous 3D input as compared to standard modes of tracking a moving prop through the air. Full details of these interfaces and of the tracing experiment described briefly below have been presented elsewhere. [4] The novel contribution of the work presented here (and adapted from Daniel Keefe’s dissertation [3]) is the derivation of a performance model for this style of input from theory in related disciplines and the verification of this model using experimental data from the tracing experiment.
Les comportements répétés et restreints dans l'autisme : construction et validation d'une échelle d'évaluation.

Les comportements repetes et restreints (C2R) constituent une composante semiologique fondamentale des troubles autistiques dont les mecanismes physiopathologiques sont encore mal connus. Une meilleure comprehension de cette dimension clinique heterogene passe par une description precise et standardisee. Nous avons pour cela construit et valide une echelle d'evaluation des C2R : l'echelle EC2R. Celle-ci montrent de bonnes qualites psychometriques et distingue 4 dimensions signifiantes au sein des C2R : les stereotypies sensorimotrices, la reaction au changement, les comportements restreints et l'insuffisance modulatrice. L'echelle EC2R constitue une avancee reelle pour une approche descriptive mais aussi neurofonctionnelle des troubles autistiques. Elle doit etre utile pour la recherche en facilitant les confrontations biocliniques et les etudes genotype-phenotype. Elle doit aussi s'inscrire dans la pratique clinique en participant a la definition de prises en charge mieux adaptees.
Periodicity-Based Anomalies in Self-Similar Network Traffic Flow Measurements

Network traffic flow measurement is fundamental in timely monitoring computer networks and in diagnosing potential anomalies. Previous measurement studies have shown that network traffic flows are often self-similar. The degree of self-similarity is described by the Hurst parameter H. In the literature, various methods have been used in estimating H, while their performances have not been evaluated for network traces that contain periodicity-based anomalies. In this paper, we investigate the performance of well-known estimators for traffic flow measurements with periodicity-based anomalies. We derive analytical expressions for widely used estimation methods in time, frequency, wavelet, and eigen domains and demonstrate through simulations that periodicity-based anomalies affect Hurst parameter estimation, causing unreliable H estimates. We show that our theoretical and experimental results are consistent with the observations of real network traffic flow measurements.
Coordinated satellite-terrestrial networks: A robust spectrum sharing perspective

The coordination between satellite communications and terrestrial mobile networks is promising to enable a globally ubiquitous broadband wireless coverage. It also provides an opportunity to share the spectrum between satellites and terrestrial networks, to alleviate the spectrum scarcity problem facing in both systems. Particularly in a coordinated satellite-terrestrial network (CSTN), the co-channel interference (CCI) should be carefully mitigated. Towards this end, this paper proposes a large-scale channel state information (CSI)-based robust coordination scheme. As the information exchange between satellite and terrestrial system is practically limited, and the overhead of each system for CSI acquisition is also limited, the proposed scheme is much more viable than existing results. In practice, the slowly-varying large-scale CSI can be obtained with a quite low cost, and the saddle point theory can be adopted to largely reduce the computational complexity of the proposed scheme. We finally show the simulation results to validate the superiority of the proposed scheme over existing methods.
Gender Differences in Publication Output: Towards an Unbiased Metric of Research Performance

We examined the publication records of a cohort of 168 life scientists in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology to assess gender differences in research performance. Clear discrepancies in publication rate between men and women appear very early in their careers and this has consequences for the subsequent citation of their work. We show that a recently proposed index designed to rank scientists fairly is in fact strongly biased against female researchers, and advocate a modified index to assess men and women on a more equitable basis.
Mesothelioma: You do not have to work for it

Asbestos pollution is a global problem. Asbestos exposure induced mesothelioma does not require an ‘occupational’ type of exposure. Bystander exposures may result in earlier age of disease onset and more aggressive disease progression as described in the following 3 case reports. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2007;35:774–777. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Performance Measurements of Multimedia Flows over a WiFi-based Mesh Network

Wireless mesh networks are currently becoming one of the most promising approaches to provide ubiquitous broadband Internet access. In order to successfully make their way as access architecture for the next-generation Internet, mesh networks need to provide mechanisms able to efficiently support emerging broadband multimedia services. In this work, we report some performance measurements obtained on an experimental WiFibased mesh testbed running at CREATE-NET premises. The tests aim at characterizing the suitability of current mesh networking solutions to support multimedia flows. The obtained performance is compared to those obtained by means of a conventional star-shaped topology based on the use of access points. The results show that mesh architectures are able to offer some advantages, in terms of fairness and lower packet loss rate, with respect to a standard access points based architecture.
The application of semidefinite programming for detection in CDMA

In this paper, a detection strategy based on a semidefinite relaxation of the optimal maximum-likelihood problem is investigated. Cutting planes are also used to strengthen the approximation. The semidefinite program arising from the relaxation can be solved efficiently by interior point methods with polynomial complexity in the number of users. The simulated bit error rate performance shows that this approach provides a good approximation to the ML detector.
Preoperative therapy in invasive breast cancer: reviewing the state of the science and exploring new research directions.

InMarch2007,theNationalCancerInstitute(NCI)sponsoredaState oftheScienceConferenceonPreoperativeTherapyinInvasiveBreast Cancer. The major goals of the conference were to review current clinical standards and to identify opportunities for future research. The conference did not seek to develop a consensus statement or a clinical guideline, but it did attempt to characterize appropriate clinical care. Importantly, an additional conference objective was to explore how research in the preoperative setting could be used to accelerate progress in the development of new and more effective treatments for individuals with breast cancer. In patients with operable breast cancer, randomized trials have demonstratedthatpreoperativeandpostoperativechemotherapy(us
Chemical Constituents and Identification of the Essential Oil of Artemisia Aucheri Boiss. in Iran

Artemisia genus is an important medicinal plant in Iran. The present study was undertaken to identify the chemical components of Artemisia aucheri Boiss. in Iran. The flowers and leaves of plant collected from Isfahan province (Golpayegan) and they were analyzed by using GC/MS. The 13, 15 compounds were identified in dried flowers and leaves, respectively. The major components in flowers were: Camphene (31.047%), β-Myrcene (26.774%), Camphor (15.41%), 1,8-Cineole (11.348%). The major components in leaves were: ,8-Cineole (22.847%), Camphor (20.799%), Camphene (17.342%), α-Pinene (13.455%). In conclusion, this result showed that Artemisia aucheri might possess potential secondary metabolites that may be useful for treating a variety of diseases.
Antiplatelet Therapy of Cilostazol or Sarpogrelate with Aspirin and Clopidogrel after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using the Korean National Health Insurance Claim Database

Background/Objectives Addition of cilostazol or sarpogrelate to the standard dual antiplatelet therapy of aspirin and clopidogrel has been implemented in patients that underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stents in Korea. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of triple antiplatelet therapies. Methods This retrospective cohort study was performed using the Korean National Insurance Claim Data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2014. The study cohort population consisted of patients with ischemic heart diseases and a history of PCI. They were treated with antiplatelet therapy of aspirin, clopidogrel (AC); aspirin, clopidogrel, cilostazol (ACCi); or aspirin, clopidogrel, sarpogrelate (ACSa) during the index period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011. During the follow-up period up to December 31, 2014, the major adverse cardiac or cerebral events (MACCE) including death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, and ischemic stroke were assessed. Bleeding complications were also evaluated as adverse drug events. Results Out of 93,876 patients with PCI during the index period, 69,491 patients started dual (AC) or triple therapy (ACSa or ACCi). The clinical outcomes of comparing ACSa and ACCi therapy showed beneficial effects in the ACSa group in the prevention of subsequent cardiac or cerebral events. After Propensity score-matching between ACSa and ACCi groups, there were significant differences in MI and revascularization, with corresponding HR of 0.38 (95% CI, 0.20–0.73) and 0.66 (95% CI, 0.53–0.82) in ACSa vs. ACCi at 12 months, respectively. At the 24-month follow-up, the triple therapy groups (ACS or ACC) had a higher incidence of MACCE compared to the dual therapy (AC) group; ACSa vs. AC HR of 1.69 (95% CI, 1.62–1.77); ACC vs. AC HR of 1.22 (95% CI, 1.06–1.41). There was no significant difference in severe or life-threatening bleeding risk among three groups; ACSa vs. AC, HR of 0.68 (95% CI, 0.37–1.24), ACCi vs. AC, HR of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.77–1.09). Conclusion Sarpogrelate-containing triple antiplatelet therapy demonstrated comparable rates of MACCE prevention to the conventional dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI without significantly increasing bleeding risk during the two-year follow-up period.
Lectin-like Receptor Ly49s3 on Dendritic Cells Contributes to the Differentiation of Regulatory T Cells in the Rat Thymus

Naturally occurring regulatory T cells (nTregs), important for immune regulation and the maintenance of self-tolerance, develop in the thymus. The Hirosaki hairless rat (HHR), derived from the Sprague–Dawley rat (SDR), was shown to have decreased peripheral lymphocyte number, small thymus, and leukocyte infiltration in its dermis. In the HHR thymus, the medulla was underdeveloped and nTreg number was decreased. Array comparative genome hybridization revealed the deletion of an NK cell lectin-like receptor gene, Ly49s3, detecting MHC class I molecules on target cells, in the chromosome 4q42 region in HHRs. The gene was expressed in thymic conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) in SDRs, but not in HHRs. When CD4–single-positive or CD4+CD8−CD25− thymocytes were cultured with thymic cDCs, the expression of nTreg marker genes was lower when these cells were from HHRs than from SDRs, suggesting that HHR cDCs are deficient in the ability to induce and maintain nTreg differentiation. Expression of the genes was recovered when Ly49s3 was expressed on HHR thymic cDCs. Expression levels of MHC class II genes, presumably from cDCs, were parallel to those of nTreg marker genes in mixed-cell cultures. However, in the presence of an anti-MHC class I Ab, blocking interaction between Ly49s3 and MHC class I molecules, the expression of the former genes was upregulated, whereas the latter was downregulated. These results suggest that Ly49s3 contributes to nTreg regulation along with MHC class II molecules, whose effects alone are insufficient, and loss of Ly49s3 from thymic cDCs is the reason for the nTreg deficiency in HHRs.
Polarization-Insensitive Tunable Optical Filters based on Liquid Crystal Polarization Gratings

NICOLESCU, ELENA. Polarization-Insensitive Tunable Optical Filters based on Liquid Crystal Polarization Gratings. (Under the direction of Michael Escuti.) Tunable optical filters are widely used for a variety of applications including spectroscopy, optical communication networks, remote sensing, and biomedical imaging and diagnostics. All of these application areas can greatly benefit from improvements in the key characteristics of the tunable optical filters embedded in them. Some of these key parameters include peak transmittance, bandwidth, tuning range, and transition width. In recent years research efforts have also focused on miniaturizing tunable optical filters into physically small packages for compact portable spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging applications such as real-time medical diagnostics and defense applications. However, it is important that miniaturization not have a detrimental effect on filter performance. The overarching theme of this dissertation is to explore novel configurations of Polarization Gratings (PGs) as simple, low-cost, polarization-insensitive alternatives to conventional optical filtering technologies for applications including hyperspectral imaging and telecommunications. We approach this goal from several directions with a combination of theory and experimental demonstration leading to, in our opinion, a significant contribution to the field. We present three classes of tunable optical filters, the first of which is an angle-filtering scheme where the stop-band wavelengths are redirected off axis and the passband is transmitted on-axis. This is achieved using a stacked configuration of polarization gratings of various thicknesses. To improve this class of filter, we also introduce a novel optical element, the Bilayer Polarization Grating, exhibiting unique optical properties and demonstrating complex anchoring conditions with high quality. The second class of optical filter is analogous to a Lyot filter, utilizing stacks of static or tunable waveplates sandwiched with polarizing elements. However, we introduce a new configuration using PGs and static waveplates to replace the polarizers in the system, thereby greatly increasing the filter throughput. We then turn our attention to a Fourier filtering technique. This is a fundamentally different filtering approach involving a single PG where the filtering functionality involves selecting a spectral band with a movable aperture or slit and a diffractive element (PG in our case). Finally, we study the integration of a PG in a multi-channel wavelength blocker system focusing on the practical and fundamental limitations of using a PG as a variable optical attenuator/wavelength blocker in a commercial optical telecommunications network c © Copyright 2011 by Elena Nicolescu
Simulating turn-taking behaviours with coupled dynamical recognizers

A coupled dynamical recognizer is proposed as a model for simulating turn-taking behaviour. An agent is modelled as a mobile robot with two wheels. A recurrent neural network is used to produce the motor outputs. By controlling this, agents compete to take turns on a two dimensional arena.There are two novel aspects to the present study. First, a dynamical recognizer is not only used for producing motor outputs but also to predict the other agent's behaviour. Second, unlike a mere chasing game, turn-taking behaviour is established only when each agent automatically switches from chaser to evader and vice versa.By using the genetic algorithm technique, we show that turn-taking behaviour is developed between two agents. It is worth noting that turn-taking is established only when an agent fails to predict the other agent's behaviour. In other words, the simultaneous generation of stable (predictable) and unstable (unpredictable) dynamics is inevitable to lead to successive turn-taking behaviour. A relationship between joint attention and prediction will be discussed from this and other related works.
Molecular Evolutionary Analysis of Cancer Cell Lines

With genome-wide cancer studies producing large DNA sequence data sets, novel computational approaches toward better understanding the role of mutations in tumor survival and proliferation are greatly needed. Tumors are widely viewed to be influenced by Darwinian processes, yet molecular evolutionary analysis, invaluable in other DNA sequence studies, has seen little application in cancer biology. Here, we describe the phylogenetic analysis of 353 cancer cell lines based on multiple sequence alignments of 3,252 nucleotides and 1,170 amino acids built from the concatenation of variant codons and residues across 494 and 523 genes, respectively. Reconstructed phylogenetic trees cluster cell lines by shared DNA variant patterns rather than cancer tissue type, suggesting that tumors originating from diverse histologies have similar oncogenic pathways. A well-supported clade of 91 cancer cell lines representing multiple tumor types also had significantly different gene expression profiles from the remaining cell lines according to statistical analyses of mRNA microarray data. This suggests that phylogenetic clustering of tumor cell lines based on DNA variants might reflect functional similarities in cellular pathways. Positive selection analysis revealed specific DNA variants that might be potential driver mutations. Our study shows the potential role of molecular evolutionary analyses in tumor classification and the development of novel anticancer strategies. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(2); 279–91
POSTER: A Password-based Authentication by Splitting Roles of User Interface

Conventional password-based authentication has been widely used due to its simplicity, familiarity, and cost effectiveness. However, the conventional password-based authentication has a fundamental weak-point that cleartext passwords are kept on client-side devices and networks. In order to acquire a user's password securely, we suggest a novel method that splits the roles of user interface onto two devices. With our method, cleartext passwords are neither stored on any devices nor transmitted over communication channels. Finally, we implement a demo application and analyze our method in the aspects of usability, deployability, and security.