Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Genomic Analysis of RNA Interference in C. elegans

RNA interference (RNAi) of target genes is triggered by double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) processed by conserved nucleases and accessory factors. To identify the genetic components required for RNAi, we performed a genome-wide screen using an engineered RNAi sensor strain of Caenorhabditis elegans. The RNAi screen identified 90 genes. These included Piwi/PAZ proteins, DEAH helicases, RNA binding/processing factors, chromatin-associated factors, DNA recombination proteins, nuclear import/export factors, and 11 known components of the RNAi machinery. We demonstrate that some of these genes are also required for germline and somatic transgene silencing. Moreover, the physical interactions among these potential RNAi factors suggest links to other RNA-dependent gene regulatory pathways.
XML document correction based on update conflict detection

An invalid XML document that does not satisfy its schema constraints requires correction. In this paper, a correction method based on the conflict detection of update operations is proposed. First, a schema 6-tuple model is introduced to flatten the hierarchical structure of the schema. Second, a path set that is equivalent to the invalid XML tree is built, and a correction approach is proposed to search for all valid path sets that are as close as possible to the user's update intention. In this correction approach, a node path is considered as a string, and a dynamic programming algorithm based on the string-to-string correction method is introduced. A correction rule based on the conflict detection of the update operations is applied during the execution of the correction. The experimental results show that our algorithm is fast and has good performance even when dealing with an invalid node that follows a starred regular expression.
Redundant De Bruijn graph based location and routing for large-scale peer-to-peer system

A fundamental problem in large peer-to-peer application is finding a routing method by which the user can efficiently locate the nodes those stores a particular data item. In this paper we present a new resource routing method: redundant De Bruijn routing graph(RDBR). Every node in RDBR has main routing label and assistant routing label, a group of nodes with same main routing label constitute of a redundant routing group. At the time of new nodes join these routing groups can split into several small redundant routing group; at the time of nodes left several neighbor redundant routing group can combine into one large redundant routing group. Experiment and theory analysis show that redundant De Bruijn routing graph keeps the virtual of traditional De Bruijn graph and overcome some short coming of traditional De Bruijn graph: It is more robust to nodes failure, it has more bisection width, its node join and leave procedure is simpler.
ScaleStar: Budget Conscious Scheduling Precedence-Constrained Many-task Workflow Applications in Cloud

Traditionally, the "best effort, cost free" model of Supercomputers/Grids does not consider pricing. Clouds have progressed towards a service-oriented paradigm that enables a new way of service provisioning based on "pay-as-you-go" model. Large scale many-task workflow (MTW) may be suited for execution on Clouds due to its scale-* requirement (scale up, scale out, and scale down). In the context of scheduling, MTW execution cost must be considered based on users' budget constraints. In this paper, we address the problem of scheduling MTW on Clouds and present a budget-conscious scheduling algorithm, referred to as ScaleStar (or Scale-*). ScaleStar assigns the selected task to a virtual machine with higher comparative advantage which effectively balances the execution time-and-monetary cost goals. In addition, according to the actual charging model, an adjustment policy, refer to as DeSlack, is proposed to remove part of slack without adversely affecting the overall makespan and the total monetary cost. We evaluate ScaleStar with an extensive set of simulations and compare with the most popular HEFT-based LOSS3 algorithm and demonstrate the superior performance of ScaleStar.
Interference microscopy delineates cellular proliferations on flat mounted internal limiting membrane specimens

Aim: To demonstrate that interference microscopy of flat mounted internal limiting membrane specimens clearly delineates cellular proliferations at the vitreomacular interface. Methods: ILM specimens harvested during vitrectomy were fixed in glutaraldehyde 0.05% and paraformaldehyde 2% for 24 h (pH 7.4). In addition to interference microscopy, immunocytochemistry using antibodies against glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament (NF) was performed. After washing in phosphate-buffered saline 0.1 M, the specimens were flat-mounted on glass slides without sectioning, embedding or any other technique of conventional light microscopy. A cover slide and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) medium were added to stain the cell nuclei. Results: Interference microscopy clearly delineates cellular proliferations at the ILM. DAPI stained the cell nuclei. Areas of cellular proliferation can be easily distinguished from ILM areas without cells. Immunocytochemistry can be performed without changing the protocols used in conventional microscopy. Conclusion: Interference microscopy of flat mounted ILM specimens gives new insights into the distribution of cellular proliferations at the vitreomacular interface and allows for determination of the cell density at the ILM. Given that the entire ILM peeled is seen en face, the techniques described offer a more reliable method to investigate the vitreoretinal interface in terms of cellular distribution compared with conventional microscopy.
An Application of Machine Learning to the Optimization of Disparity Maps

This paper presents an application of machine learning to the optimization of disparity maps, used in 3D scene reconstruction. A new approach, c alled ODM, is presented and it uses machine learning to guide an evolutionary process by creating and instantiating hypotheses. This approach is based on the Learnable Evolution Model, specifically modified to cope with this problem. ODM finds new optimal disparities by creating random combinations of initial disparities, and creating and instantiating hypotheses that characterize what is the best disparity for each pixel of the image. Experiments were conducted on two pairs of stereo images, one representi ng a computer -generated scene, and the other representing a real -world scene. The results of this approach were also compared to a more traditional and widely used algorithm. Results show that it is possible to improve the initial disparity maps generated, in some cases by almost twenty percent.
Spectral overlap dependence of enhanced energy transfer near small Au nanoparticles

We consider the effect of gold nanospheres of subwavelength dimension on the energy transfer rates and efficiencies between donor-acceptor pairs placed near the nanospheres. We investigate theoretically the effect of the donor-Au NP and acceptor-Au NP separation on the energy transfer rates and efficiencies and the influence of the spectral overlap of the donor emission with the localised surface plasmon resonance.
Multiple nonoverlapping camera pose estimation

In this paper, we solve the pose estimation problem in real time using multiple nonoverlapping cameras and the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Four cameras arranged in two back-to-back pairs are put on the platform of a moving robot. The two axes passing through the camera centers of each pair are perpendicular. This arrangement aims to maximize the benefits of the back-to-back setting whose accuracy is shown in literature. Each camera has its individual EKF for pose estimation which enables accurate short base-line feature tracking and parallel processing. A model for multiple nonoverlapping cameras is formulated which improves the estimate of rotation parameters with the help of a median arbiter. Accordingly, the translational parameters of pose are estimated accurately and the scale factor ambiguity related to single camera methods is solved using a low-dimensional speedy optimization.
Pollution Havens and Foreign Direct Investment: Dirty Secret or Popular Myth?

Abstract The pollution haven hypothesis refers to the possibility that multinational firms, particularly those engaged in highly polluting activities, relocate to countries with weaker environmental standards. Despite the plausibility and popularity of this hypothesis, the existing literature has found only limited evidence to support it. To enhance our ability to detect the possible dirty secret, this study makes improvements in four areas. First, we focus on investment flows from multiple countries to 25 economies in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Transition countries are a suitable region for studying this question, as they offer a large variation in terms of environmental standards. Second, we take into explicit account the effect of host country corruption. Third, we include information on both the polluting-intensity of the potential investor and the environmental stringency in the potential host country, which allows us to test whether dirty industries are relatively more attracted to locations with weak standards. And fourth, we rely on firm-level rather than industry-level data. Despite these improvements, we find no support for the pollution haven hypothesis. If anything, firms in less polluting industries are more likely to invest in the region. We find no systematic evidence that FDI from dirtier industries is more likely to go to countries with weak environmental regulations.
A Study of Learning Algorithms for Continuous-TimeRecurrent Neural Networks

報告番号: 乙10337 ; 学位授与年月日: 1991-09-18 ; 学位の種別: 論文博士 ; 学位の種類: 博士(工学) ; 学位記番号: 第10337号 ; 研究科・専攻: 工学系研究科計数工学専攻
Design and Implement of Share Data Center in Digital Asian-Pacific Region

As a platform of collecting, share data center is used to process, save all kinds of data, and provide information, which service for the whole areas. For the realization of the system integration and data sharing between each system, supplement of effective decision support data, it is necessary to establish a comprehensive technical scheme based on data management and using shared data centers (SDC), and to store large amounts of data at the same time manage data effectively. It carries out the data integration of each MIS, guarantees the consistency of the whole area share information, and provides the support for the valid decision and for the new MIS development. After the analysis of saving and using the data at the present in different areas, this paper gives the design of the SDC's framework for Asian-pacific regions, and details the function components and the consideration of design.
A Lower Extremity Exoskeleton System for Walking Assist

In this paper, we proposed a lower extremity exoskeleton system for the elderly with poor walking ability. By way of supporting the weight, the burden of lower limbs was reduced. We designed a novel mechanical structure for high torque clutch to reduce the exoskeleton weight. Using non-binding manner, the wear convenience was improved. The system got gait details by the plantar pressure sensor. Combining gait analysis, the system control algorithm is based on force feedback control. The motor drive control used the current proportion integration differentiation (PID) feedback control. The prototype weighs 12.5kg. The support is about 10kg for standing and 3kg for walking.
Wideband waveform design for clutter suppression

Modern signal generators offer the capability to synthesize arbitrary wideband waveforms for radar and sonar applications. This makes it possible to optimize signals for specific purposes or scenarios. Herein, we discuss how to design a wideband waveform for clutter suppression. We formulate an optimization in terms of mainlobe and sidelobe properties of the ambiguity function, then we provide an approximate solution based on convex relaxation. Numerical evaluation shows the advantage of selecting a smart signal compared to a conventional waveform design. The advantages are shown as a lower probability of false alarm and a higher probability of correct target detection.
Expressing emotion through vocal performance: Acoustic cues and the effects of a mindfulness induction

Previous research suggests that musicians modulate a predictable set of acoustic cues to convey distinct emotions. The current study focuses on singers, testing the validity of cues previously reported for a wide range of instruments. The study also asks: What effect might a musician’s mindfulness have on their expressive performance? Two groups of highly skilled vocalists recorded performances of a novel melody with four distinct emotions. Prior to the performance task, an experimental group took part in a guided mindfulness induction, while a control group engaged in a self-selected relaxation activity; state mindfulness was assessed immediately after. Recordings were analyzed for tempo, temporal variation, intensity, mean centroid, vibrato rate, vibrato extent, and attack slope; individual notes with particular scale-degree functions were also compared. Results show that the two groups of participants had similar cue usage, although those in the experimental condition had higher mindfulness scores and attributed improvements in focus and awareness to the induction task. Participants as a whole used cues in the predicted directions, and significant differences were found on all acoustical measures, except vibrato rate, as a function of expressed emotion. Results also indicate that participants modified intonation to distinguish between positive and negative emotions.
Social networkers and careerists: Explaining high-intensity activism among British party members

Drawing on survey data on the members of six British parties gathered in the immediate aftermath of the general election of 2015, this article asks what motivates members to engage in high-intensity election campaign activism. It argues that two factors are especially prominent: the aspiration to pursue a career in politics (which only accounts for a small minority of these activists) and becoming integrated into a local social network (which accounts for a much larger proportion). By contrast, members who lack either of these characteristics, but are mainly motivated to join by ideological impulses, largely restrict themselves to low-intensity activity. These findings are likely to be especially pertinent to countries with single-member district electoral systems.
Low-Cost Mobile Robot Localization Using Only a Downward-Facing Webcam

Low-cost commercial vision sensors, such as webcams, have advanced to the point where they can be used on mobile robots to perform a variety of vision-based tasks. One such task is localization, where the mobile robot must incrementally update its position as it moves throughout an environment. In this paper, we present a low-cost approach to localization using a single downward-facing webcam. FFT-based image registration techniques are utilized to determine the precise translation distances (for 2D position) and rotation angles (for heading) between consecutive frames. These motion updates over time result in relative position and heading estimation with high precision, allowing a robot to track its location using only the images provided by the webcam. Results using this concept are shown from a series of basic navigation experiments, including a successful loop-closing test, to demonstrate its general use and performance on a carpeted surface. A discussion of the method’s advantages and limitations is also included. This system is planned to be used as part of future low-cost mobile robot mapping research.
Neural regulation of the stress response: glucocorticoid feedback mechanisms

The mammalian stress response is an integrated physiological and psychological reaction to real or perceived adversity. Glucocorticoids are an important component of this response, acting to redistribute energy resources to both optimize survival in the face of challenge and to restore homeostasis after the immediate challenge has subsided. Release of glucocorticoids is mediated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, driven by a neural signal originating in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Stress levels of glucocorticoids bind to glucocorticoid receptors in multiple body compartments, including the brain, and consequently have wide-reaching actions. For this reason, glucocorticoids serve a vital function in negative feedback inhibition of their own secretion. Negative feedback inhibition is mediated by a diverse collection of mechanisms, including fast, non-genomic feedback at the level of the PVN, stress-shut-off at the level of the limbic system, and attenuation of ascending excitatory input through destabilization of mRNAs encoding neuropeptide drivers of the HPA axis. In addition, there is evidence that glucocorticoids participate in stress activation via feed-forward mechanisms at the level of the amygdala. Feedback deficits are associated with numerous disease states, underscoring the necessity for adequate control of glucocorticoid homeostasis. Thus, rather than having a single, defined feedback ‘switch’, control of the stress response requires a wide-reaching feedback ‘network’ that coordinates HPA activity to suit the overall needs of multiple body systems.
ON THE EMERGENCE OF COMPOSITIONALITY

Compositionality is a hallmark of human language words and morphemes can be factorially combined to produce a seemingly limitless number of viable strings. This contrasts with nonhuman communication systems, which for the most part are holistic encoding a whole message through a single, gestalt form. Why does every human language adopt a compositional strategy? In this paper, we show that compositional language can arise automatically through grounded communication among populations of communicators. The proposed mechanism is the following: if a holistic and a compositional approach are in competition and if both structured (compositional) and atomic meanings need to be communicated, the holistic strategy becomes less successful as it does not recruit already acquired bits of language. We demonstrate the viability of this explanation through computer simulations in which populations of artificial agents perform a communicative task describing scenes that they have observed. Successful language strategies (that is, those yielding successful transmission of information about a scene) are reinforced while unsuccessful ones are demoted. The simulations show that this reinforcement on the basis of communicative success indeed leads to the dominance of compositional language as long as the fraction of unstructured meaning to be communicated is sufficiently high. Moreover, following Elman (1993), we then show that the same effect can be achieved by, instead of manipulating the world (the fraction of unstructured meaning presented to the agents), letting the agents themselves go through developmental stages. These simulations confirm that simple reinforcement mechanisms applied during communicative interactions can account for the emergence of linguistic compositionality.
ff ectivity and Noncooperative Solution Concepts

Game theory analyzes the strategic aspects of situations of social interaction by representing them as mathematical structures. Any such structure should at least account for the participants’ powers and their preferences. The way powers and preferences are modelled makes a difference as to which strategic concepts are available for mathematical scrutiny. In strategic games the players’ powers are modelled as possible courses of action. This provides sufficient structure to analyze interactive situations by means of the noncooperative solution concepts, in particular Nash equilibrium. There are also different ways of representing the players’ powers. One of them being by means of effectivity sets, i.e., sets of outcomes in which a player can guarantee a game to end by choosing a particular course of action. One could favor this way of representing interactive situations as, indeed, it has been fashionable in recent formalisms, such as ATL, ATEL and coalition logic. This paper concerns the extent to which the notions available in strategic games are still applicable in case the players’ powers are represented in terms of their effectivity. We address this issue in particular for Nash equilibrium and a related solution concept, which we call outcome equilibrium.
Multi-sensor data fusion using Bayesian programming : an automotive application

A prerequisite to the design of future advanced driver assistance systems for cars is a sensing system that provides all the information required for high-level driving assistance tasks. Carsense is a European project whose purpose is to develop such a new sensing system. It combines different sensors (laser, radar and video) and relies on the fusion of the information coming from these sensors in order to achieve better accuracy, robustness and an increase of the information content. This paper demonstrates the interest of using probabilistic reasoning techniques to address this challenging multi-sensor data fusion problem. The approach used is called Bayesian programming. It is a general approach based on an implementation of the Bayesian theory. It was introduced initially to design robot control programs but its scope of application including uncertain or incomplete knowledge handling problems.
Cultural Variations in Shame’s Responses

The diverse literature on shame has led to disparate and often contradictory conclusions regarding the emotion’s nature and consequences. The article proposes a motivational theory of shame that accounts for these discrepant findings. The first part of the article uses the concept of active avoidance to outline a dynamic motivational perspective in which shame is based initially in behavioral inhibition that then incorporates subsequent behavioral activation. The motivational shift is guided by shame’s relational phenomenology and the normative beliefs associated with shame. In the second part, the motivational perspective is used to account for variations in shame’s consequences. Externalizing and restorative tendencies of shame are culturally variable and due to differences in behavioral activation associated with the emotion. However, withdrawal tendencies occur across cultural contexts because of shame’s basis in inhibition. Issues in conducting cross-cultural studies on emotion and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Elder men’s bromance in Asian lands: normative Western masculinity in Better Late than Never

ABSTRACT Better Late than Never is a remake of a Korean reality T.V. travel show, which aired on N.B.C. in August 2016. The show’s premise features four elder celebrity men – Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, and George Foreman – with their mid-30s companion Jeff Dye as they travel through the “exotic” lands of East Asia. Through the use of two popular narrative tropes, the bromance and the Western journey for self-discovery in Asia, the show argues that the interaction with the Asian other is beneficial primarily in masculine self-discovery and masculine homosocial bonding. Borrowing from Steeves’s use of the hybrid encounter, I argue that B.L. T.N. positions the strange Asian other as valuable only as a reference for becoming reacquainted with the U.S. American self and emotionally connected to his fraternal companions. Thus, B.L. T.N. rejects hybridity and reinforces U.S. American masculinity through the reification of ideologically preferred contact with the other that is shallow and that benefits the Western traveler.