Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning to Rank by Optimizing NDCG Measure

Learning to rank is a relatively new field of study, aiming to learn a ranking function from a set of training data with relevancy labels. The ranking algorithms are often evaluated using information retrieval measures, such as Normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain (NDCG) [1] and Mean Average Precision (MAP) [2]. Until recently, most learning to rank algorithms were not using a loss function related to the above mentioned evaluation measures. The main difficulty in direct optimization of these measures is that they depend on the ranks of documents, not the numerical values output by the ranking function. We propose a probabilistic framework that addresses this challenge by optimizing the expectation of NDCG over all the possible permutations of documents. A relaxation strategy is used to approximate the average of NDCG over the space of permutation, and a bound optimization approach is proposed to make the computation efficient. Extensive experiments show that the proposed algorithm outperforms state-of-the-art ranking algorithms on several benchmark data sets.
Sunscreen use and intentional exposure to ultraviolet A and B radiation: a double blind randomized trial using personal dosimeters

A previous randomized trial found that sunscreen use could extend intentional sun exposure, thereby possibly increasing the risk of cutaneous melanoma. In a similarly designed trial, we examined the effect of the use of sunscreens having different sun protection factor (SPF) on actual exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. In June 1998, 58 European participants 18–24 years old were randomized to receive a SPF 10 or 30 sunscreens and were asked to complete daily records of their sun exposure during their summer holidays of whom 44 utilized a personal UVA and UVB dosimeter in a standard way during their sunbathing sessions. The median daily sunbathing duration was 2.4 hours in the SPF 10 group and 3.0 hours in the SPF 30 group (P = 0.054). The increase in daily sunbathing duration was paralleled by an increase in daily UVB exposure, but not by changes in UVA or UVB accumulated over all sunbathing sessions, or in daily UVA exposure. Of all participants, those who used the SPF 30 sunscreen and had no sunburn spent the highest number of hours in sunbathing activities. Differences between the two SPF groups in total number of sunbathing hours, daily sunbathing duration, and daily UVB exposure were largest among participants without sunburn during holidays. Among those with sunburn, the differences between the two groups tended to reduce. In conclusion, sunscreens used during sunbathing tended to increase the duration of exposures to doses of ultraviolet radiation below the sunburn threshold. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
Effects of sublethal ammonia exposure on swimming performance in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Adult trout Oncorhynchus mykiss fitted with a dorsal aortic catheter were exposed to 288+/-15 micromol l(-1) (mean +/- S.E.M.) total ammonia for 24h in water at a pH of 8.39+/-0.02, while swimming at a speed equivalent to 0.75 bodylengths s(-1) (BLs(-1)) in a Brett-type tunnel respirometer. The fish were then exposed to stepwise increments in swimming speed (0.25 BLs(-1) every 30 min) until exhaustion. Measurements of oxygen uptake (M(O2)) and plasma total ammonia levels and pH were made at each speed. Control trout were treated identically but without exposure to ammonia. Ammonia exposure caused an increase in plasma total ammonia level to 436+/-34 micromol l(-1), compared to 183+/-30 micromol l(-1)in control animals (N=6). A significant reduction in total plasma ammonia level was found in both groups during exercise, despite a large negative concentration gradient in those exposed to an elevated concentration of ammonia in water, which may indicate an active excretory process. The overall increase in plasma ammonia levels in exposed trout was associated with a significant reduction in critical swimming speed (U(crit)) to 1.61+/-0.17BL s(-1) from 2.23+/-0.15BL s(-1) in control animals. Ammonia-exposed trout had a significantly higher maintenance metabolic rate (MMR) than control fish, when estimated as the y-intercept of the relationship between swimming speed and M(O2). Active metabolic rate (AMR, maximum M(O2) as measured at U(crit)) was significantly lower in ammonia-exposed animals, leading to a profound reduction in factorial aerobic scope (AMR/MMR). Reduced U(crit) was also linked to a reduction in maximum tailbeat frequency. Calculation of membrane potentials (E(M)) in the white muscle of fish swum to U(crit) revealed a significant partial depolarisation of white muscle in ammonia-exposed fish. This may have prevented white muscle recruitment and contributed to the reduced maximum tailbeat frequency and overall impairment of swimming performance in the ammonia-exposed fish.
A Maastrichtian microbial reef and associated limestones in the Roca Formation of Patagonia (Neuquen Province, Argentina)

We describe a small microbial reef and associated limestones occurring in a Maastrichtian transgressive succession of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic lithologies at Sierra Huantraico near Chos Malal (Neuquen, Argentina). Strontium isotope data suggest that the reef is of earliest Maastrichtian age. The small reef (0.8 m thick, 2 m wide) is mostly composed of peloidal bindstone, dense stromatolite-cement crusts and thrombolite. Except for some ostracods, no metazoan fossils were found in the reef structure, although the majority of peloids are fecal pellets, probably of larger crustaceans. Small foraminifers with calcite tests and probable green algae have also been noted. Sedimentological data and fossils within and immediately above the reef suggest that the reef was formed in a transgressive systems tract under freshwater to brackish-water conditions. Limestones above the reef are serpulid-bryozoan packstones and intraclast-ooid grainstones. These limestones yield a mixture of typical non-tropical (common serpulids and bryozoans) and typical tropical aspects (common dasycladaceans and ooids). This mosaic is explained by salinity fluctuations, which in our case dominate over temperature in determining the grain associations. Wir beschreiben ein kleines mikrobielles Riff, das in der Sierra Hunatraico (Neuquen, Argentinien) in einer transgressiven, gemischt siliziklastisch-kalkigen Abfolge gefunden wurde. Nach Strontiumisotopen-Datierung ist das Riff in das unterste Maastrichtium zu stellen. Das kleine Riff (0,8 m Machtigkeit, 2 m Breite) besteht uberwiegend aus peloidalem Bindstone, dichten Stromatolith-Zement-Krusten und Thrombolith. Mit Ausnahme von Ostrakoden konnten keine Metazoen in der Riffstruktur nachgewiesen werden, obwohl die Mehrzahl der Peloide als Kotpillen zu interpretieren sind, die vermutlich auf grosere Krebse zuruckgehen. Kleine Foraminiferen und mogliche Grunalgen sind die einzigen zusatzlich nachweisbaren Eukaryoten. Die Fossilien im Riff und in den uberlagernden Kalken sprechen fur ein Riffwachstum unter transgressiven aber hyposalinen Bedingungen. Die Kalke uber dem Riff tragen ein gemischtes palaoklimatisches Signal, das sowohl typisch nicht-tropische als auch typisch tropische Komponenten beinhaltet. Dieses Mosaik ist moglicherweise durch die starken Salinitatsschwankungen erklarbar und erfordert ein Uberdenken der bisherigen Modelle zur klimatischen Steuerung der Karbonatsedimentation. doi: 10.1002/mmng.200600007
Utilizing a Culture of Trust to Promote Academic Integrity

Abstract A simple Internet search of “academic dishonesty” reveals a continuing conversation among individuals within the academic community who are asking what academic dishonesty is, who is cheating, why students are cheating, and how we stop them from cheating. This article addresses these questions and provides a model for creating a culture of trust in the classroom by utilizing the basic tenets of leadership to promote academic integrity with students.
Paying the toll: a feminist post‐structural critique of the discourse bridging work and family

On the surface, the modern workplace and home life appear to stand in sharp contrast to one another. The workplace seems to epitomize the modern concern with bounded time and the necessity of effective ‘use time’ (e.g., efficiency, effort, organizational commitment, speed‐up). Home life, on the other hand, is characterized by idealized images of emotionality and relief from the pressures of work. Yet numerous reported experiences of working people seem to belie this supposed duality. For many, home life is experienced as an appendage of the workplace, with its demands on time‐effort balance. Nonetheless, we continue to act as if there are two separate spheres of life that can ultimately be balanced and reconciled. This has been reinforced over the years by a growing discourse of work‐family conflict. Deconstruction of the discourse suggests that far from unraveling the ‘problem’ its characterization as a ‘work‐family’ conflict serves to privilege the dominant themes of use‐time and speed.
Type 8 Adenylyl Cyclase Is Targeted to Excitatory Synapses and Required for Mossy Fiber Long-Term Potentiation

Mossy fiber/CA3 long-term potentiation (LTP) is hypothesized to depend on cAMP signals generated by Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclases AC1 or AC8. AC1 gene knock-out mice (AC1–/–) show a partial reduction in mossy fiber LTP, suggesting that either AC8 activity is also critical for mossy fiber LTP or that there is a component of mossy fiber LTP that is independent of CaM-activated adenylyl cyclases. To address this issue, mossy fiber LTP was examined in hippocampal slices from AC8–/– and AC1–/– × AC8–/– double knock-out mice (DKO). Despite the fact that AC8 contributes only a small fraction of the Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in the hippocampus and is less sensitive to Ca2+ than AC1, AC8–/– mice exhibited mossy fiber LTP defects comparable with AC1–/– and DKO mice. Furthermore, short-term plasticity was disrupted in AC8–/– mice but not in AC1–/– mice. Because AC1 is not localized at the excitatory synapses in hippocampal neurons, we hypothesized that AC8 may be targeted to synapses, in which higher synaptic-specific Ca2+ increases occur. Here, we report that AC8 accumulates in puncta of dendrites and axons in hippocampal neurons and colocalizes with synaptic marker proteins. These data indicate that both synaptic and nonsynaptic cAMP signals, generated by different Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclases, are required for mossy fiber LTP.
Working Memory After Mild, Moderate, or Severe Childhood Closed Head Injury

Children with closed head injury (CHI) perform poorly on complex tasks requiring working memory (WM). It is unclear to what extent WM itself is compromised, and whether WM varies with factors related to the CHI, such as injury severity, age at injury, and time since injury. We studied verbal WM in 126 school-age children with CHI, divided into mild, moderate, and severe injury severity groups. WM distributions were significantly skewed toward lower scores in the moderate and severe groups, although the distribution in the mild group was normal. Age at injury and time since injury predicted WM components only for the moderate group. Survivors of moderate or severe childhood CHI have persisting WM deficits limiting the computational workspace required for many cognitive tasks.
Attachment and Loss, Vol. 3. Loss, Sadness and Depression. By John Bowlby.

niscience of consciousness (and such seems to be the case), and if his insistence on self-realization through action seems to be a call for constant “acting out” (it could be so interpreted), at least his philosophy was an outgrowth of his oivn actual life experience: he fought Hitler both as a soldier and, following capture and release, in the Resistance. His facing u p to death was no abstraction. He did not learn it by repeating Heidegger’s academic formulations. As clinicians and humanists we know that total academic rigor and intellectual cleanliness may be possible only with trivial matters. For Kierkegaard and other existentialists a philosophy had to be lived to be serious. The necessity was for making concrete ethical decisions and carrying them forward in the conduct of one’s life, refusing to settle for comfortable, quiet conformity. In Sartre’s often murky language, what one is in oneself (en soi) is a given; but what one makes of oneself for oneself (pour soi) is still full of possibility based on an unremitting series of active choices that make one (relatively) free, and therefore human. This is a vision of man’s task as unsparing as it is noble. Finally, it behooves us to admit that our psychoanalytic alertness to the dangers of acting out carries with it its oivn occupational hazards: a comfortably adaptive passivity, an overemphasis on mentalism, and the habitual evasion of realistic action-safe and critical on the reviewing stand. This book makes for difficult reading. That is due partly to the nature of its subject. T h e author is to be congratulated for contributing a comprehensive, challenging, and overdue critique and summary of “existentialist psychoanalysis. ” When one recalls that Sartre speaks as though there were two psychoanalyses without even crediting which came first, it is more than fitting; it is high time thata scholarly examination demonstrate that the repudiation of the unconscious makes “existentialist psychoanalysis” both superficial and a contradiction in terms. I t is perhaps also fitting to emphasize here that there is more to existentialism than Sartre’s “existential psychoanalysis. ” In the opinion of some philosophic scholars, existentialism, in the broader sense, is not reducible to any set of tenets. It is essentially a sensibility that questions the adequacy of any system of beliefs. Its preoccupation with failure, dread, and death, its insistence on protest, challenge, and individualism make it ever more expressive of our times.
Understanding Interactive Systems

This article examines differing approaches to the definition, classification and modelling of interactive music systems, drawing together both historical and contemporary practice. Concepts of shared control, collaboration and conversation metaphors, mapping, gestural control, system responsiveness and separation of interface from sound generator are discussed. The article explores the potential of interactive systems to facilitate the creation of dynamic compositional sonic architectures through performance and improvisation.
Multiple 3D Object Tracking using ROI and Double Filtering for Augmented Reality

We present a new method to track multiple 3D object that is robust and real-time processing. Also, fast object registration is available. Many augmented applications need to track 3D object using natural features in real-time, more accuracy, and registering or learning object immediately. But existing algorithm uses FERN for feature extraction algorithm that takes several minutes to register target object, because of its high accuracy performance. Our method provides not only fast registering time about 0.3ms but also high accuracy. This features accomplished by SURF for feature extraction algorithm, ROI and double robust filtering. Using our methods, multiple 3D object tracking with fast and high accuracy is available.
Shift-invariant spaces on the real line

We investigate the structure of shift-invariant spaces generated by a finite number of compactly supported functions in Lp(R) (1 ≤ p ≤ ∞). Based on a study of linear independence of the shifts of the generators, we characterize such shift-invariant spaces in terms of the semi-convolutions of the generators with sequences on Z. Moreover, we show that such a shiftinvariant space provides Lp-approximation order k if and only if it contains all polynomials of degree less than k.
Incidence and Diversity of Potentially Highly Heat-Resistant Spores Isolated at Dairy Farms

ABSTRACT The presence of highly heat-resistant spores of Bacillus sporothermodurans in ultrahigh-temperature or sterilized consumer milk has emerged as an important item in the dairy industry. Their presence is considered undesirable since they hamper the achievement of commercial sterility requirements. By using a selective 30-min heat treatment at 100°C, 17 Belgian dairy farms were screened to evaluate the presence, sources, and nature of potentially highly heat-resistant spores in raw milk. High numbers of these spores were detected in the filter cloth of the milking equipment and in green crop and fodder samples. About 700 strains were isolated after the selective heating, of which 635 could be screened by fatty acid methyl ester analysis. Representative strains were subjected to amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, percent G+C content, and DNA-DNA reassociations for further identification. The strain collection showed a remarkable diversity, with representatives of seven aerobic spore-forming genera. Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus pallidus were the most predominant species overall. Twenty-three percent of the 603 spore-forming isolates proved to belong to 18 separate novel species. These findings suggest that the selective heating revealed a pool of unknown organisms with a higher heat-resistant character. This study showed that high spore counts can occur at the dairy farm and that feed and milking equipment can act as reservoirs or entry points for potentially highly heat-resistant spores into raw milk. Lowering this spore load by good hygienic measures could probably further reduce the contamination level of raw milk, in this way minimizing the aerobic spore-forming bacteria that could lead to spoilage of milk and dairy products. Assessment and characterization of this particular flora are of great importance to allow the dairy or food industry to adequately deal with newly arising microbiological problems.
Impact of diet on breast cancer risk

Purpose of review Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in Western Europe and North America, and becoming an increasing problem in developing countries such as India and China. We review recent studies (published 1 January 2007–31 August 2008) on the impact of diet on breast cancer risk. Recent findings Recent studies have focused on the controversial association for dietary fat and breast cancer as well as the role of newer aspects such as glycemic index, dietary patterns and diet–gene interactions. Evidence that some of the associations may be modified by oestrogen and progesterone receptor status has been presented. Still, only alcohol intake, being overweight and weight gain have shown consistent and strong positive associations with breast cancer risk. The reasons for the null or weak associations often observed regarding diet and breast cancer might be several. For example, there may be no causal association, or existing associations may be masked by measurement error, timing of dietary exposure and differences according to tumour characteristics or diet–gene interactions. Summary Numerous epidemiological studies on diet and breast cancer have been published during our review period. Still, only alcohol intake, being overweight and weight gain have shown consistent and strong positive associations with breast cancer risk.
Dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is Influenced by Host Factors and Precedes the Initiation of T-Cell Immunity

ABSTRACT We report that dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the mouse is under host control and precedes the initiation of T-cell immunity. Nine to eleven days after aerosol inoculation, M. tuberculosis disseminates to the pulmonary lymph nodes (LN), where M. tuberculosis-specific T cells are detected 2 to 3 days thereafter. This indicates that the initial spread of bacteria occurs via lymphatic drainage and that the acquired T-cell immune response is generated in the draining LN. Dissemination to peripheral sites, such as the spleen and the liver, occurs 11 to 14 days postinfection and is followed by the appearance of M. tuberculosis-specific T cells in the lung and the spleen. In all cases studied, dissemination to the LN or the spleen preceded activation of M. tuberculosis-specific T cells in that organ. Interestingly, bacteria disseminate earlier from the lungs of resistant C57BL/6 mice than from the lungs of susceptible C3H mice, and consequently, C57BL/6 mice generate an immune response to M. tuberculosis sooner than C3H mice generate an immune response. Thus, instead of spreading infection, early dissemination of M. tuberculosis may aid in the initiation of an appropriate and timely immune response. We hypothesize that this early initiation of immunity following inoculation with M. tuberculosis may contribute to the superior resistance of C57BL/6 mice.
Education, Self‐Management, and Upper Extremity Exercise Training in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

To evaluate the effectiveness of a brief supervised education, self‐management, and global upper extremity exercise training program, supplementing a home exercise regimen, for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; the Education, Self‐Management, and Upper Extremity Exercise Training in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis [EXTRA] program).
Evidence for sequential signals in the induction of the arachidonic acid cascade in macrophages

We have examined the requirement for Na+, Ca2+, and protein synthesis in the induction of the arachidonic acid (20:4) cascade in cultured murine peritoneal macrophages. Replacement of extracellular Na+ with choline or with K+ inhibited receptor-mediated 20:4 release by 60-90%, but did not inhibit release stimulated by the soluble triggers PMA and A23187. Cells that had preingested zymosan particles in a K+ medium could be induced to secrete 20:4 metabolites merely by changing the medium to one containing Na+. The Ca2+ ionophore A23187 caused cells in Na+-free medium to release and metabolize 20:4 to prostacyclin, PGE2, leukotriene C, and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids, suggesting that the phospholipase(s), cyclooxygenase, and lipoxygenase enzymes do not have a requirement for extracellular Na+. These data suggest that receptor- mediated 20:4 secretion has a requirement for extracellular Na+, while 20:4 release triggered by soluble stimuli do not. Immune complex- and A23187-induced 20:4 release was absolutely dependent on extracellular Ca2+. PMA-triggered 20:4 secretion was inhibited 50% in Ca2+-free medium, but could be inhibited completely by preloading the cells with the Ca2+ antagonist quinine. Protein and RNA synthesis was required for 20:4 release induced by zymosan, immune complex, and PMA, but not by A23187. Cycloheximide and emetine were effective within 15 min of addition, while actinomycin D was an effective inhibitor within 45 min. We suggest that receptor-mediated signal response coupling in the 20:4 cascade in macrophages comprises a sequential series of signals that includes an Na+ influx, synthesis of a rapid turnover-protein, and finally an increase in intracellular Ca2+.
Simplifying HL7 Version 3 messages

HL7 Version 3 offers a semantically robust method for healthcare interoperability but has been criticized as overly complex to implement. This paper reviews initiatives to simplify HL7 Version 3 messaging and presents a novel approach based on semantic mapping. Based on user-defined definitions, precise transforms between simple and full messages are automatically generated. Systems can be interfaced with the simple messages and achieve interoperability with full Version 3 messages through the transforms. This reduces the costs of HL7 interfacing and will encourage better uptake of HL7 Version 3 and CDA.