Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Random Matrices and Complexity of Spin Glasses

We give an asymptotic evaluation of the complexity of spherical p‐spin spin glass models via random matrix theory. This study enables us to obtain detailed information about the bottom of the energy landscape, including the absolute minimum (the ground state), and the other local minima, and describe an interesting layered structure of the low critical values for the Hamiltonians of these models. We also show that our approach allows us to compute the related TAPcomplexity and extend the results known in the physics literature. As an independent tool, we prove a large deviation principle for the kth‐largest eigenvalue of the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble, extending the results of Ben Arous, Dembo, and Guionnet. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Learning in the Chrest Cognitive Architecture Theoretical Background

Synonyms Template theory Definition CHREST (Chunk Hierarchy and REtrieval Structures) is a cognitive architecture that closely simulates learning and the acquisition of expertise <<Link to Development of expertise>> in humans. The key features of CHREST include self-organization, an emphasis on bounded rationality <<Link to Bounded rationality and learning>> (cognitive limitations), a close link between perception, learning, memory, and decision making, and the use of naturalistic data as input for learning. CHREST has successfully simulated behavior in domains such as the psychology of expertise, the acquisition of language by children, concept formation, and the learning of multiple representations in physics. The use of a cognitive architecture (a computational theory applied to several domains) to study learning offers several advantages. First, the similarities between models lead to a consistent and unified theoretical framework being applied to multiple domains. This parsimony strengthens claims that the underlying learning mechanisms are general. Second, well-specified computational models provide the only realistic means for identifying and evaluating major factors in learning from large, noisy and dynamically changing sources of information. Third, the use of computational models enables predictions to be made about the structures that are acquired, rather than simply explaining behavior post hoc. The extent to which simulations of actual human behavior are successful can be evaluated by comparing the
Error Detection in Automatic Speech Recognition

We offer a supervised machine learning approach for recognizing erroneous words in the output of a speech recognizer. We have investigated several sets of features combined with two word configurations, and compared the performance of two classifiers: Decision Trees and Naive Bayes. Evaluation was performed on a corpus of 400 spoken referring expressions, with Decision Trees yielding a high recognition accuracy.
The Prominent Role of Neutrophils during the Initial Phase of Infection by Leishmania Parasites

Neutrophils are rapidly and massively recruited to the site of Leishmania inoculation, where they phagocytose the parasites, some of which are able to survive within these first host cells. Neutrophils can thus provide a transient safe shelter for the parasites, prior to their entry into macrophages where they will replicate. In addition, neutrophils release and synthesize rapidly several factors including cytokines and chemokines. The mechanism involved in their rapid recruitment to the site of parasite inoculation, as well as the putative consequences of their massive presence on the microenvironment of the focus of infection will be discussed in the context of the development of the Leishmania-specific immune response.
In vitro synergistic anti-prion effect of cholesterol ester modulators in combination with chlorpromazine and quinacrine

Our studies on the role of cholesterol in prion infection/replication showed that brains and peripheral cells of sheep susceptible-to or suffering-from Scrapie were characterized by an altered cholesterol homeostasis, and that drugs affecting cholesterol ester pool were endowed with selective anti-prion activity in N2a cell lines infected with the 22L and RML prion strains. In these prion-infected N2a cell lines, we now report increased anti-prion activity of dual-drug combinations consisting of cholesterol ester modulators associated with prion inhibitors. Synergism was obtained with the cholesterol ester modulators everolimus, pioglitazone, progesterone, and verapamil associated with the anti-prion chlorpromazine, and with everolimus and pioglitazone associated with the anti-prion quinacrine. In addition, comparative lipid analyses in prion-infected vs. uninfected N2a cells, demonstrated a derangement of type and distribution of cholesterol ester, free cholesterol, and triglyceride pools in the infected cells. Single-drug treatments differently affected synthesis of the various lipid forms, whereas combined drug treatments appeared to restore a lipid profile similar to that of the untreated-uninfected cells. We conclude that the anti-prion synergistic effects of cholesterol ester modulators associated with the cholesterol-interfering anti-prion drugs chlorpromazine and quinacrine may arise from the ability of combined drugs to re-establish lipid homeostasis in the prion-infected cells. Overall, these data suggest that inhibition of prion replication can be readily potentiated by combinatorial drug treatments and that steps of cholesterol/cholesterol ester metabolism may represent suitable targets.
Research and practice of open test database system based on cloud architecture

Open test database system based on cloud architecture uses the architecture mode of cloud computing and cloud storage, through accessing a browser, achieves real-time LAN and Internet database management functions. The system not only to achieve a dynamic courses management, dynamic examination questions management and dynamic test paper management, but also to provide a prerequisite for the open teaching. And it further promote the changes of learning idea and transformations of learning mode in student.
The Impact of Social Movements on Taiwan's Democracy

This article discusses and critiques the four articles that comprise this volume on Taiwan's social movement and democratization. I argue that the four articles suggest that while Taiwan's social movements have made a clear impact on Taiwan's democratization, they remain challenged by the neo-liberal orientation of elected governments, in both KMT and DPP forms. The article provides brief comparison to East Asian NICs and Western experiences with social movements. A strength of the articles is their attention to the complex ways social movements and democratization have impacted each other for the past two decades, with attention to unintended consequences. It concludes with some thoughts on the implications of how nationalism and globalization will continue to shape the potential of social movements in Taiwan.
A comparison between human perception and a speaker verification system score of a voice imitation.

A professional impersonator has been studied when training his voice tomimic two target speakers. A three-fold investigation has been conducted; acomputer-based speaker verification system was used, phonetic-acousticmeasurements were made and a perception test was conducted. Our ideabehind using this type of system is to measure how close to the target voice aprofessional impersonation might be able to reach and to relate this tophonetic-acoustic analyses of the mimic speech and human perception. Thesignificantly increased verification scores and the phonetic-acoustic analysesshow that the impersonator really changes his natural voice and speech in hisimitations. The results of the perception test show that there is no, or only asmall, correlation between the verification system and the listeners whenestimating the voice imitations and how close they are to one of the targetspeakers.
Run-DMC: Runtime dynamic heterogeneous multicore performance and power estimation for energy efficiency

In this paper we propose Run-DMC, an accurate runtime performance and power estimation scheme for dynamic workloads executing on heterogeneous multicore systems. In contrast to previous works, Run-DMC uses fine grain per-thread metrics that model the Thread Load Contribution (TLC) induced by the native OS scheduling policy to accurately predict performance and power for any possible thread-to-core mapping. This allows the operating system to opportunistically exploit the heterogeneous multicore architecture by dynamically mapping workloads to the most appropriate core type. We have integrated our models into the Linux kernel running on top of a heterogeneous multicore system with 4 different core types. Our experimental results show that Run-DMC models yield up to 97% more energy efficient when compared to the vanilla Linux. When compared to the approach employed by state-of-the-art energy-aware schedulers, Run-DMC yields up-to 44% better energy efficiency.
The Hubble Constant: A Summary of the Hubble Space Telescope Program for the Luminosity Calibration of Type Ia Supernovae by Means of Cepheids

This is the final summary paper of our 15 yr program using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to determine the Hubble constant from the Cepheid-calibrated luminosity of Type Ia supernovae. Several recent developments have made it necessary to put the summary on H0 on a broader basis than we originally thought (see the four papers cited in the text). The new Cepheid distances of the subset of 10 galaxies, which were hosts of normal SNe Ia, give weighted mean luminosities in B, V, and I at maximum light of -19.49, -19.46, and -19.22, respectively. These calibrate the adopted SNe Ia Hubble diagram from Paper III to give H0 = 62.3 ± 1.3(random) ± 5.0(systematic) in units of km s-1 Mpc-1. This is a global value because it uses the Hubble diagram between redshift limits of 3000 and 20,000 km s-1, beyond the effects of any local random and streaming motions. Local values of H0 between 4.4 and 30 Mpc from Cepheids, SNe Ia, 21 cm line widths, and the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) all agree within 5% of our global value. This agreement of H0 on all scales from ~4 to 200 Mpc finds its most obvious explanation in the smoothing effect of vacuum energy on the otherwise lumpy gravitational field due to the nonuniform distribution of the local galaxies. The present value of H0 is consistent with physical methods relying on the time delay of gravitational lenses and the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, and it is not in contradiction with the CMB data. Our value of H0 is 14% smaller than the value of H0 found by Freedman et al. because our independent Cepheid distances to the six SNe Ia-calibrating galaxies used in that analysis average 0.35 mag larger than those used earlier.
Critical Inquiry as Virtuous Truth-Telling: Implications of Phronesis and Parrhesia

This article examines critical inquiry and truth-telling from the perspective of two complementary theoretical frameworks. First, Aristotelian phronesis, or practical wisdom, offers a framework for truth that is oriented toward ethical deliberation while recognizing the contingency of practical application. Second, Foucauldian parrhesia calls for an engaged sense of truth-telling that requires risk from the inquirer while grounding truth in the complexity of human discourse. Taken together, phronesis and parrhesia orient inquirers toward intentional truth-telling practices that resist simplistic renderings of criticality and overly technical understandings of research. This article argues that truly critical inquiry must spring from the perspectives of phronesis and parrhesia, providing research projects that aim at virtuous truth-telling over technical veracity with the hope of contributing to ethical discourse and social praxis.
BioSync: An Informed Participatory Interface for Audience Dynamics and Audiovisual Content Co-creation using Mobile PPG and EEG

The BioSync interface presented in this paper merges the paradigms of heart-rate and brain-wave into one mobile unit which is scalable for large audience real-time applications. The goal of BioSync is to provide a hybrid interface, which uses audience biometric responses for audience participation techniques and methods. To provide an affordable and scalable solution, BioSync collects the user’s heart rate via mobile device pulse oximetry and the EEG data via Bluetooth communication with the off-the-shelf MindWave Mobile hardware. Various interfaces have been designed and implemented in the development of audience participation techniques and systems. In the design and concept of BioSync, we first summarize recent interface research for audience participation within the NIME-related context, followed by the outline of the BioSync methodology and interface design. We then present a technique for dynamic tempo control based on the audience biometric responses and an early prototype of a mobile dual-channel pulse oximetry and EEG bi-directional interface for iOS device (BioSync). Finally, we present discussions and ideas for future applications, as well as plans for a series of experiments, which investigate if temporal parameters of an audience’s physiological metrics encourage crowd synchronization during a live event or performance, a characteristic, which we see as having great potential in the creation of future live musical, audiovisual and performance applications.
Using a knowledge translation framework to implement asthma clinical practice guidelines in primary care

Quality problem International guidelines establish evidence-based standards for asthma care; however, recommendations are often not implemented and many patients do not meet control targets. Initial assessment Regional pilot data demonstrated a knowledge-to-practice gap. Choice of solutions We engineered health system change in a multi-step approach described by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research knowledge translation framework. Implementation Knowledge translation occurred at multiple levels: patient, practice and local health system. A regional administrative infrastructure and inter-disciplinary care teams were developed. The key project deliverable was a guideline-based interdisciplinary asthma management program. Six community organizations, 33 primary care physicians and 519 patients participated. The program operating cost was $290/patient. Evaluation Six guideline-based care elements were implemented, including spirometry measurement, asthma controller therapy, a written self-management action plan and general asthma education, including the inhaler device technique, role of medications and environmental control strategies in 93, 95, 86, 100, 97 and 87% of patients, respectively. Of the total patients 66% were adults, 61% were female, the mean age was 35.7 (SD = ±24.2) years. At baseline 42% had two or more symptoms beyond acceptable limits vs. 17% (P< 0.001) post-intervention; 71% reported urgent/emergent healthcare visits at baseline (2.94 visits/year) vs. 45% (1.45 visits/year) (P< 0.001); 39% reported absenteeism (5.0 days/year) vs. 19% (3.0 days/year) (P< 0.001). The mean follow-up interval was 22 (SD = ±7) months. Lessons learned A knowledge-translation framework can guide multi-level organizational change, facilitate asthma guideline implementation, and improve health outcomes in community primary care practices. Program costs are similar to those of diabetes programs. Program savings offset costs in a ratio of 2.1:1
Specific CDK4/6 inhibition in breast cancer: a systematic review of current clinical evidence

Background Loss of cell cycle control is a hallmark of cancer, and aberrations in the cyclin-dependent kinase-retinoblastoma (CDK-Rb) pathway are common in breast cancer (BC). Consequently, inhibition of this pathway is an attractive therapeutic strategy. The present review addresses efficacy and toxicity of CDK4/6 inhibition in BC. Methods A literature search was carried out using PubMed and EMBASE; data reported at international meetings and clinicaltrials.gov were included. Results Three specific CDK4/6 inhibitors palbociclib, abemaciclib and ribociclib are tested in clinical trials. A randomised phase II trial of palbociclib plus letrozole versus letrozole and a phase III of palbociclib plus fulvestrant versus fulvestrant showed significantly increased progression-free survival when compared with endocrine therapy alone in first-line and second-line treatment for advanced hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative BC. At the moment several phase III studies are ongoing with all three CDK4/6 inhibitors in hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative BC as well as other subtypes of BC. The predominant toxicity of agents was limited neutropenia. Other common adverse events were infections, fatigue and gastrointestinal toxicity. The toxicities seemed manageable. Yet data are too limited to differentiate between the compounds. Retinoblastoma protein (Rb) is considered a promising biomarker. Conclusion CDK4/6 inhibition might represent a substantial advance for patients with hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative BC. Results must be confirmed in phase III trials before any firm conclusions can be made regarding the future influence of CDK4/6 inhibition. There is an urgent need for prospective biomarker-driven trials to identify patients for whom CDK4/6 inhibition is cost-effective.
Multi-Agent Systems for Urban Planning

Cities provide homes for over half of the world’s population, and this proportion is expected to increase throughout the next century. The growth of cities raises many questions and challenges for urban planning including which cities and regions are most likely to grow, what the pattern of urban growth will be, and how the existing infrastructure will cope with such growth. One way to explore these types of questions is through the use of multi-agent systems (MAS) that are capable of modeling how individuals interact and how structures emerge through such interactions, in terms of both the social and physical environment of cities. Within this chapter, the authors focus on how MAS can lead to insights into urban problems and aid urban planning from the bottom up. They review MAS models that explore the growth of cities and regions, models that explore land-use patterns resulting from such growth along with the rise of slums. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate how MAS models can be used to model transportation and the changing demographics of cities. Through these examples the authors also demonstrate how this style of modeling can give insights into such issues that cannot be gleamed from other modeling methodologies. The chapter concludes with challenges and future research directions of MAS models with respect to capturing the dynamics of human behavior in urban planning.
Stability of Learning in the A RBIB Autonomous Robot

WehavepreviouslydescribedtheARBIB autonomous robot which consistsof a mobile platform runninga neuralnetwork simulator. Unlike mostotherbehaving robots,the neuralsystemis biologically-inspired andoperatesat the level of individual spikes. Rather than using currently-popularreinforcementlearning techniques,ARBIB learnsfrom exposureto its environmentvia low-level mechanismsof habituation, sensitisationandclassicalconditioning. In previous work, its short-termmemory(formedthroughrecovery of synapticweights)madeits learningalmosttotally plastic;it hadno long-or medium-termmemory. This paperexploresmeansof addingstability to its learning. Long-termmemoryis providedby asimpleform of synaptogenesis, which formsnew connectionswithin the nervous system. Medium-termmemory is provided by a recurrentneuralcircuit coupledto a simple modelof themedialpallium, which in turn is fed from a sonarrange-findingcell. This allows thenervoussystemto respondto successi ve stimuli that lie outsidethedurationof its short-termmemory. Theeffectsof thesetwo enhancements areassessed for their impact on ARBIB’s behaviour. Long-term memory is testedby collision avoidancebehaviour, demonstratedby presentingacomparisonof firing activity in bumpsensorycellswith andwithoutsynaptogenesis.Medium-termmemoryis testedby allowing thesonar -drivenmedialpallium to habituateto a distant target,andthenintroducinga transitorytargetat closerange.In this way, a usefulmeasureof learning stability throughmedium-andlong-termmemoriesis achieved.
18 New Kinds of Learning Objects

This article describes two aspects of thinking about learning objects, their desired " standalone " nature and certain best-practice recommendations regarding their production. The article disputes that a learning object can ever truly be " standalone " and argues that the best way to get them produced is by the lone academic herself rather than the traditional managed production teams. To support this it cites the example of open-source software production and online collaborative enterprises such as Wikipedia which achieve their aims without any traditional management layer, but rather function on a volunteer basis. The author concludes with a case study where he attempted to put these methods into practice in producing materials for a Master's multimedia course. In recent years a number of software engineering terms have been applied to the processes of learning materials development, of which the two most common are 'reusability' and 'learning objects'. In laymen's terms, 'learning objects' are standalone units of learning material created to allow their easy aggregation into larger units and courses. These range from small interactions or diagrams, to chapters of books, web pages, but potentially as large as lesson series or whole courses! These developments are a response to the problem of past resistance to the transferability of electronic learning materials between institutions, particularly the dreaded not invented here syndrome. In this new 'learning object economy', it is hoped that people and institutions will generate and share their learning materials, and the development costs of artefacts thus contrived will be amortised by a cheery cross-institutional barter. This is an attractive proposition, but there are two potential weaknesses in it. The first concerns whether the software engineering/ instructional design analogy actually fits: can a lesson really be a component that can be slotted into another course in the same way that a widget can be slotted into a word processor? Isn't the nature of learning objects completely different from that of software components? Can courses be assembled like Ikea flat-packs? The second issue relates to which form of software engineering the analogy is based on and how this impacts on the production process. Recently we have seen the emergence of large software projects, such as the Linux operating system, and related endeavours like the huge online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, driven by a loosely coordinated set of people all over the globe on an almost volunteer basis. This is known as the open …
Secure M-commerce Transactions: A Third Party Based Signature Protocol

In this paper, we present a novel joint signature protocol suited to applications run on UMTS and heterogeneous networks. The protocol enables a mobile user to securely delegate his/her signing power to an assisted server so that the assisted server can perform signature generation and verification on behalf of the user. By shifting computational expensive cryptographic operations to a third party, i.e. the assisted server, the protocol is able to eliminate public key operations for the mobile end, while providing message origin authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation services to both delegated (i.e. the mobile user) and delegating (i.e. the third party) entities. The protocol is suited to m-commerce applications, in which a mobile user with a resource restrictive device wishes to access Internet-based security-sensitive services. The security of the proposed protocol is analyzed and its performance against other related work is evaluated.