Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Scheduling Events and Tasks by an Intelligent Calendar Assistant

In the last decade various research efforts and commercial offerings have sought to provide levels of automated assistance with time management. Besides basic calendaring, collaboration, and communication, many of these efforts concern event negotiation or scheduling, while others concern task management and monitoring. When automated scheduling is employed, most often events and tasks are treated separately, with the latter being kept out of the user’s calendar. One consequence can be missing deadlines or even not accomplishing some tasks. Based on experience in developing and deploying an automated task management system and an event scheduling system, this paper sets the requirements for an intelligent calendar assistant that treats tasks and events in a unified way, schedules all of them within the user’s calendar, and reschedules them whenever needed. We outline a set of attributes used to represent the overall combined scheduling problem, together with a set of criteria used to represent users' preferences and evaluate alternative schedules.
Exploring participatory performance to inform the design of collaborative public interfaces

We describe a new application of interactive participatory performance in interaction design. Our pragmatic strategy permits us to use performance as an investigatory tool in the exploration of user behavior. By taking a holistic view of the evaluation of the interplay between the designed artifact (the performance content) and the people who interact and relate to it, we can extract insights from the performance with the intention of informing the process of designing interaction mechanisms for more conventional public interfaces.
Predicting human performance in interactive tasks by using dynamic models

The selection of an appropriate sequence of activities is an essential task to keep student motivation and foster engagement. Usually, decisions in this respect are made by taking into account the difficulty of the activities, in relation to the student's level of competence. In this paper, we present a dynamic model that aims to predict the average performance of a group of students at solving a given series of maths problems. The system takes into account both student- and task-related features. This model was built and validated by using the data gathered in an experimental session that involved 64 participants solving a sequence of 26 arithmetic problems. The data collected from the first 16 problems was used to build the model, and the remainder were employed to validate it. Results show a correlation with r = 0.59 between the real and predicted scores, and support the effectiveness of the model at anticipating the students' performance over a sequence of tasks.
Stochastic expansions using continuous dictionaries: Lévy adaptive regression kernels

This article describes a new class of prior distributions for nonparametric function estimation. The unknown function is modeled as a limit of weighted sums of kernels or generator functions indexed by continuous parameters that control local and global features such as their translation, dilation, modulation and shape. L\'{e}vy random fields and their stochastic integrals are employed to induce prior distributions for the unknown functions or, equivalently, for the number of kernels and for the parameters governing their features. Scaling, shape, and other features of the generating functions are location-specific to allow quite different function properties in different parts of the space, as with wavelet bases and other methods employing overcomplete dictionaries. We provide conditions under which the stochastic expansions converge in specified Besov or Sobolev norms. Under a Gaussian error model, this may be viewed as a sparse regression problem, with regularization induced via the L\'{e}vy random field prior distribution. Posterior inference for the unknown functions is based on a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. We compare the L\'{e}vy Adaptive Regression Kernel (LARK) method to wavelet-based methods using some of the standard test functions, and illustrate its flexibility and adaptability in nonstationary applications.
Bmc Complementary and Alternative Medicine Does Practicing Hatha Yoga Satisfy Recommendations for Intensity of Physical Activity Which Improves and Maintains Health and Cardiovascular Fitness?

Background: Little is known about the metabolic and heart rate responses to a typical hatha yoga session. The purposes of this study were 1) to determine whether a typical yoga practice using various postures meets the current recommendations for levels of physical activity required to improve and maintain health and cardiovascular fitness; 2) to determine the reliability of metabolic costs of yoga across sessions; 3) to compare the metabolic costs of yoga practice to those of treadmill walking.
Using business-aware latent topics for image captioning in social media

Captions are a central component in image posts that communicate the background story behind photos. Captions can enhance the engagement with audiences and are therefore critical to campaigns or advertisement. Previous studies in image captioning either rely solely on image content or summarize multiple web documents related to image's location; both neglect users' activities. We propose business-aware latent topics as a new contextual cue for image captioning that represent user activities at business venues. The idea is to learn the typical activities of people who posted images from business venues with similar categories (e.g., fast food restaurants) to provide appropriate context for similar topics (e.g., burger) in new posts. User activities at businesses are modeled via a latent topic representation. In turn, the image captioning model can generate sentences that better reflect user activities at business venues. In our experiments, the business-aware latent topics are effective for adapting to captions to images captured in various businesses than the existing baselines. Moreover, they complement other contextual cues (image, time) in a multi-modal framework.
A comparison of three methods of repairing the hard palate.

OBJECTIVE To compare growth, speech, and nasal symmetry outcomes of three methods of hard palate repair. PATIENTS Consecutive available records of children born with unilateral bony complete cleft lip and palate over the period 1972 to 1992. INTERVENTIONS Identical management of lip, nose, alveolus, and soft palate. Hard palate repair by Cuthbert Veau (CV) from 1972 to 1981, von Langenbeck (vL) from 1982 to 1989, or medial Langenbeck (ML) from 1989 to 1991. OUTCOME MEASURES For growth: GOSLON yardstick or 5-year model index. For speech: articulation test. Nasal anemometry. For nasal symmetry: Coghlan computer-based assessment. All these measures were developed during the period of data collection but not for this project. RESULTS There was a strong trend toward more favorable anteroposterior maxillary growth with the change from CV to vL to ML techniques. This fell short of statistical significance because of the small sample size. There was a significant reduction in cleft-related articulation faults (p =.01) considered to be related to improved arch form. In the absence of improved rates of velopharyngeal insufficiency or nasal symmetry, increased surgical experience was discounted as a significant contribution to improved growth and articulation outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Reduced periosteal undermining and residual exposed palatal shelf from CV to vL to ML improved incisor relationships and articulation.
Theranostic Agents for Photodynamic Therapy of Prostate Cancer by Targeting Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen

Prostatectomy has been the mainstay treatment for men with localized prostate cancer. Surgery, however, often can result in major side effects, which are caused from damage and removal of nerves and muscles surrounding the prostate. A technology that can help surgeons more precisely identify and remove prostate cancer resulting in a more complete prostatectomy is needed. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a type II membrane antigen highly expressed in prostate cancer, has been an attractive target for imaging and therapy. The objective of this study is to develop low molecular weight PSMA-targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents, which would provide image guidance for prostate tumor resection and allow for subsequent PDT to eliminate unresectable or remaining cancer cells. On the basis of our highly negatively charged, urea-based PSMA ligand PSMA-1, we synthesized two PSMA-targeting PDT conjugates named PSMA-1-Pc413 and PSMA-1-IR700. In in vitro cellular uptake experiments and in vivo animal imaging experiments, the two conjugates demonstrated selective and specific uptake in PSMA-positive PC3pip cells/tumors, but not in PSMA-negative PC3flu cells/tumors. Further in vivo photodynamic treatment proved that the two PSMA-1–PDT conjugates can effectively inhibit PC3pip tumor progression. The two PSMA-1–PDT conjugates reported here may have the potential to aid in the detection and resection of prostate cancers. It may also allow for the identification of unresectable cancer tissue and PDT ablation of such tissue after surgical resection with potentially less damage to surrounding tissues. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(8); 1834–44. ©2016 AACR.
Skin Involvement as the Presenting Feature of Primary Systemic Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-Negative CD30+ Anaplastic Lymphoma (cid:2)

We report the case of a 66-year-old man who consulted with a 3-week history of a rapidly growing asymptomatic lesion on his left cheek that for the previous week had prevented him from opening the eye on that side (Fig. 1). Two years earlier at another center the patient had been diagnosed with a primary systemic CD30 anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), with skin lesions in the same area as the lesion described above and ipsilateral cervical lymph-node involvement at the time of diagnosis. The patient had received chemotherapy (CHOP: cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) and external radiotherapy, with complete remission of the skin lesions and lymph-node involvement. Examination revealed a 15 × 12 cm plaque affecting the malar, infraocular, and preauricular regions on the left side, extending down to the angle of the mandible. The lesion had poorly defined borders and was formed by the confluence of multiple tumors (Fig. 1). Histology revealed marked epidermal spongiosis that gave rise to scattered intraepidermal vesicles and intense edema of the papillary dermis (Fig. 2A). A dense lymphocytic proliferation affected the rest of the dermis and extended into the subcutaneous tissue (Fig. 2A). The neoplastic infiltrate was formed by large pleomorphic cells with abundant clear cytoplasm. The nuclei were kidney-shaped or oval with unevenly distributed chromatin and prominent nucleoli (Fig. 2B). Immunohistochemistry was positive for CD3 and CD30 (Fig. 2C) in 95% of neoplastic cells. CD5 and CD15 expression was focal, with the markers detected in 30% and 20% of the cells, respectively. Ki-67 antigen was positive in 80% to 90% of the neoplastic infiltrate. In addition, 30% of cells were positive for CD4 and 15% were positive for CD8, while anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) 1, CD56, and epithelial membrane antigen were negative. Genetic study of the T-cell receptor showed monoclonal reordering. Further tests included an analysis of T-cell populations and immunoglobulin levels, a computed tomography of the head, neck, abdomen and pelvis, and a bone-marrow biopsy. All the results were normal or negative. These findings led to a diagnosis of cutaneous recurrence of ALK-negative CD30 anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, and chemotherapy was initiated. The patient showed partial remission after 2 complete cycles of CHOP. One month
Matrix area activity in the regenerating optic tectum of Rana esculenta.

After keeping specimens of Rana esculenta at 4 degrees C for 24 hrs. , the Authors removed a plug of right optic tectum. Thirty days later they injected 6-H3 thymidine and on the 200th day after surgery sacrificed the animals. With this technique it is possible to show the high regenerative capacity of the optic tectum; in fact, it is possible to observe reconstruction of the typical cellular and fibre layers of the removed nervous area. The origin of the cellular elements which supported this regenerative process and the possible connection between these results and restoration of the hemotrophic embryonic conditions due to absence of the blood-brain barrier, consequent on the cold treatment, is discussed.
Deep Learning of Robotic Tasks without a Simulator using Strong and Weak Human Supervision

We propose a scheme for training a computerized agent to perform complex human tasks such as highway steering. The scheme is designed to follow a natural learning process whereby a human instructor teaches a computerized trainee. The learning process consists of five elements: (i) unsupervised feature learning; (ii) supervised imitation learning; (iii) supervised reward induction; (iv) supervised safety module construction; and (v) reinforcement learning. We implemented the last four elements of the scheme using deep convolutional networks and applied it to successfully create a computerized agent capable of autonomous highway steering over the well-known racing game Assetto Corsa. We demonstrate that the use of the last four elements is essential to effectively carry out the steering task using vision alone, without access to a driving simulator internals, and operating in wall-clock time. This is made possible also through the introduction of a safety network, a novel way for preventing the agent from performing catastrophic mistakes during the reinforcement learning stage.
Association between APOE polymorphism and metabolic syndrome in Uyghur ethnic men

Objectives This study aimed to examine the association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Uyghur ethnic men in Xinjiang, China. Participants A total of 482 patients with MetS and 510 healthy sex-matched and age-matched controls were recruited from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The participants were subjected to routine physical and blood biochemical tests, and APOE genotyping was performed. Results The APOE ε3/3 was the predominant type, with a frequency of 71.8%, while ε2/2 was less common than ε4/4 in Uyghur males. The frequencies of the APOE2, E3 and E4 alleles in Uyghur males were 8.5%, 80.0% and 11.5%, respectively. However, the distribution of APOE genotypes was significantly different between the MetS and control groups (p<0.001). In the MetS group, the frequencies of the ε2 and ε4 alleles and the frequencies of the ε2/2, ε2/3 and ε2/4 genotypes were significantly lower than those of the control group. Those individuals without the ε2 and ε4 alleles had higher MetS prevalence than the other gene carriers, and the ORs of these individuals developing MetS were 1.5 and 1.27 compared to the gene carriers. Triglyceride, serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower and serum high-density lipoprotein was higher in the ε2 carriers than the ε3 carriers, and the prevalence of MetS, central obesity, high blood pressure, hypercholesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia was lower in the APOE2 group than in the APOE4 group. The risks of these individuals with ε4 allele carriers getting these changes were 1.327, 1.780, 1.888, 1.428 and 2.571 times greater than those of ε2 allele carriers. Conclusions APOE4 is associated with many individual components of MetS, whereas APOE2 was associated with a reduced risk of MetS at the univariate level in Uyghur ethnic men.
Impact of Antarctic mixed-phase clouds on climate

Significance Polar regions are foci of climate change, because of more-than-expected warming, problematic remote-sensing retrievals, and large uncertainties about cloud effects on radiation budgets. Antarctica is the world’s most remote, coldest, and driest location. Until recently, researchers have assumed that low-level clouds over the frozen Antarctic Plateau consist mainly of ice crystals. Now, measurements with a unique tethered balloon system and a ground-based lidar show that nearly 50% of clouds in the austral summer contain supercooled water which has a significant impact on the radiative properties of Antarctic clouds. Modifying a global climate model to relax the freezing below −20 °C results in a strong simulated radiative (cooling) effect, affecting the entire Antarctic Continent and extending out into the Southern Ocean. Precious little is known about the composition of low-level clouds over the Antarctic Plateau and their effect on climate. In situ measurements at the South Pole using a unique tethered balloon system and ground-based lidar reveal a much higher than anticipated incidence of low-level, mixed-phase clouds (i.e., consisting of supercooled liquid water drops and ice crystals). The high incidence of mixed-phase clouds is currently poorly represented in global climate models (GCMs). As a result, the effects that mixed-phase clouds have on climate predictions are highly uncertain. We modify the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model (CESM) GCM to align with the new observations and evaluate the radiative effects on a continental scale. The net cloud radiative effects (CREs) over Antarctica are increased by +7.4 Wm−2, and although this is a significant change, a much larger effect occurs when the modified model physics are extended beyond the Antarctic continent. The simulations show significant net CRE over the Southern Ocean storm tracks, where recent measurements also indicate substantial regions of supercooled liquid. These sensitivity tests confirm that Southern Ocean CREs are strongly sensitive to mixed-phase clouds colder than −20 °C.
Proposition d'un mode opératoire pour caractériser la nature entrepreneuriale des universités

Afin de faire face a l'evolution rapide des caracteristiques des systemes d'enseignement superieur, certains auteurs affirment que les universites n'ont d'autre choix que de devenir davantage entrepreneuriales. Mais comment caracteriser la nature entrepreneuriale d'une universite ? Partant d'une revue de litterature dans les domaines de l'entrepreneuriat universitaire comme de l'entrepreneuriat organisationnel, un mode operatoire est propose.
Murine fibroblast growth factor receptor 1alpha isoforms mediate node regression and are essential for posterior mesoderm development.

Alternative splicing in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (Fgfr1) locus generates a variety of splicing isoforms, including FGFR1alpha isoforms, which contain three immunoglobulin-like loops in the extracellular domain of the receptor. It has been previously shown that embryos carrying targeted disruptions of all major isoforms die during gastrulation, displaying severe growth retardation and defective mesodermal structures. Here we selectively disrupted the FGFR1alpha isoforms and found that they play an essential role in posterior mesoderm formation during gastrulation. We show that the mutant embryos lack caudal somites, develop spina bifida, and die at 9.5-12.5 days of embryonic development because they are unable to establish embryonic circulation. The primary defect is a failure of axial mesoderm cell migration toward the posterior portions of the embryos during gastrulation, as revealed by regional marker analysis and DiI labeling. In contrast, the anterior migration of the notochord is unaffected and the embryonic structures rostral to the forelimb are relatively normal. These data demonstrate that FGF/FGFR1alpha signals are posteriorizing factors that control node regression and posterior embryonic development.
Tropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s

Global demand for agricultural products such as food, feed, and fuel is now a major driver of cropland and pasture expansion across much of the developing world. Whether these new agricultural lands replace forests, degraded forests, or grasslands greatly influences the environmental consequences of expansion. Although the general pattern is known, there still is no definitive quantification of these land-cover changes. Here we analyze the rich, pan-tropical database of classified Landsat scenes created by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to examine pathways of agricultural expansion across the major tropical forest regions in the 1980s and 1990s and use this information to highlight the future land conversions that probably will be needed to meet mounting demand for agricultural products. Across the tropics, we find that between 1980 and 2000 more than 55% of new agricultural land came at the expense of intact forests, and another 28% came from disturbed forests. This study underscores the potential consequences of unabated agricultural expansion for forest conservation and carbon emissions.
Detecting Multiword Expressions and Named Entities in Natural Language Texts

Multiword expressions (MWEs) are lexical items that can be decomposed into single words and display lexical, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and/or statistical idiosyncrasy (Sag et al., 2002; Kim, 2008; Calzolari et al., 2002). The proper treatment of multiword expressions such as rock ’n’ roll and make a decision is essential for many natural language process- ing (NLP) applications like information extraction and retrieval, terminology extraction and machine translation, and it is important to identify multiword expressions in context. For example, in machine translation we must know that MWEs form one semantic unit, hence their parts should not be translated separately. For this, multiword expressions should be identified first in the text to be translated. The chief aim of this thesis is to develop machine learning-based approaches for the auto- matic detection of different types of multiword expressions in English and Hungarian natural language texts. In our investigations, we pay attention to the characteristics of different types of multiword expressions such as nominal compounds, multiword named entities and light verb constructions, and we apply novel methods to identify MWEs in raw texts. In the thesis it will be demonstrated that nominal compounds and multiword named enti- ties may require a similar approach for their automatic detection as they behave in the same way from a linguistic point of view. Furthermore, it will be shown that the automatic detec- tion of light verb constructions can be carried out using two effective machine learning-based approaches.