Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Evolution With Auto-Enhanced Population Diversity

In differential evolution (DE) studies, there are many parameter adaptation methods, aiming at tuning the mutation factor F and the crossover probability CR. However, these methods still cannot resolve the issues of population premature convergence and population stagnation. To address these issues, in this paper, we investigate the population adaptation regarding population diversity at the dimensional level and propose a mechanism named auto-enhanced population diversity (AEPD) to automatically enhance population diversity. AEPD is able to identify the moments when a population becomes converging or stagnating by measuring the distribution of the population in each dimension. When convergence or stagnation is identified at a dimension, the population is diversified at that dimension to an appropriate level or to eliminate the stagnation issue. The AEPD mechanism was incorporated into a popular DE algorithm and it was tested on a set of 25 CEC2005 benchmark functions. The results showed that AEPD significantly improved the performance of the original algorithms. In addition, AEPD helped the algorithms become less sensitive to population size, a parameter widely considered problem dependent for many DE algorithms. The DE algorithm with AEPD also has a superior performance in comparison with several other peer algorithms.
Childhood Family Instability and Mental Health Problems During Late Adolescence: A Test of Two Mediation Models—The TRAILS Study

This study tested whether childhood family instability is associated with mental health problems during adolescence through continued family instability and/or through a preadolescent onset of mental health problems. This test use data from a prospective population cohort of 2,230 Dutch adolescents (M age = 11.09, SD = 0.56 at the initial assessment). Childhood family instability was associated with both internalizing problems and externalizing problems during late adolescence. The association between childhood family instability and adolescent mental health problems largely disappeared when controlling for preadolescent onset of mental health problems but only slightly when controlling for continued family instability during adolescence. These patterns were comparable for both types of mental health problems but relatively stronger for internalizing problems. These results suggest that growing up in an unpredictable family environment has long-lasting negative mental health effects, most of which are due to a preadolescent onset of mental health problems.
Deceptive Answer Prediction with User Preference Graph

In Community question answering (QA) sites, malicious users may provide deceptive answers to promote their products or services. It is important to identify and filter out these deceptive answers. In this paper, we first solve this problem with the traditional supervised learning methods. Two kinds of features, including textual and contextual features, are investigated for this task. We further propose to exploit the user relationships to identify the deceptive answers, based on the hypothesis that similar users will have similar behaviors to post deceptive or authentic answers. To measure the user similarity, we propose a new user preference graph based on the answer preference expressed by users, such as “helpful” voting and “best answer” selection. The user preference graph is incorporated into traditional supervised learning framework with the graph regularization technique. The experiment results demonstrate that the user preference graph can indeed help improve the performance of deceptive answer pre
Orexins Depolarize Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla Neurons and Increase Arterial Pressure and Heart Rate in Rats Mainly via Orexin 2 Receptors

An injection of orexin A or B into the cisterna magna or the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), where bulbospinal vasomotor neurons are located, elevated arterial pressure (AP) and heart rate (HR). We examined how orexins affected RVLM neurons to regulate cardiovascular functions by using in vitro recordings of neuronal activity of the RVLM and in vivo measurement of cardiovascular functions in rats. Orexin A and B concentration-dependently depolarized RVLM neurons. At 100 nM, both peptides excited 42% of RVLM neurons. Tetrodotoxin failed to block orexin-induced depolarization. In the presence of N-(2-methyl-6-benzoxazolyl)-N′-1, 5-naphthyridin-4-yl urea (SB-334867), an orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) antagonist, orexin A depolarized 42% of RVLM neurons with a smaller, but not significantly different, amplitude (4.9 ± 0.8 versus 7.2 ± 1.1 mV). In the presence of (2S)-1- (3,4-dihydro-6,7-dimethoxy-2(1H)-isoquinolinyl)-3,3-dimethyl-2-[(4-pyridinylmethyl)amino]-1-butanone hydrochloride (TCS OX2 29), an orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) antagonist, orexin A depolarized 25% of RVLM neurons with a significantly smaller amplitude (1.7 ± 0.5 mV). Coapplication of both antagonists completely eliminated orexin A-induced depolarization. An OX2R agonist, [Ala11,d-Leu15]-orexin B, concentration-dependently depolarized RVLM neurons. Regarding neuronal phenotypes, orexins depolarized 88% of adrenergic, 43% of nonadrenergic, and 36 to 41% of rhythmically firing RVLM neurons. Intracisternal TCS OX2 29 (3 and 10 nmol) suppressed intracisternal orexin A-induced increases of AP and HR, whereas intracisternal SB-334867 (3 and 10 nmol) had no effect on the orexin A-induced increase of HR but suppressed the orexin A-induced pressor response at 10 nmol. We concluded that orexins directly excite RVLM neurons, which include bulbospinal vasomotor neurons, and regulate cardiovascular function mainly via the OX2R, with a smaller contribution from the OX1R.
Learning from Reinforcement and Advice Using Composite Reward Functions

Reinforcement learning has become a widely used methodology for creating intelligent agents in a wide range of applications. However, its performance deteriorates in tasks with sparse feedback or lengthy inter-reinforcement times. This paper presents an extension that makes use of an advisory entity to provide additional feedback to the agent. The agent incorporates both the rewards provided by the environment and the advice to attain faster learning speed, and policies that are tuned towards the preferences of the advisor while still achieving the underlying task objective. The advice is converted to “tuning” or user rewards that, together with the task rewards, define a composite reward function that more accurately defines the advisor’s perception of the task. At the same time, the formation of erroneous loops due to incorrect user rewards is avoided using formal bounds on the user reward component. This approach is illustrated using a robot navigation task.
Middle School Drinking: Who, Where, and When

The goal of this research was to describe the most common drinking situations for young adolescents (N = 1171; 46.6% girls), as well as determine predictors of their drinking in the seventh and eighth grades. Middle school students most frequently drank at parties with three to four teens, in their home or at a friend's home, and reported alcohol-related problems including conflicts with friends or parents, memory loss, nausea, and doing things they would not normally do. Differences emerged in predicting higher levels of drinking on the basis of sex, race, grade, positive alcohol expectancies, impulsivity, and peer drinking. These findings suggest both specific and general factors are implicated in drinking for middle school students. Contextual factors, including drinking alone, in public places, and at or near school, are characteristic of the most problematic alcohol involvement in middle school and may have utility in prevention and early intervention.
The Co-movement of Selective Conventional and Islamic Stock Markets in East Asia: Is there any Impact on Shariah Compliant Equity Investment in China?

This paper investigates the dynamic causal linkages in the daily returns among seven major conventional and Islamic stock indices in East Asia through the application of the time series techniques. We analyse seven conventional and Shariah -compliant stock indices (such as, FTSE Shariah China Index, Asia Shariah index, Malaysia EMAS Shariah Index, China SSE Composite Index, Hang Seng Index, Nikkei 225 and KOSPI) covering the period from 26 October 2007 to 1 March 2011. Essentially, the purpose of this research is to identify the extent of influence of conventional and Islamic, regional and international equity markets on Shariah-compliant equity investment in China. Our study is focused on investigating the following empirical questions: (i) which indices do the Shariah China Index commove with? (ii) which indices is the Shariah China Index Granger-causally related with ? and (iii) which major stock market was driving the selective conventional and Islamic markets? Our findings tend to suggest: (i) the Sharia China Index appears to have a theoretical and long-run comovement with all the select conventional and Islamic markets (as evidenced in the Cointegration and LRSM tests) (ii) the Shariah China Index is Granger-caused by all the conventional and Islamic markets (as evidenced in the VECM tests) (iii) Finally, what stands out is the leadership of the China conventional SSE market followed by the Malaysia Shariah market in driving all indices including the Sharia China index (as evidenced in the VDCs tests).
Sensorless speed and position control of induction motor servo drives using MLP neural network and sliding mode controller

In this paper, the sensorless speed and position control of induction motor drive is studied. A Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is designed and analyzed to achieve high-dynamic performance both in the speed and position command tracking and load regulation responses based on the closed-loop tracking transfer function. An artificial neural network (ANN) is adopted to estimate the motor speed and thus provide a sensorless speed estimator according to the required specifications for the IM servo drive system. The performance of the proposed controller for induction motor servo drive is investigated by some simulations including startup, step changes in reference speed, unknown load torque and parameters variations. In spite of the simple structure of the proposed speed and position controller, the obtained results show that this controller can provide a fast and accurate dynamic response in tracking and disturbance rejection characteristics under parameter variations. At the same time, a reduction of the computation time has been occurred as a result of the simple construction of the sliding mode controller. The proposed SMC can compensate the induction machine drive system at nominal values and is insignificantly affected by variations in the induction machine's parameters. The position response of the proposed SM position control scheme is influenced slightly by the load disturbance, whether the system parameters varied or not.
Dubstep, Darwin, and the Prehistoric Invention of Music

Where did music come from, and why are we so drawn to it? Though various scholars have offered a diverse set of hypotheses, none of these existing theories can fully encapsulate the complexity of music. They generally treat music holistically, but music is not monolithic. Musical ability encompasses myriad component parts, such as pitch perception and beat synchronization. These various musical elements are processed in different parts of the brain. Thus, it is unlikely that music arose in one place, at one time, in response to one evolutionary pressure. While existing theories can explain pitch-related aspects of music, such as melody and harmony, they fail to encapsulate rhythm. I explore rhythm’s connection with motion, social function, and the brain in order to investigate how and why it may have evolved. In order to do so, I use diverse lines of evidence, such as my own ethnomusicological fieldwork, autism studies, and brain scans of monkeys. I hypothesize that the mirror neuron system, a mechanism in the brain that allows cognitive and physical synchronization, may be behind the connection between rhythm, movement, and social cognition. When eventually rhythm was joined with pitch manipulation activities, music as we know it was born. Disciplines Anthropology This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/anthro_seniortheses/129
Biodegradable levofloxacin nanoparticles for sustained ocular drug delivery

Drug delivery to ocular region is a challenging task. Only 1–2% of drug is available in eye for therapeutic action, rest of the drug is drained out through nasolachrymal drainage system and other ocular physiological barriers. To overcome these problems of conventional dosage form, novel drug delivery systems are explored like nanoparticles. In our present work, levofloxacin encapsulated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles were developed and evaluated for various parameters like particle size, ζ potential, in vitro drug release and ex vivo transcorneal permeation. Microbiological efficacy was tested against Staphylococcus aureus using cup-plate method. Precorneal residence time was studied on albino rabbits by γ scintigraphy after radiolabeling of levofloxacin by Tc-99m. Ocular tolerance was evaluated using hen’s egg chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM) test. The developed nanoparticles were of spherical shape with a mean particle size of 190–195 nm with a ζ potential of −25 mV. The drug entrapment efficiency was found to be near 85%. In vitro drug release profile shows initial burst release followed by extended release up to 24 h. Microbiological assay showed equivalent zone of inhibition compared to marketed formulation. γ Scintigraphy images of developed formulation, suggested a good spread and good retention over precorneal area. The nanosuspension thus developed was retained for the longer time and drained out from the eye very slowly compared to marketed formulation as significant radioactivity was recorded in later in kidney and bladder. The developed nanosuspension with a mean score of 0.33 up to 24 h in HET-CAM assay, showed the nonirritant efficacy of developed formulation. The stability studies yielded a degradation constant less then 5 × 10−4, proving a stable formulation with an arbitrary shelf life of 2 years.
Biogenesis of Tom40, Core Component of the Tom Complex of Mitochondria

Tom40 is an essential component of the preprotein translocase of the mitochondrial outer membrane (TOM complex) in which it constitutes the core element of the protein conducting pore. We have investigated the biogenesis of Tom40. Tom40 is inserted into the outer membrane by the TOM complex. Initially, Tom40 is bound as a monomer at the mitochondrial surface. The import receptor Tom20 is involved in this initial step; it stimulates both binding and efficient insertion of the Tom40 precursor. This step is followed by the formation of a further intermediate at which the Tom40 precursor is partially inserted into the outer membrane. Finally, Tom40 is integrated into preexisting TOM complexes. Efficient import appears to require the Tom40 precursor to be in a partially folded conformation. Neither the NH2 nor the COOH termini are necessary to target Tom40 to the outer membrane. However, the NH2-terminal segment is required for Tom40 to become assembled into the TOM complex. A model for the biogenesis of Tom40 is presented.
Effects of Supplemental Vitamin D and Calcium on Oxidative DNA Damage Marker in Normal Colorectal Mucosa: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The exact antineoplastic effects of calcium and vitamin D3 in the human colon are unclear. Animal and in vitro studies show that these two agents reduce oxidative stress; however, these findings have never been investigated in humans. To address this, we conducted a pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial to test the effects of calcium and vitamin D3 on a marker of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), in the normal colorectal mucosa. Patients (N = 92) with at least one pathology-confirmed colorectal adenoma were treated with 2 g/d calcium and/or 800 IU/d vitamin D3 versus placebo over 6 months. Overall labeling and colorectal crypt distribution of 8-OH-dG in biopsies of normal-appearing rectal mucosa were detected by standardized automated immunohistochemistry and quantified by image analysis. After 6 months of treatment, 8-OH-dG labeling along the full lengths of colorectal crypts decreased by 22% (P = 0.15) and 25% (P = 0.10) in the calcium and vitamin D3 groups, respectively, but not in the calcium plus vitamin D3 group. The estimated treatment effects were strongest among participants with higher baseline colon crypt vitamin D receptor expression (P = 0.05). Overall, these preliminary results indicate that calcium and vitamin D3 may decrease oxidative DNA damage in the normal human colorectal mucosa, support the hypothesis that 8-OH-dG labeling in colorectal crypts is a treatable oxidative DNA damage biomarker of risk for colorectal neoplasms, and provide support for further investigation of calcium and vitamin D3 as chemopreventive agents against colorectal neoplasms. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(1); 280–91
Intron 4 polymorphism of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase eNOS gene and early microangiopathy in type 1 diabetes

Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous vasodilator involved in inflammatory and autoimmune response, and in the pathophysiology of diabetic vascular disease. Endothelium‐derived NO is formed from l‐arginine by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), and earlier studies have provided evidence for altered NO metabolism and impaired endothelial function in diabetes, probably due to polymorphisms in eNOS gene. In the present study we investigated the association of the eNOS gene intron 4 a/b VNTR polymorphism with diabetic microangiopathy in 61 young individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D), 35 male and 26 female, aged 5.0–29.1 (mean 15.6) years, and followed up for 3.24–11.4 (mean 7.44) years. Ten patients (16.4%) had developed microalbuminuria, three hypertension and two retinopathy. Wild‐type b/b homozygosity for eNOS gene intron 4 VNTR was found in 37 (60.7%) and a/b polymorphism in 24 (39.3%). No significant relationship was demonstrated between eNOS gene intron 4 polymorphisms and microalbuminuria, hypertension or retinopathy in these young individuals. Our findings suggest that a/b polymorphism of the intron 4 eNOS gene is not associated with early onset diabetic microangiopathy.
Normal hematopoiesis after conditional targeting of RXRα in murine hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells

Because of the retinoic acid receptor‐α (RARα) gene’s involvement in acute promyelocytic leukemia, the important role of RARs in hematopoiesis is now well established. However, relatively few studies of hematopoiesis have focused on the role of the retinoid X receptors (RXRs), the obligate heterodimeric partners of the RARs. We sought to establish whether conditional targeting of RXRα in early hematopoietic progenitors, ideally to the level of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC), would compromise hematopoiesis. For hematopoietic targeting of RXRα, we characterized IFN‐inducible MxCre mice for use in studying the role of RXRα in hematopoiesis. We established that MxCre executes recombination of loxP‐flanked RXRα in hematopoietic progenitors immunophenotypically enriched for HSC, leading to widespread and sustained targeting of RXRα in hematopoietic cells. However, we found no evidence of hematologic compromise in mice lacking RXRα, suggesting that RXRα is dispensable for normal murine hematopoiesis. Nonetheless, RXRα null bone marrow cells cultured in methylcellulose form colonies more efficiently than bone marrow cells obtained from control mice. This result suggests that although RXRα is not required for murine hematopoiesis, there may be hematopoietic signaling pathways that respond selectively to RXRα or settings in which combined expression of RXR (α, β, and γ) is limiting.
Encoding Data for HTM Systems

Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) is a biologically inspired machine intelligence technology that mimics the architecture and processes of the neocortex. In this white paper we describe how to encode data as Sparse Distributed Representations (SDRs) for use in HTM systems. We explain several existing encoders, which are available through the open source project called NuPIC, and we discuss requirements for creating encoders for new types of data.
Effects of Areal Orientation on DNAPL Recovery by Neutral Buoyant Co-solvent Flooding

INTRODUCTION Dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) are organic contaminants in ground water characterized by low solubility and density greater than water [1]. DNAPL-contaminated aquifers frequently are treated using the remediation technique known as pump-and-treat [2]. The process can reduce the mass of DNAPL contamination to residual saturations by injecting water though injection wells and removing water and contaminant through recovery wells. Residual DNAPL saturations following in-situ water flooding can be as much as 15% of the pore space [1]. Co-solvent flooding is a ground water remediation technology that can be used to enhance the performance of pump-and-treat. Laboratory and field studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of using alcohol solutions to remove residual non-aqueous phase liquids [3, 4]. Commonly used co-solvents are hydrophobic alcohol solutions that can modify DNAPL density to neutral buoyancy and control the risk of downward mobilization of DNAPL globules. The objective of this investigation was to study the efficiency of residual DNAPL removal from porous media by neutral buoyant cosolvent flooding as a function of planar inclination. A two-dimensional (2D) laboratory model was designed, assembled and used to investigate effects of direction of groundwater gradient flow on residual DNAPL recovery using a double-triangle well pattern in the horizontal (x-z) plane. Additional experiments are being conducted with the 2D model oriented at planar inclinations of 30, 60 and 90 degrees. Results of experiments completed in the horizontal plane are shown below. Additional results of experiments conducted at planar inclinations will be included in the final presentation.
A cross-sectional study to identify organisational processes associated with nurse-reported quality and patient safety

Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify organisational processes and structures that are associated with nurse-reported patient safety and quality of nursing. Design This is an observational cross-sectional study using survey methods. Setting Respondents from 31 Norwegian hospitals with more than 85 beds were included in the survey. Participants All registered nurses working in direct patient care in a position of 20% or more were invited to answer the survey. In this study, 3618 nurses from surgical and medical wards responded (response rate 58.9). Nurses' practice environment was defined as organisational processes and measured by the Nursing Work Index Revised and items from Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Outcome measures Nurses' assessments of patient safety, quality of nursing, confidence in how their patients manage after discharge and frequency of adverse events were used as outcome measures. Results Quality system, nurse–physician relation, patient safety management and staff adequacy were process measures associated with nurse-reported work-related and patient-related outcomes, but we found no associations with nurse participation, education and career and ward leadership. Most organisational structures were non-significant in the multilevel model except for nurses’ affiliations to medical department and hospital type. Conclusions Organisational structures may have minor impact on how nurses perceive work-related and patient-related outcomes, but the findings in this study indicate that there is a considerable potential to address organisational design in improvement of patient safety and quality of care.