Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-Linear Label Ranking for Large-Scale Prediction of Long-Term User Interests

We consider the problem of personalization of online services from the viewpoint of ad targeting, where we seek to find the best ad categories to be shown to each user, resulting in improved user experience and increased advertiser's revenue. We propose to address this problem as a task of ranking the ad categories depending on a user's preference, and introduce a novel label ranking approach capable of efficiently learning non-linear, highly accurate models in large-scale settings. Experiments on real-world advertising data set with more than 3.2 million users show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing solutions in terms of both rank loss and top-K retrieval performance, strongly suggesting the benefit of using the proposed model on large-scale ranking problems.
Ring‐mold craters in lineated valley fill and lobate debris aprons on Mars: Evidence for subsurface glacial ice

Ring‐mold craters (RMCs), concentric crater forms shaped like a truncated torus and named for their similarity to the cooking implement, are abundant in lobate debris aprons (LDA) and lineated valley fill (LVF) in the northern mid‐latitudes on Mars, but are not seen in surrounding terrain. LDA and LVF have been interpreted to form by flow of debris, but uncertainty remains concerning the mechanism of flow, with hypotheses ranging from pore‐ice‐assisted creep of talus to debris‐covered glaciers. RMCs average less than a few hundred meters in diameter and occur in association with normal bowl‐shaped impact craters whose average diameters are commonly less than RMCs. On the basis of their morphologic similarities to laboratory impact craters formed in ice and the physics of impact cratering into layered material, we interpret the unusual morphology of RMCs to be the result of impact into a relatively pure ice substrate below a thin regolith, with strength‐contrast properties, spallation, viscous flow and sublimation being factors in the development of the ring‐mold shape. Associated smaller bowl‐shaped craters are interpreted to have formed within a layer of regolith‐like sublimation till overlying the ice substrate. Estimates of crater depths of excavation between populations of bowl‐shaped and ring‐mold craters suggest that the debris layer is relatively thin. These results support the hypothesis that LDA and LVF formed as debris‐covered glaciers and predict that many hundreds of meters of ice remain today in LDA and LVF deposits, beneath a veneer of sublimation till. RMCs can be used in other parts of Mars to predict and assess the presence of ancient ice‐related deposits.
Analysis of Target Detection Probability and Calculating the Required Number of Sensors

The main functionality of a surveillance wireless sensor network is to detect unauthorized traversals in a field. Prior to deployment, the adequate number of sensors can be determined based on simulations of the sensing coverage. In this paper, we propose an analytical deployment quality measure that is the probability of detecting a randomly positioned target by a set of binary sensors. Using this formulation, the required number of sensors to provide a threshold probability can be obtained. The sensingand communication neighboring degrees of a sensor can also be calculated that can be used as a design criteria. The model is verified with simulations, and the outcomes closely match the analytical results.
Education and Unemployment in Israel, 1976-1994: Reducing the Anomaly

In industrialized economies, unemployment rates are inversely related to education levels. Data from 1963 to 1994 show that Israel is an anomaly exhibiting an inverted U-shaped relationship. Workers with 9-12 years of schooling experienced the highest level of unemployment, in contrast to the 0-8 and 13 years of schooling groups that consistently had lower rates. Multivariate regression analysis of data for Israel, from 1976-1994, indicates that the inverted U-shaped relationship is moderating. The national unemployment rate and a time trend variable had positive and significant effects tending to strengthen the inverted U-shape relationship. However, an increase in the unemployment rate within the 0-8-education group relative to the 9-12 group and a decline in the labour force participation rate of the 0-8 group, overrode these factors, producing a move toward flattening the inverse relationship. The major factor responsible for the anomaly in the education-unemployment relationship in Israel appears to be the result of government policies intended to protect low-educated immigrants with large families. In recent years there has been a reduction in government support. This development seems to have reduced the extent of the inverted U-shaped relation, by gradually increasing the exposure of the least educated to labour market forces.
Developing Software Across Time Zones: An Exploratory Empirical Study

Market forces and an increasingly reliable world-wide communications network have made geographically distributed software engineering a reality. Global software development enables businesses to respond more easily and more quickly to global market opportunities and to improve product and service quality. One of the many potential benefits of global development is a reduction in development time through the adoption of an ‘around the clock’ working practice.
Unrolling Loopy Top-Down Semantic Feedback in Convolutional Deep Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel way to perform top-down semantic feedback in convolutional deep networks for efficient and accurate image parsing. We also show how to add global appearance/semantic features, which have shown to improve image parsing performance in state-of-the-art methods, and was not present in previous convolutional approaches. The proposed method is characterised by an efficient training and a sufficiently fast testing. We use the well known SIFTflow dataset to numerically show the advantages provided by our contributions, and to compare with state-of-the-art image parsing convolutional based approaches.
ECG to Individual Identification

This paper presents an individual identification system using single lead electrocardiogram (ECG). The proposed techniques for P and T wave delineation are based on time derivative and adaptive thresholding. The performance of proposed delineators is evaluated on manually annotated Physionet QT database. The accuracy of delineators are quantified on mean error and standard deviation of differences between manually annotations and automated results. Especially, lower values of error in standard deviation for onset and offset of P wave fiducials are obtained as 8.1 and 6.29 while for T wave fiducials are 9.4 and 11.2 (where units are in ms). It shows the performance of P and T wave delineators is optimum and also stable in comparison to other published results. Found fiducials are processed for the extraction of heartbeat features. From each heartbeat, 19 stable features related to interval, amplitude and angle are computed. The feasibility of ECG as a new biometric is tested on proposed identification system designed on template matching and adaptive thresholding. The accuracy of identification system is achieved to 99% on the datasize of 125 recordings prepared from 25 individual ECG of Physionet.
Least Sampling Density from High Order Sampling

The communication theory asserts that the sampling density, with which the signal can be recovered exactly, should be at least 2W if the signal is band limited to [0, W] or band-pass to [W0, W0+W]. In this paper we build a sampling theorem to general band E+ =U^N(n-1)[a(n),b(n)] with least sampling density.
An approach to switching control beyond nearest neighbor rules

Current approaches to distributed control involving many robots generally restrict interactions to pairs of robots within a threshold distance. While this allows for provable stability, there are performance costs associated with the lack of long-distance information. We introduce the acute angle switching algorithm, which allows a small number of long-range interactions in addition to interactions with nearby neighbors. We show that the acute angle switching algorithm provides an improvement in performance while retaining the quality of provable stability
A Logic for Reasoning about Rational Agents : Yet Another Attempt

We propose a new version of ATLP (“ATL with plausibility”), a logic for reasoning about the outcome of rational play in game-like scenarios. Unlike in [8], where two different extensions of ATL were used for specifying rationality and reasoning about agents’ behavior, we now propose that rationality specifications can be written in ATLP itself, and nested in ATLP formulae. We believe that the new version is more elegant, and also more flexible and expressive. Finally, we present some ATLP characterizations of solution concepts and discuss the notion of qualitative solution concept, based on winning conditions defined by temporal path formulae.
Massively Parallel Reinforcement Learning With an Application to Video Games

*We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank my adviser Dr. Soumya Ray. When I approached him with my research topic he was enthusiastic and supportive. When I encountered problems he provided advice and guidance which has made this research possible. From the start to the finish, this research would not have been possible without him. I would like to thank my boss, Chris Holmes, for supporting me and approving the time off I needed to work on research. In addition I give my thanks to all those who provided technical assistance: Simon Layton, for helping me understand the CUDA API and how to best utilize it; Thomas Minor and Tyler Mecke, my coworkers who answered an endless stream of C\C++ questions; and Hitesh Shah, my coworker who provided advice on integrating into the Quake III engine. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents and my sister. They have supported me in my endeavors for as long as I can remember, even when I did not acknowledge it. Without their support I would not have made it to Case and started the path that has lead me here.
Recent Advances in Understanding Immunity Against Brucellosis: Application for Vaccine Development

Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease of nearly worldwide distribution. This pathogen causes abortion in cattle and undulant fever, arthritis, endocarditis and meningitis in human. The immune response against B. abortus involves innate and adaptive immunity involving antigen-presenting cells, NK cells and CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. IFN-￻ is a crucial immune component that results from Brucella recognition by host immune receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that lead to IL-12 production. Although great efforts to elucidate immunity against Brucella have been employed, the subset of cells and factors involved in host immune response remains not completely understood. Our group and others have been working in an attempt to understand the mechanisms involved in innate responses to Brucella. Understanding the requirements for immune protection can help the design of alternative vaccines that would avoid the drawbacks of currently available vaccines to Brucella. This review discusses recent studies in host immunity to Brucella and new approaches for vaccine development.
Decoupled and Inhomogeneous Gas Flows in S0 Galaxies

A recent analysis of the Einstein sample of early-type galaxies has revealed that at any fixed optical luminosity LB, S0 galaxies have lower mean X-ray luminosity LX per unit LB than elliptical galaxies. Following a previous analytical investigation of this problem (Ciotti & Pellegrini), we have performed two-dimensional numerical simulations of the gas flows inside S0 galaxies in order to ascertain the effectiveness of rotation and/or galaxy flattening in reducing the LX/LB ratio. The flow in models without supernova (SNIa) heating is considerably ordered, and essentially all the gas lost by the stars is cooled and accumulated in the galaxy center. If rotation is present, the cold material settles in a disk on the galactic equatorial plane. Models with a time-decreasing SNIa heating host gas flows that can be much more complex. After an initial wind phase, gas flows in energetically strongly bound galaxies tend to reverse to inflows. This occurs in the polar regions, while the disk is still in the outflow phase. In this phase of strong decoupling, cold filaments are created at the interface between inflowing and outflowing gas. Models with more realistic values of the dynamical quantities are preferentially found in the wind phase with respect to their spherical counterparts of equal LB. The resulting LX of this class of models is lower than in spherical models with the same LB and SNIa heating. At variance with cooling flow models, rotation is shown to have only a marginal effect in this reduction, while the flattening is one of the driving parameters for such underluminosity, in accordance with the analytical investigation.
How Has Thinking Changed about policies to manage the economy ?

This paper examines macroprudential policies in open emerging economies. It discusses how the recent financial crisis has provided a rationale for macroprudential policies to help manage the economy and the need for policymakers to monitor the financial cycle and systemic risks. It also discusses one particularly promising measure of the state of the financial cycle, the growth of noncore liabilities of the financial sector, and evaluates macroprudential policy frameworks. The paper uses Korea as an example and conducts an empirical evaluation of noncore liabilities of Korean banks as a measure of the financial cycle.
25‐Hydroxyvitamin D3 is an active hormone in human primary prostatic stromal cells

According to the present paradigm, 1α,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1α,25‐(OH)2D3] is a biologically active hormone; whereas 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) is regarded as a prohormone activated through the action of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 1α‐hydroxylase (1α‐ hydroxylase). Although the role of vitamin D3 in the regulation of growth and differentiation of prostatic epithelial cells has been well studied, its action and metabolism in prostatic stroma are still largely unknown. We investigated the effects of 25OHD3 and 1α,25‐(OH)2D3 on two human stromal primary cultures termed P29SN and P32S. In a cell proliferation assay, 25OHD3 was found at physiological concentrations of 100–250 nM to inhibit the growth of both primary cultures, whereas 1α,25‐(OH)2D3 at a pharmacological concentration of 10 nM exhibited the growth‐inhibitory effects on P29SN cells but not on P32S cells. Quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR analysis revealed that both 25OHD3 and 1α,25‐(OH)2D3 induced 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 24‐ hydroxylase (24‐hydroxylase) mRNA in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. By inhibiting 1α‐ hydroxylase and/or 24‐hydroxylase enzyme activities, the induction of 24‐hydroxylase mRNA by 250 nM 25OHD3 was clearly enhanced, suggesting that 1α‐hydroxylation is not a prerequisite for the hormonal activity of 25OHD3. Altogether our results suggest that 25OHD3 at a high but physiological concentration acts as an active hormone with respect to vitamin D3 responsive gene regulation and suppression of cell proliferation.
Inbreeding and adaptive plasticity: an experimental analysis on predator-induced responses in the water flea Daphnia

Several studies have emphasized that inbreeding depression (ID) is enhanced under stressful conditions. Additionally, one might imagine a loss of adaptively plastic responses which may further contribute to a reduction in fitness under environmental stress. Here, we quantified ID in inbred families of the cyclical parthenogen Daphnia magna in the absence and presence of fish predation risk. We test whether predator stress affects the degree of ID and if inbred families have a reduced capacity to respond to predator stress by adaptive phenotypic plasticity. We obtained two inbred families through clonal selfing within clones isolated from a fish pond. After mild purging under standardized conditions, we compared life history traits and adaptive plasticity between inbred and outbred lineages (directly hatched from the natural dormant egg bank of the same pond). Initial purging of lineages under standardized conditions differed among inbred families and exceeded that in outbreds. The least purged inbred family exhibited strong ID for most life history traits. Predator-induced stress hardly affected the severity of ID, but the degree to which the capacity for adaptive phenotypic plasticity was retained varied strongly among the inbred families. The least purged family overall lacked the capacity for adaptive phenotypic plasticity, whereas the family that suffered only mild purging exhibited a potential for adaptive plasticity that was comparable to the outbred population. We thus found that inbred offspring may retain the capacity to respond to the presence of fish by adaptive phenotypic plasticity, but this strongly depends on the parental clone engaging in selfing.
Three-dimensional periodic optical orthogonal code for OCDMA systems

New families of three-dimensional (3-D) optical orthogonal codes for applications to optical code-division multiple access (OCDMA) networks are proposed. The families are based in the three dimensional periodic Welch Costas array over elementary Abelian groups. These new families are shown to be asymptotically optimal through the Johnson bound.
Combination of Eight Alleles at Four Quantitative Trait Loci Determines Grain Length in Rice

Grain length is an important quantitative trait in rice (Oryza sativa L.) that influences both grain yield and exterior quality. Although many quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for grain length have been identified, it is still unclear how different alleles from different QTLs regulate grain length coordinately. To explore the mechanisms of QTL combination in the determination of grain length, five mapping populations, including two F2 populations, an F3 population, an F7 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, and an F8 RIL population, were developed from the cross between the U.S. tropical japonica variety ‘Lemont’ and the Chinese indica variety ‘Yangdao 4’ and grown under different environmental conditions. Four QTLs (qGL-3-1, qGL-3-2, qGL-4, and qGL-7) for grain length were detected using both composite interval mapping and multiple interval mapping methods in the mapping populations. In each locus, there was an allele from one parent that increased grain length and another allele from another parent that decreased it. The eight alleles in the four QTLs were analyzed to determine whether these alleles act additively across loci, and lead to a linear relationship between the predicted breeding value of QTLs and phenotype. Linear regression analysis suggested that the combination of eight alleles determined grain length. Plants carrying more grain length-increasing alleles had longer grain length than those carrying more grain length-decreasing alleles. This trend was consistent in all five mapping populations and demonstrated the regulation of grain length by the four QTLs. Thus, these QTLs are ideal resources for modifying grain length in rice.
Values and Attitudes of Nordic Language Teachers Towards Second Language Education

Summary Issues in minority education in relation to citizenship have received more attention lately, because of new requirements for language testing in several countries (Bevelander, Fernandez & Hellström, 2011, p. 101). The acquisition of citizenship is more decisive for immigrant participation in society than the duration of stay in the country (Bevelander, Fernandez & Hellström, 2011). The second language is crucial for active citizenship and integration in this perspective. Most countries in the EU (except Ireland and Sweden) have language requirements for citizenship and the use of language testing becomes increasingly common among the countries that receive migrants. The rapid development highlights the need for new international studies on the relationship between citizenship and conditions for second language learning. The goal of the recent study is to compare premises, perspectives and scales of values of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish language educators, related to the requirements for immigrant citizenship. Previous studies (Björklund & Liubiniené, 2004) indicate that there are major differences in value systems even between the neighbouring countries. To reach the objective of the present study, interviews were conducted with language educators in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The results have revealed two opposing patterns. The values of Swedish informants show a wide-ranging variation, while the Danish and Norwegian data on values are consistently similar. The results raise further questions about the effects caused by differences in values among language educators when comparing the countries and call for a further verification of the data in a more extended study, including Lithuania and other Baltic states.
Experiments on the zero frequency problem

Summary form only given. A fundamental problem in the construction of statistical techniques for data compression of sequential text is the generation of probabilities from counts of previous occurrences. Each context used in the statistical model accumulates counts of the number of times each symbol has occurred in that context. So in a binary alphabet there will be two counts C/sub 0/ and C/sub 1/ (the number of times a 0 or 1 has occurred). The problem then is to take the counts and generate from them a probability that the next character will be a 0 or 1. A naive estimate of the probability of character i could be obtained by the ratio p/sub i/=C/sub i//(C/sub 0/+C/sub i/). A fundamental problem with this is that it will generate a zero probability if C/sub 0/ or C/sub 1/ is zero. Unfortunately, a zero probability prevents coding from working correctly as the "optimum" code length in this case is infinite. Consequently any estimate of the probabilities must be non-zero even in the presence of zero counts. This problem is called the zero frequency problem . A well known solution to the problem was formulated by Laplace and is known as Laplace's law of succession. We have investigated the correctness of Laplace's law by experiment.
Improved station keeping strategy of spacecraft flying around Sun-Earth libration point

Considering the unstable of spacecraft trajectories around the Sun-Earth liberation points, a new station keeping strategy based on variable time intervals is presented and simulated in this paper. With this method, three different kinds of optimization strategies are conducted and a new performance measure form based on errors is also proposed to obtain a better control strategy which can minimize the system sensitivity of various types of uncertainty. Simulation results are introduced to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.