Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CompositeCalls: A Design Pattern for Efficient and Flexible Client-Server Interaction

What do well-known techniques such as gather/scatter for input/output, code downloading for system extension, message batching, mobile agents, and deferred calls for disconnected operation have in common? Despite being rather different techniques, all of them share a common piece of design (and, possibly, implementation) as their cornerstone: the CompositeCalls design pattern. All techniques mentioned above are designed for multiple-domain 1 applications. In all of them, multiple operations are bundled together and then sent to a different domain, where they are executed. In some cases, the objective is to reduce the number of domain-crossings. In other cases, it is to allow for dynamic server extension. In this paper, we describe the CompositeCalls pattern and identify eight classes of existing techniques that instantiate it. We, then, discuss the circumstances in which the pattern should and should not be used. Finally, we present some work done with a priori knowledge of the pattern. Partially supported by Spanish CICYT grant # TIC-98-1032-C03-03. † Partially supported by the Spanish Research Council CICYT grant # TIC-98-1032-C03-01 and by the
Analog of H2 relaxin exhibits antagonistic properties and impairs prostate tumor growth

Hormone antagonists can be effective tools to delineate receptor signaling pathways and their resulting downstream physiological actions. Mutation of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of human H2 relaxin (∆H2) impaired its biological function as measured by cAMP signaling. In a competition assay, ∆H2 exhibited antagonistic activity by blocking recombinant H2 relaxin from binding to receptors on THP‐1 cells. In a flow cytometry‐based binding assay, ∆H2 demonstrated weak binding to 293T cells expressing the LGR7 receptor in the presence of biotinylated H2 relaxin. When human prostate cancer cell lines (PC‐3 and LNCaP) were engineered to overexpress eGFP, wildtype (WT) H2, or ∆H2, and subsequently implanted into NOD/SCID mice, tumor xenografts overexpressing ∆H2 displayed smaller volumes compared to H2 and eGFP controls. Plasma osmolality readings and microvessel density and area assessment suggest that ∆H2 modulates physiological parameters in vivo. In a second murine model, intratumoral injections of len‐ tivectors engineered to express ∆H2/eGFP led to suppressed tumor growth compared to controls. This study provides further evidence supporting a role for H2 relaxin in prostate tumor growth. More importantly, we report how mutation of the H2 relaxin RBD confers the hormone derivative with antagonistic properties, offering a novel reagent for relaxin research. —Silvertown, J. D. , Symes, J. C. , Neschadim, A. , Nonaka, T. , Kao, J. C. H. , Summerlee, A. J. S. , Medin, J. A. Analog of H2 relaxin exhibits antagonistic properties and impairs prostate tumor growth. FASEB J. 21, 754–765 (2007)
Security Concepts as Add-On for Process Models

Development processes for software construction are common knowledge and widely used in most development organizations. Unfortunately, these processes often offer only little or no support in order to meet security requirements. In our work, we propose a methodology to enhance these process models with security concepts, backed by a security-oriented process model specification language. The methodology supports existing process models, which will be extended by established security approaches, as well as information security risk management standards, to fulfill the demand for secure software engineering. The methodology and the process modeling language we propose, have been successfully evaluated by the TERESA project for specifying development processes for trusted applications and integrating security concepts into existing process models.
Learning for intelligent mobile robots

Unlike intelligent industrial robots which often work in a structured factory setting, intelligent mobile robots must often operate in an unstructured environment cluttered with obstacles and with many possible action paths. However, such machines have many potential applications in medicine, defense, industry and even the home that make their study important. Sensors such as vision are needed. However, in many applications some form of learning is also required. The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion of recent technical advances in learning for intelligent mobile robots. During the past 20 years, the use of intelligent industrial robots that are equipped not only with motion control systems but also with sensors such as cameras, laser scanners, or tactile sensors that permit adaptation to a changing environment has increased dramatically. However, relatively little has been done concerning learning. Adaptive and robust control permits one to achieve point to point and controlled path operation in a changing environment. This problem can be solved with a learning control. In the unstructured environment, the terrain and consequently the load on the robot’s motors are constantly changing. Learning the parameters of a proportional, integral and derivative controller (PID) and artificial neural network provides an adaptive and robust control. Learning may also be used for path following. Simulations that include learning may be conducted to see if a robot can learn its way through a cluttered array of obstacles. If a situation is performed repetitively, then learning can also be used in the actual application. To reach an even higher degree of autonomous operation, a new level of learning is required. Recently learning theories such as the adaptive critic have been proposed. In this type of learning a critic provides a grade to the controller of an action module such as a robot. The creative control process is used that is “beyond the adaptive critic. ” A mathematical model of the creative control process is presented that illustrates the use for mobile robots. Examples from a variety of intelligent mobile robot applications are also presented. The significance of this work is in providing a greater understanding of the applications of learning to mobile robots that could lead to many applications.
A Position Statement on Population Data Science: The Science of Data about People

Information is increasingly digital, creating opportunities to respond to pressing issues about human populations using linked datasets that are large, complex, and diverse. The potential social and individual benefits that can come from data-intensive science are large, but raise challenges of balancing individual privacy and the public good, building appropriate socio-technical systems to support data-intensive science, and determining whether defining a new field of inquiry might help move those collective interests and activities forward. A combination of expert engagement, literature review, and iterative conversations led to our conclusion that defining the field of Population Data Science (challenge 3) will help address the other two challenges as well. We define Population Data Science succinctly as the science of data about people and note that it is related to but distinct from the fields of data science and informatics. A broader definition names four characteristics of: data use for positive impact on citizens and society; bringing together and analyzing data from multiple sources; finding population-level insights; and developing safe, privacy-sensitive and ethical infrastructure to support research. One implication of these characteristics is that few people possess all of the requisite knowledge and skills of Population Data Science, so this is by nature a multi-disciplinary field. Other implications include the need to advance various aspects of science, such as data linkage technology, various forms of analytics, and methods of public engagement. These implications are the beginnings of a research agenda for Population Data Science, which if approached as a collective field, can catalyze significant advances in our understanding of trends in society, health, and human behavior.
Subgroups of finite index in profinite groups.

A profinite group is called strongly complete if every subgroup of finite index is open and of type (AF) if it has only finitely many subgroups of any fixed index. In this paper it is shown that a topologically finitely generated abelian by pro-nilpotent profinite group is strongly complete, and that a pro-solvable profinite group is strongly complete if is of type (AF).
Joint gradient-based time-delay estimation and adaptive minimum mean-squared-error filtering

A general estimation model is defined in which two observations are available; one is a noisy version of the transmitted signal, while the other is a noisy filtered and delayed version of the same transmitted signal. The time-varying delay and the filter are unknown quantities that must be estimated. A joint estimator is proposed. It is composed of an adaptive delay element in conjunction with a transversal adaptive filter. The same error signal is used to adjust the delay element and the filter such that the minimum mean squared error is attained. Two joint gradient-based adaptation algorithms are studied. The joint steepest-descent (SD) algorithm is first investigated. The possibility of a multitude of stable solutions is established and a condition of convergence is presented. A stochastic implementation of the joint SD algorithm, under the form of a joint least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm, is then presented. It is analysed in terms of convergence in the mean and in the mean square of both the delay estimate and the adaptive filter weight vector estimate. The conditions of convergence of the joint LMS algorithm are established as a function of the power spectral densities of the observed signals and the minimum mean squared error.
Innate Immunity Modulation by the IL-33/ST2 System in Intestinal Mucosa

Innate immunity prevents pathogens from entering and spreading within the body. This function is especially important in the gastrointestinal tract and skin, as these organs have a large surface contact area with the outside environment. In the intestine, luminal commensal bacteria are necessary for adequate food digestion and play a crucial role in tolerance to benign antigens. Immune system damage can create an intestinal inflammatory response, leading to chronic disease including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an IBD of unknown etiology with increasing worldwide prevalence. In the intestinal mucosa of UC patients, there is an imbalance in the IL-33/ST2 axis, an important modulator of the innate immune response. This paper reviews the role of the IL-33/ST2 system in innate immunity of the intestinal mucosa and its importance in inflammatory bowel diseases, especially ulcerative colitis.
EXAMPLES ON AN ALGORITHM FOR LEAST SQUARES DATA FITTING BY NONNEGATIVE DIFFERENCES

A smooth function is measured at equally spaced abscissae and the measurements contain random errors. We address the problem of making the least sum of squares change to the data by requiring nonnegative differences of order r for the smoothed values. The problem is a strictly convex quadratic programming calculation, where each of the constraint functions depends on r+1 adjacent components of the smoothed values, which are the binomial coefficients with alternating signs that arise in the expansion of . We take account of this structure and describe a special active set method that is much faster than general quadratic programming algorithms. We present two examples that illustrate our approach and that although have a common development they follow different solution paths. The first of them starts from the point that satisfies all the constraints as equalities and the second starts from the unconstrained minimum of the problem. (1 1) −
Coupling Mechanism for Building up Harmonious City

In order to realize ‘win-win’ between economic development and environmental protection, it is necessary to study the coupling mechanism of economic development and environmental protection. The paper builds up the reversible equation and optimum principle of coupling mechanism of economic development and environmental protection, and provides the measure standard. Jilin Province is selected as an example. The quantitative analysis of economic development and environmental protection is based on the sixteen indicators that are representative in 9 cities of Jilin Province. The two main factors - economic development and environmental protection, are screened by factor analysis method, and the coupling mechanism of economic development and environmental protection is assessed. The results show that the development of most cities in Jilin Province is environment and economy lagging status of rudimentary development level, except Changchun City and Jilin City; both are at advanced development stage. On the basis of the assessment, conclusions and suggestions about sustainable development of economy and environment are printed out, and they can be used for reference for subsequent studies.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with Funding from Boston Library Consortium Iviember Libraries Working Paper Department of Economics Simultaneous Signaling to the Capital and Product Markets By

This paper analyzes an informed firm's choice of financial structure using what we call a two-audience signaling model ; the choice of a financing contract is observed not only by the capital market, but also by a second interested (but uninformed) party. This second party might be a competing firm or a labor union. A key feature of the model is that the informed firm's gross profit is endogenous, because the second party's action depends on the transaction it observes between the informed firm and the capital market. The main result is that the reasonable capital-market equilibria (i.e., those that satisfy a refinement) maximize the ex-ante expectation of the informed firm's endogenous gross product-market profits. In this sense, the character of capital-market equilibrium is determined by the structure of the product market. An immediate corollary is that (generically ) either all the reasonable equilibria are separating or all the reasonable equilibria are pooling. Indeed, the latter is often the case. This is in distinct contrast to earlier work on the information content of financial structure and to more recent work on refinement in signaling games, both of which focus on separating equilibria. 1 . Introduction Models in which informed managers attempt to signal private information to the capital market have been used to explain a wide variety of corporate financial behaviors, including capital-structure decisions (Ross [1977], Myers and Majluf [1984]), dividend policy (Bhattacharya [1979], Miller and Rock [1985]) and management share ownership (Leland and Pyle [1977]). The appeal of these models is that they account for corporate financial behavior that is otherwise difficult to rationalize, and they are based on the reasonable assumption that a manager has private information about the firm's performance. These models, like most in the finance literature, abstract from the other markets in which the firm operates. Yet, when a firm reveals information to the capital market, it often does so by a publicly observable action (such as a dividend) that reveals information to otherwise uninformed agents in other markets (such as product-market rivals). These agents then condition their behavior on this information, and this affects the profit (gross of financing costs) of the informed firm. When the informed firm's gross profit is endogenously determined in this way, product-market considerations affect the informed firm's decision to reveal information through its financial policy. This payoff endogeneity is important; it is the crucial determinant of equilibrium in our model. It is also a second dimension (in addition to asymmetric information) on which the model departs from the Modigliani-Miller framework: financing costs and gross profits are endogenously determined by financial policy. We capture these ideas by developing a model in which the informed firm signals to two uninformed audiences the capital market and the
Impact of aerobic exercise on levels of IL‐4 and IL‐10: results from two randomized intervention trials

The mechanisms whereby regular exercise reduces chronic inflammation remain unclear. We investigated whether regular aerobic exercise alters basal levels of interleukin (IL)‐10 and IL‐4 in two randomized trials of physical activity. The Alberta Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (ALPHA, n = 320) and the Breast Cancer and Exercise Trial in Alberta (BETA, n = 400) were two‐center, two‐armed randomized trials in inactive, healthy, postmenopausal women. Both trials included an exercise intervention prescribed five times/week and no dietary changes. In ALPHA, the exercise group was prescribed 225 min/week versus no activity in the controls. BETA examined dose‐response effects comparing 300 (HIGH) versus 150 (MODERATE) min/week. Plasma concentrations of IL‐10 and IL‐4 were measured at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis was performed using linear mixed models adjusted for baseline biomarker concentrations. Circulating anti‐inflammatory cytokine levels decreased among all groups, with percent change ranging from −3.4% (controls) to −8.2% (HIGH) for IL‐4 and −1.6% (controls) to −7.5% (HIGH) for IL‐10. No significant group differences were found for IL‐4 (ALPHA P = 0.54; BETA P = 0.32) or IL‐10 (ALPHA P = 0.84; BETA P = 0.68). Some evidence for moderation of the effect of exercise by baseline characteristics was found for IL‐10 but not for IL‐4. Results from these two large randomized aerobic exercise intervention trials suggest that aerobic exercise does not alter IL‐10 or IL‐4 in a manner consistent with chronic disease and cancer prevention.
Programmable synaptic weights for an aVLSI network of spiking neurons

We describe a spiking neuronal network which allows local synaptic weights to be assigned to individual synapses. In previous implementations of neuronal networks, the biases that control the parameters of a particular synapse are global to all synapses of the same type regardless of the target neuron. In this new implementation, the parameters for a synapse are set by on-chip digital-analog-converter (DAC) circuits, and the DACs are updated before the selected synapses are activated. Results from the fabricated chip show that the local weights are programmable and the DACs settle in the order of microseconds. These on-chip DACs allow the user to program a selected synaptic weight for connections between neurons and they can also be used for mismatch calibration
Navigational Accesses in a Temporal Object Model

A considerable research effort has been devoted in past years to query languages for temporal data in the context of both the relational and the object oriented model. Object oriented databases provide a navigational approach for data access based on object references. We investigate the navigational approach to querying object oriented databases. We formally define the notion of temporal path expression, and we address on a formal basis issues related to the correctness of such expressions. In particular, we focus on static analysis and give a set of conditions ensuring that an expression always results in a correct access at runtime.
Hand Positions Alter Bistable Visual Motion Perception

We found that a hand posture with the palms together located just below the stream/bounce display could increase the proportion of bouncing perception. This effect, called the hands-induced bounce (HIB) effect, did not occur in the hands-cross condition or in the one-hand condition. By using rubber hands or covering the participants’ hands with a cloth, we demonstrated that the visual information of the hand shapes was not a critical factor in producing the HIB effect, whereas proprioceptive information seemed to be important. We also found that the HIB effect did not occur when the participants’ hands were far from the coincidence point, suggesting that the HIB effect might be produced within a limited spatial area around the hands.
Graph-based Codes

This is a mini-course on graph-based codes, given at the Center for Theoretical Sciences at Taipei, Taiwan, July 12-15, 2004. In practical coding theory, the main challenge has been to find codes with rates close to channel capacity and with efficient encoding and decoding algorithms. Only recently was this accomplished, theoretically for the binary erasure channel but only experimentally for the binary symmetric and AWGN channels. The classes of codes are related to graphs with message passing along edges providing the decoding. Analyzing them and designing them leads to interesting mathematics, much of it still unresolved.
Combining Multiple Alignments to Improve Machine Translation

Word alignment is a critical component of machine translation systems. Various methods for word alignment have been proposed, and different models can produce significantly different outputs. To exploit the advantages of different models, we propose three ways to combine multiple alignments for machine translation: (1) alignment selection, a novel method to select an alignment with the least expected loss from multiple alignments within the minimum Bayes risk framework; (2) alignment refinement, an improved algorithm to refine multiple alignments into a new alignment that favors the consensus of various models; (3) alignment compaction, a compact representation that encodes all alignments generated by different methods (including (1) and (2) above) using a novel calculation of link probabilities. Experiments show that our approach not only improves the alignment quality, but also significantly improves translation performance by up to 1.96 BLEU points over single best alignments, and 1.28 points over merging rules extracted from multiple alignments individually.
Observer-based multi-actuator vehicle chassis control in critical situations

This paper describes an observer-based control of the vehicle dynamics using a four-wheel active steering system as well as an active suspension system. The objectives of the proposed controller are to improve the vehicle behaviour by forcing the lateral dynamics and the load transfer ration (LTR) to track reference trajectories in critical situations. The Takagi-Sugeno (TS) representation has been used in order to take into account the non-linearities of the lateral forces. Based on the obtained fuzzy model, a TS observer has been designed with unmeasurable premise variables in order to consider the unavailability of the sideslip and the roll angle measurement. The observer and controller design has been formulated in terms of Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) constraints using H∞ approach.
Reducing the Annotation Effort for Letter-to-Phoneme Conversion

Letter-to-phoneme (L2P) conversion is the process of producing a correct phoneme sequence for a word, given its letters. It is often desirable to reduce the quantity of training data --- and hence human annotation --- that is needed to train an L2P classifier for a new language. In this paper, we confront the challenge of building an accurate L2P classifier with a minimal amount of training data by combining several diverse techniques: context ordering, letter clustering, active learning, and phonetic L2P alignment. Experiments on six languages show up to 75% reduction in annotation effort.