Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust Inference for Generalized Linear Models

By starting from a natural class of robust estimators for generalized linear models based on the notion of quasi-likelihood, we define robust deviances that can be used for stepwise model selection as in the classical framework. We derive the asymptotic distribution of tests based on robust deviances, and we investigate the stability of their asymptotic level under contamination. The binomial and Poisson models are treated in detail. Two applications to real data and a sensitivity analysis show that the inference obtained by means of the new techniques is more reliable than that obtained by classical estimation and testing procedures.
A computationally efficient inorganic atmospheric aerosol phase equilibrium model (UHAERO)

A variety of thermodynamic models have been developed to predict inorganic gas-aerosol equilibrium. To achieve computational efficiency a number of the models rely on a priori specification of the phases present in certain relative humidity regimes. Presented here is a new computational model, named UHAERO, that is both efficient and rigorously computes phase behavior without any a priori specification. The computational implementation is based on minimization of the Gibbs free energy using a primal-dual method, coupled to a Newton iteration. The mathematical details of the solution are given elsewhere. The model also computes deliquescence and crystallization behavior without any a priori specification of the relative humidities of deliquescence or crystallization. Detailed phase diagrams of the sulfate/nitrate/ammonium/water system are presented as a function of relative humidity at 298.15 K over the complete space of composition.
High performance in silico virtual drug screening on many-core processors

Drug screening is an important part of the drug development pipeline for the pharmaceutical industry. Traditional, lab-based methods are increasingly being augmented with computational methods, ranging from simple molecular similarity searches through more complex pharmacophore matching to more computationally intensive approaches, such as molecular docking. The latter simulates the binding of drug molecules to their targets, typically protein molecules. In this work, we describe BUDE, the Bristol University Docking Engine, which has been ported to the OpenCL industry standard parallel programming language in order to exploit the performance of modern many-core processors. Our highly optimized OpenCL implementation of BUDE sustains 1.43 TFLOP/s on a single Nvidia GTX 680 GPU, or 46% of peak performance. BUDE also exploits OpenCL to deliver effective performance portability across a broad spectrum of different computer architectures from different vendors, including GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, Intel’s Xeon Phi and multi-core CPUs with SIMD instruction sets.
Valid versus Meaningful : Raising the Level of Semantic Validation

”Traditional” schema languages for XML such as XML Schema or Relax NG are used to validate documents and ensure that they are syntactically correct. These schema languages however lack the expressive power and diagnostic capabilities to provide ”semantic validation”. We illustrate the need for such validation by examples taken from the Financial Products Markup Language (FpML) and XML Metadata Interchange (XMI). We then provide an overview of languages and tools currently available to perform business validation. We introduce xlinkit, a language and tool based on XPath and first-order logic and show how it solves the validation problem.
The Impact of Health on the Economy: Evidence from the EU

There is a sound theoretical basis to the argument that human capital contributes to economic growth. As an important component of human capital, health makes impact on economy at both individual and country level. This has immediate policy implications, in that it provides a rationale for economic policy-makers to use health investment via health care system, as one additional means of achieving their economic objectives.
Two-Dimensional and Doppler Echocardiography Alone Can Adequately Define Preoperative Anatomy and Hemodynamic Status before Repair of Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect in Infants <1 Year Old

BackgroundDilated cardiomyopathy is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with congestive heart failure. Hemodynamic and prognostic characterization are critical in guiding selection of medical and surgical therapies. Methods and ResultsA cohort of 102 patients with the clinical diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy who underwent echocardiographic examination between 1986 and 1990 was identified and followed up through July 1, 1991. Patients with moderate or severe symptoms had lower indices of systolic function and greater left atrial and right ventricular dilation. Mitral inflow Doppler signals were characterized by a restrictive left ventricular filling pattern. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, deceleration time, ejection fraction, and peak E velocity were independently associated with symptom status. Over a mean follow-up of 36 months, 35 patients died. Kaplan-Meier estimated survival at 1, 2, and 4 years was 84%, 73%, and 61%, respectively, and was significantly poorer than that of an age- and sex-matched population. The subgroup with an ejection fraction < 0.25 and deceleration time < 130 milliseconds had a 2-year survival of only 35%. The subgroup with ejection fraction < 0.25 and deceleration time > 130 milliseconds had an intermediate 2-year survival of 72%, whereas patients with an ejection fraction ≥ 0.25 had 2-year survivals ≥ 95% regardless of deceleration time. In multivariate analysis, ejection fraction and systolic blood pressure were independently predictive of subsequent mortality. Mitral deceleration time was significant in univariate analysis. ConclusionsIn patients with the clinical diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy, markers of diastolic dysfunction correlated strongly with congestive symptoms, whereas variables of systolic function were the strongest predictors of survival. Consideration of both ejection fraction and deceleration time allowed identification of subgroups with divergent long-term prognoses.
Detection of a Cosmic Microwave Background Decrement toward the z = 3.8 Quasar Pair PC 1643+4631A, B

In a 15 GHz Ryle Telescope observation of PC 1643+4631A, B, a pair of quasars at redshifts z = 3.79 and 3.83 separated by 198'' on the sky, we find a decrement in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) of -380 ± 64 μJy in a 110'' × 175'' beam. Assuming this to be a Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect due to an intervening cluster, the minimum magnitude of the central temperature decrement is 560 μK. A serendipitous ROSAT observation shows that there is no X-ray-luminous cluster in the direction of the decrement at z < 1. The implied gas mass is ≳2 × 1014 M☉ (assuming a temperature of ~5 keV), indicating a total mass of more than 1015 M☉. This result demonstrates the existence of a massive system too distant to be detected by its emission, but which can be found via its imprint on the CMB.
Economizing ISP interconnections at Internet Exchange Points

The Internet service provider market is very competitive. Small and medium-size Internet service providers (ISPs) are competing for customers, while, at the same time, they are under price pressure from upstream providers. Therefore, these ISPs have to reduce their overall cost of interconnection. In order to address this issue, Internet exchange points (IXPs) have been built up in recent years, which allow small and medium-size ISPs to go into public or private peering with other ISPs. However, those ISPs do not have sufficient information to select the optimal set of ISPs, with which they should go into private peering agreements. In this paper, we describe an approach, which provides ISPs with the information about the most economical interconnections to other ISPs. This approach helps small and medium-size Internet service providers to reduce their interconnection costs for upstream connectivity and to improve network performance for their customers. To achieve that, our approach uses Internet topology information in close neighborhood of the ISP (which is determined by the set of ISPs connected to the IXP), measurement information about the number of bytes transmitted, and traffic pricing schemes. Based on real data, our analysis results demonstrate that our approach provides the necessary information to ISPs for locally optimizing their interconnection agreements (e.g. peering, sibling, transit agreements).
Sharp deconvolution in elimination of multiples

The problem of multiple suppression is of interest up to now despite of its long-standing. A new approach for attenuation of multiples in a "locally 1-D" environment is suggested, which is illustrated here with well-controlled processing of synthetic data. The method is based on a rigorous forward model and a non-Wiener lter design in the context of predictive deconvolution. Due to the linearity of the lter the method is of very low computational costs. The respective lter coe cients have quite de nite physical sense: they are primaries of a re ectivity series. Therefore the method yields fairly good estimates of the re ection coe cients/acoustic impedance section jointly with elimination of multiples.
Synergy Between Viral and Bacterial Toll-Like Receptors Leads to Amplification of Inflammatory Responses and Preterm Labor in the Mouse1

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize molecular constituents of pathogens and activate host innate immune responses. TLR2 responds to Gram-positive organisms and components of their cell walls. TLR3 responds to double-stranded RNA (an intermediate in viral replication). A mouse macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) and freshly obtained mouse peritoneal macrophages were treated in tissue culture for 5 or 10 h with either peptidoglycan (PGN; a TLR2 ligand, 1 μg/ml), polyinosinic:cytidylic acid (poly(I:C); a TLR3 ligand, 10 μg/ml), both PGN and poly(I:C), or neither. Total RNA was extracted, and RT-PCR was performed. A mouse model of preterm birth induced by intrauterine injection of TLR ligands was used to test in vivo effects. Compared to stimulation with either PGN or poly(I:C) alone, stimulation of macrophages with both ligands (whether simultaneously or sequentially) resulted in synergistic expression of inflammatory mediators, including inducible nitric oxide synthase, interleukin 1 beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and the chemokine CCL5 (RANTES). Using peritoneal macrophages obtained from mutant and control mice, this synergy was determined to be dependent upon TLR2 and the TLR-related intracellular adaptor proteins MYD88 and TICAM1 (TRIF). Simultaneous administration of both PGN and poly(I:C) to pregnant mice also produced dramatic synergy in the occurrence of preterm delivery. These results support a possible role for viral infection in preterm labor. Synergy in the mechanisms of parturition suggests the existence of a “two-hit” trigger mechanism that minimizes responses to stimuli of limited biological significance while providing an efficient amplification strategy for rapid activation of labor in response to multiple or more severe insults.
Preparation and Characterization of Ferrofluid Stabilized with Biocompatible Chitosan and Dextran Sulfate Hybrid Biopolymer as a Potential Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) T2 Contrast Agent

Chitosan is the deacetylated form of chitin and used in numerous applications. Because it is a good dispersant for metal and/or oxide nanoparticle synthesis, chitosan and its derivatives have been utilized as coating agents for magnetic nanoparticles synthesis, including superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). Herein, we demonstrate the water-soluble SPIONs encapsulated with a hybrid polymer composed of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) from chitosan, the positively charged polymer, and dextran sulfate, the negatively charged polymer. The as-prepared hybrid ferrofluid, in which iron chloride salts (Fe3+ and Fe2+) were directly coprecipitated inside the hybrid polymeric matrices, was physic-chemically characterized. Its features include the z-average diameter of 114.3 nm, polydispersity index of 0.174, zeta potential of −41.5 mV and iron concentration of 8.44 mg Fe/mL. Moreover, based on the polymer chain persistence lengths, the anionic surface of the nanoparticles as well as the high R2/R1 ratio of 13.5, we depict the morphology of SPIONs as a cluster because chitosan chains are chemisorbed onto the anionic magnetite surfaces by tangling of the dextran sulfate. Finally, the cellular uptake and biocompatibility assays indicate that the hybrid polymer encapsulating the SPIONs exhibited great potential as a magnetic resonance imaging T2 contrast agent for cell tracking.
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS IN A DEEP SOUTH CITY

Abstract In 2010, the Alabama GOP took control of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. The next year, in a sharply partisan vote, the legislature passed, and Governor Robert Bentley (R) signed into law, the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, also known as House Bill 56, the harshest immigration law in the country. This punitive state law was the impetus for Black elites in Birmingham to frame the immigration debate as a matter of civil rights and thus to see the issue in a new light. When Alabama Republicans moved to the Right on immigration, Black leaders in Birmingham moved Left. In this study, backed up by an event analysis of local newspapers, an analysis of interviews with members of the Black elite in Birmingham in 2013, who were previously interviewed in 2007, helps to substantiate this claim. In the summer of 2007, against the backdrop of an immigration debate in Washington, our Black elite study participants largely told us they had no stake in immigration. By 2013, many were willing to fight for immigrant rights at the highest level.
Abscon 2005

This paper describes the algorithms, heuristics and strategies used by the two solvers which have been elaborated from the Abscon platform and submitted to the first CSP solver competition. Both solvers maintain arc consistency during search, explore the search space using a conflict-directed variable ordering heuristic and integrate a restart strategy. At preprocessing, the first solver establishes arc consistency whereas the second one establishes a partial form of a consistency which is stronger than singleton arc consistency.
The impact of family background on the access to quantity and quality of higher education——from social stratification perspective

This paper investigates the relationship between family background and higher education quantity and quality under the background of massification of Chinese higher education,using data sources from a nation-wide university graduates survey in 2002 by Beijing Normal University.The empirical results show that the parents' education has a significant and positive impact on their children's higher education quantity(level) and quality.It indicates that social stratification still exists in the higher education system which has a strict screening entrance.
Stem Cell Therapy as an Emerging Paradigm for Stroke (STEPS) II

Cell-based therapies represent a new therapeutic approach for stroke. In 2007, investigators from academia, industry leaders, and members of the National Institutes of Health crafted recommendations to facilitate the translational development of cellular therapies as a novel, emerging modality for stroke from animal studies to clinical trials. This meeting was called Stem Cell Therapies as an Emerging Paradigm in Stroke (STEPS) and was modeled on the format of the Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Roundtable (STAIR) meetings. Since publication of the original STEPS guidelines, there has been an explosive growth in the number of cellular products and in the number of new laboratory discoveries that impact the safety and potential efficacy of cell therapies for stroke. Any successful development of a cell product will need to take into consideration several factors, including the preclinical safety and efficacy profile, cell characterization, delivery route, in vivo biodistribution, and mechanism of action. In 2010, a second meeting called STEPS 2 was held to bring together clinical and basic science researchers with industry, regulatory, and National Institutes of Health representatives. At this meeting, participants identified critical gaps in knowledge and research areas that require further studies, updated prior guidelines, and drafted new recommendations to create a framework to guide future investigations in cell-based therapies for stroke.
Interactive 3D modeling using only one image

For virtual reality systems, modeling of 3D objects and scenes is important and challenging. In this paper, we present an image-based interactive 3D modeling framework consisting of three major modules: photogrammetric modeling, human interaction, and texture mapping. These three modules are not sequentially used and they are mixed in the whole modeling process. The major idea is to explore the use of images in interactive modeling systems to achieve the automation. In particular, the use of only one image is addressed. On one side, unlike the common fully interactive modeling framework, the users are not required to specify some low level details interactively which can be derived automatically from the image. On the other side, it still requires human interactions to do some high level tasks that the algorithms are difficult to perform automatically. We have implemented the framework and experimental results are good.
Multisource Data Analysis in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Processing

A general approach is presented for the computer analysis, using quantitative multivariate methods, of remote sensing data combined with other sources of data in geographic information systems. A method is proposed by which inferences can be drawn systematically from multiple observations having significant but unknown interactions. A simple classification experim~nt with Landsat MSS data is undertaken to illustrate the use of this method.
DEVS Peer-to-Peer Protocol for Distributed and Parallel Simulation of Hierarchical and Decomposable DEVS Models

We propose a peer-to-peer (P2P) simulation protocol to support large-scale discrete event system specification (DEVS) simulation on distributed and parallel computing infrastructure. The proposed protocol requires less simulation processors and control messages than existing DEVS simulation protocols. It supports parallel output-to-input event translation and routing. The performance of the protocol is not directly bound to the hierarchical structure of a DEVS coupled model. Sequential event translation and structural dependence to the model are major performance issues in existing protocols. With hierarchical model partitioning, the protocol can be used to achieve optimal resource distribution and to obtain performance gain from it. The proposed protocol has been implemented on various DEVS modeling and simulation (M&S) frameworks. In this paper, we introduce DEVS P2P protocol and compare it to existing protocols.
CLASSIFICATION OF EBAY BIDDING CHARACTERISTICS

eBay is often regarded as one single homogeneous marketplace. Fee structure and trading rules are identical for all items traded and for all users. This paper presents evidence gathered from 251,996 eBay auctions suggesting that the market is in fact split into segments with individual bidding characteristics. Using only bidding-related data as input for Support Vector Classification algorithms, classification rates between 56% and 68% were achieved for the distinction between items offered by high-volume sellers and items offered by low-volume sellers, and between items offered in different product categories. In addition, an improved method for selecting Support Vector Machine parameters is presented.
Lie symmetries and exact solutions of first-order difference schemes

We show that any first-order ordinary differential equation with a known Lie point symmetry group can be discretized into a difference scheme with the same symmetry group. In general, the lattices are not regular ones, but must be adapted to the symmetries considered. The invariant difference schemes can be so chosen that their solutions coincide exactly with those of the original differential equation.
Fractional branes and the entropy of 4D black holes

We reconsider the four dimensional extremal black hole constructed in type-IIB string theory as the bound state of D1-branes, D5-branes, momentum, and Kaluza-Klein monopoles. Specifically, we examine the case of an arbitrary number of monopoles. Consequently, the weak coupling calculation of the microscopic entropy requires a study of the D1-D5 system on an ALE space. We find that the complete expression for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is obtained by taking into account the massless open strings stretched between the fractional D-branes which arise in the orbifold limit of the ALE space. The black hole sector therefore arises as a mixed Higgs-Coulomb branch of an effective 1+1 dimensional gauge theory.
Pattern discovery on Australian medical claim data - a systematic approach

The national health insurance system in Australia records details on medical services and claims provided to its population. An effective method to the discovery of temporal behavioral patterns in the data set is proposed in this paper. The method consists of a two-step approach which is applied recursively to the data set. First, a clustering algorithm is used to segment the data into classes. Then, hidden Markov models are employed to find the underlying temporal behavioral patterns. These steps are applied recursively to features extracted from the data set until convergence. The main objective is to minimize the misclassification of patient profiles into various classes. This results in a hierarchical tree model consisting of a number of classes; each class groups similar patient temporal behavioral patterns together. The capabilities of the proposed method are demonstrated through the application to a subset of the Australian national health insurance data set. It is shown that the proposed method not only clusters data into various categories of interest, but it also automatically marks the periods in which similar temporal behavioral patterns occurred.
Optimized INFORM measurement sequence for sensorless PM synchronous motor drives with respect to minimum current distortion

In this paper, a standard measurement sequence for INFORM-based sensorless position estimation of permanent-magnet synchronous motors is analyzed. Its properties with respect to the current deviation caused by the INFORM measurement are pointed out. Based on that a modified measurement sequence with minimum current deviation and minimum time demand is introduced. Measurement results verify the improvement of the modified measurement sequence: The current distortion is reduced significantly, resulting in reduced additional losses. Additionally, several measurement results concerning the performance of the sensorless position estimation under various load conditions are presented. Successful industrial applications are given.
Relation lifting, with an application to the many-valued cover modality

We introduce basic notions and results about relation liftings on categories enriched in a commutative quantale. We derive two necessary and sufficient conditions for a 2-functor T to admit a functorial relation lifting: one is the existence of a distributive law of T over the "powerset monad" on categories, one is the preservation by T of "exactness" of certain squares. Both characterisations are generalisations of the "classical" results known for set functors: the first characterisation generalises the existence of a distributive law over the genuine powerset monad, the second generalises preservation of weak pullbacks. The results presented in this paper enable us to compute predicate liftings of endofunc- tors of, for example, generalised (ultra)metric spaces. We illustrate this by studying the coalgebraic cover modality in this setting.