Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
coordinating perceptually grounded categories through language: a case study for colour

this article proposes a number of models to examine through which mechanisms a population of autonomous agents could arrive at a repertoire of perceptually grounded categories that is sufficiently shared to allow successful communication. the models are inspired by the main approaches to human categorisation being discussed in the literature: nativism, empiricism, and culturalism. colour is taken as a case study. although we take no stance on which position is to be accepted as final truth with respect to human categorisation and naming, we do point to theoretical constraints that make each position more or less likely and we make clear suggestions on what the best engineering solution would be. specifically, we argue that the collective choice of a shared repertoire must integrate multiple constraints, including constraints coming from communication.
Finding Hedges by Chasing Weasels: Hedge Detection Using Wikipedia Tags and Shallow Linguistic Features

We investigate the automatic detection of sentences containing linguistic hedges using corpus statistics and syntactic patterns. We take Wikipedia as an already annotated corpus using its tagged weasel words which mark sentences and phrases as non-factual. We evaluate the quality of Wikipedia as training data for hedge detection, as well as shallow linguistic features.
TC-Star: Cross-Language Voice Conversion Revisited

In the framework of the European speech-to-speech translation proje ct TC-Star, one of the research tasks is cross-language voice conve r-sion. In the recent second evaluation campaign, v e participants prese nted their intra-lingual as well as cross-language voice conversionsystems that were applied to three languages. In this paper, we discuss th e results of Siemens' submissions and describe the underlyingsystem characteristics.
Developing Guidelines and Competencies for the Training of Psychedelic Therapists

Research since the 1950s has shown that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has had significant positive effects in reductions of specific clinical symptoms and increases in quality of life as measured on a variety of indices. The intensity of focus on evidence-based outcomes, however, has resulted in a paucity of active discussions and research on the core competencies of the therapists themselves. The context of the history of psychedelic research reveals how this neglect of therapist variables occurred. With current discussions of Phase 3 and expanded access research programs for psilocybin-assisted and MDMA-assisted psychotherapies, there will be a great need for competent therapists trained in this clinical specialty. This is particularly the case if less restricted, legal medical use is approved within the next 6 to 10 years. This article is the first review and compilation of psychedelic therapist competencies derived from the psychedelic literature. These six therapist competencies are empathetic abiding presence; trust enhancement; spiritual intelligence; knowledge of the physical and psychological effects of psychedelics; therapist self-awareness and ethical integrity; and proficiency in complementary techniques. A further contribution of this review is a delineation of the 12 fundamental curricular domains of study for the training and development of these therapist competencies. As current legal restrictions evolve, aspects of these training guidelines will develop accordingly.
Designing a Parallel GA for Large Instances of the Workforce Planning Problem

Workforce planning is an important activity that enables organizations to determine the workforce needed for a given task. Solving a workforce planning problem is a hard combinatorial process requiring modern techniques such advanced metaheuristics. In this work, we analyze several options to design a parallel genetic algorithm, which can find high-quality solutions to realistic size problem instances.
A Practical Implementation of the Bernoulli Factory

The Bernoulli Factory is an algorithm that takes as input a series of i.i. d. Bernoulli random variables with an unknown but fixed success probability $p$, and outputs a corresponding series of Bernoulli random variables with success probability $f(p)$, where the function $f$ is known and defined on the interval $[0,1]$. While several practical uses of the method have been proposed in Monte Carlo applications, these require an implementation framework that is flexible, general and efficient. We present such a framework for functions that are either strictly linear, concave, or convex on the unit interval using a series of envelope functions defined through a cascade, and show that this method not only greatly reduces the number of input bits needed in practice compared to other currently proposed solutions for more specific problems, and is easy to specify for simple forms, but can easily be coupled to asymptotically efficient methods to allow for theoretically strong results.
Very Large-Scale Neighborhood Search

Many optimization problems that model the essential issues of important real-world decision making are computationally intractable. Therefore, a practical approach for solving such problems is to employ heuristic techniques that find nearly optimal solutions within a reasonable amount of computation time. Improvement algorithms generally start with a feasible solution and iteratively try to obtain a better solution. Neighborhood search algorithms, which are alternatively called local search algorithms, are a wide class of improvement algorithms where at each iteration an improving solution is found by searching a “neighborhood” of the current solution. A critical issue in the design of a neighborhood search algorithm is defining what solutions constitute the neighborhood of a solution. As a rule of thumb, the larger the neighborhood, the better is the quality of the locally optimal solutions, including the final solution selected upon termination. Similarly, the larger the neighborhood, the longer it takes to search the neighborhood. Thus, a larger neighborhood does not necessarily produce a more effective heuristic unless one can search the larger neighborhood efficiently. This article concentrates on neighborhood search algorithms where the size of the neighborhood is “very large” with respect to the size of the input data and the neighborhood can be searched efficiently. We survey three broad classes of very large-scale neighborhood (VLSN) search algorithms: variable-depth methods in which large neighborhoods are searched heuristically, large neighborhoods that are searched by solving a constrained minimum–cost flow problem, and other situations that give rise to efficiently searchable large neighborhoods. Keywords: very large-scale neighborhood search; cyclic-exchange neighborhood; variable-depth neighborhood; multiexchange neighborhood; heuristics
Effective Induction Motor Controller Based Voltage/Frequency

An effective scheme of induction motor control without using stator sensor is proposed in this paper. The effective scheme consist of speed calculation algorithm and voltage/frequency control. The speed calculation algorithm is achieved by sensoring the current of stator and compared with the prospective speed then calculation by DSP. The principles of constant voltage/frequency (V/Hz) control for AC Induction motor and sine wave generation of PWM technique are used. The control system has been tested at the real time operating conditions and the experimental results have shown that the system has good characteristic in steady state and during transient as well.
Academic spin-offs in Finnish biotechnology: A portrait of firm characteristics

Tama tutkimus kuvaa yliopistoissa tai vastaavissa tutkimusinstituutioissa tapahtuvaan akateemiseen tutkimukseen pohjautuvien pienten ja keskisuurten bioteknologiayritysten piirteita. Kuvaus mahdollistaa yritysten asemoinnin suhteessa koko bioteknologia- alaan. Lisaksi kuvauksen pohjalta voidaan tunnistaa tutkimuksen kohteena olevien yritysten heikkouksia ja vahvuuksia seka ulkopuoliset tekijat, jotka ovat yritysten kehityksen kannalta hyodyllisia ja haitallisia. Tutkimuksessa kaytetyn regressioanalyysin tulosten pohjalta voidaan todeta, etta akateemiset spin-off-yritykset karsivat monenlaisista rajoitteista. Ensiksikin heilta puuttuu usein selkea markkinaorientoitunut lahestymistapa seka kaupallinen osaaminen, joita tarvitaan markkinoilla menestymiseen. Taman lisaksi vallitseva kasitys, jonka mukaan akateemisten instituutioiden rooli ja yhteiskunnallinen tehtava ovat perinteisia ja kaupallisesta toiminnasta eristaytyneita – metafora norsunluutornista – haittaa yritysten kykya rekrytoida kyvykkaita tyontekijoita. Ongelmaksi muodostuu myos Suomen paaomamarkkinoiden alikehittyneisyys tietyilta osin. Tarkeaa perustamisvaiheen rahoitusta on vaikea saada kun yksityiset ja ulkomaiset paaomasijoittajat sijoittavat paaasiallisesti yrityksiin, jotka ovat jo hyvin lahella markkinoita.
Children's Attentional Processing of Mother and Proximity Seeking

Attachment expectations regarding the availability of mother as a source for support are supposed to influence distressed children’s support seeking behavior. Because research is needed to better understand the mechanisms related to support seeking behavior, this study tested the hypothesis that the cognitive processing of mother-related information is linked to proximity and support seeking behavior. Uncertainty in maternal support has been shown to be characterized by a biased attentional encoding of mother, reducing the breadth of children’s attentional field around her. We investigated whether this attentional bias is related to how long distressed children wait before seeking their mother’s proximity. Thirty-three children (9-11 years) participated in this study that consisted of experimental tasks to measure attentional breadth and to observe proximity seeking behavior and of questionnaires to measure confidence in maternal support and experienced distress. Results suggested that distressed children with a more narrow attentional field around their mother wait longer to seek her proximity. Key Message: These findings provide a first support for the hypothesis that the attentional processing of mother is related to children’s attachment behavior.
Principles and Idiosyncracies in MT Lexicons

The purpose of an MT lexicon is to facilitate translation. If we adhere to a symbolic (non-statistical) approach then we need a representation of meaning as the basis of translation. This representation is produced by programs typically called semantic and pragmatic interpreters, based on a variety of knowledge sources, such as grammars and lexicons. The grammar rules and lexicon entries vary in generality (productivity) in that they can apply to a very broad class of phenomena, such as all nouns, or to a particular lexical unit, such as however. The size of these rule domains forms, in fact, a range from the former to the latter. It is, naturally, preferable, from the point of view of generality of theory and economy ("capturing generalizations") to prefer the use of few powerful rules applicable to broad domains. However, language analysis shows that this noble pursuit promises but limited success. In a multitude of routine cases it becomes difficult to make generalizations. This leads to the necessity of directly recording information about how to process small classes of phenomena, specifically those that could not be covered by general rules. The trick is to find the watershed between what can be processed on general principles and what is idiosyncratic in language, what we can calculate and what we have to know literally.
MMap: Fast billion-scale graph computation on a PC via memory mapping

Graph computation approaches such as GraphChi and TurboGraph recently demonstrated that a single PC can perform efficient computation on billion-node graphs. To achieve high speed and scalability, they often need sophisticated data structures and memory management strategies. We propose a minimalist approach that forgoes such requirements, by leveraging the fundamental memory mapping (MMap) capability found on operating systems. We contribute: (1) a new insight that MMap is a viable technique for creating fast and scalable graph algorithms that surpasses some of the best techniques; (2) the design and implementation of popular graph algorithms for billion-scale graphs with little code, thanks to memory mapping; (3) extensive experiments on real graphs, including the 6.6 billion edge Yahoo Web graph, and show that this new approach is significantly faster or comparable to the highly-optimized methods (e.g., 9.5X faster than GraphChi for computing PageRank on 1.47B edge Twitter graph). We believe our work provides a new direction in the design and development of scalable algorithms. Our packaged code is available at http://poloclub.gatech. edu/mmap/.
An entropy based multi-thresholding method for semi-automatic segmentation of liver tumors

Liver cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third most common cause of death from cancer worldwide. A precise analysis of the lesions would help in the staging of the tumor and in the evaluation of the possible applicable therapies. In this paper we present the workflow we have developed for the semi-automatic segmentation of liver tumors in the datasets provided for the MICCAI Liver Tumor Segmentation contest. Since we wanted to develop a system that could be as automatic as possible and to follow the segmentation process in every single step starting from the image loading to the lesion extraction, we decided to subdivide the workflow in two main steps: first we focus on the segmentation of the liver and once we have extracted the organ structure we segment the lesions applying an adaptive multi-thresholding system.
Hydrodynamic fin function of brief squid, Lolliguncula brevis

SUMMARY Although the pulsed jet is often considered the foundation of a squid's locomotive system, the lateral fins also probably play an important role in swimming, potentially providing thrust, lift and dynamic stability as needed. Fin morphology and movement vary greatly among squid species, but the locomotive role of the fins is not well understood. To begin to elucidate the locomotive role of the fins in squids, fin hydrodynamics were studied in the brief squid Lolliguncula brevis, a species that exhibits a wide range of fin movements depending on swimming speed. Individual squid were trained to swim in both the arms-first and tail-first orientations against currents in a water tunnel seeded with light-reflective particles. Particle-laden water around the fins was illuminated with lasers and videotaped so that flow dynamics around the fins could be analyzed using digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV). Time-averaged forces generated by the fin were quantified from vorticity fields of the fin wake. During the low swimming speeds considered in this study [<2.5 dorsal mantle lengths (DML) per second], L. brevis exhibited four unique fin wake patterns, each with distinctive vortical structures: (1) fin mode I, in which one vortex is shed with each downstroke, generally occurring at low speeds; (2) fin mode II, an undulatory mode in which a continuous linked chain of vortices is produced; (3) fin mode III, in which one vortex is shed with each downstroke and upstroke, and; (4) fin mode IV, in which a discontinuous chain of linked double vortex structures is produced. All modes were detected during tail-first swimming but only fin modes II and III were observed during arms-first swimming. The fins produced horizontal and vertical forces of varying degrees depending on stroke phase, swimming speed, and swimming orientation. During tail-first swimming, the fins functioned primarily as stabilizers at low speeds before shifting to propulsors as speed increased, all while generating net lift. During arms-first swimming, the fins primarily provided lift with thrust production playing a reduced role. These results demonstrate the lateral fins are an integral component of the complex locomotive system of L. brevis, producing lift and thrust forces through different locomotive modes.
A combined chemical and enzymatic method to determine quantitatively the polysaccharide components in the cell wall of yeasts.

A reliable method to determine cell wall polysaccharides composition in yeast is presented, which combines acid and enzymatic hydrolysis. Sulphuric acid treatment is used to determine mannans, whereas specific hydrolytic enzymes are employed in a two sequential steps to quantify chitin and the proportion of β-(1,3) and β-(1,6)-glucan in the total β-glucan of the cell wall. In the first step, chitin and β-(1,3)-glucan were hydrolysed into their corresponding monomers N-acetylglucosamine and glucose, respectively, by the combined action of a chitinase from Streptomyces griseus and a pure preparation of endo/exo-β-(1,3)-glucanase from Trichoderma species. This step was followed by addition of recombinant endo-β-(1,6)-glucanase from Trichoderma harzianum with β-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger to hydrolyse the remaining β-glucan. This latter component corresponded to a highly branched β-(1,6)-glucan that contained about 75-80% of linear β-(1,6)-glucose linked units as deduced from periodate oxidation. We validated this novel method by showing that the content of β-(1,3), β-(1,6)-glucan or chitin was dramatically decreased in yeast mutants defective in the biosynthesis of these cell wall components. Moreover, we found that heat shock at 42 °C in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and treatment of this yeast species and Candida albicans with the antifungal drug caspofungin resulted in 2- to 3-fold increase of chitin and in a reduction of β-(1,3)-glucan accompanied by an increase of β-(1,6)-glucan, whereas ethanol stress had apparently no effect on yeast cell wall composition.
Functional interaction between the homeoprotein CDX1 and the transcriptional machinery containing the TATA-binding protein

We have previously reported that the CDX1 homeoprotein interacts with the TATA-box binding protein (TBP) on the promoter of the glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) gene. We show here that CDX1 interacts with TBP via the homeodomain and that the transcriptional activity additionally requires the N-terminal domain upstream of the homeodomain. CDX1 interacting with TBP is connected to members of the TFIID and Mediator complexes, two major elements of the general transcriptional machinery. Transcription luciferase assays performed using an altered-specificity mutant of TBP provide evidence for the functionality of the interaction between CDX1 and TBP. Unlike CDX1, CDX2 does not interact with TBP nor does it transactivate the G6Pase promoter. Swapping experiments between the domains of CDX1 and CDX2 indicate that, despite opposite functional effects of the homeoproteins on the G6Pase promoter, the N-terminal domains and homeodomains of both CDX1 and CDX2 have the intrinsic ability to activate transcription and to interact with TBP. However, the carboxy domains define the specificity of CDX1 and CDX2. Thus, intra-molecular interactions control the activity and partner recruitment of CDX1 and CDX2, leading to different molecular functions.
Trajectory tracking of autonomous vessels using model predictive control

Abstract Autonomous surface vehicles are with increasing popularity being seen in various applications where automatic control plays an important role. In this paper the problem of two-dimensional trajectory tracking for autonomous marine surface vehicles is addressed using Model Predictive Control (MPC). At each time step, the reference trajectories of a vessel are assumed to be known over a finite time horizon; the MPC controller computes the optimal forces and moment the vessel needs in order to track the trajectory in an optimal way Based on a horizontal 3 degrees of freedom nonlinear scaled vessel model, we present both nonlinear MPC (NMPC), which solves a constrained multi-variable nonlinear programming problem, and linearized MPC (LMPC), which solves a constrained quadratic programming problem through on-line iterative optimization. In the latter case, the model used in LMPC for prediction is obtained from a successive linearization of the nonlinear vessel model. Comparisons on performance and computational complexity of the two approaches are presented. The effectiveness of the MPC formulations in vessel trajectory tracking, especially the ability of explicitly handling constraints, is demonstrated via simulations.
Massive induction of innate immune response to Candida albicans in the kidney in a murine intravenous challenge model

In the experimental Candida albicans intravenous challenge model, the kidney is one of the main organs involved in disease. In progressive infection, fungal burdens are found to increase over time, with rapid increases occurring from 24 h postinfection. Renal transcriptional responses were analyzed at this time in the kidneys of mice infected by either a virulent or an attenuated C. albicans strain, allowing comparison of host responses in progressive and nonprogressive infection. The results of this study demonstrate that both infections share a common transcriptional response, consisting of functions associated with the acute-phase reaction. In addition, challenge with the virulent strain led to a massively increased expression of cytokine genes, other innate response genes and genes suggestive of initiation of the adaptive immune response. This immune response to C. albicans infection, which occurs only in progressive infection, may contribute to development of sepsis and, ultimately, host death.
Camera Mote with a High-Performance Parallel Processor for Real-Time Frame-Based Video Processing

This paper describes a new smart camera mote with a high performance SIMD (single-instruction multiple-data) processor. Previous versions of our camera mote were equipped with IC3D, a line-based processor. The mote described in this paper is equipped with Xetal-II, a processor designed for frame-based real-time video analysis. The processor uses 320 processing elements in parallel to achieve performance figures of more than 100GOPS with a power consumption of 600 mWatt at peak performance. The IC has a 10Mbit internal memory cache to store and work on 4 VGA frames. The internal bandwidth to this memory is more than 1.5 Tbit/s allowing multiple passes over the images within frametime. Augmented with hardware tools for object processing, the new mote opens the door for embedded active vision applications and other iterative techniques such as watershedding and distance transforms in collaborative camera networks.
Ghost-free braneworld bigravity Dedicated to the memory of

We consider a generalisation of the DGP model, by adding a second brane with localised curvature, and allowing for a bulk cosmological constant and brane tensions. We study radion and graviton fluctuations in detail, enabling us to check for ghosts and tachyons. By tuning our parameters accordingly, we find bigravity models that are free from ghosts and tachyons. These models will lead to large distance modifications of gravity that could be observable in the near future. ∗a.padilla1@physics.ox. ac.uk