Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New View of Predictive State Methods for Dynamical System Learning

Recently there has been substantial interest in predictive state methods for learning dynamical systems: these algorithms are popular since they often offer a good tradeoff between computational speed and statistical efficiency. Despite their desirable properties, though, predictive state methods can sometimes be difficult to use in practice. E.g., in contrast to the rich literature on supervised learning methods, which allows us to choose from an extensive menu of models and algorithms to suit the prior beliefs we have about properties of the function to be learned, predictive state dynamical system learning methods are comparatively inflexible: it is as if we were restricted to use only linear regression instead of being allowed to choose decision trees, nonparametric regression, or the lasso. To address this problem, we propose a new view of predictive state methods in terms of instrumentalvariable regression. This view allows us to construct a wide variety of dynamical system learners simply by swapping in different supervised learning methods. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods by experimenting with non-linear regression to learn a hidden Markov model, showing that the resulting algorithm outperforms its linear counterpart; the correctness of this algorithm follows directly from our general analysis.
Scalable hierarchical scheduling for malleable parallel jobs on multiprocessor-based systems

The proliferation of multi-core and multiprocessor-based computer systems has led to explosive development of parallel applications and hence the need for efficient schedulers. In this paper, we study hierarchical scheduling for malleable parallel jobs on multiprocessor-based systems, which appears in many distributed and multilayered computing environments. We propose a hierarchical scheduling algorithm, named AC-DS, that consists of a feedback-driven adaptive scheduler, a desire aggregation scheme and an efficient resource allocation policy. From theoretical perspective, we show that AC-DS has scalable performance regardless of the number of hierarchical levels. In particular, we prove that AC-DS achieves $O(1)$-competitiveness with respect to the overall completion time of the jobs, or the makespan. A detailed malleable job model is developed to experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed scheduling algorithm. The results verify the scalability of AC-DS and demonstrate that AC-DS outperforms other strategies for a wide range of parallel workloads.
The Hybrid Screen—Improving the Breed

The hybrid screen is a halftoning method that generates stochastic dispersed dot textures in highlights and periodic clustered dot textures in midtones. Each tone level is sequentially designed from highlight to midtone by applying an iterative halftoning algorithm such as direct binary search (DBS). By allowing random seeding followed by swap-only DBS in a predefined core region within each microcell, each level can be designed while satisfying the stacking constraint and guaranteeing a smooth transition between levels. This paper describes a complete design process for the hybrid screen, introduces a number of enhancements to the original hybrid screen, and evaluates their impact on print quality. These enhancements include a multilevel screen design based on either extending a bilevel screen or directly generating a multilevel screen on a high resolution grid, and extending the hybrid screen design procedure to color by jointly optimizing the color screens using color DBS. For the multilevel screen, we show that the best choice for the core size critically depends on the bit depth and screen frequency. For the color hybrid screen, we demonstrate a significant improvement in the highlights over halftones generated by independently designed screens.
Graph theoretic methods in the study of structural issues in control

This paper addresses questions regarding controllability and observability for ‘generic parameter’ dynamical systems. We use graph theoretic methods and hence these questions are answered in a ‘structural sense’. We formulate necessary and sufficient conditions for controllability in terms of suitable maximum matchings in the bipartite graph constructed from the constraints and variables. The conditions for observability turn out to be similar. We relate these tests to Gilbert's controllability and observability tests.
Identification of the RNA Pyrophosphohydrolase RppH of Helicobacter pylori and Global Analysis of Its RNA Targets*

RNA degradation is crucial for regulating gene expression in all organisms. Like the decapping of eukaryotic mRNAs, the conversion of the 5′-terminal triphosphate of bacterial transcripts to a monophosphate can trigger RNA decay by exposing the transcript to attack by 5′-monophosphate-dependent ribonucleases. In both biological realms, this deprotection step is catalyzed by members of the Nudix hydrolase family. The genome of the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, a Gram-negative epsilonproteobacterium, encodes two proteins resembling Nudix enzymes. Here we present evidence that one of them, HP1228 (renamed HpRppH), is an RNA pyrophosphohydrolase that triggers RNA degradation in H. pylori, whereas the other, HP0507, lacks such activity. In vitro, HpRppH converts RNA 5′-triphosphates and diphosphates to monophosphates. It requires at least two unpaired nucleotides at the 5′ end of its substrates and prefers three or more but has only modest sequence preferences. The influence of HpRppH on RNA degradation in vivo was examined by using RNA-seq to search the H. pylori transcriptome for RNAs whose 5′-phosphorylation state and cellular concentration are governed by this enzyme. Analysis of cDNA libraries specific for transcripts bearing a 5′-triphosphate and/or monophosphate revealed at least 63 potential HpRppH targets. These included mRNAs and sRNAs, several of which were validated individually by half-life measurements and quantification of their 5′-terminal phosphorylation state in wild-type and mutant cells. These findings demonstrate an important role for RppH in post-transcriptional gene regulation in pathogenic Epsilonproteobacteria and suggest a possible basis for the phenotypes of H. pylori mutants lacking this enzyme.
An n-of-1 Trial Service in Clinical Practice: Testing the Effectiveness of Liuwei Dihuang Decoction for Kidney-Yin Deficiency Syndrome

Objective. To describe the clinical use of n-of-1 RCTs for kidney-Yin deficiency syndrome that is a traditional Chinese medicine syndrome in publicly clinical practice in China. Methods. Our study included patients with kidney-Yin deficiency syndrome, using a within-patient, randomized, double-blind, crossover comparison of Liuwei Dihuang decoction versus placebo. Outcome Measures. Primary outcome measures included number of individual completion rates, response rate, and post-n-of-1 RCTs decisions. Secondary measures were the whole group score of individual Likert scale, SF-36 questionnaire. Results. Fifty patients were recruited and 3 were not completed. Forty-seven patients completed 3 pairs of periods, 3 (6.38%) were responders, 28 (59.57%) were nonresponders, and 16 (34.05%) were possible responders. Doctors and patients used the trial results to making decision. Three responders stayed on the medication management, 28 nonresponders ceased the LDD, 7 patients of the 16 possible responders could not give clear decision, and the others kept the same medication station. Among the whole group, neither the individual Likert score nor the SF-36 showed any statistical differences between LDD and placebo. Discussion. More attention should be paid to choose experienced TCM doctor as investigator and keep the simulant same with test medication in n-of-1 RCTs of TCM and sufficiently biological half-life period of Chinese medicine compound.
Income Effects of Federal Reserve Liquidity Facilities

One of the chief actions taken by the Federal Reserve in response to the financial crisis was the introduction or expansion of facilities designed to provide liquidity to the funding markets. A study of the programs suggests that the liquidity facilities generated $20 billion in interest and fee income between August 2007 and December 2009, or $13 billion after taking into account the estimated $7 billion cost of funds. Moreover, the Fed took important steps to limit the credit exposure it incurred in connection with the facilities.
An integrated approach for high spatial resolution mapping of water and carbon fluxes using multi-sensor satellite data

In the last years, modeling of surface processes - such as water, energy and carbon budgets, as well as vegetation growth- seems to be focused on integrated approaches that combine aspects of hydrology, biology and meteorology into unified analyses. In this context, remotely sensed data often have a core role due to the cross-cutting impact of this novel source of spatially distributed information on all these research areas. However, several applications - such as drought monitoring, yield forecasting and crop management - require spatially detailed products at sub-field scales, which can be obtained only with support of adequately fine resolution remote sensing data (< 100 m). In particular, observations in the visible to the near infrared (VIS/NIR) spectral region can be used to derive biophysical and biochemical properties of the vegetation (i.e., leaf area index and leaf chlorophyll). Complementarily, the thermal infrared (TIR) signal provides valuable information about land surface temperature, which in turn represents an accurate proxy indicator of the subsurface moisture status by means of surface energy budget analysis. Additionally, the strong link between crop water stress and stomatal closure allows inference of crop carbon assimilation using the same tools. In this work, an integrated approach is proposed to model both carbon and water budgets at field scale by means of a joint use of a thermal-based Two Source Energy Budget (TSEB) model and an analytical, Light-Use-Efficiency (LUE) based model of canopy resistance. This suite of models allows integration of information retrieved by both fine and coarse resolution satellites by means of a data fusion procedure. A set of Landsat and MODIS images are used to investigate the suitability of this approach, and the modeled fluxes are compared with observations made by several flux towers in terms of both water and carbon fluxes.
RNA-Seq Identifies SNP Markers for Growth Traits in Rainbow Trout

Fast growth is an important and highly desired trait, which affects the profitability of food animal production, with feed costs accounting for the largest proportion of production costs. Traditional phenotype-based selection is typically used to select for growth traits; however, genetic improvement is slow over generations. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) explain 90% of the genetic differences between individuals; therefore, they are most suitable for genetic evaluation and strategies that employ molecular genetics for selective breeding. SNPs found within or near a coding sequence are of particular interest because they are more likely to alter the biological function of a protein. We aimed to use SNPs to identify markers and genes associated with genetic variation in growth. RNA-Seq whole-transcriptome analysis of pooled cDNA samples from a population of rainbow trout selected for improved growth versus unselected genetic cohorts (10 fish from 1 full-sib family each) identified SNP markers associated with growth-rate. The allelic imbalances (the ratio between the allele frequencies of the fast growing sample and that of the slow growing sample) were considered at scores >5.0 as an amplification and <0.2 as loss of heterozygosity. A subset of SNPs (n = 54) were validated and evaluated for association with growth traits in 778 individuals of a three-generation parent/offspring panel representing 40 families. Twenty-two SNP markers and one mitochondrial haplotype were significantly associated with growth traits. Polymorphism of 48 of the markers was confirmed in other commercially important aquaculture stocks. Many markers were clustered into genes of metabolic energy production pathways and are suitable candidates for genetic selection. The study demonstrates that RNA-Seq at low sequence coverage of divergent populations is a fast and effective means of identifying SNPs, with allelic imbalances between phenotypes. This technique is suitable for marker development in non-model species lacking complete and well-annotated genome reference sequences.
A JXTA compliant framework for mobile handheld devices in ad-hoc networks

The availability of powerful personal computers and high bandwidth home connectivity is changing the way users cooperate and exchange information on the network. Peer to peer computing is becoming a common paradigm for many distributed applications, allowing for extensive resource sharing and direct communication among peers. Recently, the wide spreading of new wireless communication technologies and personal computing devices, enables the adoption of the P2P paradigm also in mobile environments. However, several questions arise when trying to develop such systems: existing solutions do not address all the requirements of these environments. In this paper we present a framework to develop mobile applications which exploits the P2P paradigm: it is designed to work on J2ME enabled mobile devices, interacting with each other in an ad-hoc fashion. The designed framework is also interoperable with JXTA, a well-known P2P open platform.
Geometry of heat and mass transfer in dry snow: A review of theory and experiment

Porous materials are common on the Earth's surface and in the crust. Accordingly, their physical properties have received a lot of attention. A century ago, Maxwell and Rayleigh each modeled the physical properties of aggregate materials as discrete spheres embedded in continuous matrices. Although the particles of interest in snow are not spheres and do have interconnections, these basic models give first-order predictions of the thermal conductivity. In the last 3 decades, scientists have attempted to make the predictions more precise by determining the effect of geometry on heat and mass flow using basic physical models and data collected from images of planar sections of aggregates. Under favorable circumstances, physical parameters and quantitative microscopic parameters of an aggregate may be highly correlated, but physical understandings of the geometric effects are not likely to arise from such studies until physical models can be based on measurable fundamental parameters. In snow, as in other aggregates, that goal seems to be a long way from realization.
Alcohol intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes in men.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relation between alcohol intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This prospective study included 8,663 men with fasting plasma glucose measurements from at least two medical examinations. Alcohol intake was classified into five groups: nondrinkers and four quartiles (Qs) of drinkers according to the amount of alcohol intake. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed by 1997 American Diabetes Association criteria. RESULTS There were 149 incident cases of type 2 diabetes during 52,588 person-years of follow-up. There was a U-shaped association between alcohol intake and diabetes, with the lowest incidence of diabetes at Q2 (61.9-122.7 g/week). As compared with Q2, men in Q3 and Q4 had a 2.2- (95% CI 1.2-3.9, P = 0.01) and 2.4-fold (1.4-4.4, P<0.01) risk of developing diabetes, while nondrinkers and men in Q1 had 1.8- (1.0-3.3, P<0.05) and 1.4-fold (0.7-2.6, P = 0.34) higher risk of diabetes, respectively. These associations persisted after adjustment for age, fasting plasma glucose, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, serum triglyceride concentration, cardiorespiratory fitness, HDL cholesterol, waist circumference, and parental diabetes. CONCLUSIONS We observed an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes in nondrinkers and men with high alcohol intakes, when compared with men who reported moderate alcohol intake. Men with a high alcohol intake may be able to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes if they drink less.
Disputed Ancestry: Comments on a Model for the Origin of Incompatibility in Flowering Plants.

Nevins, J.R. (1992). E2F: A link between the Rb tumor suppressor protein and viral oncoproteins. Science 258, 424-429. Stanley, J., and Latham, J.R. (1992). A symptom variant of beet curly top geminivirus produced by mutation of open reading frame C4. Virology 190, 506-509. Timmermans, M.C. P., Das, O.P., and Messing, J. (1994). Geminiviruses and their uses as extrachromosomal replicons. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant MOI. Biol. 45, 79-112. Wyman, C. , and Botchan, M. (1995). A familiar ri% to DNA PolYmerase Processivity. Curr. Biol. 5, 3 4 3 7 , Sunter, G. , Hartitz, M.D., Hormuzdi, S.G. , Brough, C.L. , and Bisaro, D.M. (1990). Genetic analysis of tomato golden mosaic virus: ORF AL2 is required for coat protein accumulation while ORF AL3 is necessary for efficient DNA replication. Virology 179, 69-77.
Retention of Metals Leached From Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) Bottom Ashes in Soils

Utilization of bottom ash in road construction may lead to a release of contaminants that can affect the soil of the swales constructed along these roads. Column tests were performed to evaluate the retention behavior of Cu, Cr, Zn, and Pb, originating from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash leachate, in two substrates: peat and mould (a cultural soil). A chemical sequential extraction method was used to predict the risk associated with the release of the retained elements with modifications of environmental conditions. Apart from the dissolution of organic matter (OM), ash leachate properties hindered the metal transport from peat. Mould was efficient only in removing Zn, making it a less favorable substrate for the leachate control along the roads. Readily soluble forms made up a minor fraction of the retained metals in peat, reducing the risk of metal release due to ion exchange and pH drop. Changes in redox potential might be the main cause of Zn desorption from peat as the Fe-Mn oxides were the main scavengers for this metal. Oxidation of OM would be the primary reason of Cu and Cr release, while for Pb both fractions (Fe-Mn oxides and OM) might equally contribute to the metal discharge.
Autonomic changes in patients with heart failure and in post-myocardial infarction patients

A range of techniques for the assessment of autonomic tone are described. Impaired baroreflex control of heart period, measured in terms of heart rate variability or baroreflex sensitivity, is independently associated with adverse prognosis in patients with heart failure and following acute myocardial infarction. These techniques have not yet entered routine clinical practice.
Bionanotechnology based on silica nanoparticles

We have developed uniform core/shell nanoparticles, consisting of a silica layer coating and pigments or magnetite core, using a water‐in‐oil microemulsion method. The nanoparticles are highly luminescent and photostable with the size ranging from 5 nm to 400 nm. Bioconjugation of these silica nanoparticles adds unique biofunctions with various molecules such as enzymes, antibodies, and DNA molecules. Significant advantages have been shown in using bioconjugated nanoparticles for biosensing and bioimaging, such as cell staining, DNA detection and separation, rapid single bacterium detection, and biotechnological application in DNA protection. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 24, No. 5, 621–638, 2004
Variation of groundwater quality in seawater intrusion area using cluster and multivariate factor analysis

Numerous monitoring data and water quality index obtained from 76 regional shallow-layer monitoring wells are simplified and classified by applying the multivariate statistical methods such as factor and cluster analysis to search for the interrelation between the water quality parameters, factors representing the characteristics as well as possible pollution sources of groundwater quality in Pingtung Champaign, Taiwan. Four principal factors were recognized in concerned area using principal component analysis (PCA) including salinization factor, mineralization factor, inorganic factor, and inorganic reduction factor. All four factors can interpret 81.0% variances of the integrated groundwater characteristics. In addition four clusters were classified according to the similar and dissimilar characteristics of water quality of monitoring wells in Pingtung Champaign. The results showed that the groundwater quality of hinterland was better than that of coastal area. Some coastal areas have already been affected by the seawater intrusion resulting in aquifer salinization. Multivariate statistical methods provided by this study can not only reduce the harassment of the missing items of monitoring water quality, but also refer as a management alternative for groundwater resources.
SMASH: a distributed sensing and processing garment for the classification of upper body postures

This paper introduces a smart textile for posture classification. A distributed sensing and processing architecture is implemented into a loose fitting long sleeve shirt. Standardized interfaces to remote periphery support the variable placement of different sensor modalities at any location of the textile. The shirt is equipped with acceleration sensors in order to determine the postural resolution and the systems feasibility for applications in movement rehabilitation. For the garment characterization an arm posture measurement method is proposed and applied in a study with 5 users. The classification performance is analyzed on data from overall 8 users, conducting 12 posture types, relevant for shoulder and elbow joint rehabilitation. We present results for different user-modes, with classification rates of 89% for a user-independent evaluation. Moreover, the relation of body dimensions on the posture classification performance are analyzed.
Factors Affecting Bone Loss in Female Endurance Athletes

Background: Low bone mass leading to stress fractures is a well-known and yet unsolved problem among female athletes. Purpose: To quantify the rate of bone loss in healthy female athletes and investigate the effects of estrogen and vitamin K supplementation on bone loss. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: We classified 115 female endurance athletes into amenorrheic, eumenorrheic, or estrogen-supplemented groups and randomized them to receive either placebo or vitamin K1. The bone mineral densities of the subjects' femoral neck and lumbar spine were measured at baseline and after 2 years. Results: Bone mineral density in the lumbar spine remained constant, but bone density in the femoral neck had decreased significantly after 2 years in all three subgroups. The decrease was higher in amenorrheic (—6.5% ± 4.0%) than in eumenorrheic (—3.2% ± 4.1%) and estrogen-supplemented athletes (—3.9% ± 3.1%). Supplementation with vitamin K did not affect the rate of bone loss. Conclusions: The rate of bone loss in all three subgroups of female athletes was unexpectedly high; neither estrogen nor vitamin K supplementation prevented bone loss. Clinical Relevance: High-intensity training maintained over several years must be regarded in women as a risk factor for osteoporosis, and protocols for optimal treatment should be developed.