Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Externalities Degrade GSP ’ s Efficiency ?

We consider variants of the cascade model of externalities in sponsored search auctions introduced independently by Aggrawal et al. and Kempe and Mahdian in 2008, where the click-through rate of a slot depends also on the ads assigned to earlier slots. Aggrawal et al. and Kempe and Mahdian give a dynamic programming algorithm for finding the efficient allocation in this model. We give worst-case efficiency bounds for a variant of the classical Generalized Second Price (GSP) auction in this model. Our technical approach is to first consider an idealized version of the model where an unlimited number of ads can be displayed on the same page; here, Aggrawal et al. and Kempe and Mahdian show that a greedy algorithm finds the optimal allocation. The game theoretic analog of this greedy algorithm can be thought of as a variant of the classical GSP auction. We give the first non-trivial worst-case efficiency bounds for GSP in this model. In the more general model with limited slots, greedy algorithms like GSP can compute extremely bad allocations. Nonetheless, we show that an appropriate extension of the greedy algorithm is approximately optimal, and that the worst-case equilibrium inefficiency in the corresponding analog of GSP also remains bounded. In the context of these models, the GSP mechanisms suffer from two forms of suboptimality: that from using a simple allocation rule (the greedy algorithm) rather than an optimal one (based on dynamic programming), and that from the strategic behavior of the bidders (caused by using the GSP’s critical bid pricing rule rather than one leading to a dominant-strategy implementation). Our results show that for this class of problems, the two causes of efficiency loss can be analyzed separately.
Synaptic Learning Rules, Cortical Circuits, and Visual Function

Sensory experience is essential for the refinement of neuronal circuits during development and for learning and memory in the adult brain. Such experience-dependent plasticity is largely mediated by activity-dependent synaptic modification. In this review, we focus on a spike timing-dependent synaptic learning rule, in which the direction and magnitude of synaptic modification depend on the relative spike timing of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons. We discuss a series of recent studies exploring the functional implications of this learning rule in the visual system. These studies show that temporally patterned visual stimuli can cause rapid changes in visual circuits, neuronal receptive fields, and visual perception, with a temporal specificity of tens of milliseconds. Particularly, motion stimuli that are common in natural scenes may interact strongly with the spike timing-dependent learning rule, leaving distinct marks in the perceptual function of the mature brain.
Comparison of multiphase versus multilevel DC/DC-converters for automotive power

Further automotive efficiency improvements require higher voltage levels than 14 V for electric energy generation and distribution. As long as not all electric consumers can be adapted to the higher voltage level, DC/DC-converters link automotive power nets with different voltages. For low voltage converters without galvanic isolation mostly multiphase DC/DC-converters with coupled or uncoupled inductors are proposed due to their high power density. Multilevel architectures like the Flying Capacitor Multilevel DC/DC-Converter offer similar benefits and it will be shown that they need a smaller inductor size and provide better fault behaviour for short-on-failure switches. Efficiency is similar despite serial connected switches. This paper compares the two architectures regarding component count, control, size, fault tolerance and efficiency.
Comparison of implicit and explicit feedback from an online music recommendation service

Explicit and implicit feedback exhibits different characteristics of users' preferences with both pros and cons. However, a combination of these two types of feedback provides another paradigm for recommender systems (RS). Their combination in a user preference model presents a number of challenges but can also overcome the problems associated with each other. In order to build an effective RS on combination of both types of feedback, we need to have comparative data allowing an understanding of the computation of user preferences. In this paper, we provide an overview of the differentiating characteristics of explicit and implicit feedback using datasets mined from Last.fm, an online music station and recommender service. The datasets consisted of explicit positive feedback (by loving tracks) and implicit feedback which is inherently positive (the number of times a track is played). Rather than relying on just one type of feedback, we present techniques for extracting user preferences from both. In order to compare and contrast the performances of these techniques, we carried out experiments using the Taste recommender system engine and the Last.fm datasets. Our results show that implicit and explicit positive feedback complements each other, with similar performances despite their different characteristics.
A Systematic Review of Rehabilitation Interventions Aimed at Improving Participation in Life Domains for Young Adults with Disabilities

Background: Youth living with chronic disabilities face challenges in various life domains, and effective rehabilitation services are essential in providing the necessary support to optimize their participation in the community. To date, there has not been any systematic review summarizing rehabilitation intervention studies that targeted this vulnerable population and their participation in various societal domains. Aim: The purpose of this comprehensive review was to identify and critically appraise studies that aimed to improve participation outcome in young adults. Design: Systematic review Settings: Rehabilitation facilities, home, school, community, other Population: Young adults with disabilities Method: Systematic search in OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge Social Sciences Index (2000 to 2013). The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) were used to classify the focus and outcome of the interventions. Results: 104 multidisciplinary intervention studies were identified of which only 9 had a randomized design. Two of the randomized trials had a particular focus on young adults, one of which demonstrated a positive effect on the measured outcome as a result of the intervention. The review also revealed that studies targeting young adults often included subjects with multiple disabilities, had less focus on the ICF category “body functions” and evaluated a broader spectrum of participatory outcomes compared to studies including broader age categories. The majority of the studies did not explicitly illustrate the linkage between the applied interventions and the outcome measures or describe the processes of the interventions that might have affected the results. Furthermore, only 27% or the studies manipulated the environmental context as part of the interventions. Conclusions: In this review, only one third of the multidisciplinary intervention studies specifically targeted young adults, while the other studies included a wide age range. Very few studies were designed to be able to evaluate the outcome as a direct result of the applied intervention or described the specific elements involved in the interventions. This is of vital importance in the design and delivery of effective rehabilitation services and in enabling efficient Trans disciplinary communication in this complex field. Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: The ICF framework was found to be useful in this review for the classification of the components and outcomes in intervention studies. This framework may also provide a common language for the implementation of rehabilitation interventions. However, better description and classification of the processes involved in rehabilitation interventions and their impact on outcomes are still needed in both research and clinical practice.
ITERATIVE EQUALISER AND LDPC ALGORITHMS USING SPACE-TIME BLOCK CODED OVER NON-BINARY FIELDS APPLIED TO WIRELESS CHANNEL

The aim of this paper is to propose a new combination of turbo equalisation with Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) both over non-binary fields, concatenated with space time block coded over a wireless channel with QPSK modulation. A detail comparison with other communication methods such as turbo equalisation and binary LDPC decoding is included. This system produces a gain of 2 dB for a 3 10 = BER and a reduction to a fifty percent in the complexity of the receiver is achieved, against traditional combination of binary LDPC with a nonbinary turbo equaliser.
Hyaluronate can function as a cell adhesion molecule and CD44 participates in hyaluronate recognition

A cell adhesion model was previously used to select a series of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which were subsequently found to recognize CD44/Pgp-1. Interest in these reagents increased with the finding that they totally inhibited production of lymphoid or myeloid cells in long-term bone marrow cultures. Further investigation has now revealed that hyaluronate is a potential ligand for CD44 and that hyaluronate recognition accounts for the adhesion between B lineage hybridoma and stromal cells. The hybridoma cells adhered to hyaluronate- coated plastic wells as well as to monolayers of stromal cells. The adhesion in both cases was inhibited by treatment with hyaluronidases, and did not require divalent cations. Addition of exogenous hyaluronate also diminished binding of lymphoid cells to stromal cells. One of several mAbs to Pgp-1/CD44 was particularly effective at blocking these interactions. Since hyaluronate and Pgp-1/CD44 were present on both cell types, experiments were done to determine the cellular location of interacting molecules required for the adhesion process. Treatment of lymphoid cells with an anti-Pgp-1/CD44 antibody was more inhibitory than antibody treatment of the stromal cells. Conversely, hyaluronidase treatment of stromal cells reduced subsequent binding more than treatment of the lymphoid cells. Adhesive interactions that involve hyaluronate and CD44 could contribute to a number of cell recognition processes, including ones required for normal lympho-hemopoiesis.
Delay Tolerant Routing for Cognitive Radio Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

Cognitive Radio Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (CRVANETs) can resolve the conflicts between limited spectrum resource and vehicular communication service needs, and thus it receives much concern. Most existing routing solutions for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks (CRAHNs) or VANETs cannot be directly applied to CR-VANETs due to the high mobility of vehicles and varying availability of spectrums. To fill this gap, with the proliferation of delay tolerant applications, this paper presents a delay tolerant routing strategy for CR-VANETs with the object of maximizing the packet delivery ratio from the source to the destination. The proposed routing scheme is composed of two parts: the routing policy and the message replication policy. In the first policy, we select a concurrent forwarding set under the restriction of CR spectrum holes, and choose an optimized routing path for the next hop. In the second policy, we propose a hybrid and adaptable method relying on Drop-Oldest and Drop-Most strategies, to reduce the delivery cost. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed delay tolerant routing mechanism provides with better packet delivery ratio compared to state-of-the-art protocols.
Alteration of AMPA Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Transmission by Alexa Fluor 488 and 594 in Cerebellar Stellate Cells123

Abstract The fluorescent dyes, Alexa Fluor 488 and 594 are commonly used to visualize dendritic structures and the localization of synapses, both of which are critical for the spatial and temporal integration of synaptic inputs. However, the effect of the dyes on synaptic transmission is not known. Here we investigated whether Alexa Fluor dyes alter the properties of synaptic currents mediated by two subtypes of AMPA receptors (AMPARs) at cerebellar stellate cell synapses. In naive mice, GluA2-lacking AMPAR-mediated synaptic currents displayed an inwardly rectifying current–voltage (I–V) relationship due to blockade by cytoplasmic spermine at depolarized potentials. We found that the inclusion of 100 µm Alexa Fluor dye, but not 10 µm, in the pipette solution led to a gradual increase in the amplitude of EPSCs at +40 mV and a change in the I–V relationship from inwardly rectifying to more linear. In mice exposed to an acute stress, AMPARs switched to GluA2-containing receptors, and 100 µm Alexa Fluor 594 did not alter the I–V relationship of synaptic currents. Therefore, a high concentration of Alexa Fluor dye changed the I–V relationship of EPSCs at GluA2-lacking AMPAR synapses.
An Edge Contribution-Based Approach to Identify Influential Nodes from Online Social Networks

Social network can be viewed as a relationship between the set of connected entities, represented by a large graph consisting of vertices and edges. Dynamicity of the social network demands the isolation and/or incorporation of associated entities and represented by large graph. Depending on the application, some nodes of the graph play the influential roles accordingly and are classified as influential nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel method to identify the influential nodes by integrating Edge Contribution Factor (ECF) with the Clustering Coefficient (CC). Experimental results show that our proposed method efficiently selects the influential nodes from the large graph. The performance and the time complexity of the method show significant improvement over the other existing methods.
Diet-Induced Obesity Impairs Endothelium-Derived Hyperpolarization via Altered Potassium Channel Signaling Mechanisms

Background The vascular endothelium plays a critical role in the control of blood flow. Altered endothelium-mediated vasodilator and vasoconstrictor mechanisms underlie key aspects of cardiovascular disease, including those in obesity. Whilst the mechanism of nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilation has been extensively studied in obesity, little is known about the impact of obesity on vasodilation to the endothelium-derived hyperpolarization (EDH) mechanism; which predominates in smaller resistance vessels and is characterized in this study. Methodology/Principal Findings Membrane potential, vessel diameter and luminal pressure were recorded in 4th order mesenteric arteries with pressure-induced myogenic tone, in control and diet-induced obese rats. Obesity, reflecting that of human dietary etiology, was induced with a cafeteria-style diet (∼30 kJ, fat) over 16–20 weeks. Age and sexed matched controls received standard chow (∼12 kJ, fat). Channel protein distribution, expression and vessel morphology were determined using immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and ultrastructural techniques. In control and obese rat vessels, acetylcholine-mediated EDH was abolished by small and intermediate conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (SKCa/IKCa) inhibition; with such activity being impaired in obesity. SKCa-IKCa activation with cyclohexyl-[2-(3,5-dimethyl-pyrazol-1-yl)-6-methyl-pyrimidin-4-yl]-amine (CyPPA) and 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (1-EBIO), respectively, hyperpolarized and relaxed vessels from control and obese rats. IKCa-mediated EDH contribution was increased in obesity, and associated with altered IKCa distribution and elevated expression. In contrast, the SKCa-dependent-EDH component was reduced in obesity. Inward-rectifying potassium channel (Kir) and Na+/K+-ATPase inhibition by barium/ouabain, respectively, attenuated and abolished EDH in arteries from control and obese rats, respectively; reflecting differential Kir expression and distribution. Although changes in medial properties occurred, obesity had no effect on myoendothelial gap junction density. Conclusion/Significance In obese rats, vasodilation to EDH is impaired due to changes in the underlying potassium channel signaling mechanisms. Whilst myoendothelial gap junction density is unchanged in arteries of obese compared to control, increased IKCa and Na+/K+-ATPase, and decreased Kir underlie changes in the EDH mechanism.
Understanding the Acceptance of Nature-Preservation-Related Restrictions as the Result of the Compensatory Effects of Environmental Attitude and Behavioral Costs

Personal costs that accompany nature-preservation-related restrictions hurt their acceptance, irrespective of whether individuals care about environmental protection or not (i.e., irrespective of people’s environmental attitude). Analogically, people’s environmental attitude unconditionally determines their acceptance of nature-preservation-related restrictions, irrespective of the costs. This view stands in contrast to the typical NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) research in which people’s environmental attitude is expected to moderate the costs that arise from proximate exposure to nature-preservation efforts. In our quasi-experiment involving community samples of 598 Polish residents living at different distances from a nature preserve, we corroborated that the proximity and, thus, the palpable costs that come with nature-preservation efforts diminished people’s acceptance of nature-preservation-related restrictions. Over and above this NIMBY effect, environmental attitude determined people’s acceptance even beyond income and education. Predictably, environmental attitude is even able to compensate for the costs involved when people live in close proximity to a nature preserve.
Validation of a Microsphere Immunoassay for Serological Leptospirosis Diagnosis in Human Serum by Comparison to the Current Gold Standard

A microsphere immunoassay (MIA) utilising Luminex xMap technology that is capable of determining leptospirosis IgG and IgM independently was developed. The MIA was validated using 200 human samples submitted for routine leptospirosis serology testing. The traditional microscopic agglutination (MAT) method (now 100 years old) suffers from a significant range of technical problems including a dependence on antisera which is difficult to source and produce, false positive reactions due to auto-agglutination and an inability to differentiate between IgG and IgM antibodies. A comparative validation method of the MIA against the MAT was performed and used to determine the ability of the MIA to detect leptospiral antibodies when compared with the MAT. The assay was able to determine samples in the reactive, equivocal and non-reactive ranges when compared to the MAT and was able to differentiate leptospiral IgG antibodies from leptospiral IgM antibodies. The MIA is more sensitive than the MAT and in true infections was able to detect low levels of antibody in the later stages of the acute phase as well as detect higher levels of IgM antibody earlier in the immune phase of the infection. The relatively low cost, high throughput platform and significantly reduced dependency on large volumes of rabbit antisera make this assay worthy of consideration for any microbiological assay that currently uses agglutination assays.
Feature-centric Efficient Subwindow Search

Many object detection systems rely on linear classifiers embedded in a sliding-window scheme. Such exhaustive search involves massive computation. Efficient Subwindow Search (ESS) [11] avoids this by means of branch and bound. However, ESS makes an unfavourable memory tradeoff. Memory usage scales with both image size and overall object model size. This risks becoming prohibitive in a multiclass system. In this paper, we make the connection between sliding-window and Hough-based object detection explicit. Then, we show that the feature-centric view of the latter also nicely fits with the branch and bound paradigm, while it avoids the ESS memory tradeoff. Moreover, on-line integral image calculations are not needed. Both theoretical and quantitative comparisons with the ESS bound are provided, showing that none of this comes at the expense of performance.
An Inference-rules based Categorial Grammar Learner for Simulating Language Acquisition

We propose an unsupervised inference rules-based categorial grammar learning method, which aims to simulate language acquisition. The learner has been trained and tested on an artificial language fragment that contains both ambiguity and recursion. We demonstrate that the learner has 100% coverage with respect to the target grammar using a relatively small set of initial assumptions. We also show that our method is successful at two of the celebrated problems of language acquisition literature: learning English auxiliary fronting in polar interrogatives and English auxiliary word order.
A Nonlinear Entropic Variational Model for Image Filtering

We propose an information-theoretic variational filter for image denoising. It is a result of minimizing a functional subject to some noise constraints, and takes a hybrid form of a negentropy variational integral for small gradient magnitudes and a total variational integral for large gradient magnitudes. The core idea behind this approach is to use geometric insight in helping to construct regularizing functionals and avoiding a subjective choice of a prior in maximum a posteriori estimation. Illustrative experimental results demonstrate a much improved performance of the approach in the presence of Gaussian and heavy-tailed noise.
Predominance of Ehrlichia ewingii in Missouri Dogs

ABSTRACT To investigate the species distribution of Ehrlichia present in Missouri dogs, we tested 78 dogs suspected of having acute ehrlichiosis and 10 healthy dogs. Blood from each dog was screened with a broad-range 16S rRNA gene PCR assay that detects known pathogenic species of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma. The species was determined by using species-specific PCR assays and nucleotide sequencing. Ehrlichia antibody testing was performed by using an indirect immunofluorescence assay with Ehrlichia chaffeensis as the antigenic substrate. The broad-range assay detected Ehrlichia or Anaplasma DNA in 20 (26%) of the symptomatic dogs and 2 (20%) of the asymptomatic dogs. E. ewingii accounted for 20 (91%), and E. chaffeensis accounted for 1 (5%) of the positives. Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA was detected in one dog, and the sequences of regions of the 16S rRNA gene and the groESL operon amplified from the blood of this dog matched the published sequences of this organism. Antibodies reactive with E. chaffeensis were detected in 14 (67%) of the 21 PCR-positive dogs and in 12 (19%) of the 64 PCR-negative dogs. Combining the results of PCR and serology indicated that 33 (39%) of 85 evaluable dogs had evidence of past or current Ehrlichia infection. We conclude that E. ewingii is the predominant etiologic agent of canine ehrlichiosis in the areas of Missouri included in this survey. E. canis, a widely recognized agent of canine ehrlichiosis, was not detected in any animal. The finding of E. ewingii in asymptomatic dogs suggests that dogs could be a reservoir for this Ehrlichia species.