Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Progressive Preference Learning : Proof-of-Principle Results in MOEA / D

Most existing studies on evolutionary multi-objective optimisation (EMO) focus on approximating the whole Pareto-optimal front. Nevertheless, rather than the whole front, which demands for too many points (especially when having many objectives), a decision maker (DM) might only be interested in a partial region, called the region of interest (ROI). Solutions outside this ROI can be noisy to the decision making procedure. Even worse, there is no guarantee that we can find DM preferred solutions when tackling problems with complicated properties or a large number of objectives. In this paper, we use the state-of-theart MOEA/D as the baseline and develop its interactive version that is able to find solutions preferred by the DM in a progressive manner. Specifically, after every several generations, the DM is asked to score a limited number of candidates. Then, an approximated value function, which models the DM’s preference information, is learned from the scoring results. Thereafter, the learned preference information is used to obtain a set of weight vectors biased towards the ROI. Note that these weight vectors are thus used in the baseline MOEA/D to search for DM preferred solutions. Proof-of-principle results on 3to 10-objective test problems demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Investigating the expenditure and experience of international conference delegates visiting Malaysia

A continuous growth of the business tourism in Malaysia has attracted many business tourists towards the MICE tourism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expenditure patterns of the international conference delegates in micro areas in relation with the experience level measured based on their spending. A quantitative research based approach was employed through survey method in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre to collect the data based on ordinal-polytomous type survey instrument. 378 international conference delegates were chosen through non-probability convenience sampling. The overall expenditure patterns are measured through descriptive analysis, where the results reveals that major part of the delegates’ average expenditure (USD$ 2,657) were spent on international airfare (21%) as compared to accommodation, conference registration and other spending which amounted nearly 15% in each areas. The expenditure satisfaction response from the delegates were high (4.58 mean value) along with the revisit intention measuring 84%. Consequently, the most positive feedbacks from the delegates were the Malaysian hospitality, marvelous infrastructure and business facility procedures.
THE EFFECT OF ALTIMETER SAMPLING PATTERNS ON ESTIMATES OF WAVE MODEL ERROR CORRELATIONS

Many operational forecasting centres run systems to assimilate satellite altimeter data into wave models. A major limitation to the current operational systems is the lack of knowledge on the structure of the model errors. One method used to determine the error correlations is to use data from a long-term observational network and examine the differences between model forecasts and the observations. This work describes an initial step in the calculation of wave model error correlations from altimeter data, namely, an examination of the effect of the sparse irregular altimeter sampling pattern.
Towards High Availability and Performance Database Clusters for Archived Stream

Some burgeoning web applications, such as web search engines, need to track, store and analyze massive real-time users’ access logs with high availability of 24*7. The traditional high availability approaches towards general-purpose transaction applications are always not efficient enough to store these high-rate insertion-only archived streams. This paper presents an integrated approach to store these archived streams in a database cluster and recover it quickly. This approach is based on our simplified replication protocol and high performance data loading and query strategy. The experiments show that our approach can reach efficient data loading and query and get shorter recovery time than the traditional database cluster recovery methods.
Response of seven aquatic plants to a new arylpicolinate herbicide

The herbicide 4-amino-3-chloro-6-(4-chloro-2-fluoro-3methoxyphenyl)-5-fluoro-pyridine-2-benzyl ester (SX-1552 or XDE-848 BE; proposed ISO common name in review) is a new arylpicolinate herbicide currently under development for weed management in rice (Oryza sativa L.) production, aquatic weed management, and other uses. Greenhouse research was conducted to evaluate the effect of SX-1552 and SX-1552A (an acid metabolite) on seven aquatic plants: alligatorweed [Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. ], Carolina waterhyssop [Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell], fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana Gray), monoecious hydrilla [Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle], parrotfeather [Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc. ], variable watermilfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum Michx.), and American waterwillow [Justicia americana (L.) Vahl]. SX-1552 and SX-1552A were applied to these species as an in-water, 4-wk static exposure at rates of 0 to 81 lg L . Fanwort was not controlled by SX-1552 at the rates evaluated, in contrast to the other species tested. Dry weight 50% effective concentration (EC50) values were , 1 lg L 1 SX-1552 for alligatorweed, monoecious hydrilla, parrotfeather, and variable watermilfoil. Carolina waterhyssop and American waterwillow SX-1552 EC50 values were 5.0 and 5.1 lg L , respectively. These six species were less sensitive to SX-1552A with dry weight EC50 values of 1.6 to 77.1 lg L . Plant control ratings also indicated that response of the six sensitive species increased from 2 to 4 wk after treatment. Further research is needed on additional species as well as concentration exposure-time determination for the species evaluated here.
Data Classification using Quantum Neural Network

In this paper, integrated quantum neural network (QNN), which is a class of feedforward neural networks (FFNN’s), is performed through emerging quantum computing (QC) with artificial neural network(ANN) classifier. It is used in data classification technique, and here iris flower data is used as a classification signals. For this purpose independent component analysis (ICA) is used as a feature extraction technique after normalization of these signals, the architecture of (QNN’s) has inherently built in fuzzy, hidden units of these networks (QNN’s) to develop quantized representations of sample information provided by the training data set in various graded levels of certainty. Experimental results presented here show that (QNN’s) are capable of recognizing structures in data, a property that conventional (FFNN’s) with sigmoidal hidden units lack. In addition, (QNN) gave a kind of fast and realistic results compared with the (FFNN). Simulation results indicate that QNN is superior (with total accuracy of 97.778%) than ANN (with total accuracy of 93.334%).
Earth ’ s Future Defining Extreme Events : A Cross-Disciplinary Review

Extreme events are of interest worldwide given their potential for substantial impacts on social, ecological, and technical systems. Many climate-related extreme events are increasing in frequency and/or magnitude due to anthropogenic climate change, and there is increased potential for impacts due to the location of urbanization and the expansion of urban centers and infrastructures. Many disciplines are engaged in research and management of these events. However, a lack of coherence exists in what constitutes and defines an extreme event across these fields, which impedes our ability to holistically understand and manage these events. Here, we review 10 years of academic literature and use text analysis to elucidate how six major disciplines—climatology, earth sciences, ecology, engineering, hydrology, and social sciences—define and communicate extreme events. Our results highlight critical disciplinary differences in the language used to communicate extreme events. Additionally, we found a wide range in definitions and thresholds, with more than half of examined papers not providing an explicit definition, and disagreement over whether impacts are included in the definition. We urge distinction between extreme events and their impacts, so that we can better assess when responses to extreme events have actually enhanced resilience. Additionally, we suggest that all researchers and managers of extreme events be more explicit in their definition of such events as well as be more cognizant of how they are communicating extreme events. We believe clearer and more consistent definitions and communication can support transdisciplinary understanding and management of extreme events. Plain Language Summary Extreme events, such as heat waves, widespread flooding, or very strong storms, are of interest to scientists and managers because of their potential to cause extensive damage and impacts on people, infrastructure, and nature. With climate change causing more of these events to happen, it is important that we understand how or when they might occur, and how to better respond to them to prevent disastrous impacts. For these reasons, researchers from many different subject areas study extreme events. However, we show that researchers from different backgrounds may use very different words to communicate about these events and different ways of deciding what makes an extreme event “extreme. ” In order for researchers, managers, and planners to help everyone better prepare for and respond to extreme events, we encourage all researchers to improve how they explain why they are studying a particular event and make greater effort to understand the work that colleagues in other subject areas are doing and how that may affect our own research and practice.
Measuring the Effect of Music Downloads on Music Purchases

File sharing may substantially undermine intellectual property rights of digital goods. This paper concentrates on the music industry. I estimate the effect of music downloads on music sales using two data sources: a panel of aggregate music sales by country for 1997-2002 and a European individual level cross section of 15,000 people from October 2001. Using the number of internet and broadband users by country as a measure of users of P2P systems, the panel of aggregate data shows a large impact of downloads on music sales. In the micro data, a simple comparison of means shows that people who regularly download music online are more likely to buy music. The positive relationship persists when controlling for observed characteristics. However, simultaneity between tastes for music and peer-to peer usage makes it difficult to isolate the causal effect of music downloads on music purchases. To break that simultaneity, I use measures of internet sophistication and the speed of the internet connection as instruments. The results suggest that peer-to-peer usage reduces the probability of buying music by an average of 30%. Based on this estimate for the reduction in the probability of buying music, back of the envelope calculations indicate that without file sharing sales in 2002 would have been around 7.8 percent higher. * Department of Economics, University of Chicago (alezentn@uchicago.edu). I wish to thank Austan Goolsbee, Steven Levitt and Hugo Sonnenschein for their advice and encouragement. I also thank very useful comments from Nathaniel Baum-Snow, Gary Becker, Dennis Carlton, Carolina Czastkiewicz, Julio Elias, Jonah Gelbach, Thomas Hubbard, Anupam Jena, David Levine, Jose Liberti, Douglas Lichtman, Laura Martinolich, Kevin Murphy, Alejandro Rodriguez, and Chad Syverson.
Wind-Driven Recirculations and Exchange in the Labrador and Irminger Seas *

It is demonstrated that recently observed cyclonic recirculation gyres in the Irminger and Labrador Seas may be forced by the strong cyclonic wind stress curl that develops each winter seaward of the east coast of Greenland. Idealized analytical and numerical models forced with such variable winds over a sloping bottom reproduce the essential aspects of the observed gyres (strength, location, and horizontal and vertical length scales). The communication between the forcing region in the Irminger Sea and the recirculation to the west is achieved by baroclinic topographic Rossby wave propagation along potential vorticity contours. The circulation is characterized as a time-dependent, stratified, topographic beta plume. For weak stratification, as found in the subpolar North Atlantic, the recirculation strength exhibits only weak seasonal variability, consistent with the observations, even though the forcing is active only during the winter. Baroclinic Rossby waves that develop when the wind forcing ceases in springtime interact with the bottom to provide a source of cyclonic vorticity that maintains the circulation until the wind strengthens again in the following winter.
Efficient Least-Loss Algorithm for a Bi-Objective Trim-Loss Problem

This paper presents a new model and an efficient solution algorithm for a bi-objective one-dimensional trim-loss problem. In the trim-loss – or cutting-stock – problem, customer orders of different smaller item sizes are satisfied by cutting a number of larger standard-size objects. After cutting larger objects to satisfy orders for smaller items, the remaining parts are considered as useless or wasted material, which is called “trim-loss”. The two objectives of the proposed model, in the order of priority, are to minimize: the total trim loss, and the number of partially-cut large objects. To produce near-optimum solutions, a two-stage least-loss algorithm (LLA) is used to determine the combinations of small item sizes that minimize the trim loss quantity. Solving several benchmark problems from the literature, the algorithm demonstrated considerable effectiveness in terms of both objectives, in addition to high computational efficiency. Keywords— Trim-loss problem; one-dimensional cutting-stock problem; multiple-objective optimization models; heuristic algorithms
Microfluidic systems: A new toolbox for pluripotent stem cells

Conventional culture systems are often limited in their ability to regulate the growth and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. Microfluidic systems can overcome some of these limitations by providing defined growth conditions with user‐controlled spatiotemporal cues. Microfluidic systems allow researchers to modulate pluripotent stem cell renewal and differentiation through biochemical and mechanical stimulation, as well as through microscale patterning and organization of cells and extracellular materials. Essentially, microfluidic tools are reducing the gap between in vitro cell culture environments and the complex and dynamic features of the in vivo stem cell niche. These microfluidic culture systems can also be integrated with microanalytical tools to assess the health and molecular status of pluripotent stem cells. The ability to control biochemical and mechanical input to cells, as well as rapidly and efficiently analyze the biological output from cells, will further our understanding of stem cells and help translate them into clinical use. This review provides a comprehensive insignt into the implications of microfluidics on pluripotent stem cell research.
Organization of auditory cortex in the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus)

The region of cerebral cortex in the owl monkey that is responsive to acoustic stimulation is located on the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the rostral half of the superior temporal gyrus. Systematic microelectrode mapping of this area has revealed multiple frequency representations. The boundaries of these fields determined electrophysiologically correlate with the architectural bound aries apparent in Nissl stained material. On the basis of combined cytoarchitectonic and electrophysiological maps we have divided auditory cortex into five fields. Two of them, the primary field (AI) and the field rostral to it (R) are somewhat similar architectonically and constitute the central core of auditory cortex. Each of these two fields has a complete and orderly representation of the audible frequency spectrum within it. Surrounding these fields is a belt of cortex in which units are generally less responsive to acoustic stimulation and the frequency organization is more complex than in AI or R. Electrophysiological and cytoarchitectonic evidence suggest that this belt is composed of at least three and possibly four separate auditory fields.
FAULT RUPTURE AND KINEMATIC DISTRESS OF EARTH FILLED EMBANKMENTS

According to common practice the seismic design of any type of structure or infrastructure is focused on the inertial loading and the resulting distress generated due to the imposed ground shaking. Regarding the effects of fault rupture on seismic design, seismic norms contain mainly provisions that are related to the citation of the structures/geostructures. Moreover, the additional distress imposed to large-scale structures (like bridges, lifelines, dams, or earth-filled embankments) by the applied permanent deformations produced during a potential fault rupture may not be possible to be avoided. As in many cases the exact location of faults is not known, especially when surface scarps are not present, the consequences of the permanent deformations in large-scale structures should be carefully and realistically evaluated. The current study examines numerically the behavior of earth-filled embankments, focusing on their kinematic distress due to fault rupture propagation. Apart from a brief literature review of the problem, a parametric study is conducted in order to investigate the role of the main parameters involved. The results indicate that the effects of fault rupturing in earth-filled embankments should be treated with caution. Additionally, the resulting kinematic distress should not be disregarded in the stability assessment, and therefore, it should be taken into account in the overall seismic design of the embankments.
Risk alleles in CFH and ARMS2 and the long-term natural history of age-related macular degeneration: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.

OBJECTIVE To describe the relationships of risk alleles in complement factor H (CFH, rs1061170) and age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2, rs10490924) to the incidence and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during a 20-year period. METHODS There were 4282 persons aged 43 to 86 years at the baseline examination in 1988-1990 enrolled in a population-based cohort study who participated in at least 1 examination spaced 5 years apart during a 20-year period and had gradable fundus photographs for AMD and genotype information on CFH and ARMS2. Low, intermediate, and high genetic risk for AMD was defined by the presence of 0 to 1, 2, or 3 to 4 risk alleles for CFH and ARMS2, respectively. Multistate models were used to estimate the progression of AMD throughout the entire age range. RESULTS There were 2820 (66%), 1129 (26%), and 333 persons (8%) with low, intermediate, and high genetic risk for AMD, respectively. The 5-year incidences of early and late AMD were 9.1% and 1.6%, respectively, and increased with age but did not differ significantly by sex. Using the multistate model, of persons aged 45 years with no AMD in the low, intermediate, and high AMD genetic risk groups, 33.0%, 39.9%, and 46.5%, respectively, were estimated to develop early AMD, and 1.4%, 5.2%, and 15.3% were estimated to develop late AMD by age 80 years. CONCLUSIONS These population-based data provide estimates of the long-term risk of the incidence and progression of AMD and its lesions by age and genetic risk alleles for CFH and ARMS2. They also show that when early AMD is present, knowing the phenotype contributes more to risk assessment than knowing the genetic risk based on these 2 AMD genes.
Prevalence of acquired cystic kidney disease and tumors in native kidneys of renal transplant recipients: a prospective US study.

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) and renal neoplasms in the native kidneys of renal transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS The ultrasound (US) scans in 385 renal allograft recipients were prospectively studied. In addition, 65 patients with ACKD underwent two additional US examinations on different days to assess intra- and interobserver variability with regard to the number of cysts and their diameter. RESULTS ACKD was present in 96 of 385 patients. Patients with ACKD were significantly older than patients without ACKD, had undergone hemodialysis for a longer period, and were predominantly men. There was no significant difference in the time with functioning graft. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) was diagnosed in six patients at histologic examination. Of these six patients, five had evidence of ACKD. CONCLUSION The frequency of ACKD increases with the duration of hemodialysis. The risk for the development of ACKD is increased in men and older patients. The malignant potential of ACKD persists after renal transplantation.
Security in Publish / Subscribe Protocol for Internet of Things

Implementing security in Wireless Sensor Networks which are often re-source constrained is a major challenge since traditional security meth-ods are not applicable or at times are too costly for the networks. The Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) which follows the pub-lish/ subscribe model is one such protocol which is not spared by vul-nerabilities such as Man in The Middle attacks (MITM), Distributed Denial of Service attacks and IP Spoofing as its specification only pro-vides for an authentication mechanism that sends the username and password combination in plaintext as well as the data that follows, in order to keep it as lightweight as possible. It further recommends Transport Layer Security (TLS) for applications that require additional levels of authentication. The down side is that TLS was not designed specifically for Wireless Sensor Networks hence it introduces overheads to the already constrained devices. We here propose to improvise the existing 1 International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 118 No. 16 2018, 231-242 ISSN: 1311-8080 (printed version); ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.ijpam.eu Special Issue ijpam.eu
P o S ( I C R C 2 0 1 5 ) 1 1 1 8 Structure of Massive Proto neutron star of PSR J 1614-2230 with Trapped Neutrinos

Cosmic ray particle acceleration in supernovae is expected to occur. A proto neutron star is formed in the aftermath of the supernova explosion of a massive star. Therefore, the study of properties and structure of proto neutron stars has great implications for investigating the origin and acceleration of cosmic rays. Considering the baryon octet which comprises of the least massive baryons and includes the Λ,Σ and Ξ, focusing on the influence of trapped neutrinos, we study the structure of massive proto neutron star of PSR J1614-2230 in the framework of relativistic mean field theory (RMFT). In this presentation we show the calculation results about constitution, temperature, equation of states, mass and radius of the proto neutron star for different cases of trapped neutrinos. It is found that trapped neutrinos have significant impact on the natures of massive proto neutron star.