Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Incentive-Aware Learning: Robust Pricing in Contextual Auctions

In many practical settings, the decision makers have to learn their best actions by experimenting with possible options and collecting feedback (data) over time. It is often assumed that the collected data can be trusted as they reflect the ground truth. But this assumption is violated when the data are generated by strategic players. Consider online advertising market in which the ad exchange (decision maker) aims at learning the best reserve prices in the repeated auctions. In this setting, the data are advertisers’ submitted bids. Such data can be strategically corrupted by advertisers to trick the learning algorithm of the ad exchange to offer them lower reserve prices in the future auctions. In “Dynamic Incentive-Aware Learning: Robust Pricing in Contextual Auctions,” N. Golrezaei, A. Javanmard, and V. Mirrokni design effective learning algorithms with sublinear regret in such environments that are robust to the strategic behavior of the players.
Generalized Terrain Topography in Radar Scattering Models

Modeling of terrain topography is crucial for vegetated areas given that even small slopes impact and alter the radar wave interactions between the ground and the overlying vegetation. Current missions either exclude pixels with large topographic slopes or disregard the terrain topography entirely, potentially accumulating substantial modeling errors and therefore impacting the retrieval performance over such sloped pixels. The underlying terrain topography needs to be considered and modeled to obtain a truly general and accurate radar scattering model. In this paper, a flexible and modular model is developed: the vegetation is considered by a multilayered multispecies vegetation model capable of representing a wide range of vegetation cover types ranging from bare soil to dense forests. The ground is incorporated with the stabilized extended boundary condition method, allowing the representation of an N-layered soil structure with rough interfaces. Terrain topography is characterized by a 2-D slope with two tilt angles (α, β). Simulation results for an evergreen forest show the impact of a 2-D slope for a range of tilt angles: a 10° tilt in the plane of incidence translates to a change of up to 15 dB in 1111, 10 dB in VV, and 1.5 dB in 11V for the total radar backscatter. Terrain topography is shown to be crucial for accurate forward modeling, especially over forested areas.
Comments on “Compact Dual-Band Branch-Line Coupler With Dual Transmission Lines”

The synthesis and design method for the dual-band, dual transmission line branch-line coupler in [1] involves equivalent circuit transformations that are single-banded in nature and not suitable for the dual-band operations. The proposed equivalent dual transmission line transform has been applied only in the middle of the dual-band operation frequencies and its validity has not been confirmed at the two band frequencies. As the result, the proposed circuit equivalence can be quite poor and the coupler design in [1] based on it can be quite erroneous at the dual-band operation frequencies.
Morphology of the arachnoid villi and granulations.

The morphology of the arachnoid villi and granulations were studied in recently sacrificed dogs and sheep. Alatex-like material was perfused through the subarachnoid space under near-normal pressure conditions filling open pathways and spaces in the villi. This technique demonstrated that passage of cerebrospinal fluid through the arachnoid villi is at least in part a passive process through open communications. Also, arachnoid villi and granulations show a pressure-dependent "valvular" mechanism which aids in transference of cerebrospinal fluid from the subarachnoid space to the venous sinus and prevents reflux of blood into the subarachnoid space.
Evaluating Structural Criteria for Testing Mobile Code

Code mobility has become an attractive alternative to the implementation of distributed systems. In the last few years much effort has been made in the study and development of techniques to support the development of software based on mobile code. In spite of this effort, there is still a lack of criteria and environments to test mobile software. In this paper we investigate the use of control and data flow based criteria for testing software with mobility features. A testing tool named JaBUTi/MA supports coverage analysis based on client triggered and server triggered instrumentation. A case study is presented to assess the use of JaBUTi/MA on mobile agents.
Identification and Characterization of a Transcriptional Regulator for the lck Proximal Promoter*

The lck gene encodes a protein-tyrosine kinase that plays a key role in signaling mediated through T cell receptor (TCR) and pre-TCR complexes. Transcription of the lck gene is regulated by two independent promoter elements: the proximal and distal promoters. Previous studies employing transgenic mice demonstrated that the sequence between −584 and −240 from the transcription start site in the mouse lck proximal promoter is required for its tissue-specific expression in the thymus. In this study, we demonstrate that a Krüppel-like zinc finger protein, mtβ (BFCOL1, BERF-1, ZBP-89, ZNF148), previously cloned as a protein that binds to the CD3δ gene enhancer, binds to the −365 to −328 region of thelck proximal promoter. mtβ is ubiquitously expressed in various cell lines and mouse tissues. Overexpressed mtβ is more active in T-lineage cells than B-lineage cells for transactivating an artificial promoter consisting of the mtβ binding site and a TATA box. Activity of the lck proximal promoter was significantly impaired by mutating the mtβ binding site or by reducing mtβ protein expression level by using antisense mRNA. Our results indicate that mtβ activity is regulated in a tissue-specific manner and that mtβ is a critical transactivator for the lck proximal promoter.
Think big, act small.

From the combination of knowledge and actions, someone can improve their skill and ability. It will lead them to live and work much better. This is why, the students, workers, or even employers should have reading habit for books. Any book will give certain knowledge to take all benefits. This is what this think big act small tells you. It will add more knowledge of you to life and work better. Try it and prove it.
Le contrôle de l'erreur dans la méthode de radiosité hiérarchique

Nous presentons ici plusieurs ameliorations d'un algorithme de modelisation de l'eclairage, la methode de radiosite. Pour commencer, une analyse detaillee de la methode de radiosite hierarchique permet de souligner ses points faibles et de mettre en evidence deux ameliorations simples : une evaluation paresseuse des interactions entre les objets, et un nouveau critere de raffinement qui elimine en grande partie les raffinements inutiles. Un bref rappel des proprietes des fonctions de plusieurs variables et de leurs derivees suit, qui permet d'abord de deduire une reecriture de l'expression de la radiosite, d'ou un calcul numerique plus precis. Les methodes d'estimation de l'erreur produite au cours du processus de modelisation de la lumiere sont introduites. Nous voyons alors comment les proprietes de concavite de la fonction de radiosite permettent -- grâce au calcul des derivees successives de la radiosite -- un controle complet de l'erreur commise dans la modelisation des interactions entre les objets, et donc un encadrement precis de la radiosite. Nous presentons un critere de raffinement base sur cette modelisation des interactions, et un algorithme complet de radiosite hierarchique integrant ce critere de raffinement, et donc permettant un controle de l'erreur commise sur la radiosite au cours de la resolution. Finalement, nous presentons les methodes de calcul pratique des derivees successives de la radiosite (gradient et Hessien) dans le cas d'un emetteur constant sans obstacles tout d'abord, puis dans le cas d'un emetteur constant en presence d'obstacles et dans le cas d'un emetteur sur lequel la radiosite varie de facon lineaire.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and banks’ fi-nancial performance in Five ASEAN countries

The financial industry in particular the banking sector plays an important role in the economy. The Bank acts as a financial intermediary in the society. Thus, it is important that banks are well-managed and act responsibly. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an integral concept for realizing a responsible banking practice. A responsible bank is believed that it will be more sustainable in carrying out its role as an intermediary of funds in the society. This study is preliminary work that attempts to examine the social responsibility of banks in ASEAN-5. The objective of this research is to analyze the level of CSR in commercial banks in ASEAN-5, namely Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand in 2014. This study describes the level of CSR based on the analysis of disclosure in company's report using indicators from GRI G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and GRI G4 Sector Disclosures: Financial Services. This study finds that the overall score of CSR disclosure of all listed banks is low. The CSR of commercial banks in Thailand is the highest. Banks, which published separate CSR or Sustainability Report, show a higher level of CSR compared to banks which include CSR section in their Annual Report. In addition, this study finds that CSR is positively correlated with financial performance.
LPV methods for spacecraft control: An overview and two case studies

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the field of spacecraft control for the application of LPV methods to various systems (e.g., launchers, re-entry vehicles, satellites). The paper will first provide an overview of the state-of-the-art of the application of LPV techniques in this field. Then, the application of LPV modelling and controller design methods to the spacecraft attitude control problem will be specifically considered and two case studies will be illustrated. More precisely, first the problem of satellite attitude control using magnetic actuation will be introduced and an LPV formulation will be given; subsequently, the problem of attitude control using control moment gyros (CMGs) as primary actuators will be discussed and the LPV approach to the problem of developing steering laws for the CMGs will be described.
Associations of endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness with intradialytic hypotension and hypertension

Intradialytic hypotension and hypertension are both independently associated with mortality among persons with end‐stage renal disease on hemodialysis. Endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness are two possible mechanisms underlying these phenomena, but their association with hemodynamic instability during dialysis has not been evaluated. Thirty patients were recruited from chronic dialysis units at San Francisco General Hospital and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Endothelial dysfunction was assessed with flow‐mediated dilation of the brachial artery after upper arm occlusion. Arterial stiffness was assessed using carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity measured by tonometry. Intradialytic hypotension and hypertension were defined as the average decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) over 1 week, as well as the frequency over 1 month of hypotension or hypertension. Every 5% decrease in flow‐mediated dilation was associated with a 7.5 mmHg decrease in SBP after adjustment for phosphorus, body mass index, atherosclerosis, and ultrafiltration (P=0.02). Every 5 m/s increase in pulse wave velocity was associated with an 8 mmHg increase in SBP after adjustment for predialysis SBP and ultrafiltration (P=0.03). Over 1 month, every 5% lower flow‐mediated dilation was associated with a 10% higher frequency of hypotension (P=0.09), and every 5 m/s increase in pulse wave velocity was associated with an 15% higher frequency of hypertension (P=0.02). In a cross‐sectional analysis of 30 dialysis patients, endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness were independently associated with intradialytic hypotension and intradialytic hypertension, respectively. Elucidating these potential mechanisms of hemodynamic instability during dialysis may facilitate development of treatment strategies specific to this pathophysiology.
Parenthood, Stress, and Mental Health in Late Midlife and Early Old Age

Using 2 waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, I examine psychological consequences of potentially stressful, non-normative, or “off-time” aspects of the parental role in late midlife and early old age, including coresidence with adult children, stepparenthood, and parental bereavement. Additionally, I analyze gender differences in psychological implications of these characteristics of parenthood. Findings from random-effects pooled time-series models indicate that having stepchildren is unrelated to older parents' mental health. Moreover, the psychological consequences of stepparenthood do not depend on parental gender or the quality of parent-child relationships. Conversely, having at least 1 coresidential adult child of post-college age decreases psychological well-being among mothers but not among fathers. Death of a child has a detrimental effect on parents' mental health; yet, fathers are affected more adversely than mothers. The findings are interpreted with respect to family stress, parental role, and gendered role perspectives. Distinct experiences of this cohort of mothers and fathers are discussed.
SPAM DETECTION FRAMEWORK USING SENTIMENATL ANALYSIS

: In this technically knowledgeable world, conclusions and surveys available to us are a standout amongst the most unequivocal and requesting factors in building up our perspectives and affecting the accomplishment of a brand, item or service. With the entry and development of online networking, associates frequently express their feelings on prevalent web-based social networking stages. The likelihood that anyone can leave an audit makes a susceptible door for spammers to compose spam surveys about items, administrations and services. Recognizing the spam substance will be the primary target of the proposed spam recognition system. Once the spam audits are sifted through from the unsupervised informational index, whatever remains of the surveys will shape regulated informational collection which forms the supervised information on to which sentimental analysis approach will be applied and calculations are done, so as to gauge the assumption estimation of each audit based on the opinion value found
Prognostic role of clinical presentation in symptomatic patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Aims To evaluate the long-term prognostic impact of baseline symptoms in a cohort of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients. Methods and results We considered 84 HCM patients symptomatic at diagnosis: 26 (31%) with heart failure (group 1), 34 (40%) with syncope/palpitations (group 2) and 24 (29%) with chest pain (group 3). During a median follow-up of 102 (53–187) months, 25 (30%) patients died/underwent heart transplant (HTx), 14 of 26 (54%) in group 1, 10 of 34 (29%) in group 2 and one of 24 (4%) in group 3. At 12, 60 and 120 months, HTx-free survival rates were 100, 79 and 52% in group 1, vs. 100, 97 and 69% in group 2, vs. 96, 96 and 96% in group 3, respectively (P = 0.008). At multivariate analysis, heart failure [hazard ratio (HR) 2.59, confidence interval (CI) 95% 1.09–6.17, P = 0.032] and left atrium diameter (HR 1.83, CI 95% 1.16–2.89, P = 0.009) emerged as independent predictors of death/HTx, with incremental prognostic power with respect to echo Doppler variables of left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction [area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves at 5 years: 0.90 vs. 0.78, respectively, P = 0.03]. Conclusion Clinical presentation emerged as a relevant prognostic tool in HCM patients symptomatic at onset, as heart failure was associated with a particularly poor outcome. Heart failure and left atrium diameter at diagnosis showed incremental prognostic power compared with echo Doppler assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction.
Modularity in the skull and cranial vasculature of laboratory mice: implications for the evolution of complex phenotypes

SUMMARY The generation of coordinated morphological change over time results from the interconnectedness of evolution and development. The modular architecture of development results in varying degrees of integration and independence among parts of the phenotype, and facilitates the production of phenotypic variation in complex anatomical units composed of multiple tissue types. Here we use geometric morphometrics to investigate modularity in the arterial Circle of Willis (CW) and skull of the CD‐1 laboratory mouse. We contrast a hypothesis of tight integration between these tissues with a hypothesis of more modular organization, to determine the level at which natural selection works to generate coordinated change. We report a complex pattern of covariation that indicates that the skull and CW are highly integrated and developmentally linked. Further, we report higher levels of fluctuating asymmetry in the CW than in the skull, suggesting a greater potential for lability in this tissue. These results suggest that epigenetic interactions or genetic influences on regional development are more important determinants of covariation structure than the factors that produce covariation within individual tissues or organ systems.
Migration cellulaire par instabilité corticale et disjonction cytosquelette-membrane

La polymerisation d'actine fournit la force qui produit directement la motilite dans un grand nombre de cas, mais certaines observations suggerent que la motilite amiboide fasse appel a d'autres mecanismes. En utilisant le modele d'Entamoeba histolytica, il avait ete precedemment observe que ces cellules produisent des protrusions transitoires, necessaires au mouvement. Des mutations affectant l'activite de la myosine et des molecules d'adhesion inhibent l'activite protrusive et la motilite [Coudrier et al., 2005]. En nous appuyant sur ces observations, nous avons fait l'hypothese que les mouvements amiboides d'Entamoeba histolytica sont controles par une instabilite dynamique cyclique du cortex cellulaire : la membrane plasmique produit un bleb par detachement du cytosquelette cortical, sous l'action d'une pression interne due a la contraction acto-myosine, puis le cortex se reforme sous la surface du bleb. L'expansion initiale rapide (plus rapide que les vitesses maximales de polymerisation d'actine) et l'analogie avec des blebs apoptotiques produits par rupture proteolytique des liens cytosquelette-membrane, etaient des indications fortes que Entamoeba histolytica se deplace en emettant des blebs initialement depourvus de cortex, ce que nous avons pu confirmer par microscopie de fluorescence sur des amibes dont l'actine-F etait marquee. Experimentalement, la formation des protrusions a ete analysee en details par video-microscopie. Les protrusions se developpent tout d'abord durant quelques centaines de millisecondes a de tres hautes vitesses (jusqu'a quelques dizaines de μm/sec). Ensuite, leur expansion se poursuit avec une membrane ayant une forme localement spherique et en l'absence d'organites intracellulaires dans la protrusion. A un stade ulterieur, le cortex d'actine basal disparait et l'expansion qui s'ensuit s'ac- compagne d'un large flot d'organites intracellulaires. Les protrusions peuvent soit etre retractees, soit stabilisees. Le cycle de blebbing / stabilisation conduit a des mou- vements cellulaires sans direction persistante, qui se poursuivent des heures durant. Nous presentons ici un modele physique decrivant les parametres de controle de cette instabilite dynamique. En utilisant la pression d'aspiration d'une micropipette, nous pouvons produire des protrusions, et la geometrie controlee de l'experience donne lieu a des evenements protrusifs reproductibles, qui peuvent etre decrits en detail par une modelisation quantitative appropriee. De telles instabilites corticales pourraient donc representer une facon distincte de generer de la motilite cellulaire, pertinente entre autres dans un contexte d'invasion pathogene ou dans le cadre des mouvements de cellules immunitaires.
A Comparative Study of Twist Property in KSS Curves of Embedding Degree 16 and 18 from the Implementation Perspective

Implementation of faster pairing calculation is the basis of efficient pairing-based cryptographic protocol implementation. Generally, pairing is a costly operation carried out over the extension field of degree 𝒌 ≥ 𝟏𝟐 . But the twist property of the pairing friendly curve allows us to calculate pairing over the sub-field twisted curve, where the extension degree becomes 𝒌/𝒅 and twist degree 𝒅 = 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟔 . The calculation cost is reduced substantially by twisting but it makes the discrete logarithm problem easier if the curve parameters are not carefully chosen. Therefore, this paper considers the most recent parameters setting presented by Barbulescu and Duquesne [1] for pairing-based cryptography; that are secure enough for 128-bit security level; to explicitly show the quartic twist (𝒅 = 𝟒) and sextic twist ( 𝒅 = 𝟔 ) mapping between the isomorphic rational point groups for KSS (Kachisa-Schaefer-Scott) curve of embedding degree 𝒌 = 𝟏𝟔 and 𝒌 = 𝟏𝟖 , receptively. This paper also evaluates the performance enhancement of the obtained twisted mapping by comparing the elliptic curve scalar multiplications.
The accident and emergency department questionnaire: a measure for patients’ experiences in the accident and emergency department

Background The National Health Service National Patient Survey Programme systematically gathers patients’ experiences about the care they have recently received. Prioritising quality improvement activities in the accident and emergency (A&E) department requires that survey outcomes are meaningful and reliable. We aimed to determine which method of obtaining summary scores for the A&E department questionnaire optimally combined good interpretability with robust psychometric characteristics. Methods A&E department questionnaire data from 151 hospital trusts were analysed, covering 49 646 patients. Three methods of grouping and summarising items of the questionnaire were compared: principal components analysis (PCA); Department of Health dimensions; sections according to the patient's journey through the A&E department. The patient-level reliability of summary scores was determined by Cronbach's α coefficients (threshold: α>0.70), construct validity by Pearson's correlation coefficients, and the discriminative capacity by intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and reliability of A&E-level mean scores. Results The PCA provided the best score reliability on six clear and interpretable composites: waiting time; doctors and nurses; your care and treatment; hygiene; information before discharge; overall. The discriminative power of the concepts was comparable for the three methods, with ICCs between 0.010 and 0.061. A&E sample sizes were adequate to obtain good to excellent reliability of A&E-level mean scores. Conclusions The A&E department questionnaire is a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess patients’ experiences with the A&E. The discriminative power of six summary scores offers a reliable comparison of healthcare performance between A&Es to increase patient centredness and quality of care.