Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Compound Tasks without Task-specific Knowledge via Imitation and Self-supervised Learning

Most real-world tasks are compound tasks that consist of multiple simpler sub-tasks. The main challenge of learning compound tasks is that we have no explicit supervision to learn the hierarchical structure of compound tasks. To address this challenge, previous imitation learning meth-ods exploit task-speciﬁc knowledge, e.g., labeling demonstrations manually or specifying termination conditions for each sub-task. However, the need for task-speciﬁc knowledge makes it difﬁ-cult to scale imitation learning to real-world tasks. In this paper, we propose an imitation learning method that can learn compound tasks without task-speciﬁc knowledge. The key idea behind our method is to leverage a self-supervised learning framework to learn the hierarchical structure of compound tasks. Our work also proposes a task-agnostic regularization technique to prevent unstable switching between sub-tasks, which has been a common degenerate case in previous works. We evaluate our method against several baselines on compound tasks. The results show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance on compound tasks, outperforming prior imitation learning methods.
Functional Germ Cells: The Power of Soma

In the poem ‘‘The Brewing of Soma,’’ by John G. Whittier, the rejuvenating powers attributed to the Soma potion may in fact be no more than fool’s gold. In contrast, the findings of Matoba and Ogura [1] in the current issue of Biology of Reproduction allude to the importance of somatic tissue for sexual reproduction, and thus the continuity of life. In more detail, this article describes the formation of functional germ cells, demonstrated in mice by transplanting aggregates of primordial germ cells with somatic gonadal tissue. Although many questions remain, these findings could eventually lead to the derivation of functional gametes from stem cells.
Variety in Japan (1980-2000)

Since the Meiji period, the composition of Japanʼs foreign trade has had many changes. Along with the development of the economy, more and more products are available for export and, at the same time, more varieties of goods are imported for domestic consumption and production. However, since the mid-1980s, specialization and the expansion of foreign direct investment became trends in the Japanese economy, which might reduce the range of exported products. The 1980s also witnessed solid developments of Japanʼs economy, which might have the opposite effect on variety. From 1993, Japanʼs economy entered a period of economic stagnation. We expect that varieties of imports and exports might decrease in this period. Also the conclusion of many bilateral trade agreements in these periods might affect Japanʼs trade composition as well as import and export varieties. Therefore, it is interesting to access the real changes of variety in Japan during these two periods: the 1980s with an economic boom and the 1990s with an economic slowdown. In this paper we present calculations of variety of Japanʼs import and export for 21 industries over 21 years with a method developed by Feenstra (1994). Many papers on economic growth theory have confirmed the importance of product variety (Romer, 1990; and Grossman and Helpman, 1991) and a number of empirical studies have tested this theory. These studies analyze the relationship between an increase in variety and total factor productivity (TFP) as in Feenstra et al. (1999a), between an increase in variety and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Funke and Ruhwedel (2005), between variety and business groups in Feenstra et al. (1999b) or between an increase in variety and welfare gains as in Broda and Weinstein (2006). A careful study of Japanʼs product variety, therefore, will be significant for other empirical studies of economic growth theory. Firstly, we have to consider Japanʼs trade composition as well as trade policy to have the overall picture of Japanese foreign trade, which are the main factors affecting the variety of imported and exported goods.
Nutritional status of pre-school children in northwest Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE To determine the nutritional status of pre-school children of the farmers and to examine factors associated with malnutrition. DESIGN A cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytical components. SETTING Dera Woreda, north west Ethiopia. SUBJECTS Three hundred seventy six children below five years of age. OUTCOME MEASURES Land size, economic income. RESULTS The nutritional status of the pre-school children was assessed by using the indicators weight for age (W/A), weight for height (W/H), and height for age (HA) and 2SD as a cut-off point of the NCHS reference standard. The overall malnutrition rate was found to be very high, 51.9%, 12.5% and 55.9% W/A, W/H and H/A, respectively. The mean land size per household was 2.4 ha; and the mean annual income was 673 Ethiopia Birr. CONCLUSION Income was the most important factor in determining nutritional status. Since the means of income in farming families is the amount of land available to each family, the land size available to each farming family is decisive. Knowledge of parents on how to prepare food and feed their children and the allocation of budget for food of the households should also be considered.
Performance evaluation of RLP over correlated fading channels

In this paper, the performances of the radio link protocol (RLP) are studied. The transmissions on both forward and reverse channel are assumed to experience Markovian errors. The throughput and the delay are evaluated for different retransmission strategies and different error environments (rate and correlation). The trade-off between throughput, residual FER and delay is reflected by the tradeoff between maximum number of retransmissions and number of trials allowed in the scheme. The optimal solution is to use the incremental RLP (1, 2, 3, ., n) since it achieves a maximum number of retransmission within a shorter amount of time.
Formalizing the Role of Social Capital on Individuals' Continuous Use of Social Networking Sites from a Social Cognitive Perspective

By integrating useful insights from social cognitive theory and social capital theory, we aim to develop a model for better understanding people's behaviors related to the use of social networking sites (SNSs) and formalize the role of social capital in individuals' continuous SNS use. Propositions that emphasize the triadic interactive relationships among environmental, personal, and behavioral factors were highlighted in this study. After reviewing previous studies, in this paper we proposed the following: (1) the causation between SNS use and individuals' perceived social capital might be mutual; social capital may not only be the result of media selectivity, but could also be an essential stimulus initiating the start of using SNSs; (2) the influences of SNSs use on the generation of individuals' online social capital might be conditional upon particular patterns of use; (3) both the level of dependence on SNSs and the differentiated patterns of SNSs use vary according to individuals' perceived offline social capital and their personal characteristics, for instance, personality or self-construal, and social anxiety.
Surveillance of Avian Influenza Viruses in Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) in Tohoku District, Japan

Abstract Among winter migratory waterfowl, Northern pintails (Anas acuta), in one of the largest flocks in Tohoku district, northeast Japan, were surveyed for influenza A viruses at five wintering sites in three prefectures, viz., Aomori, Akita, and Miyagi. A total of 38 influenza A viruses were isolated from 2066 fecal samples collected during November 2006 through March 2007. The overall isolation rate was 1.84%. Eleven different subtypes were isolated, including nine H5N2, seven H6N8, seven H10N1, four H4N6, three H6N1, three H11N9, and one each of H1N1, H6N2, H6N5, H10N9, H11N1. Only the H4N6 subtype was detected during two successive months, November and December, from Lake Ogawara of Aomori prefecture. One wintering site, Lake Izunuma of Miyagi prefecture, was negative for virus isolation throughout the study period. During the sampling period, the highest virus isolation rate was in December (4.90%) followed by November (2.18%), January (0.91%), and February (0.30%). Virus isolation was negative for samples collected in March 2007. These results suggest that influenza viruses are introduced by Northern pintail when they migrate into Japan, but the viruses are not maintained in the flocks, most likely because the birds are not breeding during the winter. We believe that this relatively large data set creates a strong foundation for future studies of avian influenza virus (AIV) prevalence, evolution, and ecology in wintering sites, along with the role of Northern pintails in the spread of AIV during their migration from northern Russia and Asia to Japan.
Physico-chemical properties of transformer mineral oils submitted to moisture and electrical discharges

This work is devoted to an accurate investigation on the variations of the physicochemical properties of three transformer mineral oils of different levels of degradation submitted to moisture and electric discharges. The first one is a non treated new oil while the second is taken from a one year normal operating transformer and the third is extracted from a 15 years old operating transformer. The investigated parameters are breakdown voltage, relative permittivity r, dissipation factor (Tan) and resistivity. Each oil peculiarities are determined through these parameters. Measurements on an on load operating transformer are reported to validate some laboratory obtained results.
Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety: Relationship to Social Support and Functional Status among Patients with Breast Cancer Surgery

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most important types of cancer among women worldwide and is a significant stressor in women’s life that may affect functional health status. The present study was aimed to identify psychological factors of depressive symptoms and anxiety and relationship with social support and functional status among patients with breast cancer surgery. Methods: Descriptive correlation research design was conducted in the Oncology Department and Oncology Center at Mansoura University Hospital. The data were collected from 102 adult patients with primary breast cancer undergoing surgery. Data were collected utilizing the following tools: 1) A Structured Interview Questionnaire (SIQ): including socio-demographic and related medical data. 2) The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms (psychological reaction). 3) The Social Support Measurement Questionnaire (SSMQ) to measure social support. 4) Inventory Functional Status-Cancer (IFS-CA) to measured Functional Status of breast cancer women. Findings: The studied subjects reported total functional status subjects’ scores showed slight improvement over time, from start of diagnosis of breast cancer to one week after surgery. Also, identified correlates between social support and psychological factors (anxiety and depressive symptoms). While associates of low functional status scores were almost being depressive symptoms, anxiety and low social support (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that there are strong correlation between patients’ psychological distress and functional status. The psychosocial factors of anxiety and depressive symptoms are alleviated by the social support received from their family and friends, healthcare professionals.
Is literature search training for medical students and residents effective? a literature review.

OBJECTIVES This literature review examines the effectiveness of literature searching skills instruction for medical students or residents, as determined in studies that either measure learning before and after an intervention or compare test and control groups. The review reports on the instruments used to measure learning and on their reliability and validity, where available. Finally, a summary of learning outcomes is presented. METHODS Fifteen studies published between 1998 and 2011 were identified for inclusion in the review. The selected studies all include a description of the intervention, a summary of the test used to measure learning, and the results of the measurement. RESULTS Instruction generally resulted in improvement in clinical question writing, search strategy construction, article selection, and resource usage. CONCLUSION Although the findings of most of the studies indicate that the current instructional methods are effective, the study designs are generally weak, there is little evidence that learning persists over time, and few validated methods of skill measurement have been developed.
Review: major anxiety disorders all have substantive familial aggregation

Main results 5 family studies of panic disorder met the selection criteria. All 5 supported the familial aggregation of panic disorder. The summary odds ratio (OR) across the 5 studies was 5.0 (95% CI 3.0 to 8.2) showing a statistically significant association between panic disorder in probands and panic disorder in first degree relatives. 3 blinded twin studies of panic disorder met the selection criteria. These 3 studies supported a role for genetic factors in the aetiology of panic disorder yielding a heritability estimate of 0.48 (CI 0.41 to 0.54). 2 family studies of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) met the selection criteria (1 was not blinded). The summary OR was 6.1 (CI 2.5 to 14.9) indicating an association between GAD in probands and their first degree relatives. 2 twin studies of GAD met the inclusion criteria. Combining the studies yielded a heritability estimate of 0.32 (CI 0.24 to 0.39). 4 family studies of phobias met the selection criteria. The summary OR across the studies was 4.1 (CI 2.7 to 6.1) which supports a familial risk for phobic disorders. 4 twin studies of phobias met the selection criteria. 1 large twin study supported that the major source of familial risk was genetic. 5 family studies of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) met the selection criteria (1 was not blinded). The summary OR across the 5 studies was 4.0 (CI 2.2 to 7.1). No twin studies on OCD met the selection criteria.
Depressed Affect, Hopelessness, and the Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease in a Cohort of U.S. Adults

Major depression has been associated with mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD). In addition, a symptom of depression—hopelessness—has been suggested as a determinant of health status. We studied the relation of both depressed affect and hopelessness to IHD incidence using data from a cohort of 2,832 U.S. adults age 45–77 years who participated in the National Health Examination Follow-up Study (mean follow-up = 12.4 years) and had no history of IHD or serious illness at baseline. We used the depression subscale of the General Well-Being Schedule to define depressed affect and a single item from the scale to define hopelessness. At baseline, 11.1% of the cohort had depressed affect; 10.8% reported moderate hopelessness, and 2.9% reported severe hopelessness. Depressed affect and hopelessness were more common among women, blacks, and persons who were less educated, unmarried, smokers, or physically inactive. There were 189 cases of fatal IHD during the follow-up period. After we adjusted for demographic and risk factors, depressed affect was related to fatal IHD [relative risk = 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0–2.3]; the relative risks of fatal IHD for moderate and severe levels of hopelessness were 1.6 (95% CI = 1.0–2.5) and 2.1 (95% CI = 1.1–3.9), respectively. Depressed affect and hopelessness were also associated with an increased risk of nonfatal IHD. These data indicate that depressed affect and hopelessness may play a causal role in the occurrence of both fatal and nonfatal IHD. (Epidemiology 1993;4:285–294)
Aplicaciones biomédicas de las nanoparticulas magneticas

Los nanomateriales han adquirido recientemente un gran interes debido a la gran con el diagnostico como con la terapia de enfermedades muy variadas. Dentro de los nanomateriales utilizados en biomedicina, concretamente las nanoparticulas magneticas (NPMs) muestran un interes especial por las como agente de contraste en imagen de resonancia magnetica (RM) y por tanto ser de gran utilidad en el diagnostico de diferentes patologias. Otra de las aplicaciones potenciales de las NPMs en biomedicina se encuentra en el ambito de la terapia, por ejemplo, la destruccion de tumores mediante hipertermia al aprovecharse la capacidad que poseen las particulas para producir calor en respuesta a la aplicacion de campos magneticos externos.
Genetics of resistance to infection with Salmonella typhimurium in mice.

Eight strains of inbred mice fell into two sharply defined groups. Four strains (CBA, A/JAX, C3H/He, and DBA/2) were resistant (LD50, greater than 10(5)) to Salmonella typhimurium C5 given subcutaneously. The other four strains (Balb/c, C57BL, B10.D2 [new line], and DBA/1) were susceptible (LD50, less than 10). No intermediate resistance was seen. Examination of the F1, F2, and parental backcross generations bred from matings of CBA and Balb/c mice showed that resistance behaved as a simple Mendelian dominant. Resistance was not linked to H-2 genes, and no useful marker has yet been found. However, as previously demonstrated in the parent strains, resistance in the hybrids was related to the ability to produce a good delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to an extract of S. typhimurium.
Regulatory NK-Cell Functions in Inflammation and Autoimmunity

Natural killer (NK) cells were viewed traditionally as cytotoxic effector cells whose rapid killing of infected and transformed cells without preactivation provides a first line of defense prior to the initiation of an adaptive immune response against infection and tumor development. However, it has become clear that NK cells interact with various components of the immune system, and therefore have the potential to function as regulatory cells. While NK cells can assist in dendritic cell (DC) maturation and T-cell polarization, increasing evidence indicates that NK cells can also prevent and limit adaptive (auto) immune responses via killing of autologous myeloid and lymphoid cells. Investigating immunoregulatory NK-cell functions might generate exciting insights into the reciprocal regulation between NK-cell-mediated innate immunity and adaptive immune responses, improve our capacity to monitor these cells as surrogate markers for disease activity and treatment responses in autoimmune diseases, and, perhaps, provide new prospects for NK cell-directed therapies.
Deletion at 3p25.3–p23 is frequently encountered in endocrine pancreatic tumours and is associated with metastatic progression

For several reasons, chromosome 3p is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of sporadic endocrine pancreatic tumours (EPTs): von Hippel–Lindau's disease (VHL gene at 3p25.5) is associated with EPTs; 3p is frequently involved in solid human tumours; and comparative genomic hybridization has identified frequent losses at 3p in EPTs. This study investigated 99 benign and malignant tumours, including 20 metastases, from 82 patients, by microsatellite loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in order to evaluate the importance of chromosome 3p deletions in the molecular pathogenesis and biological behaviour of EPTs, to elaborate a common region of deletion, and to narrow down putative tumour suppressor gene loci. Allelic losses of 3p were found in 58/99 (58.6%) of tumours in 45/82 (54.9%) patients; analysis of seven microsatellite markers (3p26–p21) revealed a common region of LOH at 3p25.3–p23. The LOH frequency was significantly higher in malignant than in benign neoplasms (70.2% versus 28.0%; p=0.001). In addition, a strong correlation was found between the loss of alleles on chromosome 3p and clinically metastatic disease (LOH of 73.7% in metastasizing versus 41.5% in non‐metastasizing tumours; p=0.008). EPTs from these patients showed a tendency towards losing large parts or the entire short arm of chromosome 3 with tumour progression. Furthermore, FISH analysis revealed complete loss of chromosome 3 in ten out of 37 EPTs (27%). These results indicate that a putative tumour suppressor gene at 3p25.3–p23 may play a role in the oncogenesis of sporadic EPTs and that losses of larger centromeric regions are associated with metastatic progression. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On Latency-Efficient Transmission Scheduling for In-Network Data Aggregation in Duty-Cycled Wireless Sensor Networks

In-network data aggregation is a fundamental traffic pattern in many applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Data aggregation scheduling aims to find a collisionfree transmission schedule scheme for data aggregation while minimizing the total network latency. This paper focuses on the data aggregation scheduling problem in dutycycled WSNs (dc-WSNs), in which low-duty-cycle techniques are employed for energyconsuming operations. Based on greedy strategy, we propose two latency-efficient data aggregation scheduling algorithms, namely GAS-PAS and GAS-SAS for dc-WSNs. We theoretically derive the latency upper bounds of the proposed algorithms, and the results demonstrate that both GAS-PAS and GAS-SAS achieve constant approximation to the optimal latency. We also conduct extensive simulations to show that the proposed scheduling algorithms can improve data aggregation latency in dc-WSNs under various network settings, comparing with state-of-the-art algorithms in the literature.
Realeinkommen im neuen Europäischen System Volkswirtschaftlicher Gesamtrechnungen

Das Statistische Bundesamt hat mit der Umstellung auf das Europaische System Volkswirtschaftlicher Gesamtrechnungen (ESVG '95) zum ersten Mal Angaben zur Entwicklung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Realein-kommen in das laufende Veroffentlichungsprogramm aufgenommen. Damit ist eine bedeutende Lucke in der amtlichen Statistik geschlossen worden. In den Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnungen war die Darstellung von Realgrosen bisher auf Angaben in konstanten Preisen beschrankt (z.B. reales Bruttoinlandsprodukt). Nach dem ESVG '95 konnen von der amtlichen Statistik nun auch Realeinkommen ausgewiesen werden, d.h. Einkommensgrosen zu einem konstantgehaltenen Preisniveau als Masstab fur die Entwicklung der Kaufkraft. Im Mittelpunkt steht hierbei das verfugbare Einkommen in der Volkswirtschaft, das von privaten Haushalten, von Unternehmen und vom Staat fur Konsumzwecke und zum Sparen verwendet werden kann.
Low Persistence of a Large-Plasmid-Cured Variant of Salmonella enteritidis in Ceca of Chicks

SUMMARY. In order to estimate the contribution of Salmonella in the persistence of this bacterium in chicks, we compared the persistence of a Salmonella enteritidis strain and its plasmid-cured variant in a chicken asymptomatic carrier state model. After oral inoculation, colonization with the plasmid-cured strain was significantly reduced (P < 0.001) in the ceca of chicks from the third week postinoculation and persisted for a shorter period than the wild-type strain. Moreover, numbers of S. enteritidis–infected livers were also significantly lower (P < 0.01) for the plasmid-cured strain compared with the wild-type strain from the third to the seventh week postinoculation. No difference in spleen colonization was observed. These results did not correlate with any in vitro difference in attachment, entry to, or intracellular multiplication of bacteria within intestinal or macrophage avian cell lines.