5,484 research outputs found
From Group Recommendations to Group Formation
There has been significant recent interest in the area of group
recommendations, where, given groups of users of a recommender system, one
wants to recommend top-k items to a group that maximize the satisfaction of the
group members, according to a chosen semantics of group satisfaction. Examples
semantics of satisfaction of a recommended itemset to a group include the
so-called least misery (LM) and aggregate voting (AV). We consider the
complementary problem of how to form groups such that the users in the formed
groups are most satisfied with the suggested top-k recommendations. We assume
that the recommendations will be generated according to one of the two group
recommendation semantics - LM or AV. Rather than assuming groups are given, or
rely on ad hoc group formation dynamics, our framework allows a strategic
approach for forming groups of users in order to maximize satisfaction. We show
that the problem is NP-hard to solve optimally under both semantics.
Furthermore, we develop two efficient algorithms for group formation under LM
and show that they achieve bounded absolute error. We develop efficient
heuristic algorithms for group formation under AV. We validate our results and
demonstrate the scalability and effectiveness of our group formation algorithms
on two large real data sets.Comment: 14 pages, 22 figure
Analysis of the hippocampal proteome in ME7 prion disease reveals a predominant astrocytic signature and highlights the brain-restricted production of clusterin in chronic neurodegeneration
Prion diseases are characterized by accumulation of misfolded protein, gliosis, synaptic dysfunction, and ultimately neuronal loss. This sequence, mirroring key features of Alzheimer disease, is modeled well in ME7 prion disease. We used iTRAQ(TM)/mass spectrometry to compare the hippocampal proteome in control and late-stage ME7 animals. The observed changes associated with reactive glia highlighted some specific proteins that dominate the proteome in late-stage disease. Four of the up-regulated proteins (GFAP, high affinity glutamate transporter (EAAT-2), apo-J (Clusterin), and peroxiredoxin-6) are selectively expressed in astrocytes, but astrocyte proliferation does not contribute to their up-regulation. The known functional role of these proteins suggests this response acts against protein misfolding, excitotoxicity, and neurotoxic reactive oxygen species. A recent convergence of genome-wide association studies and the peripheral measurement of circulating levels of acute phase proteins have focused attention on Clusterin as a modifier of late-stage Alzheimer disease and a biomarker for advanced neurodegeneration. Since ME7 animals allow independent measurement of acute phase proteins in the brain and circulation, we extended our investigation to address whether changes in the brain proteome are detectable in blood. We found no difference in the circulating levels of Clusterin in late-stage prion disease when animals will show behavioral decline, accumulation of misfolded protein, and dramatic synaptic and neuronal loss. This does not preclude an important role of Clusterin in late-stage disease, but it cautions against the assumption that brain levels provide a surrogate peripheral measure for the progression of brain degeneration
Coherence length of single laser pulses as measured by CCD interferometry
A novel interferometric method for the direct, real-time measurement of the complete temporal coherence function of a pulsed laser is presented. A Michelson interferometer is modified by replacing one mirror with an inclined diffraction grating to observe interference fringes as a function of path-length difference on a single pulse. Computerized data acquisition and methods of extending the range of wavelengths to the infrared are discussed
Fur-mites of the family Atopomelidae (Acari: Astigmata) parasitic on Philippine mammals: systematics, phylogeny, and host-parasite relationships
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56439/1/MP196.pd
Comparison of Subjective Responses to Oral and Intravenous Alcohol Administration under Similar Systemic Exposures
Objective
To test whether an individual's subjective responses to alcohol are similar when the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) trajectory resulting from oral administration is matched by intravenous administration.
Background
Individuals perceive the effects of alcohol differently, and the variation is commonly used in research assessing the risk for developing an alcohol use disorder. Such research is supported by both oral and intravenous alcohol administration techniques, and any differences attributable to the route employed should be understood.
Methods
We conducted a 2‐session, within‐subject study in 44 young adult, healthy, non‐dependent drinkers (22 females and 22 males). In the first session, subjects ingested a dose of alcohol which was individually calculated, on the basis of total body water, to yield a peak BrAC near 80 mg/dl, and the resulting BrAC trajectory was recorded. A few days later, subjects received an intravenous alcohol infusion rate profile, pre‐computed to replicate each individual's oral alcohol BrAC trajectory. In both sessions, we assessed 4 subjective responses to alcohol: SEDATION, SIMULATION, INTOXICATION, and HIGH; at baseline and frequently for 4 hours. We compared the individuals’ baseline‐corrected responses at peak BrAC and at half‐peak BrAC on both the ascending and descending limbs. We also computed and compared Pearson‐product moment correlations of responses by route of administration, the Mellanby measure of acute adaptation to alcohol, and the area under the entire response curve for each subjective response.
Results
No significant differences in any measure could be attributed to the route of alcohol administration. Eleven of 12 response comparisons were significantly correlated across the routes of alcohol administration, with 9 surviving correction for multiple measures, as did the Mellanby effect and area under the response curve correlations.
Conclusion
The route of alcohol administration has a minimal effect on subjective responses to alcohol when an individual's BrAC exposure profiles are similar
Correlations in Chaotic Eigenfunctions at Large Separation
An energy eigenfunction in a classically chaotic system is known to have
spatial correlations which (in the limit of small ) are governed by a
microcanonical distribution in the classical phase space. This result is valid,
however, only over coordinate distances which are small compared to any
relevant classical distance scales (such as the cyclotron radius for a charged
particle in a magnetic field). We derive a modified formula for the correlation
function in the regime of large separation. This then permits a complete
description, over all length scales, of the statistical properties of chaotic
eigenfunctions in the limit. Applications to quantum dots are
briefly discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, RevTeX, eps
Low energy ion scattering
Low energy ion scattering (LEIS) is the study of the composition and structure of a surface by the detection of low energy ions with energies ranging from 100 eV to 10 keV elastically scattered off the surface. The extreme sensitivity to the outermost atomic layer makes it as a unique tool for surface analysis. In this paper, concepts of shadowing, blocking, and also polar and azimuthal scans have been described. Surface order and surface atom spacings are revealed by using these concepts and measuring the intensity of backscattered projectiles as a function of the incident and azimuthal angles
Topological Phase Transitions and Holonomies in the Dimer Model
We demonstrate that the classical dimer model defined on a toroidal hexagonal
lattice acquires holonomy phases in the thermodynamic limit. When all
activities are equal the lattice sizes must be considered mod 6 in which case
the finite size corrections to the bulk partition function correspond to a
massless Dirac Fermion in the presence of a flat connection with nontrivial
holonomy. For general bond activities we find that the phase transition in this
model is a topological one, where the torus degenerates and its modular
parameter becomes real at the critical temperature. We argue that these
features are generic to bipartite dimer models and we present a more general
lattice whose continuum partition function is that of a massive Dirac Fermion.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Minor corrections with additional figure
Postpandemic Conferences: The DATE 2023 Experience
Date is a leading international event providing unique networking opportunities. The conference brings together designers and design automation users, researchers, and vendors, as well as specialists in hardware and software design, testing, and manufacturing of electronic circuits and systems—from system-level hardware and software implementation down to integrated circuit design
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