Graphical User Interface (GUI) agents require effective use of historical context to perform sequential navigation tasks. While incorporating past actions and observations can improve decision making, naive use of full history leads to excessive computational overhead and distraction from irrelevant information. To address this, we introduce HiconAgent, a GUI agent trained with History Context-aware Policy Optimization (HCPO) for efficient and effective utilization of historical information. HCPO optimizes history usage in both sampling and policy updates through two complementary components: (1) Dynamic Context Sampling (DCS) presents the agent with variable length histories during sampling, enabling adaptive use of the most relevant context; (2) Anchor-guided History Compression (AHC) refines the policy update phase with a dual branch strategy where the compressed branch removes history observations while keeping history actions as information flow anchors. The compressed and uncompressed branches are coupled through a history-enhanced alignment loss to enforce consistent history usage while maintaining efficiency. Experiments on mainstream GUI navigation benchmarks demonstrate strong performance. Despite being smaller, HiconAgent-3B outperforms GUI-R1-7B by +8.46 percent grounding accuracy and +11.32 percent step success rate on GUI-Odyssey, while achieving comparable results on AndroidControl and AITW with up to 2.47x computational speedup and 60 percent FLOPs reduction.
Existing recommendation systems either rely on user interaction logs, such as online shopping history for shopping recommendations, or focus on text signals. However, item-based histories are not always accessible, and are not generalizable for multimodal recommendation. We hypothesize that a user's visual history -- comprising images from daily life -- can offer rich, task-agnostic insights into their interests and preferences, and thus be leveraged for effective personalization. To this end, we propose VisualLens, a novel framework that leverages multimodal large language models (MLLMs) to enable personalization using task-agnostic visual history. VisualLens extracts, filters, and refines a spectrum user profile from the visual history to support personalized recommendation. We created two new benchmarks, Google-Review-V and Yelp-V, with task-agnostic visual histories, and show that VisualLens improves over state-of-the-art item-based multimodal recommendations by 5-10% on Hit@3, and outperforms GPT-4o by 2-5%. Further analysis shows that VisualLens is robust across varying history lengths and excels at adapting to both longer histories and unseen content categories.
M. Larena, Federico Sánchez-Quinto, P. Sjödin
et al.
Significance A key link to understand human history in Island Southeast Asia is the Philippine archipelago and its poorly investigated genetic diversity. We analyzed the most comprehensive set of population-genomic data for the Philippines: 1,028 individuals covering 115 indigenous communities. We demonstrate that the Philippines were populated by at least five waves of human migration. The Cordillerans migrated into the Philippines prior to the arrival of rice agriculture, where some remain as the least admixed East Asians carrying an ancestry shared by all Austronesian-speaking populations, thereby challenging an exclusive out-of-Taiwan model of joint farming–language–people dispersal. Altogether, our findings portray the Philippines as a crucial gateway, with a multilayered history, that ultimately changed the genetic landscape of the Asia-Pacific region. Island Southeast Asia has recently produced several surprises regarding human history, but the region’s complex demography remains poorly understood. Here, we report ∼2.3 million genotypes from 1,028 individuals representing 115 indigenous Philippine populations and genome-sequence data from two ∼8,000-y-old individuals from Liangdao in the Taiwan Strait. We show that the Philippine islands were populated by at least five waves of human migration: initially by Northern and Southern Negritos (distantly related to Australian and Papuan groups), followed by Manobo, Sama, Papuan, and Cordilleran-related populations. The ancestors of Cordillerans diverged from indigenous peoples of Taiwan at least ∼8,000 y ago, prior to the arrival of paddy field rice agriculture in the Philippines ∼2,500 y ago, where some of their descendants remain to be the least admixed East Asian groups carrying an ancestry shared by all Austronesian-speaking populations. These observations contradict an exclusive “out-of-Taiwan” model of farming–language–people dispersal within the last four millennia for the Philippines and Island Southeast Asia. Sama-related ethnic groups of southwestern Philippines additionally experienced some minimal South Asian gene flow starting ∼1,000 y ago. Lastly, only a few lowlanders, accounting for <1% of all individuals, presented a low level of West Eurasian admixture, indicating a limited genetic legacy of Spanish colonization in the Philippines. Altogether, our findings reveal a multilayered history of the Philippines, which served as a crucial gateway for the movement of people that ultimately changed the genetic landscape of the Asia-Pacific region.
South Asia, which is composed of eight countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is an important global biodiversity hotspot. As a part of the Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) project, we reviewed the history of botanical investigations, floristic works, and publications in this region, as well as the key floras, checklists, and online databases in South Asia. The botanical survey of this region, which began during the 17th century, has two distinct phases: surveys conducted during the British India period and those conducted in the post-British period. The seven volumes of <i>The Flora of British India</i> are the most important contributions to flora research in South Asia because of their wider geographical coverage, which was performed by British botanists. Following on from this, different countries have launched independent floristic surveys. At the country level, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have completed, or partially completed, their flora surveys at the country level, while Maldives has not yet published its national flora survey. According to currently available information, the approximated numbers of plant taxa for each country in South Asia are as follows: Afghanistan, 5261 (vascular plants); Bangladesh, 3470 (vascular plants); Bhutan, 5985 (flowering plants); India, 21,558 (flowering plants); Maldives, 270 (common plants); Nepal, 6500 (flowering plants); Pakistan, 6000+ (vascular plants); and Sri Lanka, 4143 (flowering plants). Additionally, there are 151 books devoted to the key floras and checklists in South Asia. A total of 1.1 million digital records of specimens from this region can be found on the website of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). However, there are still major gaps and limitations—such as out-of-date publications, national floras that are mainly detailed only in local languages, massive non-digitized specimens, and the lack of a comprehensive online database or platform—which should be addressed in terms of their global applications.
Liljana Arsovska y Sun Xintang, eds. 2022. Los cuarenta de la cuarentena: antología de cuentos. Ciudad de México: El Colegio de México. 246 pp. ISBN 9786075643281
Mankind has always tried to achieve his desires by relying on occult sciences and the conquest of superior powers. This science has gone through a long history without any beginning date and no historical period has been excluded from it, because phenomena such as eclipses, comets, earthquakes, epidemics, wars, unfair taxes, etc. have always existed, and all have caused personal concern and insecurity. While human beings were defenseless against natural and unnatural factors, diseases, etc., occult sciences came to help mankind as a transcendental force, and with the help of amulets, spells, medical magic utensils, etc., brought him peace and security. The large number of written sources related to occult sciences is proof of this claim. Due to the connection of these sciences, especially talismans with images, some of these written sources are illustrated, because in order to practice talismans and enchantment, drawing pictures was also necessary.Daqa’iq al-Haqa’iq (Degrees of Truths); is one of these illustrated manuscripts which its paintings have not yet been examined. The images in this version are so valuable because they provide us with extensive information on the beliefs of Muslim elders in Minor Asia during the Seljuk period. The combination of occult sciences such as talisman, conjuring planets, chemistry, and astrology has influenced the formation of this book. This version was illustrated in Anatolia by al-Nasiri (Nasir al-Din Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. 'Abd Allah al-Rammal al-Mu'azzim al Sa'ati al-Haykali), extant in a Persian copy dated A.H. 10 Ramadan 670 and Shawwal 671. This manuscript was presented to Kay Khusraw III, one of the last Rum Seljuk rulers, when he was a child. This manuscript can be divided into three main parts. Its three treatises deal with astrology, angelology (study of angels), talismans, and magic, and emphasize prognostication. Its treatises have 51 paintings painted by the scribe.The first part of the book, which has no name, can be divided into two parts. The first part is related to talismans, the titles of which include revealing the secrets of the twenty-eight mansion of the moon, and the main text includes departures to summon the clients, including the names of God, the names of angels, verses from the Qur'an, tribal letters, and magic squares. The paintings in the version include images such as crabs and the moon, dragons, snakes, rams, etc., which have been depicted in order to summon the clients of life and achieve different desires. The second part deals with the rules of astronomy and it is determined what works are best to do in each month.This research seeks to study the concept of a painting that shows a man riding a bird in iconological way. As we know, iconology has three basic stages that can reveal the apparent and hidden semantic layers of patterns. The main question raised in this research is: What is the reason for using the painting of a man riding a bird in this book based on the iconology approach? This painting is based on what beliefs? And are these beliefs of Iranian origin? Where can we find the origin of this painting? The importance and necessity of examining the images in this version are due to their contribution to extend previous knowledge of the beliefs of the predecessors and the illustration of occult sciences in the seventh century. To answer this question with the iconological method, after describing the role of the man riding the bird and studying the text of the book, written sources with illustrations that have a similar theme have been collected to help us understand the reason of using this painting and its hidden roots. The above mentioned process led to the interpretation of the image of a man riding a bird.The most important result of the descriptive-analytical research is that the reason of using this painting is related to Indian cosmological concepts. Iran and India have had close historical ties over time. Over the millions of years, the country has had many cultural exchanges in language, religion, art, culture, food, and other traditions. This painting can be considered as one of these cultural exchanges, which must have been inspired by the goose (Hamsa) vahana (vehicle) of Brahma, the god of Jupiter, or Garuda, the vahana of Vishnu which is associated with Mercury.
Introduction. The article summarizes the history of the Gandantegchinlen Monastery (Mongolia). Goals. It aims at revealing the latter’s place and role in the history of Buddhism nationwide. Insights into the history and functioning structures of the Gandantegchinlen Monastery reveal certain historical links between Buddhist centers of Mongolia and Buryatia. Being a stronghold of Buddhist education, Gandantegchenlin has made (and still does) its essential impacts on the shaping and development of religious and philosophical educational systems among Mongolic peoples — and contributed to the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhist culture. Methods. The study employs tools of factor analysis (characterizing the place and role in historical reality), the historical/genetic and retrospective research methods. Results. The retrospective analysis reveals key stages in the development of the monastery — from its earliest activities, closure, and restoration in the 1940s–1960s to present days witnessing a gradual revival of Buddhist traditions in Russia and Mongolia.
History of Asia, Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)
With the widespread availability of high-speed networks, it becomes feasible to outsource computing to remote providers and to federate resources from many locations. Such observations motivated the development, from the mid-1990s onwards, of a range of innovative Grid technologies, applications, and infrastructures. We review the history, current status, and future prospects for Grid computing.
Based on string theory's framework, the gauge/gravity duality, also known as holography, has the ability to solve practical problems in low energy physical systems like metals and fluids. Holographic applications open a path for conversation and collaboration between the theory-driven, high energy culture of string theory and fields like nuclear and condensed matter physics, which in contrast place great emphasis on the empirical evidence that experiment provides. This paper takes a look at holography's history, from its roots in string theory to its present-day applications that are challenging the cultural identity of the field. I will focus on two of these applications: holographic QCD and holographic superconductivity, highlighting some of the (often incompatible) historical influences, motives, and epistemic values at play, as well as the subcultural shifts that help the collaborations work. The extent to which holographic research -- arguably string theory's most successful and prolific area -- must change its subcultural identity in order to function in fields outside of string theory reflects its changing nature and the field's uncertain future. Does string theory lose its identity in the low-energy applications that holography provides? Does holography still belong under string theory's umbrella, or is it destined to form new subcultures with each of its fields of application? I find that the answers to these questions are dynamic, interconnected, and highly dependent on string theory's relationship with its field of application. In some cases, holography can maintain the goals and values it inherited from string theory. In others, it instead adopts the goals and values of the field in which it is applied. These examples highlight a need for the STS community to expand its treatment of string theory beyond its relationship with empiricism and role as a theory of quantum gravity.
Waleska Rodrigues de Matos Oliveira Martins, Sérgio Ricardo Oliveira Martins
A representatividade do corpo entra cada vez mais em crise. Há um corpo que se expõe não só como organismo, mas como potência de conexão entre o mundo e a linguagem. Este texto reflete sobre esse corpo e sobre a escrita de autoria feminina na obra As alegrias da maternidade, de Buchi Emecheta, na perspectiva crítica de autoras como Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Ifi Amadiume, Oyèronkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, entre outras, e à luz do conceito de escrevivência de Conceição Evaristo. Em Buchi Emecheta, a inversão discursiva e temática do topoi masculino tem como recorte o contexto do período colonial (a diegese do romance) e o período pós-colonial (anos 1970, contexto da produção da obra). Outras narrativas e discursos literários são considerados na discussão no intuito de construir uma tessitura dos papéis do corpo nas (de)codificações coloniais e pós-coloniais da Nigéria.
In September 2016, hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered in Ladakh to celebrate the millennial anniversary of Naropa (1016- 1100 CE), an Indian Buddhist scholar-saint who is widely revered in the Himalayas. Deemed ‘Naropa 2016,’ this Himalayan Buddhist festival centered on the ritual of na ro gyen druk (Tib. na ro rgyan drug), the ‘Six Bone Ornaments of Naropa.’ What was announced as a sacred Buddhist ritual of revealing these ornaments, also included evening performances by renowned Bollywood performers with booming sound and impressive light shows enjoyed by large crowds of monks and laity until late in the night. This was one of the first occasions that popular Bollywood artists came to perform in Ladakh, and the first time that Bollywood and Buddhism were combined to such a large degree. In this article, I take a closer look at the spectacular Naropa 2016 festival. Based on ethnographic participation and recording of the festival through fieldwork, I consider this Buddhist festival as an important site for negotiating social change. Especially due to heightened modernization processes in Ladakh, the role of Buddhist institutions has been undergoing swift changes. Under the leadership of the Gyalwang Drukpa, the Drukpa organization pushes against processes of secularization, which have entailed a lessening of the importance of monasteries in the swiftly transforming Ladakhi society. In organizing a large monastery festival and incorporating elements such as Bollywood performances, the Drukpa Kagyü organization presented a vision of their religious institution as adapting to the current times and relevant for modern, 21st century Ladakhi lives. Hence, the Naropa 2016 festival, I argue, worked as an attempt to introduce alternative cultural understandings of the role of Drukpa Kagyü monastic institutions, and in particular, the role of the Gyalwang Drukpa.
Stable isotopes of lighter elements are frequently used to understand diet and ecology of ancient population in the western world. In India however, in spite of the infrastructure being available for stable isotope analysis, its usage to date is limited to geological and oceanographical studies. Its applications in investigating archaeological questions are still uncommon. Stable isotopes can be used to satisfy various hypotheses pertaining to an archaeological site in multiple ways. In this article, taking two recent stable isotope studies into consideration (one based on human teeth and another on faunal teeth), the scope and limitations of use of stable isotope analysis in archaeology are extended in detail. The differences in selection of samples, sampling procedures, methodologies and interpretations while working on human as against faunal teeth are discussed discretely.
The first determination of the surface temperature of stars other than the Sun is due to the Hungarian astrophysicist Béla Harkányi. Prompted by the recent unprecedented increase in the availability of stellar temperature estimates from Gaia, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Harkányi's birth, this article presents the life and work of this neglected, yet remarkable figure in the context of the history of stellar astrophysics.