Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impulse Memory Controller

Impulse is a memory system architecture that adds an optional level of address indirection at the memory controller. Applications can use this level of indirection to remap their data structures in memory. As a result, they can control how their data is accessed and cached, which can improve cache and bus utilization. The Impulse design does not require any modification to processor, cache, or bus designs since all the functionality resides at the memory controller. As a result, Impulse can be adopted in conventional systems without major system changes. We describe the design of the Impulse architecture and how an Impulse memory system can be used in a variety of ways to improve the performance of memory-bound applications. Impulse can be used to dynamically create superpages cheaply, to dynamically recolor physical pages, to perform strided fetches, and to perform gathers and scatters through indirection vectors. Our performance results demonstrate the effectiveness of these optimizations in a variety of scenarios. Using Impulse can speed up a range of applications from 20 percent to over a factor of 5. Alternatively, Impulse can be used by the OS for dynamic superpage creation; the best policy for creating superpages using Impulse outperforms previously known superpage creation policies.
Identifying Barriers to using Business-to-Employee (B2E) Portals: Some Lessons Learned from an Australian University

Business-to-employee (B2E) portal is an e-business initiative which if successfully implemented assists organisations in delivering useful information and services to their disperse employees which in turn creates productive and satisfied workforce needed for today's fast pace environment. However, despite considerable business values, the acceptance of B2E portals by employees working within organisations is reported to be slow. It is not clearly known exactly what barriers organisations encounter and how those barriers affect the usage of B2E portals by employees. To address this gap in the literature, this paper presents the experience of a large Australian university in introducing an employee portal, reports a very disappointing usage of the portal by employees, and identifies a constellation of barriers which are then discussed using theoretical constructs drawn from diverse streams of related literature. Finally, the implications of the findings are discussed
Exposure to Organochlorine Pollutants and Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective Though exposure to organochlorine pollutants (OCPs) is considered a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2DM), epidemiological evidence for the association remains controversial. A systematic review and meta-analysis was applied to quantitatively evaluate the association between exposure to OCPs and incidence of T2DM and pool the inconsistent evidence. Design and Methods Publications in English were searched in MEDLINE and WEB OF SCIENCE databases and related reference lists up to August 2013. Quantitative estimates and information regarding study characteristics were extracted from 23 original studies. Quality assessments of external validity, bias, exposure measurement and confounding were performed, and subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the heterogeneity sources. Results We retrieved 23 eligible articles to conduct this meta-analysis. OR (odds ratio) or RR (risk ratio) estimates in each subgroup were discussed, and the strong associations were observed in PCB-153 (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.19–1.94), PCBs (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.53–2.99), and p,p′-DDE (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.15–1.54) based on a random-effects model. Conclusions This meta-analysis provides quantitative evidence supporting the conclusion that exposure to organochlorine pollutants is associated with an increased risk of incidence of T2DM.
Enhancement of passage scorers by proximity-based term occurrence weighting

Given a query and a document, passage retrievers aim at selecting from the document those passages that are relevant to the query. Passage scoring is thus essential for passage retrievers. In this paper, we present a technique named proximity-based term occurrence weighting PTOW, which employs term proximity information to enhance various kinds of passage scorers. For each occurrence of a query term t at position k in a passage, PTOW increments the weight of the occurrence based on how other query terms appear around k. The occurrence weight is then passed to the passage scorers. Empirical evaluation shows that PTOW significantly enhances two passage scorers. Moreover, when compared with two state-of-the-art techniques that enhance scorers by term proximity information, PTOW performs significantly better as well. The contributions are of practical significance, since many passage scorers have been developed and PTOW may further enhance their performance.
Does electrical stimulation reduce spasticity after stroke? A randomized controlled study

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect of electrical stimulation on plantarflexor spasticity in stroke patients. Design: A randomized controlled clinical trial study. Setting: Rehabilitation clinic of Semnan University of Medical Sciences. Subjects: Forty stroke patients (aged from 42 to 65 years) with ankle plantarflexor spasticity. Intervention: Fifteen minutes of inhibitory Bobath techniques were applied to one experimental group and a combination of 9 minutes of electrical stimulation on the dorsiflexor muscles and inhibitory Bobath techniques was applied to another group for 20 sessions daily. Main measures: Passive ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion, dorsiflexion strength test, plantarflexor muscle tone by Modified Ashworth Scale and soleus muscle H-reflex. Results: The mean change of passive ankle joint dorsiflexion in the combination therapy group was 11.4 (SD 4.79) degrees versus 6.1 (SD 3.09) degrees, which was significantly higher (P = 0.001). The mean change of plantarflexor muscle tonicity measured by the Modified Ashworth Scale in the combination therapy group was -1.6 (SD 0.5) versus -1.1 (SD 0.31) in the Bobath group (P = 0.001). Dorsiflexor muscle strength was also increased significantly (P = 0.04) in the combination therapy group (0.7 ± 0.37) compared with the Bobath group (0.4 ± 0.23). However, no significant change in the amplitude of H-reflex was found between combination therapy (-0.41 ± 0.29) and Bobath (-0.3 ± 0.28) groups. Conclusion: Therapy combining Bobath inhibitory technique and electrical stimulation may help to reduce spasticity effectively in stroke patients.
Self-Determination in Relation to Having or Not Having a Legal Guardian: Case Studies of Two School-Aged Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities

IDEA mandates that all rights accorded to parents transfer to students when they reach the age of majority, unless their competence is questioned. Using case studies, this research examined the concern that when competence is challenged, guardian appointments may occur, thus negatively impacting the self-determination of school-aged young adults who have developmental disabilities. The assumption that a young adult who had a full legal guardian would exhibit fewer, if any, self-determination skills in comparisons to a peer who did not have a legal guardian was investigated. Findings include (a) values, beliefs, and knowledge impact guardian roles, and (b) more research is needed to determine the impact IDEA age of majority and transfer of rights mandates are having on families as well as school, law, and agency service providers' interpretations and actions.
Collaborative Filtering: Fallacies and Insights in Measuring Similarity

Nearest-neighbor collaborative filtering (CF) algorithms are gaining widespread acceptance in recommender systems and e-commerce applications. These algorithms provide recommendations for products, based on suggestions of users with similar preferences. One of the most crucial factors in the effectiveness of nearest-neighbor CF algorithms is the similarity measure that is used. The most popular measures are the Pearson correlation and cosine similarity. In this paper, we identify existing fallacies in the calculation of these measures. We propose a novel approach, which addresses the problem and substantially improves the accuracy of CF results. Moreover, we propose an evaluation procedure that produces reliable conclusions about the performance of nearest-neighbor CF algorithms. Through the proposed evaluation procedure, our experimental results identify the problems of existing approaches (which could not be revealed with existing evaluation procedures) and illustrate the superiority of the proposed approach.
Abstraction levels for developing a model of an intelligent decision unit

Technical processes shall be controlled more precisely and therefore require better interconnection. In order to enable machines to make qualified decisions, the interpretation of processes shall happen on a higher level of abstraction. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Cognitive Science (CS) have delivered excellent results so far, but they are still far away from being able to design intelligent units with abilities similar to those of the human mental apparatus. We show in this paper that a new approach in bionics is required using natural science to achieve a breakthrough based on information theory. We discuss the crucial aspects that have directed engineers into a dead end. And we show that new goals can be achieved, if we consider psychoanalysis and establish tight cooperation with experts from this field. The goal is the definition of a formal approach of the lowest abstract level for the mental apparatus.
CASICT-DCU Participation in WMT2015 Metrics Task

Human-designed sub-structures are required by most of the syntax-based machine translation evaluation metrics. In this paper, we propose a novel evaluation metric based on dependency parsing model, which does not need this human involvement. Experimental results show that the new single metric gets better correlation than METEOR on system level and is comparable with it on sentence level. To introduce more information, we combine the new metric with many other metrics. The combined metric obtains state-of-theart performance on both system level evaluation and sentence level evaluation on WMT 2014.
An enterprise application integration methodology for e-government

Purpose – Achieving goals of better integrated and responsive government services requires moving away from stand alone applications toward more comprehensive, integrated architectures. As a result there is a mounting pressure to integrate disparate systems to support information exchange and cross‐agency business processes. There are substantial barriers that governments must overcome to achieve these goals and to profit from enterprise application integration (EAI). Design/methodology/approach – In the research presented here we develop and test a methodology aimed at overcoming the barriers blocking adoption of EAI. This methodology is based on a discrete‐event simulation of public sector structure, business processes and applications in combination with an EAI perspective.Findings – The testing suggests that our methodology helps to provide insight into the myriad of existing applications, and the implications of EAI. Moreover, it helps to identify novel options, gain stakeholder commitment, let them a.
Biomedicine in the environment: Sorption of the cyclotide kalata B2 to montmorillonite, goethite, and humic acid

Cyclotides are bioactive, stable mini‐proteins produced in high amounts in Violaceae and Rubiaceae with promising pharmaceutical and agrochemical applications. Environmental issues must be addressed before large‐scale plant cultivation of cyclotides for pharmaceutical or pesticidal purposes can commence. The objective of the present study was to investigate sorption of the cyclotide kalata B2 (kB2), because knowledge of cyclotide biogeochemistry will aid our understanding of environmental fate. The octanol‐water partitioning coefficient was determined to be 2.8 ± 0.6 (log KOW = 0.4 ± 0.1). Sorption of kB2 by montmorillonite, goethite, and humic acid was investigated at different concentrations and under varying acidity and reached equilibrium within minutes. The kB2 sorption at a solution concentration of 0.2 mg/L to montmorillonite was high (120 mg/g) compared to humic acid (0.60 mg/g) and goethite (0.03 mg/g). Kalata B2 intercalated the interlayer space of montmorillonite. The sorption isotherm for humic acid was linear up to a solution concentration of 0.8 mg/L and concave for montmorillonite and goethite up to an equilibrium solution concentration of 1.5 mg/L. Sorption to goethite was unaffected by pH, but sorption to montmorillonite and humic acid at pH near the isoelectric point (pI) was threefold the sorption when pH > the isoelectric point, suggesting that electrostatic interaction/repulsion between kB2 and sorbents play an important role. The strong sorption to montmorillonite reduces exposure to below toxic threshold values. In addition, the transport risk of soluble cyclotides is reduced, but particle‐bound cyclotides may be transported to recipient aquatic sediments with the associated risk of adversely affecting sediment‐dwelling organisms. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. © 2011 SETAC
Integrating the mind : domain general versus domain specific processes in higher cognition

Roberts, Introduction. Extreme Domain Specificity and Higher Cognition. Roberts, Contextual facilitation methodology as a means of investigating domain specific cognition. Noveck, Mercier, & Van der Henst, To what extent do social contracts affect performance on Wason's selection task. O'Brien, Roazzi, Athias, & Carmo Brandao, What sorts of reasoning modules have been provided by evolution? Some experiments conducted among Tukano speakers in Brazilian Amazonia concerning reasoning about conditional propositions and about conditional probabilities. David E. Over, Content-independent conditional inference. Sloman, Lombrozo, & Malt, Mild ontology and domain-specific categorization. Newell & Shanks, Perspectives on the 'tools' of decision-making. McKinnon, Levine, & Moscovitch, Domain-general contributions to social reasoning: The perspective from cognitive neuroscience. Stenning & van Lambalgen, Explaining the domain generality of human cognition. Extreme Domain Specificity and Cognitive Development. Halford & Andrews, Domain general processes in higher cognition: Analogical reasoning, schema induction and capacity limitations. Overton & Dick, A competence-procedural and developmental approach to logical reasoning. Happaney & Zelazo, Less specificity in higher cognitive mechanisms: Evidence from theory of mind. Moses & Sabbagh, Interactions between domain-general and domain-specific processes in the development of children's theories of mind. Mix & Sandhofer, Do we need a number sense? Extreme Domain Specificity versus Domain General Intelligence. Roberts, Do problem solvers need to be intelligent? Simonton, Creativity: Specialised expertise or general cognitive processes? Adey, The CASE for a general factor in intelligence. Gottfredson, Innovation, fatal accidents, and the evolution of general intelligence. Brody, Heritability and the nomological network of g. Chabris, Cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of the law of general intelligence
Exploring English language learning and teaching in Malaysia

This paper presents a review of recent research that investigates the problem and the practice of English language teaching and learning in Malaysia. The aim of the paper is to identify the factors that contribute to low or limited English literacy achievement among Malaysian learners. A review of these studies indicates a general pattern of dissatisfaction among students, educators, policy makers and the public regarding the teaching and learning of the language (Razianna Abdul Rahman, 2005; Rosemala Ismail, 2008). In addition, studies focusing on English language proficiency among Malaysian university graduates also seem to resonate a feeling of uneasiness with the graduates’ level of English proficiency (Isarji Sarudin et al., 2008). This paper therefore discusses some of the key issues and competing discourses confronting English language learning in this country. It reflects on how the teaching of English is variously conceptualized in our classrooms, raising important questions about the positions of English literacy to Malaysian learners and the society in general.
Mixed Hodge complexes and $L^2$-cohomology for local systems on ball quotients

We study the L 2 -cohomology of certain local systems on non-compact arithmetic ball quotients X = nBn. In the case of a ball quotient surface X we show that vanishing theorems for L 2 - cohomology are intimately related to vanishing theorems of the type H 0 (X;S n1 (logD) O X (−D) (K X + D) m/3 ) = 0 for mn � 1 on the toroidal compactification (X;D). We also give generalizations to higher dimensional ball quotients and study the mixed Hodge structure on the sheaf cohomology of a local system in general with the L 2 -cohomology contributing to the lowest weight part.
Sequential therapy versus standard triple drug therapy for eradication of Helicobacter pylori in patients with perforated duodenal ulcer following simple closure

Abstract Background. Resistance to clarithromycin, a component of standard triple therapy, leads to inconsistent eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori infection. Some studies have shown higher eradication rates for H. pylori using sequential regimen. This study was done to compare the eradication rates for H. pylori infection between the standard triple drug therapy and the sequential therapy. Methods. Seventy-three patients with perforated duodenal ulcer following simple closure with H. pylori infection were randomized to receive either standard triple drug therapy or the sequential therapy. Standard triple drug therapy comprised of omeprazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin for 10 days. Sequential therapy comprised of omeprazole and amoxicillin or the first 5 days followed by omeprazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin for the next 5 days. Follow-up endoscopy was done at 2 months to assess the eradication rates, compliance, and side effects with each regimen. Results. Eradication rates for standard triple therapy and sequential regimen were 81.25% and 87.09%, respectively (p = 0.732). The cost of sequential therapy was cheaper and incidence of side effects and compliance were similar in each group. Conclusion. Standard triple therapy and sequential therapy have similar efficacy for eradication of H. pylori and sequential therapy is an economical alternative to standard triple therapy.
Informality and Formality in Medium-Sized Companies: Contestation and Synchronization

Accounts of managerial practice in small and medium-sized firms frequently draw upon notions of formality and informality. In this paper, we explore the relationship between these concepts through an analysis of managerial approaches to employment relations practice in six growing, medium-sized organizations. Drawing on recent conceptual work on informality and formality, we argue that the use of the terms in previous analyses tends to neglect the co-dependency of both the concepts and managerial approaches to the employment relationship. We present an alternative conceptualization of formalization and informalization processes that emphasizes synchronization through interactional practices. Through this analysis, we suggest that debate in this area can be reframed through thinking of informality and formality as a dualism rather than a dichotomy, and challenge the notion that small firms must, should or inevitably do move from informality to formality. From this, we construct an inclusive model of formality and informality that better reflects practice and enables further analytical development.
Neural correlates of attentional and executive processing in middle-age fencers.

PURPOSE Open-skill sports require high levels of visual attention and fast and flexible decision making and action execution. We evaluated whether these sports may counteract the well-known age-related declines in executive processing. METHODS Young and middle-age fencers and nonathletes were studied. Participants (N = 40) performed visual motor tasks while reaction times (RTs) and event-related potentials were recorded. RESULTS RTs were slower for the older subjects, but accuracy was not impaired. At event-related potential level, the late P3 component was delayed in older subjects, but those who participated in sports showed less delay. The RTs of middle-age and young fencers were comparable; the P1 latency of middle-age fencers was similar to that of the younger subjects; the N1 was enhanced in older, as well as younger, fencers; the N2 component of fencers had shorter latencies and larger amplitudes than nonathletes; and in no-go trials, the P3 component was enhanced in fencers independent of age. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the practice of open-skill sports was associated with improvement of the executive functions that are already degraded at middle age.
Clostridium botulinum in Cattle and Dairy Products

The use of plastic-wrapped and nonacidified silage as cattle feed has led to an increasing number of botulism outbreaks due to Clostridium botulinum Groups I-III in dairy cattle. The involvement of Groups I and II organisms in cattle botulism has raised concern of human botulism risk associated with the consumption of dairy products. Multiplication of C. botulinum in silage and in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle with botulism has been reported, thus contamination of the farm environment and raw milk, and further transmission through the dairy chain, are possible. The standard milk pasteurization treatment does not eliminate spores, and the intrinsic factors of many dairy products allow botulinal growth and toxin production. Although rare, several large botulism outbreaks due to both commercial and home-prepared dairy products have been reported. Factors explaining these outbreaks include most importantly temperature abuse, but also unsafe formulation, inadequate fermentation, insufficient thermal processing, post-process contamination, and lack of adequate quality control for adjunct ingredients were involved. The small number of outbreaks is probably explained by a low incidence of spores in milk, the presence of competitive bacteria in pasteurized milk and other dairy products, and growth-inhibitory combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in cultured and processed dairy products.
A visual Turing test for computer vision systems

Today, computer vision systems are tested by their accuracy in detecting and localizing instances of objects. As an alternative, and motivated by the ability of humans to provide far richer descriptions, even tell a story about an image, we construct a ”visual Turing test”: an operator-assisted device that produces a stochastic sequence of binary questions from a given test image. The query engine proposes a question; the operator either provides the correct answer or rejects the question as ambiguous; the engine proposes the next question (“just-in-time truthing”). The test is then administered to the computer-vision system, one question at a time. After the system’s answer is recorded, the system is provided the correct answer and the next question. Parsing is trivial and deterministic; the system being tested requires no natural language processing. The query engine employs statistical constraints, learned from a training set, to produce questions with essentially unpredictable answers— the answer to a question, given the history of questions and their correct answers, is nearly equally likely to be positive or negative. In this sense, the test is only about vision. The system is designed to produce streams of questions that follow natural story lines, from the instantiation of a unique object, through an exploration of its properties, and onto its relationships with other uniquely instantiated objects. scene interpretation | computer vision | Turing test | binary questions | unpredictable answers | sparse learning