Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Second-level buffer cache management

Buffer caches are commonly used in servers to reduce the number of slow disk accesses or network messages. These buffer caches form a multilevel buffer cache hierarchy. In such a hierarchy, second-level buffer caches have different access patterns from first-level buffer caches because accesses to a second-level are actually misses from a first-level. Therefore, commonly used cache management algorithms such as the least recently used (LRU) replacement algorithm that work well for single-level buffer caches may not work well for second-level. We investigate multiple approaches to effectively manage second-level buffer caches. In particular, we report our research results in 1) second-level buffer cache access pattern characterization, 2) a new local algorithm called multi-queue (MQ) that performs better than nine tested alternative algorithms for second-level buffer caches, 3) a set of global algorithms that manage a multilevel buffer cache hierarchy globally and significantly improve second-level buffer cache hit ratios over corresponding local algorithms, and 4) implementation and evaluation of these algorithms in a real storage system connected with commercial database servers (Microsoft SQL server and Oracle) running industrial-strength online transaction processing benchmarks.
Determinants of hypofibrinolysis in patients with digestive tract cancer

Introduction Recently, we demonstrated that digestive tract cancer (DTC) is associated with reduced fibrin clot permeability and impaired fibrinolysis. Aim We investigated determinants of fibrinolysis in DTC patients. Material and methods In 44 consecutive patients with DTC and 47 controls matched for age, sex, and cardiovascular risk, we evaluated fibrinolysis proteins, platelet activation markers, thrombin formation, together with plasma clot lysis time assays in the absence (CLT) and presence of carboxypeptidase potato inhibitor (CLT CPI) that blocks thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI). Results In the DTC group CLT (by 22.3%) and CLT CPI (by 27.4%) were longer compared with controls. The DTC patients had higher plasma fibrinolysis inhibitors, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) (by 18.2%), TAFI activity (by 17.3%), and antigen (by 11.2%). The patients had markedly increased platelet markers – soluble CD40 ligand (by 338%) and P-selectin (by 97%), together with von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen (by 61%). Thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT) (by 48.7%) and soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) (by 17.2%) were also increased in the DTC group (all p < 0.05). Patients with high-grade tumours (n = 26) compared with remainders (n = 18) had longer CLT, higher tissue-type plasminogen activator antigen, both TAFI antigen and activity levels, vWF, and sTM. Multiple regression analysis after adjustment for potential confounders showed that independent predictors of CLT in DTC patients were TAT, TAFI activity, and vWF. The only independent predictor of CLT CPI was TAT. Conclusions Hypofibrinolysis in DTC patients is largely driven by enhanced thrombin generation, TAFI, and endothelial injury.
Mapping Your Every Move

Editor’s Note: In 2005, our authors discovered grid cells, which are types of neurons that are central to how the brain calculates location and navigation. Since that time, they have worked to learn how grid cells communicate with other types of neurons—place cells, border cells, and head direction cells—to affect spatial awareness, memory, and decision-making. Because the entorhinal cortex, which contains the grid-cell navigation system, is often damaged in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, future research to better understand how cognitive ability and memory are lost has great potential significance for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders.
Impacts of climate change on regional and urban air quality in the eastern United States: Role of meteorology

[1] The effects of climate change on ozone and PM2.5 concentrations over the eastern United States were investigated using the Global-Regional Coupled Air Pollution modeling System (GRE-CAPS). GRE-CAPS consists of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) II' general circulation model with aerosol processes and ozone chemistry, the fifth-generation PSU/NCAR mesoscale model (MM5) regional meteorological model, and the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) with aerosol (PM) processes developed at Carnegie Mellon University (PMCAMx) regional chemical transport model. A set of five present-day Januaries and six present-day Julys was simulated using GRE-CAPS. The present-day model predictions (2000s) were compared to model predictions for a set of five future Januaries and Julys. The future time period investigated was the 2050s, using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change A2 scenario. U.S. emissions of biogenic and anthropogenic precursors were held constant so that the effects of climate change alone could be calculated. Climate change led to a decrease in U.S. land cell average January PM2.5 concentrations of 0.3 μg m−3 and an increase of July PM2.5 of 2.5 μg m−3. The changes in PM in the Northeast were of the opposite sign of the domain-wide averages. The response in January was due largely to increased precipitation, while the response in July was due primarily to decreased ventilation, as indicated by decreases in mixing height and wind speed, with increases in sulfate being the largest response by a single species. The U.S. land cell average change in July daily maximum 8-h ozone concentration was +1.7 ppb, though the increases in cities in the Southeast were up to 15 ppb. In spite of the large differences in ozone in many areas, the changes in ozone concentration were not statistically significant over most of the domain because of large interannual variability. In separate simulations to test the sensitivity of ozone concentrations to biogenic emissions, a 25% increase in biogenic U.S. volatile organic compound emissions led to an additional increase in land cell average ozone of 0.7 ppb, though the increased ozone resulting from increased biogenics was largely statistically insignificant.
Audio-Recorded Guided Imagery Treatment Reduces Functional Abdominal Pain in Children: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to develop and to test a home-based, guided imagery treatment protocol, using audio and video recordings, that is easy for health care professionals and patients to use, is inexpensive, and is applicable to a wide range of health care settings. METHODS: Thirty-four children, 6 to 15 years of age, with a physician diagnosis of functional abdominal pain were assigned randomly to receive 2 months of standard medical care with or without home-based, guided imagery treatment. Children who received only standard medical care initially received guided imagery treatment after 2 months. Children were monitored for 6 months after completion of guided imagery treatment. RESULTS: All treatment materials were reported to be self-explanatory, enjoyable, and easy to understand and to use. The compliance rate was 98.5%. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 63.1% of children in the guided imagery treatment group were treatment responders, compared with 26.7% in the standard medical care–only group (P = .03; number needed to treat: 3). Per-protocol analysis showed similar results (73.3% vs 28.6% responders). When the children in the standard medical care group also received guided imagery treatment, 61.5% became treatment responders. Treatment effects were maintained for 6 months (62.5% responders). CONCLUSION: Guided imagery treatment plus medical care was superior to standard medical care only for the treatment of abdominal pain, and treatment effects were sustained over a long period.
Fast iris detection via shape based circularity

We define an iris detection algorithm that performs an order of magnitude faster than the state of the art, while preserving accuracy. The algorithm isolates the pupil boundary by extracting image edges, then finding the largest contiguous set of points that satisfy the circularity criterion and contain mostly dark pixels. The iris/sclera boundary is found by horizontally and simultaneously searching along both directions of the pupil center for the highest cumulative difference in intensities. Current detection systems mainly rely on the methods proposed by [D] in order to isolate the iris pattern reliably, yet they are computationally expensive and expectedly slow. We apply a measure of circularity to isolate both the sclera and pupil boundaries, avoiding the exhaustive search required by [D]. Our method correctly identifies the iris region in 95% of test cases in the CASIA 3 dataset [CA]. While the detection rate is slightly lower compared to competitors, our method performs in O(n2) time compared to Ω(n3) that [D] offers. The iris detection procedure of [D], implemented in Matlab runs an average of roughly 15 seconds per image, while our own implementation in C++ on a single core 2.0 Ghz processor takes about 5 milliseconds on the same system, which is also faster than [HAK].
Analyzing memory ownership patterns in C libraries

Programs written in multiple languages are known as polyglot programs. In part due to the proliferation of new and productive high-level programming languages, these programs are becoming more common in environments that must interoperate with existing systems. Polyglot programs must manage resource lifetimes across language boundaries. Resource lifetime management bugs can lead to leaks and crashes, which are more difficult to debug in polyglot programs than monoglot programs. We present analyses to automatically infer the ownership semantics of C libraries. The results of these analyses can be used to generate bindings to C libraries that intelligently manage resources, to check the correctness of polyglot programs, and to document the interfaces of C libraries. While these analyses are unsound and incomplete, we demonstrate that they significantly reduce the manual annotation burden for a suite of fifteen open source libraries.
Pleiotropic effects of the 11p13 locus on developmental verbal dyspraxia and EEG centrotemporal sharp waves

We recently showed genomewide linkage of centrotemporal sharp waves (CTS) in classic Rolandic epilepsy (RE) families to chromosome 11p13, and fine‐mapped this locus to variants in the ELP4 gene. Speech sound disorder (SSD) is a common comorbidity in RE subjects, of unknown etiology, which co‐aggregates in family members in a manner that could hypothetically be explained by shared underlying genetic risk with CTS. Furthermore, the neural mechanism of SSD is unknown, although individuals with rare, Mendelian forms of RE are described with severe verbal and oromotor apraxia. We therefore first performed genomewide linkage analysis for SSD, operationally defined as clinical history consistent with ICD‐10 speech articulation disorder, in 38 families singly ascertained through a proband with RE. We tested the hypothesis of shared genetic risk with CTS at the 11p13 locus. In the second part of the study we used computerized acoustic analysis of recorded speech to test the hypothesis of dyspraxia as a mechanism for SSD in a smaller subset of RE probands and relatives. In two‐point and multipoint LOD score analysis, we found that evidence for linkage to the 11p13 locus increased substantially when the phenotype was broadened from CTS to CTS/SSD. In multipoint analysis, the LOD score rose by 3.2 to HLOD 7.54 at D11S914 for CTS/SSD, the same marker at which multipoint linkage maximized for CTS alone. Non‐parametric, affected‐only methods in a sub‐set of the data provide further confirmatory evidence for pleiotropy. In acoustic analysis there were voice‐onset time abnormalities in 10/18 RE probands, 8/16 siblings and 5/15 parents, providing evidence of breakdown in the spatial/temporal properties of speech articulation consistent with a dyspraxic mechanism. The results from genetic and physiological studies suggest a pleiotropic role for the 11p13 locus in the development of both SSD and CTS, and also indicate a dyspraxic mechanism for the SSD linked to 11p13. Taken together, these data strongly support a neurodevelopmental origin for classic RE.
Psychoneuroimmunology examined: The role of subjective stress.

Interest in the interplay between mind and body is deep-rooted. Written accounts in Western society are found as far back as the second century, when the physician Galen remarked that cancer seemed to occur more frequently in melancholic (depressed) than sanguine (happy, spirited) women [1]. In traditional Eastern medicine, mind and body have been considered entwined for centuries, and this attitude continues to today (see [2] for an overview). Relative to these examples, it is only recently that scientific inquiry has taken an interest in the mind-body connection. The past three decades have witnessed an explosion of discoveries in this area, and we have seen psychological factors related to physical ailments from asthma to heart disease [3–9]. The present review focuses on just one aspect of mindbody interaction, but one with far-reaching effects. We review evidence for the relationship between psychological stress and immune function. Using a conceptual model, we review psychological, behavioral, and physiological responses to stressful events before entering into a more in-depth discussion of the potential role of subjective experiences of stress.
Hypothesis Testing for Cross-Validation

K-fold cross-validation produces variable estimates, whose variance cannot be estimated unbiasedly. However, in practice, one would like to provide a figure related to the variability of this estimate. The first part of this paper lists a series of restrictive assumptions (on the distribution of cross-validation residuals) that allow to derive unbiased estimates. We exhibit three such estimates, corresponding to differing assumptions. Their similar expressions however entail almost identical empirical behaviors. Then, we look for a conservative test for detecting significant differences in performances between two algorithms. Our proposal is based on the derivation of the form of a t-statistic parametrized by the correlation of residuals between each validation set. Its calibration is compared to the usual t-test. While the latter is overconfident in concluding that differences are indeed significant, our test is bound to be more skeptical, with smaller type-I error.
User evaluation of a collaborative wheelchair system

The collaborative wheelchair assistant (CWA) is a robotic wheelchair which makes full use of human skills, by involving the user into the navigation control. The user gives the high-level commands and directly controls the speed, while the low-level control is taken over by the machine, which constrains the wheelchair to follow a software defined guide path. This paper presents an evaluation of the CWA system, consisting of experiments performed with human subjects including three people with cerebral palsy (CP) and two with traumatic brain injury (TBI). We investigate the performance of the system in terms of its interaction with human subjects and motion efficiency and compare to that of able-bodied subjects, who have previously performed the same evaluation. The results suggest that the CWA brings safe motion and drastically simplifies the control without compromising the navigation performance.
Active Prefixes for Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

We introduce and evaluate the active prefix (AP), a novel communication element consisting of node characteristics and application interests used to build efficient AP based mobile ad-hoc networks (APNs) with four distinguishing properties. First, APs define node addressing and application interests in a distributed way. Second, nodes communicate by sending messages using their APs as message headers to collaboratively support probabilistic message forwarding and addressing. Third, nodes use APs as application matching filters at the network layer to implement cross-layer communication. Fourth, APN can be adapted to run IP based applications. We used the NS 3.8 to compare the performance of APN protocols against those of representative IP based protocols for MANETs (AODV and AODV + Gossip3) and the results showed that APNs achieved 16 percent higher message delivery rates and one order of magnitude lower latency and message overhead in scenarios with 150 mobile nodes. To evaluate the performance of APN protocols in practice, we ran experiments in the laboratory, including a chat application on a 20 node APN where each node consisted of a host coupled with a Tmote. Our preliminary experiments validated the simulation results and indicate the feasibility of using APs as effective building blocks for ad-hoc networks, in particular for mobile ad-hoc networks.
Social Adjustment and Academic Achievement: A Predictive Model for Students With Diverse Academic and Behavior Competencies

This study examined the hypothesized relationship between social adjustment, as measured by perceived social support, self-concept, and social skills, and performance on academic achievement tests. Participants included 27 teachers and 77 fourth- and eighth-grade students with diverse academic and behavior competencies. Teachers were asked to select one student for each of the three participant nomination categories: undeveloped academic competence, undeveloped behavior competence, and proficient academic and behavior competence. Multivariate analysis of variance results indicated that each participant group differed significantly on social skills, and students with proficient academic and behavior competence demonstrated significantly greater levels of self-concept than did those with an undeveloped behavior competence. None of the groups differed significantly on perceived social support. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the model predicting academic achievement from selfconcept, social skills, and academic competence adequately fit the data. Indicators of social adjustment were discussed as intervention targets for programs intended to improve students' social competence and academic achievement.
Some aspects of synaptogenesis in the spinal cord of the chick embryo: A quantitative electron microscopic study

We have quantitatively examined the development of synapses in the ventral part of the lumbar spinal cord of the chick from embryonic day 4 until adulthood. The first synapses occur on day 4 and are of the axo‐dendritic type; they are invariably located adjacent to the border between the intermediate and marginal zones. Initially there are more synapses in the presumptive white matter than in the motoneuron neuropil, but this trend is later reversed; however, we found numerous axo‐dendritic synapses throughout much of the ventrolateral white matter even in the adult stage. The first axo‐dendritic synapses always contain spherical synaptic vesicles and have symmetric membrane specializations. By day 7 a few of these synapses were found to have mixed populations of spherical and flattened vesicles and asymmetric membrane specializations. After hatching there are still considerably more axo‐dendritic synapses with symmetric membrane specializations.
Strategic technology alliances and networks

This paper briefly reviews the literature on strategic technology alliances (STAs) and networks, allocating the contributions to ‘micro’ (firm) and ‘meso’ perspectives (the network). The focus is on a logical reconstruction of important themes in the literature pertaining to the role of STAs in boosting innovation and in promoting the survival and growth of partners and their environments. Overall, the literature points to a quite important role of alliances and networks especially in knowledge-intensive industrial activities combining the production and utilization of technological knowledge for competitiveness and growth. Not unexpectedly, important differences are pointed out in terms of incentives and benefits from alliances across different types of firms and industries. Network structure evolves in accordance with the nature of the industry and with the type of technological advancement sought by participating organizations.
Clinical Performance of Human Papillomavirus E6 and E7 mRNA Testing for High-Grade Lesions of the Cervix

ABSTRACT Infection with high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major cause of cervical cancer. However, relatively few infections progress to malignant disease. Progression to malignancy requires the overexpression of the E6 and E7 genes in the integrated HPV genome. It follows that the E6 and E7 transcripts could be useful markers of disease progression. The study presented here tests this possibility, using data from colposcopy and from cytological and histological tests to compare RNA assays for the E6 and E7 genes with DNA testing. A total of 180 women underwent colposcopy, cytology, and biopsy of suspected lesions (143 cases). Cervical brush specimens were analyzed for HPV DNA and for E6 and E7 mRNA. DNA from HR HPV was found in 57.8% of the specimens; E6 and E7 transcripts were found in 45%. The rates of detection of HPV DNA and of E6 and E7 transcripts were 33.3% and 25%, respectively, for specimens with normal findings; 51.4% and 31.9%, respectively, for specimens with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1); and 61.1% and 44.2% for specimens with CIN2, respectively. All specimens with CIN3 and 95.5% of specimens from patients with squamous cell carcinoma were positive by both assays. Thirty-seven patients with normal colposcopy findings did not undergo biopsy. HPV DNA and mRNA transcripts were found in 32.4% and 18.9% of these cases, respectively. Comparisons with cytological tests produced similar results. Overall, the mRNA tests showed a higher specificity than the DNA tests for high-grade lesions (72.7% and 56.2%, respectively) and a higher positive predictive value (59.3% and 49.0%, respectively). These findings suggest that mRNA assays could be more powerful than DNA testing for predicting the risk of progression and offer a strong potential as a tool for triage and patient follow-up.
Seroprevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses in Spain

Equine piroplasmoses are enzootic parasitic diseases distributed worldwide with high incidence in tropical and subtropical regions. In Spain, there is insufficient epidemiological data about equine piroplasmoses. The main aim of the present study was therefore to estimate the prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in five regions and obtain information about the risk factors. This study was conducted in the central and south-western regions of Spain, using indirect fluorescence antibody testing (IFAT) in 3,100 sera samples from apparently healthy horses of different ages, breeds, coat colours, genders and geographical locations. The overall seroprevalence was 52%, consisting of 44% seropositive for T. equi and 21% for B. caballi. There was a significant association between age (p < 0.0001), breed (p < 0.004), geographical location (p < 0.0001) and the seroprevalence, but neither the coat colour nor the gender was significantly associated with prevalence. In addition, it was proved that most of the geographic areas showed a moderate to high prevalence. The statistical κ value was used to compare the results obtained by the IFAT and the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) utilised to test some samples (n = 108) and showed a higher concordance for T. equi (κ = 0.68) than for B. caballi (κ = 0.22). Consequently, this revealed the importance of developing an appropriate technique to detect each haemoparasite.
Ameliorating systematic uncertainties in the angular clustering of galaxies: a study using the SDSS-III

We investigate the effects of potential sources of systematic error on the angular and photometric redshift, zphot, distributions of a sample of redshift 0.4 0.5, the magnitude of the corrections we apply is greater than the statistical uncertainty in w(θ). The photometric redshift catalogue we produce will be made publicly available at http://portal.nersc. gov/project/boss/galaxy/photoz/.