Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Massively Parallel Hyperparameter Tuning

Modern machine learning models are characterized by large hyperparameter search spaces and prohibitively expensive training costs. For such models, we cannot afford to train candidate models sequentially and wait months before finding a suitable hyperparameter configuration. Hence, we introduce the large-scale regime for parallel hyperparameter tuning, where we need to evaluate orders of magnitude more configurations than available parallel workers in a small multiple of the wall-clock time needed to train a single model. We propose a novel hyperparameter tuning algorithm for this setting that exploits both parallelism and aggressive early-stopping techniques, building on the insights of the Hyperband algorithm. Finally, we conduct a thorough empirical study of our algorithm on several benchmarks, including large-scale experiments with up to 500 workers. Our results show that our proposed algorithm finds good hyperparameter settings nearly an order of magnitude faster than random search.
Adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) stimulation modulates expression of semaphorins 4D and 3A, regulators of bone homeostasis

The axonal guidance proteins semaphorin (Sema)4D and Sema3A play important roles in communication between osteoclasts and osteoblasts. As stimulation of adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) regulates both osteoclast and osteoblast function, we asked whether A2AR regulates both osteoclast and osteoblast expression of Semas. In vivo bone formation and Sema3A/PlexinA1/Neuropilin‐1, Sema4D/PlexinB1 protein expression were studied in a murine model of wear particle‐induced osteolysis. Osteoclast/osteoblast differentiation were studied in vitro as the number of tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase+/Alizarin Red+ cells after challenge with CGS21680 (A2AR agonist, 1 µM) or ZM241385 (A2AR antagonist, 1 µM), with or without Sema4D or Sema3A (10 ng/ml). Sema3A/PlexinA1/ Neuropilin‐1, Sema4D/PlexinB1, and receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand/osteoprotegerin (RANKL/OPG) expression was studied by RT‐PCR and Western blot. β‐Catenin activation and cytoskeleton changes were studied by fluorescence microscopy and Western blot. In mice with wear particles implanted over the calvaria, CGS21680 treatment increased bone formation in vivo, reduced Sema4D, and increased Sema3A expression compared with mice with wear particle‐induced osteolysis treated with vehicle alone. During osteoclast differentiation, CGS21680 abrogated RANKL‐induced Sema4D mRNA expression (1.3 ±0.3‐ vs. 2.5 ± 0.1‐fold change, P < 0.001, n = 4). PlexinA1, but not Neuropilin‐1, mRNA was enhanced by CGS21680 treatment. CGS21680 enhanced Sema3A mRNA expression during osteoblast differentiation (8.7 ± 0.2‐fold increase, P < 0.001, n = 4); PlexinB1 mRNA was increased 2‐fold during osteoblast differentiation and was not altered by CGS21680. Similar changes were observed at the protein level. CGS21680 decreased RANKL, increased OPG, and increased total/nuclear β‐catenin expression in osteoblasts. Sema4D increased Ras homolog gene family, member A phosphorylation and focal adhesion kinase activation in osteoclast precursors, and CGS21680 abrogated these effects. In summary, A2AR activation diminishes secretion of Sema4D by osteoclasts, inhibits Sema4D‐mediated osteoclast activation, and enhances secretion of Sema3A by osteoblasts, increasing osteoblast differentiation and diminishing inflammatory osteolysis. —Mediero, A. , Wilder, T. , Shah, L. , Cronstein, B.N. Adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) stimulation modulates expression of semaphorins 4D and 3A, regulators of bone homeostasis. FASEB J. 32, 3487–3501 (2018). www.fasebj. org
Studies on the Hydrodynamic Diameter and Aggregation Number of Nonionic Switchable Surfactant

An Investigation of the micelle aggregation number (N) and hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) is conducted on nonionic switchable surfactant 11-ferrocenylundecyl polyoxyethylene ether (FPEG), the micelle aggregation number of FPEG solution is determined by steady-state fluorescence probe, the results show that the micelle aggregation number (N) increase linearly with the concentration range from 5 to 12 times CMC of FPEG solutions. The critical micelle aggregation number Nm which means that the aggregation number of surfactant at the concentration of CMC is calculated to be 66. The hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of FPEG micelle is determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS), the measurement angle is fixed at 90°and the wavelength is 532nm, the distribution data analyses by NNLS (non-negatively constrained least square) algorithm, the results reveal that the mean value of Dh at the concentration of 0.5 mmolL-1 is 7.8nm. the POLY value, which used to explain the micelle polydispersity in the aqueous solution, is measured and the results show that the POLY values are slightly different, this indicates that the micelle aggregation morphology of FPEG is polydispersity in the aqueous solution.
Proportional fairness in wireless LANs and ad hoc networks

The paper considers scenarios in which fairness and efficiency are two conflicting objectives in wireless networks, and investigates the use of a proportional fairness objective to strike a balance between the two objectives. We explain the physical meaning of proportional fairness in a wireless network and give an analysis showing that proportional fairness is equivalent or close to max-min fairness in terms of air-time usage (as opposed to bandwidth usage). For infrastructure WLANs, two approaches to achieving proportional fairness are discussed. For ad hoc networks, achieving proportional fairness is more complex and requires global information on contention among different traffic flows. We propose and evaluate the use of a distributed max-min air-time allocation algorithm to approximate the proportional fairness objective.
Axonal regeneration and synapse formation in the superior colliculus by retinal ganglion cells in the adult rat

In adult rats, one optic nerve was transected and replaced by a 4 cm segment of autologous peripheral nerve (PN) that linked one eye and the superior colliculus (SC) along a predominantly extracranial course. Retrograde and orthograde studies with the tracers HRP or rhodamine-B- isothiocyanate (RITC), as well as immunocytochemical neuronal labels, indicated the following: (1) Regenerating axons from the axotomized retinal ganglion cells extended along the entire PN grafts, covering a distance nearly twice that of the normal retinotectal projection of intact rats. (2) Some of these axons penetrated the SC and formed terminal arborizations up to 500 microns from the end of the graft. (3) By electron microscopy, the arborizations of these regenerated axons in the SC were seen as small HRP-labeled axonal profiles that contacted neuronal processes in the SC; some of these contacts showed pre- and postsynaptic membrane specializations. These findings indicate that injured retinal ganglion cells in the adult rat are not only able to regrow lengthy axons, but may also form synapses in the SC.
Effects of a novel walking training program with postural correction and visual feedback on walking function in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis

[Purpose] This study aimed to elucidate the effects of a novel walking training program with postural correction and visual feedback on walking function in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. [Subjects] Sixteen subjects were randomly allocated to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG), with eight subjects in each. [Methods] EG and CG subjects performed a 30-min treadmill walking training exercise twice daily for 2 weeks. EG subjects also underwent postural correction using elastic bands and received visual feedback during walking. The 10-m walk test was performed, and gait parameters were measured using a gait analysis system. [Results] All parameters showed significant main effects for the group factor and time-by-group interactions. Significant main effects for the time factor were found in the stride length and stance phase ratios. [Conclusion] The novel walking training program with postural correction and visual feedback may improve walking function in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis.
Stacked Sequential Scale-SpaceTaylor Context

We analyze sequential image labeling methods that sample the posterior label field in order to gather contextual information. We propose an effective method that extracts local Taylor coefficients from the posterior at different scales. Results show that our proposal outperforms state-of-the-art methods on MSRC-21, CAMVID, eTRIMS8 and KAIST2 data sets.
The Effects of Vitamins E and D Supplementation on Erythrocyte Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase in Atopic Dermatitis

Background: Atopic dermatitis is a public health problem worldwide. Increment of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production may be one of the contributing factors of tissue damage in atopic dermatitis. The present study was designed to determine the effect of vitamins E and/or D on erythrocyte superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in patients with atopic dermatitis. Methods: In a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial 45 atopic dermatitis patients were divided into four groups. Each group received one of the following supplements for 60 days: group A (n=11) vitamins E and D placebos; group B (n= 12) 1600 international unit (IU) vitamin D3 plus vitamin E placebo; group C (n=11) 600 IU synthetic all-rac-α tocopherol plus vitamin D placebo; group D (n=11) 1600 IU vitamin D3 plus 600 IU synthetic all-rac-α tocopherol. Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities, serum 25 (OH) D, plasma α-tocopherol were determined. The data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired t-test. Results: After 60 days vitamin D and E supplementation, erythrocyte SOD activities increased in groups B, C and D (P= 0.002, P= 0.016 and P= 0.015, respectively). Erythrocyte catalase activities increased in groups B and D (P= 0.026 and P= 0.004, respectively). The increment of erythrocyte catalase activity was not significant in group C. There was a positive significant correlation between SOD activity and serum 25 (OH) D (r= 0.378, P= 0.01). Conclusions: It is concluded that vitamin D is as potent as vitamin E in increasing the activities of erythrocyte SOD and catalase in atopic dermatitis patients.
Ten Little Treasures of Game Theory and Ten Intuitive Contradictions

This paper reports laboratory data for a series of two-person games that are played only once. These games span the standard categories: static and dynamic games with complete and incomplete information. For each game, the treasure is a treatment for which behavior conforms quite nicely to the predictions of the Nash equilibrium or relevant refinement. In each case we change a key payoff parameter in a manner that does not alter the equilibrium predictions, but this theoretically neutral payoff change has a major (often dramatic) effect on observed behavior. These contradictions are generally consistent with simple economic intuition and with a model of iterated noisy introspection for one-shot games.
Synthetic Levers Enabling Control Of Phase, Size And Morphology In Transition Metal Phosphide Nanoparticles (fe, Ni)

SYNTHETIC LEVERS ENABLING CONTROL OF PHASE, SIZE AND MORPHOLOGY IN TRANSITION METAL PHOSPHIDE NANOPARTICLES (FE, NI) by ELAYARAJA MUTHUSWAMY May 2011 Advisor: Dr. Stephanie L. Brock Major: Chemistry Degree: Doctor of Philosophy This dissertation study focuses on (1) development of a synthetic strategy to control phase in nanoscale iron phosphides; (2) extension of the developed phase control strategy to the nanoscale nickel phosphide system with simultaneous control on size and morphology and (3) illustration of the enhanced reactivity of nanoscale oxide systems. A synthetic strategy to control phase in nanoscale iron phosphides was developed to prepare phase-pure samples of Fe2P and FeP. The metal nanoparticle conversion strategy first reported by Schaak and coworkers was selected as a starting point to carry out a detailed study on the effect of various synthetic levers on the phase of the final product. Spherical Fe nanoparticles were prepared by the decomposition of Fe(CO)5 and were subsequently treated with tri-octylphosphine (TOP) at temperatures in the range 350-385 °C to convert the Fe nanoparticles into iron phosphide nanoparticles. Optimized conditions for Fe2P and FeP were arrived at by evaluating temperature, heating time,
AskWorld: Budget-Sensitive Query Evaluation for Knowledge-on-Demand

Recently, several Web-scale knowledge harvesting systems have been built, each of which is competent at extracting information from certain types of data (e.g., unstructured text, structured tables on the web, etc.). In order to determine the response to a new query posed to such systems (e.g., is sugar a healthy food? ), it is useful to integrate opinions from multiple systems. If a response is desired within a specific time budget (e.g., in less than 2 seconds), then maybe only a subset of these resources can be queried. In this paper, we address the problem of knowledge integration for on-demand time-budgeted query answering. We propose a new method, Ask World, which learns a policy that chooses which queries to send to which resources, by accommodating varying budget constraints that are available only at query (test) time. Through extensive experiments on real world datasets, we demonstrate Ask World's capability in selecting most informative resources to query within test-time constraints, resulting in improved performance compared to competitive baselines.
Visual performance after photorefractive keratectomy. A prospective study.

OBJECTIVE To prospectively examine the effect of excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) on best-corrected visual performance using psychophysical tests that were likely to be more sensitive to image degradation than high-contrast Snellen visual acuity. DESIGN Prospective cases series. PATIENTS A cohort of 18 subjects with an average of -5.08 diopters (D) of myopia (SD = +/- 1.63 D) was tested before PRK and at 3, 6, and 12 months after PRK. INTERVENTION Photorefractive keratectomy was performed using a laser (Excimed UV200, Summit Technology, Waltham, Mass) and a polymethylmethacrylate mask; a 5-mm ablation zone was used. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Best-corrected high-contrast visual acuity, best-corrected low-contrast visual acuity (18% Weber contrast), and best-corrected letter-contrast sensitivity. Measurements were repeated with dilated pupils and in the presence of a glare source. RESULTS One year after PRK, the mean best-corrected high-contrast visual acuity was reduced by half a line (P = .01), and the mean best-corrected low-contrast visual acuity was reduced by 1 1/2 lines (P = .002). The losses were somewhat greater when the subject's pupils were dilated and a glare source was used. The reduction in dilated low-contrast visual acuity was positively correlated with the decentration of the ablation zone (r = 0.47), providing evidence of an association between corneal topography and the functional outcome of PRK. CONCLUSION Low-contrast visual acuity losses after PRK are notably greater than high-contrast visual acuity losses for best-corrected vision. Low-contrast visual acuity is a sensitive measure for gauging the outcome success and safety of refractive surgery.
Assessing Management Support for Worksite Health Promotion: Psychometric Analysis of the Leading by Example (LBE) Instrument

Purpose. Describe the development of the leading by example (LBE) instrument. Methods. A total of 135 responses from employees of a private corporation working at 11 different worksites were factor analyzed in 2005. Exploratory factor analysis was used to obtain an initial factor structure. Factor validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis methods. A second sample was collected in 2006 from the same population (N = 178) and was used to confirm the factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach's α and item-total correlations provided information on the reliability of the factor subscales. Results. Four subscales were identified: business alignment with health promotion objectives, awareness of the health-productivity link, worksite support for health promotion, and leadership support for health promotion. Factor by group comparisons revealed that the initial factor structure was effective in detecting differences in organizational support for health promotion across different employee groups. Conclusions. Management support for health promotion can be assessed using the LBE, a brief self-report questionnaire. Researchers can use the LBE to diagnose, track, and evaluate worksite health promotion programs.
Morphological divergence between three Arctic charr morphs – the significance of the deep-water environment

Morphological divergence was evident among three sympatric morphs of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) that are ecologically diverged along the shallow-, deep-water resource axis in a subarctic postglacial lake (Norway). The two deep-water (profundal) spawning morphs, a benthivore (PB-morph) and a piscivore (PP-morph), have evolved under identical abiotic conditions with constant low light and temperature levels in their deep-water habitat, and were morphologically most similar. However, they differed in important head traits (e.g., eye and mouth size) related to their different diet specializations. The small-sized PB-morph had a paedomorphic appearance with a blunt head shape, large eyes, and a deep body shape adapted to their profundal lifestyle feeding on submerged benthos from soft, deep-water sediments. The PP-morph had a robust head, large mouth with numerous teeth, and an elongated body shape strongly related to their piscivorous behavior. The littoral spawning omnivore morph (LO-morph) predominantly utilizes the shallow benthic–pelagic habitat and food resources. Compared to the deep-water morphs, the LO-morph had smaller head relative to body size. The LO-morph exhibited traits typical for both shallow-water benthic feeding (e.g., large body depths and small eyes) and planktivorous feeding in the pelagic habitat (e.g., streamlined body shape and small mouth). The development of morphological differences within the same deep-water habitat for the PB- and PP-morphs highlights the potential of biotic factors and ecological interactions to promote further divergence in the evolution of polymorphism in a tentative incipient speciation process. The diversity of deep-water charr in this study represents a novelty in the Arctic charr polymorphism as a truly deep-water piscivore morph has to our knowledge not been described elsewhere.
Does exercise training during pregnancy affect gestational age? A randomised controlled trial

Background: Some controversy exists over the possibility that exercise during pregnancy might increase the risk of preterm delivery. Objective: This study aimed to determine the possible cause–effect relationship between regular exercise performed during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy by previously sedentary, healthy gravidae and gestational age at the moment of delivery. Methods: Caucasian (Spanish) women with singleton gestation were assigned to either a training (n = 72) or a control (n = 70) group. The supervised training programme focused mainly on very light resistance and toning exercises and included ∼80 sessions (three times/week, 35 min/session from weeks 12–13 to weeks 38–39 of pregnancy). Results: No significant differences were found (p>0.05) between the groups in those maternal characteristics (age, smoking habits, number of hours standing or prior parity history) that could potentially influence gestational age. The mean gestational age did not differ (p = 0.745) between the training (39 weeks,3 days (SD 1 day)) and the control group (39 weeks,4 days (SD 1 day)). Conclusions: Previously sedentary, healthy gravidae with singleton gestation can safely engage in moderate, supervised exercise programmes until the end of gestation as this would not affect gestational age.
A prototype parallel multi-FPGA accelerator for SPICE CMOS model evaluation

Due to ever increasing complexity of circuits, EDA tools and algorithms are demanding more computational power. This made transistor-level simulation a growing bottleneck in the circuit development process. This thesis serves as a proof of concept to evaluate and quantify the cost of using multi-FPGA systems in SPICE-like simulations in terms of acceleration, throughput, area, and power. To this end, a multi-FPGA architecture is designed to exploit the inherent parallelism in the device model evaluation phase within the SPICE simulator. A code transformation flow which converts the high-level device model code to structural VHDL was also implemented. This flow showed that an automatic compiler system to design, map, and optimise SPICE-like simulations on FPGAs is feasible. This thesis has two main contributions. The first contribution is the multi-FPGA accelerator of the device model evaluation which demonstrated speedup of 10 times over a conventional processor, while consuming six times less power. Results also showed that it is feasible to describe and optimise FPGA pipelined implementations to exploit other class of applications similar to the SPICE device model evaluation. The constant throughput of the pipelined architecture is one of the main factors for the FPGA accelerator to outperform conventional processors. The second contribution lies in the use of multi-FPGA synthesis to optimise the inter-FPGA connections through altering the process of mapping partitions to FPGA devices. A novel technique is introduced which reduces the inter-FPGA connections by an average of 18%. The speedup and power efficiency results showed that the proposed multi-FPGA system can be used by the SPICE community to accelerate the transistor-level simulation. The experimental results also showed that it is worthwhile continuing this research further to explore the use of FPGAs to accelerate other EDA tools.
Error concealment for MPEG-2 video decoders with enhanced coding mode estimation

We present a novel error concealment method for MPEG-2 video decoders. Imperfect transmission of block-based compressed images may result in loss of blocks, making image degradation inevitable. In the hybrid error concealment method, both spatial and temporal error concealment repair the damaged regions through adaptive interpolation in the respective domains. In order for the hybrid method to yield good performance it should be presumed that coding mode estimation is correct. In reality, however, erroneous coding mode estimation frequently occurs, ultimately resulting in poor performance. In the proposed method, we reduce the number of erroneously estimated coding-modes by utilizing the fact that MPEG-2 video coding is based on block-based coding. This enhanced hybrid technique effectively conceals the lost blocks by raising the probability of correct coding mode estimation by exploiting image characteristics such as scene changes and complex motions. Through computer simulations on damaged images we show that the proposed method has excellent performance.