Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2 Real-time analytics : Big Data in motion

With the rise of the web 2.0 and the Internet of things, it has become feasible to track all kinds of information over time, in particular fine-grained user activities and sensor data on their environment and even their biometrics. However, while efficiency remains mandatory for any application trying to cope with huge amounts of data, only part of the potential of today’s Big Data repositories can be exploited using traditional batch-oriented approaches as the value of data often decays quickly and high latency becomes unacceptable in some applications. In the last couple of years, several distributed data processing systems have emerged that deviate from the batchoriented approach and tackle data items as they arrive, thus acknowledging the growing importance of timeliness and velocity in Big Data analytics. In this article, we give an overview over the state of the art of stream processors for low-latency Big Data analytics and conduct a qualitative comparison of the most popular contenders, namely Storm and its abstraction layer Trident, Samza and Spark Streaming. We describe their respective underlying rationales, the guarantees they provide and discuss the trade-offs that come with selecting one of them for a particular task.
Structure of the World Wheat Market: Some Implications for Strategic Trade Policy?

Market structure has a crucial bearing on the price formation mechanism. The present study is an attempt to analyze the market structure of the world wheat market. Market power of the `traditional oligopolists' (US, Canada and Australia) is assessed using the standard oligopoly models. Structural and partially reduced-form models are used in the estimation of market power. The results indicate absence of market power in international markets for any of the major wheat exporters. The absence of market power in international markets has one important implication for trade policy of the exporting countries. In the absence of evidence of any imperfection in international market structure, the present subsidization of wheat production and exports by EU and US cannot be justified on the grounds of strategic trade policy of the new trade theories.
BGPfuse: using visual feature fusion for the detection and attribution of BGP anomalies

This paper presents BGPfuse, a scheme for visualizing and exploring BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) path change anomalies. BGPfuse uses a set of BGP features that are capable of quantifying the degree of anomaly of each path change event. Moreover, visual methods are introduced for performing the efficient fusion of these multiple features. The exploitation of the human perception, allows to overcome the static-nature of the existing weight-based fusion approaches. A Parallel Coordinates approach is used to visualize these features, which is further enhanced with filtering capabilities, so as to discriminate between normal and abnormal events. BGPfuse uses multiple linked graph views so as to represent in depth the relationships among the involved Autonomous Systems (ASes), as well as a combined graph view to highlight structural similarities between all the individual feature graphs. The structural similarities as well as the filtering capabilities provided by BGPfuse, enable the analyst to perform visual fusion of the BGP features, so as to detect any suspicious behavior and focus only in the most interesting cases. Experimental demonstration of BGPfuse, shows the analytical potential of the proposed approach by decisively capturing malicious BGP hijacking events.
Identification and Classification of New Transcripts in Dorper and Small-Tailed Han Sheep Skeletal Muscle Transcriptomes

High-throughput mRNA sequencing enables the discovery of new transcripts and additional parts of incompletely annotated transcripts. Compared with the human and cow genomes, the reference annotation level of the sheep genome is still low. An investigation of new transcripts in sheep skeletal muscle will improve our understanding of muscle development. Therefore, applying high-throughput sequencing, two cDNA libraries from the biceps brachii of small-tailed Han sheep and Dorper sheep were constructed, and whole-transcriptome analysis was performed to determine the unknown transcript catalogue of this tissue. In this study, 40,129 transcripts were finally mapped to the sheep genome. Among them, 3,467 transcripts were determined to be unannotated in the current reference sheep genome and were defined as new transcripts. Based on protein-coding capacity prediction and comparative analysis of sequence similarity, 246 transcripts were classified as portions of unannotated genes or incompletely annotated genes. Another 1,520 transcripts were predicted with high confidence to be long non-coding RNAs. Our analysis also revealed 334 new transcripts that displayed specific expression in ruminants and uncovered a number of new transcripts without intergenus homology but with specific expression in sheep skeletal muscle. The results confirmed a complex transcript pattern of coding and non-coding RNA in sheep skeletal muscle. This study provided important information concerning the sheep genome and transcriptome annotation, which could provide a basis for further study.
Art as an Investment: Risk, Return and Comovements in Major Painting Markets: Discussion Paper No 93

This paper examines the short and long-term price linkages among major art and equity markets over the period 1976-2001. The art markets examined are Contemporary Masters, French Impressionists, Modern European, 19th Century European, Old Masters, Surrealists, 20th Century English and Modern US paintings. A global equity index (with dividends and capitalisation changes) is also included. Multivariate cointegration procedures, Granger non-causality tests, level VAR and generalised variance decomposition analyses based on error-correction and vector autoregressive models are conducted to analyse short and long-run relationships among these markets. The results indicate that there is a stationary long-run relationship and significant short and long-run causal linkages between the various painting markets and between the equity market and painting markets. However, in terms of the percentage of variance explained most painting markets are relatively isolated, and other painting markets are generally more important than the equity market in explaining the variance that is not caused by innovations in the market itself. This suggests that opportunities for portfolio diversification in art works alone and in conjunction with equity markets exist, though in common with the literature in this area the study finds that the returns on paintings are much lower and the risks much higher than in conventional financial markets.
IL-12p40/IL-10 Producing preCD8α/Clec9A+ Dendritic Cells Are Induced in Neonates upon Listeria monocytogenes Infection

Infection by Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) causes serious sepsis and meningitis leading to mortality in neonates. This work explored the ability of CD11chigh lineage DCs to induce CD8+ T-cell immune protection against Lm in mice before 7 days of life, a period symbolized by the absence of murine IL-12p70-producing CD11chighCD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs). We characterized a dominant functional Batf3-dependent precursor of CD11chigh DCs that is Clec9A+CD205+CD24+ but CD8α- at 3 days of life. After Lm-OVA infection, these pre-DCs that cross-present Ag display the unique ability to produce high levels of IL-12p40 (not IL-12p70 nor IL-23), which enhances OVA-specific CD8+ T cell response, and regulatory IL-10 that limits OVA-specific CD8+ T cell response. Targeting these neonatal pre-DCs for the first time with a single treatment of anti-Clec9A-OVA antibody in combination with a DC activating agent such as poly(I:C) increased the protection against later exposure to the Lm-OVA strain. Poly(I:C) was shown to induce IL-12p40 production, but not IL-10 by neonatal pre-DCs. In conclusion, we identified a new biologically active precursor of Clec9A+ CD8α- DCs, endowed with regulatory properties in early life that represents a valuable target to augment memory responses to vaccines.
Varicella-zoster virus-specific immune responses in elderly recipients of a herpes zoster vaccine.

BACKGROUND A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that involved 38,546 subjects > or =60 years old demonstrated efficacy of a high-potency live-attenuated Oka/Merck varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine. The trial included an immunology substudy to determine the relationship of VZV-specific immune responses to vaccination and clinical outcome. METHODS The immunology substudy enrolled 1395 subjects at 2 sites where blood samples obtained prior to vaccination, at 6 weeks after vaccination, and at 1, 2, and 3 years thereafter were tested for VZV-specific cell-mediated immunity (VZV-CMI) by gamma-interferon ELISPOT and responder cell frequency assays and for VZV antibody by glycoprotein ELISA. RESULTS VZV-CMI and VZV antibodies were significantly increased in vaccine recipients at 6 weeks after vaccination. The vaccine-induced increases in VZV-CMI persisted during the 3 years of follow-up, although their magnitude decreased over time. The magnitude of these VZV-specific immune responses was greater in subjects 60-69 years old than in subjects > or =70 years old. CONCLUSIONS The zoster vaccine induced a significant increase in VZV-CMI and VZV antibody. The magnitude and duration of the boost in VZV-CMI in vaccine recipients and the relationship of this boost to age paralleled the clinical effects of the vaccine observed during the efficacy trial. These findings support the hypothesis that boosting VZV-CMI protects older adults against herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia.
The importance of long run structure for impulse response analysis in VAR models

This paper demonstrates that how we identify the long run of the VAR model, as captured by the cointegrating vectors, affects identification of the impulse response functions. An application to monetary policy in the UK and the US shows that to resolve anomalies about the empirical effect of monetary policy shocks, such as the "price puzzle", we should consider the long run structure of the VAR in addition to the set of identifying restrictions imposed on the contemporaneous relations. This contrasts previous work that is traditionally confined to VAR models estimated in levels of the variables.
Go ahead, make my day: Robot conflict resolution by aggressive competition

We examine a simulated but realistic multirobot transport task that su ers from spatial interference. Previously described techniques to reduce interference are not appropriate for this and related tasks. We demonstrate the utility of an aggressive competition to reduce interference and increase eÆciency in our system. A controller is described which breaks deadlocks in favour of the most `aggressive' robot. Simulation trials are performed to evaluate a variety of aggression functions. Our results and subsequent discussion suggest that neither a linear dominance hierarchy nor a simple sensor bias method o er any advantage over a random outcome. Finally we discuss some strategies that might favour the `correct' outcome of competitions to increase the eÆciency of the system. We are currently implementing these controllers on a real robot team.
DEFLECTIONS OF COMPOSITE BEAMS WITH WEB OPENINGS

Procedures for calculating the deflections of composite beams with web openings are described. Initially, a matrix formulation is used. Modeling assumptions are verified by comparison with experimental data, and recommendations for practical application of the matrix analysis procedures are made. The results of the comparison are used to develop a design aid for estimating the maximum deflection of beams with web openings and an expression for calculating the deflection across a web opening. The work demonstrates that, in most cases, a single web opening often has little effect on the total deflection of a composite beam. There are, however, important cases where the effect can be significant. The effects of an opening and of shear deflections are of the same order. Ignoring both the web opening and shear deformation can lead to significant error. The matrix stiffness method, the design aid, and closed form equations provide reasonable estimates of both total deflection and deflection across an opening.
Impact of Reward Management and Decision Making on Job Satisfaction: Case of Sri Lanka

Job Satisfaction is one of the most significant attitudes of the employees of an organization. Job satisfaction used to describe whether the employees are happy, asserted and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. The organizations are challenged, as they have to make the employee’s satisfied in their Job. So they will perform better and consequently organization will achieve their competitive edge. Thus achieving Job Performance of the employees has been significant for both Private and Public Organizations. Basically organizational practices affect the job satisfaction in a considerable extent. Hence there is a need to investigate the how the organizational practices affect the Job Satisfaction of the employees. Therefore the objective of this research was to identify the impact of Reward Management and Decision Making on Job Performance. The Independent Variables were Reward Management, Decision making, and the Dependent Variable was Job Satisfaction. The reliability of the instruments was tested against the data. This study was engaged in hypothesis testing and it was corelational. This research was conducted in the natural environment where work proceeds normally, with less interference of the researchers (noncontrived). Data was collected from each individual: an employee of the public banks, and the study was cross sectional. The analysis was based on the information collected using a self administered questionnaire. Data used for analysis were totally based on primary data which was collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. According to the results, there is an impact on reward management, decision making on job satisfaction, and there is a relationship between reward management, decision making and job satisfaction which is significant. Based on that it can be concluded employee’s job satisfaction have been impacted by reward management and decision making.
CD-ECC: Content-dependent error correction codes for combating asymmetric nonvolatile memory operation errors

The write operation asymmetry of many memory technologies causes different write failure rates at 0 →1 and 1 → 0 bit-flipping's. Conventional error correction codes (ECCs) spend the same efforts on both bit-flipping directions, leading to very unbalanced write reliability enchantment over different bit-flipping distributions of codewords (i.e., the number of 0 →1 or 1 → 0 bit-flipping's). In this work, we developed an analytic asymmetric write channel (AWC) model to analyze the asymmetric write errors in spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) designs. A new ECC design concept, namely, content-dependent ECC (CD-ECC), is proposed to achieve balanced error correction at both bit-flipping directions. Two CD-ECC schemes - typical-corner-ECC (TCE) and worst-corner-ECC (WCE), are designed for the codewords with different bit-flipping distributions. Our simulation results show that compared to the common ECC schemes utilized in embedded applications like Hamming code, CD-ECCs can improve the STT-RAM write reliability by 10 - 30x with low hardware overhead and very marginal impact on system performance.
Everyone Wins in the Performance Measurement Wars : The Complementary Role of Competing Performance Measures in Designing Incentive Compensation 1

Dissatisfaction with traditional accounting performance measures has spawned a number of alternatives, of which Economic Value Added (EVATM ) is the most prominent. We provide a formal method for ascertaining the optimal weight that such measures should receive in determining managerial compensation. Our model extends the work of Paul (1992) by exploiting the relationship between various performance measures and the stock price. We consider a realistic setting in which boards do not know the exact information content of alternative performance measures, and show that the correlation of such measures with one another, along with stock price information, provides critical contracting information that would be lost if one were instead to focus on a single ”best” accounting measure of performance. We apply our technique by computing the optimal weights which should be placed on EVA and on accounting Return on Assets (ROA) for a sample of large firms. The optimal weights correspond more closely with the firms’ actual compensation practice than do the weights arrived at by the standard techniques of comparing the volatility of each measure or their relative ability to explain abnormal stock returns.
Molecular Genetic Diversity of Major Indian Rice Cultivars over Decadal Periods

Genetic diversity in representative sets of high yielding varieties of rice released in India between 1970 and 2010 was studied at molecular level employing hypervariable microsatellite markers. Of 64 rice SSR primer pairs studied, 52 showed polymorphism, when screened in 100 rice genotypes. A total of 184 alleles was identified averaging 3.63 alleles per locus. Cluster analysis clearly grouped the 100 genotypes into their respective decadal periods i.e., 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The trend of diversity over the decadal periods estimated based on the number of alleles (Na), allelic richness (Rs), Nei’s genetic diversity index (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho) and polymorphism information content (PIC) revealed increase of diversity over the periods in year of releasewise and longevitywise classification of rice varieties. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) suggested more variation in within the decadal periods than among the decades. Pairwise comparison of population differentiation (Fst) among decadal periods showed significant difference between all the pairs except a few. Analysis of trends of appearing and disappearing alleles over decadal periods showed an increase in the appearance of alleles and decrease in disappearance in both the categories of varieties. It was obvious from the present findings, that genetic diversity was progressively on the rise in the varieties released during the decadal periods, between 1970s and 2000s.
Essays on Competition: Contests, Personnel Economics, and Corporate Citizenship

I explore competition in three different settings. First, I examine how a contest designer can increase total efforts through softening incentives. In particular, softer incentives are called for when the following is met: contestants have more convex costs, there are many contestants, or designers have (sufficient) concave valuation of effort. In the extreme, more total effort can be generated from offering a larger second than first prize.Next, I test this theory experimentally in the lab under the framing of personnel economics. I find the general comparative statics given above hold. However, on an individual basis, people depart from the theoretical predictions. Workers use a heuristic of going all in or abstaining from work when they find themselves above or below, respectively, some private target level of ability. Additionally, most workers take on different roles-slackers, quitters, or consistent workers--depending on the institutional setting (i.e., degree of competition and incentives structure). The consequence of such behavior is the comparative statics for optimal organizational design are softened.Finally, I study empirically and theoretically how firms compete on the dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR). More efficient firms are able to use CSR as an insurance mechanism. That is, some firms invest ex-ante in higher levels of CSR, which enables them to better withstand the tumult of negative business shocks; stakeholders give higher CSR firms the benefit of the doubt in terms of the cause of an adverse event (i.e., the cause is more often attributed to bad luck over bad management), resulting in an insurance like benefit to CSR. This finding is validated empirically by studying S&P500 firms over a 16 year period.
Postoperative biological and clinical outcomes following uncomplicated pancreaticoduodenectomy

Backgrounds/Aims The aim of this study was to describe clinical and biological changes in a group of patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) without any complication during the postoperative period. These changes reflect the "natural history" of PD, and a deviation should be considered as a warning sign. Methods Between January 2000 and December 2009, 131 patients underwent PD. We prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed demographic data, pathological variables, associated pathological conditions, and preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables. Postoperative variables were validated using an external prospective database of 158 patients. Results The mean postoperative length of hospital stay was 20.3±4 days. The mean number of days until removal of nasogastric tube was 6.3±1.6 days. The maximal fall in hemoglobin level occurred on day 3 and began to increase after postoperative day (POD) 5, in patients with or without transfusions. The white blood cell count increased on POD 1 and persisted until POD 7. There was a marked rise in aminotransferase levels at POD 3. The peak was significantly higher in patients with hepatic pedicle occlusion (866±236 IU/L versus 146±48 IU/L; p<0.001). For both γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and alkaline phosphatase, there was a fall on POD1, which persisted until POD 5, followed with a stabilization. Bilirubin decreased progressively from POD 1 onwards. Conclusions This study facilitates a standardized biological and clinical pathway of follow-up. Patients who do not follow this recovery indicator could be at risk of complications and additional exams should be made to prevent consequences of such complications.
TEAK: Topology Enrichment Analysis frameworK for detecting activated biological subpathways

To mine gene expression data sets effectively, analysis frameworks need to incorporate methods that identify intergenic relationships within enriched biologically relevant subpathways. For this purpose, we developed the Topology Enrichment Analysis frameworK (TEAK). TEAK employs a novel in-house algorithm and a tailor-made Clique Percolation Method to extract linear and nonlinear KEGG subpathways, respectively. TEAK scores subpathways using the Bayesian Information Criterion for context specific data and the Kullback-Leibler divergence for case–control data. In this article, we utilized TEAK with experimental studies to analyze microarray data sets profiling stress responses in the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using a public microarray data set, we identified via TEAK linear sphingolipid metabolic subpathways activated during the yeast response to nitrogen stress, and phenotypic analyses of the corresponding deletion strains indicated previously unreported fitness defects for the dpl1Δ and lag1Δ mutants under conditions of nitrogen limitation. In addition, we studied the yeast filamentous response to nitrogen stress by profiling changes in transcript levels upon deletion of two key filamentous growth transcription factors, FLO8 and MSS11. Via TEAK we identified a nonlinear glycerophospholipid metabolism subpathway involving the SLC1 gene, which we found via mutational analysis to be required for yeast filamentous growth.