Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
System-on-Chip Environment: A SpecC-Based Framework for Heterogeneous MPSoC Design

The constantly growing complexity of embedded systems is a challenge that drives the development of novel design automation techniques. C-based system-level design addresses the complexity challenge by raising the level of abstraction and integrating the design processes for the heterogeneous system components. In this article, we present a comprehensive design framework, the system-on-chip environment (SCE) which is based on the influential SpecC language and methodology. SCE implements a top-down system design flow based on a specify-explore-refine paradigm with support for heterogeneous target platforms consisting of custom hardware components, embedded software processors, dedicated IP blocks, and complex communication bus architectures. Starting from an abstract specification of the desired system, models at various levels of abstraction are automatically generated through successive step-wise refinement, resulting in a pin-and cycle-accurate system implementation. The seamless integration of automatic model generation, estimation, and verification tools enables rapid design space exploration and efficient MPSoC implementation. Using a large set of industrial-strength examples with a wide range of target architectures, our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework and show significant productivity gains in design time.
Spectral analysis of the nuclear stellar population and gas emission in six nearby galaxies

Optical spectra were used to study the stellar population and gas emission, when present, in the central parts of the elliptical galaxies NGC 6958, NGC 6851 and ESO 185-G54, and the spiral galaxies NGC 5757, NGC 7412 and IC 4214. Stellar population properties were derived by comparing the equivalent widths of the absorption lines with those of galaxy templates built from star clusters, as well as by applying a method of stellar population synthesis based on the same star clusters. For the galaxies with emission lines, the underlying stellar population was subtracted to obtain the pure emission spectrum, and the resulting emission line intensities were measured to determine the mechanism responsible for the gas excitation. From this analysis we concluded that the galaxies have solar metallicity except the elliptical ESO 185-G54 that reached metallicity slightly above solar. The three ellipticals and the Sa galaxy IC 4214 have their nuclei dominated by old stellar populations, although IC 4214 appears to have some contribution from the young generation stars. Recent star formation ( t< 500 Myr) is prominent in the nucleus of the SBb galaxy NGC 5757, and is also present to a lesser degree in the Sbc NGC 7412. In these two galaxies, the recent star formation is responsible for the observed H ii type emission lines, while IC 4214 has LINER emission. Among the ellipticals, only in NGC 6958 did we detect ionized gas, whose spectra is typical of LINERs.
Chronic myeloid leukemia in children and adolescents: A single center experience from Eastern India

Abstract Context: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) constitutes around 3% of leukemia in the children and adolescent age group. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the characteristics at presentation and the treatment outcome of CML in the children and adolescent age group. Settings and Design: Retrospective analysis was carried out at a single center in India. Materials and Methods: Thirteen patients (≤17 years) attending CML outdoor from April 2008 to August 2012 were included in the analysis. Statistical Analysis Used: The mean and median of various parameters were calculated using a Microsoft excel sheet. SPSS 16.0 version software was used to calculate OS and PFS. Results: CML-CP was the most common phase at presentation. Maximum patients belonged to the 14 - 17 year old age group. Disease was common in the male sex. Splenic discomfort and asthenia were the most common symptoms and splenomegaly was the most common sign. Conclusions: The treatment with Imatinib was effective and well-tolerated.
Determining Reliability of Clinical Assessment Scores in Real Time

Background: Assessment score reliability is usually based on a single analysis. However, reliability is an essential component of validity and assessment validation and revision is a never-ending cycle. For ongoing assessments over extended time frames, real-time reliability computations may alert users to possible changes in the learning environment that are revealed by variations in reliability over time. Purpose: To develop software that calculates the reliability of clinical assessments in real time. Methods: Over 2,400 assessment forms were analyzed. We developed software that calculates reliability in real time. Software accuracy was verified by comparing data from our software with a standard method. Factor analysis determined scale dimensionality. Results: Correlation between our software and a standard method was excellent (ICC for kappas = 0.97; Cronbach's alphas differed by < 0.03). Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.94 to 0.97 and weighted kappa ranged from 0.08 to 0.40. Factor analysis confirmed 3 teaching domains. Conclusions: We describe an accurate method for calculating reliability in real time. The benefit of real time computation is that it provides a mechanism for detecting possible changes (related to curriculum, teachers, and students) in the learning environment indicated by changes in reliability over time. This technique will enable investigators to monitor and detect changes in the reliability of assessment scores and, with future study, isolate aspects of the learning environment that impact on reliability.
On-line detection and resolution of communication deadlocks

We present a new distributed algorithm that detects and resolves communication deadlocks on-line, i.e., simultaneously detects and resolves deadlock as communication requests are made, at no additional message traffic overhead, and with bounded delay between the occurrence and detection of a deadlock. This is achieved via a novel technique for detecting knots, which suffice for the existence of communication deadlocks. Current distributed deadlock detection algorithms lack these features. Thus the algorithm is suitable for soft real-time systems and large distributed systems. We also prove that the algorithm detects communication deadlocks and that it is able to deal with false deadlocks. <<ETX>>
Viability of using Corncob Ash as a Pozzolan in Concrete

Cement is the most utilised construction material, its global consumption only seconding that of water. Its demand has soared proportionately with the exponential rise in population to match required development. The heavily energy-intensive processes that are involved in its production contribute to about 7% (per cent) to 10% of the total global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, with potentially adverse environmental implications and are economically expensive. These processes, and those of the production of concrete consume heavily on natural resources such as sand, gravel, water, coal and crushed rock, the mining of which mars the environment. It is however possible, that energy and cost efficiency can be achieved by reducing on the amount of clinker, and in its place utilizing pozolanic materials that require less process heating and emit fewer levels of CO2. This study investigated the viability of corncob ash for use as a pozzolan in concrete. Tests were carried our by replacing cement by weight in concrete mixes with corncob ash at 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15% and 20%steps at the point of need. The results were compared with a control specimen that was made with 100% cement (0% CCA). Durability was tested using the sulfate elongation test on specimens that were immersed in a 5% sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) solution. From the results, all replacements achieved impressive compressive strengths that were suitable for structural applications, while the sulfate elongation tests showed that CCA could be used in Na2SO4 aggressive environments with an advantage. The findings also showed good repeatability and highlighted the potential of CCA to be used as an effective pozzolan in concrete.
Serodiagnosis of tuberculosis.

In the developing countries, which have the majority of the world's population, tuberculosis is one of the most important infectious diseases, causing illness and death on a very large scale. In these counlries there ha<; been little or no decline of this disease during recent years and improved conlrol programmes and case identification are therefore imperative. In the developed countries tuberculosis is no longer among the most common diseases but it often causes diagnostic problems. More rapid methods for diagnosis would be a great advantage. Thus, a serodiagnostic test for tuberculosis would be extremely useful throughout the world. It would speed up diagnosis, and would be valuable when bacteriological proof is difficult to obtain, or when tuberculosis is part of a differential diagnosis. Attempts to develop serodiagnostic tests for tuberculosis have been made for more than ninety years. In 1898 ARLOING and CoURMENT published studies on agglutination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells using sera from patients with tuberculosis [1, 2]. Since that time a large number of publications have been made in this field (see review articles (3, 4]) and most serological techniques have been utilized. Most of the studies demonstrate similar results. They show that sera from patients with tuberculosis contain antibodies against the tubercle bacillus. As a group the tuberculosis patients have much higher antibody titres than healthy controls or patients with other diseases. The variations within the groups are large, however, and the groups do overlap. False positives and false negatives occur frequently. The tests therefore have comparatively little diagnostic value and serodiagnostic tests for routine diagnosis are not in general use. There are several reasons for the failure to produce a serodiagnostic test which is both specific and sensitive enough. Most tests developed so far have been based on antigen preparations such as culture filtrates, purified protein derivatives (PPD) or whole cells, and such preparations always contain many epitopes. Mycobacteria are rich in cross-reacting antigens and M. tuberculosis is known to share antigens with other species of Mycobacterium as well as with nocardiae, corynebacteria, rhodococci etc. [5). This may be the cause of the false positive tests amongst the controls, since these organisms abound in the enviroment and/
Walking Cane Use in Prison: A Medical and Cultural Analysis

This study examined the diagnosis, race, age, and conviction offenses of those using walking canes at California Medical Facility through a random review of 40 charts and 40 conviction folders. Motivating factors were concern about the potential for misuse of canes as weapons and a desire to further understand the clinical challenges faced by patients. Findings suggest that walking canes are most often prescribed for neurological or musculoskeletal problems, sometimes are prescribed with no apparent indication, and are more readily prescribed to violent offenders. Beyond their weight-bearing medical function, it is possible that canes bear cultural significance in prison culture, perhaps symbolizing pugnacious independence. The anthropological literature on aggression, interpersonal violence, and weapon use is explored to help understand the racial variation in use of fighting accoutrements in prison settings.
Moduli and brane intersections

We discuss the worldvolume description of intersecting D-branes, including the metric on the moduli space of deformations. We impose a choice of static gauge that treats all the branes on an equal footing and describes the intersection of D-branes as an embedded special Lagrangian three-surface. Some explicit solutions to these equations are given and their interpretation in terms of a superpotential on moduli space is discussed. These surfaces arise from flat direction of a non-Abelian superpotential and imply the existance of non-compact G2 manifolds.
Integrated biophysical studies implicate partial unfolding of NBD1 of CFTR in the molecular pathogenesis of F508del cystic fibrosis

The lethal genetic disease cystic fibrosis is caused predominantly by in‐frame deletion of phenylalanine 508 in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). F508 is located in the first nucleotide‐binding domain (NBD1) of CFTR, which functions as an ATP‐gated chloride channel on the cell surface. The F508del mutation blocks CFTR export to the surface due to aberrant retention in the endoplasmic reticulum. While it was assumed that F508del interferes with NBD1 folding, biophysical studies of purified NBD1 have given conflicting results concerning the mutation's influence on domain folding and stability. We have conducted isothermal (this paper) and thermal (accompanying paper) denaturation studies of human NBD1 using a variety of biophysical techniques, including simultaneous circular dichroism, intrinsic fluorescence, and static light‐scattering measurements. These studies show that, in the absence of ATP, NBD1 unfolds via two sequential conformational transitions. The first, which is strongly influenced by F508del, involves partial unfolding and leads to aggregation accompanied by an increase in tryptophan fluorescence. The second, which is not significantly influenced by F508del, involves full unfolding of NBD1. Mg‐ATP binding delays the first transition, thereby offsetting the effect of F508del on domain stability. Evidence suggests that the initial partial unfolding transition is partially responsible for the poor in vitro solubility of human NBD1. Second‐site mutations that increase the solubility of isolated F508del‐NBD1 in vitro and suppress the trafficking defect of intact F508del‐CFTR in vivo also stabilize the protein against this transition, supporting the hypothesize that it is responsible for the pathological trafficking of F508del‐CFTR.
Some 6‐dimensional Hamiltonian S1‐manifolds

In an earlier paper we explained how to convert the problem of symplectically embedding one 4‐dimensional ellipsoid into another into the problem of embedding a certain set of disjoint balls into ℂP2 by using a new way to desingularize orbifold blow‐ups Z of the weighted projective space ℂP21,m,n. We now use a related method to construct symplectomorphisms of these spaces Z. This allows us to construct some well‐known Fano 3‐folds (including the Mukai–Umemura 3‐fold) in purely symplectic terms using a classification by Tolman of a particular class of Hamiltonian S1‐manifolds. We also show that (modulo scaling) these manifolds are uniquely determined by their fixed‐point data up to equivariant symplectomorphism. As part of this argument, we show that the symplectomorphism group of a certain weighted blow‐up of a weighted projective plane is connected.
Late Window Paradox.

The mantra of acute stroke therapy, time is brain is a call to arms that motivates both the public and medical practitioners to treat stroke as a time-critical emergency. Countless articles have documented inexorable declines in favorable clinical outcomes associated with delayed administration of thrombolytic or endovascular therapies. Therefore, one would naturally anticipate that the benefits of endovascular therapy would be markedly more modest if treatment is delayed many hours beyond the guideline-recommended 6-hour therapeutic window. How then do we explain the remarkably robust results of DEFUSE 3 (Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for Ischemic Stroke 3) and DAWN (DWI or CTP Assessment With Clinical Mismatch in the Triage of Wake-Up and Late Presenting Strokes Undergoing Neurointervention With Trevo), 2 recently published trials of endovascular therapy initiated up to 16 to 24 hours after patients were last known well? DAWN randomized patients at a median of 12.5 hours from onset and documented the largest absolute increase in functional independence ever reported in any acute stroke treatment trial, 35.5%. 1 DEFUSE 3 randomized patients at a median of 11 hours after onset and documented a 28% increase in functional independence and an additional 20% absolute reduction in death or severe disability, which represents the largest reduction in mortality/severe disability ever achieved.2 By comparison, the pooled analysis of 5 modern early window thrombectomy trials (HERMES [Highly Effective Reperfusion Evaluated in Multiple Endovascular Stroke Trials]) revealed an absolute increase in functional independence of 19.5% and a reduction in mortality/severe disability of 11%3 (Figure 1). Both early and late window studies included patients of similar ages, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores, and vessel occlusion sites. Patients were treated with the same modern thrombectomy devices and reperfusion was achieved in similar proportions of patients in the endovascular arms of the …
Endometrial thickness and risk of breast and endometrial carcinomas in the prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer screening trial

Postmenopausal women with higher circulating estrogen levels are at increased risk of developing breast and endometrial carcinomas. In the endometrium, excess estrogen relative to progesterone produces a net proliferative stimulus, which may result in endometrial thickening. Therefore, the hypothesis that endometrial thickness is a biological marker of excess estrogen stimulation that is associated with risk of breast and endometrial carcinomas was tested. Endometrial thickness was measured in 1,272 postmenopausal women, aged 55–74 years, who underwent transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) screening as part of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Serial endometrial thickness measurements were available for a subset of women at 1 year (n = 1,018), 2 years (n = 869) and 3 years (n = 641) after baseline. The associations between endometrial thickness and breast (n = 91) and endometrial (n = 14) carcinoma were evaluated by estimating relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards regression with age as the time metric. Models incorporating baseline endometrial thickness and as a time‐varying covariate using all measurements were examined. Median follow‐up among study participants was 12.5 years (range: 0.3–13.8 years). Compared to baseline endometrial thickness of 1.0–2.99 mm, women with baseline endometrial thickness greater than or equal to 5.0 mm had an increased risk of breast (RR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.15–3.48) and endometrial (RR = 5.02, 95% CI = 0.96–26.36) carcinomas in models adjusted for menopausal hormone use and BMI. These data suggest that increased endometrial thickness as assessed by TVU was associated with increased risk of breast and endometrial carcinomas.
Spatially Correlated Time Series and Ecological Niche Analysis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Afghanistan

Leishmaniasis is the third most common vector-borne disease and a very important protozoan infection. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most common types of leishmaniasis infectious diseases with up to 1.2 million occurrences of new cases each year worldwide. A dynamic transmission multivariate time series model was applied to the data to account for overdispersion and evaluate the effects of three environmental layers as well as seasonality in the data. Furthermore, ecological niche modeling was used to study the geographically suitable conditions for cutaneous leishmaniasis using temperature, precipitation and altitude as environmental layers, together with the leishmaniasis presence data. A retrospective analysis of the cutaneous leishmaniasis spatial data in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2009 indicates a steady increase from 2003 to 2007, a small decrease in 2008, and then another increase in 2009. An upward trend and regularly repeating patterns of highs and lows were observed related to the months of the year, which suggests seasonality effect in the data. Two peaks were observed in the disease occurrence—January to March and September to December—which coincide with the cold period. Ecological niche modelling indicates that precipitation has the greatest contribution to the potential distribution of leishmaniasis.
Something for nothing? Reconstruction of ancestral character states in asterinid sea star development

SUMMARY Traits from early development mapped onto phylogenetic trees can potentially offer insight into the evolutionary history of development by inferring the states of those characters among ancestors at nodes in the phylogeny. A key and often‐overlooked aspect of such mapping is the underlying model of character evolution. Without a well‐supported and realistic model (“nothing”), character mapping of ancestral traits onto phylogenetic trees might often return results (“something”) that lack a sound basis. Here we reconsider a challenging case study in this area of evolutionary developmental biology: the inference of ancestral states for ecological and morphological characters in the reproduction and larval development of asterinid sea stars. We apply improved analytical methods to an expanded set of asterinid phylogenetic data and developmental character states. This analysis shows that the new methods might generally offer some independent insight into choice of a model of character evolution, but that in the specific case of asterinid sea stars the quantitative features of the model (especially the relative probabilities of different directions of change) have an important effect on the results. We suggest caution in applying ancestral state reconstructions in the absence of an independently corroborated model of character evolution, and highlight the need for such modeling in evolutionary developmental biology.
Clinical Investigation : Central Nervous System Tumor Proton Therapy for Reirradiation of Progressive or Recurrent Chordoma

Recurrent or progressive chordoma after initial treatment has a poor prognosis, and salvage surgery provides only a short-term benefit in most patients. We report our experience with 16 patients reirradiated with definitive fractionated proton therapy, with or without salvage surgery. Initial local disease control and overall survival (85% and 80% at 2 years) were promising, with acceptable toxicity despite very high cumulative lifetime doses of radiation.