Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Cache Memories for SMT Processors

Resizable caches can trade-off capacity for access speed to dynamically match the needs of the workload. In Simultaneous Multi-Threaded (SMT) cores, the caching needs can vary greatly across the number of threads and their characteristics, offering opportunities to dynamically adjust cache resources to the workload. In this paper we propose the use of resizable caches in order to improve the performance of SMT cores, and introduce a new control algorithm that provides good results independent of the number of running threads. In workloads with a single thread, the resizable cache control algorithm should optimize for cache miss behavior because misses typically form the critical path. In contrast, with several independent threads running, we show that optimizing for cache hit behavior has more impact, since large SMT workloads have other threads to run during a cache miss. Moreover, we demonstrate that these seemingly diametrically opposed policies can be simultaneously satisfied by using the harmonic mean of the per-thread speedups as the metric to evaluate the system performance, and to smoothly and naturally adjust to the degree of multithreading.
Production of Catecholate Siderophores by a Manglicolous fungus Emericella nidulans : A Novel

Mangrove ecosystem is a rich source of manglicolous fungi. While much information is available on diversity of these fungi, their siderophores have not been explored yet. The present study was carried out with a view to explore siderophore production potential of manglicolous fungi along Ghogha Coast, Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat, India. From four different mangrove samples viz. rhizosphere, rhizoplane, water and sediment, thirteen fungi belonging to Ascomycota were isolated, which were all siderophore producers. Their chemical characterization indicated siderophores of twelve fungi to be hydroxamates while one isolate Emericella nidulans exhibited a novel behaviour. Emericella nidulans a producer of both; hydroxamate and catecholate siderophore, a behaviour uncommon amongst fungi. The data revealed that exploring manglicolous fungi could reveal novelty in structural diversity of siderophore reflecting their unique ecological roles like avoiding siderophore piracy and oxidative stress for reclamation of mangrove associated coastal habitats.
Comparison of high-field-strength versus low-field-strength MRI of the shoulder.

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have reported similar results of shoulder MRI versus arthroscopy for high-field-strength (1.5-T) and low-field-strength (0.2-T) units. We report our experience with the accuracy of high- versus low-field-strength units versus arthroscopy for detection of supraspinatus tendon tears and labral tears in the same patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Three musculoskeletal radiologists prospectively interpreted shoulder MRIs from 40 patients who had a complete shoulder MRI examination on a 0.2-T system and limited imaging on a 1.5-T unit. Proton-density axial and fat-saturated T2-weighted coronal and sagittal sequences were performed. Each radiologist interpreted the open unit images first and the high-field-strength images second. Results from 28 patients who also underwent arthroscopy were also compared with the MRI interpretations. All scans were then retrospectively reinterpreted by consensus of the three reviewers, who were unaware of the patient's name, results of previous MRI, or arthroscopy report (if any). RESULTS High-field-strength images altered reviewers' interpretations of low-field-strength scans for nine of 40 patients. In four patients, full-thickness supraspinatus tendon tears could be diagnosed definitively on the high-field-strength unit but not on the open unit. Three labral tears and two superior labral anteroposterior lesions could be depicted definitively on the high-field-strength unit but not on the open unit. All tears were confirmed at arthroscopy. CONCLUSION High-field-strength MRI units provide better spatial and contrast resolution and allow more accurate interpretations than low-field-strength units; these findings may affect clinical treatment.
Visual Computing and the Progress of Developing Countries Underwater Depth Estimation and Image Restoration Based on Single Images

An increasing number of real-world applications are related to underwater environments, including fisheries, environmental and structural monitoring and inspections, and oil and gas exploration. Petroleum and natural gas are still the most important energy sources in the world, and researchers have recently discovered relevant oil and gas reserves along the coasts of Brazil and Africa underneath what is known as presalt rock formations. Presalt layers of rocks in the earth’s crust consist of petrified salt covering large areas on the ocean floor. Recent findings have unveiled that, over millions of years, large amounts of organic matter have been deposited beneath the layers of pressed salt between the west coast of Africa and the eastern shores of South America. This organic matter has been transformed into oil that in many areas is engulfed with gas. In Brazil, the presalt area spans a range of about 800 kilometers along the coast. Geological studies have estimated that the oil and gas reserves in that area are on the order of 80 billion barrels, which would place Brazil as the sixth largest holder of reserves in the world, behind Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Exploring and working in the presalt reserves, however, present technological challenges that include the ability to perceive the underwater environment. Techniques based on machine vision can help humans monitor and supervise activities in these scenarios as well as allow us to carry out missions with autonomous robotic vehicles. In general, computer vision algorithms assume that the medium does not affect light propagation, but this assumption does not hold in scattering media such as underwater scenes. Indeed, scattering and absorption phenomena affect the propagation of light, degrading the quality of captured images. Thus, efforts in the image processing and computer vision fields to improve the quality of underwater images may contribute to several applications, especially those related to the offshore oil and gas industry. In this article, we address the problems involved in image restoration, such as improving the visual quality of underwater images, and using a scene’s depth estimation to extract geometrical information of the objects therein. Image restoration and depth estimation are ambiguous problems because the available number of constraints is generally smaller than the number In underwater environments, scattering and absorption phenomena affect the propagation of light, degrading the quality of captured images. A method based on a physical model of light propagation and the use of statistical priors can restore the visual quality of the images acquired in typical underwater scenarios.
Longitudinal modeling of age-related memory decline and the APOE epsilon4 effect.

BACKGROUND The APOE epsilon4 allele is associated with the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. The age at which memory decline diverges among persons who are homozygous for the APOE epsilon4 allele, those who are heterozygous for the allele, and noncarriers is unknown. METHODS Using local advertisements, we recruited cognitively normal subjects between the ages of 21 and 97 years, who were grouped according to their APOE epsilon4 status. We then followed the subjects with longitudinal neuropsychological testing. Anyone in whom mild cognitive impairment or dementia developed during follow-up was excluded. We compared the rates of decline in predetermined cognitive measures between carriers and noncarriers of the APOE epsilon4 allele, using a mixed model for longitudinal change with age. RESULTS We analyzed 815 subjects: 317 APOE epsilon4 carriers (79 who were homozygous for the APOE epsilon4 allele and 238 who were heterozygous) and 498 noncarriers. Carriers, as compared with noncarriers, were generally younger (mean age, 58.0 vs. 61.4 years; P<0.001) and were followed for a longer period (5.3 vs. 4.7 years, P=0.01), with an equivalent duration of formal education (15.4 years) and proportion of women (69%). Longitudinal decline in memory in carriers began before the age of 60 years and showed greater acceleration than in noncarriers (P=0.03), with a possible allele-dose effect (P=0.008). We observed similar although weaker effects on measures of visuospatial awareness and general mental status. CONCLUSIONS Age-related memory decline in APOE epsilon4 carriers diverges from that of noncarriers before the age of 60 years, despite ongoing normal clinical status.
DATALOG with Constraints - An Answer-Set Programming System

Answer-set programming (ASP) has emerged recently as a viable programming paradigm well attuned to search problems in AI, constraint satisfaction and combinatorics. Propositional logic is, arguably, the simplest ASP system with an intuitive semantics supporting direct modeling of problem constraints. However, for some applications, especially those requiring that transitive closure be computed, it requires additional variables and results in large theories. Consequently, it may not be a practical computational tool for such problems. On the other hand, ASP systems based on nonmonotonic logics, such as stable logic programming, can handle transitive closure computation efficiently and, in general, yield very concise theories as problem representations. Their semantics is, however, more complex. Searching for the middle ground, in this paper we introduce a new nonmonotonic logic, DATALOG with constraints or DC. Informally, DC theories consist of propositional clauses (constraints) and of Horn rules. The semantics is a simple and natural extension of the semantics of the propositional logic. However, thanks to the presence of Horn rules in the system, modeling of transitive closure becomes straightforward. We describe the syntax and semantics of DC, and study its properties. We discuss an implementation of DC and present results of experimental study of the effectiveness of DC, comparing it with the csat satisfiability checker and smodels implementation of stable logic programming. Our results show that DC is competitive with the other two approaches, in case of many search problems, often yielding much more efficient solutions. Content Areas: constraint saitsfaction, search, knowledge representation, logic programming, nonmonotonic
How Accurate Is Frozen Section for Skin Cancers?

Frozen section analysis has been used to increase the likelihood of complete excision of skin cancers and to minimize the risk for recurrence. The question of its accuracy has been addressed in many studies and this article adds data to the discussion. A retrospective study was performed of 60 consecutive cases in which frozen section diagnoses were compared with permanent sections. It was found that in 85% of the cases the frozen sections were accurate compared with the permanent sections, but in 13% of the total cases the margins were less than 1 mm. These results concur with the literature. The surgery and pathological examinations were performed in a community hospital in which there was no dermatopathologist. The authors review the limitations of frozen section diagnosis in skin cancers and show that frozen section may be necessary in select cases but not in most skin cancers.
Nmyc plays an essential role during lung development as a dosage-sensitive regulator of progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation

Understanding how lung progenitor cells balance proliferation against differentiation is relevant to clinical disorders such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia of premature babies and lung cancer. Previous studies have established that lung development is severely disrupted in mouse mutants with reduced levels of the proto-oncogene Nmyc, but the precise mechanisms involved have not been explored. We show here that Nmyc expression in the embryonic lung is normally restricted to a distal population of undifferentiated epithelial cells, a high proportion of which are in the S phase of the cell cycle. Overexpression of NmycEGFP in the epithelium under the control of surfactant protein C (Sftpc) regulatory elements expands the domain of S phase cells and upregulates numerous genes associated with growth and metabolism, as shown by transcriptional microarray. In addition, there is marked inhibition of differentiation, coupled with an expanded domain of expression of Sox9 protein, which is also normally restricted to the distal epithelial compartment. By contrast, conditional deletion of Nmyc leads to reduced proliferation, epithelial differentiation and high levels of apoptosis in both epithelium and mesenchyme. Unexpectedly, about 50% of embryos in which only one copy of Nmyc is deleted die perinatally, with similarly abnormal lungs. We propose a model in which Nmyc is essential in the developing lung for maintaining a distal population of undifferentiated, proliferating progenitor cells.
Use of Gold Nanoparticles to Detect Water Uptake in Vascular Plants

Direct visualization of water-conducting pathways and sap flows in xylem vessels is important for understanding the physiology of vascular plants and their sap ascent. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) combined with synchrotron X-ray imaging technique is a new promising tool for investigating plant hydraulics in opaque xylem vessels of vascular plants. However, in practical applications of AuNPs for real-time quantitative visualization of sap flows, their interaction with a vascular network needs to be verified in advance. In this study, the effect of AuNPs on the water-refilling function of xylem vessels is experimentally investigated with three monocot species. Discrepancy in the water uptakes starts to appear at about 20 min to 40 min after the supply of AuNP solution to the test plant by the possible gradual accumulation of AuNPs on the internal structures of vasculature. However conclusively, it is observed that the water-refilling speeds in individual xylem vessels are virtually unaffected by hydrophilically surface-modified AuNPs (diameter ∼20 nm). Therefore, the AuNPs can be effectively used as flow tracers in the xylem vessels in the first 20∼30 min without any physiological barrier. As a result, AuNPs are found to be useful for visualizing various fluid dynamic phenomena occurring in vascular plants.
Enhanced Cholesterol Delivery to Cells in Culture by Low Density Lipoproteins from Hypercholesterolemic Monkeys: Correlation of Cellular Cholesterol Accumulation with Low Density Lipoprotein Molecular Weight

Previous studies have shown that the large molecular weight low density lipoprotein (LDL) of abnormal composition isolated from hypercholesterolemic nonhuman primates stimulates greater cholesterol accumulation in cells in culture than does the same amount of normal LDL. The purpose of the present study was to determine if a correlation existed over a range of LDL molecular weights with cholesterol accumulation in cells in culture, if the differential in cholesterol accumulation was the result of increased delivery of cholesterol to the cells and to evaluate the extent to which this differential was dependent on a functional LDL receptor pathway. Monkey and human skin fibroblasts were incubated for 24 hours with LDL isolated from individual normal or hypercholesterolemic cynomolgus monkeys having LDL molecular weights ranging from 2.58-6.39 × 106, and the cellular free and esterif ied cholesterol contents were determined. There was no correlation of LDL molecular weight with accumulation of cellular free or esterifled cholesterol with LDL from normal animals having a molecular weight of 2.58 to 3.08 × 106 or from hypercholesterolemic animals with LDL molecular weights greater than 4.5 × 106. There was a positive and significant correlation of LDL molecular weight with the accumulation of cellular free and esterified cholesterol with LDL molecular weights of 3.0 to 4.5 × 106. These differences were present when the LDL were added at equivalent protein or cholesterol concentrations and cannot be entirely explained by the increased amounts of cholesterol in LDL particles of larger molecular weight. The enhanced cellular cholesterol accumulation with hypercholesterolemic LDL seems to be the result of increased delivery of LDL cholesterol to the cells as shown by the increased rate of suppression of cellular sterol synthesis and LDL receptor activity, the increased stimulation of cholesterol esterlficatlon, and the increased accumulation of cellular 3H-cholesterol from LDL labeled with *H-cholesteryl oleate. This difference in cellular cholesterol accumulation requires that the LDL must be both bound and internalized by a functional LDL receptor pathway, since cells that lack LDL receptors or are unable to internalize their LDL receptors do not show increased accumulation of cholesterol when incubated with hypercholesterolemic LDL.
Epithelial Cell Stretching and Luminal Acidification Lead to a Retarded Development of Stria Vascularis and Deafness in Mice Lacking Pendrin

Loss-of-function mutations of SLC26A4/pendrin are among the most prevalent causes of deafness. Deafness and vestibular dysfunction in the corresponding mouse model, Slc26a4−/−, are associated with an enlargement and acidification of the membranous labyrinth. Here we relate the onset of expression of the HCO3 − transporter pendrin to the luminal pH and to enlargement-associated epithelial cell stretching. We determined expression with immunocytochemistry, cell stretching by digital morphometry and pH with double-barreled ion-selective electrodes. Pendrin was first expressed in the endolymphatic sac at embryonic day (E) 11.5, in the cochlear hook-region at E13.5, in the utricle and saccule at E14.5, in ampullae at E16.5, and in the upper turn of the cochlea at E17.5. Epithelial cell stretching in Slc26a4−/− mice began at E14.5. pH changes occurred first in the cochlea at E15.5 and in the endolymphatic sac at E17.5. At postnatal day 2, stria vascularis, outer sulcus and Reissner's membrane epithelial cells, and utricular and saccular transitional cells were stretched, whereas sensory cells in the cochlea, utricle and saccule did not differ between Slc26a4+/− and Slc26a4−/− mice. Structural development of stria vascularis, including vascularization, was retarded in Slc26a4−/− mice. In conclusion, the data demonstrate that the enlargement and stretching of non-sensory epithelial cells precedes luminal acidification in the cochlea and the endolymphatic sac. Stretching and luminal acidification may alter cell-to-cell communication and lead to the observed retarded development of stria vascularis, which may be an important step on the path to deafness in Slc26a4−/− mice, and possibly in humans, lacking functional pendrin expression.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF INFERTILITY*

SUMMARY Forty couples who attended the Infertility clinic of Government Royapettah Hospital, Madras, were included in the study and compared with matched controls who had off springs. All 80 persons were administered the M.H. Q. and the E.P.I. Psychosocial data was recorded and a clinical psychiatric evaluation was done. 51 out of 80 in the study group had psychiatric problems, predominantly depression and anxiety. These problems increased with increasing duration of childless marriage. 40 % of the infertile group had psychosexual dysfunction such as premature ejaculation and erectile disturbances as opposed to 2.5% in the controls. Presence of vaginisms, dysmenorrhea and sexual dissatisfaction were more in the women of the study group. 15 males bad oligospermia/azospermia.
Targeted Replacement of Kv1.5 in the Mouse Leads to Loss of the 4-Aminopyridine-Sensitive Component of IK,slow and Resistance to Drug-Induced QT Prolongation

Abstract— The K+ channel mKv1.5 is thought to encode a 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)-sensitive component of the current IK,slow in the mouse heart. We used gene targeting to replace mKv1.5 with the 4-AP-insensitive channel rKv1.1 (SWAP mice) and directly test the role of Kv1.5 in the mouse ventricle. Kv1.5 RNA and protein were undetectable, rKv1.1 was expressed, and Kv2.1 protein was upregulated in homozygous SWAP hearts. The density of the K+ current IK,slow (depolarizations to +40 mV, pA/pF) was similar in left ventricular myocytes isolated from SWAP homozygotes (17±1, n=27) and littermate controls (16±2, n=19). The densities and properties of Ipeak, Ito,f, Ito,s, and Iss were also unchanged. In homozygous SWAP myocytes, the 50-&mgr;mol/L 4-AP-sensitive component of IK,slow was absent (n=6), the density of the 20-mmol/L tetraethylammonium-sensitive component of IK,slow was increased (9±1 versus 5±1, P <0.05), and no 100- to 200-nmol/L &agr;-dendrotoxin-sensitive current was found (n=8). APD90 in SWAP myocytes was similar to controls at baseline but did not prolong in response to 30 &mgr;mol/L 4-AP. Similarly, QTc (ms) was not prolonged in anesthetized SWAP mice (64±2, homozygotes, n=9; 62±2, controls, n=9), and injection with 4-AP prolonged QTc only in controls (63±1, homozygotes; 72±2, controls;P <0.05). SWAP mice had no increase in arrhythmias during ambulatory telemetry monitoring. Thus, Kv1.5 encodes the 4-AP-sensitive component of IK,slow in the mouse ventricle and confers sensitivity to 4-AP-induced prolongation of APD and QTc. Compensatory upregulation of Kv2.1 may explain the phenotypic differences between SWAP mice and the previously described transgenic mice expressing a truncated dominant-negative Kv1.1 construct.
Malignancy Risk Models for Oral Lesions

Objectives: The aim of this work was to assess risk habits, clinical and cellular phenotypes and TP53 DNA changes in oral mucosa samples from patients with Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMD), in order to create models that enable genotypic and phenotypic patterns to be obtained that determine the risk of lesions becoming malignant. Study Design: Clinical phenotypes, family history of cancer and risk habits were collected in clinical histories. TP53 gene mutation and morphometric-morphological features were studied, and multivariate models were applied. Three groups were estabished: a) oral cancer (OC) group (n=10), b) OPMD group (n=10), and c) control group (n=8). Results: An average of 50% of patients with malignancy were found to have smoking and drinking habits. A high percentage of TP53 mutations were observed in OC (30%) and OPMD (average 20%) lesions (p=0.000). The majority of these mutations were GC ? TA transversion mutations (60%). However, patients with OC presented mutations in all the exons and introns studied. Highest diagnostic accuracy (p=0.0001) was observed when incorporating alcohol and tobacco habits variables with TP53 mutations. Conclusions: Our results prove to be statistically reliable, with parameter estimates that are nearly unbiased even for small sample sizes. Models 2 and 3 were the most accurate for assessing the risk of an OPMD becoming cancerous. However, in a public health context, model 3 is the most recommended because the characteristics considered are easier and less costly to evaluate. Key words:TP53, oral potentially malignant disorders, risk factors, genotype, phenotype.