Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliable MPI-IO through Layout-Aware Replication

The current deployment of petascale systems and the promise of future exascale systems have created unprecedented challenges in how to manage failures in such systems. While many parallel file systems provide some sort of redundancy mechanism to cope with failures, such systems rely heavily on a hardware-based solution such as RAID. In this paper, we propose a block replication approach to store data redundantly. The approach does not depend on file system fault-tolerance mechanisms. Rather, the approach replicates each file block transparently within MPI-IO, using replicationaware datatypes. File striping information is used to place blocks from each replica in a separate storage node. We have implemented this replication mechanism in the MPI-IO layer. Our experimental results using a microbenchmark and real MPI-IO applications with PVFS and Lustre demonstrate that block replication in MPI-IO can be achieved transparently.
Estimates of genetic correlations between testicular measurements and female reproductive traits in cattle.

Data from 528 male and 645 female progeny of 63 sires were used to estimate genetic correlations between female and male reproductive traits. Data were from two Hereford herds involved in a long-term selection program of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Service. Testicular measurements of circumference, diameter, length and volume were obtained on bulls at 205 and 365 d. Testicular growth measures were defined as differences between 205-and 365-d measurements. Heifers were placed in the breeding herd as yearlings and given two breeding seasons to produce a calf. Traits utilized from females were three age-at-first-breeding traits, two age-at-first-calving traits, two pregnancy rate traits, rebreeding interval and calving interval. Genetic correlations were estimated from half-sib and from sire-daughter analyses. Seventy-five percent or more of the correlations of testicular measurements with pregnancy rats, age at first breeding and age at first calving were in the favorable direction. Average correlations were . 62, -. 55 and -. 66, respectively. For each of the remaining female traits, approximately 50% of the correlations were favorable and the average correlations were small. Correlations were summarized by testicular measurement with favorable correlations given a negative sign. Testicular diameter had more favorable correlations (80%) than length, volume or circumference (70%). However, average correlations were similar (-.31, -.30, -.34 and -.26, respectively). Testicular measurements taken at either 205 or 365 d had the same percentage of favorable correlations (72%), while testicular growth measurements had a slightly higher percentage of favorable correlations (78%). Average correlations of 365-d measures were higher (-.38) than either 205-d or growth measures (-.25 and -.28, respectively). Heritabilities for testicular measurements tended to be moderate to high, while those for female reproduction tended to be low to moderate. These results suggest that selection for increased testicular size would lead to improvement in female reproduction, particularly an increase in calving rate and a decrease in age at first breeding.
Boosting with early stopping: Convergence and consistency

Boosting is one of the most significant advances in machine learning for classification and regression. In its original and computationally flexible version, boosting seeks to minimize empirically a loss function in a greedy fashion. The resulting estimator takes an additive function form and is built iteratively by applying a base estimator (or learner) to updated samples depending on the previous iterations. An unusual regularization technique, early stopping, is employed based on CV or a test set. This paper studies numerical convergence, consistency and statistical rates of convergence of boosting with early stopping, when it is carried out over the linear span of a family of basis functions. For general loss functions, we prove the convergence of boosting's greedy optimization to the infinimum of the loss function over the linear span. Using the numerical convergence result, we find early-stopping strategies under which boosting is shown to be consistent based on i.i. d. samples, and we obtain bounds on the rates of convergence for boosting estimators. Simulation studies are also presented to illustrate the relevance of our theoretical results for providing insights to practical aspects of boosting. As a side product, these results also reveal the importance of restricting the greedy search step-sizes. as known in practice through the work of Friedman and others. Moreover, our results lead to a rigorous proof that for a linearly separable problem, AdaBoost with E → 0 step-size becomes an L 1 -margin maximizer when left to run to convergence.
Are Asians at greater mortality risks for being overweight than Caucasians? Redefining obesity for Asians

Abstract Objectives To assess whether overweight Asians, assessed on the basis of WHO criteria, are at greater mortality risk than overweight Caucasians, and to determine whether alternative cut-off points (BMI = 23·0–24·9 kg/m2 for overweight and BMI ≥ 25·0 kg/m2 for obesity) suggested by the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office are appropriate. Design The cohort was followed prospectively until the end of 2001. All-cause and CVD mortality risks of the overweight and obese group, relative to the reference group (BMI = 18·5–24·9 or 18·5–22·9 kg/m2), were assessed using Cox regression analysis, adjusting for age, smoking and gender. Excess deaths were estimated with a method proposed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Setting National Health Interview Survey (NHIS 2001) and a middle-aged perspective cohort in Taiwan. Subjects Subjects comprised 36 386 civil servants and school teachers, aged 40 years and older, who underwent a medical examination during 1989–1992. Results In the WHO-defined overweight group, Asians showed a significant increase in all-cause mortality risk compared with Caucasians. Asians showed risks equivalent to Caucasians’ at lower BMI (around 5 units). Every unit of BMI increase, at 25·0 kg/m2 or above, was associated with a 9 % increase in relative mortality risk from all causes. Applying a cut-off point of 25·0 kg/m2 for obesity would result a prevalence of 27·1 %, while the traditional WHO cut-off point of 30·0 kg/m2 yielded obesity prevalence of 4·1 %. Excess deaths due to obesity accounted for 8·6 % of all deaths and 21·1 % of CVD deaths, based on the alternative cut-offs. Conclusions In this Asian population, significant mortality risks started at BMI ≥ 25·0 kg/m2, rather than at BMI ≥ 30·0 kg/m2. The study supports the use of BMI ≥ 25·0 kg/m2 as a new cut-off point for obesity and BMI = 23·0–24·9 kg/m2 for overweight. The magnitude of obesity-attributable deaths has been hitherto under-appreciated among Asians.
Monday Anxiety in Office Workers

Monday anxiety in office workers Objective: In this study, comparison of state and trait anxiety levels of office workers on monday and on thursday was aimed. Method: On monday morning, sociodemographical form, State Anxiety Inventory (SAI), Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were delivered to the 230 office workers. The data collected from 144 participants were usable. On thursday morning (3 days after) anxiety inventories were delivered again to these 144 workers. Complete and valid forms were collected from 61 participants. Results: The mean SAI scores of 61 participants on monday and on thursday were 44.4±10.2 and 42.2±9.9 (t=2.226, p=0.030) respectively; whereas their TAI scores were 44.7±8.8 and 43.0±8.2 (t=2.123, p=0.038) respectively. Mean BDI scores was 14.4±10.5. Mean TAI scores of workers both on monday and thursday were higher than managers’. Similarly, mean BDI score of workers on Monday was also higher than managers’. Mean TAI scores was higher in middle aged workers than youngs and higher in women than men. Additionally, mean SAI and TAI scores of high school graduates were higher than university graduates’. Conclusion: Relatively higher levels of anxiety on monday was found to be associated with woman gender, being over middle ages, longer job experience in the same work, lower education level, and being blue
Virologic Failure of Protease Inhibitor-Based Second-Line Antiretroviral Therapy without Resistance in a Large HIV Treatment Program in South Africa

Background We investigated the prevalence of wild-type virus (no major drug resistance) and drug resistance mutations at second-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) failure in a large HIV treatment program in South Africa. Methodology/ Principal Findings HIV-infected patients ≥15 years of age who had failed protease inhibitor (PI)-based second-line ART (2 consecutive HIV RNA tests >1000 copies/ml on lopinavir/ritonavir, didanosine, and zidovudine) were identified retrospectively. Patients with virologic failure were continued on second-line ART. Genotypic testing for drug resistance was performed on frozen plasma samples obtained closest to and after the date of laboratory confirmed second-line ART failure. Of 322 HIV-infected patients on second-line ART, 43 were adults with confirmed virologic failure, and 33 had available plasma for viral sequencing. HIV-1 RNA subtype C predominated (n = 32, 97%). Mean duration on ART (SD) prior to initiation of second-line ART was 23 (17) months, and time from second-line ART initiation to failure was 10 (9) months. Plasma samples were obtained 7(9) months from confirmed failure. At second-line failure, 22 patients (67%) had wild-type virus. There was no major resistance to PIs found. Eleven of 33 patients had a second plasma sample taken 8 (5.5) months after the first. Median HIV-1 RNA and the genotypic resistance profile were unchanged. Conclusions/ Significance Most patients who failed second-line ART had wild-type virus. We did not observe evolution of resistance despite continuation of PI-based ART after failure. Interventions that successfully improve adherence could allow patients to continue to benefit from second-line ART therapy even after initial failure.
The level of depression and quality of life of caregivers to stroke survivors

This study aimed at determining the level of depression and quality of life and investigating their correlations with certain concurrent problems in caregivers to stroke patients and comparing these results to those obtained in healthy volunteers. 84 caregivers to stroke patients were included in the patient group while the control group included 77 healthy volunteers who were not responsible for caregiving to any chronic patient. The Modified Rankin Scale was used to determine the disability level of stroke survivors and the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to determine the severity of stroke; the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used to determine the functional level of stroke survivors. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to determine the level of depression and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to determine the level of pain. The level of depression in the caregiver and control groups was assessed by using the BDI, their quality of life was assessed by using the Short Form-36 (SF- 36) and their level of pain was assessed by using the VAS. In addition, the level of fatigue of caregivers and controls was assessed by using a 0 to 10 scale (no fatigue at all and extreme fatigue). Intergroup comparisons revealed that the level of depression, the level of fatigue and the level of pain were statistically significantly higher while mental quality of life was lower in the caregiver group (p 0.05). The level of depression, the level of pain and the level of fatigue in caregiver group revealed a negative impact associated with caregiving to a stroke survivor. Therefore, these parameters should be assessed in people who are responsible for caregiving to stroke survivors and especially mental and psychological influences of caregiving should be taken in consideration.
Revenue Management of Consumer Options for Tournaments

Sporting event managers typically only offer advance tickets which guarantee a seat at a future sporting event in return for an upfront payment. Some event managers and ticket resellers have started to offer call options under which a customer can pay a small amount now for the guaranteed option to attend a future sporting event by paying an additional amount later. We consider the case of tournament options where the event manager sells team-specific options for a tournament final, such as the Super Bowl, before the finalists are determined. These options guarantee a final game ticket to the bearer if her team advances to the finals. We develop an approach by which an event manager can determine the revenue maximizing prices and amounts of advance tickets and options to sell for a tournament final. We show that, under certain conditions, offering options will increase expected revenue for the event. We establish bounds for the revenue improvement and show that introducing options can increase social welfare. We present a numerical application of our approach to the 2012 Super Bowl. Subject Classifications: Revenue Management; Real Options; Sports Area of Review: Revenue Management
Multiscale Microstructures and Microstructural Effects on the Reliability of Microbumps in Three-Dimensional Integration

The dimensions of microbumps in three-dimensional integration reach microscopic scales and thus necessitate a study of the multiscale microstructures in microbumps. Here, we present simulated mesoscale and atomic-scale microstructures of microbumps using phase field and phase field crystal models. Coupled microstructure, mechanical stress, and electromigration modeling was performed to highlight the microstructural effects on the reliability of microbumps. The results suggest that the size and geometry of microbumps can influence both the mesoscale and atomic-scale microstructural formation during solidification. An external stress imposed on the microbump can cause ordered phase growth along the boundaries of the microbump. Mesoscale microstructures formed in the microbumps from solidification, solid state phase separation, and coarsening processes suggest that the microstructures in smaller microbumps are more heterogeneous. Due to the differences in microstructures, the von Mises stress distributions in microbumps of different sizes and geometries vary. In addition, a combined effect resulting from the connectivity of the phase morphology and the amount of interface present in the mesoscale microstructure can influence the electromigration reliability of microbumps.
Early dynamics of recovery from psychotic spectrum disorder within a therapeutic recovery community: patterns and dynamics

This study reports a detailed analysis of the dynamics of early (3 month) recovery for individuals with psychotic spectrum disorder diagnoses within an integrated, recovery-oriented therapeutic community setting. One hundred and four residents completed a broad suite of measures representing three different definitions/facets of recovery (symptom-, function- and personal recovery-focused) at baseline and at 3 months. Baseline scores and change over the three-month study period correlated more strongly and consistently within the same facet (i.e. symptom-focused to symptom-focused) than between facets (i.e. symptom-focused to functioning-focused). The relatively moderate correlations of the personal recovery-oriented scales supports the view that personal recovery consists of a multitude of overlapping dimensions. These results also suggest heterogeneous pathways of recovery occurring along uncorrelated individual trajectories. Finally, this study offers strong support for the independence of these three facets of recovery within this population.
The semantics of program dependence

Optimizing and parallelizing compilers for procedural languages rely on various forms of program dependence graphs (<italic>pdgs</italic>) to express the essential control and data dependencies among atomic program operations. In this paper, we provide a semantic justification for this practice by deriving two different forms of program dependence graph — the <italic>output pdg</italic> and the <italic>def-order pdg</italic>—and their semantic definitions from <italic>non-strict</italic> generalizations of the denotational semantics of the programming language. In the process, we demonstrate that both the <italic>output pdg</italic> and the <italic>def-order pdg</italic> (with minor technical modifications) are conventional data-flow programs. In addition, we show that the semantics of the <italic>def-order pdg</italic> dominates the semantics of the <italic>output pdg</italic> and that both of these semantics dominate—rather than preserve—the semantics of sequential execution.
Part Two: Evaluation of N-methylbupropion as a Potential Bupropion Prodrug

N-methylbupropion was selected as a potential prodrug from our in vitro screening of analogues of bupropion described in the preceding paper. This study describes in vivo pharmacokinetics of N-methylbupropion in the guinea-pig animal model, which is reported to best predict human metabolism of bupropion. The suitability of the guinea pig was established by studying N-demethylation of N-methylbupropion using S9 liver fractions. An LC-MS method was developed and validated to measure N-methylbupropion, bupropion and their metabolites in plasma and brain tissue. In separate studies, the prodrug was delivered by intraperitoneal injection (IP) to assess hepatic metabolism and then by oral gavage (PO) to assess the contribution from intestinal enzymes. Bupropion was administered in parallel. The pharmacokinetic profile of bupropion and N-methylbupropion were not comparable when dosed by intraperitoneal injection but when dosed orally, N-methylbupropion showed a comparable bupropion and metabolite PK plasma profile to bupropion. Plasma and brain levels of N-methylbupropion show that it is extensively metabolized to bupropion and its metabolites, and N-methyl-threo-hydrobupropion. This data coupled to the reduced DAT and NET system in vitro activity described in paper 1 would suggest that the N-methyl derivative of bupropion may have potential as an oral prodrug of bupropion in humans.
Lost in the City: Revisiting Milgram's Experiment in the Age of Social Networks

As more and more users access social network services from smart devices with GPS receivers, the available amount of geo-tagged information makes repeating classical experiments possible on global scales and with unprecedented precision. Inspired by the original experiments of Milgram, we simulated message routing within a representative sub-graph of the network of Twitter users with about 6 million geo-located nodes and 122 million edges. We picked pairs of users from two distant metropolitan areas and tried to find a route between them using local geographic information only; our method was to forward messages to a friend living closest to the target. We found that the examined network is navigable on large scales, but navigability breaks down at the city scale and the network becomes unnavigable on intra-city distances. This means that messages usually arrived to the close proximity of the target in only 3–6 steps, but only in about 20% of the cases was it possible to find a route all the way to the recipient, in spite of the network being connected. This phenomenon is supported by the distribution of link lengths; on larger scales the distribution behaves approximately as , which was found earlier by Kleinberg to allow efficient navigation, while on smaller scales, a fractal structure becomes apparent. The intra-city correlation dimension of the network was found to be , less than the dimension of the distribution of the population.
Assessment of 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde levels as oxidative stress markers and antioxidant status in non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: The present investigation was taken up to evaluate the 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde as markers of oxidative stress, the levels of antioxidants and the correlations between these oxidative stress markers and antioxidants in lung cancer patients. Methods: The study included 222 patients (158 men and 64 women, age ranging from 32 to 85 years) and 207 control subjects (153 men and 54 women, aged 30–80 years) for the analysis of urinary excretion of 8-oxodG using an ELISA assay, plasma malondialdehyde using spectrophotometer and red cell Cu-Zn SOD and GPx activities by kit methods. Results: The levels of 8-oxodG and malondialdehyde were significantly higher (p < 0.001) and red cell superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities (p < 0.001) were significantly lower in lung cancer patients than in controls. There was a significantly positive correlation between 8-oxodG and malondialdehyde (r = 0.912, p < 0.001) and a negative correlation between 8-oxodG and antioxidants. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that an increased rate of oxidative stress might play a role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer as evidenced by a failure in the oxidant/antioxidant balance in favour of lipid peroxidation and DNA damage.
The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: Report of a 25-Year Study.

This follow-up study of 131 children, who were 3–18 years old when their parents divorced in the early 1970s, marks the culmination of 25 years of research. The use of extensive clinical interviews allowed for exploration in great depth of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as they negotiated childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. At the 25-year follow-up, a comparison group of their peers from the same community was added. Described in rich clinical detail, the findings highlight the unexpected gulf between growing up in intact versus divorced families, and the difficulties children of divorce encounter in achieving love, sexual intimacy, and commitment to marriage and parenthood. These findings have significant implications for new clinical and educational interventions.
Assessment of Clarithromycin-Resistant Helicobacter pylori among Patients in Shanghai and Guangzhou, China, by Primer-Mismatch PCR

ABSTRACT Of 96 Helicobacter pylori isolates from patients in Shanghai and Guangzhou, China, 5 had the A2143G 23S rRNA mutation as determined by primer-mismatch PCR and were resistant to clarithromycin by the E-test. The remaining isolates were primer-mismatch PCR negative and susceptible to clarithromycin. The conclusion is that the prevalence of clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori isolates among these Chinese patients is 5%.
Peer-to-Peer Application Recognition Based on Signaling Activity

Because of the enormous growth in the number of peer-to-peer (P2P) applications in recent years, P2P traffic now constitutes a substantial proportion of Internet traffic. The ability to accurately identify different P2P applications from the network traffic is essential for managing a number of network traffic issues, such as service differentiation and capacity planning. However, modern P2P applications often use proprietary protocols, dynamic port numbers, and packet encryptions, which make traditional identification approaches like port-based or signature-based identification less effective. In this paper, we propose an approach for accurately recognizing P2P applications running on monitored hosts based on signaling behavior, which is regulated by the underlying P2P protocol; therefore, each application possesses a distinguishing characteristic. We consider that the signaling behavior of each P2P application can serve as a unique signature for application identification. Our approach is particularly useful for three reasons: 1) it does not need to access the packet payload; 2) it recognizes applications based purely on their signaling behavior; and 3) it can identify particular P2P applications. The performance evaluation shows that 92% of a real-life traffic trace can be correctly recognized within a 5-minute monitoring period.