Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clustering Sensor Data for Terrain Identification using a Windowless Algorithm

In this paper we are interested in autonomous systems that can automatically develop terrain classifiers without human interaction or feedback. A key issue is clustering of sensor data from the same terrain. In this context, we present a novel offline windowless clustering algorithm exploiting time-dependency between samples. In terrain coverage, sets of sensory measurements are returned that are spatially, and hence temporally correlated. Our algorithm works by finding a set of parameter values for a user-specified classifier that minimize a cost function. This cost function is related to change in classifier probability outputs over time. The main advantage over other existing methods is its ability to cluster data for fast-switching systems that either have high process or observation noise, or complex distributions that cannot be properly characterized within the average duration of a state. The algorithm was evaluated using three different classifiers (linear separator, mixture of Gaussians and k-NEAREST NEIGHBOR), over both synthetic data sets and mobile robot contact feedback sensor data, with success.
Efficient dynamic scheduling through tag elimination

An increasingly large portion of scheduler latency is derived from the monolithic content addressable memory arrays accessed during instruction wake-up. The performance of the scheduler can be improved by decreasing the number of tag comparisons necessary to schedule instructions. Using detailed simulation-based analyses, we find that most instructions enter the window with at least one of their input operands already available. By putting these instructions into specialized windows with fewer tag comparators, load capacitance on the scheduler critical path can be reduced, with only very small effects on program throughput. For instructions with multiple unavailable operands, we introduce a last-tag speculation mechanism that eliminates all remaining tag comparators except those for the last arriving input operand. By combining these two tag-reduction schemes, we are able to construct dynamic schedulers with approximately one quarter of the tag comparators found in conventional designs. Conservative circuit-level timing analyses indicate that the optimized designs are 20-45% faster and require 10-20% less power depending on instruction window size.
Characteristics of Registered Nurses in Rural vs . Urban Areas : Implications for Strategies to Alleviate Nursing Shortages in the United States

This study compares characteristics of rural and urban registered nurses (RNs) in the United States using national survey data. Rural and urban RNs are similar in age and gender; nonwhites and Hispanics are underrepresented in both groups. Rural RNs have less nursing education, are less likely to work in hospitals, and are more likely to work full-time and in public/community health than urban RNs. The more rural an RN’s residence, the more likely he or she commutes to another area for work and the lower salary he or she receives. Strategies to reduce nurse shortages require understanding of rural RNs’ work, education, and commuting patterns. All areas of the country are experiencing registered nurse (RN) shortages, and many strategies are being designed to alleviate the problem. Trends contributing to the shortage are declining interest in and satisfaction with nursing as an occupation, aging of the RN workforce, increased employer demand (driven in part by the rising number of elderly), and the need for more intensive nursing care by sicker patients (Aiken et al., 2002; Buerhaus et al., 2000). Interventions to alleviate shortages include increasing educational capacity, marketing nursing careers to more and a greater diversity of potential candidates, improving employment conditions to retain RNs, and increasing RN wages (Buerhaus et al., 2002; Chiha & Link, 2003; Sochalski, 2002; Spetz & Given, 2003). This study examines whether certain characteristics of rural RNs should be factored into strategies to alleviate the shortage. While little attention has been paid to the characteristics of the rural RN workforce, such understanding is needed to determine strategies and interventions that address the needs and problems of rural vs. urban populations, health care workers, and employers. Ratios of health providers to population are routinely lower in rural areas than in urban ones (Larson et al., 2003; Movassaghi et al., 1992), and small communities struggle to recruit and retain health care providers. A greater proportion of rural than urban residents are elderly, driving more demand for services such as long-term care (Ricketts et al., 1999). Poverty rates are higher in rural areas, making small rural hospitals more vulnerable to shifts in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement (Mueller et al., 1999; Ricketts, 2001; Slifkin & Casey, 1999). Lower population densities force rural residents to drive long distances for many types of services (including health care) that urban residents can more conveniently
Systemic oxidative–nitrosative–inflammatory stress during acute exercise in hypoxia; implications for microvascular oxygenation and aerobic capacity

What is the central question of this study? Exercise performance is limited during hypoxia by a critical reduction in cerebral and skeletal tissue oxygenation. To what extent an elevation in systemic free radical accumulation contributes to microvascular deoxygenation and the corresponding reduction in maximal aerobic capacity remains unknown. What is the main finding and its importance? We show that altered free radical metabolism is not a limiting factor for exercise performance in hypoxia, providing important insight into the fundamental mechanisms involved in the control of vascular oxygen transport.
Thermal models for on-line detection of pulp obstructing the cooling system of TEFC induction motors in pulp area

The cooling system of unregulated self-ventilated motors operating in the pulp area can be severely deteriorated by pulp fibers deposited in the motor frame and in the air intake area. As a result, these motors can become overheated even with operating currents below the rated current. This paper presents and evaluates three thermal models that are capable of detecting the effect of the pulp in the dissipation of the operating losses to the ambient. One model is a simple 3rd-order model, which frame-to-ambient resistance is affected by the presence of pulp partially blocking the air inlet. The other two models recognize the asymmetrical dissipation produced by the pulp coating the upper sector of the motor frame by defining flow paths for the different radial quarters of the motor. Through an extensive testing program, the effects of the different pulp situations on the quarter and/or equivalent thermal resistances are determined. Using these values, the temperatures rises in the spots of interest using the proposed models are evaluated, showing excellent agreement with the experimental values. Finally, the different options for the use of the models for motors with and/or without temperature sensors are analyzed.
Architecture and compiler design issues in programmable media processors

The processing demands for multimedia applications are rapidly escalating. Many current applications are pushing the limits of existing microprocessors, and the next generation of multimedia promises considerably greater demands. Adequate support for future multimedia requires the flexibility and computing power of high-level language (HLL) programmable media processors. This thesis examines the architecture and compiler design issues for programmable media processors. Design of the architecture requires an accurate understanding of multimedia characteristics. Using the MediaBench benchmark suite and the Impact compiler, workload and architecture evaluations were performed to define the essential architecture for programmable media processors. The workload evaluation examines various processing aspects, including functional necessities, data types and sizes, branch performance, loop characteristics, memory statistics, and instruction level parallelism. The architecture evaluation examines the performance of dynamic versus static architecture features. Most existing media processors use static architectures, but as processors progress to higher frequencies, the dynamic aspects become more prominent and dynamic hardware may be necessary to minimize stall penalties. The architecture evaluation examines static versus dynamic scheduling, dynamic aspects of instruction fetch, and performance effects in higher frequency processors. Finally, an investigation of the memory hierarchy identifies the most significant bottlenecks in memory performance. The high degree of parallelism available in multimedia applications is well researched, but less well understood is how a compiler extracts and schedules that parallelism to highly parallel architectures. Evaluation of the compiler issues begins with an investigation of the available parallelism in multimedia. While instruction level parallelism unfortunately provides only modest performance, data parallelism offers a promising avenue for increased parallelism. However, data parallelism is of a coarser level of granularity than instruction level parallelism, so conventional compiler methods do not prove very effective. Parallel compiler methods are necessary to realize the benefits of data parallelism. Unfortunately, parallel compilation requires complex dependence analysis that is often unable to identify all available parallelism. Consequently, we propose a speculative run-time technique for data parallelism that executes loop iterations in parallel across a multi-clustered architecture. This method speculatively executes several loop iterations in parallel and provides architecture support for identifying and recovering from misspeculations.
Prognostic and Clinicopathological Value of Programmed Death Ligand-1 in Breast Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Recently, the interest in programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) as a prognostic marker in several types of malignant tumors has increased. In the present meta-analysis, we aimed to explore the prognostic and clinicopathological value of PD-L1 in breast cancer. We searched Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library databases, and grey literature from inception until January 20, 2016. Studies concerning breast cancer that focused on PD-L1 expression and studies reporting survival data were included; two authors independently performed the data extraction. The pooled risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were assessed to determine the association between the clinicopathological parameters of patients and PD-L1 expression. Five studies involving 2061 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that positive/higher PD-L1 expression was a negative predictor for breast cancer, with an RR of 1.64 (95% CI, 1.14–2.34) for the total mortality risk and an RR of 2.53 (95% CI, 1.78–3.59) for the mortality risk 10 years after surgery. Moreover, positive/higher PD-L1 expression was significantly associated with positive lymph node metastasis (RR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04–1.70), poor nuclear grade (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.07–1.43), and negative estrogen receptor status (RR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.31–4.60) in breast cancer patients. Our findings suggest that PD-L1 can serve as a significant biomarker for poor prognosis and the adverse clinicopathologic features of breast cancer and could facilitate the better management of individual patients.
Genome-based establishment of a high-yielding heterotic pattern for hybrid wheat breeding

Significance Selfing species wheat are bred as pure-line varieties with stagnating yield growths. In contrast, selection gain in maize is high, owing to massive investment sustained by hybrid seed sales, coupled with an efficient exploitation of hybrid vigor. We have developed a three-step strategy for establishing a heterotic pattern, which was one of the central unsolved challenges for initiating hybrid breeding programs. The benefits of our approach are demonstrated using data for wheat, but the strategy is relevant for several autogamous crops. Our three-step approach facilitates identification of a heterotic pattern, and thus may contribute to meeting the global challenge of increasing demand for food, feed, and fuel. Hybrid breeding promises to boost yield and stability. The single most important element in implementing hybrid breeding is the recognition of a high-yielding heterotic pattern. We have developed a three-step strategy for identifying heterotic patterns for hybrid breeding comprising the following elements. First, the full hybrid performance matrix is compiled using genomic prediction. Second, a high-yielding heterotic pattern is searched based on a developed simulated annealing algorithm. Third, the long-term success of the identified heterotic pattern is assessed by estimating the usefulness, selection limit, and representativeness of the heterotic pattern with respect to a defined base population. This three-step approach was successfully implemented and evaluated using a phenotypic and genomic wheat dataset comprising 1,604 hybrids and their 135 parents. Integration of metabolomic-based prediction was not as powerful as genomic prediction. We show that hybrid wheat breeding based on the identified heterotic pattern can boost grain yield through the exploitation of heterosis and enhance recurrent selection gain. Our strategy represents a key step forward in hybrid breeding and is relevant for self-pollinating crops, which are currently shifting from pure-line to high-yielding and resilient hybrid varieties.
Utah State University From the SelectedWorks of Frederick D Provenza 2006 Terpenes and carbohydrate source influence rumen fermentation , digestibility , intake , and preference in sheep

We hypothesized that toxins and nutrients in foods interact to influence foraging behavior by herbivores. Based on this hypothesis we predicted that 1) terpenes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) influence intake and preference in sheep for diets varying in sources of nonstructural (barley grain) and structural (sugar beet pulp) carbohydrates, and 2) these effects are due to the differential effects of terpenes on fermentation products and apparent digestibility of each class of carbohydrates. Lambs were fed 2 isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets with varying proportions of the same ingredients (beet pulpand barley grainbased diet) or offered a choice between the 2 diets; all feeds were fed without and with terpenes, in consecutive periods. We also compared intake and preference of the beet pulpand barley-based diets before and after the lambs ate a meal of sagebrush. Finally, we assessed the effect of terpenes on ruminal variables and in vivo digestibility. Lambs ate less when fed beet pulp or when they were offered a choice of diets with terpenes (P < 0.001), and intake of the beet pulp-based diet was the most affected (P < 0.05). Lambs preferred the beet pulp
Spatial correspondence between R‐cadherin expression domains and retinal ganglion cell axons in developing zebrafish

Mechanisms underlying axonal pathfinding have been investigated for decades, and numerous molecules have been shown to play roles in this process, including members of the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules. We showed in the companion paper that a member of the cadherin family (zebrafish R‐cadherin) is expressed in retinal ganglion cells, and in presumptive visual structures in zebrafish brain, during periods when the axons were actively extending toward their targets. The present study extends the earlier work by using 1,1′‐dioctadecyl‐3,3,3′,3′, tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) anterograde tracing techniques to label retinal ganglion cell axons combined with R‐cadherin in situ hybridization to explicitly examine the association of retinal axons and brain regions expressing R‐cadherin message. We found that in zebrafish embryos at 46–54 hours postfertilization, DiI‐labeled retinal axons were closely associated with cells expressing R‐cadherin message in the hypothalamus, the pretectum, and the anterolateral optic tectum. These results demonstrate that R‐cadherin is appropriately distributed to play a role in regulating development of the zebrafish visual system, and in particular, pathfinding and synaptogenesis of retinal ganglion cell axons. J. Comp. Neurol. 410:290–302, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Tikhonov Regularization for Functional Minimum Distance Estimators

We study the asymptotic properties of a Tikhonov Regularized (TiR) estimator of a functional parameter based on a minimum distance principle for nonparametric conditional moment restrictions. The estimator is computationally tractable and takes a closed form in the linear case. We derive its asymptotic Mean Integrated Squared Error (MISE), its rate of convergence and its pointwise asymptotic normality under a regularization parameter depending on sample size. The optimal value of the regularization parameter is characterized. We illustrate our theoretical findings and the small sample properties with simulation results for two numerical examples. We also discuss two data driven selection procedures of the regularization parameter via a spectral representation and a subsampling approximation of the MISE. Finally, we provide an empirical application to nonparametric estimation of an Engel curve.
Design of Survivable Networks: A survey

For the past few decades, combinatorial optimization techniques have been shown to be powerful tools for formulating and solving optimization problems arising from practical situations. In particular, many network design problems have been formulated as combinatorial optimization problems. With the advances of optical technologies and the explosive growth of the Internet, telecommunication networks have seen an important evolution and therefore designing survivable networks has become a major objective for telecommunication operators. Over the past years, much research has been carried out to devise efficient methods for survivable network models, and particularly cutting plane based algorithms. In this paper, we attempt to survey some of these models and the optimization methods used for solving them. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 46(1), 1–21 2005
Dilated cardiomyopathy is associated with significant changes in collagen type I/III ratio.

BACKGROUND It is controversial whether myocardial fibrosis in end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is associated with altered collagen type I/type III (Col I/Col III) ratio. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with DCM (ejection fraction [EF] <50%, n=12) and with mild global left ventricular dysfunction (EF >50%, n=18) were examined. Col I, Col III, and transforming growth factors-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and -beta2 (TGF-beta2) gene expression in endomyocardial biopsies was evaluated by quantitative competitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Collagen content was quantified after picrosirius red and immunohistological staining and by hydroxyproline assay. In patients with EF <50%, there was a pronounced 2- to 6-fold increase of myocardial Col I mRNA abundance (P<0.01), with a corresponding 1.6-fold increase at the protein level versus that found in patients with EF >50%. The Col III mRNA abundance showed a 2.0-fold increase (P<0.04). There was a relevant shift in the Col I/Col III mRNA ratio for DCM patients (Col I/Col III, 8.2) compared with patients with an EF >50% (Col I/Col III, 6. 4). In addition, total collagen content was increased in patients with EF <50% (n=3) (4.3+/-0.1%) compared with patients with EF >50% (n=8) (2.7+/-0.9%) (P<0.004). The biochemically determined ratio of hydroxyproline/total protein (n=12) was correlated to the Col I mRNA abundance (P<0.05, r=0.77). TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2 showed elevated myocardial mRNA abundances (1- to 7-fold and 4- to 5-fold, respectively) in DCM patients. CONCLUSIONS Differential increase of Col I and Col III leads to an increased Col I/Col III ratio in DCM myocardium. Because Col I provides substantial tensile strength and stiffness, this may contribute to systolic and in particular diastolic dysfunction in DCM.
Simultaneous inference of selection and population growth from patterns of variation in the human genome

Natural selection and demographic forces can have similar effects on patterns of DNA polymorphism. Therefore, to infer selection from samples of DNA sequences, one must simultaneously account for demographic effects. Here we take a model-based approach to this problem by developing predictions for patterns of polymorphism in the presence of both population size change and natural selection. If data are available from different functional classes of variation, and a priori information suggests that mutations in one of those classes are selectively neutral, then the putatively neutral class can be used to infer demographic parameters, and inferences regarding selection on other classes can be performed given demographic parameter estimates. This procedure is more robust to assumptions regarding the true underlying demography than previous approaches to detecting and analyzing selection. We apply this method to a large polymorphism data set from 301 human genes and find (i) widespread negative selection acting on standing nonsynonymous variation, (ii) that the fitness effects of nonsynonymous mutations are well predicted by several measures of amino acid exchangeability, especially site-specific methods, and (iii) strong evidence for very recent population growth.
Investigation of the Effect of Using a Novel as an Extensive Reading on Students’ Attitudes and Reading Ability

The present study aims at investigating learners’ perceptions on the use of a novel as an extensive reading in a college EFL reading course. For this purpose, fifty Iranian EFL students read and received instructions on an unabridged short novel in addition to, their text book for one semester. Three questionnaires were used to measure students’ attitudes toward novel-reading, students’ confidence in novel reading ability and students’ perceptions toward using a novel as an auxiliary material, prior to and after reading the novel. In addition, three open questions were offered to obtain benefits and obstacles of the novel reading. T-test analysis were used and findings revealed that there was a significant improvement after reading the novel in students’ attitudes, confidence, interest and their novel-reading ability. However, they suggested reading the novels according to the theme that they preferred. The result of this study are of pedagogic significance to EFL teaching in that they indicated how well a novel was received in an EFL Advanced reading class.