Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DISE: a programmable macro engine for customizing applications

Dynamic instruction stream editing (DISE) is a cooperative software-hardware scheme for efficiently adding customization functionality $e.g, safety/security checking, profiling, dynamic code decompression, and dynamic optimization - to an application. In DISE, application customization functions (ACFs) are formulated as rules for macro-expanding certain instructions into parameterized instruction sequences. The processor executes the rules on the fetched instructions, feeding the execution engine an instruction stream that contains ACF code. Dynamic instruction macro-expansion is widely used in many of today's processors to convert a complex ISA to an easier-to-execute, finer-grained internal form. DISE coopts this technology and adds a programming interface to it. DISE unifies the implementation of a large class of ACFs that would otherwise require either special-purpose hardware widgets or static binary rewriting. We show DISE implementations of two ACFs - memory fault isolation and dynamic code decompression - and their composition. Simulation shows that DISE ACFs have better performance than their software counterparts, and more flexibility (which sometimes translates into performance) than hardware implementations.
Antibody responses to Toxoplasma gondii in sera, intestinal secretions, and milk from orally infected mice and characterization of target antigens

Toxoplasma gondii-specific antibody responses in serum, intestinal secretions, and milk were identified with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay following a single oral infection of mice with strain 76K cysts of T. gondii. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) production began during week 2 of infection in serum and milk and during week 3 of infection in intestinal secretions and persisted in all three throughout the experiment (17 weeks). IgG but not IgM antibodies were detected in intestinal secretions later in the infection. Serum and milk IgG and IgM production began at the same time after infection as did the IgA response. In Western blotting (immunoblotting), intestinal IgA antibodies were shown to react with antigens comigrating with the T. gondii proteins p22, p23, p30, and p43, the 28-kilodalton antigen, and the 55- and 60-kilodalton rhoptry proteins, as recognized by specific monoclonal antibodies. Milk IgA antibodies reacted with antigens comigrating with p30 and p43. Most of the antigens recognized by IgA antibodies were also detected by IgG antibodies. IgA antibodies from all three biological samples detected the same major T. gondii antigens; thus, there was apparently no specific antibody production unique to one locality.
Brushless doubly fed reluctance machine parameter determination

This paper examines several techniques for determining the parameters of the Brushless Doubly Fed Reluctance Machine (BDFRM). Even though the mathematical model for this machine is like that of a double-fed induction machine, the very high leakage inductances prevent the use of the normal locked rotor/unloaded rotor tests. The accuracy of the parameters found is validated by machine testing and comparison with the FEA machine design.
Family-based analysis identified CD2 as a susceptibility gene for primary open angle glaucoma in Chinese Han population

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is characterized by optic disc cupping and irreversible loss of retinal ganglion cells. Few genes have been detected that influence POAG susceptibility and little is known about its genetic architecture. In this study, we employed exome sequencing on three members from a high frequency POAG family to identify the risk factors of POAG in Chinese population. Text‐mining method was applied to identify genes associated with glaucoma in literature, and protein–protein interaction networks were constructed. Furthermore, reverse transcription PCR and Western blot were performed to confirm the differential gene expression. Six genes, baculoviral inhibitors of apoptosis protein repeat containing 6 (BIRC6), CD2, luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR), polycystic kidney and hepatic disease gene 1 (PKHD1), phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) and fucosyltransferase 7 (FUT7), which might be associated with POAG, were identified. Both the mRNA expression levels and protein expression levels of HSP27 were increased in astrocytes from POAG patients compared with those from normal control, suggesting that mutation in CD2 might pose a risk for POAG in Chinese population. In conclusion, novel rare variants detected by exome sequencing may hold the key to unravelling the remaining contribution of genetics to complex diseases such as POAG.
Persistent , Protected and Cached : Building Blocks for Main Memory Data Stores

This paper looks at systems design for consistent, durable, and safe memory management for future byte-addressable non-volatile (NV) memory. Specifically, we focus on how application-level interfaces need to change to accomodate this memory on the main memory bus and propose (1) a new NV-memory-aware memory allocator that incorporates wear leveling optimizations and stronger robustness to avoid data corruption—NVMalloc, (2) a new low-overhead mechanism for containing erroneous writes using an asynchronous implementation of mprotect, and (3) a new application interface to track and enforce update consistency at the processor cache level using cache line counters. Our proposed optimizations are designed holistically across the application, OS, and hardware layers. We implement our optimizations and evaluate their benefits for realistic scenarios (including a simulation study of the hardware changes). Across three different evaluations—a stress microbenchmark, an in-memory B+ tree, and Memcached—our proposed memory allocator achieves better write distribution and robustness than existing allocators, with low fragmentation and overhead. Similarly, our evaluation shows that our interfaces for asynchronous memory protection and cache-level update consistency can achieve significant improvements in throughput compared to conservative approaches to enforcing safety, and competitive to designs with no support for improved safety. Compared to prior work, our paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to propose a general-purpose and flexible approach to rethinking the interfaces across the application, OS, and hardware layers for future high performance NV memory systems.
HomeNet: a field trial of residential Internet services

This paper is an initial description of how diverse families used the Internet in the first five months of the trial, and of variables that predicted this usage. The results have implications for design (e.g., provide more help for adults to get started), for marketing (e.g., lower income people have as much desire for on-line services as do upper income people), and for research (e.g., understand why teenagers' lead family computing).
A framework for identifying software project risks

We've all heard tales of multimillion dollar mistakes that somehow ran off course. Are software projects that risky or do managers need to take a fresh approach when preparing for such critical expeditions? Software projects are notoriously difficult to manage and too many of them end in failure. In 1995, annual U.S. spending on software projects reached approximately $250 billion and encompassed an estimated 175,000 projects [6]. Despite the costs involved, press reports suggest that project failures are occurring with alarming frequency. In 1995, U.S companies alone spent an estimated $59 billion in cost overruns on IS projects and another $81 billion on canceled software projects [6]. One explanation for the high failure rate is that managers are not taking prudent measures to assess and manage the risks involved in these projects. is Advocates of software project risk management claim that by countering these threats to success, the incidence of failure can be reduced [4, 5]. Before we can develop meaningful risk management strategies, however, we must identify these risks. Furthermore, the relative importance of these risks needs to be established, along with some understanding as to why certain risks are perceived to be more important than others. This is necessary so that managerial attention can be focused on the areas that constitute the greatest threats. Finally, identified risks must be classified in a way that suggests meaningful risk mitigation strategies. Here, we report the results of a Delphi study in which experienced software project managers identified and ranked the most important risks. The study led not only to the identification of risk factors and their relative importance, but also to novel insights into why project managers might view certain risks as being more important than others. Based on these insights, we introduce a framework for classifying software project risks and discuss appropriate strategies for managing each type of risk. Since the 1970s, both academics and practitioners have written about risks associated with managing software projects [1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8]. Unfortunately , much of what has been written on risk is based either on anecdotal evidence or on studies limited to a narrow portion of the development process. Moreover, no systematic attempts have been made to identify software project risks by tapping the opinions of those who actually have experience in managing such projects. With a few exceptions [3, 8], there has been little attempt to understand the …
The diagnostic performance of an antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using serum and colostrum to determine the disease status of a Jersey dairy herd infected with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis

Colostrum may have the ability to improve the diagnostic accuracy of some tests when compared to serum for important livestock diseases because of the high concentrations of immunoglobulins present within this sample type. The ELISA for Johne’s disease is one such test, as it suffers from low sensitivity when testing serum samples collected during the subclinical stage of infection. Blood and colostrum samples were collected from 34 Jersey dairy cows and tested for antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) by ELISA. Fecal samples were also collected and tested by a high-throughput Johne’s polymerase chain reaction (HT-J PCR) assay and fecal culture (FC), with the latter being used as the reference test. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The HT-J PCR and FC results were also compared. Of the 34 cows in this study, 4 had FC results consistent with MAP infection. The HT-J PCR did not identify any FC-positive cows. Using a 1:20 dilution and sample-to-positive (S/P) ratio cutoff threshold of 0.15, the relative sensitivity values of both serum (AUC 0. 56) and colostrum (AUC 0.63) were 0%. With lower sample dilutions, the relative sensitivity values of serum were 0% (1:2, AUC 0.62; 1:5, AUC 0.55); however, the relative sensitivity value of colostrum was 75% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 19–99%) at a dilution of 1:5, S/P ratio cutoff threshold of 0.15, and AUC of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.55–0.87). The testing of colostrum samples for MAP-specific antibodies by ELISA may provide improved identification of animals in the early stages of infection with MAP when compared with serum samples.
Low second-to-fourth digit ratio predicts indiscriminate social suspicion, not improved trustworthiness detection

Testosterone administration appears to make individuals less trusting, and this effect has been interpreted as an adaptive adjustment of social suspicion, that improved the accuracy of trusting decisions. Here, we consider another possibility, namely that testosterone increases the subjective cost of being duped, decreasing the propensity to trust without improving the accuracy of trusting decisions. In line with this hypothesis, we show that second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D : 4D, a proxy for effects of testosterone in the foetus) correlates with the propensity to trust, but not with the accuracy of trusting decisions. Trust game players (n = 144) trusted less when they had lower 2D : 4D (high prenatal testosterone), but their ability to detect the strategy of other players was constant (and better than chance) across all levels of digit ratio. Our results suggest that early prenatal organizing effects of testosterone in the foetus might impair rather than boost economic outcomes, by promoting indiscriminate social suspicion.
Characteristics, Contracts, and Actions: Evidence from Venture Capitalist Analyses

We study the investment analyses of 67 portfolio investments by 11 venture capital (VC) firms. VCs consider the attractiveness and risks of the business, management, and deal terms as well as expected post-investment monitoring. We then consider the relation of the analyses to the contractual terms. Greater internal and external risks are associated with more VC cash flow rights, VC control rights; greater internal risk, also with more contingencies for the entrepreneur; and greater complexity, with less contingent compensation. Finally, expected VC monitoring and support are related to the contracts. We interpret these results in relation to financial contracting theories.
The Prophylactic Effect of Probiotic Enterococcus lactis IW5 against Different Human Cancer Cells

Enterococcus lactis IW5 was obtained from human gut and the potential probiotic characteristics of this organism were then evaluated. Results showed that this strain was highly resistant to low pH and high bile salt and adhered strongly to Caco-2 human epithelial colorectal cell lines. The supernatant of E. lactis IW5 strongly inhibited the growth of several pathogenic bacteria and decreased the viability of different cancer cells, such as HeLa, MCF-7, AGS, HT-29, and Caco-2. Conversely, E. lactis IW5 did not inhibit the viability of normal FHs-74 cells. This strain did not generate toxic enzymes, including β-glucosidase, β-glucuronidase, and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase and was highly susceptible to ampicillin, gentamycin, penicillin, vancomycin, clindamycin, sulfamethoxazol, and chloramphenicol but resistant to erythromycin and tetracyclin. This study provided evidence for the effect of E. lactis IW5 on cancer cells. Therefore, E. lactis IW5, as a bioactive therapeutics, should be subjected to other relevant tests to verify the therapeutic suitability of this strain for clinical applications.
RECAST: telling apart social and random relationships in dynamic networks

In this paper, we argue that the ability to accurately spot random and social relationships in dynamic networks is essential to network applications that rely on human routines, such as, e.g., opportunistic routing. We thus propose a strategy to analyze users' interactions in mobile networks where users act according to their interests and activity dynamics. Our strategy, named Random rElationship ClASsifier sTrategy (RECAST), allows classifying users' wireless interactions, separating random interactions from different kinds of social ties. To that end, RECAST observes how the real system differs from an equivalent one where entities' decisions are completely random. We evaluate the effectiveness of the RECAST classification on real-world user contact datasets collected in diverse networking contexts. Our analysis unveils significant differences among the dynamics of users' wireless interactions in the datasets, which we leverage to unveil the impact of social ties on opportunistic routing.
Cognitive resource-aware unobtrusive service provisioning in ambient intelligence environments

The cognitive load placed on users by both the proactive and spontaneous provisioning of service functionality and by the physical activities performed in ambient intelligence environments can lead to the depletion of their mental resources. This paper demonstrates how burdening the inappropriate selection of service functionality can be for users by conducting a semi-naturalistic and controlled user test to investigate the significance of the cognitive resource depletion problem in specific ambient intelligence environments. A dynamic service binding and scheduling mechanism is provided based on different types of interference and on mental resources and their demand requirements. A technical evaluation is conducted by simulating the mechanism over a set of various abstract service compositions, making use of real datasets of user interactions with diverse HCI services and daily physical activities. The results show that this mechanism ensures less cognitively taxing, unobtrusive service composition provisioning.
How to Use SNP_TATA_Comparator to Find a Significant Change in Gene Expression Caused by the Regulatory SNP of This Gene's Promoter via a Change in Affinity of the TATA-Binding Protein for This Promoter

The use of biomedical SNP markers of diseases can improve effectiveness of treatment. Genotyping of patients with subsequent searching for SNPs more frequent than in norm is the only commonly accepted method for identification of SNP markers within the framework of translational research. The bioinformatics applications aimed at millions of unannotated SNPs of the “1000 Genomes” can make this search for SNP markers more focused and less expensive. We used our Web service involving Fisher's Z-score for candidate SNP markers to find a significant change in a gene's expression. Here we analyzed the change caused by SNPs in the gene's promoter via a change in affinity of the TATA-binding protein for this promoter. We provide examples and discuss how to use this bioinformatics application in the course of practical analysis of unannotated SNPs from the “1000 Genomes” project. Using known biomedical SNP markers, we identified 17 novel candidate SNP markers nearby: rs549858786 (rheumatoid arthritis); rs72661131 (cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis); rs562962093 (stroke); rs563558831 (cyclophosphamide bioactivation); rs55878706 (malaria resistance, leukopenia), rs572527200 (asthma, systemic sclerosis, and psoriasis), rs371045754 (hemophilia B), rs587745372 (cardiovascular events); rs372329931, rs200209906, rs367732974, and rs549591993 (all four: cancer); rs17231520 and rs569033466 (both: atherosclerosis); rs63750953, rs281864525, and rs34166473 (all three: malaria resistance, thalassemia).
An overview of Indian research in obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was considered a relatively rare disorder until about two decades ago. Since then, considerable advance has been made in understanding the various aspects of OCD that include epidemiology, clinical features, comorbidity, biology and treatment. In the last one decade, there has also been interest in a group of related disorders called obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. There is substantial research from India on various aspects of OCD, particularly from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. We attempt to review all the relevant Indian data on OCD.
Effects of Foeniculum vulgare essential oil compounds, fenchone and limonene, on experimental wound healing

Abstract We investigated the wound healing efficacy of the Foeniculum vulgare compounds, fenchone and limonene, using an excisional cutaneous wound model in rats. An excision wound was made on the back of the rat and fenchone and limonene were applied topically to the wounds once daily, separately or together, for 10 days. Tissue sections from the wounds were evaluated for histopathology. The healing potential was assessed by comparison to an untreated control group and an olive oil treated sham group. We scored wound healing based on epidermal regeneration, granulation tissue thickness and angiogenesis. After day 6, wound contraction with limonene was significantly better than for the control group. Ten days after treatment, a significant increase was observed in wound contraction and re-epithelialization in both fenchone and limonene oil treated groups compared to the sham group. Groups treated with fenchone and with fenchone + limonene scored significantly higher than the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant compared to the olive oil treated group. Our findings support the beneficial effects of fenchone and limonene for augmenting wound healing. The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of fenchone and limonene oil increased collagen synthesis and decreased the number of inflammatory cells during wound healing and may be useful for treating skin wounds.
Associations between circulating sex steroid hormones and cognition in normal elderly women

Objective: To provide exploratory analyses of associations between levels of several sex hormones and cognitive performance in elderly women. Background: Sex steroid hormones are implicated in the cognitive processes of the adult brain. Comparing cognitive performance across or between conditions associated with different hormone levels, such as phases of the menstrual cycle, surgical menopause, and estrogen replacement therapy suggests conditions with higher levels of estrogen are associated with better verbal memory and possibly worse visuospatial ability. Method: The authors measured circulating sex hormone levels in 39 highly educated, nondemented, predominantly white elderly women. Levels were correlated with neuropsychological performance, controlling for age, education, frequency of prior testing, use of estrogen replacement, and depression. Results: High estradiol levels were associated with better delayed verbal memory and retrieval efficiency, whereas low levels were associated with better immediate and delayed visual memory. Levels of testosterone were related positively to verbal fluency. Levels of progesterone and androstenedione were unrelated to cognitive performance. Conclusions: Both estrogen and testosterone showed associations with cognitive performance. Estrogen may enhance, and depress, specific cognitive skills.
Performance Analysis of a Hybrid MPI / CUDA Implementation of the NAS-LU Benchmark

The emergence of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) as a potential alternative to conventional general-purpose processors has led to significant interest in these architectures by both the academic community and the High Performance Computing (HPC) industry. While GPUs look likely to deliver unparalleled levels of performance, the publication of studies claiming performance improvements in excess of 30,000x are misleading. Significant on-node performance improvements have been demonstrated for code kernels and algorithms amenable to GPU acceleration; studies demonstrating comparable results for full scientific applications requiring multiple-GPU architectures are rare. In this paper we present an analysis of a port of the NAS LU benchmark to NVIDIA’s Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) the most stable GPU programming model currently available. Our solution is also extended to multiple nodes and multiple GPU devices. Runtime performance on several GPUs is presented, ranging from low-end, consumer-grade cards such as the 8400GS to NVIDIA’s flagship Fermi HPC processor found in the recently released C2050. We compare the runtimes of these devices to several processors including those from Intel, AMD and IBM. In addition to this we utilise a recently developed performance model of LU. With this we predict the runtime performance of LU on large-scale distributed GPU clusters, which are predicted to become commonplace in future highend HPC architectural solutions.