Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the assumption of mutual independence of jitter realizations in P-TRNG stochastic models

Security in true random number generation in cryptography is based on entropy per bit at the generator output. The entropy is evaluated using stochastic models. Several recent works propose stochastic models based on assumptions related to selected physical analog phenomena such as noise or jittery signal and on the knowledge of the principle of randomness extraction from the obtained analog signal. However, these assumptions simplify often considerably the underlying analog processes, which include several noise sources. In this paper, we present a new comprehensive multilevel approach, which enables to build the stochastic model based on detailed analysis of noise sources starting at transistor level and on conversion of the noise to the clock jitter exploited at the generator level. Using this approach, we can estimate proportion of the jitter coming only from the thermal noise, which is included in the total clock jitter.
Evaluation culture: A definition and analysis of its development within organisations

Discussions about decision-making and the kinds of knowledge that could and should be used for this purpose within the workplace have become prominent in current organisational literature. These issues are high on the agenda of the business community, and among not-for-profit agencies. Research and observation suggests that a good deal of organisational decision-making has, in the past, been based on the judgements of authority figures. It was long assumed that senior managers had the sole right to make decisions, relying on a combination of experience, political know-how and the advice of trusted others in making choices about the present and future of the agencies for which they were responsible. This situation is changing. Most organisations recognise that important executive-level decisions should involve others besides senior managers, and I have previously argued that evaluators should work cooperatively in providing ‘just in time’ information for leaders (Owen & Lambert 1998). This implies that evidence and empirically based knowledge has the capacity to enhance decision-making and the effectiveness of organisations, for example by making managers and other practitioners more aware of the context in which they operate, understanding the needs of their clients, determining the effects of major initiatives, and being accountable to funding sources. In this paper, I argue that the creation of an evaluation culture leads to a change and improvement in the ‘mix’ of ‘working knowledge’ that is used by those responsible for applying information to solve organisational problems. An evaluation culture can be regarded as a commitment to roles for evaluation in decision-making within an organisation (Owen & McDonald 1999). This is systematic enquiry which is initiated and controlled by members of the organisation, and is carried out with the explicit purpose of contributing to the stock of its working knowledge. Enquiry of this nature is not undertaken routinely, but in response to the need for empirically based knowledge to contribute to issues regarded as strategic.
Fast heuristics for the edge coloring of large graphs

Heuristic algorithms for coloring the edges of large undirected single-edge graphs with (or very close to) the minimal number of colors are presented. Compared to simulated annealing and a grouping genetic algorithm for small graphs, the heuristics were not only faster by orders of magnitude, but almost all solutions had the optimal color number; the rest differed by at most two colors. For large graphs, the heuristics were validated by an evolutionary algorithm. Here, the heuristics often found an optimum or a solution very close to it.
Multithreaded vector architectures

The purpose of this paper is to show that multi-threading techniques can be applied to a vector processor to greatly increase processor throughput and maximize resource utilization. Using a trace driven approach, we simulate a selection of the Perfect Club and Specfp92 programs and compare their execution time on a conventional vector architecture with a single memory port and on a multithreaded vector architecture. We devote an important part of this paper to study the interaction between multi-threading and main memory latency. This paper focuses on maximizing the usage of the memory port, the most expensive resource is typical vector computers. A study of the cost associated with the duplication of the vector register file is also carried out. Overall, multithreading provides for this architecture a performance advantage of more than a factor of 1.4 for realistic memory latencies, and can drive the utilization of the single memory port as high as 95%.
Validation of ozone data from the Superconducting Submillimeter‐Wave Limb‐Emission Sounder (SMILES)

The Superconducting Submillimeter‐Wave Limb‐Emission Sounder (SMILES) onboard the International Space Station provided global measurements of ozone profiles in the middle atmosphere from 12 October 2009 to 21 April 2010. We present validation studies of the SMILES version 2.1 ozone product based on coincidence statistics with satellite observations and outputs of chemistry and transport models (CTMs). Comparisons of the stratospheric ozone with correlative data show agreements that are generally within 10%. In the mesosphere, the agreement is also good and better than 30% even at a high altitude of 73 km, and the SMILES measurements with their local time coverage also capture the diurnal variability very well. The recommended altitude range for scientific use is from 16 to 73 km. We note that the SMILES ozone values for altitude above 26 km are smaller than some of the correlative satellite datasets; conversely the SMILES values in the lower stratosphere tend to be larger than correlative data, particularly in the tropics, with less than 8% difference below ~24 km. The larger values in the lower stratosphere are probably due to departure of retrieval results between two detection bands at altitudes below 28 km; it is ~3% at 24 km and is increasing rapidly down below.
Hybrid POMDP Algorithms

When an agent evolves in a partially observable environment, it has to deal with uncertainties when choosing its actions. An efficient model for such environments is to use partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs). Many algorithms have been developed for POMDPs. Some use an offline approach, learning a complete policy before the execution. Others use an online approach, constructing the policy online for the current belief state. In this article, we present three hybrid algorithms that have been developed to combine the strengths of these two extremes approaches (offline and online). We present results showing that hybrid algorithms can often obtained better results than the online or the offline algorithms alone.
Frequencies of Certain Complement Protein Alleles and Serum Levels of Anti–Heat-Shock Protein Antibodies in Cerebrovascular Diseases

Background and Purpose A strong correlation exists between the intensity of atherosclerotic alterations in different arteries. Marked differences exist, however, in the age and sex distribution and risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). We therefore performed genetic and immunologic studies in patients with CVD. Methods We studied 292 patients with CVD (stroke or transient ischemic attack) and as control either 198 healthy blood donors and 485 healthy elderly (aged >60 years) people (genetic study) or 94 blood donors aged 45 to 60 years and 49 healthy elderly (aged >60 years) people (anti–heat-shock protein [hsp] measurements). Allele frequencies of 3 genes (C4A, C4B, and C3) encoding proteins of the complement system were determined by electrophoresis and immunofixation. Serum concentration of autoantibodies against 60-kDa heat-shock protein (anti-hsp60) was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results Marked differences were observed between CVD patients and controls in the genetic studies. In the CVD patients aged >60 years, the frequency (11.3%) of the deficient allele of the C4B gene (C4B*Q0) was significantly (P =0.0003) higher than that of the healthy controls (5.4%). By contrast, in the group aged 45 to 60 years, the frequency of the C4B*Q0 allele was lower in patients than in controls. Serum concentration of anti-hsp60 in the CVD patients did not differ from control values. Conclusions In previous studies C4B*Q0 frequency was reported to be higher in CHD patients aged 45 to 60 years than in aged-matched controls. Moreover, high anti-hsp60 levels were found in CHD patients. These findings contrast with our present report of lower frequency of C4B*Q0 in CVD patients. Therefore, genetic and immunologic factors may at least partly explain the differences between the natural history and risk factors of CHD and CVD.
Face super-resolution based on online dictionary learning

Recent learning-based face super-resolution methods, such as Yang’s Sparse Coding Super-Resolution (SCSR) are promising with sharp edges visually. But it also leads to obvious artifacts. In order to eliminate the artifacts, Online Dictionary Learning (ODL) algorithm is introduced in the dictionary learning phase to generate accurate overcomplete dictionary. On the other hand, the reconstruction regularization parameter is tuned independently to acquire the optimal sparse coefficient. With the solved dictionary and sparse coefficient, the recovered high-resolution image patches are predicted to reconstruct the target output image. In the experiments, the PSNRs and SSIMs of the proposed method are much higher than some state-of-theart super-resolution methods. The PSNR is 0.85dB higher than SCSR in average, while the SSIM is 0.0133 higher. The artifacts and noise along the edges and corners are both eliminated effectively. More details of the faces are added to make the recovered high-resolution image clear. Additionally, the PSNRs decreases more smoothly while the noise level of the input lowresolution image increases. It means that the proposed algorithm has promising performance in super-resolution reconstruction with good denoising effect. Keywordssuper-resolution reconstruction; face; online dictionary learning; sparse representation
Why do results differ between studies ? *

The two perhaps most influential empirical labor supply studies carried out in the U.S. in recent years, Hausman (1981) and MaCurdy, Green & Paarsch (1990), report sharply contradicting labor supply estimates. In this paper we seek to uncover the driving forces behind the seemingly irreconcilable results. Our findings suggest that differences with respect to the estimated income and wage effects can be attributed to the use of differing nonlabor income and wage measures, respectively, in the two studies. Monte Carlo experiments suggest that the wage measure adopted by MaCurdy et al might cause a severely downward biased wage effect such that data falsely refute the basic notion of utility maximization.
Numerical simulations of a traveling plane-wave actuator for microfluidic applications

Continuous forming and propagation of large planar deformations on a thin solid elastic film can create propulsion when the film is immersed in a fluid. Microscopic organisms such as spermatozoa use similar mechanisms to propel themselves. In this work, we present a numerical analysis of the effect of traveling plane-wave deformations on an elastic-film actuator within a fluid medium inside a channel. In particular, we analyzed a micropump that consists of a wave actuator, which is placed in a channel to pump the fluid in the direction of the planedeformation waves. The unsteady flow over the moving boundary between the parallel plates has very low Reynolds number, and, hence, is modeled using the two-dimensional time-dependent Stokes equations. The fluid-structure interaction due to moving boundary is modeled with the arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method incorporating the Winslow smoothing. COMSOL is used to solve two-dimensional timedependent Stokes equations on a deforming mesh, and to carry out simulations of the flow. Effects of the deformation amplitude, wavelength, frequency and channel height on the flow rate are presented.
MTOC reorientation occurs during FcγR- mediated phagocytosis in macrophages

Cell polarization is essential for targeting signaling elements and organelles to active plasma membrane regions. In a few specialized cell types, cell polarity is enhanced by reorientation of the MTOC and associated organelles toward dynamic membrane sites. Phagocytosis is a highly polarized process whereby particles >0.5 microm are internalized at stimulated regions on the cell surface of macrophages. Here we provide detailed evidence that the MTOC reorients toward the site of particle internalization during phagocytosis. We visualized MTOC proximity to IgG-sRBCs in fixed RAW264.7 cells, during live cell imaging using fluorescent chimeras to label the MTOC and using frustrated phagocytosis assays. MTOC reorientation in macrophages is initiated by FcgammaR ligation and is complete within 1 h. Polarization of the MTOC toward the phagosome requires the MT cytoskeleton and dynein motor activity. cdc42, PI3K, and mPAR-6 are all important signaling molecules for MTOC reorientation during phagocytosis. MTOC reorientation was not essential for particle internalization or phagolysosome formation. However Golgi reorientation in concert with MTOC reorientation during phagocytosis implicates MTOC reorientation in antigen processing events in macrophages.
West Nile Virus Infection Activates the Unfolded Protein Response, Leading to CHOP Induction and Apoptosis

ABSTRACT West Nile virus (WNV)-mediated neuronal death is a hallmark of WNV meningitis and encephalitis. However, the mechanisms of WNV-induced neuronal damage are not well understood. We investigated WNV neuropathogenesis by using human neuroblastoma cells and primary rat hippocampal neurons. We observed that WNV activates multiple unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways, leading to transcriptional and translational induction of UPR target genes. We evaluated the role of the three major UPR pathways, namely, inositol-requiring enzyme 1-dependent splicing of X box binding protein 1 (XBP1) mRNA, activation of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), and protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase-dependent eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) phosphorylation, in WNV-infected cells. We show that XBP1 is nonessential or can be replaced by other UPR pathways in WNV replication. ATF6 was rapidly degraded by proteasomes, consistent with induction of ER stress by WNV. We further observed a transient phosphorylation of eIF2α and induction of the proapoptotic cyclic AMP response element-binding transcription factor homologous protein (CHOP). WNV-infected cells exhibited a number of apoptotic phenotypes, such as (i) induction of growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible gene 34, (ii) activation of caspase-3, and (iii) cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. The expression of WNV nonstructural proteins alone was sufficient to induce CHOP expression. Importantly, WNV grew to significantly higher viral titers in chop−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) than in wild-type MEFs, suggesting that CHOP-dependent premature cell death represents a host defense mechanism to limit viral replication that might also be responsible for the widespread neuronal loss observed in WNV-infected neuronal tissue.
Image re-ranking based on statistics of frequent patterns

Text-based image retrieval is a popular and simple framework consisting in using text annotations (e.g. image names, tags) to perform image retrieval, allowing to handle efficiently very large image collections. Even if the set of images retrieved using text annotations is noisy, it constitutes a reasonable initial set of images that can be considered as a bootstrap and improved further by analyzing image content. In this context, this paper introduces an approach for improving this initial set by re-ranking the so-obtained images, assuming that non-relevant images are scattered (i.e. they do not form clusters), unlike the relevant ones. More specifically, the approach consists in computing efficiently and on the fly frequent closed patterns, and in re-ranking images based on the number of patterns they contain. To do this, the paper introduces a simple but powerful new scoring function. The approach is validated on three different datasets for which state-of-the-art results are obtained.
Corrosion Behaviour of Metals in Artificial Sweat

Human sweat comes in contact with a number of consumer products. This results in a variety of undesirable effects such as corrosion and malfunction. Corrosion behaviour of three metals, namely, mild steel (MS), galvanized steel (GS) and SS 316 L in artificial sweat (the ISO standard ISO 3160-2) has been studied by polarization study and AC impedance spectra. The study reveals that the decreasing order of corrosion resistance is SS 316 L > MS > GS.
The role of rankings in growing city competition

This paper concentrates on the question of how cities cope with the results of national and international city rankings and how a specific ranking approach can be used as a strategic instrument for policy advice. Introducing this topic, the first section provides a discussion of benefits and limits of city rankings. Based on this discussion, a comprehensive city-ranking approach is developed, which tries to meet the requirements of knowledge-based economic urban development by defining and applying an innovative sample of indicators. Finally, the paper elaborates the meaning of city rankings as a knowledge-based instrument as well as the possibilities for cities to make use of ranking results. Answering these issues, the paper concludes with proposals for making city rankings a more significant and effective instrument for steering economic, social and spatial processes in cities: it suggests recommendations for researchers and analysts dealing with the design and methodology of city rankings, on the one hand, and for local governments and stakeholders concerning the reasonable handling of results on the other.
Basolateral Invasion and Trafficking of Campylobacter jejuni in Polarized Epithelial Cells

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial diarrheal disease. Most enteropathogenic bacteria including C. jejuni can invade cultured eukaryotic cells via an actin- and/or microtubule-dependent and an energy-consuming uptake process. Recently, we identified a novel highly efficient C. jejuni invasion pathway that involves bacterial migration into the subcellular space of non-polarized epithelial cells (termed subvasion) followed by invasion from the cell basis. Here we report cellular requirements of this entry mechanism and the subsequent intracellular trafficking route of C. jejuni in polarized islands of Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells. Advanced microscopy on infected cells revealed that C. jejuni invades the polarized intestinal cells via the subcellular invasion pathway. Remarkably, invasion was not blocked by the inhibitors of microtubule dynamics colchicine or paclitaxel, and was even enhanced after disruption of host cell actin filaments by cytochalasin D. Invasion also continued after dinitrophenol-induced cellular depletion of ATP, whereas this compound effectively inhibited the uptake of invasive Escherichia coli. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that intracellular C. jejuni resided in membrane-bound CD63-positive cellular compartments for up to 24 h. Establishment of a novel luciferase reporter-based bacterial viability assay, developed to overcome the limitations of the classical bacterial recovery assay, demonstrated that a subset of C. jejuni survived intracellularly for up to 48 h. Taken together, our results indicate that C. jejuni is able to actively invade polarized intestinal epithelial cells via a novel actin- and microtubule-independent mechanism and remains metabolically active in the intracellular niche for up to 48 hours.
Parents’ Views of Failure Predict Children’s Fixed and Growth Intelligence Mind-Sets

Children’s intelligence mind-sets (i.e., their beliefs about whether intelligence is fixed or malleable) robustly influence their motivation and learning. Yet, surprisingly, research has not linked parents’ intelligence mind-sets to their children’s. We tested the hypothesis that a different belief of parents—their failure mind-sets—may be more visible to children and therefore more prominent in shaping their beliefs. In Study 1, we found that parents can view failure as debilitating or enhancing, and that these failure mind-sets predict parenting practices and, in turn, children’s intelligence mind-sets. Study 2 probed more deeply into how parents display failure mind-sets. In Study 3a, we found that children can indeed accurately perceive their parents’ failure mind-sets but not their parents’ intelligence mind-sets. Study 3b showed that children’s perceptions of their parents’ failure mind-sets also predicted their own intelligence mind-sets. Finally, Study 4 showed a causal effect of parents’ failure mind-sets on their responses to their children’s hypothetical failure. Overall, parents who see failure as debilitating focus on their children’s performance and ability rather than on their children’s learning, and their children, in turn, tend to believe that intelligence is fixed rather than malleable.
How useful is Structural VAR Analysis for Irish economics

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the methodology known as Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) analysis and to examine its applicability in the context of Irish macroeconomics. The SVAR approach has been developed over the last decade to interpret business cycle fluctuations and to help identify the effects of different economic policies. It is an extension on the traditional atheoretic VAR approach in that it combines economic theory with time-series analysis to determine the dynamic response of economic variables to various disturbances. The main advantage with SVAR analysis is that the necessary restrictions on the estimated reduced form model, required for identification of the underlying structural model, can be provided by economic theory. These restrictions can be either contemporaneous or long-run in nature depending on whether the underlying disturbances are considered to be temporary or permanent in nature. Once the identification is achieved it is possible to recover the structural shocks. These shocks can then be used to generate impulse response and variance decomposition functions to assess the dynamic impacts on different economic variables. In addition these functions can be used to test whether such shocks affect the economic variables as economic theory would predict so providing a check on the theory. SVAR analysis has been used internationally to examine a variety of research topics, such as asymmetric shocks from monetary union and impacts of exchange rate movements. A number of research topics in the Irish context that could benefit from SVAR analysis are identified. These topics relate mainly to areas of inflation, exchange rate and monetary policy. The SVAR is an important and useful methodology that is worthy of more attention by the Irish economics community than it currently receives.