Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Worst Case Bound of an LRF Schedule for the Mean Weighted Flow-Time Problem

This paper studies the problem of scheduling a set of n independent tasks on m identical processors so as to minimize mean weighted flow-time. The problem is known to be NP-complete for $m \geqq 2$ and to be NP-complete in the strong sense for m arbitrary.The worst case behavior of a heuristic algorithm which requires time $O(n\log n)$ is investigated, and it is shown that the mean weighted flow-time obtained by the algorithm does not exceed ${{(\sqrt 2 + 1)} / 2} \cong 1.0207$ times that of an optimal schedule. Moreover the bound ${{(\sqrt 2 + 1)} / 2}$ is best possible.
Noise and Chaos Contributions in Fast Random Bit Sequence Generated From Broadband Optoelectronic Entropy Sources

During the last 4 years, chaotic waveforms for random number generation found a deep interest within the community of analogue broadband chaotic optical systems. Earlier investigations on chaos-based RNG were proposed in the 90s and early 2000, however mainly based on piecewise linear (PL) 1D map, with bit rate determined by analog electronic processing capabilities to provide the PL nonlinear function of concern. Optical chaos came with promises for much higher bit rate, and entropy sources based on high complexity (high dimensional) continuous time (differential) dynamics. More specifically in 2009, Reidler published a paper entitled “An optical ultrafast random bit generator”, in which they presented a physical system for a random number generator based on a chaotic semiconductor laser. This generator is claimed to reach potentially the extremely high rate of 300 Gb/s. We report on analysis and experiments of their method, which leads to the discussion about the actual origin of the obtained randomness. Through standard signal theory arguments, we show that the actual binary randomness quality obtained from this method, can be interpreted as a complex mixing operated on the initial analogue entropy source. Our analysis suggests an explanation about the already reported issue that this method does not necessarily require any specific deterministic property (i.e., chaos) from the physical signal used as the source of entropy. The bit stream randomness quality is found to result from “aliasing” phenomena performed by the post-processing method, both for the sampling and the quantization operations. As an illustration, such random bit sequences extracted from different entropy sources are investigated. Optoelectronic noise is used as a non deterministic entropy source. Electro-optic phase chaotic signal, as well as simulations of its deterministic model, are used as deterministic entropy sources. In all cases, the extracted bit sequence reveals excellent randomness.
Molecular electronics: from devices and interconnect to circuits and architecture

As the dominating CMOS technology is fast approaching a "brick wall," new opportunities arise for competing solutions. Nanoelectronics has achieved several breakthroughs lately and promises to overcome many of the limitations intrinsic to current semiconductor approaches. Most of the results in this area reported until now focus on devices and interconnect; this work goes several steps further and presents issues related to circuits and architecture. Based on proposed nanoscale interconnect and device structures, we explore the design space available to the nanoelectronic circuit designer and system architect.
Short Grit Scale

Directions for taking the Grit Scale: Here are a number of statements that may or may not apply to you. For the most accurate score, when responding, think of how you compare to most people-not just the people you know well, but most people in the world. There are no right or wrong answers, so just answer honestly! 1. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones. * Very much like me Mostly like me Somewhat like me Not much like me Not like me at all 2. Setbacks don't discourage me. Very much like me Mostly like me Somewhat like me Not much like me Not like me at all 3. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest. * Very much like me Mostly like me Somewhat like me Not much like me Not like me at all 4. I am a hard worker. Very much like me Mostly like me Somewhat like me Not much like me Not like me at all 5. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one. * Very much like me Mostly like me Somewhat like me Not much like me Not like me at all 6. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete. * Very much like me Mostly like me Somewhat like me
Oxford NOTECHS II: A Modified Theatre Team Non-Technical Skills Scoring System

Background We previously developed and validated the Oxford NOTECHS rating system for evaluating the non-technical skills of an entire operating theatre team. Experience with the scale identified the need for greater discrimination between levels of performance within the normal range. We report here the development of a modified scale (Oxford NOTECHS II) to facilitate this. The new measure uses an eight-point instead of a four point scale to measure each dimension of non-technical skills, and begins with a default rating of 6 for each element. We evaluated this new scale in 297 operations at five NHS sites in four surgical specialities. Measures of theatre process reliability (glitch count) and compliance with the WHO surgical safety checklist were scored contemporaneously, and relationships with NOTECHS II scores explored. Results Mean team Oxford NOTECHS II scores was 73.39 (range 37–92). The means for surgical, anaesthetic and nursing sub-teams were 24.61 (IQR 23, 27); 24.22 (IQR 23, 26) and 24.55 (IQR 23, 26). Oxford NOTECHS II showed good inter-rater reliability between human factors and clinical observers in each of the four domains. Teams with high WHO compliance had higher mean Oxford NOTECHS II scores (74.5) than those with low compliance (71.1) (p = 0.010). We observed only a weak correlation between Oxford NOTECHS II scores and glitch count; r = −0.26 (95% CI −0.36 to −0.15). Oxford NOTECHS II scores did not vary significantly between 5 different hospital sites, but a significant difference was seen between specialities (p = 0.001). Conclusions Oxford NOTECHS II provides good discrimination between teams while retaining reliability and correlation with other measures of teamwork performance, and is not confounded by technical performance. It is therefore suitable for combined use with a technical performance scale to provide a global description of operating theatre team performance.
The Physics of Twisted Magnetic Tubes Rising in a Stratified Medium: Two-dimensional Results

The physics of a twisted magnetic flux tube rising in a stratified medium is studied using a numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code. The problem considered is fully compressible (has no Boussinesq approximation), includes ohmic resistivity, and is two-dimensional, i.e., there is no variation of the variables in the direction of the tube axis. We study a high-plasma β-case with a small ratio of radius to external pressure scale height. The results obtained will therefore be of relevance to understanding the transport of magnetic flux across the solar convection zone. We confirm that a sufficient twist of the field lines around the tube axis can suppress the conversion of the tube into two vortex rolls. For a tube with a relative density deficit on the order of 1/β (the classical Parker buoyancy) and a radius smaller than the pressure scale height (R2≪H2p), the minimum amount of twist necessary corresponds to an average pitch angle on the order of sin-1 [(R/Hp)1/2]. The evolution of a tube with this degree of twist is studied in detail, including the initial transient phase, the internal torsional oscillations, and the asymptotic, quasi-stationary phase. During the initial phase, the outermost, weakly magnetized layers of the tube are torn off its main body and endowed with vorticity. They yield a trailing magnetized wake with two vortex rolls. The fraction of the total magnetic flux that is brought to the wake is a function of the initial degree of twist. In the weakly twisted case, most of the initial tube is turned into vortex rolls. With a strong initial twist, the tube rises with only a small deformation and no substantial loss of magnetic flux. The formation of the wake and the loss of flux from the main body of the tube are basically complete after the initial transient phase. A sharp interface between the tube interior and the external flows is formed at the tube front and sides; this area has the characteristic features of a magnetic boundary layer. Its structure is determined as an equilibrium between ohmic diffusion and field advection through the external flows. It is the site of vorticity generation via the magnetic field during the whole tube evolution. From the hydrodynamical point of view, this problem constitutes an intermediate case between the rise of air bubbles in water and the motion of a rigid cylinder in an external medium. As with bubbles, the tube is deformable and the outcome of the experiment (the shape of the rising object and the wake) depends on the value of the Weber number. Several structural features obtained in the present simulation are also observed in rising air bubbles, such as a central tail, and a skirt enveloping the wake. As in rigid cylinders, the boundary layer satisfies a no-slip condition (provided for in the tube by the magnetic field), and secondary rolls are formed at the lateral edges of the moving object.
Improvements to the IBM Aurora 2 multi-condition system

In this paper we describe some recent improvements to the performance of the Aurora 2 noisy digits speech recognition system for the matched training and test condition. The al-gorithms that we used pertain to discriminant acoustic modeling based on the Maximum Mutual Information (MMI) criterion, non-linear speaker/channel adaptation through probability distribution function matching. In addition, we revis-ited our last year’s baseline system and improved its performance through cross-word context dependent modeling and Gaussian mixture components selection using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The aggregated result is 93.3% word accuracy for the multi-conditiontraining data scenario.
Semantic Role Labeling of Implicit Arguments for Nominal Predicates

Nominal predicates often carry implicit arguments. Recent work on semantic role labeling has focused on identifying arguments within the local context of a predicate; implicit arguments, however, have not been systematically examined. To address this limitation, we have manually annotated a corpus of implicit arguments for ten predicates from NomBank. Through analysis of this corpus, we find that implicit arguments add 71% to the argument structures that are present in NomBank. Using the corpus, we train a discriminative model that is able to identify implicit arguments with an F1 score of 50%, significantly outperforming an informed baseline model. This article describes our investigation, explores a wide variety of features important for the task, and discusses future directions for work on implicit argument identification.
Er-Doped Mode-Locked Fiber Laser With a Hybrid Structure of a Step-Index–Graded-Index Multimode Fiber as the Saturable Absorber

A mode-locked all-fiber laser based on the nonlinear multimode interference (NL-MMI) effect of the graded-index multimode fiber (GIMF) is proposed and demonstrated. The saturable absorber (SA) used in the laser consists of a step-index multimode fiber (SIMF) connected by a GIMF. Compared with the theoretically proposed SMF–GIMF–SMF structure, the introduction of the SIMF eliminates the restriction on the length of the GIMF and provides a more flexible method of making an SA based on the NL-MMI. Through bending the device to a certain state, the modulation depth of the SA was measured to be 3.16%. The mode-locked laser output pulses have the pulsewidth of ∼446 fs, the bandwidth of 4.48 nm, and the fundamental repetition rate of 11.73 MHz. This versatility and simplicity of the SA device combined with the possibility of scaling the pulse energy in the large-mode-area double-clad fiber laser make it highly attractive in ultrafast photonics.
Final state and thermodynamics of a dark energy universe

As it follows from the classical analysis, the typical final state of a dark energy universe where a dominant energy condition is violated is a finite-time, sudden future singularity (a big rip). For a number of dark energy universes (including scalar phantom and effective phantom theories as well as specific quintessence models) we demonstrate that quantum effects play the dominant role near a big rip, driving the universe out of a future singularity (or, at least, moderating it). As a consequence, the entropy bounds with quantum corrections become well defined near a big rip. Similarly, black hole mass loss due to phantom accretion is not so dramatic as was expected: masses do not vanish to zero due to the transient character of the phantom evolution stage. Some examples of cosmological evolution for a negative, time-dependent equation of state are also considered with the same conclusions. The application of negative entropy (or negative temperature) occurrence in the phantom thermodynamics is briefly discussed.
The interactions between soil–biosphere–atmosphere (ISBA) land surface model multi-energy balance (MEB) option in SURFEXv8 – Part 2: Introduction of a litter formulation and model evaluation for local-scale forest sites

Land surface models (LSMs) need to balance a complicated trade-off between computational cost and complexity in order to adequately represent the exchanges of energy, water and matter with the atmosphere and the ocean. Some current generation LSMs use a simplified or composite canopy approach that generates recurrent errors in simulated soil temperature and turbulent fluxes. In response to these issues, a new version of the interactions between soil-biosphere-atmosphere (ISBA) land surface model has recently been developed that explicitly solves the transfer of energy and water from the upper canopy and the forest floor, which is characterized as a litter layer. The multi-energy balance (MEB) version of ISBA is first evaluated for three well-instrumented contrasting local-scale sites, and sensitivity tests are performed to explore the behavior of new model parameters. Second, ISBA-MEB is benchmarked against observations from 42 forested sites from the global micro-meteorological network (FLUXNET) for multiple annual cycles. It is shown that ISBA-MEB outperforms the composite version of ISBA in improving the representation of soil temperature, ground, sensible and, to a lesser extent, latent heat fluxes. Both versions of ISBA give comparable results in terms of simulated latent heat flux because of the similar formulations of the water uptake and the stomatal resistance. However, MEB produces a better agreement with the observations of sensible heat flux than the previous version of ISBA for 87.5 % of the simulated years across the 42 forested FLUXNET sites. Most of this improvement arises owing to the improved simulation of the ground conduction flux, which is greatly improved using MEB, especially owing to the forest litter parameterization. It is also shown that certain processes are also modelled more realistically (such as the partitioning of evapotranspiration into transpiration and ground evaporation), even if certain statistical performances are neutral. The analyses demonstrate that the shading effect of the vegetation, the explicit treatment of turbulent transfer for the canopy and ground, and the insulating thermal and hydrological effects of the forest floor litter turn out to be essential for simulating the exchange of energy, water and matter across a large range of forest types and climates.
Doubly Robust Off-policy Value Evaluation for Reinforcement Learning

We study the problem of off-policy value evaluation in reinforcement learning (RL), where one aims to estimate the value of a new policy based on data collected by a different policy. This problem is often a critical step when applying RL in real-world problems. Despite its importance, existing general methods either have uncontrolled bias or suffer high variance. In this work, we extend the doubly robust estimator for bandits to sequential decision-making problems, which gets the best of both worlds: it is guaranteed to be unbiased and can have a much lower variance than the popular importance sampling estimators. We demonstrate the estimator's accuracy in several benchmark problems, and illustrate its use as a subroutine in safe policy improvement. We also provide theoretical results on the hardness of the problem, and show that our estimator can match the lower bound in certain scenarios.
Hemoglobin function in deep-sea and hydrothermal-vent endemic fish: Symenchelis parasitica (Anguillidae) and Thermarces cerberus (Zoarcidae)

SUMMARY Deep-sea hydrothermal vents probably provide the harshest physico-chemical conditions confronting metazoan animals in nature. Given the absence of information on hemoglobin (Hb) function in hydrothermal-vent vertebrates, and the complex molecular and functional adaptations observed in hydrothermal-vent invertebrates, we investigated the oxygenation reactions of Hbs from the vent-endemic zoarcid Thermarces cerberus and the deep-sea anguillid Symenchelis parasitica from adjacent habitats. Electrophoretically cathodic and anodic isoHbs from S. parasitica exhibit radical differences in O2 affinity and pH and organic phosphate (ATP) sensitivities, reflecting a division of labor as in other `class II' fish that express both Hb types. Remarkably, the cathodic Hb (I) lacks chloride sensitivity, and the anodic Hb (II) shows anticooperativity near half-saturation at low temperature. T. cerberus isoHbs exhibit similar affinities and pH sensitivities (`class I' pattern) but much higher O2 affinities than those observed in Hbs of the temperate, shallow-water zoarcid Zoarces viviparus, which, unless compensated, reveals markedly higher blood O2 affinities in the former species. The temperature sensitivity of O2 binding to T. cerberus Hbs and the anodic S. parasitica Hb, which have normal Bohr effects, is decreased by endothermic proton dissociation, which reduces the effects of ambient temperature variations on O2 affinity. In the cathodic S. parasitica Hb, similar reduction appears to be associated with endothermic conformational changes that accompany the oxygenation reaction.
Increased Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated with Cardiovascular Complications – A National Population-Based Cohort Study

Background and Objectives There have been few large population-based studies of the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and glomerulonephritis. This nationwide cohort study investigated the risks of developing CKD and glomerulonephritis in patients with RA, and the associated risks for cardiovascular complications. Methods From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified a study cohort of 12,579 patients with RA and randomly selected 37,737 subjects without RA as a control cohort. Each subject was individually followed for up for 5 years, and the risk of CKD was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results During the follow-up period, after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors RA was independently associated with a significantly increased risk of CKD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23–1.40) and glomerulonephritis (aHR 1.55; 95% CI 1.37–1.76). Increased risk of CKD was also associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cyclosporine, glucocorticoids, mycophenolate mofetil, and cyclophosphamide. Patients with comorbidities had even greater increased risk of CKD. Moreover, RA patients with concurrent CKD had significantly higher likelihood of developing ischemic heart disease and stroke. Conclusions RA patients had higher risk of developing CKD and glomerulonephritis, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Their increased risk of CKD may be attributed to glomerulonephritis, chronic inflammation, comorbidities, and renal toxicity of antirheumatic drugs. Careful monitoring of renal function in RA patients and tight control of their comorbid diseases and cardiovascular risk factors are warranted.
Bacteria and archaea paleomicrobiology of the dental calculus: a review.

Dental calculus, a material observed in the majority of adults worldwide, emerged as a source for correlating paleomicrobiology with human health and diet. This mini review of 48 articles on the paleomicrobiology of dental calculus over 7550 years discloses a secular core microbiota comprising nine bacterial phyla - Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, TM7, Synergistetes, Chloroflexi, Fusobacteria, Spirochetes - and one archaeal phylum Euryarchaeota; and some accessory microbiota that appear and disappear according to time frame. The diet residues and oral microbes, including bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi, consisting of harmless organisms and pathogens associated with local and systemic infections have been found trapped in ancient dental calculus by morphological approaches, immunolabeling techniques, isotope analyses, fluorescent in situ hybridization, DNA-based approaches, and protein-based approaches. These observations led to correlation of paleomicrobiology, particularly Streptococcus mutans and archaea, with past human health and diet.
Inverse Association between Raf Kinase Inhibitory Protein and Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription 3 Expression in Gastric Adenocarcinoma Patients: Implications for Clinical Outcome

Purpose: Raf Kinase Inhibitory Protein (RKIP) plays a pivotal role in cancer by regulating apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents, or immune-mediated stimuli and is a metastasis suppressor protein. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that is frequently activated in gastric adenocarcinomas, thereby promoting tumor growth. We examined the expression patterns of RKIP and STAT3 with regard to human gastric cancer, predicting that elevated RKIP status may favor clinical outcome. Experimental Design: Tissue microarrays were created from samples from 143 patients with gastric adenocarcinomas. The microarrays were immunohistochemically stained for RKIP and STAT3, and the intensity and extent of the staining was semiquantitatively scored. Results: In intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinomas, RKIP and STAT3, expression were inversely associated. Cytoplasmic RKIP expression directly correlated with patient survival. Nuclear STAT3 expression inversely correlated with survival. In the diffuse tumor type, no significant correlation was found between RKIP and patient outcome. In the intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma, multivariate analysis adjusted for treatment types revealed RKIP and tumor stage to be significant independent predictors of survival. In the diffuse tumor type, stage was the only significant predictor of survival. Conclusion: These results indicate the predictive and protective role of cytoplasmic RKIP expression in gastric adenocarcinoma of the intestinal subtype. In contrast, nuclear STAT3 expression is associated with poor patient prognosis in the intestinal subtype. Significantly, we show an inverse association between RKIP and STAT3 and a positive correlation between RKIP and patient survival.