Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multichannel ARQ protocols

The performance of stop-and-wait, go-back-N, and selective-repeat ARQ protocols is examined for a multichannel system. The channels can either operate independently or jointly. For each protocol, the results obtained include throughput efficiency and delay. The results are also validated by computer simulations. The performance is compared to that of the single-channel system under the constraint of fixed total capacity. It is observed that the multichannel system has a chance to outperform the single-channel system. >
The biogeography of climate change risk for Scotland's woodland biodiversity: epiphytes

ABSTRACT The biodiversity threat of human-induced climate change occurs because shifts in temperature, precipitation, etc. are expected to be large and rapid, while at the same time species vulnerability is increased because of habitat loss and fragmentation, weakening an effective ecological response to climate change. Here, we map both the species exposure to climate change – a decline in suitable climatic condition for areas with diverse lichen epiphyte assemblages – and vulnerability measured as the landscape extent of native woodland, which can provide microclimatic refugia. Choropleth maps for Scotland reveal regional contrasts in the risk for lichen epiphytes; a difference between northeast Scotland, with high exposure to climate change but lower potential vulnerability, and western Scotland with a lower (or more ambiguous) exposure, but high vulnerability because of landscapes with smaller and isolated woodlands. The analysis is general and large scale, relating to species biogeography, but helps to identify key actions at smaller, habitat scales.
Algorithms for solving Boolean satisfiability in combinational circuits

Boolean satisfiability is a ubiquitous modeling tool in Electronic Design Automation (EDA). It finds application in test pattern generation, delay-fault testing, combinational equivalence checking and circuit delay computation, among many other problems. Moreover Boolean satisfiability is in the core of algorithms for solving binate covering problems. This paper describes how Boolean satisfiability algorithms can take circuit structure into account when solving instances derived from combinational circuits. Potential advantages include smaller run times, the utilization of circuit-specific search pruning techniques, avoiding the overspecification problem that characterizes Boolean satisfiability testers, and reducing the time for iteratively generating instances of SAT from circuits. The experimental results obtained on several benchmark examples in two different problem domains display dramatic reductions in the run times of the algorithms, and provide clear evidence that computed solutions can have significantly less specified variable assignments than those obtained with common SAT algorithms.
Online Learning under Delayed Feedback

Online learning with delayed feedback has received increasing attention recently due to its several applications in distributed, web-based learning problems. In this paper we provide a systematic study of the topic, and analyze the effect of delay on the regret of online learning algorithms. Somewhat surprisingly, it turns out that delay increases the regret in a multiplicative way in adversarial problems, and in an additive way in stochastic problems. We give meta-algorithms that transform, in a black-box fashion, algorithms developed for the non-delayed case into ones that can handle the presence of delays in the feedback loop. Modifications of the well-known UCB algorithm are also developed for the bandit problem with delayed feedback, with the advantage over the meta-algorithms that they can be implemented with lower complexity.
Perioperative Complications and Outcome of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in 20 Dogs.

OBJECTIVE To report the complications and outcome of dogs undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy for uncomplicated gall bladder disease. STUDY DESIGN Multi-institutional case series. ANIMALS Client-owned dogs (n=20). METHODS Medical records of dogs that underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy were reviewed and signalment, history, clinical and ultrasound examination findings, surgical variables, and complications were collated. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed using a multiport approach. Data were compared between dogs with successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy and dogs requiring conversion to open cholecystectomy. RESULTS Six dogs (30%) required conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy due to inability to ligate the cystic duct (3), evidence of gall bladder rupture (1), leakage from the cystic duct during dissection (1), and cardiac arrest (1). Cystic duct dissection was performed in 19 dogs using an articulating dissector (10), right angle forceps (7), and unrecorded (2). The cystic duct was ligated in 15 dogs using surgical clips (5), suture (6), or a combination (4). All dogs were discharged from the hospital and had resolution of clinical signs, although 1 dog developed pancreatitis and 1 dog required revision surgery for bile peritonitis. There was no significant difference in preoperative blood analysis results, surgical technique, or duration of hospitalization between dogs undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy and cases converted to open cholecystectomy. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed successfully for uncomplicated gall bladder disease in dogs after careful case selection. The surgeon considering laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be familiar with a variety of methods for cystic duct dissection and ligation to avoid difficulties during the procedure.
Income-related inequality in health and health-related behaviour: exploring the equalisation hypothesis

Background Previous studies have found the socioeconomic gradient in health among adolescents to be lower than that observed during childhood and adulthood. The aim of this study was to examine income-related inequalities in health and health-related behaviour across the lifespan in England to explore ‘equalisation’ in adolescence. Methods We used five years of data (2006–2010) from the Health Survey for England to explore inequalities in six indicators: self-assessed general health, longstanding illness, limiting longstanding illness, psychosocial wellbeing, obesity and smoking status. We ran separate analyses by age/gender groups. Inequality was measured using concentration indices. Results Our findings for longstanding illnesses, psychosocial wellbeing and obesity were consistent with the equalisation hypothesis. For these indicators, the extent of income-related inequality was lower among late adolescents (16–19 years) and young adults (20–24 years) compared to children and young adolescents (under 15 years), mid- and late-adults (25–44 and 45–64 years) and the elderly (65+ years). The remaining indicators showed lower inequality among adolescents compared to adults, but higher inequality when compared with children. Conclusions Our work shows that inequalities occur across the life-course but that for some health issues there may be a period of equalisation in late adolescence and early adulthood.
A Low-Noise WLAN Mixer Using Switched Biasing Technique

A low-noise CMOS down-conversion mixer for WLAN applications is presented in this letter. The proposed mixer is based on the conventional Gilbert-type topology with switched biasing technique for a current source instead of static biasing, which lowers noise over a wide range of frequencies. Moreover, a dc level shifter is used for the symmetric switching operation in tail current transistors. A current bleeding technique is adopted to reduce the noise caused by the LO switching operation. The proposed mixer was fabricated using a 0.18 mum 1P6M CMOS process. Measurement results include a conversion gain of 7.5 dB, an IIP3 of -5 dBm, and noise figures of 10.9 dB at 1 MHz and 7.6 dB at 100 MHz. The mixer core consumes a current of 4.5 mA from a supply voltage of 1.8 V. The chip size, including pads for measurements, is 0.88 times 0.88 mm2.
Improving efficiency and reliability of gunshot detection systems

In this paper, we focus on setting up a gunshot detection system with high detection performance, robustness to noise and low computational complexity. To achieve these objectives, we formulate a two-stage approach with a less costly impulsive event detection framework followed by a relatively more complex gunshot recognition stage. To improve detection performance of the gunshot recognition stage, we propose a template matching measure in conjunction with the eighth order linear predictive coding coefficients to train a support vector machine classifier. Using an extensive audio database, we were able to achieve a better gunshot recognition performance than with the well-known existing features used for gunshot detection.
Comparison of Wind Pressure Coefficient and Wind Load Standard for Cladding in a Retractable Dome Roof by Wind Tunnel Test

The biggest impact on the cladding design of buildings is wind loads. Wind tunnel tests were conducted to examine the applicability of current wind load standards about membrane retractable roof spatial structure. A dome model with a circular shape that is retractable to the center of the dome was made (Opening ratio = 0, 10, 30, 50). In addition, height adjustable turntables were made and tested with five patterns with H/D = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The maximum wind pressure coefficient and the minimum wind pressure coefficient for the cladding were analyzed and the experimental wind pressure coefficient were compared with the current wind load standards, KBC2016 and AIJ-RLB(2015). The experimental value and the reference value of the enclosed roof were very similar and showed possibility of application, but opened roof case was found that the reference value was underestimated.
Mapping small-scale temperature and abundance structures in the core of the Perseus cluster

We report further results from a 191-ks Chandra observation of the core of the Perseus cluster, Abell 426. The emission-weighted temperature and abundance structures are mapped in detail. There are temperature variations down to ∼ 1 kpc in the brightest regions. Globally, the strongest X-ray surface brightness features appear to be caused by temperature changes. Density and temperature changes conspire to give approximate azimuthal balance in pressure showing that the gas is in hydrostatic equilibrium. Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe and Ni abundance profiles rise inwards from about 100 kpc, peaking at about 30-40 kpc. Most of these abundances drop inwards of the peak, but Ne shows a central peak, all of which may be explained by resonance scattering. There is no evidence for a widespread additional cooler temperature component in the cluster with a temperature greater than a factor of 2 from the local temperature. There is, however, evidence for a widespread hard component which may be non-thermal. The temperature and abundance of gas in the cluster are observed to be correlated in a manner similar to that found between clusters.
Neural Networks and Rational Functions

Neural networks and rational functions efficiently approximate each other. In more detail, it is shown here that for any ReLU network, there exists a rational function of degree $O(\text{polylog}(1/\epsilon))$ which is $\epsilon$-close, and similarly for any rational function there exists a ReLU network of size $O(\text{polylog}(1/\epsilon))$ which is $\epsilon$-close. By contrast, polynomials need degree $\Omega(\text{poly}(1/\epsilon))$ to approximate even a single ReLU. When converting a ReLU network to a rational function as above, the hidden constants depend exponentially on the number of layers, which is shown to be tight; in other words, a compositional representation can be beneficial even for rational functions.
How smoke-free laws improve air quality: a global study of Irish pubs.

INTRODUCTION The present study examined indoor air quality in a global sample of smoke-free and smoking-permitted Irish pubs. We hypothesized that levels of respirable suspended particles, an important marker of secondhand smoke, would be significantly lower in smoke-free Irish pubs than in pubs that allowed smoking. METHODS Indoor air quality was assessed in 128 Irish pubs in 15 countries between 21 January 2004 and 10 March 2006. Air quality was evaluated using an aerosol monitor, which measures the level of fine particle (PM(2.5)) pollution in the air. A standard measurement protocol was used by data collectors across study sites. RESULTS Overall, the level of air pollution inside smoke-free Irish pubs was 93% lower than the level found in pubs where smoking was permitted. DISCUSSION Levels of indoor air pollution can be massively reduced by enacting and enforcing smoke-free policies.
Correlation of Hydrocarbon Reservoir Sandstones Using Heavy Mineral Provenance Signatures: Examples from the North Sea and Adjacent Areas

Correlation of hydrocarbon reservoir sandstones is one of the most important economic applications for heavy mineral analysis. In this paper, we review the fundamental principles required for establishing correlation frameworks using heavy mineral data, and illustrate the applications of a wide variety of heavy mineral techniques using a number of case studies from hydrocarbon reservoirs in the North Sea and adjacent areas. The examples cover Triassic red-bed successions in the central North Sea and west of Shetland, which have been subdivided and correlated using provenance-sensitive ratio data and mineral morphologies; Middle Jurassic paralic sandstones in the northern North Sea, correlated using garnet geochemistry; Upper Jurassic deep water sandstones in the northern North Sea, discriminated using rutile geochemistry and detrital zircon age data; and the “real-time” application of the technique at well site in Devonian-Carboniferous fluvio-lacustrine sandstones of the Clair Field, west of Shetland.
Organizational Learning as an Organization Development Intervention in Six High- Technology Firms in Taiwan: An Exploratory Case Study

Organizational learning (OL) is about how individuals collect, absorb, and transform information into organizational memory and knowledge. This case study explored how six high-technology firms in Taiwan chose OL as an organization development intervention strategy. Issues included how best to implement OL; how individuals, teams, and organizations learn; and the extent to which OL activities contributed to organizational performance. Five themes emerged as findings: (1) using language with which employees are familiar, (2) implementing OL concepts that are congruent with employees’ work or personal life, (3) putting individual learning first and diffusing it to team learning and organizational learning, (4) using the knowledge management system to create an opportunity for individuals, teams, and the organization to learn, and (5) linking OL to organizational strategy to improve organizational performance.
The influence of Preslip Sealing on the Permeability Evolution of Fractures and Faults

The evolution of permeability on fractures and faults during the full earthquake cycle is shown to be sensitive to sealing during the repose phase. We explore the combined effect of static loading followed by fracture reactivation on permeability evolution via slide‐hold‐slide experiments. During the hold periods, permeability exhibits a slow but continuous reduction. The permeability decay is consistent with power law compaction of the aperture coupled with cubic law flow. With increasing hold periods, permeability evolves following reactivation from net reduction to net increase with the magnitude of the permeability change dependent on the hold period. This implies that the tight interlocking of asperities during interseismic repose primes the fault for permeability enhancement following reactivation. The inferred mechanism is via shear dilation with the probable involvement of unclogging. This result identifies that preslip sealing during repose is an essential component in the cyclic permeability evolution throughout the seismic cycle.
Malignant hyperpyrexia

The history, clinical presentation, and management of malignant hyperpyrexia are presented. The aetiology seems to be associated with some inherited abnormality which affects the movement and binding of calcium ions in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, sarcoplasm, and mitochondria. Whether this is a primary muscular defect or secondary to some trophic neural influence is yet to be established. The subjects carrying the abnormal trait show evidence of a myopathy which is subclinical in most instances and revealed only by estimation of serum CPK or biopsy. In some families where the myopathy is clinically obvious there may be, in addition, a variety of musculoskeletal abnormalities. A plea is made for routine monitoring of temperature during anaesthesia and for procainamide or procaine to be readily available in all operating theatres. A history of anaesthetic deaths in a family calls for special care, and, if the serum CPK is elevated, suxamethonium and halothane are to be avoided. Families with orthopaedic and muscular abnormalities are at increased risk and should have estimation of serum CPK before surgery. As a bonus of this study it is suggested that serum CPK estimations be used to screen pigs for selective breeding and so eliminate the disease, which causes soft exudative pork.
DPP9 is a novel component of the N-end rule pathway targeting the tyrosine kinase Syk

The aminopeptidase DPP9 removes dipeptides from N-termini of substrates having a proline or alanine in second position. Although linked to several pathways including cell survival and metabolism, the molecular mechanisms underlying these outcomes are poorly understood. We identified a novel interaction of DPP9 with Filamin A, which recruits DPP9 to Syk, a central kinase in B-cell signalling. Syk signalling can be terminated by degradation, requiring the ubiquitin E3 ligase Cbl. We show that DPP9 cleaves Syk to produce a neo N-terminus with serine in position 1. Pulse-chases combined with mutagenesis studies reveal that Ser1 strongly influences Syk stability. Furthermore, DPP9 silencing reduces Cbl interaction with Syk, suggesting that DPP9 processing is a prerequisite for Syk ubiquitination. Consistently, DPP9 inhibition stabilizes Syk, thereby modulating Syk signalling. Taken together, we demonstrate DPP9 as a negative regulator of Syk and conclude that DPP9 is a novel integral aminopeptidase of the N-end rule pathway. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.16370. 001
Typing a multi-language intermediate code

The Microsoft . NET Framework is a new computing architecture designed to support a variety of distributed applications and web-based services. NET software components are typically distributed in an object-oriented intermediate language, Microsoft IL, executed by the Microsoft Common Language Runtime. To allow convenient multi-language working, IL supports a wide variety of high-level language constructs, including class-based objects, inheritance, garbage collection, and a security mechanism based on type safe execution.This paper precisely describes the type system for a substantial fragment of IL that includes several novel features: certain objects may be allocated either on the heap or on the stack; those on the stack may be boxed onto the heap, and those on the heap may be unboxed onto the stack; methods may receive arguments and return results via typed pointers, which can reference both the stack and the heap, including the interiors of objects on the heap. We present a formal semantics for the fragment. Our typing rules determine well-typed IL instruction sequences that can be assembled and executed. Of particular interest are rules to ensure no pointer into the stack outlives its target. Our main theorem asserts type safety, that well-typed programs in our IL fragment do not lead to untrapped execution errors.Our main theorem does not directly apply to the product. Still, the formal system of this paper is an abstraction of informal and executable specifications we wrote for the full product during its development. Our informal specification became the basis of the product team's working specification of type-checking. The process of writing this specification, deploying the executable specification as a test oracle, and applying theorem proving techniques, helped us identify several security critical bugs during development.
Speech-language therapists' process of including significant others in aphasia rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND Although aphasia rehabilitation should include significant others, it is currently unknown how this recommendation is adopted in speech-language therapy practice. Speech-language therapists' (SLTs) experience of including significant others in aphasia rehabilitation is also understudied, yet a better understanding of clinical reality would be necessary to facilitate implementation of best evidence pertaining to family interventions. AIMS To explore the process through which SLTs work with significant others of people with aphasia in rehabilitation settings. METHODS & PROCEDURES Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight SLTs who had been working with persons with aphasia in rehabilitation centres for at least 1 year. Grounded theory principles were applied in analysing interview transcripts. OUTCOMES & RESULTS A theoretical model was developed representing SLTs' process of working with significant others of persons with aphasia in rehabilitation. Including significant others was perceived as challenging, yet a bonus to their fundamental patient-centred approach. Basic interventions with significant others when they were available included information sharing. If necessary, significant others were referred to social workers or psychologists or the participants collaborated with those professionals. Participants rarely and only under specific conditions provided significant others with language exercises or trained them to communicate better with the aphasic person. As a result, even if participants felt satisfied with their efforts to offer family and friends interventions, they also had unachieved ideals, such as having more frequent contacts with significant others. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS If SLTs perceived work with significant others as a feasible necessity, rather than as a challenging bonus, they could be more inclined to include family and friends within therapy with the aim to improve their communication with the person with aphasia. SLTs could also be more satisfied with their practice. In order to operate these changes in perceptions, we suggest that SLT curriculums include in-depth training about family intervention, a redefinition of the concept of patient, and exploration of SLTs' beliefs and emotions related to significant others.