Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Bypass to Tighten WCET Estimates for Multi-Core Processors with Shared Instruction Caches

Multi-core chips have been increasingly adopted by the microprocessor industry. For real-time systems to exploit multi-core architectures, it is required to obtain both tight and safe estimates of worst-case execution times (WCETs). Estimating WCETs for multi-core platforms is very challenging because of the possible interferences between cores due to shared hardware resources such as shared caches, memory bus, etc. This paper proposes a compile-time approach to reduce shared instruction cache interferences between cores to tighten WCET estimations. Unlike [YAN08], which accounts for all possible conflicts caused by tasks running on the other cores when estimating the WCET of a task, our approach drastically reduces the amount of inter-core interferences. This is done by controlling the contents of the shared instruction cache(s), by caching only blocks statically known as reused. Experimental results demonstrate the practicality of our approach.
American Economic Association The Costs of Remoteness : Evidence from German Division and Reunification Author ( s ) :

This paper exploits the division of Germany after the Second World War and the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990 as a natural experiment to provide evidence for the importance of market access for economic development. In line with a standard new economic geography model, we find that following division cities in West Germany that were close to the new border between East and West Germany experienced a substantial decline in population growth relative to other West German cities. We provide several pieces of evidence that the decline of the cities along the new border can be entirely accounted for by their loss of market access and is not due to other factors such as differences in industrial structure or differences in the degree of war-related disruption. Finally, we find some first evidence of a recovery of the border cities after the re-unification of East and West Germany.
In vitro cellular uptake of evodiamine and rutaecarpine using a microemulsion

Objective To investigate the cellular uptake of evodiamine and rutaecarpine in a microemulsion in comparison with aqueous suspensions and tinctures. Materials and methods A microemulsion was prepared using the dropwise addition method. Mouse skin fibroblasts were cultured in vitro to investigate the optimal conditions for evodiamine and rutaecarpine uptake with different drug concentrations and administration times. Under optimal conditions, the cellular uptake of microemulsified drugs was assayed and compared to tinctures and aqueous suspensions. Rhodamine B labeling and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) were used to explore the distribution of fluorochrome transferred with the microemulsion in fibroblasts. Cellular morphology was also investigated, using optical microscopy to evaluate microemulsion-induced cellular toxicity. Results The maximum cellular drug uptake amounts were obtained with a 20% concentration (v/v) of microemulsion and an 8 hour administration time. Drug uptake by mouse skin fibroblasts was lowest when the drugs were loaded in microemulsion. After incubation with rhodamine B-labeled microemulsion for 8 hours, the highest fluorescence intensity was achieved, and the fluorochrome was primarily distributed in the cytochylema. No obvious cellular morphologic changes were observed with the administration of either the microemulsion or the aqueous suspension; for the tincture group, however, massive cellular necrocytosis was observed. Conclusion The lower cellular uptake with microemulsion may be due to the fact that most of the drug loaded in the microemulsion vehicle was transported via the intercellular space, while a small quantity of free drug (released from the vehicle) was ingested through transmembrane transport. Mouse skin fibroblasts rarely endocytosed evodiamine and rutaecarpine with a microemulsion as the vehicle. The microemulsion had no obvious effect on cellular morphology, suggesting there is little or no cellular toxicity associated with the administration of microemulsion on mouse skin fibroblasts.
The function of TLR2 during staphylococcal diseases

Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile pathogen causing a wide range of infections. It has been a major threat both in hospitals and in the community for decades. S. aureus is a pyogenic bacterium that elicits recruitment of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (neutrophils) to the site of infection. Neutrophils are among the first immune cells to migrate to an infection site attracted by chemoattractant gradients, usually initiated in response to inflammation. Neutrophil recruitment to an inflammation and/or infection site is a sophisticated process involving their interaction with endothelial and epithelial cells through adhesion molecules. Phagocytes have various receptors to detect pathogens, and they include Toll-like receptors (TLRs). TLRs have been extensively studied over the last 10 years and it is now established that they are critical during bacterial infections. However, the function of TLRs, and more particularly TLR2, during staphylococcal infections is still debated. In this review we will consider recent findings concerning the staphylococcal ligands sensed by TLR2 and more specifically the role of staphylococcal lipoproteins in TLR2 recognition. A new concept to emerge in recent years is that staphylococcal components must be phagocytosed and digested in the phagosome to be efficiently detected by the TLR2 of professional phagocytes. Neutrophils are an essential part of the immune response to staphylococcal infections, and in the second part of this review we will therefore describe the role of TLR2 in PMN recruitment in response to staphylococcal infections.
THE EFFECTS OF THE COLORS ON THE PERFORMANCES OF THE SOCCER PLAYERS AND SOCCER GOALKEEPER

This study is meant to investigate the effects of the colors on the performances of the soccer players and soccer goalkeeper. The research was constructed based on qualitative pattern; and data was collected through document review method as a case study. In the 2018 World Soccer Championship, the players who took the first place in the goal kingdom generally played with the red, white and blue T-shirt and shorts color. At 2018 world Soccer Championship, the majority of the football goalkeepers played with the green color weighted form (22.32%). It was followed by goalkeepers wearing black colors (17.86%). In the third place, it was determined that there were goalkeepers wearing the yellow color (16.96%). It is determined that soccer players which used bright colors for t-shirt and shorts were more successful in World Cup 2018. As a result, it can have positive effects at success from color worn on the soccer players and goalkeeper. The soccer players and goalkeeper must be allowed to wear clothes in colors they like. The effect of the colors of the jerseys worn by footballers and goalkeepers on their success should be investigated in different championships. Coaches can benefit from different colors when to working soccer players and goalkeepers. It can be colorful targets selected. Soccer players with different colors clothes can to shoot at the goalkeepers. Article visualizations:
TRACING THE INNER EDGE OF THE DISK AROUND HD 100546 WITH ROVIBRATIONAL CO EMISSION LINES

In this paper we present high-resolution 4.7 μm spectra of the isolated Herbig Be star HD 100546. HD 100546 has been the subject of intense scrutiny because it is a young nearby star with a transitional disk. We observe the Δv = 1 rovibrational CO transitions in order to clarify the distribution of warm gas in the inner disk. Modeling of the CO spectrum indicates that the gas is vibrationally excited by collisions and UV fluorescence. The observed emission extends from 13 to 100 AU. The inner edge of the molecular gas emission is consistent with the inner edge of the optically thick dust disk indicating that the inner hole is not simply a hole in the dust opacity but is likely cleared of gas as well. The rotational temperature of the CO is ∼1000 K—much hotter than the ∼200 K CO in the otherwise similar transitional disk surrounding HD 141569. The origin of this discrepancy is likely linked to the brighter polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission observed toward HD 100546. We use the excitation of the CO to constrain the geometry of the inner disk and comment on the evolutionary state of the system.
Combining Wavelet-domain Hidden Markov Trees with Hidden Markov Models

In this paper, the concept of Wavelet-domain Hidden Markov Trees (WHMT) is introduced to Automatic Speech Recognition. WHMT are a convenient means to model the structure of wavelet feature vectors, as wavelet coefficients can be interpreted as nodes in a binary tree. By the introduction of hidden states in each node, non-Gaussian statistics inherent in wavelet features can be modeled. At the same time, correlations between neighboring coefficients in the time-frequency plane are accommodated. Phoneme probabilities obtained using the WHMT and wavelet features are then combined at the state level with those obtained by Gaussian distributions in conjunction with MFCCs, and fed into conventional Hidden Markov Models. Preliminary experiments show the potential advantages of this novel approach.
Comparing Reinforcement Learning and Evolutionary Based Adaptation in Population Games

In evolutionary game theory, the main interest is normally on the investigation of how the distribution of strategies changes along time and whether an stable strategy arises. In this paper we compare the dynamics of two games in which three populations of agents interact: a three-player version of matching pennies and a game with several Nash equilibria. We do this comparison by three methods: continuous replicator dynamics, an evolutionary approach, and reinforcement learning. We show how the convergence depends on the nature of the underlying method used, as well as on the pace of adjustments by the agents.
MetaCrop 2.0: managing and exploring information about crop plant metabolism

MetaCrop is a manually curated repository of high-quality data about plant metabolism, providing different levels of detail from overview maps of primary metabolism to kinetic data of enzymes. It contains information about seven major crop plants with high agronomical importance and two model plants. MetaCrop is intended to support research aimed at the improvement of crops for both nutrition and industrial use. It can be accessed via web, web services and an add-on to the Vanted software. Here, we present several novel developments of the MetaCrop system and the extended database content. MetaCrop is now available in version 2.0 at http://metacrop.ipk-gatersleben.de.
Developing a Benthic Index of Biological Integrity and Some Relationships to Environmental Factors in the Subtropical Xiangxi River , China

The aim of this study is to develop a benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) to help understand how the increasing anthropogenic pressure may impact the subtropical Xiangxi River in China. Benthic macroinvertebrate and environmental surveys were conducted at 77 sites in early summer 2004. Each collection site was categorized as reference or impaired based on physical, chemical, biological, and land-use information. Six non-redundant metrics from 35 metrics were used to differentiate between reference and impaired sites. We selected six metrics for the final IBI. The scoring criteria of each metric were normalized based on the quadrisection and 0–10 scaling systems. Both scaling methods were used to assess the aquatic health of each site in the Xiangxi River watershed. The results showed that most sites were in fairly poor condition. Furthermore, we identified the relationship between B-IBI metrics, water-quality, and land-use variables with a principal component analysis. A composite of nutrients and land-use intensity explained most variances. These results suggest that the B-IBI may be a suitable method for assessing river conditions within the subtropical Xiangxi River in central China.
NGO—Business Collaboration: A Comparison of Organizational, Social, and Reputation Value From the NGO Perspective in Poland

Based on a representative sample of Polish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) collaborating with firms this study explores the nature of NGO-business relationships and perceived benefits for NGOs. The focus is on how relationship factors (alignment, trust, and commitment) influence three groups of benefits: organizational, social, and reputation related. Both trust and alignment appear to have similar total effects on all types of collaboration value. In contrast, commitment in collaboration is positively correlated only with organizational value, while social and reputational benefits show negative links. This suggests that stronger relationship commitment enhances the amount of resources acquired from the business collaborator, but at the same time it can lower the reputation of the NGO and decrease its capacity to achieve social goals. The article offers interpretations of the findings and recommendations for further research.
Preclinical Evaluation of Illudins as Anticancer Agents 1

Illudins are low molecular weight natural products which were previ ously evaluated as anticancer drugs using rodent tumor models. In the present studies, we used in vitro cultures of human cancer cells to reevaluate their potential as anticancer agents. Using continuousexpo sure, Illudins S and M were cytotoxic to human leukemia cells at concentrations of 6-100 mi, but dihydroilludin M was 3 orders of magnitudeless toxic, thus identifyinga ketone site as a structural feature critical for cytotoxicity.Cytokineticstudies showedthat illudinS caused a complete block at the (.,-S phase interface of the cell cycle. Kinetics of inhibitionof radiolabeled th>nudine,uridine,and leucineincorporation suggesteda primary effecton DNA synthesis. In colonyand liquidculture assays, cell killing was time dependent but near maximal with a 2-h exposure. Myeloidand T-lymphocyteleukemiacells were most sensitive (50% inhibitoryconcentration,6-11 IIM). but B-cellleukemia/lymphoma, melanoma, and ovarian carcinoma cells were at least 10 times more resistant. Bone marrow granulocyte/macrophageprogenitors showed in termediate sensitivity. Illudin S was equally effective against CEM Ilymphocyteleukemiacellsexpressing the multidrugresistance phenotype associated with M, 180,000glycoproteinand the parental cell line. CEM cells resistant to doxorubicin, epipodophyllotoxins,and 1-0-D-arabinofuranosylcytosineshowedonly a 2-fold increased resistance to illudin S. Illudins are novel and potent cytotoxins which may be preferentially active against human myeloidand T-cell leukemias, including cells re sistant to more conventionalchemotherapeuticagents. The present stud ies illustrate the breadth of informationwhichcan be obtained on a new agent using present in vitro screening proceduresand human cells.
A 600-dpi capacitive fingerprint sensor chip and image-synthesis technique

This paper examines the possibility of a low-cost, high-resolution fingerprint sensor chip. The test chip is composed of 64/spl times/256 sensing cells (chip size: 2.7/spl times/10.8 mm/sup 2/). A new detection circuit of charge sharing is proposed, which eliminates the influences of internal parasitic capacitances. Thus, the reduced sensing-capacitor size enables a high resolution of 600 dpi, even using a conventional 0.6 /spl mu/m CMOS process. The partial fingerprint images captured are synthesized into a full fingerprint image with an image-synthesis algorithm. The problems and possibilities of this image-synthesis technique are also analyzed and discussed.
A Pragmatic Definition of the Concept of Theoretical Saturation

ABSTRACT In this article I critically discuss the concept of theoretic saturation, first presented by Glaser and Strauss in their classic book The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Over my almost two-decade career of using, researching, and publishing on qualitative methods, I have lost count of the number of qualitative researchers that have defined saturation as an instance where “no new information” emerges from data analysis. I argue that such a definition is problematic. It provides no didactic guidance on how researchers can determine such a point, and it is a logical fallacy, as there are always new theoretic insights as long as data continue to be collected. Finally, much new work on saturation focuses on how many interviews are required to reach it rather than developing definitions of what it is. In response I present what I argue is a more cogent and pragmatic definition of theoretic saturation.
Intrarenal Dopaminergic System Regulates Renin Expression

Dopamine is a major regulator of proximal tubule salt reabsorption and is a modulator of renin release. Dopamine has been reported to stimulate renin release in vitro through activation of D1-like receptors. However, previous studies investigating dopamine regulation of renin release in vivo have provided contradictory results, indicating stimulation, inhibition, or no effect. We have reported previously that macula densa cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is suppressed by dopamine. Because macula densa COX-2 stimulates renal renin expression, our current studies investigated dopamine regulation of renal renin release and synthesis in vivo. Acute treatment with a D1-like receptor agonist, fenoldopam, significantly inhibited renin release, as did acute inhibition of proximal tubule salt reabsorption with acetazolamide. In catechol-O-methyl transferase knockout (COMT−/−) mice, which have increased kidney dopamine levels because of deletion of the major intrarenal dopamine metabolizing enzyme, there was attenuation in response to a low-salt diet of the increases of renal cortical COX-2 and renin expression and renin release. A high-salt diet led to significant decreases in renal renin expression but much less significant decreases in COMT−/− mice than wild type mice, resulting in higher renal renin expression in COMT−/− mice. In high salt–treated wild-type mice or COX-2 knockout mice on a normal salt diet, fenoldopam stimulated renal renin expression. These results suggest that dopamine predominantly inhibits renal renin expression and release by inhibiting macula densa COX-2, but suppression of renal cortical COX-2 activity reveals a contrasting effect of dopamine to stimulate renal renin expression through activation of D1-like receptors.
PET Image Reconstruction

Positron emission tomography (PET) scanners collect measurements of a patient’s in vivo radiotracer distribution. These measurements are reconstructed into cross-sectional images. Tomographic image reconstruction forms images of functional information in nuclear medicine applications and the same principles can be applied to modalities such as X-ray computed tomography. This chapter provides a brief introduction into tomographic image reconstruction and outlines the current, commonly applied methods for PET. This chapter begins with an overview of data acquisition in PET in 2-D and 3-D mode. The reconstruction methods presented in this chapter are divided into analytic and iterative approaches. Analytic reconstruction methods offer a direct mathematical solution for the formation of an image (section II, III). Iterative methods are based on a more accurate description of the imaging process resulting in a more complicated mathematical solution requiring multiple steps to arrive at an image (section IV). Finally, section V offers an introduction into the tradeoffs between the varying methods and provides some guidance on how to access the quality of a reconstruction algorithm.
‘Then she got a spanking’: Social accountability and narrative versions in social workers’ courtroom testimonies

Courtroom talk in child custody interrogations recurrently features contrasting event descriptions about ‘what happened’, as well as contrasting person descriptions. This case study – from a large set of audio-recorded courtroom examinations – documents how social workers’ contrasting narrative versions about alleged domestic violence are related to divergent problem formulations. Blame-account sequences feature descriptions of a particular event as violent or nonviolent and descriptions of a new partner as ‘non-adult’ or merely as ‘impulsive’ but ‘concerned’. Other contrasting person descriptions feature a target child either as ‘normal’ or as someone who ‘has a diagnosis’. This involves categorizations of the particular child either as a victim (‘normal child’) or as someone ‘with a diagnosis’, two contrasting accounts that provide divergent explanatory formulations of what the overall problem is. Ultimately, divergent testimonies also reflect how social accounts in court reflect both mitigated/aggravated descriptions of violence and divergent accounts of parents’ and children’s agency and accountability.
Exon skipping with morpholino oligomers: new treatment option for cardiomyopathy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy?

The dystrophin gene encodes an essential component of the transmembrane dystrophin–glycoprotein complex (DGC), which plays a critical role in maintaining membrane stability in cardiac and skeletal muscles.1 Defects in dystrophin destabilize the entire complex, which results in an abnormal susceptibility to sarcolemmal injury in response to contractile stress.2 Mutations that cause slight sequence alterations or loss of internal exons but conserve the reading frame result in Becker muscular dystrophy with a mild phenotype. Complete absence of dystrophin causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a X-chromosomal, fatal, and inherited muscle disease. Affected boys show progressive muscle weakness, leading to early immobility, respiratory failure, and markedly reduced life expectancy. Cardiomyopathy is an almost invariable complication and a frequent cause of death in these patients.3 As a consequence of improvements in overall management for DMD patients, survival has steadily improved. In older patients, however, there is an increasing proportion of patients experiencing premature death due to ventricular dysfunction. Therefore, appropriate treatment strategies to target the cardiomyopathy become more and more crucial to reduce mortality. Thus far, there is no established curative approach to DMD. However, there now seems to be hope since the identification of the molecular basis of this inherited disease has translated into recent therapeutic principles to … *Corresponding author. Tel: +49 6221 5639401; fax: +49 6221 564866. E-mail address : oliver.mueller{at}med.uni-heidelberg.de
Optimal density and power allocation of D2D communication under heterogeneous networks on multi-bands with outage constraints

This paper analyzes the maximum achievable transmission capacity of the Device-to-Device (D2D) communication in heterogeneous networks with multi-bands. The heterogeneous networks contain one or several cellular systems, and D2D communication shares uplink resources with them. By utilizing stochastic geometry, the problem is formed as sum capacity optimization problem for D2D network with constraints that guarantee outage probabilities of both cellular and D2D transmissions. We find the optimal power allocation on each band has a remarkably simple nature: depending on the D2D pair density and outage constraint, it is equal to either the upper bound of transmit power or zero. Besides, we prove that the optimal D2D pair density only exist in a limited interval. Since the primal problem is non-convex, we propose a linear searching algorithm with computation complexity O(KN) compared to the complexity O(KN+1) of exhaustive search (K is the number of pieces which the feasible region is divided according to some step size and N is the number of frequency bands). The simulation results prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.