Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ostro: Scalable Placement Optimization of Complex Application Topologies in Large-Scale Data Centers

A complex cloud application consists of virtual machines (VMs) running software such as web servers and load balancers, storage in the form of disk volumes, and network connections that enable communication between VMs and between VMs and disk volumes. The application is also associated with various requirements, including not only quantities such as the sizes of the VMs and disk volumes, but also quality of service (QoS) attributes such as throughput, latency, and reliability. This paper presents Ostro, an Open Stack-based scheduler that optimizes the utilization of data center resources, while satisfying the requirements of the cloud applications. The novelty of the approach realized by Ostro is that it makes holistic placement decisions, in which all the requirements of an application -- described using an application topology abstraction -- are considered jointly. Specific placement algorithms for application topologies are described including an estimate-based greedy algorithm and a time-bounded A algorithm. These algorithms can deal with complex topologies that have heterogeneous resource requirements, while still being scalable enough to handle the placement of hundreds of VMs and volumes across several thousands of host servers. The approach is evaluated using both extensive simulations and realistic experiments. These results show that Ostro significantly improves resource utilization when compared with naive approaches.
Comparison of three commercial rapid identification systems for the unusual gram-positive cocci Dolosigranulum pigrum, Ignavigranum ruoffiae, and Facklamia species.

We evaluated three rapid identification systems-The Biomerieux rapid ID 32 STREP (ID32), the BBL Crystal rapid gram-positive identification (Crystal), and the Remel IDS RapID STR (IDS) systems-for their ability to identify 7 strains of Alloiococcus otitidis, 27 strains of Dolosigranulum pigrum, 3 strains of Ignavigranum ruoffiae, and 18 strains of 4 different Facklamia species. Since none of these six species of gram-positive cocci are included in the identification databases for these systems, the correct identification for the strains tested should be "unacceptable ID" for the ID32 and Crystal systems or "no choice" for the IDS system. The ID32 system identified all 27 strains of D. pigrum, 6 of 18 Facklamia species, and 2 of 3 cultures of I. ruoffiae as "unacceptable ID. " The Crystal system identified 10 of 27 D. pigrum, 2 of 18 Facklamia species, and 2 of 3 I. ruoffiae strains as "unacceptable ID. " The IDS system identified only 1 culture of D. pigrum as "no choice," but it also identified 2 cultures of D. pigrum as a "questionable microcode" and 19 cultures of D. pigrum as an "inadequate ID, E. faecalis 90%, S. intermedius 9%. " A total of 2 of the 18 cultures of Facklamia and all 3 of the I. ruoffiae cultures were correctly identified as "no choice. " The most common misidentifications of Facklamia species by the ID32 and IDS systems were as various Streptococcus species and as Gemella species. In the Crystal system, the most common erroneous identification was Micrococcus luteus. These data indicate the need for the commercial manufacturers of these products to update their databases to include newly described species of gram-positive cocci.
Targeted Disruption of the Tyrosine Hydroxylase Locus Results in Severe Catecholamine Depletion and Perinatal Lethality in Mice (*)

Tyrosine 3-hydroxylase (TH, EC 1.14.16.2) catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step of the catecholamine biosynthetic pathway in the nervous and endocrine systems. The TH locus was disrupted in mouse embryonic stem cells by homologous recombination. Mice heterozygous for the TH mutation were apparently normal. In these mice, TH activity in the embryos and adult tissues was less than 50% of the wild-type values, but the catecholamine level was decreased only moderately in the developing animals and was maintained normally at adulthood, suggesting the presence of a regulatory mechanism for ensuring the proper catecholamine level during animal development. In contrast, the homozygous mutant mice died at a late stage of embryonic development or shortly after birth. Both TH mRNA and enzyme activity were lacking in the homozygous mutants, which thus explained the severe depletion of catecholamines. These changes, however, did not affect gross morphological development of the cells that normally express high catecholamine levels. Analysis of electrocardiograms of surviving newborn mutants showed bradycardia, suggesting an alteration of cardiac functions in the homozygous mice that may lead to the lethality of this mutation. In addition, transfer of a human TH transgene into the homozygous mice corrected the mutant phenotype, showing recovery of TH activity by expression of the human enzyme. These results indicate that TH is essential for survival of the animals during the late gestational development and after birth.
Impact of Exposure Uncertainty on the Association between Perfluorooctanoate and Preeclampsia in the C8 Health Project Population

Background Uncertainty in exposure estimates from models can result in exposure measurement error and can potentially affect the validity of epidemiological studies. We recently used a suite of environmental models and an integrated exposure and pharmacokinetic model to estimate individual perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) serum concentrations and assess the association with preeclampsia from 1990 through 2006 for the C8 Health Project participants. Objectives The aims of the current study are to evaluate impact of uncertainty in estimated PFOA drinking-water concentrations on estimated serum concentrations and their reported epidemiological association with preeclampsia. Methods For each individual public water district, we used Monte Carlo simulations to vary the year-by-year PFOA drinking-water concentration by randomly sampling from lognormal distributions for random error in the yearly public water district PFOA concentrations, systematic error specific to each water district, and global systematic error in the release assessment (using the estimated concentrations from the original fate and transport model as medians and a range of 2-, 5-, and 10-fold uncertainty). Results Uncertainty in PFOA water concentrations could cause major changes in estimated serum PFOA concentrations among participants. However, there is relatively little impact on the resulting epidemiological association in our simulations. The contribution of exposure uncertainty to the total uncertainty (including regression parameter variance) ranged from 5% to 31%, and bias was negligible. Conclusions We found that correlated exposure uncertainty can substantially change estimated PFOA serum concentrations, but results in only minor impacts on the epidemiological association between PFOA and preeclampsia. Citation Avanasi R, Shin HM, Vieira VM, Savitz DA, Bartell SM. 2016. Impact of exposure uncertainty on the association between perfluorooctanoate and preeclampsia in the C8 Health Project population. Environ Health Perspect 124:126–132; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1409044
Identification and characterization of visual pigments in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona), an order of limbless vertebrates with rudimentary eyes

SUMMARY In comparison with the other amphibian orders, the Anura (frogs) and Urodela (salamanders), knowledge of the visual system of the snake-like Gymnophiona (caecilians) is relatively sparse. Most caecilians are fossorial with, as far as is known any surface activity occurring mainly at night. They have relatively small, poorly developed eyes and might be expected to possess detectable changes in the spectral sensitivity of their visual pigments. Microspectrophotometry was used to determine the spectral sensitivities of the photoreceptors in three species of caecilian, Rhinatrema bivittatum, Geotrypetes seraphini and Typhlonectes natans. Only rod opsin visual pigment, which may be associated with scotopic (dim light) vision when accompanied by other ‘rod-specific’ components of the phototransduction cascade, was found to be present. Opsin sequences were obtained from the eyes of two species of caecilian, Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis and T. natans. These rod opsins were regenerated in vitro with 11-cis retinal to give pigments with spectral sensitivity peaks close to 500 nm. No evidence for cone photoreception, associated with diurnal and colour vision, was detected using molecular and physiological methods. Additionally, visual pigments are short-wavelength shifted in terms of the maximum absorption of light when compared with other amphibian lineages.
An analysis of stretch forming of thermoplastic composites

Thermoplastic composite sheet materials have found an increasing number of applications through the use of matched-die compression molding. The combination of high strength, low weight and moderate manufacturing costs makes the material an attractive alternative to sheet metal stampings in a number of applications. However, a significant range of conventional sheet forming techniques may also prove suitable for these materials, provided the effects of strain rate and temperature can be properly understood and exploited, leading to a further reduction of manufacturing costs and an increasing number of potential applications. In this work, limiting strains in biaxial stretch forming were explored using the hemispherical stretch forming test. The materials tested contain 20, 35, and 40 percent by weight of randomly oriented glass fiber in a polypropylene matrix. The forming tests were performed at temperatures ranging from 75°C to 150°C and at punch speeds of 0.01cm/sec, 0.1cm/sec, and 1cm/sec. A rotationally symmetric, anisotropic material model with rate sensitivity was developed and incorporated into an axisymmetric finite element model of the stretch-forming process. The model parameters were temperature-dependent, though the temperature distribution in the formed part was assumed to be uniform. Strain distributions in the formed parts are compared to finite element method results, and the results are good up to the point when localized necking begins to dominate the strain distribution. These forming limit strains are compared with predictions based on Marciniak's imperfection theory, with good results.
Perception of final fricative voicing: native and nonnative listeners' use of vowel duration.

Does experience with a perceptual cue for a phoneme contrast in the native language affect its use in a second language for a similar contrast in a different phonetic context? Two experiments investigated Dutch and English listeners' use of preceding vowel duration as a perceptual cue for nonword-final fricative voicing in English. Dutch listeners have native language experience with the use of vowel duration for vowel length and intervocalic obstruent voicing contrasts, but not for final voicing contrasts, as Dutch does not have voiced obstruents word-finally. Previous research [Broersma, M. (2005). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 117, 3890-3901; Broersma, M. (2008) J. Acoust. Soc. Am.124, 712-715] showed that Dutch listeners used vowel duration less for final /v-f/ categorization than English listeners did when vowel duration varied only between subjects, discouraging its use as a perceptual cue. The present study assessed the use of vowel duration for final /v-f/ and /z-s/ contrasts when it varied within subjects. A goodness rating and a phonetic categorization experiment showed that Dutch listeners used vowel duration, but less than English listeners did. Thus, experience with a perceptual cue for a different contrast and for a similar contrast in a different position in the native language did not lead to native-like use of this cue in the second language.
Antibacterial finishing of polyester/cotton blend fabrics using neem (Azadirachta indica): A natural bioactive agent

The study focused on the development of biofunctional polyester/cotton blend fabric using a natural product. An antimicrobial agent extracted from the seeds of Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) was used for imparting antibacterial property to the blend fabric. Resin and catalyst concentrations were optimized to get the maximum crosslinking in the fabric blends using glyoxal/glycol as a crosslinking agent. The optimized concentrations were used to treat the fabric with the antimicrobial agent along with the crosslinking agent. Quantitative analysis was carried out to measure the antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results showed that the treated fabrics inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) by more than 90% as compared to the control sample. Antimicrobial activity against Gram- positive bacteria was retained up to five machine washes and decreased thereafter. The antibacterial activity was higher against Gram-positive bacteria as compared to Gram- negative bacteria (Proteus vulgaris). The treated fabrics also showed improved crease recovery property although the tensile property showed a marginal decrease.
A Phase 1 Trial of MSP2-C1, a Blood-Stage Malaria Vaccine Containing 2 Isoforms of MSP2 Formulated with Montanide® ISA 720

Background In a previous Phase 1/2b malaria vaccine trial testing the 3D7 isoform of the malaria vaccine candidate Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2), parasite densities in children were reduced by 62%. However, breakthrough parasitemias were disproportionately of the alternate dimorphic form of MSP2, the FC27 genotype. We therefore undertook a dose-escalating, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial in healthy, malaria-naïve adults of MSP2-C1, a vaccine containing recombinant forms of the two families of msp2 alleles, 3D7 and FC27 (EcMSP2-3D7 and EcMSP2-FC27), formulated in equal amounts with Montanide® ISA 720 as a water-in-oil emulsion. Methodology/Principal Findings The trial was designed to include three dose cohorts (10, 40, and 80 µg), each with twelve subjects receiving the vaccine and three control subjects receiving Montanide® ISA 720 adjuvant emulsion alone, in a schedule of three doses at 12-week intervals. Due to unexpected local reactogenicity and concern regarding vaccine stability, the trial was terminated after the second immunisation of the cohort receiving the 40 µg dose; no subjects received the 80 µg dose. Immunization induced significant IgG responses to both isoforms of MSP2 in the 10 µg and 40 µg dose cohorts, with antibody levels by ELISA higher in the 40 µg cohort. Vaccine-induced antibodies recognised native protein by Western blots of parasite protein extracts and by immunofluorescence microscopy. Although the induced anti-MSP2 antibodies did not directly inhibit parasite growth in vitro, IgG from the majority of individuals tested caused significant antibody-dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI) of parasite growth. Conclusions/Significance As the majority of subjects vaccinated with MSP2-C1 developed an antibody responses to both forms of MSP2, and that these antibodies mediated ADCI provide further support for MSP2 as a malaria vaccine candidate. However, in view of the reactogenicity of this formulation, further clinical development of MSP2-C1 will require formulation of MSP2 in an alternative adjuvant. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 12607000552482
Effects of naturalistic stressors on cognitive flexibility and working memory task performance

Experimental stressors impair performance on tasks requiring certain types of cognitive flexibility, an effect that may be mediated by the noradrenergic system. The goal of this experiment was to examine the effects of psychological stress on cognitive flexibility in problem solving and immediate memory with a more naturalistic psychological stressor, and examine the interaction between subject ability and the cognitive effects of psychological stress. Twenty subjects performed the compound remote associates task (CRA) and a number series recall task after watching the first 30 minutes of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and after the first 30 minutes of ‘Shrek’, with condition order and test version order counterbalanced. An interaction effect was observed between stress and subject ability for the CRA, with performance on the CRA significantly worse after the stress film among those performing well on the task. No effects were found on the memory task. Therefore, the naturalistic stressor impairs cognitive flexibility in a manner dependent upon how much difficulty the subject has with these types of tasks. Further work will be necessary to better understand the pharmacological mechanism of the effects of these types of stressors, and the clinical implications of this effect.
Performance of a Self-Paced Brain Computer Interface on Data Contaminated with Eye-Movement Artifacts and on Data Recorded in a Subsequent Session

The performance of a specific self-paced BCI (SBCI) is investigated using two different datasets to determine its suitability for using online: (1) data contaminated with large-amplitude eye movements, and (2) data recorded in a session subsequent to the original sessions used to design the system. No part of the data was rejected in the subsequent session. Therefore, this dataset can be regarded as a “pseudo-online” test set. The SBCI under investigation uses features extracted from three specific neurological phenomena. Each of these neurological phenomena belongs to a different frequency band. Since many prominent artifacts are either of mostly low-frequency (e.g., eye movements) or mostly high-frequency nature (e.g., muscle movements), it is expected that the system shows a fairly robust performance over artifact-contaminated data. Analysis of the data of four participants using epochs contaminated with large-amplitude eye-movement artifacts shows that the system's performance deteriorates only slightly. Furthermore, the system's performance during the session subsequent to the original sessions remained largely the same as in the original sessions for three out of the four participants. This moderate drop in performance can be considered tolerable, since allowing artifact-contaminated data to be used as inputs makes the system available for users at ALL times.
Gingival Fibrous Nodules: Report of Four Cases

Gingival Fibrous Nodules also called as Gingival Nodules are not so well known variants of normal mucosa. These appear as single or multiple pinkish-white nodules or papules on the labial gingiva of the maxillary or mandibular arches. These vary in size from 1-4 mm and are painless. Many a times the patients will be unaware of their presence and will only be detected on routine clinical examination. It is important for clinicians to be aware of these normal variations and to differentiate from manifestations of more serious diseases.
Journal of Graph Algorithms and Applications Non-aligned Drawings of Planar Graphs

A non-aligned drawing of a graph is a drawing where no two vertices are in the same row or column. Auber et al. showed that not all planar graphs have a non-aligned planar straight-line drawing in the n × n-grid. They also showed that such a drawing exists if up to n − 3 edges may have a bend. In this paper, we give algorithms for non-aligned planar drawings that improve on the results by Auber et al. In particular, we give such drawings in an n × n-grid with at most 2n−5 3 bends, and we study what grid-size can be achieved if we insist on having straight-line drawings.
Life span strategy—a compiler-based approach to cache coherence

In this paper, a cache coherence strategy with a combined software and hardware approach is proposed for large-scale multiprocessor systems. The new strategy has the scalability advantages of existing software strategies and does not rely on shared hardware resources to maintain coherence. It exploits as much intra-task temporal locality as previously proposed low-cost, compiler-based strategies such as Simple Invalidation and Fast Selective Invalidation. With a small amount of additional hardware and a small set of cache management instructions, the new strategy preserves more inter-task-level temporal locality than these strategies. It is an economical alternative and has potential performance close to that of more elaborate strategies such as Version Control and Time Stamp. Also, the new strategy is easily extendable to include Doacross loops.
Rheology of Dispersions: Principles and Applications

Preface GENERAL INTRODUCTION INTERPARTICLE INTERACTIONS AND THEIR COMBINATION Hard-Sphere Interaction 'Soft' or Electrostatic Interaction Steric Interaction van der Waals Attractions Combination of Interaction Forces Flocculation of Dispersions, and Its Prevention Distinction between 'Dilute', 'Concentrated', and 'Solid' Dispersions States of Suspension on Standing States of the Emulsion on Standing PRINCIPLES OF STEADY-STATE MEASUREMENTS Strain Rate of Shear Rate Types of Rheological Behavior in Simple Shear Time Effects During Flow: Thixotropy and Negative (or Anti-) Thixotropy Rheopexy Turbulent Flow Effect of Temperature Measurement of Viscosity as a Function of Shear Rate: The Steady-State Regime Non-Newtonians Major Precautions with Concentric Cylinder Viscometers PRINCIPLES OF VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOR Introduction The Deborah Number Strain Relaxation after the Sudden Application of Stress (Creep) Analysis of Creep Crves The Berger Model (Maxwell + Kelvin) Creep Procedure Stress Relaxation after Sudden Application of Strain Dynamic (Oscillatory) Techniques RHEOLOGY OF SUSPENSIONS Introduction The Einstein Equation The Bachelor Equation Rheology of Concentrated Suspensions Rheology of Hard-Sphere Suspensions Rheology of Systems with 'Soft' or Electrostatic Interaction Rheology of Sterically Stabilized Dispersions Rheology of Flocculated Suspensions Models for the Interpretation of Rheological Results RHEOLOGY OF EMULSIONS Introduction Interfacial Rheology Bulk Rheology of Emulsions RHEOLOGY MODIFIERS, THICKENERS, AND GELS Introduction Classification of Thickeners and Gels Definition of a 'Gel' Rheological Behavior of a 'Gel' Classification of Gels Rheology Modifiers Based on Surfactant Systems USE OF RHEOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS FOR ASSESSMENT AND PREDICTION OF THE LONG-TERM PHYSICAL STABILITY OF FORMULATIONS (CREAMING AND SEDIMENTATION) Introduction Sedimentation of Suspensions Assessment and Prediction of Flocculation Using Rheological Techniques Assessment and Prediction of Emulsion Coalescence Using Rheological Techniques
Overlapping Community Detection by Kernel-Based Fuzzy Affinity Propagation

Community structure is one of the important topological characteristics of many complex networks. Detecting communities from networks has been intensively investigated in recent years. In most previous methods for community detection, the overlapping property of communities, which exists common in many real-world networks, is ignored. By combining commute-time kernel based distance measure and fuzzy affinity propagation, we present a new community detection algorithm CDKFAP for overlapping communities. Based on a new proposed index measures the fuzziness of nodes, the algorithm can rank and extract overlapping nodes of communities. The applications to computer-generated networks and real-world networks demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.