Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chapter 8 Selection and Configuration of Parallel Portfolios

In recent years the availability of parallel computation resources has grown rapidly. Nevertheless, even for the most widely studied constraint programming problems such as SAT, solver development and applications remain largely focussed on sequential rather than parallel approaches. To ease the burden usually associated with designing, implementing and testing parallel solvers, in this chapter, we demonstrate how methods from automatic algorithm design can be used to construct effective parallel portfolio solvers from sequential components. Specifically, we discuss two prominent approaches for this problem. (I) Parallel portfolio selection involves selecting a parallel portfolio consisting of complementary sequential solvers for a specific instance to be solved (as characterised by cheaply computable instance features). Applied to a broad set of sequential SAT solvers from SAT competitions, we show that our generic approach achieves nearly linear speed-up on application instances, and super-linear speed-ups on combinatorial and random instances. (II) Automatic construction of parallel portfolios via algorithm configuration involves a parallel portfolio of algorithm parameter configurations that is optimized for a given set of instances. Applied to gold medal-winning parameterized SAT solvers, we show that our approach can produce significantly better-performing SAT solvers than state-ofthe-art parallel solvers constructed by human experts, reducing time-outs by 17% and running time (PAR10 score) by 13% under competition conditions. Marius Lindauer University of Freiburg, Germany, e-mail: lindauer@cs.uni-freiburg.de Holger Hoos University of British Columbia, Canada & Leiden University, Netherlands, e-mail: hoos@cs.ubc.
Eye Shape Using Partial Coherence Interferometry, Autorefraction, and SD-OCT

Purpose Peripheral refraction and retinal shape may influence refractive development. Peripheral refraction has been shown to have a high degree of variability and can take considerable time to perform. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and peripheral axial length measures may be more reliable, assuming that the retinal position is more important than the peripheral optics of the lens/cornea. Methods Seventy-nine subjects’ right eyes were imaged for this study (age range, 22 to 34 years; refractive error, −10 to +5.00). Thirty-degree SD-OCT (Spectralis, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) images were collected in a radial pattern along with peripheral refraction with an autorefractor (Shin-Nippon Autorefractor) and peripheral axial length measurements with partial coherence interferometry (IOLMaster, Zeiss). Statistics were performed using repeated-measures analysis of variance in SPSS (IBM, Armonk, NY), Bland-Altman analyses, and regression. All measures were converted to diopters to allow direct comparison. Results Spectral domain OCT showed a retinal shape with an increased curvature for myopes compared with emmetropes/hyperopes. This retinal shape change became significant around 5 degrees. The SD-OCT analysis for retinal shape provides a resolution of 0.026 diopters, which is about 10 times more accurate than using autorefraction (AR) or clinical refractive techniques. Bland-Altman analyses suggest that retinal shape measured by SD-OCT and the partial coherence interferometry method were more consistent with one another than either was with AR. Conclusions With more accurate measures of retinal shape using SD-OCT, consistent differences between emmetropes/hyperopes and myopes were found nearer to the fovea than previously reported. Retinal shape may be influenced by central refractive error, and not merely peripheral optics. Partial coherence interferometry and SD-OCT appear to be more accurate than AR, which may be influenced by other factors such as fixation and accommodation. Autorefraction does measure the optics directly, which may be a strength of that method.
Yoghurt starter culture : Yoghurt starter consists of a mixed culture of Lactobacillus delbrueekii subsp . bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus 1 : 1 obtained from Chr

Functional set-type yoghurt manufactured from low-and full-fat goat's milk was studied. Optimal curd tension, whey syneresis, microbiological quality and sensory evaluation were achieved by supplementation of lowand full-fat goat's milk with buffalo’s milk (1:1) and some type of stabilizers. Sodium caseinate (1 or 1.5%) came at the first; followed by particulate whey protein concentrated (0.25 or 0.5 %) and then Lacta (0.3 or 0.5 %) for fulland low-fat, respectively. Sodium casienate increased curd tension and lactic acid bacterial count, reduced whey syneresis and coagulation time because it had a higher protein contents which can serve as a source of peptides and amino acids led to an increase in viable counts of lactic acid bacteria. Reduced fat of goat's milk, heat treatment of yoghurt milk and the addition of stabilizers masked the characteristic taste of goat's milk and improve the appearance, taste aroma, texture and overall acceptance of yoghurt.
Porcine Hemoglobin Hydrolysate as a Biostimulant for Lettuce Plants Subjected to Conditions of Thermal Stress

The effects of different kinds of biotic and abiotic stress on crops can be lessened through exogenous application of different biostimulant products. Although some of these products come from enzymatic hydrolysates derived from animal remains, the literature does not contain references to the use of enzymatic hydrolysates obtained from animal hemoglobin, specifi cally porcine blood. With the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of a product obtained from the enzymatic hydrolysis of porcine hemoglobin (PHH) as a biostimulant that lessens the effects of thermal stress, two experiments were carried out in which lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa) were subjected to short-term episodes of intense cold and heat. After these episodes, different doses of the PHH product were administered into the growing medium. Moreover, in the heat episode experiment, one group of plants was fi rst subjected to a heat episode and then administered a commercial biostimulant with the aim of comparing its effi cacy with the PHH product. The biometric measurements carried out on the lettuce plants several days after being subjected to the episodes of cold and heat and then either administered or not administered the indicated treatments show that at the highest tested dose, the PHH product promoted a reaction that lessened the harmful effects caused by the intense cold and heat treatments.
Effects of conflict alerting system reliability and task difficulty on pilots' conflict detection with cockpit display of traffic information

A total of 24 pilots viewed dynamic encounters between their own aircraft and an intruder aircraft on a 2-D cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) and estimated the point and time of closest approach. A three-level alerting system provided a correct categorical estimate of the projected miss distance on 83% of the trials. The remaining 17% of alerts were equally divided between misses and false alarms, of large and small magnitude. Roughly half the pilots depended on automation to improve estimation of miss distance relative to the baseline pilots, who viewed identical trials without the aid of automated alerts. Moreover, they did so more on the more difficult traffic trials resulting in improved performance on the 83% correct automation trials without causing harm on the 17% automation-error trials, compared to the baseline group. The automated alerts appeared to lead pilots to inspect the raw data more closely. While assisting the accurate prediction of miss distance, the automation led to an underestimate of the time remaining until the point of closest approach. The results point to the benefits of even imperfect automation in the strategic alerts characteristic of the CDTI, at least as long as this reliability remains high (above 80%).
Availability and use of Records for decision making in the Church of Nigeria (Anglican

Records provide evidence of policies and support decision-making in an organisation. This study examined the use of records for decision-making in the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). Survey design of the ex-post facto type was used and premised on the records life cycle model. Stratified sampling technique was adopted to select seven (7) provinces out of 14, random sampling technique was used to select 720 administrative priests and this was followed by disproportionate random sampling technique to select 50% of them. This gave a total of 360 respondents. A questionnaire placed on a 2-point Likert scale of disagree and agree, and tagged the Church Decision-making Questionnaire (CDMQ) (r=0.89) was the main instrument used for data collection. A total of 347 copies of useable questionnaire were retrieved. This represents 96.39% response rate. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics and multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance. Findings show that, there was significant positive relationship between records use (r = 0.45), and decision-making. The joint influence of the use of records on decision-making {R = 0.47} accounted for 20.9% of the total variance in the church’s decision-making (F (4, 431) = 29.68). Thus, the use of records (β = 0.42; t = 8.92) was found to have a significant influence on decisionmaking. Further, it was also found that, there was no significant difference among the provinces in their levels of records’ use for decision-making (F(7, 428) = 1.06; p>0.05). Consequently. It was concluded that, the use of records had great influence on decision making.
Ghrelin Down-regulates Proinflammatory Cytokines in Sepsis Through Activation of the Vagus Nerve

Objective:To test the hypothesis that administration of ghrelin attenuates inflammatory responses in sepsis through vagal nerve stimulation. Summary Background Data:Ghrelin has been demonstrated to possess multiple functions, including stimulation of the vagus nerve. Our recent study has shown that plasma levels of ghrelin were significantly reduced in sepsis; and ghrelin administration improved organ perfusion and function. However, it remained unknown whether ghrelin also decreases proinflammatory cytokines in sepsis and, if so, whether the down-regulatory effect of ghrelin is mediated by activation of the vagus nerve. Methods:Male rats were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). At 5 hours after CLP, a bolus intravenous injection of 2 nmol ghrelin was followed by a continuous infusion of 12 nmol ghrelin via a primed 200-&mgr;L Alzet mini-pump for 15 hours. At 20 hours after CLP, plasma and peritoneal fluid levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were determined. The direct effect of ghrelin on cytokine production was studied using cultured normal rat Kupffer cells or peritoneal macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In additional animals, vagotomy or sham vagotomy was performed in sham and septic animals immediately prior to ghrelin administration and cytokine levels were then measured. Results:Ghrelin significantly reduced TNF-α and IL-6 levels in sepsis. In contrast, ghrelin did not inhibit TNF-α and IL-6 release from LPS-stimulated Kupffer cells or peritoneal macrophages. However, vagotomy, but not sham vagotomy, prevented ghrelin's down-regulatory effect on TNF-α and IL-6 production. Conclusions:Ghrelin down-regulates proinflammatory cytokines in sepsis through activation of the vagus nerve. Pharmacologic stimulation of the vagus nerve may offer a novel approach of anti-sepsis therapy.
Experimental design for one-sided confidence intervals or hypothesis tests in binomial group testing

A common statistical issue in seed-quality control is to prove that the proportion of individuals showing an unwanted trait is less than a small threshold. Group testing can be used to reduce costs of assay and upper confidence limits for the proportion of detrimental individuals can be used for either estimation or hypothesis testing. A crucial problem of group testing is the appropriate choice of group size in dependence of the number of groups, an assumed true proportion, and the threshold. This paper reports on experimental design to achieve high power for tests or low confidence interval width. Two agricultural applications are presented for which experimental design is discussed.
1 Introduction and Conceptual Background

Molecular Quantum Dynamics, often called “Quantum Dynamics,” is the subfield of Theoretical Chemistry where both the electrons and the nuclei of a molecular system are treated with a quantum-mechanical approach. Molecular Quantum Dynamics can be seen as the encounter of Quantum Physics and Chemistry. In general, the realm of quantum phenomena is not directly connected to chemistry but rather to physics, for instance atomic physics and quantum optics. These are domains that are now well understood and controlled, as recognized by the Nobel Prize in Physics 2012 awarded to Serge Haroche and David Jeffrey Wineland. Quantum mechanics deals with physical phenomena at the microscopic level, precisely where the action is of the order of magnitude of the Planck constant [1–7]. One of the most intriguing features of quantum mechanics is, as indicated by its name, the hypothesis of quantization. This notion implies that, under some particular conditions, physical observables measured experimentally can only take certain discrete values. These happen to be the eigenvalues of the operator associated with the physical observable. Another fundamental principle of quantum mechanics is the superposition principle, which holds that a quantum system can be in several eigenstates simultaneously. Formally, the corresponding wavefunction can be written as a linear superposition of several eigenfunctions of the operator corresponding to a given physical quantity. In particular, if the observable is the energy, such a linear combination will imply that the probability density, given by the square modulus of the normalized wavefunction at each point in space, will depend on time. The wavefunction is then referred to as a wavepacket, i.e., a coherent superposition of several eigenstates. When the physical quantity is measured, the wavepacket collapses. This results in the observation of only one of the possible eigenvalues. If there is no measurement, and if the system is isolated,
Clinical Assessment of an Ipsilateral Cervical Spinal Nerve Block for Prosthetic Laryngoplasty in Anesthetized Horses

The nociceptive blockade of locoregional anesthesia prior to surgical stimulation can decrease anesthetic agent requirement and thereby potential dose-dependent side effects. The use of an ipsilateral second and third cervical spinal nerve locoregional anesthetic block for prosthetic laryngoplasty in the anesthetized horses has yet to be described. Anesthetic records of 20 horses receiving locoregional anesthesia prior to laryngoplasty were reviewed and compared to 20 horses of a similar patient cohort not receiving locoregional anesthesia. Non-blocked horses were 11 times more likely to require adjunct anesthetic treatment during surgical stimulation (P = 0.03) and were 7.4 times more likely to receive partial intravenous anesthesia in addition to inhalant anesthesia (P = 0.01). No horse in the blocked group received additional sedation/analgesia compared to the majority of non-blocked horses (75%) based on the anesthetist's perception of anesthetic quality and early recovery movement. No difference in recovery quality was observed between groups (P > 0.99). Cervical spinal nerve locoregional anesthesia appears well-tolerated and useful in reducing cumulative anesthetic agent requirement and may decrease the need for additional sedation/analgesia in horses undergoing anesthetized prosthetic laryngoplasty.
Regulation of survivin function by Hsp90

Pathways controlling cell proliferation and cell survival require flexible adaptation to environmental stresses. These mechanisms are frequently exploited in cancer, allowing tumor cells to thrive in unfavorable milieus. Here, we show that Hsp90, a molecular chaperone that is central to the cellular stress response, associates with survivin, an apoptosis inhibitor and essential regulator of mitosis. This interaction involves the ATPase domain of Hsp90 and the survivin baculovirus inhibitor of apoptosis repeat. Global suppression of the Hsp90 chaperone function or targeted Abmediated disruption of the survivin–Hsp90 complex results in proteasomal degradation of survivin, mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest with mitotic defects. These data link the cellular stress response to an antiapoptotic and mitotic checkpoint maintained by survivin. Targeting the survivin–Hsp90 complex may provide a rational approach for cancer therapy.
ective link quality estimation as a means to improved end-to-end packet delivery in high tra ffi c mobile ad hoc networks ☆

Accurate link quality estimation is a fundamental building block in quality aware multi hop routing. In an inherently lossy, unreliable and dynamic medium such as wireless, the task of accurate estimation becomes very challenging. Over the years ETX has been widely used as a reliable link quality estimation metric. However, more recently it has been established that under heavy traffic loads ETX performance gets significantly worse. We examine the ETX metric's behavior in detail with respect to the MAC layer and UDP data; and identify the causes of its unreliability. Motivated by the observations made in our analysis, we present the design and implementation of our link quality measurement metric xDDR – a variation of ETX. This article extends xDDR to support network mobility. Our experiments show that xDDR substantially outperforms minimum hop count, ETX and HETX in terms of end-to-end packet delivery ratio in static as well as mobile scenarios.
Terms of use : Click here aspeed : Solver scheduling via answer set programming

Although Boolean Constraint Technology has made tremendous progress over the last decade, the efficacy of state-of-the-art solvers is known to vary considerably across different types of problem instances, and is known to depend strongly on algorithm parameters. This problem was addressed by means of a simple, yet effective approach using handmade, uniform, and unordered schedules of multiple solvers in ppfolio, which showed very impressive performance in the 2011 Satisfiability Testing (SAT) Competition. Inspired by this, we take advantage of the modeling and solving capacities of Answer Set Programming (ASP) to automatically determine more refined, that is, nonuniform and ordered solver schedules from the existing benchmarking data. We begin by formulating the determination of such schedules as multicriteria optimization problems and provide corresponding ASP encodings. The resulting encodings are easily customizable for different settings, and the computation of optimum schedules can mostly be done in the blink of an eye, even when dealing with large runtime data sets stemming from many solvers on hundreds to thousands of instances. Also, the fact that our approach can be customized easily enabled us to swiftly adapt it to generate parallel schedules for multi-processor machines.
Relationship between a range of tissue temperature and local oxygen uptake in the human forearm. II. Changes observed after arterial occlusion in the period of reactive hyperemia.

It is generally accepted that the magnitude of the hyperemic response which follows deprivation of local circulation is related to the metabolic needs of the involved tissues (1-3). However, as has already been pointed out (4), conclusions regarding oxygen consumption cannot be based on blood flow measurements alone. In the present investigation, therefore, it was decided to study the excess oxygen uptake of the tissues of the forearm (exclusive of bone) after a period of arterial occlusion, using the Fick principle. Furthermore, it was considered of interest to determine whether or not an experimentally produced alteration in tissue temperature influenced the magnitude of the oxygen repayment during reactive hyperemia in the same manner as has been reported in the case of oxygen uptake of resting tissues (4).
The effects of Non-Executive Directors ’ Commitment and Chairman Independence on Earnings Management : UK Evidence

This paper investigates whether the extent of opportunistic earnings management (measured by discretionary accruals) is related to non-executive directors’ commitment and chairman independence. Based on the UK FTSE350 companies over 2005 and 2006, we found that non-executive directors’ commitment and chairman independence are important factors in constraining the inclination of managers to engage in earnings management. These findings support the argument that not only the independence of directors but also their commitment that reduces earnings management. We further found that cross-listed firms have less earnings management due to the cross-countries regularities and requirements. Our findings have implications for stakeholders and policymakers in that we found non-executive directors’ remuneration level and chairman independence are important mechanisms of corporate governance. We found that independent chairman, according to the UK corporate governance code criteria, increases earnings management while independent chairman using the code independence criteria set for nonexecutive directors is significantly effective in reducing earnings management. This result criticises the loose chairman independence criteria recommended by the code. We further examined the interaction effect between non-executive directors’ commitment and chairman independence and found that non-executive directors’ private meetings and level of remuneration extenuate (empower) the previous chairman independence and earnings management relations. The findings are robust to alternative sensitivity analyses. This study adds to the very limited research into the relationship between corporate governance and earnings management in the UK. It also provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of some of the regulators' recommendations, which may be of value to regulators who are interested in preparing and amending corporate governance codes. The issues addressed in this paper are very pertinent to a better understanding of the role of the non-executive directors in the corporate environment. In particular, the findings are relevant to the debate on non-executive directors’ independence and quality of financial reporting.