Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paragon: collaborative speculative loop execution on GPU and CPU

The rise of graphics engines as one of the main parallel platforms for general purpose computing has ignited a wide search for better programming support for GPUs. Due to their non-traditional execution model, developing applications for GPUs is usually very challenging, and as a result, these devices are left under-utilized in many commodity systems. Several languages, such as CUDA, have emerged to solve this challenge, but past research has shown that developing applications in these languages is a daunting task because of the tedious performance optimization cycle or inherent algorithmic characteristics of an application, which could make it unsuitable for GPUs. Also, previous approaches of automatically generating optimized parallel code in CUDA for GPUs using complex compilation techniques have failed to utilize GPUs that are present in everyday computing devices such as laptops and mobile systems. In this work, we take a different approach. Although it is hard to generate optimized code for GPU, it is beneficial to utilize them speculatively rather than leaving them running idle due to their high raw performance capabilities compared to CPUs. To achieve this goal, we propose Paragon: a collaborative static/dynamic compiler platform to speculatively run possibly-data-parallel pieces of sequential applications on GPUs. Paragon utilizes the GPU in an opportunistic way for loops that are categorized as possibly-data-parallel by its loop classification phase. While running the loop speculatively, Paragon monitors the dependencies using a light-weight kernel management unit, and transfers the execution to the CPU in case a conflict is detected. Paragon resumes the execution on the GPU after the dependency is executed sequentially on the CPU. Our experiments show that Paragon achieves up to 12x speedup compared to unsafe CPU execution with 4 threads.
FAST FUZZY FORCE-DIRECTED/SIMULATED EVOLUTION METAHEURISTIC FOR MULTIOBJECTIVE VLSI CELL PLACEMENT

VLSI standard cell placement is the process of arranging circuit components (modules) on a silicon layout. The cell placement problem is a proven NP hard combinatorial optimization problem. The complexity of this problem increases when multiple optimization objectives are considered simultaneously. In this paper, a novel technique is presented to address this hard problem, while optimizing multiple objectives. A major difculty with such multi-objective combinatorial optimization problems is the existence of a very large solution search space, one of which is the desired optimal solution. Simulated Evolution (SE) a general iterative heuristic is used to traverse the large search space, while fuzzy logic is resorted to assist in multi-criteria decision making and overcome the imprecise nature of design information at placement stage. New fuzzy aggregation functions are proposed. SE is hybridized with force directed algorithm to speed-up the search. The proposed schemes are compared with previously presented SE based heuristics. The implementations exhibit considerable improvement in terms of both solution quality and runtime.
HOP-MAP: Efficient Message Passing with High Order Potentials

There is a growing interest in building probabilistic models with high order potentials (HOPs), or interactions, among discrete variables. Message passing inference in such models generally takes time exponential in the size of the interaction, but in some cases maximum a posteriori (MAP) inference can be carried out eciently. We build upon such results, introducing two new classes, including composite HOPs that allow us to exibly combine tractable HOPs using simple logical switching rules. We present ecient message update algorithms for the new HOPs, and we improve upon the eciency of message updates for a general class of existing HOPs. Importantly, we present both new and existing HOPs in a common representation; performing inference with any combination of these HOPs requires no change of representations or new derivations.
Tweet Streams Online Summarization and Timeline Generation Miss

Twitter is one of the famous micro blogging services, with hundreds of millions of tweets being posted every day on a wide variety of topics. Tweets are the short text messages which are limited upto 140 characters in length. They are generated and given out at an unusual rate. Tweets are descriptive in nature. Tweets contain too many noisy data and redundancies. In this, we make an attempt to introduce a distinctive new framework for continuous summarization called Summblr to deal with the problem. Existing methods that summarize the documents high light on small scale data sets that are static. Summblr. in contrast ,is developed to deal with large-scale tweet data streams which arrive at a faster rate dynamically. Our constructed framework includes three major components. As a first step, a clustering algorithm for tweet data stream is proposed which is online to cluster together the tweets and maintain it in one of the data structure called as TCV that is tweet cluster vector. Secondarily, a novel technique called TCV-Rank summarization for generating summaries both online and historical of any time durations is proposed. Thirdly, we develop a method for effectively detecting the topic evolution, which continuously checks the variations that are summary or volume based to automatically produce the timelines from large tweet streams.
Three Improved Algorithms for Multipath Key Establishment in Sensor Networks Using Protocols for Secure Message Transmission

In this paper, we propose a security model to capture active attacks against multipath key establishment (MPKE) in sensor networks. Our model strengthens previous models to capture more attacks and achieve essential security goals for multipath key establishment. In this model, we can apply protocols for perfectly secure message transmission to solve the multipath key establishment problem. We propose a simple new protocol for optimal one-round perfectly secure message transmission based on Reed-Solomon codes. Then, we use this protocol to obtain two new multipath key establishment schemes that can be applied provided that fewer than one-third of the paths are controlled by the adversary. Finally, we describe another MPKE scheme that tolerates a higher fraction (less than half) of paths controlled by the adversary. This scheme is based on a new protocol for a weakened version of message transmission, which is very simple and efficient. Our multipath key establishment schemes achieve improved security and lower communication complexity, as compared to previous schemes.
Microvessel Mechanobiology in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Cause and Effect

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH, or group 1 pulmonary hypertension) is a progressive, insidious, and fatal illness of the pulmonary microvasculature. Proliferative remodeling of the small resistance arteries results in an elevation of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) and total pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), increasing the workload on the right ventricle (RV) until it eventually fails.1 Although these hemodynamic parameters are useful for clinical diagnosis, alone they have limited prognostic value; furthermore, vasodilator therapy aimed at reduction of PVR has achieved only modest success, and increases in patient survival are attributed primarily to earlier diagnosis and intervention.2 These limitations have motivated research focused on identifying measurable physiological parameters that could both predict mortality and serve as measures for therapeutic efficacy. Decreased pulmonary arteriolar compliance (PAC) is a major factor contributing to the increased RV workload and failure in PAH.3–5 PAC measures a vessel’s ability to deform under loading, and as a blood vessel stiffens its compliance decreases. Total vessel compliance is estimated as stroke volume divided by pulse pressure (PP). This estimation alone is a strong predictor of survival in idiopathic and familial PAH.5 Although proximal artery stiffness has received a great deal of attention in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and is important in increasing RV workload, changes in PAC affect the entire pulmonary vasculature with the largest portion of that change occurring in vessels distal to the lung hilum.6 Understanding how vascular remodeling changes PAC, especially in the distal vasculature where much of our knowledge on vessel mechanics is currently lacking, will allow us to link the cellular and molecular mediators commonly studied in PAH with the biomechanical changes that cause elevated pressures and RV failure. Pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and adventitial fibroblasts decrease PAC by altering the composition, amount, and organization …
ESTUDO GEOOUÍMICO DOS SOLOS E FORMAÇÕES SUPERFICIAIS DO BRASIL. PARTE 1 Caracterização e repartição dos principais tipos de evolução pedogeoquímica

The pedologic classifications used in Brazil are mainly morphogenetic; hence they are not irrecise indicators for the reconstruction of the nature of the processes involved during surface evolution of the mineral fraction of soils. The geochemical type ofsoil evolution in Brazil is characterized by the study of chrystallochemical essentially and physico-chemical aspects related to the clay fraction. Thus an essencially pedogeochemical interpretation is obtained. As a consequence the geographical distribution of the types is presented.
Using Semantic Web Technology to Support NLG. Case Study: OWL finds RAGS

The semantic web is a general vision for supporting knowledge-based processing across the WWW and its successors. As such, semantic web technology has potential to support the exchange and processing of complex NLG data. This paper discusses one particular approach to data sharing and exchange that was developed for NLG - the RAGS framework. This was developed independently of the semantic web. RAGS was relatively complex and involved a number of idiosyncratic features. However, we present a rational reconstruction of RAGS in terms of semantic web concepts, which yields a relatively simple approach that can exploit semantic web technology directly. Given that RAGS was motivated by the concerns of the NLG community, it is perhaps remarkable that its aspirations seem to fit so well with semantic web technology.
Structural and parameter uncertainty in Bayesian cost-effectiveness models

Summary. Health economic decision models are subject to various forms of uncertainty, including uncertainty about the parameters of the model and about the model structure. These uncertainties can be handled within a Bayesian framework, which also allows evidence from previous studies to be combined with the data. As an example, we consider a Markov model for assessing the cost‐effectiveness of implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Using Markov chain Monte Carlo posterior simulation, uncertainty about the parameters of the model is formally incorporated in the estimates of expected cost and effectiveness. We extend these methods to include uncertainty about the choice between plausible model structures. This is accounted for by averaging the posterior distributions from the competing models using weights that are derived from the pseudo‐marginal‐likelihood and the deviance information criterion, which are measures of expected predictive utility. We also show how these cost‐effectiveness calculations can be performed efficiently in the widely used software WinBUGS.
Aggressive Blood Pressure Control Increases Coronary Heart Disease Risk Among Diabetic Patients

OBJECTIVE Blood pressure control can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among diabetic patients; however, it is not known whether the lowest risk of CHD is among diabetic patients with the lowest blood pressure level. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a prospective cohort study (2000–2009) on diabetic patients including 17,536 African Americans and 12,618 whites. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association of blood pressure with CHD risk. RESULTS During a mean follow-up of 6.0 years, 7,260 CHD incident cases were identified. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of CHD associated with different levels of systolic/diastolic blood pressure at baseline (<110/65, 110–119/65–69, 120–129/70–80, and 130–139/80–90 mmHg [reference group]; 140–159/90–100; and ≥160/100 mmHg) were 1.73, 1.16, 1.04, 1.00, 1.06, and 1.11 (P trend <0.001), respectively, for African American diabetic patients, and 1.60, 1.27, 1.08, 1.00, 0.95, and 0.99 (P trend<0.001) for white diabetic patients, respectively. A U-shaped association of isolated systolic and diastolic blood pressure at baseline as well as blood pressure during follow-up with CHD risk was observed among both African American and white diabetic patients (all Ptrend <0.001). The U-shaped association was present in the younger age-group (30–49 years), and this U-shaped association changed to an inverse association in the older age-group (≥60 years). CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that there is a U-shaped or inverse association between blood pressure and the risk of CHD, and aggressive blood pressure control (blood pressure <120/70 mmHg) is associated with an increased risk of CHD among both African American and white patients with diabetes.
Diagnostic Accuracy of a Molecular Drug Susceptibility Testing Method for the Antituberculosis Drug Ethambutol: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT Ethambutol (EMB) is a first-line antituberculosis drug; however, drug resistance to EMB has been increasing. Molecular drug susceptibility testing (DST), based on the embB gene, has recently been used for rapid identification of EMB resistance. The aim of this meta-analysis was to establish the accuracy of molecular assay for detecting drug resistance to EMB. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched according to a written protocol and explicit study selection criteria. Measures of diagnostic accuracy were pooled using a random effects model. A total of 34 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The respective pooled sensitivities and specificities were 0.57 and 0.93 for PCR-DNA sequencing that targeted the embB 306 codon, 0.76 and 0.89 for PCR-DNA sequencing that targeted the embB 306, 406, and 497 codons, 0.64 and 0.70 for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates, 0.55 and 0.78 for detecting M. tuberculosis sputum specimens using the GenoType MTBDRsl test, 0.57 and 0.87 for pyrosequencing, and 0.35 and 0.98 for PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The respective pooled sensitivities and specificities were 0.55 and 0.92 when using a lower EMB concentration as the reference standard, 0.67 and 0.73 when using a higher EMB concentration as the reference standard, and 0.60 and 1.0 when using multiple reference standards. PCR-DNA sequencing using multiple sites of the embB gene as detection targets, including embB 306, 406, and 497, can be a rapid method for preliminarily screening for EMB resistance, but it does not fully replace phenotypic DST. Of the reference DST methods examined, the agreement rates were the best using MGIT 960 for molecular DST and using the proportion method on Middlebrook 7H10 media.
Restructuring of basal ganglia circuitry and associated behaviors triggered by low striatal D2 receptor expression: implications for substance use disorders

Dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) consistently emerge as a critical substrate for the etiology of some major psychiatric disorders. Indeed, a central theory of substance use disorders (SUDs) postulates that a reduction in D2R levels in the striatum is a determining factor that confers vulnerability to abuse substances. A large number of clinical and preclinical studies strongly support this link between SUDs and D2Rs; however, identifying the mechanism by which low D2Rs facilitate SUDs has been hindered by the complexity of circuit connectivity, the heterogeneity of D2R expression and the multifaceted constellation of phenotypes observed in SUD patient. Animal models are well‐suited for understanding the mechanisms because they allow access to the circuitry and the genetic tools that enable a dissection of the D2R heterogeneity. This review discusses recent findings on the functional role of D2Rs and highlights the distinctive contributions of D2Rs expressed on specific neuronal subpopulations to the behavioral responses to stimulant drugs. A circuit‐wide restructuring of local and long‐range inhibitory connectivity within the basal ganglia is observed in response to manipulation of striatal D2R levels and is accompanied by multiple alterations in dopamine‐dependent behaviors. Collectively, these new findings provide compelling evidence for a critical role of striatal D2Rs in shaping basal ganglia connectivity; even among neurons that do not express D2Rs. These findings from animal models have deep clinical implications for SUD patients with low levels D2R availability where a similar restructuring of basal ganglia circuitry is expected to take place.
Towards a generic framework for model-driven engineering of software process lines

Situational Method Engineering (SME) approaches help construct bespoke software development processes according to the specifications of the project at hand, but they are time-consuming and costly. A Software Process Line (SPrL) tackles this problem by allowing software processes to be constructed for specific project situations through reusing core process assets. Model-Driven Development (MDD) has been used for automating SPrL Engineering (SPrLE); however, existing model-driven SPrLE methods are deficient as to their coverage of key MDD features. We propose a novel model-driven SPrLE approach that aims to address these shortcomings; it can be regarded as a framework that specifies the model chain and the core model-driven SPrLE activities that should be applied. The approach is yet to be refined and evolved through application to a real-world project; however, a preliminary criteria-based evaluation has shown that the shortcomings of existing SPrLE methods have indeed been addressed by the proposed approach.
Normal mode coupling and Bloch states in elliptically birefringent 1D photonic crystals

An analysis is presented of frequency versus wave-vector dispersion in elliptically birefringent one-dimensional layered periodic structures. The presence of local normal mode polarization state variations from one layer to the next is found to lead to mode coupling and to affect the wave-vector dispersion and the character of the Bloch states of the system.
Mitigating Rate Loss in Fading Multiple Access Wiretap Channel to achieve Shannon Capacity Region

Security constraint results in rate-loss in wiretap channels. In this paper we propose a coding scheme for two user Multiple Access Channel with Wiretap (MAC-WT), where previous messages are used as a key to enhance the secrecy rates of both the users until we achieve the usual capacity region of a Multiple Access Channel (MAC) without the wiretapper (Shannon capacity region). With this scheme only the message that is being transmitted is proved to be secure with respect to all the information that the adversary (eavesdropper) possesses. In the second part of the paper we improve the security constraint such that not only the message being transmitted is secure but all the messages transmitted in the immediate past are secure w.r. t. all the information o f the eavesdropper. To achieve this goal we introduce secret key buffers at both the users, as well as at the legitimate receiver (Bob). Finally we consider a fading MAC-WT and show that with this coding/decoding scheme we can achieve the capacity region of a fading MAC (in ergodic sense).
Capturing the Effects of Attribute based Correlation on Privacy in Micro-databases

In the modern data driven era, it is a very common practice for individuals to provide their personalized data in multiple databases. However, the existence of correlated information in between these databases is a common source of privacy risk for the database users. In our study, we investigate such scenarios for attribute based linking attacks. These attacks refer to the common strategy by which an adversary can breach the privacy of the database respondents via exploiting the correlated information among the database attributes. In our work, we have proposed an information theoretic framework through which the achievable privacy levels following an adversarial linking attack are quantified. Our developed model also incorporates various aspects associated with micro-databases such as sanitization mechanism and auxiliary side information, thereby providing a more holistic structure to our theoretical framework. A comparative analysis of the various cases associated with our model theoretically confirms the notion that a sanitization mechanism facilitates in preserving the original privacy levels of the users.
Linear Deductive Planning

Recently, three approaches to deductive planning were developed, which solve the technical frame problem without the need to state frame axioms explicitly. These approaches are based on the linear connection method, an equational Horn logic, and linear logic. At rst glance these approaches seem to be very diierent. In the linear connection method a syntactical condition | each literal is connected at most once | is imposed on proofs. In the equational logic approach situations and plans are represented as terms and SLDE-resolution is applied as an inference rule. The linear logic approach is a Gentzen style proof system without weakening and contraction rules. On second glance, however, and as a consequence of the results rigourously proved in this paper, it will turn out that the three approaches are equivalent. They are based on the very same idea that facts about a situation are taken as resources which can be consumed and produced.
The role of South Pacific atmospheric variability in the development of different types of ENSO

Recent advances in tropical Pacific climate variability have focused on understanding the development of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, specifically the types or “flavors” of ENSO (i.e., central versus eastern Pacific events). While precursors to ENSO events exist, distinguishing the particular flavor of the expected ENSO event remains unresolved. This study offers a new look at ENSO predictability using South Pacific atmospheric variability during austral winter as an indicator. The positive phase of the leading mode of South Pacific sea level pressure variability, which we term the South Pacific Oscillation (SPO), exhibits a meridional dipole with with a(n) (anti)cyclonic anomaly dominating the subtropics (extratropics/high latitudes). Once energized, the cyclonic anomalies in the subtropical node of the SPO weaken the southeasterly trade winds and promote the charging of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, giving rise to eastern Pacific ENSO events. Indeed, the type of ENSO event can be determined accurately using only the magnitude and phase of the SPO during austral winter as a predictor (17 out of 23 cases). The SPO may also play a role in explaining the asymmetry of warm and cold events. Collectively, our findings present a new perspective on ENSO‐South Pacific interactions that can advance overall understanding of the ENSO system and enhance its predictability across multiple timescales.