Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving exhaustive search implies superpolynomial lower bounds

The P vs NP problem arose from the question of whether exhaustive search is necessary for problems with short verifiable solutions. We still do not know if even a slight algorithmic improvement over exhaustive search is universally possible for all NP problems, and to date no major consequences have been derived from the assumption that an improvement exists. We show that there are natural NP and BPP problems for which minor algorithmic improvements over the trivial deterministic simulation already entail lower bounds such as NEXP is not in P/poly and LOGSPACE is not equal to NP. These results are especially interesting given that similar improvements have been found for many other hard problems. Optimistically, one might hope our results suggest a new path to lower bounds; pessimistically, they show that carrying out the seemingly modest program of finding slightly better algorithms for all search problems may be extremely difficult (if not impossible). We also prove unconditional superpolynomial time-space lower bounds for improving on exhaustive search.
Science of Computer Programming Verifying Programs That Use Causally-ordered Message-passing

We give an operational model of causally-ordered message-passing primitives. Based on this model, we formulate a Hoare-style proof system for causally-ordered delivery. To illustrate the use of this proof system and to demonstrate the feasibility of applying invariant-based verification techniques to algorithms that depend on causally-ordered delivery, we verify an asynchronous variant of the distributed termination detection algorithm of Dijkstra, Feijen, and van Gasteren.
The Long Form of the Leptin Receptor Regulates STAT5 and Ribosomal Protein S6 via Alternate Mechanisms*

The action of leptin via the long form of its receptor (LepRb) is central to the control of body energy homeostasis and neuroendocrine function, but the mechanisms by which LepRb regulates intracellular signaling have remained incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that leptin stimulates the phosphorylation of STAT5 and ribosomal protein S6 in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus in mice. In cultured cells, we investigate the mechanisms by which leptin regulates each of these pathways. Our analysis reveals a dominant role for LepRb Tyr1077 (which we demonstrate to be phosphorylated during receptor activation) and a secondary role for LepRb Tyr1138 in the acute phosphorylation of STAT5a and STAT5b. Tyr1138 and STAT3 attenuate STAT5-dependent transcription over the long-term, however. In contrast, Tyr985 (the LepRb phosphorylation site required for ERK activation) mediates the phosphorylation of the ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) and S6, as well as cap-dependent translation. Thus, these data demonstrate the phosphorylation of Tyr1077 on LepRb during receptor activation, substantiate the hypothalamic regulation of STAT5 and S6 by leptin, and define the alternate LepRb signaling pathways that mediate each of these signals and their effects in cultured cells. Dissecting the contributions of these individual pathways to leptin action will be important for our ultimate understanding of the processes that regulate energy balance in vivo.
Dealing with the Untrustworthy Auctioneer in Combinatorial Spectrum Auctions

Abstract-Spectrum auction is an enabling approach to drastically improving the spectrum utilization to satisfy the ever increasing service demands in wireless networks. However, the behaviors of the untrustworthy auctioneer (i.e., the frauds of the untrustworthy auctioneer and the bid-rigging between the greedy bidders and the insincere auctioneer) pose significant design challenges. In this paper, we propose a secure combinatorial spectrum auction (SCSA) by using homomorphic encryption to deal with the untrustworthy auctioneer. SCSA computes and reveals the results of spectrum auction while the actual bidding values are kept confidential. By taking frequency reuse and interference constraints into consideration, we also incorporate a corresponding procedure to implement the combinatorial spectrum auction. It has been shown that SCSA can effectively thwart the back-room dealing without much performance degradation.
Vesicular systems: An overview

There has been keen interest in the development of a novel drug delivery system. Novel drug delivery system aims to deliver the drug at a rate directed by the needs of the body during the period of treatment, and channel the active entity to the site of action. At present, no available drug delivery system behaves ideally achieving all the lofty goals, but sincere attempts have been made to achieve them through novel approaches in drug delivery. A number of novel drug delivery systems have emerged encompassing various routes of administration, to achieve controlled and targeted drug delivery. Encapsulation of the drug in vesicular structures is one such system, which can be predicted to prolong the existence of the drug in systemic circulation, and reduce the toxicity, if selective uptake can be achieved. Consequently a number of vesicular drug delivery systems such as liposomes, niosomes, transfersomes, and pharmacosomes were developed. Advances have since been made in the area of vesicular drug delivery, leading to the development of systems that allow drug targeting, and the sustained or controlled release of conventional medicines. The focus of this review is to bring out the application, advantages, and drawbacks of vesicular systems.
Pass-Go: A Proposal to Improve the Usability of Graphical Passwords

Inspired by an old Chinese game, Go, we have designed a new graphical password scheme, Pass-Go, in which a user selects intersections on a grid as a way to input a password. While offering an extremely large full password space (256 bits for the most basic scheme), our scheme provides acceptable usability, as empirically demonstrated by, to the best of our knowledge, the largest user study (167 subjects involved) on graphical passwords, conducted in the fall semester of 2005 in two university classes. Our scheme supports most application environments and input devices, rather than being limited to small mobile devices (PDAs), and can be used to derive cryptographic keys. We study the memorable password space and show the potential power of this scheme by exploring further improvements and variation mechanisms.
ATP is required for initiation of poliovirus RNA synthesis in vitro: demonstration of tyrosine-phosphate linkage between in vitro-synthesized RNA and genome-linked protein

Poliovirus replicase- and host factor-catalyzed copying of 3'-terminal polyadenylic acid [poly(A)] of poliovirion RNA was studied. Host factor-stimulated synthesis of polyuridylic acid [poly(U)] by the replicase required ATP in addition to UTP. ATP was not required for the oligouridylic acid-primed copying of 3'-terminal poly(A) of virion RNA. GTP, CTP, and AMP-PCP (5'-adenylyl beta-gamma methylenediphosphate, an ATP analog) could not replace ATP in host factor-stimulated synthesis of poly(U). Antibodies to poliovirus genome-linked protein (VPg) specifically precipitated in vitro-synthesized poly(U) from a host factor-stimulated reaction. The poly(U) synthesized in a host factor-stimulated reaction was shown to be attached to VPg precursor polypeptide(s) via a tyrosine-phosphate bond as found in poliovirion VPg-RNA.
Security challenges in vehicular cloud computing

In a series of recent papers, Prof. Olariu and his co-workers have promoted the vision of vehicular clouds (VCs), a nontrivial extension, along several dimensions, of conventional cloud computing. In a VC, underutilized vehicular resources including computing power, storage, and Internet connectivity can be shared between drivers or rented out over the Internet to various customers. Clearly, if the VC concept is to see a wide adoption and to have significant societal impact, security and privacy issues need to be addressed. The main contribution of this work is to identify and analyze a number of security challenges and potential privacy threats in VCs. Although security issues have received attention in cloud computing and vehicular networks, we identify security challenges that are specific to VCs, e.g., challenges of authentication of high-mobility vehicles, scalability and single interface, tangled identities and locations, and the complexity of establishing trust relationships among multiple players caused by intermittent short-range communications. Additionally, we provide a security scheme that addresses several of the challenges discussed.
Test-Retest of Long Latency Auditory Evoked Potentials (P300) with Pure Tone and Speech Stimuli

Abstract Introduction Long latency auditory evoked potentials, especially P300, have been used for clinical evaluation of mental processing. Many factors can interfere with Auditory Evoked Potential - P300 results, suggesting large intra and inter-subject variations. Objective The objective of the study was to identify the reliability of P3 components (latency and amplitude) over 4–6 weeks and the most stable auditory stimulus with the best test-retest agreement. Methods Ten normal-hearing women participated in the study. Only subjects without auditory processing problems were included. To determine the P3 components, we elicited long latency auditory evoked potential (P300) by pure tone and speech stimuli, and retested after 4–6 weeks using the same parameters. We identified P300 latency and amplitude by waveform subtraction. Results We found lower coefficient of variation values in latency than in amplitude, with less variability analysis when speech stimulus was used. There was no significant correlation in latency measures between pure tone and speech stimuli, and sessions. There was a significant intrasubject correlation between measures of latency and amplitude. Conclusion These findings show that amplitude responses are more robust for the speech stimulus when compared with its pure tone counterpart. The P300 indicated stability for latency and amplitude measures when the test-retest was applied. Reliability was higher for amplitude than for latency, with better agreement when the pure tone stimulus was used. However, further research with speech stimulus is needed to clarify how these stimuli are processed by the nervous system.
Energy use and carbon footprint for potable water and wastewater treatment

Abstract Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are sources of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). Carbon dioxide emissions have a big contribution to climate change. In general they come from burning fossil fuels to generate the electricity necessary for operating the treatment processes. The demand of energy depends on the treatment processes, but also on the quality of water source or wastewater influent. Water companies have to continuously supply safe drinking water to population and to treat and discharge wastewater according to regulations at a cost as low as possible. In Romania reporting of GHGs is not mandatory for water companies. Evaluation of GHG emissions from water industry have become a subject of great interest because of concern regarding climate change. Research and regulation have been conducted by different authors based on a regional basis. This paper proposes to estimate and compare the carbon emissions resulting from power consumption of Constanta South WWTP and PALAS Constanta DWTP. The energy supplier is different for these plants. In order to calculate the carbon emissions the amount of specific CO2 emissions is determined. The contribution of each primary source to produce the amount of electricity which is consumed is taken into account. WWTP has high power consumption in biological processes, because there are the aeration tanks, the sewage pumping station and the equipment for sludge. DWTP has high power consumption because of the pumping equipment used for raw water abstraction from deep wells and those for drinking water distribution to consumers. In order to identify, sort and display possible causes of the high power consumption of WWTP, Ishikawa chart is used. Through its configuration, the diagram allows highlighting and prioritizing the causes which generate this effect. Some management options are presented in order to reduce power consumption in WWTP.
Reliable random error estimation in the measurement of line-strength indices

We present a new set of accurate formulae for the computation of random errors in the measurement of atomic and molecular line-strength indices. The new expressions are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. We have found that, in some cases, the use of approximated equations can give misleading line-strength index errors. It is important to note that accurate errors can only be achieved after a full control of the error propagation throughout the data reduction with a parallel processing of data and error images. Finally, simple recipes for the estimation of the required signal-to-noise ratio to achieve a fixed index error are presented.
Detection of persistent measles virus infection in Crohn's disease: current status of experimental work

The aetiology of Crohn's disease is unknown. Any hypothesis must take into account the continuing increase in incidence in some countries, including the UK. The increase affects the population from early teens, and specific comprehensive epidemiological studies in children and adolescents show a continuing rise in the rate of age and sex standardised incidence in Scotland.1 This suggests an environmental trigger, which may interact with underlying genetic susceptibility. A number of such environmental triggers have been proposed, including persistent infections, transient infections in a host with abnormal mucosal immunity, particulate materials, or dietary changes. Persistent infection with the measles virus after wild-type virus infections or immunisation with live attenuated measles vaccine have been proposed as important environmental triggers based on epidemiological observations.2 3 Measles is a single stranded RNA virus which can induce immune suppression. Measles infection is generally self limited and results in long term immunity, but rarely, persistent infection may occur after wild-type virus infection. The virus has special affinity for epithelial cells of the respiratory tract and cells of the immune system, such as lymphocytes and macrophages.4 A number of chronic diseases have been linked with persistent measles virus infection. These include multiple sclerosis, Paget's disease, a variety of autoimmune diseases, and autism, although definite evidence is lacking in each. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially Crohn's disease, has been linked to persistent measles virus infection. Ekbom et al proposed perinatal exposure to wild-type measles virus may lead to development of Crohn's disease later in life.2 3 Such case control epidemiological studies are of course prone to a variety of confounding factors, especially selection and recall biases. Epidemiologically robust data from a large controlled prospective study showed absence of a link between intrauterine exposure to measles and Crohn's disease.5 However, epidemiological studies linking …
Detecting and Eliminating Black Hole in AODV Routing

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) consist of autonomous mobile nodes which interact with other nodes. Nodes being infrastructure less and lack of central management would lead to simple selfishness or in some cases, maliciousness by black holes. Ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) is one of most popular routing protocols used in MANETs. However, it is vulnerable to black hole nodes. The simulation results show by using individual reputation system, alert on finding a black hole node and exchanging neighbor information messages on meeting a new neighbor will help detecting and eliminating malicious or black hole nodes from the networks.
A Multivariate Two-Sample Test Based on the Concept of Minimum Energy

We introduce a new statistical quantity the energy to test whether two samples originate from the same distributions. The energy is a simple logarithmic function of the distances of the observations in the variate space. The distribution of the test statistic is determined by a resampling method. The power of the energy test in one dimension was studied for a variety of dieren t test samples and compared to several nonparametric tests. In two and four dimensions a comparison was performed with the Friedman-Rafsky and nearest neighbor tests. The two-sample energy test is especially powerful in multidimensional applications.
SoC-TM: Integrated HW/SW support for transactional memory programming on embedded MPSoCs

Two overriding concerns in the development of embedded MPSoCs are ease of programming and hardware complexity. In this paper we present SoC-TM, an integrated HW/SW solution for transactional programming on embedded MP-SoCs. Our proposal leverages a Hardware Transactional Memory (HTM) design, based on a dedicated HW module for conflict management, whose functionality is exposed to the software through compiler directives, implemented as an extension to the popular OpenMP programming model. To further improve ease of programming, our framework supports speculative parallelism, thanks to the ability of enforcing a given commit order in hardware. Our experimental results confirm that SoC-TM is a viable and cost-effective solution for embedded MPSoCs, in terms of energy, performance and productivity.
Fine Structure of Rickettsia canada in Tissues of Dermacentor andersoni Stiles

Preliminary observations on growth and developmental fine structure of Rickettsia canada in various organs and tissues of the hard tick, Dermacentor andersoni Stiles, are reported. R. canada is typically rod-shaped, being delimited with a three-layered wall having a velvety coating adsorbed to its exterior surface. A finely reticulated cytoplasmic matrix containing prominent ribosomes is delimited with a three-layered unit membrane. Average length and width of these organisms are 1.6 by 0.4 μm. Although R. canada produces a generalized infection in D. andersoni, hypodermal and muscle tissues experience heaviest growth. Three morphologically distinct rickettsial forms were observed in individual hypodermal cells: (i) typical growth forms with a finely reticulated cytoplasmic matrix and distinct ribosomes; (ii) atypical forms with lightly to densely staining cytoplasm and a coagulated appearance in which ribosomes cannot be distinguished from the matrix; and (iii) forms with crystalline bodies that have a striated to beaded lattice structure and, at times, a fibrillar body in the cytoplasm as well. Occasional finger-like to irregular invaginations of the plasma membrane are noted. Intranuclear growth was demonstrated by electron microscopy in gut epithelial cells only. Growth and development of R. canada were manifest in all tissues examined.
Online Correlation Clustering

We study the online clustering problem where data items arrive in an online fashion. The algorithm maintains a clustering of data items into similarity classes. Upon arrival of v, the relation between v and previously arrived items is revealed, so that for each u we are told whether v is similar to u. The algorithm can create a new cluster for v and merge existing clusters. When the objective is to minimize disagreements between the clustering and the input, we prove that a natural greedy algorithm is O(n)-competitive, and this is optimal. When the objective is to maximize agreements between the clustering and the input, we prove that the greedy algorithm is . 5-competitive; that no online algorithm can be better than . 834-competitive; we prove that it is possible to get better than 1/2, by exhibiting a randomized algorithm with competitive ratio . 5+c for a small positive fixed constant c.
Using Musical Structure to Enhance Automatic Chord Transcription

Chord extraction from audio is a well-established music computing task, and many valid approaches have been presented in recent years that use different chord templates, smoothing techniques and musical context models. The present work shows that additional exploitation of the repetitive structure of songs can enhance chord extraction, by combining chroma information from multiple occurrences of the same segment type. To justify this claim we modify an existing chord labelling method, providing it with manual or automatic segment labels, and compare chord extraction results on a collection of 125 songs to baseline methods without segmentation information. Our method results in consistent and more readily readable chord labels and provides a statistically significant boost in label accuracy.
End-to-End Coreference Resolution via Hypergraph Partitioning

We describe a novel approach to coreference resolution which implements a global decision via hypergraph partitioning. In constrast to almost all previous approaches, we do not rely on separate classification and clustering steps, but perform coreference resolution globally in one step. Our hypergraph-based global model implemented within an end-to-end coreference resolution system outperforms two strong baselines (Soon et al., 2001; Bengtson & Roth, 2008) using system mentions only.
Scale Coding Bag-of-Words for Action Recognition

Recognizing human actions in still images is a challenging problem in computer vision due to significant amount of scale, illumination and pose variation. Given the bounding box of a person both at training and test time, the task is to classify the action associated with each bounding box in an image. Most state-of-the-art methods use the bag-of-words paradigm for action recognition. The bag-of-words framework employing a dense multi-scale grid sampling strategy is the de facto standard for feature detection. This results in a scale invariant image representation where all the features at multiple-scales are binned in a single histogram. We argue that such a scale invariant strategy is sub-optimal since it ignores the multi-scale information available with each bounding box of a person. This paper investigates alternative approaches to scale coding for action recognition in still images. We encode multi-scale information explicitly in three different histograms for small, medium and large scale visual-words. Our first approach exploits multi-scale information with respect to the image size. In our second approach, we encode multi-scale information relative to the size of the bounding box of a person instance. In each approach, the multi-scale histograms are then concatenated into a single representation for action classification. We validate our approaches on the Willow dataset which contains seven action categories: interacting with computer, photography, playing music, riding bike, riding horse, running and walking. Our results clearly suggest that the proposed scale coding approaches outperform the conventional scale invariant technique. Moreover, we show that our approach obtains promising results compared to more complex state-of-the-art methods.
Learning Sparser Perceptron Models

The averaged-perceptron learning algorithm is simple, versatile and effective. However, when used in NLP settings it tends to produce very dense solutions, while much sparser ones are also possible. We present a simple modification to the perceptron algorithm which allows it to produce sparser solutions while remaining accurate and computationally efficient. We test the method on a multiclass classification task, a structured prediction task, and a guided learning task. In all of the experiments the method produced models which are about 4-5 times smaller than the averaged perceptron, while remaining as accurate.