Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving fairness, efficiency, and stability in HTTP-based adaptive video streaming with FESTIVE

Many commercial video players rely on bitrate adaptation logic to adapt the bitrate in response to changing network conditions. Past measurement studies have identified issues with today's commercial players with respect to three key metrics---efficiency, fairness, and stability---when multiple bitrate-adaptive players share a bottleneck link. Unfortunately, our current understanding of why these effects occur and how they can be mitigated is quite limited. In this paper, we present a principled understanding of bitrate adaptation and analyze several commercial players through the lens of an abstract player model. Through this framework, we identify the root causes of several undesirable interactions that arise as a consequence of overlaying the video bitrate adaptation over HTTP. Building on these insights, we develop a suite of techniques that can systematically guide the tradeoffs between stability, fairness and efficiency and thus lead to a general framework for robust video adaptation. We pick one concrete instance from this design space and show that it significantly outperforms today's commercial players on all three key metrics across a range of experimental scenarios.
New Insights into the Fructosyltransferase Activity of Schwanniomyces occidentalis β-Fructofuranosidase, Emerging from Nonconventional Codon Usage and Directed Mutation

ABSTRACT Schwanniomyces occidentalis β-fructofuranosidase (Ffase) releases β-fructose from the nonreducing ends of β-fructans and synthesizes 6-kestose and 1-kestose, both considered prebiotic fructooligosaccharides. Analyzing the amino acid sequence of this protein revealed that it includes a serine instead of a leucine at position 196, caused by a nonuniversal decoding of the unique mRNA leucine codon CUG. Substitution of leucine for Ser196 dramatically lowers the apparent catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of the enzyme (approximately 1,000-fold), but surprisingly, its transferase activity is enhanced by almost 3-fold, as is the enzymes' specificity for 6-kestose synthesis. The influence of 6 Ffase residues on enzyme activity was analyzed on both the Leu196/Ser196 backgrounds (Trp47, Asn49, Asn52, Ser111, Lys181, and Pro232). Only N52S and P232V mutations improved the transferase activity of the wild-type enzyme (about 1.6-fold). Modeling the transfructosylation products into the active site, in combination with an analysis of the kinetics and transfructosylation reactions, defined a new region responsible for the transferase specificity of the enzyme.
A New Species of Euphlyctis (Amphibia, Anura, Dicroglossidae) from the West Coastal Plains of India

The genus Euphlyctis is widely distributed across Southwestern Arabian Peninsula into parts of Southeast Asia. Five of the seven known Euphlyctis species are found within the Indian subcontinent. Here, we describe a new species, Euphlyctis karaavali sp. nov. from South-west coast of India, which was discovered during surveys engaging citizens. This species was identified to be distinct based on molecular and morphological evidence. We provide a detailed description of this species along with its call description and compare it with closest corigeners. Previous studies in the region had identified this species as E. hexadactylus but suggested the possibility of it being cryptic. Genetically E. karaavali sp. nov. is distinct from E. hexadactylus with a genetic divergence of 9.2% (12S and 16S) and shows a high divergence with E. kalasgramensis and E. ehrenbergii (13.04% each). Our findings are discussed in the context of cryptic species discovery, citizen engagement in scientific progress and conservation measures while suggesting future directions.
An Optimized FPGA Implementation for a Parallel Path Planning Algorithm Based on Marching Pixels

Path Planning is one of the most computationally intensive tasks in robot systems and a challenge in dynamically changing environments. By means of FPGAs it is possible to process time-critical and data-intensive tasks in robot systems efficiently. We have developed a parallel path planning algorithm which is based on Marching Pixels, an organic computing principle. The algorithm is optimized for FPGA-based processing. A parallel implementation approach together with an efficient buffering of the map data allowed us to obtain a processing rate suitable for real time applications, even for higher resolutions. We achieved a processing rate of 80 maps per second for VGA resolution (640x480) on a midsize Virtex-5 FPGA.
Constructing efficient cascade classifiers for object detection

The effectiveness of the cascaded object detector has been demonstrated repeatedly, and the basic steps to generate one are well known. But it is not obvious how to ensure the resulting detector will be efficient. This paper offers a solution by introducing a performance criterion that combines detection rate, false positive rate and speed, and a new cost function based on two simple, rational objectives. The result is a novel method for structuring the cascade which consistently produces efficient classifiers.
Study on control method for the grid-connected inverter with LCL filter

LCL filer has been widely applied in modern grid-connected inverter systems. In this paper, the impacts of LCL filter parameters on the filtering effects of harmonics and the current tracking accuracy of grid-connected inverter are analyzed, and the relationships between the inverter-side and network-side currents of the grid-connected inverter under active and reactive current output situations are derived. In addition, in the LCL-filter-based grid-connected inverter system, the current tracking ability is affected by the filter capacitor current when using the traditional control method by inverter-side current feedback. To solve this problem, a method to calculate the network-side current using the inverter-side current is proposed, and the calculated network-side current is compared with the command current in the control system. With the proposed control method, the current tracking ability of the grid-connected inverter system is improved. Simulation results show the improved control method is correct and superior.
Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications.

Focus Serial: Frontiers of Nonlinear Optics Several kinds of nonlinear optical effects have been observed in recent years using silicon waveguides, and their device applications are attracting considerable attention. In this review, we provide a unified theoretical platform that not only can be used for understanding the underlying physics but should also provide guidance toward new and useful applications. We begin with a description of the third-order nonlinearity of silicon and consider the tensorial nature of both the electronic and Raman contributions. The generation of free carriers through two-photon absorption and their impact on various nonlinear phenomena is included fully within the theory presented here. We derive a general propagation equation in the frequency domain and show how it leads to a generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equation when it is converted to the time domain. We use this equation to study propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in the presence of self-phase modulation and show the possibility of soliton formation and supercontinuum generation. The nonlinear phenomena of cross-phase modulation and stimulated Raman scattering are discussed next with emphasis on the impact of free carriers on Raman amplification and lasing. We also consider the four-wave mixing process for both continuous-wave and pulsed pumping and discuss the conditions under which parametric amplification and wavelength conversion can be realized with net gain in the telecommunication band.
Scoring ultrasound synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis: a EULAR-OMERACT ultrasound taskforce—Part 1: definition and development of a standardised, consensus-based scoring system

Objectives To develop a consensus-based ultrasound (US) definition and quantification system for synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A multistep, iterative approach was used to: (1) evaluate the baseline agreement on defining and scoring synovitis according to the usual practice of different sonographers, using both grey-scale (GS) (synovial hypertrophy (SH) and effusion) and power Doppler (PD), by reading static images and scanning patients with RA and (2) evaluate the influence of both the definition and acquisition technique on reliability followed by a Delphi exercise to obtain consensus definitions for synovitis, elementary components and scoring system. Results Baseline reliability was highly variable but better for static than dynamic images that were directly acquired and immediately scored. Using static images, intrareader and inter-reader reliability for scoring PD were excellent for both binary and semiquantitative (SQ) grading but GS showed greater variability for both scoring systems (κ ranges: −0.05 to 1 and 0.59 to 0.92, respectively). In patient-based exercise, both intraobserver and interobserver reliability were variable and the mean κ coefficients did not reach 0.50 for any of the components. The second step resulted in refinement of the preliminary Outcome Measures in Rheumatology synovitis definition by including the presence of both hypoechoic SH and PD signal and the development of a SQ severity score, depending on both the amount of PD and the volume and appearance of SH. Conclusion A multistep consensus-based process has produced a standardised US definition and quantification system for RA synovitis including combined and individual SH and PD components. Further evaluation is required to understand its performance before application in clinical trials.
A Multilevel Collision Mitigation Approach—Its Situation Assessment, Decision Making, and Performance Tradeoffs

This paper deals with the problem of decision making in the context of forward collision mitigation system design. The authors present a multilevel collision mitigation (CM) approach that allows a flexible tradeoff between potential benefit and the risk associated with driver acceptability and product liability. Due to its practical relevance, algorithms that allow for an efficient incorporation of both sensor and prediction uncertainties are further outlined. The performance tradeoffs that come along with different parameterizations are investigated by means of stochastic simulations on three dangerous traffic situations, namely 1) rear-end collisions due to an unexpected braking, 2) cutting-in vehicles, and 3) crossing traffic at intersections. The results show that an overly conservative CM system sacrifices much of its potential benefit. However, it is pointed out that the vision of accident-free driving can be achieved only through cooperative driving strategies
Genetic Algorithm Based Feature Selection for Speaker Trait Classification

Personality, likability, and pathology are important speaker traits that convey rich information beyond the actual language. They have promising applications in human-machine interaction, health informatics, and surveillance. However, they are less researched than other paralinguistics phenomena such as emotion, age and gender. In this paper we propose a novel feature selection approach for speaker trait classiﬁcation from a large number of acoustic features. It combines Fisher Information Metric feature ﬁltering and Genetic Algorithm based feature selection, and fuses several elementary Support Vector Machines with different feature subsets to achieve robust classiﬁcation performance. Experiments on an INTERSPEECH 2012 Speaker Trait Challenge dataset show that our approach outperforms both baseline approaches.
A Method of Incorporating Bigram Constraints into an LR Table and Its Effectiveness in Natural Language Processing

In this paper, we propose a method for constructing bigram LR tables by way of incorporating bigram constraints into an LR table. Using a bigram LR table, it is possible for a GLR parser to make use of both bigram and CFG constraints in natural language processing. Applying bigram LR tables to our GLR method has the following advantages: (1) Language models utilizing bigram LR tables have lower perplexity than simple bigram language models, since local constraints (bigram) and global constraints (CFG) are combined in a single bigram LR table. (2) Bigram constraints are easily acquired from a given corpus. Therefore data sparseness is not likely to arise. (3) Separation of local and global constraints keeps down the number of CFG rules. The first advantage leads to a reduction in complexity, and as the result, better performance in GLR parsing. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Label-Retaining Cells in the Adult Murine Salivary Glands Possess Characteristics of Adult Progenitor Cells

Radiotherapy is the primary treatment for patients with head and neck cancer, which account for roughly 500,000 annual cases worldwide. Dysfunction of the salivary glands and associated conditions like xerostomia and dysphagia are often developed by these patients, greatly diminishing their life quality. Current preventative and palliative care fail to deliver an improvement in the quality of life, thus accentuating the need for regenerative therapies. In this study, a model of label retaining cells (LRCs) in murine salivary glands was developed, in which LRCs demonstrated proliferative potential and possessed markers of putative salivary progenitors. Mice were labeled with 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) at postnatal day 10 and chased for 8 weeks. Tissue sections from salivary glands obtained at the end of chase demonstrated co-localization between LRCs and the salivary progenitor markers keratin 5 and keratin 14, as well as kit mRNA, indicating that LRCs encompass a heterogeneous population of salivary progenitors. Proliferative potential of LRCs was demonstrated by a sphere assay, in which LRCs were found in primary and secondary spheres and they co-localized with the proliferation marker Ki67 throughout sphere formation. Surprisingly, LRCs were shown to be radio-resistant and evade apoptosis following radiation treatment. The clinical significance of these findings lie in the potential of this model to study the mechanisms that prevent salivary progenitors from maintaining homeostasis upon exposure to radiation, which will in turn facilitate the development of regenerative therapies for salivary gland dysfunction.
PDK-1 / FoxO 1 pathway in POMC neurons regulates Pomc expression and food intake

Kristy Iskandar,* Yongheng Cao,* Yoshitake Hayashi, Masanori Nakata, Eisuke Takano, Toshihiko Yada, Changliang Zhang, Wataru Ogawa, Miyo Oki, Streamson Chua, Jr., Hiroshi Itoh, Tetsuo Noda, Masato Kasuga, and Jun Nakae Division of Molecular Medicine and Medical Genetics, International Center for Medical Research and Treatment; 21st Century Center of Excellence Program for Signal Transduction Disease: Diabetes Mellitus as Model, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Metabolism, and Endocrinology, Kobe University Graduate school of Medicine, Kobe; Division of Integrative Physiology, Department of Physiology, Jichi Medical University, School of Medicine, Tochigi; Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan; Division of Diabetes, Metabolism, and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan; Departments of Medicine and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York; Frontier Medicine on Metabolic Syndrome, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine; Department of Cell Biology, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Cancer Institute; Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Rapid onset of radiation maculopathy after whole-brain radiation therapy

Background:Radiation maculopathy is a phenomenon that occurs after radiation exposure. The rapid onset of unilateral macular atrophy without peripheral retinopathy after radiation has rarely been described. Methods:A case report and literature review. Results:We report a case of stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer under targeted therapy using Gefitinib who presented with severely impaired visual acuity related to rapid onset of unilateral macular atrophy and diminished photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction 1 month after whole-brain radiation therapy. The fundus fluorescein angiography revealed an enlarged diamond-shaped clear-cut foveal avascular zone in the macula without peripheral retinal vascular changes that differed from typical radiation retinopathy. We confirmed the diagnosis by evaluating the total radiation dosage and by excluding target therapy-induced maculopathy based on a review of the medical literature. Conclusion:Current therapeutic interventions for macular atrophy after radiation therapy remain a challenge. Vasodilators or antiplatelet medication may be beneficial; however, long-term follow-up is needed. Further studies are required to support the use of early aggressive therapy for the prevention of radiation retinopathy.
BK Virus Infection and Its Effect on Renal Function in Pediatric Liver-Transplant Recipients: A Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, Prospective Study

Background. Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a well-documented complication of liver transplantation. BK virus (BKV) is a common cause of CRF in renal-transplant recipients and has been sporadically associated with renal failure after nonrenal solid-organ transplantation. The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of BK viruria and viremia in pediatric liver-transplant recipients, assess the natural course of BKV infection over time, and examine the association between BKV positivity and renal function. Methods. A prospective, cross-sectional study of 59 pediatric liver-transplant recipients. Blood and urine samples were collected at enrollment for creatinine level and BKV polymerase chain reaction test. BKV-positive patients underwent repeated testing and follow-up. The medical files were reviewed for clinical data. Results. Median age at enrollment was 11.5 years, and median time from transplantation was 61 months. One child (1.7%) had viremia, and nine children (15.3%) had viruria (median: 610 copies/mL). All cases of viruria/viremia resolved spontaneously, nine of them within 10 months. There were no significant differences in demographic or clinical variables between the BKV-positive and BKV-negative children. None of the BKV-positive patients had evidence of renal dysfunction. Conclusions. Pediatric liver-transplant recipients have a low prevalence of BK viruria/viremia. BKV infection is associated with low viral loads and resolves spontaneously within a relatively short period, without residua. BKV is not associated with CRF postliver transplantation. BKV testing should not be part of the routine follow-up of children after liver transplantation.
Granulysin-Mediated Tumor Rejection in Transgenic Mice1

Granulysin (GNLY) is a cytolytic molecule expressed by human CTL and NK cells with activity against a variety of tumors and microbes, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Although the molecular mechanism of GNLY-induced apoptosis of Jurkat T cells is well defined in vitro, no direct evidence for its in vivo effects has been demonstrated. Because there is no murine homologue of GNLY, we generated mice expressing GNLY using a bacterial artificial chromosome containing the human GNLY gene and its 5′ and 3′ flanking regions. GNLY is expressed in leukocytes from transgenic mice with similar kinetics as in PBMC from humans: GNLY is constitutively expressed in NK cells and, following stimulation through the TCR, appears in T lymphocytes 8–10 days after activation. Both forms of GNLY (9 and 15 kDa) are produced by activated T cells, whereas the 15-kDa form predominates in freshly isolated NK cells from transgenic animals. GNLY mRNA is highest in spleen, with detectable expression in thymus and lungs, and minimal expression in heart, kidney, liver, muscle, intestine, and brain. Allospecific cell lines generated from GNLY transgenic animals showed enhanced killing of target cells. In vivo effects of GNLY were evaluated using the syngeneic T lymphoma tumor C6VL. GNLY transgenic mice survived significantly longer than nontransgenic littermates in response to a lethal tumor challenge. These findings demonstrate for the first time an in vivo effect of GNLY and suggest that GNLY may prove a useful therapeutic modality for the treatment of cancer.
Physicochemical and Hydrodynamics Aspects of Electrokinetics in Soil Remediation

The presence of contaminant sites on the earth’s surface is quite common and the need for their cleaning is huge and urgent. From the many technology efforts made to avoid the spreading of contaminants such as heavy metals the application of an electrical field on a soil matrix has given encouraging results. Several reports have described the goodness of electrokinetic-remediation as follows: it can be applied in situ, no excavation is necessary, it targets specific contaminants, and it works in low permeability soils. In fact, these are the reasons why applying electrical fields has been one technology pathway that has received so much attention in recent years. Although electrokinetic soil remediation has remained a promising technology, the drawbacks in field testing have suggested that fundamental research is still needed to fully understand the process. In effect, the analysis of the porosity, in conjunction with a more realistic set of transport forces, i.e. electroosmosis, electromigration, buoyancy and advection, is still missing in the literature and therefore it is the subject matter of this research. Consequently, this work concentrates on the analysis and comparison of predictions of at least three main aspects of electroremediation, i.e., heat transfer, electrostatics, and hydrodynamics. Overall, the comparison of transport forces is based on the use of different geometrical models to bring the role of porous media aspect and electrode shape into the analysis. Additionally, a new solution strategy is proposed for the differential equations of the electrostatic potential based on the Debye-Hückel approximation. From the study, the collected information is useful to identify further efforts to be made in investigation and to delineate a systematic approach for a more rigorous description of the electroremediation process. Implications for design of devices and cleaning strategies are also included. The knowledge obtained in this analysis is useful to promote a deeper understanding of the behavior of the system, and to lead to important guidelines for improving cleaning efficiency in a given application.
Notice of RetractionIs venture capital really a catalyst to commercialization? Evidence from China

Using a panel of China provincial areas from 2004–2008, we find that public research funding (R&D) and venture capital have a substitutive relationship in fostering the creation of new firms, and indirectly prove that it could spur innovation instead of public research funding. We also find that the positive relationship between public research funding (R&D) and the creation of new ventures. Our results remain robust to estimation with an instrument variable and lag structure in order to avoid the potential endogeneity issue. We believe that in short term venture capital do not have a complementary relationship in fostering start-ups.