Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Building Efficient Query Engines in a High-Level Language

Abstraction without regret refers to the vision of using high-level programming languages for systems development without experiencing a negative impact on performance. A database system designed according to this vision offers both increased productivity and high performance instead of sacrificing the former for the latter as is the case with existing, monolithic implementations that are hard to maintain and extend. In this article, we realize this vision in the domain of analytical query processing. We present LegoBase, a query engine written in the high-level programming language Scala. The key technique to regain efficiency is to apply generative programming: LegoBase performs source-to-source compilation and optimizes database systems code by converting the high-level Scala code to specialized, low-level C code. We show how generative programming allows to easily implement a wide spectrum of optimizations, such as introducing data partitioning or switching from a row to a column data layout, which are difficult to achieve with existing low-level query compilers that handle only queries. We demonstrate that sufficiently powerful abstractions are essential for dealing with the complexity of the optimization effort, shielding developers from compiler internals and decoupling individual optimizations from each other. We evaluate our approach with the TPC-H benchmark and show that (a) with all optimizations enabled, our architecture significantly outperforms a commercial in-memory database as well as an existing query compiler. (b) Programmers need to provide just a few hundred lines of high-level code for implementing the optimizations, instead of complicated low-level code that is required by existing query compilation approaches. (c) These optimizations may potentially come at the cost of using more system memory for improved performance. (d) The compilation overhead is low compared to the overall execution time, thus making our approach usable in practice for compiling query engines.
Location information driven formation control for swarm return-to-base application

On Mars there is no global positioning system available. In this paper we present an analysis of a relative localization system that acts as a moving swarm to estimate the location of its base. Our algorithm jointly processes two objectives. First to shape an optimized swarm structure to estimate the location of the base reliable and second to move the swarm together towards the base to return home. The estimate of the base location is used to return to it by controlled movements considering constraints such as the minimum distance between the swarm elements to avoid collisions. The performance comparison of our location information driven algorithm with goal approaching or flocking algorithm shows a robust behavior with a much higher efficiency.
On the CALM Principle for Bulk Synchronous Parallel Computation

In the recent years a lot of emphasis has been placed on two apparently disjoined fields: data-parallel and eventually consistent distributed systems. In this paper we propose a theoretical study over an eventually consistent data-parallel computational model. The keystone is provided by the recent finding that a class of programs exists which can be computed in an eventually consistent, coordination-free way: monotonic programs. This principle is called CALM and has been proven for distributed asynchronous settings. We make the case that, using the techniques developed by Ameloot et al., CALM does not hold in general for data-parallel systems, wherein computation usually proceeds synchronously in rounds and where communication is reliable. We then show that using novel techniques subsuming the one of Ameloot et al., the satisfiability of the CALM principle is directly related with the assumptions imposed on the behavior of the system.
An Evaluation of a Lexicographers’ Workbench: building lexicons for Machine Translation

NLP system developers and corpus lexicographers would both benefit from a tool for finding and organizing the distinctive patterns of use of words in texts. Such a tool would be an asset for both language research and lexicon development, particularly for lexicons for Machine Translation (MT). We have developed the WASPBENCH, a tool that (1) presents a "word sketch", a summary of the corpus evidence for a word, to the lexicographer; (2) supports the lexicographer in analysing the word into its distinct meanings and (3) uses the lexicographer's analysis as the input to a state-of-the-art word sense disambiguation algorithm, the output of which is a "word expert" for the word which can then disambiguate new instances of the word. In this paper we describe a set of evaluation experiments, designed to establish whether waspbench can be used to save time and improve performance in the development of a lexicon for Machine Translation or other NLP application.
Towards sketch-based image retrieval with deep cross-modal correlation learning

A novel scheme with deep cross-modal correlation learning is developed in this paper to facilitate more effective Sketch-based Image Retrieval (SBIR) for large-scale annotated images. It integrates the deep multimodal feature generation, deep cross-modal correlation learning and similarity search optimization through mining all the beneficial multimodal information sources in sketches and images, which can be treated as an inter-related correlation distribution over deep representations of sketches and images. Very positive results were obtained in our experiments using a large quantity of public data.
Caspian Coastal Forests: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Understory Vegetation

Moist and temperate Caspian forests are associated with a diversity of soil types and topography. Although, natural history and ecological attributes of the Caspian vegetation is well-documented, little is known about mycorrhizae of the Caspian (Hyrcanian) flora. Samples of herbaceous plant species were collected from 4 pre-determined altitudes (-13 upto about 1500m above sea level, approximately 500 m apart from three selected areas (Javaherdeh,J; Dalkhani,D; and Tonekabon,T) in Ooctober 2014. In addition, soil samples were collected from top 30 cm and analyzed for their physicochemical properties, mycorrhizal occurrence in roots and fungal spore density and diversity. Forty nine plant species from 30 families were sampled, identified and preserved. Brachypodium sylvaticum (Huds.) P. Beauv. and Polygonum mite Schrank. had the most frequent distribution in 4 and 6 of 11 stations, respectively. Results of this research revealed that plant species distribution in different forests varied in corresponding altitudes. However, within each forest, although plant species composition varied with increasing altitude and usually one species dominated in each forest, there were no clearcut ranges between habitats in altitudinal gradients studied here. AM fungal community composition, although unique to each rhizosphere, showed great variation between stations and amongst forests as was for the plant species. Results showed Shanon-Weaver diversity indiex for fungi generally followed the same pattern for plants. Pielou’s evenness indices of fungal species did not vary significantly, but differed within stations in each forest. There was no strong correlation between fungal density and soil elements as well as pH and EC except with contents of Na and clay at lower altitudes which correlated negatively with. We established the importance of mycorrhizal fungal community in development of understory herbaceous vegetation in Caspian forests, emphasizing the importance of elevation from sea level, sodium cation exchange capacity and soil texture in plant community development.
Identification of a lipid scrambling domain in ANO6/TMEM16F

Phospholipid scrambling (PLS) is a ubiquitous cellular mechanism involving the regulated bidirectional transport of phospholipids down their concentration gradient between membrane leaflets. ANO6/TMEM16F has been shown to be essential for Ca2+-dependent PLS, but controversy surrounds whether ANO6 is a phospholipid scramblase or an ion channel like other ANO/TMEM16 family members. Combining patch clamp recording with measurement of PLS, we show that ANO6 elicits robust Ca2+-dependent PLS coinciding with ionic currents that are explained by ionic leak during phospholipid translocation. By analyzing ANO1-ANO6 chimeric proteins, we identify a domain in ANO6 necessary for PLS and sufficient to confer this function on ANO1, which normally does not scramble. Homology modeling shows that the scramblase domain forms an unusual hydrophilic cleft that faces the lipid bilayer and may function to facilitate translocation of phospholipid between membrane leaflets. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for understanding PLS and how ANO6 functions in this process. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.06901. 001
Food Chains in Freshwaters

There are three hypothesized controls on food‐chain length (FCL): energy supply (or “resource availability”), ecosystem size and disturbance (or “environmental variation”). In this article, the evidence for controls on FCL in freshwater ecosystems is evaluated. First, the various ways FCL can be measured are defined. Food‐chain length typically is estimated as (1) connectance‐based FCL—an average connectance between basal resources and top consumers, (2) functional FCL—by experimental determination of functionally significant effects of a top predator on lower trophic‐level biomass patterns, and (3) realized FCL—an average connectance measure weighted by energy flow between basal consumers and the consumer occupying the maximum trophic position in the food web. Second, all evidence for relationships between the three hypothetical controls and FCL in freshwater ecosystems are evaluated. The review includes studies from streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, phytotelmata, and experimental containers. Surprisingly, few studies of FCL in freshwaters that test the same suite of controls using the same methods are found. Equally compelling results arise from case studies based on functional, realized, and connectance‐based measures of FCL. Third, 10 rules of thumb that could increase similarity of future studies, thereby facilitating synthesis across systems, are suggested. Fourth, it is discussed how FCL influences the concentration of contaminants in large‐bodied animals (many of which are consumed by humans) as well as the efficacy of biocontrol applications in agriculture. Finally, there is a discussion of the potential relationships between global climate change, hydrology, and FCL in freshwaters.
Analysis of Simulated Single Ligament Transection on the Mechanical Behaviour of a Lumbar Functional Spinal Unit / Rechnerische Analyse des Einflusses der Bänder auf das mechanische Verhalten eines Bewegungssegments der Lendenwirbelsäule

Abstract The influence of the different lumbar spinal ligaments on intersegmental rotation is not fully understood. In order to explore this effect, a finite element model of the functional spinal unit L3/L4 was loaded with pure moments in the three main anatomic planes. The two extremes – minimum and maximum - ligament stiffness values reported in the literature were applied. After virtual transection of each of the spinal ligaments in turn, the intersegmental rotation and forces in the remaining ligaments were calculated. On flexion, the highest force was found for the posterior longitudinal ligament; on extension and lateral bending for the anterior longitudinal ligament; and on axial rotation for the facet capsular ligament. The strongest influence on intersegmental rotation is exerted by the interspinous ligament on flexion, by the anterior longitudinal ligament on extension and lateral bending, and by the facet capsular ligaments on axial rotation. Ligament stiffness has a strong influence on intersegmental rotation and forces in the ligaments, so that finite element models of spinal segments must be validated by experimental data. This study should help to elucidate the role of the various ligaments. Der Einfluß der einzelnen lumbalen Bänder auf die intersegmentalen Rotationen ist nicht völlig geklärt. Um ihn zu ermitteln, wurde ein Finite-Elemente-Modell des Bewegungssegments L3/L4 mit reinen Momenten in den drei anatomischen Hauptebenen belastet. Dabei wurden jeweils die größten und kleinsten in der Literatur angegebenen Steifigkeitswerte für die Bänder zugrunde gelegt. Nach der Durchtrennung eines einzelnen Bandes wurden jeweils die intersegmentalen Rotationen und die Kräfte in den übrigen Bändern berechnet. Bei der Flexion wurde die größte Kraft für das hintere Längsband ermittelt. Bei Extension und Seitneigung überträgt das vordere Längsband die größten Kräfte, bei axialer Rotation das Kapselband. Den größten Einfluß auf die intersegmentale Rotation haben das Dornzwischenband für den Lastfall Flexion, das vordere Längsband bei Extension und Seitneigung und die Kapselbänder bei axialer Rotation. Die intersegmentale Rotation und die Bandkräfte sind stark von der Bandsteifigkeit abhängig. Finite-Elemente-Modelle der Wirbelsäulensegmente müssen daher mit experimentellen Daten validiert werden. Diese Studie soll dazu beitragen, die Funktion der verschiedenen Bänder besser zu verstehen.
Mining for Tree-Query Associations in a Graph

New applications of data mining, such as in biology, bioinformatics, or sociology, are faced with large datasets structured as graphs. We present an efficient algorithm for mining associations between tree queries in a large graph. Tree queries are powerful tree-shaped patterns featuring existential variables and data constants. Our algorithm applies the theory of conjunctive database queries to make the generation of association rules efficient. We propose a practical, database-oriented implementation in SQL, and show that the approach works in practice through experiments on data about food webs, protein interactions, and citation analysis.
Feature selection via minimizing nearest neighbor classification error

Feature selection is viewed as an important preprocessing step for pattern recognition, machine learning and data mining. It is used to find an optimal subset to reduce computational cost, increase the classification accuracy and improve result comprehensibility. In this paper, a weighted distance learning approach is introduced to minimize Leaving-One-Out classification error using a gradient descent algorithm. The quality of features is evaluated with the learned weight and the features with great weights are considered to be useful for classification. Experimental analysis shows that the proposed approach has better performance than several state-of-the-art methods.
A Genome-Wide Association Study of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma among European Descendants

Background: No GWAS on the risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has been published. We conducted a multistage genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify novel genetic loci for SCC. Methods: The study included 745 SCC cases and 12,805 controls of European descent in the discovery stage and 531 SCC cases and 551 controls of European ancestry in the replication stage. We selected 64 independent loci that showed the most significant associations with SCC in the discovery stage (linkage disequilibrium r2 < 0.4) for replication. Results: Rs8063761 in the DEF8 gene on chromosome 16 showed the strongest association with SCC (P = 1.7 × 10−9 in the combined set; P = 1.0 × 10−6 in the discovery set and P = 4.1 × 10−4 in the replication set). The variant allele of rs8063761 (T allele) was associated with a decreased expression of DEF8 (P = 1.2 × 10−6). Besides, we validated four other SNPs associated with SCC in the replication set, including rs9689649 in PARK2 gene (P = 2.7 × 10−6 in combined set; P = 3.2 × 10−5 in the discovery; and P = 0.02 in the replication), rs754626 in the SRC gene (P = 1.1 × 10−6 in combined set; P = 1.4 × 10−5 in the discovery and P = 0.02 in the replication), rs9643297 in ST3GAL1 gene (P = 8.2 × 10−6 in combined set; P = 3.3 × 10−5 in the discovery; and P = 0.04 in the replication), and rs17247181 in ERBB2IP gene (P = 4.2 × 10−6 in combined set; P = 3.1 × 10−5 in the discovery; and P = 0.048 in the replication). Conclusion: Several genetic variants were associated with risk of SCC in a multistage GWAS of subjects of European ancestry. Impact: Further studies are warranted to validate our finding and elucidate the genetic function of these variants. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(4); 714–20. ©2016 AACR.
An anomaly detection approach to face spoofing detection: A new formulation and evaluation protocol

Face anti-spoofing problem can be quite challenging due to various factors including diversity of face spoofing attacks, any new means of spoofing, the problem of imaging sensor interoperability and other environmental factors in addition to the small sample size. Taking into account these observations, in this work, first, a new evaluation protocol called “innovative attack evaluation protocol” to study the effect of occurrence of unseen attack types is proposed which better reflects the realistic conditions in spoofing attacks. Second, a new formulation of the problem based on the anomaly detection concept is proposed where the training data comes from the positive class only. The test data, of course, may come from the positive or negative class. Finally, a thorough evaluation and comparison of 20 different one-class and two-class systems is performed and demonstrated that the anomaly-based formulation is not inferior as compared with the conventional two-class approach.
Thermal-aware layout planning for heterogeneous datacenters

Cooling power represents a significant portion of total power consumption in datacenters. Heterogeneous datacenters deploy clusters of servers with different hardware configurations, each offering its own performance and power characteristics. We observe that heterogeneous datacenters offer a unique opportunity to reduce cooling power through appropriate planning. In this paper we formulate the problem of rack layout for planning of heterogeneous datacenters, where the goal is to identify the best locations of the server racks with different hardware capabilities to improve the supply temperatures of the CRAC units and the total cooling power. We provide optimal solutions that take into account the impact of varying utilizations of datacenters and job scheduling methods. Using state-of-the-art thermal modeling tools, we prove that our methods lead to datacenter layouts with significant improvements in cooling power reduction, between 15.5% - 38.5% based on the datacenter utilizations and an average of 28.3% without any negative side effects.
Mid-Infrared Spectra of Dust Debris around Main-Sequence Stars

We report spectra obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope in the λ = 14-35 μm range of 19 nearby main-sequence stars with infrared excesses. The six stars with strong dust emission show no recognizable spectral features, suggesting that the bulk of the emitting particles have diameters larger than 10 μm. If the observed dust results from collisional grinding of larger solids, we infer minimum masses of the parent body population between 0.004 and 0.06 M⊕. We estimate grain production rates of ∼1010 g s-1 around λ Boo and HR 1570; selective accretion of this matter may help explain their peculiar surface abundances. There appear to be inner truncations in the dust clouds at 48, 11, 52, and 54 AU around HR 333, HR 506, HR 1082, and HR 3927, respectively.
Microstructure, Wear Resistance and Oxidation Behavior of Ni-Ti-Si Coatings Fabricated on Ti6Al4V by Laser Cladding

The Ni-Ti-Si composite coatings were successfully fabricated on Ti6Al4V by laser cladding. The microstructure were studied by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and EDS (energy dispersive spectrometer). It has been found that Ti2Ni and Ti5Si3 phases exist in all coatings, and some samples have TiSi2 phases. Moreover, due to the existence of these phases, coatings presented relatively higher microhardness than that of the substrate (826 HV (Vickers hardness)) and the microhardness value of coating 3 is about twice larger than that of the substrate. During the dry sliding friction and wear test, due to the distribution of the relatively ductile phase of Ti2Ni and reinforcement phases of Ti5Si3 and TiSi2, the coatings performed good wear resistance. The oxidation process contains two stages: the rapid oxidation and slow oxidation by high temperature oxidation test at 800 °C for 50 h. Meanwhile, the value of the oxidation weight gain of the substrate is approximately three times larger than that of the coating 4. During the oxidation process, the oxidation film formed on the coating is mainly consisted of TiO2, Al2O3 and SiO2. Phases Ti2Ni, Ti5Si3, TiSi2 and TiSi were still found and it could be responsible for the improvement in oxidation resistance of the coatings by laser cladding.
Clinical profile of ARDS.

OBJECTIVES Several studies have been published in western literature on incidence, prevalence, clinical course, outcome and mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). There are very few studies on the pattern of ARDS seen in Indian population. There are anecdotal reports of ARDS associated with different tropical diseases and the exact association of these life-threatening disorders with ARDS is not clearly described in the Indian literature. The study was carried out to identify the clinical pattern of Indian patients who died of ARDS. METHODS This was a three and a half year retrospective study comprising of 98 patients who died of ARDS in the intensive care unit of Apollo Hospital, a tertiary care referral centre between January 1999 to June 2002. The present study looked at only those patients who died from ARDS and did not evaluate the clinical outcome or survival pattern of ARDS patients. The criteria used for diagnosis of ARDS was based upon American/European consensus statement for definition of acute lung injury (ALI) and ARDS. The patient demographic data consisted of age, sex, associated major illness in the part, clinical disorders associated with ARDS, length of hospital stay, use and duration of mechanical ventilation and the presence of sepsis and organ failure defined by ACCP/SCCM consensus conference definition. Seventy patients were ventilated with volume control mode and 28 patients with pressure control ventilation. Lung protective strategy was used in all the cases comprising of low tidal volumes at the rate of 5-ml/kg-body weight. Statistical analysis of the data was done by SPSS 10 for windows (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, Illinois). RESULTS There were 98 patients during the study period who died of ARDS. Fifty one males and 47 female patients. Thirty patients had primary pulmonary infection, 18 had severe sepsis with multiorgan failure, 12 patients had polytrauma and 10 each had recent abdominal surgery and pancreatitis. Length of ICU stay was less than 10 days in 58 patients whereas in 40 patients it was more than 10 days. Duration of mechanical ventilation was less than seven days in 80 patients and more than seven days in 18 patients. Positive body fluid cultures were obtained in 42 out of 98 patients and of these, 14 patients had microbiological diagnosis established by blood culture, another 14 by endotracheal secretion culture, eight by urine culture and in the remaining six patients based upon wound cultures. The commonest organisms isolated from the body fluids were Pseudomonas and Klebsiella. CONCLUSION Primary pulmonary infection was associated with ARDS is one-third of patients. Multiorgan failure was seen in 18% of patients who died from ARDS. Severe sepsis was identified as a significant risk factor for ARDS.