Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficiently Filtering RFID Data Streams

RFID holds the promise of real-time identifying, locating, tracking and monitoring physical objects without line of sight, and can be used for a wide range of pervasive computing applications. To achieve these goals, RFID data has to be collected, filtered, and transformed into semantic application data. RFID data, however, contains false readings and duplicates. Such data cannot be used directly by applications unless they are filtered and cleaned. While RFID data often arrives quickly and is in high volume, its detection usually demands efficient processing, especially for those real-time monitoring applications. Meanwhile, the order preservation of RFID tag observations are critical for many applications. In this paper, we propose several effective methods to filter RFID data, including both noise removal and duplicate elimination. Our performance study demonstrates the efficiency of our methods.
Knowledge Base Discovery Tool

The Knowledge Base Discovery Tool (KBDT) is a suite of tools and components to improve the indexing of and search for documents. KBDT extracts and displays content from documents and builds knowledge indexes based on meaning, rather than keywords. KBDT uses the indexes to perform more intelligent searches. It also includes visualization technology to display relevant results using multi-media, rather than plain text. This paper describes prototypes (If two tools in this suite that use components for searching, extraction, and display of requested information. The tools are the Knowledge Base Editor and the Intelligent Information Retrieval Engine.
TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING: THE CASE OF BUSINESS COMPUTING*

The dominant explanation for the spread of technological innovations emphasizes processes of influence and information flow. Firms which are closely connected to pre-existing users of an innovation learn about it and adopt it early on. Firms at the periphery of communication networks are slower to adopt. This paper develops an alternative model which emphasizes the role of know-how and organizational learning as potential barriers to adoption of innovations. Firms delay in-house adoption of complex technology until they obtain sufficient technical know-how to implement and operate it successfully. In response to knowledge barriers, new institutions come into existence which progressively lower those barriers, and make it easier for firms to adopt and use the technology without extensive in-house expertise. Service bureaus, consultants, and simplification of the technology are examples. As knowledge barriers are lowered, diffusion speeds up, and one observes a transition from an early pattern in which the new technology is typically obtained as a service to a later pattern of in-house provision of the technology. Thus the diffusion of technology is reconceptualized in terms of organizational learning, skill development, and knowledge barriers. The utility of this approach is shown through an empirical study of the diffusion of business computing in the United States, reporting survey and ethnographic data on the spread of business computing, on the learning processes and skills required, and on the changing institutional practices that facilitated diffusion. (ORGANIZATION LEARNING AND DIFFUSION TECHNOLOGY)
Going back and forth: efficient multideployment and multisnapshotting on clouds

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing has revolutionized the way we think of acquiring resources by introducing a simple change: allowing users to lease computational resources from the cloud provider's datacenter for a short time by deploying virtual machines (VMs) on these resources. This new model raises new challenges in the design and development of IaaS middleware. One of those challenges is the need to deploy a large number (hundreds or even thousands) of VM instances simultaneously. Once the VM instances are deployed, another challenge is to simultaneously take a snapshot of many images and transfer them to persistent storage to support management tasks, such as suspend-resume and migration. With datacenters growing rapidly and configurations becoming heterogeneous, it is important to enable efficient concurrent deployment and snapshotting that are at the same time hypervisor independent and ensure a maximum compatibility with different configurations. This paper addresses these challenges by proposing a virtual file system specifically optimized for virtual machine image storage. It is based on a lazy transfer scheme coupled with object versioning that handles snapshotting transparently in a hypervisor-independent fashion, ensuring high portability for different configurations. Large-scale experiments on hundreds of nodes demonstrate excellent performance results: speedup for concurrent VM deployments ranges from a factor of 2 up to 25, with a reduction in bandwidth utilization of as much as 90%.
On the Evolution of Time Horizons in Parallel and Grid Simulations

We analyze the evolution of the local simulation times (LST) in parallel discrete event simulations. The new ingredients introduced are (i) we associate the LST with the nodes and not with the processing elements, and (ii) we propose to minimize the exchange of information between different processing elements by freezing the LST on the boundaries between processing elements for some time of processing and then releasing them by a wide-stream memory exchange between processing elements. The highlights of our approach are (i) it keeps the highest level of processor time utilization during the algorithm evolution, (ii) it takes a reasonable time for the memory exchange, excluding the time consuming and complicated process of message exchange between processors, and (iii) the communication between processors is decoupled from the calculations performed on a processor. The effectiveness of our algorithm grows with the number of nodes (or threads). This algorithm should be applicable for any parallel simulation with short-range interactions, including parallel or grid simulations of partial differential equations.
Using Postural Synergies to Animate a Low-Dimensional Hand Avatar in Haptic Simulation

A technique to animate a realistic hand avatar with 20 DoFs based on the biomechanics of the human hand is presented. The animation does not use any sensor glove or advanced tracker with markers. The proposed approach is based on the knowledge of a set of kinematic constraints on the model of the hand, referred to as postural synergies, which allows to represent the hand posture using a number of variables lower than the number of joints of the hand model. This low-dimensional set of parameters is estimated from direct measurement of the motion of thumb and index finger tracked using two haptic devices. A kinematic inversion algorithm has been developed, which takes synergies into account and estimates the kinematic configuration of the whole hand, i.e., also of the fingers whose end tips are not directly tracked by the two haptic devices. The hand skin is deformable and its deformation is computed using a linear vertex blending technique. The proposed synergy-based animation of the hand avatar involves only algebraic computations and is suitable for real-time implementation as required in haptics.
Peer prediction without a common prior

Reputation mechanisms at online opinion forums, such as Amazon Reviews, elicit ratings from users about their experience with different products. Crowdsourcing applications, such as image tagging on Amazon Mechanical Turk, elicit votes from users as to whether or not a job was duly completed. An important property in both settings is that the feedback received from users (agents) is truthful. The peer prediction method introduced by Miller et al. [2005] is a prominent theoretical mechanism for the truthful elicitation of reports. However, a significant obstacle to its application is that it critically depends on the assumption of a common prior amongst both the agents and the mechanism. In this paper, we develop a peer prediction mechanism for settings where the agents hold subjective and private beliefs about the state of the world and the likelihood of a positive signal given a particular state. Our shadow peer prediction mechanism exploits temporal structure in order to elicit two reports, a belief report and then a signal report, and it provides strict incentives for truthful reporting as long as the effect an agent's signal has on her posterior belief is bounded away from zero. Alternatively, this technical requirement on beliefs can be dispensed with by a modification in which the second report is a belief report rather than a signal report.
A SILAC-based Approach Identifies Substrates of Caspase-dependent Cleavage upon TRAIL-induced Apoptosis*

The extracellular ligand-induced extrinsic pathway of apoptosis is executed via caspase protease cascades that activate downstream effectors by means of site-directed proteolysis. Here we identify proteome changes upon the induction of apoptosis by the cytokine tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in a Jurkat T cell line. We detected caspase-dependent cleavage substrates by quantifying protein intensities before and after TRAIL induction in SDS gel slices. Apoptotic protein cleavage events are identified by a characteristic stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) ratio pattern across gel slices that results from differential migration of the cleaved and uncleaved proteins. We applied a statistical test to define apoptotic substrates in the proteome. Our approach identified more than 650 of these cleaved proteins in response to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, including many previously unknown substrates and cleavage sites. Inhibitor treatment combined with triple SILAC demonstrated that the detected cleavage events were caspase dependent. Proteins located in the lumina of organelles such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum were significantly underrepresented in the substrate population. Interestingly, caspase cleavage is generally observed in not only one but several members of stable complexes, but often with lower stoichiometry. For instance, all five proteins of the condensin I complex were cleaved upon TRAIL treatment. The apoptotic substrate proteome data can be accessed and visualized in the MaxQB database and might prove useful for basic and clinical research into TRAIL-induced apoptosis. The technology described here is extensible to a wide range of other proteolytic cleavage events.
Conforming Delaunay triangulations in 3D

We describe an algorithm which, for any piecewise linear complex (PLC) in 3D, builds a Delaunay triangulation conforming to this PLC.The algorithm has been implemented, and yields in practice a relatively small number of Steiner points due to the fact that it adapts to the local geometry of the PLC. It is, to our knowledge, the first practical algorithm devoted to this problem.
Acoustic and kinematic characteristics of vowel production through a virtual vocal tract in dysarthria

Broadening our understanding of the components and processes of speech sensorimotor learning is crucial to furthering methods of speech neurorehabilitation. Recent research in limb sensorimotor control has used virtual environments to study learning in novel sensorimotor working spaces. Comparable experimental paradigms have yet to be undertaken to study speech learning. We present acoustic and kinematic data obtained from participants producing vowels in unfamiliar articulatory-acoustic working spaces using a virtual vocal tract. Talkers with dysarthria and healthy controls were asked to produce vowels using an electromagnetic articulograph-driven speech synthesizer for participantcontrolled auditory feedback. The aim of the work was to characterize performance within and between groups to generate hypotheses regarding experimental manipulations that may bolster our understanding of speech sensorimotor learning. Results indicate that dysarthric talkers displayed relatively reduced acoustic working spaces and somewhat more variable acoustic targets compared to controls. Kinematic measures of articulatory dynamics, particularly peak speed and movement jerk-cost, were idiosyncratic and did not dissociate talker groups. These findings suggest that individuals with dysarthria and healthy talkers may use idiosyncratic movement strategies in learning to control a virtual vocal tract, but that dysarthric talkers may nonetheless exhibit acoustic limitations that parallel deficits in speech intelligibility.
Towards Self-Organizing Distributed Computing Frameworks: The H2O Approach

A novel component-based, service-oriented framework for distributed metacomputing is described. Adopting a provider-centric view of resource sharing, this framework emphasizes lightweight software infrastructures that maintain minimal state, and interface to current and emerging distributed computing standards. In this model, resource owners host a software backplane onto which owners, clients, or third-party resellers may load components or component-suites that deliver value added services without compromising owner security or control. Standards-based descriptions of services facilitate publication and discovery via established schemes. The architecture of the container framework, design of components, security and access control schemes, and preliminary experiences are described in this paper.
Spin fluctuations probed by NMR in paramagnetic spinel LiV2O4: a self-consistent renormalization theory

Low-frequency spin fluctuation dynamics in paramagnetic spinel LiV2O4, a rare 3d-electron heavy-fermion system, is investigated. A parametrized self-consistent renormalization (SCR) theory of the dominant AFM spin fluctuations is developed and applied to describe temperature and pressure dependences of the low-T nuclear spin–lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 in this material. The experimental data for 1/T1 available down to ∼1 K are well reproduced by the SCR theory, showing the development of AFM spin fluctuations as the paramagnetic metal approaches a magnetic instability under the applied pressure. The low-T upturn of 1/T1T detected below 0.6 K under the highest applied pressure of 4.74 GPa is explained as the nuclear spin relaxation effect due to the spin freezing of magnetic defects unavoidably present in the measured sample of LiV2O4.
Clinical users' perspective on telemonitoring of patients with long term conditions: understood through concepts of Giddens's structuration theory & consequence of modernity

This study involves conducting focus group discussions with clinical users (nurses and technicians) prior to the launch of telehealth service in Nottingham, UK, to elicit their initial perceptions about the service. It describes the findings from preliminary phase of otherwise a larger longitudinal study. Using Giddens's concepts from structuration theory and consequence of modernity, we were able to acknowledge trust and sense of security as two very salient aspects that govern adoption of new technological innovation. Unattended, these aspects contribute to arousal of conflict and contradiction within a system. In order for successful telehealth implementations in health care setting, providers of the service, need to focus on ways in which clinical users' trust can be gained and sense of security can be promoted while using the telehealth service and technology.
Production of Acid Phosphatase in Bacillus sp. Isolated from Forest Soil of Gunung Salak National Park

ABSTRAK Produktivitas Fosfatase Asam pada Bacillus sp. yang Diisolasi dari Tanah Hutan Taman Nasional Gunung Salak. Pada pengamatan ini dilakukan karakterisrik bakteri pelarut fosfat yang diisolasi dari tanah hutan Taman Nasional Gunung Salak. Sebanyak 21 koloni hasil isolasi diuji terhadap produktivitas enzim fosfatase berdasar pelarutan media mengandung fosfat. Isolat yang terkuat melarutkan fosfat diidentifikasi sebagai Bacillus sp. Pada pengamatan lanjutan terhadap strain teruji dilakukan penumbuhan pada media cair selama 90 jam inkubasi, dan hasilnya ternyata mampu melarutkan fosfat inorganik (Pi) dari sumber trikalsium fosfat (Ca-Pi) dan alumunium fosfat (Al-Pi) masing-masing pada kisaran 1,2 sampai 152 dan 0.8 sampai 25 mg.L-1; dan menunjukkan aktifitas enzim fosfomonoesterase antara 0.2 sampai 1.01 unit pada media yang mengandung larutan para-nitrophenylphosphate sebagai media fosfat organik (Po) artifisial. Konsumsi glukosa pada media yang diukur selama pertumbuhan sejalan pula dengan produk ortofosfat sebagai akibat adanya aktifitas enzim fosfatase. Peningkatan fosfatase juga sejalan dengan bertambahnya biomassa sel bakteri dan penambahan produk asam glukonat. Penurunan pH dari 7 menjadi 5 diakibatkan peningkatan produk asam glukonat di dalam media tumbuh. Bakteri pelarut fosfat yang berasal dari tanah hutan Taman Nasional Gunung Salak dapat memproduksi fosfatase asam untuk memineralisasi sumber-sumber fosfat menjadi sumber nutrisi yang siap digunakan oleh akar tumbuhan, dan itu merupakan prediksi kuat untuk menjadikan isolat bakteri pelarut fosfat sebagai sumber bahan pupuk hayati. Kata kunci: Bacillus sp. , tanah hutan, fosfatase asam, Ca-Pi, Al-Pi.
Markerless online stereo calibration for a humanoid robot

In this paper we present an online stereo calibration system that calibrates the eyes of a humanoid robot at a kinematic chain level using information from the embedded cameras and the motor encoders. The system calibrates the joints' offsets and mounting errors of the cameras using advanced filtering techniques based in the epipolar constraint. By calibrating the stereo system at a kinematic chain level we are able to continuously provide an accurate stereo reconstruction of the world with version and vergence of the eyes. Our method is able to converge even with large initial errors and is independent of camera movements - can operate with still or moving cameras. The filtering approach is essential for smoothing out errors arising from spurious image matches and converges in just a few seconds in case of sudden model changes. Experiments using the iCub robotic head are presented and illustrate the performance of the methodology as well as the advantages of using such an approach.
Benthic Foraminifera in Two Stressed Environments of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

This is a study of Foraminifera from two stressed environments of the northern Gulf o f Mexico: one of coastal seasonal hypoxia, the other o f hydrocarbon seeps in bathyal depths oxygen depletion being the common stressor. Many species of benthic Foraminifera survive the extreme oxygen depletion of Louisiana shelf waters in spring and summer. The dominant species are infaunal and have an adaptive tolerance to near anoxia or anoxia. A census of foraminiferal species present in dated sediment core samples reveals significant changes in the composition of the Louisiana-shelf benthic foraminiferal community in the past century. Agglutinated and porcelaneous orders living in water depths between 27 and 60 m suffered a noticeable decline or even disappeared during this time. The declining trend of agglutinated and porcelaneous taxa agrees with the rising trend of the Ammonia-Elphidhtm index that was previously noticed in cores from <30-m depths. These trends may be explained by an increase in the severity of seasonal hypoxia in Louisiana coastal waters. Current data indicate that this hypoxia, related to eutrophication and water stratification, worsened in the past century, even near the outer edge of the present-day zone of oxygen depletion in spring and summer. Communities of living benthic Foraminifera were found in association with the chemolithotrophic, sulfide oxidizing bacterium Beggiatoa in hydrocarbon seeps of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Populations of foraminiferal species survive under Beggiatoa mats to a substrate depth of 4 -5 cm where anoxia, H2S, and gaseous and/or liquid petroleum are major environmental stressors. The few commonly occurring live species found in surface and subsurface sediments at cold seeps can survive limited amounts of both oil and H2S but none of the species apparently benefits from these compounds.
A brief introduction to optimization via simulation

Optimization via simulation (OvS) is an exciting and fast developing area for both research and practice. In this article, we introduce three types of OvS problems: the R&S problems, the continuous OvS problems and the discrete OvS problems, and discuss the issues and current research development for these problems. We also give some suggestions on how to use commercial OvS software in practice.
What makes some POMDP problems easy to approximate?

Point-based algorithms have been surprisingly successful in computing approximately optimal solutions for partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) in high dimensional belief spaces. In this work, we seek to understand the belief-space properties that allow some POMDP problems to be approximated efficiently and thus help to explain the point-based algorithms' success often observed in the experiments. We show that an approximately optimal POMDP solution can be computed in time polynomial in the covering number of a reachable belief space, which is the subset of the belief space reachable from a given belief point. We also show that under the weaker condition of having a small covering number for an optimal reachable space, which is the subset of the belief space reachable under an optimal policy, computing an approximately optimal solution is NP-hard. However, given a suitable set of points that "cover" an optimal reachable space well, an approximate solution can be computed in polynomial time. The covering number highlights several interesting properties that reduce the complexity of POMDP planning in practice, e.g., fully observed state variables, beliefs with sparse support, smooth beliefs, and circulant state-transition matrices.
Expressing the NOANET GNSS network to the Hellenic Geodetic Reference System of 1987 (HGRS1987): A synergy between Geodesy and Geodynamics

In the present study we describe an algorithm which allows the expression of the coordinates of the NOANET (National Observatory of Athens CORS Network) to the official Greek geodetic reference system (HGRS87). The algorithm exploits the estimated velocities of twelve NONET stations. The main idea is to transform the coordinates (as well as the velocities) from the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2008 (ITRF2008) to the HGRS1987. This is realised by (a) the use of the 3D time-dependent transformation model and (b) using the transformation tool provided by the Greek Cadastral and Mapping Agency. The final products are the projection coordinates (X,Y) and the orthometric heights of the twelve stations. We expect accuracy better than 10 cm for the projection coordinates, while for the estimation of the heights, the accuracy remains uncertain.