Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PStore: an efficient storage framework for managing scientific data

In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of PStore, a no-overwrite storage framework for managing large volumes of array data generated by scientific simulations. PStore consists of two modules, a data ingestion module and a query processing module, that respectively address two of the key challenges in scientific simulation data management. The data ingestion module is geared toward handling the high volumes of simulation data generated at a very rapid rate, which often makes it impossible to offload the data onto storage devices; the module is responsible for selecting an appropriate compression scheme for the data at hand, chunking the data, and then compressing it before sending it to the storage nodes. On the other hand, the query processing module is in charge of efficiently executing different types of queries over the stored data; in this paper, we specifically focus on dicing (also called range) queries. PStore provides a suite of compression schemes that leverage, and in some cases extend, existing techniques to provide support for diverse scientific simulation data. To efficiently execute queries over such compressed data, PStore adopts and extends a two-level chunking scheme by incorporating the effect of compression, and hides expensive disk latencies for long running range queries by exploiting chunk prefetching. In addition, we also parallelize the query processing module to further speed up execution. We evaluate PStore on a 140 GB dataset obtained from real-world simulations using the regional climate model CWRF [5]. In this paper, we use both 3D and 4D datasets and demonstrate high performance through extensive experiments.
High and low spatial frequencies in website evaluations

Which features of websites are important for users' perceptions regarding aesthetics or usability? This study investigates how evaluations of aesthetic appeal and usability depend on high vs. low spatial frequencies. High spatial frequencies convey information on fine details, whereas low spatial frequencies convey information about the global layout. Participants rated aesthetic appeal and usability of 50 website screenshots from different domains. Screenshots were presented unfiltered, low-pass filtered with blurred targets or high-pass filtered with high-pass filtered targets. The main result is that low spatial frequencies can be seen to have a unique contribution in perceived website aesthetics, thus confirming a central prediction from processing fluency theory. There was no connection between low spatial frequencies and usability evaluations, whereas strong correlations were found between ratings of high-pass filtered websites and those of unfiltered websites in aesthetics and usability. This study thus offers a new perspective on the biological basis of users' website perceptions. Statement of Relevance: This research links ergonomics to neurocognitive models of visual processing. This paper investigates how high and low spatial frequencies, which are neurologically processed in different visual pathways, independently contribute to users' perceptions of websites. This is very relevant for theories of website perceptions and for practitioners of web design.
The complexity of the approximation of the bandwidth problem

The bandwidth problem has a long history and a number of important applications. It is the problem of enumerating the vertices of a given graph G such that the maximum difference between the numbers of adjacent vertices is minimal. We will show for any constant k/spl epsiv/N that there is no polynomial time approximation algorithm with an approximation factor of k. Furthermore, we will show that this result holds also for caterpillars, a class of restricted trees. We construct for any x,/spl epsiv//spl isin/R with x>1 and /spl epsiv/>0 a graph class for which an approximation algorithm with an approximation factor of x+/spl epsiv/ exists, but the approximation of the bandwidth problem within a factor of x-/spl epsiv/ is NP-complete. The best previously known approximation factors for the intractability of the bandwidth approximation problem were 1.5 for general graphs and 4/3 for trees.
On the Foundations of Qualitative Decision Theory

This paper investigates the foundation of maximin, one of the central qualitative decision criteria, using the approach taken by Savage (Savage 1972) to investigate the foundation and rationality of classical decision theory. This approach asks "which behaviors could result from the use of a particular decision procedure? " The answer to this question provides two important insights: (1) under what conditions can we employ a particular agent model, and (2) how rational is a particular decision procedure. Our main result is a constructive representation theorem in the spirit of Savage's result for expected utility maximization, which uses two choice axioms to characterize the maxapnin criterion. These axioms characterize agent behaviors that can be modeled compactly using the maxcirnin model, and, with some reservations, indicate that rnaxionin is a reasonable decision criterion.
PhenDisco: phenotype discovery system for the database of genotypes and phenotypes

The database of genotypes and phenotypes (dbGaP) developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is a resource that contains information on various genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and is currently available via NCBI's dbGaP Entrez interface. The database is an important resource, providing GWAS data that can be used for new exploratory research or cross-study validation by authorized users. However, finding studies relevant to a particular phenotype of interest is challenging, as phenotype information is presented in a non-standardized way. To address this issue, we developed PhenDisco (phenotype discoverer), a new information retrieval system for dbGaP. PhenDisco consists of two main components: (1) text processing tools that standardize phenotype variables and study metadata, and (2) information retrieval tools that support queries from users and return ranked results. In a preliminary comparison involving 18 search scenarios, PhenDisco showed promising performance for both unranked and ranked search comparisons with dbGaP's search engine Entrez. The system can be accessed at http://pfindr.net.
Earliest-Deadline-Based Scheduling to Reduce Urban Traffic Congestion

One of the major problems, caused by traffic congestion, owes its existence to the unwanted delay experienced by the priority vehicles. The evaluation of two scheduling algorithms as adaptive traffic control algorithms has been proposed here to reduce this unwanted delay. One of these algorithms is the earliest deadline first (EDF) algorithm, whereas the other is the fixed priority (FP) algorithm. The performance of both algorithms as adaptive traffic light control algorithms is evaluated for isolated traffic intersections. A comparative study is performed here, where the performance of these algorithms is compared against a fixed static traffic light controller. Moreover, their performance is also compared against each other. Conclusive results from the simulation of the algorithms reveal that the number of stops, average delay, and mean trip time of the priority vehicles is significantly reduced by the implementation of these algorithms. Furthermore, it has been shown that the overall performance of EDF is much better than FP in terms of improvement of different performance measures for congestion reduction of priority vehicles.
Exploring the Relationship Between Depression and Resilience in Survivors of Childhood Trauma

Exploring the relationship between depression and resilience in survivors of childhood trauma Marquis A. Norton Old Dominion University, 2016 Chair: Tim Grothaus Ph.D. Although experiences of trauma are common, reactions vary due to a host of biopsychosocial and cultural factors that influence the individual reaction to the trauma (Nakai et al., 2015). One such factor is resiliency, the capability to adapt in adverse environmental circumstances (Basim & Cetin, 2011). This study used hierarchical multiple regression to examine the relationships between childhood trauma, recent experiences of depression, and resilience in adult university students. This study also examined the possible moderating effects on depression by resilience. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience scale, and PROMIS Depression survey. Small significant relationships were found for several of the variables, including: childhood trauma and ethnicity, childhood trauma and age, childhood trauma and income, childhood trauma and education, childhood trauma and resilience, childhood trauma and depression, depression and ethnicity, depression and education, depression and income, resilience and gender, resilience and income, and resilience and trauma. The results of this study also suggest resilience has a moderate inverse relationship with depression. The data also confirmed the existing literature which noted that adults who have experienced trauma in childhood have significantly higher rates of depression in adulthood than adults who have not experienced trauma.
Replicated document management in a group communication system

This paper is about the design and implementa-tbn of a repllwted database that forms the basis for the N&s*gray, communication system The system supports groups of people working on shared sets of donunents and is intended jor use in a p e r s o ~ l computer network enulronment in which the data-base servers are 'tarely connected". Most algorithms for guamnteetng amsistency across repllcas require more reliable network amnectbns between serwrs for adequate performance. Analysis of many group oommunkatfon applicatbns, however, revealed relatlwly weak consistency requirements across copies of the database. These requirements can be met by a simple replication algorlthrn that works well in rarely connected environments. TRls kind of replication has been used prevfously for a limited set of applications such as name directory replicatfon: we haw applied this technique to a much larger class of applfcatlons. Our characterfzatbn ojthfs class of applications suggests that this technique generalizes to support dfstrlbuted database Lmple-mentatlons of other gray, Luork systems, tncluding computer oonfeenclng and bulletin board systems.
A Tighter Bound for the Determinization of Visibly Pushdown Automata

Visibly pushdown automata (VPA), introduced by Alur and Madhusuan in 2004, is a subclass of pushdown automata whose stack behavior is completely determined by the input symbol according to a fixed partition of the input alphabet. Since its introduce, VPAs have been shown to be useful in various context, e.g., as specification formalism for verification and as automaton model for processing XML streams. Due to high complexity, however, implementation of formal verification based on VPA framework is a challenge. In this paper we consider the problem of implementing VPA-based model checking algorithms. For doing so, we first present an improvement on upper bound for determinization of VPA. Next, we propose simple on-the-fly algorithms to check universality and inclusion problems of this automata class. Then, we implement the proposed algorithms in a prototype tool. Finally, we conduct experiments on randomly generated VPAs. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithms are considerably faster than the standard ones.
ContextAlert: context-aware alert mode for a mobile phone

Purpose – Mobile computing research has been focused on developing technologies for handheld devices such as mobile phones, notebook computers, and mobile IP. Today, emphasis is increasing on context‐aware computing, which aims to build the intelligence into mobile devices to sense and respond to the user's context. The purpose of this paper is to present a context‐aware mobile computing model (ContextAlert) that senses the user's context and intelligently configures the mobile phone alert mode accordingly.Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes a three‐step approach in designing the model based on the embedded sensor data (accelerometer, GPS antenna, and microphone) of a G1 Adriod phone. As adaptivity is essential for context‐aware computing, within this model a new learning mechanism is presented to maintain a constant adaptivity rate for new learning while keeping the catastrophic forgetting problem minimal.Findings – The model has been evaluated in many aspects using data collected from human.
PerioSim: Haptic virtual reality simulator for sensorimotor skill acquisition in dentistry

This paper describes a haptic simulator that has been developed as an aid for the sensorimotor skill acquisition in dentistry. An important feature of the simulator is the ability to generate templates of position and force trajectories for the students to follow. Furthermore, the simulator has a mechanism, haptic playback, to help the students follow and learn these templates. Using this feature, the teacher can perform a procedure in the haptic simulator and record her actions. The trainee is then able to observe the recorded procedure and follow the correct trajectory in the position and force. Several haptic playback techniques are reviewed and the procedure implemented in the simulator is described in detail. We also describe hardware and software components of the simulator and their functionality.We conclude by describing the results of a preliminary classroom evaluation of the simulator.
A low power FIR filter design technique using dynamic reduced signal representation

While arithmetic circuits using 2's complement representation are easy to implement, it is well-known that the sign-extension bits of a 2's complement number cause high switching activity in digital arithmetic circuits. Such switching is undesirable in low power applications. In this work, we exploit the sign-extension property of a 2's complement number and propose a reduced representation of 2's complement numbers to avoid sign-extension. Instead of having the high switching activity at the MSB side of the datapath, the proposed number representation avoids switching of the MSBs altogether, and therefore reduces the power dissipation in digital arithmetic circuits. With the proposed technique, the maximum magnitude of a 2's complement number is detected and a reduced representation is dynamically generated to represent the signal. There is a constant error introduced by the reduced representation and such error is compensated accordingly. The proposed signal representation is particularly useful in digital filters where the coefficients are slowly varying and have small magnitudes. Our experimental results have shown a 38% power saving using the proposed technique.
Genetically-encoded tools for cAMP probing and modulation in living systems

Intracellular 3′-5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is one of the principal second messengers downstream of a manifold of signal transduction pathways, including the ones triggered by G protein-coupled receptors. Not surprisingly, biochemical assays for cAMP have been instrumental for basic research and drug discovery for decades, providing insights into cellular physiology and guiding pharmaceutical industry. However, despite impressive track record, the majority of conventional biochemical tools for cAMP probing share the same fundamental shortcoming—all the measurements require sample disruption for cAMP liberation. This common bottleneck, together with inherently low spatial resolution of measurements (as cAMP is typically analyzed in lysates of thousands of cells), underpin the ensuing limitations of the conventional cAMP assays: (1) genuine kinetic measurements of cAMP levels over time in a single given sample are unfeasible; (2) inability to obtain precise information on cAMP spatial distribution and transfer at subcellular levels, let alone the attempts to pinpoint dynamic interactions of cAMP and its effectors. At the same time, tremendous progress in synthetic biology over the recent years culminated in drastic refinement of our toolbox, allowing us not only to bypass the limitations of conventional assays, but to put intracellular cAMP life-span under tight control—something, that seemed scarcely attainable before. In this review article we discuss the main classes of modern genetically-encoded tools tailored for cAMP probing and modulation in living systems. We examine the capabilities and weaknesses of these different tools in the context of their operational characteristics and applicability to various experimental set-ups involving living cells, providing the guidance for rational selection of the best tools for particular needs.
On the identity of the type species of Sphenomorphus ( Squamata : Scincidae ) : Lygosoma melanopogon Duméril and Bibron 1839 , with a note on a new scalation character of the pes in Sphenomorphus

The type series of Lygosoma melanopogon Duméril and Bibron 1839, the type species of the scincid lizard genus Sphenomorphus Fitzinger 1843, consists of four specimens representing three species, all of which have available junior synonyms. A lectotype is designated, and Lygosoma melanopogon becomes a senior synonym of Lygosoma florense Weber 1891 (= Sphenomorphus florensis) and that species is redefined based on specimens from throughout its distribution for the first time. Based on a lack of consistent differences in morphology and coloration, previously named subspecies of Sphenomorphus florensis are placed in synonymy, leaving a single wide-ranging species S. melanopogon. Lygosoma Kühnei Roux 1910 is also placed in the synonymy of S. melanopogon, and the nomenclatural status of the name Scincus naevius Duméril and Bibron 1839 resolved. Lygosoma Meyeri Doria 1874 is raised from synonymy to become the name for the New Guinean Sphenomorphus species to which the name S. melanopogon has sometimes previously been applied, and Hinulia papuensis Macleay 1877 synonymised with it. Sphenomorphus melanopogon is identified as a member of a group of Sphenomorphus species which show an extension of the imbricate dorsal scalation onto the solar surface of the pes.
CMOS based 16-channel neural/muscular stimulation system with arbitrary waveform and active charge balancing circuit

Modern implantable neural/muscular stimulation system for neurological and physiological studies as well as for clinical treatment requires small, effective, safe and power efficient circuit system. CMOS technology is one of the best candidates to implement the circuit system to meet these requirements. In this paper, a 16-channel current mode stimulation circuit system with arbitrary waveform and active charge balancing circuit designed in CMOS 0. 18μm 24V high voltage process is described. The design considerations are reviewed and discussed. The simulation results show that the proposed circuit system can successfully generate arbitrary waveforms and perform active charge balancing meeting the safety requirement.
Heritability of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Traits in Alzheimer Disease Cases and Their Siblings in the MIRAGE Study

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) traits can serve as more specific measures of degenerative or cerebrovascular brain injury than can be ascertained through personal history, risk factors, clinical signs, or symptoms. They are potentially useful intermediate phenotypes for genetic studies of Alzheimer disease (AD). Recent studies have estimated heritability of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) among cognitively normal family members to be between 0.55 and 0.73. Persons discordant for AD are expected to have substantially different MRI phenotype distributions; our goal was to determine whether MRI traits in siblings discordant for AD are heritable. We measured cerebral atrophy, medial temporal atrophy (MTA), WMH, and a rating of cerebrovascular disease (CVR) via MRI in 815 participants from 424 families of the Multi-Institutional Research in Alzheimer's Genetic Epidemiology Study. Residual heritability after adjustment for covariates ranged from 0.17 (P=0.009) for MTA to 0.57 (P=10−7) for CVR. The number of APOE-ϵ4 alleles was significantly associated with WMH (P=0.01) and CVR (P=0.005) but not cerebral atrophy (P=0.25) or MTA (P=0.83). Heritability remained significant and high after adjusting for APOE genotype, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the additive genetic variation in these MRI traits is explained by other genes. In the Multi-Institutional Research in Alzheimer's Genetic Epidemiology Study of AD-discordant siblings, MRI traits are heritable and are potential endophenotypes for genetic association studies.
MEASUREMENT OF A SMALL-SCALE SUBSIDENCE IN A RECLAIMED LAND USING RADARSAT-1 SAR

Subsidence rate in a reclaimed coastal land of Noksan industrial complex, Korea, was measured by C-band SAR differential interferometry (DInSAR). Surface conditions of the reclaimed land are very rough without vegetation with respect to C-band, which makes strong radar returns. However, artificially loaded top soil is subject to change within a short period so that it is difficult to obtain coherent interferometric pairs by using C-band in a reclaimed land. Seven RADARSAT-1 data sets of fine beam mode (F4) had been obtained between September 2002 and October 2003, and 4 coherent interferograms were generated from them. A large incidence angle (about 41 degree) of RADARSAT-1 F4 fine-beam mode is not favorable for observing flat areas. To obtain coherent interferograms, we used pairs of short temporal and perpendicular baselines. AIRSAR C-band DEM and a DEM constructed from an ERS tandem pair were used to eliminate topographic phase from the interferograms. Estimated interferometrybased subsidence was evaluated by using in-situ data that had been obtained by magnetic probe extensometers with an accuracy of a few millimeters. Compaction process of the newly filled soil is considered as a main cause of the subsidence. The results prove that DInSAR technique using RADARSAT-1 fine-beam mode SAR is a useful tool in the field of geotechnical engineering.
Predictive time-to-lane-crossing estimation for lane departure warning systems

This paper presents a data fusion algorithm which is able to robustly estimate the Time-to-Lane-Crossing (TLC) of a vehicle traveling along a lane on the basis of road images, collected by an on-board videocamera, and kinematic data coming from car sensors. This algorithm is instrumental to built Lane Departure Warning Systems (LDWS) with enhanced predictive capabilities which allow the generation of earlier warnings able to better prevent dangerous driving situations coming from unintentional vehicle lane crossing occurrences. Comparisons with no predictive strategies are carried out and discussed in order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach in some critical driving scenarios simulated within the Carsim simulation framework.
Wireless Sensor Node for Traffic Monitoring: Analysis and Design

Economical profit represents one of core motivation factors of research and development activities in the field of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Certainly, it is not the only one. Increasing mobility, safety, traffic flow fluidity and environment protection are other very strong motivations for implementation of ITS in practice. The paper analyzes the possibilities of exploitation of wireless sensor networks technology in the field of ITS. It is focused on detailed sensor node description designed for sensing of magnetic field parameters, acceleration and measurement of acoustic signal. Referring to the end of the article, sensing of the speed of moving vehicles is presented as an example of node utilization.