Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Direct transitive closure algorithms: design and performance evaluation

We present new algorithms for computing transitive closure of large database relations. Unlike iterative algorithms, such as the seminaive and logarithmic algorithms, the termination of our algorithms does not depend on the length of paths in the underlying graph (hence the name direct algorithms). Besides reachability computations, the proposed algorithms can also be used for solving path problems. We discuss issues related to the efficient implementation of these algorithms, and present experimental results that show the direct algorithms perform uniformly better than the iterative algorithms. A side benefit of this work is that we have proposed a new methodology for evaluating the performance of recursive queries.
Accelerating Monte Carlo simulations of photon transport in a voxelized geometry using a massively parallel graphics processing unit.

PURPOSE It is a known fact that Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport are computationally intensive and may require long computing times. The authors introduce a new paradigm for the acceleration of Monte Carlo simulations: The use of a graphics processing unit (GPU) as the main computing device instead of a central processing unit (CPU). METHODS A GPU-based Monte Carlo code that simulates photon transport in a voxelized geometry with the accurate physics models from PENELOPE has been developed using the CUDATM programming model (NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA). RESULTS An outline of the new code and a sample x-ray imaging simulation with an anthropomorphic phantom are presented. A remarkable 27-fold speed up factor was obtained using a GPU compared to a single core CPU. CONCLUSIONS The reported results show that GPUs are currently a good alternative to CPUs for the simulation of radiation transport. Since the performance of GPUs is currently increasing at a faster pace than that of CPUs, the advantages of GPU-based software are likely to be more pronounced in the future.
Comparing a High and Low-Level Deep Neural Network Implementation for Automatic Speech Recognition

The use of deep neural networks (DNNs) has improved performance in several fields including computer vision, natural language processing, and automatic speech recognition (ASR). The increased use of DNNs in recent years has been largely due to performance afforded by GPUs, as the computational cost of training large networks on a CPU is prohibitive. Many training algorithms are well-suited to the GPU; however, writing hand-optimized GPGPU code is a significant undertaking. More recently, high-level libraries have attempted to simplify GPGPU development by automatically performing tasks such as optimization and code generation. This work utilizes Theano, a high-level Python library, to implement a DNN for the purpose of phone recognition in ASR. Performance is compared against a low-level, hand-optimized C++/CUDA DNN implementation from Kaldi, a popular ASR toolkit. Results show that the DNN implementation in Theano has CPU and GPU runtimes on par with that of Kaldi, while requiring approximately 95% less lines of code.
The glutamate‐enriched cortical and thalamic input to neurons in the subthalamic nucleus of the rat: Convergence with GABA‐positive terminals

Neurons of the subthalamic nucleus play a key role in the normal physiology and the pathophysiology of the basal ganglia. In order to understand better how the activity of subthalamic neurons and hence the output of the basal ganglia are controlled, we have reexamined the topography and examined in detail the synaptology and neurochemical nature of the two major excitatory projections to the subthalamic nucleus, that from the cortex and from the parafascicular nucleus of the thalamus. The approach was to use anterograde neuronal tracing and postembedding immunocytochemistry for amino acid transmitters.
Dynamic Three-Dimensional Analysis of Lachman Test for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Insufficiency: Analysis of Anteroposterior Motion of the Medial and Lateral Femoral Epicondyles

Purpose To evaluate dynamic three-dimensional (3D) kinematic properties of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-insufficient knees and healthy contralateral knees in awake patients during the Lachman test using biplane fluoroscopy. Materials and Methods Ten patients with unilateral ACL-insufficient knees and healthy contralateral knees were enrolled in this study. Each patient underwent the Lachman test three times in the awake state. The knee joint motions were captured using biplane fluoroscopy. After manual registration of 3D surface data from 3D-computed tomography to biplane images, dynamic 3D kinematic data were analyzed. Results The average anteroposterior (AP) translation of the medial femoral epicondyle of the ACL-insufficient knees (11.5±4.2 mm) was significantly greater than that of the contralateral knees (7.7±3.5 mm) (p<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant side-to-side difference in the average AP translation of the lateral femoral epicondyle. During the Lachman test, the distal femur was more externally rotated than the proximal tibia, which showed significant difference between both sides. Conclusions During the Lachman test, the medial femoral epicondyle of the ACL-insufficient knee exhibited greater AP motion than that of the contralateral knee, whereas there was no significant side-to-side difference with regard to the AP motion of the lateral femoral epicondyle.
Genetic Algorithm based Layered Detection and Defense of HTTP Botnet

A System state in HTTP botnet uses HTTP protocol for the creation of chain of Botnets thereby compromising other systems. By using HTTP protocol and port number 80, attacks can not only be hidden but also pass through the firewall without being detected. The DPR based detection leads to better analysis of botnet attacks [3]. However, it provides only probabilistic detection of the attacker and also time consuming and error prone. This paper proposes a Genetic algorithm based layered approach for detecting as well as preventing botnet attacks. The paper reviews p2p firewall implementation which forms the basis of f iltering. Performance evaluation is done based on precision, F-value and probability. Layered approach reduces the computation and overall time requirement [7]. Genetic algorithm promises a low false positive rate.
Modeling Orbit Dynamics of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC Satellites for Recovery of Temporal Gravity Variations

The precise GPS high-low tracking data from the joint Taiwan-USA mission FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (COSMIC) can be used for gravity recovery. The current orbital accuracy of COSMIC kinematic orbit is 2 cm and is better than 1 cm for 60-s normal points. We model the perturbing forces acting on the COSMIC spacecraft based on standard models of orbit dynamics. The major tool for the numerical work of force modeling is NASA Goddard's GEODYN II software. Considering that COSMIC spacecraft are not equipped with accelerometers, the accelerations due to atmospheric drag, solar radiation pressure, and other minor surface forces are modeled by estimating relevant parameters over one orbital period from COSMIC's kinematic and reduced dynamic orbits. We carry out experimental solutions of time-varying geopotential coefficients using one month of COSMIC kinematic orbits (August 2006). With the nongravity origin forces properly modeled by GEODYN II, residual orbital perturbations (difference between kinematic and reference orbits) are assumed to be linear functions of time-varying geopotential coefficients and are used as observations to estimate the latter. Both COSMIC and combined COSMIC and GRACE gravity solutions are computed. The COSMIC solution shows some well-known temporal gravity signatures but contains artifacts. The combined COSMIC and GRACE solution enhances some local temporal gravity signatures in the GRACE solution.
Evaluation of the structure-function relationship in glaucoma.

PURPOSE While glaucoma is evaluated on the basis of structural and functional test results, the spatial relationship between structure and function is not well defined. This study produces a topographical map to demonstrate how sectors of the optic nerve head (ONH) are related to locations in the visual field, using empiric cross-sectional patient data. METHODS One hundred nine subjects with healthy eyes and 166 subjects with diagnosed or suspected glaucoma (one test per patient) were evaluated using a retina tomograph and white-on-white standard automated perimetry (SAP). The tomograph ONH images were divided into 36 sectors; and the sector rim areas normalized to account for changes in the total rim area. These were then correlated with SAP thresholds. For each visual field location, a map was produced indicating the strength of correlation between the normalized sector rim areas and thresholds. RESULTS The highest correlation between a sector's normalized rim area and a SAP location's sensitivity was 0.520. Twenty-seven of the 52 non-blind spot SAP locations exhibited a correlation greater than 0.2 with at least one ONH sector. Locations in the superior hemifield were usually best correlated with the polar inferior temporal sectors of the ONH; locations in the inferior hemifield were usually best correlated with the polar superior temporal sectors of the ONH. CONCLUSIONS A map relating regions of the ONH to SAP test locations has been produced. This map may be useful in elucidating the structure-function relationship, particularly for cases of localized glaucomatous loss.
The Importance of a Role-Specific, In-Hospital Ward Clerk Education Program

ABSTRACT Ward clerks are essential members of the healthcare team, providing administrative and organizational support to acute care units and clinics. This role influences such matters as nurses' direct patient-care time, timeliness of patient discharges, and patient safety. To support ward clerks in the varying responsibilities and complex scope of this role, a formal orientation and ongoing education program is imperative. Whereas corporate orientation informs new employees of overall organizational processes, a ward clerk–specific workplace education program prepares individuals for the demands of the position, ultimately supporting the healthcare team and patient safety.
Outlier-robust recovery of low-rank positive semidefinite matrices from magnitude measurements

We address the problem of estimating a low-rank positive semidefinite (PSD) matrix from a set of magnitude measurements that are quadratic in the sensing vectors in the presence of arbitrary outliers. We propose a parameter-free algorithm that seeks the PSD matrix that minimizes the ℓ1-norm of the measurement residual. It is shown that the algorithm can exactly recover a rank-r PSD matrix of size-n from O (nr2) measurements with high probability, even when a fraction of the measurements is corrupted by arbitrary outliers. Furthermore, the recovery is also robust to bounded noise. When an upper bound of the rank of the PSD matrix is known a priori, we further propose a non-convex algorithm based on subgradient descent that demonstrates superior empirical performance.
Quality-Guided Image Denoising for Low-Cost Fundus Imaging

The restoration of noisy images is an essential pre-processing step in many medical applications to ensure sufficient quality for diagnoses. In this paper we present a new quality guided approach for denoising of eye fundus images that suffer from high noise levels. The denoising is based on image sequences and an adaptive frame averaging approach. The novelty of the method is that it takes an objective image quality criteria to assess the different frames and tries to maximize the quality of the resulting image. It can be implemented in an incremental manner which allows real-time denoising. We evaluated our approach on real image sequences captured by a low-cost fundus camera and obtained competitive results to a state-of-the-art method in terms of signal-to-noise ratio whereas our method performs denoising about four times faster.
An interprofessional educational intervention on delirium for health care teams: Providing opportunities to enhance collaboration

Interprofessional collaborative practice is acknowledged as enhancing patient-centred care (Health Canada, 2004). Successful collaborative practice requires educational experiences that enhance team building (Hall & Weaver, 2001). Learning activities must provide the opportunity for health care providers to learn to work together and share in problem solving and decision making (Health Canada, 2004). This approach is particularly applicable in the management of terminally ill patients experiencing delirium. Delirium is a common major complication of advanced illness, particularly in the older adult and during the last weeks of life (Breitbart & Strout, 2000). Health care professionals experience feelings of incompetence, lack of confidence, and stress surrounding the care they provide these patients and report insufficient knowledge and skills in this area (Brajtman, 2005). As no one health care professional can meet all of these patients’ multiple, complex needs, interprofessional health care teams are particularly important in delivering delirium care. We developed an interprofessional educational intervention on delirium for a palliative care team to enhance team cohesiveness and effectiveness in dealing with delirious patients. Specifically, we wished to develop and assess content, instructional strategies and evaluation instruments; provide educational resources; enhance participants’ awareness of the roles and contributions of the different team members; and increase their knowledge of delirium. This pilot study received ethical approval from the university and clinical agency Research Ethics Boards.
Dual-Satellite Cloud Product Generation Using Temporally Updated Canonical Coordinate Features

State-of-the-art cloud products are typically generated using scientific polar orbiting satellites such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). However, they do not allow for observation of the same region at a regular temporal frequency, rendering them ineffectual for nowcasting problems. Operational satellites such as Meteosat-8 SEVIRI, in contrast, are geostationary and provide continual data at a regular temporal frequency over a much larger region. MODIS-like cloud products cannot be directly generated from operational satellites as they typically have a smaller number of spectral bands and different wavelengths and spatial resolution. This paper applies the canonical coordinate decomposition method to estimate scientific cloud products using imagery from operational satellites. Using the proposed method features of the Meteosat-8 imagery data that are maximally coherent with the data from the MODIS are generated. These features are temporally updated at times and locations where MODIS data are unavailable using the alternating block power method. A subset of the canonical coordinates of Meteosat-8 SEVIRI is then used to create MODIS-like cloud products using several neural networks. The quality of the generated cloud products and their temporal consistency have been demonstrated on several data sets from July 2004. A benchmarking with an independent Meteosat-8-based algorithm is also provided, which shows the promise of our approach in generating MODIS-like cloud products
Do Religious Contexts Elicit More Trust and Altruism? An Experiment on Facebook

We design a decision-making scenario experiment on Facebook to measure subjects’ altruism and trust toward attendees of a religious service, a fitness class and a local music performance. Secular and religious subjects alike display significantly more altruism and trust toward the synagogue attendees than participants at the other two venues. By all measures of religiosity, even the most secular subjects behave more prosocially in the religious venue than in the comparable non-religious settings. We also find that secular subjects are just as altruistic toward synagogue and prayer group members as religious subjects are. These findings support recent theories that emphasize the pivotal role of religious context in arousing high levels of prosociality among those who are religious. Finally, our results offer startlingly little evidence for the widely documented religious-secular divide in Israel.
Isosurface extraction using particle systems

Presents a new approach to isosurface extraction from volume data using particle systems. Particle behavior is dynamic and can be based on laws of physics or artificial rules. For isosurface extraction, we program particles to be attracted towards a specific surface value while simultaneously repelling adjacent particles. The repulsive forces are based on the curvature of the surface at that location. A birth-death process results in a denser concentration of particles in areas of high curvature and sparser populations in areas of lower curvature. The overall level of detail is controlled through a scaling factor that increases or decreases the repulsive forces of the particles. Once particles reach equilibrium, their locations are used as vertices in generating a triangular mesh of the surface. The advantages of our approach include: vertex densities are based on surface features rather than on the sampling rate of the volume; a single scaling factor simplifies level-of-detail control; and meshing is efficient because it uses neighbor information that has already been generated during the force calculations.
Depression and resilience in women with HIV and early life stress: does trauma play a mediating role? A cross-sectional study

Objectives The present study sought to assess the relationship between depressive symptomatology and resilience among women infected with HIV and to investigate whether trauma exposure (childhood trauma, other discrete lifetime traumatic events) or the presence of post-traumatic stress symptomatology mediated this relationship. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Western Cape, South Africa. Participants A convenience sample of 95 women infected with HIV in peri-urban communities in the Western Cape, South Africa. All women had exposure to moderate-to-severe childhood trauma as determined by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Primary and secondary outcome measures We examined the relationship between depressive symptomatology and resilience (the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale) and investigated whether trauma exposure or the presence of post-traumatic stress symptomatology mediated this relationship through the Sobel test for mediation and PLS path analysis. Results There was a significant negative correlation between depressive symptomatology and resilience (p=<0.01). PLS path analysis revealed a significant direct effect between depression and resilience. On the Sobel test for mediation, distal (childhood trauma) and proximal traumatic events did not significantly mediate this association (p=> 0.05). However, post-traumatic stress symptomatology significantly mediated the relationship between depression and resilience in trauma-exposed women living with HIV. Conclusions In the present study, higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of self-reported depression. Although causal inferences are not possible, this suggests that in this sample, resilience may act as protective factor against the development of clinical depression. The results also indicate that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), which are highly prevalent in HIV-infected and trauma exposed individuals and often comorbid with depression, may further explain and account for this relationship. Further investigation is required to determine whether early identification and treatment of PTSS in this population may ameliorate the onset and persistence of major depression.
Explaining the impact of work interference with family: The role of work-family psychological contract and cultural values

This study aims to further understand the mechanisms through which work interference with family (WIF) influences important attitudinal, behavioral, and wellbeing outcomes. First, the study expands the content of employees’ psychological contract through creating a measure of Work-Family Psychological Contract Breach (WFPCB). The study also examines the mediating role of WFPCB in the relations between WIF and work-related outcomes. Finally, the study explores potential cultural influences by looking at the moderating role of individualism-collectivism on the relations between WIF and WFPCB as well as between WFPCB and the outcomes. Research was carried out in three stages: 1) telephone interviews were conducted to understand the content of work-family psychological contract; 2) the WFPCB measure was piloted; and 3) a final survey study was carried out to test the main hypotheses. Data were collected in both the U.S. and China, resulting in 20 participants each for the interview study, over 60 participants each for the pilot study and over 200 respondents each for the final stage. Support was found in both samples for the link between WIF and WFPCB, and some of the direct paths with the outcomes, especially the attitudinal variables. Full mediation effect of WFPCB was found for organizational commitment in the U.S. and for job satisfaction in China. Evidence for partial mediation was also found
The architecture of an autonomic, resource-aware, workstation-based distributed database system

Distributed software systems that are designed to run over workstation machines within organisations are termed workstation-based. Workstation-based systems are characterised by dynamically changing sets of machines that are used primarily for other, user-centric tasks. They must be able to adapt to and utilize spare capacity when and where it is available, and ensure that the non-availability of an individual machine does not affect the availability of the system. This thesis focuses on the requirements and design of a workstation-based database system, which is motivated by an analysis of existing database architectures that are typically run over static, specially provisioned sets of machines. A typical clustered database system -- one that is run over a number of specially provisioned machines -- executes queries interactively, returning a synchronous response to applications, with its data made durable and resilient to the failure of machines. There are no existing workstation-based databases. Furthermore, other workstation-based systems do not attempt to achieve the requirements of interactivity and durability, because they are typically used to execute asynchronous batch processing jobs that tolerate data loss -- results can be re-computed. These systems use external servers to store the final results of computations rather than workstation machines. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a workstation-based database system and investigates its viability by evaluating its performance against existing clustered database systems and testing its availability during machine failures.