Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Limit for Distributed Estimation Systems With Identical One-Bit Quantizers

Full precision Crame¿r-Rao lower bound (CRLB) where no quantization is assumed is often employed to evaluate and compare distributed estimation performance even though the sensor observations are quantized before any further processing. However, as it completely disregards quantization and often does not exist when the sensor observation noise is bounded, full precision CRLB is often too optimistic or not applicable. In this work, we determine the performance limit of a distributed estimation system with identical one-bit quantizers in terms of the metric minimax CRLB. The performance limit that a distributed estimation scheme with identical quantizers can achieve is found as well as the set of optimal noise distribution functions and quantizers. Compared to the full precision CRLB, the performance limit is shown to be a much tighter bound when the parameter range is relatively large and reveals the important role of the quantization system.
First Lasing of the LCLS X-Ray FEL at 1.5 Å

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a SASE 1.5-15 A x-ray Free-Electron Laser (FEL) facility under construction at SLAC [1], and presently in an advanced phase of commissioning. The injector, linac, and new bunch compressors were commissioned in 2007 [2] and 2008 [3], establishing the necessary electron beam brightness at 14 GeV. The final phase of commissioning, including the FEL undulator and the long transport line from the linac, began in November 2008, with first 1.5-A FEL light and saturation observed in mid-April 2009. We report on the accelerator, undulator, and FEL operations, although prior to the availability of the full x-ray diagnostics suite, which will not be ready until June 2009.
Who can best answer a query in my social network?

Social networks have facilitated communications and exchange between people and many people share their experiences, pictures or interests on the Web. Yet, due to the diversity of social networks, it can be difficult to find the correct person which can answer a given query. Similarly, advertising companies need to target specific users which are most willing to be interested by their products. This paper addresses the problem of finding one or more acquaintances in a social network that have an interest for a given query. To fulfill this goal, we explore three integration strategies based on structure, semantics, terminology and tag co-occurrence. Finally, we have analyzed experiments with hundreds of user profiles to show the benefits and shortcomings of our approach.
Fear-avoidance beliefs and clinical outcomes for patients seeking outpatient physical therapy for musculoskeletal pain conditions.

STUDY DESIGN Prospective cohort. OBJECTIVE To investigate fear-avoidance beliefs across different anatomical regions for patients with musculoskeletal pain. BACKGROUND Fear-avoidance beliefs were first widely studied in patients with low back pain. The early results of studies involving patients with cervical spine, knee, and shoulder disorders suggest that fear-avoidance beliefs have the potential to influence pain and function in different anatomical regions. However, very few prospective studies of fear-avoidance beliefs involve multiple anatomical regions. METHODS The sample of this study consisted of 313 patients (mean age, 45.5 years; 115 males, 198 females) seeking outpatient physical therapy for cervical spine (n = 63), upper extremity (n = 58), lumbar spine (n = 79), or lower extremity (n = 113) complaints. During the intake session, patients completed the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire physical activity scale (FABQ-PA), modified for the appropriate anatomical location. Patients also rated pain intensity and function on the Therapeutic Associates Outcomes System (TAOS) Functional Index at intake and discharge. The collection of treatment-related parameters included the number of visits, calendar days of physical therapy, and treatment received. FABQ-PA scores were compared across anatomical regions. Elevated FABQ-PA scores and anatomical regions were also investigated for association with intake pain and function, clinical outcomes, and treatment utility parameters. RESULTS Similar FABQ-PA levels were observed across the 4 anatomical regions (P>.05). Number of visits, calendar days of physical therapy, and treatment received did not differ between elevated and lower fear-avoidance belief levels (P>.05). Findings for pain intensity and function were similar for each anatomical region. Patients with elevated fear-avoidance beliefs had higher intake scores (P<.05), larger improvements (P<.05), but similar discharge scores (P>.05), compared to those with lower fear-avoidance beliefs. CONCLUSION These data suggest that, in patients with cervical, upper extremity, lumbar, or lower extremity complaints, fear-avoidance beliefs may have a similar influence on intake and change scores for pain intensity and function. General assessment of fear-avoidance beliefs using the FABQ-PA, especially to predict change scores, may be appropriate for use in patients with various musculoskeletal pain conditions.
Programming Generic Graphical User Interfaces

The GEC Toolkit offers to programmers a high-level, generic style of programming Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). Programmers are not concerned with low-level widget plumbing. Instead, they use mathematical data models that reflect both the application logic and the visualisation. The data models and the logic are expressed as standard functional style data types and functions over these data types. This significantly brings down the learning effort. In this paper we present an improved programming method of this toolkit and illustrate it by means of a complicated case study: that of a family tree editor. The new programming method brings GUI programming into the reach of every novice functional programmer.
Implementing sparse matrix-vector multiplication on throughput-oriented processors

Sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMV) is of singular importance in sparse linear algebra. In contrast to the uniform regularity of dense linear algebra, sparse operations encounter a broad spectrum of matrices ranging from the regular to the highly irregular. Harnessing the tremendous potential of throughput-oriented processors for sparse operations requires that we expose substantial fine-grained parallelism and impose sufficient regularity on execution paths and memory access patterns. We explore SpMV methods that are well-suited to throughput-oriented architectures like the GPU and which exploit several common sparsity classes. The techniques we propose are efficient, successfully utilizing large percentages of peak bandwidth. Furthermore, they deliver excellent total throughput, averaging 16 GFLOP/s and 10 GFLOP/s in double precision for structured grid and unstructured mesh matrices, respectively, on a GeForce GTX 285. This is roughly 2.8 times the throughput previously achieved on Cell BE and more than 10 times that of a quad-core Intel Clovertown system.
RepFinder: finding approximately repeated scene elements for image editing

Repeated elements are ubiquitous and abundant in both manmade and natural scenes. Editing such images while preserving the repetitions and their relations is nontrivial due to overlap, missing parts, deformation across instances, illumination variation, etc. Manually enforcing such relations is laborious and error-prone. We propose a novel framework where user scribbles are used to guide detection and extraction of such repeated elements. Our detection process, which is based on a novel boundary band method, robustly extracts the repetitions along with their deformations. The algorithm only considers the shape of the elements, and ignores similarity based on color, texture, etc. We then use topological sorting to establish a partial depth ordering of overlapping repeated instances. Missing parts on occluded instances are completed using information from other instances. The extracted repeated instances can then be seamlessly edited and manipulated for a variety of high level tasks that are otherwise difficult to perform. We demonstrate the versatility of our framework on a large set of inputs of varying complexity, showing applications to image rearrangement, edit transfer, deformation propagation, and instance replacement.
On the vorticity of flow in redshift space

Given an irrotational (vorticity free) velocity field in real space, we prove that, in the distant observer limit and in the absence of multi-valued zones, the associated velocity field in redshift space is also irrotational. The proof does not rely on any approximation to gravitational dynamics. The result can be particularly useful for the analysis of redshift distortions and for reconstruction methods of cosmological velocity fields from galaxy redshift surveys, in the non-linear regime. Although the proof is restricted to the distant observer limit, we show that the POTENT method can be modified to derive the full real space velocity field as a function of the redshift space coordinate, thus avoiding spatial Malmquist biases.
Exploiting Redundancy in Natural Language to Penetrate Bayesian Spam Filters

Today's attacks against Bayesian spam filters attempt to keep the content of spam mails visible to humans, but obscured to filters. A common technique is to fool filters by appending additional words to a spam mail. Because these words appear very rarely in spam mails, filters are inclined to classify the mail as legitimate. The idea we present in this paper leverages the fact that natural language typically contains synonyms. Synonyms are different words that describe similar terms and concepts. Such words often have significantly different spam probabilities. Thus, an attacker might be able to penetrate Bayesian filters by replacing suspicious words by innocuous terms with the same meaning. A precondition for the success of such an attack is that Bayesian spam filters of different users assign similar spam probabilities to similar tokens. We first examine whether this precondition is met; afterwards, we measure the effectivity of an automated substitution attack by creating a test set of spam messages that are tested against SpamAssassin, DSPAM, and Gmail.
Rule-Based Reasoning using State Space Search

Semantic Web reasoners are powerful tools that allow the extraction of implicit information from RDF data. This information is reachable through the definition of ontologies and/or rules provided to the reasoner. To achieve this, various algorithms are used by different reasoners. In this paper, we explain how state space search can be applied to create a backward-chaining rule-based reasoner. By using the OWL-profiles (especially OWL 2 RL), DL-based reasoning becomes possible. State space search is an approach used in the Artificial Intelligence domain that solves problems by modeling them as a graph and searching (using diverse algorithms) for solutions within this graph. State space search offers inherent proof generation and the ability to plug in different search algorithms to determine the characteristics of the reasoner such as: speed, memory or ensuring shortest proof generation.
Design and Simulation of Nonlinear Hammerstein Systems Dynamic Matrix Control Algorithm

The dynamic matrix control (DMC) strategy is extended to a nonlinear system using Hammerstein model that consists of a static nonlinear polynomial function followed in series by a linear step response dynamic element. A new nonlinear Hammerstein DMC algorithm (named NLH-DMC) is presented in detail. The set point tracking and disturbance rejection simulation results of a strong nonlinear PH neutralization process control show that NLH-DMC gives better control performance than linear DMC (LDMC) and the nonlinear PID (NL-PID) controller commonly used in process industry. Further simulation experiment demonstrates that NLH-DMC not only gives good control response, but also possesses good stability and robustness even existing large modeling errors
Breaking Bars: Formerly Incarcerated Youth, Critical Consciousness and Schools as Conduits for Students’ Life Course Change

Author(s): LAZO, GEORGIA LAZO | Advisor(s): Rogers, John S | Abstract: This qualitative study examined the social and academic needs of formerly incarcerated students upon reentry to public high schools with the goal of graduating. The sample consisted of a total of 17 participants across two public high schools in one large urban district in California. The research design consisted of semi-structured interviews with students, teachers, counselors, principals, probation officers, and delinquency court judges. The interview design was intended to gain insights into the participants’ perspectives on the needs of formerly incarcerated youth towards graduation. Findings are organized around three themes: oppression and control; dignity and agency; and, sense of belonging and turning point. Findings reveal that students experience psychosocial stressors upon reentry that are either diminished or strengthened based on adult actors’ responses to student behavior, students perceive adults use coercive control in their attempts to help them succeed, colorblind adults downplay their influence and attribute student success to connectedness with family and students’ willingness to work hard in school, critical adults have a strong sense of agency to support student beyond a technical level, students perceive graduation as a means to change life course although the motivator to graduate and change life course is sense of belonging and connectedness with adults at school, and critical adults perceive students’ relationships with school adults as a driver to graduate and change their life course.Implications of the findings include a focus on social and emotional supports for student learning and targeted allocation of resources for professional staff training and teacher education programs on race conscious and culturally relevant pedagogy. Moreover, implications include a need for targeted staff training on critical consciousness to reduce stigmatization and further criminalization of delinquent youth upon return to school. Five recommendations for policy and practice are made as a result of this study’s findings: (a) direct and additional resources to schools with high numbers of students returning from jail, (b) critical consciousness training for adult actors, (c) school-based interdisciplinary teams to develop individual student plans, (d) development of inter-agency communication and monitoring of students, and (e) service centers should be developed to render multidisciplinary support to students. Limitations of the study include generalizability given that data were collected from participants at only two school sites. In addition, the participants were purposefully selected based on success with formerly incarcerated youth and may not be a representative sample of the majority of large comprehensive high schools. The two judges and one probation officer who participated did not have direct knowledge of or contact with the student participants in this study.
Performance evaluation of a new technique for IP support in a WDM optical network: optical composite burst switching (OCBS)

The optical composite burst switching (OCBS) technique is proposed to be implemented in an all-optical backbone network to support Internet protocol (LP) traffic. The OCBS is based on two main features. First, several IP packets are assembled in a single macropacket, called burst. Second, the burst contention in an optical switch is handled by means of two techniques, the wavelength dimension and the burst-dropping (BD) technique. Different from traditional optical burst switching, where an entire burst is discarded when all of the output wavelengths are engaged at the arrival instant of the burst, a switch adopting the BD technique discards only the initial part of a burst finding all of the engaged output wavelengths while forwarding the final part of the burst, beginning at the instant in which one wavelength becomes free. The OCBS allows an increase in the switch throughput in terms of number of accepted IP packets because a burst contains a given number of IP packets. We introduce the analytical model that allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of the technique and, in particular, the obtained saving; furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of the saving, with respect to both the optical burst switch parameters and the traffic load, is carried out.
TinyCoxswain : Using a Sensor Network to Enhance Crew Performance

Tinycoxswain uses a wireless sensor network (WSN) to monitor crew performance. A crew consist of 2, 4, or 8 people arranged in a row. They must precisely coordinate and synchronize their strokes to ensure that the boat moves as efficiently and quickly as possible. Any technique for monitoring and detecting flaws in rowing technique is extremely useful. Existing methods fail to monitor each rower individually, is cumbersome and expensive, and often does not provide immediate feedback. WSNs can address all of these issues by allowing tiny inexpensive sensors to be installed throughout a boat. These sensors automatically form a wireless ad hoc network delivering sensing data in real-time to the coxswain and coach, who can then provide immediate feedback. This paper presents our experience with using a WSN to monitor a crew’s performance in terms of boat speed, set, and rower synchronization. Our system was tested through simulation, deployment on indoor ergometers, and deployment on an actual sweep boat during a St. Louis Rowing Club intermediate practice session. We learned that three key features are necessary for the practical deployment of a WSN for monitoring a crew include in-network processing, self-calibration, and adaptive sampling.
Fictionality, Narrative Modes, and Vicarious Storytelling

This article contributes to fictionality studies with an emphasis on features of narrative discourse, especially those related to mind representation. In order to study the traffic from the fictional to the everyday in narrative means of mind representation, we identify signposts of fictionality in a life story interview and analyze how they function in a nonfictional environment. The article introduces the term cross-fictionality to characterize a narrative where the frame of reference is nonfictional but the narrative modes include those that are conventionally regarded as fictional. We demonstrate that modes of mind representation characteristic of fiction travel to other narrative environments also outside the artistic sphere. Our results indicate that further research is needed regarding the interpretative effects of these narrative features that have mostly been analyzed in literary fiction so far. As fictionality is a question of quality and not of genre, it needs to be studied by using theoretical-methodological frameworks that are sensitive to the semiotic factors of narrative, and not confined to authorial intentions or to the ontological status of the subject matter.
Training to capture software requirements by role playing

Capture client requirements is considered one of the most important steps in the field of information technology projects. In University courses related to Computer Sciences, this subject is sometimes trained through interviews with real companies. However, voluntaries of companies participating in the interviews do not act like real interlocutors, as their interest is not the project itself, but just the interview. In this regard, we miss custom dynamics such as conflicts or demanding requests, which are inherent parts of interviews. To include these conditions for a more realistic experience, we propose the students themselves to also take the role of clients, randomly playing different characters that are based on a set of features that define their personalities and technical skills. In this way, teams of analysts interview teams of customers, generating scenarios not only derived from the project requirements, but also the personal and strategic interests of each part. Results show that the main problems of analysts to handle meetings are precisely related to the emotional behaviors, which influenced quality, fluency, empathy and appropriateness in the analyst's conduct. Moreover, results show that after this experience the students achieved a strong improvement of abilities to dynamically manage an interview process, self-control skills, adequately express their ideas and anticipate client needs, compared to those who performed classical pre-designed interviews with real costumers. Students reported a gain of auto-assessment and a better empathy with clients, which increased the chances to successfully capture and prioritize requirements.
The class V myosin motor protein, Myo2, plays a major role in mitochondrial motility in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The actin cytoskeleton is essential for polarized, bud-directed movement of cellular membranes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and thus ensures accurate inheritance of organelles during cell division. Also, mitochondrial distribution and inheritance depend on the actin cytoskeleton, though the precise molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here, we establish the class V myosin motor protein, Myo2, as an important mediator of mitochondrial motility in budding yeast. We found that mutants with abnormal expression levels of Myo2 or its associated light chain, Mlc1, exhibit aberrant mitochondrial morphology and loss of mitochondrial DNA. Specific mutations in the globular tail of Myo2 lead to aggregation of mitochondria in the mother cell. Isolated mitochondria lacking functional Myo2 are severely impaired in their capacity to bind to actin filaments in vitro. Time-resolved fluorescence microscopy revealed a block of bud-directed anterograde mitochondrial movement in cargo binding–defective myo2 mutant cells. We conclude that Myo2 plays an important and direct role for mitochondrial motility and inheritance in budding yeast.
Test templates: a specification-based testing framework

Test templates and a test template framework are introduced as useful concepts in specification-based testing. The framework can be defined using any model-based specification notation and used to derive tests from model-based specifications. It is demonstrated using the Z notation. The framework formally defines test data sets and their relation to the operations in a specification and other test data sets, providing structure to the testing process. Flexibility is also preserved, so that many testing strategies can be used. Important application areas of the framework are discussed, including refinement of test data, regression testing, and test oracles. <<ETX>>
Content-Based Filtering for Video Sharing Social Networks

In this paper we compare the use of several features in the task of content filtering for video social networks, a very challenging task, not only because the unwanted content is related to very high-level semantic concepts (e.g., pornography, violence, etc.) but also because videos from social networks are extremely assorted, preventing the use of constrained a priori information. We propose a simple method, able to combine diverse evidence, coming from different features and various video elements (entire video, shots, frames, keyframes, etc.). We evaluate our method in three social network applications, related to the detection of unwanted content - pornographic videos, violent videos, and videos posted to artificially manipulate popularity scores. Using challenging test databases, we show that this simple scheme is able to obtain good results, provided that adequate features are chosen. Moreover, we establish a representation using codebooks of spatiotemporal local descriptors as critical to the success of the method in all three contexts. This is consequential, since the state-of-the-art still relies heavily on static features for the tasks addressed.