Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlated rare failure analysis via Asymptotic Probability Evaluation

In this paper, a novel Asymptotic Probability Estimation (APE) method is proposed to estimate the probability of correlated rare failure events for complex integrated systems containing a large number of replicated cells. The key idea is to approximate the failure rate of the entire system by solving a set of nonlinear equations derived from a general analytical model. An error refinement method based on Look-up Table (LUT) is further developed to improve numerical stability and, hence, reduce estimation error. Our numerical experiments demonstrate that compared to the state-of-the-art method, APE can reduce the estimation error by up to 45× without increasing the computational cost.
SMPY's Ever-Increasing D4

The seventh year (1977-78) of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) was its busiest and most productive up to that point. Activities moved rapidly in four areas, called the D4 fronts: Discovery (finding the talented), Description (further study of the ablest of them), Development (helping the talent-search participants educationally), and Dissemination (helping others use SMPY’s principles, practices, and programs). The fifth annual mathematics talent search was conducted. The highest-scoring 15% of its 2800 students were tested further. Many things were done to facilitate the educational development of a large number of the approximately 7000 mathematically talented youths SMPY has identified thus far. SMPY’s principles, practices, techniques, and programs were disseminated across the country and abroad. Many students not in the talent search’s geographical area (the Middle Atlantic States) were also reached. In this article the breadth and depth of SMPY’s emphasis on educational acceleration of youths who reason unusually well mathematically and are eager to move ahead will be discussed.
Bundling in Expert Mediated Search

In search-based markets with noisy signals, like the market for used cars, experts can play an important role. These experts act as information brokers, revealing the true value of a good in exchange for the payment of a fee. Sometimes these experts may choose to sell only bundles of their services (three car inspections for a fixed price, e.g.). We analyze bundling of services in a model of expert-mediated (one-sided) search, and derive optimal strategies for experts and buyers. Our analysis reveals some surprising results. In particular, there are situations where offering only non-unit-size bundles of services can be pareto-improving for the expert and the buyer. Further, in markets with low search costs, the optimal strategy for the expert may well be to offer unlimited services for a single flat fee.
F0 and the Perception of Prominence

This study investigates the role F0 plays in the perception of prominence in American English. Raw, log and locally normalized measures of F0 were extracted from words in a 35K word corpus of spontaneous speech. Linear regression analyses were conducted to test the strength of these measures as cues to prominence, with prominence based on judgments made by ordinary listeners in real-time auditory perception. The Bayesian Information Criterion was used to further investigate whether these F0 measures cue prominence in a linear or piecewise linear function, corresponding to a linguistic model of prominence as a gradient or discrete feature. The results of this study show that F0 measures are similar to intensity measures in both their strength as cues to perceived prominence, and in signaling a discrete prominence distinction that distinguishes nonor weaklyprominent words from words with greater prominence. Our finding that F0 and intensity cue a discrete prominence distinction is compared with our prior finding that duration and word frequency signal gradient prominence distinctions. This apparent discrepancy is discussed in terms of the dual nature of prominence in English, as an expression of layered metrical (stress) structure in phonology, and as an expression of pragmatic focus.
An experimental evaluation of correlated network partitions in the Coda distributed file system

Experimental evaluation is an important way to assess distributed systems, and fault injection is the dominant technique in this area for the evaluation of a system's dependability. For distributed systems, network failure is an important fault model. Physical network failures often have far-reaching effects, giving rise to multiple correlated failures as seen by higher-level protocols. This paper presents an experimental evaluation, using the Loki fault injector, which provides insight into the impact that correlated network partitions have on the Coda distributed file system. In this evaluation, Loki created a network partition between two Coda file servers, during which updates were made at each server to the same replicated data volume. Upon repair of the partition, a client requested directory resolution to converge the diverging replicas. At various stages of the resolution, Loki invoked a second correlated network partition, thus allowing us to evaluate its impact on the system's correctness, performance, and availability.
Approach to Enterprise Modelling for Information Systems Engineering

The paper deals with Knowledge-based Information Systems (IS) engineering. The Enterprise management functions, processes and their interactions are considered as the major components of the domain knowledge. This is the peculiarity of this approach to Enterprise modelling for IS engineering. The resulting framework for Enterprise modelling and Knowledge-based IS engineering - Enterprise meta-model (EMM) - is developed and presented in this paper. The architecture of the advanced CASE system is also discussed in this paper.
A communication game on electoral platforms

This paper proposes a game to study strategic communication on platforms by parties. Parties’ platforms have been chosen in a multidimensional policy space, but are imperfectly known by voters. Parties strategically decide the emphasis they put on the various issues, and thus the precision of the information they convey to voters on their position on each issue. The questions we address are the following: what are the equilibria of this communication game? How many issues will they address? Will parties talk about the same issues or not? Will they talk on issues that they "own" or not?
Music, Memory and History

This paper explores the interactive relationship of memory and history during the ethnographic research process, using as its case study interviews with Syrian Jews about a hymn (pizmon) repertory. The paper uses strategies of the new historicism as well as concepts from psychology, literary theory and anthropology to explore ways in which ethnomusicologists are instrumental both in eliciting memories and in constructing historical narratives.
Accelerated Convergence in Newton's Method

Newton’s Method is based on a linear approximation of the function whose roots are to be determined taken at the current point, and the resulting algorithm is known to converge quadratically. In a procedure to increase the rate of convergence the author modifies the target function in such a way that Newton’s Method applied to the modified function will yield a faster rate of convergence.
Is there something rotten in the state of Denmark? The paradoxical policies of inclusive education – lessons from Denmark

By 2015, 96% of the entire student body in the Danish public school system must receive his or her education within the regular classrooms, and referrals to segregated special education must be reduced radically. This is the consequence of the so-called ‘Inclusion Law' passed in the Danish parliament in April 2012. The law contains a political ambition that at least 80% of the students in the public school should be proficient in reading and math when measured in national tests, and the percentage of the most proficient students must increase every year. Historically, Denmark's inclusive education is informed by the rights and ethics discourse from The Salamanca Statement. However, this article explores the paradoxical policies of inclusive education in Denmark that seem to lie on a continuum that ranges from Salamanca-inspired, equity-focused inclusion to a more US-inspired, accountability-focused inclusion.
Stop feeling: inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials

Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control [longer stop-signal reaction time (SSRT)] following negative, compared to neutral pictures. Most importantly, results show decreased emotional interference following stop-signal trials. These results show that the inhibitory control component of executive control can serve to decrease emotional effects. We suggest that inhibitory control and emotion have a two-way connection in which emotion disrupts inhibitory control and activation of inhibitory control disrupts emotion.
Non-commercial Research and Educational Use including without Limitation Use in Instruction at Your Institution, Sending It to Specific Colleagues That You Know, and Providing a Copy to Your Institution's Administrator. All Other Uses, Reproduction and Distribution, including without Limitation Comm

Weakly electric fish have long been known to express day–night oscillations in their discharge rates, and in the amplitude and duration of individual electric organ discharges (EODs). Because these oscillations are altered by social environment and neuroendocrine interactions, electric fish are excellent organisms for exploring the social and neuroendocrine regulation of circadian rhythm expression. Previous studies asserting that these oscillations are circadian rhythms have been criticized for failing to control temperature and randomize feeding regimes, or for running the fish under constant conditions for just 2–3 days. Here we show that the day–night oscillations in the EODs of the neotropical gymnotiform fish Brachyhypopomus pinnicaudatus free-run for over a week under constant photic and thermal conditions, and randomized food provisioning. Sex differences were apparent in strength and magnitude of the circadian oscillations; male oscillations were stronger and larger. All three parameters retain a common oscillation period while differing in the persistence of oscillation strength and magnitude, a difference consistent with proposals by others that declines of behavioral circadian rhythms may result from breakdowns downstream of the central oscillator.
Comparison between different abstraction level programming: Experiment definition and initial results

Domain-specific languages and especially domain-specific modeling languages (DSML) are mentioned to achieve 5-10 times performance gains compared to traditional software development practices due to raising the level of abstraction. The data for the cases where these gains have been witnessed is usually not available. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a simple but comprehensive and affordable experiment framework which can be utilized for measuring the benefits and drawbacks of DSMLs in an open fashion, i.e. publishing the data and the results and enabling a possibility to repeat the experiment by others. In this paper, we also present our own experiences and initial results about the benefits and drawbacks. We found the benefits of DSML to be clear if the applications have to be implemented daily and especially if the platform continues to evolve and the existing applications have to be updated to correspond to the changes. The benefits of utilizing DSML in a domain where the platform continues to evolve came as a surprise and needs further study.
Oligonucleotide Primers for Targeted Amplification of Single-Copy Nuclear Genes in Apocritan Hymenoptera

Background Published nucleotide sequence data from the mega-diverse insect order Hymenoptera (sawflies, bees, wasps, and ants) are taxonomically scattered and still inadequate for reconstructing a well-supported phylogenetic tree for the order. The analysis of comprehensive multiple gene data sets obtained via targeted PCR could provide a cost-effective solution to this problem. However, oligonucleotide primers for PCR amplification of nuclear genes across a wide range of hymenopteran species are still scarce. Findings Here we present a suite of degenerate oligonucleotide primer pairs for PCR amplification of 154 single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes from Hymenoptera. These primers were inferred from genome sequence data from nine Hymenoptera (seven species of ants, the honeybee, and the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis). We empirically tested a randomly chosen subset of these primer pairs for amplifying target genes from six Hymenoptera, representing the families Chrysididae, Crabronidae, Gasteruptiidae, Leucospidae, Pompilidae, and Stephanidae. Based on our results, we estimate that these primers are suitable for studying a large number of nuclear genes across a wide range of apocritan Hymenoptera (i.e., all hymenopterans with a wasp-waist) and of aculeate Hymenoptera in particular (i.e., apocritan wasps with stingers). Conclusions The amplified nucleotide sequences are (a) with high probability from single-copy genes, (b) easily generated at low financial costs, especially when compared to phylogenomic approaches, (c) easily sequenced by means of an additionally provided set of sequencing primers, and (d) suitable to address a wide range of phylogenetic questions and to aid rapid species identification via barcoding, as many amplicons contain both exonic and fast-evolving intronic nucleotides.
Efficient Flexible Solar Cell based on Composition‐Tailored Hybrid Perovskite

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) are new photoactive layer candidates for lightweight and flexible solar cells due to their low‐temperature process capability; however, the reported efficiency of flexible OIHP devices is far behind those achieved on rigid glass substrates. Here, it is revealed that the limiting factor is the different perovskite film deposition conditions required to form the same film morphology on flexible substrates. An optimized perovskite film composition needs a different precursor ratio, which is found to be essential for the formation of high‐quality perovskite films with longer radiative carrier recombination lifetime, smaller density of trap states, reduced precursor residue, and uniform and pin‐hole free films. A record efficiency of 18.1% is achieved for the flexible perovskite solar‐cell devices made on an indium tin oxide/poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate via a low temperature (≤100 °C) solution process.
Analysing patriarchy capitalism and women's employment in Europe

Abstract Variations in inequality between men and women across European countries might best be understood by examining how the capitalist market, liberal democratic state and growth of rational reflexivity systematically undermines a range of pre‐existing patriarchal social orders, creating a more egalitarian sexual division of labour. The expansion of women's employment, initially promoted by the long post‐war boom has been central in accelerating this process. Such an analysis also resolves some problems in gender theory, by suggesting that the origins of the concept of gender lie paradoxically in men's attempt to legitimate their patriarchal rights from the new challenge posed by modernity.
A Methodology for assessing Agile Software Development Approaches

Agile methods provide an organization or a team the flexibility to adopt a selected subset of principles and practices based on their culture, their values, and the types of systems that they develop. More specifically, every organization or team implements a customized agile method, tailored to better accommodate its needs. However, the extent to which a customized method supports the organizational objectives, or rather the 'goodness' of that method is questionable. Existing agile assessment approaches focus on a comparative analysis, or are limited in scope and application. In this research, we propose a structured, systematic and comprehensive approach to assess the 'goodness' of agile methods. We examine an agile method based on (1) its adequacy, (2) the capability of the organization to support the adopted principles and practices specified by the method, and (3) the method's effectiveness. We propose the Objectives, Principles and Practices (OPP) Framework to guide our assessment. The Framework identifies (1) objectives of the agile philosophy, (2) principles that support the objectives, (3) practices that are reflective of the principles, (4) the linkages between the objectives, principles and practices, and (5) indicators for each practice to assess the effectiveness of the practice and the extent to which the organization supports its implementation. In this document, we discuss our solution approach, preliminary results, and future work.
5' regulatory region of a novel cytokine gene mediates selective activation by interferon gamma

A newly described member of the platelet factor 4 family of cytokine genes, mig, is selectively induced by interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), and not IFN-alpha, in the mouse macrophage-like cell line RAW 264.7. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with IFN-gamma activated mig gene transcription as determined by nuclear run-on assays. mig genomic clones were isolated, and constructs containing genomic fragments that included the mig promoter region and the CAT reporter gene were prepared. In RAW 264.7 cells transfected with these constructs, CAT activity was found to be selectively induced by IFN-gamma. A 278-bp genomic fragment containing 235 nucleotides 5' of the transcription start site was sufficient for IFN-gamma-selective induction of CAT activity. Analysis of 5' deletion mutants localized a region essential for activation by IFN-gamma to within 64 nucleotides extending from -235 to -172. A genomic fragment containing this sequence was capable of conferring IFN-gamma inducibility to constructs with a heterologous promoter.
Interoperability for cloud-based applications for education settings based on JSON-LD and Hydra: ontology and a generic vocabulary for mind map tools

Innovation in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is constantly evolving, and this includes virtual learning environments (VLE). A cloud education environment (CEE) is a VLE that uses external cloud-based (Web 2.0) tools for learning activities; those tools are loosely coupled to the VLE. To achieve a real CEE, interoperability between systems is needed to enable interaction with external tools, thus providing an enhanced learning experience. This paper will explore a semantic interoperability solution for cloud-based tools in an educational setting. It will focus on the use case of mind maps for learning activities and present a proposed generic ontology for interoperability of mind map tools. Based on the ontology, its application with the recently presented W3C approaches to JSON-LD and Hydra is introduced. It will describe a Web API for integration and interoperability. The focus of this paper is a description of the common characteristics of mind map tools, such as their resources, operations, and properties, which will create a definition of the generic vocabulary when using Hydra. Initial findings have shown that this approach will provide simple abstraction means to achieve interoperability and provides straightforward support for continuous adaptation of new features provided by cloud-based tools.
Sequential English Auctions with Shill Bidding

Shill bidding, where a seller masquerades as a buyer bidding for her own item to inflate the price, has challenged the classical auction theories. We show that with the possibility of shill bidding, a multi-round single-unit English auction has neither pure-nor mixed-strategy Perfect Bayesian Equilibria (PBE) when there is no gap between the seller's valuation and the lowest possible buyer valuation. If a PBE exists in the gap case, the reserve price in any round cannot be higher than the lowest possible buyer valuation.
Borderland education and teacher education reform in California: Unfulfilled promises

Abstract This article examines the gap between the kinds of public schools needed in the borderlands and the current reform initiative in California, with its obsessive compulsive emphasis on high‐stakes testing, standardization, and accountability. Borderlands schools require curriculum and instructional practices that are more closely aligned with the bicultural and bilingual needs of diverse students and communities. However, the current reform movement is likely to exacerbate current social injustices and inequalities by increasing the failure of diverse students as curriculum, instructional practices, and teacher preparation are driven by high‐stakes testing programs. This increasing inadequacy of educational reform is clearly reflected in the recent passage of AB 2042 in California, the new legislation governing teacher preparation in the state. Suggestions are offered in the type of teacher preparation and schools needed for effective borderlands education.
A 3D shape inference model matches human visual object similarity judgments better than deep convolutional neural networks

In the past few years, deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on large image data sets have shown impressive visual object recognition performances. Consequently, these models have attracted the attention of the cognitive science community. Recent studies comparing CNNs with neural data from cortical area IT suggest that CNNs may—in addition to providing good engineering solutions—provide good models of biological visual systems. Here, we report evidence that CNNs are, in fact, not good models of human visual perception. We show that a 3D shape inference model explains human performance on an object shape similarity task better than CNNs. We argue that deep neural networks trained on large amounts of image data to maximize object recognition performance do not provide adequate models of human vision.
Graphene- and aptamer-based electrochemical biosensor

This study investigated the effectiveness of a graphene- and aptamer-based field-effect-transistor-like (FET-like) sensor in detecting lead and potassium ions. The sensor consists of a graphene-covered Si/SiO2 wafer with thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) attached to the graphene layer and terminated by a methylene blue (MB) molecule. K+ and Pb2+ both bind to TBA and cause a conformational change, which results in MB moving closer to the graphene surface and donating an electron. Thus, the abundance of K+ and Pb2+ can be determined by monitoring the current across the source and drain channel. Device transfer curves were obtained with ambipolar field effect observed. Current readings were taken for K+ concentrations of 100 μM to 50 mM and Pb2+ concentrations of 10 μM to 10 mM. As expected, I d decreased as ion concentration increased. In addition, there was a negative shift in V Dirac in response to increased ion concentration.