Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Buffer insertion and sizing under process variations for low power clock distribution

Power dissipated in clock distribution is a major source of total system power dissipation. Instead of increasing wire widths or lengths to reduce skew which results in increased power dissipation, we use a balanced buffer insertion scheme to partition a large clock tree into a number of small subtrees. Because asymmetric loads and wire width variations in small subtrees induce very small skew, minimal wire widths are used. This results in minimal wiring capacitance and dynamic power dissipation. Then the buffer sizing problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem: minimize power subject to tolerable skew constraints. To minimize skew caused by device parameter variations from die to die, PMOS and NMOS devices in buffers are separately sized. Substantial power reduction is achieved while skews are kept at satisfiable values under all process conditions.
Applying Training Evaluation Models to the Clinical Setting

Recently, the field of clinical psychology has expressed a focused concern related to treatment outcome effectiveness. It is necessary for clinicians, including military psychologists, not only to know that a treatment is effective but also to know the reasons why the treatment works. This concern is also relevant in the training evaluation field. Training research has sought to analyze the outcomes and processes of training programs, and models, such as Kirkpatrick's (1959a, 1959b, 1960a, 1960b, 1976) training evaluation model, have been devised to examine each aspect of the training process. This article provides an illustration of how advances in training research, most notably the evaluation of outcome variables, might aid clinicians in more thorough evaluations of therapies and also illustrates a common bridge between the two domains.
Optimizing Probe Selection for Fault Localization

We investigate the use of probing technology for the purpose of problem determination and fault localization in networks. We present a framework for addressing this issue and implement algorithms that exploit interactions between probe paths to find a small collection of probes that can be used to locate faults. Small probe sets are desirable in order to minimize the costs imposed by probing, such as additional network load and data management requirements. Our results show that although finding the optimal collection of probes is expensive for large networks, efficient approximation algorithms can be used to find a nearly-optimal set.
A Trust Aware Distributed and Collaborative Scheduler for Virtual Machines in Cloud

With the number of services using virtualization and clouds growing faster and faster, it is common to mutualize thousands of virtual machines within one distributed system. Consequently, the virtualized services, softwares, hardwares and infrastructures share the same physical resources, thus the performance of one depends of the resources usage of others. Furthermore, each user and his vms have different objectives in term of quality of trust and protection. Thus, the placement and reconfiguration processes need to take them into account. Finally, a new trend is to use clouds to build hpc systems but the deployment of such architecture is not straightforward. We propose a solution for vm placement and reconfiguration based on the observation of the resources quota and the dynamic usage that leads to better balancing of resources. Moreover, our solution also takes into account user’s objectives that express Quality of Trust and Protection and ease the deployment of hpc architectures on top of clouds. Furthermore, as it is not possible to have a single scheduler for the whole cloud and to avoid a single point of failure, our scheduler uses distributed and collaborative scheduling agents. Finally, we present a scenario simulating a geographical distributed clouds and multiple vm usage. This article is an extended version of [22]. It includes larger scale evaluations and the scheduler supports user’s objectives in addition of the resource-centric algorithms.
Technical and Ethical Issues in Indicator Systems.

Most indicator systems are top-down, published, management systems, addressing primarily the issue of public accountability. In contrast we describe here a university-based suite of "grass-roots," research-oriented indicator systems that are now subscribed to, voluntarily, by about 1 in 3 secondary schools and over 4,000 primary schools in England. The systems are also being used by groups in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong, and with international schools in 30 countries. These systems would not have grown had they not been cost-effective for schools. This demanded the technical excellence that makes possible the provision of one hundred percent accurate data in a very timely fashion. An infrastructure of powerful hardware and ever-improving software is needed, along with extensive programming to provide carefully chosen graphical and tabular presentations of data, giving at-a-glance comparative information. Highly skilled staff, always learning new techniques, have been essential, especially as we move into computer-based data collection. It has been important to adopt transparent, readily understood methods of data analysis where we are satisfied that these are accurate, and to model the processes that produce the data. This can mean, for example, modelling separate regression lines for 85 different examination syllabuses for one age group, because any aggregation can be shown to represent unfair comparisons. Ethical issues are surprisingly often lurking in technical decisions. For example, reporting outcomes from a continuous measure in terms of the percent of students who surpassed a certain level, produces unethical behavior: a concentration of teaching on borderline students. Distortion of behavior and data corruption are ever-present concerns in indicator systems. The systems we describe would have probably failed to thrive had they not addressed schools' on-going concerns about education. Moreover, data interpretation can only be completed in the schools, by those who know all the factors involved. Thus the commitment to working closely and collaboratively with schools in "distributed research" is important, along with "measuring what matters". not only achievement. In particular the too-facile interpretation of correlation as causation that characterized much school effectiveness research had to be avoided and the need for experimentation promoted and demonstrated. Reasons for the exceptionally warm welcome from the teaching profession may include both threats (such as the unvalidated inspection regime run by the Office for Standards in Education) and opportunities (such as site based management).
Structural Basis for the Discriminative Recognition of N6-Methyladenosine RNA by the Human YT521-B Homology Domain Family of Proteins*

Background: Human YT521-B homology (YTH) domain selectively recognizes N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA. Results: YTHDF1 and Pho92 recognize m6A without sequence preference. Conclusion: The structure of YTHDF1 explained the key residue difference that results in the weaker binding of YTHDF1-3 compared with YTHDC1. Significance: This study systematically investigated the binding characteristics of the human YTH domain proteins, as well as yeast Pho92, and indicated the discriminative recognition of m6A among different YTH domains. N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification in RNA and is specifically recognized by YT521-B homology (YTH) domain-containing proteins. Recently we reported that YTHDC1 prefers guanosine and disfavors adenosine at the position preceding the m6A nucleotide in RNA and preferentially binds to the GG(m6A)C sequence. Now we systematically characterized the binding affinities of the YTH domains of three other human proteins and yeast YTH domain protein Pho92 and determined the crystal structures of the YTH domains of human YTHDF1 and yeast Pho92 in complex with a 5-mer m6A RNA, respectively. Our binding and structural data revealed that the YTH domain used a conserved aromatic cage to recognize m6A. Nevertheless, none of these YTH domains, except YTHDC1, display sequence selectivity at the position preceding the m6A modification. Structural comparison of these different YTH domains revealed that among those, only YTHDC1 harbors a distinctly selective binding pocket for the nucleotide preceding the m6A nucleotide.
Long-term incidence of lower-extremity amputations in a diabetic population.

OBJECTIVE To describe the 10-year cumulative incidence of and risk factors for lower-extremity amputations in diabetics. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING Primary care. PARTICIPANTS Population-based sample (N = 879) of younger-onset diabetic persons (in whom diabetes was diagnosed before 30 years of age and who were taking insulin) and a stratified random sample (N = 956) of older-onset diabetic persons (diagnosis at or after 30 years of age) participating in baseline, 4-year, and 10-year examinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Amputations of the lower extremities as reported by the participants. RESULTS The 10-year cumulative incidence of lower-extremity amputation was 5.4% in younger-onset and 7.3% in older-onset persons. Multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression. In younger-onset persons, age (odds ratio [OR] for 10 years, 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-2.8), history of ulcers (OR,4.8; 95% CI, 2.3-9.9), diastolic blood pressure (OR, 2.1 for 10 mm Hg; 95% CI, 1.5-3.0), glycosylated hemoglobin level (OR, 1.4 for 1%; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6), sex (OR, 5.2 for men; 95% CI, 2.2-12.3), and retinopathy (OR, 1.2 for 2 steps; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4) were significantly associated with incidence of lower-extremity amputation. In older-onset persons, history of ulcers (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.6-6.8), glycosylated hemoglobin level (OR, 1.3 for 1%; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5), duration of diabetes (OR, 1.6 for 10 years; 95% CI, 1.1-2.5), sex (OR, 2.6 for men; 95% CI, 1.3-4.9), diastolic blood pressure (OR, 0.7 for 10 mm Hg; 95% CI, 0.5-1.0), and proteinuria (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.0-5.7) were significantly associated with incidence of lower-extremity amputation. CONCLUSION These data show there are several risk factors for lower-extremity amputation with potential for modification and preventive strategies.
Centre‐surround interactions in response to natural scene stimulation in the primary visual cortex

Centre–surround interaction in the primary visual cortex (area V1) has been studied extensively using artificial, abstract stimulus patterns, such as bars, gratings and simple texture patterns. In this experiment, we extend the study of centre–surround interaction by using natural scene images. We systematically varied the contrast of natural image surrounds presented outside the classical receptive field (CRF), and recorded neuronal response to a natural image patch presented within the CRF in area V1 of awake, fixating macaques. For the majority of neurons (67 out of 111), the natural image surrounds profoundly modulated, mainly by suppressing, neuronal responses to CRF images. These modulatory effects started at the earliest stage of neuronal responses, and often depended on the contrast and higher‐order structures of the surrounds. For 47 out of 67 neurons, randomising the phases of the Fourier spectrum of the natural image surround diminished the centre–surround interaction. Our results suggest that the centre–surround interaction in area V1 can be extended to natural vision, and is sensitive to the higher‐order structures of natural scene images, such as image contours.
Linguistic and narrative development in a Japanese–English bilingual's first language acquisition: a 14-year longitudinal case study

Abstract In the seven decades since Leopold's groundbreaking 1939 study, there has been no longitudinal study covering more than two years of a Japanese bilingual subject's development. Despite the lack of longitudinal research, however, we have been broadly informed by the veritable outpouring of research on a short-term basis since the late twentieth century. This longitudinal study tracks a Japanese–English bilingual from childhood (4;09) into late adolescence (19;01). Data collected orally were analyzed in terms of fluency, accuracy, complexity, and vocabulary. By continuing through the late acquisition phase, we were also able to observe the development of the subject's growing ability to employ narrative structure, examining her nondominant language, English, from both the linguistic and narrative perspectives, to determine whether the nondominant language develops in a similar manner to monolinguals and/or to bilinguals who are acquiring two linguistically close languages. The results indicate that, even when exposure to the nondominant language is limited and the two languages are typologically distant from each other, the development of the nondominant language is similar or identical to that of a monolingual in core linguistic areas, and that a child acquiring two languages simultaneously is able to develop two separate languages – partially supporting the Separate Development Hypothesis. This support is not robust, however, because our subject showed some idiosyncratic errors and a unique narrative style, possibly due to L1 influence. The results also imply that extensive and intensive exposure to the nondominant language at or before a certain age may be essential to reach a level similar to monolinguals.
Ieee Transactions on Image Processing (accepted) Demosaicking of Noisy Bayer-sampled Color Images with Least-squares Luma-chroma Demultiplexing and Noise Level Estimation

This paper adapts the least-squares luma-chroma demultiplexing (LSLCD) demosaicking methods to noisy Bayer color filter array (CFA) images. A model is presented for the noise in white-balanced gamma-corrected CFA images. A method to estimate the noise level in each of the red, green and blue color channels is then developed. Based on the estimated noise parameters, one of a finite set of configurations adapted to a particular level of noise is selected to demosaic the noisy data. The noise-adaptive demosaicking scheme is called LSLCD with noise estimation (LSLCD-NE). Experimental results demonstrate state-of-the-art performance over a wide range of noise levels, with low computational complexity. Many results with several algorithms, noise levels and images are presented on our companion web site along with software to allow reproduction of our results.
‘Make My Day, Shoot a Teacher’: tactics of inclusion and exclusion, and the contestation of community in a rural school–community conflict

Far from being the harmonious and homogenous communities of popular imagination, rural communities often are characterised by stark differences in class-situated values over education philosophy and financing. These differences can produce contentious political environments, vastly complexifying local decision-making, including school district policy-making, budgeting, and teacher contract negotiations. Through an exemplar case study, we examine one such conflict and how a hegemonic narrative was constructed by local actors to consolidate political power using crafted constructions of ‘other’ and competing narratives of community and community membership. This paper explores ‘insider–outsider’ identity constructions arising out of community–school conflict, and the ways in which rural teachers, working from the position of ‘outsider', navigated these constructions.
The Coefficient of Variation: An Evaluation

This coefficient was later applied in experimental work involving the variability of a single organism over time. Crozier and Hoagland (2) have provided a concise analysis of the problem. The early controversy over the measurement of variability as a function of practice is reviewed by Anastasi (i), who holds that relative measures such as V are inappropriate in that setting because they measure variation before and after practice in different units.
Fluorene-based macromolecular nanostructures and nanomaterials for organic (opto)electronics

Nanotechnology not only opens up the realm of nanoelectronics and nanophotonics, but also upgrades organic thin-film electronics and optoelectronics. In this review, we introduce polymer semiconductors and plastic electronics briefly, followed by various top-down and bottom-up nano approaches to organic electronics. Subsequently, we highlight the progress in polyfluorene-based nanoparticles and nanowires (nanofibres), their tunable optoelectronic properties as well as their applications in polymer light-emitting devices, solar cells, field-effect transistors, photodetectors, lasers, optical waveguides and others. Finally, an outlook is given with regard to four-element complex devices via organic nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing that will spread to areas such as organic mechatronics in the framework of robotic-directed science and technology.
Briefly delayed reinforcement: An interresponse time analysis.

Key-peck responding of pigeons was compared under VI or DRL schedules arranging immediate reinforcement and briefly (.5 sec) delayed reinforcement. Delays were either signaled by a blackout in the chamber, unsignaled, or unsignaled with an additional requirement that responding not occur during the . 5 sec interval immediately preceding reinforcement (response delay). Relative to the immediate reinforcement condition, response rates increased during the unsignaled delay, decreased during the signaled delay, and were inconsistent during the response delay condition. An analysis of interresponse times (IRTs) under the different conditions revealed a substantial increase in the frequency of short (0 to .5 sec) IRTs during the unsignaled condition and generally during the response delay conditions compared to that during the immediate reinforcement baseline. Signaled delays decreased the frequency of short (0 to .5 sec) IRTs relative to the immediate reinforcement condition. The results suggest that brief unsignaled delays and, in many instances, response delays increase the frequency of short IRTs by eliminating constraints on responding.
A radiographic study of the ossification of the posterior wall of the acetabulum: implications for the diagnosis of pediatric and adolescent hip disorders.

BACKGROUND Subtle variations in acetabular morphology have been implicated in several pathologic hip conditions. Although it is understood that the acetabulum forms at the junction of the ilium, ischium, and pubis at the triradiate cartilage, the ossification and development pattern of the posterior wall of the acetabulum is unknown. Standard radiographs and computed tomographic scans used in evaluation of the adolescent hip do not allow a complete assessment of the non-ossified portions of the developing acetabulum. The purpose of this study was to define the currently unknown ossification pattern and development of the posterior wall of the acetabulum and to determine when conventional imaging, with use of computed tomography and radiographs, is appropriate. METHODS One hundred and eighty magnetic resonance imaging examinations in patients who were four to fifteen years old were evaluated by a musculoskeletal radiologist for ossification patterns of the posterior wall of the acetabulum and triradiate cartilage. Correlations were made with available radiographs. RESULTS Posterior acetabular wall ossification lags behind anterior wall ossification throughout development. On average, the posterior wall of the acetabulum began to ossify at the chronological age of eight years, followed by a discrete rim of posterior calcification (posterior rim sign) at the patient age of twelve years, just prior to the fusion of the posterior acetabular wall elements to the pelvis. This preceded the closure of the triradiate cartilage in all subjects. On average, male patients had fusion of the posterior wall of the acetabulum one to 1.5 years after female patients. CONCLUSIONS The ossification of the posterior wall of the acetabulum is completed in a predictable manner prior to closure of the triradiate cartilage.
Intrusion prevention and detection in wireless sensor networks

The broadcast nature of the transmission medium in wireless sensor networks makes information more vulnerable than in wired applications. In this dissertation we first propose a distributed, deterministic key management protocol designed to satisfy authentication and confidentiality, without the need of a key distribution center. Next we propose Scatter, a secure code authentication scheme for efficient reprogramming sensor networks. Scatter avoids the use of Elliptic Key Cryptography and manages to surpass all previous attempts for secure code dissemination in terms of energy consumption and time efficiency. Next we introduce the problem of intrusion detection in sensor networks. We define the problem formally based on a generic system model and we prove a necessary and sufficient condition for successful detection of the attacker. Finally we present the architecture and implementation of an intrusion detection system which is based on a distributed architecture and it is lightweight enough to run on the nodes.
Paenibacillus cathormii sp. nov., isolated from tree bark.

A Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped and endospore-forming bacterium, strain BK114-2T isolated from tree bark in Thailand was characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. Analysis based on comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain BK114-2T was affiliated to the genus Paenibacillus, and was closely related to Paenibacillus timonensis 2301032T (96.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Paenibacillus phoenicis 3PO2SAT (96.6 %) and Paenibacillus barengoltzii SAFN-016T (96.4 %). Strain BK114-2T contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in its cell-wall peptidoglycan. The polar lipids were composed of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unknown phospholipids, five unknown aminophospholipids and six unknown lipids. The only menaquinone detected was MK-7 and the dominant cellular fatty acids were C16 : 0 (22.9 %), anteiso-C15 : 0 (22.6 %), iso-C16 : 0 (19.4 %) and anteiso-C17 : 0 (14.7 %). The DNA G+C content was 52.0 mol%. Based on these results, strain BK114-2T repreesents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus cathormii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BK114-2T ( = KCTC 33251T = TISTR 2282T).
A Nurse-Led Telephone Session and Quality of Life after Radiotherapy Among Women with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Trial

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a nurse-led telephone session with patients suffering from breast cancer approximately ten days after final radiotherapy treatment affected their quality of life two to four weeks after radiotherapy. The study was conducted at the Radiotherapy ward at Vejle Hospital, Denmark between January and May 2010. The study population consisted of 100 patients, who were randomized with a 1:1 ratio to have either ordinary supportive conversations (control group), or ordinary supportive conversations and a supplementary nurse-led telephone session (intervention group). The quality of life was assessed using the questionnaires EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23. For statistical comparison of quality of life and for adjustment for covariates, multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. The mean [95 % CI] quality of life was 72.0 [66.4-77.6] in the control group and 69.9 [64.3-75.2] in the intervention group. Adjustment for covariates did not change the estimates. No statistically significant differences were found in the groups in either of the analyses. The nurse-led telephone session had no positive effect on the quality of life of patients with breast cancer two to four weeks after their final radiotherapy.