Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards Optimal Capacity Segmentation with Hybrid Cloud Pricing

Cloud resources are usually priced in multiple markets with different service guarantees. For example, Amazon EC2 prices virtual instances under three pricing schemes -- the subscription option (a.k.a., Reserved Instances), the pay-as-you-go offer (a.k.a., On-Demand Instances), and an auction-like spot market (a.k.a., Spot Instances) -- simultaneously. There arises a new problem of capacity segmentation: how can a provider allocate resources to different categories of pricing schemes, so that the total revenue is maximized? In this paper, we consider an EC2-like pricing scheme with traditional pay-as-you-go pricing augmented by an auction market, where bidders periodically bid for resources and can use the instances for as long as they wish, until the clearing price exceeds their bids. We show that optimal periodic auctions must follow the design of m+1-price auction with seller's reservation price. Theoretical analysis also suggests the connections between periodic auctions and EC2 spot market. Furthermore, we formulate the optimal capacity segmentation strategy as a Markov decision process over some demand prediction window. To mitigate the high computational complexity of the conventional dynamic programming solution, we develop a near-optimal solution that has significantly lower complexity and is shown to asymptotically approach the optimal revenue.
PCMLogging: Optimizing Transaction Logging and Recovery Performance with PCM

Phase-change memory (PCM), as one of the most promising next-generation memory technologies, offers various attractive properties such as non-volatility, byte addressability, bit alterability, and low idle energy consumption. Recently, PCM has drawn much attention from the database community for optimizing query and transaction performance. As a complement to existing work, we present PCMLogging, a novel logging scheme that exploits PCM for both data caching and transaction logging to minimize I/O accesses in disk-based databases. Specifically, PCMLogging caches dirty pages/records in PCM and further maintains an implicit log in the cached updates to support database recovery. By integrating log and cached updates, PCMLogging enables simplified recovery and prolongs PCM lifetime. Furthermore, using PCMLogging, we develop a wear-leveling algorithm, that evenly distributes the write traffic across the PCM storage space, and a cost-based destaging algorithm that adaptively migrates cached data from PCM to external storage. Compared to classical write-ahead logging (WAL), our trace-driven simulation results reveal up to 1 20X improvement in system throughput.
OLN‐93: A new permanent oligodendroglia cell line derived from primary rat brain glial cultures

We have established a new permanent cell line (OLN‐93), derived from spontaneously transformed cells in primary rat brain glial cultures. In growth medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum a doubling time of 16–18 hr was determined. OLN‐93 cells in their antigenic properties resemble primary oligodendrocytes in culture. As analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence, the A2B5 surface marker is absent, they express galactocerebroside and myelin‐specific proteins, such as myelin basic protein (MBP), myelin‐associated glycoprotein (MAG), proteolipidprotein (PLP), and Wolfgram protein (WP), but do not exhibit astrocytic properties, such as the expression of vimentin or the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In their morphological features they resemble bipolar O‐2A‐progenitor cells and, when grown at low density or on poly‐L‐lysine‐coated culture dishes under low serum conditions, immature oligodendrocytes with a more arborized cell morphology. The cellular processes contain microfilaments, while N‐CAM/D2 immunoreactivity is localized on the cell surface of the somata and processes. Immunoblot analysis further confirmed the presence of MAG, WP and MBP immunoreactivity, and the absence of vimentin and GFAP. Only a single MBP isoform (∼14 kDa) was detectable in the cellular extracts. PLP mRNA expression was studied by RT‐PCR. The two proteolipid‐specific mRNAs, DM20 and PLP, were present in OLN‐93 cell extracts. Comparisons with embryonic rat cerebral cells in culture and primary oligodendrocytes suggest that OLN‐93 cells in their morphological features and their antigenic properties resemble 5‐ to 10‐day‐old (postnatal time) cultured rat brain oligodendrocytes. Thus, the new cell line described in this study should provide a useful model system to investigate the specific mechanisms regulating the proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocytes in vitro, and the molecular interactions with other cells of the nervous system. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Functional Neuroimaging Approaches to the Changing Borders of Consciousness

The bedside diagnosis of vegetative and minimally conscious patients is extremely challenging, and prediction of individual long-term outcome remains difficult. State-of the art neuroimaging methods could help disentangle complex cases and offer new prog- nostic criteria. These methods can be divided into to three categories: First, new anatomical MRI neuroimaging methods, like diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) or spectroscopy, and passive functional imaging methods (looking at the brain's activation induced by external stimuli), could provide new diagnostic and prognostic markers. Second, neuroimaging methods based on active collaboration from the patient could help to detect clinically unnoticed signs of consciousness. Third, developments in brain-computer interfaces based on EEG, functional MRI, or EMG offer communication possibilities in brain-damaged patients who can neither verbally nor nonverbally express their thoughts or wishes. These new approaches raise important issues not only from a clinical and ethical perspective (i.e., patients' diagnosis, prognosis and management) but also from a neuroscientific standpoint, as they enrich our current understanding of the emer- gence and function of the conscious human mind.
3,3-Dinitroazetidinium 2-hydroxybenzoate

In the title gem-dinitroazetidinium 2-hydroxybenzoate salt, C3H6N3O4 +·C7H5O3 −, the azetidine ring is virtually planar, with a mean deviation from the plane of 0.0242 Å. The dihedral angle between the two nitro groups is 87.5 (1)°.
Taphonomy at a Distance: Zhoukoudian, "The Cave Home of Beijing Man"? [and Comments and Reply]

Zhoukoudian is often cited as yielding some of the earliest evidence for the use of fire and as documenting "man the hunter" living in caves during the Middle Pleistocene. In addition, it is commonly believed that this important Chinese site documents cannibalism on the part of Middle Pleistocene hominids. We examine the data from Zhoukoudian with several questions in mind: (1) What are the agents responsible for the bone accumulations inside the cave? (2) What materials within the cave reflect early hominid behavior? (3) What was the nature of that behavior? Our conclusions are at variance with traditional interpretations.
Adaptive Speech Enhancement Using Partial Differential Equations and Back Propagation Neural Networks

In this work, we propose a new approach to improve the performance of speech enhancement technique based on partial differential equations. As we know, the real-world noise is highly random in nature. So we try for reduction of white Gaussian noise. The proposed method was evaluated on several speakers. The subjective and objective results show that the new method highly improves speech enhancement. Comparisons of several methods are reported. Key word: Speech enhancements, Partial differential equations, Fast Fourier transform, Back propagation neural networks
High-Precision Sentence Alignment by Bootstrapping from Wood Standard Annotations

Abstract We present a semi-supervised, language- and domain-independent approach to high precision sentence alignment. The key idea is to bootstrap a supervised discriminative learner from wood-standard alignments, i.e. alignments that have been automatically generated by state-of-the-art sentence alignment tools. We deploy 3 different unsupervised sentence aligners (Opus, Hunalign, Gargantua) and 2 different datasets (movie subtitles and novels) and show experimentally that bootstrapping consistently improves precision significantly such that, with one exception, we obtain an overall gain in F-score.
Critical Review: The efficacy of speech-language pathology intervention for naming deficits in primary progressive aphasia (PPA)

Background: Treatment for naming deficits has shown to be efficacious in stroke-induced aphasia, however, questions still remain about its effectiveness for individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Aims: The primary purpose of this paper is to critically examine the current literature surrounding PPA and therapy for its naming deficits. Secondarily, the objective is to determine whether it is efficacious for speech-language pathologists (SLP’s) to provide naming intervention for individuals with PPA. Methods and procedures: Computerized databases were searched and selection criteria were employed. Results: The effects of semantically-based interventions, interventions using MossTalk Words®, and two other types of interventions were explored. Results of all studies showed limited evidence for post-treatment gains in naming ability for individuals with various types of PPA. Conclusions: Findings indicate that regardless of the intervention type chosen, SLP intervention for naming deficits in individuals with PPA can be considered efficacious.
CLARIFY: Human-Powered Training of SMT Models

We present CLARIFY, an augmented environment that aims to improve the quality of translations generated by phrase-based statistical machine translation systems through learning from humans. CLARIFY employs four types of knowledge input: 1) direct input 2) results from either a word alignment game, 3) an phrase alignment game, or 4) a paraphrasing game. All of these knowledge inputs elicit user knowledge to improve future system translations.
The spectrum of cognitive impairment in Lewy body diseases

Cognitive impairment represents an important and often defining component of the clinical syndromes of Lewy body disorders: Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The spectrum of cognitive deficits in these Lewy body diseases encompasses a broad range of clinical features, severity of impairment, and timing of presentation. It is now recognized that cognitive dysfunction occurs not only in more advanced Parkinson's disease but also in early, untreated patients and even in those patients with pre‐motor syndromes, such as rapid eye movement behavior disorder and hyposmia. In recent years, the concept of mild cognitive impairment as a transitional or pre‐dementia state in Parkinson's disease has emerged. This has led to much research regarding the diagnosis, prognosis, and underlying neurobiology of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease, but has also raised questions regarding the usefulness of this concept and its application in clinical and research settings. In addition, the conundrum of whether Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies represent the same or different entities remains unresolved. Although these disorders overlap in many aspects of their presentations and pathophysiology, they differ in other elements, such as timing of cognitive, behavioral, and motor symptoms; medication responses; and neuropathological contributions. This article examines the spectrum and evolution of cognitive impairment in Lewy body disorders and debates these controversial issues in the field using point‐counterpoint approaches. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
A distributed strategy for gait adaptation in modular robots

In this paper we study online gait optimization for modular robots. The learning strategy we apply is distributed, independent on robot morphology, and easy to implement. First we demonstrate how the strategy allows an ATRON robot to adapt to faults and changes in its morphology and we study the strategy's scalability. Second we extend the strategy to learn the parameters of gait-tables for ATRON and M-TRAN robots.We conclude that the presented strategy is effective for online learning of gaits for most types of modular robots and that learning can effectively be distributed by having independent processes learning in parallel.
Stochastic calculus, non-linear filtering, and the internal model principle: implications for articulatory speech recognition

A stochastic approach to modelling speech production and perception is discussed, based on Itô calculus. Speech is modelled by a system of non-linear stochastic differential equations evolving on a ﬁnite-dimensional state space, representing a partially-observed Markov process. The optimal non-linear ﬁltering equations for the model are stated, and shown to exhibit a predictor-corrector structure, which mimics the structure of the original system. This is used to suggest a possible justiﬁcation for the hypothesis that speakers and listeners make use of an “internal model” in producing and perceiving speech, and leads to a useful statistical framework for articulatory speech recognition.
Strathprints Institutional Repository a Graph-based Signal Processing Approach for Low-rate Energy Disaggregation

(2014) A graph-based signal processing approach for low-rate energy disaggregation. Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Abstract—Graph-based signal processing (GSP) is an emerging field that is based on representing a dataset using a discrete signal indexed by a graph. Inspired by the recent success of GSP in image processing and signal filtering, in this paper, we demonstrate how GSP can be applied to non-intrusive appliance load monitoring (NALM) due to smoothness of appliance load signatures. NALM refers to disaggregating total energy consumption in the house down to individual appliances used. At low sampling rates, in the order of minutes, NALM is a difficult problem, due to significant random noise, unknown base load, many household appliances that have similar power signatures, and the fact that most domestic appliances (for example, microwave, toaster), have usual operation of just over a minute. In this paper, we proposed a different NALM approach to more traditional approaches, by representing the dataset of active power signatures using a graph signal. We develop a regularization on graph approach where by maximizing smoothness of the underlying graph signal, we are able to perform disaggregation. Simulation results using publicly available REDD dataset demonstrate potential of the GSP for energy disaggregation and competitive performance with respect to more complex Hidden Markov Model-based approaches.
Consequences of ccmR deletion on respiration, fermentation and H2 metabolism in cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002

CcmR, a LysR‐type transcriptional regulator, represses the genes encoding components of the high‐affinity carbon concentration mechanism in cyanobacteria. Unexpectedly, deletion of the ccmR gene was found to alter the expression of the terminal oxidase and fermentative genes, especially the hydrogenase operon in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Consistent with the transcriptomic data, the deletion strain exhibits flux increases (30–50%) in both aerobic O2 respiration and anaerobic H2 evolution. To understand how CcmR influences anaerobic metabolism, the kinetics of autofermentation were investigated following photoautotrophic growth. The autofermentative H2 yield increased by 50% in the CcmR deletion strain compared to the wild‐type strain, and increased to 160% (within 20 h) upon continuous removal of H2 from the medium (“milking”) to suppress H2 uptake. Consistent with this greater reductant flux to H2, the mutant excreted less lactate during autofermentation (NAD(P)H consuming pathway). To enhance the rate of NADH production during anaerobic metabolism, the ccmR mutant was engineered to introduce GAPDH overexpression (more NADH production) and LDH deletion (less NADH consumption). The triple mutant (ccmR deletion + GAPDH overexpression + LDH deletion) showed 6–8‐fold greater H2 yield than the WT strain, achieving conversion rates of 17 nmol 108 cells−1 h−1 and yield of 0.87 H2 per glucose equivalent (8.9% theoretical maximum). Simultaneous monitoring of the intracellular NAD(P)H concentration and H2 production rate by these mutants reveals an inverse correspondence between these variables indicating hydrogenase‐dependent H2 production as a major sink for consuming NAD(P)H in preference to excretion of reduced carbon as lactate during fermentation. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1448–1459. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Adenosine A2b receptors control A1 receptor‐mediated inhibition of synaptic transmission in the mouse hippocampus

Adenosine is a neuromodulator mostly acting through A1 (inhibitory) and A2A (excitatory) receptors in the brain. A2B receptors (A2BR) are Gs/q‐protein‐coupled receptors with low expression in the brain. As A2BR function is largely unknown, we have now explored their role in the mouse hippocampus. We performed electrophysiological extracellular recordings in mouse hippocampal slices, and immunological analysis of nerve terminals and glutamate release in hippocampal slices and synaptosomes. Additionally, A2BR‐knockout (A2BR‐KO) and C57/BL6 mice were submitted to a behavioural test battery (open field, elevated plus‐maze, Y‐maze). The A2BR agonist BAY60‐6583 (300 nm) decreased the paired‐pulse stimulation ratio, an effect prevented by the A2BR antagonist MRS 1754 (200 nM) and abrogated in A2BR‐KO mice. Accordingly, A2BR immunoreactivity was present in 73 ± 5% of glutamatergic nerve terminals, i.e. those immunopositive for vesicular glutamate transporters. Furthermore, BAY 60‐6583 attenuated the A1R control of synaptic transmission, both the A1R inhibition caused by 2‐chloroadenosine (0.1–1 μm) and the disinhibition caused by the A1R antagonist DPCPX (100 nm), both effects prevented by MRS 1754 and abrogated in A2BR‐KO mice. BAY 60‐6583 decreased glutamate release in slices and also attenuated the A1R inhibition (CPA 100 nm). A2BR‐KO mice displayed a modified exploratory behaviour with an increased time in the central areas of the open field, elevated plus‐maze and the Y‐maze and no alteration of locomotion, anxiety or working memory. We conclude that A2BR are present in hippocampal glutamatergic terminals where they counteract the predominant A1R‐mediated inhibition of synaptic transmission, impacting on exploratory behaviour.
Effect of Experimentally-Induced Trunk Muscular Tensions on the Sit-to-Stand Task Performance and Associated Postural Adjustments

It has been shown that increased muscular activity along the trunk is likely to impair body balance, but there is little knowledge about its consequences on more dynamic tasks. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of unilateral and bilateral increases of muscular tension along the trunk on the sit-to-stand task (STS) performance and associated anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs). Twelve healthy females (23 ± 3 years, 163 ± 0.06 cm, 56 ± 9 kg), free of any neurological or musculoskeletal disorders, performed six trials of the STS at maximum speed, in seven experimental conditions varying the muscular tension along each side of the trunk, using a specific bimanual compressive load paradigm. A six-channel force plate was used to calculate the coordinates of the center of pressure (CP) along the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axes, and the kinematics of the head, spine and pelvis, were estimated using three pairs of uni-axial accelerometers. The postural and focal components of the task were assessed using three biomechanical parameters calculated from CP signals: the duration and magnitude of APAs, and the duration of focal movement (dFM). Results showed that beyond a given level, higher muscular tension along the trunk results in longer APAs, but with a stable duration of the focal movement. In addition, no significant variation of APAs and FM parameters was found between bilateral and unilateral increases of muscular tension. It was suggested that restricted mobility due to higher muscular tension along the trunk requires an adaptation of the programming of APAs to keep the same level of performance in the STS task. These findings may have implications in treatment strategies aimed at preserving functional autonomy in pathologies including a rise of muscular tension.
Modulatory Effects of Curcumin on Redox Status, Mitochondrial Function, and Caspace‐3 Expression During Atrazin‐Induced Toxicity

Atrazine is currently the most widely used herbicide in agriculture with lots of adverse effects on human health. Curcumin is a polyphenol known for its antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and anticancer properties. In the present study, the protective effect of curcumin on atrazin‐intoxicated rats is evaluated. Toxicity was induced by oral administration of atrazine (400 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks. Curcumin at a dose of 400 mg/kg/day was given simultaneously by oral route. Redox status, mitochondrial function, 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) level by immunoassay, and caspace‐3 expression by immunohistochemistry were evaluated. Curcumin showed significant cardiac protection with improvement of redox status, mitochondrial function, 8‐OHdG level, caspase‐3 immunoreactivity, and cardiac muscle degeneration. From this current study, it can be concluded that administration of curcumin improved atrazine‐induced cardiotoxicity through its modulatory effect on redox status, mitochondrial function, and caspase‐3 expression.
Welfare reform and health insurance: consequences for parents.

OBJECTIVES We assessed the relation between the work promotion, welfare reduction, and marriage goals of welfare reform and the stability of health insurance of parents in transition from welfare to work. METHODS We analyzed a panel survey (1999-2002) of a stratified random sample of Illinois families receiving welfare in 1998 (n=1363). RESULTS Medicaid remains the foremost source of health insurance despite a significant decline in the proportion of parents with Medicaid. Regardless of work/welfare status in year 1, transitioning to work only or no work/no welfare increased the likelihood of having unstable health insurance in years 2 and 3 compared with those who remained on welfare only. CONCLUSIONS Parents who meet the welfare reform goals of work promotion and reduction of welfare dependence experience significant loss and instability of health insurance.