Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control flow speculation for distributed architectures

As transistor counts, power dissipation, and wire delays increase, the microprocessor industry is transitioning from chips containing large monolithic processors to multi-core architectures. The granularity of cores determines the mechanisms for branch prediction, instruction fetch and map, data supply, instruction execution, and completion. Accurate control flow prediction is essential for high performance processors with large instruction windows and high-bandwidth execution. This dissertation considers cores with very large granularity, such as TRIPS, as well as cores with extremely small granularity, such as TFlex, and explores control flow speculation issues in such processors. Both TRIPS and TFlex are distributed block-based architectures and require control speculation mechanisms that can work in a distributed environment while supporting efficient block-level prediction, misprediction detection, and recovery. This dissertation aims at providing efficient control flow prediction techniques for distributed block-based processors. First, we discuss simple exit predictors inspired by branch predictors and describe the design of the TRIPS prototype block predictor. Area and timing trade-offs in the predictor implementation are presented. We report the predictor misprediction rates from the prototype chip for the SPEC benchmark suite. Next, we look at the performance bottlenecks in the prototype predictor and present a detailed analysis of exit and target predictors using basic prediction components inspired from branch predictors. This study helps in understanding what types of predictors are effective for exit and target prediction. Using the results of our prediction analysis, we propose novel hardware techniques to improve the accuracy of block prediction. To understand whether exit prediction is inherently more difficult than branch prediction, we measure the correlation among branches in basic blocks and hyperblocks and examine the loss in correlation due to hyperblock construction. Finally, we propose block predictors for TFlex, a fully distributed architecture that uses composable lightweight processors. We describe various possible designs for distributed block predictors and a classification scheme for such predictors. We present results for predictors from each of the design points for distributed prediction.
Childhood-Limited Versus Persistent Antisocial Behavior

Possible differences between childhood-limited antisocial youth and their stable high-antisocial counterparts were examined. Children were 11 years old at wave 1 (T1) and 13.5 at wave 2 (T2). At both waves, the same parent, teacher, and self-reports of antisocial behavior were used. Stable highs and childhood-limited antisocial youth differed somewhat in family and individual background. Stable highs had less effortful control, perceived more overprotection, had a higher level of familial vulnerability to externalizing disorder, and lived less often with the same parents throughout their lives than the childhood-limited group. Both groups had similar levels of service use before T1, but after that period, the childhood-limited youth received more help from special education needs services than from problem behavior services, and vice versa for stable highs. The results suggest that the childhood-limited antisocial youth recovered not only from antisocial behavior but also from academic failure, peer rejection, and internalizing problems.
Disclosure of Organizational Information on Social Media: Perspectives from Security Managers

Despite the benefits of social media to organizations, the pervasive online social networking (OSN) among employees has been reported to be detrimental to organizations. The ubiquity of social technologies makes employees’ professional and personal boundaries unclear, allowing inadvertent leakage of organizational information through the public domain. Without proper information security management, social media could be a double-edged sword to organizations. Hence, some organizations are employing various security strategies to mitigate employees’ use of these social platforms. While cases of information leakage through OSN have been reported worldwide, its coverage in academic literature is scant. This paper aims to fill in this research gap. It reports the findings of a qualitative multiple-case study to unravel information security issues that OSN might bring to organizations. It also describes the security strategies employed by organizations and factors that influenced the strategy decision. The understanding of this contemporary phenomenon and organizational security strategy contributes to the development of a theoretical framework that may offer practical insight to organizations.
The impact of host species and vector control measures on the fitness of African malaria vectors

Many malaria vector mosquitoes in Africa have an extreme preference for feeding on humans. This specialization allows them to sustain much higher levels of transmission than elsewhere, but there is little understanding of the evolutionary forces that drive this behaviour. In Tanzania, we used a semi-field system to test whether the well-documented preferences of the vectors, Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) for cattle and humans, respectively, are predicted by the fitness they obtain from host-seeking on these species relative to other available hosts. Mosquito fitness was contrasted, when humans were fully exposed and when they were protected by a typical bednet. The fitness of both vectors varied between host species. The predicted relationship between host preference and fitness was confirmed in An. arabiensis, but not in An. gambiae s.s. , whose fitness was similar on humans and other mammals. Use of typical, imperfect bednets generated only minor reductions in An. gambiae s.s. feeding success and fitness on humans, but was predicted to generate a significant reduction in the lifetime reproductive success of An. arabiensis on humans relative to cows. This supports the hypothesis that such human-protective measures could additionally benefit malaria control by increasing selection for zoophily in vectors.
A Critical Assessment of Vector Control for Dengue Prevention

Recently, the Vaccines to Vaccinate (v2V) initiative was reconfigured into the Partnership for Dengue Control (PDC), a multi-sponsored and independent initiative. This redirection is consistent with the growing consensus among the dengue-prevention community that no single intervention will be sufficient to control dengue disease. The PDC's expectation is that when an effective dengue virus (DENV) vaccine is commercially available, the public health community will continue to rely on vector control because the two strategies complement and enhance one another. Although the concept of integrated intervention for dengue prevention is gaining increasingly broader acceptance, to date, no consensus has been reached regarding the details of how and what combination of approaches can be most effectively implemented to manage disease. To fill that gap, the PDC proposed a three step process: (1) a critical assessment of current vector control tools and those under development, (2) outlining a research agenda for determining, in a definitive way, what existing tools work best, and (3) determining how to combine the best vector control options, which have systematically been defined in this process, with DENV vaccines. To address the first step, the PDC convened a meeting of international experts during November 2013 in Washington, DC, to critically assess existing vector control interventions and tools under development. This report summarizes those deliberations.
Biological properties and viral surface antigens of Burkitt lymphoma- and mononucleosis- derived strains of Epstein-Barr virus released from transformed marmoset cells

Three strains of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), two from Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and one from infectious mononucleosis (IM) were used to transform separate cultures of the same batch of primary marmoset leukocytes, and the viruses released from the transformants were compared. The three viruses shared properties of the transforming biotype of EBV, namely, stimulation of DNA synthesis and immortalization of cord blood leukocytes, and failure to induce "early antigen" in lymphoblast lines. All viruses produced more virus in transformed marmoset cells than in transformed human cells, as measured by the number of EBV genomes detected by complementary RNA/DNA hybridization, by virus capsid antigen expression, or by released virions and biologically active virus. Reference human sera and sera from primary EBV infections were used to compare the three virus strains in a virus neutralization test based on inhibition of stimulation of DNA synthesis. Specimens taken late in convalescence from patients with mononucleosis and sera from marmosets experimentally infected with virus from a patient with mononucleosis neutralized the homologous virus, as well as the two virus strains isolated from patients with BL. This finding indicates that viral antigens that elicit neutralizing antibodies are shared among the strains. However, in certain sera the neutralizing-antibody titer against one strain was consistently higher than against another strain. Furthermore, sera taken early after onset of IM contained low levels of neutralizing antibody against IM-derived virus, but failed to neutralize BL-derived virus. These latter findings suggest the existence of heterogeneity among surface antigens of EBVs. The results emphasize the biological and antigenic similarity of EBV isolates from BL and IM and do not suggest major subtype variations. It remains to be determined whether antigenic diversity such as described or virus genome variation detectable by other means is epidemiologically significant.
Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth

Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind’s most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory about the role of top-down forcing in ecosystems but also highlights the unanticipated impacts of trophic cascades on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease, wildfire, carbon sequestration, invasive species, and biogeochemical cycles. These findings emphasize the urgent need for interdisciplinary research to forecast the effects of trophic downgrading on process, function, and resilience in global ecosystems.
Extensive bounds on the topological entropy of repellers in piecewise expanding coupled map lattices

Abstract Beyond the uncoupled regime, the rigorous description of the dynamics of (piecewise) expanding coupled map lattices remains largely incomplete. To address this issue, we study repellers of periodic chains of linearly coupled Lorenz-type maps which we analyze by means of symbolic dynamics. Whereas all symbolic codes are admissible for sufficiently small coupling intensity, when the interaction strength exceeds a chain length independent threshold, we prove that a large bunch of codes is pruned and an extensive decay follows suit for the topological entropy. This quantity, however, does not immediately drop off to 0. Instead, it is shown to be continuous at the threshold and to remain extensively bounded below by a positive number in a large part of the expanding regime. The analysis is firstly accomplished in a piecewise affine setting where all calculations are explicit and is then extended by continuation to coupled map lattices based on $C^1$-perturbations of the individual map.
Automatic Segmentation of White Matter Lesion from Multi-channel MRI Data Based on Energy Minimization

The detection of multiple sclerosis lesion is important for many neuroimaging studies. In this paper, a new automatic algorithm for lesion segmentation based on the multi-channel MR images (T1w, T2w and FLAIR image) is proposed, which utilizes the unique and complementary intensity information of multi-channel MR images. In this method, the observed multi-channel MR images are modeled as a vector valued image. The image in each channel consists of two multiplicative components: a smooth varying bias filed vector and a piecewise approximately constant true image vector. An energy function of this vector valued image is defined in term of the property of true image and bias field. The energy minimization is proposed for seeking the optimal segmentation result of lesions. Our method is applied to the real multi-channel MR images and compared with two sets of manual segmentation followed by the quantitative evaluation. The experimental results show that our approach is effective and robust for the lesion segmentation.
Effect of Conservative vs Conventional Oxygen Therapy on Mortality Among Patients in an Intensive Care Unit: The Oxygen-ICU Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance Despite suggestions of potential harm from unnecessary oxygen therapy, critically ill patients spend substantial periods in a hyperoxemic state. A strategy of controlled arterial oxygenation is thus rational but has not been validated in clinical practice. Objective To assess whether a conservative protocol for oxygen supplementation could improve outcomes in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Design, Setting, and Patients Oxygen-ICU was a single-center, open-label, randomized clinical trial conducted from March 2010 to October 2012 that included all adults admitted with an expected length of stay of 72 hours or longer to the medical-surgical ICU of Modena University Hospital, Italy. The originally planned sample size was 660 patients, but the study was stopped early due to difficulties in enrollment after inclusion of 480 patients. Interventions Patients were randomly assigned to receive oxygen therapy to maintain Pao2 between 70 and 100 mm Hg or arterial oxyhemoglobin saturation (Spo2) between 94% and 98% (conservative group) or, according to standard ICU practice, to allow Pao2 values up to 150 mm Hg or Spo2 values between 97% and 100% (conventional control group). Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was ICU mortality. Secondary outcomes included occurrence of new organ failure and infection 48 hours or more after ICU admission. Results A total of 434 patients (median age, 64 years; 188 [43.3%] women) received conventional (n = 218) or conservative (n = 216) oxygen therapy and were included in the modified intent-to-treat analysis. Daily time-weighted Pao2 averages during the ICU stay were significantly higher (P < .001) in the conventional group (median Pao2, 102 mm Hg [interquartile range, 88-116]) vs the conservative group (median Pao2, 87 mm Hg [interquartile range, 79-97]). Twenty-five patients in the conservative oxygen therapy group (11.6%) and 44 in the conventional oxygen therapy group (20.2%) died during their ICU stay (absolute risk reduction [ARR], 0.086 [95% CI, 0.017-0.150]; relative risk [RR], 0.57 [95% CI, 0.37-0.90]; P = .01). Occurrences were lower in the conservative oxygen therapy group for new shock episode (ARR, 0.068 [95% CI, 0.020-0.120]; RR, 0.35 [95% CI, 0.16-0.75]; P = .006) or liver failure (ARR, 0.046 [95% CI, 0.008-0.088]; RR, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.10-0.82]; P = .02) and new bloodstream infection (ARR, 0.05 [95% CI, 0.00-0.09]; RR, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.25-0.998; P = .049). Conclusions and Relevance Among critically ill patients with an ICU length of stay of 72 hours or longer, a conservative protocol for oxygen therapy vs conventional therapy resulted in lower ICU mortality. These preliminary findings were based on unplanned early termination of the trial, and a larger multicenter trial is needed to evaluate the potential benefit of this approach. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01319643.
Autonomous Foods Handling by Chopsticks for Meal Assistant Robot

Recently, due to a decreasing population and increasing care requirements of an aging population, demands for the development of daily life support robots have been increasing. As part of those efforts, we have developed a chopsticks equipped meal assistant robot designed for use by disabled or elderly persons who cannot consume food unassisted. In this paper, an autonomous control method for a chopstick-equipped meal assistance robot is introduced. Chopsticks have a variety of movements and are familiar to people in Japan and other Asian countries. Our newly designed chopstick autonomous force control method utilizes a database that contains information on various food characteristics, which allows them to be manipulated by various chopstick movements. In this paper, we report on the results of experiments conducted to confirm the utility of the autonomous control system of this meal assistance robot.
Enzymatic cleavage of a bacterial chromosome at a transposon-inserted rare site.

The sequential use of the methylase M.Xbal (5'.TCTAGm6A) and the methylation-dependent endonuclease Dpnl (5'-Gm6A decreases TC) results in cleavage at 5'. TCTAGA decreases TCTAGA. This recognition sequence was introduced into a transposon derived from the Mu bacteriophage and transposed into the genome of the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium. M.Xbal methylation was provided in vivo by a plasmid containing the M.Xbal gene and the S. typhimurium genome was cleaved to completion by Dpnl at one or more sites, depending on the number of transposon insertions. The resulting genomic fragments were resolved by pulsed-field electrophoresis. The potential use of single M.Xbal/Dpnl cleavage sites as reference positions to map rare restriction sites is discussed.
NLI Shared Task 2013: MQ Submission

Our submission for this NLI shared task used for the most part standard features found in recent work. Our focus was instead on two other aspects of our system: at a high level, on possible ways of constructing ensembles of multiple classifiers; and at a low level, on the granularity of part-of-speech tags used as features. We found that the choice of ensemble combination method did not lead to much difference in results, although exploiting the varying behaviours of linear versus logistic regression SVM classifiers could be promising in future work; but part-of-speech tagsets showed noticeable differences. We also note that the overall architecture, with its feature set and ensemble approach, had an accuracy of 83.1% on the test set when trained on both the training data and development data supplied, close to the best result of the task. This suggests that basically throwing together all the features of previous work will achieve roughly the state of the art.
Isolated seizures in rats do not cause neuronal injury

Acosta MT, Munashinge J, Zhang L, Guerron DA, Vortmeyer A, Theodore WH. Isolated seizures in rats do not cause neuronal injury. Acta Neurol Scand: 2012: 125: 30–37. Published 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in secondary school children in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Objectives: Depression is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease, and often starts at a young age. Depression in young people can increase the risk of unhealthy lifestyle behaviour and can lead to substantial disability, social problems, poor health, and suicide. Other research has examined depressive symptoms among adult populations in Bangladesh, but little is known about other age groups. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptoms among secondary school children of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Design: A self-completed questionnaire was administered to 898 students from eight secondary schools of Dhaka, the capital City of Bangladesh. Of the respondents, 755 (372 males, 383 females; average age 14.26 years; SD 1.15) completed the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). A score of 10 or more was used to indicate depressive symptoms. Parents completed a separate questionnaire to provide individual and household/family-level data. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) was used to assess sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with adolescent depressive symptoms. Results: Among the responding adolescents, 25% reported depressive symptoms with prevalence more common among females than males (30% vs. 19%). Factors significantly associated with symptoms of depression included being female, aged 15–16 years, self-perception of non-normal weight, feeling unsafe at school, sleep disturbance, low life satisfaction, high intake of sugary drinks, and regularly skipping breakfast. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms are prevalent among secondary school children in urban Bangladesh. Interventions for adolescents with depressive symptoms could focus on lifestyle practices such as weight management, personal safety, sleep hygiene and healthy eating.
Propinquity as a Barrier to Friendship Development for Children with Autism

Background Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships with peers. For highly verbal children with ASD in mainstream academic settings, these social difficulties may be exacerbated for those who also do not attend their neighborhood school. Propinquity, or proximity to peers, has been explored as a barrier for friendship development for typical children, but has not been extensively researched for children with ASD. This current study explores propinquity as distance from home to school as a potential barrier to friendship development for highly verbal children with ASD in mainstream classrooms. MethodsThis study employs a mixed methods design to explore the complexities of friendship development for children with ASD within their school environment. Correlations are used to explore associations between distance from home to school and observed peer engagement and social connections with classmates. Qualitative data is collected via a semi-structured interview to explore parent perceptions of the impact of propinquity on friendship development for their children with ASD.ResultsQuantitatively, associations between distance, peer engagement, social connections, and social rejections were not significant within the sample. Despite no differences in friendships, social nominations were significantly different for children who lived closer to school. Among parents, 5 central themes in regards to barriers for friendship development emerged: propinquity, attempts at social exposure, common social problems within ASD, siblings as a protective factor, and parent networks.Discussion This study used mixed methods to better understand the complexities of friendship development in children with ASD in their school environment. While it was hypothesized that one barrier to developing friendships might be attending a non-neighborhood school, this association was not strong in the sample. Findings might have been impacted by the lack of reported friendships overall and because most children in the sample did live close to their school. Both the quantitative and qualitative data suggested there were more significant challenges for children with ASD in developing friendships.