Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pesto: online storage performance management in virtualized datacenters

Virtualized datacenters strive to reduce costs through workload consolidation. Workloads exhibit a diverse set of IO behaviors and varying IO load that makes it difficult to estimate the IO performance on shared storage. As a result, system administrators often resort to gross overprovisioning or static partitioning of storage to meet application demands. In this paper, we introduce Pesto, a unified storage performance management system for heterogeneous virtualized datacenters. Pesto is the first system that completely automates storage performance management for virtualized datacenters, providing IO load balancing with cost-benefit analysis, per-device congestion management, and initial placement of new workloads. At its core, Pesto constructs and adapts approximate black-box performance models of storage devices automatically, leveraging our analysis linking device throughput and latency to outstanding IOs.Experimental results for a wide range of devices and configurations validate the accuracy of these models. We implemented Pesto in a commercial product and tested its performance on tens of devices, running hundreds of test cases over the past year. End-to-end experiments demonstrate that Pesto is efficient, adapts to changes quickly and can improve workload performance by up to 19%, achieving our objective of lowering storage management costs through automation.
Defendant Should Have the Last Word – Experimentally Manipulating Order and Provisional Assessment of the Facts in Criminal Procedure

From a normative perspective the order in which evidence is presented should not bias legal judgment. Yet psychological research on how individuals process conflicting evidence sug-gests that order could matter. The evidence shows that decision-makers dissolve ambiguity by forging coherence. This process could lead to a primacy effect: initial tentative interpretations bias the view on later conflicting evidence. Or the process could result in a recency effect: the evidence presented last casts decisive light on the case. In two studies (N1 = 221, N2 = 332) we test these competing hypotheses in a mock legal case. Legal orders sometimes even expect judges to provisionally assess the evidence. At least they have a hard time preventing this from happening. To test whether this creates or exacerbates bias, in the second dimensions, we explicitly demand experimental participants to express their leaning, after having seen half of the evidence. We consistently observe recency effects and no interactions with leanings. If the legal order wants to preempt false convictions, defendant should have the last word.
The Expression of miR-192 and Its Significance in Diabetic Nephropathy Patients with Different Urine Albumin Creatinine Ratio

Objective. To investigate the expression of miR-192 and its significance in diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients. Methods. 464 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were divided into normal albuminuria group (NA, n = 157), microalbuminuria group (MA, n = 159), and large amount of albuminuria group (LA, n = 148). 127 healthy persons were selected as the control group (NC, n = 127). The serum miR-192 levels were detected by Real-Time PCR and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and fibronectin (FN) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationships among these parameters were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Results. The miR-192 in the LA group was significantly lower than other groups, which was lower in the MA group than in the NA group (P < 0.01). The TGF-β1 and FN in the LA group were significantly higher than other groups, which were higher in the MA group than in the NA group (P < 0.01). The expression of miR-192 was negatively correlated with TGF-β1, FN, and Ln (UACR) and miR-192, TGF-β1, and FN were independent relevant factors affecting Ln (UACR) in T2DM (P < 0.01). Conclusions. These findings indicate that the levels of miR-192 were lower accompanied by the decrease of urine albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) and the association between miR-192 and nephritic fibrosis in DN.
A Microsphere-Based Vaccine Prevents and Reverses New-Onset Autoimmune Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—This study was aimed at ascertaining the efficacy of antisense oligonucleotide-formulated microspheres to prevent type 1 diabetes and to reverse new-onset disease. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Microspheres carrying antisense oligonucleotides to CD40, CD80, and CD86 were delivered into NOD mice. Glycemia was monitored to determine disease prevention and reversal. In recipients that remained and/or became diabetes free, spleen and lymph node T-cells were enriched to determine the prevalence of Foxp3+ putative regulatory T-cells (Treg cells). Splenocytes from diabetes-free microsphere-treated recipients were adoptively cotransferred with splenocytes from diabetic NOD mice into NOD-scid recipients. Live-animal in vivo imaging measured the microsphere accumulation pattern. To rule out nonspecific systemic immunosuppression, splenocytes from successfully treated recipients were pulsed with β-cell antigen or ovalbumin or cocultured with allogeneic splenocytes. RESULTS—The microspheres prevented type 1 diabetes and, most importantly, exhibited a capacity to reverse clinical hyperglycemia, suggesting reversal of new-onset disease. The microspheres augmented Foxp3+ Treg cells and induced hyporesponsiveness to NOD-derived pancreatic β-cell antigen, without compromising global immune responses to alloantigens and nominal antigens. T-cells from successfully treated mice suppressed adoptive transfer of disease by diabetogenic splenocytes into secondary immunodeficient recipients. Finally, microspheres accumulated within the pancreas and the spleen after either intraperitoneal or subcutaneous injection. Dendritic cells from spleen of the microsphere-treated mice exhibit decreased cell surface CD40, CD80, and CD86. CONCLUSIONS—This novel microsphere formulation represents the first diabetes-suppressive and reversing nucleic acid vaccine that confers an immunoregulatory phenotype to endogenous dendritic cells.
Finding Small Sets of Essential Attributes in Binary Data

We consider the problem of finding support sets (i.e., sets of essential attributes) in a given data set, which consists of n-dimensional binary vectors of positive examples and negative examples. A set of attributes is a support set if positive examples and negative examples can be separated by using only the attributes in the set. Finding small support sets is an important topic in such fields as knowledge discovery, data mining, learning theory and logical analysis of data. Based on several measures of separation, we discuss why finding small support sets is important, and how to find such sets, together with results of some computational experiment. Theoretical analysis of the approximation ratios of the proposed algorithms is also provided.
A cognitive trust and reputation model for the ART testbed

Trust modelling is a challenging issue due to the dynamic nature of distributed systems and the unreliability of self-interested agents. In this context, the Agent Reputation and Trust (ART) Testbed has been used to compare trust models in two Spanish competitions in 2006 and 2007 and several international competitions. In this paper we describe the model we have presented to the Spanish competitions. We propose a trust model that uses the discrepancy between the information provided by other agents and its own experience in order to anticipate their actions, instead of using that discrepancy as a source of dishonesty and distrust. In addition we propose a cognitive model based on motivational attitudes to implement adaptive behaviors. Various implementations of this trust model have participated in the competitions; one was the winner of the first Spanish competition in 2006, the other won a combined game that included the participants in the two Spanish competitions.
Indian Journalists Use of New Technology: Ethical Issues

Indian Journalists’ Use of New Technology: Ethical Issues The study of the ethical use of new technologies in journalistic work is imperative given the widespread use of such technology. This paper describes and discusses an exploratory study about the ethics of Indian journalists’ practices involving the use of new computer and Internet-based technologies in information gathering and news writing. This paper begins to fill the gap in the study of the ethics of Indian newsgathering practices, particularly in the study of how new technology impacts newsgathering. This study used a qualitative in-depth interview method. The study determined that new digital technology was widely accessible to journalists, but not all journalists were given tools by their employers and that they were unfamiliar with the concept of convergence. Ethical problem areas were analyzed that revealed varying levels of conflict in professional behavior and use of technology: attribution of online information, general use of online content, plagiarism of Web-based news, use of direct quotations found online without proper sourcing and attribution, use of personal information in news stories that was originally located online, privacy and use of information found online, use of proprietary business or corporate information found online, misrepresentation of identity using e-mail and instant messaging to obtain information, publication of confidential information without permission, use of the threat of publication of information online to pressure sources, and unauthorized use of online video, such as that found on YouTube, on television channels
50 V All-PMOS Charge Pumps Using Low-Voltage Capacitors

In this work, two high-voltage charge pumps are introduced. In order to minimize the area of the pumping capacitors, which dominates the overall area of the charge pump, high density capacitors have been utilized. Nonetheless, these high density capacitors suffer from low breakdown voltage which is not compatible with the targeted high voltage application. To circumvent the breakdown limitation, a special clocking scheme is used to limit the maximum voltage across any pumping capacitor. The two charge pump circuits were fabricated in a 0. 6μm CMOS technology with poly0-poly1 capacitors. The output voltage of the two charge pumps reached 42.8V and 51V while the voltage across any capacitor did not exceed the value of the input voltage. Compared to other designs reported in the literature, the proposed charge pump provides the highest output voltage which makes it more suitable for tuning MEMS devices.
Early childhood diarrhoea and helminthiases associate with long-term linear growth faltering.

BACKGROUND Although the acute mortality from diarrhoeal diseases is well recognized, the potentially prolonged impact of early childhood diarrhoea on background growth and development is often overlooked. To examine the magnitude and duration of the association of early childhood enteric infections with growth faltering in later childhood, we investigated associations of early childhood diarrhoea (0-2 years) and intestinal helminthiases with nutritional status from age 2 to 7 years. METHODS Twice-weekly diarrhoea surveillance and quarterly anthropometrics were followed from 1989 to 1998 in 119 children born into a Northeast Brazilian shantytown. RESULTS Diarrhoea burdens at 0-2 years old were significantly associated with growth faltering at ages 2-7 years, even after controlling for nutritional status in infancy, helminthiases at 0-2 years old, family income, and maternal education by Pearson correlation, multivariate linear regression, and repeat measures analysis. The average 9.1 diarrhoeal episodes before age 2 years was associated with a 3.6 cm (95% CI : 0.6-6.6 cm) growth shortfall at age 7 years. Early childhood helminthiasis was also associated with linear growth faltering and a further 4.6 cm shortfall (95% CI : 0.8-7.9 cm) at age 7 years. CONCLUSIONS Early childhood diarrhoea and helminthiases independently associate with substantial linear growth shortfalls that continue beyond age 6 years. Targeted interventions for their control may have profound and lasting growth benefits for children in similar settings.
Sparse binary matrixes of QC-LDPC code for compressed sensing

To overcome the shortcoming that random measurement matrix is hard for hardware implementation. A new structural and sparse deterministic measurement matrix based on parity check matrix in quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check code was proposed by studying the theory of compressed sensing. To verify the performance of the new matrix, reconstruction experiments were conducted. Experimental results show that, compared with the commonly used matrixes, the proposed matrix has lower reconstruction error under the same reconstruction algorithm and compression ratio. The proposed method achieves certain improvement in Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio. Especially, if it was applied to hardware implementation, the need for physical storage space and the complexity of the hardware implementation should be greatly reduced due to the properties of quasi-cyclic and symmetric in the structure.
Detecting Computer Intrusions Using Behavioral Biometrics

In this paper we introduce the idea of using behavioral biometrics in intrusion detection applications. We present a new biometrics-based technique, which can be used to detect intrusion without the need for any special hardware implementation and without forcing the user to perform any special actions. The technique is based on using “keystroke dynamics” and “mouse dynamics” biometrics. We discuss the efficiency and applicability of such an approach.
Obtaining a Driver's License in India: An Experimental Approach to Studying Corruption

We study the allocation of driver's licenses in India by randomly assigning applicants to one of three groups: bonus (offered a bonus for obtaining a license quickly), lesson (offered free driving lessons), or comparison. Both the bonus and lesson groups are more likely to obtain licenses. However, bonus group members are more likely to make extralegal payments and to obtain licenses without knowing how to drive. All extralegal payments happen through private intermediaries ("agents"). An audit study of agents reveals that they can circumvent procedures such as the driving test. Overall, our results support the view that corruption does not merely reflect transfers from citizens to bureaucrats but distorts allocation.
Deacylation on the matrix side of the mitochondrial inner membrane regulates cardiolipin remodeling

Our understanding of the clinically relevant tafazzin-mediated cardiolipin (CL) remodeling pathway is incomplete. In this study, a new trafficking step required for CL remodeling has been identified. Further, it is demonstrated that flux through this CL remodeling pathway is controlled by the strength of the mitochondrial electrochemical gradient.
SVD-Based Evaluation of Multiplexing in Multipinhole SPECT Systems

Multipinhole SPECT system design is largely a trial-and-error process. General principles can give system designers a general idea of how a system with certain characteristics will perform. However, the specific performance of any particular system is unknown before the system is tested. The development of an objective evaluation method that is not based on experimentation would facilitate the optimization of multipinhole systems. We derive a figure of merit for prediction of SPECT system performance based on the entire singular value spectrum of the system. This figure of merit contains significantly more information than the condition number of the system, and is therefore more revealing of system performance. This figure is then compared with simulated results of several SPECT systems and is shown to correlate well to the results of the simulations. The proposed figure of merit is useful for predicting system performance, but additional steps could be taken to improve its accuracy and applicability. The limits of the proposed method are discussed, and possible improvements to it are proposed.
Strong Atomicity: An Efficient and Easy-to-Use Mechanism to Guarantee Atomicity

Atomicity violation, a common bug that obsesses multithreaded programs, has made the developing of multithreaded programs a daunting task. Atomicity is a basic correctness property of such programs. We propose strong atomicity, an efficient mechanism that helps programmers to write correct atom blocks with very little effort. We provide atom_start and atom_end for programmers to annotate an atom block. And then our runtime system will efficiently execute the block while guaranteeing atomicity. Unlike transactional memory (TM), strong atomicity permits asymmetrical atomic code regions, which means the execution of atom block not only excludes other atom blocks, but also excludes any other instructions outside atom blocks. Hence, programmers only need to simply wrap the key code region without worrying about the conflicts from outside, which saves programming effort. We have implemented our system and evaluated it with some use cases (writing or fixing multithreaded programs). With the help of our mechanism, writing an atom block is straightforward. Just wrap the block with atom_start and atom_end and it will behave like an atom operation.
Impact of mentoring on socio-emotional and mental health outcomes of youth with learning disabilities and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Background Learning disabilities (LD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often accompanied by significant socio-emotional impairments and mental health challenges. However, there is a lack of controlled, quantitative research on potential interventions to address this issue. The current study evaluated the impact of a near-peer mentoring program for youth with LD/ADHD designed to promote socio-emotional well-being. Methods Youth with LD/ADHD who participated in the mentoring program (Mentored; n=99) were compared to non-mentored youth with LD/ADHD (Control-NM; n=51) and typically-developing youth without LD/ADHD (Control-TD; n=81) pre-mentoring in the fall, and post-mentoring in the spring. Participants were assessed on self-report measures of anxiety, depression, interpersonal relations, and self-esteem. Results Youth with LD/ADHD showed significantly higher scores of depression and significantly lower scores of interpersonal relations compared to the Control-TD group at fall baseline. The depression and self-esteem scores of the Mentored group significantly decreased and increased respectively after mentoring. These changes were associated with mentee-perceived mentorship quality. The Control-NM group showed significant decreases in both self-esteem and interpersonal relations, as well as increases in depression over time, while the Control-TD group remained stable across all measures. Conclusions Results suggest that mentoring shows promise as a potential intervention for youth with LD/ADHD and co-occurring socio-emotional and mental health difficulties. The study is the first, to our knowledge, to quantify the effect of a near-peer mentoring program on youth with LD/ADHD in a design with two control groups. Implications for research and practice involving LD, ADHD, and mental health disorders are discussed.
Effective Incremental Clustering for Duplicate Detection in Large Databases

We propose an incremental algorithm for discovering clusters of duplicate tuples in large databases. The core of the approach is the usage of an indexing technique which, for any newly arrived tuple mu, allows to efficiently retrieve a set of tuples in the database which are mostly similar to mu, and which are likely to refer to the same real-world entity which is associated with mu. The proposed index is based on a hashing approach which tends to assign similar objects to the same buckets. Empirical and analytical evaluation demonstrates that the proposed approach achieves satisfactory efficiency results, at the cost of low accuracy loss
Forecasting and Decision Theory

When forecasts of the future value of some variable, or the probability of some event, are used for purposes of ex ante planning or decision making, then the preferences, opportunities and constraints of the decision maker will all enter into the ex post evaluation of a forecast, and the ex post comparison of alternative forecasts. After a presenting a brief review of early work in the area of forecasting and decision theory, this chapter formally examines the manner in which the features of an agent's decision problem combine to generate an appropriate decision-based loss function for that agent's use in forecast evaluation. Decision-based loss functions are shown to exhibit certain necessary properties, and the relationship between the functional form of a decision-based loss function and the functional form of the agent's underlying utility function is characterized. In particular, the standard squared-error loss function is shown to imply highly restrictive and not particularly realistic properties on underlying preferences, which are not justified by the use of a standard local quadratic approximation. A class of more realistic loss functions ("location-dependent loss functions") is proposed.
Global Climate Change: An Opponent’s Notes

This is intended as a response to the climate change paper by William Cline (2004). Climate change is a problem that requires an unprecedented degree of international consensus, and its consequences must be considered over a time horizon of unprecedented length. It would be a serious mistake to underestimate the difficulty of achieving a consensus. There are serious uncertainties on both the science and the economics. Cline has offered a useful challenge, but – in my judgment – it overstates the immediacy of the problem. In the allocation of limited global resources, it does not warrant as much effort as dealing with poverty and disease in the developing nations.
Redox Proteomics of the Inflammatory Secretome Identifies a Common Set of Redoxins and Other Glutathionylated Proteins Released in Inflammation, Influenza Virus Infection and Oxidative Stress

Protein cysteines can form transient disulfides with glutathione (GSH), resulting in the production of glutathionylated proteins, and this process is regarded as a mechanism by which the redox state of the cell can regulate protein function. Most studies on redox regulation of immunity have focused on intracellular proteins. In this study we have used redox proteomics to identify those proteins released in glutathionylated form by macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) after pre-loading the cells with biotinylated GSH. Of the several proteins identified in the redox secretome, we have selected a number for validation. Proteomic analysis indicated that LPS stimulated the release of peroxiredoxin (PRDX) 1, PRDX2, vimentin (VIM), profilin1 (PFN1) and thioredoxin 1 (TXN1). For PRDX1 and TXN1, we were able to confirm that the released protein is glutathionylated. PRDX1, PRDX2 and TXN1 were also released by the human pulmonary epithelial cell line, A549, infected with influenza virus. The release of the proteins identified was inhibited by the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (DEX), which also inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α release, and by thiol antioxidants (N-butanoyl GSH derivative, GSH-C4, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which did not affect TNF-α production. The proteins identified could be useful as biomarkers of oxidative stress associated with inflammation, and further studies will be required to investigate if the extracellular forms of these proteins has immunoregulatory functions.