Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Balancing the Load to Reduce Network Traffic inPrivate Cloud

Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IAAS) provides an environmental setup under anyone type of cloud. In Distributed file system (DFS), nodes simultaneously serve computing and storage functions; that is parallel Data processing and storage in cloud. Here, file is considered as a data. That file is partitioned into a number of chunks allocated in distinct nodes so that MapReduce tasks can be performed in parallel over the nodes. Files and Nodes can be dynamically created, deleted, and appended. This results in load imbalance in a distributed file system; that is, the file chunks are not distributed as uniformly as possible among the nodes. Emerging distributed file systems in production systems strongly depend on a central node for chunk reallocation or Distributed node to maintain global knowledge of all chunks. This dependence is clearly inadequate in a large-scale, failure-prone environment because the central load balancer is put under considerable workload that is linearly scaled with the system size; it may thus become the performance bottleneck and the single point of failure and memory wastage in distributed nodes. In this paper, a fully distributed load rebalancing algorithm is presented to cope with the load imbalance problem. Our algorithm is compared against a centralized approach in a production system and a competing distributed solution presented in the paper.
Towards an automata-theoretic counterpart of combined temporal logics

In this paper, we define a new class of combined automata, called temporalized automata, which can be viewed as the automata-theoretic counterpart of temporalized logics, and show that relevant properties, such as closure under Boolean operations, decidability, and expressive equivalence with respect to temporal logics, transfer from component automata to temporalized ones. Furthermore, we successfully apply temporalized automata to provide the full secondorder theory of k-refinable downward unbounded layered structures with a temporal logic counterpart. Finally, we show how temporalized automata can be used to deal with relevant classes of reactive systems, such as granular reactive systems and mobile reactive systems.
The IBM PCIXCC: A new cryptographic coprocessor for the IBM eServer

IBM has designed special cryptographic processors for its servers for more than 25 years. These began as very simple devices, but over time the requirements have become increasingly complex, and there has been a never-ending demand for increased speed. This paper describes the PCIXCC, the new coprocessor introduced in the IBM z990 server. In many ways, PCIXCC is a watershed design. For the first time, a single product satisfies all requirements across all IBM server platforms. It offers the performance demanded by today's Web servers', it supports the complex and specialized cryptographic functions needed in the banking and finance industry, and it uses packaging technology that leads the world in resistance to physical or electrical attacks against its secure processes and the secret data it holds. Furthermore, it is programmable and highly flexible, so that its function can be easily modified to meet new requirements as they appear. These features are possible because of innovative design in both the hardware and embedded software for the card. This paper provides an overview of that design.
Cooperative Sparse Representation in Two Opposite Directions for Semi-Supervised Image Annotation

Recent studies have shown that sparse representation (SR) can deal well with many computer vision problems, and its kernel version has powerful classification capability. In this paper, we address the application of a cooperative SR in semi-supervised image annotation which can increase the amount of labeled images for further use in training image classifiers. Given a set of labeled (training) images and a set of unlabeled (test) images, the usual SR method, which we call forward SR, is used to represent each unlabeled image with several labeled ones, and then to annotate the unlabeled image according to the annotations of these labeled ones. However, to the best of our knowledge, the SR method in an opposite direction, that we call backward SR to represent each labeled image with several unlabeled images and then to annotate any unlabeled image according to the annotations of the labeled images which the unlabeled image is selected by the backward SR to represent, has not been addressed so far. In this paper, we explore how much the backward SR can contribute to image annotation, and be complementary to the forward SR. The co-training, which has been proved to be a semi-supervised method improving each other only if two classifiers are relatively independent, is then adopted to testify this complementary nature between two SRs in opposite directions. Finally, the co-training of two SRs in kernel space builds a cooperative kernel sparse representation (Co-KSR) method for image annotation. Experimental results and analyses show that two KSRs in opposite directions are complementary, and Co-KSR improves considerably over either of them with an image annotation performance better than other state-of-the-art semi-supervised classifiers such as transductive support vector machine, local and global consistency, and Gaussian fields and harmonic functions. Comparative experiments with a nonsparse solution are also performed to show that the sparsity plays an important role in the cooperation of image representations in two opposite directions. This paper extends the application of SR in image annotation and retrieval.
Automatic Detection and Classification of Microcalcification, Mass, Architectural Distortion and Bilateral Asymmetry in Digital Mammogram

Mammography has been one of the most reliable methods for early detection of breast cancer. There are different lesions which are breast cancer characteristic such as microcalcifications, masses, architectural distortions and bilateral asymmetry. One of the major challenges of analysing digital mammogram is how to extract efficient features from it for accurate cancer classification. In this paper we proposed a hybrid feature extraction method to detect and classify all four signs of breast cancer. The proposed method is based on multiscale surrounding region dependence method, Gabor filters, multi fractal analysis, directional and morphological analysis. The extracted features are input to self adaptive resource allocation network (SRAN) classifier for classification. The validity of our approach is extensively demonstrated using the two benchmark data sets Mammographic Image Analysis Society (MIAS) and Digital Database for Screening Mammograph (DDSM) and the results have been proved to be progressive. Keywords—Feature extraction, fractal analysis, Gabor filters, multiscale surrounding region dependence method, SRAN.
Evaluation of Techniques for Measuring Microbial Hazards in Bathing Waters: A Comparative Study

Recreational water quality is commonly monitored by means of culture based faecal indicator organism (FIOs) assays. However, these methods are costly and time-consuming; a serious disadvantage when combined with issues such as non-specificity and user bias. New culture and molecular methods have been developed to counter these drawbacks. This study compared industry-standard IDEXX methods (Colilert and Enterolert) with three alternative approaches: 1) TECTA™ system for E. coli and enterococci; 2) US EPA’s 1611 method (qPCR based enterococci enumeration); and 3) Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Water samples (233) were collected from riverine, estuarine and marine environments over the 2014–2015 summer period and analysed by the four methods. The results demonstrated that E. coli and coliform densities, inferred by the IDEXX system, correlated strongly with the TECTA™ system. The TECTA™ system had further advantages in faster turnaround times (~12 hrs from sample receipt to result compared to 24 hrs); no staff time required for interpretation and less user bias (results are automatically calculated, compared to subjective colorimetric decisions). The US EPA Method 1611 qPCR method also showed significant correlation with the IDEXX enterococci method; but had significant disadvantages such as highly technical analysis and higher operational costs (330% of IDEXX). The NGS method demonstrated statistically significant correlations between IDEXX and the proportions of sequences belonging to FIOs, Enterobacteriaceae, and Enterococcaceae. While costs (3,000% of IDEXX) and analysis time (300% of IDEXX) were found to be significant drawbacks of NGS, rapid technological advances in this field will soon see it widely adopted.
Influence of PPAR-α Agonist Fenofibrate on Insulin Sensitivity and Selected Adipose Tissue-derived Hormones in Obese Women with Type 2 Diabetes

PPAR-α agonists improve insulin sensitivity in rodent models of obesity/insulin resistance, but their effects on insulin sensitivity in humans are less clear. We measured insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinemic-isoglycemic clamp in 10 obese females with type 2 diabetes before and after three months of treatment with PPAR-α agonist fenofibrate and studied the possible role of the changes in endocrine function of adipose tissue in the metabolic effects of fenofibrate. At baseline, body mass index, serum glucose, triglycerides, glycated hemoglobin and atherogenic index were significantly elevated in obese women with type 2 diabetes, while serum HDL cholesterol and adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower than in the control group (n=10). No differences were found in serum resistin levels between obese and control group. Fenofibrate treatment decreased serum triglyceride concentrations, while both blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin increased after three months of fenofibrate administration. Serum adiponectin or resistin concentrations were not significantly affected by fenofibrate treatment. All parameters of insulin sensitivity as measured by hyperinsulinemic-isoglycemic clamp were significantly lower in an obese diabetic group compared to the control group before treatment and were not affected by fenofibrate administration. We conclude that administration of PPAR-α agonist fenofibrate for three months did not significantly affect insulin sensitivity or resistin and adiponectin concentrations in obese subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The lack of insulin-sensitizing effects of fenofibrate in humans relative to rodents could be due to a generally lower PPAR-α expression in human liver and muscle.
On the correlation between error weights and syndrome weights for belief propagation decoding of LDPC codes

This paper analyzes the correlation between the error weights and the syndrome weights during the sum product algorithm (SPA) decoding process of low density parity check codes (LDPC) in order to improve the error performance and the decoding speed. In this paper, we propose a modified SPA decoding algorithm to improve the decoding performance of the non-decoded codewords and investigate if this new algorithm takes indeed the best decoding decision for each codeword. The effect of the averaged decoding over the error weights and syndrome weights are analyzed as well as their correlation. The correlation coefficients between them are computed and a weight enumerator polynomial is used to jointly represent the error and syndrome weight distribution for each codeword.
The Stein-Lovász Theorem and Its Applications to Some Combinatorial arrays

The Stein-Lovász Theorem can be used to get existence results for some combinatorial problems using constructive methods rather than probabilistic methods. In this paper, we discuss applications of the Stein-Lovász Theorem to some combinatorial set systems and arrays, including perfect hash families, separating hash families, splitting systems, covering designs, lotto designs and ∆-free systems. We also compare some of the bounds obtained from the Stein-Lovász Theorem to those using the basic probabilistic method.
Uses of Verified Methods for Solving Non-Smooth Initial Value Problems

Many system types in engineering require mathematical models involving non-dierentiable or discontinuous functions. Such system models are often sensitive to round-o errors. Their parameters might be uncertain due to impreciseness in measurements or lack of knowledge. Therefore, interval methods represent a straightforward choice for veried analysis of such systems. However, application of existing interval methods to reallife scenarios is challenging, since they might provide overly conservative enclosures of exact solutions. In this paper, we analyze a simple method to obtain meaningful solution enclosures. First, we identify important types of non-smooth applications along with their corresponding solution denitions. After that, we provide an overview of existing methods for veried enclosure of exact solutions to non-smooth IVPs. Next, we introduce a simple enclosure strategy which relies on basically the same techniques as in the smooth case. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the simple method using several examples, and compare the results to those produced by the existing techniques.
Impact of exploiting load imbalance on coscheduling in workstation clusters

Implicit coscheduling is known to be an effective technique to improve the performance of parallel workloads in time-sharing clusters. However, implicit coscheduling still does not take into consideration the system behavior like load imbalance that severely affects cluster utilization. In this paper, we propose the use of global information to enhance the existing implicit coscheduling schemes. We also introduce a novel coscheduling approach - named PROC (process reordering-based coscheduling) - based on process reordering exploiting global load imbalance information to coordinate communicating processes. The results obtained from an in-depth simulation study show that our approach significantly outperforms previous ones (by up to 38.4%) by reducing the idle time (by up to 86.9%) and spin time (by up to 36.2%) caused by the load imbalance.
Secure Cloud Storage with Data Dynamics and Privacy-Preserving Audits Using Secure Network Coding

In the age of cloud computing, cloud users with a limited amount of storage can outsource their data to remote servers. The cloud servers, in lieu of monetary benefits, offer retrievability of their clients' data at any point of time. A client's data can be dynamic (or static) in nature depending on whether the client can (or cannot) update the uploaded data as needed. Secure cloud storage protocols enable a client to check the integrity of her outsourced data by auditing the data. In this work, we explore the possibility of constructing a secure cloud storage for dynamic data by leveraging the idea of secure network coding. Specifically, we fail to provide a general construction of an efficient secure cloud storage protocol for dynamic data from an arbitrary secure network coding protocol. However, we show that some of the secure network coding schemes can be used to construct secure cloud storage protocols for dynamic data, and we construct such a secure cloud storage protocol based on a secure network coding protocol. To the best of our knowledge, our scheme is the first secure cloud storage protocol for dynamic data that is based on a secure network coding protocol and that is secure in the standard model. In a publicly verifiable setting, auditing task is often delegated to a third party auditor that audits the outsourced data on behalf of a client. We extend our scheme in order to provide privacy-preserving and to offer anonymity (from the server) of a user updating shared data in an enterprise setting. We compare the performance of our secure cloud storage protocol with that of other secure cloud storage schemes and discuss some limitations of our scheme. Finally, we provide another construction of a secure cloud storage protocol specific to append-only data --- that overcomes some of the limitations of our earlier scheme.
An ad-hoc storage system for hotspot service

Hotspot wireless service attracts more and more attention all over the world. The demands for convenient, low-power, cost-effective, reliable hotspot access service urges the new technology emerging. The existing wireless access service system could not fulfill all of the above requirements for quickly growing users. Wireless AP (access point) and router system provide only networks access service, no additional service, these systems have limited performance due to the TCP throughput drop in heterogeneous environment. In our proposed solution - Lynx hotspot service system, we provide the system for hotspot service which achieved balance among good throughput, concurrent user capacity and energy saving. The system caches the data from Internet while serving access users, also using distributed caching method in the wireless service area. The result of our preparatory evaluation of the system shows that it can outperform the conventional hotspot service systems.
The role of management accounting in the strategic change

In the management control literature there is growi ng interest in the role of management control systems in strategic change situation. (Chenhall & Euske 2007, 601) However there has been very little research about the topic. The accounting lit era ure emphasizes the role of management control system as an organizational mechanism that supports strategic change, but empirical studies have not addressed the way in which management uses the management control system as an organizational mechanism that supports strategic ch ange. The reason for this is that studies on the management control system-strategy relationship hav e modeled strategy as determinant of management accounting system, rather than as conseq uence of the management accounting system. The second reason which is partly connected with th e first reason is that the notion of control systems playing a proactive role in shaping change is not the conventional approach taken by researchers who saw control systems as passively fo llowing change. This study examines how the managers use management accounting in the strategic change in the two organizations.
Abnormal Regenerative Responses and Impaired Axonal Outgrowth after Nerve Crush in TDP-43 Transgenic Mouse Models of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Tar DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) mislocalization and aggregation is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar dementia. Moreover, TDP-43 mRNA was found to be upregulated by ∼2.5-fold in the spinal cord of sporadic ALS subjects. Here we have examined the effects of nerve injury in new transgenic mouse models overexpressing by approximately threefold wild-type or mutant (G348C) TDP-43 species. Four weeks after axonal crush of sciatic nerve, TDP-43 transgenic mice remained paralyzed at the injured limb unlike control mice, which had regained most of their normal mobility. In contrast to normal mice, TDP-43 transgenic mice exhibited sustained elevation of TDP-43 cytoplasmic levels in motor neurons after nerve crush, and the relocalization of TDP-43 to the nucleus was delayed by several weeks. After crush, peripherin and ubiquitin levels remained also significantly elevated in TDP-43 transgenic mice compared with control mice. Analysis of the sciatic nerve at 11 d after nerve crush showed that the number of regenerating axons in the distal portion of the lesion was considerably reduced in TDP-43 transgenic mice, especially in TDP-43G348C mice, which exhibited a reduction of ∼40%. In addition, markers of neuroinflammation were detected at much higher levels in TDP-43 transgenic mice. These results suggest that a deregulation of TDP-43 expression in ALS is a phenomenon that can affect the regenerative responses to neuronal injury and regrowth potential of axons.
Détection et localisation d'objets 3D par apprentissage profond en topologie capteur

Ce travail presente une nouvelle methode pour la detection et la localisation d'objets dans des scenes 3D LiDAR acquises par des systemes de cartographie mobile. Ce probleme est generalement traite en discretisant l'espace 3D en une fine grille de voxels. Nous introduisons une approche alternative ne necessitant pas de discretisation. Elle est basee sur la representation en 2D du nuage de points en topologie capteur. Cette image sert d'entree a un reseau de neurones convolutionnels qui en extrait les informations 3D des objets. La representation en topologie capteur presentant des ambiguites dans le fond de la scene, nous ameliorerons les resultats de detection en couplant ce modele avec un reseau de detection 2D d'objets sur une image optique. Les predictions des deux reseaux sont finalement fusionnees pour obtenir les detections finales.
Connectivity Profiles Reveal a Transition Subarea in the Parahippocampal Region That Integrates the Anterior Temporal–Posterior Medial Systems

Traditional anatomical studies of the parahippocampal region (PHR) defined the lateral portion into two subregions, the perirhinal (PRC) and parahippocampal (PHC) cortices. Based on this organization, several models suggested that the PRC and the PHC play different roles in memory through connections with different memory-related brain networks. To identify the key components of the human PHR, we used a well accepted connection-based parcellation method on two independent datasets. Our parcellation divided the PRC and PHC into three subregions, specifically, the rostral PRC, caudal PRC (PRCc), and PHC. The connectivity profile for each subregion showed that the rostral PRC was connected to the anterior temporal (AT) system and the PHC was connected to the posterior medial (PM) system. The transition area (PRCc) integrated the AT-PM systems. These results suggest that the lateral PHR not only contains functionally segregated subregions, but also contains a functionally integrated subregion. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We redefined the cartography of the human parahippocampal region (PHR) and identified a transition subarea based on distinct anatomical and functional connectivity profiles. This well defined anatomical organization of the PHR is necessary for expanding our understanding and studying the functional relevance of its subregions in recognition memory. We found that the transition subregion [caudal perirhinal cortex (PRCc)] is a functionally integrated subregion that integrates the anterior temporal (AT)–posterior medial (PM) systems. In addition, we found that the core components of the AT and PM systems connect with the PHR in the rostral PRC and parahippocampal cortex (PHC), respectively, rather than connecting with the traditional, larger, and thus less concise PRC and PHC areas. This may lead to new insights into the human memory system and related neurodegenerative diseases.
Oral Rehabilitation in a Patient with Major Maxillofacial Trauma: A Case Management

Traumatic injuries may cause anatomic deficiencies in soft and hard tissues. These defects often result in the loss of attached mucosa and alveolar processes, which might reduce potential prosthesis support and require bone and skin grafting. As a result of major maxillofacial trauma, complete or partial avulsion of the palate may require extensive surgical and prosthodontic rehabilitation. The appropriate treatment for the maxillary defect demands a multidisciplinary approach by a team which consists of various fields of dentistry and medicine. The planning prostheses should replace not only missing teeth but also lost soft tissues and bone, and they should include the hard palate, residual alveolar ridges, and, in some instances, the soft palate. This paper describes the treatment procedures including plastic surgery operation procedures and prosthetic rehabilitation in a 19-year-old woman after her severe bicycle accident.