Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Software-Based Rerouting for Fault-Tolerant Pipelined Communication

This paper presents a software-based approach to fault-tolerant routing in networks using wormhole or virtual cut-through switching. When a message encounters a faulty output link, it is removed from the network by the local router and delivered to the messaging layer of the local node's operating system. The message passing software can reroute this message, possibly along nonminimal paths. Alternatively, the message may be addressed to an intermediate node, which will forward the message to the destination. A message may encounter multiple faults and pass through multiple intermediate nodes. The proposed techniques are applicable to both obliviously and adaptively routed networks. The techniques are specifically targeted toward commercial multiprocessors where the mean time to repair (MTTR) is much smaller than the mean time between router failures (MTBF), i.e., it is sufficient to tolerate a maximum of three failures. This paper presents requirements for buffer management, deadlock freedom, and livelock freedom. Simulation results are presented to evaluate the degradation in latency and throughput as a function of the number and distribution of faults. There are several advantages of such an approach. Router designs are minimally impacted, and thus remain compact and fast. Only messages that encounter faulty components are affected, while the machine is ensured of continued operation until the faulty components can be replaced. The technique leverages existing network technology, and the concepts are portable across evolving switch and router designs. Therefore, we feel that the technique is a good candidate for incorporation into the next generation of multiprocessor networks.
Value of magnetic resonance spectroscopy and perfusion-weighted imaging in distinguishing glioma recurrence from PTRE : a meta-analysis

Background and purpose: Nowadays, radiation therapy has become a gold standard treatment for gliomas, especially for high grade gliomas. Unfortunately, posttreatment radiation effect (PTRE) often mimics tumor recurrence, which causes a diagnostic challenge in clinical management. Since traditional magnetic resonance techniques were useless in distinguishing between glioma recurrence and PTRE, advanced magnetic resonance functional imaging methods, for instance magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI), have been used to distinguish glioma recurrence from PTRE. However, the accuracy of MRS and PWI in distinguishing between glioma recurrence and PTRE is unclear. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to assess the diagnostic value of MRS and PWI in distinguishing glioma recurrence from PTRE. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was accomplished in three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Embase). Eligible studies were performed in English, aimed to evaluate the performance of MRS, PWI in distinguishing glioma recurrence from PTRE. To assess the quality of included articles, we applied Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) in this meta-analysis. For each study, diagnostic values were extracted or calculated. Sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), likelihood ratio (LR; positive LR/negative LR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were pooled by using the Stata 13.1 software. Results: 22 eligible articles and 687 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR and DOR for MRS and PWI were 0.92 (0.86-0.96), 0.87 (0.87-0.93), 6.87 (3.86-12.21), 0.09 (0.04-0.17), 48.48 (27.79-221.63) and 0.84 (0.80-0.88), 0.84 (0.79-0.88), 5.51 (3.98-6.89), 0.19 (0.140.24), 28.09 (17.63-44.75), respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, our meta-analysis verified an overall moderate diagnostic performance of MRS and PWI for distinguishing between glioma recurrence and PTRE. Furthermore, both dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion imaging and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) perfusion imaging are promising methods in differentiating glioma recurrence from PTRE. In the future, well-designed clinical studies are needed to validate their applicability in differentiating these two lesions.
Discussion of “ Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Mobile Phone Data : a Case Study in the Metropolitan Area of Milan ” by Piercesare Secchi

The paper under discussion is a very well-written and interesting piece of work by Secchi et al. (2015) dealing with spatio-temporal data on mobile phone use in the area of Milan. I congratulate the authors for such a stimulating and interesting paper. It clearly points out that Erlang data on mobile phone use contain a large amount of rich information. The paper is an excellent example of statistical analysis of Big Data. I discuss briefly two alternative ways of dimension reduction of spatiotemporal data and illustrate them with artificial data that has been simulated according to the scheme proposed by the authors. Given a site x (a small connected portion of the area under study) the Erlang value Ex(t) at site x and time t is the number of mobile phones being used at time t by people located at x. This measure can be considered a proxy for the number of people in that site at that time. Secchi et al. (2015) analyze Erlang data and tackle with the difficulties inherent to their spatio-temporal dependence. They propose an innovative methodology, the Bagging Voronoi Treelet Analysis (BVTA), that combines functional data analysis, dimensionality reduction, spatial dependence, Voronoi tessellations, bagging and treelets (a version of wavelets with data-drive basis). At the risk that my enthusiasm for the proposed methodology can be questioned, I would point out that, from my point of view, the most remarkable parts of the article are the set of Erlang data itself and the very informative interpretation made of the results. The large amount and richness of the information contained in the Erlang data on mobile phone use is evident from the paper. This allows the authors to dissect the dynamics of everyday life in the whole metropolitan area of Milan as well as detect particular special events. This type of Erlang data appears
Enriching web applications efficiently with real-time collaboration capabilities

Web applications offering real-time collaboration support (e.g. Google Docs) allow geographically dispersed users to edit the very same document simultaneously, which is appealing to end-users mainly because of two application characteristics. On the one hand, provided real-time capabilities supersede traditional document merging and document locking techniques that distract users from the content creation process. On the other hand, web applications free end-users from lengthy setup procedures and allow for instant application access. However, implementing collaborative web applications is a time-consuming and complex endeavor since offering real-time collaboration support requires two specific collaboration services. First, a concurrency control service has to ensure that documents are synchronized in real-time and that emerging editing conflicts (e.g. if two users change the very same word concurrently) are resolved automatically. Second, a workspace awareness service has to inform the local user about actions and activities of other participants (e.g. who joined the session or where are other participants working). Implementing and integrating these two collaboration services is largely inefficient due to (1) the lack of necessary collaboration functionality in existing libraries, (2) incompatibilities of collaboration frameworks with widespread web development approaches as well as (3) the need for massive source code changes to anchor collaboration support. Therefore, we propose a Generic Collaboration Infrastructure (GCI) that supports the efficient development of web-based groupware in various ways. First, the GCI provides reusable concurrency control functionality and generic workspace awareness support. Second, the GCI exposes numerous interfaces to consume these collaboration services in a flexible manner and without requiring invasive source code changes. And third, the GCI is linked to a development methodology that efficiently guides developers through the development of web-based groupware. To demonstrate the improved development efficiency induced by the GCI, we conducted three user studies encompassing developers and end-users. We show that the development efficiency can be increased in terms of development time when adopting the GCI. Moreover, we also demonstrate that implemented collaborative web applications satisfy end-user needs with respect to established software quality characteristics (e.g. usability, reliability, etc.).
Longer duration of hormonal contraceptive use predicts better cognitive outcomes later in life.

BACKGROUND The cognitive effects of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) have been studied extensively, but little is known about the relationship between premenopausal hormone use and cognition. Hormonal contraceptive use vs. nonuse may be a potential factor influencing cognitive processes in midlife. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of modification of hormone milieu through use of hormonal contraception in premenopausal women and midlife cognitive function. METHODS Subjects were 261 cognitively normal women, aged 40-65 (mean μ=52), enrolled in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention. All women completed the Women's Health History Questionnaire and a self-report health history questionnaire and were administered a battery of neuropsychologic tests. Cognitive results were analyzed using summary scores for the domains of Verbal Ability, Visuo-spatial Ability, Working Memory, Verbal Learning & Memory, and Speed & Flexibility derived using a confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS Hormonal contraceptive ever users performed significantly better than never users in the domains of Visuo-spatial Ability (μ=0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23-1.28, p=0.005) and Speed & Flexibility (μ=0.52, 95% CI -0.16-1.04, p=0.007), with duration-dependent increases in performance, especially in ever users with ≥ 15 years of use. CONCLUSIONS These data provide preliminary evidence that hormonal contraceptive use may influence cognitive outcomes, even years after use is discontinued. Hormonal contraceptive users scored better in domains of Visuo-spatial Ability and Speed & Flexibility than never users, with a duration-dependent trend. Further research is needed to explore the use of hormonal contraceptives to prevent or delay cognitive decline and to clarify the physiologic basis of this phenomenon.
The relationship between acute exposure to hypoxia and heart rate variability in unacclimatized individuals

Acute exposure to hypoxia results in a stress response categorized by sympathetic dominance, including hyperventilation to prevent arterial desaturation. As an estimation of overall stress, heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic regulation. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether resting sea level (SL) HRV is correlated with arterial desaturation and respiratory responses to acute normobaric hypoxia exposure (equivalent 3500 m). METHODS: Resting HRV, %SpO2, and respiratory rate (RR) were measured in 19 subjects (male n=9, female n=10) at SL for 15 minutes. HRV was measured (Firstbeat Bodyguard2) including RMSSD, HF, and LF components. VO2 peak was estimated using a standard graded exercise test (GXT) on a bicycle ergometer. Subjects later returned and resting HRV, %SpO2, and RR were measured in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (Colorado Mountain Systems, Inc.) set at 3500 m (treatment) or sea level (control). Subjects exercised on a bicycle ergometer at 65% capacity where HR, %SpO2 and RPE were recorded. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation observed in treatment subjects between RR (PIII – PII) and LFHF ratio (PIII PII) (p<0.01), RR (PIII – PII) and PII LFHF ratio (p<0.05), and VO2 peak and exercise-induced change in %SpO2 (PIII) (p<0.05). No significant correlation was observed between HRV in the time domain (RMSSD) and %SpO2 at rest, %SpO2 during exercise, or respiratory rate during rest (p>0.05) when exposed to hypoxia. CONCLUSION: HRV as a measure of overall stress and sympathovagal balance may be predictive of the change in RR, but not in the change in %SpO2. Subsequent studies may require a controlling for key variables (caffeine use, time of day, etc.) or paired study design.
Artificial neural networks for design of manufacturing systems and selection of priority rules

Simulation is one of the most effective methods in the Design of Manufacturing Systems (MS). Typical reasons for simulation of a manufacturing system includes evaluating the capacity and equipment utilization, identifying bottlenecks in the system, comparing the performance of alternative designs. Simulation is often coupled with Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to provide an efficient decision making framework. In this study, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are used for the design of a manufacturing system. Four different priority rules are used: EDD, SPT, CR and FCFS. As a result four different design alternatives are obtained from trained ANN. Performance measures of a manufacturing system are given to the ANN which then gives a design alternative. The design alternatives are evaluated in terms of performance measures and then the best design alternative is selected from four different alternatives.
Results of Opening-Wedge Osteotomy for the Treatment of a Post-Traumatic Varus Deformity of the Ankle*

&NA; We performed a one-stage opening-wedge valgus osteotomy in nine patients to correct a post-traumatic progressive varus deformity of the ankle. The osteotomy site was stabilized with two, three, or four Kirschner wires or with a plate and screws (in one patient). The site of the osteotomy united within two months after the operation in eight patients and at six months in one patient who was fifty-nine years old. The average duration of follow-up was seven years and four months (range, two years and four months to thirteen years and two months). Postoperatively, the range of motion of the ankle was decreased in six patients and remained unchanged in three. However, none of the patients reported any limitation in the activities of daily living, and the four adolescent patients were able to participate in sports activities. The result was graded as excellent for four ankles, good for two, and fair for three.
A multivariate meta‐analysis approach for reducing the impact of outcome reporting bias in systematic reviews

Multivariate meta‐analysis allows the joint synthesis of multiple correlated outcomes from randomised trials, and is an alternative to a separate univariate meta‐analysis of each outcome independently. Usually not all trials report all outcomes; furthermore, outcome reporting bias (ORB) within trials, where an outcome is measured and analysed but not reported on the basis of the results, may cause a biased set of the evidence to be available for some outcomes, potentially affecting the significance and direction of meta‐analysis results. The multivariate approach, however, allows one to ‘borrow strength’ across correlated outcomes, to potentially reduce the impact of ORB. Assuming ORB missing data mechanisms, we aim to investigate the magnitude of bias in the pooled treatment effect estimates for multiple outcomes using univariate meta‐analysis, and to determine whether the ‘borrowing of strength’ from multivariate meta‐analysis can reduce the impact of ORB. A simulation study was conducted for a bivariate fixed effect meta‐analysis of two correlated outcomes. The approach is illustrated by application to a Cochrane systematic review. Results show that the ‘borrowing of strength’ from a multivariate meta‐analysis can reduce the impact of ORB on the pooled treatment effect estimates. We also examine the use of the Pearson correlation as a novel approach for dealing with missing within‐study correlations, and provide an extension to bivariate random‐effects models that reduce ORB in the presence of heterogeneity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Search-based Similarity-driven Behavioural SPL Testing

Dissimilar test cases have been proven to be effective to reveal faults in software systems. In the Software Product Line (SPL) context, this criterion has been applied successfully to mimic combinatorial interaction testing in an efficient and scalable manner by selecting and prioritising most dissimilar configurations of feature models using evolutionary algorithms. In this paper, we extend dissimilarity to behavioural SPL models (FTS) in a search-based approach, and evaluate its effectiveness in terms of product and fault coverage. We investigate different distances as well as as single-objective algorithms, (dissimilarity on actions, random, all-actions). Our results on four case studies show the relevance of dissimilarity-based test generation for behavioural SPL models, especially on the largest case-study where no other approach can match it.
B 97 , 045408 ( 2018 ) Super-Planckian far-field radiative heat transfer

V. Fernández-Hurtado,1 A. I. Fernández-Domínguez,1 J. Feist,1 F. J. García-Vidal,1,2 and J. C. Cuevas1,3 1Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain 2Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Donostia/San Sebastián 20018, Spain 3Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany
Recognizing Plant Species in the Wild: Deep Learning Results and a New Database

Visually recognizing plant species in their natural setting poses a challenge: their appearance changes depending on surrounding, age, time and season. Object recognition is put at a strain, because the displays of plant species are diverse, increased by the fact that no plant parts are dismembered, such as leaves, stems or flowers. We created a database, named Plantas, with more than 33 thousand images, containing fifty species of plants and cultivars commonly cultivated in Brazil and also worldwide. Photos were taken on site and also collected from the Internet. We describe some approaches to classify plant species, testing different architectures of deep neural networks. We also analyze how activation functions and fine-tuning can be set in order to achieve the best performance. Our best configuration achieves at least 94.5% accuracy. The database and the results proved useful for developing future multimedia applications considering plant species in the wild.
Attractors for Parametric Delay Differential Equations and their Continuous Behavior

The problem of the continuity of global attractors under minimal assumptions for a general class of parameterized delay differential equations is considered. The theory of equi-attraction developed by Li and Kloeden in [2004a] is adapted to this framework, so it is proved that the continuity of the attractors with respect to the parameter is equivalent to this equi-attraction property.
Optimization of RF Performance of Metallic Source/Drain SOI MOSFETs Using Dopant Segregation at the Schottky Interface

This letter presents a detailed investigation of the impact of dopant segregation (DS) on radio-frequency (RF) performance of p-type 110-nm undoped ultrathin-body Schottky-barrier (SB) silicon-on-insulator MOSFETs. It is shown that optimizing this dopant-segregated layer via careful control of the dopant concentration (N SEG) and lateral extension (L SEG) reduces the apparent potential barrier height at the Schottky junctions. This results in highly reduced source/drain (S/D) contact resistances, along with a peak fT value obtained at very low dc power consumption (45 muW/mum at VDS = -2 V), which is very promising to address low-power low-voltage analog applications. Finally, the source resistance extracted from this RF study ( ~120 Omegamiddotmum) clearly demonstrates the ability of the DS SB S/D architecture to pursue the silicon roadmap beyond the 22-nm node.
Inducible NOS-induced chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4) nuclear translocation regulates macrophage deactivation

Nuclear translocation of cytosolic CLIC4 is an essential feature of its proapoptotic and prodifferentiation functions. Here we demonstrate that CLIC4 is induced concurrently with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and S-nitrosylated in proinflammatory peritoneal macrophages. Chemical inhibition or genetic ablation of iNOS inhibits S-nitrosylation and nuclear translocation of CLIC4. In macrophages, iNOS-induced nuclear CLIC4 coincides with the pro- to anti-inflammatory transition of the cells because IL-1β and CXCL1 mRNA remain elevated in CLIC4 and iNOS knockout macrophages at late time points, whereas TNFα mRNA is elevated only in the iNOS knockout macrophages. Active IL-1β remains elevated in CLIC4 knockout macrophages and in macrophages in which CLIC4 nuclear translocation is prevented by the NOS inhibitor l-NAME. Moreover, overexpression of nuclear-targeted CLIC4 down-regulates IL-1β in stimulated macrophages. In mice, genetically null for CLIC4, the number of phagocytosing macrophages stimulated by LPS is reduced. Thus, iNOS-induced nuclear CLIC4 is an essential part of the macrophage deactivation program.
Role of Epidermal Cell Thymocyte‐Activating Factor in the Proliferation and Differentiation of Murine B Cells

The role of antigen nonspecific cytokines in T‐ and B‐lymphocyte responses is now well established, interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) has been shown to augment B‐cell maturation and proliferation. While the major source of IL‐1 is from monocytes or macrophages, other cell types have been shown to produce IL‐1‐like cytokines. Epidermal cells produce a cytokine termed “epidermal cell‐derived thymocyte‐activating factor” (ETAF) which is similar if not identical with monocyte‐derived IL‐1. In this report we show that ETAF induces polyclonal stimulation of murine B cells. We show that ETAF augments B cell proliferation and differentiation in the absence of any added antigens or mitogens. This activity can be partially inhibited by anti‐IL‐1 antibodies. ETAF appears to activate B cells directly, although its activity is increased in the presence of T cells. Thus, ETAF may be involved in local polyclonal antibody responses occurring in the skin.
Intermarket sweep order trade size clustering around corporate announcements

ABSTRACT Investors have different trade size preferences depending on their information advantage. Using intermarket sweep orders (ISOs), we find that investors appear to prefer using small, round lot trades around corporate events with higher announcement frequency and more predictable timing, such as earnings announcements. Around these corporate events, information is revealed, and analyst estimates are confirmed or rejected. Conversely, share repurchase announcements happen less frequently and the timing of these announcements are unpredictable. Relative to earnings announcements, share repurchase announcements create more uncertainty than they resolve. We find that when investors have less information, they tend to use costlier, larger trade size multiples. We further support the extant finding that trade sizes are smaller with the advent of high-frequency trading.
Investigation on complementary antenna based on bow-tie shaped meander slot

In this paper, a novel electro-magnetic complementary antenna composed of bow-tie shaped meander slot antenna and dipole is proposed. Compared with the original slot antenna without dipole, the proposed antenna exhibits a great improvement on impedance bandwidth and front-to-back ratio (FBR). Measured results show that the impedance bandwidth increases from 2.7% of the original slot antenna to 26.2% of the proposed antenna with |S11|<;-10dB. Meanwhile, it achieves high FBR radiation patterns.