Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SFMalloc: A Lock-Free and Mostly Synchronization-Free Dynamic Memory Allocator for Manycores

As parallel programming becomes the mainstream due to multicore processors, dynamic memory allocators used in C and C++ can suppress the performance of multi-threaded applications if they are not scalable. In this paper, we present a new dynamic memory allocator for multi-threaded applications. The allocator never uses any synchronization for common cases. It uses only lock-free synchronization mechanisms for uncommon cases. Each thread owns a private heap and handles memory requests on the heap. Our allocator is completely synchronization-free when a thread allocates a memory block and deal locates it by itself. Synchronization-free means that threads do not communicate with each other at all. On the other hand, if a thread allocates a block and another thread frees it, we use a lock-free stack to atomically add it to the owner thread's heap to avoid the memory blowup problem. Furthermore, our allocator exploits various memory block caching mechanisms to reduce the latency of memory management. Freed blocks or intermediate memory chunks are cached hierarchically in each thread's heap and they are used for future memory allocation. We compare the performance and scalability of our allocator to those of well-known existing multi-threaded memory allocators using eight benchmarks. Experimental results on a 48-core AMD system show that our approach achieves better performance than other allocators for all benchmarks and is highly scalable with a large number of threads.
Adaptive Combined Scalable Video Coding over MIMO-OFDM Systems using Partial Channel State Information

This paper proposes an adaptive combined scalable video coding (CSVC) system for video transmission over MIMO-OFDM (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) broadband wireless communication systems. The scalable combination method of CSVC adaptively combines the medium grain scalable (MGS), the coarse grain scalable (CGS) and the scalable spatial modes with the limited feedback partially from channel state information (CSI) of MIMO-OFDM systems. The objective is to improve the average of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and bit error rate (BER) of the received video stream by exploiting partial CSI of video sources and channel condition. Experimental results show that the delivered quality using the proposed adaptive CSVC over MIMO-OFDM system performs better than those proposed previously in the literature.
A model-based approach for capturing consumer preferences from crowdsources: The case of Twitter

Consumer choices are enormously influential in the success of the companies and organizations behind the highly competitive global service and product offerings of today. Consumer choice relates to preference, i.e. a set of assumptions a person creates around a service or a product such as convenience, utility or aesthetics. Furthermore, consumer preferences allow ranking of different assumptions about products or services based on the expected or to-be-experienced satisfaction of consuming them. In our previous work, we proposed a conceptualization of consumer preferences - the Consumer Preference Meta-Model (CPMM) - to enable a classification and ranking of the preferences that would be the basis for deciding which of would be considered to be developed into supporting information systems/services. In this study we collect consumer preferences through crowdsourcing, and in particular Twitter, because of its increasing popularity as a source of up-to-date comments and information about current services and products. The tweets of four major American airlines were processed using different techniques from natural language processing (NLP) that enabled the classification of their objectives, content, and importance within CPMM. By next mapping the highest-ranked results from CPMM to goal models enabled a model-based linkage from a corpus of preferences contained within short texts to high-level requirements for system/services.
Revisiting probabilistic models for clustering with pair-wise constraints

We revisit recently proposed algorithms for probabilistic clustering with pair-wise constraints between data points. We evaluate and compare existing techniques in terms of robustness to misspecified constraints. We show that the technique that strictly enforces the given constraints, namely the chunklet model, produces poor results even under a small number of misspecified constraints. We further show that methods that penalize constraint violation are more robust to misspecified constraints but have undesirable local behaviors. Based on this evaluation, we propose a new learning technique, extending the chunklet model to allow soft constraints represented by an intuitive measure of confidence in the constraint.
Personality, relationship closeness and loneliness of the oldest old and their children

The ptirpose of this study was to examine parent-child relationships in late life. The design of the first part of the study was quantitative. The sample consisted of 100 parentchild dyads. Personality, attachment, and dimensions of solidarity were hypothesized to predict loneliness for oldest old adults (i.e., 85 years of age and older) and their adult children. The design of the second part of the study was qualitative. Members of four intergenerational family units (i.e., parents and all children) were interviewed in order to explore factors that influenced relationship closeness over the life span. Results from the quantitative study indicated that affective solidarity negatively predicted oldest old adults' loneliness, while depression (a control variable) positively predicted loneliness. Attachment positively predicted affective solidarity, while anxiety negatively predicted affective solidarity. Adidt children's loneliness was predicted by associative and normative solidarity, extraversion, as well as by the quality of friendships and depression. Attachment positively predicted affective, associative and normative solidarity. In addition to personality, affection, association, and expectations, the qualitative stody identified the following factors that influenced relationship closeness of oldest old adults and their adult children: life events, education, financial status, fiiendships, maniage, social roles of parents and children, and individual and environmental factors. Results from this study indicate that oldest old adults perceive relationships to be closer than do their adult children. Anxiety negatively predicts affective relationships for oldest old adults but not for their adult children. Based on a reduced number of close relationships and the high "stake" oldest old adults have in their children, affectionate
Prospective trajectories of posttraumatic stress in college women following a campus mass shooting.

In a sample with known levels of preshooting posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, we examined the impact of a campus mass shooting on trajectories of PTS in the 31 months following the shooting using latent growth mixture modeling. Female students completed 7 waves of a longitudinal study (sample sizes ranged from 812 to 559). We identified 4 distinct trajectories (n = 660): (a) minimal impact-resilience (60.9%), (b) high impact-recovery (29.1%), (c) moderate impact-moderate symptoms (8.2%), and (d) chronic dysfunction (1.8%). Individuals in each trajectory class remained at or returned to preshooting levels of PTS approximately 6 months postshooting. The minimal impact-resilience class reported less prior trauma exposure (η(2) = . 13), less shooting exposure (η(2) = . 07), and greater emotion regulation skills than all other classes (η(2) > . 30). The chronic dysfunction class endorsed higher rates of experiential avoidance prior to the shooting than the minimal-impact resilient and high impact-recovery classes (η(2) = . 15), as well as greater shooting exposure than the high impact-recovery class (η(2) = . 07). Findings suggest that preshooting functioning and emotion regulation distinguish between those who experience prolonged distress following mass violence and those who gradually recover.
Stability of haptic obstacle avoidance and force interaction

Stability problems associated with haptics and robot control with obstacle avoidance are analyzed. Obstacle avoidance algorithms are revised to accomplish stable redesign using absolute stability and passivity theory. A modification of potential functions for haptic rendering and obstacle avoidance allowing stable operation for high stiffness is proposed. The modification leads to velocity-dependent potential-like repulsive stable haptic force interaction with obstacles. Using strictly positive real re-design, stable force interaction can be provided also for high stiffness of manipulated objects or obstacles.
Being a Supercook: Joint Food Attributes and Multimodal Content Modeling for Recipe Retrieval and Exploration

This paper considers the problem of recipe-oriented image-ingredient correlation learning with multi-attributes for recipe retrieval and exploration. Existing methods mainly focus on food visual information for recognition while we model visual information, textual content (e.g., ingredients), and attributes (e.g., cuisine and course) together to solve extended recipe-oriented problems, such as multimodal cuisine classification and attribute-enhanced food image retrieval. As a solution, we propose a multimodal multitask deep belief network (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{M}^{3}$</tex-math></inline-formula>TDBN) to learn joint image-ingredient representation regularized by different attributes. By grouping ingredients into visible ingredients (which are visible in the food image, e.g., “chicken” and “mushroom”) and nonvisible ingredients (e.g., “salt” and “oil”), <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{M}^{3}$</tex-math> </inline-formula>TDBN is capable of learning both midlevel visual representation between images and visible ingredients and nonvisual representation. Furthermore, in order to utilize different attributes to improve the intermodality correlation, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{M}^{3}$</tex-math></inline-formula>TDBN incorporates multitask learning to make different attributes collaborate each other. Based on the proposed <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{M}^{3}$</tex-math></inline-formula>TDBN, we exploit the derived deep features and the discovered correlations for three extended novel applications: 1) multimodal cuisine classification; 2) attribute-augmented cross-modal recipe image retrieval; and 3) ingredient and attribute inference from food images. The proposed approach is evaluated on the constructed Yummly dataset and the evaluation results have validated the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Functions of extracellular lysine residues in the human erythrocyte anion transport protein

The extracellular lysine residues in the human erythrocyte anion transport protein (band 3) have been investigated using chemical modification with the impermeant homobifunctional active ester bis(sulfosuccinimidyl)-suberate (BSSS). This agent forms covalent intra- and intermolecular cross-links in human band 3 in intact cells (Staros and Kakkad. 1983. J. Membr. Biol. 74:247). We have found that the intermolecular cross-link has no detectable effect on the anion transport function of band 3. The intramolecular cross-link, however, causes major changes in the characteristics of the anion transport. These functional alterations are caused by the modification of lysine residues at the stilbene disulfonate binding site. BSSS pretreatment at pH 7.4 irreversibly inhibits Cl-Br exchange by at least 90% when the transport is assayed at extracellular pH above 8. In the same BSSS- pretreated cells, however, the Cl-Br exchange rate is activated by lowering the pH of the flux medium (intracellular pH fixed at 7). The flux is maximal at pH 5-6; a further lowering of the extracellular pH inhibits the anion exchange. This acid-activated Cl-Br exchange in the BSSS-treated cells is mediated by band 3, as indicated by phenylglyoxal and phloretin inhibition of the flux. Thus, the BSSS pretreatment has little effect on the maximal Cl-Br exchange flux catalyzed by band 3, but it shifts the alkaline branch of its extracellular pH dependence by approximately 5 pH units. BSSS also eliminates the self-inhibition of Cl-halide exchange by high extracellular Br or I concentrations. These results indicate that the BSSS-modified lysines do not participate directly in anion translocation, but that one of the lysines normally provides a positive charge that is necessary for substrate anion binding. This positive charge is removed by the BSSS treatment but can be replaced by lowering the extracellular pH. The results also provide insight regarding the halide selectivity of the maximal rate of chloride-halide exchange: the native selectivity (Br much greater than I) is nearly abolished by BSSS treatment, which suggests that the selectivity results from the very strong binding of iodide to an outward-facing modifier site.
The type VI secretion system gene cluster of Salmonella typhimurium: Required for full virulence in mice

Type VI secretion system (T6SS) has increasingly been believed to participate in the infection process for many bacterial pathogens, but its role in the virulence of Salmonella typhimurium remains unclear. To look into this, we deleted the T6SS cluster from the genome of S. typhimurium 14028s and analyzed the phenotype of the resulting T6SS knockout mutant (T6SSKO mutant) in vitro and in vivo. We found that the T6SSKO mutant exhibited reduced capability in colonizing the spleen and liver in an in vivo colonization competition model in BALB/c mice infected by the oral route. Additionally, infection via intraperitoneal administration also showed that the T6SSKO mutant was less capable of colonizing the mouse spleen and liver than the wild‐type strain. We did not detect significant differences between the T6SSKO and wild‐type strains in epithelial cell invasion tests. However, in the macrophage RAW264.7 cell line, the T6SSKO mutant survived and proliferated significantly more poorly than the wild‐type strain. These findings indicate that T6SS gene cluster is required for full virulence of S. typhimurium 14028s in BALB/c mice, possibly due to its roles in bacterial survival and proliferation in macrophages.
Second moment method for a family of boolean CSP

The estimation of phase transitions in random boolean Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP) is based on two fundamental tools: the first and second moment methods. While the first moment method on the number of solutions permits to compute upper bounds on any boolean CSP, the second moment method used for computing lower bounds proves to be more tricky and in most cases gives only the trivial lower bound 0. In this paper, we define a subclass of boolean CSP covering the monotone versions of many known NP-Complete boolean CSPs. We give a method for computing non trivial lower bounds for any member of this subclass. This is achieved thanks to an application of the second moment method to some selected solutions called characteristic solutions that depend on the boolean CSP considered. We apply this method with a finer analysis to establish that the threshold $r_{k}$ (ratio : #constrains/#variables) of monotone 1-in-k-SAT is $\log k/k\leq r_{k}\leq\log^{2}k/k$.
Direct Identification of Bacteria from Positive Blood Cultures by Amplification and Sequencing of the 16S rRNA Gene: Evaluation of BACTEC 9240 Instrument True- Positive and False-Positive Results

ABSTRACT In a previous study which evaluated the BACTEC 9240 automated blood culture system (Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Instrument Systems, Sparks, Md.), we noted a 1.3% “instrument false-positive” rate. That is, the BACTEC system signaled that a bottle (BACTEC Plus Aerobic/F bottle or BACTEC Anaerobic Lytic/10 bottle) culture was positive but a Gram stain was negative and there was no growth of bacteria or yeasts on subculture to chocolate agar. Furthermore, from the same sample of blood, cultures for fungi using the Isolator blood culture system (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, N.J.) were negative for growth. For the present study, we evaluated 76 instrument false-positive samples for the presence of 16S ribosomal DNA using the MicroSeq 500 kit (PE Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.). These samples also were negative for fungi by the Isolator method. This kit has a PCR module and sequencing module for the amplification and sequencing of the 16S RNA gene and provides a database for sequence alignment and identification of bacteria. To optimize the assay, we evaluated the effect of adding 0.5% bovine serum albumin to the sample from blood culture bottles and found that it decreased the effects of inhibitors on the PCR. Two control groups of blood culture specimens were also evaluated. One group (n = 45) were “instrument true positives”; the instrument signaled positive, and subsequent Gram stains were positive and subcultures on chocolate agar grew bacteria. The other group (n = 20) were “instrument true negatives”; the instrument signaled negative, the Gram stain was negative, and subcultures on chocolate agar and from the Isolator tube on fungal media showed no growth. None of the 76 instrument false-positive samples had evidence for 16S rRNA gene sequences. All of the instrument true-positive samples and all of the instrument true-negative specimens were positive and negative, respectively, using the MicroSeq 500 kit. Total peripheral white blood cell counts were statistically significantly higher for patients who had instrument false-positive results than for patients who had instrument true-positive or true-negative results (P = 0.001). We conclude that instrument false positives signaled by the BACTEC 9240 system are not due to bacteria in the blood culture samples.
Emergence of a New Population of Rathayibacter toxicus: An Ecologically Complex, Geographically Isolated Bacterium

Rathayibacter toxicus is a gram-positive bacterium that infects the floral parts of several Poaceae species in Australia. Bacterial ooze is often produced on the surface of infected plants and bacterial galls are produced in place of seed. R. toxicus is a regulated plant pathogen in the U.S. yet reliable detection and diagnostic tools are lacking. To better understand this geographically-isolated plant pathogen, genetic variation as a function of geographic location, host species, and date of isolation was determined for isolates collected over a forty-year period. Discriminant analyses of recently collected and archived isolates using Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) identified three populations of R. toxicus; RT-I and RT-II from South Australia and RT-III from Western Australia. Population RT-I, detected in 2013 and 2014 from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, is a newly emerged population of R. toxicus not previously reported. Commonly used housekeeping genes failed to discriminate among the R. toxicus isolates. However, strategically selected and genome-dispersed MLST genes representing an array of cellular functions from chromosome replication, antibiotic resistance and biosynthetic pathways to bacterial acquired immunity were discriminative. Genetic variation among isolates within the RT-I population was less than the within-population variation for the previously reported RT-II and RT-III populations. The lower relative genetic variation within the RT-I population and its absence from sampling over the past 40 years suggest its recent emergence. RT-I was the dominant population on the Yorke Peninsula during the 2013–2014 sampling period perhaps indicating a competitive advantage over the previously detected RT-II population. The potential for introduction of this bacterial plant pathogen into new geographic areas provide a rationale for understanding the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of R. toxicus.
Removal of arsenic and COD from industrial wastewaters by electrocoagulation

The paper deals with the treatment of arsenic-containing industrial wastewaters by electrocoagulation. The waste issued from a paper mill industry downstream of the biological treatment by activated sludge was enriched with arsenic salts for the purpose of investigation of the treatment of mixed pollution. First, the treatment of single polluted waters, i.e. containing either the regular organic charge from the industrial waste or arsenic salts only, was studied. In the case of arsenic-containing waters, a broad selection of experimental data available in the literature was compiled and interpreted using an adsorption model developed previously. The same technique was used in the case of industrial waste. Arsenic-enriched paper mill wastewaters with various amounts of As salts were then treated by electrocoagulation with Fe electrodes. The set of data obtained were interpreted by a model developed on the basis of the separate models. The agreement between predicted and experimental variations of the As concentrations ranging from 0.3 µg/L to 730 µg/L showed that both the organic matter and As salt can be removed from the liquid independently from each other.
A minimally invasive technique for the management of severely fluorosed teeth: A two-year follow-up

Objective: Severely fluorosed and heavily discolored teeth that have large enamel defects give rise to esthetic concerns and require permanent treatment. In such cases, restorative techniques such as porcelain or composite laminate veneers or crowns are generally preferred, in which tooth preparation is inevitably required. Materials and Methods: This clinical report describes a patient with severely fluorosed teeth who was successfully treated with a minimally invasive technique including enamel microabrasion (6.6% hydrochloric acid slurry with silicon carbide micro-particles, Opalustre, Ultradent Products, Inc., South Jordan, UT, USA) followed by in-office bleaching (38% hydrogen peroxide, Opalescence Boost, Ultradent). Enamel microabrasion was conducted in two visits while three visits were required for in-office bleaching. Patient was followed-up after 2 years. Result: A slight staining had occurred during this period, but it was acceptable for patient. No adverse effects were observed. Conclusions: The minimally invasive technique including enamel microabrasion and in-office bleaching was efficient and may represent a good alternative to traditional restorative techniques for the management of severely fluorosed teeth.
Fault-tolerant quantum error correction for Steane’s seven-qubit color code with few or no extra qubits

Steane’s seven-qubit quantum code is a natural choice for fault-tolerance experiments because it is small and just two extra qubits are enough to correct errors. However, the two-qubit error-correction technique, known as ‘flagged’ syndrome extraction, works slowly, measuring only one syndrome at a time. This is a disadvantage in experiments with high qubit rest error rates. We extend the technique to extract multiple syndromes at once, without needing more qubits. Qubits for different syndromes can flag errors in each other. This gives equally fast and more qubit-efficient alternatives to Steane’s error-correction method, and also conforms to planar geometry constraints. We further show that Steane’s code and some others can be error-corrected with no extra qubits, provided there are at least two code blocks. The rough idea is that two seven-qubit codewords can be temporarily joined into a twelve-qubit code, freeing two qubits for flagged syndrome measurement.