Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Collecting Sensor Data for High-Performance Computing: A Case-study

Many research questions remain open with regard to improving reliability in exascale systems. Among others, statistics-based analysis has been used to find anomalies, to isolate root causes, and attempt to predict failures. But well-understood methods and best practices for collecting reliability data in a uniform way are still lacking, which impedes analysis. We report our experience with collecting these data from heterogeneous sources on a testbed cluster and present our data collection tool. This case illustrates the fact that reported metrics largely depend upon individual system configuration. We then investigate standards and specifications in manufacturing and desktop computing to identify concepts that may be useful for representing High Performance Computing (HPC) data and present a taxonomy that utilizes these concepts.
A simple perceptual method for quantizing wavelet packet coefficients of wideband speech

In this paper an efficient and low complexity perceptual method is proposed for quantizing the wavelet packet coefficients of high quality speech signals. The performance of the proposed method is compared, using the same codec, with the case where all coefficients are quantized using a fixed number of bits. The results on 500 TIMIT files show that this method based on some basic perceptual considerations achieves about 15–35% reduction in the average bit-rates with almost the same or even better perceptual qualities.
Locating Faulty Code Using Failure-Causing Input Combinations in Combinatorial Testing

The high cost of locating faults in programs has motivated the development of techniques that assist in fault localization by automating part of the process of searching for faults. A method to automatically locate faulty code using failure-causing input combination in combinatorial testing is firstly presented in this paper. Firstly, four types of fault locations are figured out by using parameters in the combination to understand the context of the fault. Secondly, based on the four types of fault locations, an algorithm is proposed to isolate candidate faulty code and obtain cause-effect chains of the failure by means of changing values of parameters in the combination. Finally, experiments are carried out on 92 variations of four programs using the known measurement which is improved in search order and search space of code. Results show that the user could avoid searching over 77% of the program in order to localize faults at code-level. Our method has successfully extended the original method of rooting the fault via combinatorial testing from the input-level to the code-level. It could be easily applicable and broadly practicable in combinatorial testing, and greatly narrow down the search focus on code-level faults.
Towards a Framework for Android Security Modules: Extending SE Android Type Enforcement to Android Middleware

Smartphones and tablets have become an integral part of our daily life. They increasingly store and process security and privacy sensitive data which makes them attractive targets for attackers. In particular for the popular Android OS, a number of security extensions have been proposed that target specific security and privacy problems caused by Android’s lack of a fine-grained, dynamic and system-wide mandatory access control. In this paper, we tackle the challenge of providing a generic security architecture for the Android OS that can serve as a flexible and effective ecosystem to instantiate different security solutions. In contrast to prior work our security architecture, termed FlaskDroid, provides mandatory access control simultaneously on both Android’s middleware and kernel layers in a consolidated manner. The synchronization of policy enforcement between the two layers is non-trivial due to their completely different semantics. We present an efficient policy language (inspired by SELinux) tailored to the specifics of Android’s middleware semantics. We show the flexibility of our architecture by policy-driven instantiations of selected security models: one is from the existing work (Saint) while the other one is a new privacy-protecting, userdefined and fine-grained per-app access control model. Other possible instantiations include phone booth mode, or dual persona phone. Finally we evaluate our implementation on SE Android 4.0. 4 illustrating its efficiency and effectiveness.
Cutting Edge: T Lymphocyte Activation by Repeated Immunological Synapse Formation and Intermittent Signaling 1

The activation of biological T cell responses requires prolonged contact with APCs and sustained signaling. We investigated whether signaling must be uninterrupted to commit T cells to cytokine production or whether T cell activation may also result from summation of interrupted signals. Upon periodic addition and removal of a src kinase inhibitor, human CD4+ T cells destroyed and re-formed immunological synapses while aborting and restarting signal transduction. Remarkably, under these conditions, T cells were eventually activated to IFN-γ production and the amount of IFN-γ produced was directly related to the total signaling time despite the repeated interruptions. Our results illustrate that T cell activation does not require a stable immunological synapse and can be achieved by interrupted signaling. It is implied that T cells can add activation signals, possibly collected on multiple APCs.
Illumination Invariant Character Recognition Using Binarized Gabor Features

The project of converting Indian language document to Bharti Braille script has many challenges. The illumination invariant character recognition is one of such challenge which is addressed in this paper. The Gabor features provide illumination invariance up to certain extend, but in recent developments such as local binary pattern and binarizing the directional filter's response and then computing features from them have made feature highly tolerant to lighting changes. In this context we are proposing the new idea of binarized Gabor feature which is to binarize the Gabor response then compute directional features using a grid structure. To binarize Gabor response we are proposing a threshold such that most vital part of response is highlighted in its binary form. We are demonstrating the feature extraction technique for numeral recognition. The database consists of 1260 scanned numeral images at different scanning parameters and 12000 generated numeral images with varying intensity. The binarized Gabor features are compared with Gabor features based on classification rates obtained. In all our experimental results better classification rates are observed for the proposed method.
QRS complex detection in experimental orthogonal electrograms of isolated rabbit hearts

Automated analysis of HRV and/or QT intervals of isolated rabbit heart electrograms requires reliable detection of QRS complexes. We propose a detection method based on spatial velocity using differentiation of all lead signals, the squaring, the adding and the square root in orders. Teager-Kaiser energy operator was applied after filtering spatial velocity with a standard pass-band filter. The algorithm was tested on 263 orthogonal electrograms. Resulting values of both sensitivity and positive predictive value of detection increased 99.8%.
Developing and evaluating a methodology for business process improvement

Purpose – There appears to be an ever-insatiable demand from markets for organisations to improve their products and services. To meet this, there is a need to provide business process improvement (BPI) methodologies that are holistic, structured and procedural. Therefore, this paper describes research that has formed and tested a generic and practical methodology termed model-based and integrated process improvement (MIPI) to support the implementation of BPI; and to validate its effectiveness in organisations. This methodology has been created as an aid for practitioners within organisations. Design/methodology/approach – The research objectives were achieved by: reviewing and analysing current methodologies, and selecting a few frameworks against key performance indicators. Using a refined Delphi approach and semi-structured interview with the “experts” in the field. Intervention, case study and process research approach to evaluating a methodology. Findings – The BPI methodology was successfully formed and applied by the researcher and directly by the companies involved against the criteria of feasibility, usability and usefulness. Research limitations/implications – The paper has demonstrated a new knowledge on how to systematically assess a BPI methodology in practice. Practical implications – Model-based and integrated process improvement methodology (MIPI) methodology offers the practitioner (experienced and novice) a set of step-by-step aids necessary to make informed, consistent and efficient changes to business processes. Originality/value – The novelty of this research work is the creation of a holistic workbook-based methodology with relevant tools and techniques. It extends the capabilities of existing methodologies.
Journal of Information Science and Engineering Xx, 1-xxx (xxxx) an Hmm Based Pitch-contour Generation Method for Mandarin Speech Synthesis

In this paper, a method is proposed to generate pitch-contours for Mandarin speech synthesis. In this method, an HMM (hidden Markov model) is used to model the pro-sodic states implicitly stayed a n d a s y l l a b l e ' s p i t c h-contour is treated as an observation generated from a prosodic state. Such an HMM is called a syllable pitch-contour HMM (SPC-HMM). For training the SPC-HMM, we developed a feasible method to normalize a pitch-c o n t o u r ' s h e i g h t. Af t e r n o r ma l i z a t i o n , e a c h t r a i n i n g s y l l a b l e ' s pitch-contour is vector quantized and represented with a VQ (vector quantization) code. Then, the VQ code and its adjacent syllab l e s ' l e x i c a l t o n e s a r e c o mb i n e d t o d e f i n e a n o b s e r v a t i o n symbol for training the SPC-HMM. In the synthesis phase, a sentence-wide most probable observation symbol sequence is searched on the SPC-HMM using a dynamic programming algorithm proposed here. Then, the observation symbol found for a syllable is decoded to obtain its pitch-contour VQ code. We conducted testing experiments to determine the size of a pitch-contour codebook and the number of states for an SPC-HMM. The results indicate that setting the codebook size to eight and using six states are the best choices. Also, we conducted perception tests to compare the naturalness levels of synthetic speech files. The results show that the two generation modes for operating an SPC-HMM studied here are comparable to each other in naturalness level.
Leveraging Informal Documentation to Summarize Classes and Methods in Context

Critical information related to a software developer'scurrent task is trapped in technical developer discussions,bug reports, code reviews, and other software artefacts. Muchof this information pertains to the proper use of code elements(e.g., methods and classes) that capture vital problem domainknowledge. To understand the purpose of these code elements, software developers must either access documentation and online posts and understand the source code or peruse a substantial amount of text. In this paper, we use the context that surrounds code elements in StackOverflow posts to summarize the use and purpose of code elements. To provide focus to our investigation, we consider the generation of summaries for library identifiers discussed in StackOverflow. Our automatic summarization approach was evaluated on a sample of 100 randomly-selected library identifiers with respect to a benchmark of summaries provided by two annotators. The results show that the approach attains an R-precision of 54%, which is appropriate given the diverse ways in which code elements can be used.
Robust video fingerprinting based on 2D-OPCA of affine covariant regions

This paper proposes a robust video fingerprinting method based on 2-dimensional oriented principal component analysis (2D-OPCA) of affine covariant regions. The goal of video fingerprinting is to identify a video clip using perceptual features called fingerprints. In the proposed method, to achieve the robustness against geometric transformations, fingerprints are extracted from local regions co- variant with a class of affine transformations. The detected affine covariant regions are normalized geometrically and photometrically, and local fingerprints are extracted by applying a novel discriminant analysis algorithm, 2D-OPCA to the normalized regions. For the reliable matching of local fingerprints, only spatio-temporally consistent matches are taken into account. The experimental results show that the proposed method is robust against both geometric and non-geometric transformations.
A 2.75–6.25GHz low-phase-noise quadrature VCO based on a dual-mode ring resonator in 65nm CMOS

This paper presents a low-phase-noise wide-tuning-range quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) using a dual-mode ring resonator. In contrary to the conventional approaches that use transistor-coupled LC oscillators, the proposed resonator inherently provides quadrature signals by employing both magnetic and capacitive couplings in a ring structure, resulting in low phase noise performance and high quadrature accuracy. Additionally, it offers two oscillation modes which are exploited to realize a wide-tuning-range QVCO. The implemented prototype in a 65-nm CMOS process shows 2.75-6.25 GHz continuous tuning range, phase noise figure-of-merit (FoM) of 188.2 dB at 3 GHz and better than 184 dB across the entire operating frequency range, 1.5° maximum phase error while consuming 9.7-15.6 mA from 0.6-V supply. The QVCO occupies an active chip area of 0.35 mm2.
To appear in Tropical Forest Diversity and Dynamism : Findings from a Network of Large-Scale Forest Dynamics Plots

We investigated seed dispersal and density-dependence of seed, seedling and sapling survival in two BCI tree species of contrasting life history strategies, using data from seed traps, soil seed samples, seedling plots within the forest dynamics plot, and the plot census data themselves. Seed dispersal distances and seed production per unit basal area were significantly higher in Miconia argentea, a small-seeded pioneer, than in Trichilia tuberculata, a large-seeded shade-tolerant. Miconia seed survival and Trichilia seed-to-seedling survival were both strongly negatively related to local density of conspecific seeds and conspecific basal area. Seedling survival was weakly negatively related to local density in Trichilia, but not in Miconia; however, in these analyses, the power was greatly reduced by relatively small sample sizes. Survival of 1-cm diameter saplings was negatively related to local basal area density in both species, but the effect was smaller in magnitude than among seeds and seedlings. Our results suggest that Janzen-Connell effects are strongest on a per-year basis at earlier life history stages, and that more work is needed to assess their magnitude and impact at those stages. Characterization of seed dispersal is also important, as it determines what local densities of conspecifics seeds and seedlings will experience. Further studies of seed and seedling biology within forest dynamics plots have the potential to greatly increase our understanding of the ecology of tropical tree species, and elucidate the mechanisms behind spatial patterns in the larger size classes of the forest dynamics plot data. Muller-Landau et al.
Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction with the WRF Model

Through a collaborative partnership, principally among NCAR, NOAA, DoD, OU/CAPS, FAA, and universities, the U.S. modeling community is developing a next-generation mesoscale model, known as the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The goals of the WRF project are to develop an advanced mesoscale forecast and data assimilation system and to accelerate research advances into operations. The model is intended to improve forecast accuracy across scales ranging from cloud to synoptic, with priority emphasis on horizontal grid resolutions of 1-10 kilometers. Numerous real-time forecasting experiments are being conducted to evaluate WRF performance in a variety of forecast applications. In addition, the model is being comprehensively tested for an ensemble approach to be implemented operationally at NCEP. This paper will describe the WRF model, discuss current status of development, and present recent results on the prediction of mesoscale weather systems.
Partial-SET: Write speedup of PCM main memory

Phase change memory (PCM) is a promising nonvolatile memory technology developed as a possible DRAM replacement. Although it offers the read latency close to that of DRAM, PCM generally suffers from the long write latency. Long write request may block the read requests on the critical path of cache/memory access, incurring adverse impact on the system performance. Besides, the write performance of PCM is very asymmetric, i.e, the SET operation (writing `1') is much slower than that of the RESET operation (writing `0'). In this work, we re-examine the resistance transform process during the SET operation of PCM and propose a novel Partial-SET scheme to alleviate the long write latency issue of PCM. During a write access to a memory line, a short Partial-SET pulse is applied first to program the PCM cells to a pre-stable state, achieving the same write latency as RESET. The partially-SET cells are then fully programmed within the retention window to preserve the data integrity. Experimental results show that our Partial-SET scheme can improve the memory access performance of PCM by more than 45% averagely with very marginal storage overhead.
JoKER: Trusted Detection of Kernel Rootkits in Android Devices via JTAG Interface

Smartphones and tablets have become prime targets for malware, due to the valuable private and corporate information they hold. While Anti-Virus (AV) program may successfully detect malicious applications (apps), they remain ineffective against low-level rootkits that evade detection mechanisms by masking their own presence. Furthermore, any detection mechanism run on the same physical device as the monitored OS can be compromised via application, kernel or boot-loader vulnerabilities. Consequentially, trusted detection of kernel rootkits in mobile devices is a challenging task in practice. In this paper we present 'JoKER' - a system which aims at detecting rootkits in the Android kernel by utilizing the hardware's Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) interface for trusted memory forensics. Our framework consists of components that extract areas of a kernel's memory and reconstruct it for further analysis. We present the overall architecture along with its implementation, and demonstrate that the system can successfully detect the presence of stealthy rootkits in the kernel. The results show that although JTAG's main purpose is system testing, it can also be used for malware detection where traditional methods fail.
Systematics and biology of Xylocopa subgenus Schonnherria (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in Argentina

Abstract Biological information on the species of the large carpenter bee Xylocopa subgenus Schonnherria occurring in Argentina is revised. Based on the appraisal of museum specimens, the study of type material, and field surveys conducted across 15 provinces between 2007 and 2011, the following seven species are recognized for the country: Xylocopa bambusae Schrottky, Xylocopa chrysopoda Schrottky, Xylocopa macrops Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, Xylocopa simillima Smith Xylocopa splendidula Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, Xylocopa pulchra Smith, and Xylocopa viridis Smith. Previous literature records of Xylocopa dimidiata Latreille, Xylocopa subcyanea Pérez, and Xylocopa varians Smith for the province of Misiones appear to have been misidentified specimens, although the presence of these species in Argentina cannot be entirely ruled out given the proximity of this province to Brazil and Paraguay where they occur; Xylocopa boops Maidl was described from a male specimen with unusually enlarged eyes and is newly synonymized under Xylocopa macrops. Males and females of all species are diagnosed, described, and figured, including details of the male genitalia. Taxonomic comments, data on the geographical distribution and nesting substrates, and identification keys to all Argentinean species of Schonnherria are provided. The nesting biologies of Xylocopa splendidula and Xylocopa viridis are documented.
The significant contribution of minor mergers to the cosmic star formation budget

We estimate an empirical lower limit for the fraction of cosmic star formation that is triggered by minor mergers in the local Universe. Splitting the star-formation budget by galaxy morphology, we find that early-type galaxies (ETGs) host �14% of the budget, while Sb/Sc galaxies host the bulk (�53%) of the local star formation activity. Recent work indicates that star formation in nearby ETGs is driven by minor mergers, implying that at least �14% of local star formation is triggered by this process. A more accurate estimate can be derived by noting that an infalling satellite likely induces a larger starburst in a galaxy of ‘later’ morphological type, both due to higher availability of gas in the accreting galaxy and because a bigger bulge better stabilizes the disk against star formation. This enables us to use the star formation in ETGs to estimate a lower limit for the fraction of star formation in late-type galaxies (LTGs) that is minormerger-driven. Using a subsample of ETGs that is mass and environment-matched to the LTGs (implying a similar infalling satellite population), we estimate this limit to be �24%. Thus, a lower limit for the fraction of cosmic star formation that is induced by minor mergers is �35% (14% [ETGs] + 0.24×86% [LTGs]). The observed positive correlation between black hole and galaxy mass further implies that a similar fraction of black hole accretion may also be triggered by minor mergers. Detailed studies of minor-merger remnants are therefore essential, to quantify the role of this important process in driving stellar mass and black hole growth in the local Universe.
Phenotypic Alteration of Astrocytes Induced by Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor in the Intact Adult Brain, As Revealed by Adenovirus-Mediated Gene Transfer

Synthesis of the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and its specific receptor (CNTFRα) is widespread in the intact CNS, but potential biological roles for this system remain elusive. Contradictory results have been obtained concerning a possible effect on the morphological and biochemical phenotype of astrocytes. To reassess this question, we have taken advantage of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into the rat brain to obtain the local release of CNTF. Stereotaxic administration of CNTF recombinant adenovirus vectors into the striatum led to phenotypic changes in astrocytes located in regions that were related axonally to striatal neurons at the injection site. Astrocytes appeared hypertrophied and displayed an increase in both GFAP and CNTF immunoreactivity. This response was observed up to 5 weeks after injection, the longest time studied. It was not observed after the administration of a control vector. The methodology used in the present study, allowing us to analyze the effect of the factor in areas remote from the injection site, has provided conclusive evidence that CNTF affects the astroglial phenotype in the intact CNS. The characteristics of these effects may explain why contradictory results have been obtained previously, because this signaling system seems to have a low efficiency and therefore requires a high local concentration of the factor close to the target cells. One might speculate as to the involvement of a CNTF astroglio–astroglial signaling system in the organized response of a population of astrocytes to changes in CNS homeostasis detected locally, even by a single cell.