Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Token-Based Fault-Tolerant Distributed Mutual Exclusion Algorithm

In this paper, we propose a token-based distributed mutual exclusion algorithm that is resilient to site and communication failures. The protocol uses the notion of logical time to detect the loss of the token and to recover the state of the lost token. Unlike other approaches, this results in the integration of token recovery due to failures with the protocol itself. Thus, we eliminate the need for expensive election protocols that are generally used in token-based algorithms to regenerate lost tokens. We also introduce the notion of weakly consistent replicated queues that are used to ensure freedom from starvation.
Scope of Biogeography Based Optimization for Economic Load Dispatch and Multi-Objective Unit Commitment Problem

Biogeography Based Optimization (BBO) algorithm is a population-based algorithm based on biogeography concept, which uses the idea of the migration strategy of animals or other spices for solving optimization problems. Biogeography Based Optimization algorithm has a simple procedure to find the optimal solution for the non-smooth and non-convex problems through the steps of migration and mutation. This research paper presents the solution to Economic Load Dispatch Problem for IEEE 3, 4, 6 and 10-unit generating model using Biogeography Based Optimization algorithm. It also presents the mathematical formulation of scalar and multi-objective unit commitment problem, which is a further extension of economic load dispatch problem.
Rapid Immunoassay for detection of Escherichia coli O157 directly from stool specimens

A new and rapid ( < 1 h) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared with conventional sorbitol-MacConkey agar (SMAC) culture for the detection of Escherichia coli O157 from stool specimens. Among 34 positive specimens, confirmed by colony-sweeping and immunofluorescence stain methods, 6 did not exhibit visible sorbitol-negative colonies on SMAC. These six specimens would have been considered to be negative if SMAC alone had been used. The ELISA detected 31 of the 34 positive samples, including 5 of the above-mentioned 6 false-negative samples, resulting in a sensitivity and specificity of 91.2 and 99.5%, respectively. Cross-reactivity with other enteric pathogens was not noted by ELISA. The SMAC method had a sensitivity and specificity of 82.4 and 100%, respectively. The ELISA-negative specimens do not require culture confirmation, whereas positive results must be considered to be presumptive until confirmed by culture. The test is accurate and is easy to perform, making it a very efficient method for screening stool specimens for E. coli O157.
High-Frequency Ballistic Transport Phenomena in Schottky Barrier CNTFETs

The effective-mass Schrödinger equation is solved directly for the wave functions to explore the steady state and the time-dependent quantum-ballistic transport in Schottky barrier carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistors (FETs). The employed contact parameters allow for discontinuities of the effective mass at the metal-CNT interface, and carefully chosen boundary conditions minimize spurious reflections at the simulation domain boundaries. Two-port Y-parameters of a selected device structure are computed and qualitatively explained with the time dependence of coherent quantum-ballistic charge injection. The finite escape times of the charge carriers in an open quantum system are identified for determining the inertial response to high-frequency terminal signals. Since the escape times depend on the shape of the Schottky barriers, the latter contribute to the dynamic behavior of ballistic CNTFETs.
GeoDict: an integrated gazetteer

Nowadays, spatial analysis in text is widely considered as important for both researchers and users. In certain fields such as epidemiology, the extraction of spatial information in text is crucial and both resources and methods are necessary. In most of spatial analysis process, gazetteer is a commonly used resource. A gazetteer is a data source where toponyms (place name) are associated with concepts and their geographic footprint. Unfortunately, most of publicly available gazetteer are incomplete due to their initial purpose. Hence, we propose Geodict, an integrated gazetteer that contains basic yet precise information (multilingual labels, administrative boundaries polygon, etc.) which can be customized. We show its utility when using it for geoparsing (extraction of spatial entities in text). Early evaluation on toponym resolution shows promising results. (Resume d'auteur)
SWICO/S.EN.S, the Swiss WEEE recycling systems and best practices from other European systems

Waste of electrical and electronic equipment, otherwise known as e-waste, is one of the fastest growing fractions in the worldwide municipal waste stream. As this e-waste contains valuable resources which can be easily recycled, as well as hazardous substances which have to be treated in an environmentally sound manner, many countries have launched programs to deal with this challenge. These recycling systems have to be cost efficient and recover material or energy whilst still complying with environmental standards. Switzerland has two such e-waste recycling systems which were established on a voluntary basis and have been operating since 1991. This paper evaluates the historical data of one system: SWICO, and assesses the development of the system's costs. It also forecasts the development of waste volume for personal computers until the year 2020. During the setting up of SWICO many pragmatic decisions had to be made, one of which resulted in the introduction of an advanced recycling fee on sales for each electronic item. From 1994 to the present moment, SWICO has expanded its activity, lowered its fees and increased its return rate to almost 100%. In this work a comparison is made between SWICO and a similar e-waste system from Norway. Although the two systems differ somewhat in their calculation of recycling reimbursement $the Norwegian system couples these costs to actual metal and plastic prices oth systems have achieved high return rates and have lowered advanced recycling fees. They are also accepted nationwide and comply with high environmental standards. In addition to this, the Norwegian system boasts the lowest fees in Europe whilst still maintaining a high degree of transparency
ON INTERPOLATION TO A GIVEN ANALYTIC FUNCTION BY ANALYTIC FUNCTIONS OF MINIMUM NORM

and let the function f(z) be analytic in these points. To study the convergence to f(z) of the sequence of functions gR(z); here gn(z) is analytic throughout R1, coincides with f(z) in the points I,, 12, * , 1,, and among all functions uwth these two properties has the least norm in R1. This problem has been previously studied [6; 7] where norm is [lub I g,,(z) f, z in R1], and is now to be studied (? 1) where norm is measured by a surface integral over R1, or (? 2) a parametric integral over the boundary of R1, or (? 3) a line integral over the boundary of R1. If the norm is measured by the integral of the square of the modulus, we obtain by this method an expansion of f(z) in a series of orthogonal functions, an expansion whose convergence properties we study (? 4) in some detail. The asymptotic behavior of these orthogonal functions themselves and of their zeros is investigated in ? 5. 1. Interpolation by functions of minimum norm, surface integrals. If
The spo0A gene is implicated in the maintenance of non‐complementing diploids in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis can exist in a diploid state in which two genetically distinct chromosomes co‐exist in the same cell and yet only one of them is expressed, thereby determining the phenotype. Such cells are called non‐complementing diploids (Ncds). In this study, two types of experiments are reported which indicate that a previously known pleiotropic gene, spo0A, plays a role in the maintaining the diploid state, as follows, (i) When protoplasts of two Spo0A mutant strains were fused, the resulting products continued to segregate cells of both parental phenotypes for many more divisions than had been reported previously, (ii) When a stable Ned (an Ncd in which the unexpressed markers are not spontaneously activated at a detectable level) harbouring a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene on the silent chromosome was transformed with spo0A null alleles the transformants often expressed chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity. Together these results indicate that the spo0A gene is involved in maintenance of the diploid state in both unstable and stable Ncds.
Rapid single-tube screening of the C282Y hemochromatosis mutation by real-time multiplex allele-specific PCR without fluorescent probes.

BACKGROUND An accurate determination of the major HFE mutation (C282Y), which is associated with hereditary hemochromatosis, is important in diagnosis and risk assessment for this disease. We report a single-tube high-throughput PCR method for the detection of C282Y. METHODS We combined three previously described principles: allele-specific PCR, mutagenically separated PCR, and amplicon identification by specific dissociation curves. PCR amplification was performed with fluorescence detection or conventional thermocycler using the same primers, reactant constituents, and cycling protocol. Primer cross-reactions were prevented by deliberate primer:primer and primer:template mismatches. RESULTS PCR products were identified by their characteristic melting temperatures based on SYBR Green I fluorescence. For each of the 256 random and 17 known HFE C282Y samples, mutant homozygous, wild-type, and heterozygous samples were unequivocally distinguished. CONCLUSIONS This homogeneous assay is rapid, reproducible, does not require fluorescent oligonucleotide probes, and correctly identifies HFE genotypes.
Amino acid substitutions in the CytR repressor which alter its capacity to regulate gene expression

In Escherichia coli, transport and catabolism of nucleosides require expression of the genes composing the CytR regulon. Transcription initiation of cistrons in this gene family is activated by cyclic AMP-catabolite activator protein (cAMP-CAP), repressed by the CytR protein, and induced by cytidine. A random proofreading mutagenesis procedure and a genetic screen using udp-lac fusions have allowed the identification of distinct regions of the 341-amino-acid CytR polypeptide that are critical for repression of gene expression and response to induction. Determination of the ability of various CytR mutants to control gene expression in vivo indicated that the intrinsic affinity of the CytR protein for operator DNA is gene specific and that efficient repression of transcription by wild-type CytR is dependent on the interaction of CytR with cAMP-CAP. CytR mutants that were cytidine induction defective (CID) were characterized; these mutant proteins had only Asp-281 replaced. Data obtained with cytR delta M149, a dominant negative allele, indicated that the native CytR repressor is an oligomeric protein. Representative cytR mutations were combined with cytR delta M149, and the resulting hybrid repressors were tested for transdominance in a CytR+ E. coli strain. Amino acid substitutions A209E and C289Y suppressed the transdominance of CytR delta M149, suggesting that these replacements alter the normal protein contacts involved in repressor subunit-subunit association. In contrast, amino acid substitutions located in the N-terminal portion of the CytR protein had no effect on the transdominance of CytR delta M149. The results from this study suggest that the CytR repressor is an oligomeric, allosteric protein in which conformational changes are required for repression and derepression.
Molecular Epidemiology of Clinical Cryptococcus neoformans Isolates in Seoul, Korea

Abstract Cryptococcal infection is primarily caused by two species, Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii. Between the two species, C. neoformans var. grubii is the major causative agent of cryptococcosis in Asia. We investigated the molecular characteristics of 46 isolates of C. neoformans from patients with cryptococcosis between 2008 and 2012 in Seoul, Korea. All the isolates were determined to be C. neoformans var. grubii (serotype A), mating type MATα, and molecular type VNI by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the URA5 gene. Multilocus sequencing type (MLST) analysis using the International Society of Human and Animal Mycoses (ISHAM) consensus MLST scheme identified two sequence types (ST). Out of the 46 strains, 44 (95.7%) were identified as ST5, and remaining 2 were identified as ST31. Our study revealed that the clinical strains of C. neoformans in Korea are genetically homogeneous with the VNI/ST5 genotypes, and new appearance of VNI/ST31 genotype may serve as an important indicator of global genetic analysis.
Modeling of oxidation-induced strain and its effect on the electronic properties of Si waveguides

We have studied the influence of oxidation-induced strain on the electronic structure in Si quantum wires and quantum point contacts. The strain calculations were done using a semiempirical approximation which enabled three-dimensional (3-D) strain simulations of the device structures. The strain-induced deformation of the conduction band gives rise to a 3-D potential minimum having a depth of /spl sim/35 meV. In addition to the formation of localized electron states in the channel, our calculations predict crossing of transverse energy levels corresponding to different conduction band minima. Our calculations also predict strain-induced channeling of electrons to the edges of the structure.
Optimizing the concurrency for a group of design activities

This research focuses upon the optimization of the concurrency between upstream product design activity and downstream process design activities in the concurrent engineering product development pattern. First, a new model of concurrent product development process, i.e., the design activity group model, is built. In this model, the product and process design activities are carried out concurrently with the whole design process divided into several stages, every two of which are separated by a design review activity. The design review activities may lead to design iterations at a certain rate of probability. Therefore, a probability theory-based method is proposed to compute the mean duration of the design activity group and the mean workloads of all the design and review activities, with design iterations taken into consideration. Then, the problem of concurrency optimization is defined mathematically, whose objective is to minimize the total costs for delay of design activity group completion time and unnecessary design revision workloads. Our research proves that the cost function is convex with respect to the concurrent (or overlap) degree between design activities and that it must have a minimum value at a unique optimum point. Based on this property, a one-dimensional search algorithm that is exponentially converged is finally proposed for solving the problem.
In vitro and In vivo Radiosensitization of Glioblastoma Cells by the Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor E7016

Purpose: Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are undergoing clinical evaluation for cancer therapy. Because PARP inhibition has been shown to enhance tumor cell sensitivity to radiation, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of the novel PARP inhibitor E7016. Experimental Design: The effect of E7016 on the in vitro radiosensitivity of tumor cell lines was evaluated using clonogenic survival. DNA damage and repair were measured using γH2AX foci and neutral comet assay. Mitotic catastrophe was determined by immunostaining. Tumor growth delay was evaluated in mice for the effect of E7016 on in vivo (U251) tumor radiosensitivity. Results: Cell lines exposed to E7016 preirradiation yielded an increase in radiosensitivity with dose enhancement factors at a surviving fraction of 0.1 from 1.4 to 1.7. To assess DNA double-strand breaks repair, γH2AX measured at 24 hours postirradiation had significantly more foci per cell in the E7016/irradiation group versus irradiation alone. Neutral comet assay further suggested unrepaired double-strand breaks with significantly greater DNA damage at 6 hours postirradiation in the combination group versus irradiation alone. Mitotic catastrophe staining revealed a significantly greater number of cells staining positive at 24 hours postirradiation in the combination group. In vivo, mice treated with E7016/irradiation/temozolomide had an additional growth delay of six days compared with the combination of temozolomide and irradiation. Conclusions: These results indicate that E7016 can enhance tumor cell radiosensitivity in vitro and in vivo through the inhibition of DNA repair. Moreover, enhanced growth delay with the addition of E7016 to temozolomide and radiotherapy in a glioma mouse model suggests a potential role for this drug in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.
A Software System for Multicriteria Analysis and Optimization

The multicriteria analysis (MA) and multicriteria optimization (MO) problems are multicriteria decision making problems. In MA and MO problems several criteria are simultaneously optimized. In the general case there does not exist one alternative(solution), which optimizes all the criteria. The solution of MA or MO problem is a set of alternatives, called a set of the non-dominating or of the Pareto optimal alternatives. Each alternative in this set could be a solution of the multicriteria problem. In order to select one alternative, it is necessary to have additional information set by the so-called decision maker (DM). The information that the DM provides reflects his/ her global preferences with respect to the quality of the alternative sought. The methods developed to solve MA problems, can be grouped in three separate classes: weighting methods, outranking methods and interactive methods. The main element in the weighting methods is the way of determining the criteria weights, which reflect DM’s preferences to the highest degree. Many methods for criteria weighting have been developed. A value tradeoff method is proposed in [10]. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP weighting method) is developed in [30], using pair-wise criteria comparison. This method is generalized to reflect DM’s uncertainty about the estimates in the reciprocal matrix. A direct ranking and rating method is proposed in [40]. A mathematical programming model with sensitivity analysis is used in [15] to determine the intervals of weights, within which the same ranking result is produced. The weighting methods use a DM’s preference model, which does not allow the existence of incomparable alternatives and the preference information obtained by the DM (different types of criteria comparison) is sufficient to determine whether one of the alternatives must be preferred or whether the two alternatives are equal for the DM.
Extraction of surrogate respiratory activity from pulse oximeter signals using SSA

Patient's condition in operation theaters (OTs), postoperative ICUs and critical care units (CCUs) is continuously monitored for the vital parameters such as pulse rate, oxygen saturation, breathing rate, blood pressure and others. For monitoring patients, not only in these units as well as in special situations such as cardiopulmonary and sleep disorder investigations, the breath related activity of the patient can be extracted from other physiological signals having respiratory influence such as pulse oximeter's photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals. In such situations accurate extraction of respiratory information from the PPG signal is essential to make it an alternative to all the cumbersome direct recording methods and viable under clinical settings. In this paper, we present a simple yet effective method, based on singular spectrum analysis (SSA), for extraction of respiratory activity from PPG signals. The method is applied on, PPG data collected from 12 different subjects in the laboratory with the help of an indigenously constructed prototype circuit. Each such data set consists, simultaneously recorded PPG and reference respiratory signals. The extracted respiratory signals are compared with the reference respiratory signals. Statistical parameters such as relative correlation co-efficient (RCC) in time domain as well as magnitude squared coherence (MSC) in frequency domain are used for performance evaluation along with error analysis using the accuracy rate (AcR) and normalized mean square error (NRMSE). Experimental results have shown a good acceptance for the extracted signal when compared to the originally recorded respiratory signal. The proposed technique could become an efficient approach for extraction of respiratory activity from PPG signals, avoiding usage of additional specialized sensor for recording of respiratory activity of the patient.
Duration and pauses as boundary-markers in speech: a cross-linguistic study

Duration is an important feature both to achieve high-quality synthesis and as a marker of phrasal organization in speech. In this study, we investigate pauses and durational patterns in English and Mandarin spontaneous conversation, as well as how reliably such elements can serve as boundary-marking predictors cross-linguistically. Results show that pause duration is significantly correlated with specific boundary status and that syllable duration is inversely correlated with distance to phrase end in both English and Chinese. Our findings support the view that duration features are highly consistent and that it is useful to integrate such knowledge to enhance performance in interactive systems.
Slotted vias for dual damascene interconnects in 1 Gb DRAMs

A novel interconnect scheme is presented which has been used to significantly reduce the chip size of an 1 Gb SDRAM chip. The key element is the use of slotted vias for low resistance horizontal interconnects. This allows us to combine low capacitance/high resistance lines with low resistance/high capacitance lines. The slotted vias are realized by a dual damascene integration scheme without adding an additional mask level or process cost, with excellent continuity yield and good electromigration performance.
High-Fill-Factor  $60\times 1$  SPAD Array With 60 Subnanosecond Integrated TDCs

This letter presents a high-fill-factor 60 × 1 linear array of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) and 60 integrated time-to-digital converters (TDCs). The 100-μm diameter SPAD has high photon detection efficiency (50% at 420 nm), very low dark count rate (2.5 kcps at room temperature), and negligible crosstalk (~0.1% between adjacent pixels). The TDC resolution is 250 ps and its single-shot precision of 200-ps rms is limited just by the quantization noise. Very good linearity (DNL = 5% LSB rms and INL = 30% LSB rms) is achieved because of the sliding scale technique. The overall fill-factor of the array is 52%. This chip is suitable for many advanced spectroscopic applications, since it provides 60 independent single-photon detectors and the corresponding counting and timing electronics within just one integrated circuit.