Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formal semantics and verification for feature modeling

Research on features has received much attention in the domain engineering community. Feature modeling plays an important role in the design and implementation of complex software systems. However, the presentation and analysis of feature models are still largely informal. There is also an increasing need for methods and tools that can support automated feature model analysis. This paper presents a formal engineering approach to the specification and verification of feature models. A formal semantics for the feature modeling language is defined using first-order logic. It provides a precise and rigorous formal interpretation for the graphical notation. In addition, further validation of the semantics using the Z/EVES theorem prover is presented. Finally, we demonstrate that the consistency of a feature model and its configurations can be automatically verified by encoding the semantics into the Alloy Analyzer. A case study of the Key Word in Context (KWIC) index systems feature model is presented to illustrate the verification process.
Scalability in the Clouds!: A Myth or Reality?

With increasing demand of big-data processing and faster in-memory databases, cloud providers are gearing towards large virtualized instances rather than horizontal scalability. However, our experiments reveal that such instances in popular cloud services (e.g., 32 vCPUs with 208 GB supported by Google Compute Engine) do not achieve the desired scalability with increasing core count even with a simple, embarrassingly parallel job (e.g., kernel compile). On a serious note, the internal synchronization scheme (e.g., paravirtualized ticket spinlock) of the virtualized instance on a machine with higher core count (e.g., 80-core) dramatically degrades its overall performance. Our finding is different from a previously well-known scalability problem (lock contention problem), and occurs because of the sophisticated optimization techniques implemented in the hypervisor, what we call---sleepy spinlock anomaly. To solve this problem, we design and implement oticket, a variant of paravirtualized ticket spinlock that effectively scales the virtualized instances in both undersubscribed and oversubscribed environments.
Very Low Risk of Light-Induced Retinal Damage During Boston Keratoprosthesis Surgery: A Rabbit Study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the possibility of light damage to the retina by a surgical microscope during implantation of a Boston Keratoprosthesis (B-KPro) in rabbits. Methods: The retinal irradiance from a Zeiss OPMI Lumera S7 operating microscope was measured at the working distance (16.5 cm). Light transmittance through an isolated B-KPro was measured. A B-KPro was implanted into 1 eye of 12 rabbits with the optic covered during the procedure. The operated eyes were then continuously exposed to a fixed light intensity under the microscope for 1 hour. Fluorescein angiography was carried out on days 2 and 9 postsurgery, after which the animals were euthanized. Further, we compared the potential of these retinal exposures to well-accepted light safety guidelines applicable to humans. Results: Light transmittance of B-KPro revealed a blockage of short wavelengths (<390 nm) and of long wavelengths (1660–1750 nm) of light. In addition, the surgical microscope filtered a part of the blue, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths. Neither fluorescein angiography nor a histological examination showed any morphological retinal changes in our rabbits. Moreover, the retinal exposures were well below the safety limits. Conclusions: Modern surgical microscopes have filters incorporated in them that block the most damaging wavelengths of light. The B-KPro is made of 100% poly(methyl methacrylate), which makes it in itself a blocker of short wavelengths of light. No damage could be demonstrated in the animal study, and the retinal exposures were well below the safety limits. Together, these results suggest that light exposures during B-KPro surgery present a low risk of photochemical damage to the retina.
PPARγ mRNA in the adult mouse hypothalamus: distribution and regulation in response to dietary challenges

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that was originally identified as a regulator of peroxisome proliferation and adipocyte differentiation. Emerging evidence suggests that functional PPARγ signaling also occurs within the hypothalamus. However, the exact distribution and identities of PPARγ-expressing hypothalamic cells remains under debate. The present study systematically mapped PPARγ mRNA expression in the adult mouse brain using in situ hybridization histochemistry. PPARγ mRNA was found to be expressed at high levels outside the hypothalamus including the neocortex, the olfactory bulb, the organ of the vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (VOLT), and the subfornical organ. Within the hypothalamus, PPARγ was present at moderate levels in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCh) and the ependymal of the 3rd ventricle. In all examined feeding-related hypothalamic nuclei, PPARγ was expressed at very low levels that were close to the limit of detection. Using qPCR techniques, we demonstrated that PPARγ mRNA expression was upregulated in the SCh in response to fasting. Double in situ hybridization further demonstrated that PPARγ was primarily expressed in neurons rather than glia. Collectively, our observations provide a comprehensive map of PPARγ distribution in the intact adult mouse hypothalamus.
Electronic Chip-In-Place Test

Electronic Chip-in-Place Test (ECIPT) is a design approach and a test methodology for VLSI packages containing multiple semi-conductor chips. Shift register latches are used in such a way that each chip on a package is accessible for testing from the package pins without in-circuit probing. A means is therefore provided, whereby tests generated for a chip can be reapplied at the package level. The ECIPT methodology additionally provides a mechanism for simplified tests of failures associated with interchip wiring and chip I/O connections.
A Novel Analysis of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${L}_{\text{gd}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> Dependent-1/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${f}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> Noise in In<sub>0.08</sub>Al<sub>0.92</sub>N/GaN

In<sub>0.08</sub>Al<sub>0.92</sub>N/GaN fin-type high-electron mobility transistors (fin-HEMTs) with different gate-to-drain lengths (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${L} _{\text {gd}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) are fabricated and characterized by dc and low-frequency noise (LFN) measurements. The fabricated device with the largest <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${L} _{\text {gd}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> exhibits the degradation of the maximum drain current and transconductance with a positive shift of the threshold voltage. LFN measurements of the In<sub>0.08</sub>Al<sub>0.92</sub>N/GaN fin-HEMTs reveal clear 1/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${f}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> behavior of the noise spectra, and the minimum value is observed in the device at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${L} _{\text {gd}} = {20}\,\,\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The devices with smaller <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${L} _{\text {gd}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> follow a carrier number fluctuation noise model owing to electron trapping/detrapping into the In<sub>0.08</sub>Al<sub>0.92</sub>N barrier layer from the 2-D electron gas (2DEG) channel. In contrast, the device with the largest <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${L} _{\text {gd}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> shows correlated mobility fluctuations due to the large 2DEG mobility fluctuations in the large access area.
The role of glutamate in epilepsy and other CNS disorders

Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and, as such, it inevitably plays a role in the initiation and spread of seizure activity. It also plays a critical role in epileptogenesis. The process of ‘kindling’ limbic seizures in rodents by repeated electrical stimulation is dependent on activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The function of these receptors is enhanced in the hippocampus of kindled rats and in the cerebral cortex of patients with focal epilepsy. Microdialysis studies show an increase in the extracellular concentration of glutamate and aspartate before or during seizure onset, suggesting that either enhanced amino acid release or impaired uptake contributes to seizure initiation. Glutamate antagonists selective for NMDA or non-NMDA receptors are potent anticonvulsants when given systemically in a wide variety of animal models of epilepsy. They are of limited efficacy against kindled seizures in rats and (on the basis of preliminary evidence) in patients with drug-refractory complex partial seizures. Cognitive side effects appear to be a significant problem with competitive, as well as noncompetitive, NMDA antagonists. Glutamate receptor antagonists provide significant protection against brain damage following global or focal cerebral ischemia or acute traumatic injury in rodent models. Anticonvulsant compounds of the lamotrigine type, which act on sodium channels and reduce ischemia-induced glutamate release, are cerebroprotective in rodent ischemia models and are free from the cognitive side effects of NMDA-receptor antagonists.
Proteus: Objectifying the DBMS User Interface

Our thesis it that the external representation of all components of a database system should be under programmer control: objects, schemes, commands, even the representation specifications themselves. Here we give the rationale and design for the PROTEUS interface system that sits atop an object-oriented DBMS. After introducing the model, TEDM, for the DBMS, we describe the classes of objects that model components of the database of interest to PROTEUS: type definitions, representation definitions, layouts, commands, and representation mappings. The advantage of “objectifying” everything is three-fold: the database itself can manage all the information of interest to PROTEUS, representations can be changed via database updates, and the representation mappings themselves can be expressed as database commands or rules. We conclude by showing how the pieces fit together, and outline some of our current research directions.
Towards evaluating human-instructable software agents

The Bootstrapped Learning (BL) project is an attempt to create software agents (e-students) that are instructable by human teachers through natural instruction methods [Oblinger, 2006]. In this paper, we present an introduction to BL and three years of case studies investigating the use of human subjects in evaluating e-students. In our studies we investigate human teachers’ expectations of e-students and important differences between human and software learners, including the greater semantic understanding of humans, the eidetic memory of e-students, and the importance of various study parameters including timing issues and lesson complexity to human performance.
Magnetic and Recording Properties of (CoCrPt)<formula formulatype="inline"><tex>$_{1{-}{\rm x}}$</tex></formula> (SiO<formula formulatype="inline"> <tex>$_{2}$</tex></formula>)<formula formulatype="inline"><tex>$_{\rm x}$</tex> </formula> Media

In this work, we report on the determination of the optimum level of SiO<sub>2</sub> in (CoCrPt)<sub>1-x</sub> (SiO<sub>2</sub>)<sub>x </sub> perpendicular recording media. We have determined the optimum level via studies of magnetic viscosity which have been compared to recording properties. We find that the optimum level of SiO<sub>2</sub> is of the order of 10%. At this level, studies of the activation volume of reversal show that the grains become essentially exchange decoupled and that a further increase in the level of SiO<sub>2</sub> produces no further improvement in the decoupling. We also find that this level of SiO<sub>2</sub> corresponds to optimum recording performance and that increasing the level of SiO<sub>2</sub> further results in the production of a system with smaller grains where thermal loss is observed to increase dramatically
eliability of peak O 2 uptake and O 2 uptake kinetics in step exercise ests in healthy subjects

To date little is known about the reliability of peak oxygen consumption (V̇O2PEAK) in incremental metronome paced step tests (IST) and the reliability of on-kinetics V̇O2 has never been studied. We aimed to study the reliability of both tests. Eleven healthy subjects performed two ISTs until exhaustion. On two different days two duplicate 4 min constant metronome paced step tests (CST) were performed. V̇O2PEAK, mean response time (MRT) and phase II time constant ( ) were tested for reproducibility using
Recursive Group Lasso

We introduce a recursive adaptive group lasso algorithm for real-time penalized least squares prediction that produces a time sequence of optimal sparse predictor coefficient vectors. At each time index the proposed algorithm computes an exact update of the optimal -penalized recursive least squares (RLS) predictor. Each update minimizes a convex but nondifferentiable function optimization problem. We develop an on-line homotopy method to reduce the computational complexity. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the regularized RLS algorithm for a group sparse system identification problem and has lower implementation complexity than direct group lasso solvers.
FORISK: Formalizing information security risk and compliance management

Regulatory frameworks and economic pressure demand decision makers to define mitigation strategies for their operational IT risks. However, recent studies indicate the lack of IS knowledge at the management level is one reason for inadequate or nonexistent IS risk management strategies because existing approaches fall short of meeting decision makers' needs. This paper presents the FORISK project that provides a new approach to support decision makers in interactively defining the optimal set of resilient measures and security controls according to regulations and standards. FORISK addresses three essential, yet unsolved research problems: (i) the formal representation of IS standards and domain knowledge, (ii) the reliable risk determination, (iii) and the (semi-)automated countermeasure definition.
Improvement of MODIS snow cover algorithm for the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region

This work aimed to refine the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based snow cover algorithm for the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region. Taking into account the effect of the atmosphere and terrain on the satellite observations at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), particularly in heavily rugged Tibet plateau region, the surface reflectances were retrieved from the TOA reflectances after atmospheric and topographic corrections. To reduce the effects of the snow/cloud confusion, a normalized difference cloud index (NDCI) model was proposed to discriminate snow/cloud pixels, apart from use of the MODIS cloud mask product MOD35. Furthermore, MODIS land surface temperature (LST) product MOD11_L2 have been used to ensure better accuracy of the snow cover pixels. Comparisons of the resultant MODIS snow cover with those obtained respectively from high resolution Landsat ETM+ data and the MODIS snow cover product MOD10_L2 for the Mount Everest region at different seasons, showed overestimation of the MOD10_L2 snow cover with the differences of 50%, whereas the improved algorithm can estimate the snow cover for HKH region more precisely with absolute accuracy of 90%.
Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Signaling in Peripheral Immune Cells Modulates Disease Onset and Severity in Mouse Models of Huntington's Disease

Peripheral immune cells and brain microglia exhibit an activated phenotype in premanifest Huntington's disease (HD) patients that persists chronically and correlates with clinical measures of neurodegeneration. However, whether activation of the immune system contributes to neurodegeneration in HD, or is a consequence thereof, remains unclear. Signaling through cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) dampens immune activation. Here, we show that the genetic deletion of CB2 receptors in a slowly progressing HD mouse model accelerates the onset of motor deficits and increases their severity. Treatment of mice with a CB2 receptor agonist extends life span and suppresses motor deficits, synapse loss, and CNS inflammation, while a peripherally restricted CB2 receptor antagonist blocks these effects. CB2 receptors regulate blood interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, and IL-6 neutralizing antibodies partially rescue motor deficits and weight loss in HD mice. These findings support a causal link between CB2 receptor signaling in peripheral immune cells and the onset and severity of neurodegeneration in HD, and they provide a novel therapeutic approach to treat HD.
Novel "-Approximation to Data Streams in Sensor Networks

We are gradually moving into a realm where sensors, processors, memory and wireless transceivers would be seamlessly integrated together in the physical world and form a wireless sensor network. Such networks pose new challenges in data processing and transmission due to the characteristic of limited communication bandwidth and other resource constraints of sensor networks. To reduce the cost of storage, transmission and processing of time series data generated by sensor nodes, the need for more compact representations of time series data is compelling. Although a large number of data compression algorithms have been proposed to reduce data volume, their offline characteristic or super-linear time complexity prevents them from being applied directly on time series data generated by sensor nodes. Motivated by these observations, we propose an optimal online algorithm GDPLA for constructing a disconnected piecewise linear approximation of a time series which guarantees that the vertical distance between each real data point and the corresponding fit line is less than or equal to ". GDPLA not only generates the minimum number of segments to approximate a time series with precision guarantee, but also only requires linear time OðnÞ bounded by a constant coefficient 6, where unit 1 denotes the time complexity of comparing the slopes of two lines. The low cost characteristic of our method makes it a proper choice for resource-constrained WSNs. Extensive experiments on two real data sets have been conducted to demonstrate the superior compression performance of our method.
Application of orthonormal transforms to implementation of quasi-LMS/Newton algorithm

An efficient implementation of the LMS/Newton (LMSN) algorithm is proposed. The scheme uses a quasi-inverse of the correlation matrix of the input instead of its exact inverse. The proposed algorithm, which is an alternative formulation of a class of transform domain adaptive filters (TDAFs), has some advantages over the TDAF. A feature of the scheme that greatly simplifies its implementations is the possibility of coarse quantization of the stochastic gradient terms in the adjustment recursion. To back this up, an analysis of the LMSN algorithm, which includes the effect of coarse quantization of the stochastic gradient terms, is given for correlated Gaussian data. Computer simulation results that support the developed theories are also presented. >
Automatic sleep staging using a single-channel EEG modeling by Kalman Filter and HMM

This paper proposes an automatic classification system for sleep stage of persons. The sleep condition of a person is monitored by one channel electroencephalogram (EEG). Because of the non stationary nature of the signal, for the feature extraction task, it is used the coefficients of a Kalman Filter modeling. The classification task is realized by a K-Means Segmental HMM (Hidden Markov Model). To evaluate the performance of the system, it is used the MIT-BIH Polysomnographic EEG database. At the end, the results are presented and discussed.
Ocular Component Data in Schoolchildren as a Function of Age and Gender

Purpose. To describe the refractive error and ocular components of a large group of school-aged children as a function of age and gender. Methods. In this report, we describe the refractive error and ocular components of 2583 school-aged children (49.3% girls, overall mean [±SD] age 10.0 ± 2.3). Measurement methods included cycloplegic autorefraction, autokeratometry, videophakometry, and A-scan ultrasonography. For statistical comparisons across gender and age, a critical point of &agr; = 0.005 was used to assess significance because of the large sample size and the large number of comparisons made. Results. Of these 2583 children, 10.1% were myopic (−0.75 D or more myopia in both meridians), and 8.6% were hyperopic (+1.25 D or more hyperopia in both meridians). As would be expected, there was a significant effect of age on refractive error (spherical equivalent, p < 0.0001), toward less hyperopia/more myopia. There was no significant difference in the average refractive error between girls and boys (p = 0.0192). Girls had steeper corneas than boys (0.74 D steeper in the vertical meridian and 0.63 D steeper in the horizontal meridian, p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in corneal power with age (p = 0.16). Both older age and male gender were significantly associated with deeper anterior chambers (p < 0.0001 for both). The crystalline lens showed significant thinning with age (p < 0.0001), however, there was no significant difference in the lens thickness between girls and boys (p = 0.66). Both Gullstrand lens power and calculated lens power showed significant effects of age and gender (p < 0.0001 for both). Girls, on average, had Gullstrand lens powers that were 0.28 D steeper and calculated lens powers that were 0.80 D more powerful than boys. Axial length also showed significant effects of age and gender (p < 0.0001 for both). Girls’ eyes were, on average, 0.32 mm shorter than those of boys. Conclusions. These cross-sectional data show a general pattern of ocular growth, no change in corneal power, and crystalline lens thinning and flattening between the ages of 6 and 14 years. Girls tended to have steeper corneas, stronger crystalline lenses, and shorter eyes compared with boys.