Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
1 Territorial politics in the United Kingdom after devolution and regional reform : whither relative tranquillity and the suspended revolution ?

Introduction One of the principal reforms of the system of government under the Blair Governments was the devolution of power from Westminster to a set of elected meso-level institutions representing the UK's distinct territorially recognised assets: a Parliament for the nation of Scotland (1999); an assembly for the principality of Wales (1999) and an assembly for the province of Northern Ireland. At the same time in England, by far the largest and most populous nation within the UK, the Blair Governments placed a focus on the development of regional governance. Regional development agencies were established in all nine English regions. In London this was accompanied by an elected Greater London Authority, although in other regions indirectly elected regional assemblies were developed in the absence of support for elected institutions. The policy of devolution and regional reform was historically significant for its potential implications for the governance of individual territories, the politics of the UK as a whole, and for the UK's place in the European trend towards the re-valorisation of sub-state territorial units in contemporary state development. The nature, origins and implications of devolution and regionalism have inspired a considerable research literature, embracing both territory-specific and comparative research. This paper seeks to provide a perspective that seeks to take stock of the Blair Government's devolution and regional policies in the round: to contribute to an appreciation of both the achievements and legacy of the Blair era. The paper is in three sections. Section one provides a context to analysis; it outlines conceptual and historical assumptions framing our understanding of territorial politics in the UK; the pressures for change in the second half of the twentieth century; the stated 3 goals of the Labour party in opposition in proposing devolution and regional reform; and a theoretical consideration of the criteria by which the Blair Governments policies and their impact can be assessed. Section two considers the approaches adopted in introducing devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and regional reform in England over the period 1997-2007. Section three then considers the implications of these reforms for territorial politics in the UK. Overall, the analysis is influenced by the aim to explore further the concepts and interpretation of UK territorial politics pioneered by Jim Bulpitt in the contemporary analysis of post-devolution UK (Bulpitt, 1983; Governments engagement with territorial questions, and how they set about their programme of reform. In assessing the implications …
An OpenWRT solution for future wireless homes

Most of future digital services for home and office users will be deployed and delivered through the Internet and wireless connectivity. However, employing regular access points (APs) and protocols will not allow an efficient coexistence among heterogeneous application flows. Indeed, real-time and elastic applications are (and will be) supported by different protocols and featured with different performance requirements: low perpacket delay for the former and high throughput for the latter. In this work, we present a work-in-progress evaluation of a new AP prototype able to guarantee a fast and smooth data delivery for real-time streams while maintaining a high throughput for TCP-based applications. Our approach is based on a userspace modification of the AP's code based on OpenWRT operating system so as to appropriately shape transiting network traffic. Preliminary experimental results confirm that our solution represents an optimal candidate to become the center of future wireless in-home scenarios.
Active flutter suppression using robust adaptive switching control

Change of aeroservoelastic system dynamics is regarded as the continuous switching of finite models along the flight trajectory or specific flight action, and the switched system is introduced to describe the system dynamics. A robust adaptive switching control scheme is proposed for flutter suppression based on this modeling method. Fast switchings between the models and their corresponding controllers are allowed to cover the aeroservoelastic system dynamics within the flight envelope. In addition, the control scheme avoids the disadvantage of classical adaptive control schemes that system parameters should be slow-varying. Stability of the proposed control scheme is proved by the multiple Lyapunov functions method, and a sufficient condition for stability is achieved. Simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Empirical entropic contributions in computational docking: Evaluation in APS reductase complexes

The results from reiterated docking experiments may be used to evaluate an empirical vibrational entropy of binding in ligand–protein complexes. We have tested several methods for evaluating the vibrational contribution to binding of 22 nucleotide analogues to the enzyme APS reductase. These include two cluster size methods that measure the probability of finding a particular conformation, a method that estimates the extent of the local energetic well by looking at the scatter of conformations within clustered results, and an RMSD‐based method that uses the overall scatter and clustering of all conformations. We have also directly characterized the local energy landscape by randomly sampling around docked conformations. The simple cluster size method shows the best performance, improving the identification of correct conformations in multiple docking experiments. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2008
Lévy Adaptive Regression Kernels

This paper describes a new class of prior distributions for nonparametric function estimation. The unknown function is approximated as a weighted sum of kernel or generator functions with arbitrary location parameters. Scaling (and other) parameters for the generating functions are also modeled as location specific and thus are adaptive, as with wavelet bases and overcomplete dictionaries. Lévy random fields are introduced to construct prior distributions on the unknown functions, which lead to the specification of a joint prior distribution for the number of kernels, kernel regression coefficients and kernel associated parameters. Under Gaussian errors, the problem may be formulated as a sparse regression problem, with regularization induced via the Lévy random field prior. Posterior inference on the unknown functions is based on a reversible jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm. We compare the Lévy Adaptive Regression Kernel (LARK) method to wavelet-based methods using some of the standard test functions. In all cases the LARK method leads to sparser solutions and improvements in mean squared error.
Measuring and Disrupting Anti-Adblockers Using Differential Execution Analysis

Millions of people use adblockers to remove intrusive and malicious ads as well as protect themselves against tracking and pervasive surveillance. Online publishers consider adblockers a major threat to the ad-powered “free” Web. They have started to retaliate against adblockers by employing antiadblockers which can detect and stop adblock users. To counter this retaliation, adblockers in turn try to detect and filter anti-adblocking scripts. This back and forth has prompted an escalating arms race between adblockers and anti-adblockers. We want to develop a comprehensive understanding of antiadblockers, with the ultimate aim of enabling adblockers to bypass state-of-the-art anti-adblockers. In this paper, we present a differential execution analysis to automatically detect and analyze anti-adblockers. At a high level, we collect execution traces by visiting a website with and without adblockers. Through differential execution analysis, we are able to pinpoint the conditions that lead to the differences caused by anti-adblocking code. Using our system, we detect anti-adblockers on 30.5% of the Alexa top10K websites which is 5-52 times more than reported in prior literature. Unlike prior work which is limited to detecting visible reactions (e.g., warning messages) by anti-adblockers, our system can discover attempts to detect adblockers even when there is no visible reaction. From manually checking one third of the detected websites, we find that the websites that have no visible reactions constitute over 90% of the cases, completely dominating the ones that have visible warning messages. Finally, based on our findings, we further develop JavaScript rewriting and API hooking based solutions (the latter implemented as a Chrome extension) to help adblockers bypass state-of-the-art anti-adblockers.
Hallux Rigidus: A Treatment Algorithm

First metatarsophalangeal joint osteoarthritis, commonly known as hallux rigidus, is a progressive disabling condition. Several staging classification systems exist. We present a staging system incorporating radiographic findings, range of motion, and presence or absence of mid-motion pain and sesamoid pain. On the basis of these clinically significant variables, we present an algorithm for treatment of the various clinical manifestations of hallux rigidus. Finally, we describe these surgical techniques, with particular attention to cheilectomy, hemiarthroplasty, and arthrodesis.
Outage Analysis for Multiuser Two-Way Relaying in Mixed Rayleigh and Rician Fading

This Letter analyzes the outage performance of a multiuser bidirectional cooperative cellular network in which one base station (BS) and one out of N mobile stations (MSs) exchange messages with the aid of one amplify-and-forward (AF) relay. Our analysis allows for a practical fading scenario where the MS-relay and the BS-relay channels undergo independent Rayleigh and Rician fading, respectively. In this case, a tight closed-form lower bound for the outage probability of the considered system is derived. Furthermore, asymptotic analysis is performed to characterize the outage behavior in high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. Interestingly, in high SNR regime, it is analytically shown that when the number of MS is greater than one, the outage performance is dominated by the BS-relay link regardless of the number of MS and of the fading severity pertaining to MS-relay links. Finally, simulation results are presented in order to corroborate the theoretical analysis.
Bespoke processors for applications with ultra-low area and power constraints

A large number of emerging applications such as implantables, wearables, printed electronics, and IoT have ultra-low area and power constraints. These applications rely on ultra-low-power general purpose microcontrollers and microprocessors, making them the most abundant type of processor produced and used today. While general purpose processors have several advantages, such as amortized development cost across many applications, they are significantly over-provisioned for many area- and power-constrained systems, which tend to run only one or a small number of applications over their lifetime. In this paper, we make a case for bespoke processor design, an automated approach that tailors a general purpose processor IP to a target application by removing all gates from the design that can never be used by the application. Since removed gates are never used by an application, bespoke processors can achieve significantly lower area and power than their general purpose counterparts without any performance degradation. Also, gate removal can expose additional timing slack that can be exploited to increase area and power savings or performance of a bespoke design. Bespoke processor design reduces area and power by 62% and 50%, on average, while exploiting exposed timing slack improves average power savings to 65%.
Quantitative Analysis of Connectivity in the Visual Cortex: Extracting Function from Structure

It is generally agreed that information flow through the cortex is constrained by a hierarchical architecture. Lack of precise data on areal connectivity leads to indeterminacy of existing models. The authors introduce two quantitative parameters (SLN and FLN) that hold the promise of resolving such indeterminacy. In the visual system, using a very incomplete database, provisional hierarchies are in line with the recent proposal of higher functions of area V1 and suggest a hitherto unsuspected central function of the frontal eye field.
Oxygen tolerance of fresh clinical anaerobic bacteria

The oxygen tolerance and sensitivity of 57 freshly isolated anaerobic bacteria from clinical specimens was studied. All the organisms tolerated 8 h or more of exposure to oxygen in room air. Growth of the isolates in increasing oxygen concentrations demonstrated that the 57 isolates varied in oxygen sensitivity from strict to aerotolerant anaerobes. Comparison of the oxygen tolerance and sensitivity showed that the most tolerant organisms (best survival after prolonged exposure) included anaerobes capable of growth at only 0.4% or less O2 (strict) as well as those able to grow in as much as 10% O2. The least tolerant were predominately strict anaerobes. Decrease in the inoculum size from a concentration of 10(8) to 10(6) colony-forming units per ml had only a minor effect. The data indicate that the brief oxygen exposure with bench techniques in clinical laboratories would not be deleterious to the anaerobic bacteria present in clinical specimens.
The effect of between-group communication on conflict resolution in the Assurance and Chicken team games

We studied conflict resolution in two types of intergroup conflicts modeled as team games, a game of Assurance where the groups’ incentive to compete is purely fear, and a game of Chicken where the groups’ incentive to compete is purely greed. The games were operationalized as competitions between two groups with three players in each group. The players discussed the game with other ingroup members, after which they met with the members of the outgroup for a between group discussion, and finally had a within-group discussion before deciding individually whether to participate in their group’s collective effort vis-a-vis the other group. We found that all groups playing the Assurance game managed to achieve the collectively efficient outcome of zero participation, whereas groups playing the Chicken game maintained a highly inefficient participation rate of 78%. We conclude that communication between groups is very effective in bringing about a peaceful resolution if the conflict is motivated by mutual fear and practically useless if the conflict is motivated by mutual greed.
High-dose sertraline strategy for nonresponders to acute treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a multicenter double-blind trial.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose sertraline for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who failed to respond to standard sertraline acute treatment. METHOD Sixty-six nonresponders to 16 weeks of sertraline treatment who met DSM-III-R criteria for current OCD were randomly assigned, in a double-blind continuation phase of a multicenter trial, either to continue on 200 mg/day of sertraline or to increase their dose to between 250 and 400 mg/day for 12 additional weeks. Efficacy measures included the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), the National Institute of Mental Health Global Obsessive Compulsive Scale (NIMH Global OC Scale), and the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness and -Improvement (CGI-I) scales. Data were collected from July 26, 1994, to October 26, 1995. RESULTS The high-dose (250-400 mg/day, mean final dose = 357, SD = 60, N = 30) group showed significantly greater symptom improvement than the 200-mg/day group (N = 36) as measured by the YBOCS (p = .033), NIMH Global OC Scale (p = .003), and CGI-I (p = .011). Responder rates (decrease in YBOCS score of > or = 25% and a CGI-I rating < or = 3) were not significantly different for the 200-mg/day versus the high-dose sertraline group, either on completer analysis, 34% versus 52%, or on endpoint analysis, 33% versus 40%. Both treatments showed similar adverse event rates. CONCLUSION Greater symptom improvement was seen in the high-dose sertraline group compared to the 200-mg/day dose group during continuation treatment. Both dosages yielded similar safety profiles. Administration of higher than labeled doses of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be a treatment option for certain OCD patients who fail to respond to standard acute treatment.
Joint search by social and spatial proximity

The diffusion of social networks introduces new challenges and opportunities for advanced services, especially so with their ongoing addition of location-based features. We show how applications like company and friend recommendation could significantly benefit from incorporating social and spatial proximity, and study a query type that captures these two-fold semantics. We develop highly scalable algorithms for its processing, and use real social network data to empirically verify their efficiency and efficacy.
A Note on Differential Privacy: Defining Resistance to Arbitrary Side Information

In this note we give a precise formulation of “resistance to arbitrary side information” and show that several relaxations of differential privacy imply it. The formulation follows the ideas originally due to Dwork and McSherry, stated implicitly in [4]. This is, to our knowledge, the ﬁrst place such a formulation appears explicitly. The proof that relaxed deﬁnitions (and hence the schemes of [5, 10, 9]) satisfy the Bayesian formulation is new.
Before the Law: Humans and Other Animals in a Biopolitical Frame

Animal studies and biopolitics are two of the most dynamic areas of interdisciplinary scholarship, but until now, they have had little to say to each other. Bringing these two emergent areas of thought into direct conversation in "Before the Law", Cary Wolfe fosters a new discussion about the status of nonhuman animals and the shared plight of humans and animals under biopolitics. Wolfe argues that the human-animal distinction must be supplemented with the central distinction of biopolitics: the difference between those animals that are members of a community and those that are deemed killable but not murderable. From this understanding, we can begin to make sense of the fact that this distinction prevails within both the human and animal domains and address such difficult issues as why we afford some animals unprecedented levels of care and recognition while subjecting others to unparalleled forms of brutality and exploitation. Engaging with many major figures in biopolitical thought - from Heidegger, Arendt, and Foucault to Agamben, Roberto Esposito, and Derrida - Wolfe explores how biopolitics can help us understand both the ethical and political dimensions of the current questions surrounding the rights of animals.
Expect Us: Online Communities and Political Mobilization

List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Chapter 1 - Online Communities and Political Mobilization Chapter 2 - Anonymous: Carnival to Mobilization Chapter 3 - The Pirate Bay: Contribution to Mobilization Chapter 4 - World of Warcraft: Cooperation without Mobilization Chapter 5 - IGN.com: Conversation without Mobilization Chapter 6 - Expect Them Appendix - Research Methodology Notes Bibliography Index
Nanoparticles from renewable polymers

The use of polymers from natural resources can bring many benefits for novel polymeric nanoparticle systems. Such polymers have a variety of beneficial properties such as biodegradability and biocompatibility, they are readily available on large scale and at low cost. As the amount of fossil fuels decrease, their application becomes more interesting even if characterization is in many cases more challenging due to structural complexity, either by broad distribution of their molecular weights (polysaccharides, polyesters, lignin) or by complex structure (proteins, lignin). This review summarizes different sources and methods for the preparation of biopolymer-based nanoparticle systems for various applications.
Partitioned multiprocessor scheduling of mixed-criticality parallel jobs

Motivated by the increasing trend in embedded systems towards platform integration, there has been an increasing research interest in scheduling mixed-criticality systems. However, most existing efforts have concentrated on scheduling sequential tasks and ignored intra-task parallelism. In this paper, we study the scheduling of mixed-criticality parallel jobs on multiprocessor platforms. We propose a synchronous mixed-criticality job model, where each job consists of segments, each segment having an arbitrary number of parallel threads that synchronize at the end of the segment. A novel MinLoad algorithm is developed to decompose mixed-criticality parallel jobs into mixed-criticality sequential jobs. This decomposition enables us to leverage existing mixed-criticality scheduling algorithms and schedulability analysis to the multiprocessor scheduling of mixed-criticality parallel jobs. In addition, our MinLoad job decomposition algorithm is designed to make the decomposed mixed-criticality sequential tasks easier to schedule, and thus requires smaller-sized multiprocessor platforms for the mixed-criticality systems.
Valorization of Spent Escherichia coli Media Using Green Microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Feedstock Production

The coupling of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii biomass production for nutrients removal of Escherichia coli anaerobic broth (EAB) is thought to be an economically feasible option for the cultivation of microalgae. The feasibility of growing microalgae in using EAB high in nutrients for the production of more biomass was examined. EAB comprised of nutrient-abundant eﬄuents, which can be used to produce microalgae biomass and remove environment pollutant simultaneously. In this study, C. reinhardtii 21gr (cc1690) was cultivated in different diluted E. coli anaerobic broth supplemented with trace elements under mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. The results showed that C. reinhardtii grown in 1×, 1/2×, 1/5× and 1/10×E. coli anaerobic broth under mixotrophic conditions exhibited specific growth rates of 2.71, 2.68, 1.45, and 1.13 day-1, and biomass production of 201.9, 184.2, 175.5, and 163.8 mg L-1, respectively. Under heterotrophic conditions, the specific growth rates were 1.80, 1.86, 1.75, and 1.02 day-1, and biomass production were 45.6, 29.4, 15.8, and 12.1 mg L-1, respectively. The removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand, total-nitrogen and total-phosphorus from 1×E. coli anaerobic broth was 21.51, 22.41, and 15.53%. Moreover, the dry biomass had relatively high carbohydrate (44.3%) and lipid content (18.7%). Therefore, this study provides an environmentally sustainable as well economical method for biomass production in promising model microalgae and subsequently paves the way for industrial use.