Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurocomputing and Associative Memories Based on Emerging Technologies: Co-optimization of Technology and Architecture

Acknowledgments All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds! I would like to first express my sincerest gratitude to my advisor, Prof. Larry Pileggi, for his excellent guidance throughout my graduate studies. This research would not have been possible without his continuous support, inexhaustible funding and exceptional vision. He has taught me many crucial things, among which are how to think analytically and critically, see through what other people think impossible, judge everything from both positive and negative sides, and not lose hope, especially when it comes to this line of work. " There is no black or white when you are doing research. There is always gray somewhere. That is what research is, " he has always reminded me. His remarkable comments and suggestions constitute a big portion of this interdisciplinary study and have helped me complete my PhD much easier than what I had initially thought. Next I would like to thank my other thesis committee members, Prof. Bourianoff (Intel Corporation) for their significant help and feedback as well as accepting my invitation in the first place. iv I would like to also appreciate my lab members for their helpful discussions and brilliant advices in addition to always forming a motivating atmosphere in the workplace. In particular, I Last but not least, I would like to express my special and deepest thanks to my family for everything in my life: my mother, Nuray Calayir; my father, Yusuf Calayir; my brothers, Enes and Muhammed Uveys Calayir; my little sister, Zeynep Betul Calayir; and my beloved wife, Zehra Calayir. I would also like to specially thank my brother, Enes Calayir, for being a perfect and elusive comrade as a PhD student here with me at Carnegie Mellon University. I would not have survived during my PhD without his invaluable support and companionship as well as his unexcelled brotherhood. conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Intelligence Advanced Research Program Agency and Abstract Neurocomputers offer a massively parallel computing paradigm by mimicking the human brain. Their efficient use in statistical information processing has been proposed to overcome critical bottlenecks with traditional computing schemes for applications such as image and speech processing, and associative memory. In neural networks information is generally represented by phase (e.g., oscillatory neural networks) or amplitude (e.g., cellular neural …
Checking and Correcting the Source Code of Web Pages for Accessibility

This paper aims to propose and experiment a framework for checking and correcting websites for accessibility. Existing tools usually check the WCAG-conformance of HTML client pages (that contain the static elements to be displayed through a browser to end users at a moment). Consequently, web developers have to do tedious works of identifying which parts of server source pages (i.e. server-side source codes that generate HTML client pages) cause non-conformant client elements. Unlike these tools, our framework allows directly reporting and suggesting solutions for the elements in the server source pages. The proposed method composes of four steps. First, the HTML client page and the server source page are parsed. Second, the elements of HTML client page that are non-conformant with the WCAG success criteria are identified and reported. Third, a mapping between the HTML client page and the server source page is established. Fourth, fixes to the server source page are suggested; this implies automatic modification of the code of server source page. Therefore, this framework can be applied to create new accessible websites, or to improve the accessibility of existing websites.
Distance Matters

Giant strides in information technology at the turn of the century may have unleashed unreachable goals. With the invention of groupware, people expect to communicate easily with each other and accomplish difficult work even though they are remotely located or rarely overlap in time. Major corporations launch global teams, expecting that technology will make "virtual collocation" possible. Federal research money encourages global science through the establishment of "collaboratories. " We review over 10 years of field and laboratory investigations of collocated and noncollocated synchronous group collaborations. In particular, we compare collocated work with remote work as it is possible today and comment on the promise of remote work tomorrow. We focus on the sociotechnical conditions required for effective distance work and bring together the results with four key concepts: common ground, coupling of work, collaboration readiness, and collaboration technology readiness. Groups with high common ground and loosely coupled work, with readiness both for collaboration and collaboration technology, have a chance at succeeding with remote work. Deviations from each of these create strain on the relationships among teammates and require changes in the work or processes of collaboration to succeed. Often they do not succeed because distance still matters.
Natural monopoly regulation: Principles and practice

1. Introduction to regulatory economics Part I. Optimal pricing and investment for natural monopolies: 2. Natural monopoly and the justification for regulation 3. Efficient pricing using linear prices 4. Efficient pricing using nonlinear prices 5. Peak-load pricing 6. Pricing and capacity under stochastic demand 7. Sustainability of natural monopolies Part II. Natural monopoly regulation in practice: 8. Regulation in practice: Why and how are firms regulated? 9. Models of regulatory constraints 10. Technological change under regulation 11. Partial regulation, deregulation, and diversification 12. Alternatives to traditional regulation.
Forecasting airborne pollen concentration of Poaceae (Grass) and Oleaceae (Olive), using Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic algorithms, in Thessaloniki, Greece

The impact of airborne pollen on human health was recognized many years ago as high pollen concentrations of specific taxa are responsible for triggering allergic reactions to humans, therefore affecting the quality of life. In this study, we develop data-driven pollen concentration forecasting models for the city of Thessaloniki (Greece), using Artificial Neural Networks - Multi-Layer Perceptron (ANN-MLP). The data correspond to the time period 1987 – 2002 and consist of daily time-series of pollen concentrations and several meteorological parameters. We focus on the taxa of Poaceae (Grass) and Oleaceae (Olive), both known to be of high allergenicity to humans. The input variables (features) for the models were selected with the aid of a multi-objective optimization method that employed genetic algorithms. For this purpose, the number of features and the performance of the models were optimized. The resulting models indicated satisfactory performance with an Index of Agreement (IA) up to 0.93 when predicting pollen concentrations 1 day ahead, whereas the same statistical index decreases to 0.85 when the forecasting horizon is 7 days ahead, meaning that they are suitable for operational implementation.
How Cells Integrate Complex Stimuli: The Effect of Feedback from Phosphoinositides and Cell Shape on Cell Polarization and Motility

To regulate shape changes, motility and chemotaxis in eukaryotic cells, signal transduction pathways channel extracellular stimuli to the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. The complexity of such networks makes it difficult to understand the roles of individual components, let alone their interactions and multiple feedbacks within a given layer and between layers of signalling. Even more challenging is the question of if and how the shape of the cell affects and is affected by this internal spatiotemporal reorganization. Here we build on our previous 2D cell motility model where signalling from the Rho family GTPases (Cdc42, Rac, and Rho) was shown to organize the cell polarization, actin reorganization, shape change, and motility in simple gradients. We extend this work in two ways: First, we investigate the effects of the feedback between the phosphoinositides (PIs) , and Rho family GTPases. We show how that feedback increases heights and breadths of zones of Cdc42 activity, facilitating global communication between competing cell “fronts”. This hastens the commitment to a single lamellipodium initiated in response to multiple, complex, or rapidly changing stimuli. Second, we show how cell shape feeds back on internal distribution of GTPases. Constraints on chemical isocline curvature imposed by boundary conditions results in the fact that dynamic cell shape leads to faster biochemical redistribution when the cell is repolarized. Cells with frozen cytoskeleton, and static shapes, consequently respond more slowly to reorienting stimuli than cells with dynamic shape changes, the degree of the shape-induced effects being proportional to the extent of cell deformation. We explain these concepts in the context of several in silico experiments using our 2D computational cell model.
Use of corticosteroids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab: treatment implications based on a real-world Canadian population

Objective To describe the rate of concomitant oral corticosteroid use at antitumour necrosis factor (TNF) initiation and at disease remission, and to assess its effect on incidence of infection and sustainability of remission among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with infliximab in Canadian routine care. Methods Biological naïve patients with RA followed in the Biologic Treatment Registry Across Canada (BioTRAC) were included. The time-dependent association between corticosteroid dose (no use, ≤5 mg/day, >5 mg/day) and the incidence of first infection, while considering possible confounders, remission sustainability and the incidence of subsequent infections were assessed with Cox regression. Results 838 patients were included; mean (SD) baseline age and disease duration were 55.6 (13.5) and 10.5 (9.8) years, respectively. After a mean (SD) of 51.3 (43.6) months, the total incidence of adverse events (AEs) and infections were 110.2 and 19.6 per 100 person-years (PY), respectively. In multivariate analysis, the HR (95% CI) for acquiring an infection was 2.48 (1.24 to 4.98) with >5 mg/day of corticosteroids versus no corticosteroids. Similarly, ≤5 mg/day of corticosteroids was associated with increased hazard for infection (2.12 (0.97 to 4.66)). Despite DAS28 (disease activity score 28) or Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) remission, corticosteroids were continued in 16.4% and 16.7% of cases, respectively. Continued corticosteroid treatment was not associated with sustainability of remission (HRDAS28 (95% CI) 1.40 (0.95 to 2.06); HRCDAI 1.19 (0.75 to 1.88)), however, it had a significant impact on development of infection (HRDAS28 (95% CI) 1.78 (1.00 to 3.19); HRCDAI 2.38 (1.14 to 4.99)). Conclusions Oral corticosteroid treatment was associated with increased risk of development of infection without impacting sustainability of remission. These results support the notion that corticosteroids should be used concomitantly with anti-TNF for the shortest period possible to achieve remission, and then tapered. Trial registration number NCT00741793.
Association between NSAIDs and Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. Clostridium difficile infection is a leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea in developed countries. Studies evaluating the associations of increased risk of community-acquired CDAD and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have yielded inconclusive results. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the odds of NSAID exposure in patients with CDAD versus patients without CDAD in both community-based and healthcare-associated settings. Methods. Relevant observational studies indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE up to February 2015 were analyzed and data were extracted from nine studies. Of these, eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results. A search of the databases resulted in 987 articles. The nine studies from which data were extracted involved over 39,000 subjects. The pooled odds ratio for history of NSAID use in participants with CDAD compared with controls was 1.41 (95% CI 1.06–1.87; p < 0.01), indicating a significant increased odds of CDAD among patients exposed to NSAIDs. Conclusions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its nature to demonstrate the association between the use of NSAIDs and increased risk of CDAD. Further studies to evaluate if any specific types of NSAIDs can increase the risk of CDAD are warranted.
Trusted Virtual Private Datacenter: A Model toward Secure IaaS Cloud

Cloud computing enables organizations to realize the commercial benefits while facing the new security issues. In this paper, we presents a security model for called the Trusted Private Virtual Data center (TVPDc) that offering centralized security management of the computing and storage resources distributed in different locations and physical machines within an IaaS cloud. The TVPDc model can satisfy the need of the organizations for privacy protection and data integrity guarantees and enhances the system management capabilities in virtualized environments.
A highly efficient modular multiplication algorithm for finite field arithmetic in GF(P)

The performance of today’s public key cryptosystems depends mainly on the efficiency of the underlying finite field arithmetic, especially the modular multiplication. In this work we propose a new modular multiplication algorithm for GF(P ) which has a complexity of only n2 + 7n. To our knowledge this is superior to the complexity values of any other modular multiplication algorithm for GF(P ).
Automatic 3-D segmentation of internal structures of the head in MR images using a combination of similarity and free-form transformations. I. Methodology and validation on normal subjects

The study presented in this paper tests the hypothesis that the combination of a global similarity transformation and local free-form deformations can be used for the accurate segmentation of internal structures in MR images of the brain. To quantitatively evaluate the authors' approach, the entire brain, the cerebellum, and the head of the caudate have been segmented manually by two raters on one of the volumes (the reference volume) and mapped back onto all the other volumes, using the computed transformations. The contours so obtained have been compared to contours drawn manually around the structures of interest in each individual brain. Manual delineation was performed twice by the same two raters to test inter- and intrarater variability. For the brain and the cerebellum, results indicate that for each rater, contours obtained manually and contours obtained automatically by deforming his own atlas are virtually indistinguishable. Furthermore, contours obtained manually by one rater and contours obtained automatically by deforming this rater's own atlas are more similar than contours obtained manually by two raters. For the caudate, manual intra- and interrater similarity indexes remain slightly better than manual versus automatic indexes, mainly because of the spatial resolution of the images used in this study. Qualitative results also suggest that this method can be used for the segmentation of more complex structures, such as the hippocampus.
Price and Non-Price Competitiveness of Exports of Manufactures

This paper develops a demand function for Greece’s exports of manufactures according to New Trade Theory. The sample covers a rather long period of four decades with exports aggregated based on industrial rather than on trade classification. The study contributes to a better understanding of the effects of export prices, domestic and competitors’, as well as of non-price competitiveness approximated with capital stock, on export performance. The empirical estimation uses the Johansen maximum likelihood approach in the long run and a dynamic errorcorrection equation in the short run. The estimated long-run and short-run relationships follow the economic theory and are remarkably stable. It is shown that non-price competitiveness plays a vital role in explaining export performance in the long run as well as in the short run and that failure to include it in the export equation may lead to mis-specification error. As opposed to conventional models of export demand where income effects are very high, in the present study foreign income has a moderately high effect on exports in the long run and no effect in the short run. Exports are also sensitive to domestic and competitors’ prices in the long run, but cost and price competitiveness elasticities are close to one, indicating that Greek exporters have some ability to compete on the basis of prices.
Scaling of Black Hole Accretion Discs from Gamma-Ray Bursts and Black Hole X-Ray Binaries to Active Galactic Nuclei

I consider how physical processes scale over eight orders of magnitude in black hole mass, from stellar masses in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and black-hole X-ray binaries (BHXRB) to supermassive active galactic nuclei (AGN). Accretion rates onto stellar mass black holes range over more than sixteen orders of magnitude, from the lower luminosity BHXRB to GRB. These enormous parameter ranges correspond to qualitative as well as quantitative differences in behavior. The fundamental questions involve the balance between nonequilibrium and thermalized plasmas. When energy fluxes exceed a critical value $\sim 10^{29}$ erg/cm$^2$s, as in GRB, a black-body equilibrium pair plasma forms. At the lower fluxes found in AGN, BHXRB and microquasars, accretion power electrodynamically accelerates a small number of very energetic particles, explaining their non-thermal spectra and the high energy gamma-ray emission of blazars. Ultra-high energy cosmic rays may be accelerated by massive black holes, otherwise undetectable, with very low thermal luminosities. New-born fast high-field pulsars may be in the black-body equilibrium regime, resembling SGR in permanent outburst. I also consider the question, significant for the acceleration of nonthermal particles in GRB outflows, of whether collisionless plasmas interpenetrate rather than forming hydrodynamic shocks, and propose this as an alternative to internal shock models of GRB.
Using Computer Accompaniment to Assist Networked Music Performance

This paper proposes a novel scheme for audio communication in synchronous musical performances carried out over computer networks. The proposed scheme uses techniques inspired from computer accompaniment systems, in which a software agent follows the performance of a human musician in real-time, by synchronizing a pre-record ed musical accompaniment to the live performance. In networked settings, we attempt to represent each remote perf ormer participating in the networked session by a local s oftware agent, which adapts a pre-recorded solo per formance of each musician to the live music being performed at remot e locations.
Panoramic Image Stitching

—This thesis investigates the panoramic image stitching problem in computer vision area. The panoramic image stitching algorithms are divided into image alignment and image stitching approaches. The former can find the correspondence relationships among images with certain degrees of overlap, while the latter takes the correspondence relationships estimated by the registration algorithm and uses blending method to blend images in a seamless manner. Furthermore, image stitching algorithm is able to solve blurring or ghosting effects resulted from scene movements and exposure differences. This paper adopts the feature-based alignment algorithms and blending algorithms to produce high-quality image mosaics.
Momentum Trading by Institutions

We document the equity trading practices of approximately 1,200 institutions from the third quarter of 1987 through the third quarter of 1995. We decompose trading by institutions into the initiation of new positions (entry), the termination of previous positions (exit), and adjustments to ongoing holdings. Institutions act as momentum traders when they enter stocks but as contrarian traders when they exit or make adjustments to ongoing holdings. We find significant differences in trading practices among different types of institutions.
Moral Dilemmas Film Task: a study of spontaneous narratives by individuals with autism spectrum conditions

People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have difficulties with mentalizing, empathy, and narrative comprehension. A new test of social and narrative cognition, the Moral Dilemmas Film Task, was developed to probe individuals' spontaneous understanding of naturalistic film scenes. Twenty‐eight individuals with ASC and 28 neurotypical controls, matched for age, sex, and IQ, watched four short emotionally charged film clips each depicting a moral dilemma, and were asked to write about what they had seen. Individuals with ASC produced significantly shorter film‐based narratives and showed a smaller bias for mental states over objects in their narratives than controls. A significant correlation was found between verbal IQ and the level of mentalizing in film narratives for the ASC group, but not the control group, while the reverse pattern was found with a measure of self‐reported cognitive and affective empathy. These results suggest that to the extent that both groups succeed in viewing moral dilemmas in terms of mental content, they do so in different ways, with individuals with ASC using verbal scaffolding to increase their ability to draw meaning from social scenes. The well‐established empathy deficit in ASC extends to spontaneous interpretation of moral dilemmas. This new film task has the potential to assay different aspects of how the social world is represented differently in ASC, including during moral comprehension.
In vivo antileishmanial activity and chemical profile of polar extract from Selaginella sellowii

The polar hydroethanolic extract from Selaginella sellowii(SSPHE) has been previously proven active on intracellular amastigotes (in vitro test) and now was tested on hamsters infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis (in vivo test). SSPHE suppressed a 100% of the parasite load in the infection site and draining lymph nodes at an intralesional dose of 50 mg/kg/day × 5, which was similar to the results observed in hamsters treated with N-methylglucamine antimonate (Sb) (28 mg/Kg/day × 5). When orally administered, SSPHE (50 mg/kg/day × 20) suppressed 99.2% of the parasite load in infected footpads, while Sb suppressed 98.5%. SSPHE also enhanced the release of nitric oxide through the intralesional route in comparison to Sb. The chemical fingerprint of SSPHE by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and tandem mass spectrometry showed the presence of biflavonoids and high molecular weight phenylpropanoid glycosides. These compounds may have a synergistic action in vivo. Histopathological study revealed that the intralesional treatment with SSPHE induced an intense inflammatory infiltrate, composed mainly of mononuclear cells. The present findings reinforce the potential of this natural product as a source of future drug candidates for American cutaneous leishmaniasis.