Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance analysis on ranked queries in uncertain databases

Top-k processing in Uncertain Databases is semantically and computationally different from traditional top-k processing. The interplay between score and uncertainty information makes traditional top-k processing techniques inapplicable to uncertain databases. The existing approaches are all based on the assumption that the underlying data are exact (or certain). We construct a framework that encapsulates a novel probabilistic model and efficient query processing techniques to tackle the challenges raised by uncertain data settings. We introduce two effective pruning methods, spatial and probabilistic pruning, to help reduce the PRank search space. A special case of PRank with linear preference functions is also studied. Then, we seamlessly integrate these pruning heuristics into the PRank query procedure. And We would have propose and tackle the PRank query processing over the join of two distinct uncertain databases by means of J-Prank Query Processing. We provide efficient solutions to compute this ranking across the major models of uncertain data, such as attribute-level and tuple-level uncertainty. For an uncertain relation of N tuples, the processing cost is O(N log N)-no worse than simply sorting the relation. To demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed approaches in answering PRank queries, extensive experiments have been done in terms of both wall clock time and the number of candidates to be refined.
Frequency offset and symbol timing recovery in flat-fading channels: a cyclostationary approach

Two open-loop algorithms are developed for estimating jointly frequency offset and symbol timing of a linearly modulated waveform transmitted through a frequency-flat fading channel. The methods exploit the received signal's second-order cyclostationarity and, with respect to existing solutions: (1) they take into account the presence of time-selective fading effects; (2) they do not need training data; (3) they do not rely on the Gaussian assumption of the complex equivalent low-pass channel process; and (4) they are tolerant to additive stationary noise of any color or distribution. Performance analysis of the proposed methods using Monte Carlo simulations, unifications, and comparisons with existing approaches are also reported.
Studying distributed cognition of simulation-based team training with DiCoT

Abstract Health care organizations employ simulation-based team training (SBTT) to improve skill, communication and coordination in a broad range of critical care contexts. Quantitative approaches, such as team performance measurements, are predominantly used to measure SBTTs effectiveness. However, a practical evaluation method that examines how this approach supports cognition and teamwork is missing. We have applied Distributed Cognition for Teamwork (DiCoT), a method for analysing cognition and collaboration aspects of work settings, with the purpose of assessing the methodology’s usefulness for evaluating SBTTs. In a case study, we observed and analysed four Emergo Train System® simulation exercises where medical professionals trained emergency response routines. The study suggests that DiCoT is an applicable and learnable tool for determining key distributed cognition attributes of SBTTs that are of importance for the simulation validity of training environments. Moreover, we discuss and exemplify how DiCoT supports design of SBTTs with a focus on transfer and validity characteristics. Practitioner Summary: In this study, we have evaluated a method to assess simulation-based team training environments from a cognitive ergonomics perspective. Using a case study, we analysed Distributed Cognition for Teamwork (DiCoT) by applying it to the Emergo Train System®. We conclude that DiCoT is useful for SBTT evaluation and simulator (re)design.
The TViews Table in the Home

The past several years of computer interaction research have shown an increasing interest in tabletops for shared user interactions through touch or tangible objects. Digital media tables offer the potential to expand our digital interactions into casual social settings that are not appropriate for desktop platforms, such as home living rooms. We have developed a tangible media table called TViews, which provides an extensible architecture to enable multiuser interactions with a range of media applications and content via tagged tangible objects. The TViews object positioning utility functions on the surface of an embedded display and enables real-time tracking of a virtually unlimited set of uniquely identified wireless objects that can be used on the surface of any similar table. These objects can be physically customized in order to suit particular applications, and can provide additional functionality through external input and output elements on the objects themselves. In this paper, we present a first field trial of TViews to gain some initial insight into how such a device could be adopted in a real-world home.
Yttrium-90 radioembolization for colorectal cancer liver metastases in KRAS wild-type and mutant patients: Clinical and ccfDNA studies

Patients with unresectable, chemo-refractory colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRCLM) have limited local treatment options. We report our institutional experience on the efficacy of resin-based yttrium-90 (90Y) radioembolization for the treatment of CRCLM and our findings on associated circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) studies. A total of 58 patients treated with 90Y for CRCLM at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital had a median survival of 6 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.55–7.45 months] after treatment, with a 12-month survival rate of 33%. The median survival from treatment stratified by mutational status was longer in the wild-type (WT) as compared to the KRAS mutant patients at 7 vs. 5 months, but did not achieve statistical significance (p=0.059). Median tumor local control duration after 90Y treatment was 2 months (95% CI, 0.34–3.66 months) for the entire cohort and was longer in the WT vs. the mutant patients (2 vs. 1 month, respectively, p=0.088). Plasma was prospectively collected from a subset of 9 patients both before and after single lobe treatment, and ccfDNA concentration and fragmentation index (FI) were measured using quantitative PCR and atomic-force microscopy (AFM). In the WT and KRAS mutant patients, DNA FI was reduced from a median of 0.73–0.65 after treatment. A reduction in DNA FI after single lobe treatment was associated with an improved overall survival (p=0.046). Analysis by AFM of paired pre- and post-treatment samples from KRAS mutant and WT patients revealed a larger average decrease in fragment size in the WT patients (p=0.013). 90Y radioembolization extends local control for CRCLM, however, KRAS mutant tumors may be more radio-resistant to treatment. Changes in the FI of patients following treatment were noted and may be evaluated in a larger study for relevance as a biomarker of response.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging: on the assessment of data quality - a preliminary bootstrap analysis

In the field of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has proven an important method for the characterisation of ultrastructural tissue properties. Yet various technical and biological sources of signal uncertainty may prolong into variables derived from diffusion weighted images and thus compromise data validity and reliability. To gain an objective quality rating of real raw data we aimed at implementing the previously described bootstrap methodology (Efron, 1979) and investigating its sensitivity to a selection of extraneous influencing factors. We applied the bootstrap method on real DTI data volumes of six volunteers which were varied by different acquisition conditions, smoothing and artificial noising. In addition a clinical sample group of 46 Multiple Sclerosis patients and 24 healthy controls was investigated. The response variables (RV) extracted from the histogram of the confidence intervals of fractional anisotropy were mean width, peak position and height. The addition of noising showed a significant effect when exceeding about 130% of the original background noise. The application of an edge-preserving smoothing algorithm resulted in an inverse alteration of the RV. Subject motion was also clearly depicted whereas its prevention by use of a vacuum device only resulted in a marginal improvement. We also observed a marked gender-specific effect in a sample of 24 healthy control subjects the causes of which remained unclear. In contrary to this, the mere effect of a different signal intensity distribution due to illness (Multiple Sclerosis) did not alter the response variables. In conclusion bootstrap procedure could be proved to be a highly sensitive, however unspecific method in order to assess DTI data quality.
A Local Diagnosability Measure for Multiprocessor Systems

The problem of fault diagnosis has been discussed widely and the diagnosability of many well-known networks has been explored. Under the PMC model, we introduce a new measure of diagnosability, called local diagnosability, and derive some structures for determining whether a vertex of a system is locally t-diagnosable. For a hypercube, we prove that the local diagnosability of each vertex is equal to its degree under the PMC model. Then, we propose a concept for system diagnosis, called the strong local diagnosability property. A system G(V, E) is said to have a strong local diagnosability property if the local diagnosability of each vertex is equal to its degree. We show that an n-dimensional hypercube Qn has this strong property, nges3. Next, we study the local diagnosability of a faulty hypercube. We prove that Qn keeps this strong property even if it has up to n-2 faulty edges. Assuming that each vertex of a faulty hypercube Qn is incident with at least two fault-free edges, we prove Qn keeps this strong property even if it has up to 3(n-2)-1 faulty edges. Furthermore, we prove that Qn keeps this strong property no matter how many edges are faulty, provided that each vertex of a faulty hypercube Qn is incident with at least three fault-free edges. Our bounds on the number of faulty edges are all tight
A Formal Approach to Design Patterns in Re-Engineering

This paper uses a transformation from procedural design patterns to object-oriented design patterns for the re-engineering of legacy code. A formal semantics for design patterns is introduced in order to justify the preservation of functionality in the re-engineering process. We give examples of the technique on a case study of an industrial legacy system in COBOL.
A NEW HYBRID BLOCK METHOD FOR THE SOLUTION OF GENERAL THIRD ORDER INITIAL VALUE PROBLEMS OF ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

In this paper, we develop an order six block method using method of collocation and interpolation of power series approximate solution to give a system of non linear equations which is solved to give a continuous hybrid linear multistep method . The continous hybrid linear multistep method is solved for the independent solutions to give a continous hybrid block method which is then evaluated at some selected grid points to give a discrete block method . The basic properties of the discrete block method was investigated and found to be zero stable, consistent and convergent. The derived scheme was tested on some numerical examples and was found to give better approximation than the existing method.
Facultative apomixis and development of fruit in a deciduous shrub with medicinal and nutritional uses

The Himalayan Sea buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides (Elaeagnaceae) has multifarious uses and employs diverse pathways to reproduce. The species happens to be a facultative apomict, as some seeds are formed without sexual mode (adventive embryony). The combination of sexual and apomictic mode seems to provide reproductive assurance to the plants amidst a less efficient, wind pollination mode. The study provides cytogenetic evidence of the diploid nature of plants and thus adds a new example to the list of known diploid taxa that are apomictic.
Optical link optimization using embedded forward error correcting codes

The design of a single-chip optical transceiver to optimize the performance of a short-distance optical datalink is proposed. The transceiver includes an embedded hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) controller capable of operation at several gigahertz clock rates. The hybrid ARQ controller uses a combination of packet retransmission protocols and forward error correction (FEC) to minimize bit errors and achieve a transmitter power coding gain of several dB. Conventional FEC codes such as Reed-Solomon codes cannot be used due to their excessive hardware cost and delays. A practical multilevel coding scheme is explored. The inner codes consist of small linear block codes with reasonable FEC capability, such as small BCH codes, which can be encoded and decoded with reasonable hardware cost and delay. The outer code for a complete packet consists of a long linear block code with excellent error detection ability, such as a cycle redundancy check code. Low-power pipelined on-chip FEC decoders with estimated throughputs of several hundred gigabits per second per square millimeter are proposed. Mathematical analysis indicates that substantial coding gains are possible, which can be used to increase the data rate or the distance span of the link. The proposed designs can be used in short-distance optical transceivers for 10-Gb ethernet, fiberchannel, and very short reach optical datalinks, and are scalable to future two-dimensional optical datalinks with Terabits of capacity.
A Single Amino Acid in the M1 Protein Responsible for the Different Pathogenic Potentials of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Strains

Two highly pathogenic avian influenza virus strains, A/duck/Hokkaido/WZ83/2010 (H5N1) (WZ83) and A/duck/Hokkaido/WZ101/2010 (H5N1) (WZ101), which were isolated from wild ducks in Japan, were found to be genetically similar, with only two amino acid differences in their M1 and PB1 proteins at positions 43 and 317, respectively. We found that both WZ83 and WZ101 caused lethal infection in chickens but WZ101 killed them more rapidly than WZ83. Interestingly, ducks experimentally infected with WZ83 showed no or only mild clinical symptoms, whereas WZ101 was highly lethal. We then generated reassortants between these viruses and found that exchange of the M gene segment completely switched the pathogenic phenotype in both chickens and ducks, indicating that the difference in the pathogenicity for these avian species between WZ83 and WZ101 was determined by only a single amino acid in the M1 protein. It was also found that WZ101 showed higher pathogenicity than WZ83 in mice and that WZ83, whose M gene was replaced with that of WZ101, showed higher pathogenicity than wild-type WZ83, although this reassortant virus was not fully pathogenic compared to wild-type WZ101. These results suggest that the amino acid at position 43 of the M1 protein is one of the factors contributing to the pathogenicity of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in both avian and mammalian hosts.
NEAT: a novel energy analysis toolkit for free-roaming smartphones

Analyzing the power consumption of smartphones is difficult because of the complex interplay between soft- and hardware. Currently, researchers rely on mainly two options: external measurement tools, which are precise but constrain the mobility of the device and require the annotation of power traces; or modelling methods, which allow mobility and consider explicitly the state of events, but have less accuracy and lower sampling rates than external tools. We address the challenges of mobile power analysis with a novel power metering toolkit, called NEAT, which comprises a coin-sized power measurement board that fits inside a typical smartphone, and analysis software that automatically fuses the event logs taken from the phone with the obtained power trace. The combination of high-fidelity power measurements and detailed information about the state of the phone's hardware and software components allows for fine-grained analysis of complex and short-lived energy patterns. We equipped smartphones with NEAT and conducted various experiments to highlight (i) its accuracy with respect to model-based approaches, showing errors upwards of 20%; (ii) its ability to gather accurate and well annotated user-data "in the wild", which would be hard to do with current external meters; and (iii) the importance of having fine-granular and expressive traces by resolving kernel energy bugs.
The link between training satisfaction, work engagement and turnover intention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the casual relationship between training satisfaction, work engagement (WE) and turnover intention and the mediating role of WE between training satisfaction and turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 409 oil and gas professionals using an email survey questionnaire. Structural equation modelling, using Analysis of Moment Structures (IBM AMOS) 22.0, was performed to test the hypothesized model. Findings The results suggest that training satisfaction is significantly positively related to employees’ level of WE and is negatively related to turnover intention. The results also reveal that WE mediates the relationship between training satisfaction and turnover intention. Practical implications Training has long been thought to play an important role in achieving positive attitudinal and behaviours outcomes among employees. This study reconfirms these ideas and highlights the importance of training satisfaction as being key to achieving greater WE and reducing voluntary turnover. Therefore, the finding of this study have a number of implications for research and human resource development practitioners. Originality/value This study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the literature as this is the first study to demonstrate the significance of training satisfaction and the mediating effects of WE in reducing the turnover intention of employees.
Assessing the incremental benefit of an extended duration lifestyle intervention for the components of the metabolic syndrome

Background Lifestyle interventions targeting the components of the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) have been demonstrated to be a cost-effective and suitable treatment strategy for reducing one’s risk of developing coronary artery disease and diabetes. The optimal duration has not yet been defined. We sought to evaluate the incremental benefit of extending a lifestyle intervention from 3 months to 6 months. Methods We evaluated 114 participants with at least three criteria for the MetSyn in a physician-referred 6-month lifestyle intervention between August 2008 and December 2012. Baseline and follow-up physiological, biochemical, and anthropometric data were analyzed for mean change and incremental change at each time point. Results The mean age at enrollment was 53.0±10.2 years, and 42% of participants were males. The mean body mass index at enrollment was 38.2±0.86 kg/m2 for males and 38.6±0.93 kg/m2 for females. Anthropometric measures associated with weight management (body mass index, weight, and body fat percentage) improved significantly with the additional 3-month intervention (P<0.001). Systolic blood pressure (P=0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (P=0.00006) and triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance in diabetic participants (P=0.006, P=0.004, P=0.01, respectively) improved rapidly in the initial 3-month intervention without incremental benefit of the additional 3 months. Improvements in fasting insulin (P=0.01) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (P=0.02) for nondiabetic participants required the full 6-month intervention before significant reductions were achieved. Conclusion A 6-month lifestyle intervention yielded significantly better results for variables related to weight management. Standard physiological measures for the MetSyn respond rapidly in a 3-month lifestyle intervention. The long-term impact of an increased duration lifestyle intervention remains to be seen.
Algorithmic Techniques for Fault Detection for Sparse Linear Algebra

The growing complexity and variability of future computing systems is making it increasingly likely that individual circuits will produce erroneous results, especially when operated in a low energy modes. Previous techniques for Algorithm Based Fault Tolerance (ABFT) [7] have been proposed for detecting errors in dense linear operations, but have high overhead in the context of sparse problems. In this paper, we propose a set of novel techniques that minimize the overhead of applying ABFT to sparse problems. The techniques are based on the insight that we can utilize sampling techniques to approximate the checks for sparse problems, as these problems are typically well-structured and sampling produces a good approximation of the problem’s overall structure. Further, we propose algorithms for detecting errors in problems that have weak structure by first conditioning the problem to reduce the amount of variation within the problem, making it more amenable to approximation. These techniques are shown to yield up to 2x in performance improvements.
Speech enhancement for binaural hearing aids based on blind source separation

The availability of wireless technologies leads from monaural or bilateral hearing aids to binaural processing strategies. In this paper, we investigate a class of blind source separation (BSS)-based speech enhancement algorithms for binaural hearing aids. The blind binaural processing strategies are analyzed and evaluated for different scenarios, i.e., determined scenarios, where the number of sources does not exceed the number of available sensors and underdetermined scenarios, where there are more active source signals than microphones which is typical for hearing aid applications. These blind algorithms are an attractive alternative to beamforming as no a-priori knowledge on the sensor positions is required. Moreover, BSS algorithms have the advantage that their optimization criteria are solely based on the fundamental assumption of mutual statistical independence of the different source signals.
Extensions of the Sign Language Recognition and Translation Corpus RWTH-PHOENIX-Weather

This paper introduces the RWTH-PHOENIX-Weather 2014, a video-based, large vocabulary, German sign language corpus which has been extended over the last two years, tripling the size of the original corpus. The corpus contains weather forecasts simultaneously interpreted into sign language which were recorded from German public TV and manually annotated using glosses on the sentence level and semi-automatically transcribed spoken German extracted from the videos using the open-source speech recognition system RASR. Spatial annotations of the signers’ hands as well as shape and orientation annotations of the dominant hand have been added for more than 40k respectively 10k video frames creating one of the largest corpora allowing for quantitative evaluation of object tracking algorithms. Further, over 2k signs have been annotated using the SignWriting annotation system, focusing on the shape, orientation, movement as well as spatial contacts of both hands. Finally, extended recognition and translation setups are defined, and baseline results are presented.
New data on the cyst structure of Hartmannella vermiformis Page, 1967 (Lobosea, Gymnamoebia)

Summary Isolates of widely distributed amoeba species - Hartmannella vermiformis differs in the details of cyst structure. This is unusual for gymnamoebae and is important in course of modern approaches to amoebae systematic. Cysts of the isolate of this species, described here, have regular separation of the cyst wall into endocyst and ectocyst, in contrast with the “original” isolates, described by F.C. Page. Fine structure of H. vermiformis cysts is studied and discussed.