Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallel Graph Partitioning for Complex Networks

Processing large complex networks like social networks or web graphs has recently attracted considerable interest. To do this in parallel, we need to partition them into pieces of about equal size. Unfortunately, previous parallel graph practitioners originally developed for more regular mesh-like networks do not work well for these networks. This paper addresses this problem by parallelizing and adapting the label propagation technique originally developed for graph clustering. By introducing size constraints, label propagation becomes applicable for both the coarsening and the refinement phase of multilevel graph partitioning. We obtain very high quality by applying a highly parallel evolutionary algorithm to the coarsest graph. The resulting system is both more scalable and achieves higher quality than state-of-the-art systems like ParMetis or PT-Scotch. For large complex networks the performance differences are very big. As an example, our algorithm partitions a web graph with 3.3G edges in 16 seconds using 512 cores of a high-performance cluster while producing a high quality partition -- none of the competing systems can handle this graph on our system.
Effects of selenium, calcium and calcium ionophore on human oocytes in vitro maturation in a chemically defined medium

Background: In vitro maturation (IVM) of human oocytes is an emerging procedure quickly incorporated into the world of assisted reproductive technologies. As an effective method of in vitro maturation, several studies have reported the critical role of differentions on activating the complex process involved in both gamete maturation and fertilization. Objective: In this study, we supplemented a chemically defined medium with different combinations of selenium, calcium and calcium ionophore concentrations to obtain the best rate of human oocytes maturation, survival, and fertilization. Materials and Methods: As an experimental study, Three combinations of [selenium (5 μg/ml), calcium (5 μg/ml) and calcium ionophore (1 μg/ml)], [selenium (10 μg/ml), calcium (7 μg/ml) and calcium ionophore (2 μg/ml)] and [selenium (15 μg/ml), calcium (10 μg/ml) and calcium ionophore (5 μg/ml)] added to the chemically defined medium and the morphology of oocytes assessed after 22-24 hours in vitro maturation of the oocytes. Results: The highest percentage of MII (meiosis II) oocytes (68%), developing beyond the morula (20.1%) and the blastocyst formation (11.1%) observed in oocytes treated with 15µg/ml selenium, 10µg/ml calcium and 5µg/ml calcium ionophore. Moreover, we showed the significant rate of survival in each three combinations after 36, 72 and 96 hours. Conclusion: Maturation and activation of oocytes may be triggered by changes in intracellular ion concentrations as second messengers in signal transduction pathways. Here, we received the highest percentage of in vitro maturation and fertilization among three combinations of selenium, calcium and calcium ionophore treatments. Using this combination of ions beside other factors might be useful for the enrichment of the human oocytes IVM medium.
Design and Evaluation of Voriconazole Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Ophthalmic Application

Voriconazole is a second-generation antifungal agent with excellent broad spectrum of antifungal activity commercially available for oral and intravenous administration. Systemic administration of voriconazole is associated with side effects including visual and hepatic abnormalities. This study assessed the feasibility of using solid lipid nanoparticles for ocular delivery of voriconazole adopting stearic acid as lipidic material, tween 80 as a stabilizer, and Carbopol 934 as controlled release agent and for increasing the precorneal residence time in eye. The systems were prepared using two different methods, that is, ultrasonication method and microemulsion technique. The results indicated that the larger particle size of SLNs was found with microemulsion technique (308 ± 3.52 nm to 343 ± 3.51) compared to SLN prepared with ultrasonication method (234 ± 3.52 nm to 288 ± 4.58 nm). The polydispersity index values were less than 0.3 for all formulations and zeta potential of the prepared formulations by these two methods varied from −22.71 ± 0.63 mV to −28.86 ± 0.58 mV. Powder X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry indicated decrease in crystallinity of drug. The in vitro release study and the SLN formulations prepared with ultrasonication method demonstrated sustained release up to 12 hours. This study demonstrated that SLN prepared by ultrasonication method is more suitable than microemulsion technique without causing any significant effect on corneal hydration level.
Wedderburn polynomials over division rings, II

A polynomial f(t) in an Ore extension K[t;S,D] over a division ring K is a Wedderburn polynomial if f(t) is monic and is the minimal polynomial of an algebraic subset of K. These polynomials have been studied in [LL5]. In this paper, we continue this study and give some applications to triangulation, diagonalization and eigenvalues of matrices over a division ring in the general setting of (S,D)-pseudo-linear transformations. In the last section we introduce and study the notion of G-algebraic sets which, in particular, permits generalization of Wedderburn’s theorem relative to factorization of central polynomials.
Audio-visual speech recognition using depth information from the Kinect in noisy video conditions

In this paper we build on our recent work, where we successfully incorporated facial depth data of a speaker captured by the Microsoft Kinect device, as a third data stream in an audio-visual automatic speech recognizer. In particular, we focus our interest on whether the depth stream provides sufficient speech information that can improve system robustness to noisy audio-visual conditions, thus studying system operation beyond the traditional scenarios, where noise is applied to the audio signal alone. For this purpose, we consider four realistic visual modality degradations at various noise levels, and we conduct small-vocabulary recognition experiments on an appropriate, previously collected, audiovisual database. Our results demonstrate improved system performance due to the depth modality, as well as considerable accuracy increase, when using both the visual and depth modalities over audio only speech recognition.
Decreased ligand affinity rather than glucocorticoid receptor down-regulation in patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Glucocorticoids (GCs) serve a variety of important functions throughout the body. The synthesis and secretion of GCs are under the strict influence of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. The mechanisms of action of GCs are mediated by the intracellular glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Over the years, many studies have been performed concerning the regulation of GR expression by GC concentrations. METHODS In the present study, we determined the characteristics of the GR in peripheral mononuclear blood leukocytes (PBML) from thirteen patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome and fifteen control subjects, using a whole cell dexamethasone binding assay. Furthermore, cortisol concentrations were determined in order to investigate a possible relationship between serum cortisol levels and receptor characteristics. RESULTS There were no differences in mean receptor number between patients and controls. On the other hand, a significantly lower ligand affinity was identified in cells from patients with Cushing's syndrome compared with controls. A complete normalisation of the ligand affinity was observed after treatment in the only patient tested in this respect, whereas the receptor number was not affected. In patients, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between cortisol concentrations and ligand affinity, which was not found in controls. CONCLUSION Receptor down-regulation does not occur in PBML from patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome. On the other hand, there seems to be a diminished ligand affinity which possibly reflects receptor modification in response to exposure to the continuously high cortisol levels in patients with Cushing's syndrome. This assumption is substantiated by the fact that in one patient a normalisation of the ligand affinity after complete remission of the disease was seen.
Developing an aCe solution for two-dimensional strip packing

Summary form only given. This paper describes the development of a fine-grained meta-heuristic for solving large strip packing problems with guillotine layouts. An architecture-adaptive environment aCe, and the aCe C parallel programming language are used to implement a massively parallel genetic simulated annealing (GSA) algorithm. The parallel GSA combines the temperature schedule of simulated annealing with the crossover and mutation operators that are applied to chromosome populations in genetic algorithms. For our problem, chromosomes are normalized postfix expressions that represent guillotine strip packings. Preliminary results for some benchmark data sets are reported and indicate that the parallel GSA method holds promise as a technique for solving the strip packing problem.
Effectiveness of Cooperative Customer Navigation from Robots around a Retail Shop

Applying the technologies of a network robot system, we incorporate the recommendation methods used in E-commerce in a retail shop in the real world. We constructed a platform for ubiquitous-networked robots that focuses on a shop environment where communication robots perform customer navigation. The platform estimates customer interests from their pre-purchasing behaviors observed by networked sensors without concrete IDs and controls visible-type communication robots in the environment to perform customer navigation. The system can perform collaborative filtering-based recommendations without excessively intruding upon the privacy of customers. Since observations and recommendations in real environments are intrinsically annoying, the robot scenarios are also important for interacting with customers as well as the system. Two types of navigation scenarios are implemented and investigated in experiments using 80 participants. The results indicate that in the cooperative navigation scenario, the participants who interacted with the communication robots located both outside and inside the shop felt friendlier toward the robots and found it easy to understand what they said.
Isscc 2005 / Session 16 / Clock Distribution and Power Management / 16.4 High-tension Power Delivery: Operating 0.18µm Cmos Digital Logic at 5.4v

Operating at supply voltages below 1V, 90nm (and below) technologies still demand in excess of 100W of power in the largest chips. Delivering this power at the reduced supply voltage levels required by technology scaling results in high-current requirements , exacerbating electromigration concerns and power-supply integrity issues (i.e., forcing very low impedance requirements on the power distribution). Being able to bring the power onto the chip at higher voltage levels (high-tension lines), and then down-converting to the required supply voltage, significantly reduces the off-chip current requirements. DC-DC downconversion with switching regulators[1] can achieve high energy efficiency, but it requires off-chip inductors. In this paper, high energy efficiency is realized with an implicit on-chip DC-DC conversion [2] approach that " stacks " logic, two or three high, and operates the entire stack at a multiple n of the supply voltage, nV DD , as shown in Fig. 16.4. 1. By stacking the logic domains n high, the current demands on the power and ground networks are also reduced by a factor of n over the current demands of all of the domains running in parallel at V DD. As shown in Fig. 16.4. 1, active regulation in the form of linear regulators is required on the " internal " supply nodes to compensate for transient and steady-state charge imbalance. In addition, level-shifting circuits are required to interface logic between the domains. Both the level-shifting circuits and regulators operate over a greater-than-V DD supply range. Despite this, thin-oxide devices in a triple-well 0. 18µm process are used throughout, with startup circuits to ensure that these devices are not overstressed during power-on. Only well-substrate junctions that have breakdown voltages of more than –15V, are subject to potentials in excess of V DD. Interfacing between domains is provided by the level-shifting circuits shown in Fig. 16.4. 2. The n-to-m shifters convert a logic level between nV DD and (n-1)V DD (denoted n-logic in Fig. 16.4.1) to one between mV DD and (m-1)V DD. The inverters denoted with the number n are operating with n-logic signals. In the 1-to-2 shifter, the level shifting is provided by the NMOS-PMOS stack with gates tied at V DD. Capacitors M1 and M2 improve the laten-cy of the level-shifter by more quickly establishing the differential voltage required to switch the output cross-coupled inverter pair. The topology for the 2-to-1 shifter is similar. In this case, however, overstress of the M1 and M2 capacitors …
Software Design as an Investment Activity: A Real Options Perspective

Key software design principles‐e.g., information hiding, spiral processes, and guidelines for timing design decisions—remain idiosyncratic, ad hoc, and not unified or explained in theory. This makes them hard to teach, learn, and use in principled ways. We see the potential to build stronger foundations for softwar e design by viewing it as an investment activity and by relating design concepts direct ly to well developed financial investment theories. In this paper we focus on the specific is sue of the value of flexibility in the face of uncertainty. Uncertainty puts a premium on flex ibility to change products and plans, but flexibility also incurs costs. The theories on which earlier approaches to software engineering economics were based—primarily static net present value—cannot account for the value of flexibility. Real options theory, wh ich seeks to make this value tangible in capital investment through an analogy to financi al (e.g., stock) options, provides a framework within which we analyze software design concepts. We sketch our interpretation of important design principles in real opti ons terms, making the idea precise for the specific case of optimal timing of design decisio ns. We discuss the validity of the approach for software; impediments to quantitative application; and how qualitative options thinking can nevertheless improve design decision making.
Faecal egg counts provide a reliable measure of Trichostrongylus tenuis intensities in free-living red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus

Abstract The reliability of different egg counting methods for estimating the intensity of Trichostrongylus tenuis infections in red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scoticus, was investigated in the autumn, when grouse may harbour high parasite intensities. Possible limitations to the use of these methods were also examined. Faecal egg counts were found to accurately estimate T. tenuis worm intensities, at least up to an observed maximum of c. 8000 worms. Two egg counting methods (smear and McMaster) gave consistent results, although the exact relationship with worm intensity differed according to the method used. Faecal egg counts significantly decreased with increasing length of sample storage time, but egg counts were reliable for estimating worm intensity for three weeks. The concentration of eggs in the caecum was also found to reliably estimate worm intensity. However, egg counts from frozen gut samples cannot be used to estimate worm intensities. These results conclude that, despite some limitations, faecal and caecum egg counts provide useful and reliable ways of measuring T. tenuis intensities in red grouse.
FPGA Vernier Digital-to-Time Converter With 1.58 ps Resolution and 59.3 Minutes Operation Range

The first FPGA multiple channel digital-to-time converter, or digital pulse generator, is proposed to further extend FPGA applications into analog domain. Based on vernier principle, the effective resolution is made equivalent to the period difference of two phase-locked loop (PLL) outputs. The finer than ever DTC resolution of 1.58 ps is achieved with an Altera Stratix III FPGA chip. The DNL and INL are verified to be -0.086 ~ +0.12 LSB and -0.93 ~ +0.75 LSB respectively for input value varied from 1 to 1026. The widest operation range of 59.3 minutes is accomplished with 51 functioning input bits. Except for 2 shared PLLs, there are only 422 combinational ALUTs and 84 dedicated logic registers utilized per channel for 224-channel circuit implementation. The power consumption per channel is simulated to be 3.04 mW only. With a simple but powerful structure, the design cost is substantially reduced from those of its predecessors.
Mincéirs Siúladh: an ethnographic study of young Travellers’ experiences of racism in an Irish city

This thesis is an ethnography of how young Travellers experience and negotiate urban space in the city of Galway, Ireland. This research builds upon the understanding that our relationships to space are mediated through our social and cultural identities. The core objective of the research is to understand how young Travellers’ movements through, access to and use of public and commercial urban space are shaped by their ethnicity. My research focuses on Travellers’ relationships to the socially constructed, policed and governed boundaries which control and regulate their spatial mobility. I also seek to determine whether young Travellers’ have developed tactics to resist or challenge attempts to limit their access to and use of urban spaces on the basis of their identity. Drawing on de Certeau’s (1984) observational methodology of ‘walking’ to analyse daily urban life, this research documents young Travellers’ experiences in and of urban space, using focus groups, maps and interviewing to further explore the meaning and significance of these experiences. Through ethnographic analysis, I investigate how young Travellers’ temporarily resist and disrupt social and spatial boundaries and how the dominant systems of power authorise and inscribe these boundaries between young Travellers and urban spaces. I am aided in this analysis by theoretical lenses and perspectives drawn from the sociology of racism, the sociology of space, and social geography. Situated within the field of Traveller studies (Ó hAodha, 2006; Bhreatnach, 2006a and 2006b; Helleiner, 2003.), the theoretical conclusions of this thesis connect the local to the global dynamics of anti-Traveller racism, and will be of relevance to scholars and activists both in Ireland and internationally. It contributes to theorisations of the character, operation and effects of anti-Traveller racism, particularly with respect to its spatial manifestations. Although there is an important body of work which addresses the relationship between anti-Traveller racism and space at the macro-level, in terms of the practice of nomadism, this is the first piece of research to examine the impact of racism on Travellers’ mobility at the micro-level. In doing so, this research advances upon understandings of the sedentarist nature of laws and policies which govern space (Delaney and Rucksthul 2006; James 2007; Crowley 2007), to reveal the hegemonic status of sedentarist ideology even at the micro-level. This thesis also highlights the
Testing for the Equivalence of Factor Covariance and Mean Structures : The Issue of Partial Measurement In variance

Addresses issues related to partial measurement in variance using a tutorial approach based on the LISREL confirmatory factor analytic model. Specifically, we demonstrate procedures for (a) using "sensitivity analyses" to establish stable and substantively well-fitting baseline models, (b) determining partially invariant measurement parameters, and (c) testing for the invariance of factor covariance and mean structures, given partial measurement invariance. We also show, explicitly, the transformation of parameters from an all-^fto an all-y model specification, for purposes of testing mean structures. These procedures are illustrated with multidimensional self-concept data from low (« = 248) and high (n = 582) academically tracked high school adolescents.
The Distribution and Identity of Edaphic Fungi in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Contrary to earlier assumptions, molecular evidence has demonstrated the presence of diverse and localized soil bacterial communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether fungal signals so far detected in Dry Valley soils using both culture-based and molecular techniques represent adapted and ecologically active biomass or spores transported by wind. Through a systematic and quantitative molecular survey, we identified significant heterogeneities in soil fungal communities across the Dry Valleys that robustly correlate with heterogeneities in soil physicochemical properties. Community fingerprinting analysis and 454 pyrosequencing of the fungal ribosomal intergenic spacer region revealed different levels of heterogeneity in fungal diversity within individual Dry Valleys and a surprising abundance of Chytridiomycota species, whereas previous studies suggested that Dry Valley soils were dominated by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Critically, we identified significant differences in fungal community composition and structure of adjacent sites with no obvious barrier to aeolian transport between them. These findings suggest that edaphic fungi of the Antarctic Dry Valleys are adapted to local environments and represent an ecologically relevant (and possibly important) heterotrophic component of the ecosystem.
John R. Commons and the Problem of International Labor Rights

Those familiar with the work of Karl Polanyi will not find it surprising that increased international economic integration since the 1970s has brought forth protest about its destabilizing effects. Among the most pressing issues debated by scholars seeking to ameliorate those effects is the matter of creating and enforcing an appropriate system of international "core" labor rights. Not surprisingly, there has been considerable disagreement among economists regarding both the wisdom of pursuing international labor rights and the appropriate means of instituting them. Whether it has been made explicit or not, those who have been most vocal in carrying the international labor rights debate forward have generally employed modes of reasoning grounded in neo-Marxist or neo-classical economic theory. In our judgment, neither of these theories provides a viable standpoint for demonstrating the appositeness of international labor rights or for examining how an appropriate set of such rights might best be worked out. There is a theoretical standpoint, however, that provides the economist with a "conceptual entry point" (Resnick and Wolff 1987, 25) into market processes from which labor standards are seen to be intrinsic to labor markets. We have in mind, of course, the institutional labor economics of John R. Commons with its capstone, the "volitional" (as opposed to "mechanism") theory Commons came to call the theory of Reasonable Value. For reasons we spell out later, one should be cautious about presuming Commons's ideas are directly applicable to this question. As Commons conceived it, Reason-