Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interactive Content-based Image Retrieval in the Peer-to-peer Network Using Self-Organizing Maps

A proposal is presented for constructing an efficient and easy-used image sharing system, in which a user is able to interactively search interesting images by content-based methods in a peer-to-peer network. The proposed design incorporates the principles of the distributed hash tables (DHT) into the interactive content-based image retrieval such that the relevance feedback learning can be performed on distributed parts of a Tree-Structured Self-Organizing Map. Many operations are accomplished in the 2-D lattice instead of the high dimensional feature space, which greatly saves the computing resources. In addition, the implicit weighting facilitates the use of multiple features in parallel. The discussion indicates that combining DHT and Self-Organizing Maps is not only promising as a technique, but also potentially profitable in the market.
Detection of dengue-2 viral RNA by reversible target capture hybridization

A reversible target capture (RTC) sandwich hybridization technique has been developed for the detection of dengue-2 viral RNA. The RTC is a form of sandwich hybridization that utilizes two probes: a poly(dA)-tailed capture probe and a labeled detector probe. Following hybridization of both probes to the analyte in solution, the poly(dA)-tailed capture probe is used to selectively remove the hybrids by capture on oligo(dT)-coated paramagnetic beads. AFter elution from the beads, the presence of specific hybrids is revealed by detection of the labeled probe. After optimization of all parameters by using 32P-labeled probes, digoxigenin was used as a label to preclude the use of radioisotopes. The sensitivity of the developed RTC procedure was determined. The lowest amount of virus detectable in cell culture lysates by using 32P-labeled probes was 20 PFU, while with digoxigenin-labeled probes, 200 PFU was detectable. The RTC procedure also detected dengue-2 virus in infected mosquitoes, both individually and in pools. The RTC has the advantage of being performed directly on crude samples, eliminating the need for phenol extraction and purification of target nucleic acids. These results indicate that the RTC procedure is sensitive, rapid, and easy to perform and that its use in surveillance programs will allow detection of dengue virus in pools of mosquitoes more rapidly than current procedures.
Performance Evaluation of an IEEE 802.15.4a Physical Layer with Energy Detection and Multi-User Interference

We evaluate the performance of an IEEE 802.15. 4a ultra-wide band (UWB) physical layer, with an energy-detection receiver, in the presence of multi-user interference (MUI). A complete packet based system is considered. We take into account packet detection and timing acquisition, the estimation of the power delay profile of the channel, and the recovery of the encoded payload. Energy detectors are known to have a low implementation complexity and to allow for avoiding the complex channel estimation needed by a Rake receiver. However, our results show that MUI severely degrades the performance of the energy detection receiver, even at low traffic rate. We demonstrate that using an IEEE 802.15. 4a compliant energy detection receiver significantly diminishes one of the most appealing benefits of UWB, namely its robustness to MUI and thus the possibility to allow parallel transmissions. We further find that timing acquisition and data decoding both equally suffer from MUI.
Towards a Genome-Based Taxonomy for Prokaryotes

ABSTRACT The ranks higher than the species in the prokaryotic taxonomy are primarily designated based on phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences, but no definite standards exist for the absolute relatedness (measured by 16S rRNA or other means) between the ranks. Accordingly, it remains unknown how comparable the ranks are between different organisms. To gain insights into this question, we studied the relationship between shared gene content and genetic relatedness for 175 fully sequenced strains, using as a robust measure of relatedness the average amino acid identity (AAI) of the shared genes. Our results reveal that adjacent ranks (e.g., phylum versus class) frequently show extensive overlap in terms of genetic and gene content relatedness of the grouped organisms, and hence, the current system is of limited predictive power in this respect. The overlap between nonadjacent ranks (e.g., phylum versus family) is generally limited and attributable to clear inconsistencies of the taxonomy. In addition to providing means for standardizing taxonomy, our AAI-based approach provides a means to evaluate the robustness of alternative genetic markers for phylogenetic purposes. For instance, the 23S rRNA gene was found to be as good a marker as the 16S rRNA gene, while several of the widely distributed protein-coding genes, such as the RNA polymerase and gyrase subunits, show a strong phylogenetic signal, albeit less strong than the rRNA genes (0.78 > R2 > 0.69 for the protein-coding genes versus R2 = 0.84 for the rRNA genes). The AAI approach outlined here could contribute significantly to a genome-based taxonomy for all microbial organisms.
QoS-AODV6E: An energy-balancing QoS routing scheme for WSNs

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) now advance into areas where new scenarios and applications require WSNs to meet certain Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. To tackle these challenges, a routing approach has to consider limited energy supply of sensor nodes, dynamic network conditions as well as node mobility. This paper presents QoS-AODV6E, a routing scheme based on the Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol, which encompasses QoS and Energy-Awareness for mobile WSNs. Based on the reactive AODV routing protocol, QoS-AODV6E allows applications to specify QoS parameters and finds suitable routes that support their requirements. In order to prolong the lifetime of the network, QoS-AODV6E balances the energy consumption between different paths through the network based on the weakest node. We evaluate our implementation of QoS-AODV6E in Contiki using simulation and measurements.
High-performance 64-bit binary comparator

High-performance 64-bit binary comparator is proposed in this brief. Comparison is most basic arithmetic operation that determines if one number is greater than, equal to, or less than the other number. Comparator is most fundamental component that performs comparison operation. This briefly presents comparison of modified and existing 64-bit binary comparator designs concentrating on power consumption and delay. Means some modifications have been done in existing 64-bit binary comparator design to improve the performance of the circuit. Comparison between modified and existing 64-bit binary comparator designs is calculated by simulation that is performed at 90nm technology in Tanner EDA Tool.
A flexible optical network architecture providing enhanced performance to data centres

Current multi-tier and over provision Data Centre Network (DCN) architectures with significant cost, complexity, and power consumption are unable to provide adequate throughput and performance according to the increasing traffic growth and IT demands. In response to these identified limitations, this paper proposes a new DCN architecture featuring all-optical switching technologies using both Optical Packet Switching (OPS) and Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) techniques. The intelligence of this DCN will be granted by a Software Defined Networking (SDN) based control plane capable of providing flexible and programmable heterogeneous IT and network services.
TARCAD: A template architecture for reconfigurable accelerator designs

In the race towards computational efficiency, accelerators are achieving prominence. Among the different types, accelerators built using reconfigurable fabric, such as FPGAs, have a tremendous potential due to the ability to customize the hardware to the application. However, the lack of a standard design methodology hinders the adoption of such devices and makes the portability and reusability across designs difficult. In addition, generation of highly customized circuits does not integrate nicely with high level synthesis tools. In this work, we introduce TARCAD, a template architecture to design reconfigurable accelerators. TARCAD enables high customization in the data management and compute engines while retaining a programming model based on generic programming principles. The template provides generality and scalable performance over a range of FPGAs. We describe the template architecture in detail and show how to implement five important scientific kernels: MxM, Acoustic Wave Equation, FFT, SpMV and Smith Waterman. TARCAD is compared with other High Level Synthesis models and is evaluated against GPUs, a well-known architecture that is far less customizable and, therefore, also easier to target from a simple and portable programming model. We analyze the TARCAD template and compare its efficiency on a large Xilinx Virtex-6 device to that of several recent GPU studies.
On the achievable region with point-to-point codes for generalized interference networks

This paper discusses evaluation of the capacity region for interference networks with point-to-point (p2p) codes. Such capacity region has recently been characterized as union of several sub-regions each of which has distinctive operational characteristics. Detailed evaluation of this region, therefore, can be accomplished in a very simple manner by acknowledging such characteristics, which, in turn, provides an insight for a simple implementation scenario. Generalized message assignment is considered in this paper, and it is shown to provide strictly larger achievable rates than what traditional message assignment does when a receiver with joint decoding capability is used.
Soft Constraints in Integer Linear Programs

Here Y is the feasible region for the structures. We use the standard approach to break the structure into a collection of parts and extract features from them. Let each yi ∈ y correspond to a part in the structure. That is the inference variable yi is an indicator for the existence of the i th part in the structure. Let the feature function Φ decompose into a sum of features for each part. That is, we have
Results from a Community-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment Program for LGBT Smokers

Introduction. Little is known about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people's response to smoking cessation interventions. This descriptive study examined the benefits of a community-based, culturally tailored smoking cessation treatment program for LGBT smokers. Methods. A total of N = 198 LGBT individuals recruited from clinical practice and community outreach participated in group-based treatment. Sessions were based on the American Lung Association's “Freedom from Smoking Program” (ALA-FFS) and were tailored to LGBT smokers' needs. Seven-day smoking point prevalence abstinence served as the primary outcome. Results. Participants (M age = 40.5) were mostly White (70.4%) and male (60.5%) and had at least a college degree (58.4%). Forty-four percent scored in the moderate range on the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence pretreatment, and 42.4% completed treatment (≥75% sessions). Higher educational attainment and use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) were associated with treatment completion. Self-reported quit rates were 32.3% at posttreatment assessment. Treatment attendance (OR = 2.45), use of NRT (OR = 4.24), and lower nicotine dependency (OR = 0.73) were positively associated with quitting smoking. Conclusions. Results suggest the benefits of offering LGBT smokers culturally tailored smoking cessation treatments. Future research could improve outcomes by encouraging treatment attendance and promoting NRT uptake.
Sensory interpretation of neural events

Interaction of an animal with its environment depends on motor ac­ tivity and sensory stimuli from the environment. Sensors (e.g. visual, auditory, vestibular) give a transformation of stimuli into neural activity patterns which can be used to construct or update the internal represen­ tation. This procedure requires an evaluation of the neural activity in terms of sensory processes. This paper presents a theoretical approach for the sensory interpre­ tation of neural activity based on a Bayesian estimation. The procedure implies a maximum likelihood estimation of the sensory stimulus that could have induced the observed neural activity pattern. The theoretical procedure is tested in a model study simulating the stochastic activity of a set of auditory nerve fibers. The results of the reconstructed stimuli are in good agreement with the stimuli that induced the neural activity in the auditory nerve fibers.
Behavioral and Neural Basis of Number Sense in Infancy

Approximate number discrimination in adult human and nonhuman animals is governed by Weber's Law: The ratio between the values determines discriminability. Here, we review recent evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies that suggests that number sense in human infancy shares the same hallmark feature of Weber's Law and may rely on the same neural substrates as previously found in adults, children, and nonhuman animals. These findings support the notion of ontogenetic and phylogenetic continuity in number sense. New methods described here may help uncover how infants' early number sense supports the development of a mature number sense. Moreover, they may aid in understanding how children learn to map nonsymbolic number representations onto symbols for number by providing dependent measures that capture individual variability.
Adaptation of A-to-I RNA editing in Drosophila

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing is hypothesized to facilitate adaptive evolution by expanding proteomic diversity through an epigenetic approach. However, it is challenging to provide evidences to support this hypothesis at the whole editome level. In this study, we systematically characterized 2,114 A-to-I RNA editing sites in female and male brains of D. melanogaster, and nearly half of these sites had events evolutionarily conserved across Drosophila species. We detected strong signatures of positive selection on the nonsynonymous editing sites in Drosophila brains, and the beneficial editing sites were significantly enriched in genes related to chemical and electrical neurotransmission. The signal of adaptation was even more pronounced for the editing sites located in X chromosome or for those commonly observed across Drosophila species. We identified a set of gene candidates (termed “PSEB” genes) that had nonsynonymous editing events favored by natural selection. We presented evidence that editing preferentially increased mutation sequence space of evolutionarily conserved genes, which supported the adaptive evolution hypothesis of editing. We found prevalent nonsynonymous editing sites that were favored by natural selection in female and male adults from five strains of D. melanogaster. We showed that temperature played a more important role than gender effect in shaping the editing levels, although the effect of temperature is relatively weaker compared to that of species effect. We also explored the relevant factors that shape the selective patterns of the global editomes. Altogether we demonstrated that abundant nonsynonymous editing sites in Drosophila brains were adaptive and maintained by natural selection during evolution. Our results shed new light on the evolutionary principles and functional consequences of RNA editing.
Predictive Value of Cardiac Troponin I and T for Subsequent Death in End-Stage Renal Disease

Background—This study determined the prevalence of increased cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and T (cTnT) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and whether an increased troponin was predictive of death. Methods and Results—Serum was obtained from 733 ESRD patients and measured for cTnI and cTnT. Relative risks were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regressions univariately and adjusted for age, time on dialysis, and coronary artery disease. Kaplan-Meier curves compared time to event data between groups. Greater percentages of patients had an increased cTnT versus cTnI at each cutoff, as follows: 99th percentile, 82% versus 6%; 10% coefficient of variation, 53% versus 1.0%; and receiver operator characteristic, 20% versus 0.4%. Increased versus normal cTnT was predictive of increased mortality using all cutoffs and only above the 99th percentile for cTnI. Two-year cumulative mortality rates increased (P <0.001) with changes in cTnT from normal (<0.01 &mgr;g/L, 8.4%) to small (≥0.01 to <0.04 &mgr;g/L, 26%), moderate (≥0.04 to <0.1 &mgr;g/L, 39%), and large (≥0.1 &mgr;g/L, 47%) increases. Two-year mortalities were 30% for cTnI <0.1 &mgr;g/L and 52% if ≥0.1 &mgr;g/L. Univariate and adjusted relative risks of death associated with elevated (>99th percentile) cTnT were 5.0 (CI, 2.5 to 10;P <0.001) and 3.9 (CI, 1.9 to7.9;P <0.001) and cTnI were 2.0 (CI, 1.3 to 3.3;P =0.008) and 2.1 (CI, 1.3 to 3.3;P =0.007). Age, coronary artery disease, and time on dialysis were also independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions—Increases in cTnT and cTnI in ESRD patients show a 2- to 5-fold increase in mortality, with a greater number of patients having an increased cTnT.
Modern "don-quixotism" or an emerging norm of international relations? Prevention of armed conflicts in the European Union and the organization for security and cooperation in Europe

The prevention of armed conflicts is stated as the priority policy of various international organizations, among which the EU and the OSCE. Based on the semi-structured interviews with high bureaucrats and civilian experts, who areengaged in conflict prevention policies within the two international organizations, the article compares the development and implementation of EU and OSCE strategies to prevent armed conflicts. With the support of the secondmethod, the analysis of primary and secondary sources regarding the prevention of armed conflicts (legal acts, e. g. declarations, resolutions, action-plans and other documents the EU and the OSCE have adopted), the authortries to answer the research questions through three domains: (1) what are the connecting points between the conflict prevention policies led by the EU and those led by the OSCE; (2) what are the differences among them; and (3)what are the lessons learned/good practices and what could be done in orderto make the EU and the OSCE (as well as other subjects of international relations) more effective in preventive action. The analysis has shown both international organizations rely mostly on "structural" (long-term) prevention, meanwhile they lack the capacities to enforce hard(er) power . However , each of them has a set of comparative advantages that can be maximized only if the coordination and cooperation among them (and other subjects of international relations) improve. The major obstacle for more effective prevention is the lack of political will, and not the lack of capacities/resources. Therefore, the only way forward is to promote the concept of conflict prevention on all levels of international relations, aiming towards turning it into a norm in international relations and not "a noble idea" of lonely Don-Quixotes only, as it is today
Hierarchical interval type-2 beta fuzzy knowledge representation system for path preference planning

Traffic congestion leads to many problems, namely road users' dissatisfaction, air pollution and waste of time and fuel. For this reason, congestion detection at an early stage is required to perform an efficient exploitation of resources. This paper proposed a Hierarchical Type-2 Beta Fuzzy Knowledge Representation system for the selection of optimal route. Consequently, this system aims to avoid longer travel times, and to decrease traffic accidents and the number of traffic congestion situations. The selection is performed through itineraries assessment by contextual factors such as Max speed and density of a given path. For the validation, the traffic simulation was done with the open source microscopic road traffic simulator SUMO. When compared with the Dijkstra's algorithm, the proposed system showed better performance in terms of average travel time and path flow. These promising results prove the potential of our method to relieve traffic congestion.
A Draft of the Human Septin Interactome

Background Septins belong to the GTPase superclass of proteins and have been functionally implicated in cytokinesis and the maintenance of cellular morphology. They are found in all eukaryotes, except in plants. In mammals, 14 septins have been described that can be divided into four groups. It has been shown that mammalian septins can engage in homo- and heterooligomeric assemblies, in the form of filaments, which have as a basic unit a hetero-trimeric core. In addition, it has been speculated that the septin filaments may serve as scaffolds for the recruitment of additional proteins. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we performed yeast two-hybrid screens with human septins 1–10, which include representatives of all four septin groups. Among the interactors detected, we found predominantly other septins, confirming the tendency of septins to engage in the formation of homo- and heteropolymeric filaments. Conclusions/Significance If we take as reference the reported arrangement of the septins 2, 6 and 7 within the heterofilament, (7-6-2-2-6-7), we note that the majority of the observed interactions respect the “group rule”, i.e. members of the same group (e.g. 6, 8, 10 and 11) can replace each other in the specific position along the heterofilament. Septins of the SEPT6 group preferentially interacted with septins of the SEPT2 group (p<0.001), SEPT3 group (p<0.001) and SEPT7 group (p<0.001). SEPT2 type septins preferentially interacted with septins of the SEPT6 group (p<0.001) aside from being the only septin group which interacted with members of its own group. Finally, septins of the SEPT3 group interacted preferentially with septins of the SEPT7 group (p<0.001). Furthermore, we found non-septin interactors which can be functionally attributed to a variety of different cellular activities, including: ubiquitin/sumoylation cycles, microtubular transport and motor activities, cell division and the cell cycle, cell motility, protein phosphorylation/signaling, endocytosis, and apoptosis.
Networking Data Integrity: High Speed Architectures and Hardware Implementations

Hash functions are widely used in encryption schemes and security layers of communication protocols (wap, ipsec) for data integrity, digital signature and message authentication codes. In addition to the demanded high security level, the need for high performance is a major factor of the security implementations. In this work, an ultra high speed architecture for the hardware implementation of both md5 and sha-1 is proposed. Both hash functions have been developed with vhdl description language and have been integrated in fpga devices. The introduced md5 implementation performance is equal to 2,1 gbps while sha-1 proposed implementation achieves throughput equal to 2,3 gbps. Both proposed implementations are compared in throughput, operating frequency and in the area-delay product, with other related works. From these comparisons, it is proven that the md5 proposed implementation is better by a factor range from 700% to 1500%. The sha-1 proposed implementation is better by about 800% to 1700% in the term of performance, compared with the other conventional works.