Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SVC-based HTTP adaptive streaming

HTTP adaptive streaming (HAS) is rapidly evolving into a key video delivery technology, supported by implementations from Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe, and actively pursued by standardization organizations. Using segments in multiple video qualities, distributed via an already available Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) delivery infrastructure, a HAS client is able to seamlessly adapt to the available bandwidth in the network. However, existing HAS solutions have a number of disadvantages such as the additional storage and bandwidth requirements, a large playout buffer to absorb network impairments, and a non-optimal quality selection under fluctuating network conditions. In this paper, we investigate the opportunity of combining HAS with scalable video coding. We show that this combination creates possibilities to reduce the client buffer, which implies improvements for live and interactive video, and reduces storage requirements, increases the cache hit-ratio for supporting content delivery network (CDN) nodes, and demonstrates more robust behavior in the HAS client, ultimately improving the quality of experience (QoE) for the viewer. © 2012 Alcatel-Lucent.
Acquisition of Conditioning between Methamphetamine and Cues in Healthy Humans

Environmental stimuli repeatedly paired with drugs of abuse can elicit conditioned responses that are thought to promote future drug seeking. We recently showed that healthy volunteers acquired conditioned responses to auditory and visual stimuli after just two pairings with methamphetamine (MA, 20 mg, oral). This study extended these findings by systematically varying the number of drug-stimuli pairings. We expected that more pairings would result in stronger conditioning. Three groups of healthy adults were randomly assigned to receive 1, 2 or 4 pairings (Groups P1, P2 and P4, Ns = 13, 16, 16, respectively) of an auditory-visual stimulus with MA, and another stimulus with placebo (PBO). Drug-cue pairings were administered in an alternating, counterbalanced order, under double-blind conditions, during 4 hr sessions. MA produced prototypic subjective effects (mood, ratings of drug effects) and alterations in physiology (heart rate, blood pressure). Although subjects did not exhibit increased behavioral preference for, or emotional reactivity to, the MA-paired cue after conditioning, they did exhibit an increase in attentional bias (initial gaze) toward the drug-paired stimulus. Further, subjects who had four pairings reported “liking” the MA-paired cue more than the PBO cue after conditioning. Thus, the number of drug-stimulus pairings, varying from one to four, had only modest effects on the strength of conditioned responses. Further studies investigating the parameters under which drug conditioning occurs will help to identify risk factors for developing drug abuse, and provide new treatment strategies.
Low-power network-on-chip for high-performance SoC design

An energy-efficient network-on-chip (NoC) is presented for possible application to high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) design. It incorporates heterogeneous intellectual properties (IPs) such as multiple RISCs and SRAMs, a reconfigurable logic array, an off-chip gateway, and a 1.6-GHz phase-locked loop (PLL). Its hierarchically-star-connected on-chip network provides the integrated IPs, which operate at different clock frequencies, with packet-switched serial-communication infrastructure. Various low-power techniques such as low-swing signaling, partially activated crossbar, serial link coding, and clock frequency scaling are devised, and applied to achieve the power-efficient on-chip communications. The 5 /spl times/5 mm/sup 2/ chip containing all the above features is fabricated by 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process and successfully measured and demonstrated on a system evaluation board where multimedia applications run. The fabricated chip can deliver 11.2-GB/s aggregated bandwidth at 1.6-GHz signaling frequency. The chip consumes 160 mW and the on-chip network dissipates less than 51 mW.
Optimizing Environments for Consumer Participation and Self-Direction in Finding Employment

Health and rehabilitation providers are adopting empowering approaches to increase consumer involvement in the service process. This practice trend has evolved in response to the emergence and adoption of consumer-driven models in health care. However, the processes of enabling opportunities for consumers to participate as partners in rehabilitation are difficult and complex. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the strategies, actions, and interactions between consumers and providers that supported consumer involvement in vocational rehabilitation processes. Data from a grounded theory study involving in-depth interviews with a sample of seven consumers and seven providers were analyzed using the constant comparative approach and Glaser's analysis criteria. A conceptual model of how consumer participation is enacted emerged. Consumer and provider interactions focused on optimizing environments to support consumer partnering and self-direction through establishing shared expectations, advancing consumer potential in practice, and persistently pursuing goals in the community. Opportunities to enhance consumer participation in the social context, practice settings, and the community are elaborated.
Dynamic modelling in a study of surgical error management

We demonstrate the use of dynamic longitudinal models to investigate error management in cardiac surgery. Case study data were collected from a multicentre study of the neonatal arterial switch operation (ASO). Information on two types of negative events, or ‘errors’, observed during surgery, major and minor events, was extracted from case studies. Each event was judged to be recovered from (compensated) or not (uncompensated). The aim of the study was to model compensation given the occurrence of past events within a case. Two models were developed, one for the probability of compensating for a major event and a second model for the probability of compensating for a minor event. Analyses based on dynamic logistic regression models suggest that the total number of preceding minor events, irrespective of compensation status, is negatively related with the ability to compensate for major events. The alternative use of random effects models is investigated for comparison purposes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Axl/Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Signaling Inhibits Mineral Deposition by Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

The calcification of blood vessels correlates with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with atherosclerosis, diabetes, and end-stage kidney disease. The receptor tyrosine kinase Axl is emerging as an important regulator of adult mammalian physiology and pathology. This study tests the hypothesis that Axl prevents the deposition of a calcified matrix by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and that this occurs via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway. First, we demonstrate that Axl is expressed and phosphorylated in confluent VSMCs and that its expression is markedly downregulated as these cells calcify their matrix. Second, we demonstrate that overexpression of wild-type Axl, using recombinant adenoviruses, enhances Axl phosphorylation and downstream signaling via PI3K and Akt. Furthermore, overexpression of Axl significantly inhibits mineral deposition by VSMCs, as assessed by alizarin red staining and 45Ca accumulation. Third, the addition of a PI3K inhibitor, wortmannin, negates the inhibition of mineralization by overexpression of wild-type Axl, suggesting that activation of downstream signaling via PI3K is crucial for its inhibitory activity. In contrast, Axl-mediated signaling is not enhanced by overexpression of kinase-dead Axl and mineralization is accelerated, although β-glycerophosphate is still required for this effect. Finally, the caspase inhibitor zVAD.fmk attenuates the increased mineralization induced by kinase-dead Axl, suggesting that kinase-dead Axl stimulates mineralization by inhibiting the antiapoptotic effect of endogenous Axl. Together, these results demonstrate that signaling through Axl inhibits vascular calcification in vitro and suggest that therapeutics targeting this receptor may open up new avenues for the prevention of vascular calcification in vivo.
Combining Similarity and Distribution Features to Match Attributes

The Web contains much useful semistructued information which can be organized into web objects, and many of them are commercially valuable. The inner structures of these web objects are highly heterogeneous that web objects from different web sites cover different subsets of useful attributes. The complete set of attributes can be mined from web pages through attribute extraction algorithms. However, to construct high quality web object schema, some mined attributes should be merged since they are synonyms for the same concepts. Our empirical study shows that features used by traditional schema matching and deep web integration methods are usually domain specific, so they are not applicable to match attributes extracted from the Web. To overcome this problem, this paper proposes new features to depict attribute distribution characteristics and uses machine learning techniques to combine attribute distribution characteristics with attribute similarity features. We empirically compare the proposed method with existing methods use other features, and the results show the effectiveness of our method.
Towards better language models for spontaneous speech

In our eeort to build a speech{to{speech translation system for spontaneous spoken dialogs we have developed several methods to improve the language models of the speech decoder of the system. We attempt to take advantage of natural equivalence word classes, frequently occur-ing word phrases, and discourse structure. Each of these methods was tested on spontaneous English, German and Spanish human{human dialogs.
Intimate Partner Violence and Social Relational Theory: Examining the Influence of Children and Important Others on Mothers' Transition Out of Violent Relationships

Interviews with survivors of intimate partner violence were conducted to gain information on the transition from violent relationships to new non-violent relationships. A subset of this data was re-analysed using Social Relational Theory to gain further insight into the roles of children and important others who were identified as impacting this transition for mothers who had exited violent relationships. This paper reviews two major themes discovered during the SRT analysis that were inherent in the women's experiences: (i) agency of children, family, peers and community and (ii) power. In addition, this paper suggests implications for research, intervention and psychotherapeutic practice.
Stability of Filter- and Wrapper-Based Feature Subset Selection

High dimensionality (too many features) is found across many data science domains. Feature selection techniques address this problem by choosing a subset of features whichare more relevant to the problem at hand. These technique scan simply rank the features, but this risks including multiple features which are individually useful but which contain redundant information, subset evaluation techniques, on the other hand, consider the usefulness of whole subsets, and therefore avoid selecting redundant features. Subset-based techniques can either be filters, which apply some statistical test to thesubsets to measure their worth, or wrappers, which judgefeatures based on how effective they are when building a model. One known problem with subset-based techniques is stability: because redundant features are not included, slight changes to the input data can have a significant effect on which features are chosen. In this study, we explore the stability of feature subset selection, including two filter-based techniques and five choices for both the wrapper learner and the wrapper performance metric. We also introduce a new stability metric, the modified Kuncheva's consistency index, which is able tocompare two feature subsets of different size. We also considerboth the stability of the feature selection technique and the average/standard deviation of feature subset size. Our results show that the Consistency feature subset evaluator has thegreatest stability overall, but CFS (Correlation-Based Feature Selection) shows moderate stability with a much smaller standard deviation of feature subset size. All of the wrapper-basedtechniques are less stable than the filter-based techniques, although the Naïve Bayes learner using the AUC performancemetric is the most stable wrapper-based approach.
Event-Related Potentials Elicited by Errors during the Stop-Signal Task. I. Macaque Monkeys

The error-related negativity (ERN) and positivity (Pe) are components of event-related potential (ERP) waveforms recorded from humans and are thought to reflect performance monitoring. Error-related signals have also been found in single-neuron responses and local-field potentials recorded in supplementary eye field and anterior cingulate cortex of macaque monkeys. However, the homology of these neural signals across species remains controversial. Here, we show that monkeys exhibit ERN and Pe components when they commit errors during a saccadic stop-signal task. The voltage distributions and current densities of these components were similar to those found in humans performing the same task. Subsequent analyses show that neither stimulus- nor response-related artifacts accounted for the error-ERPs. This demonstration of macaque homologues of the ERN and Pe forms a keystone in the bridge linking human and nonhuman primate studies on the neural basis of performance monitoring.
Simulation-Based Safety Testing Brake-by-Wire

Mechanical systems in cars are replaced by electronic equivalents. To be authorized for the road, validation that the replacements are at least as good as the old systems is required. For electronic braking systems (brake-by-wire), this goodness translates to safety in terms of maintaining timing constraints. Yet, in the future, the safety of braking maneuvres will depend, not only, on electronic brakes, but also on cooperative driving maneuvres orchestrated among many cars. Connecting both brake-by-wire on the microscopic level with cooperative braking on the macroscopic level allows for determining safety on a broader scale, as both systems feed from the same resource: Time. This paper discusses work-in-progress, introducing and combining two threads: electronic brakes and cooperative braking. Discussing safety on two levels simultaneously motivates connecting a Simulink model of an electronic brake-by-wire system with the traffic simulator SUMO for conducting the required combined validation. How safe is a car in relation to a given maximal braking distance? What is the optimal distribution of reaction time between electronic brakes and cooperative braking? The validation focuses on non-functional safety limited by temporal constraints (translated to braking distance). It can be exploited in an early validation approach to help reduce costs of more expensive real world experimentation. It can also determine the boundaries at which sufficient safety can be guaranteed.
An in vitro selection scheme for oligonucleotide probes to discriminate between closely related DNA sequences

Using an in vitro selection, we have obtained oligonucleotide probes with high discriminatory power against multiple, similar nucleic acid sequences, which is often required in diagnostic applications for simultaneous testing of such sequences. We have tested this approach, referred to as iterative hybridizations, by selecting probes against six 22-nt-long sequence variants representing human papillomavirus, (HPV). We have obtained probes that efficiently discriminate between HPV types that differ by 3–7 nt. The probes were found effective to recognize HPV sequences of the type 6, 11, 16, 18 and a pair of type 31 and 33, either when immobilized on a solid support or in a reverse configuration, as well to discriminate HPV types from the clinical samples. This methodology can be extended to generate diagnostic kits that rely on nucleic acid hybridization between closely related sequences. In this approach, instead of adjusting hybridization conditions to the intended set of probe–target pairs, we ‘adjust’, through in vitro selection, the probes to the conditions we have chosen. Importantly, these conditions have to be ‘relaxed’, allowing the formation of a variety of not fully complementary complexes from which those that efficiently recognize and discriminate intended from non-intended targets can be readily selected.
Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Type 4–Deficient Mice Exhibit Impaired Endothelium-Dependent Relaxation Induced by Acetylcholine In Vitro and In Vivo

Agonist-induced Ca2+ entry is important for the synthesis and release of vasoactive factors in endothelial cells. The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) channel, a Ca2+-permeant cation channel, is expressed in endothelial cells and involved in the regulation of vascular tone. Here we investigated the role of TRPV4 channels in acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in vitro and in vivo using the TRPV4 knockout mouse model. The expression of TRPV4 mRNA and protein was detected in both conduit and resistance arteries from wild-type mice. In small mesenteric arteries from wild-type mice, the TRPV4 activator 4α-phorbol-12,13-didecanoate increased endothelial [Ca2+]i in situ, which was reversed by the TRPV4 blocker ruthenium red. In wild-type animals, acetylcholine dilated small mesenteric arteries that involved both NO and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors. In TRPV4-deficient mice, the NO component of the relaxation was attenuated and the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor component was largely eliminated. Compared with their wild-type littermates, TRPV4-deficient mice demonstrated a blunted endothelial Ca2+ response to acetylcholine in mesenteric arteries and reduced NO release in carotid arteries. Acetylcholine (5 mg/kg, IV) decreased blood pressure by 37.0±6.2 mm Hg in wild-type animals but only 16.6±2.7 mm Hg in knockout mice. We conclude that acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation is reduced both in vitro and in vivo in TRPV4 knockout mice. These findings may provide novel insight into mechanisms of Ca2+ entry evoked by chemical agonists in endothelial cells.
Modulation of Spinal Motor Output by Initial Arm Postures in Anesthetized Monkeys

Proper execution of voluntary movement requires a sensorimotor transformation based on the initial limb state. For example, successfully reaching to a stable target requires the recruitment of different muscle groups depending on limb position at movement initiation. To test whether this transformation could occur at the spinal level, we stimulated the cervical spinal cord of anesthetized monkeys while systematically changing initial posture and examined the modulation of the twitch response induced in the upper limb muscles. In three monkeys, a multichannel microelectrode array was implanted into the C6 segment of the spinal cord and electromyographic electrodes were implanted in 12 limb muscles (five hand, four elbow, and three shoulder muscles). The magnitude and onset latency of the evoked response in each electrode–muscle pair were examined by systematically changing the hand position through nine positions in a horizontal plane with the monkey prone. Among 330 electrode–muscle pairs examined, 61% of pairs exhibited significant modulation of either magnitude or latency of twitch responses across different hand/arm configurations (posture dependency). We found that posture dependency occurred preferentially in the distal rather than proximal muscles and was not affected by the location of the electrode within the stimulated spinal segment. Importantly, this posture dependency was not affected by spinalization at the C2 level. These results suggest that excitability in the cervical spinal cord is affected by initial arm posture through spinal reflex pathways. This posture dependency of spinal motor output could affect voluntary arm movement by adjusting descending motor commands relative to the initial arm posture.
Adaptation to the most abundant host genotype in an agricultural plant–pathogen system – potato late blight

This study investigated local adaptation of Phytophthora infestans populations, the causal agent of potato late blight, to two susceptible potato cultivars, each grown for a number of years and over large areas in separate French regions. We measured aggressiveness (quantitative pathogenicity) of each pathogen population to sympatric and allopatric hosts in a reciprocal cross‐inoculation experiment. There was no evidence for specific host adaptation in this pathosystem. At both local and regional scales, the distribution of aggressiveness fits a pattern of adaptation to the most common host genotype. Our observations support the theoretical predictions that large pathogen dispersal rates and genetic drift, revealed by the comparisons of the genotypic structures of the populations tested, can lead to a local adaptation pattern detectable only at a large spatial scale. The unravelling of adaptive patterns at different spatial scales can be used for a more efficient management of the disease.
Exploration and model building in mobile robot domains

The first results on COLUMBUS, an autonomous mobile robot, are presented. COLUMBUS operates in initially unknown structured environments. Its task is to explore and model the environment efficiently while avoiding collisions with obstacles. COLUMBUS uses an instance-based learning technique for modeling its environment. Real-world experiences are generalized via two artificial neural networks that encode the characteristics of the robot's sensors, as well as the characteristics of typical environments which the robot is assumed to face. Once trained, these networks allow for the transfer of knowledge across different environments the robot will face over its lifetime. Exploration is achieved by navigating to low confidence regions. A dynamic programming method is employed in background to find minimal-cost paths that, when executed by the robot, maximize exploration. <<ETX>>
The Context of Interunit Influence Attempts

The authors thank Elaine Romanelli, Arie Lewin, and the editor and anonymous reviewers of ASO for their constructive criticism of previous drafts of this manuscript. We also thank Dick Lake, Blair Sheppard, and Anne Tsui for their collaboration in collecting the data. Support during the writing and revision stage was provided by the Roy J. Carver Entrepreneurial Fund of the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. This paper proposes and tests a model that predicts the extent to which members of organizational units will engage in ongoing attempts to influence the design and operations of other units, documenting interunit behavior that may be explicitly or implicitly political. The proposed model is thus derived from organization design perspectives on political behavior. The model predicts that resource constraints and lowered commitment to the status quo trigger influence activity within a set of related units and that this influence activity, along with other facets of interunit relationships (communication, formalization, and coordination uncertainty), in turn predicts the extent of a specific unit's influence attempts. Findings from a well-controlled test on 295 management units in 46 divisions of a large organization generate strong support for the model and tend to disconfirm rival explanations. '