Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching cyber-physical systems: a programming approach

One major problem for the design of cyber-physical systems is the understanding of problems that can arise from the interaction of discrete and continuous behaviors, i.e., the behaviors of hybrid systems whose discrete states enable attached differential equations. Tools like Simulink, Labview, Scicos, and Dymola are powerful choices for the simulation of such systems. However, the modeling capabilities of these tools are limited to a composition of given blackbox modules, so that they miss the notion of typical programs. To make use of algorithmic models, we recently proposed an extension of the synchronous programming language Quartz to model, simulate, and verify cyber-physical systems. We developed an operational semantics of this language that formally specifies a simulator, and we also defined a translation to hybrid state transition systems for the formal verification of these systems. In this paper, we describe how our Quartz language and the related Averest toolset can be used for teaching cyber-physical systems. We present the concept of an introductory course for modeling, simulation, and verification of these systems in a Master program in Computer Science. The goal of the lecture is to provide a broad overview to introduce the students to the main research areas in this field. Besides a theoretical foundation, we emphasize the combination of lecture courses with practical exercises using our Averest tools for simulation and verification. This way, we show our students several effects that may occur in the design of cyber-physical systems like zeno behaviors, urgent transitions, real-time requirements, etc.
Nutritional leucine supplementation attenuates cardiac failure in tumour‐bearing cachectic animals

The condition known as cachexia presents in most patients with malignant tumours, leading to a poor quality of life and premature death. Although the cancer‐cachexia state primarily affects skeletal muscle, possible damage in the cardiac muscle remains to be better characterized and elucidated. Leucine, which is a branched chain amino acid, is very useful for preserving lean body mass. Thus, this amino acid has been studied as a coadjuvant therapy in cachectic cancer patients, but whether this treatment attenuates the effects of cachexia and improves cardiac function remains poorly understood. Therefore, using an experimental cancer‐cachexia model, we evaluated whether leucine supplementation ameliorates cachexia in the heart.
Scientific Impacts of Wind Direction Errors

ABSTRACT An assessment on the scientific impact of random errors in wind direction (< 45°)retrieved from space-based observations under weak wind (< 7 m/s) conditions wasmade. Half of the winds over global oceans are below 7 m/s, in their long-termaverages, and these weak winds cover most of the tropical, sub-tropical, and coastaloceans. Introduction of these errors in the semi-daily winds causes, on average, 5%changes of the yearly mean Ekman and Sverdrup volume transports computed directlyfrom the winds, respectively. These poleward movements of water are the mainmechanisms to redistribute heat from the warmer tropical region to the colder high-latitude regions, and they are the major manifestations of the ocean’s function inmodifying Earth’s climate. Simulation by an ocean general circulation model shows thatthe wind errors introduce a 5% error in the meridional heat transport at tropical latitudes.The simulation also shows that the erroneous winds cause a pile-up of warm surfacewater in the eastern tropical Pacific, similar to the conditions during El Nino episode.Similar wind directional errors cause significant change in sea-surface temperature andsea-level patterns in coastal oceans in a coastal model simulation. Previous studies haveshown that assimilation of scatterometer winds improves 3–5 day weather forecasts in theSouthern Hemisphere. When directional information below 7 m/s was withheld,approximately 40% of the improvement was lost.
Comparison of Costs of Surgical Site Infection and Endometritis after Cesarean Delivery Using Claims and Medical Record Data

We used administrative and clinical data from a case-control study to calculate the costs of surgical site infection and endometritis after cesarean delivery. Attributable costs determined by multivariate generalized least-squares regression models with the 2 data sets were similar, suggesting that administrative data can be used to calculate infection costs.
SSD Characterization: From Energy Consumption's Perspective

In this work, we perform µsec time scale analysis on energy consumption behavior of the SSD Write operation and exploit this information to extract key technical characteristics of SSD internals: channel utilization policy, page allocation strategy, cluster size, channel switch delay, way switch delay, etc. We found that some SSDs adopt a multi-page cluster as a write unit instead of a page. We found that SSDs adopt significantly different ways of exploiting channel-level and way-level parallelism to maximize write throughput, which governs the peak current consumption. The X25M(Intel) emphasizes the performance aspect of SSDs and linearly increases the channel parallelism as the IO size increases. The MXP(Samsung) puts more emphasis on energy consumption aspect of SSD and controls the degree of parallelism to reduce the peak current consumption. Cluster size of the X25M and the MXP correspond to one and eight pages, respectively. The current consumed when writing a page to NAND flash varies significantly depending on the NAND model(17 mA-35 mA).
Reducing global tuberculosis deaths — time for India to step up

1174 www.thelancet. com Vol 389 March 25, 2017 As another World Tuberculosis Day passes by the outlook for tuberculosis control is far from optimistic, especially for India, the ground zero for the global epidemic. Last year, WHO declared that the tuberculosis epidemic was worse than previously thought, with an estimated 10·4 million new tuberculosis cases worldwide in 2015. WHO estimated that globally 1·8 million people died from tuberculosis in 2015, of whom 0·4 million were also infected with HIV. Although global tuberculosis deaths declined by 22% between 2000 and 2015, it is remarkable that tuberculosis today is responsible for more deaths than HIV and malaria combined, and continues to rank among the top ten causes of deaths worldwide. WHO estimates that India accounts for 2·8 million (27%) of the 10·4 million new cases, and 29% of the 1·8 million deaths. According to the Registrar General of India’s Million Death Study, which documented causes of death in 1·4 million households, tuberculosis remained one of the top five causes of death among people aged 30–69 years. By contrast, in China tuberculosis is no longer one of the top ten reasons for dying. Importantly, the declines in the age-standardised tuberculosis death rates in India mostly occurred between 2001 and 2007, with a slowing of the decline from 2008 to 2013. Most tuberculosis deaths in India continue to be among young adults in the economically productive age group, with high economic and social costs. Why are so many Indians dying of a curable infectious disease in 2017? There are several factors that contribute to India’s enormous tuberculosis death toll. First, India has not adequately tackled key determinants of tuberculosis, especially malnutrition and tobacco smoking, which have been clearly linked with excess tuberculosis mortality. Second, India continues to underinvest in health, with governmental expenditure on health being one of the lowest in the world at 1·4% of the gross domestic product. This underinvestment is reflected in India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) that has struggled to receive budgets commensurate with the scale of India’s epidemic. Third, implementation failures and a weak health system have led to suboptimal cascade of care in the public system. About half a million patients with tuberculosis in Reducing global tuberculosis deaths—time for India to step up Martin Tobias Tobias + Cheung Consulting, Wanaka, New Zealand martintobias.nz@gmail.com
The Credit Channel in an Emerging Economy

To date, there is no consensus about how frictions in the credit market affect the transmission of the monetary policy to the real economy. The traditional money channel states that when the Central Bank reduces its reserves, commercial banks are forced to reduce their demand for deposits. If prices are sticky, in the short-run a decrease in real monetary holdings should lead to higher real interest rates and should translate into a contraction of interest-sensitive components of aggregate spending. The most recent literature has focused on the role of the credit channel. This states that the direct effect of monetary policy on interest rates is amplified by changing the terms and availability of bank loans. Given that firms and consumers lack perfect substitutes for bank loans, they will be unable to offset the reduced supply of loans. This article focuses on testing the existence of a credit channel in Chile. Our sample comprises 19 banks that operated in Chile over January 1999-December 2002. Over that period, banks primarily offered loans to firms in the manufacturing and the financial services sectors (13 and 26 percent of total loans, respectively), and to individuals through consumption and mortgage loans (9 and 10 percent of total loans, respectively). Our estimation results show that the loans supply and the deposits demand are affected by bank characteristics—such as liquidity, size, past-due loans share, and capitalization—economic activity, the level of interest rates, real exchange depreciation, and by the Santiago Stock Exchange trading. Our results support the existence of a credit channel in the Chilean economy.
Role of Purinergic Receptor Expression and Function for Reduced Responsiveness to Adenosine Diphosphate in Washed Human Platelets

Background Washing of platelets is an important procedure commonly used for experimental studies, e.g. in cardiovascular research. As a known phenomenon, responsiveness to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) is reduced in washed platelets, although underlying molecular mechanisms—potentially interfering with experimental results—have not been thoroughly studied. Objectives Since ADP mediates its effects via three purinergic receptors P2Y1, P2X1 and P2Y12, their surface expression and function were investigated in washed platelets and, for comparison, in platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) at different time points for up to 2 hours after preparation. Results In contrast to PRP, flow cytometric analysis of surface expression in washed platelets revealed an increase of all receptors during the first 60 minutes after preparation followed by a significant reduction, which points to an initial preactivation of platelets and consecutive degeneration. The activity of the P2X1 receptor (measured by selectively induced calcium flux) was substantially maintained in both PRP and washed platelets. P2Y12 function (determined by flow cytometry as platelet reactivity index) was partially reduced after platelet washing compared to PRP, but remained stable in course of ongoing storage. However, the function of the P2Y1 receptor (measured by selectively induced calcium flux) continuously declined after preparation of washed platelets. Conclusion In conclusion, decreasing ADP responsiveness in washed platelets is particularly caused by impaired activity of the P2Y1 receptor associated with disturbed calcium regulation, which has to be considered in the design of experimental studies addressing ADP mediated platelet function.
Alternative music playlists on the radio: Flow experience and appraisal during the reception of music radio programs

It is of fundamental importance for radio broadcasting companies that their listeners do not turn off the radio or switch to another station. Audiences continue listening if they like the program – especially the music. This positive appraisal can be explained by the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), which illustrates how the right balance between the challenge of completing a task and the skill of the individual can lead to a particularly fulfilling mental state. We therefore conducted two 2 × 2 between-subjects experiments in cooperation with a major German broadcasting company in which we varied the complexity and familiarity of a 1-hour prime time radio program. In Study 1 we examined the effects of Adult Contemporary radio programs on a sample of the appropriate target group (120 participants, 51% female, 30 to 39 years old), while in Study 2, equivalent Contemporary Hit radio programs were evaluated by that genre’s younger target group (217 participants, 49% female, 14 to 31 years old). We found that, dependent on the musical skill or listening modes of the recipients, the complexity of the music programs could be associated with higher or lower flow experiences, which in turn had an influence on positive listener appraisal.
Within-Host Recombination in the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Genome

Recombination is one of the determinants of genetic diversity in the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). FMDV sequences have a mosaic structure caused by extensive intra- and inter-serotype recombination, with the exception of the capsid-encoding region. While these genome-wide patterns of broad-scale recombination are well studied, not much is known about the patterns of recombination that may exist within infected hosts. In addition, detection of recombination among viruses evolving at the within-host level is challenging due to the similarity of the sequences and the limitations in differentiating recombination from point mutations. Here, we present the first analysis of recombination events between closely related FMDV sequences occurring within buffalo hosts. The detection of these events was made possible by the occurrence of co-infection of two viral swarms with about 1% nucleotide divergence. We found more than 15 recombination events, unequally distributed across eight samples from different animals. The distribution of these events along the FMDV genome was neither uniform nor related to the phylogenetic distribution of recombination breakpoints, suggesting a mismatch between within-host evolutionary pressures and long-term selection for infectivity and transmissibility.
Portable , E cient

A future is a language construct that allows programmers to expose parallelism in applicative languages such as MultiLisp 8] with minimal eeort. We propose that futures are natural for considerably wider application than this. In particular, they are well-suited for dynamic programming problems because they eliminate the need for explicit synchronization. In this paper we describe a C++ implementation of futures that is eecient, portable, and easy to use. Our system employs a new technique, leapfrogging, that reduces blocking due to load imbalance. The utility of leapfrogging is enhanced by the fact that it is completely platform-independent, is free from deadlock, and places a bound on stack sizes that is at most a constant times the maximum depth of the computation tree. We report on the performance of our system on recursive, iterative, and dynamic programming problems. Along the way, we illustrate several coding techniques that can be used by the programmer to improve performance, and we quantify this improvement.
A joint random weighting method for physical layer security in wireless relay system

In the wireless cooperative relay system, the private information can be intercepted by the untrusted relays. The traditional method of artificial noise based on physical layer security consumed much more power to protect the security of private information. To solve this problem, this paper combines amplify-and-forward coefficient of the relays with the joint channel state information (JCSI), and constructs the joint channel between the sender and the receiver. According to the joint channel characteristics the sender designs randomized weighting vector for its antenna, which is constant by multiplied with the joint channel characteristics. This method can make the equivalent channel be constant between the sender and the legitimate receiver while the equivalent channels change fast between the sender and the relays. Simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) of Relays is almost 0.5 constantly and the BER of receiver is 10-3 simultaneously when the received SNR is 10dB. Compared with the method based on artificial noise, 1.6dB power can be saved in the proposed method.
Plasma levels of microRNA-499 in patients with acute myocardial infarction : a meta-analysis

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether plasma miR-499 levels was an accurate biomarker for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by comparing plasma miR-499 levels of AMI patients and normal controls. Pubmed, Embase and Medline databases (up to June 2015) were used to search all related articles. The weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using random-effect model analysis. The Cochrane Q test and I2 statistic were used to test heterogeneity. To assess publication bias, the Egger’s test and Beeg’s test were used. A total of four studies including 149 patients and 189 healthy controls were finally included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed that the plasma miR-499 level was no significant difference between AMI patients and normal control (WMD=6.202, 95% CI=-0.158~12.562, P=0.056). In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that plasma miR-499 level has no association with the risk of AMI and was not an accurate biomarker for AMI.
Face modeling and editing with statistical local feature control models

This article presents a novel method based on statistical facial feature control models for generating realistic controllable face models. The local feature control models are constructed based on the exemplar 3D face scans. We use a three‐step model fitting approach for the 3D registration problem. Once we have a common surface representation for examples, we form feature shape spaces by applying a principal component analysis (PCA) to the data sets of facial feature shapes. We compute a set of anthropometric measurements to parameterize the exemplar shapes of each facial feature in a measurement space. Using PCA coefficients as a compact shape representation, we approach the shape synthesis problem by forming scattered data interpolation functions that are devoted to the generation of desired shape by taking the anthropometric parameters as input. The correspondence among all exemplar face textures is obtained by parameterizing a 3D generic mesh over a 2D image domain. The new feature texture with desired attributes is synthesized by interpolating the exemplar textures. With the exception of an initial tuning of feature point positions and assignment of texture attribute values, our method is fully automated. In the resulting system, users are assisted in automatically generating or editing a face model by controlling the high‐level parameters. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 17, 341–358, 2007
Ergodic averages for monotone functions using upper and lower dominating processes

We show how the mean of a monotone function (defined on a state space equipped with a partial ordering) can be estimated, using ergodic averages calculated from upper and lower dominating processes of a stationary irreducible Markov chain. In particular, we do not need to simulate the stationary Markov chain and we eliminate the problem of whether an appropriate burn-in is determined or not. Moreover, when a central limit theorem applies, we show how confidence intervals for the mean can be estimated by bounding the asymptotic variance of the ergodic average based on the equilibrium chain. Our methods are studied in detail for three models using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods and we also discuss various types of other models for which our methods apply.
Regulação das responsabilidades parentais: Discursos dos magistrados sobre a prática pericial

Psychological assessment in child custody evaluation is one of the most demanding areas of forensic practice due to the conflict and emotional distress it carries. Law allows the use of psychological reports as an auxiliary mean in the decision act. In order to know the impact of the psychological report in their practice, we requested the collaboration of ten magistrates and analyze their perceptions and discourses about psychological forensic practice. The data collected were analyzed with the support of the program Nvivo. The results revealed that psychological reports are an important working toll for decision-making process among participants. It’s also important to notice that, in general, judges are very pleased with forensic practice, despite their appeal for more celerity in their execution and more precision in terms of language. The relationships between Psychology and Law are currently narrower.doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.17575/rpsicol.v30i1. 1062
NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET Multivariate Gaussian Random Fields with Oscillating Covariance Functions using Systems of Stochastic Partial Differential Equations

In this paper we propose a new approach for constructing multivariate Gaussian random fields (GRFs) with oscillating covariance functions through systems of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs). We discuss how to build systems of SPDEs that introduces oscillation characteristics in the covariance functions of the multivariate GRFs. By choosing different parametrization of the equations, some GRFs can be made with oscillating covariance functions but other fields can have Matérn covariance functions or close to Matérn covariance functions. The multivariate GRFs constructed by solving the systems of SPDEs automatically fulfill the hard requirement of nonnegative definiteness for the covariance functions. The approximate weak solutions to the systems of SPDEs are used to represent the multivariate GRFs by multivariate Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRFs). Since the multivariate GMRFs have sparse precision matrices (inverse of the covariance matrices), numerical algorithms for sparse matrices can be applied to the precision matrices for sampling and inference. Thus from a computational point of view, the big-n problem can be partially solved with these types of models. Another advantage of the method is that the oscillation in the covariance function can be controlled directly by the parameters in the system of SPDEs. We show how to use this proposed approach with simulated data and real data examples.