Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cache simulation based on runtime instrumentation for OpenMP applications

To enable optimizations in memory access behavior of high performance applications, cache monitoring is a crucial process. Simulation of cache hardware is needed in order to allow research for non-existing cache architectures, and on the other hand, to get more insight into metrics not measured by hardware counters in existing processors. One focus of EP-Cache, a project investigating efficient programming on cache architectures, is on developing cache monitoring hardware to give precise information about the cache behavior of OpenMP applications on SMP machines. As the hardware is still in an early state of development, getting experience with the monitoring software infrastructure to be built for use in real applications requires cache simulation. Two techniques are used for the cache simulation engine: driven by instrumentation integrated at source level and instrumentation integrated at runtime by rewriting code on-the-fly. In this paper, we mainly describe the second technique together with a sample code, showing the advantages and feasibility of this approach. Additionally, in order to allow a comparison, we also give a brief description of the experience with the source instrumentation technique.
Localisation-based imaging of malarial antigens during erythrocyte entry reaffirms a role for AMA1 but not MTRAP in invasion

ABSTRACT Microscopy-based localisation of proteins during malaria parasite (Plasmodium) invasion of the erythrocyte is widely used for tentative assignment of protein function. To date, however, imaging has been limited by the rarity of invasion events and the poor resolution available, given the micron size of the parasite, which leads to a lack of quantitative measures for definitive localisation. Here, using computational image analysis we have attempted to assign relative protein localisation during invasion using wide-field deconvolution microscopy. By incorporating three-dimensional information we present a detailed assessment of known parasite effectors predicted to function during entry but as yet untested or for which data are equivocal. Our method, termed longitudinal intensity profiling, resolves confusion surrounding the localisation of apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) at the merozoite–erythrocyte junction and predicts that the merozoite thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (MTRAP) is unlikely to play a direct role in the mechanics of entry, an observation supported with additional biochemical evidence. This approach sets a benchmark for imaging of complex micron-scale events and cautions against simplistic interpretations of small numbers of representative images for the assignment of protein function or prioritisation of candidates as therapeutic targets. Highlighted Article: Here we develop a high-definition imaging approach to dissect and assign function to proteins involved in the rapid process of malaria parasite invasion of the human erythrocyte.
Optimal Sizing and Control Strategy of Hybrid PV-Diesel-Battery Systems for Isolated Island *

A method for optimal sizing of hybrid system consisting of PV-Diesel-Battery systems in isolated area is presented. The aim of this paper is to provide a reference for total cost reduction of the system related to constraints and satisfactions of load demand. The cost objective functions include the total cost for minimizing CO2 emissions and customer damage cost function for the compensation cost due to the electricity shortages. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method has been applied for the minimization of the objective function. The PSO algorithm is a relatively simple computation technique to reach the global optimum, compared with other optimization method. The proposed method is used to simulate in the hybrid power generation system in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia (latitude 09.30S and longitude 122.0E). The simulation results has been confirmed from costs reduction and environmental point of views and the optimum size of PV panels, battery banks and diesel generator units are 75,300×165W, 3×5MWh and 12MW, respectively. This study also reveals the importance of PV and battery systems. Without their connections, the annual cost of diesel generator becomes considerably high. Moreover, the proposed method is effectively used to deal with the cost reduction of a hybrid system under non-existence or unmet load condition.
A Configurable FPGA Implementation of the Tanh Function Using DCT Interpolation

Efficient implementation of non-linear activationfunctions is essential to the implementation of deep learningmodels on FPGAs. We introduce such an implementation basedon the Discrete Cosine Transform Interpolation Filter (DCTIF). The proposed interpolation architecture combines simple arithmeticoperations on the stored samples of the hyperbolic tangentfunction and on input data. It achieves almost 3 better precisionthan previous works while using a similar amount computationalresources and a small amount of memory. Various combinationsof DCTIF parameters can be chosen to trade off the accuracy andthe overall circuit complexity of the tanh function. In one case, the proposed architecture approximates the hyperbolic tangentactivation function with 0.004 maximum error while requiringonly 1.45 kbits BRAM memory and 21 LUTs of a Virtex-7 FPGA.
Accelerating System-Level Design Tasks Using Commodity Graphics Hardware: A Case Study

Many system-level design tasks (e.g. timing analysis, hardware/software partitioning and design space exploration) involve computational kernels that are intractable (usually NP-hard). As a result, they involve high running times even for mid-sized problems. In this paper we explore the possibility of using commodity graphics processing units (GPUs) to accelerate such tasks that commonly arise in the electronic design automation (EDA) domain. We demonstrate this idea via a detailed case study on a general hardware/software design space exploration problem and propose a GPU-based engine for it. Not only does this problem commonly arise in the embedded systems domain, its computational kernel turns out to be a general combinatorial optimization problem (viz. the knapsack problem) which lies at the heart of several EDA applications. Our experimental results show that our GPU-based implementation offers very attractive speedups for this computational kernel (up to 100×), and speedups of up to 17× for the full problem. In contrast to ASIC/FPGA-based accelerators – since even low-end desktop and notebook computers are today equipped with GPUs – our solution involves no extra hardware cost. Although recent research has shown the benefits of using GPUs for a variety of non-graphics applications (e.g. in databases and bioinformatics), hardly any work has been done on harnessing the parallelism of GPUs to accelerate problems from the EDA domain. We hope that our results and the generality of the problem we address will motivate researchers from this community to explore the possibility of using GPUs for a wider variety of problems from the EDA domain.
A longitudinal study on an autoimmune murine model of ankylosing spondylitis

Background: Proteoglycan aggrecan (PG)-induced arthritis (PGIA) is the only systemic autoimmune murine model which affects the axial skeleton, but no studies have been performed characterising the progression of spine involvement. Objectives: To follow pathological events in experimental spondylitis, and underline its clinical, radiographic, and histological similarities to human ankylosing spondylitis (AS); and to determine whether the spondyloarthropathy is a shared phenomenon with PGIA, or an “independent” disease. Methods: Arthritis/spondylitis susceptible BALB/c and resistant DBA/2 mice, and their F1 and F2 hybrids were immunised with cartilage PG, and radiographic and histological studies were performed before onset and weekly during the progression of spondylitis. Results: About 70% of the PG immunised BALB/c mice develop spondyloarthropathy (proteoglycan-induced spondylitis (PGISp), and the progression of the disease is very similar to human AS. It begins with inflammation in the sacroiliac joints and with enthesitis, and then progresses upwards, affecting multiple intervertebral disks. In F2 hybrids of arthritis/spondylitis susceptible BALB/c and resistant DBA/2 mice the incidence of arthritis was 43.5%, whereas the incidence of spondylitis was >60%. Some arthritic F2 hybrid mice had no spondylitis, whereas others developed spondylitis in the absence of peripheral arthritis. Conclusions: The PGISp model provides a valuable tool for studying autoimmune reactions in spondylitis, and identifying genetic loci associated with spondyloarthropathy.
Japanese character (Kana) pattern recognition application using neural network

Japanese language has complex writing systems, Kanji and Kana (Katakana and Hiragana). Each one has different style of writing. One simple way to differentiate is Kanji have more strokes than Kana. Meanwhile, it needs a lot of effort to remember characters of Katakana and Hiragana, thus it will be very difficult to distinguish handwritten Katakana and Hiragana, since there are a lot of similar characters. This is the reason why we need pattern recognition.
Exploring the relationship difficulties of Iranian adolescents with conduct disorder: a qualitative content analysis

Abstract Background: Conduct disorder is characterized by aggressive behaviors, deceitfulness or theft, destruction of property and serious violations of rules prior to age 18 years. The object relations theory provides an integrative model to understand the problems of conduct disorder, and proposes that child-caregiver relationships develop the internal working models of self and others. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship difficulties of Iranian adolescents with conduct disorder. Methods: This study was a qualitative directed content analysis research. The in-depth interview was conducted with nine male adolescents aged 12–17 years who had conduct disorder with or without substance use disorder at the reformatory in Tehran. All tape-recorded data were fully transcribed and analyzed. Results: The relations with different objects including parents, siblings, relatives, friends, peers, teachers, other school members, colleagues and employers were analyzed, and four themes were extracted: 1) Object relations based on insecurity and fear; 2) Object relations based on inability and abjection; 3) Object relations based on pessimism and mistrust; 4) Object relations based on non-maintenance of boundaries and limits. Conclusion: The importance of object relations and attachment problems in adolescents with conduct disorder, and their need to participate in special intervention programs should be reconsidered.
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Talons of Diurnal Bird of Prey

The aim of this work is to establish qualitative and quantitative differences and similarities among talons lacking the keratin sheath in diurnal raptors. We set out to find a tool that allows for the determination of toe (I‐IV) and hindlimb (left or right) identity. Different methodologies were used, such as classical anatomical descriptions and Fourier analysis of the medial contour of the ungual phalanx. A series of measurements and ratios were obtained and analysed using t‐tests and principal components analysis. The qualitative descriptors are more important than quantitative analyses for assessing ungual phalanx identity. They allowed us to differentiate between hindlimbs and among toes corresponding to the talons of D‐I, D‐II and D‐III, while the assignment of D‐IV was complicated by its symmetry. The t‐test showed that digits I and II did not differ in any measurement or ratio, whereas it showed several differences among the other digits. Fourier analysis was useful only when it was applied to one species with a large number of specimens. This work is an important contribution to the paleontological field where it is common to find isolated phalanges, and consequently, their identification is very difficult.
Abstract—large Volumes of Fingerprints Are Collected and Stored

every day in a wide range of applications, including forensics, access control etc. It is evident from the database of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which contains more than 70 million finger prints. Compression of this database is very important because of this high Volume. The performance of existing image coding standards generally degrades at low bit-rates because of the underlying block based Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) scheme. Over the past decade, the success of wavelets in solving many different problems has contributed to its unprecedented popularity. Due to implementation constraints scalar wavelets do not posses all the properties which are needed for better performance in compression. New class of wavelets called 'Multiwavelets' which posses more than one scaling filters overcomes this problem. The objective of this paper is to develop an efficient compression scheme and to obtain better quality and higher compression ratio through multiwavelet transform and embedded coding of multiwavelet coefficients through Set Partitioning In Hierarchical Trees algorithm (SPIHT) algorithm. A comparison of the best known multiwavelets is made to the best known scalar wavelets. Both quantitative and qualitative measures of performance are examined for Fingerprints.
An Investigation of Annotation Delay Compensation and Output-Associative Fusion for Multimodal Continuous Emotion Prediction

Continuous emotion dimension prediction has increased in popularity over the last few years, as the shift away from discrete classification based tasks has introduced more realism in emotion modeling. However, many questions remain including how best to combine information from several modalities (e.g. audio, video, etc). As part of the AV+EC 2015 Challenge, we investigate annotation delay compensation and propose a range of multimodal systems based on an output-associative fusion framework. The performance of the proposed systems are significantly higher than the challenge baseline, with the strongest performing system yielding 66.7% and 53.9% relative increases in prediction accuracy over the AV+EC 2015 test set arousal and valence baselines respectively. Results also demonstrate the importance of annotation delay compensation for continuous emotion analysis. Of particular interest was the output-associative based fusion framework, which performed very well in a number of significantly different configurations, highlighting that incorporating both affective dimensional dependencies and temporal information is a promising research direction for predicting emotion dimensions.
Unity-power-factor PWM rectifier with DC ripple compensation

This paper presents a new topology of PWM rectifier which can achieve unity-power-factor on the AC supply side and ripple-reduction on the DC output side. The main circuit of this rectifier is accomplished by adding only a pair of switches to a conventional PWM rectifier. And it does not need the large DC capacitor or passive L-C resonant circuit. These additional switches and PWM rectifier are controlled not only to make a unity power factor but also to reduce the ripple current. The effectiveness of this circuit is confirmed by the experiments and analysis. This rectifier is useful for UPS and DC power supply, especially in case that the batteries are connected to the DC line. <<ETX>>
Influence of the utilization time of different manual toothbrushes on oral hygiene assessed during a 6-month observation period: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND The aim of this randomized clinical trial (RCT) was to investigate whether 6-month continuous use of different manual toothbrushes (TBs) influences plaque removal and the degree of gingival inflammation compared to short utilization periods of 4 weeks each. METHODS In total, 96 participants were randomly allocated into two groups: continuous use during 6 months (non-renewal group) or a change in TB every 4 weeks during 6 months (renewal group). Each group was subdivided into four subgroups (groups A to H; n = 12 each) according to the head size (normal or short) and bristle hardness (medium or soft) of the TB used. The modified Quigley-Hein plaque index (QHI), papilla bleeding index (PBI), and gingival index (GI) were recorded at baseline and 2, 8, 12, 16, and 24 weeks after baseline. After 24 weeks, each participant received a new TB, and at week 26, the final QHI, PBI, and GI were determined. The statistical evaluation consisted of analysis of covariance (P <0.05). RESULTS With time, QHI, PBI, and GI were significantly different between the renewal and the non-renewal groups (QHI: P = 0.02; PBI: P = 0.04; GI: P <0.01), independent of subgroup. In the renewal group, QHI showed a significant decrease between baseline and each follow-up visit (P <0.01). In the non-renewal group, there was a significant decrease compared to baseline up to and including week 16 (P <0.01). PBI in the renewal group showed no significant differences between baseline and each follow-up visit (P >0.05). In the non-renewal group, only the normal head/soft subgroup exhibited a significant increase at week 24 (P = 0.02). The GI in the renewal group showed no difference between baseline and all follow-up visits, whereas in the non-renewal group, there was a significant decrease up to and including week 12 (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Six-month continuous use reduced the effectiveness of the TB with respect to plaque removal, and gingival inflammation appeared to increase.
A novel approach to active listening room compensation for wave field synthesis using wave-domain adaptive filtering

Wave field synthesis is an auralization technique which allows the entire wave field to be controlled within the entire listening area. However, reflections in the listening room interfere with the auralized wave field and may impair the spatial reproduction. Active listening room compensation aims at reducing these impairments by using the playback system. Due to the high number of playback channels used for wave field synthesis, the existing approaches to room compensation are not applicable. A novel approach to active room compensation overcomes these problems by a transformation from the space-time to the wave domain and application of wave-domain adaptive filtering.
Generating constrained random graphs using multiple edge switches

The generation of random graphs using edge swaps provides a reliable method to draw uniformly random samples of sets of graphs respecting some simple constraints (e.g., degree distributions). However, in general, it is not necessarily possible to access all graphs obeying some given constraints through a classical switching procedure calling on pairs of edges. Therefore, we propose to get around this issue by generalizing this classical approach through the use of higher-order edge switches. This method, which we denote by “k-edge switching,” makes it possible to progressively improve the covered portion of a set of constrained graphs, thereby providing an increasing, asymptotically certain confidence on the statistical representativeness of the obtained sample.
A multiple-choice knapsack based algorithm for CDMA downlink rate differentiation under uplink coverage restrictions

This paper presents an analytical model for downlink rate allocation in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile networks. By discretizing the coverage area into small segments, the transmit power requirements are characterized via a matrix representation that separates user and system characteristics. We obtain a closed-form analytical expression for the so-called Perron-Frobenius eigenvalue of that matrix, which provides a quick assessment of the feasibility of the power assignment for a given downlink rate allocation. Based on the Perron-Frobenius eigenvalue, we reduce the downlink rate allocation problem to a set of multiple-choice knapsack problems. The solution of these problems provides an approximation of the optimal downlink rate allocation and cell borders for which the system throughput, expressed in terms of downlink rates, is maximized.
Detection of Leishmania Infantum in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Central Greece

SUMMARY This is the first record of Leishmania detection in foxes in Greece. Spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow and blood samples were collected from 47 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) found dead or captured, narcotized and freed after bleeding, from November 2009 to 2011, in Fthiotida prefecture, central Greece. This is an endemic for canine leishmaniasis area with several human visceral leishmaniasis cases. The samples were tested for Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica by molecular methods (polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism) and serology (indirect immunofluorescent antibody test; when blood samples were available). Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in 28 animals (59·5%). PCR positivity was related to animal age, sex, weight, characteristics of the area trapped, presence of leishmaniasis symptoms and presence of endo- and ecto-parasites. The results were related to dog seropositivity obtained earlier in the area. The findings support the hypothesis that this wild canid may serve as a reservoir for Leishmania in areas where the sandfly vectors are found. In the prefectures of Larisa and Magnisia, adjacent to Fthiotida, Phlebotomus perfiliewi and Phlebotomus tobbi (known vectors of L. infantum) have been reported.
On Nonlinear Schrödinger Equations with Almost Periodic Initial Data

We consider the Cauchy problem of nonlinear Schrodinger equations (NLS) with almost periodic functions as initial data. We first prove that given a frequency set $\pmb{\omega} =\{ \omega_j\}_{j = 1}^\infty$, NLS is local well-posed in the algebra $\mathcal{A}_{\pmb{\omega}}(\mathbb{R})$ of almost periodic functions with absolutely convergent Fourier series. Then, we prove a finite time blowup result for NLS with a nonlinearity $|u|^p$, $p \in 2\mathbb{N}$. This provides the first instance of finite time blowup solutions to NLS with generic almost periodic initial data.
Large-Scale Collection of Usage Data to Inform Design

The two most commonly used techniques for evaluating the fit between application design and use — namely, usability testing and beta testing with user feedback — suffer from a number of limitations that restrict evaluation scale (in the case of usability tests) and data quality (in the case of beta tests). They also fail to provide developers with an adequate basis for: (1) assessing the impact of suspected problems on users at large, and (2) deciding where to focus development and evaluation resources to maximize the benefit for users at large. This paper describes an agent-based approach for collecting usage data and user feedback over the Internet that addresses these limitations to provide developers with a complementary source of usageand usability-related information. Contributions include: a theory to motivate and guide data collection, an architecture capable of supporting very large scale data collection, and real-word experience suggesting the proposed approach is complementary to existing practice.
Junctions of surface operators and categorification of quantum groups

We show how networks of Wilson lines realize quantum groups U_q(sl_m), for arbitrary m, in 3d SU(N) Chern-Simons theory. Lifting this construction to foams of surface operators in 4d theory we find that rich structure of junctions is encoded in combinatorics of planar diagrams. For a particular choice of surface operators we reproduce known mathematical constructions of categorical representations and categorified quantum groups.