Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data Blocks: Hybrid OLTP and OLAP on Compressed Storage using both Vectorization and Compilation

This work aims at reducing the main-memory footprint in high performance hybrid OLTP & OLAP databases, while retaining high query performance and transactional throughput. For this purpose, an innovative compressed columnar storage format for cold data, called Data Blocks is introduced. Data Blocks further incorporate a new light-weight index structure called Positional SMA that narrows scan ranges within Data Blocks even if the entire block cannot be ruled out. To achieve highest OLTP performance, the compression schemes of Data Blocks are very light-weight, such that OLTP transactions can still quickly access individual tuples. This sets our storage scheme apart from those used in specialized analytical databases where data must usually be bit-unpacked. Up to now, high-performance analytical systems use either vectorized query execution or just-in-time (JIT) query compilation. The fine-grained adaptivity of Data Blocks necessitates the integration of the best features of each approach by an interpreted vectorized scan subsystem feeding into JIT-compiled query pipelines. Experimental evaluation of HyPer, our full-fledged hybrid OLTP & OLAP database system, shows that Data Blocks accelerate performance on a variety of query workloads while retaining high transaction throughput.
Nakagami-m fading modeling in the frequency domain for OFDM system analysis

Nakagami-m fading modeling in the frequency domain is investigated. For frequency-selective Nakagami-m fading channels, we show the magnitudes of the channel frequency responses to be also Nakagami-m distributed random variables with fading and mean power parameters as explicit functions of the fading and mean power parameters of the channel impulse responses. Based on this new model, the bit error rate performance of an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing system with receive diversity over correlated Nakagami-m fading channels is analytically evaluated and some numerical results are given.
Characteristic of Thermally Reduced Graphene Oxide as Supercapacitors Electrode Materials

We investigated graphene like material named reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as an electrode material by employed graphene oxide (GO). Thin film of GO was prepared on the indium thin oxide (ITO) substrate by spin-coating method using varied concentration of GO that dispersed in water. In order to remove its oxygen contained, GO film was thermally reduced at 200 °C for 1 hour. We used cyclic voltammetry to measure its CV characteristic and estimated its specific capacitance. We obtained the highest specific capacitance of 6.53 mF g−1 that measured from 4 mg ml−1 RGO thin film at scan rate 25 mVs−1.
An Object Server for an Object-Oriented Database System

This paper summarizes the interface, implementation, and use of a server process that is used as a backend by an object-oriented database system. This server is responsible for managing objects on secondary storage, managing transactions, and implementing a simple form of trigger. We sketch the interface of this system and point out some of the more interesting implementation issues that were encountered in building it. Client processes communicate asynchronously with the server by message sending. The system is designed to be as efficient as possible since one of its clients is the GARDEN system, an object-oriented programming environment. GARDEN views both static and dynamic program pieces as objects. Our back-end server provides persistent and sharable storage for GARDEN. The paper includes an extended example of how GARDEN makes use of this resource.
Octopamine Modulates the Axons of Modulatory Projection Neurons

Octopamine increases the cycle frequency of the pyloric rhythm in the crab Cancer borealis by acting at multiple sites within the stomatogastric nervous system. The junction between the stomatogastric nerve (stn) and the superior esophageal nerve (son) shows synaptic structures. When applied only to the stn-son junction, octopamine induced action potentials in the axons of the modulatory commissural neuron 5 (MCN5) that project from the commissural ganglia to the stomatogastric ganglion (STG). The activation of the MCN5 neurons was correlated with an increase in the pyloric rhythm frequency. Additionally, octopamine had direct effects on the STG, including the activation of the pyloric dilator and pyloric neurons, an increase in the pyloric frequency, and a change in the phase relationships of the pyloric neurons. Thus, the same modulator can influence the pyloric rhythm by acting at multiple sites, including the axons of identified modulatory neurons that project to the STG. These data demonstrate that axonal propagation may be influenced locally by neuromodulators acting on axonal receptors, therefore altering the conduction of information from different command and integrating centers.
Python and MatPlotLib based Open Source Software System for Simulating Images with point Light Sources in Attenuating and Scattering Media

Simulating images of various objects in a real world scene has wide applications while testing algorithms for machine vision applications as well as in computer graphics and gaming software industry. Most current algorithms use collimated light sources and assume the medium to be non-scattering and non-attenuating. In real world, most light sources are too near to the objects in the scene and hence cannot be assumed to be collimated. Real world mediums, such as oceans in case of Underwater Robotic Vehicle (URV) applications or smoke and vapor filled air in case of industrial welding applications, scatter and attenuate light. A software system that makes no such assumptions and uses point light sources in scattering and attenuating media has been developed. Another novelty of current work is use of open source Python programming language along with associated 2D graphics and plotting library, MatPlotLib. General Terms Underwater Robotic Vehicles, Industrial Robots, Image simulation, Python, MatPlotLib.
Business-to-business electronic market place selection

There is an increasing demand for doing business online, which calls for higher business interoperability on business-to-business (B2B) electronic market places (EMp). This drives the development of integration technologies for improving B2B electronic market (EM) functions on EMp. This paper argues that with the development of integration technologies companies will use more private, community and public EMp and select their proper type of EMp when comparing the function–cost ratios of business interoperability on different types of B2B EMp. This argument has been validated through the case studies against a method of historical event analysis. In this shift, four integration factors of standard flexibility, enterprise integration, service provision and semantic integration are constantly improving EMp functions, which lead to an overall reduction of interaction cost for business interoperation on all types of EMp. This will change business behaviour and corporate strategies of most firms, and have important implications for firms to make strategies of how to select EMp to increase business interoperability for higher competitiveness.
Posaconazole, a Second-Generation Triazole Antifungal Drug, Inhibits the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway and Progression of Basal Cell Carcinoma

Deregulation of Hedgehog (Hh) pathway signaling has been associated with the pathogenesis of various malignancies, including basal cell carcinomas (BCC). Inhibitors of the Hh pathway currently available or under clinical investigation all bind and antagonize Smoothened (SMO), inducing a marked but transient clinical response. Tumor regrowth and therapy failure were attributed to mutations in the binding site of these small-molecule SMO antagonists. The antifungal itraconazole was demonstrated to be a potent SMO antagonist with a distinct mechanism of action from that of current SMO inhibitors. However, itraconazole represents a suboptimal therapeutic option due to its numerous drug–drug interactions. Here, we show that posaconazole, a second-generation triazole antifungal with minimal drug–drug interactions and a favorable side-effect profile, is also a potent inhibitor of the Hh pathway that functions at the level of SMO. We demonstrate that posaconazole inhibits the Hh pathway by a mechanism distinct from that of cyclopamine and other cyclopamine-competitive SMO antagonists but, similar to itraconazole, has robust activity against drug-resistant SMO mutants and inhibits the growth of Hh-dependent BCC in vivo. Our results suggest that posaconazole, alone or in combination with other Hh pathway antagonists, may be readily tested in clinical studies for the treatment of Hh-dependent cancers. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 866–76. ©2016 AACR.
The transient intraluminal filament middle cerebral artery occlusion model as a model of endovascular thrombectomy in stroke

The clinical relevance of the transient intraluminal filament model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) has been questioned due to distinct cerebral blood flow profiles upon reperfusion between tMCAO (abrupt reperfusion) and alteplase treatment (gradual reperfusion), resulting in differing pathophysiologies. Positive results from recent endovascular thrombectomy trials, where the occluding clot is mechanically removed, could revolutionize stroke treatment. The rapid cerebral blood flow restoration in both tMCAO and endovascular thrombectomy provides clinical relevance for this pre-clinical model. Any future clinical trials of neuroprotective agents as adjuncts to endovascular thrombectomy should consider tMCAO as the model of choice to determine pre-clinical efficacy.
' s personal copy Hydroxyapatite whisker-reinforced polyetherketoneketone bone ingrowth scaffolds

Hydroxyapatite (HA) whisker-reinforced polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) bone ingrowth scaffolds were prepared and characterized. High levels of porosity (75–90%) and HA whisker reinforcement (0–40 vol.%) were attained using a powder processing approach to mix the HA whiskers, PEKK powder and a NaCl porogen, followed by compression molding at 350–375 C and particle leaching to remove the porogen. The scaffold architecture and microstructure exhibited characteristics known to be favorable for osteointegration. Scaffold porosity was interconnected with a mean pore size in the range 200–300 lm as measured by micro-computed tomography. HA whiskers were embedded within and exposed on the surface of scaffold struts, producing a microscale surface topography, shown by von Kossa staining and scanning electron microscopy. Therefore, HA whisker-reinforced PEKK bone ingrowth scaffolds may be advantageous for orthopedic implant fixation, including interbody spinal fusion. 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Hardware-efficient index mapping for mixed radix-2/3/4/5 FFTs

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing modulators and demodulators for modern communication standards require efficient implementation of the fast Fourier transform (FFT). Traditionally, radix-2 and radix-4 FFT algorithms have been used. Over the last few years, support for the non-power-of-two transform sizes, with the emphasis on radix-3 and radix-5, started to become a standard. We have created a systematic approach for designing simple digital circuits that compute array access indices for the mixed radix-2/3/4/5 FFT computations. Proposed index mapping, allows for the use of a bit rotation instead of the add/modulo and multiply operations. Index generation circuits, implementing the proposed index mapping, have hardware complexity comparable to index generation circuits for power-of-two FFTs.
Forecasting Peaks of Seasonal Influenza Epidemics

We present a framework for near real-time forecast of influenza epidemics using a simulation optimization approach. The method combines an individual-based model and a simple root finding optimization method for parameter estimation and forecasting. In this study, retrospective forecasts were generated for seasonal influenza epidemics using web-based estimates of influenza activity from Google Flu Trends for 2004-2005, 2007-2008 and 2012-2013 flu seasons. In some cases, the peak could be forecasted 5-6 weeks ahead. This study adds to existing resources for influenza forecasting and the proposed method can be used in conjunction with other approaches in an ensemble framework.
Fluid driven and mechanically induced fracture propagation : theory and numerical simulations

In this chapter, we present a general partition of unity based cohesive zone model for fracture propagation and nucleation in saturated porous materials. We consider both two-dimensional isotropic and orthotropic media based on the general Biot theory. Fluid flow from the bulk formation into the fracture is accounted for. The fracture propagation is based on a average stress approach. This approach is adjusted to be directionally depended for orthotropic materials. The accuracy of the continuous part of the model is addressed by performing Mandel’s problem for isotropic and orthotropic materials. The performance of the model is investigated with a propagating fracture in an orthotropic material and by considering fracture nucleation and propagation in an isotropic mixed-mode fracture problem. In the latter example we also investigated the influence of the bulk permeability on the numerical results. Reproduced from: E.W. Remij, J.J.C. Remmers, F. Pizzocolo, D.M. J. Smeulders and J.M. Huyghe. A partition of unity-based model for crack nucleation and propagation in porous media, including orthotropic materials. Transport in Porous Media, 1-18, 2014.
The MS Symptom and Impact Diary (MSSID): psychometric evaluation of a new instrument to measure the day to day impact of multiple sclerosis

Objectives: This study aimed to develop further a diary originally devised to measure the impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) as part of a cost utility study of beta interferon, and to evaluate its reliability, validity, and responsiveness in an outpatient sample of people with MS. Methods: The original diary was further developed using qualitative and quantitative methods to ensure that it addressed the views of people with MS. The psychometric properties of the MS Symptom and Impact Diary (MSSID) were evaluated in a sample of 77 people who completed the MSSID daily for 12 weeks. Internal and test–retest reliability, discriminant and convergent validity, and responsiveness were assessed using traditional psychometric methods. Results: The MSSID formed three, internally consistent scales that measured mobility, fatigue, and the overall impact of MS. The test–retest reliability of the mobility scale was adequate for individual comparisons (ICC>0.90) and the fatigue and overall impact scales were adequate for group comparisons (ICC>0.70). The MSSID was able to distinguish between clinical groups depending on clinical course, indoor ambulation status, and relapse status. It demonstrated associations with other single point instruments in the expected direction. Compared with single point instruments, its responsiveness was similar or better, especially in detecting short term improvements in functioning. Conclusions: The MSSID may provide a useful complement to currently available instruments to measure the outcomes of MS within clinical trials. Further research is needed to explore its feasibility in the context of a randomised controlled trial and its utility for clinicians.
Modeling and simulation of individual user behavior for building performance predictions

User behavior is a key to the correct prediction of building performance. Performance is meant here not only in relation to energy consumption, but more importantly to user satisfaction and, in commercial buildings, job performance. The contributions of this paper are static and dynamic models of individual users and user activities in an office environment in relation to building control systems. The models are based on a well structured general model of five different domains of building entities, including user activities. Models for specific simulation projects are refinements of this general model. It is shown how multi-agent based simulations can be automatically derived from such models. A case study of an university office with irregular occupancy is introduced as an example.
Electrophysiologic Assessment of Auditory Training Benefits in Older Adults

Abstract Older adults often exhibit speech perception deficits in difficult listening environments. At present, hearing aids or cochlear implants are the main options for therapeutic remediation; however, they only address audibility and do not compensate for central processing changes that may accompany aging and hearing loss or declines in cognitive function. It is unknown whether long-term hearing aid or cochlear implant use can restore changes in central encoding of temporal and spectral components of speech or improve cognitive function. Therefore, consideration should be given to auditory/cognitive training that targets auditory processing and cognitive declines, taking advantage of the plastic nature of the central auditory system. The demonstration of treatment efficacy is an important component of any training strategy. Electrophysiologic measures can be used to assess training-related benefits. This article will review the evidence for neuroplasticity in the auditory system and the use of evoked potentials to document treatment efficacy.
Dye-sensitized solar cell based on TiO2/MnO2 composite film as working electrode

The purpose of this study is to develop DSSC based on TiO2/MnO2 composite film as working electrode. The working electrodes were prepared by the doctor blade method and their characteristics were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Moreover, the performance of DSSCs was performed under simulated AM 1.5G solar illumination using 100 mW/cm2. The indirect band gap of TiO2 pure, TiO2/MnO2 and TiO2/MnO2 6% films are 3.29, 2.98 and 2.81 eV, respectively. The highest power conversion was 0.018 % which corresponds to TiO2/MnO2 6% composite film. The results suggest that the MnO2 added to the semiconductor TiO2 can improve the efficiency of the DSSCs.
The intermediate matching kernel for image local features

We introduce the intermediate matching (IM) kernel for SVM-hased object recognition. The IM kernel operates on a feature space of vector sets where each image is represented by a set of local features. Matching algorithms have proved to be efficient for such types of features. Nevertheless, kernelizing the matching for SVM does not lead to positive definite kernels. The IM kernel overcomes this drawback, as it mimics matching algorithms while being positive definite. The IM kernel introduces an intermediary set of so-called virtual local features. These select the pairs of local features to be matched. Comparisons with the matching kernel shows that the IM kernels leads to similar performances.
Edwards Et Al., Supplementary Information

Construction of LUC+ marker lines: GI and PRR9 promoter fragments were obtained by PCR performed on genomic DNA of wild type Ws plants. Unique restriction sites were designed at the 5' and 3' ends of the promoter fragments to facilitate cloning in the pPCV-LUC+ binary vector (Toth et al, 2001). The amplified fragments contained the entire 5'-untranslated region, but not the ATG of the corresponding genes. Fragment lengths and restriction sites at the 5' and 3' ends were: GI, 2749 bp, XbaI-BamHI; PRR9: 1330 bp, SalI-BamHI. The 35S promoter was isolated from the pPCV812 binary vector (Koncz & Schell, 1986) and cloned in pPCV-LUC+ as a SalI-BamHI fragment. The constructs were transformed into Arabidopsis (Ws) plants (Clough & Bent, 1998). Transformants were selected on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 15 µg mL1 of hygromycin. 10 to 15 independent transformants for each construct were self-fertilised, and individuals of the T2 progeny were used for luminescence assays.
Automatic Text Classification in Information retrieval: A Survey

Improvement in information retrieval performance relates to the accessibility, selection and management of large amounts of information on web that usually expressed as textual data and supervised machine learning approach is an important source of tool for automating information retrieval task. This paper provides a review of supervised machine learning approaches of text classification for information retrieval and present a comparative study of supervised machine learning algorithms namely Naïve Bayes (NB), Support vector machine (SVM), K- nearest neighbor (KNN) and decision tree (DT). We used WEKA (Weikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis) tool to evaluate these four algorithms through a series of experiments. In WEKA Sequential Minimum Optimization (SMO) represents Support vector machine (SVM) classifier, IBK represents K- nearest neighbour and J48 version of Decision Tree is used. The result concludes that the performance of the algorithms depends on the characteristics of the datasets.
Distorted Coarse Axon Targeting and Reduced Dendrite Connectivity Underlie Dysosmia after Olfactory Axon Injury

Visual Abstract The glomerular map in the olfactory bulb (OB) is the basis for odor recognition. Once established during development, the glomerular map is stably maintained throughout the life of an animal despite the continuous turnover of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). However, traumatic damage to OSN axons in the adult often leads to dysosmia, a qualitative and quantitative change in olfaction in humans. A mouse model of dysosmia has previously indicated that there is an altered glomerular map in the OB after the OSN axon injury; however, the underlying mechanisms that cause the map distortion remain unknown. In this study, we examined how the glomerular map is disturbed and how the odor information processing in the OB is affected in the dysosmia model mice. We found that the anterior–posterior coarse targeting of OSN axons is disrupted after OSN axon injury, while the local axon sorting mechanisms remained. We also found that the connectivity of mitral/tufted cell dendrites is reduced after injury, leading to attenuated odor responses in mitral/tufted cells. These results suggest that existing OSN axons are an essential scaffold for maintaining the integrity of the olfactory circuit, both OSN axons and mitral/tufted cell dendrites, in the adult.
HydraVM : Low-Cost , Transparent High Availability for Virt ual Machines

Existing approaches to providing high availability (HA) for virtualized environments require a backup VM for every primary running VM. These approaches are expensive in memory because the backup VM requires the same amount of memory as the primary, even though it is normally passive. In this paper, we propose a storage-based, memory-efficient HA solution for VMs, called HydraVM, that eliminates the passive memory reservations for backups. HydraVM maintains a complete, recent image of each protected VM in shared storage using an incremental checkpointing technique. Upo n failure of a primary VM, a backup can be promptly restored on any server with available memory. Our evaluation results have shown that HydraVM provides protection for VMs at a low overhead, and can restore a failed VM within 1.6 seconds without excessive use of memory resource in a virtualized environment. Keywords-Virtualization; High Availability; VM Checkpointing; VM Restore; Shared Storage; Submission Category:Regular paper Word Count: 9345 words Declaration: The material has been cleared through all authors’ affiliations.