Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards an Efficient, Scalable, Dynamic and Flexible NFV-based Data Plane

Towards an Efficient, Scalable, Dynamic and Flexible NFV-based Data Plane The increasing demand for complex network functions and middleboxes, and new techniques – SDN and NFV have driven the network transformation from expensive and custom built hardware appliances to predominately software-based NFs (network functions). The heterogeneous software-based NFs and service chains (packets are steered to a sequence of network functions) bring in new challenges and interesting problems such as high speed and flexible networking systems and fine-grained resource management for flow isolation. In this thesis we investigate challenges related to the network data plane, with a particular emphasis on how to provide high performance packet processing, flexible and dynamic flow steering and flow-level resource management and scheduling. We first discuss the limitations of the current divide between an intelligent control plane and an overly simple, stateless data plane. To use fine-grained flow information to determine how packets are processed, we demonstrate OpenNetVM, which provides high-speed packet processing in a flexible data plane. Then we need a way to manage the “smart” data plane with SDN controller. To do so, we present a hierarchical control framework, SDNFV, which can make routing decisions by a SDN controller, a host-level manager and individual NFs based on different granularity information at different stages. The platform provides a flexible and dynamic data plane, which can get the right balance of efficiency, flexibility and ease of control. We then investigate how to provide efficient resource usage and flow-level performance management in the data plane. We propose to leverage the benefits of both polling and interrupt packet processing, that can allow running NFs at a large scale. We track flow state in a light-weight manner and map per flow or per class flows to the required NFs. In Flurries, different types of flows can run and be scheduled on the
Effects of spectral smearing on phoneme and word recognition.

The principal goal was to measure the effects, on speech perception, of loss of spectral detail in the acoustic signal. Spectral smearing was produced by multiplying the speech waveform by low-pass filtered noise. Performance was measured in normal adults as the percentage of phonemes correctly repeated in lists of monosyllabic words. A smearing bandwidth of 250 Hz (i.e., each tonal component of the instantaneous spectrum replaced by a 250-Hz band of noise) had a small but significant effect on phoneme recognition. A smearing bandwidth of 8000 Hz was required to reduce phoneme recognition to a value that was indistinguishable from that produced by complete smearing. Vowels were somewhat more susceptible to the effects of spectral smearing than were consonants, and initial consonants were more susceptible than were final consonants. In an analysis of errors, place of consonant articulation was more susceptible than either manner of articulation or voicing. These findings are attributable to differences in the relative importance of spectral and temporal cues. Word recognition was more susceptible to the effects of spectral smearing than was phoneme recognition, but this finding was predictable on the basis of the known nonlinear relationship between the two measures. In a second experiment, smearing bandwidths of 707 and 2000 Hz increased phoneme recognition threshold by 12.9 and 16.4 dB, respectively, compared to that found without smearing. (Phoneme recognition threshold is defined, here, as the signal-to-noise ratio at which phoneme recognition is 50% of the value obtained in quiet.) The data are consistent with the hypothesis that reduced spectral resolution affects phoneme recognition to the extent that it reduces access to the formant patterns in the spectral envelope.
The Electromagnetic Compatibility of Integrated Circuits—Past, Present, and Future

Throughout the decades of continuous advances in semiconductor technology, from the discrete devices of the late 1950s to today's billon-transistor system-on-chip, there have always been concerns about the ability of components to operate safely in an increasingly disruptive electromagnetic environment. This paper provides a nonexhaustive review of the research work conducted in the field of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) at the IC level over the past 40 years. It also brings together a collection of information and trends in IC technology, in order to build a tentative roadmap for the EMC of ICs until the year 2020, with a focus on measurement methods and modeling approaches.
Recipient-Derived Cells in the Tissue Repair of Renal Allografts

To observe the roles of recipient-derived cells in renal allografts with acute cellular rejection (ACR), eight male patients who had received a female donor kidney were enrolled, with protocol renal allograft biopsies. Three of them suffered from ACR, and the other five with normal function. Biopsy sections were detected for the presence of recipient-derived cells and their phenotypes. Recipient-derived cells appeared in the tubular epithelium as early as 13 days posttransplant, with the phenotype of cytokeratin+/CD45−. They also localized in the medium walls of arterioles and expressed &agr;-SMA. In patients with ACR, recipient-derived tubular cells increased persistently during the first 6 months (3.8 to 6.6%). Long-term follow up showed a decline in their number when ACR ameliorated. In patients without ACR, the infiltration rate remained stable (0.6−2.3%). Recipient-derived cells participate the remodeling of renal allografts. They might have a close relationship with ACR outcome and with vascular structure remodeling.
Construction of News on Violence Cases Againts Women in Online Media Tirto.id

This study aims to construct news on violence cases against women published by Tirto.id online media in the dimensions of the text, discourse practices, and socio-cultural practices. The study used a descriptive qualitative approach. Data sources are found in three news in Tirto.id which fall into three types of violence, namely: sexual, psychological, and private violence. The data analysis technique is the Fairclough model of critical discourse analysis. Therefore, the results of the study are: (1) the dimensions of the text, representation in the form of diction, grammar, cohesion, metaphor, identity of place and journalists, (2) the dimensions of the practice of discourse are relevant to the vision of the media which contains comprehensive and investigative news involving the editor in chief, editors, and journalists, (3) the dimensions of sociocultural practices at the situational level that are produced according to the current situation by highlighting women as survivors of rape case not victims, institutional level involving several relevant sources related to the case, social level constructed of awareness of gender equality referring to ideology feminism, provides a positive image of women who experience rape, and leads readers' positive perceptions of tirto.id media for voicing women's equality through the construction of news published in tirto.id online media. Keywords—news, violence, women, online media
Violence in severe mental illness: is cognition missing in the associations with ethnicity, cannabis and alcohol?

The article by Dharmawardene and Menkes1 supports that cannabis use in an inpatient psychiatric sample is a significant predictor of lifetime violence among the severely mentally ill. Although this finding is important for clinicians as well as the researchers, an important point in the analyses of this research is missing. Did the adult psychiatric inpatients who were also cannabis users demonstrate more deficits in their neuropsychological profile than the psychiatric inpatients did who scored lower on substance use questionnaires?
Creative Prototyping as an Inter-Dimensional Portal Between Disciplines

This paper uses a narrative literary study to discuss how the science fiction prototyping method has been applied so far in different disciplines, including technology and engineering research (specifically Intelligent Environment research), foresight, futuresand business studies. Then the paper presents very similar practices in human-computer interaction, entitled as e.g. critical design, speculative design and design fiction. After that, the paper focuses on their common denominator, scenario planning and scenario design, and deliberates briefly on how the creative, future-oriented prototyping differs from them. The main contribution is to propose a conversional tool – an interdimensional portal – for all the involved disciplines that is aimed at uniting their forces and passion for science fiction – for the greatest benefit of all mankind.
The effects of stoichiometry on the mechanical properties of icosahedral boron carbide under loading

The effects of stoichiometry on the atomic structure and the related mechanical properties of boron carbide (B4C) have been studied using density functional theory and quantum molecular dynamics simulations. Computational cells of boron carbide containing up to 960 atoms and spanning compositions ranging from 6.7% to 26.7% carbon were used to determine the effects of stoichiometry on the atomic structure, elastic properties, and stress–strain response as a function of hydrostatic, uniaxial, and shear loading paths. It was found that different stoichiometries, as well as variable atomic arrangements within a fixed stoichiometry, can have a significant impact on the yield stress of boron carbide when compressed uniaxially (by as much as 70% in some cases); the significantly reduced strength of boron carbide under shear loading is also demonstrated.
A kernel‐based core growing clustering method

In this paper, a novel clustering method in the kernel space is proposed. It effectively integrates several existing algorithms to become an iterative clustering scheme, which can handle clusters with arbitrary shapes. In our proposed approach, a reasonable initial core for each of the cluster is estimated. This allows us to adopt a cluster growing technique, and the growing cores offer partial hints on the cluster association. Consequently, the methods used for classification, such as support vector machines (SVMs), can be useful in our approach. To obtain initial clusters effectively, the notion of the incomplete Cholesky decomposition is adopted so that the fuzzy c‐means (FCM) can be used to partition the data in a kernel defined‐like space. Then a one‐class and a multiclass soft margin SVMs are adopted to detect the data within the main distributions (the cores) of the clusters and to repartition the data into new clusters iteratively. The structure of the data set is explored by pruning the data in the low‐density region of the clusters. Then data are gradually added back to the main distributions to assure exact cluster boundaries. Unlike the ordinary SVM algorithm, whose performance relies heavily on the kernel parameters given by the user, the parameters are estimated from the data set naturally in our approach. The experimental evaluations on two synthetic data sets and four University of California Irvine real data benchmarks indicate that the proposed algorithms outperform several popular clustering algorithms, such as FCM, support vector clustering (SVC), hierarchical clustering (HC), self‐organizing maps (SOM), and non‐Euclidean norm fuzzy c‐means (NEFCM). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.4
Stress status of gudgeon (Gobio gobio) from rivers in Switzerland with and without input of sewage treatment plant effluent

To assess the importance of sewage treatment plant effluents on fish health, we studied gudgeon in two rivers in the Swiss midlands (Canton Lucerne). Both rivers receive pollution from diffuse sources, while one also receives the effluent of a sewage treatment plant. Male and female gudgeon during and outside of the spawning season were compared with respect to reproductive parameters and health status across both rivers as well as upstream and downstream of the STP. Several biomarkers were studied, including cytochrome P4501A, 7‐ethoxyresorufin‐O‐deethylase, plasma vitellogenin, ovotestis, lipid, liver histology, condition factor, gonadosomatic index, splenosomatic index, parasites of spleen and liver, population structure, and species diversity. Gudgeons of both rivers exhibited signs of a moderately impaired health status. By a stepwise backward analysis, the cytochrome P4501A content, the splenosomatic index, and the incidence of parasites in the liver were found to provide the best discrimination of the three sampling sites. Evidence of a significant elevation in response to the sewage treatment plant effluent was found neither in vitellogenin concentration nor in the ovotestis rate. While population structure was analyzed upstream and downstream of the sewage treatment plant, only gudgeons of the latter site revealed a disturbed population structure, most probably caused by a former nitrite discharge.
Do Equity Market Correlations Really Change Over Time? The Case of the US and Asia-Pacific Markets

Existing literature suggests that conditional correlations between equity markets vary over time, and increase over periods of financial crises. I test this hypothesis on a set of eight national equity indices from the Asia-Pacific region on one hand, and the US market on the other. Tse (2000) constant conditional correlation test suggests that three out of eight market pairs exhibit constant conditional correlations. The remaining five correlations are time varying, but can be further subdivided into those that are characterized by high persistence in the dynamics, and those which display strong mean reversion graphs. Global asset managers should take these features into account when allocating funds across the Asia-Pacific as the expected diversification gains are likely to differ across the region, and depend on the characteristics of the correlation coefficients.
Kinetics of inhibition of methane oxidation by nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium in a humisol

The kinetics of inhibition of CH(inf4) oxidation by NH(inf4)(sup+), NO(inf2)(sup-), and NO(inf3)(sup-) in a humisol was investigated. Soil slurries exhibited nearly standard Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with half-saturation constant [K(infm(app))] values for CH(inf4) of 50 to 200 parts per million of volume (ppmv) and V(infmax) values of 1.1 to 2.5 nmol of CH(inf4) g of dry soil(sup-1) h(sup-1). With one soil sample, NH(inf4)(sup+) acted as a simple competitive inhibitor, with an estimated K(infi) of 8 (mu)M NH(inf4)(sup+) (18 nM NH(inf3)). With another soil sample, the response to NH(inf4)(sup+) addition was more complex and the inhibitory effect of NH(inf4)(sup+) was greater than predicted by a simple competitive model at low CH(inf4) concentrations (<50 ppmv). This was probably due to NO(inf2)(sup-) produced through NH(inf4)(sup+) oxidation. Added NO(inf2)(sup-) was inherently more inhibitory of CH(inf4) oxidation at low CH(inf4) concentrations, and more NO(inf2)(sup-) was produced as the CH(inf4)-to-NH(inf4)(sup+) ratio decreased and the competitive balance shifted. NaNO(inf3) was a noncompetitive inhibitor of CH(inf4) oxidation, but inhibition was evident only at >10 mM concentrations, which also altered soil pHs. Similar concentrations of NaCl were also inhibitory of CH(inf4) oxidation, so there may be no special inhibitory mechanism of nitrate per se.
Addressing the effect of workers’ remittance on economic growth: evidence from MENA countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of remittances on economic growth in MENA region. More precisely this study tries first to explore the short-run and the long-run relationship between remittances and economic growth. Second, the authors address how the local financial development and institutional environment influence a country’s capacity to take advantage from remittances. Design/methodology/approach – The panel data unit-root test as well as the panel data co-integration is used for the purpose of the long-run remittances growth relationship and the IV technique with GMM option is adopted to study the short-run link. Findings – This paper provides empirical evidence that remittances have a positive effect on economic growth in the long run and a negative effect in short run. The short-run effect of remittances on economic growth is conditional. In fact, it depends in the levels of financial development and institutional quality, respectively. Practical implications – As practical implications, policy interventions, to improve the functioning of governance institutions, enforcing regulation and political stability, enhancing financial system and socio-economic environment are also crucial for increasing the benefit effects of remittances. Originality/value – The research is an extension of previous evidence in two ways; the authors have examined the long-run and short-run remittances-growth relationship in the first time. In the second time, the authors have explored the conditional remittances-growth relationship in MENA countries. Specifically, the authors have examined whether the remittances-growth nexus is affected by financial development and institutional quality levels in MENA countries.
Mitochondrial DNA‐Deficient Models and Aging

Abstract: Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes 13 subunits of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) enzyme complexes I, III, IV, and V except complex II. MtDNA is more sensitive to oxidative damage than nuclear DNA. MtDNA defects are involved in many pathologies including aging. Several mtDNA‐deficient cell culture, yeast, and animal models were generated to study the role of mtDNA in many physiological processes. Ethidium bromide (EB), an agent that is known to inhibit mtDNA replication with a negligible effect on nuclear DNA, is generally used to generate mtDNA‐deficient models. The antibiotics chloramphenicol and doxycycline, which were known to inhibit mitochondrial translation, were also used to generate the same phenotype. Cultured mtDNA‐deficient cells need uridine and pyruvate to survive. At the organismal level, uridine can be supplemented, but pyruvate supplementation can cause a worser phenotype because of lactic acidosis. In C. elegans, EB, when used during larval development, increases life span, but decreases, when used after the beginning of adult stage. This should be kept in mind since mitochondria‐related genes are generally detected in genome‐wide screening studies for longevity. We believe that conditional knockout studies need to be carried out for these genes after reaching adulthood. MtDNA mutator mouse did not show an increase of free radical production. Therefore, the downstream phenomena to mtDNA defects are likely ineffective pyrimidine synthesis (dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, DHODH, needs a functional respiratory chain) and excess NADH (decreased NAD pool) in addition to free radicals.
Understanding Medical Interpreters: Reconceptualizing Bilingual Health Communication

This article provides a new approach in conceptualizing bilingual health communication, emphasizing the differences between types of medical interpreters as well as the interrelationships among all participants in bilingual health communication. Confronted by the conflicting results of interpreting services in medical settings, the author used past research to explain why medical interpreters should be categorized into different categories (i.e., chance interpreters, untrained interpreters, bilingual health care providers, on-site interpreters, and telephone interpreters) so that their characteristics and interpreting styles can be better observed and understood. In addition, by recognizing that interpreter-mediated communications in health settings are dynamic situations and that all participants can influence the outcomes of the communication, researchers can start to investigate the interrelationships among all the participants and, thus, develop different strategies that will improve the quality of bilingual health communication.
The Impact of Analytical Review Results, Internal Control Reliability, and Experience on Auditors' Use of Analytical Review

This paper examines three questions concerning auditor analytical review judgments that were suggested from data obtained in prior protocol research (Biggs, Mock, and Watkins [1988]): (1) do auditors use the results of analytical review to reduce, as well as extend, audit testing; (2) does the reliability of the data affect auditors' analytical review judgments; and (3) does experience level affect the type of analytical review judgments made by auditors? Analytical review results were manipulated to indicate potential errors or no errors; the reliability of the internal control system was manipulated as either strong or weak; and auditor experience was considered at the manager and senior levels. Based on relevant data, auditors made audit plan modifications. Biggs, Mock, and Watkins [1985] note that borrowing hypotheses from other disciplines, or using general theories of judgment and problem solving, often does not provide appropriate bases to explain auditor behavior in realistic task settings. They state that better hypothesis testing can be conducted if the hypotheses are induced from a descriptive knowledge of how auditors make decisions in various contexts. Hypotheses developed from prior descriptive work were tested here in an experimental design considering 96 auditors.
Mutational and DNA Binding Specificity of the Carcinogen 2-Amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline*

The mutagenic specificity of 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), a food-borne mutagen and carcinogen, was studied. Plasmid pK19 was modified by photolysis with the 2-azido form of the carcinogen. High pressure liquid chromatography confirmed that the photoactivated azide formed primarily C8 and N2 guanyl adducts. Transformation of modified pK19 into excision repair competent Escherichia coli resulted in dose-dependent increases in genotoxicity and in mutagenesis within the lacZα target sequence. Upon induction of the SOS response, a 20-fold increase in mutation frequency over background was observed. A mutational spectrum for MeIQx, generated by sequencing 125 independent mutants, revealed base substitutions (41%), frameshifts (54%), and complex mutations (5.6%); >90% of the mutations occurred at G-C base pairs. Two hotspots were evident at runs of three or five G-C base pairs; ~60% of the mutations occurred at the hotspot sites. The hotspot at position 2532 produced mainly base substitutions, while that at position 2576 gave exclusively frameshift mutations. A polymerase inhibition assay mapped the sites of MeIQx adducts. Arrest sites were primarily at or one base 3′ to a guanine residue, which correlated well with the distribution of mutations. No direct correlation was seen, however, between intensity of modification and hotspots for mutation.
Application of Wavelet Transform to the MS-based Proteomics Data Preprocessing

Mass spectrometry (MS) has become one of the major detection technologies for high-throughput proteomics. The preprocessing of mass spectra is crucial for its subsequent analysis like biomarker discovery or protein identification. Wavelet transform is gradually becoming an important methodology in the MS data preprocessing. This paper reviews the application of wavelet transforms in quality control, smoothing and peak detection of MS data preprocessing. It also proposes an improved Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) smoothing algorithm, which utilizes the cross-level DWT coefficients information during smoothing. Most of the algorithms described in this paper are included or will be included in the Bioconductor MassSpecWavelet package.