Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Filter Checker: An Active Verification Management Approach

Dynamic verification architectures provide fault detection by employing a simple checker processor that dynamically checks the computations of a complex processor. For dynamic verification to be viable, the checker processor must keep up with the retirement throughput of the core processor. However, the overall throughput would be limited if the checker processor is neither fast nor wide enough to keep up with the core processor. The authors investigate the impact of checker bandwidth on performance. As a solution for the checker's congestion, the authors propose an active verification management (AVM) approach with a filter checker. The goal of AVM is to reduce overloaded verification in the checker with a congestion avoidance policy and to minimize the performance degradation caused by congestion. Before the verification process starts at the checker processor, a filter checker marks a correctness non-criticality indicator (CNI) bit in advance to indicate how likely these pre-computed results are to be unimportant for reliability. Then AVM decides how to deal with the marked instructions by using a congestion avoidance policy. Both reactive and proactive congestion avoidance policies are proposed to skip the verification process at the checker. Results show that the proposed AVM has the potential to solve the verification congestion problem when perfect fault coverage is not needed. With no AVM, congestion at the checker badly affects performance, to the tune of 57%, when compared to that of a non-fault-tolerant processor. With good marking by AVM, the performance of a reliable processor approaches 95% of that of a non-fault-tolerant processor. Although instructions can be skipped on a random basis, such an approach reduces the fault coverage. A filter checker with a marking policy correlated with the correctness non-criticality metric, on the other hand, significantly reduces the soft error rate. Finally, the authors also present results showing the trade-off between performance and reliability
<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Privacy for Collaborative Data Publishing

In this paper, we consider the collaborative data publishing problem for anonymizing horizontally partitioned data at multiple data providers. We consider a new type of “insider attack” by colluding data providers who may use their own data records (a subset of the overall data) to infer the data records contributed by other data providers. The paper addresses this new threat, and makes several contributions. First, we introduce the notion of m-privacy, which guarantees that the anonymized data satisfies a given privacy constraint against any group of up to m colluding data providers. Second, we present heuristic algorithms exploiting the monotonicity of privacy constraints for efficiently checking m-privacy given a group of records. Third, we present a data provider-aware anonymization algorithm with adaptive m-privacy checking strategies to ensure high utility and m-privacy of anonymized data with efficiency. Finally, we propose secure multi-party computation protocols for collaborative data publishing with m-privacy. All protocols are extensively analyzed and their security and efficiency are formally proved. Experiments on real-life datasets suggest that our approach achieves better or comparable utility and efficiency than existing and baseline algorithms while satisfying m-privacy.
Using Stateful Activities to Facilitate Monitoring and Repair in Workflow Choreographies

The repair of faulty processes (workflows, web service compositions) needs information about the state of the involved web services. We introduce an architecture where (web service based) activities and their instances are treated as manageable resources. Based on the WAMO Model our activities provide detailed information about the state they currently hold, possible states they can reach, as well as operations to affect the current state. The strength of this approach is that we can introduce independent repair and monitoring facilities, that utilize a generic way to access information about running activities.
Teriparatide in Fracture Non-Unions

Background The use of teriparatide in the management of fracture disorders is poorly documented. This study aims to show that teriparatide administration may improve the healing process in patients with nonunions after open fixation of traumatic fractures of the lower limb. Methods Four patients received Teriparatide for management of non-unions after open fixation of traumatic fractures of the lower limb. Results Teriparatide administration resulted in adequate bone callus over the site of nonunion in all the patients, and clinical and radiographic evidence of sound union. Conclusions The efficacy of teriparatide in delayed or non unions is still unclear. It may induce an angiogenetic response which counteracts the features responsible for development of non-union. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.
A mid-latitude ozone model for the 1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere

A mid-latitude northern hemisphere model of the daytime ozone distribution in the troposphere, stratosphere, and lower mesosphere has been constructed. Data from rocket soundings in the latitude range of 45°N±15°N, results of balloon soundings at latitudes from 41° to 47°N, and latitude gradients from satellite ozone observations have been combined to produce estimates of the annual mean ozone concentration and its variability at heights up to 74 km for an effective latitude of 45°N. This model is a revision for heights above 26 km of the tentative mid-latitude ozone model, included in the U.S. Standard Atmosphere Supplements, 1966, and has been adopted for use in the U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1976.
An fMRI Study on the Time-Limited Role of the Medial Temporal Lobe in Long-Term Topographical Autobiographic Memory

The time-limited role of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in human long-term memory is well known. However, there is still no direct neuroimaging evidence to confirm it. In this fMRI study, nine subjects were scanned while asked to recall the places they visited more than seven years ago (remote memories); and the places they visited recently (recent memories). We observed robust and dominant MTL activity peaking in the left parahippocampal gyrus when recent memories were contrasted with remote memories. This result provided direct evidence for the time-limited role of the MTL in long-term topographical autobiographic memory. Further analysis revealed that this MTL activity was not due to the fact that the retrieval of recent memories was accompanied by more details. When detailed recent memories were contrasted with detailed remote memories, there was still MTL activity peaking in the left parahippocampal gyrus. The effects of details in remote memories are also discussed.
Estimating the Carbon Cycle of South Africa with BETHY/DLR

Quantifying sources and sinks of climatological relevant trace gases as well as understanding their exchange between atmosphere and land surface have become essential research topics in atmospheric sciences during the last years. Modelling of the net CO2 uptake by vegetation via photosynthesis (Net Primary Productivity, NPP) has become an important tool to study the mechanisms of CO2 exchange and to quantify the magnitude of terrestrial sinks and sources. The vegetation model BETHY/DLR (Biosphere Energy Transfer Hydrology Model), used in our studies at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), is modified to simulate the carbon cycle in vegetated areas, computing the NPP for different regions on regional to national scales. The model is driven by remote sensing data of leaf area index (LAI) and land cover classification (GLC2000) and meteorological input data which is provided by the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). variety of the vegetated areas can be considered. The model was widely tested and validated for Europe on coarse resolution (27 km) and on high resolution (1 km) for forests and croplands in Germany and Austria using statistical data for validation. The actual area of investigations is South Africa with special interest to analyse desertification and land degradation in terms of NPP. In collaboration with other PhD students connected via the Earth Observation System network (EOS network) of the Helmholtz Association, the presented work contributes to the understanding and solution process of these problems in semiarid areas resulting from global change. Our studies are included in the EOS topic “Global Change and Processes on the Land Surface” where specifically semiarid ecosystems are investigated facing the problem of desertification and land degradation. For this we started to adjust our model to the specific needs of the semiarid landscapes of South Africa, where first NPP maps with 1km spatial resolution for several years will be presented and discussed. Further steps will be the implementation of a phenology model to simulate plant growth and the development of an assimilation procedure to forecast the trend of the changes in the analysed ecosystems.
Compiler Assignment of Data Items to Registers

This paper formulates as integer programmling problems three methods for assigning data items to registers in the compilation process--the one-one, many-one, and many-few global assignment methods. Three algorithms are described for obtaining feasible solutions to the many-one and many-few global assignment problems. One provides an optimal solution. The others, which provide good approximations, appear to be sufficiently fast for inclusion in an optimizing compiler.
TGF-β-Operated Growth Inhibition and Translineage Commitment into Smooth Muscle Cells of Periodontal Ligament-Derived Endothelial Progenitor Cells through Smad- and p38 MAPK-Dependent Signals

The periodontal ligament (PDL) is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches the tooth to the alveolar bone. We previously demonstrated the ability of PDL fibroblast-like cells to construct an endothelial cell (EC) marker-positive blood vessel-like structure, indicating the potential of fibroblastic lineage cells in PDL tissue as precursors of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) to facilitate the construction of a vascular system around damaged PDL tissue. A vascular regeneration around PDL tissue needs proliferation of vascular progenitor cells and the subsequent differentiation of the cells. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is known as an inducer of endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), however, it remains to be clarified what kinds of TGF-β signals affect growth and mesenchymal differentiation of PDL-derived EPC-like fibroblastic cells. Here, we demonstrated that TGF-β1 not only suppressed the proliferation of the PDL-derived EPC-like fibroblastic cells, but also induced smooth muscle cell (SMC) markers expression in the cells. On the other hand, TGF-β1 stimulation suppressed EC marker expression. Intriguingly, overexpression of Smad7, an inhibitor for TGF-β-induced Smad-dependent signaling, suppressed the TGF-β1-induced growth inhibition and SMC markers expression, but did not the TGF-β1-induced downregulation of EC marker expression. In contrast, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor SB 203580 suppressed the TGF-β1-induced downregulation of EC marker expression. In addition, the TGF-β1-induced SMC markers expression of the PDL-derived cells was reversed upon stimulation with fibroblast growth factor (FGF), suggesting that the TGF-β1 might not induce terminal SMC differentiation of the EPC-like fibroblastic cells. Thus, TGF-β1 not only negatively controls the growth of PDL-derived EPC-like fibroblastic cells via a Smad-dependent manner but also positively controls the SMC-differentiation of the cells possibly at the early stage of the translineage commitment via Smad- and p38 MAPK-dependent manners.
Oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios of tree-ring cellulose in a conifer-hardwood mixed forest in northern Japan

Oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios (δ18O and δ13C) were analyzed for cellulose extracted from tree rings of 5 oak trees (Quercus crispula) and 4 fir trees (Abies sachalinensis) standing in a 1 ha plot of a sub-boreal conifer-hardwood mixed forest, northern Japan. The δ18O variations were well correlated between individual trees of Q. crispula (canopy trees) and A. sachalinensis (recently grown-up sub-canopy trees), although A. sachalinensis had about 1 ‰ higher δ18O values than Q. crispula on average and there was an apparent one-year phase lag between δ18O variations of the two species. The similar inter-annual variation in δ18O among different individuals and species suggests a common environmental control. Contrary to δ18O, the inter-annual variations in δ13C did not possess any common trends among individual trees for either Q. crispula or A. sachalinesis, suggesting that the ecological effects, such as spatial heterogeneities in δ13C and/or concentration of CO2 in canopy air and/or competition for light with neighboring trees, regulate the δ13C of photosynthetic products in each tree. Seasonal variations of the δ18O and δ13C within annual tree rings of Q. crispula showed random and cyclic characteristics, respectively. The difference between the annual patterns of δ18O and δ13C supports the idea that δ18O is controlled by some environmental factors, which change from year to year, but δ13C is primarily governed by physiological conditions of the tree itself, which repeat regularly in every growing season. The historical variation in δ18O of tree-ring cellulose in Q. crispula has negative correlations with those in both of winter and summer precipitation amounts, whereas it does not show any relationship with temperature, probably due to multiple source areas of water vapor for the precipitation at the studied area. Because the δ18O of precipitation in northern Japan is positively correlated with air temperature, the correlation between δ18O and winter precipitation suggests that, in a year of heavy snowfall, the soil in this forest retains larger amount of lower δ18O water derived from snowmelt, which is taken by roots of Q. crispula in summer. On the other hand, the negative correlation with summer precipitation cannot be elucidated by the δ18O of rainfall, but must be explained by a higher relative humidity in the growing season in a year of larger summer rainfall. Our results confirm the potential of δ18O of tree-ring cellulose to reconstruct past climate in a forest with a heavy snowfall, and suggest the importance of the hydrological knowledge in an atmosphere-soil-plant system for the utilization of tree-ring δ18O in paleoenvironmental purposes.
Simulating Soft Shadows with Graphics Hardware

Abstract : This paper describes all algorithm for simulating soft shadows at interactive rates using graphics hardware. On current graphics workstations, the technique can calculate the soft shadows cast by moving, complex objects onto multiple planar surfaces in about a second. In a static, diffuse scene, these high quality shadows can then be displayed at 30 Hz, independent of the number and size of the light sources. For a diffuse scene, the method precomputes a radiance texture that captures the shadows and other brightness variations on each polygon. The texture for each polygon is computed by creating registered projections of the scene onto the polygon from multiple sample points on each light source, and averaging the resulting hard shadow images to compute a soft shadow image. After this precomputation, soft shadows in a static scene can be displayed in real time with simple texture mapping of the radiance textures. All pixel operations employed by the algorithm are supported in hardware by existing graphics workstations. The technique can be generalized for the simulation of shadows on specular surfaces.
Experimental approaches to study plant cell walls during plant-microbe interactions

Plant cell walls provide physical strength, regulate the passage of bio-molecules, and act as the first barrier of defense against biotic and abiotic stress. In addition to providing structural integrity, plant cell walls serve an important function in connecting cells to their extracellular environment by sensing and transducing signals to activate cellular responses, such as those that occur during pathogen infection. This mini review will summarize current experimental approaches used to study cell wall functions during plant-pathogen interactions. Focus will be paid to cell imaging, spectroscopic analyses, and metabolic profiling techniques.
Task and semantic relationship influence both the polarity and localization of hemodynamic modulation during lexico‐semantic processing

This study examined how task (implicit vs. explicit) and semantic relationship (direct vs. indirect) modulated hemodynamic activity during lexico‐semantic processing. Participants viewed directly related, indirectly related, and unrelated prime‐target word‐pairs as they performed (a) an implicit lexical decision (LD) task in which they decided whether each target was a real word or a nonword, and (b) an explicit relatedness judgment (RJ) task in which they determined whether each word‐pair was related or unrelated in meaning. Task influenced both the polarity and neuroanatomical localization of hemodynamic modulation. Semantic relationship influenced the neuroanatomical localization of hemodynamic modulation. The implicit LD task was primarily associated with inferior prefrontal and ventral inferior temporal/fusiform hemodynamic response suppression to directly related (relative to unrelated) word‐pairs, and with more widespread temporal–occipital response suppression to indirectly related (relative to unrelated) word‐pairs. In contrast, the explicit RJ task was primarily associated with left inferior parietal hemodynamic response enhancement to both directly and indirectly related (relative to unrelated) word‐pairs, as well as with additional left inferior prefrontal hemodynamic response enhancement to indirectly related (relative to unrelated) word‐pairs. These findings are discussed in relation to the specific neurocognitive processes thought to underlie implicit and explicit semantic processes. Hum Brain Mapp, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparison of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire With Daily Angina Diary in the TERISA Clinical Trial

Background—As new techniques emerge to quantify patients’ health status, new opportunities are created to validate patient-reported outcome questionnaires. The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), a widely used coronary artery disease–specific health status tool, has not been validated against daily records of angina frequency and sublingual nitroglycerin (SL NTG) use. Additional evidence supporting the validity of the SAQ could justify its broader use as an outcome for clinical studies designed to evaluate treatments that may improve patients’ symptoms, function, and quality of life. Methods and Results—We used data from 917 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and stable angina from the multinational Type 2 Diabetes Evaluation of Ranolazine in Subjects With Chronic Stable Angina (TERISA) trial. The number of angina episodes and SL NTG used were recorded and transmitted daily using an electronic diary. In cross-sectional analyses, there was a strong relationship between the 2 SAQ angina frequency questions (ie, frequency of angina and SL NTG use) and the corresponding diary responses, with correlation coefficients of −0.64 for angina frequency (95% confidence interval,−0.68 to −0.60) and −0.69 for SL NTG use (95% confidence interval, −0.73 to −0.66). Longitudinally, changes in SAQ angina frequency scores from day 1 to week 8 also correlated with changes in angina frequency (−0.42; 95% confidence interval, −0.48 to −0.30) and SL NTG use by diary (−0.38; 95% confidence interval, −0.43 to −0.32) over the corresponding time period. Correlations were similar when stratified by age, sex, or geography. Conclusions—In a multinational cohort of patients with stable angina, the SAQ angina frequency domain was significantly correlated, both cross sectionally and longitudinally, with daily diary entries of angina frequency and SL NTG use. These data further support the validity of the SAQ angina frequency domain across a broad spectrum of patients with stable angina. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT01425359.
Predicting water stress induced by Thaumastocoris peregrinus infestations in plantation forests using field spectroscopy and neural networks

Field spectroscopy was tested in predicting water stress induced by Thaumastocoris peregrinus infestations, a pest which is causing significant damage to eucalypt plantations internationally. Water indices and known water absorption bands calculated from hyperspectral field reflectance were input into a neural network algorithm to predict plant water content (PWC) and equivalent water thickness (EWT). The integrated approach involving field spectral data and neural networks predicted PWC and EWT with correlation coefficients of 0.88 and 0.71 on independent test datasets. The results indicate the potential of high-resolution field spectral data in detecting the early stages of insect infestation due to physiological changes that alter water content.
Recommendation system for HBB TV: Model design and implementation

Hybrid broadcast and broadband (HBB) television is a new platform that opens many possibilities for new services. Recommendation system offers a personalized service that suggests items of interest according to user preference. Nowadays, the number of available programs is so large that one cannot realistically have a real time overview. Recommendation engines were developed to solve the problem of information overload, and save time and effort when looking for appealing content. In this paper, we present model design and implementation of a recommendation system for HBB TV. To explore user preferences and make predictions, an enhanced Naïve Bayes model for rating prediction is designed. The model uses a set of features to predict user rating based on past observation. The recommendation system presented in this paper is flexible and robust enough to handle a sparse data set with very few records of feature description. Experiments performed on a Yahoo movie data set indicated the promising performance of our approach.