Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P arallel Online Continuous Arcing with a Mixture of Neural Networks

This paper presents a new arcing (boosting) algori thm cal led POCA, Parall el Online Continuous Arcing. Unlike traditi onal arcing algorithms (such as Adaboost), which construct an ensemble by adding and training weak learners sequentially on a round-byround basis, training in POCA is performed over an entire ensemble continuously and in parall el. Since members of the ensemble are not frozen after an initial learning period (as in traditi onal arcing) POCA is able to adapt rapidly to non-stationary environments, and because POCA does not require the expli cit storage of exemplar statistics, it is capable of online learning. We present results from experiments conducted using neural network experts which show that POCA is competitive with and more flexible than existing arcing algorithms.
Experimental Investigation of IEEE 802.15.4 Transmission Power Control and Interference Minimization

Although the characteristics of RF transmissions are physically well understood at the lowest levels of communication design, accurately incorporating power and interference effects is one of the most challenging tasks in designing efficient wireless network algorithms. The most noteworthy approaches are the circular transmission and interference "ranges" that do not apply to antennae packages that are not omnidirectional, as well as to non line-of-sight environments of many low power wireless sensor and mesh network. In this paper we experimentally investigate and then model the transmission interference of low power 802.15. 4 based transceiver nodes by relying not only on distance but also on the transmit power, orientations, and the relative positions of the transmitter, receiver, and interfering nodes. The experimentally validated power/interference model is then used as the basis for an optimization algorithm that schedules nodes to minimize interference and maximize throughput from a set of senders to a set of receivers.
Improved FastSLAM based on the particle fission for mobile robots

in this paper, we propose an improved method of FastSLAM for mobile robots. This improved method gives a solution to the sample impoverishment of ordinary particle filter by preprocessing before the resample. Experimental results show that the improved algorithm improves accuracy and real-time of robot localization and mapping compared to the EKF-SLAM as well as the regular FastSLAM and it is of better robustness. It provides a new approach to robot SLAM in out-door unknown environment.
Xprez : A Declarative Presentation Language for XML

Proxima is a generic presentation-oriented XML editor with support for derived values appearing in the documents. Xprez is the presentation language for the Proxima editor. It is a declarative domainspecific language for specifying presentations, in which it is easy to specify simple presentations, but in which more advanced presentations can also be specified. Presentations are first-class values, and Xprez has a powerful abstraction mechanism. The presentation language improves upon existing style sheet languages and pretty-printing libraries.
In Vitro Antiviral Interaction of Lopinavir with Other Protease Inhibitors

ABSTRACT The in vitro inhibition of wild-type human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by combinations of lopinavir and six other protease inhibitors over a range of two-drug combination ratios was evaluated. Combinations of lopinavir with indinavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, tipranavir, and BMS-232632 generally displayed an additive relationship. In contrast, a consistent, statistically significant synergistic inhibition of HIV type 1 replication with combinations of lopinavir and saquinavir was observed. Analysis of the combination indices indicated that lopinavir with saquinavir was synergistic over the entire range of drug combination ratios tested and at all levels of inhibition in excess of 40%. Cellular toxicity was not observed at the highest drug concentrations tested. These results suggest that administration of combinations of the appropriate dose of lopinavir with other protease inhibitors in vivo may result in enhanced antiviral activity with no associated increase in cellular cytotoxicity. More importantly, the observed in vitro synergy between lopinavir and saquinavir provides a theoretical basis for the clinical exploration of a novel regimen of lopinavir-ritonavir and saquinavir.
Transient and steady-state performance of routing protocols: distance-vector versus link-state

We examine two approaches to adaptive routing protocols for wide-area store-and-forward networks, namely, distance-vector and link-state. Distance-vector algorithms have less storage requirements than link-state algorithms. The ARPANET started with a distance-vector algorithm (Distributed Bellman-Ford), but because of long-lived loops, changed to a link-state algorithm (SPF). We evaluate, using a recently developed network simulator, MaRS, the transient and steady-state performance of SPF and two newly proposed distance-vector algorithms (ExBF and MS). Overall, SPF and ExBF have comparable performance and MS is worse.
Supporting note taking in co-located collaborative visual analytics on large interactive surfaces

My research examines how to support note taking in colocated collaborative visual data analysis. My preliminary observational study revealed the importance of note taking as one of the main analytical processes. This finding motivated me to further investigate note taking in the context of co-located collaborative visual analytics. I participated in designing and implementing CoSpaces, a tool specifically tailored for collaborative visual data analysis on tabletop displays. This tool provides a framework for collaborative data analysis, in which note taking mechanisms can be studied. Initially a simple note taking mechanism involving text notes recorded via an on-screen keyboard was implemented. However, a usability study found this to be insufficient. Because of my observation that users frequently used the automatically created links between notes and visualizations to access more information, I aim to investigate the effects of semi-automatic note taking mechanisms built into a collaborative visual analysis tool. I am planning to provide analysts with editable note-templates populated with information related to the current line of inquiry. I hypothesize that note-templates could improve the collaboration process by improving the structure of notes for group use. Evaluation will be done through qualitative user studies. Findings of this research will inform the design of future collaborative tools for visual analysis of data.
Structural and Phylogenetic Analysis of Rhodobacter capsulatus NifF: Uncovering General Features of Nitrogen-fixation (nif)-Flavodoxins

Analysis of the crystal structure of NifF from Rhodobacter capsulatus and its homologues reported so far reflects the existence of unique structural features in nif flavodoxins: a leucine at the re face of the isoalloxazine, an eight-residue insertion at the C-terminus of the 50’s loop and a remarkable difference in the electrostatic potential surface with respect to non-nif flavodoxins. A phylogenetic study on 64 sequences from 52 bacterial species revealed four clusters, including different functional prototypes, correlating the previously defined as “short-chain” with the firmicutes flavodoxins and the “long-chain” with gram-negative species. The comparison of Rhodobacter NifF structure with other bacterial flavodoxin prototypes discloses the concurrence of specific features of these functional electron donors to nitrogenase.
Recombination within the human MHC

Summary: Recombination (crossing over) in the human MHC is thought to have played a role in generation of novel alleles at various HLA loci. It is also responsible for the diversity observed at the haplotype level, although the functional consequences of this activity are not clear. Historic and family studies of recombination have provided estimations of recombination fractions across the MHC and identified potential hotspots for recombination in the class II region. Other characteristics of recombination in the human MHC such as haplotype specificity in recombination frequency and localized sequence motifs involved in recombination have been considered, but have been difficult to address given the constraints of human population studies, Single‐sperm typing holds promise in overcoming some of the limitations inherent in the study of recombination in human populations. Both family‐based and sperm typing analyses of recombination, along with our knowledge of linkage disequilibrium patterns in the MHC, may provide novel information regarding the evolution of HLA haplotypes chat will be difficult to obtain by other means.
Network Cost-Sharing without Anonymity

We consider network cost-sharing games with nonanonymous cost functions, where the cost of each edge is a submodular function of its users, and this cost is shared using the Shapley value. Nonanonymous cost functions model asymmetries between the players, which can arise from different bandwidth requirements, durations of use, services needed, and so on. These games can possess multiple Nash equilibria of wildly varying quality. The goal of this article is to identify well-motivated equilibrium refinements that admit good worst-case approximation bounds. Our primary results are tight bounds on the cost of strong Nash equilibria and potential function minimizers in network cost-sharing games with nonanonymous cost functions, parameterized by the set C of allowable submodular cost functions. These two worst-case bounds coincide for every set C, and equal the summability parameter introduced in Roughgarden and Sundararajan [2009] to characterize efficiency loss in a family of cost-sharing mechanisms. Thus, a single parameter simultaneously governs the worst-case inefficiency of network cost-sharing games (in two incomparable senses) and cost-sharing mechanisms. This parameter is always at most the kth Harmonic number Hk ≈ ln k, where k is the number of players, and is constant for many function classes of interest.
Growth and Characterization of CuO Nanostructures on Si for the Fabrication of CuO/p-Si Schottky Diodes

CuO interlayers in the CuO/p-Si Schottky diodes were fabricated by using CBD and sol-gel methods. Deposited CuO layers were characterized by SEM and XRD techniques. From the SEM images, it was seen that the film grown by CBD method is denser than the film grown by sol-gel method. This result is compatible with XRD results which show that the crystallization in CBD method is higher than it is in sol-gel method. For the electrical investigations, current-voltage characteristics of the diodes have been studied at room temperature. Conventional I-V and Norde's methods were used in order to determine the ideality factor, barrier height, and series resistance values. It was seen that the morphological and structural analysis are compatible with the results of electrical investigations.
The State of the Art Forensic Techniques in Mobile Cloud Environment: A Survey, Challenges and Current Trends

Smartphones have become popular in recent days due to the accessibility of a wide range of applications. These sophisticated applications demand more computing resources in a resource constraint smartphone. Cloud computing is the motivating factor for the progress of these applications. The emerging mobile cloud computing introduces a new architecture to offload smartphone and utilize cloud computing technology to solve resource requirements. The popularity of mobile cloud computing is an opportunity for misuse and unlawful activities. Therefore, it is a challenging platform for digital forensic investigations due to the non-availability of methodologies, tools and techniques. The aim of this work is to analyze the forensic tools and methodologies for crime investigation in a mobile cloud platform as it poses challenges in proving the evidence.
BRG-1 Is Recruited to Estrogen-Responsive Promoters and Cooperates with Factors Involved in Histone Acetylation

ABSTRACT Several factors that mediate activation by nuclear receptors also modify the chemical and structural composition of chromatin. Prominent in this diverse group is the steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1) family, which interact with agonist-bound nuclear receptors, thereby coupling them to multifunctional transcriptional coregulators such as CREB-binding protein (CBP), p300, and PCAF, all of which have potent histone acetyltransferase activity. Additionally factors including the Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG-1) that are involved in the structural remodeling of chromatin also mediate hormone-dependent transcriptional activation by nuclear receptors. Here, we provide evidence that these two distinct mechanisms of coactivation may operate in a collaborative manner. We demonstrate that transcriptional activation by the estrogen receptor (ER) requires functional BRG-1 and that the coactivation of estrogen signaling by either SRC-1 or CBP is BRG-1 dependent. We find that in response to estrogen, ER recruits BRG-1, thereby targeting BRG-1 to the promoters of estrogen-responsive genes in a manner that occurs simultaneous to histone acetylation. Finally, we demonstrate that BRG-1-mediated coactivation of ER signaling is regulated by the state of histone acetylation within a cell. Inhibition of histone deacetylation by trichostatin A dramatically increases BRG-1-mediated coactivation of ER signaling, and this increase is reversed by overexpression of histone deacetylase 1. These studies support a critical role for BRG-1 in ER action in which estrogen stimulates an ER–BRG-1 association coupling BRG-1 to regions of chromatin at the sites of estrogen-responsive promoters and promotes the activity of other recruited factors that alter the acetylation state of chromatin.
– A New Business Model : The Emotional Dimension of Organizations

This article aims at offering a comprehensive framework that describes the emotional nexus, that is, the way emotions bind the family and the business, among cogent family business archetypes. Building on research discussions on family business boundaries and insights from Family Systems Theory, Exchange Theory and Emotional Dissonance Theory, the “Enmeshed Family Business”, “Balanced Family Business”, and “Disengaged Family Business” are suggested as conceptual refinements of existing typologies in the family business field. Vignette illustrations and descriptions of the emotional characteristics of these three archetypes contribute to defining a family business model inclusive of the emotional dimension. The theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research directions on emotions in family businesses are finally discussed.
The Model of Expertise in KARL

In the paper we present the modelling primitives of KARL. KARL is a formal and operational language to represent models of expertise of knowledge-based systems. KARL allows to describe the model of expertise on a high level of abstraction. The formal semantics of KARL provides means to describe the expertise unambiguously and the operational semantics of KARL allows to directly execute models of expertise in order to provide feedback for the expert, the knowledge engineer and the user of the final knowledge-based system. KARL is based on object oriented logic and dynamic logic.
Scheduling irregular parallel computations on hierarchical caches

For nested-parallel computations with low depth (span, critical path length) analyzing the work, depth, and sequential cache complexity suffices to attain reasonably strong bounds on the parallel runtime and cache complexity on machine models with either shared or private caches. These bounds, however, do not extend to general hierarchical caches, due to limitations in (i) the cache-oblivious (CO) model used to analyze cache complexity and (ii) the schedulers used to map computation tasks to processors. This paper presents the parallel cache-oblivious (PCO) model, a relatively simple modification to the CO model that can be used to account for costs on a broad range of cache hierarchies. The first change is to avoid capturing artificial data sharing among parallel threads, and the second is to account for parallelism-memory imbalances within tasks. Despite the more restrictive nature of PCO compared to CO, many algorithms have the same asymptotic cache complexity bounds. The paper then describes a new scheduler for hierarchical caches, which extends recent work on "space-bounded schedulers" to allow for computations with arbitrary work imbalance among parallel subtasks. This scheduler attains provably good cache performance and runtime on parallel machine models with hierarchical caches, for nested-parallel computations analyzed using the PCO model. We show that under reasonable assumptions our scheduler is "work efficient" in the sense that the cost of the cache misses are evenly balanced across the processors---i.e., the runtime can be determined within a constant factor by taking the total cost of the cache misses analyzed for a computation and dividing it by the number of processors. In contrast, to further support our model, we show that no scheduler can achieve such bounds (optimizing for both cache misses and runtime) if work, depth, and sequential cache complexity are the only parameters used to analyze a computation.
Rapamycin Ameliorates Dystrophic Phenotype in mdx Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) Is an X-linked, lethal, degenerative disease that results from mutations In the dystrophin gene, causing necrosis and inflammation in skeletal muscle tissue. Treatments that reduce muscle fiber destruction and immune cell infiltration can ameliorate DMD pathology. We treated the mdx mouse, a model for DMD, with the immunosuppressant drug rapamycin (RAPA) both locally and systemically to examine its effects on dystrophic mdx muscles. We observed a significant reduction of muscle fiber necrosis in treated mdx mouse tibialis anterior (TA) and diaphragm (Dia) muscles 6 wks post-treatment. This effect was associated with a significant reduction in infiltration of effector CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in skeletal muscle tissue, while Foxp3+ regulatory T cells were preserved. Because RAPA exerts its effects through the mammalian target of RAPA (mTOR), we studied the activation of mTOR in mdx TA and Dia with and without RAPA treatment. Surprisingly, mTOR activation levels in mdx TA were not different from control C57BL/10 (B10). However, mTOR activation was different in Dia between mdx and B10; mTOR activation levels did not rise between 6 and 12 wks of age in mdx Dia muscle, whereas a rise in mTOR activation level was observed in B10 Dia muscle. Furthermore, mdx Dia, but not TA, muscle mTOR activation was responsive to RAPA treatment.
A systematic review of gender‐specific rates of unipolar and bipolar disorders in community studies of pre‐pubertal children

Gender‐specific rates of unipolar and bipolar disorders are well established for cases with post‐pubertal onset. However, there is less certainty about these rates in pre‐pubertal children. We undertook a systematic review of community studies that report gender‐specific rates for unipolar and bipolar disorders in young children, particularly cases of major depression and mania.
Two-stage Hot Carrier Degradation of LDMOS Transistors.

This paper analyses the hot carrier behaviour of a lateral n-type DMOS transistor. Variable base charge pumping experiments are performed to locate the different degradation spots in the transistor, as well as to monitor the increase in interface trap density. Upon hot carrier stress, interface traps are formed at three different locations in the device : in the channel, at the source side birds beak, and under the field oxide at the n-well edge. For the degradation of the specific on-resistance Ron, a two-stage degradation is observed, explained and modelled.
Three Principals Who Make a Difference

W hy do some schools succeed when others fail? This question has driven reform for generations. In recent years, organi zational structure and culture in particular, shared decision making and teacher empowerment have been touted as major determinants of effectiveness. But is decen tralization alone the magic elixir? Our research suggests no — at least, not without transforma tional leadership from the principal. The issue is more than simply who makes which decisions. Rather, it is finding a way to be successful in collaboratively defining the essential purpose of teaching and learning and then empowering the entire school community to become energized and focused. In schools where such a focus had been achieved, we found that teaching and learning became transformative for everyone involved.
Extending the ODMG object model with triggers

We extend the standard for object-oriented databases, ODMG, with reactive features, by proposing a language for specifying triggers and defining its semantics. This extension has several implications, thus we make three different specific contributions. First, the definition of a declarative data manipulation language for ODMG, which is missing in the current version of the standard; such a definition requires revisiting data manipulation in ODMG and also addressing issues related to set-oriented versus instance-oriented computation. Then, the definition of a trigger language for ODMG, unifying also the SQL:1999 proposal and providing support for trigger inheritance and overriding. Finally, the development of a formal semantics for the proposed data manipulation and trigger languages.
A modified cryopreservation method increases the survival of human biopsied cleavage stage embryos.

BACKGROUND The relatively poor survival rate of human biopsied cleavage stage embryos following cryopreservation is a significant obstacle in the application of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). We have attempted to improve cryosurvival of biopsied embryos by modifying the standard embryo cryopreservation technique. METHODS Biopsied embryos were cryopreserved in 1.5 mol/l 1,2-propanediol in the presence of an elevated concentration of sucrose (0.2 mol/l) and human serum albumin was replaced by maternal serum (20% vol:vol). An additional initial thawing step in the presence of 0.3 mol/l sucrose was also included. RESULTS The proportion of biopsied embryos which survived cryopreservation with > or =50% of their blastomeres intact was significantly higher using the modified method (138/185; 75%) than that observed using the standard propanediol method (20/46; 43%; P = 0.022). Total blastomere survival was also significantly increased as a result of the modifications (1010/1513; 67% versus 177/385; 46%; P < 0.001). Six fetal hearts have been detected to date following replacement of biopsied embryos cryopreserved with the modified method. CONCLUSIONS Survival of human biopsied cleavage stage embryos can be restored to a level similar to that of non-biopsied controls by modification of the cryopreservation procedure. Embryos which have been cryopreserved using the modified method can implant following replacement in utero.
Modeling the Neural Basis of Cognitive Integration and Consciousness

This paper presents a number of models whose aim is to establish a computational basis for the hypothesis that conscious information processing in the brain is mediated by a mechanism of global broadcast. A possible role for this putative “global neuronal workspace” in achieving cognitive integration is mooted in the context of modular theories of mind, and an argument is advanced for its likely emergence within the sort of small-world brain network seemingly favoured by evolution. The paper concludes with some speculation on the relationship between life and consciousness as it could be.