Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Video Server with Tertiary Storage

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a video server which uses tertiary device as a source of media archiving. In order to handle the tertiary device in the framework of disk-based stream service model, an effective disk caching mechanism is devised together with stream scheduling and admission control mechanisms. The proposed system has been implemented on a general-purpose operating system and its design principles are validated the with real experiment results. The results guide us how streaming servers with tertiary storage should be configured in real environments.
Explaining the Gender Gap in Professors' Intentions to Leave

Abstract We examine gender differences in faculty members' intentions to leave their jobs and explanations for these differences. Using data from the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty 1999 (NSOPF 99), we examine family, social control, and work explanations for intentions to leave. Findings show that gender is significantly related to intentions to leave, and women are more likely than men to intend to leave their jobs. Perceptions of ill-treatment based on gender are related to female professors' higher rate of intentions to leave, as is the fact that more women than men occupy part-time positions in academia.
Homooligomerization of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein of human parainfluenza virus type 3 occurs before the acquisition of correct intramolecular disulfide bonds and mature immunoreactivity

The posttranslational maturation of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein of human parainfluenza type 3 virus (PIV3) was investigated in pulse-chase experiments in which folding was monitored by immunoprecipitation with conformation-dependent antibodies and gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions and oligomerization was monitored by chemical cross-linking and sedimentation in sucrose gradients. The acquisition of mature immunoreactivity and the formation of correct intramolecular disulfide bonds were concurrent events, with half-times of approximately 10 to 15 min. The finding that newly synthesized HN had little reactivity with postinfection cotton rat serum or with most of the members of a panel of HN-specific monoclonal antibodies indicated that the major epitopes of the PIV3 HN protein are highly conformational in nature. Chemical cross-linking studies indicated that the mature HN protein is present in homoligomers, which are probably tetramers. These findings are consistent with recent observations for the HN protein of Sendai virus (S.D. Thompson, W.G. Laver, K.G. Murti, and A. Portner, J. Virol. 62:4653--4660, 1988; S. Vidal, G. Mottet, D. Kolakofsky, and L. Roux, J. Virol. 63:892--900, 1989). Surprisingly, analysis of pulse-labeled HN protein by sedimentation on sucrose gradients after labeling periods of as little as 2 min indicated that it was present intracellularly only in oligomeric form. The same results were obtained when the labeling period was preceded by a 1.5-h cycloheximide treatment to clear the endoplasmic reticulum of presynthesized HN protein, which indicated that the oligomerization did not involve the incorporation of newly synthesized monomers into partially assembled oligomers. Subsequent chase incubations did not significantly alter the sedimentation profile or stability of the oligomeric forms, suggesting that oligomers detected after short labeling periods were tetramers. Association with cellular proteins did not appear to be responsible for the sedimentation of newly synthesized HN protein as an oligomer. The absence of a detectable monomeric form of intracellular HN protein raised the possibility that oligomerization is cotranslational, and it is possible that the type II membrane orientation of the HN protein might be an important factor in its mode of oligomerization.
Recombinant Rinderpest Vaccines Expressing Membrane-Anchored Proteins as Genetic Markers: Evidence of Exclusion of Marker Protein from the Virus Envelope

ABSTRACT Rinderpest virus (RPV) causes a severe disease of cattle resulting in serious economic losses in parts of the developing world. Effective control and elimination of this disease require a genetically marked rinderpest vaccine that allows serological differentiation between animals that have been vaccinated against rinderpest and those which have recovered from natural infection. We have constructed two modified cDNA clones of the vaccine strain RNA genome of the virus, with the coding sequence of either a receptor site mutant form of the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) gene or a membrane-anchored form of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene (ANC-GFP), inserted as a potential genetic marker. Infectious recombinant virus was rescued in cell culture from both constructs. The RPVINS-HA and RPVANC-GFP viruses were designed to express either the HA or ANC-GFP protein on the surface of virus-infected cells with the aim of stimulating a strong humoral antibody response to the marker protein. In vitro studies showed that the marker proteins were expressed on the surface of virus-infected cells, although to different extents, but neither was incorporated into the envelope of the virus particles. RPVINS-HA- or RPVANC-GFP-vaccinated cattle produced normal levels of humoral anti-RPV antibodies and significant levels of anti-HA or anti-GFP antibodies, respectively. Both viruses were effective in stimulating protective immunity against RPV and antibody responses to the marker protein in all animals when tested in a cattle vaccination trial.
‘Is that what you really want?’: a case study of intracultural ensemble-building within the paradoxes of ‘urbanicity’

Ensemble-building is a practice within drama education that is understood to be a powerful metaphor for democratic living. However, this ongoing work in classrooms also demands that teachers understand and enact a broad, interrelated range of knowledge, skills, and values that support participants’ encounters with conflict and representations of change. In this sense, ensemble-building is not simply about getting along, but embodies an ‘intracultural’ practice of ‘living together’ while learning and using creative strategies for ‘fighting together’. In this qualitative case study of ensemble-building as an intracultural practice we present the key forms of knowledge, skills and values that two teachers enacted to create conditions for trust and knowledge production with a group of African American students at a racially segregated urban secondary school and a collaboration between this group and multi-ethnic and multi-racial university students in a theatre arts programme. Their work, and the work of ensemble, we argue, is shaped by and within the intersections of ‘urbanicity’ where urban life is recognisable and lived beyond the boundaries of urban centres through the paradoxical conditions of rigidity and creativity, stability and mobility, and anonymity and visibility.
New Approximation Algorithms for the Weighted Matching Problem

Finding matchings of maximum weight is a classical problem in combinatorial optimization. The fastest algorithm known today for solving this problem has running time O(mn+n log n). Several applications require algorithms for the weighted matching problem with better running time. Up to now no algorithm with o(mn) running time was known that achieves an approximation ratio better than 2 3 . We present two approximation algorithms for the weighted matching problem in graphs with an approximation ratio of 3 4 − ǫ respectively 4 5 − ǫ and running time O(m log n) respectively O(m log n).
Exploring the Potential of Spectral Classification in Estimation of Soil Contaminant Elements

Soil contamination by arsenic and heavy metals is an increasingly severe environmental problem. Efficiently investigation of soil contamination is the premise of soil protection and further the foundation of food security. Visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (VNIRS) has been widely used in soil science, due to its rapidity and convenience. With different spectrally active soil characteristics, soil reflectance spectra exhibit distinctive curve forms, which may limit the application of VNIRS in estimating contaminant elements in soil. Consequently, spectral clustering was applied to explore the potential of classification in estimating soil contaminant elements. Spectral clustering based on different distance measure methods and elements with different contamination levels were exploited. In this study, soil samples were collected from Hunan Province, China and 74 reflectance spectra of air-dried soil samples over 350–2500 nm were used to predict nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) concentrations. Spectral clustering was achieved by K-means clustering based on squared Euclidean distance and Cosine of spectral angle, respectively. The prediction model was calibrated with the combination of Genetic algorithm and partial least squares regression (GA-PLSR). The prediction accuracy shows that the prediction of Ni and Zn concentrations in soil was improved to different extents by the two clustering methods and the clustering based on squared Euclidean distance had better performance over the clustering relied on Cosine of the spectral angle. The result reveals the potential of spectral classification in predicting soil Ni and Zn concentrations. A selected subset of the 74 soil spectra was used to further explore the potential of spectral classification in estimating Zn concentrations. The prediction was dramatically improved by clustering based on squared Euclidean distance. Additionally, analysis on distance measure methods indicates that Euclidean distance is more suitable to describe the difference between the collected soil reflectance spectra, which brought the better performance of the clustering based on squared Euclidean distance.
Demonstration of a covert camera-screen communication system

We design and demonstrate a covert camera-screen communication (CSC) system. It embeds data in display images and retrieves information using a commercial camera. Pixels or blocks of pixels are modulated by a spatial visual modulation scheme. To ensure reliable data transmission while incurring little effect on the screen-viewing experience, two-dimensional Gaussian distribution of the intensity is applied. Also the synchronization anchors are added to each data frame to tackle the unstable frame rate issue of the camera. The system throughput and bit error rate (BER) performance under different imperfect factors are experimentally tested. Results show that the proposed system achieves an average throughput of 16.67 kbps at a regular screen refresh rate 60Hz and remains imperceivable to an observer. The throughput is comparable to that by existing works relying on a rate 120Hz.
Imagining the future: Evidence for a hippocampal contribution to constructive processing

Imagining future events and remembering past events rely on a common core network, but several regions within this network—including the hippocampus—show increased activity for imagining future events compared to remembering past events. It remains unclear whether this hippocampal activity reflects processes related to the demands of constructing details retrieved across disparate episodic memories into coherent imaginary events, encoding these events into memory, novelty detection, or some combination of these processes. We manipulated the degree of constructive processing by comparing activity associated with the initial construction of an imagined scenario with the re‐construction of an imagined scenario (imagine vs. re‐imagine). After accounting for effects of novelty and subsequent memory, we found that a region in the hippocampus was preferentially activated for newly constructed imagined events compared with re‐imagined events. Our results suggest that the hippocampus may support several distinct but related processes that are critical for imagining future events, and they also indicate that a particular region within posterior hippocampus may uniquely contribute to the construction of imagined future events. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Impact of gate length and gate oxide thickness on the relationship of FN-stress induced degradation parameters

The Fowler-Nordheim (FN) stress on PMOSFET cause I<inf>dsat</inf> decrease and V<inf>th</inf> increase. In this work, we have investigated FN stress induced device degradation mechanisms in PMOSFETs with different gate length and oxide thickness. We describe a quantitative relationship between I<inf>dsat</inf>, I<inf>dlin</inf> and V<inf>th</inf> change under FN stress condition.
Pro duct Line Development using Multiple Domain Specific Languages in Embedded Systems

In model driven development (MDD), much meaning can be given to the model using a domain specific language (DSL), and the code generation rate can be increased. Model-based product line development is possible using code generation to realize variability. In this paper, we describe the development of line tracer robots for a contest, where we achieved a high rate of code generation by using two DSLs, the charac- teristics of which supplement each other. Structure is described by a high generality DSL and behavior by a high specificity DSL. Furthermore, var- ious kinds of products were able to be developed from one product line eciently by using code generation from two DSLs to realize variability.
Helper‐dependent adenoviral gene therapy mediates long‐term correction of the clotting defect in the canine hemophilia A model

Summary. Background: Adenoviral vector‐mediated gene therapy might have potential for long‐term correction of the monogenic disease hemophilia A. Objective: In this study, we tested the efficacy of administering a helper‐dependent adenoviral vector (HDV) designed for maximal liver‐restricted canine factor VIII (cFVIII) expression on three out‐bred hemophilia A dogs. Methods: Three FVIII‐deficient animals from the University of North Carolina colony were injected with 1 × 1012 (Dog A), and 3 × 1012 (Dog B and C) vp kg−1 helper‐dependent adenoviral vector, and we performed systematic analysis of toxicity, persistence of therapeutic gene expression, and molecular analysis of gene transfer. Results: We observed acute dose‐dependent elevation in liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia after injection, although both were transient and resolved within 2 weeks. The whole blood clotting time (WBCT), plasma FVIII concentration, FVIII activity, and activated partial thromboplastin time in all animals improved significantly after treatment, and two animals receiving a higher dose reached near normal WBCT with low‐level FVIII activity until terminal sacrifice at 3 months, and 2 years. Importantly, the treated dogs suffered no bleeding events after injection. Moreover, we observed persistent vector‐specific DNA and RNA in liver tissue collected from one high‐dose animal at days 18 and 79, and could not detect the formation of inhibitory antibodies. Conclusion: Although vector‐associated toxicity remains an obstacle, a single injection of HDV led to long‐term transgene expression and vector persistence in two FVIII‐deficient animals with conversion of their severe phenotype to a moderate one.
Score Resolution and the Interrater Reliability of Holistic Scores in Rating Essays

The assessment of students' writing skills through essays is a common practice in educational institutions. Scoring of essays requires considerable judgment on the part of those who rate the response. When raters assign different scores to an essay, testing practitioners must resolve the discrepancy before computing an operational score to report to the examinee. This study investigated five forms of score resolution that were reported in a national survey of state department of education-testing agencies. The study examined the effect that each form of resolution has on the reliability of the resulting operational scores. It is shown that some methods of resolution can be associated with higher interrater reliability than can others. It is also shown that the choice of resolution can affect the magnitude of the reported score as well as the final passing rate of an assessment.
Phase II study of gemcitabine, carboplatin, and bevacizumab in patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic urothelial cancer.

PURPOSE Although gemcitabine and carboplatin (GCa) is a standard option for patients with advanced urothelial cancer (UC) who are ineligible for cisplatin, outcomes remain poor. This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab with GCa in advanced UC. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with Karnofsky performance status of 60% to 70%, creatinine clearance less than 60 mL/min, visceral metastasis, or solitary kidney were eligible and received a lead-in dose of bevacizumab 10 mg/kg followed 2 weeks later by gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 and carboplatin at area under the [concentration-time] curve (AUC) 5.0 or 4.5 and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg on day 1 every 21 days for six cycles. Patients achieving at least stable disease (SD) continued bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 21 days for 18 additional cycles. The study was powered to detect a 50% improvement in median progression-free survival (PFS) over a historical control. RESULTS Fifty-one patients, median age 67 years (range, 42 to 83 years), were enrolled onto the study and were evaluable for toxicity. Twenty (39%) experienced grade 3 to 4 toxicity, and 10 (20%) had thromboembolic events (deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism). Four received one or fewer cycles leaving 47 evaluable for outcomes. Twenty-three (49%) achieved response (three complete; 20 partial), and 11 had SD. Median PFS was 6.5 months (95% CI, 4.7 to 7.8 months); PFS was greater in the carboplatin AUC 5.0 group (P = .04). Median overall survival (OS) was 13.9 months. CONCLUSION The 95% one-sided lower confidence bound of 4.77 months for median PFS did not meet the predesignated PFS of more than 4.8 months considered sufficient for further study. Median OS was greater than expected. An ongoing phase III trial in patients who are eligible for therapy with cisplatin will define the role of bevacizumab in UC.
Characterization of anti-islet cytotoxic human T-cell clones from patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

To identify important anti-islet T-cells and their target antigen(s), we have isolated and characterized seventeen human T-cell clones which are reactive to an extract of rat insulinoma (RIN) cells from three children with new onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Of these 17 clones, 15 were found tissue specific. Six of eight tested tissue specific clones did not recognize known islet antigens such as GAD, 52 kDa islet protein, insulin, ICA512, and heat shock protein 60 (hsp60), suggesting that these clones recognize an autoantigen not previously identified. All tested clones were phenotypically CD4 and functionally Th0 or Th0/Th1 cells. One RIN extract reactive clone (2E9) recognized hsp60 and was CD4 and TCR α/β positive. This clone also proliferated in response to human and rat islets suggesting that the antigen is conserved between species. This clone and 75% of all the tested RIN reactive clones exhibited anti-islet cytotoxicity by lysing target cells coated with RIN extract. HLA DR determinants may play a role in this cytotoxic activity since preincubation with HLA DR antibody decreased the anti-islet cytoxicity of the two tested clones. In conclusion, we have isolated RIN reactive CD4+T-cell clones from diabetic subjects, six of which appears tissue specific and non-reactive to putative important islet antigens, and in turn may be recognizing yet undiscovered islet antigens. The high frequency anti-islet cytotoxic properties of the islet reactive clones provides evidence for a role of CD4+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes in the diabetic process. Further, the isolation of hsp60 reactive clone with anti-islet cytotoxic properties suggests that cell mediated immunity against hsp60 may be important in the pathogenesis of diabetes.
Identity work in Palestinian–Jewish intergroup encounters: a cultural rhetorical analysis

Abstract On the basis of data collected during a study of a university course dealing with intergroup Palestinian–Jewish encounters in Israel, this article uses a rhetorical cultural analytical approach to show how participants in the dialogue accomplish their group's identity and enact the conflicts which characterize their group's relationships. I also show that when working toward such accomplishments the interactants resist and reject other possible identification options which become available in the encounter. The events described point at the dominant influence and the hegemonizing power of national ideologies and contribute to a better understanding of the actual communicational practices which hinder cross-cultural encounters in conflict ridden societies.
Serum potassium and risk of cardiovascular disease: the Framingham heart study.

BACKGROUND Published studies of the association between serum potassium concentration and risk for cardiovascular disease in community-based populations have reported conflicting results. We sought to determine the association between serum potassium concentration and cardiovascular disease risk in the Framingham Heart Study. METHODS A total of 3151 participants (mean age, 43 years; 48% men) in the Framingham Heart Study who were free of cardiovascular disease and not taking medications affecting potassium homeostasis had serum potassium levels measured (1979-1983). Proportional hazards models were used to determine the association of serum potassium concentration at baseline with the incidence of cardiovascular disease at follow-up. RESULTS During mean follow-up of 16 years, 313 cardiovascular disease events occurred, including 46 cardiovascular disease-related deaths. After adjustment for age, serum potassium level was marginally associated with risk of cardiovascular disease (hazard ratio [HR] per 1 mg/dL increment, 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.05; P =.02). However, after further adjustment for multiple confounders, serum potassium level was not significantly associated with cardiovascular disease risk (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.98-1.03). There were no significant associations between serum potassium level and cardiovascular disease-related death in either age- and sex-adjusted models (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.99-1.12) or multivariable-adjusted models (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.97-1.11). CONCLUSION In our community-based sample of individuals free of cardiovascular disease and not taking medications that affect potassium homeostasis, serum potassium level was not associated with risk of cardiovascular disease.
Detection, localization and picking up of coil springs from a pile

Picking of parts loaded in bulk is an industrial need. Thus bin-picking systems for various objects have ever been studied by various ways. However, it is difficult to recognize coil springs randomly placed in a pile by conventional machine vision techniques because of their shape characteristics. In this paper, we propose a method of recognition and pose estimation of coil springs. This method uses their highlights made by illumination for their recognition and pose estimation with stereo vision. We implemented this method as a bin-picking system with an industrial robot. Bin-picking of coil springs was successfully demonstrated on the system. Position errors were less than 2 mm. The average success rate for a coil spring in the part box was 94% when multiple retrials of picking were allowed. This rate could be improved by implementation of collision avoidance.