Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Algorithm and Architecture Design of Adaptive Filters With Error Nonlinearities

This paper presents a framework based on the logarithmic number system to implement adaptive filters with error nonlinearities in hardware. The framework is demonstrated through pipelined implementations of two recently proposed adaptive filtering algorithms based on logarithmic cost, namely, least mean logarithmic square (LMLS) and least logarithmic absolute difference (LLAD). To the best of our knowledge, the proposed architectures are the first attempts to implement both LMLS and LLAD algorithms in hardware. We derive error computing algorithms to realize the nonlinear error functions for LMLS and LLAD and map them onto hardware. We also propose a novel variable- $\alpha $ scheme to enhance the original LMLS algorithm and prove its robustness and suitability for VLSI implementations in practical applications. Detailed bit width and error analysis are carried out for the proposed VLSI fixed point implementations. Postlayout implementation results show that with an additional multiplier over conventional least mean square (LMS), 7-dB improvement in steady-state mean square deviation performance can be achieved and with the proposed variable- $\alpha $ scheme, 12-dB improvement can be achieved without compromising the convergence. We will show that LMLS can potentially replace LMS in practical applications, by demonstrating a proof-of-concept by extending the framework to transform domain adaptive filters.
CPU Frequency Emulation Based on DVFS

Nowadays, virtualization is present in almost all computing infrastructures. Thanks to VM migration and server consolidation, virtualization helps in reducing power consumption in distributed environments. On another side, Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) allows servers to dynamically modify the processor frequency (according to the CPU load) in order to achieve less energy consumption. We observe that DVFS is mainly used, but still generates a waste of energy. In fact, the DVFS frequency scaling policies are based on advertised processor frequency. By default and thanks to the on demand governor, it scales up or down the processor frequency according to the current load and the different predefined threshold (up and down). However, the set of frequencies constitutes a discrete range of frequencies. In this case, the frequency required for a specific load will almost be scaled to a frequency more higher than expected, which leads to a non-efficient use of energy. In this paper, we analyze and address a way of emulating a precise CPU frequency thanks to the DVFS management in virtualized environments. We implemented and evaluated our prototype in the Xen hyper visor.
Efficient PageRank Tracking in Evolving Networks

Real-world networks, such as the World Wide Web and online social networks, are very large and are evolving rapidly. Thus tracking personalized PageRank in such evolving networks is an important challenge in network analysis and graph mining. In this paper, we propose an efficient online algorithm for tracking personalized PageRank in an evolving network. The proposed algorithm tracks personalized PageRank accurately (i.e., within a given accuracy ε > 0). Moreover it can update the personalized PageRank scores in amortized O(1/ε) iterations for each graph modification. In addition, when m edges are randomly and sequentially inserted, the total number of iterations is expected to be O(log m/ε). We evaluated our algorithm in real-world networks. In average case, for each edge insertion and deletion, our algorithm updated the personalized PageRank in 3us in a web graph with 105M vertices and 3.7B edges, and 20ms in a social network with 42M vertices and 1.5B edges. By comparing existing state-of-the-arts algorithms, our algorithm is 2--290 times faster with an equal accuracy.
Dynamic cache resizing architecture for high yield SOC

Dynamic cache resizing coupled with Built In Self Test (BIST) is proposed to enhance yield of SRAM-based cache memory. BIST is used as part of the power-up sequence to identify the faulty memory addresses. Logic is added to prevent access to the identified locations, effectively reducing the cache size. Cache resizing approach can solve for as many faulty locations as the end user would like, while trading off on performance. Reliability and long term effect on memory such as pMOS NBTI issue is also compensated for by running BIST and implementing cache resizing architecture, hence detecting faults introduced over time. Since memory soft failures are worst at lower voltage operation dynamic cache resizing can be used to tradeoff power for performance. This approach supplements existing design time optimizations and adaptive design techniques used to enhance memory yield. Performance loss incurred due to the cache reduction is determined to be within 1%.
25-hydroxyvitamin D and cardiovascular risk factors in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D; vitamin D) are associated with a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in the general population. Vitamin D deficiency has also been noted in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The objective of this study was to evaluate the associations of serum 25(OH)D levels with cardiovascular risk factors in women with SLE. METHODS Data collected in 181 women with SLE included demographics, SLE activity and damage assessments, cardiovascular risk factors, medications, and laboratory assessments of inflammatory markers and 25(OH)D levels. Multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to estimate the association of 25(OH)D levels with cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS The mean age and disease duration were 43.2 and 11.9 years, respectively. The mean 25(OH)D level was 27.1 ng/ml and 62.2% had 25(OH)D levels <30 ng/ml. In unadjusted analyses, lower 25(OH)D levels were significantly associated with higher diastolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), body mass index (BMI), and fibrinogen levels, as well as self-reported hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Lower 25(OH)D levels were also significantly associated with higher SLE disease activity and damage scores. After adjustment for age, seasonal variation, and race/ethnicity, lower 25(OH)D levels were also significantly related to higher fasting serum glucose. With further adjustment for BMI, associations between 25(OH)D and cardiovascular risk factors were no longer significant. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that vitamin D levels are low in women with SLE and significant associations exist with selected cardiovascular risk factors, although most of these associations can be explained by BMI.
Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era

in addition to a comprehensive "Glossary-Index" with Chinese characters. The aesthetic beauty of the work, furthermore, is complemented by a startling mechanical precision, as it is virtually free of solecism and misspelling. This reviewer could find but three rather trifling errors: "principle discourses" should be "principal discourses" (p. 9); Szu-chuan should be romanized as "Szu-ch'uan" (p. 49); and the star denoting the inclusion in the volume of Yang Hsiian-chih's The Temples ofLoyang should come at the end of the work's title not at the end of the sentence (p. 32). For a work of this size, such miniscule technical flaws are evidence of the care of the author and the exacting supervision of the press.
CoDocent: Support API Usage with Code Example and API Documentation

API documentation and code example are two major resources to support API usage. To find the best way to use APIs within specific programming tasks, an effective strategy to link related APIs becomes critical. Currently, many code search engines have been proposed to solve this issue. Through those search results, programmers must manually traverse across all API documents to learn the referred API calls. To ensure the productivity in the style of programming with APIs, this work provides CoDocent to help programmers review code examples found by search engines. For each found code example, CoDocent can automatically link related API documents to provide diagrams as abstractions to reflect the semantics of API calls. Two evaluations are conducted to show the effectiveness of CoDocent in investigating and adapting API calls from code examples.
Explorations on high dimensional landscapes

Finding minima of a real valued non-convex function over a high dimensional space is a major challenge in science. We provide evidence that some such functions that are defined on high dimensional domains have a narrow band of values whose pre-image contains the bulk of its critical points. This is in contrast with the low dimensional picture in which this band is wide. Our simulations agree with the previous theoretical work on spin glasses that proves the existence of such a band when the dimension of the domain tends to infinity. Furthermore our experiments on teacher-student networks with the MNIST dataset establish a similar phenomenon in deep networks. We finally observe that both the gradient descent and the stochastic gradient descent methods can reach this level within the same number of steps.
Efficiency of the Chubon versus the QWERTY Keyboard

There is little available evidence for claims of the efficiency of alternative keyboard layouts. Part of the difficulty in providing such evidence is that available research subjects typically have extensive experience with the standard keyboard, making a fair comparison of keyboard layouts difficult. The purpose of this study was to provide a true comparison of the QWERTY and Chubon keyboard layouts for individuals who type with a single digit by neutralizing prior experience through an inversion of the QWERTY keyboard. A single-subject, repeated measures design was used with a convenience sample of nine participants. Each participant began typing on a preselected keyboard and continued typing until fluency was achieved. This procedure was replicated with each keyboard layout. The words per minute typed at fluency for the ReverseQWERTY was approximately 62% of the QWERTY, indicating that the learned effect had been erased. The average typing speed of the Chubon was at least 5% higher and at most 51% higher than the ReverseQWERTY. There were no significant patterns of error. Results of this study indicate that the biomechanical layout of the Chubon is superior to that of the ReverseQWERTY and, by extension, to that of the QWERTY. Additional research is needed to expand knowledge of the effectiveness of the various alternative keyboard layouts.
EARLY RESULTS FROM AN IMAGING INTERFEROMETER PROTOTYPE OPERATING IN THE SAGNAC CONFIGURATION

Recent advances in Earth remote sensing imagers have being attempted with the launch of the first Fourier Transform Hyperspectral Imager placed on board of U.S. Department of Defence. From the analysis of alternative optical layouts for a stationary interferometer, we have developed a laboratory imaging interferometer operating in the Sagnac configuration. This instrument does not employ any moving part to optically scan the instrument field-of-view, and acquires the image of the observed target modulated from a staring interference pattern of vertical fringes. Despite of traditional Michelson-like interferometers, the intensity autocorrelation functions are generated by moving the concerned scene with respect to the imaging device. In this paper we present some laboratory measurements obtained by this new stationary imaging interferometer. In order to calibrate the instrument response and to determine its spectral resolution, we have executed a set of measurements illuminating a planar double diffuser with a red HeNe laser. The dependence of the optical-path-differences on the source spectral content has been assessed observing a 600W halogen lamp with interference filters having 10nm of bandwidth. In order to retrieve at-sensor radiance spectrum a calibration procedure of the acquired data has been implemented, which also takes into account dark signal subtraction, instrument spatial response compensation, geometrical and radiation distortion correction, DC-offset subtraction, and inverse cosine transform. Some hints are given about the use of such an instrument on board of airborne platforms for remote sensing of the Earth.
The Relationship Between Food Security, Housing Stability, and School Performance Among College Students in an Urban University

Although younger populations, such as emerging adults, have been shown to be particularly susceptible to food insecurity and housing instability, the current research is predominantly devoid of literature examining these experiences on college campuses. The present study explores the food and housing vulnerabilities that may be barriers to academic success for students who attend an urban university. The results of a survey of students (n = 390) indicated that nearly a quarter of the students had experienced some level of food insecurity. Furthermore, students reported disproportionately high rates of housing instability, which negatively affected their class attendance and performance as well as their ability to continue at the university. Implications of these findings pertaining to students, college personnel, administrators, and other stakeholders are discussed.
New quadric metric for simplifying meshes with appearance attributes

Complex triangle meshes arise naturally in many areas of computer graphics and visualization. Previous work has shown that a quadric error metric allows fast and accurate geometric simplification of meshes. This quadric approach was recently generalized to handle meshes with appearance attributes. In this paper we present an improved quadric error metric for simplifying meshes with attributes. The new metric, based on geometric correspondence in 3D, requires less storage, evaluates more quickly, and results in more accurate simplified meshes. Meshes often have attribute discontinuities, such as surface creases and material boundaries, which require multiple attribute vectors per vertex. We show that a wedge-based mesh data structure captures such discontinuities efficiently and permits simultaneous optimization of these multiple attribute vectors. In addition to the new quadric metric, we experiment with two techniques proposed in geometric simplification, memoryless simplification and volume preservation, and show that both of these are beneficial within the quadric framework. The new scheme is demonstrated on a variety of meshes with colors and normals.
Investment Prediction Using Simulation

A business case is a proposal for an investment initiative to satisfy business and functional requirements. The business case provides the foundation for tactical decision making and technology risk management. It helps to clarify how the organization will use its resources in the best way by providing justification for investment of resources. This paper describes how simulation was used for business case benefits and return on investment for the procurement of 8 production machines. With investment costs of about 4.7 million dollars and annual operating costs of about 1.3 million, we needed to determine if the machines would provide enough cost savings and cost avoidance. We constructed a model of the existing factory environment consisting of 8 machines and subsequently, we conducted average day simulations with light and heavy volumes to facilitate planning decisions required to be documented and substantiated in the business case. Keywords—Investment cost, business case, return on investment, simulation.
Number of existing permanent teeth is associated with chronic kidney disease in the elderly Korean population

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to assess the association between the number of existing permanent teeth and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a representative sample of the elderly Korean population. Methods A total of 2,519 subjects who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were cross-sectionally examined. The number of existing permanent teeth was evaluated by clinical oral examination. CKD was defined based on definition and classification by Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed controlling for age, gender, income, education, tooth-brushing frequency, periodontitis, state of dentition, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia. Subgroup analyses by age and gender were also performed. Results The number of teeth was significantly associated with CKD after controlling for all potential confounders (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 2.70 for lower number of teeth; AOR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.23 for moderate number of teeth). In the subgroup analyses, the association was highlighted in females aged 75 years over (AOR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.05 to 6.20 for lower number of teeth; AOR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.80 for moderate number of teeth). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the number of existing permanent teeth may be associated with CKD among Korean elderly.
Tuning the Scheduling of Distributed Stochastic Gradient Descent with Bayesian Optimization

We present an optimizer which uses Bayesian optimization to tune the system parameters of distributed stochastic gradient descent (SGD). Given a specific context, our goal is to quickly find efficient configurations which appropriately balance the load between the available machines to minimize the average SGD iteration time. Our experiments consider setups with over thirty parameters. Traditional Bayesian optimization, which uses a Gaussian process as its model, is not well suited to such high dimensional domains. To reduce convergence time, we exploit the available structure. We design a probabilistic model which simulates the behavior of distributed SGD and use it within Bayesian optimization. Our model can exploit many runtime measurements for inference per evaluation of the objective function. Our experiments show that our resulting optimizer converges to efficient configurations within ten iterations, the optimized configurations outperform those found by generic optimizer in thirty iterations by up to 2X.
Red Imported Fire Ant Impacts on Upland Arthropods in Southern Mississippi

Abstract Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) have negative impacts on a broad array of invertebrate species. We investigated the impacts of fire ants on the upland arthropod community on 20∼40 ha study sites in southern Mississippi. Study sites were sampled from 1997–2000 before, during, and after fire ant bait treatments to reduce fire ant populations. Fire ant abundance was assessed with bait transects on all sites, and fire ant population indices were estimated on a subset of study sites. Species richness and diversity of other ant species was also assessed from bait transects. Insect biomass and diversity was determined from light trap samples. Following treatments, fire ant abundance and population indices were significantly reduced, and ant species diversity and richness were greater on treated sites. Arthropod biomass, species diversity and species richness estimated from light trap samples were negatively correlated with fire ant abundance, but there were no observable treatment effects. Solenopsis invicta has the potential to negatively impact native arthropod communities resulting in a potential loss of both species and function.
Learning to Compete in a Transition

Does organizat ional learning as measured by experience in a host coun t ry a f f ec t i n t e rna t iona l expansion performance? I f so, does s u c h a relat ionship between exper i ence and per formance ho ld over t ime? How d o the env ironmental forces in the host country a f f e c t s u c h a r e l a t i o n s h i p ? Focusing on organizational learning by m u l t i n a t i o n a l e n t e r p r i s e s (MNEs) operating in a transition economy, this study answers these three critical questions by exploring the re la t ionships among exper ience , env ironment , and performance at the subsidiary level . Performance
In-silico analysis on biofabricating vascular networks using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

We present a computational modeling approach to study the fusion of multicellular aggregate systems in a novel scaffold-less biofabrication process, known as ‘bioprinting’. In this novel technology, live multicellular aggregates are used as fundamental building blocks to make tissues or organs (collectively known as the bio-constructs,) via the layer-by-layer deposition technique or other methods; the printed bio-constructs embedded in maturogens, consisting of nutrient-rich bio-compatible hydrogels, are then placed in bioreactors to undergo the cellular aggregate fusion process to form the desired functional bio-structures. Our approach reported here is an agent-based modeling method, which uses the kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) algorithm to evolve the cellular system on a lattice. In this method, the cells and the hydrogel media, in which cells are embedded, are coarse-grained to material’s points on a three-dimensional (3D) lattice, where the cell–cell and cell–medium interactions are quantified by adhesion and cohesion energies. In a multicellular aggregate system with a fixed number of cells and fixed amount of hydrogel media, where the effect of cell differentiation, proliferation and death are tactically neglected, the interaction energy is primarily dictated by the interfacial energy between cell and cell as well as between cell and medium particles on the lattice, respectively, based on the differential adhesion hypothesis. By using the transition state theory to track the time evolution of the multicellular system while minimizing the interfacial energy, KMC is shown to be an efficient time-dependent simulation tool to study the evolution of the multicellular aggregate system. In this study, numerical experiments are presented to simulate fusion and cell sorting during the biofabrication process of vascular networks, in which the bio-constructs are fabricated via engineering designs. The results predict the feasibility of fabricating the vascular structures via the bioprinting technology and demonstrate the morphological development process during cellular aggregate fusion in various engineering designed structures. The study also reveals that cell sorting will perhaps not significantly impact the final fabricated products, should the maturation process be well-controlled in bioprinting.
Immune activation suppresses plasma testosterone level: a meta-analysis

Females often select mates on the basis of sexual signals, which can be reliable indicators of male quality when the costliness of these signals prevents cheating. The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) provides a mechanistic explanation of these costs, by proposing a trade-off between immune function and sexual displays. This trade-off arises because testosterone enhances sexual signals, but suppresses immune function. Many studies have investigated the ICHH by administrating testosterone, and a recent meta-analysis found little evidence that testosterone suppressed immune function. However, another component of the ICHH, which has received less empirical interest, suggests that there may also be an interaction in the other direction, with immune activation suppressing testosterone levels. We present a meta-analysis to test for this effect. Overall, there was a strong suppressive effect of experimental immune activation on testosterone levels (r=−0.52), regardless of whether live pathogens or non-pathogenic antigens were used to challenge the immune system. The latter is important because it shows that immune activation per se suppresses testosterone levels. Thus, a trade-off between immunocompetence and sexual displays may primarily be generated by the effect of immune activation on testosterone, rather than the opposite effect that has received most attention.