Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gridless Line Spectrum Estimation and Low-Rank Toeplitz Matrix Compression Using Structured Samplers: A Regularization-Free Approach

This paper considers the problem of compressively sampling wide sense stationary random vectors with a low rank Toeplitz covariance matrix. Certain families of structured deterministic samplers are shown to efficiently compress a high-dimensional Toeplitz matrix of size <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N\times N$</tex-math> </inline-formula>, producing a compressed sketch of size <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(\sqrt{r})\times O(\sqrt{r})$</tex-math></inline-formula>. The reconstruction problem can be cast as that of line spectrum estimation, whereby, in absence of noise, Toeplitz matrices of any size <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math> </inline-formula> can be exactly recovered from compressive sketches of size <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $O(\sqrt{r})\times O(\sqrt{r})$</tex-math></inline-formula>, no matter how large <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math></inline-formula> is. In the presence of noise and finite data, the line spectrum estimation algorithm is combined with a novel denoising technique that only exploits a positive semidefinite (PSD) Toeplitz constraint to denoise the compressed sketch using a simple least-squares minimization framework. A major advantage of the algorithm is that it does not require any regularization parameter. It also enjoys lower computational complexity owing to its ability to <italic>predict the unobserved entries</italic> of the low-rank Toeplitz matrix. Explicit bounds on the reconstruction error are established and it is shown that the PSD constraint on the denoiser is sufficient to ensure stable reconstruction from a sketch of size <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(\sqrt{r})\times O(\sqrt{r})$</tex-math></inline-formula>. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm provides better performance over random samplers and algorithms that use nuclear-norm-based regularizers.
Workplace E-learning: Exploring Factors Affecting Perceived Transfer of Training

This study aims to explore and test empirically the relationships between variables such as self-efficacy, motivation, content validity, ease of use, communication with trainer, supervisor support and transfer of training. The research was carried out in a large financial organization located in Greece. Research data were collected using an instrument with 19 items which distributed to 480 employees who attended an e-learning course. The findings of the study indicate that three of the six independent variables (motivation, validity of content and supervisor support) were statistically significant related to transfer of training.
Stochastic finite-fault modeling of ground motions from the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake. I. Validation on rock sites

The stochastic method of simulating ground motions from finite faults is validated against strong-motion data from the M 6.7 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake. The finite-fault plane is subdivided into elements, each element is assigned a stochastic ω2 spectrum, and the delayed contributions from all subfaults are summed in the time domain. Simulated horizontal acceleration time histories and Fourier spectra at 28 rock sites are compared with observations. We first perform simulations using the slip distribution on the causative fault derived from strong-motion, teleseismic, GPS, and leveling data (Wald et al., 1996). We then test the performance of the method using quasi-random distributions of slip and alternative hypocenter locations; this is important because the rupture initiation point and slip distribution are in general not known for future earthquakes. The model bias is calculated as the ratio of the simulated to the observed spectrum in the frequency band of 0.1 to 12.5 Hz, averaged over a suite of rock sites. The mean bias is within the 95% confidence limits of unity, showing that the model provides an accurate prediction of the spectral content of ground motions on average. The maximum excursion of the model bias from the unity value, when averaged over all 28 rock stations, is a factor of approximately 1.6; at most frequencies, it is below a factor of 1.4. Interestingly, the spectral bias and the standard deviation of the stochastic simulations do not depend on whether the fault slip distribution and hypocenter location are based on data or are randomly generated. This suggests that these parameters do not affect the accuracy of predicting the average characteristics of ground motion, or they may have their predominant effect in the frequency range below about 0.1 Hz (below the range of this study). The implication is that deterministic slip models are not necessary to produce reasonably accurate simulations of the spectral content of strong ground motions. This is fortunate, because such models are not available for forecasting motions from future earthquakes. However, the directivity effects controlled by the hypocenter location are important in determining peak ground acceleration at individual sites. Although the method is unbiased when averaged over all rock sites, the simulations at individual sites can have significant errors (generally a factor of 2 to 3), which are also frequency dependent. Factors such as local geology, site topography, or basin-propagation effects can profoundly affect the recordings at individual stations. To generate more accurate site-specific predictions, empirical responses at each site could be established.
Robustness and Uncertainty AversionLars

This paper connects robust control theory to the max-min expected utility model of uncertainty aversion. Max-min expected utility theory depicts preferences using multiple prior distributions. Robust control theory regards a unique controlled stochastic process as an approximation by introducing a set of perturbations to it. We link the two approaches by interpreting the perturbations in robust control as the multiple priors of the max-min expected utility theory. We use a Brownian motion information structure. We construct recursive representations of preferences and of dynamic robust decision problems.
Design and implementation of a multi-core embedded real-time operating system kernel 4 th April 2014-ACTRISS 2014-OPRTC-ULB

I. THE SUBMITTED EXTENDED ABSTRACT A. Introduction Real-time theory has been focusing on the use of multiand many-core chips in embedded systems for the past 2 decades [1]. While the subject has matured in the literature, the industry still widely relies on real-time operating system concepts created during the era of single processor platforms with simple interconnect and simple memory access architectures. Very few of these systems actually take advantage of multi-core systems and those that do rely on algorithms with proven poor performance [2]. HIPPEROS, standing for HIgh Performance Parallel Embedded Real-time Operating Systems, is a multi-core real-time operating system (RTOS) developed at the PARTS research centre. Its main objective is to address the challenge of exploiting modern multi-core platforms efficiently by filling this 20 year gap between theory and practice while maintaining the highest possible reliability in safety-critical systems. While this has been attempted in the past by patching various general purpose operating systems, HIPPEROS is designed and developed from scratch in a bottom-up rationale to avoid known issues due to legacy code. We adopted this radical and innovative approach willing to go as far as possible to test the limits of current research and to see how it can be implemented in a functional RTOS aiming to develop it into a commercial product. This extended abstract introduces the challenges encountered when developing such a real-time operating system on modern multi-core systems-on-chip. Moreover, it presents the HIPPEROS team research activities that will contribute to the state-of-the-art on a variety of topics such as: kernel architectures to provide real-time software support to applications, efficient implementations of new scheduling algorithms, techniques to improve the scalability of real-time applications on multi-/many-core platforms and scheduling algorithms aware of multi-dimensional constraints such as power and thermal metrics.
Forward RTO-Recovery (F-RTO) An Algorithm for Detecting Spurious Timeouts with SCTP in Wireless

SCTP has been found to perform poorly performance in the presence of spurious timeouts (ST) caused by delay spikes which are especially frequent in today's wireless mobile networks. Spurious timeouts cause unnecessary retransmission for several segments and congestion control back-off. There are some proposals for avoiding unnecessary retransmissions after a spurious RTO for require use of SCTP options. We introduce a new SCTP sender algorithm for recovery after a retransmission and show that unnecessary retransmissions can be avoided without SCTP options. The algorithm effectively avoids the unnecessary retransmissions after a spurious RTO, improving the SCTP performance considerably.
Panoramic Mapping on Mobile Phone GPUs

Creating panoramic images in real-time is an expensive operation for mobile devices. Depending on the size of the camera image the mapping of individual pixels into the panoramic image is one of the most time consuming parts. This part is the main focus in this paper and will be discussed in detail. To speed things up and to allow larger images the pixel-mapping process is transferred from the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The independence of pixels being projected on the panoramic image allows OpenGL shaders to do the mapping very efficiently. Different approaches of the pixel-mapping process are demonstrated and confronted with an existing solution. The application is implemented for Android phones and works fluently on current generation devices.
Chemical Composition and Insecticidal Activity of Essential Oil from Coriandrum sativum Seeds against Tribolium confusum and Callosobruchus maculatus

The biological activity of essential oil extracted from coriander, Coriandrum sativum L. (Apiaceae), seeds against adults of Tribolium confusum Duval (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Callosobruchus maculatus F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) was investigated in a series of laboratory experiments. Fumigant toxicity was assessed at 27 ± 1°C and 65 ± 5% R.H. , in dark condition. Dry seeds of the plant were subject to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The composition of essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The predominant components in the oil were linalool (57.57%) and geranyl acetate (15.09%). The mortality of 1–7-day-old adults of the insect pests increased with concentration from 43 to 357 μL/L air and with exposure time from 3 to 24 h. In the probit analysis, LC50 values (lethal concentration for 50% mortality) showed that C. maculatus (LC50 = 1.34 μL/L air) was more susceptible than T. confusum (LC50 = 318.02 μL/L air) to seed essential oil of this plant. The essential oil of C. sativum can play an important role in stored grain protection and reduce the risks associated with the use of synthetic insecticides.
Analysis through Reflection Walking the EMF model of BPEL 4 WS ∗

The Eclipse modelling framework provides a hierarchy of Java classes that represent the abstract syntax of BPEL4WS. Many analyses of a BPEL4WS program boil down to walking its abstract syntax tree. We review, refine and extend a technique, based on Java’s reflection mechanism, to walk such trees. We apply this technique to implement two non-trivial analyses of BPEL4WS programs.
Impact of a Patient Experience Leadership Structure on Performance and Engagement

The patient experience leadership structure at Northwell Health is strategically championed by Culture Leaders, a novel role established to transform the organizational culture from “service excellence” to “patient experience. ” This case report describes how the implementation of Culture Leader structure has aided in the improvement of organizational patient experience performance as well as how Culture Leaders remain highly engaged. Responsible for effectuating change by bridging the gap between local and organizational experience strategies, Culture Leader engages key stakeholders within the strategic pillars of culture, care delivery, hospitality, and accountability.
Spatial Joins Using R-trees: Breadth-First Traversal with Global Optimizations

R-tree based spatial join is useful because of both its superior performance and the wide spread implementation of R-trees. We present a new R-tree join method called BFRJ (Breadth-First R-tree Join). BFRJ synchronously traverses both R-trees in breadthfirst order while processing join computation one level at a time. At each level, BFRJ creates an intermediate join index and deploys global optimization strategies (ordering, memory management, buffer management) to improve the join computation at the next level. We also present an experimental evaluation of the proposed optimizations as well as a performance comparison between BFRJ and the state-of-the-art approach. Our experimental results indicate that BFRJ with global optimizations can outperform the competitor by a significant margin (up to 50%). This work was supportedin part by the University of Michigan ITS Research Center of Excellence grant (DTFH61-93-X0001i’-Sub) sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation. This work was performed while the authors were at the University of Michigan. Permission to copy without fee all OT part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made OT distributed for direct commercial advantage, the VLDB copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Very Large Data Base Endowment. To copy otherwise, OT to republish, requires a fee and/or special permission from the Endowment. Proceedings of the 23rd VLDB Conference Athens, Greece, 1997
Reproductive Tract Infections: an Introductory Overview

tract infections are being increasingly recognized as a serious global health problem with impact on individual women and men, their families and communities. They can have severe consequences, including infertility , ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, miscarriage, and increased risk of HIV transmission. Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) refer to three different types of infection which affect the reproductive tract: Endogenous infections are probably the most common RTIs worldwide. They result from an overgrowth of organisms normally present in the vagina. Endogenous infections include bacterial vaginosis and candidiasis. These infections can be easily treated and cured. Iatrogenic infections occur when the cause of infection (a bacterium or other microorganism) is introduced into the reproductive tract through a medical procedure such as menstrual regulation, induced abortion, the insertion of an IUD or during childbirth. This can happen if surgical instruments used during the procedure have not been properly sterilized, or if an infection that was already present in the lower reproductive tract is pushed through the cervix into the upper reproductive tract. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasitic microorganisms that are transmitted through sexual activity with an infected partner. About 30 different sexually transmitted infections have been identified, some of which are easily treatable, many of which are not. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is perhaps the most serious sexually transmitted infection as it eventually leads to death. STIs affect both men and women, and can also be transmitted from mothers to children during pregnancy and childbirth. RTIs are widespread. The World Health Organization estimates that each year, there are over 333 million new cases of curable STIs. In addition, UNAIDS calculates that in 2000 alone, 5.3 million people became infected with HIV. RTIs that are not sexually transmitted are considered even more common. RTIs result in numerous serious consequences, particularly in women. Pregnancy-related complications, as well as congenital infections, can result from RTIs. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can develop, and can cause infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pain. Recently, it has been shown that certain infections can increase the chances of HIV transmission. Unfortunately, symptoms and signs of many infections may not appear until it is too late to avoid such consequences and damage to the reproductive organs. RTIs affect more than health. The morbidity associated with RTIs also affects the economic productivity and quality of life of many individual women and men, and consequently, …
Changes in Colonic Bile Acid Composition following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Are Sufficient to Control Clostridium difficile Germination and Growth

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a highly effective therapy for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (R-CDI), but its mechanisms remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that gut bile acids have significant influence on the physiology of C. difficile, and therefore on patient susceptibility to recurrent infection. We analyzed spore germination of 10 clinical C. difficile isolates exposed to combinations of bile acids present in patient feces before and after FMT. Bile acids at concentrations found in patients’ feces prior to FMT induced germination of C. difficile, although with variable potency across different strains. However, bile acids at concentrations found in patients after FMT did not induce germination and inhibited vegetative growth of all C. difficile strains. Sequencing of the newly identified germinant receptor in C. difficile, CspC, revealed a possible correspondence of variation in germination responses across isolates with mutations in this receptor. This may be related to interstrain variability in spore germination and vegetative growth in response to bile acids seen in this and other studies. These results support the idea that intra-colonic bile acids play a key mechanistic role in the success of FMT, and suggests that novel therapeutic alternatives for treatment of R-CDI may be developed by targeted manipulation of bile acid composition in the colon.
Gene Expression Profiling Provides Insights into Pathways of Oxaliplatin-Related Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome in Humans

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS; formerly veno-occlusive disease) is a well-established complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, pyrrolizidine alkaloid intoxication, and widely used chemotherapeutic agents such as oxaliplatin. It is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Pathogenesis of SOS in humans is poorly understood. To explore its molecular mechanisms, we used Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays to investigate the gene expression profile of 11 human livers with oxaliplatin-related SOS and compared it to 12 matched controls. Hierarchical clustering analysis showed that profiles from SOS and controls formed distinct clusters. To identify functional networks and gene ontologies, data were analyzed by the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis Tool. A total of 913 genes were differentially expressed in SOS: 613 being upregulated and 300 downregulated. Reverse transcriptase-PCR results showed excellent concordance with microarray data. Pathway analysis showed major gene upregulation in six pathways in SOS compared with controls: acute phase response (notably interleukin 6), coagulation system (Serpine1, THBD, and VWF), hepatic fibrosis/hepatic stellate cell activation (COL3a1, COL3a2, PDGF-A, TIMP1, and MMP2), and oxidative stress. Angiogenic factors (VEGF-C) and hypoxic factors (HIF1A) were upregulated. The most significant increase was seen in CCL20 mRNA. In conclusion, oxaliplatin-related SOS can be readily distinguished according to morphologic characteristics but also by a molecular signature. Global gene analysis provides new insights into mechanisms underlying chemotherapy-related hepatotoxicity in humans and potential targets relating to its diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Activation of VEGF and coagulation (vWF) pathways could partially explain at a molecular level the clinical observations that bevacizumab and aspirin have a preventive effect in SOS. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(4); 687–96. ©2011 AACR.
The Integration of IsiZulu into Technology in the Basic Education in KwaZulu-Natal

This paper seeks to investigate issues associated with the inconspicuousness of indigenous African languages in the South African education system. The integration of indigenous African languages into information and communication technology (ICT) in the basic education sector, in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the key and strategic shifts that should be considered and embraced. Such imperatives are bound to positively fast-track various efforts targeted towards the elevation and promotion of indigenous African languages as medium of instruction. These languages have been discriminated against for a number of years, since the era of colonisation and Apartheid South Africa. Despite numerous attempts by the new democratic government, through transformative legislative frameworks that seek to elevate the status of these languages, African languages are still not seriously considered within the education sector. Institutions of learning have developed multilingual language policies yet their implementation remains a major problem and a pipedream for a majority of South African. Based on the critical review of the literature on indigenous African languages and ICT, the paper highlights various opportunities and benefits that at are at disposal for the integration of indigenous African languages into ICT within the education sector, as well as some challenges associated with such initiatives. The paper concludes with a discussion of some linguistic challenges that are responsible for the continued low profile of indigenous languages in education and to a high failure rate in South African schools.
International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering , Vol 2 , No . 3 , November 2009 13 CTVN : Clustering Technique Using Voronoi Diagram

Clustering technique is one of the most important and basic tool for data mining. We propose a new clustering technique using K-Means algorithm and Voronoi diagram to unfold the hidden pattern in a given dataset. In the first phase we use K-Means algorithm to create set of small clusters and in the next phase using Voronoi diagram we create actual clusters. K-Means and Voronoi diagram based clustering results are of high quality and robustness and are able to identify noise. Our proposed algorithm is tested on synthetic dataset and results are presented.
Analysis of Nonstationary Extreme Events

Extreme events by definition are rare events that occur infrequently but their impacts on both physical and socioeconomic resources are very enormous. Extreme climate events such as heavy precipitation, drought, tropical cyclones, hurricanes and heat waves are known to have tremendous impact on the society. Over the last few decades, our understanding of the mean behavior of the climate and its normal variability has improved to a large extend but the same cannot be said of climate extremes. Climate extremes represent nonlinear systems that are very hard to study and even harder to make predictions on them. The objective of this paper is to assess how these extreme events relate to modes of climatic variability such as El Nino–Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation by utilizing the familiar distributions that arise out of the extreme value theory such as the generalized extreme value distribution and the generalized Pareto distribution. Nonstationarity is ensured by expressing the parameters of the distribution as functions of the covariates.