Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complexity of Variants of Tseng's Modified F-B Splitting and Korpelevich's Methods for Hemivariational Inequalities with Applications to Saddle-point and Convex Optimization Problems

In this paper, we consider both a variant of Tseng's modified forward-backward splitting method and an extension of Korpelevich's method for solving hemivariational inequalities with Lipschitz continuous operators. By showing that these methods are special cases of the hybrid proximal extragradient method introduced by Solodov and Svaiter, we derive iteration-complexity bounds for them to obtain different types of approximate solutions. In the context of saddle-point problems, we also derive complexity bounds for these methods to obtain another type of an approximate solution, namely, that of an approximate saddle point. Finally, we illustrate the usefulness of the above results by applying them to a large class of linearly constrained convex programming problems, including, for example, cone programming and problems whose objective functions converge to infinity as the boundaries of their effective domains are approached.
Sensitization of Listeria monocytogenesto Low pH, Organic Acids, and Osmotic Stress by Ethanol

ABSTRACT The killing of Listeria monocytogenes following exposure to low pH, organic acids, and osmotic stress was enhanced by the addition of 5% (vol/vol) ethanol. At pH 3, for example, the presence of this agent stimulated killing by more than 3 log units in 40 min of exposure. The rate of cell death at pH 3.0 was dependent on the concentration of ethanol. Thus, while the presence 10% (vol/vol) ethanol at pH 3.0 stimulated killing by more than 3 log units in just 5 min, addition of 1.25% (vol/vol) ethanol resulted in less than 1 log unit of killing in 10 min. The ability of 5% (vol/vol) ethanol to stimulate killing at low pH and at elevated osmolarity was also dependent on the amplitude of the imposed stress, and an increase in the pH from 3.0 to 4.0 or a decrease in the sodium chloride concentration from 25 to 2.5% led to a marked reduction in the effectiveness of 5% (vol/vol) ethanol as an augmentative agent. Combinations of organic acids, low pH, and ethanol proved to be particularly effective bactericidal treatments; the most potent combination was pH 3.0, 50 mM formate, and 5 % (vol/vol) ethanol, which resulted in 5 log units of killing in just 4 min. Ethanol-enhanced killing correlated with damage to the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane.
Rumor spreading maximization and source identification in a social network

The goal of a rumor source node in a social network is to spread its rumor to as many nodes as possible, while remaining hidden from the network administrator. On the other hand, the network administrator aims to identify the source node based on knowledge of which nodes have accepted the rumor (which are called infected nodes). We model the rumor spreading and source identification problem as a strategic game, where the rumor source and the network administrator are the two players. As the Jordan center estimator is a minimax source estimator that has been shown to be robust in recent works, we assume that the network administrator utilizes a source estimation strategy that probes every node within a given radius of the Jordan center. Given any estimation strategy, we design a best-response infection strategy for the rumor source. Given any infection strategy, we design a best-response estimation strategy for the network administrator. We derive conditions under which the Nash equilibria of the strategic game exist. Simulations in both synthetic and real-world networks demonstrate that our proposed infection strategy infects more nodes while maintaining the same safety margin between the true source node and the Jordan center source estimator.
A simple approximate analysis of floating content for context-aware applications

Context-awareness is a peculiar characteristic of an ever expanding set of applications that make use of a combination of restricted spatio-temporal locality and mobile communications, to deliver a variety of services to the end user. It is expected that by 2014 more than 1.5 billion people would be using applications based on local search (search restricted on the basis of spatio-temporal locality), and that mobile location based services will drive revenues of more than $15 billion worldwide. A common feature of such context-aware applications is the fact that their communication requirements significantly differ from ordinary applications. For most of them, the scope of generated content itself is local. This locally relevant content may be of little concern to the rest of the world, therefore moving this content from the user device to store it in a well-accessible centralized location and/or making this information available beyond its scope represents a clear waste of resources (connectivity, storage). Due to these specific requirements, opportunistic communication can play a special role when coupled with context-awareness. The benefit of opportunistic communications is that it naturally incorporates context as spatial proximity is closely associated with connectivity.
Role of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Chemokine-Induced Emigration and Chemotaxis In Vivo1

It has been proposed that L-selectin engagement with ligand activates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and can impact on downstream events of leukocyte rolling, including adhesion, and emigration. Using a novel chemotactic assay in vivo, we visualized slow release of chemokine from an agarose gel positioned 350 μm from a postcapillary venule, which induced directed migration (chemotaxis) of neutrophils. In this system, keratinocyte-derived cytokine induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, which phosphorylated a downstream protein (ATF-2). This latter event was blocked by the concentration of p38 inhibitors used in this study. Mice were treated with two different p38 inhibitors: SKF86002 and SB203580. Neither inhibitor affected rolling or adhesion in microvessels. Intravenous treatment with SFK86002 (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) 30 min before the inflammatory stimulus inhibited the total number of emigrated cells at a dose of 20 mg/kg (62%, p < 0.05), despite the presence of many adherent cells within the vessels. A similar inhibition was observed with 20 mg/kg of a second p38 inhibitor SB203580 (67%, p < 0.05). In addition to emigration, both p38 inhibitors impaired the ability of emigrated cells to migrate through the tissue toward the chemotactic stimulus. In fact, the majority of emigrated leukocytes in p38 inhibitor-treated animals remained within 50 μm of the venule. Superfusion of the tissue with SKF86002 (0.7 mM) to impact only on emigrated and not vascular leukocytes resulted in no impairment in emigration, but in a significant reduction in chemotaxis away from the vessel wall. Again, the majority of emigrated leukocytes remained within 50 μm of the blood vessel. Our results suggest that p38 does not affect rolling or adhesion, but that it is involved in leukocyte emigration and chemotaxis through interstitium in response to keratinocyte-derived cytokine in vivo.
Age Specific Survival Rates of Steller Sea Lions at Rookeries with Divergent Population Trends in the Russian Far East

After a dramatic population decline, Steller sea lions have begun to recover throughout most of their range. However, Steller sea lions in the Western Aleutians and Commander Islands are continuing to decline. Comparing survival rates between regions with different population trends may provide insights into the factors driving the dynamics, but published data on vital rates have been extremely scarce, especially in regions where the populations are still declining. Fortunately, an unprecedented dataset of marked Steller sea lions at rookeries in the Russian Far East is available, allowing us to determine age and sex specific survival in sea lions up to 22 years old. We focused on survival rates in three areas in the Russian range with differing population trends: the Commander Islands (Medny Island rookery), Eastern Kamchatka (Kozlov Cape rookery) and the Kuril Islands (four rookeries). Survival rates differed between these three regions, though not necessarily as predicted by population trends. Pup survival was higher where the populations were declining (Medny Island) or not recovering (Kozlov Cape) than in all Kuril Island rookeries. The lowest adult (> 3 years old) female survival was found on Medny Island and this may be responsible for the continued population decline there. However, the highest adult survival was found at Kozlov Cape, not in the Kuril Islands where the population is increasing, so we suggest that differences in birth rates might be an important driver of these divergent population trends. High pup survival on the Commander Islands and Kamchatka Coast may be a consequence of less frequent (e.g. biennial) reproduction there, which may permit females that skip birth years to invest more in their offspring, leading to higher pup survival, but this hypothesis awaits measurement of birth rates in these areas.
Neuroelectrical Correlates of Trustworthiness and Dominance Judgments Related to the Observation of Political Candidates

The present research investigates the neurophysiological activity elicited by fast observations of faces of real candidates during simulated political elections. We used simultaneous recording of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals as well as galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate (HR) as measurements of central and autonomic nervous systems. Twenty healthy subjects were asked to give judgments on dominance, trustworthiness, and a preference of vote related to the politicians' faces. We used high-resolution EEG techniques to map statistical differences of power spectral density (PSD) cortical activity onto a realistic head model as well as partial directed coherence (PDC) and graph theory metrics to estimate the functional connectivity networks and investigate the role of cortical regions of interest (ROIs). Behavioral results revealed that judgment of dominance trait is the most predictive of the outcome of the simulated elections. Statistical comparisons related to PSD and PDC values highlighted an asymmetry in the activation of frontal cortical areas associated with the valence of the judged trait as well as to the probability to cast the vote. Overall, our results highlight the existence of cortical EEG features which are correlated with the prediction of vote and with the judgment of trustworthy and dominant faces.
Accelerated Mirror Descent in Continuous and Discrete Time

We study accelerated mirror descent dynamics in continuous and discrete time. Combining the original continuous-time motivation of mirror descent with a recent ODE interpretation of Nesterov's accelerated method, we propose a family of continuous-time descent dynamics for convex functions with Lipschitz gradients, such that the solution trajectories converge to the optimum at a O(1/t2) rate. We then show that a large family of first-order accelerated methods can be obtained as a discretization of the ODE, and these methods converge at a O(1/k2) rate. This connection between accelerated mirror descent and the ODE provides an intuitive approach to the design and analysis of accelerated first-order algorithms.
Evidence of ectopic recombination and a repeat-induced point (RIP) mutation in the genome of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the agent responsible for white mold

Abstract Two retrotransposons from the superfamilies Copia and Gypsy named as Copia-LTR_SS and Gypsy-LTR_SS, respectively, were identified in the genomic bank of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. These transposable elements (TEs) contained direct and preserved long terminal repeats (LTR). Domains related to codified regions for gag protein, integrase, reverse transcriptase and RNAse H were identified in Copia-LTR_SS, whereas in Gypsy-LTR_SS only domains for gag, reverse transcriptase and RNAse H were found. The abundance of identified LTR-Solo suggested possible genetic recombination events in the S. sclerotiorum genome. Furthermore, alignment of the sequences for LTR elements from each superfamily suggested the presence of a RIP (repeat-induced point mutation) silencing mechanism that may directly affect the evolution of this species.
Longitudinal tracking of academic progress during teacher preparation

BACKGROUND Given that the ultimate academic goal of many education systems in the developed world is for students to graduate from college, grades have a considerable bearing on how effective colleges are in meeting their primary objective. Prior academic performance informs predominantly the selection and retention of teacher candidates. However, there remains a dearth of evidence linking academic performance with outcomes in teacher preparation or the workplace. AIM This study examined pre-service teachers' trajectories of academic growth during teacher preparation. SAMPLE The sample comprised 398 pre-service teachers - 282 (70.8%) males and 116 (29.1%) females. METHOD Academic growth was measured across eight time points over the course of 4 years. Pre-service teachers' academic growth was analysed using linear and nonlinear latent growth models. RESULTS Results indicate that academic growth was quadratic and, over time, decelerated, with no evidence of the Matthew effect or the compensatory effect. There was evidence of a connection between prior academic attainment and current grades. CONCLUSION Greater attention to academic growth during the college years, and particularly among pre-service teachers, may enable greater achievement support for students.
Three Tier Proximity Aware Cache Hierarchy for Multi-core Processors

Unlimited amounts of fast memory is a dream for computer programmers. An economical way to achieve that desire is a memory hierarchy which takes advantage of locality and cost– performance ratio of various memory technologies. Multi-core processors currently in use today do not take full advantage of the possible memory hierarchies available. In this paper, we propose a three-tiered cache hierarchy for a chip multiprocessor with at least 32 or 64 cores, with a high-bandwidth shared Level 3 cache for small groups of, say 8, cores, and private Level 2 and Level 1 caches for each core, to improve cache performance in multi-core processors. We make use of a proximity-aware directory-based coherence algorithm to improve the performance of the shared Level 3 caches. This architecture will benefit tasks where a shared cache is desirable, such as inter-core communication and performing operations on shared data structures. This method maximizes the cache hit rate thereby improving the overall performance of the memory hierarchy and the multi-core processor.
TnT: a set of libraries for visualizing trees and track-based annotations for the web

Summary: There is an increasing need for rich and dynamic biological data visualizations in bioinformatic web applications. New standards in web technologies, like SVG or Canvas, are now supported by most modern web browsers allowing the blossoming of powerful visualizations in biological data analysis. The exploration of different ways to visualize genomic data is still challenging due to the lack of flexible tools to develop them. Here, I present a set of libraries aimed at creating powerful tree- and track-based visualizations for the web. Its modularity and rich API facilitate the development of many different visualizations ranging from simple species trees to complex visualizations comprising per-node data annotations or even simple genome browsers. Availability and Implementation: The TnT libraries have been written in Javascript, licensed under the APACHE 2.0 license and hosted at https://github.com/tntvis. Contact: mp@ebi.ac. uk
Histological changes in the orbital region of rats after orbital puncture

To contribute to the assessment of the degree of discomfort in rats after orbital puncture, we have examined the histological changes in the intra-orbital tissues caused by this technique of blood sampling. Orbits were studied from rats euthanized either within 1 min, 4 days, 28 days or 56 days after puncture while under diethyl-ether anaesthesia. The techniques of 2 animal technicians were compared, one using a broken haematocrit capillary and the other using an intact Pasteur's pipette. Non-punctured orbits served as controls. Microscopic slides containing the eye in situ at 2 horizontal levels in the orbital region were examined for 37 parameters; the slides were scored blind and in random order. Orbital puncture caused haemorrhages in the puncture track and, depending on the technique used, also in the periosteum. Four days after puncture, inflammatory reactions were present in the puncture track. Depending on the technique of puncture, these reactions were also seen in the eye muscles and periosteum or in the Harderian gland. Within 4 weeks after puncture, the lesions had healed without detectable scars. The different histological effects of the 2 techniques of orbital puncture are discussed in the light of the characteristics of these techniques.
Temporal Difference Model Reproduces Anticipatory Neural Activity

Anticipatory neural activity preceding behaviorally important events has been reported in cortex, striatum, and midbrain dopamine neurons. Whereas dopamine neurons are phasically activated by reward-predictive stimuli, anticipatory activity of cortical and striatal neurons is increased during delay periods before important events. Characteristics of dopa-mine neuron activity resemble those of the prediction error signal of the temporal difference (TD) model of Pavlovian learning (Sutton & Barto, 1990). This study demonstrates that the prediction signal of the TD model reproduces characteristics of cortical and striatal anticipatory neural activity. This finding suggests that tonic anticipatory activities may reflect prediction signals that are involved in the processing of dopamine neuron activity.
Efficient admission control and routing for resilient communication networks

ion on top of the IP network layer. We give some examples that play a role in the context of real-time communication. Transport Layer Protocols Transport layer protocols organize the multiplexing of data streams from different applications into an IP packet stream and enable a remote machine to assign the received data to the corresponding processes. The transport layer is the lowest abstraction that application programmers are faced with. From a programming technical point of view, data are transmitted through so-called sockets that allow a program to exchange messages with another process on a distant computer. A socket is identified by a source and destination IP address, which is carried by the network layer, and by a source and destination port number of two bytes each, that are carried by the transport layer. A port is like mailbox for a process within a computer such that packets that are addressed to a certain port can be delivered to the correct process. Server programs have well-known ports that are automatically used by software of client applications to contact the respective server programs. For example, web servers listen usually on port 80. When service differentiation of different flows is required, e.g. for prioritization or policing purposes (cf. Section 2.3), the packets of a single flow must be recognized. A flow is defined by flow descriptor which usually consists of the source and destination IP addresses and source and destination port numbers. Therefore, the respective information in the network and transport layer is inspected to check whether a packet belongs to a specific flow. However, if the IP payload is encrypted for security reasons, the port numbers in the transport layer can no longer be inferred by intermediate routers. This problem is solved by the flow label in IPv6. As transport layer protocols fulfill also other essential but protocol-specific tasks, we explain briefly UDP and TCP, which are the most frequently used transport layer protocols in the Internet [13].
Safety, Utilization, and Cost of Image-Guided Percutaneous Liver Biopsy Among Cancer Patients

Abstract Image-guided percutaneous liver biopsy (PLB) is a diagnostic tool for lesions in the liver. Hemorrhage is the most common complication. We selected patients with a diagnostic claim for cancer who had undergone PLB. There were a total of 26,941 patients who underwent PLB. Hemorrhage risk was 1.43% among patients undergoing PLB. When stratified by setting, odds of hemorrhage were 4.5 times higher when biopsy was performed in an inpatient setting (p < .001). Risk factors associated with hemorrhage included marital status, liver cancer and comorbidity score. The use of PLB has increased over time. Reassuringly, the hemorrhage risk associated with PLB is low.
Linear Estimation of the Odometric Parameters for Differential-Drive Mobile Robots

In this paper a calibration technique aimed at identifying the odometric parameters of differential-drive mobile robots is proposed. The proposed algorithm is based on two successive least-squares estimations based on the continuous-time kinematic equations of motion; the time-discretization error, thus, is avoided. The use of the least-squares technique is made possible by observing a linear mapping between the unknowns and the measurements and it is not the results of a linearization. Another advantage of the proposed technique is that no predefined path is required, i.e., the robot can move under a preferred navigation algorithm. The basic technique makes use of video-camera measurements and absolute position readings of the wheels' encoders, the use of different sensors and measurements of the wheels velocities is also discussed. Experimental results with the mobile robot Khepera II confirm the effectiveness of the proposed technique
Energy-efficient MAC protocol based on IEEE 802.11e for Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Energy consumption in wireless sensor networks (WSN) was always a basic constraint to respect. But, with the appearance of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN), another basic constraint comes from added, which is the traffic performance in terms of delay, throughput, and Packet Delivery Rate (PDR). The choice of channel access method can help us to better respond the two constraints in WMSN. The Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) access method has been frequently used by WSN with different modifications to reduce energy consumption. But in the WMSN, we must take into consideration as well the traffic performance. Hence the idea to study the feasibility of using an access method of the IEEE 802.11e in WMSN. In this paper we will analyze energy consumption and evaluate the performance of the 802.11e Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) with and without the mechanism Contention Free Burst (CFB), compared with IEEE 802.11 DCF. The results show that the use of EDCA CFB gives better performance, and offers a very good relationship between energy consumption and traffic performance, which is recommended in WMSN.
Inventing Requirements from Software: An Empirical Investigation with Web Services

Service-centric software systems offer new opportunities for requirements processes. This paper reports a new tool designed to increase the completeness of system requirements using information about designs and implementations of web services. It presents an algorithm for retrieving web services in domains that are analogical to a current requirements problem, to support creative thinking about requirements for that problem. It describes how the algorithm parses and analogically matches natural language descriptions of system requirements and web service descriptions. The paper also reports 2 evaluations of the tool that demonstrate improvements to specifications of requirements for a system in the automotive domain.