Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DetLock: Portable and Efficient Deterministic Execution for Shared Memory Multicore Systems

Multicore systems are not only hard to program but also hard to test, debug and maintain. This is because the traditional way of accessing shared memory in multithreaded applications is to use lock-based synchronization, which is inherently non-deterministic and can cause a multithreaded application to have many different possible execution paths for the same input. This problem can be avoided however by forcing a multithreaded application to have the same lock acquisition order for the same input. In this paper, we present DetLock, which is able to run multithreaded programs deterministically without relying on any hardware support or kernel modification. The logical clocks used for performing deterministic execution are inserted by the compiler. For 4 cores, the average overhead of these clocks on tested benchmarks is brought down from 20% to 8% by applying several optimizations. Moreover, the overall overhead, including deterministic execution, is comparable to state of the art systems such as Kendo, even surpassing it for some applications, while providing more portability.
Threshold concepts and authentic assessment: Learning to think like an occupational therapist

Threshold concepts have been used to inform curriculum design in a number of disciplines including occupational therapy. Assessment is integral for effective learning within curricula, however, limited attention has focused on how assessment can be utilised to help students engage with threshold concepts. This mixed methods research explored students’ and academics’ experiences of engagement with threshold concepts through assessment tasks. Authentic assessment activities were designed to engage students with the threshold concepts embedded within three consecutive pre-clinical child and youth courses of undergraduate and graduate entry masters occupational therapy curricula. All students completing these courses (n=224) were invited to participate in on-line surveys and focus groups. Academic staff (n=4) involved with the courses participated in an individual or group interview. These were transcribed and content analysed to establish emerging themes. Results indicated that all assessment activities provided opportunities for students to engage with the five identified threshold concepts. Two key themes emerged. First, “Pulling it all together” related to how students viewed assessment activities as facilitating integration of knowledge, and development of identity as therapists. Second, “Moving from stuck places” reflected the supports that assisted them at different stages of their learning journey. Authentic assessment activities enabled students to engage with troublesome knowledge and demonstrate threshold crossing. Facilitators and barriers to student engagement with these activities were identified that can inform the development of assessment to support learning within a threshold concepts informed curriculum.
Unconventional ligand activation of herpesvirus entry mediator signals cell survival

The herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM; TNFRSF14) activates NF-κB through the canonical TNF-related cytokine LIGHT, serving as a costimulatory pathway during activation of T cells. HVEM also functions as a ligand for the Ig superfamily members B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) and CD160, both of which limit inflammatory responses initiated by T cells. Emerging evidence indicates BTLA also promotes T cell survival, but its structural differences from LIGHT intimate BTLA is unlikely to function as an activator of HVEM. We demonstrate here that BTLA, CD160, and herpes simplex virus envelope glycoprotein D (gD) function as activating ligands for HVEM, promoting NF-κB activation and cell survival. Membrane-expressed BTLA and CD160, as well as soluble dimeric receptor surrogates BTLA-Fc and gD-Fc specifically activated HVEM-dependent NF-κB. BTLA and CD160 engagement induced recruitment of TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2), but not TRAF3, to HVEM that specifically activated the RelA but not the RelB form of NF-κB in a mucosal epithelial tumor cell line. Moreover, Btla−/− T cells survived poorly following activation but were rescued with BTLA-Fc, indicating HVEM-BTLA bidirectional signaling may serve as a critical cell-survival system for lymphoid and epithelial cells.
The Sortase SrtA of Listeria monocytogenes Is Involved in Processing of Internalin and in Virulence

ABSTRACT Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular gram-positive human pathogen that invades eucaryotic cells. Among the surface-exposed proteins playing a role in this invasive process, internalin belongs to the family of LPXTG proteins, which are known to be covalently linked to the bacterial cell wall in gram-positive bacteria. Recently, it has been shown in Staphylococcus aureus that the covalent anchoring of protein A, a typical LPXTG protein, is due to a cysteine protease, named sortase, required for bacterial virulence. Here, we identified in silico from the genome of L. monocytogenes a gene, designated srtA, encoding a sortase homologue. The role of this previously unknown sortase was studied by constructing a sortase knockout mutant. Internalin was used as a reporter protein to study the effects of the srtA mutation on cell wall anchoring of this LPXTG protein in L. monocytogenes. We show that the srtA mutant (i) is affected in the display of internalin at the bacterial surface, (ii) is significantly less invasive in vitro, and (iii) is attenuated in its virulence in the mouse. These results demonstrate that srtA of L. monocytogenes acts as a sortase and plays a role in the pathogenicity.
True Spreads and Equilibrium Prices

Stocks and other financial assets are traded at prices that lie on a fixed grid determined by the minimum tick size. Observed prices and quoted spreads do not correspond to the equilibrium prices and true spreads that would exist in a market with no minimum tick size. Using Monte Carlo Markov Chain methods, this paper estimates the equilibrium prices and true spreads. For large stocks, most of the quoted spread is attributable to the rounding of prices and the adverse selection component is small. The true spread and the adverse selection component are greater for mid-sized stocks. Copyright The American Finance Association 2001.
Natural Variation of Molecular and Morphological Gibberellin Responses1[OPEN]

Genetic perturbation of endogenous gibberellin levels shows unexpected flexibility in the wiring of regulatory networks underlying hormone metabolism and signaling. Although phytohormones such as gibberellins are essential for many conserved aspects of plant physiology and development, plants vary greatly in their responses to these regulatory compounds. Here, we use genetic perturbation of endogenous gibberellin levels to probe the extent of intraspecific variation in gibberellin responses in natural accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We find that these accessions vary greatly in their ability to buffer the effects of overexpression of GA20ox1, encoding a rate-limiting enzyme for gibberellin biosynthesis, with substantial differences in bioactive gibberellin concentrations as well as transcriptomes and growth trajectories. These findings demonstrate a surprising level of flexibility in the wiring of regulatory networks underlying hormone metabolism and signaling.
Pengaruh Stresor Kerja dan Persepsi Sanksi Organisasi terhadap Perilaku Cyberloafing di Universitas Jember (The Impact of Work Stressors and Organizational Sanctions Perception on Cyberloafing Behavior in Jember University)

One of the negative consequencies of internet is cyberloafing behavior. Cyberloafing refers to employee’s behavior of using their work internet access during work hours for non-work-related purposes. Based on the preliminary study, there were more than 50% of University Jember's administrative employee use their working time to cyberloaf. They spent one hour a day in average to cyberloaf. The aims of this research were to examine the impact of work stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload) and perception of organizational sanction on cyberloafing behavior in Jember University by using analytical survey method. Sample of this research were 80 administrative government’s employee of 14 faculties and 2 study programs in Jember University. The data was analyzed by simple and multiple linier regression. The univariat analysis result indicated that the employee had low role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload, but high organizational sanctions perception, and they spent one our a day in average to cyberloaf. The bivariat analysis result indicated that role conflict, role overload, and perception of organizational sanction had significant impact on cyberloafing behavior, while role ambiguity did not. Keywords: role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, organizational sanctions perception, cyberloafing.
Examining the Domain-Specificity of Metacognition Using Academic Domains and Task-Specific Individual Differences.

Metacognition refers to students’ knowledge and regulation of cognition, as well as their accuracy in predicting their academic performance. This study addressed two major questions: 1) how do metacognitive knowledge, regulation and accuracy differ across domains? , and 2) how do students’ individual differences relate to their reported metacognition across domains? Participants (N=644) completed a metacognitive questionnaire to assess metacognitive knowledge, regulation, and accuracy. Results suggest that metacognitive knowledge and regulation are domain-general while metacognitive accuracy is domain-specific. Perceived task difficulty and content interest are independently related to metacognitive knowledge, regulation, and accuracy, though the relationships vary among them across domains.
Efficient Grammar Generation and Tuning for Interactive Voice Response Applications

This paper presents a procedure to efficiently create and tune context free grammars for directed dialog speech applications using only spoken test user utterances. We present a procedure to transcribe utterances with improved accuracy by post-processing the ASR n-best lists with higher level knowledge sources and additional information from the application prompt. We then present a semantic categorizer for the transcriptions, a statistical filtering mechanism for modifying the grammars and, a mechanism to raise an alarm condition in case of large in-flow of errors. We also illustrate the importance of additional improvements gained by using the semantic classification strength in a feedback loop to the transcription mechanism
Etiology of Drug Abuse: A Narrative Analysis

Introduction and Aim. Further gains in the prevention of drug abuse disorders require in-depth and holistic understanding of the risk factors of addiction from different perspectives. Lay persons and experts have different concepts of risk which could complement each other. The purpose of this study was to elaborate drug abuse risk factors through the story of individuals who had become drug dependent. Design and Methods. In this qualitative research, 33 individuals attending treatment centres for drug abuse were interviewed about the story of their addiction in Kerman, Iran. Interview questions were around the story of the participants. Results. All participants were male and in the age range of 18–40 years. Narrative analysis identified five themes as the main risk factors: family factors, peer pressure, the effect of gateway drugs (especially waterpipe), individual characteristics, and the community factors. More emphasis was placed upon the role of family factors, peer influence, and gateway effect. Discussion and Conclusion. This study elicited information from drug dependent subjects regarding the risk factors of drug abuse. According to drug dependent individuals' views, more attention should be devoted to family and peer influences by policy makers, in developing culture-based preventive strategies.
RIP2 Is a Raf1-activated Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Kinase*

RIP2 is a serine-threonine kinase associated with the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor complex and is implicated in the activation of NF-κB and cell death in mammalian cells. However, the function of its kinase domain is still enigmatic as it is not required in engaging these responses. Here we show that RIP2 activates the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and that the kinase activity of RIP2 appears to be important in this process. RIP2 activates AP-1 and serum response element regulated expression by inducing the activation of the Elk1 transcription factor. RIP2 directly phosphorylates and activates ERK2 in vivo and in vitro. RIP2 in turn is activated through its interaction with Ras-activated Raf1. Kinase-defective point and deletion variants of RIP2 also significantly blocked the activation of ERK2 by TNFα but not epidermal growth factor. These results describe a novel pathway of ERK activation and the first catalytic function ascribed to any of the RIP-like kinases associated with the TNF receptor superfamily.
Transforming Growth Factor Gene Expression in Human Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Cells : Regulation by Progestins 1

In an attempt to understand the antiproliferative effects of progestins in endometrial cancer, we have examined the effects of the potent progestin, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), on the cell proliferation and the expression of transforming growth factor (TGF) a and 0 genes in human endometrial adenocarcinoma cell lines. The two cell lines used were Ishikawa, var 1, and HEC-50. In addition, the effects of exogenous I(.! -<> and anti-epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor monoclonal antibody on cell proliferation were determined. Incubation of both cell lines with \IPA resulted in a timeand dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. Half-maximal growth inhibition was observed at 0.6 n.M. In Ishikawa cells, the relative abundance of TGF-cr was significantly reduced by MPA. A significant decrease in TGF-a mRNA was apparent 6 h after exposure to MPA and a further decrease was seen 12-24 h after addition of the progestin. The concentration of TGF-a immunoreacm it\ in conditioned medium of MPA-treated cells was also significantly reduced compared to control cultures. MPA had no effect on TGF-a expression by HEC-50 cells. EGF mRNA was not detected by Northern blot analysis in either cell type. MPA had no significant effect on EGF receptor mRNA abundance but resulted in a small increase in EGF receptor number in Ishikawa cells. Anti-EGF receptor monoclonal anti body (0.6-6 DM) inhibited Ishikawa cell growth but had no effect on HEC-50 cell proliferation. Exogenous TGF-a stimulated proliferation of both cell lines, but Ishikawa cells were significantly more sensitive to exogenous TGF-a than HEC-50 cells. Furthermore, TGF-a could reverse the growth inhibitory effects of MPA on Ishikawa cells. A decrease in TGF-0 mRNA abundance was also observed in MPA-treated Ishikawa and HEC-50 cells. This effect was of small magnitude, variable, and only observed after prolonged exposure to MPA. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the antiproliferative effects of pro gestins on Ishikawa cells are mediated by decreased expression and autocrine action of TGF-a. Since similar growth inhibition is also seen in the HEC-50 cells in which progestins have no effect on TGF-a expression, additional mechanisms are likely to be involved in the anti proliferative effects of progestins in human endometrial cancer.
Preliminary Design of a PEM Fuel Cell Simulator Based on Digitally Controlled DC-DC Buck Converter

—Modeling of fuel cells is getting more and more important as power fuel cell stacks being available and have to be integrated into real power systems. This paper presents a novel circuit model for a PEM fuel cell that can be used to design fuel cell simulator. The model is consisted of a DC-DC buck converter driven by PIC 16F877 microcontroller. The model can be used in design and analysis of fuel cell power systems by simulation or by using practically realized simulator.
Torque-controlled stepping-strategy push recovery: Design and implementation on the iCub humanoid robot

One of the challenges for the robotics community is to deploy robots which can reliably operate in real world scenarios together with humans. A crucial requirement for legged robots is the capability to properly balance on their feet, rejecting external disturbances. iCub is a state-of-the-art humanoid robot which has only recently started to balance on its feet. While the current balancing controller has proved successful in various scenarios, it still misses the capability to properly react to strong pushes by taking steps. This paper goes in this direction. It proposes and implements a control strategy based on the Capture Point concept [1]. Instead of relying on position control, like most of Capture Point related approaches, the proposed strategy generates references for the momentum-based torque controller already implemented on the iCub, thus extending its capabilities to react to external disturbances, while retaining the advantages of torque control when interacting with the environment. Experiments in the Gazebo simulator and on the iCub humanoid robot validate the proposed strategy.
An avoidance of premature convergence in IIR filter design using PSO

In this paper, a design method for the Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is developed. Because the PSO has a strong directivity toward a local minimum, the PSO updating tends to stagnate around such a local minimum and thus indicates a premature convergence. Recently, the Asynchronous Digenetic PSO with Nonlinear dissipative term (N-AD-PSO) has been proposed for a diverse search. It can be expected that the stagnation can be avoided by the N-AD-PSO. In this study, the N-AD-PSO is adapted for the IIR filter design. Several examples are shown to present the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Development of a self-assessment tool to facilitate decision-making in choosing a long term care administration major

ABSTRACT Long term care administrators need a broad base of knowledge, skills, and interests to provide leadership and be successful in managing a fiscally responsible, quality long term care organization. Researchers developed a tool to help students assess whether a long term care administration major is a compatible fit. With input from professionals in the field and in context with the literature, a multi-phase research process, utilizing undergraduates as research assistants, led to development of the Long Term Care Administrator (LTCA) Self-Assessment Tool which focuses on assessing interest, ability, and experience of prospective students across the following 10 characteristics deemed necessary for effective leadership of long term care communities: organization, critical thinking, people skills, attitude, confidence, communication, visionary leadership, sense of caring, change agent, and business sense. Internal consistency measures and factor analysis suggest the LTCA Tool is reasonably reliable and valid for assisting prospective students in selecting a long term care administration major and they can also serve as a foundation for building an individualized academic and experiential professional development plan to progress them toward career goals.
Preoperative variables affecting long-term outcome of triple pelvic osteotomy for treatment of naturally developing hip dysplasia in dogs.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether preoperative radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease (DJD), hip joint laxity, or age at surgery is associated with long-standing DJD or hip function in dogs with hip dysplasia (HD) that had a triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO). DESIGN Prospective study. ANIMALS 34 dogs with HD. PROCEDURE Dogs that had TPO performed during an 8-year period were chosen for long-term follow-up evaluation that included physical examinations, pelvic radiographs, and owner questionnaires. Data on radiographic evidence of DJD, Norberg angle, and percentage of femoral head coverage were retrieved from preoperative records and determined from follow-up radiographs. RESULTS Approximately 40% of dogs had progression of DJD. Eighty-seven percent of dogs received excellent or good physical examination scores, and 76% received excellent or good at-home activity scores. Preoperative and long-standing DJD were not associated. The risk of DJD was increased with increased age at surgery, narrower preoperative Norberg angle, and lower percentage of femoral head coverage, but these variables were not associated with clinical hip function. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS TPO for treatment of HD in dogs may slow, rather than stop, radiographic progression of DJD; however, clinical outcome is acceptable for most dogs. Preoperative evidence of DJD may not be a limiting criterion in selecting dogs as suitable TPO candidates. Dogs with extensive hip joint laxity before surgery may be predisposed to developing DJD; thus, the risk-to-benefit ratio for TPO versus salvage procedures should be considered. Younger dogs may develop less severe DJD after TPO; surgery should be considered at the first sign of hip joint laxity and pain.
Arginase Activity - A Marker of Disease Status in Patients with Visceral Leishmaniasis in Ethiopia

The underlying mechanisms resulting in the profound immune suppression characteristic of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are not fully understood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that arginase, an enzyme associated with immunosuppression, is higher in patients with VL and contributes to impaired T cell responses. We recruited patients with VL before and after treatment and healthy controls and measured the arginase metabolism in the blood of these individuals. Our results show that arginase activity is significantly higher in the blood of patients with active VL as compared to controls. These high levels of arginase decline considerably once the patients are successfully treated. We identified the phenotype of arginase-expressing cells among PBMCs as neutrophils and show that their frequency was increased in PBMCs of patients before treatment; this coincides with reduced levels of L-arginine in the plasma and decreased expression levels of CD3ζ in T cells.
A 10-Gb/s 0.18-μm CMOS Optical Receiver Front-End Amplifier

A fully integrated 10-Gb/s optical receiver analog front-end (AFE) design that includes a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and a limiting amplifier (LA) is demonstrated to require less chip area and is suitable for both low-cost and low-voltage applications. The AFE is stimulation using a 0. 18μm CMOS process. In order to avoid off-chip noise interference, the TIA and LA are dc-coupled on the chip instead of ac-coupled though a large external capacitor. The tiny photo current received by the receiver AFE is amplified to voltage swing of 400. The results indicate that, with a photodiode parasitic capacitance of 500fF and the bonding pad parasitic capacitance of 200fF between which a 2-mm bond wire is inserted at the input node, the AFE provides a conversion gain of up to 89.21 dB and 3 dB bandwidth of 9.78 GHz. Operating under a 1.8V supply, circuit power dissipation is 95 mW and its sensitivity is 18. 5μA for BER of 10-12
Best neighborhood matching: an information loss restoration technique for block-based image coding systems

Imperfect transmission of block-coded images often results in lost blocks. A novel error concealment method called best neighborhood matching (BNM) is presented by using a special kind of information redundancy-blockwise similarity within the image. The proposed algorithm can utilize the information of not only neighboring pixels, but also remote regions in the image. Very good restoration results are obtained by experiments.