Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MPIXternal: A library for a portable adjustment of parallel MPI applications to heterogeneous environments

Nowadays, common systems in the area of high performance computing exhibit highly hierarchical architectures. As a result, achieving satisfactory application performance demands an adaptation of the respective parallel algorithm to such systems. This, in turn, requires knowledge about the actual hardware structure even at the application level. However, the prevalent Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard (at least in its current version 2.1) intentionally hides heterogeneity from the application programmer in order to assure portability. In this paper, we introduce the MPIXternal library which tries to circumvent this obvious semantic gap within the currentMPI standard. For this purpose, the library offers the programmer additional features that should help to adapt applications to today's hierarchical systems in a convenient and portable way.
Cellular Automata Based Method for Energy Conservation Solution in Wireless Sensor Network

A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of a large number of sensor nodes which are deployed over an area to perform local computations based on information gathered from the surroundings. Each node in the network is equipped with a battery, but it is almost very difficult to change or recharge batteries; hence, maximizing the lifetime of the network through minimizing the energy is an important challenge in WSN. Energy conservation in WSN can be accomplished by different approaches. Our approach is a combination of two methods: 1) utilizing the low-power stand-by mode supported by the wireless devices. 2) adjusting the transmission range on each node. In this paper, we present an energy-conservating solution based on cellular automata. The main objective of this solution is to reserve batteries which is gained through dynamical adjusting the transmission range and switching between operational states of the sensor nodes in the network. We have compared our solution with a certain cellular automata based technique which has recently been proposed through simulation. This comparison examines both techniques in residual energy, coverage, active nodes, fragmentation and connectivity aspects.
Conjunctive-query containment and constraint satisfaction

Conjunctive-query containment is recognized as a fundamental problem in database query evaluation and optimization. At the same time, constraint satisfaction is recognized as a fundamental problem in artificial intelligence. What do conjunctive-query containment and constraint satisfaction have in common? Our main conceptual contribution in this paper is to point out that, despite their very different formulation, conjunctive-query containment and constraint satisfaction are essentially the same problem. The reason is that they can be recast as the following fundamental algebraic problem: given two finite relational structures A and B, is there a homomorphism h:A? B? As formulated above, the homomorphism problem is uniform in the sense that both relational structures A and B are part of the input. By fixing the structure B, one obtains the following nonuniform problem: given a finite relational structure A, is there a homomorphism h:A? B? In general, nonuniform tractability results do not uniformize. Thus, it is natural to ask: which tractable cases of nonuniform tractability results for constraint satisfaction and conjunctive-query containment do uniformize? Our main technical contribution in this paper is to show that several cases of tractable nonuniform constraint-satisfaction problems do indeed uniformize. We exhibit three nonuniform tractability results that uniformize and, thus, give rise to polynomial-time solvable cases of constraint satisfaction and conjunctive-query containment. We begin by examining the tractable cases of Boolean constraint-satisfaction problems and show that they do uniformize. This can be applied to conjunctive-query containment via Booleanization; in particular, it yields one of the known tractable cases of conjunctive-query containment. After this, we show that tractability results for constraint-satisfaction problems that can be expressed using Datalog programs with bounded number of distinct variables also uniformize. Finally, we provide a new proof for the fact that tractability results for queries with bounded treewidth uniformize as well, via a connection with first-order logic with a bounded number of distinct variables.
Robust Design for Linear Non-Regenerative MIMO Relays With Imperfect Channel State Information

In this correspondence, we address statistically robust multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay design problems under two imperfect channel state information (CSI) scenarios: (1) a ll nodes have imperfect CSI and (2) the destination node knows the exact CSI, while the other nodes have imperfect CSI. For each scenario, we develop robust source and relay matrices by considering a broad class of frequently used objective functions in MIMO system design and the averaged transmission power constraints. Simulation results demonstrate the improved robustness of the proposed algorithms against CSI errors.
Telmisartan Exerts Renoprotective Actions via Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-&ggr;/Hepatocyte Growth Factor Pathway Independent of Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockade

Angiotensin (Ang) II type 1 receptor blockers have demonstrated beneficial effects beyond blood pressure control in the treatment of chronic kidney disease. There is clinical evidence that telmisartan is more effective than losartan in reducing proteinuria in hypertensive patients with diabetic nephropathy, because it is a partial agonist of peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor-&ggr; (PPAR&ggr;), as well as an Ang II type 1 receptor blocker (AMADEO Study [A comparison of telMisartan versus losArtan in hypertensive type 2 DiabEtic patients with Overt nephropathy]). In this study, we examined the role of PPAR&ggr; activation in the renal protective actions of telmisartan using Ang II type 1 receptor–deficient mice. Renal injury was induced in Ang II type 1 receptor–deficient mice by producing unilateral ureteral obstruction, which exhibited severe renal interstitial fibrosis and inflammation. In these mice, telmisartan prevented hydronephrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction more strongly than did losartan. Importantly, the prevention of renal atrophy and fibrosis by telmisartan was significantly attenuated by GW9662, a PPAR&ggr; antagonist. Interestingly, the downstream effector of PPAR&ggr; activation by telmisartan is hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a well-known antifibrotic factor, because renal HGF expression was significantly increased by telmisartan, and a neutralizing antibody against HGF diminished the renal protective action of telmisartan. These beneficial changes by telmisartan were associated with a decrease in the expression of transforming growth factor-&bgr;1 and other proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokine genes through PPAR&ggr;/HGF activation. Our findings provide evidence of organ protective actions of telmisartan through the PPAR&ggr;/HGF pathway, independent of Ang II type 1 receptor blockade. Further development of the next generation of Ang II type 1 receptor blockers with added organ protective actions, such as PPAR&ggr; activation, might provide new beneficial drugs to treat renal and cardiovascular diseases.
The Effect of Behavior Change on Honesty Checking in Peer-to-Peer Systems

Reputation systems aim to reduce the risk of loss due to untrustworthy peers. This loss is aggravated by dishonest recommenders trying to pollute the recommendation network. The objective of an honesty checking mechanism is to detect dishonest recommenders. Existing honesty checking mechanisms assume that contradicting recommendations are due to the dishonesty of the recommenders. However, such difference may be also due to the behavior change of the target peer. This paper shows the effect of such behavior change on the performance of existing honesty checking mechanisms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at linking the behavior change to honesty checking.
Evolution of convection during tropical cyclogenesis

Central to tropical cyclogenesis is the changing behavior of moist convection as the cyclone evolves. Based on a cumulus ensemble model run in weak temperature gradient mode, we suggest that the mid‐level vortex created by early‐stage convection stabilizes the environment in way that favors further development. In particular, modeled convection occurring in the more stable environment produces heavy rainfall and concentrated inflow at low levels. Such inflow is needed for the development of the low‐level vortex characteristic of warm‐core tropical cyclones. The increase in humidity which is typical of developing cyclones also increases convective rainfall, but it does not act to concentrate the inflow at low levels.
Automatable Flow System for Paraoxon Detection with an Embedded Screen-Printed Electrode Tailored with Butyrylcholinesterase and Prussian Blue Nanoparticles

Nowadays extensive volumes of pesticides are employed for agricultural and environmental practices, but they have negative effects on human health. The levels of pesticides are necessarily restricted by international regulatory agencies, thus rapid, cost-effective and in-field analysis of pesticides is an important issue. In the present work, we propose a butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)-based biosensor embedded in a flow system for organophosphorus pesticide detection. The BChE was immobilized by cross-linking on a screen-printed electrode modified with Prussian Blue Nanoparticles. The detection of paraoxon (an organophosphorus pesticide) was carried out evaluating its inhibitory effect on BChE, and quantifying the enzymatic hydrolysis of butyrylthiocholine before and after the exposure of the biosensor to paraoxon, by measuring the thiocholine product at a working voltage of +200 mV. The operating conditions of the flow system were optimized. A flow rate of 0.25 mL/min was exploited for inhibition steps, while a 0.12 mL/min flow rate was used for substrate measurement. A substrate concentration of 5 mM and an incubation time of 10 min allowed a detection limit of 1 ppb of paraoxon (corresponding to 10% inhibition). The stability of the probe in working conditions was investigated for at least eight measurements, and the storage stability was evaluated up to 60 days at room temperature in dry condition. The analytical system was then challenged in drinking, river and lake water samples. Matrix effect was minimized by using a dilution step (1:4 v/v) in flow analysis. This biosensor, embedded in a flow system, showed the possibility to detect paraoxon at ppb level using an automatable and cost-effective bioanalytical system.
Implementation and Control of a Hybrid Multilevel Converter With Floating DC Links for Current Waveform Improvement

Multilevel converters offer advantages in terms of the output waveform quality due to the increased number of levels used in the output voltage modulation. This advantage is particularly true for cascade H-bridge (CHB) converters that can be built to produce a large number of levels owing to their modular structure. Nevertheless, this advantage comes at the cost of multiple dc links supplied by independent rectifiers through the use of a multi-output transformer for inverters. This front end complicates the implementation of converters that have a high number of levels. An alternative method of using lower voltage cells with floating dc links to compensate only for the voltage distortion of a neutral-point-clamped (NPC) converter is considered for active rectifier applications. The analogy between the floating HBs and the series active filters is used to develop a strategy for the harmonic compensation of the NPC output voltage and the control of the floating dc-link voltages. This simplifies the current control scheme and increases its bandwidth. The experimental results with a low power prototype that show the good performance of the proposed modulation technique and the resulting improvement in the output waveform are provided.
Automatic detection of interlinked events for better disaster management

This paper exploits sentiment analysis based techniques to automatically identify the interlinked events from disaster related news coverage. Here the interlinked events include: (1) effect (loss/damage) due to disaster, (2) recovery effort applied by recovery agencies and (3) people's feedback related to the recovery effort. The main idea is to analyze the performance of the disaster recovery agencies through people's feedback with respect to the damage/loss occurred during the disaster. To automatically identify the interlinked events, we introduce the combined use of text mining based techniques with sentiment analysis based techniques. Finally, to automatically detect the impact of the recovery effort for better disaster management, we introduce the use of SentiWordNet and manually created vocabulary related to the disaster. Our experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed system on automatically collected news stories. It is important to note that the proposed approach will be helpful in better disaster management and resource planning for the future.
DNA Bases as Molecular Electronic Devices

current voltage characteristics have been obtained for the four DNA bases Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine by non-equilibrium Green"s function combined with density functional theory. The pattern of current flow for an applied voltage sweep of 0-5 V is plotted. The phenomenon of tunneling is exhibited in the characteristics of molecules. The DNA base cytosine displays a typical surge of current in the voltage sweep section of 0.4V-0.6V, indicating single electron effects. The effect of gate voltage on the current-voltage characteristics of cytosine was studied in the gated two-probe setup. The typical section of characteristics of cytosine was re-drawn by varying the gate potential. The application of gate bias exhibits excellent ON/OFF switching for combinations of the two applied voltages- source voltage and gate voltage. Repetitive peaks are also observed in current when gate voltage is varied, fixing source potential. In this paper the cytosine molecule is proposed as a switch, AND gate and OR gate in this paper that can be used in DNA based molecular electronic devices.
Using urinary biomarkers to elucidate dose-related patterns of human benzene metabolism.

Although the toxicity of benzene has been linked to its metabolism, the dose-related production of metabolites is not well understood in humans, particularly at low levels of exposure. We investigated unmetabolized benzene in urine (UBz) and all major urinary metabolites [phenol (PH), E,E-muconic acid (MA), hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CA)] as well as the minor metabolite, S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), in 250 benzene-exposed workers and 139 control workers in Tianjin, China. Median levels of benzene exposure were approximately 1.2 p.p.m. for exposed workers (interquartile range: 0.53-3.34 p.p.m.) and 0.004 p.p.m. for control workers (interquartile range: 0.002-0.007 p.p.m.). (Exposures of control workers to benzene were predicted from levels of benzene in their urine.) Metabolite production was investigated among groups of 30 workers aggregated by their benzene exposures. We found that the urine concentration of each metabolite was consistently elevated when the group's median benzene exposure was at or above the following air concentrations: 0.2 p.p.m. for MA and SPMA, 0.5 p.p.m. for PH and HQ, and 2 p.p.m. for CA. Dose-related production of the four major metabolites and total metabolites (micromol/l/p.p.m. benzene) declined between 2.5 and 26-fold as group median benzene exposures increased between 0.027 and 15.4 p.p.m. Reductions in metabolite production were most pronounced for CA and PH<1 p.p.m. , indicating that metabolism favored production of the toxic metabolites, HQ and MA, at low exposures.
Stress Concentration Factors for ASTM E8/E8M-15a Plate-Type Specimens for Tension Testing

On occasion, ASTM standard test specimens fail in one of the transition regions between the gauge and grip sections due to the stress concentration present there. Then one can seek stress relief by increasing the fillet radius in the transition regions. The intent here, therefore, is to quantify the stress relief afforded by such means. We use finite elements to determine the stress concentration factors for the various dimensions admitted by ASTM E8/E8M-15a. The finite element results are verified by current verification techniques recommended by ASME, and are accurate to three figures.
An Interactive Visualization Tool for Nipype Medical Image Computing Pipelines

We present an interactive tool for visualization of medical imaging pipelines that are built with Nipype, a freely available tool for building pipelines programatically. Our tool enables researchers to interact with their pipelines, visualize the pipeline structure, and view their intermediate and final results. We also provide a video and live demonstration of our tool for a simple brain image registration pipeline.
Failure diagnosis of structured VLSI

The authors describe a method for diagnosing the failures observed in testing VLSI designs that use the scan-path structure. Diagnosis consists of simulating selected faults after testing using a fault simulator that allows the application of several patterns in parallel. The method is also suitable for signature-based random-pattern testing. The authors discuss diagnostic fault simulation, fault-list generation, relating faults to defects, diagnostic strategy, and random-pattern failures, and they report some experimental results to indicate the procedure's power. <<ETX>>
Objective, Subjective and Linguistic Roads to Perceptual Prominence - How are they compared and why?

Prosodic prominence denotes the perceptual salience of linguistic units. There exists no agreement on (1) adequate methods for its subjective measurement, (2) its objective acoustic correlates and (3) its relationship to linguistic structure. A traditional approach for evaluating any of these descriptive layers is an inter-level comparison, e.g. between a perceptual and an acoustic model of prominence. However, (1) there exists no standard procedure for such a comparison, and (2) such a comparison is misleading if both layers are expected to be symmetrical, given the neglected influence of linguistic top-down expectancies. We propose an evaluation procedure for prominence models relying on tripartite correlations of perception, its acoustic correlates and linguistic expectations. We suggest a novel correlation metric and test its usefulness on a prosodic corpus of German.
Time-dependent Network Algorithm for Ranking in Sports

In this paper a novel ranking method which may be useful in sports like tennis, table tennis or American football, etc. is introduced and analyzed. In order to rank the players or teams, a time-dependent PageRank based method is applied on the directed and weighted graph representing game results in a sport competition. The method was examined on the results of the table tennis competition of enthusiastic sport-loving researchers of the Institute of Informatics at the University of Szeged. The results of our method were compared by several popular ranking techniques. We observed that our approach works well in general and it has a good predictive power.
Tempered Glass: Bolted Connections and Related Problems

Glass has been used for the building envelope for centuries. Over the last couple of decades there has been a trend towards using glass for load-carrying elements. Glass has many excellent properties such as high compressive strength and a superior environmental resistance compared to more common building materials. Unfortunately, glass is a brittle material and small unavoidable flaws in the surface make the tensile strength relatively low and unreliable. The apparent tensile strength can be improved considerably by tempering the glass; however, the fracture characteristic at failure is changed. Experimental and numerical investigations on the residual stresses induced by the tempering process have been conducted during the project. Large variations of the residual stresses within the specimens were found experimentally using photoelastic measurements. The measured residual stress state was compared to a fragmentation test similar to what is specified in Eurocode. This investigation showed that the fragmentation test was not able to reveal spots in a specimen with a low residual stress. Moreover, the residual stresses were found to vary with the specimen thickness. In order to investigate the process of fragmentation further, high-speed recordings of the fragmentation process and analysis of the fracture surfaces was carried out. From these investigations, a hypothesis for the local fragmentation process was suggested. A state-of-the-art model of the tempering process was described and implemented for solid elements in a commercial Finite Element code. The model was used for a parametric study of the residual stresses near holes in tempered specimens and for investigating the residual stress state dependence on the thickness and cooling rate. Charts and a simple method for estimating the lowest compressive residual stress at a hole for different geometries and degrees of tempering are given. This provides a unique knowledge of the apparent strength at holes in tempered glass. Such knowledge is valuable when designing pinned joints in tempered glass. A parametric study on the maximum tensile stresses at the hole in an in-plane loaded pinned joint was conducted. The study covers parameters regarding the insert material, the interface behaviour and the influence from nearby edges. Significant differences in the principal tensile stresses at the holes were found for varying parameters. A hypothesis of estimating the strength of a pinned joint is validated by comparison with experiments. Although the tempering process increases the apparent strength, the material is still The apparent strength is the strength originating from both residual stresses and the material. In other words, the strength measured by direct testing.
Reduced semi-continuous models for large vocabulary continuous speech recognition in Dutch

Due to the decoupling between the set of Gaussians and other hidden Markov model (HMM) parameters, semi-continuous-density HMMs (SC-HMMs) have more possibilities than continuous-density HMMs (CD-HMMs) to match the number of parameters in the model to the available training data. The computational load of the SC-HMMs, however, is huge compared to the load of their continuous counterparts, because of the large mixture-weighting vector and because of the fact that, for each frame, all Gaussians have to be evaluated. This paper describes the different steps taken to reduce the computational load of the SC-HMMs, resulting in faster and better models.
A thermostable d-polymerase for mirror-image PCR

Abstract Biological evolution resulted in a homochiral world in which nucleic acids consist exclusively of d-nucleotides and proteins made by ribosomal translation of l-amino acids. From the perspective of synthetic biology, however, particularly anabolic enzymes that could build the mirror-image counterparts of biological macromolecules such as l-DNA or l-RNA are lacking. Based on a convergent synthesis strategy, we have chemically produced and characterized a thermostable mirror-image polymerase that efficiently replicates and amplifies mirror-image (l)-DNA. This artificial enzyme, dubbed d-Dpo4-3C, is a mutant of Sulfolobus solfataricus DNA polymerase IV consisting of 352 d-amino acids. d-Dpo4-3C was reliably deployed in classical polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and it was used to assemble a first mirror-image gene coding for the protein Sso7d. We believe that this d-polymerase provides a valuable tool to further investigate the mysteries of biological (homo)chirality and to pave the way for potential novel life forms running on a mirror-image genome.