Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stripes: Bit-Serial Deep Neural Network Computing

The numerical representation precision required by the computations performed by Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) varies across networks and between layers of a same network. This observation motivates a precision-based approach to acceleration which takes into account both the computational structure and the required numerical precision representation. This work presents <italic>Stripes</italic> (<italic>STR</italic>), a hardware accelerator that uses bit-serial computations to improve energy efficiency and performance. Experimental measurements over a set of state-of-the-art DNNs for image classification show that <italic>STR</italic> improves performance over a state-of-the-art accelerator from 1.35<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="judd-ieq1-2597140.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> to 5.33<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="judd-ieq2-2597140.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> and by 2.24<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math> <alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="judd-ieq3-2597140.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> on average. <italic>STR</italic>’s area and power overhead are estimated at 5 percent and 12 percent respectively. <italic> STR</italic> is 2.00<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="judd-ieq4-2597140.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> more energy efficient than the baseline.
The stress response in fish

The stress response in teleost fish shows many similarities to that of the terrestrial vertebrates. These concern the principal messengers of the brain-sympathetic-chromaffin cell axis (equivalent of the brain-sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis) and the brain-pituitary-interrenal axis (equivalent of the brain-pituitary-adrenal axis), as well as their functions, involving stimulation of oxygen uptake and transfer, mobilization of energy substrates, reallocation of energy away from growth and reproduction, and mainly suppressive effects on immune functions. There is also growing evidence for intensive interaction between the neuroendocrine system and the immune system in fish. Conspicuous differences, however, are present, and these are primarily related to the aquatic environment of fishes. For example, stressors increase the permeability of the surface epithelia, including the gills, to water and ions, and thus induce systemic hydromineral disturbances. High circulating catecholamine levels as well as structural damage to the gills and perhaps the skin are prime causal factors. This is associated with increased cellular turnover in these organs. In fish, cortisol combines glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid actions, with the latter being essential for the restoration of hydromineral homeostasis, in concert with hormones such as prolactin (in freshwater) and growth hormone (in seawater). Toxic stressors are part of the stress literature in fish more so than in mammals. This is mainly related to the fact that fish are exposed to aquatic pollutants via the extensive and delicate respiratory surface of the gills and, in seawater, also via drinking. The high bioavailability of many chemicals in water is an additional factor. Together with the variety of highly sensitive perceptive mechanisms in the integument, this may explain why so many pollutants evoke an integrated stress response in fish in addition to their toxic effects at the cell and tissue levels. Exposure to chemicals may also directly compromise the stress response by interfering with specific neuroendocrine control mechanisms. Because hydromineral disturbance is inherent to stress in fish, external factors such as water pH, mineral composition, and ionic calcium levels have a significant impact on stressor intensity. Although the species studied comprise a small and nonrepresentative sample of the almost 20,000 known teleost species, there are many indications that the stress response is variable and flexible in fish, in line with the great diversity of adaptations that enable these animals to live in a large variety of aquatic habitats.
In vivo neutralization of Cryptobia salmositica metallo-protease by a 2-macroglobulin in the blood of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and in brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis

Cryptobia salmositica infects both rainbow trout Oncorhynchus rnykiss and brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis, but it does not cause disease (e.g. anaemia) in brook charr. The natural antiprotease, a2-macroglobulin (a2-M), was found in the blood of rainbow trout and brook charr, but it had much higher activity in brook charr. Under in vivo conditions, a2-M of trout and charr were neutralized by C. salmositica extracellular protease. The onset and persistence of anaemia in infected rainbow trout were related to low levels of a2-M. lnfected brook charr did not develop anaemia as a2-M remained high during the infection. Secreted metallo-protease of C. salmositica was detected in the blood of infected rainbow trout when its a2-M was low and the fish was anaemic; however, metallo-protease was not detected in infected brook charr. We suggest that host a2-M plays an important role in defense against cryptobiosis by inhibiting the activity of metallo-protease secreted by the pathogenic C. salmositica.
Conformational analysis of the sodium channel modulator, brevetoxin A, comparison with brevetoxin B conformations, and a hypothesis about the common pharmacophore of the site 5 toxins

The marine neurotoxins brevetoxin A, brevetoxin B, and ciguatoin bind to the same site (site 5) on the voltage-gated sodium channel. This work, and the following paper in this issue, describe efforts to identify the common pharmacophore and to develop a ligand-receptor model for the binding of these neurotoxins to site 5. Conformational analysis of brevetoxin A has been completed using an internal coordinate Monte Carlo search protocol. Within 6 kcal/mol of the global minimum (in vacuo), there are 48 conformations of brevetoxin A. In chloroform or water solvent, the calculated relative energies change, but no new minima appear
Enhanced macromodels of high-speed low-power differential drivers

High-speed differential interfaces implementing specific solutions for low-power consumption and low-EMI disturbances are vastly used in mobile platforms. In these devices, the slew rate is suitably controlled, the communication scheme alternates data-bursts followed by power-saving states, the voltage swing and the common-mode level are reduced. To achieve these targets, a key role in voltage-mode output drivers is played by an internal voltage-regulator. The latter exhibits a rich dynamic behavior, with non-negligible effects on the transmitter outputs, that need to be carefully characterized. In this paper, a modeling strategy based on a few key enhancements of state-of-the-art solutions is presented, leading to compact and accurate models. The feasibility and strengths of the proposed approach are verified on a low-power high-speed voltage-mode driver.
Model-Order Reduction of Large-Scale State-Space Models in Fusion Machines via Krylov Methods

This paper presents a robust technique, based on Krylov-subspace method, for the reduction of large-scale state-space models arising in many electromagnetic applications in fusion machines. The proposed approach, built on the Arnoldi algorithm, aims at reducing the number of states of the system and lowering the computational effort, with a negligible loss of accuracy in the numerical solution. A detailed performance study is presented on an ITER-like machine, addressing both 2-D and 3-D problems.
A New Cricetid Rodent from the Early Oligocene of Yunnan, China, and Its Evolutionary Implications for Early Eurasian Cricetids

ABSTRACT Here we report a new early Oligocene cricetid, Paracricetops virgatoincisus, gen. et sp. nov., discovered from the Caijiachong locality in Yunnan Province, China. This new cricetid shows a peculiar combination of characters, such as massive and transversely positioned cusps, crenulated cheek tooth enamel, and a deep fossette enclosed between protocone and paracone. These characters are also present in Cricetops, a cricetid rodent of which the phylogenetic relationship with other cricetids remains debatable. Our phylogenetic analysis based on a data matrix including 37 taxa and 67 morphological characters reveals that Paracricetops and Cricetops are sister groups. Paracricetops, Cricetops, Deperetomys, Meteamys, Selenomys, Melissiodon, Mirrabella, Enginia, Muhsinia, and Aralocricetodon constitute a monophyletic group. This result suggests that these genera should all be grouped in the subfamily Cricetopinae. Our phylogenetic analysis also casts new lights on the origin and early radiation of the family Cricetidae. The subfamily Pappocricetodontinae is a polyphyletic group. Pappocricetodon and Raricricetodon, two basal cricetid genera, are also polyphyletic. A thorough systematic revision of these basal cricetids is needed. Chronological distribution of Eucricetodontinae, Paracricetodontinae, Pseudocricetodontinae, and Cricetopinae indicates that the establishment of these cricetid clades should be in the late Eocene at least. We therefore deduced that the first diversification and dispersal of the family Cricetidae across Eurasia must have occurred well before the Eocene-Oligocene transition.
T H E LOCALIZATION OF BRANCHIAL CARBONIC A N H Y D R A S E IN THE SHARK, SQUAWS ACANTHUS by

Differences in gill function, pattern of C 0 2 elimination and ion /acid-base regulation, between elasmobranchs and teleosts are expected to be reflective of differences in the pattern of carbonic anhydase (CA) distribution within the gills of these groups. The distribution of branchial C A was investigated in the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, using immunolocalization techniques, as well as in situ and in vivo measurements of pH disequilibrium states in post-branchial saline and blood, respectively. Biochemical and immunolocalization techniques were used to determine if V-type H-ATPase was present in the gills of dogfish. In addition, the cellular distribution of H-ATPase in the gill was determined in fresh and sea water adapted trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, using immunocytochemical techniques in order to compare its distribution with that of C A in the trout. Branchial C A in the dogfish is distributed throughout the outer epithelial cells and pillar cells. This pattern of C A distribution suggests a role in facilitating diffusion of C 0 2 and in ion / acid-base regulation. The lack of a post-branchial pH disequilibrium in the in situ saline perfused gill preparation suggests that C A is available extracellularly along the blood lumen side of the pillar cell membrane to accelerate the H C 0 3 " dehydration reaction, thus augmenting C 0 2 elimination. The post-branchial pH decrease (acidosis) measured under control conditions in vivo provides equivocal evidence for the in situ finding. In dogfish H -ATPase was localized to a subpopulation of mitochondria-rich (MR) cells in the interlamellar region. There was also significant N-ethymaleimide (NEM) sensitive ATPase activity (0.116 ± 0.026 umol Pj • mg" protein • h") in crude gill homogenates. The immunolocalized MR cells may function in ion / acid-base regulation. In the trout, H-ATPase was localized to the apical membrane and subapical vesicles in epithelial pavement and mitochondria-rich cells was confirmed. The apical distribution gradient of the pump is remarkably similar to the distribution found for C A in trout.
Inoculum production and inoculation of Gnetum africanum rooted cuttings using a range of mycorrhizal fungi.

We studied the ability of peat/vermiculite, barley, rye grain, baby corn and nitrocellulose filter paper to serve as carriers for inoculum production using an isolate of S cleroderma sinnamariense, Scleroderma sp. , Paxillus involutus and three isolates of Pisolithus tinctorius . Soil collected from the vicinity of some ectomycorrhiza tree species, mycorrhiza root tips, mycelium and spores of S. sinnamariense were also tested as inoculum. Inoculation of Gnetum rooted cuttings was by the use of both dried and fresh sporocarps of the fungus as well as by use of inoculum prepared on the carriers mentioned above. All fungal isolates showed some growth on peat/vermiculite, barley, rye grain, baby corn and nitrocellulose filter paper. The Paxillus and Pisolithus isolates grew better on these carriers as compared to the Scleroderma isolates. The use of viable root tips, mycelium and spores of S. sinnamariense led to the formation of ectomycorrhiza on the previously uncolonized plants. This method can be successfully used to produce ectomycorrhizal Gnetum rooted cuttings, which may be used for outplanting thereby increasing their chances of survival. Keywords: Scleroderma sinnamariense, Pisolithus, Paxillus, ectomycorrhiza, inoculum production.
VARIACIÓN GENOTÍPICA EN LA CAPACIDAD ORGANOGÉNICA in vitro DEL MAÍZ GENOTYPE VARIATION IN THE in vitro ORGANOGENIC CAPACITY OF MAIZE

In this research, the in vitro induction and regeneration of adventitious shoots of eight maize genotypes were studied under three physical states of the culture medium (semisolid, liquid with paper platform and liquid without platform), since the states may affect their organogenic capacity. The histological origin of shoots was determined also. Shoot induction was applied on stem disks obtained from aseptic seedlings; the shoot multiplication was evaluated also in three culture medium states, added with benzylaminopurine (BAP, 1.5 mg L -1 ) and indoleacetic acid (IAA, 1 mg L -1 ). The three most organogenic genotypes for shoot induction (L6, L13 y L58×L69), and a poor organogenic genotype (L16), were compared for shoot multiplication at several gibberellic acid (AG3) rates (0-1.5 mg L -1 ) and at three auxins (naphthlenacetic acid, NAA; IAA; and indolebutyric acid, IBA) for shoot rooting. All shoots formed from stem disks were originated from axillary buds in the induction phase, while in the multiplication stage the new shoots originated from meristemoids formed in bark cells of shoots. Lines L6, L13 and the hybrid L58×L69 presented the highest capacity for shoot induction in the liquid medium with a paper platform. During shoot multiplication, lines L6 and L16 exhibited the highest organogenic rate (8.5 shoots per initial shoot, in the 3rd subculture) among the eight genotypes. Gibberellic acid did not affect the shoot multiplication rate compared to the controls without GA3. Naphthaleneace tic acid (5 mg L -1 ) was the best regulator for root induction in all genotypes.
Roll enriched with Nile tilapia meal: sensory, nutritional, technological and microbiological characteristics

The eating habits has undergone diverse changes resulting from social, environmental and technological factors, replacing the consumption of natural foods with industrialized products, consequently reducing the intake of some essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals and fiber, and increasing the consumption of carbohydrates and fats. These changes have provided great business opportunities to the food industry, which has shown particular interest in improving the nutritional value of processed products (Collar, 2015), giving rise to fortified and enriched products.
Upgrading of Resolution Elastic Neutron Scattering (RENS)

An update of the Resolution Elastic Neutron Scattering (RENS) approach consisting in measuring the elastically scattered neutron intensity versus the instrumental energy resolution is presented. In particular it is shown that the measured elastic scattering law as a function of the logarithm of the instrumental energy of resolution gives rise to an increasing sigmoid trend whose inflection point can be connected with the system relaxation time. The validity of the RENS approach is supported by a numerical simulation, taking into account a Gaussian resolution function and a Lorentzian scattering law, and experimentally by integrated EINS and QENS measurements performed as a function of temperature on three homologous disaccharide/water mixtures showing different relaxation times. Furthermore, the most important advantages of the RENS approach are discussed; in particular, in comparison with QENS, the RENS approach requires a smaller amount of sample, which is an important point in dealing with biological and exotic systems, is not affected by the use of model functions for fitting spectra, and furnishes a direct access to the system relaxation time.
The Study of the Effect of Teaching Styles (Interventional, Interactional, Non-Interventional) on Self-Efficacy: A Case Study of Secondary School Female Students

This study aims to investigate the effect of different educational styles including interventional , interactional, non-interventional on self –efficacy rate of female students of second-grade of secondary school in Physic lesson. Research method is quasi-experimental by using pre-test - post-test with control group design. The statistical population consists of all female students in second-grade of secondary school in mathematics courses and their total number is 420. The statistical sample of this study consists of 60 subjects that were selected through random sample clustering from the statistical population. The instrument used for the purpose of this study was standard questionnaire of self-efficacy measurement of Sherer and colleagues (1986). The validity of this questionnaire in previous research was reported to be at an acceptable level. In this study, Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability and its rate was calculated 0/78. In this study, the statistical analysis methods included descriptive statistics and deductive statistical test and one-way ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests. Research findings showed that there is a significant difference between students' self-efficacy rates in experimental and control groups F ((3 and 56)=5/441 and P=0/002) and students' self-efficacy has increased through interactive and intervention educational styles. Moreover, different educational styles have had different effects on self-efficacy parameters including the focus on purpose, reflecting on purpose, intrinsic motivation, the ability to solve problems and students' self-assessment. Normal 0 false false false RU X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Обычная таблица"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects in the Republic of Korea

In the aftermath of the 1997 East Asian financial crisis, the government of the Republic of Korea published a Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) Act to remove the main impediments to private investment in infrastructure sectors. The implementation of the Act was followed by a steady increase in the number of PPI projects, thus spurring the modernization of the main infrastructure facilities in transport, water, electricity, and telecommunications. Despite this progress, the Korean PPI market still faces critical challenges that are probably related to its nascent stage of development. The market is dominated by five construction and engineering firms, but lacks world-class project developers. At the same time, the procurement of PPI projects takes on average four years, and competition in tenders is limited. The number of unsolicited proposals is abnormally high, whereas the number of solicited proposals remains flat. The participation of foreign firms is very limited despite the size of the market and the number of projects awarded. Although local financing is available, the maturity of financing instruments does not exceed five years for most corporate papers, and 10 years for government bonds. This paper reviews the procurement of PPI projects in Korea and benchmarks it to international best practices before proposing options for its improvement.
Coreference Resolution in Portuguese: Detecting Person, Location and Organization

Coreference resolution is a task of great relevance for Natural Language Processing area, given that the performance of many other tasks depends on the correct output of this type of system, especially the extraction of relationships between named entities. The present work aims at resolving coreference in Portuguese, focusing on the following categories of named entities: Person, Location and Organization. The proposed method uses supervised learning. To this end, the selection and implementation of features that assist in the correct classification are fundamental, since the classification model is built from this data. KeywordsCoreference Resolution; Natural Language Processing; Named Entities, Machine Learning.
The Determinants of Interest Rate Spreads in the Czech Republic: Bank Characteristics, Macroeconomic Environment and Financial Crisis

We analyze the determinants of interest rate spreads in the Czech Republic in 2004-2011. We employ a detailed bank supervisory dataset that allows us to construct the actual spreads for different loan categories, namely small and large corporate loans, consumer loans and mortgages, on a monthly basis. Our regression analysis shows that several bank characteristics such as capital, profitability and loans-to-assets ratio influence the size of spreads. Bank characteristics seem to be more relevant for spreads than the macroeconomic environment. We find that the determinants of spreads remained largely stable during the sample period and its variability increased slightly during the crisis. The global financial crisis has increased the responsiveness of spreads to interest rate risk but less so for liquidity risk.
Ground-Motion Suite Selection for Eastern North America

Ground-motion suite selection for Eastern North America (ENA) is distinguished from suite selection for high seismic regions by uncertainty related to earthquake intensity, spectral shape, and the wide range of relevant periods experienced by low-ductility structures. Whereas trends in high seismic regions point toward developing smaller, more efficient suites for use in practice based on reliable intensity parameters, current research on moderate seismic regions requires the development of ground-motion suites capable of exciting the widest range of structural periods while accounting for uncertainty related to ground-motion intensity. This paper discusses uncertainty related to ENA ground motions in terms of the logic tree in the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (epistemic uncertainty) and the deaggregation of hazard into magnitude and distance bins (aleatory uncertainty), recommends a suite selection process for addressing this uncertainty without amplitude scaling, and evaluates the effectiveness of a specific suite in the context of reliability-based performance assessment procedures. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0000258. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers. CE Database subject headings: Earthquakes; Ground motion; Structural behavior; Seismic effects; North America. Author keywords: Ground motions; Suite selection; Site class; Seismic performance; Earthquakes; Structural behavior.