Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast Wait-Free Construction for Pool-Like Objects with Weakened Internal Order: Stacks as an Example

This paper focuses on a large class of concurrent data structures that we call pool-like objects (e.g., stack, double-ended queue, and queue). Performance and progress guarantee are two important characteristics for concurrent data structures. In the aspect of performance, weakening the internal order in a pool-like object is an effective technique to reduce the synchronization cost among threads accessing the object, but no objects with weakened internal order provide a progress guarantee as strong as wait-freedom. Meanwhile, wait-free algorithms tend to be inefficient, which is mainly attributed to the helping mechanisms. Based on the philosophy of existing helping mechanisms, a wait-free pool-like object with weakened internal order would suffer from unnecessary process of getting the latest object state and synchronization. This paper takes a state-of-the-art implementation of stacks with weakened internal order as an example, and transforms it into a highly-efficient wait-free stack named WF-TS-Stack. The transformation method includes a helping mechanism with state reuse and a relaxed removal scheme. In addition, we use a simple and effective scheme to further improve the performance of WF-TS-Stack in Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) architectures. Our evaluation with representative benchmarks shows that WF-TS-Stack outperforms its original building blocks by up to 1.45× at maximum concurrency. We also discuss how to yield an efficient double-ended queue (deque) variant of WF-TS-Stack, because deque is a more generalized pool-like object.
Fetal alcohol syndrome : diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment

It sounds simple: Women who drink while pregnant may give birth to children with defects, so women should not drink during pregnancy. Yet in the 20 years since it was first described in the medical literature, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has proved to be a stubborn problem, with consequences as serious as those of the more widely publicized "crack babies. " This volume discusses FAS and other possibly alcohol-related effects from two broad perspectives: diagnosis and surveillance, and prevention and treatment. In addition, it includes several real-life vignettes of FAS children. The committee examines fundamental concepts for setting diagnostic criteria in general, reviews and updates the diagnostic criteria for FAS and related conditions, and explores current research findings and problems associated with FAS epidemiology and surveillance. In addition, the book describes an integrated multidisciplinary approach to research on the prevention and treatment of FAS. The committee * Discusses levels of preventive intervention. * Reviews available data about women and alcohol abuse and treatment among pregnant women. * Explores the psychological and behavioral consequences of FAS at different ages. * Examines the current state of knowledge about medical and therapeutic interventions, education efforts, and family support programs. This volume will be of special interest to physicians, nurses, mental health practitioners, school and public health officials, policymakers, researchers, educators, and anyone else involved in serving families and children, especially in high risk populations.
Existe la tolerancia genética del cacao (Theobroma cacao) a Rosellinia bunodes y Rosellinia pepo

Does genetic tolerance of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) to Rosellinia bunodes and Rosellinia pepo exist? Rosellinia.spp. are.opportunistic. soil-borne.pathogens. with.a. wide.host. range.Once. established,. they.are. difficult.to. control.Both. genetic.resistance. and.biocontrol. have.been. suggested.as. promising.supplements. to.cultural. methods.However,. evidence.of. tolerance.towards R. bunodes.and R. pepo.is. virtually.nonexistent. We.evaluated. openly. pollinated. progeny. from. three. susceptible. cocoa. (Theobroma cacao). clones. (UF667,.PA121.and.CC222). and.three. clones.with.a.reported. tolerance.towards R. pepo. (IMC67,.Pound.7.and. UF613). for.their. reaction.towards. this.pathogen. using.a. seedling.bioassay. We.were. unable.to. test.the. reaction. towards R. bunodes.We. also.analysed. mycoparasite.populations. in.the. rhizosphere.of. the.pure. clones.using. ‘mixed.fungal. pies’. and R. bunodes.as. baits. 1. Convenio.CABI/CATIE/USDA,. Centro. Agronómico. Tropical.de. Investigación. y. Enseñanza. (CATIE),. 7170.Turrialba,. Costa Rica.u. krauss@cabi.org 2. Universidad.de. Costa.Rica,. Escuela.de. Agronomía,. Sede.del. Atlántico,. Turrialba,. Costa Rica. 3. Department.of. Biology.and. Biochemistry,. University.of. Bath,. Bath.BA2. 7AY,. Reino Unido. 4. Convenio.CABI/CATIE/DGIS,. CATIE,. 7170.Turrialba,. Costa Rica. Manejo. Integrado.de. Plagas.y. Agroecología. (Costa.Rica). No. . 75.p. . 21-31, . 2005
Investigating the applicability of single-channel electroencephalography in cochlear implant patients

Recent evidence suggests that late auditory evoked potentials (LAEP) provide a useful objective metric of performance in cochlear implant (CI) subjects. However, the CI produces a large electrical artifact that contaminates LAEP recordings and confounds their interpretation. Independent component analysis (ICA) has been used in combination with multi-channel recordings to effectively remove the artifact. The applicability of the ICA approach is limited when only single channel data are needed or available, as is often the case in both clinical and research settings. Here we developed a single-channel, high sample rate (125 kHz), and high bandwidth (0e100 kHz) acquisition system to reduce the CI stimulation artifact. We identified two different artifacts in the recording: 1) a high frequency artifact reflecting the stimulation pulse rate, and 2) a direct current (DC, or pedestal) artifact that showed a non-linear time varying relationship to pulse amplitude. This relationship was well described by a bivariate polynomial. The high frequency artifact was completely attenuated by a 35 Hz low-pass filter for all subjects (n 1⁄4 22). The DC artifact could be caused by an impedance mismatch. For 27% of subjects tested, no DC artifact was observed when electrode impedances were balanced to within 1 kU. For the remaining 73% of subjects, the pulse amplitude was used to estimate and then attenuate the DC artifact. Where measurements of pulse amplitude were not available (as with standard low sample rate systems), the DC artifact could be estimated from the stimulus envelope. The present artifact removal approach allows accurate measurement of LAEPs from CI subjects from single channel recordings, increasing their feasibility and utility as an accessible objective measure of CI function. 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Energy Storage Applications of the Knowledge Gradient for Calibrating Continuous Parameters, Approximate Policy Iteration using Bellman Error Minimization with Instrumental Variables, and Covariance Matrix Estimation using an Errors-in-Variables Factor Model

We describe an adaptation of the knowledge gradient, originally developed for discrete ranking and selection problems, to the problem of calibrating continuous parameters for the purpose of tuning a simulator. The knowledge gradient for continuous parameters uses a continuous approximation of the expected value of a single measurement to guide the choice of where to collect information next. We show how to find the parameter setting that maximizes the expected value of a measurement by optimizing a continuous but nonconcave surface. We compare the method to sequential kriging for a series of test surfaces, and then demonstrate its performance in the calibration of an expensive industrial simulator. We next describe an energy storage problem which combines energy from wind and the grid along with a battery to meet a stochastic load. We formate the problem as an infinite horizon Markov decision process. We first discretize the state space and action space on a simplified version of the problem to get optimal solutions using exact value iteration. We then evaluate several approximate policy iteration algorithms and evaluate their performance. We show that Bellman error minimization with instrumental variables is equivalent to projected Bellman error minimization, previously believed to be two different policy evaluation algorithms. Furthermore, we provide a convergence proof for Bellman error minimization with instrumental variables under certain assumptions. We compare approximate policy iteration and direct policy search on the simplified benchmark problems along with the full continuous problems. Finally, we describe a portfolio selection method for choosing virtual electricity contracts in the PJM electricity markets, contracts whose payoffs depend on the difference between the day-ahead and real-time locational marginal electricity prices in PJM. We propose an errors-in-variables factor model which is an extension of the classical capital asset pricing model. We show how the model can be used to estimate iii the covariance matrix of the returns of assets. For US equities and PJM virtual contracts, we show the benefits of the portfolios produced with the new covariance estimation method.
An integral‐imaging‐based head‐mounted light field display using a tunable lens and aperture array

A head‐mounted light field display based on integral imaging is considered as one of the promising methods that can render correct or nearly correct focus cues and address the well‐known vergence‐accommodation conflict problem in head‐mounted displays. Despite its great potential, it still suffers some of the same limitations of conventional integral imaging‐based displays such as low spatial resolution and crosstalk. In this paper, we present a prototype design using tunable lens and aperture array to render 3D scenes over a large depth range while maintaining high image quality and minimizing crosstalk. Experimental results verify and show that the proposed design could significantly improve the viewing experience.
Towards Capturing Population-Wide Expertise via Online Professional Social Network Systems

While much research work has been carried out in relation to the expertise of individuals in the domains of Q&A portals, special interest group portals, Wikipedia, blogs, and conference reviews, very little research has been done in relation to expertise measurement, based upon online professional social networks such as LinkedIn. Existing approaches have been based on evidence-based analysis from textual sources and communications. In this paper, we propose an expertise model based on expertise vectors composed of attributes and values derived by integrating information obtained in the two following ways: semi-automatic calculation utilizing online professional profile information collected from diverse online sources such as professional social network sites and some level of manual expertise identification by individuals. Unlike past approaches focusing on expertise measurement based on analysis of secondary evidence such as textual communications and/or social network activities, this is a novel approach to identifying expertise based on real-world work experience, qualifications and other skills indicated via information found in online professional profiles, often from professional social network sites. Given contemporary professional social network sites can have 100s of millions of participants such automated expertise measurement approaches are a step towards fine-grained, up-to-date and population-wide expertise capture and quantification.
A National Survey of Sonographers and their Reporting Practices in the General Medical Ultrasound Field

The purpose of this study was to establish current role extension with specific reference to reporting in departments where sonographers perform general medical ultrasound. It investigates the scope of practice and initiatives that have been negotiated for recognition and remuneration of reporting sonographers, to identify regional variations. A national survey by questionnaire was sent to 503 randomly selected sonographer members of the British Medical Ultrasound Society. Questionnaires were returned from 60% of respondents. Data collected has shown that independent reporting practice by sonographers is becoming increasingly more widespread nationally without significantly greater prevalence in any one region. Roles appear to have developed on an ad hoc basis and vary with different subcategories of reporting practice. Individual Trusts have negotiated different ways of remunerating and recognizing the reporting role, causing disparity. Sonographers independently issue reports across a wide range of ultrasound examinations in a number of departments nationwide and remuneration packages vary throughout the UK. The study recommends further research to establish if sonographer reporting is both an effective and efficient development.
Deterministic Algorithms in Dynamic Networks: Formal Models and Metrics

The number of telecommunication networks deployed in a dynamic environment is quickly growing. This trend exists both in everyday life (e.g., smartphones, vehicles, and commercial satellites) and in a military context (e.g., dismounted soldiers or swarms of UAVs). Unfortunately, few theoretical tools to date have enabled the study of dynamic networks in a formal and rigorous way. As a result, it is hard and sometimes impossible to guarantee, mathematically, that a given algorithm will reach its objectives once deployed in real conditions. In this report, we identify a collection of recent theoretical tools whose purpose is to model, describe, and leverage dynamic networks in a formal way. These tools include a dynamic graph formalism, various computational models, and communication models for distributed networks. We extend many graph theoretical concepts towards a dynamic variant and show how these new variants impact the solution of classical distributed problems. The report also presents a hierarchy of dynamic networks based on dynamic graph properties, thereby offering a combinatorial alternative to the well-known mobility models typically used in simulations.
Factors Leading to Health Care Exclusion Among African Refugees in Australia: The Case of Blood Donation

Developed countries that accept refugees are obligated, under the UN Convention for Refugees, to integrate refugees into host communities, with inclusion in the health system being pivotal. Integration programs can be difficult though, because many refugees’ home countries have different health systems, lower health literacy, and different expectations of health services. Country health system differences require cultural adaptation of host country services when designing targeted, inclusive health care programs. Using a sample of 317 Australian-based African refugees, the authors examine how refugees’ acculturation, perceptions of discrimination, past behavior, objective knowledge, and medical mistrust affect their health inclusion, depending on their blood donation intentions. The results indicate that perceived discrimination and objective blood donation knowledge directly affect donation intentions. Perceived discrimination mediates the relationships between acculturation and intentions and between medical mistrust and donation intentions, and objective knowledge mediates the relationship between past behavior and donation intentions. The authors offer recommendations to policy makers designing social inclusion programs and health service providers designing and delivering targeted initiatives, to better facilitate refugee participation in host country health systems.
The Limits of Abstraction

Book Information The Limits of Abstraction. The Limits of Abstraction Kit Fine, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 2002, x + 203, £18.99 (cloth). By Kit Fine. Clarendon Press. Oxford. Pp. x + 203. £18.99 (cloth). ,
Recognizing Speculative Language in Research Texts

This thesis studies the use of sequential supervised learning methods on two tasks related to the detection of hedging in scientific articles: those of hedge cue identification and hedge cue scope detection. Both tasks are addressed using a learning methodology that proposes the use of an iterative, error-based approach to improve classification performance, suggesting the incorporation of expert knowledge into the learning process through the use of knowledge rules. Results are promising: for the first task, we improved baseline results by 2.5 points in terms of F-score by incorporating cue cooccurence information, while for scope detection, the incorporation of syntax information and rules for syntax scope pruning allowed us to improve classification performance from an F-score of 0.712 to a final number of 0.835. Compared with state-of-the-art methods, the results are very competitive, suggesting that the approach to improving classifiers based only on the errors commited on a held out corpus could be successfully used in other, similar tasks. Additionaly, this thesis presents a class schema for representing sentence analysis in a unique structure, including the results of different linguistic analysis. This allows us to better manage the iterative process of classifier improvement, where different attribute sets for learning are used in each iteration. We also propose to store attributes in a relational model, instead of the traditional text-based structures, to facilitate learning data analysis and manipulation.
Brief Family Therapy for Refugee Children

The aim of this study was to compare refugee children’s psychological well-being before and after brief family therapy. Families from Bosnia-Herzegovina with one child aged 5–12 years received three family therapy sessions. Psychological assessments using the Erica play-diagnostic method and parental interviews were made before and after the intervention. The main finding was that more children built normal sandboxes (showing no pathological findings)after the intervention than before, indicating that the rather short intervention had a positive effect on the children’s psychological well-being. To conclude, it might be valuable to offer refugee families a few family therapy sessions even if the children do not have psychiatric symptoms with the aim of helping them adapt to a new system of society.
Sécurité des processus d'apprentissage artificiel appliqués au contenu multimédia

Les algorithmes d'apprentissage artificiel sont utilises pour de multiples applications de nos jours. Historiquement, ils ont ete concus pour etre utilises dans un environnement non hostile. Depuis deux decennies maintenant, cette hypothese de non-hostilite a ete laissee de cote permettant ainsi de considerer leurs utilisations dans des conditions plus realistes. Nous proposons dans ce rapport, une etude menee sur une famille d'algorithmes d'apprentissage artificiel : les SVMs. Nous aborderons plus particulierement l'influence de points d'attaque intelligemment places dans l'espace de description sur la fonction separatrice de cet algorithme. Nous nous sommes appuye sur un article ecrit par Biggio et al. pour realiser cette etude. Ce domaine etant assez nouveau, nous nous sommes concentre sur quelques pistes a etudier comme le passage a l'echelle de donnees dans l'ensemble d'apprentissage ou la selection de bons candidats comme point d'attaques.
Formal Development of System of Systems

Characterising for contemporary systems is their dependence on constituent systems to provide information, functionality, and scalability. Moreover, as the tasks that systems perform are ever more intimate and critical in their nature, reliability and correctness are great concerns. On these matters, we outline a methodology for formal integration of systems. We claim this formal approach to assist in managing the complexity and correctness, in preserving reliability and in respecting the independence of the constituent systems. As a proof of concept, we integrate two in-house control systems specified independently in the Event-B language with the Rodin Platform tool. Moreover, we show how to introduce a new functionality that is only possible due to the integration. Hence, we formally construct a system of systems and provide the methods for hierarchical integration of those.
Semantic priming by words and pictures in lexical decision and pronunciation tasks

SEMANTIC PRIMING BY WORDS AND PICTURES IN LEXICAL DECISION AND PRONUNCIATION TASKS SEPTEMBER 1998 HILDUR ELISABET HALL I DAY SCHILLING B.A., SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY M . A. , SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY Ph . D. , UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor James I. Chumbley Lexical decision and pronunciation tasks were used to investigate semantic priming, the finding that a word is quicker to recognize when it is preceded by a related than an unrelated stimulus. The first experiment involved a lexical decision task (LDT) in which skilled and lessskilled readers made decisions about letter strings that were preceded by conceptually-related or unrelated stimuli. The effects of time to process the prime and type of prime (word or picture) were examined. Word and picture priming effects were observed at short and long time intervals with skilled and less-skilled groups. Finding word priming was not surprising; there are prior studies that have documented priming by words. However, prior experiments on picture priming have methodological flaws such as multiple presentations of
Autonomous parallel parking of a nonholonomic vehicle

This paper addresses a problem of autonomous parking a nonholonomic (car-like) vehicle. This research work is carried out within the framework of the PRAXITELE project which aims to develop a future-oriented urban transportation system based on a fleet of electric computer-driven vehicles. At the present stage of the project, the designed vehicles have been equiped for the computer-driven motion and their autonomous abilities are being worked out. A practical approach to motion generation and control for autonomous parallel parking of a nonholonomic vehicle is proposed. It is based on range measurements to environmental objects around the vehicle. The motion generation and control is considered within the reactive control scheme to avoid collisions with obstacles. The developed approach is tested on a LIGIER electric autonomous vehicle and is illustrated by the experimental results obtained.
Investigation of Generalised Nearest Neighbour in Machine Learning

Instance-based learning is a machine learning that classifies new examples by comparing them to previously seen examples. Non Nested Generalised Exemplars is one such learning algorithm which combines generalisation to provide support for large and small disjuncts. This paper looks at improving this learners tolerance to noise, introducing several possible techniques. Problems were encounted in the implementation of the extensions, preventing the study of the effect of the extensions.
High-Level Modeling and Simulation of a Novel Reconfigurable Network-on-Chip Router

In this paper, we present a novel router architecture for implementing a Reconfigurable Network-on-Chip (RNoC) at high-level design using SystemC. The RNoC is an adaptive NoC-based system-on-chip providing a dynamic reconfigurable communication mechanism. By adding a virtual port – named Routing Modification port – into the conventional router architecture, the network router is able to route communication data flexibly whenever the target routing path is blocked, by unwanted defects or intently by a software programme to meet the requirements of applications. The proposed architecture has been modeled in SystemC/C++, simulated and verified within a 2D mesh 5×5 network platform. In normal communication mode, the static XY routing algorithm is used while the West-First algorithm with a proposed prohibited router surrounding technique is applied in reconfiguration mode. Experimental results are also reported to compare the performance of the network architecture in different operation modes as well as with other works.