Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inference of buffer queue times in data processing systems using Gaussian Processes

This study investigates whether Gaussian Process Regression can be applied to evaluate bu↵er queue times in large scale data processing systems. It is additionally considered whether high-frequency data stream rates can be generalized into a small subset of the sample space. With the aim of providing basis for dynamic software optimization, a promising foundation for continued research is introduced. The study is intended to contribute to Direct Market Access financial trading systems which processes immense amounts of market data daily. Due to certain limitations, we shoulder a näıve approach and model latencies as a function of only data throughput in eight small historical intervals. The training and test sets are represented from raw market data, and we resort to pruning operations to shrink the datasets by a factor of approximately 0.0005 in order to achieve computational feasibility. We further consider four di↵erent implementations of Gaussian Process Regression. The resulting algorithms perform well on pruned datasets, with an average R2 statistic of 0.8399 over six test sets of approximately equal size as the training set. Testing on non-pruned datasets indicate shortcomings from the generalization procedure, where input vectors corresponding to low-latency target values are associated with less accuracy. We conclude that depending on application, the shortcomings may be make the model intractable. However for the purposes of this study it is found that bu↵er queue times can indeed be modelled by regression algorithms. We discuss several methods for improvements, both in regards to pruning procedures and Gaussian Processes, and open up for promising continued research. Inferens av bu↵er-kötider i dataprocesseringssystem med hjälp av Gaussiska Processer En introduktion till förutsägelser om latenstider för dynamisk mjukvaruoptimering i avancerade
The Secreted Frizzled Related Protein 2 (SFRP2) Gene Is a Target of the Pax2 Transcription Factor*

Despite their essential role in vertebrate development, the function of Pax proteins in gene regulation is not well understood. To identify potential genes regulated by the Pax2 protein, we screened embryonic kidney cells transformed with Pax2-expressing retroviruses for genes activated in response to Pax2 expression. In this system, the gene encoding the secreted frizzled related protein, Sfrp2, was strongly activated in all Pax2b-expressing cells. This activation of Sfrp2 expression correlated with changes in chromatin structure at the Sfrp2 locus, particularly in and around regions of Pax2 binding. Although the amount of Pax2-dependent transactivation was low in transient assays, the data suggests that local alterations of chromatin structure by Pax proteins can greatly enhance expression when presented in the right cellular context.
A GaN Switched Tank Converter with Partial Power Voltage Regulation for Electric Vehicle Applications

A new Switched Tank Converter (STC) with Partial Power Voltage Regulation (PPVR) is introduced for electric vehicle applications. It offers a flexibly adjustable conversion ratio for a wide-range battery voltage. The unregulated stage is modularized with resonant switched capacitor converters. All device voltage stresses are equal to the input voltage. The efficient unregulated stage processes the bulk of system power and the less efficient regulated stage processes a small amount of power. Thus, high overall efficiency can be achieved. A new index called Semiconductor Loss Index (SLI) is defined as a function of semiconductor die area to evaluate different power topologies. It is helpful to analyze the impact of each switch die area, different operated output power, switching frequency, and conversion ratio on the total device power loss. With the same total semiconductor die area, the proposed converter can achieve less than 1/3 device total power loss compared with boost converter. A 4-kW 1200V output converter prototype with 200V~400V input voltage range is developed, which combines a 6 times conversion ratio STC with a PPVR buck converter. The overall full-load efficiency of designed 4-kW converter can reach to 97.71%. Simulation, prototype and experiment results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed converter.
Enabling open domain interactive storytelling using a data-driven case-based approach

Digital interactive storytelling (DIS) is a compelling new medium for expressing and communicating ideas that tries to transform a normally passive experience into an active engagement in the creative process. Despite the enormous potential this medium beholds, the cost and complexity of authoring compelling stories primarily driven by user actions is prohibitively expensive in many DIS systems. While the graphical capabilities and physical interaction with these systems have advanced at a lightening pace, the ability for open interaction in complex domains remains extremely constrained. This thesis advances textual-based DIS by introducing a new architecture that allows a seemingly infinite number of complex and branching storylines to be pursued by the user in any domain they choose. The approach uses case-based reasoning methods that leverages stories describing real world events and activities that ordinary people publish to their weblogs every day. The base generation algorithm uses information retrieval techniques to find similar sentences in a corpus of over 1.5 million stories. The weblog stories containing these sentences are used as a proxy for the user’s unfolding composition and the next sentence from the identified weblog story is used as the system’s contribution. To further improve the quality of computer responses, the candidates are reranked using a richer set of linguistic features and finally, portions of the text are adapted to better conform to the discourse of the user’s story. Each of these components is evaluated by crowd-sourcing hundreds of users, thousands of generated stories and tens of thousands of user ratings. Moving to this type of data-driven, case-based architecture allows the narrative variation in DIS to scale massively, only limited by the number of stories that can be collected from the Web. The breadth and depth of human experiences captured by this approach pushes us closer to free narrative interaction in the full breadth of complex social domains.
Large-scale neuromorphic computing systems

Neuromorphic computing covers a diverse range of approaches to information processing all of which demonstrate some degree of neurobiological inspiration that differentiates them from mainstream conventional computing systems. The philosophy behind neuromorphic computing has its origins in the seminal work carried out by Carver Mead at Caltech in the late 1980s. This early work influenced others to carry developments forward, and advances in VLSI technology supported steady growth in the scale and capability of neuromorphic devices. Recently, a number of large-scale neuromorphic projects have emerged, taking the approach to unprecedented scales and capabilities. These large-scale projects are associated with major new funding initiatives for brain-related research, creating a sense that the time and circumstances are right for progress in our understanding of information processing in the brain. In this review we present a brief history of neuromorphic engineering then focus on some of the principal current large-scale projects, their main features, how their approaches are complementary and distinct, their advantages and drawbacks, and highlight the sorts of capabilities that each can deliver to neural modellers.
Serum and CSF immunological findings in ALS

Serum and CSF immunological findings were analysed in 37 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS patients had significantly higher mean values of serum IgG and complement component C4 and significantly lower mean value of total haemolytic titre of complement (THC) compared with normal controls. Incidence of immune complexes (ICs) was significantly higher in sera of ALS patients than in normal controls. There was no significant difference regarding mean serum levels of IgM, IgA, and complement components C3 and Factor B between patients and controls. The blood‐brain barrier (BBB) damage was found in 46% of patients. Intrathecal IgG synthesis was detected in six patients (16%). These results support the hypothesis of immune system involvement in ALS.
Interfaces with Other Disciplines Theory of integer-valued data envelopment analysis

Conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) models assume real-valued inputs and outputs. In many occasions, some inputs and/ or outputs can only take integer values. In some cases, rounding the DEA solution to the nearest whole number can lead to misleading efficiency assessments and performance targets. This paper develops the axiomatic foundation for DEA in the case of integer-valued data, introducing new axioms of ‘‘natural disposability’’ and ‘‘natural divisibility’’. We derive a DEA production possibility set that satisfies the minimum extrapolation principle under our refined set of axioms. We also present a mixed integer linear programming formula for computing efficiency scores. An empirical application to Iranian university departments illustrates the approach. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Trauma Infant Neurologic Score Predicts the Outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury in Infants

To investigate the clinical features of infancy traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the prognostic value of the Trauma Infant Neurologic Score (TINS), infants <2 years of age with TBI who were admitted from 2000 to 2007 were retrospectively studied. Fifty-six patients with a mean age of 13.3 ± 6.5 months (range = 2–24) were identified. The clinical diagnoses, in terms of the severest injury, included scalp hematomas (n = 2), skull bone fractures (n = 3), epidural hematomas (n = 21), subdural hematomas (n = 14), cerebral contusion and laceration (n = 4), intracerebral hematomas (n = 7), traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (n = 2), diffuse axonal injury (n = 2) and diffuse brain swelling (n = 1). The most common clinical presentations were vomiting (66.1%), paleness (55.4%), irritability (37.3%), pupillary abnormalities (35.7%) and altered consciousness (32.1%). The mechanism of injury included falls (n = 41), vehicle accident (n = 9), abuse (n = 4) and unknown (n = 2). The TINS score ranged from 1 to 10 with a mean of 3.6 (SD = 2.4) in the whole patient cohort. The Children’s Coma Scores (CCS) on admission were 13–15 (n = 31), 9–12 (n = 7) and 3–8 (n = 18). Thirty-nine of the infants were operated on and the other 17 infants were treated nonsurgically. Forty-eight patients (86%) were followed up for a period of 1–8 years (mean = 4.4) after discharge. In the followed-up patient cohort, the mean TINS score at admission was 3.8 ± 2.5. The total clinical outcome, according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), was: 37 (77.1%) good recovery, 4 (8.3%) moderately disabled, 1 (2.1%) vegetative and 6 (12.5%) dead. For those who were operated on the outcome was: 25 (78.1%) good recovery, 4 (12.5%) moderately disabled and 3 (9.4%) dead, and for those who were not operated on: 12 (75.0%) good recovery, 1 (6.3%) vegetative and 3 (25.0%) dead. At two years of follow-up, the GOS included 34 (73.9%) good recovery, 3 (6.5%) moderately disabled, 2 (4.3%) severely disabled, 1 (2.2%) vegetative and 6 (13.0%) dead. Statistical tests revealed that the TINS scores were highly associated with the GOS. Higher TINS scores resulted in worse clinical outcome. The CCS scores were also to some degree associated with the GOS score. However, the CCS score on admission was not as discriminating as TINS, predicting only the best and worst outcome in our series. Our study showed that the clinical features of TBI in infants were different from those seen in adults regarding both the distribution of the pathology type and the clinical presenting symptoms. We found that the TINS scoring system is useful for predicting prognosis and outcome in infancy TBI and suggest that it could be routinely used in the infantile population.
Histochemical evidences on the chronological alterations of the hypertrophic zone of mandibular condylar cartilage

The hypertrophic chondrocytes lack the ability to proliferate, thus permitting matrix mineralization as well as vascular invasion from the bone in both the mandibular condyle and the epiphyseal cartilage. This study attempted to verify whether the histological appearance of the hypertrophic chondrocytes is in a steady state during postnatal development of the mouse mandibular condyle. Type X collagen immunohistochemistry apparently distinguished the fibrous layer described previously as the “articular zone,” “articular layer,” and “resting zone” from the hypertrophic zone. Interestingly, the ratio of the type X collagen‐positive hypertrophic zone in the entire condyle seemed higher in the early stages but decreased in the later stages. Some apparently compacted cells in the hypertrophic zone showed proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunoreaction, indicating the potential for cell proliferation at the early stages. As the mice matured, in contrast, they further enlarged and assumed typical features of hypertrophic chondrocytes. Apoptotic cells were also discernible in the hypertrophic zone at the early but not later stages. Consistent with morphological configurations of hypertrophic chondrocytes, immunoreactions for alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin, and type I collagen were prominent at the later stage, but not the early stage. Cartilaginous matrices demonstrated scattered patches of mineralization at the early stage, but increased in their volume and connectivity at the later stage. Thus, the spatial and temporal occurrence of these immunoreactions as well as apoptosis likely reflect the prematurity of hypertrophying cells at the early stage, and imply a physiological relevance during the early development of the mandibular condyles. Microsc. Res. Tech. 67:325–335, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A comparison of two dietary instruments for evaluating the fat-breast cancer relationship.

BACKGROUND Previous research suggests food diaries may be more efficient than food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) in detecting a dietary fat-breast cancer relationship. We assessed this further using 4 day food records (FRs) and FFQs in a large sample. METHODS Participants were from the non-intervention group of the dietary modification component of the Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trial: 603 breast cancer cases and 1206 controls matched on age, clinic, and length of follow-up. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression, adjusted for confounders and for the selection into the trial of women with an FFQ report exceeding 32% calories from fat. Direct comparison of the statistical power of the two instruments used the standardized log RR. An alternative analysis after removing subjects with missing covariate data was also conducted. RESULTS The RR estimate for breast cancer in the top quintile of total fat intake, adjusted for confounders and total energy, was 1.82 (P for trend 0.02) for the FR but 0.67 for the FFQ (P for trend 0.24). Following adjustment for selection, estimates were 2.09 (P for trend 0.008) for the FR (alternative: 2.54, P for trend 0.006) and 1.71 (P for trend 0.18) for the FFQ (alternative: 1.24, P for trend 0.41). Similar results were seen for fat subtypes, particularly unsaturated fats. Comparisons showed higher statistical power for the FR than the FFQ (e.g. total fat, P = 0.08: alternative P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Alternative instruments, such as FRs, may be preferable to FFQs for evaluating diet-disease relationships in cohort studies. The results support a positive association between dietary fat and breast cancer.
Reference norms for a fat-free mass index and fat mass index in the Japanese child population.

The aims of this study were to determine reference norms for a fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) in a large population of healthy children in Japan, to observe differences in these values in three age groups between ages three and eleven, and to develop percentile distributions for these parameters. Five hundred twenty-two boys and six hundred forty-nine girls with a wide spectrum of stature, body mass, and body composition underwent bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for the determination of fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM). Both FFM and FM were divided by stature(2) to give FFMI and FMI, as described previously. Normal FFMI and FMI were defined within the range of the 25th to 75th percentile of age- and gender-specific data in this study. The reference norms for FFMI (3-11 yrs) were 12.7-13.4 kg/m(2) in boys and 12.0-13.0 kg/m(2) in girls. A modest increase in boys was observed with an age increase; otherwise, there were no marked age differences in FFMI for the children as a whole. The reference norms for FMI were 2.8-3.6 kg/m(2) in boys and 3.2-3.8 kg/m(2) in girls. For each 3-year category (i.e., ages 3-5, 6-8 and 9-11 yrs.), FMI progressively increased by an average of 28.6% in boys and 18.8% in girls, compared to an increase in BMI of 11.0 and 11.3% respectively. FFMI and FMI are appropriate for many purposes, and have the advantage of expressing both aspects of body composition in common units. In conclusion, the data presented as percentiles can serve as reference in comparing a child's body composition to that of healthy children of the same age and gender. The reference standards should be appropriate for almost all children in the Japan for whom stature, body mass, and body composition can be measured satisfactorily. However, a more sophisticated approach is ultimately required for evaluating body composition. This article is a preliminary attempt to promote future research in the area of childhood body composition.
Optimum compression ratio on ground grid design in MEA's power distribution substation

The study provides comparison of grounding performance between square and rectangle ground grid, when given the same size of area of coverage. The result shows that the rectangle ground grid possesses better grounding performance than the square one. The study also finds the optimum compression ratio (OCR) of both grounding configuration. The OCR of square and rectangle ground grids are found to be 0.3 and 0.4 respectively. Modeling and simulation is carried out on the Current Distribution Electromagnetic interference Grounding and Soil structure (CDEGS) program. The simulation results support the fact that unequal span ground grid is more superior to the equal span type. The finding could be used as a guide line in grounding grid design.
Tele-ophthalmology and conventional ophthalmology using a mobile medical unit in remote Greece

We evaluated the quality of medical services delivered to remote glaucoma patients from a mobile unit. A four-wheel-drive vehicle containing the necessary equipment visited five different remote locations in Greece. During a three-year prospective study, 1205 patients were examined, of whom 230 had glaucoma. The majority of the subjects were examined by the unit's medical staff using the available instrumentation (e.g. slit-lamp and tonometer), while 56 glaucoma subjects were telemedically examined by consultants at the Patissia General Hospital, in Athens. Control data were obtained from a random sample of 260 urban glaucoma patients. A significantly greater proportion of the remote patients had an inadequate awareness of glaucoma (77%) compared with the urban patients (20%). Significantly more remote patients had poorer compliance (68%) in comparison with urban patients (23%). A significantly larger proportion of the remote patients had high intra-ocular pressure (21%) compared with the urban patients (5%). Technical difficulties occurred in the 13 of the 56 telemedical examinations. Mobile medical units can enhance access to medical services and contribute to the health-care of under-served populations.
Dental age estimation and third molars : a preliminary study

The aim of the present investigation was to reconstruct the chronological age based on the dental developmental stages of third molars evaluated on orthopantomograms. A total of 1175 orthopantomograms were assembled from patients of Caucasian origin between 16 and 22 years of age. Each third molar present was scored by two observers according to a 10-stage developmental scale. The k statistics measured the intraand inter-observer reliability. The general statistical analysis was based on multiple regression analysis in order to obtain multiple regression formulas for dental age estimation based on the number of third molars present on the evaluated orthopantomogram. No regression models were statistically significant when there was only one-third molar present because of the relatively small number of orthopantomograms that fitted this criterion. A strong agreement was found between the intraand inter-observer measurements. The statistical analysis revealed both for males and females high Pearson correlation coefficients between contralateral third molars and smaller coefficients between antimeres. The obtained multiple regression formulas are only applicable in certain specified conditions, for instance when four third molars are present the following formulas should be used in a Caucasian male ‘‘age 1⁄4 10:2000 þ 0:5122UL þ 0:5273LL’’ (developmental stage of upper and lower left third molars) or in case of a female ‘‘age 1⁄4 13:6206 þ 0:1933UR þ 0:5080LR’’ (developmental stage of upper and lower right third molars). This investigation revealed that the chronological age of a Caucasian individual may be estimated based on regression formulas with a S.D. of 1.52 or 1.56 years for males and females, respectively, when all four third molars are present. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
FTP 3D restructure using in smooth tracks

Three-dimensional reconstruction of objects with smooth surface has poor results. In this paper, a method of the online rail profile with smooth surface based on Fourier Transform Profilometry (FTP) is put forward. After analyzing the reflective polarization, phong illumination model and FTP method, the online rail shape with smooth surface are reconstructed, after eliminating the highlight region by polarizers. Experiments are conducted and results prove that the methods can effectively eliminate the highlight on the rail surface, get the height and phase information of the object accurately, and reconstruct the three dimensional shape of online rail with specular surface, offering another noncontact thought and method for flaw detection on the online rail.