Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GPU-accelerated Video Transcoding Unit for Multi-access Edge Computing Scenarios

The exponential growth of video traffic and the outburst of novel video-based services is revealing the inadequacy of the traditional mobile network infrastructure. To respond to this and to many other demands coming from today’s society, the 5G and the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) initiatives are proposing novel network architectures. In this context, this paper proposes the Video Transcoding Unit (VTU) application, which, leveraging on MEC principles, brings several functionalities to the edge of networks, greatly improving User Experience with mobile terminals. The VTU can be implemented as a SW (Software)-only Virtual Network Function, or be accelerated by a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Specific tests are described and discussed, showing the clear superiority of the HW (Hardware)-accelerated implementation in terms of computing performance and efficiency. A possible use case is presented, in which the VTU is used in a Stadium or in large public venues during crowded events like a sporting match or concerts. The work presented in this paper was undertaken under the EU Horizon2020 Sesame
Mobile Software Testing: Thoughts, Strategies, Challenges, and Experimental Study

Mobile devices have become more pervasive in our daily lives, and are gradually replacing regular computers to perform traditional processes like Internet browsing, editing photos, playing videos and sound track, and reading different files. The importance of mobile devices in our life necessitates more concerns of the reliability and compatibility of mobile applications, and thus, testing these applications arises as an important phase in mobile devices adaption process. This paper addressed various research directions on mobile applications testing by investigating essential concepts, scope, features and requirements for testing mobile application. We highlight the similarities and the differences between mobile APP testing and mobile web testing. Furthermore, we discuss and compare different mobile testing approaches and environments, and provide the challenges as emergent needs in test environments. As a case study, we compared the testing experience of hybrid application in an emulator and a real world device. The purpose of the experiment is to verify to which extent a virtual device can emulate a complete client experience. Set of experiments are conducted where five android mobile browsers are tested. Each browser will be on a real device as well as an emulated device with the same features (CPU used, memory size, etc). The application will be tested on the following metrics: Performance and function/behavior testing
Epitaxial graphene growth on FIB patterned 3C-SiC nanostructures on Si (111): reducing milling damage

Epitaxial growth of graphene on SiC is a scalable procedure that does not require any further transfer step, making this an ideal platform for graphene nanostructure fabrication. Focused ion beam (FIB) is a very promising tool for exploring the reduction of the lateral dimension of graphene on SiC to the nanometre scale. However, exposure of graphene to the Ga+ beam causes significant surface damage through amorphisation and contamination, preventing epitaxial graphene growth. In this paper we demonstrate that combining a protective silicon layer with FIB patterning implemented prior to graphene growth can significantly reduce the damage associated with FIB milling. Using this approach, we successfully achieved graphene growth over 3C-SiC/Si FIB patterned nanostructures.
Regulation of IgE Production Requires Oligomerization of CD231

Here we describe the production of a rabbit polyclonal Ab (RAS1) raised against the stalk of murine CD23. RAS1 inhibits release of CD23 from the surface of both M12 and B cells resulting in an increase of CD23 on the cell surface. Despite this increase, these cells are unable to bind IgE as determined by FACS. CD23 has previously been shown to bind IgE with both a high (4–10 × 107 M−1) and low (4–10 × 106 M−1) affinity. Closer examination by direct binding of 125I-IgE revealed that RAS1 blocks high affinity binding while having no effect on low affinity binding. These data support the model proposing that oligomers of CD23 mediate high affinity IgE binding. These experiments suggest that RAS1 binding to cell surface CD23 results in a shift from oligomers to monomers, which, according to the model, only bind IgE with low affinity. These experiments also suggest that high affinity binding of IgE is required for IgE regulation by CD23 and is demonstrated by the fact that treatment of Ag/Alum-immunized mice treated with RAS1 results in a significant increase in IgE production similar to the levels seen in CD23-deficient mice. These mice also had significantly decreased levels of serum soluble CD23 and Ag-specific IgG1. RAS1 had no effect on IgE or Ag-specific IgG1 production in CD23-deficient mice.
A simple algorithm for joint blur identification and image restoration

Earlier work on blur identification suffers from using space-invariant image models to match space-variant (piecewise smooth) images. It is expected that an effective space-adaptive image model or estimate would improve the joint blur and image estimation. A well-known space-adaptive regularization method for image restoration is extended to solve this problem. The resulting scheme has two regularization terms, one for the image and the other for the blur. Very good performance is observed even though no stringent assumption about the structure of the underlying blur operator is made. The computational overhead for blur identification is less than the computational load required for regularized image restoration when the blur operator is exactly known. <<ETX>>
Simulating natural selection in landscape genetics

Linking landscape effects to key evolutionary processes through individual organism movement and natural selection is essential to provide a foundation for evolutionary landscape genetics. Of particular importance is determining how spatially‐explicit, individual‐based models differ from classic population genetics and evolutionary ecology models based on ideal panmictic populations in an allopatric setting in their predictions of population structure and frequency of fixation of adaptive alleles. We explore initial applications of a spatially‐explicit, individual‐based evolutionary landscape genetics program that incorporates all factors – mutation, gene flow, genetic drift and selection – that affect the frequency of an allele in a population. We incorporate natural selection by imposing differential survival rates defined by local relative fitness values on a landscape. Selection coefficients thus can vary not only for genotypes, but also in space as functions of local environmental variability. This simulator enables coupling of gene flow (governed by resistance surfaces), with natural selection (governed by selection surfaces). We validate the individual‐based simulations under Wright‐Fisher assumptions. We show that under isolation‐by‐distance processes, there are deviations in the rate of change and equilibrium values of allele frequency. The program provides a valuable tool (cdpop v1.0; http://cel.dbs.umt.edu/software/CDPOP/) for the study of evolutionary landscape genetics that allows explicit evaluation of the interactions between gene flow and selection in complex landscapes.
Evaluating changes in coronary artery calcium: an analytic method that accounts for interscan variability.

OBJECTIVE Coronary calcium measured by electron beam CT is associated with coronary disease and can be used to predict coronary disease events. Studies investigating changes in coronary calcium need to address interscan variability as it relates to the overall coronary calcium score in defining progression or regression of coronary calcium over time. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Electron beam CT was performed on 1,074 participants. Coronary calcium volume scores were repeated 5 min apart. Interscan variability was examined using Bland-Altman plots and homogeneity tests. Transformations of the Box-Cox family (including power, roots, and logarithm) were applied to calcium volume scores. The transformation that stabilized the variation in calcium volume scores was applied to progression of calcium volume scores in 109 subjects with diabetes. RESULTS The variability in calcium volume score increased as the level of coronary calcium increased (rho = 0.67, p < 0.001 for the relation between the absolute difference and the mean value of calcium volume scores). This heterogeneity was removed using the square root transformation of the calcium volume score (rho = 0.09, p < 0.15 for the relation between the absolute difference in the square root of the calcium volume score and the mean square root of the calcium volume score). This transformation was applied to calcium volume scores taken a mean of 2.7 years apart in 109 subjects with diabetes. A significant change in calcium volume score was defined as a difference between the square root-transformed to calcium volume scores greater than or equal to 2.5 mm(3) (> 99th percentile of interscan variability). Significant progression was observed in 10% of the subjects. The square root of the calcium volume score corrected for the bias in progression of calcium volume because of the level of coronary calcium. CONCLUSION Using the square root of the calcium volume score stabilized interscan variability across the range of coronary calcium. Defining change in coronary calcium as greater than or equal to 2.5 mm(3) of the difference in the square root-transformed calcium volume scores provided an estimate that was unbiased with respect to baseline coronary calcium. This analytic technique may facilitate investigations of the relevance of changes in coronary calcium to clinical outcomes and the use of changes in coronary calcium as a measure of the therapeutic impact on subclinical disease in clinical trials.
Pulse-State Switchable Fiber Laser Mode-Locked by Carbon Nanotubes

We proposed a carbon nanotube (CNT) mode-locked fiber laser delivering chirp-free soliton (CFS) and chirped pulse (CP) simultaneously or separately based on a circulator and chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG). The CFS reflected by the CFBG exhibits spectral sidebands with a bandwidth of 0.27 nm, whereas the CP has a smooth spectrum with a bandwidth of 4.1 nm. The durations of the CFS and CP are 9.6 and 1.3 ps, respectively. Due to the large anomalous dispersion and spectral filtering of CFBG, the CFS maintains low intensity and accumulates high energy without wave breaking. Numerical simulations agree well with the experiment and confirm the strong pulse shaping ability of CNT. The operation-switchable fiber laser may facilitate the practical applications where multitype pulses are necessary.
The Plaque Matrix (PQM) and Tubules at the Surface of Intramuscular Parasite, Trachipleistophora hominis

ABSTRACT. Surface plaque matrix (PQM) and a tubular arrangement of filaments border Trachipleistophora hominis parasites during growth within host muscle. The PQM at the parasite surface forms a network of processes which can be associated with filamentous tubules. Peroxidase tracer delineated the PQM and showed apparent connections with the tubules. The tubules at the interface of T. hominis‐infected cells are structurally similar to the extrasporular tubules of the microsporidian, Ameson michaelis. The extrasporular tubules of A. michaelis and the proteins from T. hominis‐infected muscle reacted to keratin antibodies, K8.13, K4 and K13. Conversely, antibodies produced to T. hominis‐infected muscle, reacted with the extrasporular tubular proteins of A. michaelis. The PQM and tubular elements are thought to play an important role in affecting molecular traffic between the host and parasite.
Exploring the Effects of a Convergance Intervention on Ideation Artifacts: A Multi-Group Field Study

Information technology professionals frequently need to reduce and clarify ideas. The convergence patterns of collaboration-reduce and clarify are key in helping a group focus effort on issues that are worthy of further attention. This study furthers understanding convergence patterns by exploring and characterizing the effects of a FastFocus intervention on an ideation artifact. Researchers conducted an observational case study of executives and staff addressing a real task within a large it intensive organization. Three sets of artifacts were analyzed from three groups. Analysis of the problem statements generated during a problem identification and clarification session revealed several implications about convergence interventions. The FastFocus thinkLet reduced the number of concepts from 620 down to 145, a reduction of 76%. Ambiguity dropped from 55% in the ideation artifact to 6% in the converged artifact. Implications for brainstorming instructions were identified that may contribute to reduced ambiguity in ideation artifacts. exploratory and experimentation in convergence In the we recent on convergence activities. We then report a field study where we observed senior executives for a multi-national financial institution as they generated a set of possible barriers to achieving the organization’s strategic goals, and then converged on a set of problem statements that they would use as the basis for action planning. We next analyze and compare the artifacts of the ideation activity and the artifacts of the convergence intervention to characterize the effects the convergence intervention had on the artifact of the ideation session. We discuss the implications of our exploration for research and practice, and conclude by outlining directions for future research.
An efficient initialization scheme for the self-organizing feature map algorithm

It is often reported in the technique literature that the success of the self-organizing feature map formation is critically dependent on the initial weights and the selection of main parameters of the algorithm, namely, the learning-rate parameter and the neighborhood function. In this paper, we propose an efficient initialization scheme to construct an initial map. We then use the self-organizing feature map algorithm to make small subsequent adjustments so as to improve the accuracy of the initial map. Two data sets are tested to illustrate the performance of the proposed method.
Carbenoxolone and mefloquine suppress tremor in the harmaline mouse model of essential tremor

Excessive olivo‐cerebellar synchrony is implicated in essential tremor. Because synchrony in some networks is mediated by gap junctions, we examined whether the gap junction blockers heptanol, octanol, carbenoxolone, and mefloquine suppress tremor in the mouse harmaline model, and performed an open‐treatment clinical study of mefloquine for essential tremor. Digitized motion was used to quantify tremor in mice administered harmaline, 20 mg/kg s.c. In mice the broad‐spectrum gap junction blockers heptanol, octanol (350 mg/kg i.p. each), and carbenoxolone (20 mg/kg) suppressed harmaline tremor. Mefloquine (50 mg/kg), which blocks gap junctions containing connexin 36, robustly suppressed harmaline tremor. Glycyrrhizic acid (related to carbenoxolone) and chloroquine (related to mefloquine), which do not block gap junctions, failed to suppress harmaline tremor in mice. Clinically, tremor was assessed with standard rating scales, and subjects asked to take 62.5, 125, and 250 mg mefloquine weekly for 12 weeks at each dose. None of the four human subjects showed a meaningful tremor reduction with mefloquine, likely because clinical levels were below those required for efficacy. In view of recent genetic evidence, the anti‐tremor mechanism of these compounds is uncertain but may represent a novel therapeutic target, possibly involving gap junctions other than those containing connexin 36. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society
A Meta-Analysis: Comparison of Esomeprazole and Other Proton Pump Inhibitors in Eradicating Helicobacter pylori

Background: To assess effects of esomeprazole-based therapies and others (PPIs) on Helicobacter pylori eradication when co-administered with antibiotics. Goals: Using the terms ‘H. pylori eradication’ and ‘esomeprazole’, we searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library (2000–2005) and conducted a manual search of related Chinese journals to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the treatment effects of esomeprazole and other PPI therapies in patients with H. pylori infection. Results: Of the 75 articles screened, 11 RCTs including 2,159 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The mean H. pylori eradication rates (intention-to-treat, ITT) with esomeprazole + antibiotics was 86%, a rate comparable with other PPI therapies, 81% (ITT); the odds ratio (OR) was 1.38 (95% CI = 1.09–1.75). A focused meta-analysis of 6 selected high-quality studies was produced an OR of this comparison that was closer to one (1.17, 95% CI = 0.89–1.54), with the results being statistically homogeneous. Sub-analysis that included only studies comparing different does of esomeprazole with omeprazole or pantoprazole did not reveal significant differences. No additional serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Esomeprazole-based triple therapy may effectively eradicate H. pylori infection and promote favorable outcome with good tolerance and offers comparable efficacy to omeprazole-based therapy.
[Intermittent claudication in Italy. The Peripheral Arteriopathy and Cardiovascular Events (PACE) study].

BACKGROUND The epidemiology of intermittent claudication in the primary care settings has been studied almost exclusively in northern European and northern American populations. This article compares the results of the Peripheral Arteriopathy and Cardiovascular Events (PACE) study, the first survey in Italy to assess the prevalence, comorbidity and natural history of intermittent claudication, with those observed in other western countries. METHODS From the lists of seven general practitioners, all patients aged 40-80 years (n = 4352) received a Rose questionnaire. In those reporting leg pain while leg pain while walking (n = 760), Doppler examination was performed. Intermittent claudication was defined as an ankle/branchial index of < 0.90, or reduced flow velocity. For each claudicant, three age- and sex-matched controls were randomly selected from patients negative to the questionnaire. RESULTS The prevalence of both intermittent claudication (1.6%) and associated cardiovascular disease (34%) tended to be lower in Italy than in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and North America. Conversely, no between country difference was observed with respect to mortality, which was very high (relative risk 4.08; 95% confidence interval 1.50-10.84, p = 0.006) in the PACE claudicants. CONCLUSIONS In this regard it is noteworthy that these patients, who were managed almost exclusively by their general practitioner were undertreated with respect to the use of antiplatelet therapy and correction of risk factors. There is need to alert them to this topic.
High-dose intra-arterial cisplatin boost with hyperfractionated radiation therapy for advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

PURPOSE To evaluate the tolerance and efficacy of intra-arterial (IA) cisplatin boost with hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFX-RT) in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-two patients with locally advanced primary SCCHN were treated on consecutive phase I/II studies of HFX-RT (receiving a total of 76.8 to 81.6 Gy, given at 1.2 Gy bid) and IA cisplatin (150 mg/m(2) received at the start of and during RT boost treatment). RESULTS Acute grade 3 to 4 toxicities were as follows: grade 4 and grade 3 mucosal toxicity occurred in three (7%) and 31 patients (69%), respectively, and grade 3 hematologic, infectious, and skin events occurred in one patient each. Eight of 24 patients (33%) were unable to receive a second planned dose of IA cisplatin because of general anxiety (n = 5), nausea and/or emesis (n = 2), or asymptomatic occlusion of an external carotid artery (n = 1). Thirty-seven patients (88%) experienced complete response (CR) at primary site. Twenty-nine (85%) of 34 patients presenting with nodal disease experienced CR. The actuarial 2-year rates of locoregional control and disease-specific and overall survival are 73%, 63%, and 57%, respectively, with a median active follow-up of 30 months. CONCLUSION In this highly unfavorable subset of patients, these results seem superior to previously reported chemoradiation regimens in more favorable patients. Use of a second dose of IA cisplatin boost was associated with increased toxicity without obvious therapeutic gain. This novel strategy allows for an incremental increase in the treatment intensity of the HFX-RT regimen recently established as superior to once-a-day RT.
Screening minVDD outliers using feed-forward voltage testing

MinVDD testing using full vector set search routines consumes too much test time. A 3-step process is proposed using: (1) a reduced vector set (RVS) binary search to measure the intrinsic (defect free) minVDD for a die; (2) a feed-forward to the full vector set (FVS) for low voltage testing; and (3) delta VDD and nearest neighbor residual statistical post-processing (SPP) are applied to the data to screen the minVDD outliers that are identified using the RVS binary search. RVS vs. FVS correlation data is shown on 3 products. Data shows minVDD yield fallout of 0.2-0.8% and 20% of the minVDD outliers shows significant VDD shifts in burn-in.
Allele Variation of DYS19 and Y- Alu Insertion (YAP) Polymorphisms in Basques: An Insight into the Peopling of Europe and the Mediterranean Region

Two Y-chromosome DNA polymorphisms, the DYS19 microsatellite and the YAP (at locus DYS287), were tested in males from two autochthonous Basque populations from France and northern Navarre (Spain). The results are compared to those obtained for the same genetic markers in 32 populations from Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. The high predominance of the DYS19*11 (190-base-pair) allele in Basques indicates that their genetic diversity for microsatellite DYS19 is around half that observed in Europeans, North Africans, and western Asians. The Y-Alu insertion (YAP+) was not detected in the Basque samples. This study attempts to throw some light on the importance of historically recent migratory movements, the main corridors of gene flow, and demographic sizes and their variations in shaping gene frequency patterns in contemporary human populations, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Historical processes may have had more significant effects on the genetic make-up of current human populations than those of prehistoric times.