Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Basic Performance Measurements of the Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Module

Scalable nonvolatile memory DIMMs will finally be commercially available with the release of the Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Module (or just "Optane DC PMM"). This new nonvolatile DIMM supports byte-granularity accesses with access times on the order of DRAM, while also providing data storage that survives power outages. This work comprises the first in-depth, scholarly, performance review of Intel's Optane DC PMM, exploring its capabilities as a main memory device, and as persistent, byte-addressable memory exposed to user-space applications. This report details the technologies performance under a number of modes and scenarios, and across a wide variety of macro-scale benchmarks. Optane DC PMMs can be used as large memory devices with a DRAM cache to hide their lower bandwidth and higher latency. When used in this Memory (or cached) mode, Optane DC memory has little impact on applications with small memory footprints. Applications with larger memory footprints may experience some slow-down relative to DRAM, but are now able to keep much more data in memory. When used under a file system, Optane DC PMMs can result in significant performance gains, especially when the file system is optimized to use the load/store interface of the Optane DC PMM and the application uses many small, persistent writes. For instance, using the NOVA-relaxed NVMM file system, we can improve the performance of Kyoto Cabinet by almost 2x. Optane DC PMMs can also enable user-space persistence where the application explicitly controls its writes into persistent Optane DC media. In our experiments, modified applications that used user-space Optane DC persistence generally outperformed their file system counterparts. For instance, the persistent version of RocksDB performed almost 2x faster than the equivalent program utilizing an NVMM-aware file system.
Relative contributions of parental intention and provider recommendation style to HPV and meningococcal vaccine receipt

ABSTRACT We described the relative contributions of parental intention and provider recommendation style to HPV and meningococcal vaccine receipt. Parent-child dyads that were eligible for both meningococcal and HPV vaccines participated in pre-visit surveys and consented to audio recording of their clinical interactions with healthcare providers related to vaccination. Surveys were analyzed for parent and child demographics and parental intention to vaccinate children with HPV and/or meningococcal vaccines. Audio recordings were analyzed for provider recommendation style, defined as indicated (provider stated vaccine was due at that visit) or not, and for child receipt of vaccines. Linear and logistic regression models were used to determine the relative contributions of parental intention and provider recommendation style to vaccine receipt. 56 parents/child dyads participated. 79% of children received HPV vaccines, and 93% received meningococcal vaccines. After controlling for demographic variables, parental intention did not differ by vaccine type. However, providers were less likely to use an indicated recommendation for HPV than for meningococcal vaccine. After controlling for demographic factors, parental intention, and provider recommendation style, vaccine type (HPV or meningococcal) was no longer associated with vaccine receipt Differences that were previously attributed to vaccine-specific factors may be explained by parents’ and providers’ roles in vaccine receipt. These findings suggest that interventions and policy recommendations regarding adolescent vaccination should focus on increasing parental demand for vaccines and ensuring that providers present all vaccines as the medical standard of care.
Proteomic Analysis Provides Insights into Arabidopsis thaliana Response Under Narrow-Wavelength LED of 595 nm light

A growing body of evidence has highlighted that a wide range of plant processes including growth, photosynthesis, and stress response are regulated by 595 nm light. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying 595 nm-induced signals are not known. The aim of this work was to study the comparative proteomic changes in leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 plants treated with narrow-wavelength 595 nm light or fluorescent light for 5 days. Harvested plant samples were analyzed using inline RP-SCX-RP liquid chromatography coupled with LTQ mass spectrometer, resulting in the identification of 1538 proteins. Linear regression modeling of proteins’ relative abundance revealed a total of 23 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs). Functional analysis of these DAPs demonstrated the role of several biological mechanisms in A. thaliana’s response to 595 nm light including stress response and metabolic processes. A network analysis of these DAPs revealed the importance of energy and redox regulation mechanisms. Further analyses determined potentially important roles for proteins associated with glycolysis, ATP synthase complex, cell wall modification, and thylakoid membrane that may modulate the plant’s adaptive response to 595 nm light. A significant enrichment of DAPs for PSII tolerance capacity, as well as associated Ca2+ and ROS signaling pathways were also identified. Collectively, this study provides an important insight into potential molecular pathways that sustain a plant’s response to 595 nm light.
USE OF RT-PCR TECHNIQUES IN DETECTION OF VIRUSES OF PEPPER IN REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Plant viruses can be a limiting factor and cause economically significant damage in the agricultural production. That is why, early and precise detection is very important in prevention of significant yield losses. In this study, early detection of plant viruses was performed on pepper, as one of the economically most important crops in Republic of Macedonia. Pepper plants were tested for Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) and Potato virus Y (PVY), most common RNA viruses in pepper production. Virus antigen accumulation was measured with the use of DASELISA method on 259 plant samples. CMV was detected as most prevalent virus on pepper (51% in 2012, 34% in 2013 and 61% in 2014). In 2012, AMV was detected as second, while in 2013 and 2014 was PVY. Detection was performed using Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR). The RNA was extracted using TRIzol method from the collected leaf samples. RT-PCR was performed for each of the viruses separately due to the differences in the annealing temperatures of the used primers. In order to prevent RNA degradation of the plant viruses, each step of manipulation with the plant material was carefully optimized. The gained amplicons after RT-PCR, associated with different viruses were: for CMV the amplicon was 773 bp, for AMV was 669 bp, while for PVY 902 bp, respectively. The RT-PCR method exhibited high sensitivity, detecting the viruses in the early stages of infection, before observation of any visible symptoms on the pepper plants and measuring negative OD absorbance by DAS-ELISA.
Unmasking structural patterns in incidence matrices: an application to ecological data

Null models have become a crucial tool for understanding structure within incidence matrices across multiple biological contexts. For example, they have been widely used for the study of ecological and biogeographic questions, testing hypotheses regarding patterns of community assembly, species co-occurrence and biodiversity. However, to our knowledge we remain without a general and flexible approach to study the mechanisms explaining such structures. Here, we provide a method for generating ‘correlation-informed’ null models, which combine the classic concept of null models and tools from community ecology, like joint statistical modelling. Generally, this model allows us to assess whether the information encoded within any given correlation matrix is predictive for explaining structural patterns observed within an incidence matrix. To demonstrate its utility, we apply our approach to two different case studies that represent examples of common scenarios encountered in community ecology. First, we use a phylogenetically informed null model to detect a strong evolutionary fingerprint within empirically observed food webs, reflecting key differences in the impact of shared evolutionary history when shaping the interactions of predators or prey. Second, we use multiple informed null models to identify which factors determine structural patterns of species assemblages, focusing in on the study of nestedness and the influence of site size, isolation, species range and species richness. In addition to offering a versatile way to study the mechanisms shaping the structure of any incidence matrix, including those describing ecological communities, our approach can also be adapted further to test even more sophisticated hypotheses.
Detecting word level metaphors in Polish

The paper addresses an experiment in detecting metaphorical usage of adjectives and nouns in Polish data. First, we describe the data developed for the experiment. The corpus consists of 1833 excerpts containing adjective-noun phrases which can have both metaphorical and literal senses. Annotators assign literal or metaphorical senses to all adjectives and nouns in the data. Then, we describe a method for literal/metaphorical sense classiﬁcation. We use Bi-LSTM neural network architecture and word embeddings of both token-and character-level. We examine the inﬂuence of adversarial training and perform analysis by part-of-speech. Our approach proved successful and an F1 score that exceeded 0.81 was achieved.
The COMET (Comparison of Operative versus Monitoring and Endocrine Therapy) trial: a phase III randomised controlled clinical trial for low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Introduction Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive non-obligate precursor of invasive breast cancer. With guideline concordant care (GCC), DCIS outcomes are at least as favourable as some other early stage cancer types such as prostate cancer, for which active surveillance (AS) is a standard of care option. However, AS has not yet been tested in relation to DCIS. The goal of the COMET (Comparison of Operative versus Monitoring and Endocrine Therapy) trial for low-risk DCIS is to gather evidence to help future patients consider the range of treatment choices for low-risk DCIS, from standard therapies to AS. The trial will determine whether there may be some women who do not substantially benefit from current GCC and who could thus be safely managed with AS. This protocol is version 5 (11 July 2018). Any future protocol amendments will be submitted to Quorum Centralised Institutional Review Board/local institutional review boards for approval via the sponsor of the study (Alliance Foundation Trials). Methods and analysis COMET is a phase III, randomised controlled clinical trial for patients with low-risk DCIS. The primary outcome is ipsilateral invasive breast cancer rate in women undergoing GCC compared with AS. Secondary objectives will be to compare surgical, oncological and patient-reported outcomes. Patients randomised to the GCC group will undergo surgery as well as radiotherapy when appropriate; those in the AS group will be monitored closely with surgery only on identification of invasive breast cancer. Patients in both the GCC and AS groups will have the option of endocrine therapy. The total planned accrual goal is 1200 patients. Ethics and dissemination The COMET trial will be subject to biannual formal review at the Alliance Foundation Data Safety Monitoring Board meetings. Interim analyses for futility/safety will be completed annually, with reporting following Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines for non-inferiority trials. Trial registration number NCT02926911; Pre-results.
Induction, Coinduction, and Fixed Points in PL Type Theory

Recently we presented a concise survey of the formulation of the induction and coinduction principles, and some concepts related to them, in programming languages type theory and four other mathematical disciplines. The presentation in type theory involved the separate formulation of these concepts, first, in the theory of types of functional programming languages and, next, in the theory of types of object-oriented programming languages. In this article we show that separating these two formulations helps demonstrate some of the fundamental differences between structural subtyping, predominant in functional programming languages, and nominal subtyping, predominant in object-oriented programming languages---including differences concerning type negation and concerning the existence of inductive types, of coinductive types, and of approximations thereof. In the article we also motivate mutual coinduction and mutual coinductive types, and their approximations, and we discuss in brief the potential relevance of these concepts to object-oriented programming (OOP) type theory.
ALIGNING ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES:

The transformation required of organizations in the knowledge-based economy is radical. While the need for change is clear, most businesses are unsure of how to proceed with the required change. This paper proposes the Ken-OT Model as a conceptual tool that potentially provides an integrated explanatory system for organizational transformation. The model draws on both the existing literatures of knowledge management and organizational change and uses Eastern thought as a framework. The four perspectives of the Ken-OT Model are: (1) The organizational learning capability (2) The e-Enterprise capability (3) The knowledge innovation capability and (4) The value migration capability. More generally, the model is based on the change logic of I-Ching and specifically proposes the alignment of dynamic capabilities via the principles of: Yin /Yang, Wu-Hsing, and harmonization. These principles provide a means of guiding an organization to recognize and respond appropriately to internal and external conditions. At this stage, the model is propositional. It is unusual in that it attempts to blend traditional eastern thinking with modern
On the Efficacy and High-Performance Implementation of Quaternion Matrix Multiplication

Author(s): Williams-Young, David; Li, Xiaosong | Abstract: Quaternion symmetry is ubiquitous in the physical sciences. As such, much work has been afforded over the years to the development of efficient schemes to exploit this symmetry using real and complex linear algebra. Recent years have also seen many advances in the formal theoretical development of explicitly quaternion linear algebra with promising applications in image processing and machine learning. Despite these advances, there do not currently exist optimized software implementations of quaternion linear algebra. The leverage of optimized linear algebra software is crucial in the achievement of high levels of performance on modern computing architectures, and thus provides a central tool in the development of high-performance scientific software. In this work, a case will be made for the efficacy of high-performance quaternion linear algebra software for appropriate problems. In this pursuit, an optimized software implementation of quaternion matrix multiplication will be presented and will be shown to outperform a vendor tuned implementation for the analogous complex matrix operation. The results of this work pave the path for further development of high-performance quaternion linear algebra software which will improve the performance of the next generation of applicable scientific applications.
FIBER LENGTH OF CALABRIAN PINE AS RELATED TO POSITION IN CROSS SECTION AND GROWING REGION

This paper provides a better understanding of the variation of growing regions and differences in distance from pith to bark on wood fiber lengths. For this aim, Calabrian pines collected from five different growth regions, namely Kahramanmaras, Burdur, Muğla, İzmir and Balıkesir, were used to determine fiber lengths. In experiment, specimens prepared from logs cross section which is taken from three different distances from pith to bark (r/6, 3r/6 and 5r/6) were evaluated. As a result of analysis, distance from pith in the same area have shown a significant effect on fiber dimensions. In the evaluation among the habitat, it was obtained that r/6 and 3r/6 have a significant effect (p<0.001, p<0.05 respectively) on fiber dimensions, however; 5r/6 has a nonsignificant. The results showed that, the quite suitable habitat in terms of fiber lenghts is Balıkesir which has high sand (64.4%), moderate clay (24.2%) and lime-poor (3.1%) soils. These results will make a positive contribution undoubtedly for the plantations will be established in the future of this species.
Methyl Jasmonate Induced Oxidative Stress and Accumulation of Secondary Metabolites in Plant Cell and Organ Cultures

Recently, plant secondary metabolites are considered as important sources of pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavours, cosmetics, and other industrial products. The accumulation of secondary metabolites in plant cell and organ cultures often occurs when cultures are subjected to varied kinds of stresses including elicitors or signal molecules. Application of exogenous jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MJ) is responsible for the induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent defence mechanisms in cultured cells and organs. It is also responsible for the induction of signal transduction, the expression of many defence genes followed by the accumulation of secondary metabolites. In this review, the application of exogenous MJ elicitation strategies on the induction of defence mechanism and secondary metabolite accumulation in cell and organ cultures is introduced and discussed. The information presented here is useful for efficient large-scale production of plant secondary metabolites by the plant cell and organ cultures.
Measuring Financial Contagion and Spillover Effects with a State-Dependent Sensitivity Value-at-Risk Model

In this paper, we measure the size and the direction of the spillover effects among European commercial banks, with respect to their size, geographical position, income sources, and systemic importance for the period from 2006 to 2016, using a state-dependent sensitivity value-at-risk model, conditioning on the state of the financial market. Low during normal times, the same shocks cause notable spillover effects during the volatile period. The results suggest a high level of interconnectedness across all the European regions, highlighting the importance of large and systemic important banks that create considerable systemic risk during the entire period. Regarding the non-interest income banks, the outcomes reveals an alert signal concerning the spillovers spread to interest income banks.
HEALTH BELIEF MODEL AS FRAMEWORK FOR EXPLORING THE NON- USE OF IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION BY PARENTS OF UNDER FIVE CHILDREN

In this paper the Health Belief Model is discussed as a framework for understanding the reasons behind rejection of immunization information by parents of under five children. It discussed how the first four constructs of the model perceive seriousness, susceptibility, benefits and barriers are applied in understanding health related problems. It also discusses how these constructs will help in understanding the reasons for parents’ rejection of immunization information by parents of under-five children. The paper further reviewed previous studies that adopted the Model. Finally, the paper identified the likely questions that the constructs of the model could be used to answer.
Prevalence of Erectile Dysfunction in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and Its Association with Body Mass Index and Glycated Hemoglobin in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Mortality and morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are attributed to both microvascular and macrovascular complications. However, there is a significant amount of variation in the primary studies on DM regarding the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in Africa. *erefore, this study was aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of ED patients with DM and its association with body mass index (BMI) and glycated hemoglobin in Africa.Methods. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, PsycINFO, African Journals Online, and Google Scholar were searched for studies that looked at ED in DM patients. A funnel plot and Egger’s regression test were used to determine publication bias. *e I statistic was used to check heterogeneity between the studies. DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was applied to estimate the pooled effect size. *e subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted by country, sample size, and year of publication. Sensitivity analysis was deployed to see the effect of a single study on the overall estimation. STATA version 14 statistical software was used for the meta-analysis. Result. A total of 13 studies with 3,501 study participants were included in this study. We estimated that the pooled prevalence of ED in patients with DM in Africa was 71.45% (95% CI: 60.22–82.69). Diabetic patients whose BMI was ≥30 kg/m were 1.26 times more likely to develop ED (AOR� 1.26; 95% CI: 0.73–2.16) and whose glycated hemoglobin was <7%were 7% less likely to develop ED (AOR� 0.93; 95% CI: 0.5–5.9), although they were not significantly associated with ED. Conclusions. *e prevalence of ED in DM patients in Africa remains high. *erefore, situation-based interventions and country context-specific preventive strategies should be developed to reduce the prevalence of ED among patients with DM.
DISPERSED PHASE VELOCITY CONTROLLED REGIME OF MICRO-DROPLETS GENERATION IN T-JUNCTION

We present an experimental study of the effect of the dispersed phase velocity on the regime of droplet generation in a T-junction microfluidic configuration. Silicone oil with a large interfacial tension (100 mN/m) was dispersed in deionized water. In addition to the known regimes of droplet generation (dripping, squeezing and jetting regimes), we present a new regime of monodisperse droplet generation that we named balloon regime. This regime appears to be linked to the injection of the dispersed phase at lower velocity through a narrow channel. In our experiments, the velocities of the continuous and the dispersed phases vc and vd respectively, have been varied in a wide range: vc from 0.93 to 50 cm/s, and vd from 0.01 to 3 cm/s. In this new regime, the diameter of the micro-droplets generated is constant and is not related to the velocity of the continuous phase, which just acts as the carrier of the micro-droplet. A comparison between the balloon and the dripping regimes is presented. In the balloon regime and contrary to the dripping regime, the droplet formed keeps a circular shape throughout its formation at the T-junction, without any deformation due to drag forces. To explain the formation of the micro-droplets in the balloon regime, we propose a mechanism based on the stability of the micro-droplets shape.