Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards Online and Transactional Relational Schema Transformations

In this paper, we want to draw the attention of the database community to the problem of online schema changes: changing the schema of a database without blocking concurrent transactions. We have identified important classes of relational schema transformations that we want to perform online, and we have identified general requirements for the mechanisms that execute these transformations. Using these requirements, we have developed an experiment based on the standard TPC-C benchmark to assess the behaviour of existing systems. We look at PostgreSQL, which does not support online schema changes; MySQL, which supports basic online schema changes; and pt-online-schema-change, which is a tool for MySQL that uses triggers to implement online schema changes. We found that none of the existing systems fulfill our requirements. In particular, existing non-blocking solutions can not maintain the ACID guarantees when composing schema transformations. This leads to intermediate states being exposed to database programs, which are non-trivial to handle correctly. As a solution direction, we propose lazy schema transformations, which can naturally be composed into complex schema transformations that properly guarantee the ACID properties, and which have minimal impact on concurrent transactions.
Cardiorespiratory fitness attenuates the effects of the metabolic syndrome on all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in men.

BACKGROUND The metabolic syndrome is a prevalent condition that carries with it an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and mortality. OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and mortality in healthy men and in those with the metabolic syndrome. METHODS The sample included 19 223 men, aged 20 to 83 years, who received a clinical evaluation between 1979 and 1995 with mortality follow-up through December 31, 1996. There were 15 466 healthy men (80.5%) and 3757 men with the metabolic syndrome (19.5%). RESULTS A total of 480 deaths (161 due to CVD) occurred during 196 298 man-years of follow-up. After adjustment for age, year of examination, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and parental CVD, the relative risks (RRs) (95% confidence interval) of all-cause and CVD mortality were 1.29 (1.05-1.57) and 1.89 (1.36-2.60), respectively, for men with the metabolic syndrome compared with healthy men. After the inclusion of CRF, the associations were not significant. The RRs comparing unfit with fit men for all-cause mortality were 2.18 (1.66-2.87) in healthy men and 2.01 (1.38-2.93) in men with the metabolic syndrome, whereas the RRs for CVD mortality for unfit vs fit men were 3.21 (2.03-5.07) in healthy men and 2.25 (1.27-3.97) in men with the metabolic syndrome. A significant dose-response relationship between CRF and mortality was also observed in men with the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION In this sample, CRF provided a strong protective effect against all-cause and CVD mortality in healthy men and men with the metabolic syndrome.
Religious Attendance and Cause of Death over 31 Years

Objective: Frequent attendance at religious services has been reported by several studies to be independently associated with lower all-cause mortality. The present study aimed to clarify relationships between religious attendance and mortality by examining how associations of religious attendance with several specific causes of death may be explained by demographics, socioeconomic status, health status, health behaviors, and social connections. Method: Associations between frequent religious attendance and major types of cause-specific mortality between 1965 and 1996 were examined for 6545 residents of Alameda County, California. Sequential proportional hazards regressions were used to study survival time until mortality from circulatory, cancer, digestive, respiratory, or external causes. Results: After adjusting for age and sex, infrequent (never or less than weekly) attenders had significantly higher rates of circulatory, cancer, digestive, and respiratory mortality (p < 0.05), but not mortality due to external causes. Differences in cancer mortality were explained by prior health status. Associations with other outcomes were weakened but not eliminated by including health behaviors and prior health status. In fully adjusted models, infrequent attenders had significantly or marginally significantly higher rates of death from circulatory (relative hazard [RH] = 1.21, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.02 to 1.45), digestive (RH = 1.99, p < 0.10, 95 percent CI = 0.98 to 4.03), and respiratory (RH = 1.66, p < 0.10, 95 percent CI = 0.92 to 3.02) mortality. Conclusions: These results are consistent with the view that religious involvement, like high socioeconomic status, is a general protective factor that promotes health through a variety of causal pathways. Further study is needed to determine whether the independent effects of religion are mediated by psychological states or other unknown factors.
Quantitative Evaluation of Carotid Plaque Composition by In Vivo MRI

Objective— This study evaluates the ability of MRI to quantify all major carotid atherosclerotic plaque components in vivo. Methods and Results— Thirty-one subjects scheduled for carotid endarterectomy were imaged with a 1.5T scanner using time-of-flight–, T1-, proton density–, and T2-weighted images. A total of 214 MR imaging locations were matched to corresponding histology sections. For MRI and histology, area measurements of the major plaque components such as lipid-rich/necrotic core (LR/NC), calcification, loose matrix, and dense (fibrous) tissue were recorded as percentages of the total wall area. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were computed to determine intrareader and inter-reader reproducibility. MRI measurements of plaque composition were statistically equivalent to those of histology for the LR/NC (23.7 versus 20.3%; P=0.1), loose matrix (5.1 versus 6.3%; P=0.1), and dense (fibrous) tissue (66.3% versus 64%; P=0.4). Calcification differed significantly when measured as a percentage of wall area (9.4 versus 5%; P<0.001). Intrareader and inter-reader reproducibility was good to excellent for all tissue components, with ICCs ranging from 0.73 to 0.95. Conclusions— MRI-based tissue quantification is accurate and reproducible. This application can be used in therapeutic clinical trials and in prospective longitudinal studies to examine carotid atherosclerotic plaque progression and regression.
Encouraging User Engagement with Online Social Networks

of the Dissertation Encouraging User Engagement with Online Social Networks Online social network operators are interested in promoting use of their sites, because usage translates to revenue. In this work, we investigate how various factors in online social network user behavior correlates with the users’ lifetimes in the online social networks. Many of the primary results are perhaps expected: the most popular users are more likely to remain online; users who are contacted early in their lifetimes are more likely to remain active in the online social network; and users are more likely to remain online if their online friends post frequently. Some results merit further investigation: for example, users who reveal more about themselves are more likely to remain online longer. This finding has implications for further study, e.g. into the impact of privacy settings on users’ sociability. Some results are surprising: for example, users who follow only the most popular users are less likely to remain online long after creating their profiles than are users who follow at least one less popular user. Because online social network operators may wish to encourage users to post more frequently, they may offer incentves for doing so. This work also shows that, given incentives, users may be more inclined to manipulate other users in order to increase their chances of receiving the offered incentives. In many cases, such manipulation is possible to detect automatically, perhaps allowing social network operators to deter users from engaging in such manipulation. Finally, because the most popular users have the longest expected lifetimes in online social networks, a natural question to ask is how the most popular users become so popular. One very common model for social network growth is preferential attachment, in which existing nodes gain edges from new nodes in proportion to their existing degree. In this work, we show evidence for a surprising form of edge formation in which existing nodes add edges to newly joining nodes, which the new nodes may reciprocate.
Cetacean strandings in Oregon and Washington between 1930 and 2002

The Northwest Region (NWR) Marine Mammal Stranding Network was created in the early 1980s to provide a consistent framework in which to collect and compile data about marine mammal strandings in Oregon and Washington. The NWR includes the nearshore waters and 4,243km (2,632 n.miles) of coastline. For the years 1930-2002, there were 904 stranding events, representing 951 individual animals and 23 species: 4 species of balaenopterids, 1 eschrichtiid, 2 physeterids, 4 ziphiids, 10 delphinids and 2 phocoenids. Gender was determined for 343 males and 266 females. Only one mass stranding was recorded (sperm whales: 1979). A few species comprised the majority (71%) of stranding events in the NWR: harbour porpoise (34%), gray whales (23%), Dall’s porpoise (12%) and Pacific white-sided dolphins (4%). There was a steep increase (511%) in the number of stranding reports beginning in the 1980s with over 86% of all records occurring during the last two decades (1980s and 1990s). The general trend of increased reported strandings during the last two decades corresponds to the formation of a formal stranding network and a heightened interest and dedication by the public and government agencies in reporting and documenting strandings. For all events combined, the primary stranding peak was April-July. Since stranding recoveries depend heavily on reports from the general public, most stranding records were in summer when more people are present along the coastline. Individual species or species groups showed varying levels of conformity to this overall seasonal trend. The value and limitations of the use of strandings data in a management context are discussed.
Antibiotic exposure and its relationship to postantibiotic effect and bactericidal activity: constant versus exponentially decreasing tobramycin concentrations against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

In vitro postantibiotic effects (PAEs) exhibited by a standard strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa following exposure to tobramycin at constant concentrations were compared to those at exponentially decreasing concentrations. Exposure to a constant concentration showed more extensive bacterial killing and resulted in longer PAEs at comparable areas under the concentration-time curves above the MIC. This phenomenon suggests a significant contribution of pharmacokinetics to antimicrobial pharmacodynamics.
Assessment of sleep and sleepiness in Parkinson disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To develop a short and practical scale (SCOPA-SLEEP) that evaluates nighttime sleep and daytime sleepiness. The scale is developed for research in Parkinson disease but may be of value for other somatic diseases. DESIGN Postal survey including 4 instruments, the SCOPA-SLEEP nighttime sleep (5 items) and daytime sleepiness (6 items), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. SETTING Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS 143 patients with Parkinson disease and 104 controls. INTERVENTIONS N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Reliability of the scale was high: internal consistency of the nighttime sleep and daytime sleepiness scales were 0.88 and 0.91, respectively (Cronbach alpha), and test-retest reliabilities were 0.94 and 0.89, respectively (intraclass correlation coefficient). Scale scores differed significantly between patients and controls (P < .001). Construct validity was assessed by correlations with scales that addressed similar constructs. Correlation between the nighttime sleep scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was 0.83 (P < .001), and the correlation between the daytime sleepiness scale and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale was 0.81 (P < .001). Factor analysis revealed 1 factor each for both scales, indicating that the scales measure 1 construct, which justifies the calculation of sumscores. The coefficient of variation of both the nighttime sleep and the daytime sleepiness scale was higher than that of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, indicating a better ability to detect differences between individuals. CONCLUSIONS The SCOPA-SLEEP is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing nighttime sleep and daytime sleepiness in patients with Parkinson disease.
Combining Black Box Testing with White Box Code Analysis: A Heterogeneous Approach for Testing Enterprise SaaS Applications

Faulty enterprise applications may be producing incorrect outputs or performing below service expectations due to code vulnerabilities that do not show up in standard code analyzers (e.g., CAST [1]). A tester can figure out such functionality or performance issues by black box functional testing and fault injection. Then based on the specific test scenario, targeted white box code analysis can be done to figure out the code errors causing the application functionality or performance issue. In this paper, we use such a heterogeneous testing approach that combines black box testing with white box code analysis for testing an enterprise licensing application (ELA). We describe experiments designed to uncover functionality and performance issues in ELA and then explore the corresponding code errors causing the issues. We find that our approach is effective in faster detection and fixing of application performance and functionality errors than simple white box code analysis.
The Benefits of Dispositional Mindfulness in Physical Health: A Longitudinal Study of Female College Students

Abstract Objective: This article examines the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, health behaviors (eg, sleep, eating, and exercise), and physical health. Participants: Participants included 441 college women. Methods: Women completed self-report surveys at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter. The study was conducted over 5 academic quarters from fall 2008 to fall 2010. Results: Findings indicated that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness were related to healthier eating practices, better quality of sleep, and better physical health. Dispositional mindfulness contributed to better physical health even after controlling for traditional health habits. Finally, bidirectional mediational relationships were found between healthy eating and dispositional mindfulness as well as between sleep quality and dispositional mindfulness when physical health was the outcome variable. Conclusions: Findings suggest that incorporating mindfulness training into programming on college campuses may be beneficial, as results indicate that dispositional mindfulness is related to positive physical health among college students.
Innate Immunity Holding the Flanks until Reinforced by Adaptive Immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection

T cells play a cardinal role in imparting protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, ample time is required before T-cells are able to evoke efficient effector responses in the lung, where the mycobacterium inflicts disease. This delay in T cells priming, which is termed as lag phase, provides sufficient time for Mtb to replicate and establish itself within the host. In contrast, innate immunity efficiently curb the growth of Mtb during initial phase of infection through several mechanisms. Pathogen recognition by innate cells rapidly triggers a cascade of events, such as apoptosis, autophagy, inflammasome formation and nitric oxide production to kill intracellular pathogens. Furthermore, bactericidal mechanisms such as autophagy and apoptosis, augment the antigen processing and presentation, thereby contributing substantially to the induction of adaptive immunity. This manuscript highlights the role of innate immune mechanisms in restricting the survival of Mtb during lag phase. Finally, this article provides new insight for designing immuno-therapies by targeting innate immune mechanisms to achieve optimum immune response to cure TB.
Selective Attention in Time : An Extended Model for Stimulus Onset Asynchrony ( SOA ) in Stroop Effect

In stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) experiments [11] with the Stroop task [25], the subject’s response time of naming the colors is shorter when the subject knew that the color blocks were to be presented either earlier or later than the color-incompatible words, compared to the case when the blocks and words were presented simultaneously. This phenomenon suggests that the brain may estimate the onset time of the various stimuli and pay more attention to the time period in which the stimulus can be more relevant to the final response. In this paper, we interpret the SOA experiments with the Stroop task from a temporal attentional control perspective, and propose a computational model ofselective attention in timeto explain the SOA effect. The model extends the existing selectionthrough-accumulation model by Cohen and Huston [6] by adding temporal input-modulation mechanisms. Our results suggest that the concepts of attention over time (“selection of When”) may need a fresh look, in addition to the selection of What, Where, and Which [13].
Asymptotic expansions for Taylor coefficients of the composition of two functions

We give an asymptotic expansion for the Taylor coe±cients of L(P(z)) where L(z) is analytic in the open unit disc whose Taylor coe±cients vary `smoothly' and P(z) is a probability generating function. We show how this result applies to a variety of problems, amongst them obtaining the asymptotics of Bernoulli transforms and weighted renewal sequences.
Recent resurgence of mumps in the United States.

BACKGROUND The widespread use of a second dose of mumps vaccine among U.S. schoolchildren beginning in 1990 was followed by historically low reports of mumps cases. A 2010 elimination goal was established, but in 2006 the largest mumps outbreak in two decades occurred in the United States. METHODS We examined national data on mumps cases reported during 2006, detailed case data from the most highly affected states, and vaccination-coverage data from three nationwide surveys. RESULTS A total of 6584 cases of mumps were reported in 2006, with 76% occurring between March and May. There were 85 hospitalizations, but no deaths were reported; 85% of patients lived in eight contiguous midwestern states. The national incidence of mumps was 2.2 per 100,000, with the highest incidence among persons 18 to 24 years of age (an incidence 3.7 times that of all other age groups combined). In a subgroup analysis, 83% of these patients reported current college attendance. Among patients in eight highly affected states with known vaccination status, 63% overall and 84% between the ages of 18 and 24 years had received two doses of mumps vaccine. For the 12 years preceding the outbreak, national coverage of one-dose mumps vaccination among preschoolers was 89% or more nationwide and 86% or more in highly affected states. In 2006, the national two-dose coverage among adolescents was 87%, the highest in U.S. history. CONCLUSIONS Despite a high coverage rate with two doses of mumps-containing vaccine, a large mumps outbreak occurred, characterized by two-dose vaccine failure, particularly among midwestern college-age adults who probably received the second dose as schoolchildren. A more effective mumps vaccine or changes in vaccine policy may be needed to avert future outbreaks and achieve the elimination of mumps.
Optimized handling of permanent magnets within the mass production of electric traction drives

The intention of this paper is to describe the magnetization process of NdFeB-magnets in the series production of electric traction drives using different approaches. Therefore it was verified if magnets assembled in a rotor can be fully magnetized with a magnetizing device. In addition it was studied if the individual magnets can be de-magnetized using various methods and can be re-magnetized again. Two rotors were assembled with non-magnetized magnets, and were magnetized with a special magnetization fixture. To check the quality of this magnetization process, one rotor with manufacturer magnetized magnets was assembled, which serves as a comparative. All rotors were verified with a flux coil, which is built in the magnetization fixture. The rotors then were assembled using the same stator to become an electric machine. The back EMF and the speed-torque characteristics of this machine were measured on a test bench. After these tests, the magnets were removed from the rotors, measured with the Helmholtz coil. The results show that the magnetization process of in the rotor magnetized magnets provides a satisfactory result.
A DIACHRONIC STUDY OF THE NP STRUCTURE IN GHANAIAN NEWSPAPER EDITORIALS

In the last few decades, researchers have grown much interest in analyzing the structure of the NP in various domains. Dwelling on Quirk et al’s (1985) framework on NP complexities, this study investigates the NP structure in editorials form the Daily Graphic. Being a diachronic study, nine editorials form 1988, 1998 and 2008 were analysed. The analysis and discussion point to two key findings. First, there has been a gradual increase in the use of Head + PP structures in Ghanaian newspaper editorials. Second, the Determiner+Head has been the most preferred structure of premodification in editorials. These findings have implications for print media discourse, Historical linguistics and for further research.
Box polynomials and the excedance matrix

We consider properties of the box polynomials, a one variable polynomial defined over all integer partitions $\lambda$ whose Young diagrams fit in an $m$ by $n$ box. We show that these polynomials can be expressed by the finite difference operator applied to the power $x^{m+n}$. Evaluating box polynomials yields a variety of identities involving set partition enumeration. We extend the latter identities using restricted growth words and a new operator called the fast Fourier operator, and consider connections between set partition enumeration and the chromatic polynomial on graphs. We also give connections between the box polynomials and the excedance matrix, which encodes combinatorial data from a noncommutative quotient algebra motivated by the recurrence for the excedance set statistic on permutations.