Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Queueing Characteristics of the Best Effort Network Coding Strategy

Asynchronous network coding has the potential to improve wireless network performance compared with simple routing. However, to achieve the maximum network coding gain, the encoding node consumes a few computing and storage resources that may be unaffordable for wireless sensor networks such as CubeSats. An analogous threshold strategy, called best effort network coding (BENC), which requires only minimal storage resources and no computing resources, is investigated in this paper as an efficient and convenient method of network coding. In this strategy, a new packet arrival evicts the head packet when the queue is full to avoid excessively long waits. Moreover, in contrast to other methods that require a queue for each flow, the BENC uses only one queue for the two coded flows. In addition, the problem of time interval distribution for the output flow, which combines two independent flows, is investigated, and the network coding gain is then analyzed. While the maximum coding gain requires infinite buffer capacity under two independent Poisson arrivals with the same transmission rates, the calculation results show that the BENC needs only 4 buffers to achieve 90% of the maximum coding gain and can reach 99% of the maximum coding gain using 50 buffers. These results are verified by numerical simulations.
Linking information and people in a social system for academic conferences

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the feasibility of maintaining a social information system to support attendees at an academic conference. The main challenge of this work was to create an infrastructure where users’ social activities, such as bookmarking, tagging, and social linking could be used to enhance user navigation and maximize the users’ ability to locate two important types of information in conference settings: presentations to attend and attendees to meet. We developed Conference Navigator 3, a social conference support system that integrates a conference schedule planner with a social linking service. We examined its potential and functions in the context of a medium-scale academic conference. In this paper, we present the design of the system’s socially enabled features and report the results of a conference-based study. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of social information systems for supporting academic conferences. Despite the low number of potential users and the short timeframe in which conferences took place, the usage of the system was high enough to provide sufficient data for social mechanisms. The study shows that most critical social features were highly appreciated and used, and provides direction for further research.
Trends and Pattern of Population Ageing in India and West Bengal: A Comparative Study

Population ageing is a global issue which has multi-dimensional impacts on all economic issues of a nation. It is related to many demographic and vital statistics, economic status, health and social status of population. There is a huge variation of population ageing in India varying over state to state, religion to religion, community to community, locality of residences and sex etc. Remarkable shrinkages of population pyramids on population for India and West Bengal over 2001–2011 indicates a decline in fertility leading to an increase in the proportion of elderly population. Attempts have been made to assess ageing and its related aspects in India and West Bengal. Correlation and regression analysis have been employed to study impacts of % decadal growth rate of elderly in general population and human development index. The present study stands for a strong evidence for the Preston’s hypothesis that individuals born in richer countries, on an average, can expect to live longer than those born in poor countries.
Mechanisms of Acupuncture Therapy in Ischemic Stroke Rehabilitation: A Literature Review of Basic Studies

Acupuncture is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an alternative and complementary strategy for stroke treatment and for improving stroke care. Clinical trial and meta-analysis findings have demonstrated the efficacy of acupuncture in improving balance function, reducing spasticity, and increasing muscle strength and general well-being post-stroke. The mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of acupuncture in stroke rehabilitation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to conduct a literature review, summarize the current known mechanisms in ischemic stroke rehabilitation through acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA) therapy, and to detail the frequently used acupoints implicated in these effects. The evidence in this review indicates that five major different mechanisms are involved in the beneficial effects of acupuncture/EA on ischemic stroke rehabilitation: (1) Promotion of neurogenesis and cell proliferation in the central nervous system (CNS); (2) Regulation of cerebral blood flow in the ischemic area; (3) Anti-apoptosis in the ischemic area; (4) Regulation of neurochemicals; and, (5) Improvement of impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory after stroke. The most frequently used acupoints in basic studies include Baihui (GV20), Zusanli (ST36), Quchi (LI11), Shuigou (GV26), Dazhui (GV14), and Hegu (LI4). Our findings show that acupuncture exerts a beneficial effect on ischemic stroke through modulation of different mechanisms originating in the CNS.
Dynamic fault-tolerance and metrics for battery powered, failure-prone systems

Emerging VLSI technologies and platforms are giving rise to systems with inherently high potential for runtime failure. Such failures range from intermittent electrical and mechanical failures at the system level, to device failures at the chip level. Techniques to provide reliable computation in the presence of failures must do so while maintaining high performance, with an eye toward energy efficiency. When possible, they should maximize battery lifetime in the face of battery discharge non-linearities. This paper introduces the concept of adaptive fault-tolerance management for failure-prone systems, and a classification of local algorithms for achieving system-wide reliability. In order to judge the efficacy of the proposed algorithms for dynamic fault-tolerance management, a set of metrics, for characterizing system behavior in terms of energy efficiency, reliability, computation performance and battery lifetime, is presented. For an example platform employed in a realistic evaluation scenario, it is shown that system configurations with the best performance and lifetime are not necessarily those with the best combination of performance, reliability, battery lifetime and average power consumption.
Electric grid balancing through lowcost workload migration

Energy production must continuously match demand on the electric grid. A deficiency can lead to service disruptions, and a surplus can place tremendous stress on grid components, potentially causing major blackouts. To manage this balance, grid operators must increase or lower power generation, with only a few minutes to react. The grid balancing problem has also impeded the pace of integrating bountiful renewable resources (e.g., wind), whose generation is intermittent. An emerging plan to mitigate this problem is demand response, i.e., for grid operators to alter the electricity usage behavior of the masses through real-time price signals. But due to prohibitively high infrastructure costs and societal-scale adoption, tangible demand response mechanisms have so far been elusive. We believe that altering the usage patterns of a multitude of data centers can be a tangible, albeit initial, step towards affecting demand response. Growing in both density and size, today's data center designs are shaped by the increasing awareness of energy costs and carbon footprint. We posit that shifting computational workloads (and thus, demand) across geographic regions to match electricity supply may help balance the grid. In this paper we will first present a real grid balancing problem experienced in the Pacfic Northwest. We then propose a symbiotic relationship between data centers and grid operators by showing that mutual cost benefits can be accessible. Finally, we argue for a low cost workload migration mechanism, and pose overarching challenges in designing this framework.
Assessing climate change and urban heat island vulnerabilities in a built environment

A methodology is presented to assess local criticalities and resilience to climate changes (CC) and UHI (Urban Heat Island). This analysis will consider the expected impacts on the local energy demand of the built environment due to climate-related variations. Climate-related indicators are proposed to assess a vulnerability index to CC and UHI in specific building-design contexts. Furthermore, these indicators will be applied to a set of locations in the Mediterranean climate while taking into consideration different local contexts to evaluate the resilience of a sample residential building by using, among other strategies, dynamic energy simulations.
X-ray structures of the myosin motor domain of Dictyostelium discoideum complexed with MgADP.BeFx and MgADP.AlF4-.

The three-dimensional structures of the truncated myosin head from Dictyostelium discoideum myosin II complexed with beryllium and aluminum fluoride and magnesium ADP are reported at 2.0 and 2.6 A resolution, respectively. Crystals of the beryllium fluoride-MgADP complex belong to space group P2(1)2(1)2 with unit cell parameters of a = 105.3 A, b = 182.6 A, and c = 54.7 A, whereas the crystals of the aluminum fluoride complex belong to the orthorhombic space group C222(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 87.9 A, b = 149.0 A, and c = 153.8 A. Chemical modification was not necessary to obtain these crystals. These structures reveal the location of the nucleotide complexes and define the amino acid residues that form the active site. The tertiary structure of the protein complexed with MgADP.BeFx is essentially identical to that observed previously in the three-dimensional model of chicken skeletal muscle myosin subfragment-1 in which no nucleotide was present. By contrast, the complex with MgADP.AlF4- exhibits significant domain movements. The structures suggest that the MgADP.BeFx complex mimics the ATP bound state and the MgADP.AlF4- complex is an analog of the transition state for hydrolysis. The domain movements observed in the MgADP.AlF4- complex indicate that myosin undergoes a conformational change during hydrolysis that is not associated with the nucleotide binding pocket but rather occurs in the COOH-terminal segment of the myosin motor domain.
Serological evidence for transmission of multiple dengue virus serotypes in Papua New Guinea and West Papua prior to 1963

Little is known about the natural history of dengue in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We assessed dengue virus (DENV)-specific neutralizing antibody profiles in serum samples collected from northern and southern coastal areas and the highland region of New Guinea between 1959 and 1963. Neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in sera from the northern coast of New Guinea: from Sabron in Dutch New Guinea (now known as West Papua) and from four villages in East Sepik in what is now PNG. Previous monotypic infection with DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-4 was identified, with a predominance of anti-DENV-2 neutralizing antibody. The majority of positive sera demonstrated evidence of multiple previous DENV infections and neutralizing activity against all four serotypes was detected, with anti-DENV-2 responses being most frequent and of greatest magnitude. No evidence of previous DENV infection was identified in the Asmat villages of the southern coast and a single anti-DENV-positive sample was identified in the Eastern Highlands of PNG. These findings indicate that multiple DENV serotypes circulated along the northern coast of New Guinea at different times in the decades prior to 1963 and support the notion that dengue has been a significant yet neglected tropical infection in PNG for many decades.
CommBench-a telecommunications benchmark for network processors

The paper presents a benchmark, CommBench, for use in evaluating and designing telecommunications network processors. The benchmark applications focus on small, computationally intense program kernels typical of the network processor environment. The benchmark is composed of eight programs, four of them oriented towards packet header processing and four oriented towards data stream processing. The benchmark is defined and characteristics such as instruction frequencies, computational complexity, and cache performance are presented. These measured characteristics are compared to the standard SPEC benchmark. Three examples are presented indicating how CommBench can aid in the design of a single chip network multiprocessor.
Tropical cyclogenesis as revealed by the NOGAPS analysis

Recent improvements in satellite retrievals, data assimilation schemes and numerical models have all contributed to a significant improvement in the quality of global analyzed fields, rendering them capable of representing realistic atmospheric states in data sparse regions such as open oceans. To understand the processes associated with tropical cyclogenesis, the Naval Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) analysis fields are used to study tropical synopticscale disturbances pre-exist hurricanes occurred in the North Atlantic summer season of 2004. A 3-8day bandpass filter is applied to the analyzed fields to extract out the synoptic-scale disturbances.
Dissolved organic matter export from a forested watershed during Hurricane Irene

We incorporate high‐resolution time‐series data to calculate the total amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) transported during Hurricane Irene in Esopus Creek in New York (August 2011). During this 200‐yr event the Esopus Creek experienced a 330‐fold discharge increase and a 4‐fold increase in concentration, resulting in the export of roughly 43% and 31% of its average annual DOC and DON fluxes, respectively, in just 5 days. The source of this large dissolved organic matter (DOM) flux also shifted during its course and showed an increased contribution of aromatic organic matter. We conclude that more frequent large events due to climate change will increase the export of terrigenous dissolved organic matter, and potentially impact the water quality and biogeochemistry of lakes and coastal systems. In addition, we show that the use of conventional models for extreme events lead to erroneous flux calculations, unless supported by high resolution data collected during the events.
The Rofental: a high Alpine research basin (1890–3770 m a.s.l.) in the Ötztal Alps (Austria) with over 150 years of hydrometeorological and glaciological observations

Abstract. A comprehensive hydrometeorological and glaciological data set is presented, originating from a multitude of glaciological, meteorological, hydrological and laser scanning recordings at research sites in the Rofental (1891–3772 m a.s.l., Otztal Alps, Austria). The data sets span a period of 150 years and hence represent a unique time series of rich high-altitude mountain observations. Their collection was originally initiated to support scientific investigation of the glaciers Hintereisferner, Kesselwandferner and Vernagtferner. Annual mass balance, glacier front variation, flow velocities and photographic records of the status of these glaciers were recorded. Later, additional measurements of meteorological and hydrological variables were undertaken, and over time a number of autonomous weather stations and runoff gauges were brought into operation; the available data now comprise records of temperature, relative humidity, short- and longwave radiation, wind speed and direction, air pressure, precipitation, and river water levels. Since 2001, a series of distributed (airborne and terrestrial) laser scans is available, along with associated digital surface models. In 2016 a permanent terrestrial laser scanner was installed on Im hintern Eis (3244 m a.s.l.) to continuously observe almost the entire area of Hintereisferner. The data and research undertaken at the sites of investigation in the Rofental area enable combined research of cryospheric, atmospheric and hydrological processes in complex terrain, and support the development of several state-of-the-art glacier mass balance and hydroclimatological models. The institutions taking part in the Rofental research framework promote their site in several international research initiatives. In INARCH (International Network for Alpine Research Catchment Hydrology, http://words.usask.ca/inarch ), all original research data sets are now provided to the scientific community according to the Creative Commons Attribution License by means of the PANGAEA repository ( https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876120 ).
Haplotyping for Disease Association: A Combinatorial Approach

We consider a combinatorial problem derived from haplotyping a population with respect to a , either recessive or dominant. Given a set of individuals, partitioned into healthy and diseased, and the corresponding sets of genotypes, we want to infer "bad" and "good" haplotypes to account for these genotypes and for the disease. Assume, for example, that the disease is recessive. Then, the resolving haplotypes must consist of bad and good haplotypes so that 1) each genotype belonging to a diseased individual is explained by a pair of bad haplotypes and 2) each genotype belonging to a healthy individual is explained by a pair of haplotypes of which at least one is good. We prove that the associated decision problem is NP-complete. However, we also prove that there is a simple solution, provided that the data satisfy a very weak requirement.
Detection of Healthy and Defected Diseased Leaf of Rice Crop using K-Means Clustering Technique

Rice covers about 69 percent of the cultivated area and is the major crop covering about 63 percent of total area under the food grains [1]. It is a staple food of almost entire population of Odisha; therefore state economy has directly affected the production of rice in the state [1]. The common disorder found in the rice crop and usually appears at the tillering and panicle initiation stage which shows on the leaves of rice crop [2]. The disorder is due to mineral deficiency and infection caused by the pest. The disorders are visualized by discoloration and dead spots on leaves. It may beneficial for detecting defected diseased leaf by the symptoms that found on the surface of leaves [3]. In this paper, a novel approach to identify defected diseased leaf by using K-Means clustering or 3-Means clustering method is proposed. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the proposed method is an impressive technique for the detection of defected part present on the leaves of the rice crop.
Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Background—Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an advancing mode of treatment for inoperable or high-risk patients with aortic stenosis. Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) after TAVI is a serious complication, but only limited data exist on its incidence, outcome, and procedural risk factors. Methods and Results—Observational single-center study of 509 consecutive patients treated with a transcatheter implanted self-expandable aortic valve prosthesis (Medtronic CoreValve). We identified 18 patients diagnosed with TAVI-PVE during a median follow-up period of 1.4 years (interquartile range, 0.5–2.5 years; longest follow-up was 6.3 years). TAVI-PVE was most frequent in the first year after implantation (first-year incidence, 3.1% [confidence interval, 1.4%–4.8%]); the overall annualized rate was 2.1% per patient-year (confidence interval, 1.2%–3.3%). Seventeen patients (94%) were treated conservatively and 1 with surgery. Four patients (22%) died from endocarditis or complications to treatment, 2 of those (11%) during initial hospitalization for PVE. An increased risk of TAVI-PVE was seen in patients with low implanted valve position (hazard ratio, 2.8 [1.1–7.2]), moderate or worse postprocedural paravalvular regurgitation (hazard ratio, 4.0 [1.5–11]), implantation of >1 prosthesis (hazard ratio, 5.2 [1.5–18]), and any vascular complication (hazard ratio, 3.8 [1.5–9.8]). Conclusions—TAVI-PVE occurred at a slightly higher rate than reported for surgically implanted valves. Conservative treatment was associated with an acceptable outcome. Suboptimal valve deployment and vascular complications were associated with an increased risk of TAVI-PVE.
UMA Media base – Metadata Management using Oracle Database System

This paper describes the media base in a Universal Multimedia Access (UMA) test bed for handling multimedia presentations in an MPEG-21 environment. The media base introduces an effective way of storing, query organizing, exchanging important metadata and key Digital Items on the server side of a UMA enabled system. The functionality of the media base is demonstrated through an implemented application for streaming of adapted MPEG4 media resources over the MPEG-21 multimedia framework.
Interlocking Phrases in Phrase-based Statistical Machine Translation

This paper presents an study of the use of interlocking phrases in phrase-based statistical machine translation. We examine the effect on translation quality when the translation units used in the translation hypotheses are allowed to overlap on the source side, on the target side and on both sides. A large-scale evaluation on 380 language pairs was conducted. Our results show that overall the use of overlapping phrases improved translation quality by 0.3 BLEU points on average. Further analysis revealed that language pairs requiring a larger amount of re-ordering benefited the most from our approach. When the evaluation was restricted to such pairs, the average improvement increased to up to 0.75 BLEU points with over 97% of the pairs improving. Our approach requires only a simple modification to the decoding algorithm and we believe it should be generally applicable to improve the performance of phrase-based decoders.
Successful Use of Adalimumab for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis with Autoimmune Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Two Birds with One Stone

To the Editor: There is considerable evidence to suggest that hearing and vestibular function can be influenced by autoimmune processes. In 1979, McCabe1 reported 18 cases of patients with progressive bilateral hearing loss who responded to corticosteroids and/or cyclophosphamide. An autoimmune mechanism was suggested and he called this entity “autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss” (ASHL). A number of systemic autoimmune disorders include hearing loss and vertigo among their constellation of symptoms. Although evidence for a specific autoimmune etiology mediated by an immune response directed solely at the inner ear is elusive, it appears that autoimmune damage can also exist as an entity confined to the labyrinth. Antigenic targets of autoimmunity within the labyrinth seem to be diverse. Partly because of this, the condition is difficult to diagnose2. Various tests can be used to detect specific antibodies directed against antigens, such as 58 kDa protein3, 68 kDa protein2, and P0 protein4 …