Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PERSONALIZED CONTENT BROWSING BASED ON NOTIONS OF CONTEXT

In this paper we propose a system that facilitates users to browse through related multimedia documents in an efficient manner. The system utilizes the notion of Electronic Roads to make content browsing more effective; that is, it provides them with intelligent personalized content retrieval services, using relevance feedback together with a novel document clustering algorithm. The above notions are integrated in a system for browsing of culture – related multimedia documents.
Grassmannian delay-tolerant limited feedback for interference alignment

In this paper, we propose a delay-tolerant limited feedback algorithm for single-input single-output (SISO) interference alignment. The temporal correlation and band limitation of the time-selective fading process is exploited to model the channel impulse response with a low-dimensional basis expansion. The algorithm tracks and feeds back the evolution of the basis expansion coefficients on the Grassmannian manifold. These coefficients allow the transmitter to predict the future channel realizations to compensate the feedback delay. By feeding back the quantized basis expansion coefficients instead of the channel impulse responses, the number of feedback bits can be substantially reduced. Our numerical results demonstrate that by exploiting the subspace structure of the time-variant channel we can reduce the amount of feedback to 2 bits per channel realization.
A Graph-Theoretic Method to Representing a Concept Lattice

Concept lattices are indeed lattices. In this paper, we present a new relatio nship between lattices and graphs: given a binary relation I, we define an underlying graph DI, and find out the constitution in the set of cover elements of the minimum eleme nt of the concept lattice of I using the properties of DI. The following is to provide a way to establish a one-to-one correspondence between the set of covers of an element in the concept lattice and the set of covers of the minimum in a sublattice of the concept lattice. We apply the one-to-one correspondence to define a new underlying graph, an d generate the elements of the lattice.
NoVoHT : a Lightweight Dynamic Persistent NoSQL Key / Value Store

With the increased scale of systems in use and the need to quickly store and retrieve information, key/value stores are becoming an important element in the design of large-scale storage systems. Key/value stores are well known for their simplistic interfaces, persistent nature, and excellent operational efficiency – they are also known as NoSQL databases. This paper presents the design and implementation of a non-volatile hash table (NoVoHT). NoVoHT was designed from the ground up to be lightweight, fast, and dependency-free. Our goal was to create a fast persistent key/value store that could be easily integrated and operated in lightweight Linux OS typically found on today’s supercomputers. We also aimed to develop a system that performed as close as possible to an in-memory hash map, but with the added benefit of being persistent. We also extended the traditional key/value store interface (e.g. insert, lookup, remove) to include a novel operation (e.g. append) that has allowed NoVoHT to efficiently support lock-free concurrent write operations. NoVoHT is also dynamic, supporting live migration across node boundaries. We have run comparisons at significant scales against some of the more commonly used key value stores and have shown that NoVoHT can perform similarly or better than other systems such as Kyoto Cabinet, and BerkeleyDB. We observed up to 165K+ operations per second, up to 32X better performance than competing systems. We have evaluated NoVoHT with solid state disks (SSD) and have deployed NoVoHT as the persistent back-end of a distributed hash table (ZHT) on an IBM BlueGene/P supercomputer at up to 32K-cores.
The Major Phosphorylation Sites of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Phosphoprotein Are Dispensable for Virus Replication In Vitro

ABSTRACT The phosphoprotein (P protein) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a key component of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex. The protein is constitutively phosphorylated at the two clusters of serine residues (116, 117, and 119 [116/117/119] and 232 and 237 [232/237]). To examine the role of phosphorylation of the RSV P protein in virus replication, these five serine residues were altered to eliminate their phosphorylation potential, and the mutant proteins were analyzed for their functions with a minigenome assay. The reporter gene expression was reduced by 20% when all five phosphorylation sites were eliminated. Mutants with knockout mutations at two phosphorylation sites (S232A/S237A [PP2]) and at five phosphorylation sites (S116L/S117R/S119L/S232A/S237A [PP5]) were introduced into the infectious RSV A2 strain. Immunoprecipitation of 33Pi-labeled infected cells showed that P protein phosphorylation was reduced by 80% for rA2-PP2 and 95% for rA2-PP5. The interaction between the nucleocapsid (N) protein and P protein was reduced in rA2-PP2- and rA2-PP5-infected cells by 30 and 60%, respectively. Although the two recombinant viruses replicated well in Vero cells, rA2-PP2 and, to a greater extent, rA2-PP5, replicated poorly in HEp-2 cells. Virus budding from the infected HEp-2 cells was affected by dephosphorylation of P protein, because the majority of rA2-PP5 remained cell associated. In addition, rA2-PP5 was also more attenuated than rA2-PP2 in replication in the respiratory tracts of mice and cotton rats. Thus, our data suggest that although the major phosphorylation sites of RSV P protein are dispensable for virus replication in vitro, phosphorylation of P protein is required for efficient virus replication in vitro and in vivo.
Effects of Electrical Stimulation on Wound Healing in Patients With Diabetic Ulcers

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of two stimulation waveforms on healing rates in patients with diabetes and open ulcers. The hypothesis was that stimulus waveforms with minimal polar characteristics would provide significant healing for this patient sample. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a prospective study that enrolled 80 patients with open ulcers. Patients received stimulation with either an asymmetric biphasic (A) or symmetric biphasic (B) square-wave pulse. Amplitudes were set to activate intact peripheral nerves in the skin. Two other groups received either very low levels of stimulation current (MC), or no electrical stimulation (C). When combined these groups were referred to as the control group. Treatment was carried out daily until the wound healed, the patient withdrew from the study, or the physician changed the overall wound management program. Average healing rates were calculated from weekly measures of the wound perimeter and were used for statistical comparison through a one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS Stimulation with the A protocol significantly increased the healing rate, enhancing healing by nearly 60% over the control rate of healing. Stimulation with the B protocol did not increase the healing rate when compared with control subjects. CONCLUSIONS Electrical stimulation, given daily with a short pulsed, asymmetric biphasic waveform, was effective for enhancement of healing rates for patients with diabetes and open ulcers.
HtrA3 as an Early Marker for Preeclampsia: Specific Monoclonal Antibodies and Sensitive High-Throughput Assays for Serum Screening

Mammalian HtrA3 (high temperature requirement A3) is a serine protease of the HtrA family. It has two isoforms [long (HtrA3-L) and short (HtrA3-S)] and is important for placental development and cancer progression. Recently, HtrA3 was identified as a potential diagnostic marker for early detection of preeclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy-specific disorder. Currently there are no high-throughput assays available to detect HtrA3 in human serum. In this study we generated and fully tested a panel of five HtrA3 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Three mAbs recognised both HtrA3-L and HtrA3-S and the other two detected HtrA3-L only. All five mAbs were highly specific to HtrA3 and applicable in western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis of endogenous HtrA3 proteins in the mouse and human tissues. Amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assays-linked immunosorbent assays (AlphaLISAs), were developed to detect HtrA3 isoforms in picomolar levels in serum. The HtrA3 AlphaLISA detected significantly higher serum levels of HtrA3 in women at 13–14 weeks of gestation who subsequently developed preeclampsia compared to gestational-age matched controls. These HtrA3 mAbs are valuable for the development of immunoassays and characterisation of HtrA3 isoform-specific biology. The newly developed HtrA3 AlphaLISA assays are suitable for large scale screening of human serum.
Embodied hyperacuity from Bayesian perception: Shape and position discrimination with an iCub fingertip sensor

Recent advances in modeling animal perception has motivated an approach of Bayesian perception applied to biomimetic robots. This study presents an initial application of Bayesian perception on an iCub fingertip sensor mounted on a dedicated positioning robot. We systematically probed the test system with five cylindrical stimuli offset by a range of positions relative to the fingertip. Testing the real-time speed and accuracy of shape and position discrimination, we achieved sub-millimeter accuracy with just a few taps. This result is apparently the first explicit demonstration of perceptual hyperacuity in robot touch, in that object positions are perceived more accurately than the taxel spacing. We also found substantial performance gains when the fingertip can reposition itself to avoid poor perceptual locations, which indicates that improved robot perception could mimic active perception in animals.
Information encryption systems based on Boolean functions

An information encryption system based on Boolean functions is proposed. Information processing is done using multidimensional matrices, performing logical operations with these matrices. At the basis of ensuring high level security of the system the complexity of solving the problem of building systems of Boolean functions that depend on many variables (tens and hundreds) is set. Such systems represent the private key. It varies both during the encryption and decryption of information, and during the transition from one message to another.
pH‐regulated gene expression in Salmonella: genetic analysis of aniG and cloning of the earA regulator

The recently described aniG locus exhibits a series of unique regulatory features. The gene is exogenously coinduced by acid and D‐mannose, its expression is maximal under anaerobiosis, and the system is regulated in an unusual manner by cyclic AMP. The external acid regulatory locus, earA, is a repressor protein that mediates the acid and mannose control of aniG. The earA locus was cloned and found to code for a 33 K protein associated with membrane‐ and soluble fractions. A second locus, earB, was located immediately upstream from earA. The earB locus or its product interferes with the repression of aniG by EarA. Mutations in crp and cya were found to prevent transcription of aniG but only in an earA+ background. Analysis of an earA‐cat fusion established that crp does not affect earA expression.
Human cerebrospinal fluid central memory CD4+ T cells: Evidence for trafficking through choroid plexus and meninges via P-selectin

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from healthy individuals contains between 1,000 and 3,000 leukocytes per ml. Little is known about trafficking patterns of leukocytes between the systemic circulation and the noninflamed CNS. In the current study, we characterized the surface phenotype of CSF cells and defined the expression of selected adhesion molecules on vasculature in the choroid plexus, the subarachnoid space surrounding the cerebral cortex, and the cerebral parenchyma. Using multicolor flow cytometry, we found that CSF cells predominantly consisted of CD4+/CD45RA-/CD27+/CD69+-activated central memory T cells expressing high levels of CCR7 and L-selectin. CD3+ T cells were present in the choroid plexus stroma in autopsy CNS tissue sections from individuals who died without known neurological disorders. P- and E-selectin immunoreactivity was detected in large venules in the choroid plexus and subarachnoid space, but not in parenchymal microvessels. CD4+ T cells in the CSF expressed high levels of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1, and a subpopulation of circulating CD4+ T cells displayed P-selectin binding activity. Intercellular adhesion molecule 1, but not vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 or mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1, was expressed in choroid plexus and subarachnoid space vessels. Based on these findings, we propose that T cells are recruited to the CSF through interactions between P-selectin/P-selectin ligands and intercellular adhesion molecule 1/lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 in choroid plexus and subarachnoid space venules. These results support the overall hypothesis that activated memory T cells enter CSF directly from the systemic circulation and monitor the subarachnoid space, retaining the capacity to either initiate local immune reactions or return to secondary lymphoid organs.
Information theoretical approach to discovering solar wind drivers of the outer radiation belt

The solar wind‐magnetosphere system is nonlinear. The solar wind drivers of geosynchronous electrons with energy range of 1.8–3.5 MeV are investigated using mutual information, conditional mutual information (CMI), and transfer entropy (TE). These information theoretical tools can establish linear and nonlinear relationships as well as information transfer. The information transfer from solar wind velocity (Vsw) to geosynchronous MeV electron flux (Je) peaks with a lag time of 2 days. As previously reported, Je is anticorrelated with solar wind density (nsw) with a lag of 1 day. However, this lag time and anticorrelation can be attributed at least partly to the Je(t + 2 days) correlation with Vsw(t) and nsw(t + 1 day) anticorrelation with Vsw(t). Analyses of solar wind driving of the magnetosphere need to consider the large lag times, up to 3 days, in the (Vsw, nsw) anticorrelation. Using CMI to remove the effects of Vsw, the response of Je to nsw is 30% smaller and has a lag time < 24 h, suggesting that the MeV electron loss mechanism due to nsw or solar wind dynamic pressure has to start operating in < 24 h. nsw transfers about 36% as much information as Vsw (the primary driver) to Je. Nonstationarity in the system dynamics is investigated using windowed TE. When the data are ordered according to transfer entropy value, it is possible to understand details of the triangle distribution that has been identified between Je(t + 2 days) versus Vsw(t).
Thinking clearly about the endophenotype–intermediate phenotype–biomarker distinctions in developmental psychopathology research

Abstract The endophenotype is central to modern developmental psychopathology studies. It is used in studies seeking to connect the genetic substrates of the panoply of major mental disorders with processes, tapped by laboratory and other assessment measures, in the genotype to a behavior/psychopathology pathway. Proposed originally by Gottesman and Shields (1972; Shields & Gottesman, 1973) 41 years ago, the endophenotype concept has gained widespread traction in psychopathology research since the Gottesman and Gould (2003) review. Other concepts broadly related to the endophenotype notion have also generated discussion in experimental and developmental psychopathology research. One is the intermediate phenotype, a concept proffered as a putative alternative formulation to the endophenotype. Another concept in this intellectual vein is biomarker. The terms endophenotype, intermediate phenotype, and biomarker have often been used interchangeably in the psychiatric literature, yielding conceptual confusion. However, these three terms are not fungible. The recent Research Domain Criteria proposal from the National Institute of Mental Health has emphasized selected underlying processes thought to be of developmental etiologic significance to psychopathology. These selected processes will be the focus of energetic future research efforts, many of which will make use of the endophenotype and biomarker research paradigms. In this context, the concepts of endophenotype, intermediate phenotype, and biomarker are examined critically and contrasted in terms of meaning, intention, clarity, and intellectual history. This analysis favors use of the endophenotype concept in genetically informed laboratory and neuroscience studies of psychopathology. The term intermediate phenotype is perhaps best restricted to its originally defined meaning in genetics. Biomarker is used to denote objectively measured biological antecedents or consequences of normal or pathogenic processes or a physiologic response to a therapeutic intervention.
Operating system support for overlapping-ISA heterogeneous multi-core architectures

A heterogeneous processor consists of cores that are asymmetric in performance and functionality. Such a design provides a cost-effective solution for processor manufacturers to continuously improve both single-thread performance and multi-thread throughput. This design, however, faces significant challenges in the operating system, which traditionally assumes only homogeneous hardware. This paper presents a comprehensive study of OS support for heterogeneous architectures in which cores have asymmetric performance and overlapping, but non-identical instruction sets. Our algorithms allow applications to transparently execute and fairly share different types of cores. We have implemented these algorithms in the Linux 2.6. 24 kernel and evaluated them on an actual heterogeneous platform. Evaluation results demonstrate that our designs efficiently manage heterogeneous hardware and enable significant performance improvements for a range of applications.
A Method for Improving Delay-Sensitive Accuracy in Real-Time Embedded Systems

Timeliness and accuracy are two major concerns in many real-time embedded systems working in dynamic environments. It has been emphasized in the literature that in various real-time applications such as control systems and Kalman filters, delay is one main source of inaccuracy in the system. In this paper, we present a solution based on scheduling algorithms for the problem of inaccuracy in such systems. To this aim, first an accuracy model is introduced for systems which their accuracy is influenced by sampling and I/O delays. Then an algorithm called adjacency trade is presented to improve system accuracy while maintaining its timeliness. This algorithm follows an iterative approach and can be applied to each priority-based scheduling algorithm with no intervention in respecting the deadlines. Finally, through various simulation experiments, the effectiveness of this algorithm is examined against some algorithms in the literature.
Fast Density Estimation for Approximated k Nearest Neighbor Classification

We propose a method for fast density estimation of samples, which makes it possible to significantly accelerate classification based on the k nearest neighbor (kNN) method. Our main premise is that many trials of a rough estimation of probability density function are conducted, and they are integrated by Bayes’ theorem. The experimental results indicated that the classification time used in our method was at least 30 times faster than that of kNN.
Boolean logic optimization in Majority-Inverter Graphs

We present a Boolean logic optimization framework based on Majority-Inverter Graph (MIG). An MIG is a directed acyclic graph consisting of three-input majority nodes and regular/complemented edges. Current MIG optimization is supported by a consistent algebraic framework. However, when algebraic methods cannot improve a result quality, stronger Boolean methods are needed to attain further optimization. For this purpose, we propose MIG Boolean methods exploiting the error masking property of majority operators. Our MIG Boolean methods insert logic errors that strongly simplify an MIG while being successively masked by the voting nature of majority nodes. Thanks to the data-structure/methodology fitness, our MIG Boolean methods run in principle as fast as algebraic counterparts. Experiments show that our Boolean methodology combined with state-of-art MIG algebraic techniques enable superior optimization quality. For example, when targeting depth reduction, our MIG optimizer transforms a ripple carry adder into a carry look-ahead one. Considering the set of IWLS'05 (arithmetic intensive) benchmarks, our MIG optimizer reduces by 17.98% (26.69%) the logic network depth while also enhancing size and power activity metrics, with respect to ABC academic optimizer. Without MIG Boolean methods, i.e., using MIG algebraic optimization alone, the previous gains are halved. Employed as front-end to a delay-critical 22-nm ASIC flow (logic synthesis + physical design) our MIG optimizer reduces the average delay/area/power by (15.07%, 4.93%, 1.93%), over 27 academic and industrial benchmarks, as compared to a leading commercial ASIC flow.
Performance Evaluation of Distributed Precoding Schemes for Multicell OFDM Systems

In this paper we propose and evaluate distributed multiuser linear precoding techniques for the downlink of multicell MIMO OFDM systems. The precoder is designed in two phases: first the intercell interference is removed by applying a set of precoding vectors computed in a distributed manner at each BS; then the system is further optimized through power allocation. Three centralized power allocation algorithms with per-BS power constraint and different complexity tradeoffs are proposed: one optimal to minimize the average BER and two suboptimal. The performances of the proposed schemes are compared to the centralized multicell based approaches recently proposed, and evaluated considering typical pedestrian scenarios. Numerical results show that the proposed suboptimal schemes achieve a performance very close to the optimal. Also, it is shown that for the same degrees of freedom the performance is closed to the one of centralized precoding schemes but with much lower feedback load over the backhaul network.
Satisfaction with the political domain of local government in a contemporary British city

This paper explores satisfaction with the political domain of local government performance, using survey data from a contemporary British city as the empirical context. It employs a factor-augmented ordered logit analysis of data emerging from a representative city-wide series of over one thousand household interviews. Affective reactions to local economic performance and policy effectiveness are constructed in the spirit of the approach used in earlier work by social scientists. The key significant influences that raise or depress satisfaction at this geographical level are presented. Affective reactions to past policy and the economy are both shown to be statistically significant, but with reactions to the economy being negative while those for other policy reactions seemingly positive.