Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speculative synchronization for coherence-free embedded NUMA architectures

High-end embedded systems, like their general-purpose counterparts, are turning to many-core cluster-based shared-memory architectures that provide a shared memory abstraction subject to non-uniform memory access (NUMA) costs. In order to keep the cores and memory hierarchy simple, many-core embedded systems tend to employ simple, scratchpad-like memories, rather than hardware managed caches that require some form of cache coherence management. These “coherence-free” systems still require some means to synchronize memory accesses and guarantee memory consistency. Conventional lock-based approaches may be employed to accomplish the synchronization, but may lead to both useability and performance issues. Instead, speculative synchronization, such as hardware transactional memory, may be a more attractive approach. However, hardware speculative techniques traditionally rely on the underlying cache-coherence protocol to synchronize memory accesses among the cores. The lack of a cache-coherence protocol adds new challenges in the design of hardware speculative support. In this paper, we present a new scheme for hardware transactional memory support within a cluster-based NUMA system that lacks an underlying cache-coherence protocol. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first design for speculative synchronization for this type of architecture. Through a set of benchmark experiments using our simulation platform, we show that our design can achieve significant performance improvements over traditional lock-based schemes.
Multi-Scale Modeling Predicts a Balance of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Interleukin-10 Controls the Granuloma Environment during Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are key anti- and pro-inflammatory mediators elicited during the host immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Understanding the opposing effects of these mediators is difficult due to the complexity of processes acting across different spatial (molecular, cellular, and tissue) and temporal (seconds to years) scales. We take an in silico approach and use multi-scale agent based modeling of the immune response to Mtb, including molecular scale details for both TNF-α and IL-10. Our model predicts that IL-10 is necessary to modulate macrophage activation levels and to prevent host-induced tissue damage in a granuloma, an aggregate of cells that forms in response to Mtb. We show that TNF-α and IL-10 parameters related to synthesis, signaling, and spatial distribution processes control concentrations of TNF-α and IL-10 in a granuloma and determine infection outcome in the long-term. We devise an overall measure of granuloma function based on three metrics – total bacterial load, macrophage activation levels, and apoptosis of resting macrophages – and use this metric to demonstrate a balance of TNF-α and IL-10 concentrations is essential to Mtb infection control, within a single granuloma, with minimal host-induced tissue damage. Our findings suggest that a balance of TNF-α and IL-10 defines a granuloma environment that may be beneficial for both host and pathogen, but perturbing the balance could be used as a novel therapeutic strategy to modulate infection outcomes.
A Reference Architecture for Healthcare Supportive Home Systems

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) has become focus of attention for governmental organisations, and healthcare and ICT researchers. AAL includes methods, products, services, and software systems to support the everyday lives of elders. To develop AAL software systems, reference architectures (i.e., a special software architecture that guides the development, standardization, and evolution of systems architectures) have been proposed. Despite of the existing reference architectures, their use is a difficult task, due their high level of abstraction. Moreover, these architectures do not support the development of systems for telemonitoring and self-management of chronic diseases at home. The main objective of this project is to propose a reference architecture for Healthcare Supportive Home (HSH) systems. With this project we will contribute in promoting and reusing the knowledge of expertise and in supporting the development, standardization, evolution, and quality of HSH software systems.
Visualization of uncertain particle movement

This paper addresses the computation and visualization of the uncertainty associated with the positions of moving particles, using temporal projections based on uncertain knowledge of previous particle position and velocity. First, we present an algorithm for computing the probability distribution describing the position of a particle moving in 2D or 3D space, given the probability distributions that separately characterize the initial position, speed, and direction of the particle. The initial distributions are arbitrary, but the special case of Gaussian distributions is considered in greater detail. We also discuss the algorithmic complexity of the algorithm, and ways to improve its performance. Three visualization techniques (galaxy, transparency, and pseudo-color) are developed to represent the resulting probability distribution associated with the particle at a later time. An appropriate time-dependent sampling approach is adopted to make the visualizations more comprehensible to the human viewer. Experiments with different distributions indicate that the resulting visualizations often take the form of recognizable real-world shapes, assisting the user in understanding the nature of a particle’s movement.
Neighbourhood detection and identification of spatio-temporal dynamical systems using a coarse-to-fine approach

A novel approach to the determination of the neighbourhood and the identification of spatio-temporal dynamical systems is investigated. It is shown that thresholding to convert the pattern to a binary pattern and then applying cellular automata (CA) neighbourhood detection methods can provide an initial estimate of the neighbourhood. A coupled map lattice model can then be identified using the CA detected neighbourhood as the initial conditions. This provides a coarse-to-fine approach for neighbourhood detection and identification of coupled map lattice models. Three examples are used to demonstrate the application of the new approach.
Unintended Consequences of Nationwide Electronic Health Record Adoption: Challenges and Opportunities in the Post-Meaningful Use Era

The US health system has recently achieved widespread adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems, primarily driven by financial incentives provided by the Meaningful Use (MU) program. Although successful in promoting EHR adoption and use, the program, and other contributing factors, also produced important unintended consequences (UCs) with far-reaching implications for the US health system. Based on our own experiences from large health information technology (HIT) adoption projects and a collection of key studies in HIT evaluation, we discuss the most prominent UCs of MU: failed expectations, EHR market saturation, innovation vacuum, physician burnout, and data obfuscation. We identify challenges resulting from these UCs and provide recommendations for future research to empower the broader medical and informatics communities to realize the full potential of a now digitized health system. We believe that fixing these unanticipated effects will demand efforts from diverse players such as health care providers, administrators, HIT vendors, policy makers, informatics researchers, funding agencies, and outside developers; promotion of new business models; collaboration between academic medical centers and informatics research departments; and improved methods for evaluations of HIT.
Reasoning about Saturated Conditional Independence Under Uncertainty: Axioms, Algorithms, and Levesque's Situations to the Rescue

The implication problem of probabilistic conditional independencies is investigated in the presence of missing data. Here, graph separation axioms fail to hold for saturated conditional independencies, unlike the known idealized case with no missing data. Several axiomatic, algorithmic, and logical characterizations of the implication problem for saturated conditional independencies are established. In particular, equivalences are shown to the implication problem of a propositional fragment under Levesque's situations, and that of Lien's class of multivalued database dependencies under null values.
Quadrivalent HPV vaccine safety review and safety monitoring plans for nine-valent HPV vaccine in the United States

ABSTRACT Quadrivalent human papillomavirus (4vHPV) vaccine was licensed for use in the United States in 2006 and through 2015 was the predominate HPV vaccine used. With the exception of syncope, a known preventable adverse event after any injected vaccination, both pre-licensure and post-licensure 4vHPV safety data have been reassuring with no confirmed safety signals identified. Nine-valent HPV vaccine (9vHPV) was licensed in 2014. This review includes post-licensure 4vHPV safety findings published to date that have informed the US vaccination program; these data will inform US safety monitoring and evaluation for 9vHPV.
Structure-based ASCII art

The wide availability and popularity of text-based communication channels encourage the usage of ASCII art in representing images. Existing tone-based ASCII art generation methods lead to halftone-like results and require high text resolution for display, as higher text resolution offers more tone variety. This paper presents a novel method to generate structure-based ASCII art that is currently mostly created by hand. It approximates the major line structure of the reference image content with the shape of characters. Representing the unlimited image content with the extremely limited shapes and restrictive placement of characters makes this problem challenging. Most existing shape similarity metrics either fail to address the misalignment in real-world scenarios, or are unable to account for the differences in position, orientation and scaling. Our key contribution is a novel alignment-insensitive shape similarity (AISS) metric that tolerates misalignment of shapes while accounting for the differences in position, orientation and scaling. Together with the constrained deformation approach, we formulate the ASCII art generation as an optimization that minimizes shape dissimilarity and deformation. Convincing results and user study are shown to demonstrate its effectiveness.
String Searching in Dispersed Files using MDS Convolutional Codes

— In this paper, we propose use of convolutional codes for ﬁ le dispersal. The proposed method is comparable in complexity to the information Dispersal Algorithm proposed by M.Rabin and for particular choices of (non-binary) convolutional codes, is almost as efficient as that algorithm in terms of controlling expansion in the total storage. Further, our proposed dispersal method allows string search.
The evolution of cooperative breeding through group augmentation

Some individuals (helpers) in cooperatively breeding species provide alloparental care and often suppress their own reproduction. Kin selection is clearly an important explanation for such behaviour, but a possible alternative is group augmentation where individuals survive or reproduce better in large groups and where it therefore pays to recruit new members to the group. The evolutionary stability of group augmentation is currently disputed. We model evolutionarily stable helping strategies by following the dynamics of social groups with varying degrees of subordinate help. We also distinguish between passive augmentation, where a group member benefits from the mere presence of others, and active augmentation, where their presence as such is neutral or harmful, but where helping to recruit new group members may still be beneficial if they in turn actively provide help for the current reproductives ('delayed reciprocity'). The results show that group augmentation (either passive or active) can be evolutionarily stable and explain costly helping by non–reproductive subordinates, either alone or leading to elevated help levels when acting in concert with kin selection. Group augmentation can thus potentially explain the weak relationships between relatedness and helping behaviour that are observed in some cooperatively breeding species. In some cases, the superior mutualistic performance of cooperatively behaving groups can generate an incentive to stay and help which is strong enough to make ecological constraints unnecessary for explaining the stability of cooperatively breeding groups.
The 2Mass Wide-Field T Dwarf Search. I. Discovery of a Bright T Dwarf within 10 Parsecs of the Sun

We present the discovery of a bright (J = 13.94 ± 0.03) T dwarf, 2MASS 1503+2525, identified in a new, wide-field search for T dwarfs using the recently completed Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). The 1–2.5 μm spectrum of this object exhibits the strong H2O and CH4 bands characteristic of mid- and late-type T dwarfs, and we derive a spectral type of T5.5 using both the Burgasser et al. and the Geballe et al. classification schemes. Based on its spectral type and the absolute magnitudes of known T dwarfs, we estimate the distance of this object as 8 ± 3 pc if it is single, likely within 10 pc of the Sun. Our new 2MASS search, which covers 74% of the sky and greatly expands on earlier color constraints, should identify 15–25 new T dwarfs with J ≤ 16. Combined with the 20 known members of this class that already fall within our search criteria, our new sample will provide improved statistics for such key quantities as the binary fraction and the field substellar mass function. Furthermore, multiple detections from overlapping 2MASS scans provide multiple-epoch astrometry and photometry, and we present proper motions for five T dwarfs in our sample.
Optimal whitespace synchronization strategies

The whitespace-discovery problem describes two parties, Alice and Bob, trying to establish a communication channel over one of a given large segment of whitespace channels. Subsets of the channels are occupied in each of the local environments surrounding Alice and Bob, as well as in the global environment between them (Eve). In the absence of a common clock for the two parties, the goal is to devise time-invariant (stationary) strategies minimizing the synchronization time. This emerged from recent applications in discovery of wireless devices. We model the problem as follows. There are $N$ channels, each of which is open (unoccupied) with probability $p_1,p_2,q$ independently for Alice, Bob and Eve respectively. Further assume that $N \gg 1/(p_1 p_2 q)$ to allow for sufficiently many open channels. Both Alice and Bob can detect which channels are locally open and every time-slot each of them chooses one such channel for an attempted sync. One aims for strategies that, with high probability over the environments, guarantee a shortest possible expected sync time depending only on the $p_i$'s and $q$. Here we provide a stationary strategy for Alice and Bob with a guaranteed expected sync time of $O(1 / (p_1 p_2 q^2))$ given that each party also has knowledge of $p_1,p_2,q$. When the parties are oblivious of these probabilities, analogous strategies incur a cost of a poly-log factor, i.e.\ $\tilde{O}(1 / (p_1 p_2 q^2))$. Furthermore, this performance guarantee is essentially optimal as we show that any stationary strategies of Alice and Bob have an expected sync time of at least $\Omega(1/(p_1 p_2 q^2))$.
Environmental Enrichment Modified Epigenetic Mechanisms in SAMP8 Mouse Hippocampus by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Inflammaging and Achieving Neuroprotection

With the increase in life expectancy, aging and age-related cognitive impairments are becoming one of the most important issues for human health. At the same time, it has been shown that epigenetic mechanisms are emerging as universally important factors in life expectancy. The Senescence Accelerated Mouse P8 (SAMP8) strain exhibits age-related deterioration evidenced in learning and memory abilities and is a useful model of neurodegenerative disease. In SAMP8, Environmental Enrichment (EE) increased DNA-methylation levels (5-mC) and reduced hydroxymethylation levels (5-hmC), as well as increased histone H3 and H4 acetylation levels. Likewise, we found changes in the hippocampal gene expression of some chromatin-modifying enzyme genes, such as Dnmt3b. Hdac1. Hdac2. Sirt2, and Sirt6. Subsequently, we assessed the effects of EE on neuroprotection-related transcription factors, such as the Nuclear regulatory factor 2 (Nrf2)–Antioxidant Response Element pathway and Nuclear Factor kappa Beta (NF-κB), which play critical roles in inflammation. We found that EE produces an increased expression of antioxidant genes, such as Hmox1. Aox1, and Cox2, and reduced the expression of inflammatory genes such as IL-6 and Cxcl10, all of this within the epigenetic context modified by EE. In conclusion, EE prevents epigenetic changes that promote or drive oxidative stress and inflammaging.
Impact of Xynthia Tempest on Viral Contamination of Shellfish

ABSTRACT Viral contamination in oyster and mussel samples was evaluated after a massive storm with hurricane wind named “Xynthia tempest” destroyed a number of sewage treatment plants in an area harboring many shellfish farms. Although up to 90% of samples were found to be contaminated 2 days after the disaster, detected viral concentrations were low. A 1-month follow-up showed a rapid decrease in the number of positive samples, even for norovirus.
Role of the GacS Sensor Kinase in the Regulation of Volatile Production by Plant Growth-Promoting Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25

In plant-associated Pseudomonas species, the production of several secondary metabolites and exoenzymes is regulated by the GacS/GacA two-component regulatory system (the Gac-system). Here, we investigated if a mutation in the GacS sensor kinase affects the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in P. fluorescens SBW25 (Pf.SBW25) and how this impacts on VOCs-mediated growth promotion and induced systemic resistance of Arabidopsis and tobacco. A total of 205 VOCs were detected by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry for Pf. SBW25 and the gacS-mutant grown on two different media for 3 and 6 days. Discriminant function analysis followed by hierarchical clustering revealed 24 VOCs that were significantly different in their abundance between Pf.SBW25 and the gacS-mutant, which included three acyclic alkenes (3-nonene, 4-undecyne, 1-undecene). These alkenes were significantly reduced by the gacS mutation independently of the growth media and of the incubation time. For Arabidopsis, both Pf.SBW25 and the gacS-mutant enhanced, via VOCs, root and shoot biomass, induced systemic resistance against leaf infections by P. syringae and rhizosphere acidification to the same extent. For tobacco, however, VOCs-mediated effects on shoot and root growth were significantly different between Pf.SBW25 and the gacS-mutant. While Pf.SBW25 inhibited tobacco root growth, the gacS-mutant enhanced root biomass and lateral root formation relative to the non-treated control plants. Collectively these results indicate that the sensor kinase GacS is involved in the regulation of VOCs production in Pf.SBW25, affecting plant growth in a plant species-dependent manner.
Time-shifted request scheduling for supply-demand-storage balancing under prediction uncertainty of photovoltaics

Towards smart energy management, large-scale penetration of storage batteries is expected in recent power systems. To prevent reverse power flow from photovoltaic (PV) power generators to the power grid, it is desirable to introduce the storage batteries into the houses of consumers having the PV power generators. However, the battery charging power on the consumer side cannot be controlled directly from suppliers. Thus, to maintain balancing among demand, supply power, and battery charging power, a load dispatching center needs to provide a kind of power consumption requests to individual consumers. Against this background, in this paper, we propose a method to determine an optimal sets of requests that minimizes the degradation of economic efficiency with respect to power generation, which is defined as discrepancy between the schedule of power generation and the total amount of utility power consumption requested to consumers. In this method, separating the consumers into several groups, we consider providing a set of time-shifted utility energy consumption requests, whose temporal resolution is coarsened to ensure flexibility for consumers. A discrete Fourier analysis shows a trade-off relation between the economical efficiency of power generation and the provision of flexibility to consumers.
The roots of organizational ingenuity: how do qualitatively superior ideas come about?

The ability to continuously innovate has long been cited as the cornerstone of growth and regeneration (Burgelman, 1983). It is also clear that some firms are able to innovate better than others, for example larger firms (Damanpour, 1992), new entrants (Foster, 1986), or firms with access to greater resources and capabilities (Methe et al., 1997). Furthermore there have been studies to understand the impact of internal organizational processes on innovation, for example researchers have studied the impact of culture (Tellis et al., 2009), leadership (Elenkov et al., 2005), learning (Ahuja and Lampert, 2001) and knowledge (Zhang and Li, 2010) on innovation. In contrast to the rich research on these perspectives, little research exists that examines the relationship between constraints and innovation, especially the qualitative nature of the outcome. Why are some organizations able to create innovative solutions within structural constraints using limited resources and imaginative problem solving (Lampel et al., 2011), while others succumb to suboptimal performance? It would seem that the organizations that make a break from the suboptimal are often characterized by a ‘cando’ ambition in the face of these constraints coupled with ‘outofbox’ thinking. It is this rare combination that delivers transformational leaps rather than incremental progress. At the heart of this combination are ingenious ideas that represent a qualitative jump in the nature of the solution and have often changed the course of industries not just the organizations that show ingenuity. These ideas result in a quantum leap in the design of products, services or business models and become the new standard. Consider the history of the evolution of jet engines, which reveals many episodes where ingenious ideas had a profound impact on shaping the industry.
Gone Rogue: An Analysis of Rogue Security Software Campaigns

In the past few years, Internet miscreants have developed a number of techniques to defraud and make a hefty profit out of their unsuspecting victims. A troubling, recent example of this trend is cyber-criminals distributing rogue security software, that is malicious programs that,by pretending to be legitimate security tools (e.g., anti-virus or anti-spyware), deceive users into paying a substantial amount of money in exchange for little or no protection.While the technical and economical aspects of rogue security software (e.g., its distribution and monetization mechanisms) are relatively well-understood, much less is known about the campaigns through which this type of malware is distributed, that is what are the underlying techniques and coordinated efforts employed by cyber-criminals to spread their malware.In this paper, we present the techniques we used to analyze rogue security software campaigns, with an emphasis on the infrastructure employed in the campaign and the life-cycle of the clients that they infect.