Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-Time Support for Software Transactional Memory

Transactional memory is currently a hot research topic, having attracted the focus of both academic researchers and development groups at companies. Indeed, the concept of transactional memory has recently attracted much interest for multicore systems as it eases programming and avoids the problems of lock-based methods. However, up to now, the scheduling of real-time transactions within software transactional memories has not been studied. To address this issue, we present in this paper a real-time software transactional memory, namely RT-STM. We focus on the scheduling of concurrent soft real-time transactions. In particular, we explore a new heuristic for conflict resolution that reduces the number of deadline violations when scheduling soft real-time transactions. After having discussed the scalability of various classical STMs under a real-time operating system, we present experimental results that show that RT-STM can improve the performance of transactional memory-based applications on multicore platforms.
Effect of Trunk Restraint on the Recovery of Reaching Movements in Hemiparetic Patients

Background and Purpose— Reaching movements made with the affected arm in hemiparetic patients are often accompanied by compensatory trunk or shoulder girdle movements, which extend the reach of the arm. We investigated the effects of the suppression of these compensatory movements on reaching ability in hemiparetic individuals. Methods— Eleven healthy and 11 hemiparetic individuals participated. Three-dimensional kinematic analysis was used to quantify reaches made to a close and a distant target (near the limit of arm’s length). Unrestrained reaches were compared with those in which shoulder girdle and trunk movements were restrained by a harness. Results— During unrestrained reaching, abnormal trunk recruitment and limitations in elbow and shoulder movements were correlated with the degree of clinical stroke severity (r =−0.91 to −0.96) in hemiparetic patients. During trunk restraint, ranges of elbow and shoulder joint movement increased in both groups. In addition, elbow and shoulder interjoint coordination improved. This was caused by increases in the range of joint motion as well as by a better dynamic temporal relation between joints. Conclusions— Trunk restraint allowed patients with hemiparetic stroke to make use of arm joint ranges that are present but not normally recruited during unrestrained arm-reaching tasks. Thus, the underlying “normal” patterns of movement coordination may not be entirely lost after stroke. Appropriate treatments, such as trunk restraint, may be effective in uncovering latent movement patterns to maximize arm recovery in hemiparetic patients.
Performance of a Fixed Channel Allocation Scheme in a Motorway Environment

This paper investigates the performance of a fixed channel allocation scheme on a motorway. The impact of vehicular speed and the effects of allocating slots reserved exclusively for handover calls are investigated. Using vehicular traces from inductive loops on the M4 motorway in the UK, the impact of congestion due to lower vehicular speeds is simulated to show the impact on the communication layer. The simulation is then performed with varying number of slots reserved exclusively for handover calls. The considered area for the simulation consists of three contiguous base stations in a cellular network. The voice services considered use constant bit rate (CBR) data generation and has been modelled using a Poisson process with mean inter-arrival times and call duration periods generated for all vehicles independent of each other. The resulting degradation in the network performance in terms of blocked (call congestion) and dropped (handoff congestion) calls arising from the road congestion is evaluated.
Characterization of Chitinase Activity and Gene Expression in Muskmelon Seeds

Chitinase is often produced in higher plants as a general defence response after wounding or pathogenic attack. Since germinating seeds are exposed to soil pathogens, the activity and expression of chitinase in muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) seeds was investigated. One acidic and three basic chitinase isoforms were detected, beginning 40 d after anthesis in developing and fully mature seeds. Both acidic and basic chitinase isoforms were found in endosperm tissue during imbibition and after radicle emergence. Basic chitinase isoforms, but not acidic isoforms, were detected in the embryonic axes of imbibed seeds and in seeds before germination, indicating that chitinases are developmentally regulated in specific seed tissues. Two complete cDNAs, Cmchi1 and Cmchi2, were cloned from germinated muskmelon seeds and are predicted to encode chitinases that show 95% identity to a class III chitinase from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and 61% identity to a class II chitinase from soybean (Glycine max L.), respectively. Southern blotting indicated that Cmchi2 was present only once in the muskmelon genome, while Cmchi1 may be present in one or two copies. Cmchi1 and Cmchi2 mRNAs were only detected in radicles of germinating seeds and in roots of mature plants, so additional genes other than Cmchi1 and Cmchi2 must be responsible for the chitinase activity in developing seeds. Salicylic acid and benzothiadiazole stimulated the expression of Cmchi1, but not Cmchi2, after radicle emergence. A putative role for chitinase in muskmelon seeds is defence against fungal pathogens.
Did the Preservice Teacher–Generated Studies Constitute Actual Instances of Teacher-Researcher Studies, and Were They Consistent With Notions of Dewey?

It is suggested that articles in an American Annals of the Deaf special issue on teacher action research constitute a 2-tiered metastudy: The first article serves as a literature review of the teacher-as-researcher notion; 5 subsequent articles form the data set for a higher-order teacher-as-researcher inquiry. It is maintained that the preservice teachers' work met the definition of teacher-as-researcher in that they systematically investigated their own teaching/learning practices through a reflective lens, with the twin purposes of modifying their own practices and contributing to the theoretical in situ knowledge base of learning and teaching in general. It is also argued that this body of work is consistent with the stance on inquiry advocated by Columbia University's Teachers College and its Program in the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and that teacher research reflected Dewey's notions of pragmatism, functionalism, constructivism, communication, and social advocacy.
ASSEMBLY QUALITY METHOD: A TOOL IN AID OF PRODUCT STRATEGY, DESIGN, AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

This paper describes a new methodology for assisting manufacturing companies in predicting the defect levels of new products at globally distributed production facilities. This paper builds on the traditional design for assembly as well as the Total Quality Assurance methods. The proposed method, Assembly Quality Methodology (AQM), uses the conventional assembly evaluation method along with a set of equations to predict defect rates for different assemblies at various manufacturing sites. AQM relates defect rates with the complexity metrics calculated using existing assembly evaluation methods. The paper discusses potential strategic uses of this information such as overall product assembly strategy across globally distributed manufacturing and supply chain, product modularity decisions, and improvements in products and processes for assembly.
Instantaneous Control of Brownian Motion

A controller continuously monitors a storage system, such as an inventory or bank account, whose content Z = { Z t , t (ge)0} fluctuates as a ((mu), (sigma) 2 ) Brownian motion in the absence of control. Holding costs are incurred continuously at rate h ( Z t ). At any time, the controller may instantaneously increase the content of the system, incurring a proportional cost of r times the size of the increase, or decrease the content at a cost of l times the size of the decrease. We consider the case where h is convex on a finite interval [(alpha), (beta)] and h = (infinity) outside this interval. The objective is to minimize the expected discounted sum of holding costs and control costs over an infinite planning horizon.It is shown that there exists an optimal control limit policy, characterized by two parameters a and b ((alpha) (le) a b (le) (beta)). Roughly speaking, this policy exerts the minimum amounts of control sufficient to keep Z t (in) [ a , b ] for all t (ge) 0. Put another way, the optimal control limit policy imposes on Z a lower reflecting barrier at a and an upper reflecting barrier at b . The optimality of a particular control limit policy is proved directly, with heavy reliance on the change of variable formula for semimartingales. We do not give a full-blown algorithm for construction of the optimal control limits, but a computational scheme could easily be developed from our constructive proof of existence.
Two degree-of-freedom generalized predictive control with integral compensation in a multirate system

This paper deals with a multirate control system, where the sampling interval of the plant output is an integer multiple of the hold interval of the control input. In the multirate system, intersample output may oscillate even if a sampled output converges to a reference input. Therefore, this paper proposes a new design method to suppress intersample ripple in the multirate system, the numerical examples demonstrate its effectiveness.
Prolonged Exposure vs EyeMovement Desensitization and Reprocessing vsWaiting List for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in PatientsWith a Psychotic Disorder A Randomized Clinical Trial

RESULTS Data were analyzed as intent to treat with linear mixed models and generalized estimating equations. Participants in the PE and EMDR conditions showed a greater reduction of PTSD symptoms than those in the WL condition. Between-group effect sizes were 0.78 (P < .001) in PE and 0.65 (P = .001) in EMDR. Participants in the PE condition (56.6%; odds ratio [OR], 3.41; P = .006) or the EMDR condition (60.0%; OR, 3.92; P < .001) were significantly more likely to achieve loss of diagnosis during treatment than those in the WL condition (27.7%). Participants in the PE condition (28.3%; OR, 5.79; P = .01), but not those in the EMDR condition (16.4%; OR, 2.87; P = .10), were more likely to gain full remission than those in the WL condition (6.4%). Treatment effects were maintained at the 6-month follow-up in PE and EMDR. Similar results were obtained regarding secondary outcomes. There were no differences in severe adverse events between conditions (2 in PE, 1 in EMDR, and 4 in WL). The PE therapy and EMDR therapy showed no difference in any of the outcomes and no difference in participant dropout (24.5% in PE and 20.0% in EMDR, P = .57).
Three New Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Identified by a Genome-Wide Association Study in Korean Patients with Vitiligo

Genetic susceptibility is involved in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Association studies with a whole genome-based approach instead of a single or a few candidate genes may be useful for discovering new susceptible genes. Although the etiology of non-segmental and segmental types is different, the association between gene polymorphisms and vitiligo has been reported, without defining types or in non-segmental type. Whole genome-based single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were examined in patients with non-segmental and segmental types of vitiligo using the Affymetrix GeneChip 500K mapping array, and 10 functional classes of significant SNPs were selected. Genotyping and data analysis of selected 10 SNPs was performed using real-time PCR. Genotype and allele frequencies were significantly different between both types of vitiligo and three of the target SNPs, DNAH5 (rs2277046), STRN3 (rs2273171), and KIAA1005 (rs3213758). A stronger association was suggested between the mutation in KIAA1005 (rs3213758) and the segmental type compared to the non-segmental type of vitiligo. DNAH5 (rs2277046), STRN3 (rs2273171), and KIAA1005 (rs3213758) may be new vitiligo-related SNPs in Korean patients, either non-segmental or segmental type.
Biomechanics in Cerebral Palsy

Normal gait is dependent upon a coordinated series of events which moves the body through space with the minimal energy expenditure. Any neuromuscular abnormality which interferes with this pattern and results in loss of coordination will give rise to increased energy requirements. When energy requirements become too great, the patient becomes nonambulatory. This article presents the basic patterns present during normal bipedal gait and discusses the manner in which they are altered in the patient with cerebral palsy.
Patient Burden of Axial Spondyloarthritis

Abstract Axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) is an inflammatory spondyloarthritis (SpA) that has significant impact on a patient's life. Symptoms, including fatigue, sleep problems, depression, and sexual dysfunction, can profoundly impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and limit work, leisure, and daily activities. Available therapies effectively manage pain and inflammation in early-stage disease, but patients often continue to experience impaired HRQoL. Thus, there remains a need for new therapies with novel mechanisms that can stop disease progression, potentially reverse damage caused by AxSpA and improve HRQoL in patients with AxSpA. Newer biologic agents, such as those targeting the interleukin 17–interleukin 23 axis, have promising efficacy and may improve HRQoL for patients with AxSpA. The AxSpA has many negative effects on HRQoL. By targeting disease pathways responsible for the development of AxSpA, approved and emerging therapies potentially reduce disease activity and improve the functional status of patients with AxSpA. This narrative review reflects on the findings of studies evaluating HRQoL of individuals with AxSpA and the role of newer therapies.
Path Loss Measurements at 3.5 GHz: A Trial Test WiMAX Based in Rural Environment

This paper addresses the dimensioning of the emerging wireless broadband networks operating in 3.5 GHz band by focusing on the key problem of propagation loss. The characteristics of the path loss in the 3.5 GHz band measured in a rural macro-cellular environment are presented. The existing empirical prediction models are compared with the measured data and a comparative analysis is carried out. The measurements are performed within the experimental activities developed on a WiMAX based platform located in an Italian rural area.
Position-invariant, real-time gesture recognition based on dynamic time warping

To achieve an improved human-robot interaction it is necessary to allow the human participant to interact with the robot in a natural way. In this work, a gesture recognition algorithm, based on dynamic time warping, was implemented with a use-case scenario of natural interaction with a mobile robot. Inputs are gesture trajectories obtained using a Microsoft Kinect sensor. Trajectories are stored in the person's frame of reference. Furthermore, the recognition is position-invariant, meaning that only one learned sample is needed to recognize the same gesture performed at another position in the gestural space. In experiments, a set of gestures for a robot waiter was used to train the gesture recognition algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed modifications of the standard gesture recognition algorithm improve the robustness of the recognition.
The Pharmacokinetics of Silymarin Is Altered in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Correlates with Plasma Caspase-3/7 Activity

Silymarin, used by 30 to 40% of liver disease patients, is composed of six major flavonolignans, each of which may contribute to silymarin's hepatoprotective properties. Previous studies have only described the pharmacokinetics for two flavonolignans, silybin A and silybin B, in healthy volunteers. The aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of the major silymarin flavonolignans in liver disease patients. Healthy volunteers and three patient cohorts were administered a single, 600-mg p.o. dose of milk thistle extract, and 14 blood samples were obtained over 24 h. Silybin A and B accounted for 43% of the exposure to the sum of total silymarin flavonolignans in healthy volunteers and only 31 to 38% in liver disease cohorts as a result of accumulation of silychristin (20–36%). Area under the curve (AUC0–24h) for the sum of total silymarin flavonolignans was 2.4-, 3.3-, and 4.7-fold higher for hepatitis C virus (HCV) noncirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (p ≤ 0.03), and HCV cirrhosis cohorts (p ≤ 0.03), respectively, compared with healthy volunteers (AUC0–24h = 2021 ng · h/ml). Caspase-3/7 activity correlated with the AUC0–24h for the sum of all silymarin conjugates among all subjects (R2 = 0.52) and was 5-fold higher in the HCV cirrhosis cohort (p ≤ 0.005 versus healthy). No correlation was observed with other measures of disease activity, including plasma alanine aminotransferase, interleukin 6, and 8-isoprostane F2α, a measure of oxidative stress. These findings suggest that the pharmacokinetics of silymarin is altered in patients with liver disease. Patients with cirrhosis had the highest plasma caspase-3/7 activity and also achieved the highest exposures for the major silymarin flavonolignans.
Exploring the Capability of ALOS PALSAR L-Band Fully Polarimetric Data for Land Cover Classification in Tropical Environments

Among different applications using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, land cover classification of rain forest areas has been investigated. Previous results showed that L-band is more appropriate for such applications. However, SAR images have limited discriminability for mapping large sets of classes compared with optical imagery. The objective of this study was to carry out an analysis about the discriminative capability of an L-band fully polarimetric SAR complex image, compared to the possible subsets of polarizations in amplitude/intensity, for mapping land cover classes in Amazon regions. Two case studies using ALOS PALSAR L-band fully polarimetric images over Brazilian Amazon regions were considered. Several thematic classes, organized into scenarios, were considered for each case study. These scenarios represent distinct classification tasks with variated complexities. Performing a simultaneous analysis of different scenarios is a distinct way to assess the discriminative capability offered by a particular image. A methodology to organize thematic classes into scenarios is proposed in this study. The maximum likelihood classifier (MLC), with specific distributions for SAR data, and support vector machine were considered in this study. The iterated conditional modes algorithm was adopted to incorporate the contextual information in both methods. Considering a kappa coefficient equal to 0.8 as an acceptable minimum, the experiments show that none subset of polarization or fully polarimetric image allows performing discrimination between forest and regeneration types; single-polarized HV data provide acceptable results when the classification problem deals with the discrimination of a few classes; depending on the classification scenario, the dual-polarized HH+HV image produces similar results when compared to multipolarized (i.e., HH+HV+VV) data; in turn, if the MLC method is adopted, multipolarized data may produce close or statistically indifferent classification results compared to those produced with the use of fully polarimetric data.
Lignification of developing maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm transfer cells and starchy endosperm cells

Endosperm transfer cells in maize have extensive cell wall ingrowths that play a key role in kernel development. Although the incorporation of lignin would support this process, its presence in these structures has not been reported in previous studies. We used potassium permanganate staining combined with transmission electron microscopy – energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry as well as acriflavine staining combined with confocal laser scanning microscopy to determine whether the most basal endosperm transfer cells (MBETCs) contain lignified cell walls, using starchy endosperm cells for comparison. We investigated the lignin content of ultrathin sections of MBETCs treated with hydrogen peroxide. The lignin content of transfer and starchy cell walls was also determined by the acetyl bromide method. Finally, the relationship between cell wall lignification and MBETC growth/flange ingrowth orientation was evaluated. MBETC walls and ingrowths contained lignin throughout the period of cell growth we monitored. The same was true of the starchy cells, but those underwent an even more extensive growth period than the transfer cells. Both the reticulate and flange ingrowths were also lignified early in development. The significance of the lignification of maize endosperm cell walls is discussed in terms of its impact on cell growth and flange ingrowth orientation.
How do functional maps in primary visual cortex vary with eccentricity?

It is important to understand whether functional maps of primary visual cortex (V1) are organized differently at the representation of different eccentricities. By using optical imaging of intrinsic signals, we compared the maps of orientation and spatial frequency (SF) preference between central (0–3°) and paracentral (4–8°) V1 in the prosimian bush baby (Otolemur garnetti). No differences related to eccentricity were found for orientation selectivity or magnitude between central and paracentral V1. We found, however, that cardinal orientations were overrepresented in central but not in paracentral V1 and that isoorientation domain size tended to be smaller in the central representation. We demonstrated that spatial frequency was represented continuously across V1, and that the map of SF preference exhibited eccentricity‐dependent variations, with more territory devoted to higher SFs in central than in paracentral V1. Although there were no spatial relationships between orientation domains and cytochrome oxidase (CO) blobs or interblobs, CO blobs tended to prefer lower SFs than interblobs. Taken together with previous research, our data indicate that functional domains in V1 show eccentricity‐related differences in organization and also support the idea that different maps (with or without specific geometrical relationships) are organized for adequate coverage of each feature in visual space. J. Comp. Neurol. 501:741–755, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chlorination by the Myeloperoxidase-H2O2-CI-Antimicrobial System at Acid and Neutral pH

Summary The oxidation of Cl- ion by H2O2 yielding Cl+ is catalyzed by myelope-roxidase (MPO) prepared from human PMN. Both H2O2 and CI- in this reaction serve as substrates. Affinity (apparent) studies between MPO and CI- and MPO and H2O2 were carried out. Both (apparent) affinities vary according to pH. The higher the pH, the less the affinity for Cl-. In contrast, the affinity between MPO and H2O2 increases with pH. The dissociation constant of the MPO-CI- enzyme substrate complex is affected by the second substrate, H2O2. The effect of H2O2 on the MPO-C1- affinity is competitive. Likewise, the MPO-H2O2 affinity is decreased with increasing Cl- concentration. This influence is also competitive. From these interactions, it may be concluded that the optimal pH for chlori-nation is dependent on the [H2O2]/[C1-] ratio. The relationship of pH, H2O2, and CI- concentrations may be expressed by the following formula: pH = log [CI-] x560/ [H2O2]. Using the formula, it can be shown that optimal chlorination may occur between pH 4.0 and 7.4. We wish to thank Paul Wallace and Gerry Heatley for technical assistance, Roberta Lemon for preparing the manuscript, and George Daynes for photography. This investigation was supported by Grant CA-1567 awarded by the National Cancer Institute, DHEW, and USPHS Grant HD-1805, NIH.