Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MNK: Configurable Hybrid Flash Translation Layer for Multi-Channel SSD

For multi-channel Solid State Disks (SSDs), hybrid Flash Translation Layer (FTL) schemes were developed for increasing I/O parallelism and reducing garbage collection overhead. However, they still suffer from the high read and write latency, block thrashing problem, and load balancing problem. In order to overcome these problems, we design a configurable hybrid FTL, called MNK. MNK consists of a configurable mapping scheme, recycling log block scheme, and load balancing scheme. By applying the configurable mapping scheme, we can not only exploit the multi-channel architecture of SSD for I/O parallelism but also achieve bounded read/write latency with low garbage collection overhead by controlling the number of modules in striping (M), the number of logical blocks in a group (N), and the maximum allowed log blocks for a group of N logical blocks (K), respectively. In the recycling log block scheme, we can achieve low garbage collection overhead by reducing erase operations. Through the load balancing scheme, we make the erase counts of multiple modules even, thereby increasing the lifetime of SSD. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed MNK scheme, we use a trace-driven simulator. MNK finally reduces read/write latency by up to 81% compared to previous hybrid FTL schemes such as MCSplit and SubGroup.
Physiological responses to known intake of ergot alkaloids by steers at environmental temperatures within or greater than their thermoneutral zone

Two studies separated effects of dietary ergot alkaloids from effects of feed intake or ambient temperature on respiration rate (RR), heart rate (HR), surface temperature (ST), rectal temperature (RT), blood pressure (BP), serum hormone, and plasma metabolite concentrations in beef steers. The balanced, single reversal design for each experiment used 8 beef steers fed tall fescue seed [2.5 g/kg body weight (BW)] with (E+) or without (E−) ergot alkaloids as part of a 60:40 switchgrass hay: supplement diet. Periods were 35 days with 21 days of preliminary phase and 14 days of feeding fescue seed once daily. Measures of dependent variables were collected on d 20, 25, 29, and 35 of each period at 0730 (before feeding), 1230 and 1530. In Experiment 1 steers weighed 286 kg, gained 0.61 kg BW/day, E+ supplied 2.72 mg ergot alkaloids including 1.60 mg ergovaline per steer daily, and mean minimum and maximum daily ambient temperatures were 23.6 and 32.3°C. In Experiment 2 steers weighed 348 kg, gained 1.03 kg BW/day, E+ supplied 3.06 mg ergot alkaloids including 2.00 mg ergovaline daily, and mean minimum and maximum daily ambient temperatures were 11.9 and 17.4°C. Dry matter intake was not affected by fescue seed treatment (P < 0.20) in either experiment. In both experiments, E+ reduced HR (P < 0.01) and increased insulin (P = 0.07). Systolic BP minus diastolic BP decreased (P < 0.05) for E+ in both experiments, due to increased diastolic BP in Experiment 1 (P < 0.03) and decreased systolic BP in Experiment 2 (P < 0.07). In Experiment 1, above the thermoneutral zone, E+ increased (P < 0.05) RR, RT, and left side ST in comparison to E−, but in Experiment 2, within the thermoneutral zone, E+ and E− did not differ (P < 0.18). Ergot alkaloids from fescue seed affect the cardiovascular system of steers separately from effects of feed intake or environmental temperature. Ergot alkaloids interact with ambient temperatures above the steers' thermoneutral zone to exacerbate the symptoms of hyperthermic stress.
Revealing the High Energy Emission from the Obscured Seyfert Galaxy MCG−5–23–16 with Suzaku

We report on a 100 ks Suzaku observation of the bright, nearby (z=0.008486) Seyfert 1.9 galaxy MCG -5-23-16. The broad-band (0.4-100 keV) X-ray spectrum allows us to determine the nature of the high energy emission with little ambiguity. The X-ray continuum consists of a cutoff power-law of photon index $\Gamma=1.9$, absorbed through Compton-thin matter of column density $N_{\rm H}=1.6\times10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$. A soft excess is observed below 1 keV and is likely a combination of emission from scattered continuum photons and distant photoionized gas. The iron K line profile is complex, showing narrow neutral iron K$\alpha$ and K$\beta$ emission, as well as a broad line which can be modeled by a moderately inclined accretion disk. The line profile shows either the disk is truncated at a few tens of gravitational radii, or the disk emissivity profile is relatively flat. A strong Compton reflection component is detected above 10 keV, which is best modeled by a combination of reflection off distant matter and the accretion disk. The reflection component does not appear to vary. The overall picture is that this Seyfert 1.9 galaxy is viewed at moderate (50 degrees) inclination through Compton-thin matter at the edge of a Compton-thick torus covering $2\pi$ steradians, consistent with unified models.
Selection and microstructures of high density uranium alloys

Twelve uranium alloys have been selected for incorporation into very high density aluminum dispersion fuel plates for irradiation testing. These alloys are (nominally) U-10Mo, U-8Mo, U-6Mo, U-4Mo, U-9Nb-3Zr, U-6Nb-4Zr, U-5Nb-3Zr, U-2Mo-1Nb-1Zr, U-6Mo-1Pt, U-6Mo-0.6Ru, U-6Mo-0.6Si, and U-10Mo-0.05Sn. The rationale for selection of these fuels based on gamma phase stability, reports of good irradiation performance, and high uranium density will be discussed. The microstructures of these fuels were examined by SEM/EDS and XRD at three storage during the powder fabrication process. Microstructures of selected alloys are discussed.
Microwave resonant out-of-plane fed elliptical slot antenna for imaging applications

Development of an effective microwave antenna is important issue for nondestructive sensing and imaging applications. Recently a one-shot, rapid and portable microwave imaging system with a PIN diode-loaded resonant elliptical slot has been developed. In this paper a new approach for feeding a resonant slot used in such a systems is considered. It includes coupling the transmitted and received signals into the slot using out-of-plane (perpendicular) microstrip feed. Three feeds are considered, namely; a 90°-bent microstrip-line feed, a microstrip line proximity feed and a direct microstrip line connection to the slot load. The simulation and measured results show that the antenna with the 90° bent microstrip-line feed demonstrates the best radiation and modulation efficiencies.
Scalable Recognition , Extraction , and Structuring of Data from Lists in OCRed Text using Unsupervised Active Wrapper Induction

A process for accurately and automatically extracting asserted facts from lists in OCRed documents and inserting them into an ontology would contribute to making a variety of historical documents machine searchable, queryable, and linkable. To work well, such a process should be adaptable to variations in document and list format, tolerant of OCR errors, and careful in its selection of human guidance. We propose an unsupervised active wrapper induction solution for finding and extracting information from lists in OCRed text. ListReader discovers lists in the text of an OCRed document and induces a grammar for the internal structure of list records without document-specific feature engineering or supervision. ListReader then applies the knowledge in this grammar to actively request a limited and targeted set of labels from a user to complete its list wrapper. Lastly, ListReader applies the completed wrapper, encoded as a regular expression, to extract information with high precision from the entire document and automatically maps the labeled text it produces to a rich variety of ontologically structured predicates. We evaluate our implementation on a family history book in terms of F-measure and annotation cost, showing with statistical significance that ListReader learns to extract high-quality data with less cost than a state-of-the-art statistical sequence labeler.
Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus modulates its membrane lipids in response to hydrogen and nutrient availability

Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus strain ΔH is a model hydrogenotrophic methanogen, for which extensive biochemical information, including the complete genome sequence, is available. Nevertheless, at the cell membrane lipid level, little is known about the responses of this archaeon to environmental stimuli. In this study, the lipid composition of M. thermautotrophicus was characterized to verify how this archaeon modulates its cell membrane components during growth phases and in response to hydrogen depletion and nutrient limitation (potassium and phosphate). As opposed to the higher abundance of phospholipids in the stationary phase of control experiments, cell membranes under nutrient, and energy stress were dominated by glycolipids that likely provided a more effective barrier against ion leakage. We also identified particular lipid regulatory mechanisms in M. thermautotrophicus, which included the accumulation of polyprenols under hydrogen-limited conditions and an increased content of sodiated adducts of lipids in nutrient-limited cells. These findings suggest that M. thermautotrophicus intensely modulates its cell membrane lipid composition to cope with energy and nutrient availability in dynamic environments.
The Widespread Prevalence and Functional Significance of Silk-Like Structural Proteins in Metazoan Biological Materials

In nature, numerous mechanisms have evolved by which organisms fabricate biological structures with an impressive array of physical characteristics. Some examples of metazoan biological materials include the highly elastic byssal threads by which bivalves attach themselves to rocks, biomineralized structures that form the skeletons of various animals, and spider silks that are renowned for their exceptional strength and elasticity. The remarkable properties of silks, which are perhaps the best studied biological materials, are the result of the highly repetitive, modular, and biased amino acid composition of the proteins that compose them. Interestingly, similar levels of modularity/repetitiveness and similar bias in amino acid compositions have been reported in proteins that are components of structural materials in other organisms, however the exact nature and extent of this similarity, and its functional and evolutionary relevance, is unknown. Here, we investigate this similarity and use sequence features common to silks and other known structural proteins to develop a bioinformatics-based method to identify similar proteins from large-scale transcriptome and whole-genome datasets. We show that a large number of proteins identified using this method have roles in biological material formation throughout the animal kingdom. Despite the similarity in sequence characteristics, most of the silk-like structural proteins (SLSPs) identified in this study appear to have evolved independently and are restricted to a particular animal lineage. Although the exact function of many of these SLSPs is unknown, the apparent independent evolution of proteins with similar sequence characteristics in divergent lineages suggests that these features are important for the assembly of biological materials. The identification of these characteristics enable the generation of testable hypotheses regarding the mechanisms by which these proteins assemble and direct the construction of biological materials with diverse morphologies. The SilkSlider predictor software developed here is available at https://github.com/wwood/SilkSlider.
The Effects of Morphological Properties of Henequen Fiber Irradiated by EB on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Henequen Fiber/PP Composites

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of electron beam (EB) irradiation on the morphological properties, crystallinity and surface area of henequen fiber and on the mechanical and thermal properties of henequen fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. The structure of henequen fiber was characterized by X-ray diffraction, mercury porosimetry and BET surface area analysis. The EB irradiation of 10 kGy led to the increasing of crystalline and surface pore area of henequen fiber, which contributed to the number of interlocking places with PP. From the results of tensile and impact strength tests, the highest value was observed for the composite reinforced with the henequen fiber treated with EB dose of 10 kGy, decreasing overall as EB dose increased. This tendency was also shown by coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) measurements, but the value of CTE decreased until 50 kGy, meaning that a large total surface area can provide many interlocking places and so improve adhesion between fiber and matrix. Therefore, it can be concluded that the optimum pore surface area by 10 kGy irradiation contributes to successful mechanical interlocking between fiber and matrix and consequently enhances the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites.
Immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties of triptolide: A mini review

Objective: Triptolide, the active component of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F has been used to treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions for over two hundred years in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the processes through which triptolide exerts immunosuppression and anti-inflammation are not understood well. In this review, we discuss the autoimmune disorders and inflammatory conditions that are currently treated with triptolide. Triptolide also possesses anti-tumorigenic effects. We discuss the toxicity of various triptolide derivatives and offer suggestions to improve its safety. This study also examines the clinical trials that have investigated the efficacy of triptolide. Our aim is to examine the mechanisms that are responsible for the immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects of triptolide. Materials and Methods: The present review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature with respect to the immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties of triptolide. Results: Triptolide possesses immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Conclusion: Triptolide can be used alone or in combination with existing therapeutic modalities as novel treatments for autoimmune disorders, cancers, and for immunosuppression.
Modulators of γ-Secretase Activity Can Facilitate the Toxic Side-Effects and Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease

Background Selective modulation of different Aβ products of an intramembrane protease γ-secretase, could be the most promising strategy for development of effective therapies for Alzheimer's disease. We describe how different drug-candidates can modulate γ-secretase activity in cells, by studying how DAPT affects changes in γ-secretase activity caused by gradual increase in Aβ metabolism. Results Aβ 1–40 secretion in the presence of DAPT shows biphasic activation-inhibition dose-response curves. The biphasic mechanism is a result of modulation of γ-secretase activity by multiple substrate and inhibitor molecules that can bind to the enzyme simultaneously. The activation is due to an increase in γ-secretase's kinetic affinity for its substrate, which can make the enzyme increasingly more saturated with otherwise sub-saturating substrate. The noncompetitive inhibition that prevails at the saturating substrate can decrease the maximal activity. The synergistic activation-inhibition effects can drastically reduce γ-secretase's capacity to process its physiological substrates. This reduction makes the biphasic inhibitors exceptionally prone to the toxic side-effects and potentially pathogenic. Without the modulation, γ-secretase activity on it physiological substrate in cells is only 14% of its maximal activity, and far below the saturation. Significance Presented mechanism can explain why moderate inhibition of γ-secretase cannot lead to effective therapies, the pharmacodynamics of Aβ-rebound phenomenon, and recent failures of the major drug-candidates such as semagacestat. Novel improved drug-candidates can be prepared from competitive inhibitors that can bind to different sites on γ-secretase simultaneously. Our quantitative analysis of the catalytic capacity can facilitate the future studies of the therapeutic potential of γ-secretase and the pathogenic changes in Aβ metabolism.
58 A NEONATAL ABSTINENCE SCORING SYSTEM: RESULTS OF AN INTERSCORER RELIABILITY STUDY

An improved abstinence scoring system (ASS) aimed at improving the accuracy of clinical assessment of the infant of the drug dependent mother has been developed. Nurses administer the clinical tool used for monitoring the progression and diminution of symptomatology, effectiveness of various medical and nursing therapeutic approaches, and to ascertain whether or not pharmacologic intervention is necessary for detoxification. If therapy is initiated, the ASS is further used as a guide to titrate subsequent dosage levels to effectively control the withdrawing infant and determine when treatment should be discontinued. A study was conducted to ascertain whether the abstinence scores (AS) obtained by the nurses were reliable indices of the infants' symptoms. The results revealed that many infants were inaccurately scored, therefore managed inappropriately according to established protocol. To improve the accuracy of AS reported by the nurses with consequent improvement in the quality of total clinical management, the ASS developed by Finnegan, L. et al. was revised and an expanded protocol for clinical management of the infant undergoing abstinence has been developed. The revised scoring system categorizes abstinence symptoms by the organ systems disturbed. Furthermore, the new approach defines more precisely both the quantitative and qualitative infant behaviors being assessed. Supported by NIDA Grant #DA01807 and Commonwealth of Pa. Contract #1674.
Error analysis of pure rotation-based self-calibration

Self-calibration using pure rotation is a well-known technique and has been shown to be a reliable means for recovering intrinsic camera parameters. However, in practice, it is virtually impossible to ensure that the camera motion for this type of self-calibration is a pure rotation. In this paper, we present an error analysis of recovered intrinsic camera parameters due to the presence of translation. We derived closed-form error expressions for a single pair of images with nondegenerate motion; for multiple rotations for which there are no closed-form solutions, analysis was done through repeated experiments. Among others, we show that translation-independent solutions do exist under certain practical conditions. Our analysis can be used to help choose the least error-prone approach (if multiple approaches exist) for a given set of conditions.
Nano-scale chemical imaging of a single sheet of reduced graphene oxide

Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) has been used to chemically image single and multiple layers of a thermally reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) multi-layer sheet of the size of ∼1 μm and a thickness of ∼5 nm. The thickness of individual layers in the single sheet can be identified through quantitative analysis of STXM. The local electronic and chemical structure of interest (edge versus center) in different regions within the single r-GO sheet has been studied by C K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES) with 30 nm spatial resolution. High and localized unoccupied densities of states (DOS) of carbon σ* character were observed in r-GO compared to graphite and were interpreted as the lack of strong layer to layer interaction in the former. The azimuthal dependence of C K-edge XANES in selected locations has also been obtained and was used to infer the preferred edge structure. The r-GO sample was also characterized by TEM, AFM and Raman spectroscopy; the findings are in good accord with the STXM results.
Tracking persons using a network of RGBD cameras

A computer vision system that employs an RGBD camera network to track multiple humans is presented. The acquired views are used to volumetrically and photometrically reconstruct and track the humans robustly and in real time. Given the frequent and accurate monitoring of humans in space and time, their locations and walk-through trajectory can be robustly tracked in real-time.
Progesterone, fluid, and electrolytes in premenstrual syndrome.

respiratory acidosis as a result of pulmonary oedema consequent on her congestive cardiac failure, and this may simply have been a result of fluid overload from the volume of infusion she was receiving (the actual fluid volume infused is not stated). If this was in fact the case, infusion of bicarbonate may have compounded the problem by raising blood PCo2. This case presentation demonstrates that measurement of blood Pco2, pH, and standard bicarbonate is mandatory to determine whether the patient has a metabolic or respiratory acidosis, as appropriate treatment will differ according to which type of acidosis is present.
Quaternion Neural Networks for Spoken Language Understanding

Machine Learning (ML) techniques have allowed a great performance improvement of different challenging Spoken Language Understanding (SLU) tasks. Among these methods, Neural Networks (NN), or Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), recently received a great interest from researchers due to their representation capability of complex internal structures in a low dimensional subspace. However, MLPs employ document representations based on basic word level or topic-based features. Therefore, these basic representations reveal little in way of document statistical structure by only considering words or topics contained in the document as a “bag-of-words”, ignoring relations between them. We propose to remedy this weakness by extending the complex features based on Quaternion algebra presented in [1] to neural networks called QMLP. This original QMLP approach is based on hyper-complex algebra to take into consideration features dependencies in documents. New document features, based on the document structure itself, used as input of the QMLP, are also investigated in this paper, in comparison to those initially proposed in [1]. Experiments made on a SLU task from a real framework of human spoken dialogues showed that our QMLP approach associated with the proposed document features outperforms other approaches, with an accuracy gain of 2% with respect to the MLP based on real numbers and more than 3% with respect to the first Quaternion-based features proposed in [1]. We finally demonstrated that less iterations are needed by our QMLP architecture to be efficient and to reach promising accuracies.
Chemical changes associated with flavor in irradiated meat.

Chemical changes in meat that have been treated with ionizing radiations have been well documented. The recent development of new improved analytical methods employing combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry systems with digital outputs permits computer processing of both qualitative and quantitative data. Precise determination of the variation in the amounts of components with various treatment conditions such as dose and temperature has now been made and correlated with sensory observations. The irradiation flavor increased and overall acceptance decreased with an increase in dose and/or irradiation temperature. Correspondingly, analyses of volatile compounds show increases of amount with increases in dose or irradiation temperature. When the proper conditions of dose and temperature are employed, however, wholly acceptable products that are both safe and savory can be produced. (auth)