Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Graph Aware Caching Policy for Distributed Graph Stores

Graph stores are becoming increasingly popular among NOSQL applications seeking flexibility and heterogeneity in managing linked data. Conceptually and in practice, applications ranging from social networks, knowledge representations to Internet of things benefit from graph data stores built on a combination of relational and non-relational technologies aimed at desired performance characteristics. The most common data access pattern in querying graph stores is to traverse from a node to its neighboring nodes. This paper studies the impact of such traversal pattern to common data caching policies in a partitioned data environment where a big graph is distributed across servers in a cluster. We propose and evaluate a new graph aware caching policy designed to keep and evict nodes, edges and their metadata optimized for query traversal pattern. The algorithm distinguishes the topology of the graph as well as the latency of access to the graph nodes and neighbors. We implemented graph aware caching on a distributed data store Apache HBase in the Hadoop family. Performance evaluations showed up to 15x speedup on the benchmark datasets preferring our new graph aware policy over non-aware policies. We also show how to improve the performance of existing caching algorithms for distributed graphs by exploiting the topology information.
Zone-based facilities layout optimization

Combining the best features of both discrete and continuous space representations, and exploiting the notion of space structuring as done in new-generation heuristics, this paper introduces a novel zone-based optimization model for facilities layout design. Preliminary empirical results are presented, with the model solved directly using a commercial mixed integer linear programming solver for selected well known cases. The results show that the model may permit to generate excellent solutions faster than models without such constraints.
Testing the Theory of Trade Policy: Evidence from the Abrupt End of the Multifiber Arrangement

Quota restrictions on United States imports of apparel and textiles under the multifiber arrangement (MFA) ended abruptly in January 2005. This change in policy was large, predetermined, and fully anticipated, making it an ideal natural experiment for testing the theory of trade policy. Prices of quota-constrained categories from China fell by 38 in 2005, with smaller declines from other exporters. Prices in unconstrained categories from all countries changed little. We also find substantial quality downgrading in imports from China in previously constrained categories. The annual cost of the MFAto U.S. consumers was 63 per household.
Collective Target Tracking Mean Field Control for Markovian Jump-Driven Models of Electric Water Heating Loads

Abstract Load control has traditionally been viewed as a useful tool for peak load reduction in power systems. With the increasing renewable energy penetration in the grid, load control is also considered as a tool to exploit the storage in dispersed devices naturally present in power systems such as electric water heaters to mitigate generation variability. Tapping into the storage dispersed across the power system is challenging because of the large number of devices that need to be coordinated to produce desirable system level behavior. In this paper a mean field game theoretic based control architecture is proposed as a load control mechanism to limit the required flows of information, and produce local constraints conscious decentralized individual controls which aggregate to a desired mean behavior. A Markovian jump-driven model of individual electric water heating loads is employed where the mean field effect is mediated through the quadratic cost function parameters under the form of an integral error. The corresponding system of mean field Nash equilibrium inducing equations is developed and numerical simulation results are presented.
A single channel mutation alters agonist efficacy at 5-HT3A and 5-HT3AB receptors

5‐HT3 receptors are composed of 5‐HT3A subunits (homomeric receptors), or combinations of 5‐HT3A and other 5‐HT3 receptor subunits (heteromeric receptors, the best studied of which are 5‐HT3AB receptors). Here we explore the effects of partial agonists at 5‐HT3A and 5‐HT3AB receptors, and the importance of a channel‐lining residue in determining the efficacy of activation.
Catechol O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism in schizophrenia: differential effects of Val and Met alleles on cognitive stability and flexibility.

OBJECTIVE The catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism has been associated with cognitive and behavioral phenotypes in schizophrenia. Whether COMT genotype is beneficial may depend on phenotype definition. The authors examined the effects of COMT genotype on a task that distinguishes imitation from reversal learning. They hypothesized that the Val and Met alleles would be associated with deficits in imitation learning and reversal learning, respectively. METHOD Twenty-six patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder completed a task requiring alternation between imitation and reversal rules. RESULTS Met homozygotes showed better acquisition of the imitation rule but greater deficit shifting from imitation to reversal. Val homozygotes had poorer imitation performance and slower reaction times. CONCLUSIONS The Met allele, by increasing tonic dopamine, may promote cognitive stability but limit cognitive flexibility.
Data Quality for Temporal Streams

Temporal data pose unique data quality challenges due to the presence of autocorrelations, trends, seasonality, and gaps in the data. Data streams are a special case of temporal data where velocity, volume and variety present additional layers of complexity in measuring the veracity of the data. In this paper, we discuss a general, widely applicable framework for data quality measurement of streams in a dynamic environment that takes into account the evolving nature of streams. We classify data quality anomalies using four types of constraints, identify violations that could be potential data glitches, and use statistical distortion as a metric for measuring data quality in a near real-time fashion. We illustrate our framework using commercially available streams of NYSE stock prices consisting of aggregates of prices and trading volumes collected every minute over a one year period from November 2011 to November 2012.
Validity and Reliability of Marathi Version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a Screening Tool for Post Natal Depression

"Context: The prevalence of Post natal depression in India ranges from 12  23 %. It has substantial impact on mother, father, family and thereby cognitive and emotional development of child. Therefore the post natal depression screening should be given foremost importance. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a reliable tool used in many countries. The study conducted to validate the Marathi version of EPDS Method: All the mothers with history of delivery in last six months but not less than six weeks were included in study. Lin-guistically validated Questionnaire was posed by interviewer and recorded. To test the reliability, mothers were revisited after a pe-riod of 2 weeks to administer same questionnaire and assessed by expert. Statistical analysis: SPSS 17 was used to know the floor and ceiling effect, exploratory factor analysis, receiver and operating curve, cronbachs alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient. Result: Total mean score was 10.3 ± 4.1. No floor and ceiling effect seen. Three factors were extracted. Best cut off point was 12 with 95 % sensitivity and specificity. Depression was associated with birth of female child, pregnancy complications and health of new-born. Conclusion: The findings of study indicates that Marathi version of EPDS has good validity, internal consistency and adequate reliability"
Tidal flood risk in London under stabilisation scenarios

The Thames tidal defences are the UK’s most complex and costly flood defence system and of global significance both as a feat of engineering and in terms of the value of assets protected from flooding. The system includes 200km of dikes on the Thames Estuary and the Thames Barrier, built in the 1970s to protect against a storm surge with an annual probability of 0.001 in 2030. Planning is now underway to scope an enhanced flood risk management plan for the estuary.
Changes over time and transfer of analogy-problem solving of gifted and non-gifted children in a dynamic testing setting

Abstract This study examined differences in transfer of analogical reasoning after analogy-problem solving between 40 gifted and 95 average-ability children (aged 9–10 years old), utilising dynamic testing principles. This approach was used in order to examine potential differences between gifted and average-ability children in relation to progression after training, and with regard to the question whether training children in analogy problem-solving elicits transfer of analogical reasoning skills to an analogy construction-task. Children were allocated to one of two experimental conditions: either children received unguided practice in analogy problem-solving, or they were provided with this in addition to training incorporating graduated prompting techniques. The results showed that gifted and average-ability children who were trained made more progress in analogy problem-solving than their peers who received unguided practice experiences only. Gifted and average-ability children were found to show similar progression in analogy problem-solving, and gifted children did not appear to have an advantage in the analogy-construction transfer task. The dynamic training seemed to bring about no additional improvement on the transfer task over that of unguided practice experiences only.
Localization and estimation of multiple targets for MIMO radars using covariance matching techniques

A multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) radar system uses multiple antennas to simultaneously transmit independent signals to illuminate targets, and multiple antennas to receive the reflected signals. The covariance structure of the received signals is analyzed, and the covariance matching estimation technique (COMET) is applied to solve the problem of multiple-target localization and estimation in MIMO radar systems. The performance of the proposed method is validated by numerical simulations.
Glucose and leptin induce apoptosis in human β‐ cells and impair glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion through activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinases

c‐Jun N‐terminal kinases (SAPK/JNKs) are activated by inflammatory cytokines, and JNK sig naling is involved in insulin resistance and β‐ cell secre tory function and survival. Chronic high glucose con centrations and leptin induce interleukin‐1 Vβ (IL‐1β) secretion from pancreatic islets, an event that is possi bly causal in promoting β‐ cell dysfunction and death. The present study provides evidence that chronically elevated concentrations of leptin and glucose induce P‐cell apoptosis through activation of the JNK pathway in human islets and in insulinoma (INS 832/13) cells. JNK inhibition by the dominant inhibitor JNK‐binding domain of IB1/JIP‐1 (JNKi) reduced JNK activity and apoptosis induced by leptin and glucose. Exposure of human islets to leptin and high glucose concentrations leads to a decrease of glucose‐induced insulin secretion, which was partly restored by JNKi. We detected an interplay between the JNK cascade and the caspase 1/IL‐1 β‐ converting enzyme in human islets. The caspase 1 gene, which contains a potential activating protein‐1 binding site, was up‐regulated in pancreatic sections and in isolated islets from type 2 diabetic patients. Similarly, cultured human islets exposed to high glucose‐ and leptin‐induced caspase 1 and JNK inhibition prevented this up‐regulation. Therefore, JNK inhibition may protect β‐ cells from the deleterious effects of high glucose and leptin in diabetes. — Maedler, K. , Schulthess, F. T. , Bielman, C. , Berney, T. , Bonny, C. , Prentki, M. , Donath, M. Y. , Roduit, R. Glucose and leptin induce apoptosis in human β‐ cells and impair glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion through activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinases. FASEB J. 22, 1905–1913 (2008)
Solid blends of high order continuity

Solid blending with the n/sup th/ order continuity is investigated in this paper. We use up to the n/sup th/ partial derivatives to define the continuity at the boundary surfaces between the blended solids and the blending solid, and introduce basic functions to transform the original boundary conditions into simpler ones. The mathematical description of a blending solid is discussed and a set of linear algebraic equations is derived to determine the unknown constants in the constructed function of the blending solid. Several numerical examples are given to demonstrate both the applications of the proposed approach in solid blending and the effects of different continuities on the smoothness between the blending solid and blended solids.
Understanding the Contribution of Biometrics to Games User Research

Utilising biometric data has become an increasingly active area in the video games user research community, and a number of academic papers have been published introducing various biometric based analysis techniques in video games research. This paper aims to quantify the value of biometric methods as an addition to traditional observation-based user research methodologies, and their respective contributions to the production of formative feedback during the development of video games. Our results show that observation-based techniques can expose the majority of issues relating to usability, however the biometrics-based approach enabled researchers to discover latent issues in related to players’ feelings, immersion and gameplay experience and, in certain categories of issue, reveal up to 63% more issues than observation alone.
Depolarization-induced translocation of the RNA-binding protein Sam68 to the dendrites of hippocampal neurons

The traffic and expression of mRNAs in neurons are modulated by changes in neuronal activity. The regulation of neuronal RNA-binding proteins is therefore currently receiving attention. Sam68 is a ubiquitous nuclear RNA-binding protein implicated in post-transcriptional processes such as signal-dependent splice site selection. We show that Sam68 undergoes activity-responsive translocation to the soma and dendrites of hippocampal neurons in primary culture. In unstimulated neurons transiently expressing a GFP-Sam68 fusion protein, 90% of the cells accumulated the protein exclusively in the nucleus, and 4% showed extension of GFP-Sam68 to the dendrites. This nuclear expression pattern required the integrity of the Sam68 N-terminus. When present, the dendritic GFP-Sam68 formed granules, 26% of which were colocalized with ethidium bromide-stained RNA clusters. Most of the GFP-Sam68 granules were completely stationary, but a few moved in either a retrograde or anterograde direction. Following depolarization by 25 mM KCl, 50% of neurons displayed dendritic GFP-Sam68. GFP-Sam68 invaded the dendrites after 2 hours with high KCl, and returned to the nucleus within 3 hours after termination of the KCl treatment. A control GFP fusion derived from the SC-35 splicing factor remained fully nuclear during depolarization. No significant change was observed in the phosphorylation of Sam68 after depolarization. Translocation of Sam68 to the distal dendrites was microtubule dependent. Blockade of calcium channels with nimodipine abolished the translocation. Furthermore, inhibition of CRM-1-mediated nuclear export by leptomycin B partially prevented the depolarization-induced nuclear efflux of GFP-Sam68. These results support the possible involvement of Sam68 in the activity-dependent regulation of dendritic mRNAs.
Evaluationof the IFCC Reference Method for Alanine Aminotransferase : SpuriousBlank ALT Activitydue to Contaminationof D-Alaninewith L-Alanine , and Recommendationsfor a Correction

assays for a few hours would not misguide the physician in the diagnosis of disease. We also examined the stability of creatimne and found it to be unchanged for at least five days. Finally, a word of caution for those who use the pierceable caps for the purpose of reducing the rate of sample evaporation during analysis. These caps should be used for their intended purpose only and not for long storage of specimens (most laboratories save specimens for a few days in case an additional test or verification of a questionable result is requested), because we found a 3% per day lossof water from specimens capped with pierceable caps and kept at 4#{176}C. For most of the tests performed on the Ektachem plasma
A pr 2 00 1 Large N Spin Quantum Hall Effect

We introduce a large N version of the spin quantum Hall transition problem. It is formulated as a problem of Dirac fermions coupled to disorder, whose Hamiltonian belong to the symmetry class C. The fermions carry spin degrees of freedom valued in the algebra sp(2N), the spin quantum Hall effect corresponding to N = 1. Arguments based on renormalization group transformations as well as on a sigma model formulation, valid in the large N limit, indicate the existence of a crossover as N varies. Contrary to the N = 1 case, the large N models are shown to lead to localized states at all energies. We also present a sigma model analysis for the system of Dirac fermions coupled to only sp(2N) random gauge potentials, which reproduces known exact results.
Review of Functional / Anatomic Imaging in Oncology

Patient management in oncology increasingly relies upon imaging for diagnosis, response assessment, and follow-up. The clinical availability of combined functional-anatomic imaging modalities, which integrate the benefits of visualizing tumor biology with those of high-resolution structural imaging, revolutionized clinical management of oncologic patients. [1–6] Conventional high resolution anatomic imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) excel at providing details regarding lesion location, size, morphology, and structural changes to adjacent tissues; however, these modalities provide little insight into tumor physiology. With the increasing focus on molecularly targeted therapies, imaging radiolabeled compounds with positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) are often used to provide insight into a tumor's biologic functions and its surrounding microenvironment. Despite their high sensitivity and specificity, PET and SPECT alone are substantially limited by low spatial resolution and inability to provide anatomic detail. Integrating SPECT or PET with a modality capable of providing these (i.e. CT or MR) maximizes their separate strengths and provides anatomic localization of physiologic processes with detailed visualization of a tumor's structure. The availability of multi-modality (hybrid) imaging with PET/ CT, SPECT/CT and PET/MR improves our ability to characterize lesions and to affect treatment decisions and patient management. We have just begun to exploit the truly synergistic capabilities of multi-modality imaging. Continued advances in instrumentation and imaging agent development will improve our ability to noninvasively characterize disease processes. This review will discuss the evolution of hybrid imaging technology and provide examples of its current and potential future clinical uses.
Wie die Eltern, so die Kinder? Ähnlichkeiten in der Zeitverwendung auf bildungsnahe Aktivitäten

Leseprobe ----- Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag erforscht die Zeitverwendung von Kindern und Jugendlichen im Alter von 10 bis 17 Jahren auf bildungsnahe Aktivitaten und beleuchtet dabei insbesondere die Rolle gleichartiger elterlicher Aktivitaten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sogenannte Spiegelkorrelationen der Zeitverwendung auch dann signifikant sind, wenn fur die ublichen sozio-demografischen Merkmale der Kinder und der Eltern kontrolliert wird. Die multivariaten Analysen differenzieren zwischen sechs Aktivitatengruppen, die jeweils separat fur die Kindesaltersgruppen 10-13 Jahre und 14-17 Jahre geschatzt werden. Bezuglich der einzelnen Aktivitaten finden wir spezifische Muster nach Geschlecht und Erwerbsstatus der Eltern sowie Unterschiede zwischen Werk- und Wochenendtagen. Die starksten Korrelationen betreffen die Mediennutzung der Vater und Mutter. Fur Vater kommen signifikante Assoziationen in den Bereichen Sport und Spiele, fur Mutter in den Bereichen Kunst und Kultur hinzu. Schlagworter: Zeitverwendung, bildungsnahe Aktivitaten, Geschlecht, Eltern, Kinder, Kindesalter, Paarhaushalte, Wochenende, Werktag, Spiegelkorrelationen ----- Do children mirror their parents’ time use? The case of educational activities Abstract This article explores the determinants of the time use of children aged 10 to 17 for educational activities, focusing in particular on the role of corresponding parental educational activities. Results show significant correlations even when the usual socio-demographic characteristics of children and parents are controlled for. Multivariate analyses differentiate between six activity groups which are separately estimated for children aged 10 to 13 and 14 to 17, respectively. We find specific patterns for parental gender and employment status. Moreover, associations vary between working days and weekend. Strongest mirror correlations are found for media-related activities, both for mothers and fathers. In addition, children’s time use exhibits significant correlations to mothers’ time use with respect to cultural activities and arts, and to fathers’ time use concerning sports and games. Key words: time use, educational activities, gender, parents, children, children’s age, couple households, mirror correlations ----- Bibliographie: Boll, Christina/Lagemann, Andreas: Wie die Eltern, so die Kinder? Ahnlichkeiten in der Zeitverwendung auf bildungsnahe Aktivitaten, ZfF, 1-2018, S. 50-75. https://doi.org/10.3224/zff.v30i1. 04
An area-efficient Ternary CAM design using floating gate transistors

This paper presents a Ternary Content-addressable Memory (TCAM) design which is based on the use of floating-gate (flash) transistors. TCAMs are extensively used in high speed IP networking, and are commonly found in routers in the internet core. Traditional TCAM ICs are built using CMOS devices, and a single TCAM cell utilizes 17 transistors. In contrast, our TCAM cell utilizes only 2 flash transistors, thereby significantly reducing circuit area. We cover the chip-level architecture of the TCAM IC briefly, focusing mainly on the TCAM block which does fast parallel IP routing table lookup. Our flash based TCAM block is simulated in SPICE, and we show that it has a significantly lowered area compared to a CMOS based TCAM block, with a speed that can meet current (~400 Gb/s) data rates that are found in the internet core.