Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A G-Line-Based Network for Fast and Efficient Barrier Synchronization in Many-Core CMPs

Barrier synchronization in shared memory parallel machines has been widely implemented through busy-waiting on shared variables. However, typical implementations of barrier synchronization tend to produce hot-spots in terms of memory and network contention, thus creating performance bottlenecks that become markedly more pronounced as the number of cores or processors increases. To overcome such limitations, we present a novel hardware-based barrier mechanism in the context of many-core CMPs. Our proposal is based on global interconnection lines (G-lines) and the S-CSMA technique, which have been recently used to enhance a flow control mechanism (EVC) in the context of networks-on-chip. Based on this technology, we have designed a simple and scalable G-line-based network that operates independently of the main data network, and that is aimed at carrying out barrier synchronizations efficiently. In the ideal case, our design takes only 4 cycles to perform a barrier synchronization once all cores or threads have arrived at the barrier. As a proof of concept, we examine the benefits of our proposal by comparing it with one of the best software approaches (a binary combining-tree barrier). To do so, we run several kernels and scientific applications on top of the Sim-PowerCMP performance simulator that models a 32-core CMP with a 2D-mesh network configuration. Our proposal entails average reductions in terms of execution time of 68% and 21% for kernels and scientific applications, respectively. Additionally, network traffic is also lowered by 74% and 18%, respectively.
Semantic Differences in Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) Alarm Calls: A Reflection of Genetic or Cultural Variants?

In this study, we compared the usage of alarm calls and anti-predator strategies between a captive and a wild lemur population. The wild lemur population was studied earlier in Western Madagascar (Fichtel & Kappeler 2002). The captive population was studied in outdoor enclosures of the Duke University Primate Center. Alarm calls and anti-predator behavior were elicited by conducting experiments with both vocal and visual dummies. We scored the subjects’ immediate behavioral responses, including alarm calls, from video recordings made during the experiments. In principle, both populations have a mixed alarm call system with functionally referential alarm calls for aerial predators and general alarm calls for terrestrial and aerial predators and for situations associated with high arousal, such as group encounters. Although wild and captive sifakas exhibit the same alarm call system and use the same alarm call types, we discovered striking differences in the usage and perception of some of the alarm calls. We argue that these differences indicate either an evolutionary drift in the meaning of these calls or reflect cultural variation. The latter possibility is consistent with our understanding of the ontogeny of call usage and comprehension.
Towards an Automatic Approach for View-Dependent Geometry

View specific distortions of a 3D model according to its reference drawings are required for cartoon animations. Rademacher introduced a technique called View-Dependent Geometry wherein a 3D view-dependent model changes shape based on the viewing direction. The main problem in constructing a view-dependent model is of deforming the 3D base model according to its reference drawings. In this paper, we propose an automatic method for solving this problem based on a projective camera model. We present results demonstrating our approach.
Lackwit: A Program Understanding Tool Based on Type Inference

By determining, statically, where the structure of a program requires sets of variables to share a common representation, we can identify abstract data types, detect abstraction violations, find unused variables, functions, and fields of data structures, detect simple errors in operations on abstract datatypes, and locate sites of possible references to a value. We compute representation sharing with type inference, using types to encode representations. The method is efficient, fully automatic, and smoothly integrates pointer aliasing and higher-order functions. We show how we used a prototype tool to answer a user’s questions about a 17,000 line program written in C.
Rheological and Mechanical Properties of Ultra-fine Cellulose-Filled Thermoplastic Epoxy Composites

Thermoplastic epoxy resin (TPER)-based composites containing different amounts of ultra-fine cellulose (UFC) were prepared via melt compounding and injection molding. The effect of UFC loading on the mechanical properties and dynamic rheological behavior of the UFC-filled TPER composites was analyzed. The UFC-filled composites displayed higher complex viscosities than those of the neat TPER composites, especially at low frequencies. The elastic modulus of the 20 wt. % UFC-filled composite was up to 6- and 2-fold higher than that of TPER at 0.1 and 100 Hz, respectively. The loss factor decreased over the entire frequency range with the incorporation of UFC. The tensile modulus of elasticity (TMOE) of neat TPER was 3.13 GPa, and it increased as a function of UFC loading. The neat TPER exhibited the lowest flexural strength (108.1 MPa), and the flexural strength increased by 14% with the incorporation of 20 wt. % UFC. The results of the TMOE and the flexural modulus of elasticity (FMOE) were in agreement with rheological data on complex viscosity, elastic modulus, and viscous modulus. Ultra-fine cellulose-filled TPER composites may provide special capabilities for automotive applications and may also meet requirements for end-of-life vehicle (ELV) directives.
Sociodemographic predictors of success in smoking intervention

AIM To examine the role of sociodemographic factors as predictors of sustained smoking cessation for the population who volunteer to participate in intervention programmes. METHOD Data for the 3575 smokers who participated in the CEASE (collaborative European anti-smoking evaluation) trial, a European multicentred study that used transdermal nicotine patches as an adjunct to smoking cessation in the chest clinic, were analysed. The effects of age, sex, smoking habit, socioeconomic status (housing conditions, education, and employment), disease, smoking habits of relatives, and baseline markers of tobacco use on sustained smoking cessation (self-reported abstinence and expired carbon monoxide < 10 parts per million) were assessed using logistic regression modelling (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI)). RESULTS 477/3575 smokers were sustained abstainers one year after the intervention (overall success rate 13.3%). In the univariable logistic regression models an effect of active treatment on smoking cessation was observed (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.96), and additional effects on outcome were found for age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03), sex (menv women: OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.68), housing conditions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.65), current respiratory (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.92) or cardiac disease (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.75), and markers of tobacco use (cigarettes per day: OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.90; expired carbon monoxide: OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97 to 0.99). Education and employment did not have a significant effect on the outcome. The effect of the variables associated with success in smoking cessation persisted after adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSION Age, sex, and housing conditions have a major effect on smoking cessation in European smokers participating in smoking cessation programmes.
A DMF-assisted solution process boosts the efficiency in P3HT:PCBM solar cells up to 5.31%

To achieve ideal phase separation in P3HT:PCBM (1:1, w/w) blend films, a selective second solvent, DMF, which cannot dissolve P3HT but slightly dissolves PCBM, was added into 1,2-dichlorobenzene. Addition of 10% DMF led to better charge transport, better morphology and average power conversion efficiency (PCE) enhancement from 3.75% to 4.29%. To form an acceptor rich layer near the cathode and achieve effective vertical phase separation, PCBM solution in DMF was spin-coated on the top surface of the P3HT:PCBM active layer. The PCBM rich layer enhanced hole blocking and electron transport, leading to an average PCE improvement from 4.29% to 4.83% (for the PCBM rich layer formed by a 2 mg ml−1 PCBM solution). Finally, to obtain more uniform and smooth films with better contact of Ca/PCBM and BHJ/PCBM interfaces, the films were thermally annealed at 120 ° C for 10 min after spin coating the PCBM rich layer, leading to an average PCE enhancement from 4.83% to 5.17% (the best PCE was 5.31%).
Rate Control in Atrial Fibrillation: Targets, Methods, Resynchronization Considerations

Controlling the ventricular rate during both paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), initially with digitalis preparations and subsequently with β-blockers and calcium channel blockers, has been a mainstay for the management of this arrhythmia for many years. With the advent of a wide range of pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches for maintaining sinus rhythm, rhythm control strategies have entered widespread clinical use in selected subsets of symptomatic patients. Despite the availability of these rhythm control strategies, however, rate control of AF remains an important and useful approach for a large number of patients, especially those with little or no symptoms from the arrhythmia once the ventricular rate has been controlled. This review discusses the relative risks and benefits of rate versus rhythm control strategies, describes the targets and available methods for rate control, and highlights special considerations for ventricular rate control when cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is used in patients with AF. Among the most important decisions that must be made by a patient and care provider when choosing a treatment plan for AF is the choice between rate and rhythm control. Rate control is typically a simpler strategy than rhythm control, involving the use of generally less toxic medications and fewer medical procedures, although rate control strategies can result in adverse drug side effects and toxicities and, in some cases, may require interventions such as pacemaker implantation and atrioventricular (AV) nodal ablation. Rhythm control strategies typically involve potentially riskier antiarrhythmic medications or invasive procedures such as catheter ablation or surgery, but, when successful, provide the benefits of sinus rhythm. ### Randomized Trials of Rate versus Rhythm Control Several large randomized, controlled clinical trials have been performed to compare the risks and benefits of rate versus pharmacological rhythm control strategies in patients with AF. Among these are the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM), Rate Control Versus …
Microtubule Interactions with the Cell Cortex Causing Nuclear Movements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

During mitosis in budding yeast the nucleus first moves to the mother-bud neck and then into the neck. Both movements depend on interactions of cytoplasmic microtubules with the cortex. We investigated the mechanism of these movements in living cells using video analysis of GFP-labeled microtubules in wild-type cells and in EB1 and Arp1 mutants, which are defective in the first and second steps, respectively. We found that nuclear movement to the neck is largely mediated by the capture of microtubule ends at one cortical region at the incipient bud site or bud tip, followed by microtubule depolymerization. Efficient microtubule interactions with the capture site require that microtubules be sufficiently long and dynamic to probe the cortex. In contrast, spindle movement into the neck is mediated by microtubule sliding along the bud cortex, which requires dynein and dynactin. Free microtubules can also slide along the cortex of both bud and mother. Capture/shrinkage of microtubule ends also contributes to nuclear movement into the neck and can serve as a backup mechanism to move the nucleus into the neck when microtubule sliding is impaired. Conversely, microtubule sliding can move the nucleus into the neck even when capture/shrinkage is impaired.
Request Reordering to Enhance the Performance of Strict Consistency Models

Advances in ILP techniques enable strict consistencymodels to relax memory order through speculative execution ofmemory operations. However, ordering constraints still hinderthe performance because speculatively executed operationscannot be committed out of program order for the possibility ofmis-speculation. In this paper, we propose a new technique whichallows memory operations to be non-speculatively committed outof order without violating consistency constraints.
Drug Maintenance Strategies in Schizophrenia

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The EU–Russia Strategic Partnership: Challenging the Normative Argument

Russia–EU relations have often been presented in terms of a normative gap, with the EU appearing as a normative and Russia as a non-normative actor. This article critically analyses this ‘normative argument’ which sees this gap as the cause of tensions. Pleading for a less dichotomous approach to norms and interests, it challenges the normative argument on the basis of the assumed congruence between the norm-driven input and norm-promoting output of European foreign policy. As an alternative, the article explores how the normative agenda in Eastern Europe serves instrumental purposes. Selective norm promotion has the potential to change the hierarchy of identities among post-Soviet states.
Liberalismo político y reciprocidad: Justificación epistémica de creencias versus justificación moral de acciones

My aim in this article is to propose a novel argument in support of the deliberative ideal of reciprocity in justification —which was initially introduced by John Rawls’s political liberalism—. This argument attempts to demonstrate that although we accept the hypothesis that a group of citizens has an appropriate public justification to believe that certain comprehensive doctrine is true or right, there are fundamental moral reasons to reject the claim that the State can be justified to act on the basis of those beliefs when constitutional essentials or matters of basic justice are at stake.
Marked Hypotension Induced by Adrenaline Contained in Local Anesthetic

Objectives: Local anesthetics containing adrenaline, which often cause cardiovascular side effects, are routinely used in functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for the main purpose of hemostasis. The controversies concerning hemodynamic effects of adrenaline in local infiltration are widely discussed, but there is no definite conclusion. A prospective, randomized, double‐blinded study was carried out to discover the hemodynamic effects after local infiltration of 1:200,000 adrenaline contained in 2% lidocaine under general anesthesia.
The Johnson-Neyman Technique Using SPSS or BMDP

When homogeneity of slopes, an assumption of analysis of covariance is not present, the Johnson-Neyman technique has been considered as an alternative to analysis of covariance. The limited use of the Johnson-Neyman technique is perhaps related to exclusion of an algorithm in BMDP or SPSS, two major statistical packages. The present paper describes how to apply the Johnson-Neyman technique for one or two covariates using SPSS and/or BMDP.
to Parks for Youth as an Environmental Justice Issue : Access Inequalities and Possible Solutions

Although repeated contact with nature helps foster mental and physical health among young people, their contact with nature has been diminishing over the last few decades. Also, low-income and ethnic minority children have even less contact with nature than white middle-income children. In this study, we compared accessibility to play in parks for young people from different income and racial backgrounds in Denver, Colorado. Park access for children and youth was measured using a geographic information system (GIS). Each neighborhood was classified according to income level, residential density, and distance from downtown; and then each park was classified based on formal and informal play, and level of intimacy. Comparisons between neighborhoods show that that low-income neighborhoods have the lowest access and high-income neighborhoods have the highest access to parks, and that differences are even higher for parks with play amenities and high levels of intimacy. To overcome this issue, the paper proposes a framework for action to improve access to parks for low-income children and youth and to help planners, decision makers and advocacy groups prioritize park investments.
Layer-2.5 Routing in Multi-Radio Wireless Mesh Networks

The availability of cost-effective wireless network interface cards has recently made it possible to equip wireless mesh routers with multiple interfaces. The problem how to assign channels to those interfaces has been consequently studied and shown to be strictly related to the routing problem. In a previous work, we have proposed a Layer-2.5 forwarding paradigm for multi-radio wireless mesh networks and claimed its potential for desirable features such as high throughput, fast recovery against node/link failures and high robustness to variation in the traffic demands. In this paper, we show that such features are not easily achieved by a traditional destination-based routing protocol. For this purpose, we had to: (i) design a technique to compute proper link weights, and (ii) develop a modified version of AODV, named AODV-MLW, which is able to use arbitrary link weights. The thorough performance evaluation studies we carried out actually show that our Layer-2.5 forwarding paradigm outperforms a traditional destination-based routing protocol.
Endothelial Function and Cardiovascular Prevention: Role of Blood Lipids, Exercise, and Other Risk Factors

Multifactorial risk factor modification is proven to positively influence morbidity and mortality from both cardiovascular disease and stroke. The vascular endothelium has recently been a focus of interest in cardiovascular prevention. Data suggest that vascular endothelial dysfunction may contribute to the pathophysiology of clinical ischemia, especially angina, myocardial infarction, and sudden death. Endothelial dysfunction includes abnormalities of vasomotor tone (constriction and dilation), balance between fibrinolysis and thrombosis, control of the inflammatory response, and growth of vascular smooth muscle. Cardiovascular prevention interventions have been studied extensively and there are considerable data supporting a beneficial effect on endothelial dysfunction. The interventions that are clearly effective in improving endothelial function are diet and lipid-lowering therapy (especially with statin drugs), use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, hormone replacement therapy, vitamin E, and proper physical exercise. Many challenging issues remain unsolved, however, and the endothelium at both the molecular and cellular levels must be further investigated for both research and clinical interests.
Constructing and critiquing reflective practice1

This article explores two key aspects of the process of making use of research and evidence to inform teaching and help to raise standards of Attainment: the need for knowledge and skills derived from research and evidence to be internalised for effective use in classroom settings; the influence of academic traditions of research upon the use of research and evidence in reflective practice. It also considers the question of whether teachers need to engage in action research or, indeed, any form of research, to learn from it in sufficient depth to use it to improve teaching and learning.
Attractor neural network models of spatial maps in hippocampus

Hippocampal pyramidal neurons in rats are selectively activated at specific locations in an environment (O'Keefe and Dostrovsky, Brain Res 1971;34:171–175). Different cells are active in different places, therefore providing a faithful representation of the environment in which every spatial location is mapped to a particular population state of activity of place cells (Wilson and McNaughton, Science 1993;261:1055–1058; Zhang et al., J Neurosci 1998;79:1017–1044). We describe a theory of the hippocampus, according to which the map results from the cooperative dynamics of network, in which the strength of synaptic interaction between the neurons depends on the distance between their place fields. This synaptic structure guarantees that the network possesses a quasi‐continuous set of stable states (attractors) that are localized in the space of neuronal variables reflecting their synaptic interactions, rather than their physical location in the hippocampus. As a consequence of the stable states, the network can exhibit place selective activity even without relying on input from external sensory cues. Hippocampus 1999;9:481– 489. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessing Natural Disaster Impacts and Recovery Using Multifrequency, Fully-Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Optical Remote Sensing Techniques

Many natural disasters involving landslides, volcanic eruptions, fires, or floods entail terrain resurfacing, followed by subsequent recovery. Modern satellite and airborne remote sensing technologies, which combine broad spatial coverage and high spatial resolution with time-sequential site revisit capability, can provide important information on the extent and duration of major landscape disturbance. In humid climate settings, these hazards temporarily remove or replace a natural vegetation cover and in doing so, modify the physical properties of the land surface. In optical remote sensing, removal of vegetation alters surface albedo in the visible near infrared (V-NIR) waveband, particularly the high reflectance from vegetation in the NIR. For SAR remote sensing, removal of vegetation cover causes a change in dominant microwave scattering mechanism for the areas affected. SAR has operational advantages over optical sensors for rapid disaster assessment because of its day/night acquisition capability, the ability to “see through” smoke, clouds and dust, and the side-looking viewing geometry, which is an advantage whenever data collection directly above the site would prove dangerous. We show how multifrequency, fully-polarimetric airborne SAR data can be “inverted” for parameters that reflect scattering mechanism signatures diagnostic of different surface cover types. We apply a uniform approach to map landslides resulting from the 1999 Mw 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan and volcanic flows from the major 1996 eruption of Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea. In addition, earlier work has shown that multifrequency SAR polarimetric backscatter is sensitive to total above-ground biomass. This attribute can be exploited to calculate vegetation loss during a disaster and for assessment of regrowth during the recovery phase.
An explicit theory of heights

We consider the problem of explicitly determining the naive height constants for Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves. For genus>1, it is impractical to apply Hilbert's Nullstellensatz directly to the defining equations of the duplication law; we indicate how this technical difficulty can be overcome by use of isogenies. The height constants are computed in detail for the Jacobian of an arbitrary curve of genus 2, and we apply the technique to compute generators of J(Q), the Mordell-Weil group for a selection of rank 1 examples.