Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OptCon: An Adaptable SLA-Aware Consistency Tuning Framework for Quorum-Based Stores

Users of distributed datastores that employquorum-based replication are burdened with the choice of asuitable client-centric consistency setting for each storage operation. The above matching choice is difficult to reason about asit requires deliberating about the tradeoff between the latencyand staleness, i.e., how stale (old) the result is. The latencyand staleness for a given operation depend on the client-centricconsistency setting applied, as well as dynamic parameters such asthe current workload and network condition. We present OptCon, a novel machine learning-based predictive framework, that canautomate the choice of client-centric consistency setting underuser-specified latency and staleness thresholds given in the servicelevel agreement (SLA). Under a given SLA, OptCon predictsa client-centric consistency setting that is matching, i.e., it isweak enough to satisfy the latency threshold, while being strongenough to satisfy the staleness threshold. While manually tunedconsistency settings remain fixed unless explicitly reconfigured, OptCon tunes consistency settings on a per-operation basis withrespect to changing workload and network state. Using decisiontree learning, OptCon yields 0.14 cross validation error in predictingmatching consistency settings under latency and stalenessthresholds given in the SLA. We demonstrate experimentally thatOptCon is at least as effective as any manually chosen consistencysettings in adapting to the SLA thresholds for different usecases. We also demonstrate that OptCon adapts to variationsin workload, whereas a given manually chosen fixed consistencysetting satisfies the SLA only for a characteristic workload.
Tactile feedback can assist vision during mobile interactions

We evaluated the use of rich tactile feedback in the task of scrolling through a long list of items. We used a hand-held device having a tactile transducer that could provide sensations with temporal and spatial content. These capabilities were put to use in an interaction metaphor where input and tactile feedback were tightly coupled. We measured time- to-target and error rates, but also measured the time spent by participants to look at the screen. We found a 28% decrease of reliance on vision when tactile feedback was enabled.
Physical activity in the UK: a unique crossroad?

Recent objective evidence from England and the USA suggests that low physical activity is the most prevalent chronic disease risk factor, with 95% of the adult population not meeting the modest physical activity guidelines.1 ,2 In the UK, the annual cost of physical inactivity has been estimated at £8.2 billion, whereas the annual cost of smoking has been estimated at £1.5 billion,3 alcohol at £3.0 billion4 and obesity at £4.2 billion.1 However, despite this enormous burden on our public health and finances, the relative importance of physical inactivity as a primary cause of many chronic diseases is largely neglected within modern medicine and by health strategy. Surrogate risk factors for disease, such as hypertension, type II diabetes, obesity and dyslipidaemia, receive ample attention in medical education, have incentivised interventions embedded within primary care and are routinely reviewed during visits to a general practitioner (GP). Yet, despite physical inactivity being the most prevalent modifiable affliction and possibly the greatest chronic disease risk factor,5 it is still not receiving the attention that scientific and clinical evidence would seem to merit. There is a unique structure to general practice and primary care within the UK National Health Service (NHS). UK GPs, who are usually the first point of contact for patients, have a unique position and opportunity to combat physical inactivity and its numerous associated comorbidities. Through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), GPs are financially rewarded for achieving healthcare targets. Setting up a new QOF point is relatively very cheap, costing approximately £1 million across the UK, and GPs have proved adept at reaching QOF targets.6 GPs are not trained to give lifestyle modification advice, but last year QOF included physical activity for the first time under a ‘cardiovascular risk assessment and management’ indicator. Specifically, …
Design Space Exploration for the Design of Reliable SRAM-Based FPGA Systems

This paper presents a design space exploration approach for the design of SRAM-based FPGAs with single event upsets fault mitigation capabilities, exploiting the feature of partial, dynamic reconfiguration offered by the target platform. In fact, in this scenario, several techniques are available and they can be applied at different granularity levels; thus, we propose a support for exploring the different alternatives by means of a framework taking into account several figures of merit, based on genetic algorithms. The several elements taken into account for evaluating the different solutions are here analyzed and discussed, and the application of the methodology and framework to some case studies is reported, allowing both a tuning of the metrics and the analysis of the identified most interesting solutions, which do not correspond, in general, to the trivial ones.
Mistreatment in Distributed Caching Groups: Causes and Implications

Although cooperation generally increases the amount of resources available to a community of nodes, thus im- proving individual and collective performance, it also allows for the appearance of potential mistreatment problems through the exposition of one node's resources to others. We study such con- cerns by considering a group of independent, rational, self-aware nodes that cooperate using on-line caching algorithms, where the exposed resource is the storage of each node. Motivated by content networking applications - including web caching, CDNs, and P2P - this paper extends our previous work on the off-line version of the problem, which was limited to object replication and was conducted under a game-theoretic framework. We identify and investigate two causes of mistreatment: (1) cache state interactions (due to the cooperative servicing of requests) and (2) the adoption of a common scheme for cache replacement/redirection/admission policies. Using analytic models, numerical solutions of these models, as well as simulation experiments, we show that on- line cooperation schemes using caching are fairly robust to mistreatment caused by state interactions. When this becomes possible, the interaction through the exchange of miss-streams has to be very intense, making it feasible for the mistreated nodes to detect and react to the exploitation. This robustness ceases to exist when nodes fetch and store objects in response to remote requests, i.e., when they operate as Level-2 caches (or proxies) for other nodes. Regarding mistreatment due to a common scheme, we show that this can easily take place when the "outlier" characteristics of some of the nodes get overlooked. This finding underscores the importance of allowing cooperative caching nodes the flexibility of choosing from a diverse set of schemes to fit the peculiarities of individual nodes. To that end, we outline an emulation-based framework for the development of mistreatment-resilient distributed selfish caching schemes.
Terapia focada nos esquemas: Questões acerca da sua validação empírica

Sao discutidas questoes relacionadas com a validacao empirica da terapia focada nos esquemas (TFE), um modelo para a compreensao e intervencao nos disturbios da personalidade proposto por Young (1990), encarando a TFE como um desenvolvimento da terapia cognitiva para os disturbios de personalidade (Beck et al., 1990). Partindo do principio que a validacao da TFE passa pela possibilidade de avaliar, valida e fidedignamente, os esquemas precoces mal-adaptativos (EPM), postulados como subjacentes a psicopatologia, centramo-nos na discussao das varias estrategias de avaliacao clinica e em investigacao destas estruturas cognitivas. E analisada criticamente a avaliacao de EPM por questionarios de auto-resposta, nomeadamente atraves do Questionario de Esquemas de Young (Young & Brown, 1990). Por fim, e apresentada uma nova metodologia de avaliacao de EPM, o IAECA – Inventario de Avalicao de Esquemas por Cenarios Activadores (Rijo & Pinto Gouveia, 1999), que procura ultrapassar as limitacoes dos instrumentos de avaliacao actualmente disponiveis. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.17575/rpsicol.v15i2. 502
Aseptic loosening, not only a question of wear: A review of different theories

Today, aseptic loosening is the most common cause of revision of major arthroplasties. Aseptic loosening accounts for more than two-thirds of hip revisions and almost one-half of knee revisions in Sweden. Several theories on the cause of aseptic loosening have been proposed. Most of these theories, however, are based on empiric observations, experimental animal models or anecdotal cases. In this review, we discuss the most common theories concerning aseptic loosening. It emerges from this review that aseptic loosening has a multifactorial etiology and cannot be explained by a single theory.
Automatic Impairment-Aware Optical Path Switching in Multicore Fiber Link Based on Multiring Structure

We developed a novel multicore fiber (MCF) link based on a multiring structure composed of field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based optical switching units for highly reliable networks. The switching algorithm implemented on the FPGA in the unit has five high-functioning processes capable of coping with multiple link failures in the network. To verify the operations of this MCF link, we experimentally demonstrated automatic impairment-aware optical path switching when a failure occurred in an MCF link based on a two-ring structure. We were able to perform path recovery by switching within a relatively short period of time, 7.6 ms, which is sufficiently less than that required by ITU-T. The restoration path that substitutes for the failed working path was also optimized for low-loss transmissions by selecting the path having the minimum number of units through which a signal passes. These results indicate that the link will be useful for optical network designs that simultaneously need to ensure high capacity and reliable transmissions in businesses such as data centers.
Geo-localized social media data to improve characterization of international travelers

The motivation for traveling across political borders might be influenced by the socio-economic condition and the educational level of the traveler. Ecuador is both a highly popular touristic destination and the home country of at least 1 million migrants. The relatively high availability and low cost of online social network data may be a complement to migration data in the study of traveler's economical means and motivations. Such travel variables are relevant for countries as Ecuador in which the economy partly relies on the tourism industry and remittances. In this empirical study, we collected 63 millions of tweets, extracted the modal country for each user and studied the tweets generated. We first demonstrated, that the volume of local travelers leaving a country grouped by destination, as well as the volume of foreign travelers visiting the same country and grouped by provenance origin location, can be accurately estimated (r = 0.85) from geo-located records extracted from Twitter. Next, we characterized each group of travelers and computed spatial clusters, revealing popular locations of national and foreign travelers while in Ecuador. Finally, we showed that Ecuadorians with higher educational level have more chances to travel abroad, validating such findings with official data.
Use of Antimony in the Treatment of Leishmaniasis: Current Status and Future Directions

In the recent past the standard treatment of kala-azar involved the use of pentavalent antimonials Sb(V). Because of progressive rise in treatment failure to Sb(V) was limited its use in the treatment program in the Indian subcontinent. Until now the mechanism of action of Sb(V) is not very clear. Recent studies indicated that both parasite and hosts contribute to the antimony efflux mechanism. Interestingly, antimonials show strong immunostimulatory abilities as evident from the upregulation of transplantation antigens and enhanced T cell stimulating ability of normal antigen presenting cells when treated with Sb(V) in vitro. Recently, it has been shown that some of the peroxovanadium compounds have Sb(V)-resistance modifying ability in experimental infection with Sb(V) resistant Leishmania donovani isolates in murine model. Thus, vanadium compounds may be used in combination with Sb(V) in the treatment of Sb(V) resistance cases of kala-azar.
A probabilistic model for predicting hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Diabetes Outcomes in Veterans Study (DOVES).

BACKGROUND To develop and validate a method for estimating hypoglycemia risk in stable, insulin-treated subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS Subjects (n = 195) monitored their blood glucose levels 4 times daily for 8 weeks. An 8-week mean blood glucose value (GLUMEAN) with standard deviation (GLUSD) was derived for each patient. Subjects were then randomly allocated to a derivation or validation set. For the derivation set, we developed a logistic function based on GLUMEAN and GLUSD to describe the 8-week risk of hypoglycemia (blood glucose < or =60 mg/dL [3.3 mmol/L]). This function was used to assign a predicted probability of hypoglycemia to each subject in the validation set. Subjects were assigned to risk quartiles and followed up for up to 52 weeks. RESULTS We evaluated 195 subjects, 95% of whom were men and 69% of whom were non-Hispanic white. For 72 derivation subjects, GLUMEAN and GLUSD were highly influential determinants of hypoglycemia during intensified monitoring. The 123 validation subjects were followed up for 39.7 +/- 7.1 weeks (mean +/- SD). The occurrence of long-term hypoglycemia differed significantly across risk quartiles (19.4%, 36.7%, 61.3%, and 77.4%, respectively; P<.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area for the probability function (0.746 +/- 0.046) was significantly higher than the area for hemoglobin A1c (0.549 +/- 0.052) because their 95% confidence intervals did not overlap. The function also identified subjects who developed long-term hypoglycemia at a rate exceeding the median frequency. CONCLUSIONS Self-monitoring of blood glucose is superior to hemoglobin A1c measurement in predicting long-term hypoglycemia in persons with type 2 diabetes. The risk of hypoglycemia associated with treatment intensification may be offset by strategies that reduce glucose variability.
Deterministic edge-preserving regularization in computed imaging

Many image processing problems are ill-posed and must be regularized. Usually, a roughness penalty is imposed on the solution. The difficulty is to avoid the smoothing of edges, which are very important attributes of the image. In this paper, we first give conditions for the design of such an edge-preserving regularization. Under these conditions, we show that it is possible to introduce an auxiliary variable whose role is twofold. First, it marks the discontinuities and ensures their preservation from smoothing. Second, it makes the criterion half-quadratic. The optimization is then easier. We propose a deterministic strategy, based on alternate minimizations on the image and the auxiliary variable. This leads to the definition of an original reconstruction algorithm, called ARTUR. Some theoretical properties of ARTUR are discussed. Experimental results illustrate the behavior of the algorithm. These results are shown in the field of 2D single photon emission tomography, but this method can be applied in a large number of applications in image processing.
CONCEPTUALIZING PEDAGOGICAL CHANGE : EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EPS MODEL BY USING CONCEPT MAPPING TO ASSESS STUDENT CONCEPTUAL CHANGE

The research presented here is from a three-year study that uses concept mapping to assess change in student conceptual understanding in science at the undergraduate level. The fundamental question being addressed is, “To what extent do pedagogical changes such as adaptation of an environmental problem-solving (EPS) model influence student understanding in undergraduate science? ” This study is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-initiative to improve the teaching of science at the undergraduate level, and to study changes in teaching practice and student learning that result from this improvement. NSF-funded regional summer workshops (RWP) trained 400 faculty in facilitating local environmental problem-solving experiences, field/laboratory exercises, and cooperative learning environments for students at their home universities. One and two years following workshop attendance, eight faculty members were selected from this pool of attendees for in-depth analysis of student learning in a selected course they taught. The study used qualitative and quantitative analysis of concept mapping data to assess student conceptual understanding across a wide range of institutions and academic disciplines. The sample population consisted of a total of 79 students, 59 science majors and 20 non-majors. Results suggest that the adaptation of the EPS model was effective in increasing student conceptual understanding, as measured by concept maps. The greatest determinant of increased conceptual understanding over the course of a semester was the student’s self-report of approaches to learning and studying. Approaches to learning, in turn, were reflective of differences in the quality of student concept maps. Concomitantly, the student concept maps reflected student gains in content and depth over a semester with respect to an expert map. The results also suggest that teaching styles, particularly the level of faculty-student interaction, are associated with student gains in depth of understanding.
Thirteen Universal Assessments Which May Contribute to the ‘Good Life’

Beliefs matter. This paper examines the “biggest” of all possible beliefs, universal assessments (UAs), which consist of our “take” on the whole universe. UAs are a subset of worldview, which is in turn a subset of schema. After discussing the development of Weltanschauung in continental philosophy and the capacity of schemas to generate expectancy, three previously researched UAs are identified (universal benevolence or safety, universal meaningfulness, and belief in a just world). All have been shown to influence life outcomes, but three is only a beginning. Moreover, the focus of research thus far has been on alleviating the ‘miserable life,’ so we do not yet know which UAs lead to the ‘good life. ’ A speculative analysis is conducted which identifies thirteen UA continuum opposite pairs that might influence the ‘good life,’ defined here as the development of strengths and positive emotions. The thirteen pairs include is the universe good/bad, beautiful/ugly, malleable/ unchangeable, improving/declining, safe/dangerous, just/unjust, comprehensible/incomprehensible, subject-centric/not subject-centric, and intentional/mindless, as well as should it be accepted/changed, explored/avoided, and experienced with others/alone? This list, though only preliminary and based on the intuitions of the author, can be a point of departure for what comes next. A call is made for a coordinated and systematic UA classification program that would catalyze future research.
Mining Semantic Sequential Patterns from Geo-Tagged Photos

Social media data associated with geographic location and time information reflect people footprint in real world. Abundance of geo-referenced content represents a massive opportunity to understanding of human geographic mobility behaviors. Most trajectory mining research from geo-enabled social media data focus on spatial geometric features. Integrating trajectory analysis with semantic information can implicate human movement behaviors on semantic levels. In this work, we illustrate a study on mining semantically enriched trajectory patterns using geo-referenced content especially using geo-tagged photo data for case study. We first propose a semantic region of interest mining technique to extract reference regions with semantic information. We then present a multi-dimensional sequential pattern mining algorithm to find trajectory patterns with various semantic dimension combinations. We apply our method to real geo-tagged photo data to discover interesting patterns about sequential movement related to multiple semantics. Experimental results show that our method is able to find useful semantic trajectory patterns from geo-tagged content and deal with multi-dimensional semantic trajectories.
Treating disordered speech and voice in Parkinson's disease online: a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial.

BACKGROUND Telerehabilitation may be a feasible solution to the current problems faced by people with Parkinson's disease in accessing speech pathology services. AIM To investigate the validity and reliability of online delivery of the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) for the speech and voice disorder associated with Parkinson's disease. METHOD & PROCEDURES Thirty-four participants with Parkinson's disease and mild-to-moderate hypokinetic dysarthria took part in the randomized controlled non-inferiority laboratory trial and received the LSVT® in either the online or the face-to-face environment. Online sessions were conducted via two personal computer-based videoconferencing systems with real-time and store-and-forward capabilities operating on a 128 kbit/s Internet connection. Participants were assessed pre- and post-treatment on acoustic measures of mean vocal sound pressure level, phonation time, maximum fundamental frequency range, and perceptual measures of voice, articulatory precision and speech intelligibility. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Non-inferiority of the online LSVT® modality was confirmed for the primary outcome measure of mean change in sound pressure level on a monologue task. Additionally, non-significant main effects for the LSVT® environment, dysarthria severity, and interaction effects were obtained for all outcomes measures. Significant improvements following the LSVT® were also noted on the majority of measures. The LSVT® was successfully delivered online, although some networking difficulties were encountered on a few occasions. High participant satisfaction was reported overall. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS Online treatment for hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease appears to be clinically valid and reliable. Suggestions for future research are outlined.