Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An analysis of Facebook photo caching

This paper examines the workload of Facebook's photo-serving stack and the effectiveness of the many layers of caching it employs. Facebook's image-management infrastructure is complex and geographically distributed. It includes browser caches on end-user systems, Edge Caches at ~20 PoPs, an Origin Cache, and for some kinds of images, additional caching via Akamai. The underlying image storage layer is widely distributed, and includes multiple data centers. We instrumented every Facebook-controlled layer of the stack and sampled the resulting event stream to obtain traces covering over 77 million requests for more than 1 million unique photos. This permits us to study traffic patterns, cache access patterns, geolocation of clients and servers, and to explore correlation between properties of the content and accesses. Our results (1) quantify the overall traffic percentages served by different layers: 65.5% browser cache, 20.0% Edge Cache, 4.6% Origin Cache, and 9.9% Backend storage, (2) reveal that a significant portion of photo requests are routed to remote PoPs and data centers as a consequence both of load-balancing and peering policy, (3) demonstrate the potential performance benefits of coordinating Edge Caches and adopting S4LRU eviction algorithms at both Edge and Origin layers, and (4) show that the popularity of photos is highly dependent on content age and conditionally dependent on the social-networking metrics we considered.
Patina Engraver: Visualizing Activity Logs as Patina in Fashionable Trackers

Despite technological improvements in commercial activity trackers, little attention has been given to their emotional, social, or fashion-related qualities, such as their visual aesthetics and their relationship to self-expression and social connection. As an alternative integrated approach incorporating HCI, fashion, and product design, our project made use of the characteristics of patina to improve activity trackers as fashionable wearables. We developed the Patina Engraving System, which engraves patina-like patterns on an activity tracker according to a user's activity logs. Using a piercing technique, the patina of activity logs has been made abstract, visually rich, gradually emerging, and historically accumulated. During the field trial, we found that the patina motivated the participants to increase exercises for engraving aesthetic patinas. A tracker with patina triggered spontaneous social interactions in face-to-face situations. The participants also cherished the trackers that held their own history. Based on the field trial, we discuss design implications for utilizing patina in designing future fashionable technologies.
VNET/P: bridging the cloud and high performance computing through fast overlay networking

It is now possible to allow VMs hosting HPC applications to seamlessly bridge distributed cloud resources and tightly-coupled supercomputing and cluster resources. However, to achieve the application performance that the tightly-coupled resources are capable of, it is important that the overlay network not introduce significant overhead relative to the native hardware, which is not the case for current user-level tools, including our own existing VNET/U system. In response, we describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a layer 2 virtual networking system that has negligible latency and bandwidth overheads in 1--10 Gbps networks. Our system, VNET/P, is directly embedded into our publicly available Palacios virtual machine monitor (VMM). VNET/P achieves native performance on 1 Gbps Ethernet networks and very high performance on 10 Gbps Ethernet networks and InfiniBand. The NAS benchmarks generally achieve over 95% of their native performance on both 1 and 10 Gbps. These results suggest it is feasible to extend a software-based overlay network designed for computing at wide-area scales into tightly-coupled environments.
A Case of Irrationality

Were Maxwell and Boltzmann irrational to develop statistical mechanics whereas it was empirically refuted by the specific heats problem? My analysis of this historical episode departs from the current proposals about belief change. I first give a detailed description of Maxwell's and Boltzmann's epistemic states in the years they were working on statistical mechanics and then make some methodological proposals in epistemology that would account for the complexity of this case.
Coronary Artery Disease and the Profile of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in South South Nigeria: A Clinical and Autopsy Study

Introduction. Death from coronary artery disease (CAD) has been until recently considered rare in Nigeria. We present a report of a study of CAD with its predisposing cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors in South South Nigeria. Methods. We examined the autopsy reports of 747 coroner cases and 41 consecutive clinically diagnosed cases of ischemic heart disease seen in South South Nigeria. Results. CAD was diagnosed in 13 (1.6%) of 747 autopsies. They were predominantly males, urban residents, and of high social class with combination of CVD risk factors of hypertension, alcohol use, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, poor physical activities, and obesity. The mean serum cholesterol of the clinical subjects was 4.7 ± 1.57 mmol/L and 5.07 ± 1.94 mmol/L for angina and myocardial infarction, respectively, which was higher than the mean total cholesterol for locality of 3.1 mmol/L. Conclusion. CAD and its risk factors are contributing to mortality and morbidity in South South Nigeria. These risk factors include hypertension, alcohol use, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, poor physical activity, and obesity. Nigerians in this locality with CAD have raised serum lipids.
The DARPA Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration (DAHI) Program: Status and Future Directions

3 HetInTec Corp.; Rockville, MD 20850 Abstract — The DARPA Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration (DAHI) program is developing transistor-scale heterogeneous integration processes to intimately combine advanced compound semiconductor (CS) devices, as well as other emerging materials and devices, with high-density silicon CMOS technology. This technology is currently enabling RF/mixed signal circuits with revolutionary performance. For example, InP HBT + CMOS technology is being utilized in advanced DACs and ADCs with CMOS-enabled calibration and self-healing techniques for correcting static and dynamic errors in situ. Such CMOS-enabled self-healing techniques are expected to more generally enable improved CS-based circuit performance and yield in the presence of process and environmental variability, as well as aging. DAHI is also expected to enable the integration of high power CS devices with silicon-based linearization techniques to realize highly power efficient transmitters. By enabling this heterogeneous integration capability, DAHI seeks to establish a new paradigm for microsystems designers to utilize a diverse array of materials and device technologies on a common silicon-based platform. 1
Cluster‐Based Polarized Spectrum Sharing in Channels with Polarization Mode Dispersion

Polarized spectrum sharing (PSS) exploits the spectrum opportunities in a polarized domain. However, when it comes to wideband environments PSS is impaired by the frequency‐dependent polarization mode dispersion (PMD); thus, the effective throughput of PSS drops. To combat the PMD effect, this work proposes a cluster‐based PSS approach to enable PSS on a narrower frequency span. Simulation results show that the effective throughput of PSS on cluster basis outperforms that of PSS on bandwidth and subcarrier basis.
A Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission at 611 MHz

We have constructed and operated the Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission (STARE) to detect transient astronomical radio emission at 611 MHz originating from the sky over the northeastern United States. The system is sensitive to transient events on timescales of 0.125 s to a few minutes, with a typical zenith flux density detection threshold of approximately 27 kJy. During 18 months of around‐the‐clock observing with three geographically separated instruments, we detected a total of 4,318,486 radio bursts. Of these events, 99.9% were rejected as locally generated interference, determined by requiring the simultaneous observation of an event at all three sites for it to be identified as having an astronomical origin. The remaining 3898 events have been found to be associated with 99 solar radio bursts. These results demonstrate the remarkably effective radio frequency interference rejection achieved by a coincidence technique using precision timing (such as GPS clocks) at geographically separated sites. The nondetection of extrasolar bursting or flaring radio sources has improved the flux density sensitivity and timescale sensitivity limits set by several similar experiments in the 1970s. We discuss the consequences of these limits for the immediate solar neighborhood and the discovery of previously unknown classes of sources. We also discuss other possible uses for the large collection of 611 MHz monitoring data assembled by STARE.
AMPA receptor subunit 1 (GluR‐A) knockout mice model the glutamate hypothesis of depression

Recent evidence indicates that glutamate homeostasis and neurotransmission are altered in major depressive disorder, but the nature of the disruption and the mechanisms by which it contributes to the syndrome are unclear. Glutamate can act via AMPA, NMDA, or metabotropic receptors. Using targeted mutagenesis, we demonstrate here that mice with deletion of the main AMPA receptor subunit GluR‐A represent a depression model with good face and construct validity, showing behavioral and neurochemical features of depression also postulated for human patients. GluR‐A−/− mice display increased learned helplessness, decreased serotonin and norepinephrine levels, and disturbed glutamate ho‐meostasis with increased glutamate levels and increased NMDA receptor expression. These results correspond well with current concepts regarding the role of AMPA and NMDA receptors in depression, postulating that compounds that augment AMPA receptor signaling or decrease NMDA receptor functions have antidepressant effects. GluR‐A−/− mice represent a model to investigate the pathophysiology underlying the depressive phenotype and to identify changes in neural plasticity and resilience evoked by the genetic alterations in glutamatergic function. Furthermore, GluR‐A−/− mice may be a valuable tool to study biological mechanisms of AMPA receptor modulators and the efficacy of NMDA antagonists in reducing behavioral or biochemical changes that correlate with increased helplessness. —Chourbaji, S. , Vogt, M. A. , Fumagalli, F. , Sohr, R. , Frasca, A. , Brandwein, C, Hörtnagl, H. , Riva, M. A. , Sprengel, R. , Gass, P. AMPA receptor subunit 1 (GluR‐A) knockout mice model the glutamate hypothesis of depression. FASEB J. 22, 3129–3134 (2008)
Why do we like what we like? When information flow matters

In a recent issue of Science, Salimpoor et al. (2013) reported a study in which they explored the neural correlates of aesthetic reward by measuring brain activity while people listened to a novel piece of music. Their results showed that the degree to which a song is found desirable is well predicted both by the level of activity in the nucleus accumbens and the degree of its functional connectivity with other areas, including the orbitofrontal cortex and the auditory cortices. Interestingly, in a previous study, Zeki and Stutters (2012) demonstrated that subjects' preference for kinetic stimuli correlates not just with the activity of the orbitofrontal cortex, but also with activity in a specific part of the visual cortex, namely area V5. Taken together, these two studies are important in highlighting the role of early sensory cortices in subjective preference, even if indirectly shown in the study by Salimpoor et al. (2013) where there was not a direct relationship between auditory activity and desirability. However, in terms of the synergistic relationship between early sensory cortices and reward regions like the nucleus accumbens, two possibilities remain. One is that greater local processing of stimuli with preferred configurations leads to greater connectivity with emotion areas, while another is that greater feedback from emotion areas to early sensory areas takes place during the processing of favored stimuli. In the absence of a definitive answer to this question in the literature, we propose that the latter option is the more plausible. Indeed, there is considerable evidence of feedback influences originating in distant emotion brain structures, such as the amygdala, on early sensory processing (Vuilleumier and Driver, 2007; Scharpf et al., 2010). Nonetheless, there is also support for the alternative view: indeed, low-level statistical regularities of biological significance may influence perceptual judgments and preference ratings (for a review see Graham and Redies, 2010). For instance, in the aesthetic domain, observers dislike images of abstract art that present unnatural statistics (Fernandez and Wilkins, 2008). We suggest that future investigations that consider the dynamics of information flow in response to aesthetic stimuli will provide insights into how their desirability arises. Such efforts will significantly contribute to characterizing the feedback and feedforward mechanisms involved in aesthetic judgments.
Requirement of Interleukin 17 Receptor Signaling for Lung Cxc Chemokine and Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Expression, Neutrophil Recruitment, and Host Defense

Bacterial pneumonia is an increasing complication of HIV infection and inversely correlates with the CD4+ lymphocyte count. Interleukin (IL)-17 is a cytokine produced principally by CD4+ T cells, which induces granulopoiesis via granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) production and induces CXC chemokines. We hypothesized that IL-17 receptor (IL-17R) signaling is critical for G-CSF and CXC chemokine production and lung host defenses. To test this, we used a model of Klebsiella pneumoniae lung infection in mice genetically deficient in IL-17R or in mice overexpressing a soluble IL-17R. IL-17R–deficient mice were exquisitely sensitive to intranasal K. pneumoniae with 100% mortality after 48 h compared with only 40% mortality in controls. IL-17R knockout (KO) mice displayed a significant delay in neutrophil recruitment into the alveolar space, and had greater dissemination of K. pneumoniae compared with control mice. This defect was associated with a significant reduction in steady-state levels of G-CSF and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 mRNA and protein in the lung in response to the K. pneumoniae challenge in IL-17R KO mice. Thus, IL-17R signaling is critical for optimal production of G-CSF and MIP-2 and local control of pulmonary K. pneumoniae infection. These data support impaired IL-17R signaling as a potential mechanism by which deficiency of CD4 lymphocytes predisposes to bacterial pneumonia.
The association of a firm ’ s media reputation and trade credit supply

A positive corporate reputation is generally taken to be a valuable resource leading to competitive advantage. In this paper we examine the association between a firm's media reputation and the amount of trade credit given in a sample of listed UK firms. Consistent with expectations, our results show that a firm's willingness to extend trade credit to its customers is inversely related to its media reputation. The better its reputation, the less trade credit it allows. Moreover, the effect of media reputation on trade credit supply is stronger for younger firms and smaller firms, suggesting that media reputation is more effective in reducing trade credit given for firms lacking a well-established product performance reputation. These results document one of the ways in which corporate reputation, as an intangible resource, creates value for a firm.
Constraint Based Syntax of Modifiers

The paper introduces a technique for grammar rules that licence post-and pre-modified phrases, by using a generalized approach to constraint based lexicalized grammar. The rules generate iterative modification by avoiding spurious syntactic ambiguity. The rules of syntactic modification are lexically restricted by the lexical head of the modifier expression via a grammatical feature and its value.
Single image based camera calibration and pose estimation of the end-effector of a robot

A new method is proposed for measurement of six dimensional pose of an industrial robot using a single image from a camera which is not pre-calibrated. Additionally during the pose determination, camera internal parameters are also obtained, which makes the method a suitable alternative for calibrating camera using a single image. Results from the two variants of the proposed approach are compared with Zhang's camera calibration algorithm and has been found to be better. Another utility of the proposed algorithm is to measure six dimensional pose of an industrial robot. Robot repeatability was also measured using the proposed camera calibration algorithm. The repeatability results were compared with the measurements using Artificial Reality toolkit ArUco which is a de-facto standard in the pose measurements using camera. The performance of the proposed method is better than that obtained from ArUco. Another area of application is identification of kinematic parameters. Using the circle point analysis method, identification of KUKA KR5 Arc robot was done using the proposed method.
Shared Viewpoint Control for Information Visualization

Visualizations often rely on either animated guided tours or user-self exploration to control the viewpoint. This paper introduces a framework that supports a six level continuum of control between the viewer and the computer system in order to facilitate the extraction of information from the display. Furthermore, by dynamically adjusting the control along this continuum, the system can adapt to the changing information needs of the viewer.
Imaging of Spinal Metastatic Disease

Metastases to the spine can involve the bone, epidural space, leptomeninges, and spinal cord. The spine is the third most common site for metastatic disease, following the lung and the liver. Approximately 60–70% of patients with systemic cancer will have spinal metastasis. Materials/Methods. This is a review of the imaging techniques and typical imaging appearances of spinal metastatic disease. Conclusions. Awareness of the different manifestations of spinal metastatic disease is essential as the spine is the most common site of osseous metastatic disease. Imaging modalities have complimentary roles in the evaluation of spinal metastatic disease. CT best delineates osseous integrity, while MRI is better at assessing soft tissue involvement. Physiologic properties, particularly in treated disease, can be evaluated with other imaging modalities such as FDG PET and advanced MRI sequences. Imaging plays a fundamental role in not only diagnosis but also treatment planning of spinal metastatic disease.
Towards understanding the specifics of cochlear hearing loss: A modelling approach

It is well known that two patients suffering from a sensorineural hearing loss with similar audiograms can benefit significantly differently from amplified hearing even if the same settings of the hearing aids are used. The origin of this problem is complex but one part can be caused by the diagnosis itself; all inner-ear hearing losses are assumed similar. Such hypothesis is a simplification that probably leads to suboptimal hearing-aid fitting. For a better understanding of the signal degeneration caused by a cochlear lesion a model layout of the signal transmission in the peripheral hearing organ is presented. This model differentiates between processes in the inner ear caused by the outer hair cells, the inner hair cells, and the endocochlear potential driving the system. The model is intended to predict alteration of the signal caused by different types of cochlear lesions. Ultimately, the model may lead to improved hearing aids and fittings.
View independent face recognition based on kernel principal component analysis of local parts

This paper presents a view independent face recognition method based on kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) of local parts. View changes induce large variation in feature space of global features. However, in the case of local features, the influence of view changes is little. If the similarities with local parts are used in classification well, it is expected that view independent recognition be realized with small number of training views. Kernel based methods are appropriate for this purpose because they can use the similarities with training local parts in classification directly. In this paper, KPCA is used to construct the feature space specialized for local parts of each subject. To classify an input, the similarities of local parts cropped from the input are computed in eigen space. Voting, summation, and median rules are used to combine the similarities of all local parts. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by using the face images of 300 subjects with 5 views. Although only frontal and profile views are used in training, the recognition rates to unknown views are over 90%.
The EMD Mode of Operation (A Tweaked, Wide-Blocksize, Strong PRP)

We describe a block-cipher mode of operation, EMD, that builds a strong pseudorandom permutation (PRP) on nm bits (m ≥ 2) out of a strong PRP on n bits (i.e., a block cipher). The constructed PRP is also tweaked (in the sense of [10]): to determine the nm-bit ciphertext block C = EK(P ) one provides, besides the key K and the nm-bit plaintext block P , an n-bit tweak T . The mode uses 2m block-cipher calls and no other complex or computationally expensive steps (such as universal hashing). Encryption and decryption are identical except that encryption uses the forward direction of the underlying block cipher and decryption uses the backwards direction. We suggest that EMD provides an attractive solution to the disk-sector encryption problem, where one wants to encipher the contents of an nm-bit disk sector in a way that depends on the sector index and is secure against chosen-plaintext/chosen-ciphertext attack.