Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance tradeoffs in cache design

A series of simulations that explore the interactions between various organizational decisions and program execution time are presented. The tradeoffs between cache size and CPU/cache cycle-time, set associativity and cycle time, and block size and main-memory speed, are investigated. The results indicate that neither cycle time nor cache size dominates the other across the entire design space. For common implementation technologies, performance is maximized when the size is increased to the size is increased to the 32-kB to 128-kB range with modest penalties to the cycle time. If set associativity impacts the cycle time by more than a few nanoseconds, it increases overall execution time. Since the block size and memory-transfer rate combine to affect the cache miss penalty, the optimum block size is substantially smaller than that which minimizes the miss rate. The interdependence between optimal cache configuration and the main memory speed necessitates multilevel cache hierarchies for high-performance uniprocessors. <<ETX>>
New Questions about Student Teaching.

Many of the difficulties we face in doing a good job with supervision of student teachers stem from the fact that there is so much to listen to—simultaneous messages, conflicting messages, signal and noise mixed together, all under the pressure of time. It's a wonder that anything "good" gets done. Yet the reports in this theme issue are radically encouraging. Good learning from field experiences is clearly possible, even under imperfect conditions. Such good learning is clearly not easy to support nor automatic. But it is possible. The reports in this theme issue remind me of a more ancient kind of literature— the literature called "the hero's journey. " In the hero's journey, the main character, full of youthful optimism and a bit of magic, sets out on a quest to locate and bring home a precious and powerful object—a holy grail, a magic sword or ring, a book of secrets. In this case, a powerful and thoughtful band of teacher educators set out to the east, to the north, and to the west to discover, describe, and tame the good student teaching placement, and bring it back to the castle keep, for all teacher educators to appreciate. In the classic literature of the quest, the middle part Christopher M. Clark is of the journey is usually full of pain, danger, uncer a professor and director tainty and disillusionment. The optimistic plans of the School of made back home do not work out as envisioned. Education at the Dragons bar the way. The object of the quest becomes University of Delaware, much more complex, dangerous, and difficult to deal Newark, Delaware. with as the heroes and heroines close in on it. And
Multisensor Detection in Randomly Arriving Impulse Interference Using the Hough Transform

In this chapter, several advanced detection algorithms for Track-Before-Detect (TBD) procedures using the Hough Transform (HT) are proposed and studied. The detection algorithms are based on the scheme described in (Carlson et al., 1994) to use the Hough transform for simultaneous target detection and trajectory estimation. The concept described in (Carlson et al., 1994) accepts that a target moves within a single azimuth resolution cell, and the distance to the target is estimated for several last scans forming the (r-t) data space. The Hough transform maps all points from the (r-t) space into the Hough space of patterns. The association with a particular pattern is done by thresholding the Hough parameter space with a predetermined threshold. In order to enhance the target detectability in conditions of Randomly Arriving Impulse Interference (RAII), a CFAR processor is proposed to be used for signal detection in the (r-t) space instead of the detector with a fixed threshold as it is suggested in (Carlson et al., 1994). The results obtained show that such a Hough detector works successfully in a noise environment. In real-time and realistic applications, however, when the two target parameters (range and azimuth) vary in time, the usage of the Polar Hough transform (PHT) is more suitable for radar applications because the input parameters for the PHT are the output parameters of a search radar system. Such a Polar Hough detector combined with a CFAR processor is proposed for operation in RAII conditions. The results obtained by simulation illustrate the high effectiveness of this detector when operating in strong RAII situations. Finally, the TBDPHT approach is applied to the design of a multi-channel Polar Hough detector for multisensor target detection and trajectory estimation in conditions of RAII. Three different structures of a nonsynchronous multi-sensor Polar Hough detector, decentralized with track association (DTA), decentralized with plot association (DPA) and centralized with signal
Necessary and Sufficient Condition for a Class of Planar Dynamical Systems Related to CNNs to be Completely Stable

We study global dynamical behavior of cellular neural networks (CNNs) consisting of two cells. Since the output characteristic of each cell is expressed by a piecewise-linear function, a CNN with two cells is considered as a planar piecewise-linear dynamical system. We present the necessary and sufficient condition for such a CNN to be completely stable under the assumptions that: 1) self-coupling coefficients take the same value greater than one and 2) biases are set to zero. The condition is explicitly expressed in terms of coupling coefficients between cells
INVERSE DYNAMICS OF 2-DOF PLANAR PARALLEL MANIPULATORS WITH PRISMATIC ACTUATORS

This paper presents a recursive formulation for the inverse dynamics of a generic twoDegree of Freedom planar parallel manipulator with prismatic actuators, which find applications in positioning, contouring, etc. with high accuracy and precision. The method is based on the Newton-Euler equations of motion and the Decoupled Natural Orthogonal Complement matrices, which relate the angular and linear velocities of the rigid bodies of the system to the associated joint rates. The dynamic modeling developed is used to study the variation of actuating forces of two such manipulators. The results are useful for the selection of a suitable type and to decide the proper actuator ratings. KeywordsInverse dynamics, DeNOC, Parallel manipulators, Prismatic actuators
Epileptiform Synchronization and GABAB Receptor Antagonism in the Juvenile Rat Hippocampus

The GABAB receptor agonist baclofen enhances the epileptiform activity induced by 4-aminopyridine (4AP) in juvenile rat hippocampal slices. In this study, we used a similar experimental approach (i.e., field potential, intracellular, and [K+]o recordings in the CA3 area of slices obtained from 15–23-day-old rats) to establish whether antagonizing GABAB receptors could exert opposite (presumably anticonvulsant) effects. Bath application of 4AP (50 μM) induced spontaneous interictal and ictal discharges along with synchronous GABA receptor-mediated potentials. All types of 4AP-induced synchronous activity occurred more frequently during application of the GABAB receptor antagonistp3-amino-propyl,p-diethoxymethylphosphonic acid (CGP 35348) (0.1–1 mM; EC50 = 0.25 mM). Moreover, CGP 35348 augmented the frequency and, to a lesser extent, the duration of the asynchronous synaptic activity recorded intracellularly from CA3 pyramids (n = 19). In medium containing 4AP + ionotropic glutamatergic antagonists (which abolished interictal and ictal activity), CGP 35348 prolonged both GABA-receptor-mediated field potentials and the accompanying intracellular long-lasting depolarizations without modifying their rate (n = 12). The transient elevations in [K+]o associated with GABA receptor-mediated potentials in 4AP-containing medium (n = 7 slices) became larger during CGP 35348 application. Similar findings were obtained when CGP 35348 was applied to medium containing 4AP + ionotropic glutamatergic antagonists (n = 6). Thus, the effect of CGP 35348 on 4AP-induced epileptiform activity is not anticonvulsant and to some extent similar to what was reported in this model during GABAB receptor activation. We propose that the facilitation of ictal activity by CGP 35348 is mainly caused by the blockade of presynaptic GABAB receptor, leading to an increase in GABA release and subsequent larger [K+]o elevations.
Dust emission from 3C radio galaxies and quasars: New ISO observations favour the unified scheme

In order to test the unied scheme for luminous radio galaxies and quasars we observed 10 galaxy/quasar pairs from the 3CR catalogue with ISOPHOT at infrared wavelengths between 5 and 180 m. Each pair was selected such that both the 178 MHz luminosity and the redshift match as close as possible between the radio galaxy and the quasar in order to minimize eects of cosmic evolution. 13 of the 20 sources were detected in at least one waveband. 12 sources show clear evidence of a thermal bump at FIR wavelength, while in the remaining 7 sources the upper limits are still compatible with the presence of luminous dust emission. In agreement with the predictions of the unied scheme, the quasars and galaxies in our sample cannot be distinguished by their observed mid- and far-infrared properties. This is in contrast to the ndings on the basis of the IRAS scans which indicated that radio galaxies radiate signicantly less mid- to far-infrared emission than quasars. However, the IRAS samples are dominated by low-redshift sources ( z 0:8). At lower redshifts ( z< 0:5), however, some of the lobe-dominated FRII radio galaxies contain active nuclei which emit less UV-optical continuum than the quasars of similar radio power. As this division is mainly a function of redshift and less one of absolute radio power, we suggest that it is caused by the evolution of the nuclear fueling rate with cosmic epoch. In order to quantify the deviation from the purely aspect-dependent unied scheme at low redshifts a larger fraction of 3C radio galaxies has to be observed at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths with sensitivities which suce to yield secure detections rather than upper limits.
SLC: Split-control Level Converter for dense and stable wide-range voltage conversion

Ultra-low voltage design makes signal level conversion a critical component in modern low power designs. This paper proposes a static level converter operating in the subthreshold regime, called SLC (Split-control Level Converter). Using a novel circuit structure, SLC effectively eliminates the high leakage and short circuit currents in previous approaches. Designed for 300mV to 2.5V conversion and fabricated in 130nm CMOS, measured results show 2.3×, 9.9×, and 5.9× improvements over conventional DCVS structures in delay, static power, and energy per transition, respectively. Even with the smallest area among wide-range level converters, it also has 5.2× smaller standard deviation in delay and only 5.6% change in FO4 delay with 10% VDDL drop, demonstrating robustness.
East-West German Migration Flows and Earnings Gap

Migration is an investment: it involves fixed, unrecoverable costs and uncertain future returns. If migration can be postponed, the option value of doing so may have positive value. Migration may not occur for a range of individuals who would otherwise migrate on a net present value basis. This paper models the migration decision using ideas developed by Pindyck (1991) and Dixit (1992). The option value of waiting is related to the interest rate, fixed costs, and especially uncertainty governing the evolution of income at home and abroad. The "bad news principle" predicts that only unfavorable states of the world will affect the value of the migration option. In a rational intertemporal equilibrium of two regional labor markets, low migration rates may coexist with large or even increasing current wage differentials.
The Innovation Nexus: Is Environmental Patent Introduction Influenced by Revenue Growth, Profitability, R&D and Investment Intensity?

Due to the recent upward trend in environmental sustainability initiatives, many corporations have capitalized on the benefits of appealing to the eco-conscious consumer market by offering them innovative products and services. Patent introduction, used as a proxy for environmental innovation, is a key dimension of measuring how well those corporations are doing to meet both consumer expectations and industry regulations. While some corporations have been more successful in patenting activity than others, there has been little research done on what drives patent introduction from a financial standpoint. Using R&D intensity as a percentage of revenue, net income growth, year-over-year revenue growth, and long-term investment intensity as financial measures, this paper examines the relationship between financial strength and innovation as an organizational outcome. Analysis will be conducted using regression in a STATA xta bond model, using dummy year variables to control for time-fixed effects. Furthermore, by using a firm-industry ratio of patent growth year-over-year, a better analysis can be performed controlling for industry variations. Bridging the gap between quantitative measures and innovation output will better position corporations to execute patenting activity relative to the monetary resources they possess.
Normalization and feature extraction on ear images

Ear image analysis is an emerging biometrie application. A method for normalizing ear images and extracting from them a set of measurable features (feature vector) that can be used to identify its owner is proposed. The identification would be made based on the comparison between the feature vector of the input image and all feature vectors of the images in the database we work with. The feature vector is based on the ear contours. One important goal of this paper is to identify the most significant areas in the ear contour for human being identification purpose. Another important contribution of the paper is the combination of active contours techniques and ovoid model ear fitting (used to normalize ear features) and a high accurate invariant approach of internal and external ear contours. Ear geometry is characterized using a set of distances to external and internal contours points. This set of distances, along with six ovoid parameters is considered as the feature vector of the image. To test the method a new ear images database has been created. The proposed method identifies front-parallel views pretty good, even when varying the distance of the individual to the camera or the camera lens.
Workflow Model of Equipment Maintenance Support Based on Petri-Net

With analyzing related conceptions and contents of equipment maintenance support (EMS) workflow model, this paper develops graphical modeling tool, Workflow Model Graphic Editor, for workflow based on VC++. Models created by this tool not only can be executed on workflow engine by converting them to WPDL (Workflow Process Definition Language), but also can be exported as ". ex" files (simulate models) that can be executed on simulation software-ExSpect. By simulating these workflow models, this paper analyzes the validity, rationality and operational efficiency of EMS workflow model. Consequently, it carries out Business Process Reengineering (BPR) for EMS process.
A highly-usable projected clustering algorithm for gene expression profiles

Projected clustering has become a hot research topic due to its ability to cluster high-dimensional data. However, most existing projected clustering algorithms depend on some critical user parameters in determining the relevant attributes of each cluster. In case wrong parameter values are used, the clustering performance will be seriously degraded. Unfortunately, correct parameter values are rarely known in real datasets. In this paper, we propose a projected clustering algorithm that does not depend on user inputs in determining relevant attributes. It responds to the clustering status and adjusts the internal thresholds dynamically. From experimental results, our algorithm shows a much higher usability than the other projected clustering algorithms used in our comparison study. It also works well with a gene expression dataset for studying lymphoma. The high usability of the algorithm and the encouraging results suggest that projected clustering can be a practical tool for analyzing gene expression profiles.
A Note on Greedy Heuristics with Regret , with Application to the Cheapest Insertion Algorithm for the Traveling Salesman Problem

This note considers the practical potential of greedy algorithms that allow partial regret. It is illustrated by considering a variant of the well-known cheapest insertion algorithm for the Traveling Salesman Problem. This variant allows dropping a vertex from the solution whenever a new vertex is added. We present the results of a numerical study that checks the effect of this change, and conclude that in most cases it significantly reduces the relative error, and the added computational time is quite small.
Two Weighting Local Search for Minimum Vertex Cover

Minimum Vertex Cover (MinVC) is a well known NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, and local search has been shown to be one of the most effective approaches to this problem. State-of-the-art MinVC local search algorithms employ edge weighting techniques and prefer to select vertices with higher weighted score. These algorithms are not robust and especially have poor performance on instances with structures which defeat greedy heuristics. In this paper, we propose a vertex weighting scheme to address this shortcoming, and combine it within the current best MinVC local search algorithm NuMVC, leading to a new algorithm called TwMVC. Our experiments show that TwMVC outperforms NuMVC on the standard benchmarks namely DIMACS and BHOSLIB. To the best of our knowledge, TwMVC is the first MinVC algorithm that attains the best known solution for all instances in both benchmarks. Further, TwMVC shows superiority on a benchmark of real-world networks.
Neurex, an expert network for the autonomous design of artificial neural networks

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have proved to be increasingly useful for complex problems that are difficult to solve with conventional methods. With their learning abilities, they avoid the need to develop a mathematical model or to acquire any particular knowledge to solve the problem. But the difficulty now lies in the ANN design process. Many choices must be made in designing an ANN, and there are no available design rules to make these choices directly for a particular problem. Therefore the design of an ANN demands a certain number of iterations, guided mainly by the expertise and intuition of the designer. To solve this difficulty, we have designed NEUREX, an expert network composed of an expert system and an ANN simulator. NEUREX guides the iterative design process of ANNs autonomously. Its structure tries to reproduce the expertise brought to bear by a human expert in conceiving ANNs. It serves as a shell to implement this expertise for different learning paradigms. This article presents the general characteristics of the system and its use for designing ANNs with standard backpropagation learning.
Current theories on the cause of Parkinson's disease.

Inthis article, Iwill attemptthesomewhat daunting task ofdelineating current theories on thesequence of events that lead toParkinson's disease. Anyreview of this nature mustborder on adiscussion ofthecauseof thedisease which, ofcourse, remains unknown. Nonetheless, with ourincreasing knowledge aboutthe nigrostriatal system, bothinnormality anddisease, it seemsthatthetimeisright toputsome ofthepieces together inanattempt tonarrowdownthefactors that might eventually lead towhatwe knowasParkinson's disease. Aging Onecannotdiscuss thecauseofParkinson's disease without also taking into consideration theimportance ofaging. Thisistruefortworeasons.First, Parkinson's disease isprimarily adisease ofolder individuals; itisrarebefore theageof40years,andtheincidence rateincreases atleast until thesixth orseventh decade oflife. Thus,aging itself appearstobea keysusceptibility factor forParkinson's disease. Secondly, the major substrate upon which thedisease appearstoact, thedopaminergic nigrostriatal system, isitself affected bytheaging process.Carlsson andWinblad' werethe first topoint outthatthere appearstobea gradual decline instriatal dopamine concentrations throughoutlife, progressing atarateofapproximately 5to8% per decade. Thus,within theParkinsonian nigrostriatal system, there isanunavoidable mingling ofthe decline that occursnormally withaging, andloss of function that occursaspartofthedisease processdue toParkinson's disease. Thisbrings ustothefirst ina series ofdilemmas that areencountered whenattemptingtosortoutwhichfactors areimportant inParkinson's disease andwhich arenot. First, thereasonforthenormally-occurring age
The importance of different facial areas for signalling visual prominence

This article discusses the processing of facial markers of prominence in spoken utterances. In particular, it investigates which area of a speaker’s face contains the strongest cues to prominence, using stimuli with the entire face visible or versions in which participants could only see the upper or lower half, or the right or left part of the face. To compensate for potential ceiling effects, subjects were positioned at a distance of either 50cm, 250cm or 380cm from the screen which displayed the film fragments. The task of the subjects was to indicate for each stimulus which word they perceived as the most prominent one. Results show that, while prominence detection becomes more difficult at longer distances, the upper facial area has stronger cue value for prominence detection than the bottom part, and that the left part of the face is more important than the right part. Results of mirror-images of the original fragments show that this latter result is due both to a speaker and an observer effect.
Scheduling Stochastic Multi-stage Jobs on Elastic Computing Services in Hybrid Clouds

In this paper, we consider the widespread multi-stage job scheduling problem (e.g., in Big Data processed by MapReduce) in which jobs arrive at hybrid cloud systems stochastically. The objective is to minimize the number of elastic computing instances. Along with hard deadlines of jobs, the problem under study is NP-hard in strong sense. In terms of initial job priorities, timetables are constructed by adjusting job priorities adaptively and generating feasible schedules iteratively. Job sequences are generated by two simple dispatching rules. A fast local search heuristic and a rescheduling process are developed for improving the obtained sequences. Experimental results show that the proposed heuristics improve the utilization of computing resources effectively while meeting the cloud service quality requirements.
On Cybersecurity, Crowdsourcing, and Social Cyber-Attack

Abstract : Social media is responsible for much positive change in the world. But these new tools can be used by bad actors to foment strife and undermine stability, as seen during violent incidents in the Assam state of northeast India in July 2012. Cybersecurity efforts must take into account the growing potential for cyber-attack using social media, where hoax messages are incorporated into a stream of otherwise legitimate messages, and understand how quickly mobile apps and text services can disseminate false information. Authorities and volunteers must develop a healthy skepticism about information derived from these systems and new research and tools are needed to facilitate the self-policing of social media.