Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
This Paper Is Included in the Proceedings of the 12th Usenix Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation (osdi '16). Slicer: Auto-sharding for Datacenter Applications Slicer: Auto-sharding for Datacenter Applications

Sharding is a fundamental building block of large-scale applications, but most have their own custom, ad-hoc implementations. Our goal is to make sharding as easily reusable as a filesystem or lock manager. Slicer is Google's general purpose sharding service. It monitors signals such as load hotspots and server health to dynamically shard work over a set of servers. Its goals are to maintain high availability and reduce load imbalance while minimizing churn from moved work. In this paper, we describe Slicer's design and implementation. Slicer has the consistency and global optimization of a centralized sharder while approaching the high availability, scalability, and low latency of systems that make local decisions. It achieves this by separating concerns: a reliable data plane forwards requests, and a smart control plane makes load-balancing decisions off the critical path. Slicer's small but powerful API has proven useful and easy to adopt in dozens of Google applications. It is used to allocate resources for web service front-ends, coalesce writes to increase storage band-width, and increase the efficiency of a web cache. It currently handles 2-7M req/s of production traffic. The median production Slicer-managed workload uses 63% fewer resources than it would with static sharding.
Tuberculosis, HIV seroprevalence and intravenous drug abuse in prisoners

High rates of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV are believed to exist in Russian prisons. Prisoners with TB were studied in order to identify the following: 1) prevalence of HIV, and risk factors for HIV and other blood-borne virus infections; and 2) clinical and social factors that might compromise TB treatment effectiveness and/or patient adherence and, hence, encourage treatment failure. A 1-yr cross-sectional prevalence study of 1,345 prisoners with TB was conducted at an in-patient TB facility in Samara, Russian Federation. HIV and hepatitis B and/or C co-infection occurred in 12.2% and 24.1% of prisoners, respectively, and rates were significantly higher than in civilians. Overall, 48.6% of prisoners used drugs, of which 88.3% were intravenous users. Prisoners were more likely to be intravenous drug users and HIV positive compared with civilians with TB, and 40.2% of prisoners shared needles. Two-thirds of prisoners (68.6%) had received previous TB drug therapy (frequently multiple, interrupted courses) and were significantly more likely than civilians to have had previous therapy consistent with the high drug-resistance rates seen. Prisons are major drivers of the tuberculosis and HIV epidemics. Novel strategies are needed to reduce the spread of blood borne diseases, particularly in intravenous drug users.
Imperialism and the Professions: Notes on the Development of Professional Occupations in Britain's Colonies and the New States

The sociology of the professions, as a specialist field, today stands almost alone in ignoring the third world. Despite the weight of fashion, textbooks and readers on the subject obstinately exclude the by now obligatory chapter or section on development. While in some circumstances such spirited rearguard inaction might evince sneaking admiration, an exclusion of the problems of underdevelopment is difficult to understand. This lacuna in the literature is particularly surprising as those social scientists who are concerned with the fate of the third world continually point to the significance of professional occupations for economic and social development. In fact, a maj or theme of the sociology of professions as it relates to changes in the distribution of power in industrialized societies, finds a direct parallel in the literature concerned with 'elites' and emergent stratification systems in the underdeveloped countries of Africa and Asia. The parallel exists to the extent that in both contexts the professions have been regarded as a positive force for social and economic betterment. The professions in the industrialised world have been seen as moderating the excesses of economic individualism by providing an occupational basis for corporate identity while, at the same time, tempering the impersonalising effects of bureaucratic organisation by upholding the values associated with individual responsibility: armed only with the authority of expertise they have humanised the formal hierarchies of the great public and private corporations. In short, the professions have provided many social theorists with a basis for optimism about the possibility of a democratic and prosperous future. This rosy view of the professions as democratic and humanising
Adolescent Sexual Offenders Grown Up

The objective of this study was to compare the recidivism rates of juvenile sexual offenders with those of other juvenile offenders once they became young adults. The authors found that the juveniles adjudicated for a sexual offense had a significantly higher rate of recidivism for sexual offenses as adults than did the comparison group, but rearrest rates for sexual offenses were low in both groups. The juvenile nonsexual offenders had higher rates of adult recidivism for all other types of offenses.
Equilibrium and movement control strategies in transtibial amputees

This study was aimed at identifying changes in equilibrium and movement control strategies in transtibial amputees (TTA) related to both the biomechanical changes and the loss of afferent inflow. The coordinations between equilibrium and movement were studied in traumatical TTA and in controls during transition from bipedal to monopodal stance. TTA failed to perform the task in a high percentage of trials both when the sound and the prosthetic limb were supporting. Significant differences were also found between TTA and controls in the duration of the weight transfer phase, in the length of the initial centre of pressure (CP) displacement and in the electromyographic (EMG) patterns. Despite adaptive posturomotor control strategies, transition from bipedal to monopodal stance remains a difficult task to perform for TTA, both when the supporting limb is the affected one and when the sound one is. The results of this study are discussed with respect to the rehabilitation programme and the prosthesis design for transtibial amputees.
Scaling limits of (1+1)-dimensional pinning models with Laplacian interaction

We consider a random field $\varphi:\{1,. ,N\}\to \mathbb{R}$ with Laplacian interaction of the form $\sum_iV(\Delta\varphi_i)$, where $\Delta$ is the discrete Laplacian and the potential $V(\cdot)$ is symmetric and uniformly strictly convex. The pinning model is defined by giving the field a reward $\varepsilon\ge0$ each time it touches the x-axis, that plays the role of a defect line. It is known that this model exhibits a phase transition between a delocalized regime $(\varepsilon \varepsilon_c)$, where $0<\varepsilon_c<\infty$. In this paper we give a precise pathwise description of the transition, extracting the full scaling limits of the model. We show, in particular, that in the delocalized regime the field wanders away from the defect line at a typical distance $N^{3/2}$, while in the localized regime the distance is just $O((\log N)^2)$. A subtle scenario shows up in the critical regime $(\varepsilon=\varepsilon_c)$, where the field, suitably rescaled, converges in distribution toward the derivative of a symmetric stable L\'evy process of index 2/5. Our approach is based on Markov renewal theory.
El verdadero fantasma es el trabajo no cuestionado: analizando etnográficamente al concepto de alienación

A partir de una etnografia realizada con quienes subsisten mediante la recuperacion informal de residuos en el basural de Comodoro Rivadavia –ciudad de la Patagonia Argentina–, el objetivo del articulo consiste en poner en tension al concepto de alienacion. Asi, se examinan las virtudes y limites de la nocion de alienacion en el analisis de la precariedad laboral que afecta a los recolectores. Dado que las biografias laborales de estas personas suponen la recurrente alternancia entre periodos de insercion en el mercado de empleo, desempleo, y subsistencia mediante la economia informal, el articulo supone dilucidar los siguientes interrogantes: ? como se dimensiona la nocion de alienacion en cada una de estas etapas? Habiendo sido definida en funcion de la explotacion laboral, ? como se reconfiguran los procesos de alienacion ante el desempleo? ; ? como interpretar dichos procesos con relacion a una subsistencia que se articula en torno a la economia informal?
Route to chaos and bifurcation analysis in a multi-cell DC/DC buck converter, modelling and simulation

This paper investigates the route to chaos in a multi-cell DC/DC buck converter controlled using a proportional controller. Nonlinear phenomena and discontinuities, inherent in this type of converters, yield to border collision bifurcation, due essentially to a structural change in the system after hitting a boundary. In this work, we focus on the degenerate flip bifurcation, characterised by degenerated cycles of double period when crossing the boundary and leading directly to robust chaos in cyclical sets. The distinctive feature in this study lies in the use of a simplified discrete model of the converter and the analysis of the route to chaos by the search of fixed points with their domains of stability and the appeal of the Feigin method to predict the route to chaos. The four-cell converter is treated in simulation to confirm the theoretical results.
Sensor and Actuator Needs for More Intelligent Gas Turbine Engines

This paper provides an overview of the controls and diagnostics technologies, that are seen as critical for more intelligent gas turbine engines (GTE), with an emphasis on the sensor and actuator technologies that need to be developed for the controls and diagnostics implementation. The objective of the paper is to help the “Customers” of advanced technologies, defense acquisition and aerospace research agencies, understand the state-of-the-art of intelligent GTE technologies, and help the “Researchers” and “Technology Developers” for GTE sensors and actuators identify what technologies need to be developed to enable the “Intelligent GTE” concepts and focus their research efforts on closing the technology gap. To keep the effort manageable, the focus of the paper is on “On-Board Intelligence” to enable safe and efficient operation of the engine over its life time, with an emphasis on gas path performance.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Nebivolol reduces cardiac angiotensin II, associated oxidative stress and fibrosis but not arterial pressure in salt-loaded spontaneously hypertensive rats

Objectives: Increased sympathetic outflow, renin–angiotensin system (RAS) activity, and oxidative stress are critical mechanisms underlying the adverse cardiovascular effects of dietary salt excess. Nebivolol is a third-generation, highly selective &bgr;1-receptor blocker with RAS-reducing effects and additional antioxidant properties. This study evaluated the hypothesis that nebivolol reduces salt-induced cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) by suppressing cardiac RAS and oxidative stress. Methods: Male SHRs (8 weeks of age) were given an 8% high salt diet (HSD; n = 22), whereas their age-matched controls (n = 10) received standard chow. In a subgroup of HSD rats (n = 11), nebivolol was given at a dose of 10 mg/kg per day by gastric gavage. Results: After 5 weeks, HSD exacerbated hypertension as well as increased left-ventricular weight and collagen deposition while impairing left-ventricular relaxation. Salt-induced cardiac remodeling and dysfunction were associated with increased plasma renin concentration (PRC), cardiac angiotensin II immunostaining, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)/ACE2 mRNA and activity ratio. HSD also increased cardiac 3-nitrotyrosine staining indicating enhanced oxidative stress. Nebivolol treatment did not alter the salt-induced increase in arterial pressure, left-ventricular weight, and cardiac dysfunction but reduced PRC, cardiac angiotensin II immunostaining, ACE/ACE2 ratio, oxidative stress, and fibrosis. Conclusions: Our data suggest that nebivolol, in a blood pressure-independent manner, ameliorated cardiac oxidative stress and associated fibrosis in salt-loaded SHRs. The beneficial effects of nebivolol may be attributed, at least in part, to the decreased ACE/ACE2 ratio and consequent reduction of cardiac angiotensin II levels.
National Sovereignty and the Constitution of Transnational Law: A Sociological Approach to a Classical Antinomy

Abstract This article outlines a concept of transnational law that is designed to question, or at least to sit alongside, the increasingly established categorisation of transnational law as law that emerges beyond the state, resulting from the fragmentation of the sovereign organs of national states. It argues that the construction of a hybrid transnational legal domain, far from being specific to globalised, postnational society, is in many cases a precondition for the formation of strong national statehood, and the inner-societal exercise of state sovereignty has typically depended on the existence of a bedrock of transnational law, fusing national and international law in autonomous fashion, in national societies. On this basis, the article employs a series of historical and contemporary examples to show that transnational law and national state building are closely interwoven, and it advances a historical-sociological methodology to support these claims.
Application of General Orthogonal Polynomials to Fast Simulation of Nonlinear Descriptor Systems Through Piecewise-Linear Approximation

In this letter, we report an approach combining piecewise-linear (PWL) approximation with general orthogonal polynomials to efficiently simulate large nonlinear descriptor systems in time-domain. The main idea of this approach is first to approximate a nonlinear function by a piecewise-linear representation. Then, using the recursive formulae of general orthogonal polynomials, orthonormal bases can be produced for fast simulation of the PWL model. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated on two nonlinear circuit models.
Peer teaching in medical education: twelve reasons to move from theory to practice

Objective: To provide an estimation of how often peer teaching is applied in medical education, based on reports in the literature and to summarize reasons that support the use of this form of teaching. Method: We surveyed the 2006 medical education literature and categorised reports of peer teaching according to educational distance between students teaching and students taught, group size, and level of formality of the teaching. Subsequently, we analysed the rationales for applying peer teaching. Results: Most reports were published abstracts in either Medical Education's annual feature ‘Really Good Stuff’ or the AMEE's annual conference proceedings. We identified twelve distinct reasons to apply peer teaching, including ‘alleviating faculty teaching burden’, ‘providing role models for junior students’, ‘enhancing intrinsic motivation’ and ‘preparing physicians for their future role as educators’. Discussion: Peer teaching appears to be practiced often, but many peer teaching reports do not become full length journal articles. We conclude that specifically ‘near-peer teaching’ appears beneficial for student teachers and learners as well as for the organisation. The analogy of the ‘journeyman’, as intermediate between ‘apprentice’ and ‘master’, with both learning and teaching tasks, is a valuable but yet under-recognized source of education in the medical education continuum.
The Nuer Concept of "Thek" and the Meaning of Sin: Explanation, Translation, and Social Structure

The purpose of this essay is threefold: (1) at the simplest level to examine a key term in the thought of an African people, the Nuer, a society of interest to anthropologists and others because through it Evans-Pritchard presented seminal ideas about understanding alien societies; (2) to explain an exotic concept while indicating the difficulties inherent in the translation of such notions into terms meaningful to us;2 (3) to touch upon
Logics of Time and Action

We present an introductory survey of temporal and dynamic logics: logics for reasoning about how environments change over time, and how processes change their environments. We begin by introducing the historical development of temporal and dynamic logic, starting with the seminal work of Prior. This leads to a discussion of the use of temporal and dynamic logic in computer science. We describe three key formalisms used in computer science for reasoning about programs (LTL, CTL, and PDL), and illustrate how these formalisms may be used in the formal specification and verification of computer systems. We then discuss interval temporal logics. We conclude with some pointers for further reading.
A 3 to 10 GHz LNA using a wideband LC-ladder matching network

Reactive matching is extended to wide bandwidths using the impedance property of LC-ladder filters. A SiGe amplifier with on-chip matching network spanning 3 to 10 GHz delivers 22 dB peak gain, 2.5 dB NF and 0 dBm input IP3 at 5 GHz, with 10 mA bias current.
Intimate Partner Violence Between Unmarried Parents Before and During Participation in a Couple and Relationship Education Program

Concerns have been raised that relationship education with couples who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) may set off further violence as the couple works through relationship issues. This is one of the first empirical research studies to address whether couples who have experienced IPV prior to enrollment have an elevated risk of violence during a couple education program. Data are from the Family Formation Project, a federally funded Healthy Marriage Initiative working with urban, low-income, unmarried parent couples (N = 90), of whom 44% reported IPV prior to enrollment. We present our IPV screening protocol and illustrate the types of violence found at enrollment. Of note is that no cases of “intimate terrorism”—the most serious controlling violence—were found in this sample. Findings for increased risk for IPV showed no statistically significant elevated risk during the program among those with prior IPV experience. However, sample size and other methodological limitations suggest that the “no elevated risk” finding be interpreted with caution. Relationship education programs working with fragile family couples should be prepared to address violence in their programs.
A First Approach to Differences in Continuity of Care Perceived by Immigrants and Natives in the Catalan Public Healthcare System

Objective: To compare immigrants’ and natives’ perceptions of relational, managerial and informational continuity of care and to explore the influence of the length of stay on immigrants’ perceptions of continuity. Methods: Cross-sectional study based on a survey of a random sample of 1,500 patients, of which 22% (331) were immigrants. The study area was made up by three healthcare areas of the Catalan healthcare system. To collect data, the CCAENA questionnaire was applied. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted. Results: Like natives, immigrants perceive high levels of managerial continuity (88.5%) and relational continuity with primary and secondary care physicians (86.7 and 81.8%), and lower levels of informational continuity (59.1%). There were no statistically significant differences in managerial and informational continuity between immigrants and natives. However, immigrants perceive a worse relational continuity with primary care physicians in terms of trust, communication and clinical responsibility. Conversely, immigrants perceive higher relational continuity with secondary care physicians in terms of effective communication and clinical responsibility. Discussion: Similar managerial and informational continuity perceptions seem to point towards a similar treatment of patients, regardless of their immigrant status. However, differences in relational continuity highlight the need for improvements in professionals’ skills in treating immigrants’ patients.
A Survey of Password Attacks and Comparative Analysis on Methods for Secure Authentication

Passwords play an important role in daily life in various computing applications like ATM machines, internet services, windows login, authentication in mobiles etc. The major aim for using passwords is to restrict unauthorized users to access the system. Passwords are necessary but, still they are not considered much safe to provide the security to the users because of many flaws in the conventional password systems. A large number of attacks on many systems are related to the passwords. This paper describes password attacks and comparative analysis of different authentication methods for awareness of attacks and selection of authentication method in a particular scenario.
Emerging Mechanisms of Educational Interaction

This article departs from a theoretical analysis of the characteristics of social interaction, and especially of face‐to‐face interaction. It elaborates on the difference between individual action and social interaction. In the second part, the analysis of social interaction is used to study the emergence of the mechanisms whereby the educational process goes on. The attention is focused on the social conditions of instruction and schooling, which are institutionalised in the eighteenth and nineteenth century in Europe. It is indicated that the predominant mechanisms of educational interaction determine how education takes place. The social function of education strongly depends on the interaction mechanisms that are used and institutionalised in schooling. In the concluding section, some consequences of these findings for conducting research on the relation between education and society are discussed.
Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide in diagnosing inferior myocardial infarction with right ventricular involvement

BackgroundB-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted from the ventricles in response to volume expansion and pressure overload. We aimed to investigate plasma BNP levels in inferior myocardial infarction (MI) with and without right ventricular MI (RVMI). MethodsWe enrolled 49 patients (mean age: 60±10 years, 45 males) who were admitted with first acute inferior MI. Sixteen patients (mean age: 58±10 years, 15 males) had also RVMI. The BNP levels were measured at admission. All patients underwent echocardiographic examination in the first day of hospitalization. Receiver-operating characteristic curve was obtained for prediction of inferior MI with RVMI. ResultsInferior MI with RVMI had lower RV fractional area change (36±14% vs. 48±15%, P=0.03) and right ventricle lateral annulus S velocity (10.6±1.9 m/s, 12.2±2.6 m/s, P=0.02). The BNP levels were higher in inferior MI with RVMI than isolated inferior MI (75±44 pg/ml vs. 32±24 pg/ml, P=0.001). On the basis of the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, the cutoff value of BNP concentration >46 pg/ml provided the best discrimination of patients with and without RVMI (sensitivity 76%, specificity 88%) with positive and negative predictive values of 92 and 63%, respectively. ConclusionPlasma BNP levels are higher in inferior MI with RVMI than isolated inferior MI. RV involvement may be suspected when BNP levels are higher than 46 pg/ml in inferior MI.