Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SSAGA

The emergence of GPGPU applications, bolstered by flexible GPU programming platforms, has created a tremendous challenge in maintaining high energy efficiency in modern GPUs. In this article, we demonstrate that customizing a Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) of a GPU at a lower frequency is significantly more energy efficient compared to employing DVFS on an SM designed for a high-frequency operation. Using a system-level CAD technique, we propose SSAGA—Streaming Multiprocessors Synthesized for Asymmetric GPGPU Applications—an energy-efficient GPU design paradigm. SSAGA creates architecturally identical SM cores, customized for different voltage-frequency domains. Our rigorous cross-layer methodology demonstrates an average of 20% improvement in energy efficiency over a spatially multitasking GPU across a range of GPGPU applications.
Pixel classification for automated diabetic foot diagnosis

Worldwide, more than 180 million people suffer from diabetes mellitus. Approximately 50% of these patients will develop complications to their feet. Neuropathy, combined with poor blood supply and biomechanical changes results in a high risk for foot ulcers, which is a key problem in the diabetic foot; when these wounds become infected, this can ultimately result in lower extremity amputation, which has a serious effect on the quality of life of the patient, and causes a large economic burden on society. This was the motivation for a collaborate project (Vincent50) in which a photographic foot imaging device was developed. The system allows scanning of the foot soles on a daily basis which may lead to early recognition of foot problems. The goal of the present study is to determine whether pixel classification is a useful intermediate step towards automatically assessing the images of the foot soles for signs of diabetic foot disease. If successful, this approach will further relief health care professionals in assessing the foot and enable the placement of more devices in the future. The best agreement between automated recognition and expert diagnosis was achieved with a combination of RGB and derived features, proves that the RGB data is informative with respect to detection of ulcers. However, the automatic detection of pre-signs of ulcers and other anomalies needs more sophistication than pixel classification alone. Firstly, other physical features, such as hyperspectral data, infrared and/or textural features are expected to be more informative. Secondly, we expect to be able to boost the performance by using the context between neighboring pixels. Thirdly, an individualized and normalized classification process might help with the large variability in foot soles between individuals.
Working memory in Down syndrome: Training the rehearsal strategy

Verbal short term memory skills of individuals with Down syndrome are very poor (Hulme and MacKenzie, 1992; Bower and Hayes, 1994). This study reports on the verbal short term memory skills of individuals with Down syndrome and on the possibility of increasing memory span durably by using a rehearsal training strategy. Three tasks (letter span, digit span and word span) were presented to two groups of 12 individuals with Down syndrome as a pre-test. A global span measure was established for each individual. Each group contained four children, four teenagers and four young adults. The groups had similar memory span and mental age at the beginning of the study. None of these individuals seemed to clearly rehearse. One group of 12 was exposed to an intensive rehearsal training during eight weeks (half an hour a week). The methodology was inspired from that used by Hulme and MacKenzie (1992), and partially from that used by Broadley and MacDonald (1993). The other group of 12 received no training. After the training, the three initial memory tasks were presented again to the two groups as a post-test. The trained participants significantly improved their memory span, whereas the non-trained participants did not improve at all. Only the trained individuals showed, at this time, clear signs of systematic rehearsal. Two other post-tests were presented to them, one six weeks and the other six months after the first post-test. The trained participants did not seem, at these times, to rehearse systematically any more. Their memory performances fell significantly lower than after the first post-test but remained significantly higher than at the beginning of the study.
Long-Term Effect of Interferon Plus Ribavirin on Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seroclearance in Patients Dually Infected with Hepatitis B and C Viruses

Background Interferon-α/ribavirin combination therapy might promote hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance in patients dually infected with hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV/HCV), but the long-term effect remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the rate of and the factors associated with HBsAg seroclearance during long-term follow-up after interferon-α/ribavirin combination therapy in HBV/HCV dually-infected patients. Methodology/Principal Findings Eighty-one patients who received interferon-α/ribavirin combination therapy for 24 weeks with a follow-up period of >24 weeks were enrolled. HBV serological markers and HBV DNA were determined every 6 months. Early and late HBsAg seroclearance were defined as HBsAg loss in less or more than 6 months after end-of-treatment, respectively. Fifteen (18.5%) patients had HBsAg seroclearance during a mean follow-up period of 3.4 (0.5–5.1) years. The 5-year cumulative incidence was 25.6%. Baseline cirrhosis and HBV DNA negativity 1 year after end-of-treatment were independently predictive of HBsAg seroclearance with an odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 16.6, 1.8–153 and 9.2, 1.4–62.1, respectively, by Cox regression hazard analysis. Four patients developed early and 11 developed late HBsAg seroclearance, respectively. Cox regression hazard analysis showed no factor was associated with early HBsAg seroclearance, whilst HBV DNA negativity 1 year after end-of-treatment was the only significant factor predicting late HBsAg loss (OR, 43.0; CI, 2.5–745). Five patients had HBsAg seroconversion with a 5-year cumulative incidence of 8.3%. HBV DNA negativity at baseline and one year after EOT had a trend for HBsAg seroconversion. HCV response did not correlate to HBsAg loss. Conclusions We demonstrated that interferon-α/ribavirin had long-term effect on HBsAg seroclearance in dually HBV/HCV-infected patients. Baseline cirrhosis and seroclearance of HBV DNA 1 year after end-of-treatment were significant factors associated with HBsAg seroclearance.
1 Remarks on the relationship to influential papers in the misallocation literature 1 . 1 Comparison to Hsieh and Klenow

This paper builds on the seminal contribution of Hsieh and Klenow (2009). This raises the natural question of how this paper relates to that earlier paper, particularly as regards the difference in the extent to which the two papers emphasize the importance of adjustment costs, and hence dynamics. Section VII.B of Hsieh and Klenow (HK henceforward) makes an argument that adjustment costs are unlikely to be the driver of the variation in misallocation across their three countries. The argument is based on finding very similar parameters of persistence and volatility of profits across their datasets. Thus, the scope for this mechanism to explain differences in wedges seems small. 1 We would have drawn the same conclusion, had our (very different) sample generated the same results. Instead, in both the Tier 1 sample, and the World Bank data, we see much more substantial differences in the persistence and volatility of TFPR. Hence, given our model, we reintroduce the possibility of adjustment costs contributing the dispersion documented by HK. To illustrate the difference in results that come from the differing data sets, we reproduce the HK analysis on our data. Table 1 (below) compares our estimates of the AR(1) process on TFPR to those obtained when applying the HK profit specification to the same data. We also list the HK estimates for all our Tier 1 countries. We can replicate the HK results for two of our Tier 1 countries, India and the US. Reassuringly, our numbers for India (one of the two countries which we both have data on) are very similar to the HK numbers. The numbers for the U.S. are slightly different, but this simply reflects our use of a longer time series. 2 In any case, the amount of crosscountry variation in our data, in both persistence and volatility, is substantially different from the data used in the HK study. This, naturally, leads to somewhat differing emphasis in discussing the possible source of dispersion. That said, nothing in the current paper agues that the elimination of static distortions of the sort discussed in HK (e.g. S.O.E.'s, regulatory frictions etc) is anything other than good policy.
Human Papillomavirus Infections with Multiple Types and Risk of Cervical Neoplasia

Background: Besides an established role for certain human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in the etiology of cervical cancer, little is known about the influence of multiple-type HPV infections on cervical lesion risk. We studied the association between multiple HPV types and cervical lesions among 2,462 Brazilian women participating in the Ludwig-McGill study group investigation of the natural history of HPVs and cervical neoplasia. Methods: Cervical specimens were typed by a PCR protocol. The cohort's repeated-measurement design permitted the assessment of the relation between the cumulative and concurrent number of HPV types and any-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and high-grade SIL (HSIL). Result: At individual visits, 1.9% to 3.2% of the women were infected with multiple HPVs. Cumulatively during the first year and the first 4 years of follow-up, 12.3% and 22.3% were infected with multiple types, respectively. HSIL risk markedly increased with the number of types [odds ratio (OR), 41.5; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 5.3-323.2 for single-type infections; OR, 91.7; 95% CI, 11.6-728.1 for two to three types; and OR, 424.0; 95% CI, 31.8-5651.8 for four to six types, relative to women consistently HPV-negative during the first year of follow-up]. The excess risks for multiple-type infections remained after exclusion of women infected with HPV-16, with high-risk HPV types, or persistent infections, particularly for any-grade SIL. Coinfections involving HPV-16 and HPV-58 seemed particularly prone to increase risk. Conclusion: Infections with multiple HPV types seem to act synergistically in cervical carcinogenesis. These findings have implications for the management of cervical lesions and prediction of the outcome of HPV infections. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(7):1274–80)
Evaluation of the novel combination of daptomycin plus ceftriaxone against vancomycin-resistant enterococci in an in vitro pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic simulated endocardial vegetation model.

OBJECTIVES Daptomycin has demonstrated synergy with β-lactams against Enterococcus faecium and this combination has been used successfully to treat infections refractory to daptomycin. We investigated daptomycin alone and combined with ceftriaxone against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in an in vitro pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic simulated endocardial vegetation (SEV) model. METHODS Daptomycin (6 and 12 mg/kg/day) with and without 2 g of ceftriaxone every 24 h were evaluated against two clinical E. faecium strains (8019 and 5938) and one Enterococcus faecalis (6981) in a 96 h in vitro pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic SEV model. FITC-labelled poly-l-lysine was used to assess β-lactam-induced changes in cell surface charge. RESULTS For 8019 and 6981, daptomycin 6 mg/kg with ceftriaxone and daptomycin 12 mg/kg alone and in combination with ceftriaxone displayed significantly more activity than daptomycin 6 mg/kg alone from 48 to 96 h (P ≤ 0.005). The addition of ceftriaxone significantly enhanced activity of daptomycin 6 mg/kg against both strains at 96 h (8019, reductions -0.55 versus 3.64 log10 cfu/g; 6981, reductions 1.11 versus 5.67 log10 cfu/g; P < 0.001) and improved daptomycin 12 mg/kg against 8019 at 96 h. Daptomycin 12 mg/kg plus ceftriaxone displayed no appreciable activity against 5938 (daptomycin MIC 32 mg/L). Daptomycin non-susceptibility developed in 8019 and 6981 versus daptomycin 6 mg/kg by 96 h. Ampicillin or ceftriaxone exposure reduced daptomycin surface charge in 8019, resulting in significantly increased FITC-poly-l-lysine binding. CONCLUSIONS The combination of daptomycin and ceftriaxone may be promising for eradicating high-inoculum, deep-seated enterococcal infections. Further research is warranted to examine the enhancement of daptomycin and innate immunity killing of VRE by ceftriaxone and other β-lactams.
Exogenously-induced, natural killer cell-mediated neuronal killing: a novel pathogenetic mechanism

Many human neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the idiopathic death of cells narrowly restricted to a subset of neurons in a specific functional neuroanatomic system. Few in vivo models exist for the analysis of these types of degeneration. This report documents the death of sympathetic neurons resident in the superior cervical ganglia of rats after exposure to an exogenous chemical agent, the drug guanethidine, as being mediated by natural killer (NK) cells. This is the first in vivo model of a disorder of the nervous system in which NK cells appear to be the principal effector cell, and thus could serve a central role in dissecting the normal and pathological function of NK cells. In addition, this pathogenetic mechanism appears to represent a novel type of autoimmune reaction that could have a direct bearing on a number of human illnesses.
Bad times are not good times for revolutions: Collective deprivation and the mobilization level of French radical movements (1882-1980)

Contrary to a popular belief, research has generally found no relationship between collective economic deprivation and the rise of radical political movements. On the other hand, various studies show that collective economic deprivation generates societal surges of conservatism. I therefore hypothesize that the absence of a relationship between collective deprivation and radical movements covers up opposite effects of collective deprivation depending on the ideology of radical movements: Reactionary (i.e., conservative radical) movements should mobilize more in times of collective deprivation, whereas revolutionary (i.e., progressive radical) movements should mobilize more in times of collective improvement. This paper tests this hypothesis via a new database measuring the level of mobilization of French radical organizations from 1882 to 1980. Statistical analyses confirm that collective deprivation, operationalized by long‐term economic recession and long‐term growth of inequality, increases the mobilization of reactionary movements and decreases the mobilization of revolutionary movements. These results contradict the view that economic conditions have no role in triggering radical movements and support recent development of system justification theory implying that ideology matters in the explanation of collective action.
Early Adolescents’ Digital Gameplay Preferences, Habits and Addiction / Preferencije, navike i ovisnost mlađih adolescenata o digitalnim igrama

Abstract The paper provides an empirically grounded innovative and unique insight into relations between digital gameplay preferences, habits and addiction. The research sample consisted of 1262 eleven-to-fifteen-year-old students from 22 Serbian schools. An adequate psychometric instrument was developed and evaluated as part of the research. The influence of socio-demographic factors on digital gameplay preferences, habits and addiction was analyzed. Research hypotheses have been proposed in accordance with research objectives. They have been confirmed since the obtained results support the existence of the relation between digital gameplay and addiction among early adolescents. Key words: digital games; early adolescents; gameplay addiction. --- Sažetak U radu se daje empirijski utemeljen inovativan i jedinstven uvid u odnose između preferencija, navika i ovisnosti o digitalnim igrama. Uzorak istraživanja sastojao se od 1262 ucenika iz 22 skole u Srbiji, u dobi od 11 do 15 godina. Dio istraživanja odnosio se na razvoj i evaluaciju odgovarajuceg psihometrijskog instrumenta. Analiziran je utjecaj socio-demografskih cimbenika na preferencije, navike i ovisnost o digitalnim igrama. U skladu s istraživackim ciljevima i zadacama formulirane su istraživacke hipoteze, koje su potvrđene. Rezultati upucuju na postojanje veze između digitalnih igara i ovisnosti kod mlađih adolescenata. Kljucne rijeci: digitalne igre; mlađi adolescenti; ovisnost o igrama.
Penetration Loss Measurement and Modeling for HAP Mobile Systems in Urban Environment

The aim of this paper is to present the results of a measurement campaign focused on the evaluation of penetration loss into buildings in an urban area as a function of the elevation angle. An empirical model to predict penetration loss into buildings is developed based on measured data obtained using a remote-controlled airship. The impact on penetration loss of different buildings and user positions within the buildings is presented. The measured data are evaluated as a function of the elevation angle. The measurement campaign was carried out at 2.0 GHz and 3.5 GHz carrier frequencies, representing the frequency band for high altitude platform third-generation mobile systems and, potentially, next generation mobile systems, mobile WiMAX, for example, the new penetration loss model can be used for system performance simulations and coverage planning.
Conversion of conventional gravitational-wave interferometers into quantum nondemolition interferometers by modifying their input and/or output optics

The LIGO-II gravitational-wave interferometers (ca. 2006–2008) are designed to have sensitivities near the standard quantum limit (SQL) in the vicinity of 100 Hz. This paper describes and analyzes possible designs for subsequent LIGO-III interferometers that can beat the SQL. These designs are identical to a conventional broad band interferometer (without signal recycling), except for new input and/or output optics. Three designs are analyzed: (i) a squeezed-input interferometer (conceived by Unruh based on earlier work of Caves) in which squeezed vacuum with frequency-dependent (FD) squeeze angle is injected into the interferometer’s dark port; (ii) a variational-output interferometer (conceived in a different form by Vyatchanin, Matsko and Zubova), in which homodyne detection with FD homodyne phase is performed on the output light; and (iii) a squeezed-variational interferometer with squeezed input and FD-homodyne output. It is shown that the FD squeezed-input light can be produced by sending ordinary squeezed light through two successive Fabry-Perot filter cavities before injection into the interferometer, and FD-homodyne detection can be achieved by sending the output light through two filter cavities before ordinary homodyne detection. With anticipated technology (power squeeze factor e-2R=0.1 for input squeezed vacuum and net fractional loss of signal power in arm cavities and output optical train e*=0.01) and using an input laser power Io in units of that required to reach the SQL (the planned LIGO-II power, ISQL), the three types of interferometer could beat the amplitude SQL at 100 Hz by the following amounts μ≡sqrt[Sh]/sqrt[ShSQL] and with the following corresponding increase V=1/μ3 in the volume of the universe that can be searched for a given noncosmological source: Squeezed input —μ≃sqrt[e-2R]≃0.3 and V≃1/0.33≃30 using Io/ISQL=1. Variational-output—μ≃e*1/4≃0.3 and V≃30 but only if the optics can handle a ten times larger power: Io/ISQL≃1/sqrt[e*]=10. Squeezed varational —μ=1.3(e-2Re*)1/4≃0.24 and V≃80 using Io/ISQL=1; and μ≃(e-2Re*)1/4≃0.18 and V≃180 using Io/ISQL=sqrt[e-2R/e*]≃3.2.
In-band wireless cut-through: is it possible?

This paper explores if wireless cut-through is possible. Unlike wired cut-through, wireless cut-through, if realized, can reduce latency and improve throughput by upto 3x. This paper shows that one way to implement cut-through is for every node to forward the previously decoded packet while receiving the current packet. This strategy is called decode-and-forward D&F). Another way is to have every node forward without decoding. This strategy is called amplify-and-forward (A&F). This paper shows that both D&F and A&F have many shortcomings. It proposes a new way to realize cut-through that reduces latency and increases throughput over traditional routing. This paper implements the first cut-through routing modules. Through multiple emulations of existing operational networks, it shows that cut-through switching can improve sum network throughput by up to 2.2x compared to traditional routing.
Human machine interface concept for interactive motion control of a highly maneuverable robotic vehicle

A vehicle dynamics human machine interface (HMI) concept for the operation of a highly maneuverable vehicle is presented. This is motivated by the research vehicle ROMO, which is being developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to facilitate research on a wide spectrum of scientific questions dealing with electric and autonomous mobility. With four wheel individual large range steering and electric wheel hub motors, the vehicle dynamics variables of yaw rate, side slip angle and vehicle velocity can be decoupled, thus opening new motion possibilities. The HMI approach includes distinction of various motion operating modes, suitable reference motion parameterization and adequate filtering of the operator's inputs, both depending on the operating mode. For rotating on the spot the instantaneous center of rotation may be interactively set by the operator on a touch screen.
An adaptative real-time beat tracking system for polyphonic pieces of audio using multiple hypotheses

In this paper a method for extracting beat information of a piece of music is presented, a real-time analysis is performed while the music is played or recorded from any source and the system gives the beats per minute value at each moment and beat occurrences in time. It also becomes adaptative in case of a sudden or smooth change in the tempo. It deals with multiple hypotheses, and gives the most suitable results at each time. One of the most important applications linked to this work is the automatic classification of pieces in different musical genres or finding song similarities in terms of musical rhythm.
The incorporation of path merging in a dynamic network recogniser

In this paper, the incorporation of path merging within BT’s dynamic speech recognition architecture[1] is discussed. One of the disadvantages of dynamic network generation is the size of the network generated. This is to a large extent due to the creation of many duplicate network portions. The use of a path merging strategy can redress this problem to some extent. This paper discusses the theory behind path merging, demonstrating a 22% speed improvement on a typical recognition task for no loss in top- N accuracy.