Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Addressing the challenges of future large-scale many-core architectures

Current processor trends show an increasing number of cores and a diversity of characteristics among them. Such processors offer a large potential for achieving high performance for different applications. Nevertheless, exploiting the characteristics of such processors is a challenge. In particular, considering all cores to be the same for scheduling tasks is not valid any longer. In this work we address three important characteristics for future many-core processors: (1) a many-core processor will include groups of different cores, (2) the latency to access off-chip memory will be larger for cores further from the on-chip memory controller and (3) as the number of cores per memory controller increases so does the pressure regarding the off-chip access bandwidth. To address these issues we propose a task assignment policy that monitors the demands of the application task and accordingly assigns the task to a better matching core if available. The assignment policy triggers, if needed, task migration in order to optimize both the execution time and the power consumption. In this paper we describe the assignment algorithm and how we will implement it on a many-core system.
Middle School Alternatively Certified Science Teachers: Resources, Teacher Choices, and Student Achievement

In the present study, alternatively certified 5th-grade teachers used textbooks and worksheets as primary teaching materials because of their limited access to trade books. The limited number of trade books that these teachers used were mostly scientifically accurate. However, a large proportion of the trade books integrated into the science curriculum were not related to science. Observational and interview data indicated a focus on textbooks and vocabulary instruction. Overall, the student passing rate on state-mandated science tests in these alternatively certified teachers' classrooms was lower than the average passing rate for the state. The authors discuss implications, including the need for ongoing professional development related to curriculum, appropriate resources, and teaching strategies.
Glucose Metabolism Is Elevated and Vascular Resistance and Maternofetal Transfer Is Normal in Perfused Placental Cotyledons from Severely Growth-Restricted Fetuses

We hypothesized that placental resistance was elevated and transfer reduced in cotyledons from intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetuses. We perfused 10 cotyledons from term, normally grown fetuses, six from preterm, normally grown fetuses with normal umbilical arterial end-diastolic velocities (EDV), and six from preterm IUGR fetuses (<3rd centile) with absent or reversed umbilical arterial EDV. Perfused cotyledons were pressure-fixed, and villi were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The groups did not differ in fetoplacental resistance at baseline; neither did they differ in the change in resistance that followed the administration of nitroglycerin or angiotensin II. The increase in resistance during hypoxia was similar in the two preterm groups but greater in the term than in the preterm normally grown group (p < 0.05). Groups did not differ in net maternofetal transfer of oxygen or glucose, or in clearance of aminoisobutyric acid or antipyrine. However, glucose consumption was doubled in cotyledons of preterm IUGR versus preterm normally grown fetuses (p < 0.05). Terminal villi of perfused cotyledons from preterm IUGR fetuses displayed less terminal villous branching and budding than preterm controls, as anticipated from previous work. IUGR fetuses with absent or reversed umbilical arterial EDV in vivo may have high placental resistance due to a vasoconstrictive rather than anatomic abnormality and an elevated placental glucose consumption that may impair glucose transfer.
Outage probability of cooperative relay networks in Nakagami-m fading channels

It is well known that the cooperation among nodes can improve the performance of a wireless network. In this letter we analyze the outage probability behaviour of a relay network in Nakagami-m fading channels. A closed-form solution for the outage probability is derived. When m=1, the results are applicable for Rayleigh fading. Computer simulations confirm the presented mathematical analysis
Another 'Glass Ceiling'?: The Experiences of Women Professionals and Managers on International Assignments

The last fifteen years have seen an exponential growth in research on women professionals and managers in organizations. However, much less attention has been paid to the small but growing number of women who are embracing international careers. This paper describes some of the main findings of a two-year longitudinal study of the experiences of 92 women expatriates in a variety of UK-based companies. The results show that while there are a growing number of women opting for international assignments (IAs), they are overwhelmingly concentrated in junior and middle management positions, have less options in terms of the countries to which they can be posted and are handicapped by cultural prejudices about ‘proper’ gender roles in some countries. The reasons for these problems are explored and some suggestions are made for improving international opportunities for women employees in the future.
Human Body Segmentation via Data-Driven Graph Cut

Human body segmentation is a challenging and important problem in computer vision. Existing methods usually entail a time-consuming training phase for prior knowledge learning with complex shape matching for body segmentation. In this paper, we propose a data-driven method that integrates top-down body pose information and bottom-up low-level visual cues for segmenting humans in static images within the graph cut framework. The key idea of our approach is first to exploit human kinematics to search for body part candidates via dynamic programming for high-level evidence. Then, by using the body parts classifiers, obtaining bottom-up cues of human body distribution for low-level evidence. All the evidence collected from top-down and bottom-up procedures are integrated in a graph cut framework for human body segmentation. Qualitative and quantitative experiment results demonstrate the merits of the proposed method in segmenting human bodies with arbitrary poses from cluttered backgrounds.
Cardiovascular diseases and the work environment. A critical review of the epidemiologic literature on chemical factors.

This is the second of two articles reviewing the epidemiologic research on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and the work environment. It deals with chemical factors, i.e., lead, cadmium, cobalt, arsenic, carbon monoxide, passive smoking, organic solvents, carbon disulfide, nitroglycerin, nitroglycol, and others. The epidemiologic literature relating to each is assessed on the basis of a number of methodological criteria, and the need for future research, the methodology of literature reviews, and preventive implications and perspectives are discussed. It is concluded that the causal relationship between two of the chemicals, carbon disulfide and nitroglycerin/nitroglycol, and CVD is very well documented. For lead and passive smoking a causal relation to CVD is likely. More research is needed concerning cobalt, arsenic, antimony, and other chemical compounds. Exposure to carbon monoxide increases the acute risk of CVD but has probably no lasting atherosclerotic effect. Cadmium and organic solvents are probably not causally related to CVD.
Memory for Nonoccurrences: Metacognitive and Presuppositional Strategies

Abstract The present paper explores how people decide that an event has not occurred. We assume that two inferential strategies may underly such a decision. First, a "metacognitive strategy" can be used if a distractor item is judged as memorable, but elicits no clear recollection. Under these two conditions, this strategy leads to a confident rejection. However, if the distractor item is not judged as particularly memorable, alternative inferential strategies will be used, and with less confidence. These predictions were supported by two studies in which the memorability of words was varied by their salience and in which a "presuppositional strategy" was offered that allowed subjects to infer the occurrence of an event from the use of the definite article contained in queries.
Origin and evolution of a novel DnaA-like plasmid replication type in Rhodobacterales.

Large extrachromosomal elements are widespread among Alphaproteobacteria, but it is unclear how up to a dozen low-copy plasmids can stably coexist within the same cell. We systematically analyzed the distribution of different replicons in about 40 completely sequenced genomes of the Roseobacter clade (Rhodobacterales) and surprisingly identified a novel plasmid replicon type. The conserved replication module comprises the characteristic partitioning operon (parAB) and a hitherto unknown replicase. The latter shows a weak homology to the chromosomal replication initiator DnaA and was accordingly named "DnaA-like. " Phylogenetic analyses of the adjacent parAB genes document a common ancestry with repA- and repB-type plasmids and moreover indicate the presence of two dnaA-like compatibility groups. This conclusion is supported by conserved palindrome sequences within the replication module that probably represent crucial centromeric anchors for plasmid partitioning. The functionality of dnaA-like replicons was proven by transformation experiments in Phaeobacter gallaeciensis BS107 (DSM 17395). This Roseobacter strain furthermore allows the phenotypical monitoring of plasmid incompatibility, based on a 262-kb dnaA-like replicon required for the brown pigmentation of the bacterium. Uptake of an incompatible construct induces its loss, hence resulting in white colonies. Accordingly, we could substantiate the in silico predictions about stable maintenance of dnaA-like plasmids and thereby functionally validate our approach of plasmid classification based on phylogenetic analyses.
On the size distribution of sunspot groups in the Greenwich sunspot record 1874-1976

We investigate the size distribution of the maximum areas and the instantaneous distribution of areas of sunspot groups using the Greenwich sunspot group record spanning the interval 1874−1976. Both distributions are found to be well described by log-normal functions. Using a simple model we can transform the maximum area distribution into the instantaneous area distribution if the sunspot area decay rates are also distributed log-normally. For single-valued decay rates the resulting snapshot distribution is incompatible with the observations. The current analysis therefore supports the results of Howard (1992, Sol. Phys., 137, 51) and Martinez Pillet et al. (1993, A&A, 274, 521). It is not possible to distinguish between a linear and a quadratic decay law, however, with the employed data set.
Person‐Centred Planning or Person‐Centred Action? Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disability Services

Background This critical review considers the nature and importance of person-centred planning in the context of current British policy and service development in intellectual disability. The difference between person-centred planning and other kinds of individual planning is discussed. Materials and method The scale of the task of implementing person-centred planning as a national policy initiative is considered. The limited evidence base for person-centred planning is reviewed and the reasons for the failure of previous attempts at individual planning are analysed. The assumption that person-centred services will be produced by a new kind of individual planning is questioned. Conclusions Consideration is given to what would be necessary to make services more person-centred, including changes in power relations, funding arrangements and staff training and supervision.
Minority Rights as a Normative Framework for Addressing the Situation of Roma in Europe

Roma are the largest and most marginalized ethnic group in Europe, suffering from severe poverty, racial hostility, the obliteration of their culture and exclusion from public life. This study argues that the various types of injustice faced by the Roma in terms of agency and socio-economic conditions are interdependent and need to be tackled in a single normative framework. The aim of the paper is to examine how well the international system of minority rights protection is suited to dealing with these multifaceted disadvantages. It sets aside the question of whether governments are honouring their commitments under minority rights law. Instead it investigates whether and how minority rights law meets the recognition and redistribution issues faced by Roma, so that it might be used as a normative paradigm for policy-makers facing different approaches to the Roma question. To this end, it examines the substantive content of minority rights and concludes that they address Roma recognition issues via provisions related to: minority physical existence; cultural existence and identity; and participation in public affairs. Unlike other normative paradigms, such as socio-economic rights, minority rights law lacks redistribution provisions per se. Yet, it deals with Roma welfare issues through a rich concept of substantial equality. Minority rights law captures the group dimension of Roma disadvantage and puts forward positive duties so that societal structures generating social exclusion and discrimination are transformed.
Adopting Scrum as an Agile approach in distributed software development: A review of literature

The concept of Agile software development has attracted substantial interests of organisations in achieving rapid and functional software development goals. This could be due to its features of concentrating more on delivering a working software rather than being presented with a bulk-load of documentation; rapid response to changes in requirements rather than following a prescribed plan; collaboration with customers rather than negotiation of contracts and giving more preference to individuals and interactions over processes and tools. Over the years, Agile approach (AA) has been perceived to be incompatible with distributed software development. However, recent studies have shown that Scrum, one of the popular Agile approaches, has been adopted and customized by organisations in alignment with distributed software development projects. This study presents the possibilities of adopting Scrum practices as an Agile approach in distributed software development projects based on different studies and reports that have been carried out in DSD projects using Scrum. Findings were presented from different studies showing Scrum being adopted successfully in DSD. The paper also investigated different ways in which these Scrum practices have been successfully adopted, thereby examining innovative approaches to Scrum practices, such as daily Scrum meetings, sprints, Scrum-of-Scrum and backlogs.
Bringing the market to life: screen aesthetics and the epistemic consumption object

This article argues that the new ‘visuality’ (Schroeder, 2002) of the Internet transforms the stock market into an epistemic consumption object. The aesthetics of the screen turn the market into an interactive and response-present surface representation. On the computer screen, the market becomes an object of constant movement and variation, changing direction and altering appearance at any time. Following Knorr Cetina (1997, 2002b) we argue that the visual logic of the screen ‘opens up’ the market ontologically. The ontological liquidity of the market-on-screen simulates the indefiniteness of other life forms. We suggest that the continuing fascination with online investing is a function of the reflexive looping of the investor, who aspires to discern what the market is lacking, through the market-on-screen that continuously signals to the investor what it still lacks. Implications for existing theories on relationships and involvement are discussed.
High-energy afterglow emission from gamma-ray bursts

We calculate the very high-energy (sub-GeV to TeV) inverse Compton emission of GRB afterglows. We argue that this emission provides a powerful test of the currently accepted afterglow model. We focus on two processes: synchrotron self-Compton emission within the afterglow blast wave, and external inverse Compton emission which occurs when flare photons (produced by an internal process) pass through the blast wave. We show that if our current interpretations of the Swift X-ray telescope (XRT) data are correct, there should be a canonical high-energy afterglow emission light curve. Our predictions can be tested with high-energy observatories such as GLAST, Whipple, HESS and MAGIC. Under favourable conditions we expect afterglow detections in all these detectors.
Mechanism by which the prone position improves oxygenation in acute lung injury.

The mechanism by which oxygenation improves when patients with ARDS are turned from supine to prone position is not known. From results of our previous studies we reasoned that (1) when supine, in the setting of lung injury, transpulmonary pressure will be less than airway opening pressure and (2) atelectasis will develop preferentially in dorsal lung areas, and (3) both ventilation and ventilation/perfusion ratios would improve in these regions on turning prone. To study this directly, we measured regional ventilation and perfusion using 81mKr and 99mTc-MAA, respectively, and single photon emission computed tomography, both prone and supine, in four control animals and four given oleic acid. After oleic acid, the prone position improved (1) oxygenation (mean +/- SD PaO2 = 140 +/- 112 versus 453 +/- 54 mm Hg), (2) median ventilation/perfusion ratios (0.77 versus 0.95), (3) ventilation/perfusion heterogeneity (coefficient of variation 86 +/- 15 versus 61 +/- 6), and (4) the gravitational ventilation/perfusion gradient (dependent to non-dependent slopes of 0.22 versus -0.02, all p < 0.05). The prone position generates a transpulmonary pressure sufficient to exceed airway opening pressure in dorsal lung regions, i.e., in regions where atelectasis, shunt, and ventilation/perfusion heterogeneity are most severe, without adversely affecting ventral lung regions.
STUDIES ON BLOOD CAPILLARIES I . General Organization of Blood Capillaries in Muscle ROMAINE

The wall of the blood capillaries of skeletal muscles (diaphragm, tongue, hind legs) and myocardium of the rat, guinea pig, and hamster consists of three consecutive layers or tunics: the endothelium (inner layer), the basement membrane with its associated pericytes (middle layer), and the adventitia (outer layer). The flattened cells of the endothelium have a characteristic, large population of cytoplasmic vesicles which, within the attenuated periphery of the cells, may attain a maximum frequency of 1 /M of cell front and occupy -18% of the cytoplasmic volume; these values decrease as the cells thicken toward the perikaryon. The vesicles are 650-750 A in over-all diameter and are bounded by typical unit membranes. They occur as single units or are fused to form short chains of two to three vesicles. Each configuration may lie entirely within the cytoplasm or open onto the cell surface. In the latter case, the unit membrane of the vesicle is continuous, layer by layer, with the plasmalemma. Chains of vesicles opening simultaneously on both the blood and tissue fronts of the endothelial tunic have not been observed either in sections or in a tridimensional reconstruction of a sector of endothelial cell cytoplasm. Adjacent endothelial cells are closely apposed to one another and appear to be joined over a large part of their margins, possibly over their entire perimeter, by narrow belts of membrane fusion (zonulae occludentes). Except for tongue capillaries, patent intercellular gaps are rare or absent. The middle layer is formed by a continuous basement membrane (500 A thick) and by pericytes which lie in between leaflets of this membrane. The tips of the pericyte pseudopodia penetrate through the inner leaflet of the basement membrane and join the endothelium in maculae occludentes. The adventitia is a discontinuous layer comprising cellular (macrophages, fibroblasts, mast cells) and extracellular (fibrils, amorphous matrix) elements. The same general type of construction appears to be used along the entire length of the capillary.
Improved Decoding Algorithms Useful In Modified Low Density Parity Check Code for Optical Fibre Communication

Abtract:Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes were first introduced by Gallager. These are linear block codes. Their parity-check matrix contains only a few 1‟s in comparison to the amount of 0‟s so these codes are called as low density parity check codes. It is a very powerful code for forward error correction system. The LDPC code can be modified and with which the quality factor can be improved because the presently used LDPC code in optical fibre communication systems is not meeting the requirements of the high speed fibre optics communication systems. This modification is beneficial for the high speed fibre optic communication systems. We explain here a sum product decoding algorithm and modified sum product decoding algorithm of low density parity check code useful in Optical fibre communication. BP and MS modified decoding algorithm also use for a better performance in high speed fibre optic communication.
A Self Analysing and Reliable SOA Model

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) provides a new way of application development by using existing services. The required services are collected and loosely composed to meet the user’s specification, where the architecture of SOA is dynamic that is, it can change dynamically at run time to meet the new requirements. This paper proposes an architecture which has the capability to analyze the developed services by comparing the user’s requirements. Finding a method for testing the accuracy of a service is a challenge always. The architecture provides a unified way of self analysis which evaluates the perfectness of developed service, before its delivery, and to find out its accuracy. This calculated perfectness is stored in the service profile of that service. The database is maintained for each service which helps for searching a required service to meet user’s specification and for composition of a new service. When this self analysis of the developed service does not satisfy to meet the user’s requirement because of not satisfying any conditions, it generates the fault. Fault is handled to provide the required correctness for composition of the service by detecting the services responsible for those faults. The architecture provides both reliability and analysis capability by handling fault and by searching a service based on accuracy which provides reliable delivery of service. Keywords— SOA, Self Analysing, Reliable, Composition, Service
Learning coarse correlated equilibria in two-tier wireless networks

In this paper, we study the strategic coexistence between macro and femto cell tiers from a game theoretic learning perspective. A novel regret-based learning algorithm is proposed whereby cognitive femtocells mitigate their interference toward the macrocell tier, on the downlink. The proposed algorithm is fully decentralized relying only on the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) feedback to the corresponding femtocell base stations. Based on these local observations, femto base stations learn the probability distribution of their transmission strategies (power levels and frequency band) by minimizing their regrets for using certain strategies, while adhering to the cross-tier interference constraint. The decentralized regret based learning algorithm is shown to converge to an ϵ-coarse correlated equilibrium (ϵ-CCE) which is a generalization of the classical Nash Equilibrium (NE). Finally, numerical results are shown to corroborate our findings where, quite remarkably, our learning algorithm achieves the same performance as the classical regret matching, but with substantially much less overhead.