Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
This paper is included in the Proceedings of the 14th USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation

We describe the design and implementation of Protean – the Microsoft Azure service responsible for allocating Virtual Machines (VMs) to millions of servers around the globe. A single instance of Protean serves an entire availability zone (10-100k machines), facilitating seamless failover and scale-out to customers. The design has proven robust, enabling a substantial expansion of VM offerings and features with minimal changes to the core infrastructure. In particular, Protean preserves a clear separation between policy and mechanisms . From a policy perspective, a ﬂexible rule-based Allocation Agent (AA) allows Protean to efﬁciently address multiple constraints and performance criteria, and adapt to different conditions. On the system side, a multi-layer caching mechanism expedites the allocation process, achieving turnaround times of few milliseconds. A slight compromise on allocation quality enables multiple AAs to run concurrently on the same inventory, resulting in increased throughput with negligible conﬂict rate. Our results from both simulations and production demonstrate that Protean achieves high throughput and utilization (85-90% on a key utilization metric), while satisfying user-speciﬁc requirements. We also demonstrate how Protean is adapted to handle capacity crunch conditions, by zooming in on spikes caused by COVID-19.
This paper is included in the Proceedings of the 17th USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation.

Today’s cloud platforms handle server hardware failures by shutting down the affected server and only turning it back on-line once it has been repaired by a technician. At cloud scale, this all-or-nothing operating model is becoming increasingly unsustainable. This model is also at odds with technology trends, such as the need for new cooling technology. This paper introduces Hyrax, a datacenter stack that enables compute servers with failed components to continue hosting VMs while hiding the underlying degraded capacity and performance. A key enabler of Hyrax is a novel model of changes in memory interleaving when deactivating faulty memory modules. Experiments on cloud production servers show that Hyrax overcomes common hardware failures without impacting peak VM performance. In large-scale simulations with production traces, Hyrax reduces server repair requirements by 50-60% without impacting VM scheduling.
Concordance Study Between the Investigator Argus Y-12 QS and the AmpFISTR® YfilerTM Kits in a Brazilian Population Sample

Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) analysis is an important tool in forensic casework, especially in sexual assault cases. As Y-STR genetic profiles might be shared and compared between different laboratories, states and even countries, concordance of allele calls among commercial kits is an important consideration. In this work, we investigated the concordance of allele calls in twelve Y-chromosome STR loci (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439) between the Investigator Argus Y-12 QS (Qiagen) and the AmpFlSTR Yfiler (Life Technologies) kits in a sample of 155 male blood donors from Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. 155 samples previously typed with the YfilerTM kit [Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. S18724973 (2013) 139-73] were also typed with the Investigator Argus Y-12 QS kit. A total of 152 different haplotypes were observed with the YfilerTM kit, 149 being unique and three observed twice, while 145 different haplotypes were obtained with Argus Y-12, 135 being unique and ten observed twice in the population studied. A Different allele call was observed in only one sample at the DYS385 locus as 14-17 using the YfilerTM kit and as 14-16.3 when using Argus Y-12. Haplotype diversity (HD) was calculated as 0.9992 for the results with the Investigator Argus Y-12 and as 0.9997 for the results with YfilerTM. Data obtained demonstrates that apart from the minor differences observed, both kits yielded concordant results for the Brazilian population analyzed.
Late Quaternary Sedimentation on a Macrotidal Mudflat Deposit in Namyang Bay, West Coast of Korea

Abstract Three late Quaternary stratigraphic units are present in the macrotidal-flat deposit in Namyang Bay, west coast of Korea: a mid-to-late Holocene greenish gray sand/mud deposit (unit M1), an early Holocene reddish brown clay deposit (unit T1), and a late Pleistocene yellowish, semi-consolidated mud deposit (unit M2), in descending order. Unit M1, representing a Holocene intertidal-flat deposit, shows a coarsening-upward trend in texture, which is resulted from the continual retrogradation of the tidal flat during the mid-to-late Holocene sea-level rise. This retrogradational coarsening-upward succession, elucidating a reverse trend to the progradational fining-upward facies model generalized for tidal flats worldwide, may be attributable to a very low accumulation rate (< 1 mm/yr) in this sediment-barren coastal setting. Reddish brown-colored unit T1, clearly separated from overlying unit M1 by a sharp lithologic boundary, consists of homogeneous clay with abundant freshwater siderite grains. Radiocarbon age, siderite grains, and lithologic features indicate that unit T1 is the early Holocene deposit in freshwater bog or swamp, infilling topographic lows. Overlain unconformably by the early Holocene clay deposit, unit M2 is characterized by dewatered, oxidized mud, which is interpreted as being the late Pleistocene tidal deposit that was subaerially exposed during the sea-level lowstand, possibly LGM. The unconformity between units M2 and T1 is probably related to the latest Pleistocene or earliest Holocene sea-level lowstand.
Statistical cues for Domain Specic Image Segmentation with Performance Analysis. Proc. CVPR'2000.

This paper investigates the use of colour and texture cues for segmentation of images within two specie d domains. The rst is the Sowerby dataset, which contains one hundred colour photographs of country roads in England that have been interactively segmented and classie d into six classes { edge, vegetation, air, road, building, and other. The second domain is a set of thirty ve images, taken in San Francisco, which have been interactively segmented into similar classes. In each domain we learn the joint probability distributions of lter responses, based on colour and texture, for each class. These distributions are then used for classic ation. We restrict ourselves to a limited number of lters in order to ensure that the learnt lter responses do not overt the training data (our region classes are chosen so as to ensure that there is enough data to avoid overtting). We do performance analysis on the two datasets by evaluating the false positive and false negative error rates for the classic ation. This shows that the learnt models achieve high accuracy in classifying individual pixels into those classes for which the lter responses are approximately spatially homogeneous (i.e. road, vegetation, and air but not edge and building). A more sensitive performance measure, the Cherno information, is calculated in order to quantify how well the cues for edge and building are doing. This demonstrates that statistical knowledge of the domain is a powerful tool for segmentation. Proceedings Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition CVPR’2000. Hilton Head, South Carolina. 2000.
DECISION MODEL OF THE CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION MODES BETWEEN CHINA'S HINTERLAND AND HARBORS

There are some choices of transportation route schemes for imported and exported container transportation of China's hinterland through coastal harbors. Meanwhile, it is necessary to make a comprehensive comparison of multiple qualitative and quantitative decision factors in schemes. However, the influence degrees to schemes of these decision factors usually vary with such changes as time, space, etc. and different demands of policymakers. According to the multipurpose fuzzy mathematics decision-making theory and the centralized and evacuated transportation feature of containers between China's hinterland and coastal harbors, by introducing varied weight factors, a fuzzy decision model of container transportation routes between China's hinterland and coastal harbors is constructed, which is based on varied weight factors and can reflect dynamically importance degrees of related decision factors. Thus, the optimized route scheme between China's hinterland and coastal harbors can be gained through the application and solution of the model problem.
Cavalli Seamount, Northland Plateau, SW Pacific Ocean: a Miocene metamorphic core complex?

Cavalli Seamount (34°06′S, 174°10′E) is an irregular-shaped, flat-topped seamount on the Northland Plateau, SW Pacific Ocean. In contrast to Miocene lavas recovered from other seamounts in the area, the rocks dredged from Cavalli Seamount consist of biotite schist, with minor calc-silicate bands. Mineralogy, whole-rock chemistry, U–Pb dating of detrital zircons, and Sr and Nd isotopic composition collectively indicate a siliciclastic–carbonate protolith of latest Cretaceous to Paleogene stratigraphic age. Metamorphic index minerals are sillimanite, andesine, garnet, ilmenite and K-feldspar, and indicate peak P–T conditions of c. 650 °C and c. 0.4 GPa. U–Pb, Ar/Ar and fission-track dating of minerals, and micropalaeontological dating of associated limestones, indicate rapid cooling in the interval 23–21 Ma. The schist contains chloritized and hematized slickenslides parallel to a penetrative lineation, s–c planes and conjugate microfractures, and has limestone geopetal infillings parallel to foliation. These features are consistent with the interpretation of Cavalli Seamount as part of the lower plate of an Early Miocene metamorphic core complex. Although other explanations are possible, the core complex interpretation fits with regional Early Miocene events including crustal thickening as a result of allochthon emplacement in northern New Zealand, crustal thinning associated with rapid extension in the South Fiji Basin, Pacific trench rollback, and abundant Early Miocene igneous activity.
Isolation basin stratigraphy and Holocene relative sea‐level change at the Norwegian—Russian border north of Nikel, northwest Russia

The marine‐lacustrine transition (isolation contact) in sediment cores from eight lake basins situated 13.5–72 m a.s.l. , in the Norwegian‐Russian border area north of Nikel, northwest Russia, was identified based on lithological and diatom analysis, radiocarbon dated, and used to construct a relative sea‐level (RSL) curve for the Holocene. All the lakes except one (interpreted as having an unconformable slumped transition) show a regressive I‐II‐III (marine‐transitional‐lacustrine) facies succession, indicating a postglacial history of continuous emergence. The RSL curve shows rapid emergence between 10 000 and 8000 BP, very slow emergence between 7000 and 5000 BP, increased rate of emergence between 4500 and 4000 BP, and a moderate rate of emergence after 3500 BP. The low rate of emergence around 6000 BP correlates with the Tapes transgression of more coastal regions, but corresponding sea level, at 25–26 ma. present s.l. , lies 5–10 m lower than the elevation predicted based on existing isobase maps for the region. The discrepancy suggests a need for further work in order to more rigorously define and map the Tapes transgression and associated shoreline complex in the northern Fennoscandian‐Kola region.
A Mountain Hare Mummy from the Zillertaler Alps

Natural mummies are preserved by the environment in which they died. Environments that are cold and dry may allow bodies to dry out naturally. A mummified hare from the Zillertaler Alps was investigated. In this paper, the results of the analysis of the medical imaging data, and the results of the species identification by DNA, are presented, and the importance of these results in the field of glacier mummification and the natural history are discussed. Apart from the recent date, the discovery is valuable proof of the propagation of the Alpine Mountain Hare in southern Tyrol. This unusual specimen is a rare example of a preserved and well documented glacier animal mummy from Europe.
Exploring the reciprocal role of hydrodynamic forcing and microbial colonization to induce bed sediment patchiness in biostabilization

The experimental project presented herein investigated feedback mechanisms in the complex flow-sediment-ecology tripartite relationship arising from the interactions between hydrodynamics, sediment transport and segregation, and microbial colonization and bed stabilization. The experiment was conducted in a groyne field constructed in the Total Environment Simulator located at “The Deep” facility at the University of Hull. Detailed measurements of flow hydrodynamics in the main channel and groyne embayments were obtained using acoustic doppler velocimeter (ADV) probes, while the redistribution and segregation of bed sediments were measured using an array of ultrasonic range sensors (URS), coupled with detailed laser bed scans and high-resolution photographic images. In terms of investigating biogrowth colonization and stabilization of these segregated sediments, a MagPI (Magnetic Particle Induction) device was used to measure biofilm adhesiveness at various bed locations and at various stages during the growth phase. Preliminary results from this study are presented herein.
ISA API: An open platform for interoperable life science experimental metadata

Background The Investigation/Study/Assay (ISA) Metadata Framework is an established and widely used set of open-source community specifications and software tools for enabling discovery, exchange and publication of metadata from experiments in the life sciences. The original ISA software suite provided a set of user-facing Java tools for creating and manipulating the information structured in ISA-Tab – a now widely used tabular format. To make the ISA framework more accessible to machines and enable programmatic manipulation of experiment metadata, a JSON serialization ISA-JSON was developed. Results In this work, we present the ISA API, a Python library for the creation, editing, parsing, and validating of ISA-Tab and ISA-JSON formats by using a common data model engineered as Python class objects. We describe the ISA API feature set, early adopters and its growing user community. Conclusions The ISA API provides users with rich programmatic metadata handling functionality to support automation, a common interface and an interoperable medium between the two ISA formats, as well as with other life science data formats required for depositing data in public databases.
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida Digital Commons @ University of South Florida

The toxic side effects of doxorubicin (Dox) limit its long-term use as a lung cancer chemotherapeutic. Additionally, drug delivery to the deep lung is challenging. To address these challenges, isolated rat Sertoli cells (SCs) were preloaded with Dox conjugated to lipid micelle nanoparticles (SC-DLMNs) and delivered to mouse lungs. These immunocompetent cells, when injected intravenously, travel to the lung, deliver the payload, and get cleared by the system quickly without causing any adverse reaction. We observed that SC-DLMNs effectively treated Lewis lung carcinoma 1-induced lung tumors in mice and the drug efficacy was comparable to SC-Dox treatment. Mice treated with SC-DLMNs also showed significantly less toxicity compared to those treated with SC-Dox. The encapsulation of Dox in lipid micelle nanoparticles reduced the toxicity of Dox and the SC-based delivery method ensured drug delivery to the deep lung without evoking any immune response. Taken together, these results provide a novel SC-based nanoparticle drug delivery method for improved therapeutic outcome of cardiotoxic antilung cancer drugs.
SERVIR-Africa: Operational Flood Prediction and Post-Event Flood Mapping

SERVIR is a regional visualization and monitoring system that applies earth observations and predictive models to support decision-making in a range of application areas. For disaster management, SERVIR is developing a costeffective approach for flood prediction, which will be of particular value in undergauged regions. The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Global Hazard Model – Flood (GHM- Flood) is used, which uses as input data, the TRMM-based Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) precipitation product- TRMM 3B-42, the AMSR-E soil moisture product, the digital elevation data from the Digital elevation from SRTM mission (30m), the MODIS Land cover and evapotranspiration data products, and soil parameters provided by FAO. The Model is taking advantage of the virtually uninterrupted supply of satellite-based rainfall information as an alternative and supplement to ground-based observations. SERVIR is also using near real-time MODIS imagery for semi-automated post event flood mapping. The development and dissemination of these flood products relies upon SERVIR’s geospatial platform, which integrates components for data discovery, acquisition, use, and sharing. The web-based geoportal provides a searchable and viewable as one-stop shop for earth observation data and products, geospatial services, visualization tools, and reports. This effort builds upon the strengths of the Regional Center for Mapping of Resource for Development in Nairobi, with the goal of maintaining a flexible system for use by scientists, educators, and policy makers.
Data-driven Simulation of Wireless Communication Signal Strength in Indoor Environments

Prediction of the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) distribution is a very important task. However, most of the current research is on methods that complement the RSSI distribution for beacons that actually collect data. The most common method for fully online simulation without beacons is based on physical Ray-Tracing. However, the Ray-Tracing model requires the determination of the attenuation rate of the wall. This makes it difficult for ordinary people to perform the simulation. Also, without measuring the actual RSSI, it is impossible to know whether the simulation results are appropriate for the actual environment or not. To address these issues, we propose a data-driven RSSI simulation method. RSSI can be collected by various devices, and it is easy for the general public to obtain RSSI for each location. The simulation is based on the actual RSSI data, so that the simulation can be performed in a realistic environment. In this paper, we have realized a data-driven simulation that matches the environment by learning the attenuation of RSSI derived from the environment and actual data using Generative Adversarial Network(GAN). In order to conduct experiments in a real environment, the simulation model is trained in an office environment, and its accuracy is evaluated using actual RSSI values. As a result, the average absolute error of RSSI values was improved by 8% and the average positioning error of indoor localization was improved by 19% compared with the simulation using the radio propagation formula.
Vegetation composition, species performance and its relationship among the livestock and wildlife in the grassland of upper Mustang, Nepal ∗

Vegetation cover, dominant plant species, height of the individual plant species, phenology and palatable species was recorded. In the controlled plots during September there is slightly increase in the coverage whereas in other months it is more or less similar. No significance difference in the ground cover was found between the controlled and open plots in any months as revealed by a Chi square test. Similarly the analysis of variance reveals no significance difference between growths of the Kobressia spp. and Potentilla plurijuga species in between the control and open plots. A significance difference was found in the growth of the species between the months, but no significance difference was detected in combined analysis of plot types, months and species. It was found that monitoring of the cover and the height of the vegetation does not give a clear picture in the increase of the forage availability. For overall growth of the species other parameters should also be measured. In the Dhalung pasture, the average ground coverage during September is 59% where as in April it was only 47%. More than 90% of the plots have high distribution of the palatable species in both the months. The percentage of non palatable species is comparatively low which indicates that grazing is not only a single factor affecting the grassland in Upper Mustang. A more detailed vegetation mapping and long tem monitoring of the pasture is in urgent for formulating future
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Time evolution of an infinite projected entangled pair state An efficient

An inﬁnite projected entangled pair state (iPEPS) is a tensor network ansatz to represent a quantum state on an inﬁnite 2D lattice whose accuracy is controlled by the bond dimension D . Its real, Lindbladian, or imaginary time evolution can be split into small time steps. Every time step generates a new iPEPS with an enlarged bond dimension D (cid:2) > D , which is approximated by an iPEPS with the original D . In P. Czarnik and J. Dziarmaga, Phys. Rev. B 98 , 045110 (2018), an algorithm was introduced to optimize the approximate iPEPS by maximizing directly its ﬁdelity to the one with the enlarged bond dimension D (cid:2) . In this paper, we implement a more efﬁcient optimization employing a local estimator of the ﬁdelity. For imaginary time evolution of a thermal state’s puriﬁcation, we also consider using unitary disentangling gates acting on ancillas to reduce the required D . We test the algorithm simulating Lindbladian evolution and unitary evolution after a sudden quench of transverse ﬁeld h x in the 2D quantum Ising model. Furthermore, we simulate thermal states of this model and estimate the critical temperature with good accuracy: 0 . 1% for h x = 2 . 5 and 0 . 5% for the more challenging case of h x = 2 . 9 close to the quantum critical point at h x = 3 . 04438(2).
The type specimens of the Holocene brachiopod Diestothyris frontalis (Middendorff, 1849)

Type material of Diestothyris frontalis (Middendorff, 1849) with the original label of A.F. Middendorff has been located. One specimen was confirmed as original and is nominated as the lectotype. Serial sections of the lectotype plus 3D dorsal valve interior views were obtained using x-ray microtomography. A mass sample from the lectotype locality was analysed and provides population data on size, age and shape. The size and age structures were bimodal in this population.
The Precipitation Hotspots of Afternoon Thunderstorms over the Taipei Basin: Idealized Numerical Simulations

In this study, the mechanism for precipitation hotspots (PHs) of locally developed afternoon thunderstorms in the Taipei Basin is investigated using a three-dimensional Vector Vorticity equation cloud-resolving Model (VVM) with an idealized topography and surface properties. A 500 m horizontal grid resolution is used in all experiments. The results show that the local circulation is a key for PHs at the south of the Taipei Basin. The two valleys guide background southwesterly (SW) flow along with the sea breezes to penetrate into the basin. The urban heat island (UHI) effect enhances the sea breeze convergence at the south of the basin and produces strong convection there. The interactions between cold pools generated by the convection and the sea breezes produce northward propagating new convective cells. Besides, the background wind direction is important in determining the location of sea breeze convergence. If the background wind direction changes from westerly (W) to west-northwesterly (WNW), there might be no precipitation at all in the basin. This study suggests that the idealized experiments also provide a useful framework for studying the impacts of future climate changes on the PHs in the Taipei Basin by applying the pseudo–global warming approach.