Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The least choice first scheduling method for high-speed network switches

We describe a novel method for scheduling highspeed network switches. The targeted architecture is an input-buffered switch with a non-blocking switch fabric. The input buffers are organized as virtual output queues to avoid head-of-line blocking. The task of the scheduler is to decide when the input ports can forward packets from the virtual output queues to the corresponding output ports. Our Least Choice First (LCF) scheduling method selects the input and output ports to be matched by prioritizing the input ports according to the number of virtual output queues that contain packets: The fewer virtual output queues with packets, the higher- the scheduling priority, of the input port. This way the number- of switch connections and, with it, switch throughput is maximized. Fairness is provided through the addition of a round-robin algorithm. We present two alternative implementations: A central implementation intended for narrow, switches and a distributed implementation based on an iterative algorithm intended for wide switches. The simulation results show that the LCF scheduler outperforms other scheduling methods such as the parallel iterative matcher, iSLIP, and the wave front arbiter.
A New Dynamic Multi-objective Optimization Evolutionary Algorithm

Dynamic multi-objective optimization problems are very common in real-world applications. The researches on applying evolutionary algorithm into such problems are attracting more and more researchers. In this paper, a new dynamic multi-objective optimization evolutionary algorithm which utilizes hyper-mutation operator to deal with dynamics and geometrical Pareto selection to deal with multi-objective is introduced. The experimental results show that the performance is satisfactory.
Do Greens Drive Hummers or Hybrids? Environmental Ideology as a Determinant of Consumer Choice

This paper uses several California data sets to test for differences in consumption patterns between greens and browns. A person's ''environmentalism'' is rarely observed in consumer data sets. In California, a community's share of Green Party registered voters is a viable proxy for community environmentalism. Environmentalists are more likely to commute by public transit, purchase hybrid vehicles, and consume less gasoline than non-environmentalists.
Dynamic pathway modeling of sphingolipid metabolism

We report our research results on computational metabolome study. The goal of this research is to extend the integrated experimental modeling methodologies in sphingolipid metabolism study to other complex biological process studies such as signal transduction or gene regulation. Another feature of This work is that the 3-D information representation enables the user orchestrate the simulated pathways in real time.
Separation of Snr Via Dimension Expansion in a Model of the Central Auditory System

In this study, we provide a theoretical approach for analyzing signal and noise separation and the noise-robustness of class-dependent activation areas in a model of the primary auditory cortex in the central auditory system. Specifically, we interpret the auditory model as a system of localized matched filters that act as a place-coding mechanism for mapping signal and noise spectra into separate regions in the three-dimensional cortical space. This framework allows us to analyse the noise robustness of signal-respondent neurons by computing their signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)'s without having to explicitly consider the complex mathematical expressions for the auditory model. The framework is also fundamentally consistent with the notion of category-dependence proposed in our previous work. Our theoretical developments of the place-coding effect and the separation of SNR is also demonstrated experimentally
Parametric curves on meshes

In this paper, we propose a method for creating parametric curves on triangular meshes. A curve on a mesh is frequently used as a boundary curve of a specific region of a mesh in mesh modeling and applications such as texture mapping, remeshing or morphing. Although the curve defined in this paper is a piecewise linear approximation of a strict parametric curve, it is guaranteed that such a curve is just on a mesh. The basic idea is creating a curve on a spherical parameterization instead of direct definition on a mesh. The computation of this curve is done by using only the control points on a spherical parameterization which does not depend on the number of vertices in a mesh. This enables interactive creation/modification of curves even for dense meshes.
Ca2+/Calmodulin Modulates TRPV1 Activation by Capsaicin

TRPV1 ion channels mediate the response to painful heat, extracellular acidosis, and capsaicin, the pungent extract from plants in the Capsicum family (hot chili peppers) (Szallasi, A., and P.M. Blumberg. 1999. Pharmacol. Rev. 51:159–212; Caterina, M.J., and D. Julius. 2001. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 24:487–517). The convergence of these stimuli on TRPV1 channels expressed in peripheral sensory nerves underlies the common perceptual experience of pain due to hot temperatures, tissue damage and exposure to capsaicin. TRPV1 channels are nonselective cation channels (Caterina, M.J., M.A. Schumacher, M. Tominaga, T.A. Rosen, J.D. Levine, and D. Julius. 1997. Nature. 389:816–824). When activated, they produce depolarization through the influx of Na+, but their high Ca2+ permeability is also important for mediating the response to pain. In particular, Ca2+ influx is thought to be required for the desensitization to painful sensations over time (Cholewinski, A., G.M. Burgess, and S. Bevan. 1993. Neuroscience. 55:1015–1023; Koplas, P.A., R.L. Rosenberg, and G.S. Oxford. 1997. J. Neurosci. 17:3525–3537). Here we show that in inside-out excised patches from TRPV1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes and HEK 293 cells, Ca2+/calmodulin decreased the capsaicin-activated current. This inhibition was not mimicked by Mg2+, reflected a decrease in open probability, and was slowly reversible. Furthermore, increasing the calmodulin concentration in our patches by coexpression of wild-type calmodulin with TRPV1 produced inhibition by Ca2+ alone. In contrast, patches excised from cells coexpressing TRPV1 with a mutant calmodulin did not respond to Ca2+. Using an in vitro calmodulin-binding assay, we found that TRPV1 in oocyte lysates bound calmodulin, although in a Ca2+-independent manner. Experiments with GST-fusion proteins corresponding to regions of the channel NH2-terminal domain demonstrated that a stretch of ∼30 amino acids adjacent to the first ankyrin repeat bound calmodulin in a Ca2+-dependent manner. The physiological response to pain involves an influx of Ca2+ through TRPV1. Our results indicate that this Ca2+ influx may feed back on the channels, inhibiting their gating. This type of feedback inhibition could play a role in the desensitization produced by capsaicin.
Application of Entropy Compression in Pattern Avoidance

In combinatorics on words, a word $w$ over an alphabet $\Sigma$ is said to avoid a pattern $p$ over an alphabet $\Delta$ if there is no factor $f$ of $w$ such that $f= (p)$ where $h: \Delta^*\to\Sigma^*$ is a non-erasing morphism. A pattern $p$ is said to be $k$-avoidable if there exists an infinite word over a $k$-letter alphabet that avoids $p$. We give a positive answer to Problem 3.3. 2 in Lothaire's book "Algebraic combinatorics on words", that is, every pattern with $k$ variables of length at least $2^k$ (resp. $3\times2^{k-1}$) is 3-avoidable (resp. 2-avoidable). This improves previous bounds due to Bell and Goh, and Rampersad.
Implementing Continuation Marks in Javascript

MzScheme’s continuation marks provide a flexible mechanism for implementing a number of useful language features and tools. We demonstrate the simplicity and utility of continuation marks by adapting them for JavaScript as frame-based stack marks using the Rhino implementation, showing a simple model of their behavior, and using them to build a toy debugger. Along the way, we discover a few interesting things. First, it requires some thinking—but not much code—to add continuation marks to JavaScript. Second, coupling tail-calling with the “return” of statement-based languages leads to some interesting problems in formulating a semantics. Third, building a debugger based on continuation marks highlights (by its absence) the elegance of Scheme’s simple syntax and hygienic macro system.
Mutational analysis of the major coat protein of M13 identifies residues that control protein display

We have reported variants of the M13 bacteriophage major coat protein (P8) that enable high copy display of monomeric and oligomeric proteins, such as human growth hormone and steptavidin, on the surface of phage particles (Sidhu SS, Weiss GA, Wells JA. 2000. High copy display of large proteins on phage for functional selections. J Mol Biol 296:487–495). Here, we explore how an optimized P8 variant (opti‐P8) could evolve the ability to efficiently display a protein fused to its N‐terminus. Reversion of individual opti‐P8 residues back to the wild‐type P8 residue identifies a limited set of hydrophobic residues responsible for the high copy protein display. These hydrophobic amino acids bracket a conserved hydrophobic face on the P8 alpha helix thought to be in contact with the phage coat. Mutations additively combine to promote high copy protein display, which was further enhanced by optimization of the linker between the phage coat and the fusion protein. These data are consistent with a model in which protein displayenhancing mutations allow for better packing of the fusion protein into the phage coat. The high tolerance for phage coat protein mutations observed here suggests that filamentous phage coat proteins could readily evolve new capabilities.
Recognizing Digressive Questions

When people interact, they sometimes ask questions that digress from the purpose of the discussion. It is important for a system that interacts with people to be able to distinguish these questions, from questions that are truly incoherent. The two types of questions require different treatment. Whereas the former type may require focusing the discussion, the latter type signals a misunderstanding that requires clarification and repair. The Interactive Discourse Planner is designed to plan text to describe and/or justify a domain plan interactively. The system I have designed and implemented uses questions from a user to recognize how to extend its own text plan in a way that both satisfies the user and achieves its own discourse goal. In the process, IDP can detect questions from the user that initiate a digression. As a testbed for my model, IDP plans text to discuss driving routes. Grosz and Sidner describe a digression as a type of interruption. Interruptions are utterances that don’t fit in with the discourse [GS86]. They note that interruptions take several forms ranging from ones that do not have any relevance to the ongoing discussion, to interruptions that are quite relevant. A digression is a relevant interruption. It is a discourse segment with a purpose that does not contribute to the purpose of the interrupted segment. However, it is linked to the interrupted segment by a common discourse entity. IDP operates in a cooperative interactive mode in which the system is the primary speaker and the user is the primary listener. The system controls the discussion to make its own intentions clear and to try to achieve them. In the IDP model, a digressive question occurs when the user asks a question that no longer addresses the system’s discourse purpose.
A revisit of adaptive random testing by restriction

Adaptive random testing is a black box testing method based on the intuition that random testing failure-finding efficiency can be improved upon, in certain situations, by ensuring a more widespread and evenly distributed spread of test cases in the input domain. One way of achieving this distribution is through the use of exclusion zones and restriction, resulting in a method called restricted random testing (RRT). Recent investigations into the RRT method have revealed several interesting and significant insights. A method of reducing the computational overheads of testing methods by partitioning an input domain, and applying the method to only one of the subdomains, mapping the test cases to other subdomains, has recently been introduced. This method, called mirroring, in addition to alleviating computational costs, has some properties which fit nicely with the insights into RRT, offering solutions to some possible shortcomings of RRT. In this paper we discuss the RRT method and additional insights; we explain mirroring; and we detail applications of mirroring to RRT. The mirror RRT method proves to be a very attractive variation of RRT
Development of an Efficient Bacterial Consortium for the Potential Remediation of Hydrocarbons from Contaminated Sites

The intrinsic biodegradability of hydrocarbons and the distribution of proficient degrading microorganisms in the environment are very crucial for the implementation of bioremediation practices. Among others, one of the most favorable methods that can enhance the effectiveness of bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated environment is the application of biosurfactant producing microbes. In the present study, the biodegradation capacities of native bacterial consortia toward total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) with special emphasis to poly aromatic hydrocarbons were determined. The purpose of the study was to isolate TPH degrading bacterial strains from various petroleum contaminated soil of Assam, India and develop a robust bacterial consortium for bioremediation of crude oil of this native land. From a total of 23 bacterial isolates obtained from three different hydrocarbons contaminated samples five isolates, namely KS2, PG1, PG5, R1, and R2 were selected as efficient crude oil degraders with respect to their growth on crude oil enriched samples. Isolates KS2, PG1, and R2 are biosurfactant producers and PG5, R1 are non-producers. Fourteen different consortia were designed involving both biosurfactant producing and non-producing isolates. Consortium 10, which comprises two Bacillus strains namely, Bacillus pumilus KS2 and B. cereus R2 (identified by 16s rRNA sequencing) has shown the best result in the desired degradation of crude oil. The consortium showed degradation up to 84.15% of TPH after 5 weeks of incubation, as revealed from gravimetric analysis. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) and GCMS (Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer) analyses were correlated with gravimetric data which reveals that the consortium has removed a wide range of petroleum hydrocarbons in comparison with abiotic control including different aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons.
Comparative Perspectives on Basin Governance in the Murray–Darling Basin: Insights from the western United States

The Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) is internationally recognised for innovation in basin governance to achieve more sustainable outcomes. This chapter examines water-management experiences from the western United States relevant to the emerging public dialogue about the Murray–Darling Basin Plan. We argue that a comparative perspective offers more scope for exchanging policy and practical lessons than previously recognised. Australia imparts more lessons than it stands to learn from the exchange, but the western United States has both success stories and failures that are instructive in four elements of sustainable water reforms, including: a) balancing multiple objectives in water reform; b) defining environmental-flow requirements; c) basin planning across jurisdictions; and d) adaptive learning in environmental-water recovery. The Columbia and Colorado river basins bracket the diverse range of management challenges and institutional innovations in the western United States. Both have engaged with diverse stakeholders to reconcile multiple objectives in long-range planning, particularly with indigenous communities. The Colorado River has responded to water-supply variability by building technical capacity for engagement in State and tribal stakeholder groups. The Columbia has pioneered adaptive learning in market-based environmental-water recovery through nested governance arrangements that combine bottom-up planning and implementation with basinwide financing and accountability. This preliminary comparison highlights the broad scope for mutual learning and the need for sustained and systematic cross-case comparisons to realise this potential.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Catalonia: A population based study

Abstract Our objective was to determine the incidence and clinical-epidemiological characteristics of an ALS cohort patient in Catalonia (Spain). We conducted a population based registry for a three-year period (1999−2001) in Catalonia (6,361,365 inhabitants) using several sources of information. The original El Escorial diagnostic criteria (1994) for ALS were applied for the classification of patients. New cases diagnosed between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2001 were 215 (118 males and 97 females), with an annual crude incidence rate of 1.4/100,000 (95% CI 1.3−1.8). This rate showed a peak age between 75 and 79 years. The incidence rate was 1.6 (95% CI 1.5−2.2) in males and 1.2 (95% CI 1.1−1.7) in females. Prevalence at the end of the period was 5.4/100,000 of the total population. Median age at onset was 64.3 years. Onset of symptoms was bulbar or generalized in 38% of cases. Mean disease duration at diagnosis was 11.0 months. Median time of survival from onset was 30.8 months. In conclusion, ALS incidence in Catalonia is within the range of other countries across Europe with different geographic, environmental and socioeconomic situations. However, as in other studies conducted in the Mediterranean area, Catalonia incidence is in the lower range of rates in Europe.
Handbook on Graph Drawing and Visualization

Planarity Testing and Embedding Maurizio Patrignani Crossings and Planarization Christoph Buchheim, Markus Chimani, Carsten Gutwenger, Michael Junger, and Petra Mutzel Symmetric Graph Drawing Peter Eades and Seok-Hee Hong Proximity Drawings Giuseppe Liotta Tree Drawing Algorithms Adrian Rusu Planar Straight-Line Drawing Algorithms Luca Vismara Planar Orthogonal and Polyline Drawing Algorithms Christian A. Duncan and Michael T. Goodrich Spine and Radial Drawings Emilio Di Giacomo, Walter Didimo, and Giuseppe Liotta Circular Drawing Algorithms Janet M. Six and Ioannis G. Tollis Rectangular Drawing Algorithms Takao Nishizeki and Md. Saidur Rahman Simultaneous Embedding of Planar Graphs Thomas Blasius, Stephen G. Kobourov, and Ignaz Rutter Force-Directed Drawing Algorithms Stephen G. Kobourov Hierarchical Drawing Algorithms Patrick Healy and Nikola S. Nikolov Three-Dimensional Drawings Vida Dujmovic and Sue Whitesides Labeling Algorithms Konstantinos G. Kakoulis and Ioannis G. Tollis Graph Markup Language (GraphML) Ulrik Brandes, Markus Eiglsperger, Jurgen Lerner, and Christian Pich The Open Graph Drawing Framework (OGDF) Markus Chimani, Carsten Gutwenger, Michael Junger, Gunnar W. Klau, Karsten Klein, and Petra Mutzel GDToolkit Giuseppe Di Battista and Walter Didimo PIGALE Hubert de Fraysseix and Patrice Ossona de Mendez Biological Networks Christian Bachmaier, Ulrik Brandes, and Falk Schreiber Computer Security Olga Ohrimenko, Charalampos Papamanthou, and Bernardo Palazzi Graph Drawing for Data Analytics Stephen G. Eick Graph Drawing and Cartography Alexander Wolff Graph Drawing in Education Stina Bridgeman Computer Networks Giuseppe Di Battista and Massimo Rimondini Social Networks Ulrik Brandes, Linton C. Freeman, and Dorothea Wagner Index
Sélection d'échelle automatique précise et seuillage localement adapté pour la segmentation de vésicules en microscopie TIRF

En imagerie cellulaire et microscopie de fluorescence, la premiere phase de l'analyse consiste generalement a detecter une grande quantite d'elements (molecules, vesicules). De nombreuses methodes de detection ont ete developpees dans ce contexte, mais elles reclament souvent un parametrage assez fin et ne peuvent pas toujours s'adapter a l'echelle des elements a detecter. Nous proposons une methode incluant une selection d'echelle automatique precise et un seuillage localement adapte. Des experimentations quantitatives sur images simulees montrent les avantages et les meilleures performances de notre methode. Des resultats sur sequences reelles confirment son interet.
Extreme emulsification: formation and structure of nanoemulsions

Nanoemulsions are metastable dispersions of nanodroplets of one liquid that have been ruptured by shear in another immiscible liquid. The ruptured droplets are stabilized against subsequent coalescence by a surfactant. Because the nanodroplets do not form spontaneously, as they can in lyotropic “microemulsion” phases, the structure of nanoemulsions is primarily dependent on the history of the applied shear stresses relative to the interfacial restoring stresses. By applying extremely high shear rates and controlling the composition of the emulsion, we have been able to rupture microscale droplets down to diameters as small as 30 nm in a microfluidic process that yields bulk quantities suitable for commercial production. Following ultracentrifugal fractionation to make the droplets uniform, we study the structure of these emulsions using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) at dilute and concentrated volume fractions. We contrast the structure of a concentrated nanoemulsion with the structure factor of hard spheres at a similar volume fraction.
On-Line Navigation Through Weighted Regions

This paper studies some extensions to the wall problem of Blum et al. In the wall problem, a point robot is to reach an oriented in nite line while moving amid oriented retangular obstacles. In the extension called the weighted wall problem, we generalize an obstacle to be a weighted region of a constant weight while the weights of di erent regions my di er. The weighted Euclidean distance between two points inside a region is the product of the corresponding weight and the Euclidean distance between them. The objective is to reach the target line with a minimumweighted Euclidean distance. For this problem, we present an optimal on-line algorithm, which is a generalization of the sweeping strategy of Blum et al. Using this strategy, the robot is guaranteed to reach the target while traveling a weighted Euclidean distance of no more than O( p n) times the optimal weighted Euclidean distance, where n is the distance between the start point and the target line. Supported by Grants NSF CCR-9725021, NSF IRI-9619647, NSF/DARPA CCR-92725021, and ARO contract DAAH04-96-1-0448.