Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High throughput compression of floating point numbers on graphical processing units

Compute-intensive tasks in high-end high performance computing (HPC) systems often generate large amounts of data, especially floating-point data, that need to be transmitted over the network. Although computation speeds are very high, the overall performance of these applications is affected by the data transfer overhead. Moreover, as data sets are growing in size rapidly, bandwidth limitations pose a serious bottleneck in several scientific applications. Fast floating point compression can ameliorate the bandwidth limitations. If data is compressed well, then the amount of data transfer is reduced. This reduction in data transfer time comes at the expense of the increased computation required by compression and decompression. It is important for compression and decompression rates to be greater than the network bandwidth; otherwise, it will be faster to transmit uncompressed data directly. Accelerators such as Graphics Processing Units (GPU) provide much computational power. In this paper, we show that the computational power of GPUs can be harnessed to provide sufficiently fast compression and decompression for this approach to be effective for data produced by many practical applications. In particularly, we use Holt's Exponential smoothing algorithm from time series analysis, and encode the difference between its predictions and the actual data. This yields a lossless compression scheme. We show that it can be implemented efficiently on GPUs to provide an effective compression scheme for the purpose of saving on data transfer overheads. The primary contribution of this work lies in demonstrating the potential of floating point compression in reducing the I/O bandwidth bottleneck on modern hardware for important classes of scientific applications.
Fitness, Attitude toward Physical Education, and Self-Concept of Elementary School Children

Elementary school children scoring in the highest and lowest 26% or 27% of their classes on the Texas Physical Fitness test were compared for attitude toward physical education and self-concept. Data were collected on the Children's Attitude Inventory Toward Physical Education, a Game of Pairs for Preferences Among School Subjects, and the Children's Self-concept Scale. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences on all tests between boys high in fitness, girls high in fitness, boys low in fitness, and girls low in fitness. Subsequent Scheffé tests indicated that highly fit girls had significantly higher attitude and self-concept scores than boys low in fitness. Highly fit boys had higher self-concepts than boys low in fitness. No other group comparisons were significant. Pearson correlations indicated nonsignificant associations between fitness and attitude and self-concept for the four groups.
Test-retest reliability, internal consistency and concurrent validity of Fatigue Severity Scale in measuring post-stroke fatigue.

BACKGROUND Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is a common complaint among stroke survivors and has significant impacts on recovery and quality of life. Limited tools that measure fatigue have been validated in stroke. AIM The purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in patients with stroke. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Teaching hospital outpatient setting. POPULATION Fifty healthy controls (mean age 61.1±7.4 years; 22 males) and 50 patients with stroke (mean age 63.6±10.3 years; 34 males). METHODS FSS was administered twice approximately a week apart through face-to-face interview. In addition, we measured fatigue with Visual Analogue Scale - Fatigue (VAS-F) and Short-Form Health Survey 36 version 2 vitality scale. We used Cronbach alpha to determine internal consistency of FSS. Reliability and validity of FSS were determined by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Spearman correlation coefficient (r). RESULTS FSS showed excellent internal consistency for both stroke and healthy groups (Cronbach's alpha >0.90). FSS had excellent test-retest reliability for stroke patients and healthy controls (ICC=0.93 and ICC=0.90, respectively). The scale demonstrated good concurrent validity with VAS-Fatigue (all r>.60) and a moderate validity with the SF36-vitality scale. Furthermore, FSS was sensitive to distinguish fatigue in stroke from the healthy controls (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS FSS has excellent internal consistency, test-retest reliability and good concurrent validity with VAS-F for both groups. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT This study provides evidence that FSS is a reliable and valid tool to measure post-stroke fatigue and is readily to be used in clinical settings.
A novel space vector modulation control strategy for three-leg four-wire voltage source inverters

One of the desirable characteristics of inverters in three-phase systems is the ability to feed unbalanced loads with voltage and frequency nominal values. This paper introduces an innovative control method in combination with a three dimensional space vector modulation (3D-SVM) control strategy. It is able to feed grids with unbalanced loads while reducing the switching frequency losses. The results from this study show that the developed control scheme in combination with three-leg four-wire inverters can carry out the grid feeding requirements under extreme unbalanced load conditions efficiently.
The Effect of Halothane on Drug Disposition: Contribution of Changes in Intrinsic Drug Metabolizing Capacity and Hepatic Blood Flow

Several studies have shown that halothane may influence drug disposition in animals and humans, but the mechanism remains unclear. The relative contributions of changes in metabolizing capacity and hepatic blood flow to altered drug disposition were investigated during halothane anesthesia, using propranolol as a model compound. The studies were performed on six dogs on three separate days; first, the day before anesthesia, second, during halothane (2.0 MAC) anesthesia, and third, 24 h after anesthesia. Each dog simultaneously received 40 mg unlabeled propranolol directly into the portal vein and 200 mCi of 3H-propranolol intravenously via chronically implanted catheters. Blood samples were taken every 5 min for the first hour and then every 15 min for a further 3 h for the measurement of unlabeled and 3H-propranolol concentrations. During halothane anesthesia, intra-portal–intrinsic clearance was decreased by 62% (P < 0.05) from 2,110 ± 298 to 799 ± 233 ml/min, while systemic clearance was decreased (P < 0.05) from 470 ± 33 ml/min preanesthesia to 280 ± 38 ml/min during halothane anesthesia. The intravenous elimination half-life was increased (P < 0.05) from 87 ± 12 to 155 ± 23 min during anesthesia. Although halothane anesthesia tended to lower liver plasma flow from 642 ± 80 to 473 ± 47 ml/min, this change was not significant. The large change in portal or intrinsic clearance indicates that halothane anesthesia markedly inhibits drug-metabolizing ability. The authors therefore conclude that the alterations in drug disposition observed during halothane anesthesia are mainly due to inhibition of drug-metabolizing capacity in the liver.
Displaced-Phase-Center Antenna Technique

VOLUME 12, NUMBER 2, 2000 LINCOLN LABORATORY JOURNAL 281 T -- antenna technique, or DPCA, improves the performance of moving-target-indicator (MTI) radars mounted on moving platforms. By shifting the effective radiation center of the antenna backward, the DPCA technique compensates for the forward motion of the moving platform so that, over a few pulserepetition intervals, the antenna is effectively stationary in space. The lack of motion of the radiating antenna causes a great narrowing of the spread of the main-beam ground-clutter Doppler spectrum, allowing detection of low-velocity targets that would otherwise be hidden within the spectrum. In this article we are using the acronym MTI in a generic sense, in reference to any technique that Displaced-Phase-Center Antenna Technique
A Modular and Efficient Past State System for Berkeley DB

Applications often need to analyze past states to predict trends and support audits. Adding efficient and nondisruptive support for consistent past-state analysis requires after-the-fact modification of the data store, a significant challenge for today's systems. This paper describes Retro, a new system for supporting consistent past state analysis in Berkeley DB. The key novelty of Retro is an efficient yet simple and robust implementation method, imposing 4% worst-case overhead. Unlike prior approaches, Retro protocols, backed by a formal specification, extend standard transaction protocols in a modular way, requiring minimal data store modification (about 250 lines of BDB code).
Trust and Trustworthiness Under the Prospect Theory: A Field Experiment in Vietnam

We study the influence of risk and time preferences on trust and trustworthiness by conducting a field experiment in Vietnamese villages and by estimating the parameters of the Cumulative Prospect Theory and of quasi-hyperbolic time preferences. We find that while probability sensitivity or risk aversion do not affect trust, loss aversion influences trust indirectly by lowering the expectations of return. Also, more risk averse and less present biased participants are found to be trustworthier. The experience of receiving remittances influences behavior and a longer exposure to a collectivist economy tend to reduce trust and trustworthiness.
Deep Brain Stimulation Electrode Used for Radiofrequency Lesion of the Globus Pallidus Internus in Dystonia

Background: There have recently been increasing case reports in the literature of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes used for lesioning with satisfactory clinical success in the treatment of Parkinson disease and tremor. Methods: After preliminary experiments of radiofrequency (RF) lesioning with a quadripolar DBS lead, a paediatric case of generalized primary dystonia was treated by RF lesioning of the globus pallidus internus (Gpi) with an electrode previously used for chronic stimulation. In order to study electrode damage related to the RF procedure, an electron microscopy study (SEM) at different magnifications (×40 and ×300) was performed. Results: Nine months after the unilateral pallidotomy, the patient had a good and stable control of dystonia. The MR study showed a T1-weighted hyperintensity signal corresponding to the electrode contacts used for lesions. The SEM scans of the DBS electrode used for RF lesioning did not show alterations of the ultrastructure. Conclusions: The RF lesioning technique by a DBS electrode allows small and staged lesions and could also be performed in a bilateral target. The versatility, efficacy, safety and low cost of the device make this approach suitable in selected cases.
Predators feeding on behaviourally responsive prey: some implications for classical models of optimal diet choice

Hundreds of studies exist on predator foraging behaviour, and the same holds for anti-predator behaviour in prey. However, despite these many studies, almost nothing is known about diet choice by predators that feed on prey with anti-predator behaviour. We addressed this problem theoretically by incorporating anti-predator vigilance into two classical models of diet choice by predators. Vigilance allows prey to detect attack and escape, and prey become more vigilant as the predator focuses more of its attention on a specific prey type. We considered diet models in which predators encounter two types of prey either simultaneously (in mixed-type groups) or sequentially (solitary, randomly distributed prey). In both cases, anti-predator behaviour in prey causes predators to adopt a more generalized diet than one might predict on the basis of classical theory. When prey are encountered simultaneously, increased dietary generalization by predators often reflects broad ‘partial prey preferences’. Here, predators tend to attack both prey types some of the time rather than attack only one prey type all of the time (as suggested by classical theory). When prey are encountered sequentially, increased dietary generalization reflects mainly an increase in the threshold encounter rate necessary to cause the predator to drop the less profitable prey from the diet. However, when sequentially encountered prey require an investment in stalking time (which will be lost to the predator if the prey detects attack), partial preferences may hold over a large part of parameter space. Also possible under this stalking-time scenario is the reversal of prey preferences, in which the inherently less profitable prey is always preferred by the predator. These general deviations from the expectations of classical diet theory reflect, in part, the fact that predators faced with behaviourally responsive prey will often benefit from ‘managing’ the anti-predator responses of those prey.
Sustaining the growth of library scholarly publishing in a New University Press

In 2012, the University of Huddersfield Press presented a paper at the 16th International Conference on Electronic Publishing on its new open access journals platform. At the time, the Press was one of the only New University Presses (NUP) in the UK and one of the first to publish open access journals, open access monographs and sound recordings. This article discusses a number of emerging business models for NUPs before developing Hahn’s programme and publication level business plan, which is then related to the sustainability of the Press at Huddersfield. The article will demonstrate how the Press is able to show value to the University in order to secure funding. The paper will conclude with a discussion around the need for collaboration between library-led NUPs. Although this paper concentrates on the experiences of the University of Huddersfield Press, it will be relevant to other emerging or planned NUPs.
Self-reported interoceptive awareness in primary care patients with past or current low back pain

Background Mind–body interactions play a major role in the prognosis of chronic pain, and mind–body therapies such as meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and Feldenkrais presumably provide benefits for pain patients. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) scales, designed to measure key aspects of mind–body interaction, were developed and validated with individuals practicing mind–body therapies, but have never been used in pain patients. Methods We administered the MAIA to primary care patients with past or current low back pain and explored differences in the performance of the MAIA scales between this and the original validation sample. We compared scale means, exploratory item cluster and confirmatory factor analyses, scale–scale correlations, and internal-consistency reliability between the two samples and explored correlations with validity measures. Results Responses were analyzed from 435 patients, of whom 40% reported current pain. Cross-sectional comparison between the two groups showed marked differences in eight aspects of interoceptive awareness. Factor and cluster analyses generally confirmed the conceptual model with its eight dimensions in a pain population. Correlations with validity measures were in the expected direction. Internal-consistency reliability was good for six of eight MAIA scales. We provided specific suggestions for their further development. Conclusion Self-reported aspects of interoceptive awareness differ between primary care patients with past or current low back pain and mind–body trained individuals, suggesting further research is warranted on the question whether mind–body therapies can alter interoceptive attentional styles with pain. The MAIA may be useful in assessing changes in aspects of interoceptive awareness and in exploring the mechanism of action in trials of mind–body interventions in pain patients.
Corticofugal modulation of peripheral auditory responses

The auditory efferent system originates in the auditory cortex and projects to the medial geniculate body (MGB), inferior colliculus (IC), cochlear nucleus (CN) and superior olivary complex (SOC) reaching the cochlea through olivocochlear (OC) fibers. This unique neuronal network is organized in several afferent-efferent feedback loops including: the (i) colliculo-thalamic-cortico-collicular; (ii) cortico-(collicular)-OC; and (iii) cortico-(collicular)-CN pathways. Recent experiments demonstrate that blocking ongoing auditory-cortex activity with pharmacological and physical methods modulates the amplitude of cochlear potentials. In addition, auditory-cortex microstimulation independently modulates cochlear sensitivity and the strength of the OC reflex. In this mini-review, anatomical and physiological evidence supporting the presence of a functional efferent network from the auditory cortex to the cochlear receptor is presented. Special emphasis is given to the corticofugal effects on initial auditory processing, that is, on CN, auditory nerve and cochlear responses. A working model of three parallel pathways from the auditory cortex to the cochlea and auditory nerve is proposed.
Antibody to mouse interferon alpha/beta abrogates resistance to the multiplication of Friend erythroleukemia cells in the livers of allogeneic mice

Friend erythroleukemia cells (FLC) (H-2d) injected intravenously into adult syngeneic DBA/2 or allogeneic C57B1/6 (H-2b) or C3H (H-2k) mice lodge in the liver but only multiply in the liver of syngeneic mice. Our results indicated that endogenous IFN-alpha/beta was a crucial factor in preventing the multiplication of FLC in the liver of adult allogeneic mice. (a) Treatment of allogeneic adult C57B1/6 or C3H mice with polyclonal antibody to mouse IFN-alpha/beta (but not antibody to IFN-gamma) completely abrogated the resistance to the multiplication of FLC in the liver and 87% of tumor-injected, antibody-treated C57B1/6 mice died with extensive tumor involvement of the liver. In contrast, after intravenous inoculation FLC do not multiply at all (or very rarely) in the liver of adult C57B1/6 mice left untreated or treated with a variety of control globulins, and no deaths occurred. (b) 8 h after intravenous inoculation of FLC, poly(A)+ RNA hybridizable with specific DNA probes for mouse IFN-alpha or -beta (but not -gamma) was present in the liver of injected C57B1/6 mice. Using the expression of the Mx protein as an indicator of the presence of IFN-alpha/beta, we showed that Mx+ congenic C57B1/6 mice injected with FLC exhibited a marked increase in the expression of the Mx protein in the liver, spleen, kidney and lung, and this increase was blocked by treatment of mice with antibody to IFN-alpha/beta. The possibility that different host mechanisms are elicited depending on the site of tumor growth in allogeneic mice is discussed. IFN-alpha/beta appears to be of particular importance in determining the resistance of the liver to FLC in allogeneic mice.
The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom

Ovuh Dyuh / Joanne Kilgour Dowdy -- Ebonics : a case history / Ernie Smith -- No kinda sense / Lisa Delpit -- Trilingualism / Judith Baker -- Some basic sociolinguistic concepts / Michael Stubbs -- Language, culture, and the assessment of African American children / Asa G. Hilliard III -- I ain't writin' nuttin' : permissions to fail and demands to succeed in urban classrooms / Gloria J. Ladson-Billings -- ". as soon as she opened her mouth! " : issues of language, literacy, and power / Victoria Purcell-Gates -- Topsy-turvies : teacher talk and student talk / Herbert Kohl -- Toward a national public policy on language / Geneva Smitherman -- The clash of "common senses" : two African American women become teachers / Shuaib Meacham -- "We don't talk right. You ask him. " / Joan Wynne -- Appendix : Linguistic Society of America resolution on the Oakland "ebonics" issue.
Social Sensorimotor Contingencies: Towards Theory of Mind in Synthetic Agents

A first step to reach Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities (attribution of beliefs to others) in synthetic agents through sensorimotor interactions, would be to tag sensory data with agent typology and action intentions: autonomous agent X moved an object under the box. We propose a dual arm robotic setup in which ToM could be probed. We then discuss what measures can be extracted from sensorimotor interaction data (based on a correlation analysis) in the proposed setup that allow to distinguish self than other and other/inanimate from other/active with intentions. We finally discuss what elements are missing in current cognitive architectures to be able to acquire ToM abilities in synthetic agents from sensorimotor interactions, bottom-up from reactive agent interaction behaviors and top-down from the optimization of social behaviour and cooperation.
Political symbols, symbolic politics : European identities in transformation

Part 1 Symbolizing Europe through culture: redefining political culture in Europe today - from ideology to the politics of identity and beyond, Gerard Delanty obstacles and prospects for a European collective identity and citizenship, Oliver Schmidtke national and European identities between myths and realities, Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia. Part 2 Symbolizing nations through Europe: Europe and identity - a challenge for the social sciences, Celine Belot and Andy Smith Europe as a discursive resource for Spanish national identity, Alberto Rosa, Florentino Blanco, Felix Diaz and Raquel de Castro symbolic policies and 'rational' national interests - explaining the crisis of European integration in 1965/66, Ingmar von Homeyer reconstructing French identity in the 1980s and the 1990s, Mette Zolner sovereignty and European integration form a Scandinavian perspective, Ulf Hedetoft. Part 3 Symbolizing Europe through the other, the other through Europe: European identity and the challenge form South and East, Adam Burgess constructing Europe - Russia as Europe's other, Iver B. Neumann communication, cultural identity and the state in Latin America - a perspective from Europe, Philip Schlesinger and Nancy Morris.
A Perturbation Theory for Ergodic Markov Chains and Application to Numerical Approximations

Perturbations to Markov chains and Markov processes are considered. The unperturbed problem is assumed to be geometrically ergodic in the sense usually established through the use of Foster--Lyapunov drift conditions. The perturbations are assumed to be uniform, in a weak sense, on bounded time intervals. The long-time behavior of the perturbed chain is studied. Applications are given to numerical approximations of a randomly impulsed ODE, an Ito stochastic differential equation (SDE), and a parabolic stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) subject to space-time Brownian noise. Existing perturbation theories for geometrically ergodic Markov chains are not readily applicable to these situations since they require very stringent hypotheses on the perturbations.