Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Refresh Now and Then

DRAM stores information in electric charge. Because DRAM cells lose stored charge over time due to leakage, they have to be “refreshed” in a periodic manner to retain the stored information. This refresh activity is a source of increased energy consumption as the DRAM density grows. It also incurs nontrivial performance loss due to the unavailability of memory arrays during refresh. This paper first presents a comprehensive measurement-based characterization study of the cell-level data retention behavior of modern low-power DRAM chips. About 99.7% of the cells could retain the stored information for longer than 1 s at a high temperature. This average cell retention behavior strongly indicates that we can deeply reduce the energy and performance penalty of DRAM refreshing with proper system support. The second part of this paper, accordingly, develops two practical techniques to reduce the frequency of DRAM refresh operations by excluding a few leaky memory cells from use and by skipping refreshing of unused DRAM regions. We have implemented the proposed techniques completely in the Linux OS for experimentation, and measured performance improvement of up to 17.2% with the refresh operation reduction of 93.8% on smartphone like low-power platforms.
Verifiable and computable ℓ∞ performance evaluation of ℓ1 sparse signal recovery

In this paper, we develop verifiable and computable performance analysis of the ℓ∞ norms of the recovery errors for ℓ1 minimization algorithms. We define a family of goodness measures for arbitrary sensing matrices as a set of optimization problems, and design algorithms with a theoretical global convergence guarantee to compute these goodness measures. The proposed algorithms solve a series of second-order cone programs, or linear programs. As a by-product, we implement an efficient algorithm to verify a sufficient condition for exact ℓ1 recovery in the noise-free case. This implementation performs orders-of-magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art techniques. We derive performance bounds on the ℓ∞ norms of the recovery errors in terms of these goodness measures. We establish connections between other performance criteria (e.g., the ℓ2 norm, ℓ1 norm, and support recovery) and the ℓ∞ norm in a tight manner. We also analytically demonstrate that the developed goodness measures are non-degenerate for a large class of random sensing matrices, as long as the number of measurements is relatively large. Numerical experiments show that, compared with the restricted isometry based performance bounds, our error bounds apply to a wider range of problems and are tighter, when the sparsity levels of the signals are relatively low.
The presence of MEFV gene mutations in patients with primary osteoarthritis who require surgery

Background/Aims Chronic arthritis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) involves weight-bearing joints and can occur in patients without a history of acute attack. Our aim was to investigate a possible causal relationship between FMF and osteoarthritis in a population in which FMF is quite common. Methods Patients with late stage primary osteoarthritis were enrolled, and five MEFV gene mutations were investigated. The frequency of MEFV gene mutations was compared among patients with osteoarthritis and a previous healthy group from our center. Results One hundred patients with primary osteoarthritis and 100 healthy controls were studied. The frequency of MEFV gene mutations was significantly lower in the osteoarthritis group (9% vs. 19%). M694V was the most frequent mutation (5%) in the osteoarthritis group, whereas in the control group, E148Q was the most common (16%). In subgroup analyses, the mutation frequency of patients with hip osteoarthritis was not different from that of patients with knee osteoarthritis and controls (7.1%, 9.7%, and 19%, respectively). There were no differences among the three groups with respect to MEFV gene mutations other than E148Q (8.1% vs. 3.6%). E148Q was significantly lower in the osteoarthritis group than in the controls (16% vs. 1%), although the mutations did not differ between patients with knee osteoarthritis and controls. Conclusions In a population with a high prevalence of MEFV gene mutations, we did not find an increased mutation rate in patients with primary osteoarthritis. Furthermore, we found that some mutations were significantly less frequent in patients with osteoarthritis. Although the number of patients studied was insufficient to claim that E148Q gene mutation protects against osteoarthritis, the potential of this gene merits further investigation.
Interleukin-6 Modulates Colonic Transepithelial Ion Transport in the Stress-Sensitive Wistar Kyoto Rat

Immunological challenge stimulates secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6, resulting in variety of biological responses. In the gastrointestinal tract, IL-6 modulates the excitability of submucosal neurons and stimulates secretion into the colonic lumen. When considered in the context of the functional bowel disorder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), where plasma levels of IL-6 are elevated, this may reflect an important molecular mechanism contributing to symptom flares, particularly in the diarrhea-predominant phenotype. In these studies, colonic ion transport, an indicator of absorption and secretion, was assessed in the stress-sensitive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat model of IBS. Mucosa-submucosal colonic preparations from WKY and control Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were mounted in Ussing chambers and the basal short circuit current (ISC) was electrophysiologically recorded and compared between the strains. Exposure to IL-6 (1 nM) stimulated a secretory current of greater amplitude in WKY as compared to SD samples. Furthermore, the observed IL-6-mediated potentiation of secretory currents evoked by veratridine and capsaicin in SD rats was blunted in WKY rats. Exposure to IL-6 also stimulated an increase in transepithelial resistance in both SD and WKY colonic tissue. These studies demonstrate that the neuroexcitatory effects of IL-6 on submucosal plexi have functional consequences with alterations in both colonic secretory activity and permeability. The IL-6-induced increase in colonic secretory activity appears to neurally mediated. Thus, local increases in IL-6 levels and subsequent activation of enteric neurons may underlie alterations in absorpto-secretory function in the WKY model of IBS.
Artifact Reduction in Radiometric Compensation of Projector-Camera Systems for Steep Reflectance Variations

In this paper, we propose a novel radiometric compensation method that applies a high-spatial-resolution camera to a projector-camera system to reduce the artifacts around the regions where the reflectance of the projection surface changes steeply. The proposed method measures the reflection in the region of a single projector pixel on a projection surface with multiple camera pixels. From the measurement, it computes multiple color-mixing matrices, each of which represents a color space conversion between each camera and the projector pixels. Using these matrices, we calculate the optimal projection color by applying the linear least squares method, so that the displayed color in the projector pixel region is as close as possible to the target appearance. Through projection experiments, we confirm that our proposed method reduces the artifacts around the regions where the reflectance changes steeply, when compared with other conventional compensation methods.
Factors influencing treatment decision-making for maintaining or extracting compromised teeth.

AIMS To evaluate treatment decision-making with respect to maintaining periodontally compromised teeth among dentists with or without postgraduate qualifications in implant dentistry. MATERIAL AND METHODS A series of patient scenarios with varying degrees of periodontal disease levels was presented to dental practitioners. Practitioners' decision-making outcome was determined, and intention to retain the compromised teeth was analyzed in bivariate and regression analyses (accounting for postgraduate implant training, gender, years in dental practice, and implant placement experience). RESULTS This study involved 30 dental practitioners with postgraduate implant qualifications (GDPP), 33 dental practitioners without postgraduate implant qualifications (GDP), and 27 practitioners undergoing training for postgraduate implant qualifications (GDPT). Variations in treatment decision-making were evident between the three groups. Differences in treatment approaches to retaining compromised teeth were apparent. Furthermore, variations in rehabilitation of extracted scenarios existed in terms of use of implant and number of implants need for rehabilitation. Accounting for dentist and practice factors in regression analyses, GDPP/GDPT were three times as likely to retain periodontally compromised upper molar, with or without pain, compared to GDP (without pain OR 3.10, 95%CI 1.04, 10.62 P = 0.04; with pain OR 3.08, 95%CI 1.09, 8.14 P = 0.03). CONCLUSION Variations in treatment decision-making with respect to retaining periodontally compromised teeth exist between dental practitioners with and those without postgraduate training in implant dentistry. Furthermore differences in management approaches in how they would retain the teeth or rehabilitate the dental arch were apparent.
Expression of SRC-1, AIB1, and PEA3 in HER2 mediated endocrine resistant breast cancer; a predictive role for SRC-1

Background: In human breast cancer, the growth factor receptor HER2 is associated with disease progression and resistance to endocrine treatment. Growth factor induced mitogen activated protein kinase activity can phosphorylate not only the oestrogen receptor, but also its coactivator proteins AIB1 and SRC-1. Aim: To determine whether insensitivity to endocrine treatment in HER2 positive patients is associated with enhanced expression of coactivator proteins, expression of the HER2 transcriptional regulator, PEA3, and coregulatory proteins, AIB1 and SRC-1, was assessed in a cohort of patients with breast cancer of known HER2 status. Methods: PEA3, AIB1, and SRC-1 protein expression in 70 primary breast tumours of known HER2 status (HER2 positive, n = 35) and six reduction mammoplasties was assessed using immunohistochemistry. Colocalisation of PEA3 with AIB1 and SRC-1 was determined using immunofluorescence. Expression of PEA3, AIB1, and SRC-1 was correlated with clinicopathological parameters. Results: In primary breast tumours expression of PEA3, AIB1, and SRC-1 was associated with HER2 status (p = 0.0486, p = 0.0444, and p = 0.0012, respectively). In the HER2 positive population, PEA3 expression was associated with SRC-1 (p = 0.0354), and both PEA3 and SRC-1 were significantly associated with recurrence on univariate analysis (p = 0.0345; p<0.0001). On multivariate analysis, SRC-1 was significantly associated with disease recurrence in HER2 positive patients (p = 0.0066). Conclusion: Patients with high expression of HER2 in combination with SRC-1 have a greater probability of recurrence on endocrine treatment compared with those who are HER2 positive but SRC-1 negative. SRC-1 may be an important predictive indicator and therapeutic target in breast cancer.
Comparing inverse probability of treatment weighting methods and optimal nonbipartite matching for estimating the causal effect of a multicategorical treatment

Imbalances in covariates between treatment groups are frequent in observational studies and can lead to biased treatment comparisons. This bias can notably be corrected utilizing matching or weighting methods. These approaches have seldom been compared in the context of a treatment with multiple categories (>2). We have conducted a simulation study to compare an optimal nonbipartite matching approach, an inverse probability of treatment weighting approach as well as matching weights. Our simulations include a completely synthetic component based on a Monte Carlo design as well as a plasmode part that does not require knowing the model generating the data in its entirety. These comparisons are illustrated simultaneously through simulated data with 3 treatment categories and then using a real data example with 5 treatment groups. The inverse probability of treatment weighting and the matching weight approaches performed better than the optimal nonbipartite matching in scenarios with small or moderate bias. In scenarios with large bias, matching weights produced the best estimates while mixed results were obtained regarding the nonbipartite matching approach. Also, we found that the truncation and stabilization of weights can sometimes improve the performance of the weighting approach. Matching weights method was the most robust and yielded good estimates in all the scenario independent of the bias level. It is recommended, before using usual inverse probability weighting, to check the overlapping area between treatment groups or the violation of the positivity assumption.
Business Model Analysis: A Multi-Method Approach

A business model is a set of assumptions about how an organization will perform by creating value for all the players on whom it depends, not just its customers. This paper discusses a multi-method approach to consistently analyzing the structure, the behaviour and the dynamics of business models in order to identify possible optimizations. The method utilizes object-oriented analysis for analyzing structural and behavioral aspects and system dynamics to analyze value creation dynamics.
Variation in test ordering behaviour of GPs: professional or context-related factors?

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe GPs' test ordering behaviour, and to establish professional and context-related determinants of GPs' inclination to order tests. METHODS A cross-sectional analysis was carried out of 229 GPs in 40 local GP groups from five regions in The Netherlands of the combined number of 19 laboratory and eight imaging tests ordered by GPs, collected from five regional diagnostic centres. In a multivariable multilevel regression analysis, these data were linked with survey data on professional characteristics such as knowledge about and attitude towards test ordering, and with data on context-related factors such as practice type or experience with feedback on test ordering data. The main outcome measure was the percentage point differences associated with professional and context-related factors. RESULTS The total median number of tests per GP per year was 998 (interquartile range 663-1500), with significant differences between the regions. The response to the survey was 97%. At the professional level, 'individual involvement in developing guidelines' (yes versus no), and at the context-related level 'group practice' (versus single-handed and two-person practices) and 'more than 1 year of experience working with a problem-oriented laboratory order form' (yes versus no) were associated with 27, 18 and 41% lower numbers of tests ordered, respectively. CONCLUSION In addition to professional determinants, context-related factors appeared to be strongly associated with the numbers of tests ordered. Further studies on GPs' test ordering behaviour should include local and regional factors.
Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer Emerging in Young Women in Taiwan: Evidence for More Than Just Westernization as a Reason for the Disease in Asia

Background: In the past two decades, the incidence of breast cancer in young Taiwanese females has been rapidly increasing, approaching the risk level of western countries. As a first step to investigate the possible etiology, we examined the molecular subtypes of female breast cancer in Taiwan. Methods: This study included 1,028 consecutive patients with breast cancer diagnosed in National Taiwan University Hospital between 2004 and 2006. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, cytokeratin 5/6, and epidermal growth factor receptor expression and/or gene amplification were analyzed. Results: Younger (≤50 years) breast cancer patients had a higher prevalence of luminal A (67% versus 57%; P < 0.001) and a lower prevalence of basal-like subtype (9% versus 17%; P < 0.001) compared with older (>50 years) patients. The higher prevalence of luminal A subtype was mainly attributed to a higher ER (75% versus 63%; P < 0.001) and PR (47% versus 33%; P < 0.001) expression rate in younger patients than older patients. Tumors with histologic grade 3 were less prevalent in younger patients than in older patients (23% versus 30%; P = 0.01). For very young (<35 years) patients, the molecular subtype distribution, ER and/or PR expression rate, and histologic grade were not significantly different from those of less young (35-50 years) patients. Conclusions: Young breast cancer patients in Taiwan are characterized by a high prevalence of luminal A subtype and low prevalence of histologic grade 3 tumor and/or basal-like subtype. These features are distinct from young breast cancer patients in western countries. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(6):1807–14)
Power Ratio definitions and analysis in single carrier modulations

In the past few years, many research activities have concerned the Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) especially in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) context. Nevertheless, we have noticed that the PAPR definition is not always the same from one author to the other, depending on the paper context which leads to confusions and bad interpretations. That's why we propose in this article to generalize the PAPR definition by introducting the Power Ratio (PR) parameter from which we can derive all the possible PAPR versions. Thereby, we propose a theoretical analysis of the PR vs oversampling and the roll off factor in single carrier modulation when a Nyquist filter is considered. We give an upper bound of the PR and simulations for QPSK and 16QAM modulations.
Waste management: relevance to environmental sustainability

Waste generation and its management present universal challenges related to negative impacts on the environment. Municipal solid waste generation in large quantities on daily basis constitutes serious environmental problems. This paper presents a review of extant literature in the management of municipal waste across a range of countries alongside waste management hierarchy that guide legislations and policies for developed and developing countries. This paper assesses the environmental consequences emanating from the influence of either the presence or absence of contaminants-based diverse management options for municipal solid waste; thereby facilitating policy makers and waste management companies informed choice(s) for the management of municipal waste sustainably. The outcome from the evaluation of environmental effect reveals that incineration; the most common waste-to-energy implementation for municipal solid waste is accompanied with the emission of greenhouse gases, Nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulphur dioxide contributing to climate change and air acidification. Environmental concern is a critical indicator for determining the best appropriate waste management option(s). The need to encourage the increasing recycling of municipal solid waste to facilitate a global sustainable environment as well as boosting the circular economy and green cities is recommended.
Cryptography in the Cloud: Advances and Challenges

Cloud computing is a currently developing revolution in information technology that is disturbing the way that individuals and corporate entities operate while enabling new distributed services that have not existed before. At the foundation of cloud computing is the broader concept of converged infrastructure and shared services. Security is often said to be a major concern of users considering migration to cloud computing. This article examines some of these security concerns and surveys recent research efforts in cryptography to provide new technical mechanisms suitable for the new scenarios of cloud computing. We consider techniques such as homomorphic encryption, searchable encryption, proofs of storage, and proofs of location. These techniques allow cloud computing users to benefit from cloud server processing capabilities while keeping their data encrypted; and to check independently the integrity and location of their data. Overall we are interested in how users may be able to maintain and verify their own security without having to rely on the trust of the cloud provider.
1/f3 (Close-in) Phase Noise Reduction by Tail Transistor Flicker Noise Suppression Technique

In this paper, a novel circuit method is proposed to reduce 1/f3 (close-in) phase noise in a cross-coupled LC Voltage Control Oscillator (VCO) by suppressing flicker noise power of the tail transistor. Using an added resistor between drain and gate of the tail transistor, that works as a negative feedback, the tail transistor flicker noise is suppressed, and therefore, the 1/f3 output phase noise is reduced by 5.7[Formula: see text]dB. Also, the added resistor helps in better tail current shaping for phase noise reduction. The proposed oscillator is designed in a 0.18[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m CMOS technology with 1.8[Formula: see text]V supply and 3.6[Formula: see text]mW power consumption. Post-layout simulations predict a phase noise of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]dBc/Hz for the proposed oscillator at 100[Formula: see text]KHz offset from 3.1[Formula: see text]GHz carrier frequency. Mathematical analysis is included in the paper for confirmation of the phase noise performance enhancement. The Figure of Merit (FOM) of the proposed oscillator is 188.3 and 190.6[Formula: see text]dBc/Hz at 100[Formula: see text]KHz and 1[Formula: see text]MHz offsets, respectively.
Anopheles culicifacies in Baluchistan, Iran

Abstract. Anopheles culicifacies (probably species A) is the main vector of malaria in Baluchistan, southeastern Iran. Adult mosquitoes were collected during 1990‐92 by five methods of sampling: knock‐down pyrethrum space‐spray indoors, human and animal bait (18.00–05.00 hours), pit shelters and CDC light traps, yielding 62%, 3%, 6%, 4% and 25% of specimens, respectively. Whereas spray‐catches comprised c. 70% gravid and semi‐gravid females, light trap catches were mostly (c. 60%) unfed females, while females from pit shelters comprised all abdominal stages more equally (13–36%). An. culicifacies populations peaked in April‐May and rose again during August‐November. Densities of indoor‐resting mosquitoes were consistently greater in an unsprayed village than in villages subjected to residual house‐spraying with propoxur, malathion or pirimiphos‐methyl. Monthly malaria incidence generally followed fluctuations of An. culicifacies density, usually with a peak in May‐June.