Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Gap-ETH to FPT-Inapproximability: Clique, Dominating Set, and More

We consider questions that arise from the intersection between theareas of approximation algorithms, subexponential-time algorithms, and fixed-parameter tractable algorithms. The questions, which have been asked several times (e.g., [Marx, 2008; Fellow et al., 2012; Downey & Fellow 2013]) are whether there is a non-trivial FPT-approximation algorithm for the Maximum Clique (Clique) and Minimum Dominating Set (DomSet) problems parameterized by the size of the optimal solution. In particular, letting opt be the optimum and N be the size of the input, is there an algorithm that runs int(opt) poly(N) time and outputs a solution of size f(opt), forany functions t and f that are independent of N (for Clique, we want f(opt)=&#x03A9;(1))? In this paper, we show that both Clique and DomSet admit no non-trivial FPT-approximation algorithm, i.e., there is no o(opt)-FPT-approximation algorithm for Clique and no f(opt)-FPT-approximation algorithm for DomSet, for any function f (e.g., this holds even if f is an exponential or the Ackermann function). In fact, our results imply something even stronger: The best way to solve Clique and DomSet, even approximately, is to essentially enumerate all possibilities. Our results hold under the Gap Exponential Time Hypothesis (Gap-ETH) [Dinur, 2016, Manurangsi & Raghavendra 2016], which states that no 2^{o(n)}-time algorithm can distinguish between a satisfiable 3SAT formula and one which is not even (1 - c)-satisfiable for some constant c &#x2248; 0.Besides Clique and DomSet, we also rule out non-trivial FPT-approximation for Maximum Balanced Biclique, the problem of finding maximum subgraphs with hereditary properties (e.g., Maximum Induced Planar Subgraph), and Maximum Induced Matching in bipartite graphs. Previously only exact versions of these problems were known to be W[1]-hard [Lin, 2015; Khot & Raman, 2000; Moser & Sikdar, 2009]. Additionally, we rule out k^{o(1)}-FPT-approximation algorithm for Densest k-Subgraph although this ratio does not yet match the trivial O(k)-approximation algorithm.To the best of our knowledge, prior results only rule out constantfactor approximation for Clique [Hajiaghayi et al., 2013; KK13, Bonnet et al., 2015] and log^{1/4+c}(opt) approximation for DomSet for any constant c &#x2248; 0 [Chen & Lin, 2016]. Our result on Clique significantly improves on [Hajiaghayi et al., 2013; Bonnet et al., 2015]. However, our result on DomSet is incomparable to [Chen & Lin, 2016] since their results hold under ETH while our results hold under Gap-ETH, which is a stronger assumption.
Please stand by: TV-based indoor localization

Despite the decades of efforts, indoor positioning remains an open research challenge. While existing solutions already demonstrate high accuracy, their inbuilding infrastructure — such as Wi-Fi access points or Bluetooth beacons — provides only a limited coverage. This paper investigates feasibility of accurate indoor positioning using broadcast digital TV signals, readily available in populated areas worldwide. We experiment with the classic received signal strength (RSS) fingerprinting, and introduce a novel approach based on channel state information (CSI), which leverages frequency-selective multipath fading of wideband TV signals. The proposed methods are experimentally evaluated on an extensive dataset of DVB-T signals, systematically collected in two large buildings over the course of 8 months. The results show that the proposed approach consistently outperforms RSS fingerprinting and achieves 92–98% localization accuracy. While this study is based on the European DVB-T signals, the proposed method is directly generalizable to other TV standards (such as ATSC, ISDB, DTMB and DMB) and wide-area TV white space (TVWS) networks.
The SphereSearch Engine for Unified Ranked Retrieval of Heterogeneous XML and Web Documents

This paper presents the novel SphereSearch Engine that provides unified ranked retrieval on heterogeneous XML and Web data. Its search capabilities include vague structure conditions, text content conditions, and relevance ranking based on IR statistics and statistically quantified ontological relationships. Web pages in HTML or PDF are automatically converted into XML format, with the option of generating semantic tags by means of linguistic annotation tools. For Web data the XML-oriented query engine is leveraged to provide very rich search options that cannot be expressed in traditional Web search engines: concept-aware and link-aware querying that takes into account the implicit structure and context of Web pages. The benefits of the SphereSearch engine are demonstrated by experiments with a large and richly tagged but non-schematic open encyclopedia extended with external documents.
Modeling Interference for Wireless Sensor Network Simulators

Low power wide area networks (LPWAN) are the enabling technologies for large scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Effective cost, long range and energy efficiency of LPWANs make them most suitable candidates for smart city applications. These technologies offer novel communication paradigm to address discrete IoT's applications. This paper presents the integration of physical layers based on ZigBee, Wi-Fi, and LoRa into a wireless sensor network simulator CupCarbon for IoT's applications. We have restructured the operations of PHYs, so it can be flexible and scalable to exploit the system services.
Combinatorial Auctions

Recall the VCG mechanism, which generalizes the second-price (Vickrey) auction to the multi-parameter setting. This mechanism suffers from several anomalies, which you explored in Homework 3. In addition, when valuations have exponential complexity, the communication complexity of VCG is likewise exponential, and the computation of a VCG outcome is potentially exponential as well, since solving for a welfare-maximizing allocation is NP-hard. A combinatorial auction is an auction for multiple goods, where bidders value goods in combination: i.e., bundles, or subsets, of goods. Moreover, these values do not generally decompose “nicely. ” Let vi : A → R denote bidder i’s valuation function, defined on the set of possible allocations A = 2G. Thus, vi(X) denote i’s value for bundle X ⊆ G. Note that in the special case of a singleton bundle {j}, we simply write vi(j) to denote i’s value for good j. Two special (and relatively nice) cases of combinatorial valuations are additive and unit demand valuations. Given a bundle of goods X ⊆ G, bidder i’s valuations are additive iff
Empirical studies of pen tilting performance in pen-based user interfaces

Recently, pen tilting has been explored in pen-based user interfaces and has shown potential to improve user interaction in various tasks (e.g., menu selection, modeless object manipulation). However, some basic questions concerning pen tilting behaviors, such as the ideal range, azimuth size, and direction of pen tilting, have not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we report our empirical studies on user performances in basic pen tilting tasks. First, we conducted a baseline study, which helps us to determine tilting directions, tilting ranges, and the thresholds that separate incidental pen tilting actions from intentional actions used for interaction. Based on the results from the baseline study, we designed an experiment to investigate user performances in goal tilting in different tilting ranges, azimuth sizes, and directions. Drawing on the results of our data analyses on task completion time, error rate, and pen tip movements, we discussed values of tilting parameters like titling range, minimal azimuth size, and tilting direction.
Geometric Estimation of the Deformation and the Design Method for Developing Helical Bundled-Tube Locomotive Devices

This paper presents a novel design method for an in-pipe locomotive device named “helical bundled-tube locomotive device. ” Helical bundled-tube locomotive devices are soft robots that travel in pipes. The device only comprises inflatable tubes; it deforms into a helical shape and travels in a pipe with pneumatic power. The deformation pushes the device toward the inner wall of the pipe and generates a traction force in the pipe. Therefore, the extent of deformation should be determined. The methods for estimation and estimation-based design, which this paper presents, allow for the device to be designed without employing trial-and-error experimentation; trial-and-error experimentation is ordinarily required. The proposed methods are quick and easy to implement, and will help in putting the device to practical use. The proposed methods are based on geometrical formulations of the deformations of the device and the tubes that compose the device. This geometrical formulation is independent of the mechanical characteristics of the material. We also considered the developed design method as being independent from the tube characteristics to simplify it. Accordingly, the proposed methods can be applied regardless of material, shape, and individual differences across helical devices.
Graph-Theoretic Analysis of Power Systems

In this paper, we present an overview of the applications of graph theory in power system modeling, dynamics, coherency, and control. First, we study synchronization of generator dynamics using both nonlinear and small-signal representations of classical structure-preserving models of power systems in light of their network structure and the weights associated with the nodes and edges of the network graph. We overview important necessary and sufficient conditions for both phase and frequency synchronization. We highlight the role of graph structure in coherency properties, and introduce the idea of generator and bus aggregation whereby dynamic equivalent models of large power grids can be developed while retaining the concept of a “bus” in the network graph of the equivalent model. We also discuss several new results on graph sparsification for designing distributed controllers for power flow oscillation damping.
Composite Optimization by Nonconvex Majorization-Minimization

The minimization of a nonconvex composite function can model a variety of imaging tasks. A popular class of algorithms for solving such problems are majorization-minimization techniques which iteratively approximate the composite nonconvex function by a majorizing function that is easy to minimize. Most techniques, e.g. gradient descent, utilize convex majorizers in order to guarantee that the majorizer is easy to minimize. In our work we consider a natural class of nonconvex majorizers for these functions, and show that these majorizers are still sufficient for a globally convergent optimization scheme. Numerical results illustrate that by applying this scheme, one can often obtain superior local optima compared to previous majorization-minimization methods, when the nonconvex majorizers are solved to global optimality. Finally, we illustrate the behavior of our algorithm for depth super-resolution from raw time-of-flight data.
What's in it for me? Self-regard precludes altruism and spite in chimpanzees

Sensitivity to fairness may influence whether individuals choose to engage in acts that are mutually beneficial, selfish, altruistic, or spiteful. In a series of three experiments, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) could pull a rope to access out-of-reach food while concomitantly pulling another piece of food further away. In the first study, they could make a choice that solely benefited themselves (selfishness), or both themselves and another chimpanzee (mutualism). In the next two experiments, they could choose between providing food solely for another chimpanzee (altruism), or for neither while preventing the other chimpanzee from receiving a benefit (spite). The main result across all studies was that chimpanzees made their choices based solely on personal gain, with no regard for the outcomes of a conspecific. These results raise questions about the origins of human cooperative behaviour.
Security testing as a service with docker containerization

Nowadays web applications are used widely in day to day life. These web applications needs to be secured from vulnerabilities. In order to test how much a web application is secured, testers use various web vulnerability scanners [1]. But in order to run scans as expected, these tools need to be properly configured and also consume lots of resources. This paper explains how developers can test the security of their web applications properly using a provided automated security testing service. This system is capable of running a dynamic security scan with Zed Attack Proxy tool, running a static code analysis security scan with FindSecBugs plugin and do a dependency check with Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) dependency check tool through docker containerization. End user needs to provide their source code, the database dump and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)/credentials for any login pages of their web application to the system. Then the system will run the scans and provide security reports without false positives by freeing end user from all the burden of manual security testing.
Combination of visible light and radio frequency bands for device-to-device communication

Future mobile networks are supposed to serve high data rates to users. To accommodate the high data rates, a direct communication between nearby mobile terminals (MTs) can be exploited. This type of communication in mobile networks is known as Device-to-device (D2D). Furthermore, a communication in high frequency bands, such as, visible light communication (VLC), is also foreseen as an enabler for the high data rates. In a conventional D2D communication, pairs of the communicating MTs should reuse the same frequencies to maximize spectral efficiency of the system. However, this implies either interference among the D2D pairs or a need for complex resource allocation algorithms. In this paper, we introduce a new concept for D2D communication combining VLC and RF technologies in order to maximize capacity of the system. The objective of this paper is to analyze operational limits of the proposed concept and to assess potential capacity gains to give motivation for future research in this area. Thus, we also discuss several practical issues related to the proposed RF-VLC D2D concept and outline major research challenges. The performance analysis carried out in this paper shows that the RF-VLC D2D is able to improve the capacity in an indoor scenario by a factor of 4.1 and 1.5 when compared to standalone RF D2D and VLC D2D, respectively.
Sound Localization Performance Improves After Canaloplasty in Unilateral Congenital Aural Atresia Patients

Objective To investigate the changes in sound localization ability in the horizontal plane after canaloplasty in unilateral congenital aural atresia (CAA) patients. Study Design Prospective interventional study. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patients Twenty-eight patients with unilateral CAA were enrolled. All patients had unilateral conductive hearing loss. Interventions Canaloplasty. Main Outcome Measures Pure tone audiometry, sound localization test, and the Speech, Spatial, and Quality questionnaire (SSQ) were administered preoperatively, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. For the sound localization test, 8 loudspeakers were positioned in a circle at 45-degree intervals, and patients were instructed to identify the speaker from which sound was coming. Mean correct response rate and mean error degree were calculated for each patient. The correct lateralization rate to the ipsilesional/contralesional stimuli was also calculated. Results Mean hearing threshold decreased from preoperatively 63.8 to 39.4 dB 12 months after canaloplasty. Mean correct response rate and error degree at preoperative evaluation were 26.0% and 60.7 degrees, respectively, and these were respectively improved to 58.5% and 27.8 degrees postoperatively. Respective mean correct lateralization rate to ipsilesional stimuli after canaloplasty improved from 20.6% to 84.0%, and that to contralesional stimuli slightly improved from 93.8% to 98.8%. Patients with good postoperative hearing (<40 dBHL) showed better sound localization results. In addition, self-assessment scores of spatial domain in the SSQ questionnaire were significantly improved after the operation. Conclusion Sound localization performance improved significantly after canaloplasty. Canaloplasty could provide better localization benefit and subjective improvement in spatial sensation to unilateral CAA patients.
Document heading doi : Paragonimus worm from a New Guinea native in 1926

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Basic Medicine, Kunming Medical College, Kunming 650031, China School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Towsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Basic Medicine, Kunming Medical College, Kunming 650031, China The Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Science, Kunming Medical College, Kunming 650031,China
Investigating the performance and productivity of DASH using the Cowichan problems

DASH is a new realization of the PGAS (Partitioned Global Address Space) programming model in the form of a C++ template library. Instead of using a custom compiler, DASH provides expressive programming constructs using C++ abstraction mechanisms and offers distributed data structures and parallel algorithms that follow the concepts employed by the C++ standard template library (STL). In this paper we evaluate the performance and productivity of DASH by comparing our implementation of a set of benchmark programs with those developed by expert programmers in Intel Cilk, Intel TBB (Threading Building Blocks), Go and Chapel. We perform a comparison on shared memory multiprocessor systems ranging from moderately parallel multicore systems to a 64-core manycore system. We additionally perform a scalability study on a distributed memory system on up to 20 nodes (800 cores). Our results demonstrate that DASH offers productivity that is comparable with the best established programming systems for shared memory and also achieves comparable or better performance. Our results on multi-node systems show that DASH scales well and achieves excellent performance.
Prediction of the risk of mortality using risk score in patients with coronary heart disease

Background The aim of the study is to develop risk scores with traditional factors for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. Methods and Results We performed a prospective cohort study of 1911 CHD patients aged 40 and older. Cox models were used to estimate the association of traditional factors [sex, age, fasting blood glucose (FBG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood pressure (BP), and cigarette use] and risk scores with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. During a mean follow-up of 4.9 years, 232 deaths were identified, 159 of which were cardiovascular-related. Both 4-year and whole follow-up data showed age, sex, HDL-C, LDL-C, and FBG were significantly associated with the risk of mortality, while BP and smoking were not significant predictors in all models. We incorporated age, sex, FBG, HDL-C, and LDL-C to establish risk scores for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the 4-year and whole follow-up study. These risk scores were positively associated with the risk of death as quartiles and continuous variables. Assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs), these risk scores demonstrated strong discriminatory capacity, from 0.744 to 0.763; and the utility of these scores was confirmed with AUROCs from 0.736 to 0.756 (all P<0.001) in a validation cohort of 1506 CHD patients with a mean follow-up of 4.7 years. Conclusions These simple risk score assessments, including a set of traditional risk factors, might improve the identification of high-risk CHD patients for a more intensive secondary prevention treatment.
Leveraging Electronic Health Record Implementation to Facilitate Clinical and Operational Quality Improvement in an Ambulatory Surgical Clinic

The implementation of electronic health records is a challenging, complex process requiring significant resources. The temptation is to convert a paper process into electronic format. This strategy fosters a familiar product to the users but is fraught with pitfalls. We chose to utilize the opportunity of the implementation of an enterprise-wide ambulatory electronic health record to foster an overreaching clinical and operational improvement project in a multispecialty surgical ambulatory clinic practice. We interrogated every aspect of the practice: clinic design, scheduling, physical space, staffing, and clinical and operational workflows. We present here the results of a 3-year process improvement.
EXPERIMENTAL FLY ASH CONCRETE PAVEMENT IN MICHIGAN

AN EXPERIMENTAL CONCRETE ROAD, 1750 FT LONG, WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1955 ON A LEVEL SITE CARRING HEAVILY LOADED VEHICLES AT NOT VERY HIGH SPEEDS. REINFORCED CONCRETE OF 8-IN THICKNESS HAD TRANSVERSE JOINTS WITH 1-IN DIAMETER STEEL DOWELS ON 12-IN CENTRES AND SEALED WITH RUBBER-BITUMEN IN FIVE EXPERIMENTAL SECTIONS FLY-ASH RANGED FROM 0 TO 200 1B AND THE CEMENT FROM 5.5 TO 4.0 SACKS PER CUBIC YARD OF CONCRETE. THE FLY-ASH HAD A 13 TO 14 PER CENT IGNITION LOSS. FINE AGGREGATE WAS A SATISFACTORY LOCAL S AND, COARSE AGGREGATE WAS A DURABLE CRUSHED DOLOMITE AND A NEUTRALISED VINSOL RESIN IN SOLUTION WAS THE AIR-ENTRAINING AGENT. CONSTRUCTION DIFFICULTIES ARE MENTIONED, LABORATORY TEST RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON SERVICE PERFORMANCE ARE GIVEN. AFTER EIGHT YEARS THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT THE FLY-ASH HAD ANY DELETERIOUS OR BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE, NOR DID THE HIGH PROPORTION OF AIR-ENTRAINING AGENT APPEAR TO HAVE ANY EFFECT. /RRL/
Local Topology vs. Atomic-Level Stresses as a Measure of Disorder: Correlating Structural Indicators for Metallic Glasses

This brief overview presents a critical assessment of the choice of structural parameters that may be used to describe the degree of local order/disorder in metallic glasses (MGs) and to establish the relationship between the amorphous structure and the properties of an MG. By summarizing our own quantitative analysis of representative MG models, we compare, and relate to one another, several measures of structural disorder in amorphous alloys, including the topology of quasi-equivalent clusters, the concept of free volume, and the atomic-level stresses. The model systems used for demonstrating the correlations are characterized by two different and prototypical types of short-range order (SRO): a Cu64Zr36 MG exhibiting pronounced icosahedral SRO, and a Pd82Si18 MG representative of a metal–metalloid system, with solute-centered tri-capped trigonal prisms as the dominant local motif. Also outlined are some ideas in terms of the relationship between the glass structures and properties, including the challenges in correlating the local structures with the propensity for relaxation and shear transformations.