Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Randomized Protocols for Asynchronous Consensus

One of the central problems in the Theory of (feasible) Computation is to ascertain to what extent, if any, randomization makes algorithms more powerful. This broad question is the motivation behind several very challenging open problems such as P ? = BPP– whether randomization expands the class of problems solvable in polynomial time– or NC ? = RNC– whether randomization helps to compute problems fast in parallel in the PRAM model. While these problems appear today to be as unfathomable as they were the first time that they were formulated a couple of decades ago, the question randomization is more powerful than determinism can be settled in the more restricted setting of distributed computation. We saw in the last lecture that no 1-resilient protocol for consensus exists. If we use randomization however, consensus can be solved. In fact, we shall give an f -resilient protocol for f < n/2! This is an instance where randomization makes a computation model more powerful. As usual, we shall consider only crash failures.
Mercury Methylation from Unexpected Sources: Molybdate-Inhibited Freshwater Sediments and an Iron-Reducing Bacterium

ABSTRACT Methylmercury has been thought to be produced predominantly by sulfate-reducing bacteria in anoxic sediments. Here we show that in circumneutral pH sediments (Clear Lake, CA) application of a specific inhibitor of sulfate-reducing bacteria at appropriate concentrations typically inhibited less than one-half of all anaerobic methylation of added divalent mercury. This suggests that one or more additional groups of microbes are active methylators in these sediments impacted by a nearby abandoned mercury mine. From Clear Lake sediments, we isolated the iron-reducing bacterium Geobacter sp. strain CLFeRB, which can methylate mercury at a rate comparable to Desulfobulbus propionicus strain 1pr3, a sulfate-reducing bacterium known to be an active methylator. This is the first time that an iron-reducing bacterium has been shown to methylate mercury at environmentally significant rates. We suggest that mercury methylation by iron-reducing bacteria represents a previously unidentified and potentially significant source of this environmental toxin in iron-rich freshwater sediments.
A Structure Evolution Model for Enterprise Group's Value Network

The enterprise group’s value network will evolve along with the change of value units’numbers and their linked ways. According to the analysis of the hierarchy of enterprise group’s value network, this paper constructs a structure evolution model for enterprise group’s value network based on embeddedness of network. Searches for the evolution rule of enterprise group’s value network from an example. The results show that the model is effective and suitable for study on enterprise group’s value network’s structure evolution.
Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy - mutation analysis of SLC4A11 and genotype-phenotype correlation in a North Indian patient cohort

Purpose To identify the solute carrier family 4 (sodium borate cotransporter) member 11 (SLC4A11) mutation spectrum and to perform genotype-phenotype correlations in autosomal recessive Congenital Hereditary Endothelial Dystrophy (CHED2) in North Indian patients. Methods Twenty-five patients from twenty families clinically diagnosed with autosomal recessive CHED2 were recruited for the study. Clinical parameters such as age at onset, presentation, and pre- and post-operative visual acuities were recorded. Corneal buttons of patients undergoing keratoplasty were analyzed for histopathologic and ultrastructural confirmation. All the affected individuals and 50 unrelated population matched normal controls were screened for underlying sequence changes. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood samples and all the exons and the 5′-upstream region of the SLC4A11 gene were screened for mutations by direct DNA sequencing. Results A high degree of consanguinity (9 out of 20 families) was noted. Corneal haze was reported to be present since birth or shortly thereafter in all affected patients. Histology and electron microscopy studies revealed increased thickness of Descemet’s membrane, especially of the non-banded zone. Molecular studies revealed one novel homozygous in-frame deletion mutation in two affected siblings from one family and three other previously reported homozygous mutations in 12 patients from 9 families. Mutations were not identified in 11 patients from 11 families. High interfamilial and intrafamilial phenotypic variability was seen among the cohort of patients. Conclusions This is the first report on the mutation spectrum and genotype-phenotype correlation in CHED2 patients from North India. The present study detected one novel and three reported changes, adding to the repertoire of mutations in SLC4A11, and recorded a high degree of genetic heterogeneity in CHED2.
An Investigation of Tightly Coupled Time Synchronous Speech Language Interfaces Using a Uniication Grammar

This paper reports on some experiments on time synchronous interfaces between word recognition and parsing, performed with a beam de-coder and a chart parser. Using the same acoustic models, language model, and unii-cation grammar, bottom-up and two interactive protocols were implemented and examined. Results show that close integration is possible without unbearable time penalties, if restrictions from both modules are applied to focus the search process.
Optimal Information Security Expenditures Considering Budget Constraints

In this paper, we present a new quantitative optimization model to support decision makers in determining how much to invest in information security and how to allocate funds. The approach considers uncertain properties of security risks and provides concrete investment recommendations. Evaluating the problem in a holistic way improves insight into the problem structure and leads to better decision making. By using methods of mathematical optimization, available budget can be utilized most effectively. An exemplary case study demonstrates how the approach is applied to increase security of a cloud-based information system. To test our model, we use very detailed as well as vague input data. In both cases, good results are produced which can be the basis for further decision making. The approach is designed to be used within the framework of an existing risk management process.
Imagery Library for Intelligent Detection Systems (i-LIDS); A Standard for Testing Video Based Detection Systems

The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) evaluates intelligent CCTV and video-based detection systems (VBDS) for security and policing purposes. The commercial market for VBDS is diverse and continues to grow rapidly, yet there are no current standards to assess the performance of these systems. Many government users would like to use VBDS for outdoor applications. However, the systems tend to struggle with changing environmental conditions such as moving shadows and lighting changes. In order to be able to rapidly and reliably assess the performance of VBDS, HOSDB in partnership with the security service has produced a video test library, i-LIDS (imagery library for intelligent detection systems), a sample of which was released on DVD in 2005. The principal aim of i-LIDS is to provide a collection of CCTV images that can be used to provide typical real-world footage for research groups to use in their development programmes; and to evaluate the performance of video-based detection systems (VBDS) against government requirements
The Practicality of End-User Network Monitoring

With the advent of PlanetLab, the opportunity for the average researcher to monitor a variety of network behaviors from a number of vantage points has increased tremendously. I will briefly discuss the experiences we have had in the following areas: network path anomaly detection in PlanetSeer, detecting anomalous applications in CoMon, and relating our results with those obtained by other groups. Included in the discussion will be where to locate such monitoring, the feasibility of data sharing, and the utility of duplicated effort.
Quantum computation of Fourier transforms over symmetric groups

Many algorithmic developments in quantum complexity theory, including Shor’s celebrated algorithms for factoring and discrete logs, have made use of Fourier transforms over abelian groups. That is, at some point in the computation, the macline is in a superposition of states corresponding to elements of a finite abelian group G, and in quantum polynomial time (i.e., polynomial in log IGI), the machine is transformed according to the Fourier transform to a superposition of states corresponding to the irreducible representations of G. We give a quantum polynomial time algorithm for the Fourier transform for the symmetric groups Sn, adapting results obtained by Clausen and Diaconis–Rockmore to the quantum setting.
Union Wage Differentials in an Era of Declining Unionization

This paper examines the change in union wage differentials in Britain between 1984 and 1990, a period of considerable legislative change and marked decline in unionization. Small falls in union differentials are found for manual workers, together with a sharp decline in the premium associated with, and incidence of, the preentry closed shop. The decline in the average differential is found to be largely due to the inability of unions to establish differentials in new establishments. No link is found between the differential and the probability of closure and no evidence of decline in raw differentials in a matched panel. Copyright 1995 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Walking energy expenditure: A loaded approach to algorithm development

Sensor-based predictions for walking energy expenditure require sufficiently versatile algorithms to generalize to a variety of conditions. Here we test whether our height-weight-speed (HWS) model validated across speed under level conditions is similarly accurate for loaded walking. We hypothesized that increases in walking energy expenditure would be proportional to added load when resting metabolism was subtracted from gross walking metabolism. After subtracting resting metabolic rate, walking energy expenditure was found to increase in direct proportion to load at walking speeds of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 m·s-1. With load carriage treated as body weight, the predictive algorithms derived using the HWS model were similar for loaded and unloaded conditions. Determination of the direct relationship between load and energy expenditure for level walking provides insight which may be used to refine algorithms, such as the HWS model, for use in body sensors to monitor physiological status in the field.
Concomitant medication of psychoses in a lifetime perspective

Patients treated with antipsychotic drugs often receive concomitant psychotropic compounds. Few studies address this issue from a lifetime perspective. Here, an analysis is presented of the prescription pattern of such concomitant medication from the first contact with psychiatry until the last written note in the case history documents, in patients with a diagnosis of psychotic illness.
Semi-Synthesis of Labeled Proteins for Spectroscopic Applications

Since the introduction of SPPS by Merrifield in the 60s, peptide chemists have considered the possibility of preparing large proteins. The introduction of native chemical ligation in the 90s and then of expressed protein ligation have opened the way to the preparation of synthetic proteins without size limitations. This review focuses on semi-synthetic strategies useful to prepare proteins decorated with spectroscopic probes, like fluorescent labels and stable isotopes, and their biophysical applications. We show that expressed protein ligation, combining the advantages of organic chemistry with the easy and size limitless recombinant protein expression, is an excellent strategy for the chemical synthesis of labeled proteins, enabling a single protein to be functionalized at one or even more distinct positions with different probes.
European Commission Directorate-general "employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities" Unit E1 -social and Demographic Analysis Child Poverty and Ethnic Minorities

This paper is divided into two parts. The first is concerned with policies for addressing child poverty and reviews the studies carried out on this. The second part examines the incidence of child poverty among ethnic minorities on the basis of data from the EU-SILC. The data concerned are not directly on ethnic origin, since questions on this are not included in the survey, but relate to nationality and country of birth, which at least may be indicative of the position of ethnic minorities across the EU. The analysis shows that children whose parents were born outside the EU have both access to a lower median income and a higher risk of poverty than those whose parents were born in the country concerned. This disadvantage does not seem to be wholly linked to the presence of children themselves in the households concerned, since a similar disadvantage is evident for households without children where all members were born outside the EU. The presence of children, however, seems to compound the disadvantage. In the EU as a whole, children whose parents were born outside the EU represented 5-6% of all children in the EU but make up 11-12% of all children with income below the poverty line. In Austria and Sweden, this proportion is over 25% and in Belgium and Luxembourg, around a third. The disadvantage does, however, seem to be linked to employment. Children whose parents were born outside the EU are far more likely in most parts of the EU to live in households where no-one of working-age is employed and much less likely to live in households where everyone is in full-time employment. It also seems to be linked to low wage levels since in many countries a large proportion of the children concerned live in households where one or more of their parents is in work. In the UK, which is one of the few EU Member States in which data on ethnic origin are collected, the evidence indicates that there are marked differences in the position of children from different ethnic backgrounds. The risk of poverty is, therefore, much higher for children in Bangladeshi or Pakistani families, for example, than for those in Indian families, which seems partly attributable to differences in family size. Accordingly, it is important to not to treat all children in ethnic minority families as if they were in the same situation. The …
Synchronization of Delayed Chaotic Neural Networks by LMI

In the current paper, exponential synchronization is discussed for chaotic neural networks with time-varying delays. Based on Lyapunov stability theory and linear matrix inequality (LMI), a nonlinear feedback control scheme is designed to synchronize the drive system and the response one. The obtained sufficient conditions are in the forms of LMI, so much easier to verify. Moreover, numerical simulation shows the effectiveness of this nonlinear control scheme.
IL‐12: The Role of p40 Versus p75

Interleukin (IL)‐12p75 is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of the product of two different genes that specify p35 and p40 subunits. The prevailing view is that IL‐12 acts as a proinflammatory cytokine that bridges the innate and adaptive immune responses and skews T‐cell reactivity toward a TH1 cytokine pattern. Though the terms IL‐12 and IL‐12p40 are often used interchangeably, and measurements of the p40 chain are often interpreted as measurements of the intact p75 heterodimer, such interchangeable usage may be incorrect.
Initialization of Model Based Coding

Model based coding is a promising very low bit rate video coding technique. The idea behind model-based coding is to parameterize a talking head, and then to extract and transmit the parameters describing the facial movements, such as the facial expressions and the head motion to the receiver. At the receiver, the parameters are used to control face animation in order to reconstruct the talking head. Since only high-level animation parameters are required to drive face animation, very high compression can be achieved with this scheme. In this thesis, we focus on initialization of model based coding. The initialization problem of model based coding is to fit a generic face model onto a target face in the first video frame. Model fitting plays a key role and is the first step toward motion estimation and tracking in both model based coding and model-based tracking. Realizing that a fully automatic fitting is very difficult to achieve and that certain human intervention is inevitable, we propose a new strategy to do model fitting, pseudoautomatic fitting. The traditional initialization process is extended from the application stage only to include offline work. A manual fitting is done offline, where a generic face model is deformed into a personal face model. Another important work performed offline is to define, localize, and organize personal facial features. In the real application stage, only a simplified, automatic fitting operation is needed, detecting and matching the defined features from the first frame of application video. Different methods for implementing the initialization process are discussed in this thesis. The study of combining hardware based rendering with global search methods is presented first, followed by the study of using Dynamic Programming techniques to match facial features. The re-initialization problem is revisited and a new strategy is proposed for dealing with re-initialization.
The Extended Concept-based Multi-objective Path Planning and its A-life implications

Concept-based multi-objective path planning, involves search and optimization of conceptual path plans by way of their particular solutions. The method, which has been recently introduced by the authors in the context of interactive path planning, is considered here using the epsiv-Pareto notion. Using this approach the decision maker may explore the decision space for concepts that have performances within a user-defined distance from the Pareto-front. In particular the paper discusses applications such as interactive path planning and re-planning. A simple "safe vs. fast" example is employed to demonstrate the proposed approach. Finally, a short discussion is given to relate the ideas presented here with A-life.
Recognotion of Speaker Useing Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient & Vector Quantization for Authentication

— Human Voice is characteristic for an individual. The ability to recognize the speaker by his/her voice can be a valuable biometric tool with enormous commercial as well as academic potential. Commercially, it can be utilized for ensuring secure access to any system. Academically, it can shed light on the speech processing abilities of the brain as well as speech mechanism. In fact, this feature is being used preliminarily along with other biometrics including face and finger print recognition for commercial security products. Speaker recognition is the method of automatically identify who is speaking on the basis of individual information integrated in speech waves. There are two types of speaker recognition systems basically divided into two – classification: speaker identification and speaker verification.
Exploring the Application of Multilayer Networks in Enterprise Architecture: A Case Study in the Smart Grid

We present an exploratory investigation on the use of multilayer network concepts and metrics to quantitatively analyse enterprise architectures. Multilayer networks can be used to visualise the overall architectural design and perform analyses across layers within elaborate architectures. Preliminary results are presented and discussed based on a case study in the Smart Grid, which is modelled using the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM). The SGAM representation is later on mapped onto a multilayer network notation that allows visualising the overall structure of the architecture as well as computing quantitative metrics. We conclude with a summary of insights and open issues to be addressed.
Analysis of balanced cycles of QC-LDPC codes

In this paper, we analyze balanced cycles of quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes. We show the structure of balanced cycles and their necessary and sufficient existence conditions. Furthermore, we determine the minimal matrices of balanced cycle. Meanwhile we propose the property of B-girth in its mother matrix. Finally, we give the proof in theory.
Dendritic Cell-Based Immunotherapy for Myeloid Leukemias

Acute and chronic myeloid leukemia (AML, CML) are hematologic malignancies arising from oncogene-transformed hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells known as leukemia stem cells (LSCs). LSCs are selectively resistant to various forms of therapy including irradiation or cytotoxic drugs. The introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has dramatically improved disease outcome in patients with CML. For AML, however, prognosis is still quite dismal. Standard treatments have been established more than 20 years ago with only limited advances ever since. Durable remission is achieved in less than 30% of patients. Minimal residual disease (MRD), reflected by the persistence of LSCs below the detection limit by conventional methods, causes a high rate of disease relapses. Therefore, the ultimate goal in the treatment of myeloid leukemia must be the eradication of LSCs. Active immunotherapy, aiming at the generation of leukemia-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), may represent a powerful approach to target LSCs in the MRD situation. To fully activate CTLs, leukemia antigens have to be successfully captured, processed, and presented by mature dendritic cells (DCs). Myeloid progenitors are a prominent source of DCs under homeostatic conditions, and it is now well established that LSCs and leukemic blasts can give rise to “malignant” DCs. These leukemia-derived DCs can express leukemia antigens and may either induce anti-leukemic T cell responses or favor tolerance to the leukemia, depending on co-stimulatory or -inhibitory molecules and cytokines. This review will concentrate on the role of DCs in myeloid leukemia immunotherapy with a special focus on their generation, application, and function and how they could be improved in order to generate highly effective and specific anti-leukemic CTL responses. In addition, we discuss how DC-based immunotherapy may be successfully integrated into current treatment strategies to promote remission and potentially cure myeloid leukemias.