Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multipurpose modelling and optimisation of production processes and process chains by combining machine learning and search techniques

paper presents a novel approach for generating multipurpose models of machining operations combining machine learning and search techniques. These models are intended to be applicable at different engineering and management assignments. Simulated annealing search is used for finding the unknown parameters of the models in given situations. It is expected that the developed block-oriented framework will be a valuable tool for modelling, monitoring and optimisation of manufacturing processes and process chains. The applicability of the proposed solution is illustrated by the results of experimental runs.
Enhanced Stretch-Induced Myogenic Tone in the Basilar Artery of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

We investigated if the magnitude of myogenic tone in the basilar artery of SHR differs from that in WKY and, if so, whether RhoA- or PKC-dependent mechanisms were involved. Myogenic tone was developed in response to stretch. Stretch-induced myogenic contraction was significantly greater in the SHR than WKY in the presence of external Ca2+. However, in the absence of external Ca2+, stretch did not evoke a myogenic tone. The [Ca2+]i-induced contraction was larger in SHR than WKY and the [Ca2+]i-force curve was significantly shifted to the left in SHR compared to WKY. Y-27632 significantly inhibited stretch-induced myogenic tone, but the inhibitory effect was larger in the SHR than WKY. However, PKC inhibitors had no significant effect on the myogenic tone. RhoA and PKCΕ were expressed at higher levels in the SHR compared to the WKY. RhoA and PKCα translocated from the cytosol to the cell membrane in response to stretch in both animals, but PKCΕ was translocated only in SHR. Our results strongly suggest that stretch-induced myogenic tone is enhanced in SHR, and the activation of RhoA/Rho kinase plays an important role in the enhanced myogenic tone in SHR.
Scalable, Fast Cloud Computing with Execution Templates

Large scale cloud data analytics applications are often CPU bound. Most of these cycles are wasted: benchmarks written in C++ run 10-51 times faster than frameworks such as Naiad and Spark. However, calling faster implementations from those frameworks only sees moderate (3-5x) speedups because their control planes cannot schedule work fast enough. This paper presents execution templates, a control plane abstraction for CPU-bound cloud applications, such as machine learning. Execution templates leverage highly repetitive control flow to cache scheduling decisions as {\it templates}. Rather than reschedule hundreds of thousands of tasks on every loop execution, nodes instantiate these templates. A controller's template specifies the execution across all worker nodes, which it partitions into per-worker templates. To ensure that templates execute correctly, controllers dynamically patch templates to match program control flow. We have implemented execution templates in Nimbus, a C++ cloud computing framework. Running in Nimbus, analytics benchmarks can run 16-43 times faster than in Naiad and Spark. Nimbus's control plane can scale out to run these faster benchmarks on up to 100 nodes (800 cores).
1.29-W/mm2 23-dBm 66-GHz Power Amplifier in 55-nm SiGe BiCMOS With In-Line Coplanar Transformer Power Splitters and Combiner

This letter presents a four-way parallel–series power amplifier (PA) in 55-nm SiGe BiCMOS with in-line coplanar transformers for output power combining, and input/interstage power splitting. The in-line geometry allows an area efficient impedance matching design and an effective input signals routing to the individual PA stages without phase mismatch. The measurements show that the PA delivers a maximum output power of 23.4 dBm, an output-referred P1dB of 20 dBm, a gain of 23.8 dB, and a maximum power added efficiency of 12.5%, at 66 GHz, with a record power density (output power/active area) of 1.29 W/mm2 among PAs on silicon technologies operating beyond 40 GHz.
Design and Simulation of a Low Power Bluetooth Transceiver

This technical report demonstrates a fully integrated 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Transceiver in 0.18 m CMOS Technology. A Low IF (3Mhz) receiver architecture and direct modulation architecture is chosen for the transmitter to minimize the chip area and power consumption. To reduce the power consumption, the whole transceiver is designed to operate at 1.5V. The designed transceiver integrates all building blocks on-chip, including a RF switch, low-noise amplifier (LNA) with an input match network, an image rejection Mixer (IRM), gm-C Bandpass filter, The proposed transceiver has been designed and simulated with TSMC 0.18 m Mixed Mode CMOS technology. The receiver achieves a sensitivity of –80 dBm at 0.1% BER. The direct conversion transmitter delivers GFSK modulated waveform at a nominal output power of 4 dBm. This research confirms the integration of whole transceiver in standard CMOS process, which makes it possible to integrate both Analog transceiver and digital baseband parts on single wafer. This would lower the overall system cost.
ANN-based classification of EEG signals using the average power based on rectangle approximation window

In this study, EEG signals were classified by using the average powers extracted by means of the rectangle approximation window based average power method from the power spectral densities of frequency sub-bands of the signals and two different artificial neural networks (ANNs) which are adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN). In order to evaluate their performances together the proposed approach, four different experiments were implemented by using different mixtures of classes. The experiments showed that both classifiers with the proposed approach resulted in satisfactory classification accuracy rates, although the success of MLPNN classifier was a little better than the other. Streszczenie. W artykule zaprezentowano klasyfikacje sygnalu EEG przy wykorzystanoiu widma gestości mocy w podzakresach czestotliwości oraz sieci neuronowych: adaptacyjnego system neuro-fuzzy ANFIS oraz wielowarstwowego perceptronu MLPNN. (Klasyfikacja sygnalu EEG wykorzystująca sieci neuronowe oraz uśrednioną moc w oknie prostokątnym)
Audio phrases for audio event recognition

The bag-of-audio-words approach has been widely used for audio event recognition. In these models, a local feature of an audio signal is matched to a code word according to a learned codebook. The signal is then represented by frequencies of the matched code words on the whole signal. We present in this paper an improved model based on the idea of audio phrases which are sequences of multiple audio words. By using audio phrases, we are able to capture the relationship between the isolated audio words and produce more semantic descriptors. Furthermore, we also propose an efficient approach to learn a compact codebook in a discriminative manner to deal with high-dimensionality of bag-of-audio-phrases representations. Experiments on the Freiburg-106 dataset show that the recognition performance with our proposed bag-of-audio-phrases descriptor outperforms not only the baselines but also the state-of-the-art results on the dataset.
Zinc supplementation for improving pregnancy and infant outcome.

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that low serum zinc levels may be associated with suboptimal outcomes of pregnancy such as prolonged labour, atonic postpartum haemorrhage, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preterm labour and post-term pregnancies, although many of these associations have not yet been established. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of zinc supplementation in pregnancy on maternal, fetal, neonatal and infant outcomes. SEARCH METHODS We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (31 October 2014) and reference lists of retrieved studies. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised trials of zinc supplementation in pregnancy. We excluded quasi-randomised controlled trials. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Three review authors applied the study selection criteria, assessed trial quality and extracted data. When necessary, we contacted study authors for additional information. The quality of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. MAIN RESULTS We included 21 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reported in 54 papers involving over 17,000 women and their babies. One trial did not contribute data. Trials were generally at low risk of bias. Zinc supplementation resulted in a small reduction in preterm birth (risk ratio (RR) 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76 to 0.97 in 16 RCTs; 16 trials of 7637 women). This was not accompanied by a similar reduction in numbers of babies with low birthweight (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.12; 14 trials of 5643 women). No clear differences were seen between the zinc and no zinc groups for any of the other primary maternal or neonatal outcomes, except for induction of labour in a single trial. No differing patterns were evident in the subgroups of women with low versus normal zinc and nutrition levels or in women who complied with their treatment versus those who did not. The GRADE quality of the evidence was moderate for preterm birth, small-for-gestational age, and low birthweight, and low for stillbirth or neonatal death and birthweight. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS The evidence for a 14% relative reduction in preterm birth for zinc compared with placebo was primarily represented by trials involving women of low income and this has some relevance in areas of high perinatal mortality. There was no convincing evidence that zinc supplementation during pregnancy results in other useful and important benefits. Since the preterm association could well reflect poor nutrition, studies to address ways of improving the overall nutritional status of populations in impoverished areas, rather than focusing on micronutrient and or zinc supplementation in isolation, should be an urgent priority.
Strategic Flexibility: A Review of the Literature

Previous literature reviews of strategic flexibility have a number of shortcomings: they lack a specific focus in the field, provide an excessive definitional focus or lack a clear empirical overview of research in the field. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper aims to systematically analyse the literature on strategic flexibility by identifying its main characteristics, linking the different aspects together in a new conceptual framework, and considering the means to measure it. This comprehensive analytical model analyses various aspects of strategic flexibility in the relevant literature (156 contributions). Thus, the systematic and critical approach of this paper offers a novel perspective in understanding strategic flexibility, and contributes to the field by providing a consolidation of the literature and indicating future research avenues.
Discovery of Non-Thermal X-Rays from the Shell of RCW86

We report the ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics) results of RCW 86, a shell-like supernova remnant (SNR). The bright region in the X-ray band traces the radio clumpy shell, although details of the structure are different. The X-ray spectrum from each part of the shell can not be fitted to a thin thermal plasma model, but requires, at least three components: a low temperature plasma of 0.3 keV, high temperature plasma of > several keV, and a power-law component with a photon index = 3. The abundances of O, Ne, Mg and Si are significantly higher than that of Fe, indicating that RCW 86 is a type II SNR. The absorption column of 3e21 H cm^-2 indicates the distance to the SNR to be several kpc. The power-law component can be interpreted to be synchrotron radiation of high energy electrons. Assuming energy density equipartition between the magnetic field and the electrons, and using the radio and X-ray spectra, we argue that high energy electrons are accelerated up to 20 TeV. The acceleration efficiency is, however, different from shell to shell.
Chromosomal imbalances associated with response to chemotherapy and cytotoxic cytokines in human malignant glioma cell lines

The median survival for human malignant glioma patients treated with neurosurgery and postoperative radiotherapy does not exceed one year. Only a minority of patients benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. It was the aim of our study to determine which genomic alterations in malignant gliomas modulate the sensitivity to chemotherapy or cytotoxic cytokines such as CD95 ligand (CD95L) or Apo2L/tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (Apo2L/TRAIL). Therefore, we analyzed 12 human malignant glioma cell lines for chromosomal gains and losses by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The gains most commonly identified were on chromosomes 7q, 19, 1, and 20q, whereas the most frequent losses were on 13q, 11q, 18q, and 4q. By comparison with previously published data on this panel of glioma cell lines 11 , 12 , we defined candidate regions which may carry genes responsible for sensitivity to chemotherapy or cytotoxic cytokines. All but one of the chromosomal regions associated with response to chemotherapy, i.e. 1p12, 3p21, 11p11.2–p13, 12q23, 17p11.2–p13, were different from those associated with response to cytotoxic cytokines, i.e. lp12, 1q22, 12q12–q21. Genomic regions known to harbor major candidate genes, including genes encoding death ligands, death receptors, caspases and BCL‐2 family proteins, were not found to be imbalanced. In addition, we identified 5q13–q14, 5q34, 10p11.2, 9q21–q34 as genomic regions associated with the proliferative activity of malignant glioma cell lines. Cell lines with gain on proximal 5q, where CCNB1 and CCNH reside, showed an increased growth rate, suggesting that cyclins activating cdc2, the dominant G2/M phase kinase, may play a role in glioma tumorigenes. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Scalable MDC for 3D Stereoscopic Video using motion vector encoding

Interest in 3D video visualization systems is a ever growing field. Such areas include the provision of 3D content to users thus opening the exploration of 3D video communication and transmission. To address communication and transmission one must consider error resilience. Multiple Description Coding (MDC) can provide a robust video communication over wireless networks. However it can introduce high levels of redundancy. In this paper, we propose a scalable MDC architecture using motion vector (MV) encoding for 3D video. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the frame quality by up to 2dB over a pixel based interpolation scheme with residual coding while significantly reducing the bit rate compared to a pixel and motion interpolation schemes.
Recombinant nucleoprotein‐based serological diagnosis of Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infections

An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using recombinant nucleoprotein (rNP) was reported for the detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus (CCHFV). The immunoglobulin M (IgM)‐capture ELISA was developed for the diagnosis of CCHFV infections, using CCHFV rNP as an antigen. These newly developed assays were applied to a study of a CCHF‐outbreak and evaluated with sera collected from patients diagnosed as having CCHF by positive reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and by detection of IgG response. IgM antibodies to CCHFV were detected in 10 of the 13 patients. IgM antibodies to the rNP of CCHFV were detected by the CCHFV rNP‐based IgM‐capture ELISA in all 6 patients in whom IgG responses were demonstrated, while it was not detected in the 10 patients in whom IgG responses were not demonstrated. Furthermore, the IgM antibodies were detected in 6 of the 61 residents living a CCHF endemic area during the endemic season, while it was not detected in any of the 48 Japanese residents that had never visited the CCHF endemic area. It is concluded that this newly developed CCHFV rNP‐based IgM‐capture ELISA is a useful method for the diagnosis of CCHFV infections. J. Med. Virol. 75:295–299, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Texture Stationarization: Turning Photos into Tileable Textures

Texture synthesis has grown into a mature field in computer graphics, allowing the synthesis of naturalistic textures and images from photographic exemplars. Surprisingly little work, however, has been dedicated to synthesizing tileable textures, that is, textures that when laid out in a regular grid of tiles form a homogeneous appearance suitable for use in memory‐sensitive real‐time graphics applications. One of the key challenges in doing so is that most natural input exemplars exhibit uneven spatial variations that, when tiled, show as repetitive patterns. We propose an approach to synthesize tileable textures while enforcing stationarity properties that effectively mask repetitions while maintaining the unique characteristics of the exemplar. We explore a number of alternative measures for texture stationarity and show how each measure can be integrated into a standard texture synthesis method (PatchMatch) to enforce stationarity at user‐controlled scales. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach using a database of 118 exemplar images, both from publicly available sources as well as new ones captured under uncontrolled conditions, and we quantitatively analyze alternative stationarity measures for their robustness across many test runs using different random seeds. In conclusion, we suggest a novel synthesis approach that employs local histogram matching to reliably turn input photographs of natural surfaces into tiles well suited for artifact‐free tiling.
P-adic Root Isolation

We present an implemented algorithmic method for counting and isolating all -adic roots of univariate polynomials over the rational numbers. The roots of are uniquely described by p-adic isolating balls, that can be refined to any desired precision; their -adic distances are also computed precisely. The method is polynomial space in all input data including the prime . We also investigate the uniformity of the method with respect to the coefficients of and the primes . Our method thus provides information analogous to that provided by well-established real methods as, e.g., Cauchy bounds and Sturm sequences over the reals. Separaci ´ on de ra´oces P-´ adicas Resumen. Presentamos un metodo algor´ otmico implementado para contar y aislar todas las ra´ oces -´adicas de polinomios en una variable con coeficientes racionales. Las ra´oces de se describen un´ ovocamente mediante bolas -´adicas que las a´oslan y que pueden ser refinadas hasta cualquier pre- cision que se desee; sus distancias -´adicas son tambien computadas con precision. El metodo posee complejidad polinomial en todos los datos de entrada, inclu´odo el primo . Tambien investigamos la uniformidad del metodo con respecto a los coeficientes de y los numeros primos . Nuestro metodo suministra informacion analoga a la que suministran metodos bien establecidos para los numeros reales, como por ejemplo, las cotas de Cauchy y la sucesion de Sturm.
IoT-Privacy: To be private or not to be private

Privacy breaching attacks pose considerable challenges in the development and deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Though privacy preserving data mining (PPDM) minimizes sensitive data disclosure probability, sensitive content analysis, privacy measurement and user's privacy awareness issues are yet to be addressed. In this paper, we propose a privacy management scheme that enables the user to estimate the risk of sharing private data like smart meter data. Our focus is to develop robust sensitivity detection, analysis and privacy content quantification scheme from statistical disclosure control aspect and information theoretic model. We depict performance results using real sensor data.
Fitness Variation of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto Strains in Mice

ABSTRACT Lyme borreliosis in North America is caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, a zoonotic bacterium that is able to persistently infect a wide range of vertebrate species. Given the pronounced strain structure of B. burgdorferi in the northeastern United States, we asked whether the fitness of the different genotypes varies among susceptible vertebrate hosts. The transmission dynamics of two genetically divergent human isolates of B. burgdorferi, BL206 and B348, were analyzed experimentally in white-footed mice and in C3H/HeNCrl mice over a time period of almost 3 months. We found that the initially high transmission efficiency from white-footed mice to ticks declined sharply for isolate B348 but remained considerably high for isolate BL206. In contrast, in C3H/HeNCrl mice, high transmission efficiency persisted for both isolates. Our findings provide proof-of-principle evidence for intrinsic fitness variation of B. burgdorferi strains in vertebrate host species, perhaps indicating the beginnings of adaptive radiation.
Triple-negative high-risk breast cancer derives particular benefit from dose intensification of adjuvant chemotherapy: results of WSG AM-01 trial.

BACKGROUND This paper evaluates the prognostic and predictive impact of protein expression of various molecular markers in high-risk breast cancer (HRBC) patients with >9 involved lymph nodes, who received different chemotherapy dose-intensification strategies within a prospective randomized WSG AM-01 trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS Paraffin-embedded tumors from 236 patients, who were randomly assigned to dose-dense conventional chemotherapy with four cycles of E(90)C(600) followed by three cycles of C(600)M(40)F(600) every 2 weeks (DD) or a rapidly cycled tandem high-dose regimen with two cycles of E(90)C(600) every 2 weeks followed by two cycles of E(90)C(3000)Thiotepa(400) every 3 weeks (HD), were available for retrospective central pathological review (116 HD/120 DD). Expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), MIB-1, epidermal growth factor receptor, and Her-2/neu was evaluated immunohistochemically using tissue microarrays. Results were correlated with follow-up data and treatment effects by proportional hazard Cox regression models (including interaction analysis). RESULTS After a median follow-up of 61.7 months, 5-year event-free survival (EFS) as well as overall survival (OS) rates for the 236 patients were significantly better in the HD arm: EFS: 62% versus 41% [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.60, 95% CI 0.43-0.85, P = 0.004]; OS: 76% versus 61% (HR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.39-0.87, P = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, HD, tumor size <3 cm, positive PR, negative MIB-1 staining, and grade 1/2 were associated with favorable outcome. Interaction analysis showed that regarding predictive effects, triple negative (ER/PR/Her-2/neu) and G3 tumors derived most benefit from HD. CONCLUSION Tandem HD improves both EFS and OS in HRBC. This therapy effect may be partly attributable to superior efficacy in the subgroup of triple-negative tumors and/or G3 with their poor prognostic marker profile.
Inbreeding Effects On Sperm Production in Clam Shrimp (Eulimnadia Texana)

Hypothesis: Inbreeding depression is manifest in lower sperm production. Organism: Freshwater crustaceans (clam shrimp – Eulimnadia texana), from the southwestern United States, which have high levels of inbreeding. Methods: Comparisons of semi-thin sections of the male gonad among selfed and outcrossed siblings from four families. Results: There was a twofold reduction in sperm production in inbred relative to outcrossed males. Inbreeding depression in males was higher than previous estimates from hermaphrodites. Conclusions: Inbreeding markedly reduces sperm production. The observed low levels of sperm production can explain both the low average outcrossing rates as well as the variation in these rates reported in previous studies of these crustaceans.