Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SPA-SSD: Exploit Heterogeneity and Parallelism of 3D SLC-TLC Hybrid SSD to Improve Write Performance

To address the write performance problem suffered by MLC/TLC flash, researchers have proposed hybrid SSD that aims to combine the strengths of SLC flash, used as the write-buffer zone for its superior write performance, and MLC/TLC flash, as the capacity zone for its high storage density. While leveraging SLC as a physical write-buffer zone is proven effective in traditional 2D hybrid SSDs, how to effectively incorporate SLC into a 3D-stacked TLC to form a hybrid SSD has not been studied to the best of our knowledge. Yet this is a timely and important performance issue for 3D-stacked TLC given its one-shot programming scheme that results in much worse write performance than the programming scheme in 2D TLC where pages are associated with different bits of a cell and programmed in sequence separately. We believe that naively adopting the two-physical-zone approach to 3D hybrid SSD will miss a great opportunity for performance optimization because it ignores the inherent four-level parallelism (channel/chip/die/plane) of the flash chip array. To this end, we propose in this paper an SLC and Parallelism Aware hybrid SSD (SPA-SSD) to take full advantages of SLC's superior write performance, the internal multi-level parallelism of SSD, and the high storage density of 3D-stacked TLC flash. Two novel techniques enable SPA-SSD to be highly effective: (1) Type-Parallelism Joint Page Allocation (TPJ-PA), which allocates pages for write transactions according to not only available SLC pages but also parallelism to maximize resource utilization within the hybrid SSD, and (2) Queue-length and Parallelism Constrained Data Migration (QPC-DM), which triggers data migration without degrading user write performance by analyzing the device queue length and available flash resources. To evaluate performance of SPA-SSD, a hybrid SSD simulator, called HybridSim, is developed based on MQSim. Experimental results on HybridSim show that TPJ-PA improves write throughput by 60%, while QPC-DM improves write throughput by up to 10 times. Besides, trace-driven experiments on HybridSSD demonstrate that SPA-SSD improves the write latency to the flash by up to two orders of magnitude over the state-of-the-art designs.
A Cell Probe-Based Method for Vehicle Speed Estimation

Information and communication technologies have improved the quality of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). By estimating from cellular floating vehicle data (CFVD) is more cost-effective, and easier to acquire than traditional ways. This study proposes a cell probe (CP)-based method to analyse the cellular network signals (e.g., call arrival, handoff, and location update), and regression models are trained for vehicle speed estimation. In experiments, this study compares the practical traffic information of vehicle detector (VD) with the estimated traffic information by the proposed methods. The experiment results show that the accuracy of vehicle speed estimation by CP-based method is 97.63%. Therefore, the CP-based method can be used to estimate vehicle speed from CFVD for ITS. key words: intelligent transportation systems, cellular floating vehicle data, cellular networks, vehicle speed estimation, regression
CONTRIBUTION TO STRENGTHENED REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES BY EXTERNALLY BONDED CARBON FIBRES FABRICS

The present paper reports results from an experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete structures externally strengthened by bonded carbon fibers fabrics (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer or CFRP). The focus is on the local and global strain distribution, the load-carrying capacity and the mode of failure. The effect of fibers fabrics configuration and some geometrical parameters are presented. The CFRP reinforced concrete beams are subjected to four points bending. The extensometer technique based on electrical strain gauge is used to study the local behavior of the structure. This technique allows measuring the strain of steel, carbon fabrics and concrete. The effect of the same parameters on the strengthening structure local behavior is examined. The tests show better results in case of unidirectional fibers and wrapped strengthening use. The ultimate load and strain of the specimens are compared to the reference specimen. The structures cracking and the different failure modes are studied. The cracking mechanisms and the mode of failure under static loading are presented and analyzed. The results show not only an increase of more than 82 % of the load carrying capacity of the corbels and 210 % of that of the reinforced concrete beam but also improvement of their rigidity. The theoretical analysis based on the classical theory of beams and deformation compatibility relationship enables meaningful comparisons between the theoretical and the experimental results.
Modeling and Evaluation of Additive Manufactured HASEL Actuators*

This work demonstrates fully 3D printed donut type HASEL actuators fabricated using inkjet additive manufacturing. In addition, we also present a coupled electrical, hydraulic, nonlinear elastic model of these actuators to predict the actuation strain. This model was tested on 3D printed HASEL actuators and was found to be in good agreement with experimental results. The actuators demonstrated achieve better performance than conventionally manufactured HASEL actuators achieving a pullin voltage half that of the conventionally manufactured actuators. Max. strain observed in these actuators was about 33 % at 10 kV. These findings open the door to fully 3D printed soft robotic devices
Saturn's Open‐Closed Field Line Boundary: A Cassini Electron Survey at Saturn's Magnetosphere

We investigate the average configuration and structure of Saturn's magnetosphere in the nightside equatorial and high‐latitude regions. Electron data from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer's Electron Spectrometer (CAPS‐ELS) is processed to produce a signal‐to‐noise ratio for the entire CAPS‐ELS time of operation at Saturn's magnetosphere. We investigate where the signal‐to‐noise ratio falls below 1 to identify regions in the magnetosphere where there is a significant depletion in the electron content. In the nightside equatorial region, we use this to find that the most planetward reconnection x‐line location is at 20–25 RS downtail from the planet in the midnight to dawn sector. We also find an equatorial dawn‐dusk asymmetry at a radial distance of >20 RS, which may indicate the presence of plasma‐depleted flux tubes returning to the dayside after reconnection in the tail. Furthermore, we find that the high‐latitude magnetosphere is predominantly in a state of constant plasma depletion and located on open field lines. We map the region of high‐latitude magnetosphere that is depleted of electrons to the polar cap to estimate the size and open flux content within the polar caps. The mean open flux content for the northern and southern polar caps are found to be 25 ± 5 and 32 ± 5 GWb, respectively. The average location of the open‐closed field boundary is found at invariant colatitudes of 12.7 ± 0.6° and 14.5 ± 0.6°. The northern boundary is modulated by planetary period oscillations more than the southern boundary.
Econometric Methods for Policy Evaluation

The evaluation of public (and private) policies is very important for efficiency, and ultimately to improve welfare. There is a vast literature in economics, mostly in public economics, but also in development economics and labor economics, devoted to the evaluation of different programs. Examples include training programs, welfare programs, wage subsidies, minimum wage laws, taxation, Medicaid and other health policies, school policies, feeding programs, microcredit, and a variety of other forms of development assistance. These analyses aim at quantifying the effects of these policies on different outcomes, and ultimately on welfare. The classic approach to quantitative policy evaluation is the structural approach. This approach specifies a class of theory-based models of individual choice, chooses the one within the class that best fits the data, and uses it to evaluate policies through simulation. This approach has the main advantage that it allows both ex-ante and ex-post policy evaluation, and that it permits evaluating different variations of a similar policy without need to change the structure of the model or reestimate it (out of sample simulation). The main critique to this approach, though, is that there is a host of untestable functional form assumptions that undermine the force of the structural evidence because they have unknown implications for the results, give researchers too much discretion, and its complexity often affects transparency and replicability. Some people has argued that this approach puts too much emphasis on external validity at the expense of a more basic internal validity. During the last two decades, the treatment effect approach has established itself as an important competitor that has introduced a different language, different priorities, techniques, and practices in applied work. This approach has changed the perception of evidence-based economics among economists, public opinion, and policy makers. The main goal of this approach is to evaluate (ex-
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SPEECH QUALITY FOR VOIP ON THE INTERNET LIU XIAOMIN A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE SCHOOL OF COMPUTING NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

This thesis reports on a measurement study to evaluate the speech quality for two widely used VoIP codecs, Speex and SILK, on the Internet using the Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ). To obtain realistic results, we developed our testbed on PlanetLab1, so that all the experiments were conducted on a shared network. We chose different sets of parameters for each experiment for the two codecs to evaluate the speech quality under different conditions. Overall, we found that the SILK codec performs slightly better than the Speex codec. http://www.planet-lab.org/
Decompression-induced meltingof ice IVand the liquid – liquidtransitioninwater

164 NATURE | VOL 392 | 12 MARCH 1998 the target range for DRAM applications (1–5 3 10 2 7 A cm 2 ). At this composition, we find er 1⁄4 62:5 and the FOM is 24.3 mC cm . These results should be contrasted with those of bulk crystalline ZrxSnyTiz O4 (x þ y þ z 1⁄4 2) (ref. 12). A single homogeneous solidsolution phase, isomorphous with the orthorhombic a-PbO2 structure, was found near the composition ZrTiO4, as indicated in Fig. 2. The remainder of the ZrxSnyTizO4 phase diagram consists of multiphase mixtures of the ternary phase and the endmembers. Zr–Sn–Ti–O polycrystalline ceramics are well known for their superior microwave properties, including a moderate dielectric constant, very low dissipation factor, and low temperature coefficient of permittivity. The properties of Zr0.875Sn0. 25Ti0.875O2, for example, were studied carefully as a function of doping and sintering. A permittivity of ,36 and values for the dissipation factor (tan d,1=Q) as low as 7 3 10 2 5 were obtained. The indicated composition is typical of those used for applications, which are invariably chosen to be within the homogeneous phase field. Note that the optimum compositions in our amorphous films are outside this composition field that yields homogeneous crystalline phases. Amorphous thin films of (Zr, Sn)TiO4 with a particular but unspecified Zr:Sn composition have been studied: a value of er 1⁄4 27 was inferred in amorphous films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at 200 8C; a value of er 1⁄4 38 was found in crystalline films, that is, the bulk value. For approximately the same composition, however, we observe e,50. This is a very substantial difference. At present we cannot explain the discrepancy between our data and those described in ref. 14. We do observe a decrease in the dielectric constant for deposition at higher temperatures, namely for films with a presumably greater degree of local order, so perhaps the films deposited by Nakagawara et al. also have a higher degree of order than our films. This work demonstrates the value of the CCS technique in the search for metastable materials whose properties are sensitive to preparation conditions. Many issues regarding the development of this material for practical application remain to be addressed. For example, fully optimized uniform films need to be made using a single target with on-axis sputtering (or using CVD), and the properties of films ,10–20 nm thick (one fifth the present value) must be evaluated. Also, conditions that lead to a lower leakage current must be found and capacitors made using standard electrodes (for example, TiN) must be subjected to standard postprocessing and evaluated for reliability using accelerated testing. Although Zr–Sn–Ti–O films must be further developed, our preliminary results are encouraging. M
Relationship between the methylation of RUNX3 promoter and the clinical pathological characters and prognostic factors of breast invasive ductal carcinoma

Objective To investigate the relationship between the promoter methylation status of tumor suppressor gene RUNX3 and the clinical pathological characters and prognostic factors of breast invasive ductal carcinoma.MethodsMSP(methylation specific PCR) was used to measure the promoter methylation status of 40 cases of breast invasive ductal carcinoma and 15 cases of benign breast tumors.The expressions of ER,PR,and C-erbB-2 in 40 cases of breast invasive ductal carcinoma were detected by using SP immunohistochemical technique.ResultsThe frequency of promoter methylation of RUNX3 gene in breast cancers was 47.5%,while none of benign breast tumors was found to be promoter methylation.The methylation of RUNX3 promoter in breast invasive ductal carcinoma was not correlated with the age of patient,lymph node metatasis,and expressions of PR and C-erbB-2.The methylation of RUNX3 promoter coincided with those bad prognostic factors such as histological grading,TNM stage,and expression of ER.ConclusionThe methylation of RUNX3 promoter may play a certain role in malignant progression of breast cancer,and would be a marker of bad prognosis of breast cancer.
Atopy, Helminthic Infection and Serum Immunoglobulins in Adult Asthma in SW Nigeria.

Rationale Despite a heightened Th−2 response to the presence of helminthic infections in developing countries, the prevalence of atopy and asthma is supposed to be low. Intestinal helminthic infection has been postulated to lead to production of blocking antibodies that inhibit the inflammatory response which characterizes asthma. Objective To determine the relationship between stool parasitism, allergy skin sensitization and immune responses in adult asthmatics and controls in Southwestern Nigeria. Methods A random sample of 20 consecutive patients with physician diagnosed asthma and 19 control subjects (mean age 26.5 ± 9.3 vs. 35.5 ±9.4 yrs; p 3 mm diameter) to house−dust mites and mould (p<0.005) than controls. There was significant correlation between the serum IgE levels and skin test positivity to house−dust mites (r=0.66;p< 0.01), mould (r=0.42;p<0.001) and mouse (r=0.40; p<0.01). Similarly, significant correlation was observed between the presence of taenia in stool and skin test positivity to house−dust mites (r=0.29;p<0.05) and mould (r=0.37;p<0.01). The serum levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM were similar in the 2 groups. Conclusion Stool helminthic infection in adult asthmatics in a developing country setting did not affect the atopic influence of environmental allergens on asthma expression. Additional studies focusing on specific cytokine expression are needed.
Application of Xylanase and Î²-Glucanase to Improve Nutrient Utilization inPoultry Fed Cereal Base Diets: Used of Enzymes in Poultry Diet

The β-glucanases and xylanases have been used as feed additives for many years and their ability to improve the performance of poultry has been demonstrated in numerous publications. Starch, proteins, and lipids easily degraded in the bird’s digestive systems, whereas the major parts of soluble and insoluble non-starch polysaccharides remain intact because of the lack of suitable enzymes. The positive nutritional effects achieved by the dietary supplementation of exogenous enzymes are proposed to be caused by several mechanisms. First, it has been shown that the antinutritive effects of viscous cereals such as barley, wheat, rye, oats, and triticale are associated with raised intestinal viscosity caused by soluble β-glucans and arabinoxylans present in those cereals. These problems are overcome by dietary supplementation of β-glucanases and xylanases. It is assumed that the ability of β-glucanases and xylanases to degrade plant cell walls leads to release of nutrients from grain endosperm. Another mechanism that has a positive influence on the nutritive value is the prebiotic effect achieved via the oligosaccharides produce and release. They formed during the degradation of cell wall carbohydrates by supplemental enzymes. In the gastro intestinal tract, the oligosaccharides derived from plant cell wall digestion that is resisting to the digestive enzymes, reach to the large intestine and support from proliferation of the beneficial microorganism. In conclusion, due to the complex structure of cereal grains, it has been shown that appropriate combinations of the different enzyme can obtain improved performance.
A prospective study of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with surgery in the treatment of locally advanced esophageal carcinoma

Objective This study was performed to assess the value in improving survival rate of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer.Methods 69 patients at Ⅲ clinical stages and without contraindications for surgery and radiochemotherapy were selected in the study.29 patients in combined therapy group were given 2 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy(5-FU + cisplatin) and the concurrent radiotherapy(linear accelerator machine produced radiation at the dosage of 40 Gy),than tumors were resected at 3-5 weeks after concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.40 patients in the control group received surgery alone.SPSS 15.0 software was used to perform the disease free survival rate and survival rate.Results The five years disease free survival rate of combined therapy group and control group were 28.9% vs.11. 3%(P 0.05),the five years survival rate were 35.1% vs.18. 2%(P 0.05). The postoperative survival rate of the combined therapy group was significantly higher than that of the control group.Conclusions Preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy markedly increased the survival rate for locally advanced esophageal carcinoma.
296 BIRTH ASPHYXIA SURVIVORS IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY.

Background While birth asphyxia is the leading cause of neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 23% of neonatal deaths, little is known of the morbidity of birth asphyxia in developing countries. Survivors of birth asphyxia are at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnoses and early neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants evaluated in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) follow-up clinic in a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/Methods All inborn and outborn admissions to the University of Zambia NICU who survived to discharge were referred to the NICU follow-up clinic for further evaluation and monitoring. A cross-sectional, prospective chart review was completed on all infants followed in this clinic for a 4-week period between March and April 2005. All infants evaluated in this clinic were under 12 months of age at the time of the visit. Descriptive statistics were completed using maternal and infant characteristics, data from the initial hospitalization, physical examination findings during the follow-up visit, and plan of care. Only the most recent examination results were included in the analyses for any infants with multiple visits during the study period. Results Forty-three of the 183 infants (23%) seen in the NICU follow-up clinic had a clinical diagnosis of birth asphyxia. Twenty-two of the 43 infants (51%) with birth asphyxia were male. Thirty-two of the 43 infants (74%) were also diagnosed with sepsis while 3 infants (7%) were also diagnosed as preterm. On physical examination, 13 of the 43 infants with birth asphyxia (30%) were noted to have an abnormal neurological examination during the clinic visit. Conclusions Birth asphyxia survivors account for almost a quarter of infants seen in a NICU follow-up clinic in a developing country. Thirty percent of infants with birth asphyxia had abnormal neurological examinations using early neurodevelopmental outcomes within the first year of life. Because early neurodevelopmental outcomes were utilized in this study, this likely underestimate the percent of birth asphyxia survivors who will eventually develop motor, cognitive, and learning disabilities. Funding by the NICHD Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Metrological analysis of literature on carcinoid reported during period 2000-2005 in China

Objective From a point of view of metrological analysis of literature to review the carcinoid research reported during the period 2000-2005 in China.Methods To retrieve the papers about carcinoid research reported from 2000 to 2005 on Chinese Medical Current Contents(CMCC),and to carry out the statistical analysis from different aspects.Results In all the 728 papers collected,the first places in order of the first author,institution,journal,district,affected body part and fund in aid etc,were as follows:MA Yi(5 papers),Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Peking Union Medical College(19 papers),Chinese Journal of Diagnostic Pathology(24 papers),Beijing(85 papers),Appendix(70 papers)and 32 papers with fund-in aid.Conclusion To draw the outline of the situation of carcinoid research in rencent 6 years in China,which may be helpful to further improvement for carcinoid study.
Apoptosis of human breast cancer MCF-7/ADR cells induced by matrine

Objective To investigate the growth-inhibition and the mechanism of apoptosis induced by matrine on MCF-7/ADR cell line.Methods Using MTT assay,the half-inhibition concentration (IC 50 ) of marine on MCF-7/ADR cells was detected.Fluorescence microscopy,electron microscopy,laser scanning confocal microscopy,flow cytometry (FCM) and DNA gel electrophoresis were applied to demonstrate the presence of apoptosis.Results Apoptosis was detectable in 0.3-2.5 g/L matrine-treated MCF-7/ADR cell line.The apoptosis-inducing effect of matrine was dose-dependent in the experiment range.Conclusion Matrine can induce the inhibition of MCF-7/ADR cell growth by apoptosis and the mechanism of apoptosis is related to the blocking of S period cells.